The new tools are being integrated as part of the IDF’s range of measures for curbing violent riots in Judea and Samaria.

Soldiers of the Central Command have already begun using protective suits, and they will receive hundreds more in the coming month. The protective suits are designed to absorb shocks, stones and clubs.

“This suit provides a wider possibility for the soldier to approach and even to run, and it gives the soldiers more confidence,” Maj. Yuval Yaron, head of weapons and technology for the Central Command, told the IDF Website. He added that the suits are lightweight and have been proven to be extremely effective.

The Central Command is also looking into the possibility of integrating a new non-lethal bullet to replace its rubber bullets. The new variety is a 40-millimeter bullet with a sponge tip, giving it the advantage of being safe at close range.

Maj. Yaron stated that the new bullets are currently undergoing testing at the Chief Medical Officer’s headquarters and are expected to be integrated by the end of the year, according to the IDF blog.

Last month, the Central Command’s Fire Formation received dozens of GPS units made by GARMIN, which specializes in satellite navigation devices.

The devices are designed for navigation in the field, and they allow users to establish specialized routes. “It is a very user-friendly device which is designated for soldiers from special units only, at present,” Maj. Yaron explained.

Article source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/168141

One of the sixteen men has reported links to the 1994 murder of sixteen-year-old yeshiva student Ari Halberstam in a terror attack on the Brooklyn Bridge.

Muaffaq Askar, who was arrested last week in New York, has long been suspected of supplying Rashid Baz with weapons he used to attack a van carrying 15 Lubavitch students on the Brooklyn Bridge.

Baz reportedly called Askar his “Palestinian uncle. ”

The cigarette-smuggling scheme is believed to have cost New York state millions of dollars in sales tax revenue, according to authorities, with investigators saying that they uncovered $55 million in illegal cigarette sales.

“This case started because we were being vigilant about terrorism,” police commissioner Ray Kelly said in a statement. “We discovered that individuals who were on our radar for links to known terrorists were engaged in a massive raid on the New York Treasury in the form of cigarette tax avoidance.”

According to reports, the proceeds from the smuggling scheme are believed to have gone to support the terrorist organizations of Hamas and Hizbullah.

“The proceeds from this alleged scheme can be used to fund a host of other criminal acts that threaten national security and public safety of Americans at home and abroad,” said James T. Hayes Jr., special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations, according to CNN.

Article source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/168139

The residents notified the IDF.

A resident, Uri Arnon, told the Tazpit News Agency: “I felt we were going back 75 years, losing our hold on the land. The Arabs no longer feel the need to hide their murderous tendencies, announcing out loud that they wish to annihilate us.”

An IDF spokesman said that the flag was hung on an electrical line, and that they were waiting to professionals to come and remove it.

Article source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/168146

Lapid said he would not stop the so-called “natural expansion” of the Jewish communities, nor curtail the financial incentives offered to Israelis to move there. He said that eastern Jerusalem, liberated by Israel in the Six Day War, must stay Israeli, because “we didn’t come here for nothing.”

Lapid said that tens of thousands of Jews would someday be uprooted from what he described as “remote settlements,” but that this problem should be set aside for now. According to the NYT, he advocated the immediate creation of an interim Palestinian state in parts of the West Bank where no Jews live, with final borders drawn in perhaps three, four or five years.

“While he described the two-state solution as ‘crucial’ to preserving Israel as a Jewish nation, he offered no hints of Israeli concessions that could break the stalemate in the peace process,” NYT reporters wrote in their summary of the interview. “Instead, he repeatedly said he hoped that Secretary of State John Kerry, who is scheduled to arrive here next week for his fourth visit in two months, would ‘jump-start’ it.”

Article source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/168138

The regime is mindful of violent street protests that social networkers inspired after the last elections over claims of fraud, the report said. The authorities deny such claims, but have not explained exactly why service has become slower.

Businesses, banks and even state organizations are not spared by the widespread disruption in the Internet, local media say. “The Internet is in a coma,” the Ghanoon daily was quoted as having said in a report in early this month.

“It only happens in Iran: the election comes, the Internet goes,” it said, quoting a tweet in Farsi.

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and numerous other sites, including thousands of Western ones, have been censored in Iran since massive street demonstrations that followed the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009.

Those protests, stifled by a heavy-handed crackdown that led to numerous arrests and even deaths, were instigated online and observers say the authorities are choking the Internet to prevent a recurrence.

