Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

Summer War Fears
Apr 24th, 2010
Daily Newsdebka.com
Categories: Commentary;The Nation Of Israel;War

Debkafile's military sources disclose that Syria has expanded the flow of smuggled Syrian and Iranian weaponry across the Lebanese border to Hizballah in line with a master-plan charted in Tehran and Damascus for transforming the 25,000-strong Hizballah terrorist militia into an organized, mobile army with a whole range of sophisticated missiles and other weapons. The new Hizballah is being trained to carry out such offensive operations as capturing parts of Israel's Galilee and equipped with the hardware for knocking out warplanes, warships and armored strength. 

One of their missions will be to defend the Syrian capital, Damascus. Tehran and Damascus calculate that the next time a war erupts on Israel's borders, its army will try and outflank Syrian forces on the Golan and drive past the units defending Damascus. That is where Hizballah is expected to come in.

Even after the Kuwaiti Al Rai claim that Syria had smuggled Scud ground missiles into Lebanon proved inaccurate and was denied in Washington, regional war tensions remained high - although not for the reason ascribed by Jordan's King Abdullah during his current visit to Washington. 

The king forecast an outbreak of Middle East hostilities in the coming summer because of the Israel-Palestinian diplomatic stalemate. What's the connection? Our sources ask. Rather than admit he is nervously watching his aggressive Arab neighbor to the north, the Jordanian ruler is pinning the region's troubles on Israel because it is the right tune to sing in Barack Obama's Washington.

In actual fact, a Middle East war this summer depends on two actions which have nothing to do with the Palestinians: a decision by the US and/or Israel to strike Iran's nuclear facilities together or separately, and a decision in Tehran to unleash its allies against Israel - spearheaded by Hizballah - to preempt such an attack.

Ready to step into its new shoes, Hizballah is being armed with five major military capabilities, debkafile reports:

1. Surface-to-surface missiles able to reach as far as the Dimona reactor in southern Israel: They include Fajr-5, which has a range of 33 km, and the M-600, developed by Syria from the Fateh-110, whose range is 250 km. Both are precise, propelled by solid fuel and carry 500-kilo warheads of conventional explosives, as well as being able to deliver chemical, biological and radioactive materials.

This dangerous new arsenal which tops up the 40,000 rockets Hizballah was allowed to pile up since the 2006 Lebanon war.

Saturday, April 17, Israel's deputy defense minister Mattan Vilnai, warned that Syria and Hizballah between them had ballistic missiles that could reach every millimeter of Israeli territory. 

But he did not explain how the national defense leadership, of which he is a senior member, allowed this to happen. 

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has said nothing to account for his 14-month old government's failure to make good on its pledges for change, and first of all to deal with the Iranian nuclear threat. Instead, he follows his predecessors' same old passive routines on Iran, Syria and Hizballah, an open invitation to aggression and a recipe for armed conflict. Of late, he is hardly to be seen or heard except for the irrelevant comments he makes at state ceremonies.

2. Iran has built for Hizballah five expanded commando brigades whose mission in a future conflict will be to capture and hold key northern Israeli towns and villages, including the town of Nahariya or parts thereof. This tactic would force Israeli forces marching into Lebanon to turn back and recover lost land.

On March 28, debkafile revealed this Iranian-Syrian master plan in detail. 

3. Syrian instructors are training Hizballah militiamen at top speed in the operation of ground-to-air weapons, including self-propelled missiles, against warplanes and incoming missiles and cruise missiles. Israel has threatened to destroy these batteries if they cross the border into Lebanon. They are therefore being held back in Syrian bases up against the border until such time as fighting flares. They will then be transferred into the hands of Hizballah units standing by on the Lebanese side of the border.

4. Syria has set up a Hizballah special unit for attacking warships and fighting off Israeli coastal landings. It is equipped with advanced Chinese SS-26 Yakhont marine cruise missiles, which combine assault features with the ability to intercept attacking missiles or cruise missiles.

5. Iranian and Syrian military engineers have constructed fortified anti-tank lines in many parts of Lebanon. They are linked by fast highways, to be closed to all traffic barring Hizballah units in an emergency, and by a military-grade communications network.

