Last Updated: 07/30/2017 22:32                                                                                                                                                    

This page focuses on news related to the buildup of tensions between Syria and Israel according to the prophesied future destruction of Damascus in Isaiah 17. This is the longest continually inhabited city in history and has never been destroyed. I believe this event, in accordance with the Iran-Syria defense agreement, the hooks in the jaws that brings about the Magog invasion of Ezekiel 38,39.

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Syrian Confirms Israel Destroyed Nuclear Facility Israel National News (October 18, 2007) - A Syrian official has admitted that the Israeli operation on September 6 destroyed a nuclear facility - but the admission was followed shortly afterwards by a Syrian government denial. A Syrian representative said Tuesday at the United Nations that reports that the target was a nuclear device were accurate. Syrian officials, including President Bashar Assad had previously claimed that Israel attacked an abandoned army base or an agricultural facility. During a meeting of the UN Disarmament Commission, the Syrian representative acknowledged that the target had been the nuclear facility. Israeli Foreign Ministry officials were also attending. He accused Israel of aggression for targeting the facility. In Israel, details of the strike, beyond the fact that an operation took place on September 6 in Syria, are still under gag order. Local media continue to skirt the order by leaking information to foreign papers and then citing their reports. Some analysts have said the reason for the continued silence of the Israeli government on the September 6 attack is to avoid humiliating Assad and leading to a possible military escalation. Dr. Elon Liel, a former Director General of the Foreign Ministry, has gone one step further in his hope for a conciliatory approach to Israel’s northern neighbor, sending a letter to Education Minister Yuli Tamir asking her to prevent high school students from participating in the “In the Footsteps of the Warriors” tours in the Golan Heights. Liel said he feared the tours would strengthen the students’ connection to the Golan. He called the tours “a provocation,” saying Israel would discourage Syria from negotiating an Israeli retreat from the Golan. Brigadier-General Avigdor Kahalani, who participated in the liberation of the Golan and the creation of the “In the Footsteps of the Warriors” tours, rejected Liel’s demand as “nothing more than a leftist initiative.” The tours are important to the students’ morale and strengthen their sense of identification with IDF soldiers who fought in previous wars, he said. “A bus full of students is not a provocation.” more...
| Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

Israel Minister: War is Inevitable News Max (October 15, 2007) - An Israeli mission to destroy the terrorist infrastructure in the Gaza Strip is inevitable, an Israeli official said Monday. According to the Jerusalem Post, Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that Israel should conduct a mission similar to the country's Operation Defensive Shield in the West Bank, which occurred in the spring of 2002. Lieberman also advised Rice not to pressure Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to take steps that would cause the downfall of the Israeli government. "In the current political conditions, the government cannot allow itself to make controversial decisions on sensitive issues," Lieberman told Rice. "The conference planned for Annapolis is a mistake. It will be just another conference and just another document. Without a noticeable improvement in Israeli security or Palestinian economic conditions, the conference will not be different than any of the unsuccessful conferences of the past."
| Gog/Magog | Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

From Bible prophecy, we do know that war is inevitable. We also know that until the abomination of desolation Israel will remain where she is, protected by God. When that day comes however, 2/3 of Israel will be cut off and only 1/3 will be taken and protected in the wilderness until Yeshua returns in glory with His wife. Zechariah 13:8,9 | Revelation 12:13-16 So I wouldn't expect any war to successfully get rid of Israel until a man demands worship from the world after declaring himself god in the rebuilt Hebrew temple on the Temple Mount.

'Syria won't hesitate to a start war with Israel to regain Golan' The Jerusalem Post (October 7, 2007) - Syria will not hesitate to start a war with Israel in order to restore its control over the Golan Heights, A-Baath, the official newspaper of President Bashar Assad's government, warned Saturday. In an article to mark 34 years since the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War, A-Baath said: "Our people and our leadership are determined to liberate our conquered lands using all means, methods and ways." Meanwhile, ABC News quoted American officials as saying that the IAF raid in Syria during September was planned for several months and was postponed a number of times due to heavy US pressure. According to the report, Israel presented US officials with satellite imagery which clearly showed North Korean nuclear technology in a Syrian facility. According to a US source, Washington officials were astonished by the imagery and by the fact US intelligence had not picked up on the facility previously. "Israel tends to be very thorough about its intelligence coverage, particularly when it takes a major military step, so they would not have acted without data from several sources," said ABC News military consultant Tony Cordesman. A different source told ABC News that Israel had planned the strike as early as July 14, and in confidential meetings with high ranking US officials, debated over the appropriate response. Several officials supported Israel's decision to strike, although others, led by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, firmly opposed it and offered to publicly condemn Syria for operating a nuclear facility instead. US officials who initially opposed the raid, according to ABC , apparently feared the negative influence it might have over the whole region. Consequently, officials in Washington persuaded Israel to push back the raid, but in September, Israel feared that information about the facility might be leaked to the press, and went ahead with the strike, despite objections by Washington.
| Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

This explains why Syria and others weren't more outraged about the bombing if they really had the nuclear equipment...they got caught.

Nasrallah: I wish Arabs would invade Palestine YNet News (October 5, 2007) - Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Friday that "the occupation of Palestine is one of the greatest tragedies that befell the Arab nation." Speaking in Beirut during a ceremony to mark Al-Quds Day, Nasrallah accused Israel of planning for war by launching airstrikes against targets in Syria. "Israel wants to impose its authority on the region. The flyover in Syria is aimed at harming Syria's position" ahead of the US-sponsored peace conference in November, Nasrallah said. "No one doubts that there Israel coordinated the strike with the Americans to draw Syria into war. This is Bush's plan for the region, not a peace plan but a plan for war as he did in Iraq and Lebanon." Addressing the Arab world he said: "I wish the Arab armies would head toward Palestine, that's a dream. 'We are a people ready to sacrifice but you have to stand by us and support us,' that's what the Palestinian people said during the intifada." Nasrallah also called on Arab states to boycott the conference, which he said would only benefit Israel. "Had the Palestinian people been supported by the Arab world, it would have succeeded in liberating all the Palestinian lands occupied in 1967," Nasrallah added. "The Zionists established gangs through Britain's aide and occupied Palestinian land, killing, massacring, looting, destroying and establishing their state through occupation and theft," he said. He also accused Israel of orchestrating a string of assassination of anti-Syrian politicians, saying Jerusalem and Washington had an interest in preventing Lebanon's rival political parties from uniting.
| Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