One DVD vendor, who sells illegal copies of Western movies downloaded online, said, according to AFP, that “you can forget about downloading stuff; the bandwidth drops every other minute.”

A network supervisor at a major Internet service provider in Tehran said his company had been unable to address complaints about slower speeds, particularly accessing pages using the HTTPS secure communications protocol.

“Browsing (the net) is difficult due to the low speed. Even checking e-mails is a pain,” he said. “Sometimes, loading a secure Google page takes a few long seconds,” he added.

The problem is not limited to slower speeds, but also affects what people can actually access.

Earlier this month, an Iranian IT website reported that the last remaining software that enables users to bypass filters imposed on net traffic “has become practically inaccessible.”

Authorities refuse to officially confirm the new restraints, but former officials and media reports have accused the Supreme Council of Cyberspace of ordering them.

The council, set up in March 2012, is tasked with guarding Iranians from “dangers” on the Internet while enabling “a maximum utilization of its opportunities,” according to AFP.

The complaints come as Iran prepares to elect its new president on June 14, but the authorities reject claims that there is any link with that and the current problems. The disruptions are also linked to Iran’s stated plan of rolling out a national intranet that it says will be faster, more secure and clean of “inappropriate” content, observers say.

A total of 686 candidates are vying to replace Ahmadinejad, who cannot run for a third straight term according to Iranian law, in the country’s upcoming national election.

Among those who have registered to be considered for the post are Ahmadinejad’s top aide Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei and former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Iran’s former nuclear negotiator, Hassan Rowhani, has also joined the race, accusing the incumbent of needlessly incurring crippling economic sanctions.

The current nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, is also a presidential candidate. He pledged last week to “resist” western demands regarding his country’s nuclear program if he is elected.

Article source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/168132

No one was reported hurt in the incident.

The IDF’s general assessment is that the gunfire is spillover from the fighting in Syria, between forces loyal to President Bashar Assad and rebels.

There have been several incidents of fire from Syria hitting Israel in the last few months, including mortar shells. While the IDF said it saw the shells as “strays,” it responded with fire on some of the occasions.

Security experts have cast doubt, in the last 24 hours, on the reports that Syria has pointed missiles at Tel Aviv, to be fired if Israel attacks Syrian targets again.  

Article source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/168134

The IDF told Knesset Members that about 200 firebombs and 90 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have been thrown at the compound since November’s Pillar of Defense military operation in Gaza. That means an average of almost two bombs a day.

The military said that the very tall walls that have been constructed around the compound – nine meters high, or almost 30 feet – have not sufficed to provide security.

Committee Chairman Avigdor Lieberman instructed the military to examine plans that were drawn up a long time ago, to add a roof over the compound, in order to provide security for the worshipers inside. The military is to go back to the committee and report on its findings in a month’s time.

MK Orit Struk said after the discussion, “I am pleased with the results of the discussion and I hope that we will have the privilege of seeing Rachel’s Tomb turn from a bunker into a proper place of worship. I thank the IDF and the Border Police for the efforts they have been making in order make the place secure.”

Coalition Chairman MK Yariv Levin called the instruction to reexamine security arrangements “important” and predicted that it would lead to the protection of worshipers and of security personnel.

Article source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/168140

“We need this capacity in the short term. There are currently two countries in the world that build drones, the United States and Israel,” Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told the iTele TV channel.

“We are in discussions with each to buy some straight away,” he added.

Bloomberg reported that Le Drian, who was in Washington over the weekend to meet U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel as well as lawmakers and White House officials, said France had an “urgent need” for such drones.

The lack of remotely piloted observation planes was evident during the French military operation in Mali, Le Drian said, according to Bloomberg.

The French Le Monde newspaper reported on Saturday that France had received approval from the U.S. Pentagon to buy two Reaper drones, and that the deal needed backing from Congress.

The report in the French newspaper said France was looking at eventually buying a total of five or seven Reapers. The plan is to deploy the two U.S.-made drones in Mali before the end of the year, according to Le Monde.

Article source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/168130

According to the report, the Hizbullah terrorists were killed in the Syrian town of Qusayr, following clashes between Syrian rebels and regime forces who attempted to enter the town earlier in the day.

