Israel news from within Israel

[HisDaughter]

In possible signal to Iran, Israel sends subs through Suez Canal    

jpost.com/


After a long hiatus, the Israeli Navy has returned to sailing through the Suez Canal, recently sending one of its advanced Dolphin-class submarines through the waterway to participate in naval maneuvers off the Eilat coast in the Red Sea.

IDF sources said the decision to allow navy vessels to sail through the canal was made recently and was a definite "change of policy" within the service. In 2005, then OC Navy Adm. David Ben-Bashat decided to stop sending Israeli ships through the canal due to growing threats in the area.

However, the Dolphin-class submarine sailed through last month to get from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea. Israeli officials said it passed through the canal above water, and that it was not done covertly.

"It is a question of policy," a senior officer explained. "Navy vessels have sailed through the canal on several occasions recently."

The significance of the move was debatable, but it could be interpreted as a message to Iran and a demonstration of strengthening ties between Egypt and Israel.

In the event of a conflict with Iran, and if Israel decided to involve its three Dolphin-class submarines - which according to foreign reports can fire nuclear-tipped cruise missiles and serve as a second-strike platform - the quickest route would be to send them through the Suez Canal.

The only way to get to the Gulf of Oman without refueling would be to go through the canal. With their reported 4,500 nautical mile range, taking the long way, around Africa, would require the Dolphins to make at least two stops for refueling at a friendly port, or for fuel to be replenished at sea.

[HisDaughter]

Israel Prepares F-15 Jets for Long Range Attack      

israelnationalnews.com

The Israel Air Force’s F-15 fleet is undergoing an upgrade, with systems that make it better equipped for complex long distance attack scenarios. The systems are being installed in both the F-15 and the F-15I -- a model of the F-15 that was developed by its U.S. manufacturer specifically for the IAF.

According to IDF journal BaMachaneh, the F-15I model is currently being fitted with two new systems – one called “Barad Pelada” (“Steel Hail”), and another named Lightning.

The Barad Pelada advanced weapons system has been operational in the IAF’s F-16s for almost four years, but had to be modified in order to fit the F-15.

Barad Pelada is an advanced Israeli armament that operates like a smart bomb. “The system is unique in that it is able to plan the bombing in an accurate way by identifying the target from above,” a knowledgeable source in the IAF explained. “After the identification, the system carries out guidance to the target and only then is impact made.”

The Lightning advanced attack system has also been in use in the IAF’s other jets. Until now, the F-15I jets had to rely on the older Inbar system, which used to be fitted in all of the IAF’s jets but was gradually phased out.

The Inbar system is capable of providing an operational solution in some ranges, but other attack scenarios require advanced systems like the Lightning, IAF sources said. “The need for the new system led to an accelerated procedure of development of advanced means,” a source in the IAF’s Weapons Department explained. “Once the testing at the Flight Experiment Center is finished, we will complete the system’s integration in the aircraft.”

For the time being, however, the F-15I jets will not part with the older Inbar systems. “From now on, the aircraft will enjoy a combination of both attack systems and will enjoy a meaningful advantage in their operational activity,” the sources said.

The F-15 jets, meanwhile, recently received a new weapon system named “Barad Kaved” (“Heavy Hail”) and used it for the first time during operation “Cast Lead” in Gaza in early 2009. IAF sources said the use was a success. The F-15 fighters used Barad Kaved in attacks with zero malfunctions, and “we are very pleased with its performance in the operation,” the sources said.

“The reelection of Iran’s president, his grave utterances regarding his will to harm the state of Israel and Iran’s continual effort to achieve unconventional weapons require us to maintain an army that is coiled and ready to spring into action, and an Air Force that is skilled and sharp as a razor, that will stand up to any enemy and remove any threat from our citizens and residents,“ IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi said Thursday in an IAF ceremony for new pilots at the Hatzerim Air Force Base.

[HisDaughter]

Israelis eye cyberwar on Iran      

alertnet.org/

In the late 1990s, a computer specialist from Israel's Shin Bet internal security service hacked into the mainframe of the Pi Glilot fuel depot north of Tel Aviv.

It was meant to be a routine test of safeguards at the strategic site. But it also tipped off the Israelis to the potential such hi-tech infiltrations offered for real sabotage.

"Once inside the Pi Glilot system, we suddenly realised that, aside from accessing secret data, we could also set off deliberate explosions, just by programming a re-route of the pipelines," said a veteran of the Shin Bet drill.

So began a cyberwarfare project which, a decade on, is seen by independent experts as the likely new vanguard of Israel's efforts to foil the nuclear ambitions of its arch-foe Iran.

