Iran's puppets making a move

When viewing the situation in the Middle East, and making attempts to understand various events in and around Israel, it always helps to go back to the basic understanding of how things operate in the region.

As predicted in Bible prophecy we know that Israel will be surrounded by her enemies. That is easy to understand. Perhaps of greater importance is to understand the power and influence that Iran has in the region. First, the terrorist group Hamas, with its base in Gaza, is largely understood to be directly under the influence of Iran. This is easily confirmed by analysis of the missiles launched from Gaza, and the ships which have been intercepted in route to Gaza, filled with Iranian weapons. Then we turn to Hezbollah, who occupies the southern part of Lebanon - a group formed by Iran and funded by Iran, and, like Hamas, obtains its weapons from Iran, through Syria. Oh, and while we're on that topic, it is well known that Syria is also one of Iran's closest allies in the region.

Because of this, whenever I see any "action" from any of the above mentioned groups, one must first think, "What is Iran's motivation for having _____ (insert Hamas, Hezbollah, or Syria) do this?"

That leads to these recent articles:

"Syria: Israel cannot hold referendum on land it doesn't own".

"Syrian deputy FM: Continued Golan 'occupation' makes resistance necessary". This brief article is included below:


"Israel will not be able to achieve peace with Syria without relinquishing the Golan Heights, making resistance necessary as long as the "occupation" continues, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Fayssal Mikdad said during a university symposium held north of Damascus on Monday.

According to an Israel Radio report, Mikdad also stated that if talks with Israel were to fail, Damascus would resort to other means to recapture the territory.

The event, titled "Syria's vision on the future of the Golan and the peace process," aimed to explore various topics related to the Golan Heights - including its geopolitical importance and "the falsity of the Israeli Knesset's decision to annex it."

Citing UN resolutions supporting his point, Mikdad asserted that the annexation was an expression of Israel's hostility and attempts to "usurp the rights" of nations in the region.

He added that a solution to the issue of the Golan Heights could only be drafted as part of a comprehensive peace agreement between Israel and its Arab neighbors."


It is interesting that at this critical time in attempts to forge peace in the Middle East, Syria would start "sabre-rattling" right now. Whoever occupies the Golan Heights, because of its strategic location, has an enormous advantage in the event of warfare in the region. This is not a secret. This will be worth watching closely, as I suspect Iran would love to have that strategic advantage prior to any invasion of Israel.

At the same time, we see movement by an increasingly armed Hamas:

"Hamas preparing advanced rockets, missiles and tunnels".

Quotes:

"Since Operation Cast Lead ended almost a year ago, Hamas has increased its weapons smuggling and today operates hundreds of tunnels along the Philadelphi Corridor. It has smuggled in dozens of long-range Iranian-made rockets that can reach Tel Aviv as well as advanced anti-aircraft missiles and anti-tank missiles."

"Hamas is believed to have a significant number of shoulder-launched anti-tank missiles and 9M113 Konkurs, which have a range of four kilometers and are capable of penetrating heavy armor.

In addition, Hamas is believed to have today a few thousand rockets, including several hundred with a range of 40 kilometers and several dozen with a range of between 60 and 80 km. Intelligence assessments are that Hamas smuggled the missiles into the Gaza Strip through tunnels, possibly in several components."


"Hamas has also recently increased its efforts to dig what the IDF calls "offensive tunnels" close to the border with Israel, which the terror group could use to infiltrate into Israel and kidnap soldiers.

These tunnels are believed to be of strategic value for Hamas, which would only use them for large-scale attacks and high-value targets."


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Both Hamas and Hezbollah have been receiving massive arms shipments from Iran over the last two years (this is in addition to the weapons sent to the region during previous years). We now see that at least some of the preparations (see last quote above) are intended for large-scale attacks into Israel. At the same time, Syria is threatening Israel in a dispute over ownership of the Golan Heights.

What is going on? All you have to do is look towards Iran. Is this setting up to be a diversion? Will Iran attempt to use Hezbollah, Hamas and possibly Syria to weaken Israel for a larger attack? Is this part of the ongoing efforts to consolidate the collection of nations and terrorists groups who will invade Israel in the Ezekiel 38-39 (aka "Gog-MaGog") attack?

It is hard to know exactly what Iran is planning, but they wouldn't be pouring such vast amounts of money and resources into the region for nothing. Something is being planned, and it won't be pretty for Israel. Only time will tell, but that time appears to be growing short.

Sooner or later, these enemies of Israel will be defeated dramatically on the "mountains of Israel".

We may or may not be here to see this take place. I am officially voting "no" on that one. I have a home in New Jerusalem that is awaiting my arrival.

Maranatha!