Report: EU Attempting to Manipulate Israeli Journalists to Back Saudi Peace Plan
Apr 24th, 2010
DailyNewswww.israelnationalnews.com
Categories: Today's Headlines;Anti-Israel

The European Union is training Israeli journalists to support the Saudi Peace Plan – a plan that would see Israel become a majority-Arab state, investigative journalists from the News1 site reported Sunday. 

The EU has created an 18-month “educational seminar” for Israeli reporters and editors, with a declared focus on the need to promote Middle East peace initiatives in general, and the Saudi Plan in particular. EU officials hope to draw 60 participants: 40 reporters and 20 radio and television editors.

The program will cost roughly 30,000 shekels (6,000 euro) per participant. Individual journalists will pay only 100 euro for the course. In total, the course's backers are expected to invest 1.8 million shekels (360,000 euro) in the project.

Participants will take part in virtual meetings, independent and group research, article writing and joint projects. There will be meetings with Arab Israeli journalists, and two eight-day, binational seminars in Turkey.

The project is sponsored by the Neve Shalom School in the Israeli Arab "peace village" by the same name and by the Palestinian Authority-based Center for Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation (CCRR), according to News1. Neve Shalom is already working with several Israeli media figures, among them Yediot Aharonot writer Smadar Peri and Channel 10 anchorwoman Oshrat Kotler.

The Saudi Peace Plan calls on Israel to cede all territory east of the 1949 armistice line, including the Old City of Jerusalem, to the Palestinian Authority. These are the borders that the late Abba Eban, Israel's UN delegate during the period prior to the Six Day War when the Arab states blockaded and threatened to destroy Israel , called "Auschwitz borders" because they were indefensible. 

It also calls on Israel to accept several million foreign Arabs, those who claim descent from the several hundred thousand Arabs who fled Israel when promised by Arab leaders that they would return after decimating the Jews during the War of Independence, as citizens – effectively making Israel an Arab state. 

In return, the Arab world would agree to normalize relations with Israel.

This report comes soon after it was disclosed that the NIF has been training Israeli lawyers and future judges for judicial activism.

Art's Commentary.....We catch a glimpse of the extent and determination of those who are intent on destroying Israel. The magnitude of the assault on Israel is a reflection of the fact that this is spiritual warfare being fought in higher places and played out on earth.

Poking God in the Eye - Obama Pushing Israel to Carve Up Jerusalem
Apr 24th, 2010
Daily Newswnd.com
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel;Peace Process

The Obama administration is pushing Israel to hand the Palestinian Authority full control of a major neighborhood in Jerusalem as a so-called confidence-building gesture to jumpstart Israeli-PA negotiations, WND has learned. 

According to sources in both the PA and in the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Obama administration has demanded the following from Israel as "confidence-building gestures" toward the Palestinians ahead of any negotiations: 

That Israel scale back roadblocks and checkpoints in the strategic West Bank to near the levels of such measures prior to the Palestinian intifada, which started in September 2000. Israel says roadblocks and checkpoints are crucial security measures in stopping terrorist attacks. 

That Israel release about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. 

That Israel ease its siege of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. The siege applies only to materials that Israel believes will be used by Hamas to enhance its military apparatus. Basic foods, medicine, supplies and even monetary exchange flows into Gaza regularly. 

That Israel turn over to the PA full control of key West Bank cities that are currently under security control of Israel due to threats. The demand includes what are known as areas B and C. B, as defined by the 1993 Oslo Accords, encompasses cities administered by the PA but patrolled by Israel. C comprises cities under full Israeli control.

WND has learned that as part of its demands, the Obama administration is asking Israel to transfer to the PA the town of Abu Dis, a largely Arab neighborhood in eastern Jerusalem that borders key Jerusalem roadways and is home to about 12,000 residents. Some Arab homes in the neighborhood are built illegally on Jewish-owned land. 

Netanyahu is said to strongly oppose the demand, arguing that only negotiations can determine the future borders of Jerusalem. 

The demand, if enacted, would be unprecedented for any previous Israeli-Palestinian talks. The Jewish state has never been asked to withdraw from any Jerusalem territory in exchange for starting negotiations. 

Sources in Netanyahu's office told WND that any change of the status quo in Abu Dis would signal that Israel is willing to forfeit the strategic neighborhood. 

The officials said that while former Prime Minister Ehud Barak discussed the neighborhood in talks with late-PLO Leader Yasser Arafat, later negotiations under Prime Minister Ehud Olmert did not come to any conclusion. 