Sources also told Al Arabiya that dozens of Hizbullah members were wounded during the fight and had been taken to hospitals in Beirut, Lebanon for treatment.

The Hizbullah official who was killed is Fady al-Jazzar, according to Al Arabiya. Al-Jazzar is considered to be a major Hizbullah leader and was imprisoned in Israel until he returned to Lebanon in a prisoner-exchange deal with Israel, the report said.

News of his death came after contact was lost with the group that was under his command, Al Arabiya said.

Earlier in the day, Syrian state TV reported that Syrian troops had entered the center of the rebel stronghold of Qusayr, seizing the town’s main square and its municipality building.

However, Hadi Abdullah, a Syrian activist speaking from Qusayr, denied to Al Arabiya that the town has fallen into the hands of regime forces. The activist added that with support from Hizbullah terrorists, the Syrian regime is heavily shelling Qusayr, leveling civilian homes.

Qusayr is home to about 20,000 residents and has been besieged for weeks by government troops. In May, a spokesperson of the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) told Al Arabiya that Hizbullah was using artillery shells containing fatal Mustard Gas in the area.

The town is strategically important because it links Damascus with the coast, where regime loyalists are concentrated. This includes Alawites, to which the family of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad belongs.

Initially, the Lebanese-based Hizbullah denied it was assisting Assad quell the rebellion against him, but last year as the ongoing civil war in Syria continued, the terror group led by Hassan Nasrallah publicly offered to place itself at Assad’s disposal.

But already several months earlier, a soldier from the Free Syrian Army told The Independent newspaper, published in the UK, that Hizbullah’s Shiite Muslim terrorists are full military allies of the Syrian army and that “everyone knows they have fighters there.”

Hizbullah’s involvement in the Syrian civil war has been criticized both by the Syrian rebels as well as by political forces in Lebanon which oppose Hizbullah. The Syrian civil war has spilled into Lebanon on more than one occasion.

Article source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/168127

The American drummer is best known as a founding member and percussionist for the American heavy metal band Slayer. He is credited with pioneering the “double bass technique.” Slayer is estimated at having sold over 20 million records worldwide. They have won two Grammy awards and been nominated for five awards.

Lombardo is the latest in a long line of internationally famous musicians to perform and hold master classes in Israel in both the rock genre and other musical styles. The visit was organized by ProgStage, which has been bringing high-profile hard rock and metal acts to Israel.

Lombardo’s two days in Israel included interviews for the local media, a CD signing at a Tel Aviv music shop, and trips to Jaffa and Jerusalem where he put a note in the Western Wall.

He taught a drum clinic at the fully-packed Barby concert hall in Tel Aviv on May 1st. He shared the stage with well-known guitarist Yossi Sassi who performs with Orphaned Land, an Israeli group that mixes Sephardic and Middle Eastern melodies with metal. The event was dubbed “Thrash Meets Oriental.” Also on stage was Roei Friedman, who plays darbouka, hang, and other exotic percussion instruments and Or Lubianiker, bassist for Yossi Sassi and Oceanic. Lombardo also told the audience stories about his life and gave musical advice.

Ironically, one question was about founding Slayer guitarist Jeff Hannemann, who tragically died the next day, reportedly due to complications from a rare poisonous spider bite.

Dave sat down for an interview just before he went on stage. This was his first visit to Israel.

Question: How do you like Israel so far and where have you been visiting?

Answer: I love the country and I love the people. Everybody was very nice, warm, and kind. Last night we went to Jaffa, and had a very nice time. And of course today we were in Jerusalem and walked around a lot. It just amazes me. It’s the epicenter of faith. That’s where all is started. It’s such a beautiful feeling to be there and have these experiences.

Question: Since we are already talking about faith and tradition, let me ask you about your roots and upbringing. You were born in Havana and grew up in a Cuban family. Did you grown up in a traditional religious Cuban family?

Answer: Yes, very traditional. My Dad never even learned English. He just went to work, found a job, worked for a family, bought a house, and then retired. He lived the American dream without speaking a word of English. It still amazes me. My Mom can speak some English, but not too much. So the home was fully Cuban. I heard Spanish all the time. When I stepped outside the house I was in America and when I came home, it was Cuban music, Cuban food, and television in Spanish.

Question: Do you consider your identity to be Cuban-American?