I think that time is coming as depicted in Joel 2:1-11, which I believe may happen at the abomination of desolation. This unstoppable army may be the antichrist's army, made up mostly of Islamic believers of the 12th Mahdi, whom I believe may be the false prophet. Islam has a prophecy about rocks and trees crying out there are Jews behind them and to come and kill them. It is no secret than those who take the Koran seriously are the ones who also hate Israel and are greatly anticipating the time they can get rid of the State of Israel. Imagine an army seeing these "signs and lying wonders" and the reaction of fervency that would come from that. And the beast and false prophet will call fire from heaven, so their influence is considered supernatural. Before jumping to the conclusion that Islam is a "religion of peace," let us first admit that a religion is defined by the holy book to which it comes from. Let us then examine some things that the Koran says and the Bible says. Let us then examine the fruits of those beliefs in the actions of the participants who define themselves by that holy book.

Galatians 5:19-26
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

US 'Must Break Iran and Syria Regimes' Telegraph (October 5, 2007) - America should seize every opportunity to force regime change in Syria and Iran, a former senior adviser to the White House has urged. "We need to do everything possible to destabilise the Syrian regime and exploit every single moment they strategically overstep," said David Wurmser, who recently resigned after four years as Vice President Dick Cheney's Middle East adviser. "That would include the willingness to escalate as far as we need to go to topple the regime if necessary." He said that an end to Baathist rule in Damascus could trigger a domino effect that would then bring down the Teheran regime. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, the first since he left government, he argued that the United States had to be prepared to attack both Syria and Iran to prevent the spread of Islamic fundamentalism and nuclear proliferation in the Middle East that could result in a much wider war. Mr Wurmser, 46, a leading neo-conservative who has played a pivotal role in the Bush administration since the September 11th attacks, said that diplomacy would fail to stop Iran becoming a nuclear power. Overthrowing Teheran's theocratic regime should therefore be a top US priority. more...
| Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 | America |

Syrian guerrilla group 'ready for attacks' WorldNet Daily (October 4, 2007) - A recently formed Syrian guerrilla group modeling itself after the Lebanese Hezbollah militia is preparing for "resistance attacks" against the Jewish state, leaders of the purported group stated during in-person interviews released in a new book. The information comes as Israel yesterday broke its nearly four-week silence and admitted officially the Jewish state's warplanes struck a "military installation" in Syria last month, prompting some officials in Damascus to call for retaliation, including guerrilla raids against Israel. In his new book, "Schmoozing with Terrorists: From Hollywood to the Holy Land, Jihadists Reveal their Global Plans – to a Jew!" WND Jerusalem bureau chief obtained access to the leadership of the new purported Syrian group, calling itself the Committees for the Liberation of the Golan. "If an agreement is not quickly forged between Israel and Syria [for an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan], we will begin attacks," a senior leader of the Committees told Klein, speaking on condition his name be withheld. The Golan Heights is strategic mountainous territory looking down on Israeli and Syrian population centers captured by Israel after Damascus twice used the territory to attack the Jewish state. The Committees leader stated Syria watched as Israel "lost" a war against the Lebanese Hezbollah militia in the summer of 2006 and noted the Syrian leadership learned that "fighting" is more effective than peace negotiations with regard to gaining territory. The leader explained in "Schmoozing" his group will initiate rocket attacks and Hezbollah-like raids against Israeli troop positions and Golan-based Jewish communities in hopes of eventually provoking a conflict or generating domestic Israeli pressure for Israel to vacate the Golan. Much of the Israeli sections of the Golan look down on Syria, and there are U.N. posts at international buffer areas between the Israeli and Syrian sides of the territory, but the Committees leader explained there are multiple points of vulnerability along the Syria-Israel border that can be exploited, including many Israeli sections of the Golan that are at level with the Syrian sides. The Committees for the Liberation of the Golan Heights consists of Syrian volunteers, many from the Syrian border with Turkey and from Palestinian refugee camps near Damascus, the Committees leader stated. He said Syria held registration for volunteers to join the Committees last June. Israel is taking seriously the claims of formation of the Committees. Amos Yadlin, head of the IDF's intelligence branch, stated Syria is indeed in the early stages of forming a Hezbollah-like group. Israeli security officials speaking to WND said Syrian President Bashar Assad is under heavy pressure from Iran and from senior elements within his military to retaliate for the Israeli aerial strike, especially since the Israel Defense Forces yesterday officially confirmed a raid in Syria took place. The security officials said if pressure continues to escalate or if the IDF conducts other operation inside Syria, Assad, realizing his army it not prepared for a direct confrontation with Israel, may respond by launching guerrilla attacks against the Golan Heights. Yesterday, Mohammad Habbash, a member of the Syrian parliament, told reporters Syria may resort to a guerrilla war: "If the Israeli side launches attacks, believe me we will be very harsh in our response," stated Habbash. "It will be a guerrilla war. There will be guerrilla warfare coming from Lebanon and Syria, and it will be very harsh." In an interview with the BBC Monday, Assad said Syria is still considering an "appropriate" response to the Israeli aerial attack. He said it wouldn't have to be "missile-for-missile" but could be a political reaction. Assad claimed Israeli jets hit an unmanned military facility in the Sept. 6 raid. The IDF has not announced the exact target of its missile strike except that it was a military installation, but multiple newspapers reports have alleged Israel destroyed a facility at which North Korea was transferring nuclear technology to the Syrians.
| Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

