Back To The Epicenter

Even though the U.S. elections are a huge story, prophetically the U.S. isn't really all that important - beyond the fact that for whatever reasons this country isn't mentioned in the detailed view of the Tribulation as seen in Revelation 6-18 (despite much verbiage given to the major players during this era). Speculation ranges from ideas that the 'gathering up' hits the U.S. harder than other world powers - to some kind of terrorism diminishing the U.S. to the most popular (now) that the current administration, with the ensuing debt, financial crisis and dismantling of the military accounts for the absence of any mention of the U.S. in biblical prophecy. 

Regardless of the mysteries of the 'disappearing U.S.', as we all know - everything in these last days prophecies comes down to the epicenter. For whatever reason - things are definitely heating up in the Middle East:

Netanyahu Puts World On Notice: We Can Escalate

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu pre-empted the usual calls for restraint in the wake of an escalation of Hamas attacks Monday morning and told Sunday’s weekly Cabinet meeting that Israel "is prepared to escalate."

"The world must realize that Israel won't sit by idly in the face of attempts to attack us. We are prepared to escalate our actions," he said.

The latest barrage of more than 60 mortar shells, rockets and Katyusha missiles on southern Israel may be the last straw for the government and the IDF, whose policies of restraint have left tens of thousands of southern Israeli residents living for years with what has become a routine of trauma, often accompanied by destroyed homes, injuries and death.

Southern Israel has been under intense fire ever since the Sharon government carried out the expulsion of Jews from Gaza and the withdrawal of all Israeli military personnel in the summer of 2005.
After nearly five more years of terrorist attacks, limited retaliations, more attacks and verbal threats from Israel, several Cabinet ministers appeared Sunday morning to be more prepared to back up words with actions in the wake of Hamas’ continued use of more advanced weapons, such as the anti-tank Kornet missile.
Hamas, which previously has left other terrorist organizations to take responsibility for Saturday night and Sunday morning’s barrage, decided to join the fray and took “credit” for rocket strikes that bombarded the development town of Sderot and surrounding agricultural farms.One factory sustained a direct rocket hit, and at least two cars were damaged Sunday morning. 

Israel: We Can Expect The U.S. To Abandon Us

Post-election, a self-deluded American electorate will get its comeuppance. Unfortunately, that includes the innocent, and among them are our allies who have been abandoned (like Egypt) and those who will be abandoned very quickly (like Israel).There is one prophetic voice in Israel who understood this right away.Caroline Glick of the Jerusalem Post described Obama's "pro-jihadist foreign policy" accurately and fearlessly. 

The American spirit has been overwhelmed by the European model of social democracy at home and appeasement and treachery abroad. But all the dependency champions who celebrated on Tuesday night cannot stop the coming storm.The greatest advantage Obama had was ... that the full consequences of his statist economic policies and his pro-jihadist foreign policy have not yet been felt. 
The attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi exposed the failure of his strategy of appeasing jihadists but ... the Benghazi debacle was small enough for the media to hide from the electorate.
It will be harder for Obama to contain the damage ... when Iran gets nuclear weapons ...  when American tourists in Egypt are massacred or held hostage  ... It will be harder for Obama to hide ...when the Taliban return to power in Afghanistan and Al Qaida rebuilds its training camps ... when Pakistan's nuclear arsenal is controlled by a Taliban government that seeks a nuclear war with India. It will be harder ... to protect America with a gutted, demoralized military...
Israel .... is the first target of the Obama-supported, ascendant forces of jihad. .... We can expect Obama to turn on Israel immediately after the election.      Obama can be expected to dispatch his political advisors to ....defeat ... Netanyahu and pave the way for the return to power of the socialist, appeasement-crazed Israeli Left.

Israel Threatens To Hit Gaza Hard After Rocket Barrage

Israeli officials on Sunday warned that they will escalate the battle against Gaza-based terrorists after a series of cross-border attacks on Saturday left seven Israelis wounded.
The violence began on Saturday afternoon, when Palestinian terrorists fired an anti-tank missile at an Israeli army patrol vehicle on the Israeli side of the Gaza security fence. The missile scored a direct hit, and four Israeli soldiers were wounded, one seriously.

Israeli tanks immediately responded by bombarding selected terrorist installations in Gaza. Palestinian sources said four people were killed by the return fire.

A short while later, missiles and mortar shells started landing on Israeli towns and villages across the southern Negev region. At least 60 missiles and mortars were fired into southern Israel over the course of Saturday night.

Three Israeli civilians were wounded in the night-long barrage, and widespread damage was reported. Israel responded with air strikes on additional targets in Gaza.
Both Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, and its allies in Islamic Jihad claimed credit for taking part in the attacks. Israeli officials said they would be sorry for doing so.

IDF Fires Warning Shot Into Syria

The IDF fired a warning shot at the Syrian military on Sunday, after a Syrian shell landed in the Golan Heights for the second time in recent days.

