Two new Syrian military divisions, trained and led by officers of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard special forces, the Al-Quds Forces, have been mobilized on Syria’s borders, i24NEWS could reveal on Monday night.

Each division numbers more than 10,000 men, said i24NEWS French service’s defense correspondent Mattias Inbar. One has been sent to the border with Iraq, the second is currently at the border between Syria and Israel.

According to i24NEWS, these troop movements, which represent “a real danger on the northern border”, is understood to be one of the reasons Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced calls for early elections last week as “irresponsible”.

i24NEWS Français@i24NEWS_FR

EXCLUSIVITÉ #i24NEWS | Une nouvelle division de soldats syriens formés par l’Iran se tient prête à la frontière israélo-syrienne @MatthiasInbar

Former Defense minister Avigdor Liberman resigned last week following stern disagreements with the Prime Minister over his handling of the latest confrontation in Gaza.

Liberman, who criticized the ceasefire as a victory for Gaza-based Hamas, withdrew the support of his nationalist party Yisrael Beiteinu for the ruling coalition, effectively bringing the Israeli parliament to a standstill.

Netanyahu then faced a challenge from allied party Jewish Home, whose leader Naftali Bennett demanded the defense portfolio in exchange for his party remaining in the coalition. In a dramatic power play, Netanyahu took over the defense ministry himself, forcing Bennett to back down.

Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett, left, and Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked gesture as they speak during a press conference, in which it was widely assumed they would resign, at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament in Jerusalem, Monday, Nov.    AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner

The Prime Minister argued it would be “irresponsible to topple the government” in the midst of a “sensitive security situation”. 58 percent of Israelis believe his motives were purely political, according to a Galatz radio survey released on Tuesday, November 20th.

The latest i24NEWS revelations could explain in part why the renegade ministers eventually came back into the fold. While it is clear that the Gaza situation remains of most concern to Israel’s security establishment, there are increased fears that the Jewish state could face a war on two or more fronts in the near future.

The IDF is currently in the middle of a 10-day training exercise simulating a confrontation with Hamas in the south and Hezbollah in the north. It comes amid an ongoing spat within the IDF over the army’s readiness for war.

In October, IDF Ombudsman, Maj. Gen. (res.) Yitzhak Brick described the situation in the IDF as “worse than it was at the time of the Yom Kippur War,” where Israel was caught off guard by Syria and Egypt. The declaration attracted confident rebuttals from the government and the IDF General Staff.

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Source: https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/middle-east/189690-181127-exclusive-10-000-iran-trained-syrian-soldiers-posted-on-israel-border

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The post EXCLUSIVE: 10,000 Iran-trained Syrian soldiers posted on Israel border first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

An Egyptian delegation left Gaza on Wednesday and asked Israel to allow one more chance for calm to be restored to the situation, Liberman said.

>  Egypt releases 1978 Camp David Accords calling for Palestinian autonomy.

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There’s no broker: U.S. is sidelined, Russia not ‘in control’

There have been coups and revolutions, external invasions and proxy conflicts, but the Middle East hasn’t seen a head-to-head war between major regional powers since the 1980s.

There’s a growing risk that one is about to break out in Syria, pitting Israel against Iran.

The Islamic Republic’s forces are entrenching there, after joining the fight to prop up President Bashar al-Assad. The Jewish state, perceiving a direct threat on its border, is subjecting them to an escalating barrage of airstrikes. Nobody expects those strikes to go unanswered.

The path to escalation is clear, and the rhetoric is apocalyptic. “We will demolish every site where we see an Iranian attempt to position itself,’’ Israel’s Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman told the London-based Saudi newspaper Elaph, adding that the Iranian regime is “living its final days.’’

In Tehran, Hossein Salami, deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guards, said that “100,000 missiles are ready to fly’’ in Israel’s direction, and warned they could bring about its “annihilation and collapse.’’

Light a Match

Iran and Israel have been exchanging threats for decades. What’s different now is that Syria’s civil war, which sucked in both countries, provides a potential battlespace — one that’s much closer to Jerusalem than to Tehran.

Israeli officials say there are 80,000 fighters in Syria who take orders from Iran. As they help Assad recapture territory, militiamen from Hezbollah have deployed within a few kilometers of the Golan Heights on Israel’s border. Iran has vowed to avenge its citizens killed by the Israeli airstrikes, and it has plenty of options for doing so.

