Israel Prepares For War

Israel Prepares As War Clouds Gather -- The Independent

Russia’s insistence that it will supply Syria with S300 missiles has heightened fears that they could fall into the hands of Hezbollah

From the window of Shrifa Schlomitz’s dental surgery at the top of a high rise in the Stella Maris area of Haifa, you can clearly see the three Patriot missile batteries pointing over the Mediterranean Sea towards the Lebanese border, just 30km away.

Dr Schlomitz has no interest in seeing them removed at the moment. Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group with which Israel fought a six-week long war in 2006 – a war that brought Haifa into the firing line of Hezbollah rockets – is too close for comfort again and the group’s deepening involvement in the Syrian civil war has increased the threat of new attacks, according to some.

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My Comment: Israel is not the only country preparing for war.

Israel Braces For The Worst As Syria's Civil War Escalates

Syria's Assad Warns Of War Against Israel

Assad Warns Israel, Claiming a Stockpile of Russian Weapons -- New York Times

BEIRUT, Lebanon — President Bashar al-Assad of Syria displayed a new defiance in a television interview broadcast on Thursday, warning Israel and suggesting that he had secured plenty of weapons from Russia as his opponents falter politically and Hezbollah fighters infuse force into his military campaign.

Mr. Assad spoke in an interview on Al Manar television, which is owned by his ally Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese Shiite militant group, further punctuating his message of growing confidence that he could prevail in a civil war that is now more than two years old and has claimed more than 80,000 lives.

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More News On Syrian President Assad's Warnings Against Israel, And Israel's Response

Assad: Syria will respond to any future Israeli strike -- Haaretz/Reuters
Syria will ‘strategically’ respond to new Israeli strikes – Assad -- RT
Assad: Arab world prepared to join fight against Israel -- Jerusalem Post
Syria’s Assad ‘confident in victory’ in civil war, warns of retaliation against Israel -- Washington Post/AP
Syrian Leader Mocks Foes and Threatens Israel -- Wall Street Journal
Israel airs concerns as Assad says Syria has received advanced missiles from Russia -- AP
Bashar al-Assad dares foes to take him on -- The Telegraph
Syria says it has advanced missiles from Russia, Israeli says new warfare coming -- USA Today
Former Israel Defense Minister: 'Our Air Force Can Deal With' Russian Missiles in Syria -- Weekly Standard
Analysis: Israel could swoop on S-300 missiles in Syria, but with risks -- Reuters
Syria's new anti-aircraft missiles will be game-changing, say defence analysts -- The Guardian
When Assad shells rebels, Israel goes on alert and learns -- Reuters

Syria Launches Cyberattack Against israel (It Fails)

Haifa coast. Photo by Rami Shalosh

Israeli Official: Syria Attempted To Mount Cyberattack On Haifa's Water Infrastructure -- Haaretz

Attack was meant to be a retaliation for what foreign news sources reported were Israeli airstrikes in Syria, former security adviser Isaac Ben-Israel said.

Syria has attempted to mount a cyberattack on Haifa's water infrastructure but failed, an Israeli official said Saturday.

Professor Isaac Ben-Israel, a former cyber security adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said that the attack took place two weeks ago and was meant as retaliation for what foreign news sources reported as an Israeli strike on a Syrian research center.

"The attack was carried out by a cyber unit within the Syrian army, and it failed," Ben-Israel said at a "Shabbat Tarbut" cultural event in Be'er Sheva.

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More News On Syria's Cyber Attack Against Israel

Israeli Expert Says Syria Cyberattack Foiled -- ABC News/AP
Syria attempted to sabotage Haifa’s water supply -- Times of Israel
Report: Syria cyber attacked Haifa's water system -- YNet News
Syrian cyber attack on Haifa water system thwarted -- Globes
Syrian hackers try to attack Haifa's water supply -- Jerusalem Post
Syria's Electronic Army attempted attack on Haifa's water system -- Global Post
Israeli official: Syrian group tried to disrupt Haifa water system -- UPI

Is Israel Preparing A Bufferzone On The Syrian Side Of The Golan Heights?

A United Nations observation tower overlooking Syria is seen near the Kuneitra border crossing between Israel and Syria, on the Golan Heights May 8, 2013. Photo by Reuters

Israel Maintaining Intense Intelligence Activity In Syria And Working With Local Villagers, Report Says -- Haaretz

New York Times says Israel has discounted the possibility of a buffer zone in Syria as it would be seen as incursion and spark immediate conflict with Assad's forces, but is considering a 'proxy' force in the country.

Israeli forces are "maintaining intense intelligence activity" in Syria and have "quietly" begun working with villagers there unallied to either the rebels or President Bashar Assad's regime amid increasing fears that the Syrian civil war will spill over its borders, The New York Times reported on Thursday.

