MIDEAST UPDATE: 5.23.16 - Hezbollah links US, Russia to Al-din's killing

Hezbollah links US, Russia to Al-din's killing - http://www.debka.com/article/25422/Hizballah-links-US-Russia-to-Al-din's-killing

 

Intelligence sources in Syria and Lebanon said Friday that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah strongly suspects that US and Russian special forces assassinated Mustafa Bader Al-din, the commander of Hezbollah forces in Syria, in a joint operation-despite the public allegation against amorphous rebels.   

 

 The sources said that when Nasrallah gave his speech Thursday evening to mark "nakba" (disaster) day (which is what the terrorist organization calls Israeli Independence Day), he already knew that Al-din had been killed in a mysterious explosion at a secret Hezbollah command facility near Damascus international airport. The assassination was the reason why he devoted his speech to an extraordinary verbal attack on the US. He claimed that Washington had caused a new disaster in the Middle East in an attempt to break up the bloc of Iran, Syria and Hezbollah. He also accused the US of bringing ISIS and other "barbaric" terrorist organizations to the region.

 

debkafile's intelligence and counterterrorism sources report that Hezbollah based its suspicion on six points:

 

1. No foreign aircraft, including ones carrying elite troops, can enter the Damascus area without coordination with the Russian air force and its air defense networks in Syria. In other words, the Russians knew about the strike that was about to occur and did not report it to the Syrians or the Iranians, and certainly not to Hezbollah.

 

2. Over the last few days, the Americans placed special forces troops with attack helicopters at Remelan airbase, located in northern Syria next to the Syrian Kurdish city of Hasakah. The placement of the force enables the American command in the Middle East, CENTCOM, to take military action against terror targets anywhere in Syria. Hezbollah suspects that the assassination of Al-din was the first operation by the newly-deployed US force.

 

 3. In 2013, the US named Al-din a "specially designated global terrorist," and less than a year ago, on July 21, 2015, it placed sanctions on him and announced the confiscation of the senior terrorist's property throughout the world. These steps were taken due to his position as commander of Hezbollah's forces in Syria, and as a regular participant in weekly meetings with Syrian President Bashar Assad and Hezbollah leader Nasrallah for coordination of operations in the war. In other words, in the terrorist organization's view, Al-din was in Washington's crosshairs.

 

4. Hezbollah's command facility near Damascus was top secret, so Hizballah had been convinced that no outsiders were aware of its existence. But now it believes that three intelligence services operating in Syria could have known about it: those of the US, Russia and Israel.

 

5. The assassination of one of the commanders of the four armies backing Syrian President Bashar Assad could only mean one thing: whoever assassinated Al-din wanted to deal a severe blow to Assad's military capabilities.

 

 As debkafile reported in the first hours after the mysterious hit, Al-din had been planning to withdraw Hezbollah forces from the various Syrian fronts and to concentrate them on the Syria-Lebanon border. This repositioning of forces is now expected to be sped up, dealing a major blow to Assad.

 

6. There are unconfirmed reports that Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr, who operates in Iraq in coordination with Iran, and whose supporters seized control of parts of Baghdad's Green Zone last week, secretly visited Beirut and met with Nasrallah and Al-din. The three were said to have discussed the possibility that Hezbollah would send forces from Syria to Iraq to help al-Sadr in Baghdad.

 

Whoever assassinated Al-din took action to prevent this from happening. 

 

 Meanwhile, on Friday afternoon, at Al-Din's funeral in Beirut, Nasrallah's deputy, Sheikh Naim Qassem, asserted that Hezbollah had avoided specifying the nature of the blast that killed Al-Din because there were several hypotheses. However, he said the terrorist organization would announce the nature of the explosion and identity the perpetrators of the attack within several hours.

 

 In a clear signal to Iran and Hezbollah that they should not dare to blame the US for the assassination, the White House issued on Friday an unusual announcement in response to reports in the Middle East claiming that Al-din was killed in an American airstrike. It said there were no US or coalition flights over the area of the mysterious explosion. The announcement did not mention the possibility that Al-din was eliminated by a missile fired from the ground.

 

 On Saturday morning, May 14, Hezbollah alleged that Syrian rebels killed Al-din with artillery fire. It was a completely baseless accusation, even for Hezbollah. If the rebels had information on the senior terrorist's location and were able to aim directly at him, then Al-din was justified in believing that there is no reason for Hezbollah forces to be in Syria anymore, and that it would be best for them to withdraw.

