Hezbollah To Open ‘New Front’ In Golan Heights

 

Beloved Prayer Warriors ,

we are sending this prayer alert due to the fact that things are becoming increasingly hot on the northern border of Israel and the Golan could become engulfed in the war ! Read the articles and pray accordingly for the Head nation Israel! Pray also for the believers in Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan and Syria 

Iran has convinced Syria to allow Hezbollah to open a “new front” against Israel in the Golan Heights, the London-based Arabic-language newspaper al-Hayat reported Wednesday.

Tehran, seeking to prevent the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government, asked Damascus if Hezbollah could set up a new military front against Israel in the Golan.

“All Arabs and Muslims” are requested to join the fight against Israel, Tehran said, according to Israel Radio.

The report comes a week after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed to respond to Jerusalem’s ostensible aggression against Syria with the help of Syria’s advanced “game-changing” weapons. The next stage, he warned during a speech, would be opening up a front on the Golan Heights.

The Palestinian newspaper al-Quds also reported Wednesday that Tehran had persuaded Damascus “to open the door to jihad” in the Golan Heights in an effort enable Arab and Muslim fighters to unite and confront Israel, so that they’re “ready” if Israel strikes Syria again.

According to unnamed Israeli and American sources, Israeli planes struck sites outside Damascus twice during the first weekend in May, targeting weapons transfers from Iran to Hezbollah. The Syrian regime warned a few days later that it would retaliate immediately to future Israeli attacks on its soil.

The al-Quds website wrote that Iran also discussed the issue with other Arab leaders, namely Jordan’s King Abdullah, who expressed his own “concerns” about the surge of radical Islamist groups, such as the Jabhat al-Nusra, in Syria.

The Lebanese daily al-Akhbar suggested last week that Iran had “reached a final decision” to respond to Israel’s reported strike on Syria by “turning the Golan into a new Fatah-land. The front has become open to Syrians and Palestinians and anyone who wants to fight Israel.”
Earlier this week, the Syrian government announced that it reserves the right to invade the Israeli-held Golan Heights at any time, and accused Jerusalem of violating the terms of the 1974 ceasefire that ended the Yom Kippur War.

During a speech in Damascus, Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi accused Israel of attacking sites near the Syrian capital, allowing rebel groups to operate in the demilitarized zone separating Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights, and letting those groups kidnap UN observers on multiple occasions.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow Tuesday in what was described as a bid to prevent Moscow from selling the cutting-edge missile defense system, the S-300, to Damascus. Jerusalem fears that the advanced weaponry could fall into the hands of Hezbollah, Syria’s key ally in neighboring Lebanon.

Prayer Points : HE who watches over Israel does not slumber nor sleep ! Ps.121:4:

Ps.83: Isa.49:1-3: Isa.41:8-13

Prophetic Declaration Over Israel

He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 2 Kings:6:16

Pray in the Spirit and with understanding

 

We thank you very much for praying, may you and your families be blessed as you bless us by your prayers

“For Sion sake, I will not keep silent “

Kad Esh Map Team. 

 

The start of something new? A gov’t without Israel’s ultra-Orthodox

Netanyahu hopes to present new government by next week, and it likely won’t have any ultra-Orthodox parties, giving national religious and ‘secular’ a chance to redefine Israel’s religious policies

Tuesday, March 05, 2013  Ryan Jones  israeltoday.co.il

Developments in Israel on Sunday might have signaled the start of a major earthquake in the political foundations of the state.

According to reports across the Hebrew media, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finally conceded that he will not be able to form a stable majority coalition that includes the ultra-Orthodox parties that have long controlled the religious institutions of the State of Israel.

While Netanyahu would prefer a government that included the ultra-Orthodox Shas, which tends to simply go along with any and all policies so long as tax revenues flow to its own causes, an impromptu alliance between the centrist Yesh Atid and the right-wing Jewish Home parties meant that doing so would leave Netanyahu with a minority government.

Yesh Atid, which stunned everyone by becoming the Knesset’s second largest party in January’s election, and Jewish Home, the new face of the old National Religious Party, don’t necessarily see eye-to-eye on major diplomatic issues like Jewish settlements and the peace process.