"Several Israelis who follow Syria closely said Israeli security forces had already been quietly working with villagers who support neither the government nor the rebels, supplying moderate humanitarian aid and maintaining intense intelligence activity," The Times reported.

Israel has said it does not want to intervene in its northern neighbors' civil war, but has maintained that it has the right to defend itself if attacked.

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My Comment: Establishing a buffer zone or arming "friendly" Syrians on the border is not going to work .... a position that the Israelis themselves are fully aware of. But Israeli cannot stay neutral as the fighting spills over into it's territory .... and this is the dilemma that they are now faced with.

Israel's Air Force Chief Warns Of ‘Surprise War’ With Syria

Air Force Chief Warns Of ‘Surprise War’ With Syria -- Times of Israel

Amir Eshel says Assad’s ‘immense arsenal’ could be turned on Israel at any moment, accompanied by rockets from Gaza and Lebanon.

The commander of the Israeli Air Force, which has reportedly bombarded targets in Syria several times in recent months, warned Wednesday that war could break out on Israel’s northern border at any moment, demanding the full engagement of the IAF’s resources.

“If tomorrow Syria collapses, and I am not saying that will happen, we could find ourselves in the thick of it very fast and in great number,” IAF commander Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel said, illustrating how the nature of surprise wars had changed for Israel since the Yom Kippur War in 1973.

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Previous Posts:
Growing Israeli Concerns That The Syrian Civil War Is Spiraling Out Of Control

Senior Israeli Intelligence Official: 'Better The Devil We Know Than Demons We Can Only Imagine If Syria Falls'

Israeli Commandos Filmed In Syria By FOX News

More News On Israel's Air Force Chief Warning Of A ‘Surprise War’ With Syria

General says Israel poised for war on Syria if Assad falls -- Reuters
Israeli air force chief says military needs to be ready for 'surprise war' from Syria -- FOX News/AP
Israel general sees increased risk of surprise war -- Global Post/AFP
IAF Chief: S-300 is En Route to Syria; Surprise War is Possible -- Arutz Sheva

WNU Editor: The above video is a must see.

Israeli Commandos Filmed In Syria By FOX News

Fox News Video Allegedly Shows Israeli Special Forces Returning From A Mission In Syria -- Business Insider

Fox News has published a video which it says "captured, for the very first time, Israeli commandos coming back from inside Syria on a mission."

While not very surprising (if accurate), the video raises some interesting aspects of Israel's role in the 26-month-old conflict on its northern border.

First, Israeli soldiers returning from Syria highlights what the country means by intervention, as apparently sending commandos into Syria doesn't count.

The official Israeli position on Syria is that “Israel has so far refrained from intervening in Syria’s civil war and will maintain this policy as long as Assad refrains from attacking Israel directly or indirectly,” which is what a senior Israeli official told the New York Times this week.

Israel has executed three unilateral airstrikes inside Syria since January — one of which hit Assad's mountain stronghold in Damascus — based on the conviction that it will not allow sophisticated weaponry to be transferred to Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

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My Comment: I expect Mossad to be observing (and spying) WMD movements in Syria .... and producing reports on what is the state of the Syrian civil war that is independent from Syrian/rebel/international reports .... but sending Israeli commandos into Syria .... if this report is true it this is telling me that there is probably more happening on the border than what they are telling us.

Senior Israeli Intelligence Official: 'Better The Devil We Know Than Demons We Can Only Imagine If Syria Falls'

Image from The Guardian

'Israel Wants To Keep Assad In Power' -- UPI

Middle Eastern politics are notorious for their Byzantine twists and conspiracy theories, but Israeli leaders seem to be sending some strange and contradictory signals to Syria these days.

BEIRUT, Lebanon, May 22 (UPI) -- Middle Eastern politics are notorious for their Byzantine twists and conspiracy theories and now Israeli leaders seem to be sending some strange and contradictory signals to Syria these days.

While some threaten to bring down the wrath of God on President Bashar Assad if he retaliates for a string of recent Israeli airstrikes targeting his missile depots, others are indicating they want him to stay on, suitably weakened of course, because an Islamist regime taking over in Damascus would be much too dangerous.

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My Comment: Is Israel supporting the Assad regime in Syria .... I doubt it. But bleeding the Syrian regime and their allies .... namely Hezbollah and Iran .... is in Israel's interest, and is probably the policy that they are pursuing now.

Growing Israeli Concerns That The Syrian Civil War Is Spiraling Out Of Control

Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz in action during a live fire exercise for Israeli army battalion commanders taking place on the Golan Heights, Israel, 04 September 2012. (photo credit: Shay Wagner /IDF/FLASH90)

Officials Warn Of Syria Conflict Quickly Spiraling Out Of Control -- Times of Israel

Army chief says flare-ups could devolve into serious confrontations; minister predicts rockets on Israeli cities ‘only a matter of time’.