Report: Syria had planned 'devastating surprise' for Israel Haaretz (September 16, 2007) - Former United Nations ambassador John Bolton said Sunday that Israel's reported military operation inside Syria earlier this month should be regarded as a 'clear message to Iran' that its nuclear efforts will not be ignored by the international community. "I think it would be unusual for Israel to conduct a military operation inside Syria other than for a very high value target, and certainly a Syrian effort in the nuclear weapons area would qualify," Bolton told Channel 10 in an interview broadcast Sunday. "I think this is a clear message not only to Syria, I think it's a clear message to Iran as well, that its continued efforts to acquire nuclear weapons are not going to go unanswered," Bolton said. Bolton, who has long called for a hard line against the Syrian and Iranian regimes, did not indicate that he had first-hand information about the incident. The U.K. newspaper The Sunday Times quoted an Israeli source on Sunday as saying that Syria had been planning a "devastating surprise" for Israel, in the wake of reports that the Israel Air Force carried out an air strike against a North Korean nuclear shipment to Syria. The paper quoted Israeli sources as saying that planning for the strike began shortly after Meir Dagan, chief of the Mossad intelligence agency, presented Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in late spring with evidence that Syria was seeking to buy a nuclear device from North Korea. Dagan apparently feared such a device could eventually be installed on North-Korean-made Scud-C missiles, the paper reported. "This was supposed to be a devastating Syrian surprise for Israel," the Sunday Times quoted an Israeli source as saying. "We've known for a long time that Syria has deadly chemical warheads on its Scuds, but Israel can't live with a nuclear warhead." South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported Sunday that a senior North Korean official denied a Washington Post report that Pyongyang was giving nuclear expertise to Syria. The report suggested intelligence including satellite images revealed a facility in Syria which may be used to build nuclear warheads. "They often say things that are groundless," Yonhap quoted deputy chief of the North Korean mission to the United Nations Kim Myong-gil as saying in response to the Post report. When asked to elaborate Kim hung up the phone, Yonhap reported. more...
| Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

Syrian denies saying Damascus wouldn't respond to IAF attack  Haaretz (September 15, 2007) - The Syrian deputy foreign minister on Saturday denied reports that he had said Damascus was not planning a military response, 10 days after Syria accused that Israel Air Force warplanes bombed targets in its territory. (Click here for map). Damascus said on September 6 that IAF jets had violated its airspace in the early hours of the morning, and had been fired upon by Syrian air defenses. Shortly after the first announcement, Damascus said that the IAF had bombed targets, but the Syrian envoy to the U.S. over the weekend denied that an IAF attack had occurred. Israel has declined to comment about the incident at all. Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faysal Mekdad told a Lebanese newspaper that his words were taken out of context and that Syria has never remained silent in the face of a military penetration of its territory. Mekdad warned after a meeting with his Russian counterpart Friday that growing tension could spark a violent outbreak in the region, and that Syria has the "means to respond in ways that will preserve its position of power." In an interview with Newsweek published Friday, Syria's ambassador to Washington, Imad Moustapha, said that Israel would "pay a price" for violating Syria's airspace. He told the American publication that it went against Syria's national interests not to respond to Israel's provocation. He also denied reports in the U.S. media that the IAF had been targeting a nuclear project that Syria was developing in cooperation with North Korea. European diplomats who met with Syrian Vice President Walid Moallem earlier this week had told Haaretz that they had received the impression that Syria would not retaliate militarily. Syria protested Tuesday to the United Nations about the strike, but said that no targets had been struck and that there was no damage. According to Syria's envoy to the United Nations, Bashar al-Jaafari, the protest complained of Israel's "aggression and violation of [Syrian] sovereignty." more...
| Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

Report: Israel spots nuclear installations in Syria YNet News (September 12, 2007) - Washington official says Israeli surveillance shows possible Syrian nuclear installation stocked by North Korea, Israeli Arab newspaper claims target of alleged raid last week was Syrian missile base financed by Iran. Israel believes that North Korea has been supplying Syria and Iran with nuclear materials, a Washington defense official told the New York Times. “The Israelis think North Korea is selling to Iran and Syria what little they have left,” he said. The official added that recent Israeli reconnaissance flights over Syria revealed possible nuclear installations that Israeli officials estimate might have been supplied with material from North Korea. Meanwhile on Wednesday the Nazareth-based Israeli Arab newspaper The Assennara cited anonymous Israeli sources as saying that Israeli jets "bombed a Syrian-Iranian missile base in northern Syria that was financed by Iran... It appears that the base was completely destroyed." According to the Times, American officials confirmed Tuesday that Israeli jets launched an airstrike inside Syria. Sources said that Israel struck at least one target in northeastern Syria, but could not provide more details. The most likely target was, according to some administration officials, weapon caches sent by Iran to Hizbullah through Syria. North Korea commented on the incident Tuesday, calling it a "dangerous provocation", Chinese News Agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday. "This is a very dangerous provocation little short of wantonly violating the sovereignty of Syria and seriously harassing the regional peace and security," a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said. "The Democratic People's Republic of Korea strongly denounces the above-said intrusion and extends full support and solidarity to the Syrian people in their just cause to defend the national security and the regional peace."
| Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

Cabinet meets on prospect of conflict with Syria Haaretz (August 9, 2007) - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday evening addressed the possibility of a military conflict with Syria during a Kadima conference held at the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem, saying that Israel and Syria have no interest in a war. "I believe that we can expect a calm summer, a calm autumn and a calm winter," Olmert said, "naturally, we are dealing with strengthening the Israel Defense Forces' capabilities...but we have no plans, no will, and no interest in a confrontation in the north of the country or in the south." "I believe that the Syrians also have no interest in fighting us," he added, "there is always an exaggeration in creating an atmosphere of tension, but a responsible leadership knows how to control itself, exercise self-restraint and maintain its equanimity," he added. The members of the security cabinet met Wednesday morning to discuss the situation on Israel's northern front and the possibility that a conflict will break out between Israel and Syria. The meeting was labeled "very sensitive," and the ministers were asked to leave their cellular phones outside the room where the meeting took place. The cabinet has recently and with increasing frequency been holding meetings about the northern border and the preparation of the home front in case of a violent confrontation with Syria. Wednesday's meeting is the sixth meeting in the last six weeks on the issue. Echoing similar statements made earlier, Olmert conveyed that the meeting's purpose was to prepare for the possibility of a Syrian miscalculation regarding Israel's intentions, and that Israel doesn't intend to attack. Most of the ministers in the security cabinet attended the meeting, including Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and ministers Tzipi Livni, Ehud Barak, Haim Ramon, Avigdor Lieberman, Eli Yishai, Rafi Eitan, Avi Dichter, Shaul Mofaz, Benjamin Ben-Eliezer and Daniel Friedmann. Sources from the prime minister's bureau have said in the last several days that the meetings have been held because of the "possibility of a miscalculation in terms of Syria, but not because of new information of a shift in Syrian activity." more... | Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