It’s a tinderbox, says Ofer Shelach, a member of the foreign affairs and defense committee in Israel’s parliament. “I’m worried about the possibility that a match ignited in the Golan will light up a war going all the way to the sea.’’

Even more troubling is the absence of firefighters.

Israelis lament that Washington has become a bit-part player, unable to impose a Syrian settlement that would guarantee its ally’s security. Absent that, “we can only represent our interests through force,’’ Shelach says.

Able or Willing

Far from tamping down tensions, President Donald Trump -– egged on by Israel –- has been ramping them up. By threatening to withdraw next week from the international agreement to curb Iran’s nuclear program, he’s added another volatile element to the regional mix.

The only power with channels open to both sides, and the clout to play mediator, is Russia.

President Vladimir Putin’s intervention in 2015 to shore up Assad has left Russia as the strongest actor in Syria. Putin is seeking to impose a peace that would lock in his political gains, so he has every interest in averting any spread of the war.

But that doesn’t mean he’s able or willing to rein in Iran. While Russia has cordial ties with Israel, they’re likely outweighed by the confluence of interests with the Islamic Republic, whose ground forces were crucial to the success of Putin’s Syrian gambit. Repeatedly threatened with attack or regime-change by its enemies, Iran sees the sympathetic governments in Damascus and Beirut as providing strategic depth.

‘Unstable, Unmanaged’

Now, the Iranians in Syria have graduated from helping Assad to “building their strategic presence against Israel,’’ said Paul Salem, senior vice president at the Middle East Institute in Washington. “It appears that neither the Russians nor the Assad regime are in control or can limit these things,’’ he said. “The situation is highly unstable and highly unmanaged.’’

Iranians are so worried that they are piling their savings into gold.

One test of Russia’s ability to manage it may come in southern Syria, where Islamic State and other jihadists and rebels still hold territory near Israel’s border — enclaves that are among the likely next targets for Assad’s advancing army.

“Before they do that, the Russians need to have an arrangement with the Israelis,’’ said Yuri Barmin, a Middle East expert at the Russian International Affairs Council, which advises the Kremlin. Russia is “willing to negotiate on the issue of Iran and Iran’s presence’’ in those regions, he said.

‘It’s Shortsighted’

That may not be enough to meet Israeli concerns, which extend far beyond the border.

Earlier in the Syrian conflict, Israel’s airstrikes typically aimed to destroy weapons convoys bound for Hezbollah in Lebanon. There’s been a significant change. Two strikes in the past month -– widely attributed to Israel, though the Jewish state doesn’t comment on such matters –- targeted permanent infrastructure used by Iran’s forces. Both took place deep inside Syrian territory.

“It’s shortsighted to look at it in terms of how many kilometers from the border Iran is sitting,’’ said Amos Gilad, who recently stepped down as director of political-military affairs at Israel’s Defense Ministry. “Iran cannot be allowed to base themselves militarily in Syria. And Israel is fully determined to prevent that.’’

To be sure, the goal could be achieved without a full-blown war. Salem, at the Middle East Institute, says the likeliest outcome is that Israel and Iran will avoid a conflict that neither really wants — though he says the risk that they’ll end up fighting is higher than at any time since the Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006.

And although hostilities have effectively begun with the airstrikes, many analysts say that they can be contained to Syria -– where Israel and Iran can square off without their allies necessarily being drawn into the fight.

‘Never!’

“Never!’’ said Liberman, when asked if clashes with Iran could lead to clashes with Russia. “There will be no confrontation with them.’’

In Beirut, Sami Nader of the Levant Institute for Strategic Studies said that Russia may not oppose an Israeli attack on Iranian positions in Syria, provided it doesn’t threaten to topple the Assad regime that is “the Russians’ main card at the negotiating table.” Barmin, the Kremlin adviser, said there’s plenty of daylight between the “diverging interests” of Russia and Iran.

So far, Russia’s response to Israeli airstrikes has been muted. But after the U.S. bombed Syrian targets last month, to punish Assad for an alleged chemical attack, Russian officials said they may deliver state-of-the-art S-300 missile defense systems to Syria. That would pose new risks for the Israeli air force -– and increase the chance of a flashpoint.

Half a century ago, Israel launched a surprise attack against its Arab enemies. A few years later, in 1973, the tables were turned. In both cases, one of the combatants consciously opted for war.

