Israel Update for April 2010

Tensions mounted substantially in the region during April after a Kuwaiti newspaper published a report that long range Syrian Scud D missiles have been smuggled into Lebanon for use by militant Hizbullah forces. The powerful Syrian missiles are advanced versions of the ones fired by Saddam Hussein at Tel Aviv and other portions of Israel during the 1991 Gulf War. The missiles have a significantly longer range than those fired into Israel by Hizbullah forces during the summer war in 2006, meaning all Israeli cities, towns and military outposts, including Israel's two main air force bases located in the southern Negev Desert, would come under direct threat of attack. The Dimona nuclear reactor near Beersheva would also be in range of such missiles.

Israeli President Shimon Peres later confirmed that Syrian Scud missiles were either on their way to Lebanon or already there, saying this crossed a dangerous "red line" and would not be tolerated. Officials also made very clear that Damascus itself would be held directly responsible for the reported weapons transfers, meaning it would also be attacked if such Scud missiles were ever fired.

American Democratic Party Senator Diane Feinstein of California, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, subsequently said there was a "high likelihood" that Syria has indeed been smuggling Scud missiles into Lebanon for use by Shiite Hizbullah militia forces. She added that "the rockets and missiles in Lebanon are substantially increased and better technologically than they were, and this is a real point of danger for Israel." Her remarks came as the US State Department summoned the senior Syrian diplomat stationed in Washington for "consultations" over the reported weapons transfers. A State Department spokesman said the meeting was designed to address Syria's "provocative behavior" in handing over the highly advanced missiles to the Iranian-backed militia force which pummeled Israel with over 4,000 less advanced rockets during the summer of 2006.

Taking its cue from Iran's repeated denials that its rogue nuclear "energy programme" is actually a cover to construct nuclear weapons, the Syrian Assad regime denied that it had smuggled Scuds into Lebanon. Syrian officials claimed that Israel was only trying to find an excuse to attack the Lebanese Shiite force in the coming months. At first, Hizbullah echoed this stand, stating that it was "none of Israel's business" whether or not it now possessed some of the deadliest missiles on earth-as if the group's obvious and only targets were not Israeli civilian centers. Hizbullah leaders later confirmed that they had received a supply of Scuds from Syria, but claimed they were only non functional "dummy prototypes" meant to familiarize the Lebanese militia group about the missiles design and use-as if that would comfort Israeli leaders who are charged with protecting their Jewish and Arab citizens from foreign rocket assault.

Palestinian Hard Ball

With the Obama administration attempting again during April to jumpstart indirect peace negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, the PA government headed by Mahmoud Abbas announced it will step up what it called the "popular struggle" against Israel, designed to force the Netanyahu government to halt all Jewish home building in the disputed territories and the eastern half of Jerusalem. The official statement called for intensified non violent street demonstrations and periodic work strikes. Several Israeli analysts noted that work strikes, which were frequently held during the first two Palestinian uprisings, only weaken the struggling Palestinian economy, not Israel. The announcement also called for intensified boycotts of all products and services produced in contested Jewish settlements. It was followed by a statement from the Israeli Premier reiterating that he will not halt home construction in any portion of the capital city.

Hizbullah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah criticized the PA call, telling a television audience that "armed resistance" is the only way to keep Israel from "taking over Muslim holy sites" in Jerusalem. And sticking to their usual play book, the Hamas movement also denounced the call for non violent protests, insisting that "force of arms" alone will prod the Israeli government to alter its building programme. A Hamas spokesman also blasted the PA for arresting hundreds of Hamas activists in Judea and Samaria in recent months, noting that PA security forces are largely funded and trained by "the Great Satan," i.e. the United States. Hamas also protested the detention of many Palestinian school teachers and Islamic clerics who were charged with plotting to help stage a Hamas coup in PA zones of control north and south of Jerusalem, such as occurred in the Gaza Strip in 2007.

Meantime Hamas officials publicly ordered that all smuggling tunnels operating under the southern Gaza Strip border with Egypt be closed. This came after the Mubarak government threatened to use military force to seal off the tunnels after intelligence reports came in revealing that Hamas terrorists were planning to use the tunnels to smuggle Israeli tourists kidnapped from the Sinai Peninsula into Gaza. Hamas also announced that it would put a halt to all rocket firings aimed at Israeli territory in order to "give the Zionist enemy no excuse" to launch a new military offensive in the Palestinian coastal zone. Defense Minister Ehud Barak had warned that a new IDF operation might be needed to halt rocket assaults which intensified earlier this year.

Thousands of foreign tourists found their Holy Land visits prolonged when many flights to Europe were cancelled for nearly a week due to the Icelandic volcanic ash clouds floating over most of the continent. Direct flights to New York and other North American destinations were rerouted around the dangerous clouds. On a more positive note, an American government report said there may be up to 17 times more natural gas and oil than previously estimated in energy fields located under the Mediterranean Sea some 60 miles west of Haifa. If so, that might be enough to fuel all of Israel's energy needs for the foreseeable future, said Israeli experts.

While the ash clouds over Europe were obviously not a good thing, there are other clouds coming that will one day soon bring Israel's Messiah with them. "Behold with the clouds of heaven, one like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him" (Daniel 7: 13-14).