"They are asking us to go beyond what Olmert started, and this would only be as a precondition for further talks," said a source in Netanyahu's office of the U.S. demand. 

Already as a "confidence-building gesture," Netanyahu, acting under heavy U.S. pressure, in November announced a 10-month halt to all Jewish construction in the West Bank in an attempt to jumpstart talks aimed at creating a PA-led state 

The Obama administration is also demanding a total halt to all Jewish construction in eastern Jerusalem as a precondition to jumpstart talks. Netanyahu has refused an official freeze; however, almost no new Jewish construction in eastern Jerusalem has been approved since last month. 

Meanwhile, the PA has not been asked to make any major gestures to Israel to jumpstart talks. The U.S. has not demanded the PA recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

Israel's Population Up 1.8%, to 7.5 Million
Apr 24th, 2010
Daily NewsIsraelNN
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

The population of Israel on the eve of its 62nd Independence Day is 7.577 million – 9.4 times higher than it was when independence was proclaimed, 62 years ago. The United States' population, by comparison, stands at 309 million, or only 2.1 times higher than it was in 1948.

Just over a fifth of the population is Arab, and just over three-quarters – 5.726 million – are Jewish. 

Israel’s population grew by 1.8% over the past year – about double the rate of the United States.

Israel Weighs Merits of Solo Attack on Iran
Apr 24th, 2010
Daily Newswsj.com
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel;War

The Israeli security establishment is divided over whether it needs Washington's blessing if Israel decides to attack Iran, Israeli officials say, as the U.S. campaign for sanctions drags on and Tehran steadily develops greater nuclear capability.

Some senior Israeli officials say in interviews that they see signs Washington may be willing to live with a nuclear-armed Iran, an eventuality that Israel says it won't accept. Compounding Israeli concerns were U.S. statements this past weekend that underscored U.S. resistance to a military option. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Sunday discussed a memo to National Security Adviser James Jones warning that the U.S. needed new strategies, including how to contain a nuclear Iran—suggesting that Iran could reach nuclear capability without any foreign military force trying to stop it. 

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reiterated Sunday the U.S. position that a military strike against Iran is a "last option."

Israel says it supports the U.S.-led push for new economic sanctions against Iran. But Israeli officials have increasingly voiced frustration over the slow pace of diplomatic efforts to get sanctions in place. 

Relations between the two allies have soured in recent weeks, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government pushing back against Obama administration pressure to freeze building in Jewish areas of East Jerusalem, which Washington says is counterproductive to its Mideast peace efforts. 

In another sign of a split, Israeli officials say they believe Iran—whose president has called for the destruction of Israel—could develop a warhead to strike the country within a year if it decides to, though outside experts say such capability is years away. Tehran says its nuclear program is for peaceful uses.

Such divisions have played into fears in Israel that if Washington's sanctions effort fails, the Israeli and American positions on Iran could rapidly diverge—and Israel, if it chooses to attack Iran, would have no choice but to do so on its own.

U.S. commanders say an attack would invite retaliation by Iran against American military interests in the region, or wider terrorist attacks by Iranian proxies Hezbollah and Hamas. Adm. Mullen said Sunday a strike could have "unintended consequences," and has long warned it could destabilize the region at a time the U.S. has troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, which neighbor Iran. 

A senior U.S. official said the U.S. has stated to Israel its opposition to unilateral Israeli action, but that there were still fears within the administration that Israel could strike Iran despite Washington's objections.

If Israel chooses to attack nuclear facilities in Iran against Washington's objections, politics will play a role in military strategy.

Some Israeli officials worry a unilateral strike would cause a break with Washington that would threaten Israeli national interests even more than a nuclear-armed Iran.

Israel's track record of coordinating such strikes with the U.S. is mixed. The country caught the U.S. by surprise with its attack on Iraq's Osirak reactor in 1981. When Israel attacked a suspected Syrian nuclear facility in 2007, Washington was given advanced warning, according to U.S. officials at the time.

The decision of whether to strike Iran ultimately rests with the prime minister, Mr. Netanyahu. In the past, however, senior military commanders have had significant say in such decisions. A spokesman for Israel's Ministry of Defense declined to comment on internal deliberations concerning Iran.