IDF Chief of General Staff Benny Gantz toured the Golan near the border with Syria Tuesday, and told lawmakers that tensions in the north could quickly devolve into war.

Other senior officials echoed his worries, with Home Front Defense Minister Gilad Erdan warning that it was only a matter of time before major Israeli cities started getting pounded by rockets.

The statements were made the day before a large Home Front Command drill scheduled for the Ashkelon region in the south of the country, which comes against the backdrop of increasingly harsh rhetoric on both sides of the border.

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More News On Israeli Concerns That The Syrian Civil War Is Spiraling Out of Control

General says Israel ready to attack Syria should Assad fall -- Daily Star
Amid Syria tensions, IAF chief says 'surprise war' a threat -- Jerusalem Post
Israeli Air Force Chief Warns of Syrian Attacks -- ABC News/AP
Israel warns Syria over Golan Heights clashes -- The Australian/AFP
Israel warns Syria: More strikes loom -- Washington Times
General says Israel ready to attack Syria should Assad fall -- Reuters
Israel warns Syria to halt attacks after exchange of fire in the Golan Heights -- Washington Post
Syria-Israel tensions simmer over Golan Heights skirmish -- Deutsche Welle

Israeli Military Chief Warns Syria After Both Sides Exchange Fire On The Golan Heights

Israeli Military Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, with binoculars, and other officers observe Syria from the Golan Heights. (Tal Manor / Israel Defense Forces / May 21, 2013)

Syria, Israel Exchange Fire On Golan Heights -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Syria said its troops destroyed an Israeli vehicle that crossed into its territory from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday and warned that any attempt to violate its sovereignty would meet "immediate and firm retaliation".

Israel said the incident took place on its side of the Golan ceasefire line, that the vehicle was damaged but not destroyed, none of its soldiers were hurt and they returned fire.

The clash highlighted the potential for renewed conflict along a frontline that has become increasingly fraught after nearly four decades of calm overseen by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his father.

It also followed Israeli airstrikes near Damascus against suspected missile stockpiles two weeks ago, after which Syria threatened to retaliate.

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More News On Border Skirmishes Between Israel And Syria

Israel warns Syria of 'consequences' if Golan fire continues -- AFP
Israeli military chief issues stark warning after Syria, Israel trade fire across border -- FOX News/AP
Israel warns Syria: More strikes loom -- Washington Times
Israeli, Syrian troops trade fire in Golan Heights -- Washington Post
Syria and Israel in exchange of fire -- BBC
Israel and Syria exchange fire in the Golan Heights -- The Guardian
Syria, Israel exchange fire across cease-fire line -- L.A. Times
Syria Fires at Israeli Vehicle, Raising Fears -- ABC News
Syrian Army fires across border into Israel to retaliate for airstrikes -- Christian Science Monitor
Israel may step up strikes inside Syria, military warns -- USA Today
Gantz: If Assad escalates attacks, he'll bear consequences -- Jerusalem Post
Israeli Military Chief Warns Syrian Regime -- Military.com/AP
Gantz: Assad will pay if he deteriorates situation in Golan -- YNet News
Israeli soldier killed during land mine clearing near Syrian border -- Haaretz
Austria says peackeepers may quit Golan if EU arms rebels -- Reuters

Is Syria Preparing A Missile Strike Against Tel Aviv In Case They Are Attacked Again?

Report: Assad Preparing Missile Strike Against Tel Aviv In Case Attacked Again -- Haaretz

The Syrian army is deploying advanced surface-to-surface missiles aiming at Israel in the aftermath of the alleged Israeli strikes, The Sunday Times reports.

Syria is making preparations to strike Tel Aviv in case Israel launches another attack on its territory, The Sunday Times reported on Sunday.

The Syrian army has begun deploying advanced surface-to-surface missiles, the report said, adding that it has received orders to strike central Israel in case additional attacks against Syria are carried out.

Syria is making preparations to strike Tel Aviv in case Israel launches another attack on its territory, The Sunday Times reported on Sunday.

The Syrian army has begun deploying advanced surface-to-surface missiles, the report said, adding that it has received orders to strike central Israel in case additional attacks against Syria are carried out.

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My Comment: If Syria launches a missile strike against Syria .... here is an easy prediction .... Israel will perceive this as an act of war, and will retaliate with massive missile and airstrikes. Since they will be probably targeting command and control centers, this will be a bonus for Syria's rebels .... a prospect that Assad may .... in the end .... be the reason why he will not retaliate.

Update: Fears grow of clash between Israel and Syria -- L.A. Times