The Sampson Option Hal Lindsey (July 28, 2007) - Last week, WorldNetDaily reported a stunning admission from a Syrian official. He said that Syria had "learned from the Hezbollah experience last summer and we can have hundreds of missiles hitting Tel Aviv that will overwhelm Israel's anti-missile batteries." He claimed Syria has "proof" Israel is also readying for a war. "We hear about special Israeli trainings to take Damascus. We see that Israel is re-establishing bases of the Israeli army in the Golan that are unusual and not needed except for war. We believe the Israeli government has an interest in confronting Syria to rehabilitate its image of losing to Hezbollah." The WorldNetDaily report also says that Damascus believes newly-installed Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, a former prime minister, "wants to prove he is a military expert." This information is perfectly in line with the official statements made by both Bashar Assad and Mushen Bilal to several major Arab newspapers. Furthermore, London's Daily Telegraph reported June 25 that Tehran was establishing a missile defense shield for Syria. Iran is also preparing to ship sophisticated military hardware, including "dozens of medium-range Shahab-3 and Russian-made Scud-C missiles, together with Scud-B missiles." Syria recently test-fired two Scud-D surface-to-surface missiles that have a range of about 250 miles. This puts virtually all of Israel's population centers within range. Analysts say the planned Iranian arms shipment to Syria may be coordinated with the delivery of advanced Russian fighter jets. Syria is also known to be producing non-conventional warheads, including those containing VX gas for delivery via the new longer range and more accurate Scuds. All Israel's cities are within range of these missiles. Most of them can be reached in less than three minutes. Syria is gambling that Israel's performance in the Hezbollah war of June 2006 means that it has seen all Israel has to offer. Apparently, Bashar Assad now believes Israel can be beaten. Assad is miscalculating. In the event Syria launches a gas attack on Israel, it's a virtual certainty that Damascus would be instantly obliterated by Israeli nuclear weapons. The thought of being gassed evokes a visceral response among Israel's Holocaust survivors and their descendants that Damascus wildly underestimates. Israel has more than 400 nuclear weapons in hidden silos in various places within its borders, as well as at least two submarines in the Mediterranean that are launch capable. And you can be certain that in the event of a massive WMD attack by the Syrians, Israel will respond in kind. more... | Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

I just watched a video on Google Video from the Prophecy Club where Bill Schnoebelen talked about scalar weaponry. While I don't agree with the constant push about no harpazo, I found the information presented by Bill very intriguing and it reminds me of the "kindling of a fire in the wall of Damascus." Watch it here and jump to 0:15:58 if you would like to begin at the scalar weapons talk.

Syrian Official: War with Israel will be Ballistic Israel National News (July 23, 2007) - Syria sees the next war with Israel as involving missile attacks on civilian infrastructure and front-line guerilla warfare, an anonymous senior official in the Syrian Ministry of Defense told Defense News Weekly, in an interview appearing Monday. Syria prefers to avoid a direct, "classic" confrontation with Israel, he said. Instead, the next war will involve Katyusha rocket and ballistic missiles that will target strategic points in Israel, especially civilian infrastructure. The official said that the war will not be limited to a single strike, but will be protracted in nature. "This will be a war of attrition, which the Israelis are not good at," he explained. The conflict, he said, "will be more like a war between cities than a war on the battlefield." According to Arab affairs expert Dr. Guy Bechor, the Syrian assessment is a result of the Second Lebanon War. After that war, the Syrians understood that they do not need a large ground force to defeat Israel, but rather missiles aimed at dense Israeli population centers. For the past two years the Syrians have been engaged in massive acquisitions from Russia, after an $11 billion debt was partially forgiven by Russia in 2005, and partially covered by Iran. Following the unimpressive performance by the IDF in last year’s war, Bechor explains, Syria began equipping itself with advanced anti-aircraft missiles, anti-tank missiles and cruise missiles. The Syrian army numbers 650,000 soldiers, including 354,000 reservists, according to Defense News. Its tanks are outdated Soviet models, however, and its air force is inferior to Israel's. more... | Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

Just a guess, but perhaps they want Israel to make the first strike so in the eyes of the world they are not the aggressors. If they can keep spinning things to make Israel look bad, they'll have valid reason for the Magog invasion. I have no doubt that those trying to push the destruction of Israel could care less about losing people if it means they can get at Israel. If they get Israel so worried about war that they act first to prevent it, maybe they think they will look like the victims, something they're continually trying to portray in the world even if it is a lie.

