Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochabi, head of IDF intelligence branch (AMAN), warned that “the thousands of al Qaeda fighters streaming into Syria from the region and around the world were not just bent on toppling Bashar Assad but replacing his regime with an Islamic state.” Speaking Tuesday at an IDF officers’ graduation, Kochavi said that this had an impact on the entire region, especially on Sinai, where the jihadists were on the march on Israel’s southern border as well.