The appeal of cyber attacks was boosted, Israeli sources say, by the limited feasibility of conventional air strikes on the distant and fortified Iranian atomic facilities, and by U.S. reluctance to countenance another open war in the Middle East. "We came to the conclusion that, for our purposes, a key Iranian vulnerability is in its on-line information," said one recently retired Israeli security cabinet member, using a generic term for digital networks. "We have acted accordingly."

Cyberwarfare teams nestle deep within Israel's spy agencies, which have rich experience in traditional sabotage techniques and are cloaked in official secrecy and censorship.

They can draw on the know-how of Israeli commercial firms that are among the world's hi-tech leaders and whose staff are often veterans of elite military intelligence computer units.

"To judge by my interaction with Israeli experts in various international forums, Israel can definitely be assumed to have advanced cyber-attack capabilities," said Scott Borg, director of the U.S. Cyber Consequences Unit, which advises various Washington agencies on cyber security.

Technolytics Institute, an American consultancy, last year rated Israel the sixth-biggest "cyber warfare threat", after China, Russia, Iran, France and "extremist/terrorist groups".

The United States is in the process of setting up a "Cyber Command" to oversee Pentagon operations, though officials have described its mandate as protective, rather than offensive.

CORRUPT, CRASH

Asked to speculate about how Israel might target Iran, Borg said malware -- a commonly used abbreviation for "malicious software" -- could be inserted to corrupt, commandeer or crash the controls of sensitive sites like uranium enrichment plants.

Such attacks could be immediate, he said. Or they might be latent, with the malware loitering unseen and awaiting an external trigger, or pre-set to strike automatically when the infected facility reaches a more critical level of activity. As Iran's nuclear assets would probably be isolated from outside computers, hackers would be unable to access them directly, Borg said. Israeli agents would have to conceal the malware in software used by the Iranians or discreetly plant it on portable hardware brought in, unknowingly, by technicians.

"A contaminated USB stick would be enough," Borg said.

Ali Ashtari, an Iranian businessman executed as an Israeli spy last year, was convicted of supplying tainted communications equipment for one of Iran's secret military projects.

Iranian media quoted a security official as saying that Ashtari's actions "led to the defeat of the project with irreversible damage". Israel declined all comment on the case.

"Cyberwar has the advantage of being clandestine and deniable," Borg said, noting Israel's considerations in the face of an Iranian nuclear programme that Tehran insists is peaceful.

"But its effectiveness is hard to gauge, because the targeted network can often conceal the extent of damage or even fake the symptoms of damage. Military strikes, by contrast, have an instantly quantifiable physical effect."

Israel may be open to a more overt strain of cyberwarfare. Tony Skinner of Jane's Defence Weekly cited Israeli sources as saying that Israel's 2007 bombing of an alleged atomic reactor in Syria was preceded by a cyber attack which neutralised ground radars and anti-aircraft batteries.

"State of War," a 2006 book by New York Times reporter James Risen, recounted a short-lived plan by the CIA and its Israeli counterpart Mossad to fry the power lines of an Iranian nuclear facility using a smuggled electromagnetic-pulse (EMP) device.

A massive, nation-wide EMP attack on Iran could be effected by detonating a nuclear device at atmospheric height. But while Israel is assumed to have the region's only atomic arms, most experts believe they would be used only in a war of last resort.

[HisDaughter]

Terrorists to descend on Jesus' birthplace      

wnd.com/

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah organization has decided to hold in the West Bank city of Bethlehem its first congress in 20 years.

Well-known terrorists and anti-Israel extremists are slated to descend upon the important Christian city, where, among other things, the Fatah party is set to vote on a clause that would affirm "resistance" against Israel, WND has learned.

The event will mark Fatah's sixth General Congress. At the meeting, hundreds of voting Fatah members will discuss the future of their party and pass official resolutions outlining Fatah's major objectives.

Abbas secured special permission from Israel to allow Fatah members to travel to Bethlehem from other West Bank towns and the Gaza Strip as well as from Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

According to a list obtained by WND, the Fatah delegates slated to attend the Bethlehem event include such notable jihad supporters as:

Kamal Ranam, the chief of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terrorist group in Ramallah. Ranam is accused personally of carrying out recent shootings, attacks against Israeli forces operating in the Ramallah and a shooting attack in northern Samaria in December 2000 that killed the leader of the ultra-nationalist Kahane Chai organization, Benyamin Kahane. Ranam last year was granted amnesty by then-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as part of a gesture to bolster Abbas.