But that’s not how Israel’s more recent conflicts have started, says Shelach. “It always happened because the situation escalated, deteriorated, without any of the sides making a decision.’’

And that’s the risk he sees now, with no obvious off-ramp.

— With assistance by Hayley Warren

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Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-03/israel-sees-iran-war-looming-as-mideast-tinderbox-awaits-a-spark

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Syrian state media reported major blasts in parts of Hama and Aleppo provinces about 10:30 p.m. Sunday. It did not identify the targets, but other pro-government media outlets said they were weapons depots for the Syrian regime and Iranian forces.

While the state-owned daily Tishreen said the missiles were launched from U.S. and British military bases, analysts said the most likely source was Israel, which has previously acknowledged carrying out more than 100 strikes in Syria during the civil war.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Israel carried out the attacks. The monitoring group identified the main target as an arms depot for surface-to-surface missiles at a base in northern Syria known as Brigade 47. It said the Neirab military air base, southeast of Aleppo city, also was hit.

At least 26 people were killed, four of them Syrians, the Syrian Observatory said. Representatives of a regional alliance that includes Iran, Syria and the Hezbollah paramilitary group said that Iranians were among the dead, and some cited a much higher toll.

The names and faces of some of the dead appeared to be circulated across loyalist websites all day Monday with captions describing them as heroes and victims of “wanton aggression.”

Soldiers loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces are deployed in the Qadam area near the Yarmouk Palestinian camp in Damascus on April 29. (Omar Sanadiki/Reuters)

In Iran, there were conflicting reports on the casualties and on whether Iranian assets were struck. Tehran has sent thousands of fighters to bolster Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, including proxy forces from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Seven years after Syria’s largely peaceful uprising morphed into a civil war, the country is now the stage for proxy conflicts of global powers.

Israel has watched anxiously as Iran shored up Assad’s rule with weapons and money, then committed its own troops and developed military infrastructure across the country. 

Israel has been pushing for the United States to maintain a military presence in Syria to counterbalance Iran. U.S. forces already have clashed with Iranian-backed militias that had advanced against positions of local fighters supported by the United States.

Israel has escalated its warnings about Iran in recent weeks, as a U.S. deadline approaches for deciding whether to remain in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Israel’s leadership is pushing for the deal to be scrapped or adjusted, although some in the security establishment have warned of the instability that may cause.

The Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar, which supports the Syrian government, reported that the targets struck Sunday night were weapons storage sites for the regime and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. The newspaper said that “bunker-buster” bombs were used.

Iran has threatened to retaliate against Israel following the death of seven of its officers in an Israeli strike on the T-4 military base in Syria in early April.

Speaking in Washington on Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said Israel had three problems: “Iran, Iran, Iran.”

He has threatened to hit back if Iran retaliates for the T-4 attack.

Jonathan Spyer, a fellow with the Jerusalem Institute for Strategic Studies, said it appeared to be “common sense” that Israel was responsible for Sunday night’s strikes.

Spyer said that with Israel determined to prevent the “consolidation and entrenchment” of Iranian influence in Syria, “the chances of confrontation between Israel and Iran are quite significant.”

Speaking to reporters in Jerusalem, Michael Oren, a deputy minister in the prime minister’s office and a former ambassador to the United States, declined to directly comment on the strikes but said Israel is committed to enforcing its “red lines.”

“If that leads to an escalation, it is on the heads of Syria,” he said.

Morris reported from Jerusalem. Suzan Haidamous in Beirut contributed to this report.

Read more:

Regional tensions soar in Syria as Trump threatens and Iranians die in an attack

Despite blowback over Syrian strike, some Israelis say more military action needed

Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/suspected-israeli-strikes-hit-iran-linked-targets-in-syria-escalate-regional-tensions/2018/04/30/8fe7437c-4c5b-11e8-b966-bfb0da2dad62_story.html?utm_term=.20a1e3bf526a

The post Suspected Israeli strikes hit Iran-linked targets in Syria, escalating regional tensions first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

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Israel’s defense minister Avigdor Liberman issued a stark threat to Iran through Saudi Arabia’s Elaph news outlet on Thursday, warning the Islamic regime that its days are numbered and asserting that if it were to attack Tel Aviv, Israel would retaliate with an attack against Tehran.

