ICEJ NEWS
Headlines from Jerusalem, 6 July 2018
|
|
|
“They questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?” And He said, “See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not go after them. When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does not follow immediately.” Then He continued by saying to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven” Luke 21:7-11
|
|
|
Assad Regime Forces Moving Close to Israeli Border
IDF units deployed to the northern border were on high alert Friday morning as an offensive by the Assad regime, supported by Iranian ground forces and Russian aircraft, closed in on Quneitra and threatened to breach the 1974 separation of forces agreement which ended the Yom Kippur War. “IDF troops will protect Israel’s border until the last millimeter,” IDF Captain Tsur Goldman told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday evening. “The quiet is relative and it’s deceiving.”
|
|
Iran Rebuked for Threatening to Choke Oil Shipments
Iran received a strong diplomatic rebuke Friday from China over its threats to close the Straight of Hormuz to oil shipments. “China consistently believes that the relevant country should do more to benefit peace and stability in the region, and jointly protect peace and stability there,” Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong told journalists in Beijing, referring to Iran. “Especially as it is a country on the Gulf, it should dedicate itself to being a good neighbor and co-existing peacefully.”
|
|
IDF Beefs Up Deployments on Gaza Border
Additional IDF units have been deployed to the border between Israel and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, including batteries of Iron Dome air defense systems and supporting units. “The IDF is prepared for several scenarios and ready to defend the citizens of the State of Israel and its sovereignty,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said, adding that the recent deployments followed an intelligence assessment of the current threat level coming from the Strip.
|
|
Expert Warns Strong Earthquake a Near-Certainty
Professor Amotz Agnon of the Institute of Earth Sciences at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem gave an interview with The Israel Project NGO on Thursday, warning that the earthquakes felt by Israelis in northern Israel in recent days are surely harbingers of a much bigger quake which is statistically guaranteed to hit the country at some point in the future. “We are sitting on a place that has generated earthquakes in the past… they are centered on this belt which we call a plate boundary or rift – the Dead Sea rift – and it has generated in the geological past and even in the historical past, earthquakes that were very devastating,” he said.
|
|
Several Fires Burning on Gaza Border and Near Jerusalem
Even as firefighters and volunteers continued to battle blazes set by incendiary kites and balloons sent into Israel from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Friday morning, a large fire was burning near Beit Shemesh in the Jerusalem hills. Residents of Moshav Beit Meir had been evacuated as a precaution on Thursday evening while firefighting units, including aircraft, had been brought in from around the country to contain the fire.
|
|
Southern Syria: Familiar Story, Familiar Ending
Udi Dekel, INSS
The campaign underway by the Assad regime for the control of southern Syria, with eyes toward the Golan Heights, is yet another stage by the regime for control of the remaining rebel strongholds in Syria. Israel’s acquiescence regarding the deployment of Assad’s forces in the south, including in the Syrian Golan Heights, indicates that Israel is prepared to accept the return of Assad’s control along the border. Israel is relying on Russia to remove the Iranian forces and the Shiite militias from the border area, in exchange for Israel’s not attacking regime forces.
|
|
CSIS Report: Hezbollah’s Rocket Arsenal
Hezbollah is the world’s most heavily armed non-state actor, with a large and diverse stockpile of unguided artillery rockets, as well as ballistic, antiair, antitank, and antiship missiles. Hezbollah’s unguided rocket arsenal has increased significantly since the 2006 Lebanon War, and the party’s increased role in the Syrian conflict raises concerns about its acquisition of more sophisticated standoff and precision-guided missiles, whether from Syria, Iran, or Russia. |
|
ICEJ Israel in Crisis Fund
Israel is under attack from arson terrorism with the threat of renewed barrages of rockets from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and the possibility of all-out war on the northern border. The ICEJ is moving to assist Israeli civil defense organizations with firefighting trailers, bomb shelters and other life-saving equipment, as well as psychological treatments for those who have been victimized by terrorism and violence. Please help us as we work to strengthen the hands of those who are responsible for defending and caring for Israelis under attack.
|
|
Today’s news was written and compiled by Aaron Hecht.
ICEJ News is a free email service providing news and comments on Middle East affairs compiled by journalists at the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem and supported by donations from subscribers.
Photographic content subject to copyright, do not use without permission of copyright holder.
|
|
|
|
|