Answer: Yes, absolutely. I speak a Cuban dialect of Spanish and I listen to Cuban music. I have passion for my country. I wish things would get resolved because I want to go back to Cuba. I’ve been everywhere, Israel, India, Japan, Indonesia, and all over Europe, but I’ve never been back to my own country. I have a very deep yearning.

Question: Your family left Cuba when you were 2 years old. Why did they move to California rather then Florida or Union City, N.J. where there were established Cuban-American communities?

Answer: Let me tell you the story. In the late 1950′s in Cuba they started to teach Communism in schools. So my Mom and Dad sent my older brothers and my sisters to America. This program was called Pedro Pan [Operation Peter Pan]. So my siblings were among the Pedro Pan children. They were sent to California. That’s why we ended up there later. When my siblings left, my parents said to them, we’ll see you in five months. But then the Cuban Missile Crises happened. The wall went up, and it was impossible to fly out from the country. My family managed to reunite only after five years. But in these five years, my parents had an extremely hard time. My father was forced to shut down his business because of Communism. My siblings were away, the family was almost destroyed. My Mom and Dad had terrible fights and arguments about everything. They were going to get a divorce. And then my mother became pregnant with me.

Question: Is it possible that all this tension and pressure is the root of the famous double bass technique? You are considered one of the most aggressive drummers in the metal genre?

Answer: Probably. My mother even says, “Thanks to Fidel Castro, David was born”. If not for the pressure, Pedro Pan, and the missile crisis, I might not have been born.

Question: You grew up with an immigrant identity, and so did Tom Araya, the singer and bassist of Slayer, who was born in Chile. Is there a Hispanic connection between you two?

Answer: Yes. I saw first Tom Araya when I was around ten years old. I saw him playing bass who he was about fourteen. Cubans had these Cuban clubs, where families would go and cook and dance to Cuban music would play. One day, they had a band called Tradewinds. There was this little kid on bass with really long hair, and that was Tom Araya.

Question: How did you discover your musical talent?

Answer: There was a lot of music played in my house and in the Cuban clubs. There were always bands playing. I would always stand backstage and watch them. My Mom would always say, “Davey, go outside, go dance with the girls, go play with the kids!” I would say, “No, Mom I wanna watch the band!” Cuban music is a very passionate music. You play very fast with a lot of emotions. Even certain parts of famous Slayer songs come from Cuban music. I didn’t take lessons. I taught myself by listening to music, watching the drummers and studying different musicians, not by notes and paper. I think listening is so important.

Question: So how did you end up in the world of heavy metal music?

Answer: The power and the aggression attracted me. I would hear a song on the radio, and if it was powerful, I would go and buy it. For example when I heard Led Zeppelin’s The Wanton Song I had to buy it. I remember being excited when Killers from Iron Maiden came out. They looked scary and I was fascinated by that. Now that I’m older, I listen to more mellow music. I like a lot of Latin jazz, Chucho Valdés, Arturo Sandoval, Paquito D’Rivera, Michel Camilo, and a lot of the classic Cuban music, and I draw from that. I would love to do a project with Latin artists. And an interesting project could happen with Yossi.

Question: Speaking of Yossi, have you ever heard any Israeli oriental metal, or Sephardic rock?

Answer: No. I never heard of Orphaned Land or Yossi Sassi until I came here, but I was very impressed by him. We were playing together and it was magic. I have a great appreciation for oriental, Balkan and gypsy music, the Greek stuff and also the music from this country, Israel. When I was talking to Patrick Losinsky [head of ProgStage productions] I was asking for some local musicians, maybe some klezmer musicians to play together with me. That’s when he introduced me to Yossi.

Gabriella Licsko is a lecturer and historian who made aliyah from Hungary. She lectures twice a week on Jewish history and Israeli society at the Orthodox Union Israel Center in Jerusalem. She is the former show host of Israel National Radio’s Welcome to the Tribe.

Article source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/168118

While the tomb – located near Kibbutz Eyal, just off Route 6 – is not one of the most popular or well-known tombs of forefathers, it is frequented on a more or less daily basis by Jews.

Those who came there in recent days found that the tomb has been desecrated and defaced, and that Arabic graffiti has been smeared all over it.

An IDF soldier who frequents the site said that he believes Muslims painted the site in Islamic colors to show that it belongs to them. The graffiti appears to say “the Tomb of Shamun (Shimon).”