“These are the final days of the Iranian regime,” Liberman said during an interview with the London-based news portal. “Israel doesn’t want war…but if Iran attacks Tel Aviv, we will hit Tehran”.

“Every outpost in which we see Iran positioning militarily in Syria, we will destroy, and we will not allow this no matter what the price,” he added.

Liberman’s interview with the Saudi-owned outlet came as tensions brew between Iran and its main rivals Israel and Saudi Arabia on multiple fronts, with analysts warning that the Middle East power players could be entering an escalatory spiral of proxy fights that threatens to destabilize the entire region.

While Saudi Arabia and Israel have no formal diplomatic relations, behind the scenes improvements in their ties have accelerated in recent years over a multitude of shared interests — prime among them stemming Iran’s growing influence in the region.

Both countries see Iran as their biggest outside threat and the United States as their key ally, and both see danger from armed Islamist extremists.

Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman watching military drills in the kingdom’s eastern region fo Dhahran in a handout picture provided by the palace on April 16, 2018

BANDAR AL-JALOUD (Saudi Royal Palace/AFP)

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman has presented Shiite-dominated Iran as seeking control of the whole region and earlier this month gave unprecedented recognition to Israel’s “right” to existwhile extolling the possibility of future cooperation with the Jewish state.

The powerful Crown Prince previously warned that if Iran were to ever develop a nuclear bomb his country would quickly follow suit and said that Saudi Arabia was not prepared to accept any of the risks posed by the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Israel has expressed similar concerns over the accord, the fate of which is to be decided by US President Donald Trump in May, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urging Washington to either “fix it or nix it.”

Meanwhile, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday lambasted Arab nations who maintain friendly ties with Israel, saying that they “bring misery to Muslims.”

“Friendship with the unbelievers brings misery to Muslims, like the friendship some Muslim states have with the Zionist regime, exchanging kind words and establishing economic or political relations,” Khamenei wrote in a tweet.

In this picture released by the office of the Iranian supreme leader on Wednesday, March 21, 2018, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves to his supporters during his visit to Mashhad, 900 km (540 miles) east of Tehran, Iran

Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP

He called on Muslims to unite against American “bullying”, slamming countries for aligning with the United States without explicitly naming them.

“Unwise and reactionary governments of certain countries have entered into wars against other countries,” Khamenei said. “Look at the calamity Yemenis are afflicted with! Their wedding celebrations turn into mourning ceremonies: People are bombarded on streets, at bazaars and mosques.”

Iran and Saudi Arabia are backing opposite sides of a war raging in Yemen.

Liberman is currently in Washington D.C. where he is set to meet his US counterpart, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, and US National Security Adviser John Bolton, with Iran and Syria expected to dominate the security chiefs’ talks.

Liberman’s unusually explicit threat published in Elaph followed an April 9 air strike on the Iran-operated T-4 airbase in Syria, which killed 14 people including seven Iranian personnel.

Israel did not claim responsibility, but the raid was widely seen as its first direct attack on Iranian assets and a worrying sign of how Syria’s seven-year conflict could escalate into a wider regional war.

Iran has vowed on several occasions to retaliate for the deadly strike on its forces.

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman at a local government conference in Tel Aviv on Wednesday February 14 2018.

Ariel Harmoni/Ministry of Defense

Liberman’s interview, while rare, is not the first time a senior Israeli official has taken to Elaph — which runs interviews with Israeli officials for the Arabic-speaking word — to warn of the Iranian threat.

Israel Defense Force (IDF) chief-of-staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot became the first senior Israeli military official to be interviewed by the Saudi-owned publication in January 2016, telling Elaph that there is a “complete consensus” between Israel and Saudi Arabia on the issue of mutual arch-rival Iran, and that Jerusalem is ready to share intelligence with one of the world’s most powerful Muslim states.

Israeli Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz was interviewed by Elaph a month later, during which he threatened to send Iran’s Lebanese proxy Hezbollah “back to the stone age” if they dared to fire missiles at Israel.

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Source: https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/diplomacy-defense/173255-180426-liberman-to-saudi-media-if-iran-attacks-tel-aviv-israel-will-attack-tehran

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At least 33 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by Israeli forces since the protests kicked off

One Palestinian was declared dead after being shot by Israeli gunfire Friday evening. Another 968 were wounded as another day of clashes erupted between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli forces along the Israel-Gaza border.