However, the two parties are fully united in their belief that ultra-Orthodox hegemony over determining who is a Jew and how Jews must live needs to be broken. They also agree that it is high time that the ultra-Orthodox community, which receives large sums of government funding for child welfare and seminaries, join the workforce, start paying taxes and carry their fair share of the military burden.

The talk now is that Netanyahu will give Yesh Atid the ministries of health, interior and welfare, allowing it to keep its election promises to bring about social change that will benefit the entire population, and institute an educational system that fosters broad acceptance of the Bible and Jewish culture.

Jewish Home is looking to take the ministries of industry, housing and religion, the last of which will allow the party to seriously alter the way the state relates to Jewish religious issues. There is even talk of Israel electing its first national religious (as opposed to ultra-Orthodox) chief rabbi.

Netanyahu reportedly hopes to present the new government sometime next week, and if Yesh Atid and Jewish Home have their way, it could mark the beginning of something quite unique in the Jewish state.

We will explore this new phenomenon in greater depth in the upcoming issue of Israel Today Magazine.

 

Have the Palestinians Tied Israel’s Hands?

Thursday, December 27, 2012 | Elizabeth Blade – http://www.israeltoday.co.il

On Sunday, several foreign and Israeli news outlets reported that the radical Gaza-based group Hamas was preparing to take over the West Bank, determined to oust the current Western-backed Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

According to reports, the Islamists were emboldened by their recent war with Israel and the alleged victory that followed.

Militants claimed that Israel failed to cripple their ability (and will) to launch attacks against civilian targets, with some going as far as to suggest that Hamas left the battleground if not victorious, then at least stronger diplomatically. The movement was also encouraged by the absence of a full-scale ground invasion that could easily have toppled the Hamas regime.

To add insult to injury, Israel’s government agreed (as part of the ceasefire deal) to eliminate the so-called “no man’s land”, a buffer zone beyond Israel’s security fence along the Gaza border. The removal of this cordon sanitaire not only left the Jewish state more vulnerable to attacks by Hamas and other terrorists, but will also invited “publicity stunts” by various non-governmental organizations under the direction of Hamas.

Israel Won, Hamas Was Defeated

Nevertheless, there are some who view the recent Israeli operation as successful, and who insist that it was Hamas that suffered defeat.

Prof. Hillel Frisch, an expert on Palestinian and Islamic politics from the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, says Operation Pillar of Cloud achieved maximum deterrence. “It has been the first time since 2001 that [Hamas] ceased all fire. They marked the end of the war on the national calendar and declared it a holiday, but the truth is that they were defeated.”

The expert added: “After realizing that their tactics of shooting rockets into Israel was no longer working, Hamas decided to pursue other, to their mind, more effective means of harassing Israel, one of which was staging mass demonstrations near the [security] fence.”

Indeed, two days after the sides agreed to a ceasefire on November 21st, a group of 300 Palestinians approached the fence in the southern Gaza Strip and held a violent disturbance along the border. The army had to use force to disperse the crowds, killing one Palestinian and injuring several others. Another Palestinian was killed in similar developments several days later.

Hamas Won, Israel Failed

Others, such as Dimitri Diliani, spokesman for Abbas’ Fatah movement, insisted Israel had utterly failed in the recent Gaza conflict.

“Compared to other Israeli wars [where the country achieved measurable results], the recent operation was not fruitful. It failed to achieve the goals declared by the government, mainly to cripple Hamas’ ability to launch rockets into the state of Israel,” said Diliani.

Referring to Hamas’ victory claims, Diliani agreed that although the Palestinian people were dealt a severe blow (the amount of military and civilians losses on the Palestinian side was much higher), they did create the sense of succeeding to defeat the powerful Israeli army on a moral (or even psychological) level.

“In a way, it is a victory for all Palestinian people suffering at the hands of the Israeli occupation [sic],” the Palestinian official continued. “At the same time, Hamas has been trying to take the credit for all the achievements to itself, which is fundamentally wrong, considering the many political factions within the Strip that participated in defending Gaza during the Israeli aggression.”

Friends in High(er) Places

Frisch tried to explain the motivation behind Hamas’ bold bragging: “Hamas allows itself such liberties because it feels backed by Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi.”

