Fears that war between Israel and Hizbollah is �Imminent�
Telegraph UK (Link) - Alex Spillius, Richard Spencer & Adrian Blomfield (April 15, 2010)
The king, in Washington for President Barack Obama�s nuclear summit, gave his warning after Israel claimed that Syria had handed over Scud missiles in its armoury to the Lebanon-based Hizbollah.
His comments, which were made to private meeting of the US Congressional Friends of Jordan caucus were said to be �sobering.�
Syria yesterday denied the allegation that it has provided Hizbollah with long-range Scud missiles, which would allowing them to target Israel�s cities. The country�s foreign ministry said the claims would be used as a pretext by Israel to raise tension prior to a possible attack on Hizbollah.
�For some time now, Israel has been running a campaign claiming that Syria has been supplying Hizbollah with Scud missiles in Lebanon,� a foreign ministry statement released yesterday said.
�Syria strongly denies these allegations which are an attempt by Israel to raise tensions in the region.�
However, the statement did not appear to rule out an alternative possibility being raised by defence sources, that Damascus has allowed Hizbollah control of or access to Scud missiles still currently in Syria.
Similar sources say that Syria has trained Hizbollah operatives on advanced anti-aircraft batteries, possibly a more useful tool since Hizbollah � and the Lebanese army - fears the overwhelming air superiority enjoyed by Israeli jets.
The Obama administration voiced alarm, though one source said it was still not certain whether the transfer had yet physically taken place.
�We are obviously increasingly concerned about the sophisticated weaponry that is allegedly being transferred,� said Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman. �We have expressed our concerns to those governments and believe that steps should be taken to reduce any risk and any danger.�
Allegations of the Scud transfer have continued to cause unease at a time when many other political issues in the Middle East are at an impasse.
Ehud Barak, the Israeli defence minister, said that the alleged transfer would alter the strategic balance of power between Hizbollah and Israel, which fought a short but bloody war in 2006.
An aide to Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said that the pace of Hizbollah�s re-armament and Syria�s role in it was causing growing alarm in the Jewish state.
�We are very conscious of the build-up of Hizbollah�s military machine,� the aide said. �We have unfortunately seen new types and greater quality of missiles. The Syrian role in passing those weapons to Hizbollah is ongoing and is dangerous.�
Al-Rai, the Kuwaiti newspaper which first raised the allegations, said a Hizbollah source had confirmed it had access to Scuds but that they were old and unusable. The source said the issue was being blown out of proportion by Israel in order to create a media frenzy.
The newspaper did, however, link the claims to Hizbollah�s threat that if Lebanese infrastructure, such as Beirut Airport, came under attack in the event of conflict, Israel would be hit in turn, including towns at the edge of the range of Hizbollah�s known missile arsenal.
What is undisputed is that all sides are raising the stakes in the absence of negotiations between Israel and either Palestinian factions or Syria.
The Syrian leader, Bashar al-Assad, has balanced overtures to Washington with reassurances that his alliances with both Hizbollah and Iran remain strong.
He held a high-profile meeting in Damascus with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran and the Hizbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in February.
Officials in Syria have warned that it would join in any war involving Israel, Lebanon and Hizbollah.
Isaiah 17:1-14
The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid. The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the LORD of hosts. And in that day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean. And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; and it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim. Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the LORD God of Israel. At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel. And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves, or the images. In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel: and there shall be desolation.Damascus is the oldest continually inhabited city and has never been destroyed as prophesied, meaning this is yet to come. What I find interesting is that Syria is sitting smack-dab in the center of the conflict, allowing weapons supplies to pass through to those more directly involved with the terrorism against Israel. Furthermore, Damascus is a kind of center for terrorists. The question, is Damascus taken away from being a city and become a desolation because Israel does something to cause that? And if so, how would the rest of the nations react given defense agreements between Syria and Iran and the other alliances with nations such as Turkey?
Jack Kinsella posted a look at Psalm 83 on February 9, 2010, and while the February 11 announcement wasn't as stunning as claimed, the article delves into what I believe we are seeing unfolding now as a possible pretext to the fulfillment of Isaiah 17 leading to the fulfillment of Ezekiel 38, 39. Keep watching!