The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza identified the 28-year-old as Islam Rushdi Hirzallah

Earlier Friday, thousands of Gazans began surging toward the fractious perimeter fence for the third consecutive week.

At least 30 were wounded by live fire, according to the health ministry, with one shot in the head. In Ramallah, the ministry reported that 14 were injured, seven of which were from live bullets and two rubber bullets.

In addition, ten medics were treated for tear gas inhalation after a canister landed in their site, the ministry said.

Some 32 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire over two consecutive weekends of protests in Gaza, demanding the right to return to their claimed ancestral homes in what is now Israel.

This week, the demonstration has been dubbed “the lifting of the flag of Palestine and the burning of the flag of Israel,” and is set again to attract crowds of Gazans.

Several thousand had already gathered at five locations on Friday morning local time, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said, but the largest crowds were expected in the afternoon after the main weekly Muslim prayers.

The military, which as deployed snipers and tanks along the border, said that demonstrators in Gaza had thrown “explosives” and Molotov cocktails at the fence, and attempted to damage it.

One explosive device was seen attached to a kite and aimed towards IDF troops, but fell inside the Strip causing no damage or injuries.

A molotov cocktail is attached to a kite and launched at IDF soldiers during Gaza Strip protests

IDF

In northern Gaza, a large Israeli flag was burned that had earlier been set on the ground for protesters to walk over.

Dozens of Israeli flags were being burned in Jabalia in northern Gaza and hundreds of Palestinian ones were held aloft.

Near Khan Yunis in the south, protesters burned pictures of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whom they view as cooperating with Israel.

In the northern Gaza Strip, Sumaya Abu Awad, 36, attended the protest with her three daughters and son.

“I am from the village of Hiribya and it is my right to return to it,” she said, referring to a village north of Gaza destroyed in the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation. “I am not afraid of death because there is no life in Gaza already.”

An Israeli soldier aims his weapon as Palestinian protesters gather near the border fence with Israel, east of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza city on April 13, 2018

Thomas COEX (AFP)

According to Amer Shreith, a member of the international committee for the “March of Return” — the name given to the six week long protest from March 30 to May 15 — hundreds of Palestinian flags will be raised, whilst a number of Israeli flags will be burned “in front of the eyes of the soldiers of the occupation”, he told Ma’an news agency.

He reiterated “the importance of a commitment to peacefulness” during the protests.

Israel claims that what was initially deemed a peaceful protest has been hijacked by Hamas, the Islamic militant group that presides over the Strip.

“Hamas is preparing to initiate another violent confrontation today on the Israel Gaza fence,” the Israeli foreign ministry tweeted on Friday ahead of the expected protests.

IDF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis claimed last week that “Hamas and Islamic Jihad and other groups would try to use the protests to mask terror attacks.”

Palestinians take cover from tear gas during clashes with Israeli security forces near the Gaza border fence on April 13, 2018

MAHMUD HAMS (AFP)

Whilst Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said Sunday there were “no naive” people among Gaza’s two-million population. “Everyone’s connected to Hamas, everyone gets a salary from Hamas,” he added.

The IDF estimated that 20,000 demonstrators converged on the border last Friday, following a much larger protest the previous week.

A senior IDF officer told reporters on Friday that “hundreds” of people in Gaza were shot by live bullets, and that the army was forced to rely on them because rubber bullets are less effective over long distances.

He also said that Hamas may be willing to take risks even at the expense of escalation, and use the protests to mask abduction attempts

Six journalists were shot and one killed in last week’s demonstrations, sparking international outcry and calls for an investigation. Israel’s Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman accused the journalist of being an activist in Hamas’ military wing.

The IDF, for the first time, backed up Liberman’s claim on Friday but did not offer any evidence of his Hamas links.

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, arguing that Israel systematically targets Palestinian media workers, including by coercing the closure of Facebook accounts, in order to prevent news coverage.

The high death toll elicited expressions of alarm from the UN, European Union and Israeli opposition lawmakers. Palestinians accused Israel of using disproportionate fire saying IDF soldiers opened fire on protesters to who not pose a threat.

A Palestinian demonstrator covers his face with a traditional Palestinian Keffiyah scarf during a protest, on the Gaza-Israel border, east of Gaza City, on April 6, 2018

MOHAMMED ABED (AFP)

Israel has repeatedly defended its use of live fire and said it opened fire only when necessary against those taking an active part in violence. Israel accused Hamas of doctoring or fabricating video footage depicting live fire.

