MIDEAST UPDATE: 3.4.17 - Hezbollah lists targeted Israeli "nuclear sites"

Hezbollah lists targeted Israeli "nuclear sites" - www.debka.com 

 

Hezbollah's latest round of threats against Israel reached a new peak Thursday, March 2, with the release of a videotape claiming to expose nine locations allegedly tied to the production and assembly of Israel's nuclear weapons, debkafile reports. The Lebanese Shiite terror organization said it possessed precise missiles for wiping out Israel's nuclear infrastructure and attached addresses to all its targets.

 

Five locations topped the list, starting with the nuclear reactors at Dimona in southern Israel and Nahal Soreq on the Mediterranean coast. "Revealed" next are three secret locations for the production, assembly and storage of nuclear missiles and warheads. Kfar Zacharia near Beit Shemesh in the Jerusalem Hills, defined as the main depot for the Jericho Series I, II and III, of three-stage ballistic missiles, which can reach ranges of up to 6,000km.

 

Two others were a factory in Beer Yaakov near the central Israeli town of Ramleh, the alleged production site for nuclear warheads; and the "Galilee Wing-20" plant at the Tefen Industrial Park, 17km from the town of Carmiel, a facility where the Rafael Advanced Defense System Authority was said to mount nuclear warheads on ballistic missiles and prepare them for launching.

 

The video stresses that Hezbollah now possesses precise missiles able to pinpoint and destroy every single facility.

 

Just two weeks ago, Nasrallah "advised" Israel in an aggressive speech, to dismantle its large ammonia tank in Haifa and the nuclear reactor in Dimona before they were hit by Hezbollah rockets and caused massive casualties. He and his associates have repeatedly warned in recent weeks that their Lebanese terrorist group has acquired weapons capable of deterring Israel as well as the capability to catch Israeli intelligence unawares by "surprises."

 

In previous articles, debkafile accounted for the heightened bellicosity of Hezbollah's leaders by the permission Bashar Assad recently granted Hezbollah to launch missiles against Israel from Syrian soil as well as from Lebanon.

 

Our military and counterterrorism sources draw a straight line from Hezbollah's latest stance and the newfound aggressiveness displayed this week by the Palestinian extremist Hamas which rules the Gaza Strip.

 

Thursday, March 2, Hamas spokesmen stated that the group would no longer exercise restraint in responding to the heavy Israeli air and artillery strikes that are conducted in retaliation for rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. Henceforth, it would conduct a policy of "military position for military position" - meaning that for every Hamas position destroyed by Israel, the Palestinian extremists would swipe at a comparable Israeli military site.

 

The new Hamas posture challenged Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman"s strategy of holding the Hamas government of Gaza responsible for any attacks coming from the Palestinian enclave - whether the work of Hamas or the extremist Salafis running loose there.

 

On Feb. 27, the Israeli Air Force smashed five Hamas targets in the northern, central and southern regions of the enclave after a rocket from Gaza exploded in Israel. The IDF did not respond to the rocket fired subsequently at the Hof Ashkelon region. But then, after a round of fire from Gaza to shoot up IDF military engineering equipment, the IDF knocked over two small Hamas look-out positions in the north.

 

Hamas had in fact given the defense minister an ultimatum:  either exercise restraint, or continue the policy of massive retaliations for every rocket coming from the Gaza Strip - at the risk of a fresh round of fighting with Hamas. Lieberman appears to have settled for the first option for the time being.

 

Israel - Don't Go There - Alf Cengia - http://www.omegaletter.com/articles/articles.asp?ArticleID=8399

 

Israel - don't go there. When it comes to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, nearly everyone will have an opinion and solution. Is it wise to interfere in Israel's political affairs? Zech 12:3 and Zech 14:3 should echo strongly in everyone's ears.

 

I recall having a vigorous conversation with someone regarding the conflict. He assumed that a great place to begin resolving it would be to stop the "settlements." In his way of thinking, Israel is rubbing them into the Palestinian face.

 

My friend hadn't followed the history of the Arab conflicts following Israel's return to the land as a nation. Neither was he aware of the Camp David Summit and Gaza withdrawal fiascos. It didn't prevent him from having an opinion.

 

The land-for-peace "solution" has a history of failure. Why? Just read the Hamas Charter. Furthermore, anyone carefully reading the writings of activist Palestinian Christian leaders would also note the assiduous avoidance of mentioning Jesus' Jewish identity. Christ is invariably portrayed as a Palestinian. His Jewish identity is anathema.

 

Even so, the delusion that the solution to the Middle-East conflict is somehow connected to correcting Israel's behavior is hardwired into many brains. It's difficult to come to terms with the reality that no square inch of Israeli-occupied "Palestine" is acceptable to its Muslim neighbors.