There are a number of routes Israeli attack jets can fly to attack Iran. They all would require Israeli planes to fly through U.S.-controlled airspace in Iraq or through the airspace of U.S. allies such as Saudi Arabia or Turkey, which could cause serious political consequences for Israel.

Many Israeli military experts say Israel can easily cope with any military retaliation by Iran in response to a strike. Iran's medium-range rockets would cause damage and casualties in Israel, but they aren't very accurate, and Israel's sophisticated missile-defense system would likely knock many out midflight. Israel has similarly proved it can handle attacks against Israel by Hezbollah and Hamas. Israel also hosts a contingent of U.S. troops attached to a radar system to help give early warning against incoming rocket attacks.

More worrying to Israeli strategic planners examining possible attack scenarios is the possibility that Iran would respond to an Israeli attack by ramping up support to groups battling U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to recently retired officials familiar with the military's thinking on Iran. If American soldiers start dying in greater numbers as a result of an Israeli unilateral attack, Americans could turn against Israel. 

Iran could also disrupt the world's oil supply by cutting off exports through the Persian Gulf, roiling international oil markets.

"What will Americans say if Israel drags the U.S. into a war it didn't want, or when they are suddenly paying $10 a gallon for gasoline and Israel is the reason for it," says retired Brig. Gen. Shlomo Brom, former director of the Israeli army's Strategic Planning Division.

Former senior members of Israel's defense establishment have weighed in recently on both sides of the debate.

"We don't have permission and we don't need permission from the U.S.," says Ephraim Sneh, who served as deputy minister of defense under former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. But Maj. Gen. Giora Eiland, a former national security adviser, says Israel wouldn't jeopardize its relationship with the U.S. by launching a military strike against Iran without an American nod. 

Late last month, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak seemed to acknowledge publicly the opposing viewpoints inside the administration.

"Only we have the exclusive responsibility when it comes to the fate and security of Israel, and only we can determine the matters pertaining to the fate of Israel and the Jewish people," Mr. Barak said. "But we must never lose sight of how important these relations are, or the ability to act in harmony and unity with the United States."

IRGC to Test New Types of Iran - Made Missiles
Apr 24th, 2010
Daily NewsFARS News Agency
Categories: Today's Headlines;Warning

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) plans to test fire 4 new types of Iran-made coast-to-sea and sea-to-sea missiles in the next stage of the massive wargames underway in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Iranian military commander announced on Saturday.

"Four types of naval missiles have been selected and God wiling they will be fired successfully tomorrow," IRGC Navy Commander Rear Admiral Morteza Saffari said in an interview with FNA.

The commander further pointed to Iran's recently made short-range Nasr cruise missiles as among those to be test fired during the next stage of the wargames.

IRGC staged a series of wargames in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, codenamed as Payambar-e Azam (The Great Messenger) 5, to boost vigilance and combat preparedness of its naval forces.

"The country's defensive experts have enhanced such tactical capabilities as the range and power of these missiles.

"And we will witness the actual capabilities of these missiles in operation," Saffari stated.

The Iranian Defense Ministry started mass-production of Nasr 1 (Victory 1) cruise missiles in March.

"Nasr 1 missile is a cruise missile capable of destroying 3-ton weighted vessels," Iran's Defense Minister Vahidi said at a ceremony to inaugurate Nasr 1 production line at the defense ministry's Aerospace Industries Organization.

Vahidi also said that Nasr 1 is a short-range coast-to-sea and sea-to-sea missile which could be fired from coasts and all types of vessels.

He announced that his ministry plans to enhance tactical capabilities of the missile, saying the missile will soon be equipped with the capability to be fired from choppers and submarines.

Gay Character Joins Archie's Gang
Apr 24th, 2010
Daily NewsGulf Daily News
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

NEW YORK: Archie, Betty, Veronica and Jughead have a new friend: Archie Comics' first openly gay character.

Kevin Keller, who first appears in Veronica #202, to be released on September 1 is a teenager at Riverdale High School, the fictional universe that has been entertaining kids of all ages since 1939.

"In the last year or two, we've been introducing a lot of new characters: Diverse characters, characters with different ethnicities. With trying to be diverse, we wanted to have everybody at the table," said cartoonist DAN PARENT, who's writing and drawing the issue.

"We knew at some point we wanted to introduce a gay character, and when I came up with the story idea, we felt it worked in context with this story."