'Iran-Syria Ties Prevent Damascus Peace Talks' The Jerusalem Post (July 20, 2007) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to Damascus proves that Israel must not open negotiations with Syria, GIL Chairman Rafi Eitan said Friday. "[Syrian President Bashar] Assad is not showing any indication that he will cut his strong ties with Iran, Hamas and Hizbullah even after he starts peace talks with Israel," Eitan told Israel Radio. | Iran | Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

Israel Slams Iran-Syria Alliance Africasia.com (July 20, 2007) - Israel on Friday denounced an alliance between Iran and Syria that it said cast doubts on Syrian peace intentions, following a visit by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Damascus. "The fact that the Damascus regime chose Ahmadinejad as a partner in a strategic alliance raises serious doubt on recent statements from Syria on its intentions for peace," foreign ministry spokesman Mark Regev told AFP. "You cannot be friends with someone who embodies the most extreme refusal of peace (with Israel) and expect the international community to consider Syria a country working for peace," he added. Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit said the visit by Ahmadinejad -- who has caused fear and alarm in Israel over calls for the Jewish state to be wiped off the map -- had "weakened Syria's position as a partner for peace." Pensioner Affairs Minister Rafi Eitan, also member of the powerful security cabinet, ruled out an Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Golan Heights and said the visit was "further proof that Syria does not really want peace." Any withdrawal from the Golan, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in 1981, would see the Jewish state "find itself without peace and without the Golan," Eitan said. During meetings in Damascus on Thursday with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Ahmadinejad openly mocked Israel, saying the Jewish state was "becoming weaker every day." The Iranian president also held talks with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and a delegation from Hamas led by Khaled Meshaal, its exiled head in Damascus and another sworn enemy of Israel. Assad on Tuesday told Syria's parliament after being sworn in for a second seven-year term that he wanted direct and open talks with the Jewish state. Direct peace talks with Israel have been frozen since January 2000. Damascus demands the return of the Golan Heights. | Iran | Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17

Israel preparing for war with Syria, confirms general Associated Press (July 14, 2007) - A senior Israeli general on Monday confirmed that the army is preparing for a full-scale war with Syria in the very near future. Speaking at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies, Maj.-Gen. Eyal Ben-Reuven, who served as deputy commander of Israel's northern forces during last summer's war in Lebanon, said that the army is “preparing itself for an all-out war, and this is a major change in the military's working premise” following the 34-day conflict with Hizballah that many Israelis feel their nation failed to win. The general said that when war breaks out, Syria will be prepared to suffer mass military and civilian casualties, while at the same time playing on Israel's sensitivity to civilian losses by striking Israel's home front with as many missiles as possible. Syria “will try to hit Israel's home front in order to win diplomatic gains in peace talks that will follow, and also cause another split in Israeli society,” Israel National News quoted Ben-Reuven as saying. In order to deny Syria this victory, Ben-Reuven said the Israeli army is training for a swift and overwhelming invasion of Syria “to knock out the areas from where missiles are launched against Israel as quickly as possible.” He lamented that if Israel had responded to Hizballah's rocket attacks in such a manner, the Second Lebanon War would have ended much differently. | Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

Olmert: Israel, Syria don't want war The Jerusalem Post (July 12, 2007) - Israel does not want war with Syria, and does not believe Syria wants war either, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Thursday. At the same time, he said that the fact that neither side was interested in war did not automatically open the door to immediate negotiations. Speaking to EU ambassadors, Olmert said he was not concerned about an imminent war with Syria, but that he was unhappy with the very public discussion about the matter, which itself created a dangerous and unnecessary "momentum." Olmert said that Syrian President Bashar Assad wanted to use negotiations with Israel as a way to conduct a dialogue with the US, which is why Assad was insisting the US mediate any talks with Israel. Olmert said that when Assad speaks about making peace with Israel, he means making peace with US President George W. Bush, and that Israel was just a tool to make this happen. Olmert, according to participants at the meeting, said Israel would be "very interested" if Assad said he was willing to hold "direct, unconditional bilateral talks." The prime minister said that he would be willing to hold negotiations without any preconditions from either side. more... | Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

Syria rejects offer to hold peace talks The Jerusalem Post (July 10, 2007) - Damascus has rejected Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's offer to hold peace talks with President Bashar Assad, Army Radio reported on Tuesday morning. Syrian parliament member Muhammad Habash said late Monday night that Damascus did not believe Olmert's overtures were serious. In an historic interview with Saudi satellite station Al Arabiya, aired by Channel 10 Monday evening, Olmert invited Assad to Jerusalem to talk. In his first appearance on a major Arabic news station in over six years, Olmert, speaking in an office adorned with the blue and white Israeli flag, told his Hebrew-speaking interviewer: "Bashar Assad, you know … I am ready to hold direct negotiations with you, and you also know that it's you who insists on speaking to the Americans. The American president says: 'I don't want to stand between Bashar Assad and Ehud Olmert. If you want to talk, sit down and talk." Assad has "heard many things from me already," Olmert added. When asked where he would hold such talks with Assad, Olmert said "any place he [Assad] would agree to meet," hinting that Assad would even be welcome in Jerusalem. Public Security Minister Avi Dichter told Army Radio that Olmert indeed wants a resumption of negotiations with Syria and his offer was "genuine and real." But Dichter was not optimistic that Assad would agree to renew the talks. "Bashar Assad apparently has other plans than making peace with Israel," Dichter said. "And now we will listen and wait." | Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

Syria Advises its Citizens to Leave Lebanon by July 15 Monsters & Critics (July 9, 2007) - Syria has urged its citizens in Lebanon to leave the country before July 15 because of fears that the volatile political climate in the country will deteriorate, Syrian sources said Monday. 'In the past few days, all Syrian nationals were asked through the Syrian government to leave, as Lebanon's current political crisis may become violent,' said a Syrian construction worker who requested anonymity. 'We are asked to leave Lebanon before July 15.' Hundreds of thousands of Syrian workers, mainly farmers and construction workers, used to work in Lebanon. But their numbers have noticeably dwindled since the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, which many Lebanese blame on Syria. July 15 comes one day before a special UN Security Council meeting which is expected to discuss the possibility of stationing international experts on the Syria-Lebanon border in order to monitor illegal arms trafficking to the Shiite Hezbollah movement, thought to be originating from Iran and Syria. The Security Council is also expected to meet next week to discuss a key report on the assassination of Hariri, a development which may bode ill for Syria. On July 5 the Iranian news agency IRNA reported that Syrian authorities had instructed all Syrian citizens residing in Lebanon to leave Lebanon in July. Observers believe that the Syrian authorities may resort to closing the border with Lebanon. The latest rumours have sparked caused anxiety and fear among the Lebanese. 'I am trying to take my kids out of Lebanon on July 10 to a nearby Arab country to observe the situation until the end of August,' housewife Amal Salameh said. 'If things stays the same I will return, if not I will take them back to the US.' 'There is probably nothing in it, but we're told to expect some major event on that day,' said Rana Naamani, another Lebanese housewife who decided to go to the mountains northeast of Beirut to stay away from the capital. Almost a year after the blistering July 12 war between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon is mired in political and economic crisis and faces a deadly new challenge from an al-Qaeda-inspired Islamist militia. more... | Iran | Gog/Magog | Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

