Israeli officials were promising a swift and harsh response Tuesday after the IDF reported that a total of 28 mortars and rockets had been fired at Israeli communities along the border with the Gaza Strip Tuesday morning. Only two of the projectiles got through the Iron Dome air defense systems and landed in Israeli communities, with one landing in a kindergarten which was not occupied because residents had been alerted to the threat and the children had been moved to a shelter.

A meeting between representatives of the US, Russia and Jordan in Syria’s southern “de-escalation” zone is reportedly being planned for the near future, following an announcement by the Kremlin on Monday that only troops loyal to the Assad regime will be allowed to be deployed there. This announcement reportedly caused anger in Teheran, as Iranian officials understand it was mainly designed to prevent their forces from operating near the Israeli and Jordanian borders.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly issued a decree last week barring German companies from contracts with Saudi government agencies over Berlin’s insistence on improving economic relations with Iran despite its renegade nuclear program. Elsewhere, South Korea’s POSCO Engineering & Construction has faced delays in its plans to build a $1.6 billion steel plant in Iran over pressure from Saudi-appointed members of its board of directors.

82-year old Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas walked out of a Ramallah hospital wearing a suit and tie Monday evening, telling reporters “Thank God I am leaving the hospital in good health and I will return to work tomorrow.” The remarks came following an eight day stay in the hospital where he was treated for pneumonia which fueled rumors that his departure from the political scene was imminent.

Israel’s Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan issued an order this week that members of the Islamist terror militia Hamas who are imprisoned in Israel due to their terrorist activities will not be allowed to watch the upcoming FIFA World Cup soccer tournament. “I have no intention to let Hamas terrorists watch the World Cup while the bodies of our soldiers are held in Gaza along with our kidnapped citizens,” was quoted by the Haaretz newspaper as saying on said Sunday.

The Gaza border clash was not a situation of armed conflict, nor had it anything to do with the laws of armed conflict and occupation of territory. It was routine border protection by a sovereign state, from within its sovereign territory, facing a blatant threat of border violation by violent elements on the other side of the line. Accusing Israel of committing war crimes, massacres, and violations of international humanitarian law, as well as invoking criteria and norms – including the customary international law rule of proportionality – characteristic of situations of armed conflict, has no relevance vis-à-vis the situation along the delimiting fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip.

The Feast of Tabernacles is always a wonderful foretaste of that future time when all peoples will come up to Jerusalem to celebrate Sukkot. It is a prophetic statement that our Lord is indeed coming soon. And it declares to Israel and the nations that a new day is dawning. The King is coming, and we are here to rejoice in His transforming power and soon arrival.