Jamal Abu Al-Rub, a leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades from the Samarian village of Qabatya, just outside Jenin. Al-Rub is commonly known on the Palestinian street by his nickname, Hitler, for his routine public executions of Palestinians his group has suspected of collaborating with Israel. Al-Rub is accused by the Jewish state of planning several terror attacks.

Zacharia Zubeida, a former Al Aqsa Brigades terrorist leader from Jenin who was also pardoned by Olmert in 2007. Zubeida is accused of multiple terrorist attacks and for a time was one of Israel's most wanted terrorists.

Abu Mahar Ranam, a Fatah central committee member who openly opposes peace talks with Israel.

Sultan Abu al-Ainiin, Fatah's main representative in Lebanon. He is known for his excellent relations with the Hezbollah terrorist group.
Qadura Fares, a PA minister and member of the Fatah Legislative Council, explained to WND in a phone interview yesterday the goals of the Fatah congress:

"We have to check our political ideology. Many things happened in last 20 years since our last congress. We must renew and evaluate our internal laws, the structure of our movement and our messages for Palestinian unity. Lastly, we must elect a new leadership for Fatah institutions."

The new Congress also is set to vote on a resolution that would affirm the "armed struggle" and "resistance" against Israel as official Fatah doctrine, according to Fatah sources speaking to WND.

The Congress was last held in 1989 in Tunisia, prior to any Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. At the time, the Congress, led by late Palestinian Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat, officially resolved continuing "to intensify and escalate armed action and all forms of armed struggle to liquidate the Zionist occupation from our occupied Palestinian land and guarantee our people's rights to freedom and independence."

Israel had hoped under Abbas and amid intense negotiations that the Sixth Congress would moderate the party's objectives.

But senior Farah sources speaking to WND said a list of Fatah resolutions to be voted upon includes text affirming as one of Fatah's main objectives the "resistance" and "armed struggle" against the Jewish state.

The sources said Abbas and other senior Fatah officials opposed the inclusion of "resistance" in any resolution to be called for a vote but said that the majority of Fatah members insisted it be incorporated.

The sources said it was "very likely" the "resistance" clause could be accepted during the congressional meeting by the majority of general Fatah voters, who tend to publicly express more radical views than Abbas.

Fatah's Fares told WND that Bethlehem was selected because of the city's hotel space and because it boasts a meeting hall large enough to accommodate the Fatah congress.

The choice of Bethlehem, however, may be less than settling to the town's dwindling Christian population which at times has accuses Fatah of intimidation and persecution. Bethlehem is the site of the Church of the Nativity, which is built over a cave that is the believed birthplace of Jesus.

Bethlehem's Christian leaders, most of whom spoke on condition of anonymity, said they face an atmosphere of regular hostility and intimidation by Muslims. They said Palestinian armed groups stir tension by holding militant demonstrations and marches in the streets. They spokes of instances in which Christian shopkeepers' stores were recently ransacked and Christian homes attacked.

In April, WND reported a Molotov cocktail and gunshots targeted the car of Bethlehem's Christian mayor as local leaders there quietly fingered Islamists for attempting to intimidate Christians in response to Passover festivities.

Christian leaders said one of the most significant problems facing Christians in Bethlehem is the rampant confiscation of land by Muslim gangs.

"There are many cases where Christians have their land stolen by the [Muslim] mafia," Samir Qumsiyeh, a Bethlehem Christian leader and owner of the Beit Sahour-based private Al-Mahd (Nativity) TV station, told WND.

"It is a regular phenomenon in Bethlehem," Qumsiyeh said. "They go to a poor Christian person with a forged power of attorney document, then they say we have papers proving you're living on our land. If you confront them, many times the Christian is beaten. You can't do anything about it. The Christian loses and he runs away."

One Christian Bethlehem resident told WND her friend fled Bethlehem after being accused by Muslims of selling property to Jews, a crime punishable by death in some Palestinian cities.

A February 2007 Jerusalem Post article cited the case of Faud and Georgette Lama, Christian residents of Bethlehem who said their land was stolen by local Muslims and when they tried to do something about it, Faud was beaten by gunmen.

Bethlehem Christian leaders noted they cannot complain to local authorities since the city's security forces are controlled by the PA.

"What authorities?" asked one Christian leader, rhetorically. "You mean the security forces controlled by the Palestinian government, which is allowing this to happen?"

Qumsiyeh commented, "The gangs hide behind the security forces, and one cannot petition the court system. That takes years and many times a verdict isn't even reached."