Report: Israel, Syria fortifying northern border The Jerusalem Post (July 2, 2007) - Both Israel and Syria are conducting reinforcement work on each side of the border in the Golan Heights, Channel 10 reported Monday evening. An Israel laborer told Channel 10 that he was hired to build ramps for the transport of tanks. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said during Monday's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting that although Israel was maintaining a higher level of military preparedness, Syria did not pose an immediate threat. | Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

Officials: Iran, Syria orchestrated raid on Jewish state WorldNetDaily (June 11, 2007) - An attempted Palestinian raid of the Israeli border this weekend, purportedly to kidnap an Israeli soldier, was orchestrated by Syria and Iran, according to security officials associated with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party. The Israel Defense Forces on Saturday thwarted an attempt by the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad terror group to kidnap a soldier on the Israeli side of a major crossing into the Gaza Strip. Four terrorists approached the Israeli border in an SUV bearing "TV" signs in an attempt to disguise themselves as journalists. Reporters working in Gaza usually travel in cars with "TV" symbols to identify themselves. Upon reaching the crossing, the terrorists blew a hole in the border fence and attempted to storm an IDF position. IDF troops rushed to the scene, chasing three of the gunmen back to the Gaza Strip. One of militants, 19-year-old Mohammed Jaabari, became separated from the group and hid inside Israel. Jaabari was shot dead after he opened fire when soldiers approached him, the IDF said. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack. "The aim of the operation was to retreat with a prisoner," said Abu Ahmed, a spokesman for Islamic Jihad. "This was prevented by the use of Israeli helicopters." This attempted kidnapping took place just before the one year anniversary of the kidnapping by Hamas and two other groups of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who has been held in Gaza and is being used as a bargaining chip by the Hamas-led Palestinian government to release Palestinian prisoners, including arrested terrorists, held in Israeli jails. more... | Iran | Gog/Magog | Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

Is the constant warnings of a coming war with Syria, Iran, and Israel starting to cause you to lose interest like it's the same old story never coming to pass? That's part of what Bible prophecy says will happen in the end, wars and rumors of war. Matthew 24:3-6 Keep watching!

Fears of war as Israel and Syria show army might Scotsman (June 7, 2007) - CONCERN is growing that Israel and Syria may be heading towards war, with signs that both are preparing their armies. The preparations are being made across both sides of the ceasefire line in the Golan Heights area occupied by Israel since 1967. Syria has increased troop numbers and brought in rocket units similar to those used by Hezbollah against Israel in last summer's war in Lebanon, according to intelligence estimates. The Syrians have also brought in new anti-aircraft guns and tanks from Russia and recently conducted a frontline exercise of troops. Israel yesterday appointed a team of senior ministers to handle policy towards Syria, but denied it was a "war cabinet". The move came just a day after Israeli troops held a widely publicised training exercise in which they captured what army officials described as a model of a Syrian village. In an apparent attempt to reassure Damascus, the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Omert, was quoted as telling the security cabinet yesterday: "Israel does not want a war with Syria and one needs to be careful about a scenario of miscalculation that leads to a security deterioration." Amos Yadlin, the Israeli army intelligence chief, told Knesset MPs that "the Syrians have a lot to lose if a war breaks out". He said that the Syrian president, Bashar Assad, "has a regime, an airforce, civilian networks, an electricity network and civilian infrastructure: all of these are liable to be harmed in a war". Since the war between Israel and Hezbollah, Mr Assad has expressed interest in resuming the talks with Israel that stalled seven years ago over the extent of an Israeli pullback in the Golan Heights, but he has also hinted that Syria might resort to force if Israel shunned diplomacy. According to Israeli army intelligence, the Syrian army preparations are defensive and they also believe that Mr Assad does not want to initiate hostilities. Israel has been talking about war and peace simultaneously, albeit without embracing Mr Assad's offer of talks. more... | Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

'Syria, Iran, Hizbullah planning war' The Jerusalem Post (June 6, 2007) - Syria, Iran and Hizbullah are preparing for the possibility of a war with Israel on the Syrian front, Channel Two reported on Wednesday night. Reportedly, Damascus has set August as the month for final war preparations. The report followed an earlier security cabinet meeting devoted almost exclusively to Syria, during which Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that Israel is working through various diplomatic channels to assure Damascus that Jerusalem wants peace and is not interested in a war. His comments come amid a flurry of reports about a Syrian military buildup and concern in the defense establishment that if various Syrian overtures were not well received in Israel, the Syrians might initiate military action to try and retain the Golan, or a piece of it.

Syrian MP confirms preparation for war Jerusalem Post (June 5, 2007) - A member of the Syrian parliament, Muhammad Habash, confirmed on Tuesday that his country was actively preparing for war with Israel, expected to break out in the summer, Israel Radio reported. In an interview with Al Jazeera, Habash said it was no secret that the Syrian military was arming itself for the upcoming confrontation with the IDF. He also claimed that the Israeli government was the one that wanted the war so that it could survive politically. Meanwhile, Pensioners Affairs Minister Rafi Eitan (GIL Pensioners) said on Tuesday that in negotiations with Syria, Israel must relate to the matter of the Golan Heights as a real estate issue. "Negotiations need to be about the property value," he said. National Infrastructures Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer (Labor), said he believed Prime Minister Ehud Olmert should respond positively to any offer of peace talks from Syrian President Bashar Assad. However, Shas ministers Eli Yishai and Yitzhak Cohen insisted that the Syrians must take steps to show their intentions were serious before Israel negotiated with them. On Wednesday, the Security Cabinet was set to discuss the question of whether to examine the option of talks with Damascus. | Gog/Magog | Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

Could this push Israel to pre-emptively attack Damascus? Keep watching.