Despite mounting criticism Israel is preparing to ramp up its response if demonstrations continue next week, Haaretz reported on Saturday.

Gaza participants were said to be hurling Molotov cocktails and other explosives at Israeli troops stationed on the other side of the fence. It said that several attempts were made by Palestinians to penetrate the fence, but none were successful.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “saluted” the Israeli soldiers “who protect us at all times.”

“They [the protesters] talk about human rights, but actually want to crush the Jewish state,” he said. “We won’t let them.”

On Thursday a Hamas militant was killed in an overnight Israeli air strike on one of the group’s outposts in response to an explosive device that was detonated against an Israeli army vehicle.

The “March of Return” is set to climax on May 15, when Israel will mark 70 years of independence — a day Palestinians mark as the “nakba” (“catastrophe” in Arabic) — and the United States will cut the ribbon on its controversial new embassy in Jerusalem.

AFP in Gaza and i24NEWS Senior Defense Correspondent Shai Ben-Ari on the Israel-Gaza border contributed to this report.

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Source: https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/172195-180413-idf-braces-for-gaza-flag-burning-protest-as-great-march-enters-third-week

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Israel’s Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman announced on Monday that US Congress approved a record-setting $705 million budget for Israel’s missile defense programs for 2018.

“I am pleased and excited to announce that the US Congress has approved a record sum for Israel’s missile defense program: $705 million in 2018,” Liberman said in a statement.

“This is the highest aid budget ever. The money will be used for serial production of Iron Dome interceptors, magic wand and Arrow 3, and for the continued development of the multi-layered defense system against future threats,” he added.

Israel’s multi-layered aerial defense systems include a range of systems.

The new Arrow-3 system that intercepts missiles at greater ranges, heights and travelling at faster speeds, and has significantly upgraded the Jewish state’s aerial defense mechanisms in the face of emerging threats.

It is perceived to be one of the most powerful weapons of its kind in the world.

Other tiers include the Iron Dome system for intercepting short-range missiles, ‘David’s Sling’ a medium-range missile defense system and Arrow-2 weapons system for long-range rockets.

“I thank our great friend the United States, which has invested $ 6.5 billion to defend the skies of the State of Israel. We are grateful for the assistance and uncompromising commitment of the administration and Congress to Israel’s security,” Liberman said of the dramatically increased budget.

Avigdor Liberman, Israel’s Defense Minister, close to Gaza border

Ariel Hermoni, Ministry of Defense

In Monday’s announcement of the $705 million in aid to Israel’s missile defense budget, Liberman thanked the developers behind the Iron Dome.

“Thanks also to the American MDA, Homa, and the defense industries, which developed the three wonders of the technology: Arrow 3, a magic wand and an iron dome, which together promise Israeli citizens maximum security against the threat of missiles and rockets.”

The US aid to Israel’s missile defense comes as Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, is scheduled to lead a delegation of US Congressmen on a trip to Israel and Jordan.

“There is no greater political accomplishment in the 20th century than the establishment of the State of Israel. Our delegation is pleased to be able to extend the congratulations of the American people to the people of Israel as we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Jewish state this spring,” Nancy Pelosi said in a statement.

Liberman added in his statement that he looks forward to meeting Nancy Pelosi and the rest of the delegation, which only consists of Democrats.

“Tomorrow I will meet in Jerusalem with a delegation of congressmen headed by Israel’s friend Nancy Pelosi and thank them personally.”

In 2016, Israel and the United States signed the two countries largest-ever military aid deal, totaling $38 billion for Israel over the next decade.

The hard-fought deal, which had been under negotiation since November 2015, provides Israeli with $38 billion in military aid over the next decade with $5 billion earmarked for the development of missile defense systems.

Then acting head of Israel’s National Security Council, Jacob Nagel who signed the agreement on behalf of Israel, said “It’s an unprecedented historic agreement. The US has never signed such a large scale agreement with any other country. This comes amid rough times on the American side as their defense budget is tightening.”

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Source: https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/170836-180326-washington-approves-record-705-million-to-israel-s-missile-defense-program

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The post US pledges record $705 million to Israel’s missile defense programs first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Although the Israeli government would welcome the acknowledgement, Palestinians and other world leaders say the move would unhinge prospects for a Middle East peace accord.