Qumsiyeh himself has been targeted by local militias. Earlier this year, after speaking out publicly against anti-Christian violence, Qumsiyeh says his house was attacked with Molotov cocktails.

"It was an absolute miracle I wasn't killed," he said. "Also my wife was outside at the time. My home has a big gas line that could have exploded."

Aiman Abu Eita, Fatah's representative in Bethlehem claimed to WND that Christians were making up stories about persecution:

"Most of those Christians who left Bethlehem gave the impression of persecution just as an excuse to justify why they left Bethlehem," he said during an in-person interview.

Eita claimed a security "wall" that Israel constructed in 2002, which he said "circles the city," strangled Bethlehem's economy and prompted the mass fleeing of Christians.

But Israel did not build a wall that encircles Bethlehem. It built a fence only where the Bethlehem area interfaces with Jerusalem. A tiny segment of the barrier facing a major Israeli roadway is a concrete wall, which Israel says is meant to prevent gunmen from shooting at Israeli motorists. The barrier was built after repeated terror attacks launched from Bethlehem.

The vast majority of Bethlehem's Christian emigration occurred between 1995 and 2001, before Israel's barrier was constructed.

Bethlehem's population was more than 80 percent Christian when Israel was founded in 1948, but the Christians have declined to about 23 percent with a large majority of Muslims. The 23 percent Christian statistic is considered generous, since it includes the satellite towns of Beit Sahour and Beit Jala. Some estimates place Bethlehem's actual Christian population as low as 12 percent, with hundreds of Christians emigrating per year.

Israel controlled Bethlehem until 1995, when it signed the territory over to the PA as part of the 1993 Oslo Accords. Reports of Christian intimidation by Muslims immediately began to surface after the PA gained control.

Arafat also converted a Greek Orthodox monastery next to the Church of Nativity into his official Bethlehem residence.

Qumsiyeh told WND if current trends continue, there may be no Christians left in Bethlehem in 15 years. He said he appealed to U.S. Christian leaders to help initiate housing projects and find ways to fortify and strengthen Bethlehem's Christian population, but that little assistance was offered.

"The way things are, soon there will not be a single Christian living in the land of Jesus," he said.

[HisDaughter]

Blue and White Gas: Israel to be Self-Sufficient for 20 Years    

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/

New estimates of natural gas reserves recently discovered off the Mediterranean Coast near Haifa will allow Israel to be self-sufficient in energy for two decades, according to Yitzchak Tshuva, one of the investors in the project. “Israel today is independent – completely independent with blue and white [Israeli-made] energy,” said Tshuva, chief executive office of Delek Energy.

The Tamar 2 drilling, 3.5 miles north of the Tamar 1 site that was discovered in April, indicates the reserves are 26 percent larger than previously estimated. Noble Energy, the largest participant in the project, said that appraisals confirmed the quality of the gas and “have reduced the uncertainty in previous resource estimates.” The gas reserves are in addition to the Dalit gas field discovered off the Hadera coast, south of Haifa, earlier this year.

"With drilling at Tamar and Dalit, we have already confirmed a very substantial amount of natural gas resources, perhaps over two decades of future supply based on projected needs,” said Charles D. Davidson, Noble's chairman and chief executive officer. “We are moving forward with development plans focused on bringing the first phase of production to the Israeli shores by 2012."

Income from the gas might reach as much as $30 billion instead of the $20 billion that was estimated in April. Development costs for bringing the gas online are projected at $1.5-$3 billion.

Self-sufficiency would significantly strengthen the shekel as well as create jobs.

[HisDaughter]

Flight of 230 North American Immigrants Arrives in Israel     

israelnationalnews.com/

The first chartered Aliyah flight of 2009 arrived at Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday. Two hundred and thirty-two olim (new immigrants) from the United States and Canada were aboard the flight.

The immigrants are the first of 3,000 olim from North America and the United Kingdom to arrive this summer, on the first of 15 chartered Aliyah flights sponsored by the Nefesh B'Nefesh organization and the Jewish Agency.

Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky and Minister of Immigrant Absorption Sofa Landver were present to greet the new Israelis.

Forty percent of the new arrivals are children, the youngest a mere seven weeks old. Tuesday's flight also included 60 singles.

Twenty-two of the new arrivals plan to enlist in the Israel Defense Forces. Others will begin jobs in fields ranging from advertising to photography to medicine.

Among the 232 arrivals are those hailing from 19 American states and the Canadian city of Quebec. The immigrants are heading for new homes throughout Israel, from the village of Chispin in the Golan Heights to kibbutzim (cooperative communities) in the south.

