Israel Update for July 2007

Several foreign and Israeli Middle East analysts said the hostile Iranian statements are undoubtedly part of Tehran's attempts to head off possible Israeli and/or American military action against the country's UN-censored nuclear program. The Shiite regime wants Israeli leaders to understand that they will be struck by a massive barrage of missiles-some probably carrying chemical warheads-if an assault on Iran's nuclear program takes place. The attacks would be simultaneously launched from Syria, Lebanon, Iran itself and from the Gaza Strip, where Israeli officials say Hamas is receiving Iranian assistance to vastly increase the range and firepower of its Kassam rockets, making them capable of striking the coastal cities of Ashkelon (as occurred in July), the vital port of Ashdod, and Beersheba, the country's fourth largest urban area.

Prisoners Set Free

In his effort to strengthen the new Palestinian government, PM Olmert asked his cabinet in July to approve the immediate release of hundreds of Palestinians being held in Israeli jails, as long demanded by PA leaders. On Friday June 20th, 255 Palestinians were set free, including six women. Most were members of Fatah-linked terror groups, but none were said to be directly responsible to the deaths of any Israelis. Still, several Israeli groups and individuals petitioned the High Court to forbid the release, but the requests were all turned down.

Olmert also announced that he will allow the head of the Damascus-based Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Naif Hawatmeh, to "visit Ramallah for a few days" in order to help his longtime friend Mahmoud Abbas "solidify his new government and the rule of law in the West Bank." This produced howls of protest from many Israelis, including Transport Minister Mofaz. All noted that Hawatmeh's group, under his direct orders, carried out one of the most heinous terror attacks in Israeli history-the 1974 assault on a school in the northern town of Ma'alot, which left 22 children dead along with two teachers. Mofaz said that if the "mass murderer" wants to strengthen Abbas, the latter should go visit him in Damascus. Meanwhile many Palestinian groups and politicians, including several Fatah leaders, strongly condemned the invitation, saying it was merely part of a "US-Israeli conspiracy to divide and conquer" the Palestinian people, as one Fatah-linked web site put it.

Despite renewed talk of peace with the Palestinian Authority, a senior IDF general told an Israeli newspaper in July that a major new military offensive may be necessary in the Gaza Strip very soon. He was quoted as saying Hamas rulers there had smuggled in an incredible 20 tons of explosives and weapons from the "porous border with Egypt" in just one recent month alone. He said the radical group had now acquired the same anti-tank rockets that Syria gave Hizbullah to use in last summer's Lebanon war-which killed dozens of IDF soldiers, along with new anti-aircraft missiles.

Amid the furious flurry of "peace" activity in July, Israeli political and military analysts noted that the threat of regional war remains very real. While some are quite hopeful over the energized peace efforts, many recall that the Soviet Union was prone to talk the loudest about "peace" just prior to launching military assaults. The need clearly remains to keep vigilant in prayer as the coming weeks unfold, even though we know that God will eventually fulfill His many marvelous promises to Israel, including this one: "I bring near My righteousness, it is not far off, and my salvation will not delay. And I will grant salvation in Zion and My glory for Israel. (Isaiah 46:13)