Iranian Leader: Countdown to Israel's Destruction Has Begun IsraelNationalNews (June 4, 2007) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday the countdown to Israel’s destruction has begun. Ahmadinejad said that Hizbullah began the countdown in its war with the IDF last summer. "With Allah’s help, the countdown button to this regime’s [Israel's] destruction has been pushed by the hands of Lebanon and Palestine’s children,” he said in a speech to foreign guests in Tehran in honor of the 18th anniversary of the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Iran’s first Supreme Leader. " By Allah's will, we will witness the destruction of this regime in the near future thanks to the endeavors of Palestinian and Lebanese fighters." Ahmadinejad’s previous statement, regarding Israel being “wiped off the map,” was a quote of Khomeini. Iran’s “Supreme Leader” Ayatollah Ali Khameini declared Monday that Iran refuses to “beg world powers for its right to develop nuclear technology” and has demonstrated that it will not retreat from the "field of danger" and will protect those rights. "The world has learned from experience that an Iranian will never step back from the field of danger when defending his rights," Khameini said during a televised address Monday. Ahmadinejad spoke with Syrian president Bashar Assad this past week, during which Assad is reported, by Iran’s state-run news agency, to have said that “added coordination between Iran and Syria in confrontation with the Zionist regime and the USA can bear better results in the future.” The Iranian president congratulated Assad on his reelection. Assad ran unopposed and won 97% of the vote. more... | Iran | Gog/Magog | Israel | Islam |

The other war / Syria, not Gaza Haaretz (June 2, 2007) - The main reason the Israel Defense Forces is not currently recommending a major ground operation in the Gaza Strip is fear that war might break out with Syria this summer, IDF sources say. This argument is rarely mentioned publicly, in part because intelligence analysts are still uncertain about whether Syrian President Bashar Assad intends to start a war or is merely trying to pressure Israel to resume peace talks. But Syria has clearly been preparing for the possibility of war, both through troop training and major arms deals. As a result, the IDF believes it must also be ready for this possibility, and excessive activity on the southern front would undermine its capabilities in the north. From the army's perspective, Syria is the biggest threat; the Palestinian front is secondary. The army is also concerned that miscalculations of the enemy's intentions, on either side of the border, could lead to war between Syria and Israel even if neither side wants it. Precisely this scenario was the subject of a major military exercise last month. | Gog/Magog | Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

Syria Advances Military Exercise Schedule (May 13, 2007) - Syria has advanced its military schedule in what could signal plans for war with Israel in 2007. Officials said Syria has decided to conduct a series of major military exercises in May through July. They said the decision was meant to accelerate preparations for a war against Israel in the summer of 2007. "Syria is now in the middle of an unprecedented process of a huge military buildup," Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh said. "They have acquired state-of-the-art Russian weapons, huge quantities of long-range rockets and missiles." Officials said Syria was close to concluding negotiations to purchase advanced anti-aircraft systems from Russia. They said the systems could include the S-300PMU1 air and missile defense system as well as the TOR-M1 mobile short-range anti-aircraft battery. | Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

Israeli Envoy: Syrian Build-up - the Strongest Since 1973 War (May 5, 2007) - Israel's Ambassador in Washington says Syria is developing its most serious threat against Israel since it attacked Israel in the Yom Kippur War of 1973. "We see Syria developing a very serious threat on the northern border," Ambassador Sallai Meridor told journalists in Washington on Wednesday.  He said the threat is manifest in military activity, training, great investments in military equipment - and the build-up of a large arsenal of Scud missiles. "In the past," Meridor said, "the assumption was that the Syrians' tanks and air force were not among the most advanced. Now, however, we are concerned that they might think that with a large arsenal of rockets that can reach everywhere in Israel, they have the capacity... to threaten us." The last time Israel's north-eastern neighbor threatened Israel so fiercely build-up was the 1973 Yom Kippur War.  That war was set off when Syria and Egypt simultaneously attacked Israel on the holiest day of the Jewish year. "We hope they do not have offensive intentions," Meridor said, "but we cannot be sure." The ambassador said that Israel is attempting to pass "calming messages" to Syria, but that Syria continues to "thwart attempts to create attempts to create an atmosphere that will promote peace." Syria has demanded for 40 years that Israel relinquish control over the Golan Heights - the mountainous area from which Syria often launched attacks against Israeli communities below until Israel captured the Golan in the 1967 Six Day War. Long one of Israel's most implacable enemies, Syria continues to provide assistance, money and training to Hamas, Hizbullah, and other terrorist groups. | Iran | Gog/Magog | Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 | Companion Story |

An interesting link to make for sure! Final Trumpet, one of the watchmen at Fulfilled Prophecy, just recently shared with me an interesting observation that leads me to believe Syria, Russia, Turkey, and Iran among others may be planning for a September 22 attack on Israel. There's other news about an expected war in the summer of 2007. And September 22 is also Yom Kippur! Keep watching!