[HisDaughter]

Hizbullah's rise from the ashes      

jpost.com/

They show up along the Lebanese border in Land Rovers. One time they'll roll down the window, lift a camera with a long lens and snap a few pictures of an IDF outpost on the other side of the border before driving away. Other times, they will get out and stroll along the border, right next to the UNIFIL and Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) positions.

While the men don't wear Hizbullah uniforms, the IDF has no doubt that they belong to the Iranian-backed Shi'ite guerrilla group. On rare and lucky occasions, IDF cameras catch a face of a known Hizbullah operative.

These Hizbullah operatives are not alone. On some tours they take with them groups of foreigners, sometimes members of the Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

This is the reality along the northern border three years after the Second Lebanon War - Hizbullah may not maintain overt military positions like it did before 2006, but it is still there, growing stronger by the day.

According to Israeli estimates, Hizbullah today has somewhere between 30,000 and 40,000 rockets of various ranges that could reach from Kiryat Shmona in the North to Dimona in the South and the sensitive nuclear reactor nearby.

Since the war and the extensive damage caused to its infrastructure in Beirut and southern Lebanon, Hizbullah has been engrossed in rehabilitating its military wing. Today, its presence in southern Lebanon is mainly inside villages - Shi'ite and non-Shi'ite - not in the nature reserves where it was heavily deployed before the war.

Aircraft carrying weaponry for Hizbullah arrive in Beirut fairly frequently. Some of them originate in Iran and Syria, its main suppliers of weapons; others come directly from Eastern European countries that manufacture the anti-tank missiles and Katyusha rockets its forces depend on.

The IDF was surprised by Hizbullah's possession of the Chinese-made radar-guided C-802 that hit the Hanit missile ship in the beginning of the war, killing four sailors, so the current assessment in Military Intelligence is that "whatever Iran and Syria have, Hizbullah could have."

The operational impact is significant. In a future conflict, navy ships will likely have to patrol the Lebanese coast from greater distances than in the past; the IAF, which still flies over Lebanon to collect intelligence, flies at higher altitudes; and while Israel does not believe that Syria has transferred Scud missiles to Hizbullah, which could draw a preemptive strike, such a possibility is not far-fetched in the event of a new conflict.

"It is just a seven-hour drive from Damascus to the Hizbullah stronghold in the Bekaa Valley," explained one senior defense official.

During the war, the IDF was impressed by the command-and-control capabilities Hizbullah retained until the end of the war. This was demonstrated by Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah's ability to turn the rocket fire on and off, as he wished, even though he was deep inside a bunker somewhere in Lebanon.

Hizbullah is believed to have improved this capability and has worked to establish a semi-military framework for its forces. Instead of bases, it has a battalion-sized force, split into smaller units, deployed in villages. At the top are the regional commanders.

But while Hizbullah has taken on more characteristics of a conventional-looking military, it does not use traditional military jargon. This is in contrast to Hamas in the Gaza Strip which actually calls its battalion commanders "battalion commanders." Hizbullah stays away from the jargon to maintain a semblance of a resistance organization made up of freedom fighters.

Despite this, Hizbullah has encountered difficulty in filling its ranks since the war and according to updated Israeli estimates, is missing several hundred fighters as well as a significant number of platoon and company commanders.

One of the reasons Lebanese are not enlisting is their disappointment with Hizbullah, which had promised to rebuild people's homes that were destroyed during the fighting but never did.

While Nasrallah is still officially in charge, Iran is believed to have solidified its control over Hizbullah since the war because, to some extent, it blames Hizbullah for turning the spotlight on their relationship when it decided to kidnap IDF reservists Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser on July 12, 2006 and draw Israel into a war. Iran does not want to be surprised again, and it cannot be ruled out that Iran's control also manifests itself in its refusal to allow one person to replace Imad Mughniyeh, the Hizbullah military chief who was killed in a meticulously-planned car bombing - attributed by foreign reports to the Mossad - in the heart of Damascus in February 2008.

Mughniyeh was perceived to have too much power since he was in charge of Hizbullah's military arm, was the liaison to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Hamas and Islamic Jihad and was also commander of its extensive international infrastructure and terror cells. So instead of appointing a single successor, the Iranians split up his responsibilities between a few people.

Hizbullah is still trying to avenge the assassination. According to foreign reports, it was behind a thwarted attempt earlier this year to attack the Israeli embassy in Azerbaijan. The group has also tried using Palestinian proxies to launch attacks within Israel without success. This frustration, Israel fears, might lead to a decision to launch a retaliatory attack against the northern border.