Photographs of the defaced site have been handed over to an NGO that specializes in renovation of holy sites.

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Article source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/168119

The tragic event took place in the early morning hours of November 11, 2011. IDF soldiers in the south Hevron area were placed on alert and told to watch out for a Skoda-type car and stop it.

The video shows the soldiers setting up a roadblock, but the Skoda can be seen passing them, apparently without being noticed. Fifteen seconds later, Rabbi Mertzbach’s car appears.

The IDF investigation found that the soldiers tried to get Rabbi Mertzbach to stop his car by waving their arms and flashing a flashlight, but when he failed to do so they opened fire. A soldier can be seen firing at the car.

The soldier fired eight bullets, which killed the rabbi. The car veered into the guard rail at the right side of the road and then kept going for about 100 meters before stopping.

The Military Prosecution decided not to try the soldier who fired at the car.

The military investigation found that the road block was set up in a faulty way that made it difficult for oncoming cars to see it in time. Instructions to IDF soldiers manning roadblocks were changed following the incident and they may no longer fire at a vehicle that ignores a roadblock unless it endangers them.

Initial statements by the military following the incident blamed the slain rabbi for knowingly driving through the roadblock. These claims have been refuted. The rabbi drove that road at the same hour every morning and was accustomed to waving at the soldiers and continuing on his way uninterrupted. He was unable to see the roadblock in time.

Article source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/168120

South Korean officials had called the weapons tested “short-range guided missiles.”

On Sunday, they began referring to what was launched over the last two days as “projectiles,” saying they may have included not only the modified KN-02 short-range guided missile but also rockets from the new multiple launcher, The New York Times reported.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said that he was “very worried over North Korea’s provocative action,” and urged the regime to cease all provocations.

The move comes after recent months of increased hostilities, as North Korea tested long-range missiles and threatened the United States and South with nuclear war.

Pyongyang conducted a third nuclear test in February, spurring a new round of UN sanctions.

Earlier this month, Pyongyang sentenced an American, Kenneth Bae, to 15 years’ hard labor for allegedly plotting to overthrow the regime, prompting the State Department to demand his immediate release.

Article source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/168122

A skit from Saturday Night Live. The Iranian government’s response to “Argo,” is a film starring Mahmoud Ahmadinejad titled “Bengo F#ck Yourself.”

As part of the protest, the men took large hammers and created a gaping hole in the wall. Several men used the hole to enter Jerusalem without going through a security checkpoint.

The protest was part of the “Nakba Day” events in which Arabs mourn the creation of the state of Israel. “Nakba” means catastrophe.

The protesters say that Border Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets after they broke through the barrier, and that several people were hurt.

Border Police did not prevent the men from damaging the barrier, but have stationed officers at the site to prevent future infiltrations until the hole can be fixed.

The separation barrier was designed to protect Israeli communities from terrorism originating in Palestinian Authority-controlled Arab cities in Judea and Samaria. It was intended to run through much of Judea and Samaria. Construction on the barrier was frozen for years due to budget constraints, but is scheduled to restart this year.

The barrier has faced opposition from both PA Arabs and from some Israelis in Judea and Samaria, who say it splits their communities. Other Israelis support the barrier, saying it prevents terrorist murders. Those opposing them claim that the reduction in terrorism is due to the IDF’s returning to areas in Judea and Samaria that it had left because of the Oslo Accords.

A recent video shows PA Arab men freely entering Israel despite the barrier.

Article source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/168096

The protesters say the commercial Al-Ouga crossing between Egypt and Israel will remain closed until three policemen and four soldiers abducted by gunmen in the Sinai peninsula are released, the official MENA news agency reported.
   
Police had shut down the Rafah crossing with Gaza on Friday, a day after gunmen abducted the policemen, who worked in the crossing, and soldiers.
   
State media has said security officials were in talks with the abductors via local Bedouin leaders who hold sway in the increasingly lawless peninsula.
   
A spate of hostage-taking has rocked the Sinai, which borders Israel as well as Gaza, but they usually last for no longer than 48 hours and are often carried out by Bedouin seeking the release of jailed relatives. Gas pipelines to Jordan and Israel have been bombed repeatedly.
   
Such abductions have been on the rise since the 2011 uprising that toppled veteran president Hosni Mubarak.