 

Having an opinion about the Arab-Israeli conflict is fine. Having an informed on-the-ground one is even better. Journalist Hunter Stuart's opinion-changing-experience should be read by everyone. Here's an excerpt:

 

...even the kindest, most educated, upper-class Palestinians reject 100 percent of Israel, not just the occupation of East Jerusalem and the West Bank. They simply will not be content with a two-state solution, what they want is to return to their ancestral homes in Ramle and Jaffa and Haifa and other places in 1948 Israel, within the Green Line. And they want the Israelis who live there now to leave. They almost never speak of coexistence; they speak of expulsion, of taking back "their" land.

 

So now Mr. Trump has arrived on the scene. After eight years of being treated as a pariah by an Islamist-appeasing White House, Mr. Netanyahu has been welcomed back. People are getting excited and we've heard the "One State or Two State solution" chatter.

 

Let's not kid ourselves. Mr. Trump's best intentions of brokering peace will collide with an immovable wall of anti-Jewish resistance. Israel is only tolerated in the region when it's politically expedient. The current concern over Iran has seen Israel enjoy concessions from some of its neighbors. But ultimately the only acceptable long-term solution to the "conflict" is a Palestinian State, sans Israel.

 

Despite the appeasement fantasies, some people do get it. Timon Dias argues that Israel's and Europe's fates are intertwined. I think he's right. He writes:

 

If Israel falls, the road to Europe would not physically be open for "The army of Mohammed" as was the case with Vienna. But in the Islamist experience, which is relevant, Europe is a soft target compared to Sparta-like Israel. In their line of thought applies: 'If Israel can fall, Europe will fall'.

 

God had a lot to say about Israel and its future. Unfortunately, even among Bible believing Christians, prophecy has been dumbed down by Replacement Theology. For example, the Blessing and Cursing of Gen 12:3 is often re-interpreted in order to move the attention off national Israel and onto the church.

 

Such a position leads to the denial of God's involvement in the reestablishment of Israel. Blame the Zionists for creating the Middle East Conflict. It may also deny the satanic origins of anti-Semitism. Blame the Jews for their own miseries.

 

Yet if we allow Scripture to speak plainly, Israel's fate is not only intertwined with Europe, it's also inexorably connected to the world.

 

Alva McClain (The Greatness of the Kingdom) observed that past attempts to aid Israel, on the part of England and the United States, only raised storms of irreconcilable protests from Arab nations and interest from Russian Communism. Nothing has changed. And nothing will by the hand of man.

 

McClain notes that true and lasting peace will only come about with the inauguration of God's Millennial Kingdom on this earth. Here are two scriptural examples:

 

It will come about that just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you that you may become a blessing. Do not fear; let your hands be strong. Zech 8:13

 

Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you." Zech 8:23

 

Isaiah 61:9-11 informs us that Israel will perform a ministerial function and that it will eat the wealth of the nations. See also Exod 19:6; Isaiah 60:18 and Zeph 3:20. But before this occurs, Israel will be refined in the fire by God (see Hos 5:15; Zech13:9).

 

The fact that Israel's future is in God's hands should be a sober warning to take Gen 12:3 seriously. The best way to bless Israel is with prayer and the gospel of salvation. Israel's allies may also bless it through military and political support.

 

Note: This is not to say that it should be above honest criticism. However, when it comes to political meddling with Israel - don't go there (Zech 2:8).

 

Finally, many are rejoicing in the Trump administration's enthusiasm to help Israel. It's a welcome change. But remember that it will one day pay the price for trusting man rather than God (Dan 9:27; Matt 24:14-15, 21; 2 Thess 2:4).

 

For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.' Matt 23:39

 

Could we be nearing a time when Israel will put its trust in a peace-broker?

 

Lord, come quickly!

 

Fruits of peace? - Joel C. Rosenberg - https://flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com/2017/03/03/fruits-of-peace-israel-has-started-exporting-natural-gas-to-jordan-also-developing-export-deals-with-egypt-greece-cyprus-turkey-heres-the-latest/

 

Israel has started exporting natural gas to Jordan. Also, developing export deals with Egypt, Greece, Cyprus & Turkey. Here's the latest.

 

It's not just talk. If you look closely, there are tangible signs of peace and economic cooperation between Israel and her neighbors.

 

Taken Jordan, for example. The Hashemite Kingdom signed a peace treaty with the Jewish State in 1994. While there remain many political sensitivities in the relationship, the two countries continue to develop ever closer security and economic ties. This week, we're learning how the quiet cooperation between the two countries has taken another important step.

 

"An Israeli company said Thursday it has started exporting gas from an offshore field to Jordan, marking the country's first ever exports of natural gas," reported the Times of Israel. "The exports to Jordan began in January, Delek Drilling - part of a consortium leading the development of Israel's offshore gas reserves."