In addition, assessments are that while Hizbullah is heavily deployed throughout southern Lebanon, its control over the territory is not as complete as it was from 2000, after the IDF withdrawal from Lebanon, until the war. One clear indication was provided during Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip when a number of rockets were fired into the North from Lebanon. The perpetrators were fringe Palestinian groups which Hizbullah apparently does not control.

According to some assessments, Hizbullah was even taken by surprise by the rocket fire. This shows that the UNIFIL and LAF presence in the south are having an impact on its ability to maneuver.

Hizbullah's rehabilitation efforts have not been limited to its military wing; it has also invested tremendous resources in an effort to boost its political power as seen in the last month's Lebanese parliamentary elections. Contrary to widespread predictions, included some here, Hizbullah lost to the Western-backed anti-Syrian camp led by Sa'ad Hariri.

However, the possibility still exists that Hizbullah will join the new coalition and be able to influence policy. For that reason, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told the cabinet on Sunday that "if Hizbullah joins the Lebanese government, then the Lebanese government is accepting responsibility for Hizbullah's actions, including its actions against Israel."

But according to assessments in Northern Command, Hizbullah was not really aiming to win the elections but to use them as a springboard for the next elections, four years from now.

If it joins Hariri's coalition, it will use its power to change the election system, which currently elects the parliament based on a multi-member constituency system, to increase its potential power base.

Northern Command also believes that the Hariri camp's victory was made possible by Lebanese frustration and public disappointment with Hizbullah and the devastation it brought upon the country during the war.

This lack of public support creates Hizbullah's continued identity crisis. On the one hand, it believes in the destruction of Israel and there comes a point when words need to be translated into action. On the other hand, Nasrallah is attracted to the possibility that he could one day take over the entire country in a democratic process, like Hamas did when it defeated Fatah in 2006. Another war with Israel could ruin those chances.

[HisDaughter]

Pacific test will determine Arrow's ability to intercept Iranian missiles close to launch   

debka.com/


In a few days, the Israeli anti-missile Arrow system will face the first real test, weather permitting, of its ability to knock out an Iranian Shehab-3 or Sejil II ballistic missile at the outset of its flight toward Israel, DEBKAfile's military sources report. The test will take place off central California's Pacific coast.

Lieut. Gen. Patrick O'Reilly, director of the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency, said Tuesday, July 14: “The test will allow Israel to measure its advanced Arrow 3 system against a target with a range of more than 620 miles (1,000 km), too long for previous Arrow test sites in the eastern Mediterranean.”

The test will try and engage a target not only upwards of 1,000 km distant but close to its launch.

Until now, our military sources report, Arrow tests have been restricted by the small area of the Mediterranean Sea, the heavy air and maritime traffic in and above it, and the location of the Israeli missile launch site at Palmahim, from which missile flight westward is limited to a few hundred kilometers and disallowed in any other direction.

None of its 16 test flights has exercised the full potential of the Arrow's operational range for intercepting the flight path of possible Iranian missile attack on Israel.

For this reason, the Israeli missile command described past tests as 100 percent successful, while the Americans rated their success "90 percent."

The Pacific test will be launched from a point between Point Mugu and Santa Barbara north-west of Los Angeles. It will test the Arrow in uninterrupted flight against a target in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The closest land to the site is Japan.

According to our military sources, this third Arrow exercise from a US site will also examine US-Israeli cooperation in missile interception in the event of an Iranian response to a possible Israeli strike at Iran's nuclear facilities or an Iranian pre-emptive missile attack on Israel.

General O'Reilly announced that this would be the first full test of the ability of the American and Israeli intercept systems to work together and "provides us the opportunity to have the Patriot system, the THAAD system and the Aegis system all interacting with the Arrow system so that we're demonstrating full interoperability as we execute this test."

The significance of this disclosure is that for the first time, the joint operational capabilities of the Israel-based missile intercept systems and the American missile-intercept systems stationed in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf will be tested.

The exercise will also examine cooperation between the Israeli anti-aircraft defenses and the American satellites' early warning devices for missile launches. The Israeli and US arrays are connected through the sophisticated FBX-T radar station positioned at Israel's Nevatim airbase in the Negev, which is operated by soldiers and technicians belonging to EUCOM, the US European theater command.

DEBKAfile's military sources report that the exercise will not feature full operation of the American intercept systems, nor will American intercept missiles be launched, except for their sensor assets. In other words, the diverse radar systems will be activated to simulate an American-Israeli response to a missile attack.