In his introductory story, titled Isn't it Bromantic? Kevin's good looks get the attention of Veronica, who doesn't know he's gay because he's the new kid in town. Her thwarted attempts at winning his attraction amuse the other characters - particularly Jughead.

"They just like watching Veronica making a fool of herself, trying to get this guy to like her," Parent said. "At the beginning of the book, Kevin tells Jughead first that he's gay. And Kevin feels kind of bad and wants to tell Veronica why he's not interested. But Jughead keeps saying, 'No, you should wait to tell her,' because he's enjoying watching Veronica's antics."

Parent said the story works because it wasn't something radical concocted just to introduce a gay character. "The story is very much in the true context of our Archie stories," he said. "It's Veronica being Veronica. The fact that there's a gay character in the story isn't a big deal to the characters."

The cartoonist said Archie Comics wants to reflect what high schools are like in America, where being gay "isn't a big deal anymore."

Art's Commentary.... This is another example of how the media have advanced the acceptability of homosexuality.

Abbas to Obama: Impose Mideast Peace Solution
Apr 24th, 2010
Daily NewsHaaretz.com
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel;Peace Process

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged the Obama administration on Saturday to impose a solution to the Middle East conflict that would give his people an independent state.

"Mr. President [Barack Obama] and members of the American administration, since you believe in this [an independent Palestinian state], it is your duty to take steps toward a solution and to impose this solution," Abbas said in a speech.

Abbas made the remarks to members of his Fatah party in the West Bank city of Ramallah a day after talks there with Obama's Middle East envoy. George Mitchell is in the region to try to revive peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians

"We've asked them [the Obama administration] more than once: 'Impose a solution,'" Abbas said.

Abbas also rejected the establishment of a Palestinian state within temporary borders, an idea he said was recently proposed for restarting peace talks.

In his speech, Abbas referred to recent proposals - apparently from Israel - for a temporary state but did not elaborate. Frankly, we will not accept the state with temporary borders, because it is being offered these days, he said.

He said the Palestinians were being asked to take a state with provisional borders on 40 or 50 percent, and after that we will see.

Abbas aide Nabil Abu Rdeneh denied that Israel officially raised the idea.

However, a Palestinian academic said Israel offered Abbas such a state on more than 50 percent of the West Bank. The academic said he served as a go-between for the two sides and spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters.

A Palestinian state with provisional borders is part of the U.S.-backed road map peace plan as an interim step toward full independence.

Mitchell told Israel and the Palestinians on Friday that Obama wants a comprehensive peace deal to be a reality soon and not in some vague and distant future time.

Pressing both sides to end a 16-month suspension of negotiations, Obama wants "proximity talks" on a deal to start within weeks. He has said peace is a vital strategic interest of the United States as it battles Islamic militants abroad.

Abbas' appeal to Obama came amid widespread media reports that the U.S. president was considering floating a proposal that would set the contours of a final peace deal.

Any such move would likely be opposed by Israel, which says only negotiations can secure a final settlement to the conflict.

Report: Netanyahu agrees to new gestures toward Abbas

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to release more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, to remove several roadblocks in the West Bank, and to ease the blockade on the Gaza Strip, as a series of gestures towards Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the London-based Arabic Language news agency Al-Hayat reported on Saturday.

During his meeting with United States special Mideast envoy Mitchell on Friday, Netanyahu also agreed to enable the Palestinian Authority to act in Area C, which contains most Israeli settlements, in the West Bank.

However, Netanyahu refused the U.S. demand to freeze construction in East Jerusalem as well as the request to return all territories classified as Area C in the West Bank to PA control, Al-Hayat reported.

The West Bank was divided in 1995 into Areas A, B and C, in accordance with an Israeli-Palestinian interim agreement. More than 70,000 Palestinians live in Area C, which according to the Oslo Accord gives Israel full civilian and military control of the area.

Palestinian sources quoted by the London-based paper said that, despite the new gestures, Abbas rejected Netanyahu's recent offer to establish a Palestinian state within temporary borders on over 60 percent of West Bank territories, as he believed that the offer was an attempt to drag him into sterile negotiations in order to perpetuate the PA as a temporary borders.

Israeli and American officials reportedly conveyed the offer to Abbas, while President Shimon Peres and Defense Minister Ehud Barak both attempted to convince the U.S. that this was the only way to prevent a continuous Middle East conflict, Al-Hayat reported.