Mass Military Maneuvers Foresee Syrian Attack (April 29, 2007) - The Israel Defense Forces, which although one of the world’s top battle-tested armies was bested by the Lebanese Hizb’allah terror group 10 months ago, is undergoing intensive drills in anticipation of a surprise Syrian attack on the Golan Heights. Last Thursday saw thousands of IDF troops and hundreds of tanks deployed for war games in the Judean wilderness, in what observers called one of the largest training exercises carried out in a number of years. Security analysts in Israel believe Syrian dictator Bashar el-Assad to be a weak leader who could initiate a surprise grab of the Golan Heights in an effort to earn esteem in the eyes of his people. Assad is believed to have been wowed by Hizb’allah’s successful use of rocket fire to drive fear into the hearts of millions of Israelis and deal heavy blows to the Israeli economy. Since last summer, heads of Israel’s various intelligence agencies have reported Syria gearing up for war, though most assessments agree the process is defensive rather than offensive. Nonetheless, Israel’s war scenarios include the use of elite Syrian troops backed by advanced Russian-made tanks and ballistic surface-to-surface missiles capable of hitting any Israeli center. While IDF officials interviewed about last week’s mass military maneuvers said any Syrian strike was likely to be conventional, Damascus is known to possess non-conventional weapons, including VX gas warheads for its SCUD missiles. US Secretary of State Robert Gates recently cautioned Israel that the situation with Syria was increasingly volatile and could explode if not handled carefully. more... | Gog/Magog | Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

Iranian Defense Minister in Syria (March 17, 2007) - Iran's Defense Minister, Brigadier-General Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, is in Syria on an official visit, and is scheduled to attend talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "Expansion of defense and military cooperation between Iran and Syria" was the focus of the first round of talks by the two countries' defense ministers in Damascus on Saturday, according to Iranian news agency Fars. The two ministers also "explored... ways of accelerating implementation of the two countries' agreements." General Najjar arrived in Damascus Friday night on a three-day visit, and was given an official welcome by his Syrian counterpart Lieutenant General Hassan Ali Turkman. The visit follows Turkmani's trip to Tehran last June. Report: Syria stations missiles along Israeli border Syria has stationed thousands of missiles along the Israeli border, Agence France-Presse reported, relying on unnamed military sources who said the rockets are camouflaged or hidden underground and can strike at targets from the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) to Haifa. IDF officials responded that they have not noted any unusual activity and that Syria is not preparing to attack Israel. They said, however, that increased arms sales from Russia to Syria have brought back bitter memories of the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Then, top military and intelligence advisors convinced Golda Meir, who was Prime Minister, that her fears of war were exaggerated. The day before the Yom Kippur War broke out on the Egyptian and Syrian fronts, "we received a report that worried me," the former Prime Minister wrote in her book 'My Life'. She gathered top officials in her office hours before the beginning of Yom Kippur and told them, "I have a terrible feeling that this has all happened before" - referring to the days before the Six Day War in 1967. At the end of the meeting, the head of intelligence told her aide, "Don't worry. There won't be a war." Several hours later, Syria and Egypt staged a two-pronged attack that caught the country unaware and with its back to the wall. All sources now agree that Syria is arming, but do not agree on why. Russia has proposed a $1 billion sale of advanced anti-tank rockets to Syria, similar to the weapons that Hizbullah has successfully used against the IDF in last summer's war. The weapons have a range of six kilometers (almost four miles), and some of the rockets probably would go to Hizbullah, which Israeli officials have repeatedly insisted is smuggling weapons into Lebanon from Syria. One scenario that discounts war is that Syria simply is preparing its defense against an Israeli attack. Former military intelligence chief Gen. Aharon Ze'evi-Farkash recently said, "In Syria's estimation it is preparing for a war this [coming] summer initiated by Israel, not Syria, and so it is focusing on reinforcing its arsenal." more... | Iran | Gog/Magog | Israel | Islam |

Israel Will Never Return Golan Heights (March 14, 2007) - “Israel will never retreat from the Golan Heights; the region is an integral part of Israel and vital for its security and protection,” Likud Knesset Member Yisrael Katz said Wednesday evening in response to the European Union’s support of Syria’s claim to regain the disputed territory. Earlier on Wednesday EU Foreign Policy chief Javier Solana told a joint news conference with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem in Damascus that, “We would like to work as much as possible to see your country Syria recuperate the territory taken in 1967." Katz said Solana should focus on “pressuring the Syrian president (Bashar Assad ) to stop supporting Palestinian terror and the flow of Iranian arms to Hizbullah as part of the regional axis of evil.” 'Most Israelis would support such a deal' Fellow Likud Knesset member and former Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Solana’s comments are indicative of a “complete diplomatic collapse.” “After Europe decided to talk to Hamas, today it announces that it supports the return of the Golan (to Syria),” he said. “This is a disturbing development. The relations with Europe are very important to Israel, and everything must be done to get them back on the right track.” However, Knesset members from the other side of the political spectrum welcomed Solana’s statements. “Negotiations (on the Golan) must lead to security arrangements and the end of Syria’s contacts with Israel’s enemies,” Meretz chairman Yossi Beilin said. “Israel will have to return the Golan Heights region, which was under Syrian sovereignty until 1967.” | Israel | Islam |

2006

DEBKAfile’s sources: Tehran and Damascus are gearing up for a pre-emptive Syrian attack on Israel to ward off a US strike on Iran’s nuclear sites (October 7, 2006) - Our military and Washington sources read as preparatory justification the Syrian ruler Bashar Asad’s statement Saturday, Oct. 7, that he expects an Israeli attack. He was speaking in an interview to Kuwaiti paper al-Anba. Asad’s Iranian-backed war plan would serve the purpose of forcing the Americans to divide their military assets between a strike against Iran and the defense of their allies in the Persia Gulf, Israel and US forces in Iraq. Both are seriously looking at a Syrian attack on the Golan which would escalate into a full-blown Syrian-Israeli war and a second Hizballah assault from Lebanon. Asad’s remark that during the Lebanon hostilities, he was under pressure from the Syrian population to go to war against Israel and liberate the Golan is the most direct threat of belligerency of all his four Golan statements in the last month. He is implying that he stood up to the pressure once but may not do so again. more... | Iran | Gog/Magog | Israel | Islam | America |

This could be Israel's reason to pre-empt the Syrian-Iranian pre-emption and we could see the destruction of Damascus in Isaiah 17. This could be the hooks in the jaws" that brings Iran, Russia, Turkey, and the other players against Israel fulfilling Ezekiel 38,39. This in turn could help allow the Jews to rebuild the temple on the Temple Mount. This, of course, sets the stage for the revealing of the man of sin, the abomination of desolation. Keep watching!