The U.S. policy has long been that the ancient city’s status should be settled through negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. Here’s how it could cause furor in the region and with U.S. allies:

Peace process

The Arab League and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas warned the United States against recognizing Jerusalem, saying that could spark violence and set back future peace negotiations.

Abbas and others urged the White House to drop the proposal.

“Any American step related to the recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel, or moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, represents a threat to the future of the peace process and is unacceptable for the Palestinians, Arabs and internationally,” Abbas said over the weekend, according to the official Wafa Palestinian news agency.

More: Jerusalem has history of many conquests, surrenders

More: Palestinians, Arab League warn U.S. not to recognize Jerusalem as Israeli capital

More: Kushner talks Middle East peace Sunday, not special counsel investigation

Jordan’s King Abdullah II said Trump called him Tuesday to say he wanted to move the embassy to Jerusalem, according to a statement by the Jordanian embassy.

Abdullah told Trump: “Jerusalem is key to achieving peace and stability in the region and the world,” the statement said. Such a decision “will undermine efforts to resume the peace process and will provoke Muslims and Christians alike.”

The head of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, warned of “repercussions” if the U.S. recognizes Jerusalem.

Israel regards Jerusalem as its capital, but the international community says the city’s status should be determined through peace talks. Palestinians claim east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. Israel captured east Jerusalem in 1967 and later annexed it.

Because of the dispute over the ancient city, the United States and other countries maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv.

Threats of violence

The U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem warned Tuesday of possible demonstrations in Jerusalem’s Old City and the West Bank on Wednesday and restricted government employees and their families from personal travel to those areas.

The State Department recently advised American diplomatic posts in predominantly Muslim countries to be vigilant about possible protests.

The militant group Hamas, which controlled Gaza from 2007 until October, called on followers to launch another uprising if Trump’s plan proceeds.

Declaring Jerusalem the capital “constitutes a blatant aggression against the holy city,” Hamas said in a statement. “We call upon our Palestinian people to remain steadfast in the face of such a decision.”

The State Department has declared Hamas a terrorist group.

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman brushed off the threat this week, saying Israel’s military would “know how to deal with all the ramifications” of such a decision, according to The Times of Israel.

A new approach to peace?

Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and Middle East adviser, has been negotiating a possible peace plan between Israel and the Palestinians. An agreement could pave the way for greater cooperation between Israel and the rest of the Arab world, Kushner said in rare public remarks Sunday at the Brookings Institution’s Saban Forum.

“Israel is a much more natural ally today than they were 20 years ago because of Iran and ISIS (Islamic State) extremism,” Kushner said. “If we’re going to try and create more stability in the region as a whole, you have to solve this issue.”

Aaron David Miller, a former U.S. peace negotiator and Middle East adviser to Democratic and Republican presidents, said the Trump administration’s approach could be to give Israel so much of what it wants that the nation would be forced to make important concessions.

Fuel extremists in the region?

Changing the status of Jerusalem — a holy city for Jews, Muslims and Christians — “would add to the narrative of extremists who want to paint the Western world in terms of a religious war,” said Yousef Munayyer, executive director of the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights.

“For the United States to weigh in so heavily on the side of the Israelis sends a message that the extremists would capitalize on,” Munayyer said.

Iran would also use the issue to advance its strength, making the country “more popular in the region at the expense of America’s allies,” Munayyer said. “I cannot think of anything short of sending Iranians arms and cash that would do more to boost the Iranians in the region.”

World leaders oppose recognition

Turkey, France and Germany, along with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and others also weighed in against any change in the U.S. policy on Jerusalem.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called such a move a “red line” for Muslims He said Turkey, a NATO ally, could respond by cutting diplomatic ties with Israel.

Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. partner in the Arab world, expressed its own “grave and deep concern.”

French President Emmanuel Macron said he reminded Trump in a phone call Monday that Jerusalem should be determined through negotiations on setting up an independent Palestine alongside Israel.

“Recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel does not calm a conflict, rather it fuels it even more,” German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said Tuesday. “It’s in everyone’s interest that this does not happen.”

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi talked with Trump on Tuesday, urging the U.S. not to change Jerusalem’s status. Sisi’s office said he also asked Trump to avoid any action that would undermine peace efforts.

Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/12/05/trump-recognizes-jerusalem-israel-capital/923059001/

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