 

With almost no oil or gas resources of its own, Jordan currently imports 97% of its energy needs. I'm encouraged that the Israeli government and the Israeli and American companies drilling for natural gas off the Mediterranean coast were willing to make their first export deal with Jordan, a good neighbor and partner for peace.

 

I'm also encouraged by the fact that the leaders of Jordan want to cooperate with Israel on such an important energy project, despite some political opposition.

 

But Jordan isn't the only story.

 

For many years since the 1979 Camp David accords, Egypt has been selling natural gas from the Sinai to Israel. Recent reports indicate Israel and Egypt are looking for new ways to explore for more gas and cooperate in exporting natural gas.

 

Israel and Turkey are also working on a natural gas deal that could be finalized in 2017.

Israel, Greece and Cyprus are reportedly developing plans for a natural gas pipeline.

 

Let's keep praying for peace - but let's also be grateful for the tangible progress that has been made already.

 

Excerpts from the Times of Israel article:

 

There was no formal announcement at the time but it is the first-time Israel has ever exported natural gas, a company spokeswoman said.

 

Jordanian firms Arab Potash and Jordan Bromine signed a deal in 2014 to import 2 billion cubic meters (around 70 billion cubic feet) of gas from Israel's Tamar field over 15 years....

 

Jordan is one of only two Arab countries to have a peace deal with Israel but the 1994 agreement is unpopular among Jordanians - almost half of whom are of Palestinian origin.

 

Detractors of the gas deal, including Jordan's main opposition Islamist party, reject any cooperation with a country they regard as an enemy....

 

In September 2016, a larger deal worth an estimated $10 billion was signed to export gas from the Leviathan offshore field to Jordan.

 

In the face of protests, Jordanian Information Minister Mohamed Momani defended the deal, telling state television it would cut $600 million a year from the state's energy bill. Deliveries from Leviathan are expected to begin in 2019.

 

 

The Arab Summit may bury hatchet with Assad - http://www.debka.com/article/25944/The-Arab-Summit-may-bury-hatchet-with-Assad

 

Secret contacts currently underway ahead of the Arab League summit later this month may bring about a sea change in the Arab world's relationship with Syrian President Bashar Assad, debkafile's sources report.  

 

On Saturday, Feb. 25, Egypt's parliamentary committee for Arab affairs called for the return of Syria to the Arab League. This step symbolized an initiative launched by a number of leaders to invite Syrian President Bashar Assad to the March 29 Arab Summit in Amman - five years after Syria was expelled from the 22-member Arab League over the savage civil war then at its height.

 

Three leaders are spearheading the moves for Assad's reacceptance by the Arab community, whether together or separately: Russian President Vladimir Putin, Egyptian President Abdel-Fatteh El-Sissi and Jordanian King Abdullah. All three hope to see a historic handshake and greetings between Assad and Saudi King Salman.

 

This would signify the reconciliation between Saudi Arabia which backed the Syrian rebels, and the Assad regime. But for Assad, it would mark collective Arab recognition of his personal victory, when few expected him to come out alive from the nearly seven sevens of cruel warfare, first sparked by the Arab Spring of December 2010.

 

Putin's interest in this epic event is self-evident. When he launched a major Russian intervention in the Syrian war in September 2015, President Barack Obama predicted that the Russian army would sink in the Syrian quagmire. The Russian leader proved him wrong, and his reputation in the Arab world would soar if he could persuade King Salman to accept Assad's return to the Arab summit.

 

The plan is for the Syrian ruler to arrive in Amman armed with a Russian safe-conduct guarantee, aboard a Russian military aircraft which would fly him there and back from Russia's Syrian military base at Hmeimim

 

debkafile's intelligence and Middle Eastern sources report a flurry of arrangements for the event, with military officers and intelligence agents from Russia, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Syria flying back and forth between Cairo, Riyadh, Amman, Damascus and the Russian command in Syria.

 

Our sources also disclose that US officials have hinted in informal contacts with these parties that President Donald Trump is not averse to the initiative, although his public position on the subject must await the final determination of his Middle East policy at large.

 

The US president scarcely mentioned the Middle East in his speech to Congress Tuesday night, Feb. 28, but for a reference to Iran's ballistic missiles, because his policy his still a work in progress.

 

Putin may well take advantage of this lacuna for a more far-reaching project, enlisting Iran to the Arab peace process with Assad, and expanding it to include a patching up of the quarrel between Tehran and Riyadh.

 

That was the object of the intensive comings and goings this week in the region, which saw Kuwaiti and Iranian officials talking quietly in Tehran, visits by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to Kuwait and Oman on Feb. 15, and the trip by Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir to Baghdad on Feb. 25, when he sat down with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi.

 

They were all playing their part in a ploy for making Saudi reconciliation with Assad a halfway mark towards making peace between the oil kingdom and Iran as well.