Referring to the recent apparent nosedive in Hamas-Egypt relations, Frisch noted, “On the one hand, it might look as if Egypt chose to scrap its ties with the terrorist organization. On the other hand, Egypt is trying to reassure Hamas that the cool-down in relations is only temporary. After achieving their ultimate goal of establishing theocracy, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood will start bolstering Hamas again.”

According to Frisch, Hamas understood that Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood first had to take care of business at home without overly alarming the international community. “Morsi thus compelled Hamas to accept a complete ceasefire, something that Hamas refused to do since it began launching rockets in 2001.”

However, Egypt is far from being the only country to support the militant group. It is no longer a secret that Hamas is also backed by Iran (main weapons’ provider) and the Gulf states (particularly Qatar).

Ripple Effect

Encouraged by Hamas gains, the Abbas regime decided to move ahead with its own battle against Israel, this time on a diplomatic level. At the end of November, Abbas approached the United Nations’ General Assembly asking the international body to upgrade his government’s status from “entity” to “observer state.” The request was granted with 138 members (out of 193) voting in favor.

But was Abbas motivated by a genuine desire to change things? Experts seem to be divided.

“The UN bid gave the Palestinians the feeling that a Palestinian state would soon come into being,” said Frisch. “The Palestinian Authority doesn’t enjoy much credibility in the West Bank,” added the expert suggesting that the move was aimed at boosting Abbas’ popularity.

Gatestone Institute, an international policy think tank, echoed this view, stating that Abbas’ UN drive was “… the last chance for Mahmoud Abbas to remain in charge. In recent weeks he has been phoning around the foreign ministries of Europe explaining that if they don’t back him this time in the non-state statehood bid, then it is all over and all we have to deal with is Hamas…”

Diliani disagreed, stressing that the move was dictated by the desire to pursue peace, freedom and justice.

“It actually nullified the Israeli right-wing agenda to expand settlements under the pretext of land disputes,” he charged. “UN recognition provided Palestinians the tools to defend themselves from Israel’s settlement activity or targeted killing.”

Slippery Slope

Although the upgrade didn’t change things on the ground, the UN’s overwhelming support did embolden Abbas, who was given a green light to pursue additional unilateral measures instead of sitting down for talks with Israel that could translate into painful concessions on both sides.

In Israel, however, most experts and top brass disregarded Abbas’ move saying it was insignificant.

Diliani rebuked that position: “[Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu is not interested in admitting defeat, especially at election time. That’s why he spreads this propaganda, trying to marginalize the importance of the Palestinian victory, when the truth of the matter is that Israel was dealt a severe diplomatic blow that exposed its international isolation as a result of the continuation of occupation.”

Hamas-Fatah Unity = Trouble For Israel

Although it is too early to tell whether the UN upgrade will result in significant changes, Abbas’ flirting with Hamas might. Recent reports suggested that a reunion between Fatah and Hamas (two staunch rivals) was on the horizon.

The Palestinian street seems to be favoring the move. Thousands took to the streets in the Gaza Strip to celebrate Abbas’ victory at the UN, whereas crowds in the West Bank rallied in support of Hamas, celebrating the fact that its rockets had struck as far as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

What could this potential union mean for Israel? Simply put: trouble.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders are already preparing for the next round of fighting with Israel, promising that “in the next war, Israelis will be forced to flee not only their homes, but the whole country”. Fatah is also reading itself for a possible confrontation, with some leaders calling for a new intifada [uprising] against Israel, especially in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem.

Can Israel Divide and Conquer?

But Frisch was skeptical. “I doubt that Fatah will ever want to reunite with Hamas. Abbas and those around him are scared of Hamas’ potential take-over the West Bank. Although many Palestinians don’t support Hamas, Fatah leaders are afraid of the organization’s strong desire to take control and the ruthlessness with which they are able to do so,” stressed the expert.

Diliani rebutted those allegations and claimed Hamas was too scared of Fatah’s growing popularity: “So far, Hamas has failed the people, they have proven to be incompetent to govern, let alone lead politically. Fatah and Hamas are not going to be united. Reconciliation is possible and highly desirable; unity is not. We might have serious disagreements on the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but that won’t prevent us from sitting down for talks.”