[HisDaughter]

Israeli warships rehearse for Iran attack in Red Sea      

timesonline.co.uk

Two Israeli missile class warships have sailed through the Suez Canal ten days after a submarine capable of launching a nuclear missile strike, in preparation for a possible attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

The deployment into the Red Sea, confirmed by Israeli officials, was a clear signal that Israel was able to put its strike force within range of Iran at short notice. It came before long-range exercises by the Israeli air force in America later this month and the test of a missile defense shield at a US missile range in the Pacific Ocean.

Israel has strengthened ties with Arab nations who also fear a nuclear-armed Iran. In particular, relations with Egypt have grown increasingly strong this year over the “shared mutual distrust of Iran”, according to one Israeli diplomat. Israeli naval vessels would likely pass through the Suez Canal for an Iranian strike.

“This is preparation that should be taken seriously. Israel is investing time in preparing itself for the complexity of an attack on Iran. These maneuvers are a message to Iran that Israel will follow up on its threats,” an Israeli defense official said.

It is believed that Israel’s missile-equipped submarines, and its fleet of advanced aircraft, could be used to strike at in excess of a dozen nuclear-related targets more than 800 miles from Israel.

Ahmed Aboul Gheit, the Egyptian Foreign Minister, said that his Government explicitly allowed passage of Israeli vessels, and an Israeli admiral said that the drills were “run regularly with the full co-operation of the Egyptians.”

Two Israeli Saar class missile boats and a Dolphin class submarine have passed through Suez. Israel has six Dolphin-class submarines, three of which are widely believed to carry nuclear missiles.

Israel will also soon test an Arrow interceptor missile on a US missile range in the Pacific Ocean. The system is designed to defend Israel from ballistic missile attacks by Iran and Syria. Lieutenant-General Patrick O’Reilly, the director of the Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency, said that Israel would test against a target with a range of more than 630 miles (1,000km) — too long for previous Arrow test sites in the eastern Mediterranean.

The Israeli air force, meanwhile, will send F16C fighter jets to participate in exercises at Nellis Air Force base in Nevada this month. Israeli C130 Hercules transport aircraft will also compete in the Rodeo 2009 competition at McChord Air Force base in Washington.

“It is not by chance that Israel is drilling long-range maneuvers in a public way. This is not a secret operation. This is something that has been published and which will showcase Israel’s abilities,” said an Israeli defense official.

He added that in the past, Israel had run a number of covert long-range drills. A year ago, Israeli jets flew over Greece in one such drill, while in May, reports surfaced that Israeli air force aircraft were staging exercises over Gibraltar. An Israeli attack on a weapons convoy in Sudan bound for militants in the Gaza Strip earlier this year was also seen as a rehearsal for hitting moving convoys.

[HisDaughter]

Solana calls for UN to impose deadline for Palestinian state    

ynetnews.com/

European Union's foreign policy chief urges Security Council to set tangible deadline for formation of Palestinian state, endorse overall solution for issues of border parameters, refugees, control over Jerusalem; Israel says proposal 'undermines peace efforts'

Jerusalem dismissed Sunday evening European Union Foreign Policy chief Javier Solana's call for the UN Security Council to recognize a Palestinian state by a certain deadline even if the Israelis and Palestinians have not reached agreement among themselves.

The Foreign Ministry released a statement saying "Resolutions 242 and 338 of the United Nations, the roadmap (peace plan) and agreements between Israel and the Palestinians all cautiously determine that the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will only be reached through negotiations by the sides.

"Israel has declared its willingness for the immediate resumption of the peace talks with no preconditions. Any other approach, including one that calls for setting an artificial deadline for the negotiations, undermines the efforts to reach an agreement between (Israel and the Palestinian Authority)," the statement read.

Solana made his comments on Saturday at a lecture in London while Palestinian and Israeli peace talks remain stalled.

The Palestinians have said they will not revive peace talks unless there is a halt to Israel's settlement activities in the West Bank: "After a fixed deadline, a UN Security Council resolution should proclaim the adoption of the two-state solution," Solana said, adding this should include border parameters, refugees, control over the city of Jerusalem and security arrangements.

"It would accept the Palestinian state as a full member of the UN, and set a calendar for implementation. It would mandate the resolution of other remaining territorial disputes and legitimize the end of claims," Solana went on.

Advocating a return to Israel's borders before the 1967 war with Egypt, Syria and Jordan in which it took the West Bank, Solana said mediators should set a timetable for a peace agreement.

"If the parties are not able to stick to it (the timetable), then a solution backed by the international community should be put on the table," He said. The EU, along with the United States, Russia and the United Nations, is part of the Quartet of Middle East Negotiators.