Article source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/168098

His remarks came two weeks after air strikes near Damascus that were widely attributed to Israel, which a senior Israeli source said were aimed at preventing the transfer of sophisticated Iranian arms to Hizbullah, the Lebanese Shiite ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Netanyahu said the Middle East was going through its most sensitive period for decades, with the conflict in Syria at the center of the turmoil.

“We are closely following developments and changes there, and we are prepared for any scenario,” he said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting.

“The government of Israel is acting in a responsible, determined and prudent manner to ensure the supreme interest of the State of Israel which is the security of its citizens according to the policy we set: to prevent as far as possible leakage of advanced weapons to Hizbullah and terrorist elements,” he said.

“We will ensure the security interests of the citizens of Israel in the future.”

Israel has repeatedly warned that it will not permit the transfer of advanced weapons or chemical agents to Hizbullah or to any other terrorist groups.

On January 30, another strike on Syrian soil, which also was attributed to Israel by regional sources, destroyed what military intelligence officials say was a shipment of Russian-made SA-17 anti-aircraft missiles destined for Hizbullah.

Article source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/168100

Among those targeted by the attackers was the Shlissel family from Ariel. Mother Ayelet was driving, while her husband sat in the passenger seat and the couple’s three young children slept in the back seat.

Ayelet Shlissel recalled the attack in an interview Sunday with Arutz Sheva.

“We passed Wadi Harmiya and suddenly I heard the boom,” she said. “My husband was hit by a rock and fell onto me.”

“After a few seconds he came to, and he checked to see that everyone was OK,” she recalled. He husband would later require hospital care.

They did not stop to fully assess the damage, but simply left the scene as quickly as possible, she said. She realized the danger they had been in only after reaching the Eli junction and stopping to report the attack to security forces.

There, they saw how large the stone that had hit her husband had been, and saw that a smaller stone had hit the carseat in which their four-month-old daughter was sleeping. “I don’t want to think what would have happened if the [large] rock had hit the baby,” she said.

They later realized that many other drivers had suffered a similar attack at roughly the same time, she added. “This is terrorism in every sense of the word,” she said.

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Article source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/168101

Seven of the injured were soldiers, seven were police officers and two were civilians.

Two officers were hurt when they were hit by rocks during a riot in El Aroub. Four soldiers were lightly wounded when a firebomb led their jeep to crash.

A bus driver was lightly wounded by rocks, and a second civilian was lightly wounded when he was attacked by an Arab mob while driving to the Kotel (Western Wall) to pray. 

Three police officers were hurt in a mob attack at Shechem Gate, in the Old City of Jerusalem, and three others were hurt in a riot near Silwad.

On Saturday night IDF forces arrested three wanted terrorists, one in Kalkilya, one in Beir Zeit and one in Doha. 

Article source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/168091

According to the report, Syria is preparing to strike Israel in case the Jewish State launches another attack on its territory.

The army has received orders to strike central Israel in case additional attacks against Syria are carried out, according to the Sunday Times.

The information was reportedly obtained by reconnaissance satellites that were tracking the Syrian forces. According to the report, Syria was deploying advanced Tishreen missiles, which are capable of carrying a warhead of a half a ton.

On Saturday, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad told an Argentinean newspaper that Israel is assisting the rebels fighting to topple his regime.

“Israel is directly supporting the terrorist groups in two ways,” he said. “Firstly it gives them logistical support, and it also tells them what sites to attack and how to attack them.” 

Iran’s Foreign Minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, told the German Der Spiegel last week that Assad was unimpressed by recent alleged Israeli airstrikes in Damascus and plans to retaliate the next time such a strike takes place.

Syria’s Information Minister, Omran al-Zoubi, recently warned Israel that his country had a right to launch an operation against the Jewish State from the Golan Heights.

Al-Zoubi said that Israel committed an aggression against Syria recently by raiding military sites near Damascus. With these acts, he said, Israel violated international commitments.

“Accordingly, Syria has the right at this time and at any other time to deal with the Golan issue in the way the owner has the right to deal with his property, because the Golan is and has always been a Syrian Arab land,” he said.

The Syrian opposition, meanwhile, has accused Israel of collaborating with Iran and Hizbullah to keep Assad in power.

A commander in the Syrian opposition told a Turkish news agency that “Iran and Hizbullah are cooperating with Israel to be able to support Assad,” because the Syrian president “has protected Israel’s border for 40 years.”

Article source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/168088