"In the midst of Syrian infighting, a mortar shell fired by the Syrian army struck near an outpost at Tel Hazeka," IDF spokesman Brig.-Gen. Yoav Mordechai said. The shell failed to cause injuries or damages, but was one of a series of shells that landed in Israeli territory in recent days.
"In light of the policy instituted by IDF Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz, a warning round was fired back into Syria. We don't believe it caused injuries or damages," Mordechai added.
At the same time, Israel sent a warning message to the UN, saying that any further firing into Israel will result "in a real response," sources added.
Israel limited its return fire, since its policy is to only fire intensively in response to coming under major Syrian fire. "We didn't continue firing because this was one mortar we were responding to," the source said.
"We will not accept any firing into our territory," he added. "This was a signal to the Syrians, that we will not be so forgiving of everything that lands in a territory." The source stressed that as of now, Israel and Syria were not a in a conflict situation.

Golan Heights Struck By More Syrian 'Spillover': Netanyahu Warns Assad

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu also warned Sunday against any plan that President Bashar al-Assad might consider with regard to attempting to cross into Israel.
"We are ready for any development on the Syrian border as well,” the prime minister said in his opening remarks at the weekly Sunday cabinetmeeting.

The continued spillover has caused the IDF to change the rules of engagement along the Syrian border. Soldiers have been instructed to respond if fire from Syria is dangerous and persistent, according to a report broadcast Friday by Channel 2 television news.

IDF Fires Back At Syria

The message including the warning that one more round of gunshots or mortar fire aimed at Israeli territory would be met with a similar response in return.
Likewise, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has warned numerous times over the past week -- and again this morning (Sunday) in opening remarks at the weeklycabinet meeting -- that Israel would return fire if there were any further gunfire or shelling into Israeli territory.

Rockets Wound Four Negev Civilians

Four Israel civilians suffered shrapnel wounds from rockets fired by Gaza terrorists during the Sunday morning rush hour to school and work.
All of the victims were evacuated to Soroka Medical Center in Be’er Sheva, where they are being treated for light injuries. One of the victims was wounded in Sderot, located less than a mile from the northern tip of Gaza, and at least two of the others were in the Eshkol region, due east of Gaza. 
Defense Minister Ehud Barak told Army Radio hinted on Sunday that the IDF will may enter Gaza if Hamas does not stop the attacks. He said the war is over the security fence where the IDF patrols to protect southern Israel from missile strikes.

Gaza: 'Enough Is Enough'

Enough is enough is what MKs had to say on Saturday night, in the wake of the continued escalation in southern Israel.
After Gaza terrorists hit an IDF jeepwith a missile and fired a barrage of at least 30 rockets at southern Israel, MKs called on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to take action.
MK Danny Danon (Likud), a member of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said that Israel should turn off the electricity in Gaza in response to the continued terror attacks.
Information and Diaspora Minister Yuli Edelstein also called for action and said, “The zero hour has arrived. The State of Israel is sinful towards itself when it continues to abandon the lives of a million people. It’s time to deal a blow to the terrorist nests and immediately restore Israel's deterrence and the quiet in the south.”
Kadima chairman Shaul Mofaz, a former IDF Chief of Staff and Defense Minister, said on Saturday night, “It is time for a deep and thorough treatment of Gaza terrorism. The terrorist organizations should be engaged in saving their own lives rather than in planning attacks.”

Israeli Lawmaker: Gazan Palestinians Now Firing Hizballah-Supplied Katyushas

The Palestinian Gaza terrorist grades are now firing Multiple-Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS) “Katyshas” supplied by the Lebanese Hizballah and 120-mm bunker-busting mortars  in their current offensive against Israeli towns, villages and troops, Israeli lawmaker Shay Hermesh revealed Sunday, Nov. 11 after 6 civilians sere hospitalized.The Knesset member who lives in Kfar Azza spoke after more than 60 assorted rockets hit southern Israel from Saturday. The public radio Kol Israel interrupted the interview with Hermesh at that point to prevent any more discolosures.
The civilians injured Sunday in intense rocket fire aimed at Sderot, Shear Hanegev and the Eshkol district were apparently caught by concentrated Katyusha fire rather than the hit-or-miss Qassams or Grads.  Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu opened the weekly cabinet session by saying: We are set to escalate our response.”
There was a further escalation after the Israeli bombardment of an Iranian missile plant near Khartoum, one of Hamas’ arms suppliers. On Oct. 28, Palestinian Grad missiles were again fired at Beersheba and the regional area of Dimona where Israel’s nuclear reactor is situated.
Now, once again, nearly a million civilians living within the Palestinian terrorists’ ever widening radius of fire are being told to stay close to shelters – those who have them - and mayors worry about opening schools.
And once again, they hear that the Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has called an urgent conference with Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz. The people living in an area between Gedera and the southern tip of the Gaza Strip up to Beersheba wait again on tenterhooks for some action to put an end to their long agony as hostages to Hamas.

Perhaps this escalation in the Middle East somehow ties into the recent U.S. elections as Israel's enemies are most certainly emboldened. We also know that any missiles coming into Israel from Gaza are under the direct control of Iran. Syria continues to threaten from the north. Things are heating up in the epicenter, especially with the various warnings and promises from the IDF and PM Netanyahu, so we'll have to wait to see what happens next.

Either way, as mentioned yesterday - we're now on the fast track towards conclusion of the final prophetic developments - there is no denying that now.