But if this reunion (or even reconciliation) does take place, will Israel be willing to negotiate with Hamas? Have Hamas and Fatah manage to tie Israel’s hands this time? Time will tell…

 

 

PM Netanyahu’s Remarks at the Start of the Weekly Cabinet Meeting

From twitter: Read PM #Netanyahu‘s Remarks at the Start of the Weekly Cabinet Meetinghttp://bit.ly/O4z5QP  #Israel #Iran #economy#paralympics

02/09/2012 Photo by GPO Following are Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting today: “Last week, the representatives of 120 countries gathered in Tehran. They heard contemptuous, anti-Semitic remarks by the ruler of Iran, and this was in continuation of his statements about the destruction of Israel. Nobody stood up. Nobody left the hall. This is worse given the IAEA report that was published over the weekend. The report confirms what we have been saying for some time – while the international sanctions are indeed making things difficult for the Iranian economy, they are not delaying the progress of the Iranian nuclear project. The Iranians are using the talks with the major powers to gain time in order to advance their nuclear project. I believe that the truth must be told – the international community is not setting Iran a clear red line and Iran does not see international determination to stop its nuclear project. Until Iran sees a clear red line and such determination, it will not stop the progress of its nuclear project – and Iran must not be allowed to have nuclear weapons. On the economic front, I would like to say that the world is still in a continuing economic crisis, the worst to strike the global economy in 80 years. These conditions are making it difficult for the citizens of all countries, especially the developed countries, and are also making things difficult for Israelis. We are obliged to tighten our belt in order to maintain the Israeli economy. This is not easy, this entails difficulties for citizens and I know this. But alongside these difficulties, which have been created as a result of the global crisis, we are also doing things. This week, the law on free education from age 3 took effect, which is saving at least NIS 800 per child per month. This is alongside the income tax credit points, the reform in the cellular phone market, and free dental care for children up to age 12. All of these, and other steps, are saving money for many citizens. In my view, it is more important than anything that we maintain Israelis’ jobs; it must be understood that this is the most social thing. Last week, the Central Bureau of Statistics published the unemployment data for last month. They stand at 6.5% — this is lower than the unemployment rate in the US, Europe and almost every other developed state. We will continue to maintain the economy and we will continue to maintain Israelis’ jobs and will even work to create additional jobs. Today, the Cabinet will hear a review by Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan on the important actions being taken to improve the environment – I can say the quality of life – and advance the green revolution in Israel. We will also hear a review by Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch and Israel Police Inspector-General Yohanan Danino on the many actions being taken to lower the crime rate in Israel. There are optimistic data in this regard and it is important that we hear them. We also give our backing to the continuation of these actions. Lastly, I would like to congratulate the Israeli athletes who won three bronze medals at the Paralympics over the weekend. These are bronze medals; for us they are all gold and we are very, very proud of our athletes and we salute them. You can watch them live. Thank you.”

 

Netanyahu: Zionism succeeded because of Christian support

In re-dedication of iconic Jerusalem windmill made possible by Dutch Christians, Netanyahu says the Zionist dream of reestablishing Israel was realized because of such Christian friends

Thursday, August 30, 2012 | Ryan Jones

Den restaurerte vindmøllen innvies av statsminister Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday stated that Zionism and the rebirth of the Jewish state would not have succeeded without the backing and support of Christian Zionism.

Netanyahu was speaking at a rededication ceremony for the landmark windmill situated at the entrance to Mishkenot Sha’ananim, the first neighborhood built outside Jerusalem’s Old City walls.

Built in 1858 by Jewish philanthropist Moses Montefiore, the windmill quickly became a recognized symbol of Jerusalem. But over the years, it fell into disrepair.

The windmill’s restoration was made possible by the cooperation of various government bodies and private charities, but the bulk of the funding has come from the Dutch organization Christians for Israel.

Last month, Dutch experts oversaw the installation of a new dome and blades on the iconic structure, and managed to return the windmill to working order.

Acknowledging the role played by Christians for Israel in this particular project, and the involvement in general of Christian Zionists in Israel’s restoration, Netanyahu said:

“I don’t believe that the Jewish State and Modern Zionism would have been possible without Christian Zionism. I think that the many Christian supporters of the rebirth of the Jewish State and the ingathering of the Jewish people in the 19th century made possible the rise of…modern Jewish Zionism. We always had the deeply ingrained desire to come back to our land and rebuild it. …That was made possible in the 19th century, by the resurgence of Christian Zionism… It’s well represented here today by our Dutch friends.”