[HisDaughter]

Israel to sacrifice settlements for world support of Iran Op?      

jpost.com/

A deal taking shape between Israel and Western leaders will facilitate international support for an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities in exchange for concessions in peace negotiations with the Palestinians and Arab neighbors, The Times reported Thursday.

According to one British official quoted by the paper, such an understanding could allow an Israeli attack "within the year."

The report in the UK paper quoted unnamed diplomats as saying Israel was prepared to offer concessions on the formation of a Palestinian state as well as on its settlement policy and "issues" with Arab neighbors, in exchange for international backing for an Israeli operation in Iran.

"Israel has chosen to place the Iranian threat over its settlements," one senior European diplomat said.

According to the Times report, the passage of two Sa'ar 5-class Israeli Navy ships through the Suez Canal on Tuesday was a message to Iran and part of preparations being made by Israel for the possibility of a strike.

"This is preparation that should be taken seriously. Israel is investing time in preparing itself for the complexity of an attack on Iran. These maneuvers are a message to Iran that Israel will follow up on its threats," an unnamed Israeli defense official was quoted by the paper as saying.

"It is not by chance that Israel is drilling long-range maneuvers in a public way. This is not a secret operation. This is something that has been published and which will showcase Israel's abilities," another defense official said.

The passage of the ships comes several weeks after a Dolphin-class submarine passed through the international waterway for the first time.

One of the ships, the INS Hanit, already crossed the canal in June, in what an Egyptian source said was the first time a large missile ship used the strategic waterway, which is the fastest route to get Israeli Navy vessels from the Mediterranean, where they are based, to the Red Sea and beyond.

The other ship to cross on Tuesday was the INS Eilat.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said that under a long-standing treaty, warships can freely sail through Suez as long as they have no hostile intentions against the state that owns the canal. He declined to say whether the maneuver was aimed at sending a message, saying, "I don't want to analyze an issue that I am not fully aware of."

In the event of a conflict with Iran, and if Israel decided to involve its three Dolphin-class submarines - which according to foreign reports can fire nuclear-tipped cruise missiles and serve as a second-strike platform - the quickest route would be to sail them through the Suez Canal. Going through the canal would also be the only way to get to the Gulf of Oman without refueling.

[nChrist]

Buckle your seat-belts!

[HisDaughter]

Buckle your seat-belts!

As my dad used to say, "Hold on to your hats!  We're goin' over 35!"  

[nChrist]

As my dad used to say, "Hold on to your hats!  We're goin' over 35!"  

   YES, I could make a joke about age, but I won't because you're a spring chicken compared to me. DW would probably ask you if that 35 mph was in a Stanley Steamer.

All kidding aside, the downhill speed of the world into evil is like a runaway train without brakes. In the midst of all this, it's amazing how little attention is shown to the Holy Bible. The details are there about what's happening and what's about to happen. It's also sad that many Christians don't read the Bible enough to see or understand. The time is growing short, and there are important things to do. The most important thing is obviously sharing the Gospel of the Grace of God while we are still here. Regardless of how evil the world is getting, people are still accepting CHRIST.

Love In Christ,
Tom

2 Corinthians 4:1-18 ASV  1  Therefore seeing we have this ministry, even as we obtained mercy, we faint not:  2  but we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by the manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.  3  And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled in them that perish:  4  in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn upon them.  5  For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.  6  Seeing it is God, that said, Light shall shine out of darkness, who shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.  7  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves;  8  we are pressed on every side, yet not straitened; perplexed, yet not unto despair;  9  pursued, yet not forsaken; smitten down, yet not destroyed;  10  always bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our body.  11  For we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh.  12  So then death worketh in us, but life in you.  13  But having the same spirit of faith, according to that which is written, I believed, and therefore did I speak; we also believe, and therefore also we speak;  14  knowing that he that raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also with Jesus, and shall present us with you.  15  For all things are for your sakes, that the grace, being multiplied through the many, may cause the thanksgiving to abound unto the glory of God.  16  Wherefore we faint not; but though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day.  17  For our light affliction, which is for the moment, worketh for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory;  18  while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

[HisDaughter]

All kidding aside, the downhill speed of the world into evil is like a runaway train without brakes.

That is exactly the description that I've been looking for.   There is so much happing on all fronts and so quickly that my head just spins.  Had you told me 30 years ago that today would look like it does, I wouldn't have believed you.  Although I have always been interested in end-time prophecy and knew that a lot would have to happen.  But to actually see what it looks like in reality is still quite something else.