 

ISIS, Radical Islam Will Invade Israel if Peace Talks Fail, Abbas Warns - By Ahuva Balofsky - http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/67964/failure-of-peace-talks-will-bring-isis-to-israel-abbas-threatens-05-16/#CYkm6gAf7ioyYZ4J.97

 

"As a troubled fountain, and a corrupted spring, so is a righteous man that giveth way before the wicked." Proverbs 25:26 (The Israel Bible�)

 

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Tuesday to accept a French initiative to revive peace talks between the two parties, Breitbart reported. Speaking to a delegation from Israel's left-wing Meretz party in Ramallah, Abbas warned that not doing so would bring the Islamic State (ISIS) to Israel.

 

"If we don't revive the peace process, the violence and radicalism from Syria will come here," Abbas said. "The Islamic State and the Al-Nusra Front will reach Israel and the West Bank."

 

Abbas acknowledged that Palestinian education is replete with messages inciting hatred of Israel and Jews. "Yes, there is incitement in our textbooks and on television."

 

This problem, however, is surmountable. "Let's solve the problem and revive the incitement commission that was agreed upon [between Israel and the PA] 16 years ago."

 

"The commission [which is chaired by the United States] will determine what needs to be corrected," Abbas said.

 

Abbas asked Netanyahu to ignore all that and return to the negotiating table anyway. Hypocritically, he urged Netanyahu to forego any preconditions.

 

"Let's leave everything in the past and let's meet," Abbas continued. "When two sides are invited to a meeting, one cannot present preconditions. It's the international community that should determine what is right and what isn't."

 

He later added, "Put it all to the side and let's negotiate. We aren't far apart [physically] and we cooperate on a daily basis. Don't push us to the wall. We will all lose."

 

While Abbas would not explain why the PA refuses to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, he had harsh words for the expansion of settlements in Judea and Samaria, the Biblical heartland of Israel.

 

"The Israeli government is building settlements on Palestinian land," Abbas said. "We will not agree to a situation whereby a new settlement and a new checkpoint are cropping up all the time.

 

"The entire world is against settlements. This is the position taken by the Americans and the Europeans. There have been 12 Security Council resolutions against settlements. Stop them," he continued.

 

While Netanyahu has opposed the proposed peace conference in Paris, telling French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault the only way forward is direct negotiations, Abbas praised the plan.

 

"The French plan is a good one since we want the international community to take responsibility for this endless conflict," Abbas said. "We want the whole word by our side. We are one of the last remaining nations that suffer under military occupation. How much longer will this go on? How much longer will the world permit one people to control another?"

 

Meretz is the only non-Arab party to publicly support the French proposal.

 

 

Israelis Living Near Gaza Warned to Prepare for Emergency Evacuations - By Ariella Mendlowitz -

http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/67955/defense-ministry-issues-evacuation-warning-for-israelis-near-gaza-border-05-16/#Gmvi17vJ1QPfT32q.97

 

"Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou guarded of them." Ezekiel 38:7 (The Israel Bible�)

 

Fearing a worst-case scenario following a recent rise in tensions between Israel and Gaza, the Defense Ministry issued a written warning on Tuesday for all residents living near the Gaza border to have packed bags at the ready. "In the event of an emergency, there is a decision to completely evacuate," the letter stated.

 

Increased efforts by the IDF to uncover and destroy Hamas terror tunnels, such as the one discovered in April, have sparked frustrations along the Gaza strip. Angrily responding to Israel's operations against the tunnels, IDF soldiers stationed at the northern border came under Hamas fire multiple times just last week.

 

Should tensions reach an absolute peak, residents have been instructed to "lock all doors, close the windows and blinds, take personal weapons and any pets, along with food, and turn off the gas valve," Channel 2 reported. They are also required to report to relevant security personnel upon departure.

 

As for the means of escape transportation, civilians may only travel via private vehicle or by buses provided by local government councils, The Times of Israel reported. Additionally, they were given explicit instructions on which communities to reach for safety if necessary.

 

Despite the extensive preparations, however, Israeli officials emphasized they did not believe there is a serious threat of renewed conflict on the Gaza border. Hamas, as well, conveyed to Israel through Egypt that it does not seek another war. But the terrorist organization has been caught numerous times enhancing their arsenal by smuggling in weapons, lending serious doubt to their assurances.

 

The latest escalation comes during what some may consider precarious timing. This July will mark two years since Operation Protective Edge, a counter-offensive attack against Gaza in response to ongoing rocket fire by Palestinian terrorists. Following the war, the region saw a long period of relative calm. Recent activities, however, have renewed tensions in the area, provoking the Israeli government to take defensive precautions.