Netanyahu Threatens More Israeli Strikes On Syria

These comments appear to be directed towards Russia, who has threatened Israel not to make such strikes. This war of words between Russia and Israel are taking more and more ominous tones:

Benjamin Netanyahu Threatens More Strikes On Syria

The Israeli prime minister said his government would act "with determination" to prevent arms being transferred from Syria to Hizbollah, the Lebanese Shia group, which last week claimed it would soon acquire "game changing" weapons to attack Israel.

"The government of Israel is working responsibly and with determination and sagacity, in order to ensure the supreme interest of the State of Israel... to... prevent the transfer of advanced weapons to Hizbollah and to [other] terrorist elements," Mr Netanyahu said at the beginning of the weekly cabinet meeting. "We will work to ensure Israelis' security interest in the future as well."

The Israeli air force is widely assumed to have been responsible for two raids this month that targeted weapons stocks in Syria supposedly destined for Hizbollah..

Mr Netanyahu said the Middle East was in the midst of "one of its most sensitive periods in decades with the escalating upheaval in Syria at its centre".

His remarks coincided with a newspaper report that President Bashar al-Assad of Syria had put surface-to-surface Tishreen missiles, the country's most advances weapons, on stand-by with orders to strike Tel Aviv in the event of a further Israeli raid.

Syria Training Advanced Missiles On Tel Aviv

Damascus has put a number of advanced weapons on standby to strike Israel, should Jerusalem hit targets inside Syria again, the UK’s Sunday Times reported.

According to the report, satellite images show Syria has readied its stock of Tishreen missiles for use against Tel Aviv.

Earlier this month, the al-Watan newspaper reported that the Syrian regime had established a bank of Israeli sites to be attacked in retaliation for another airstrike.

The Tishreen, also known as the M-600, is the Syrian version of Iran’s Fateh-110 missile. Damascus is thought to possess a large stockpile of the missiles, which can travel over 200 kilometers and carry up to a half-ton payload, according to the Sunday Times report.

On Friday, ex-military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin said the embattled Assad was under increasing pressure to respond to Israeli strikes.

Golan Heights Hit By Stray Bullets From Syria

Israeli soldiers reported sporadic light arms fire from across the Syrian border on the Golan Heights Sunday night.

Troops stationed at a lookout post on Tel Hazeka, near the community of Alonei Habashan, said the shots appeared to have been stray rounds from clashes inside Syria.

On Saturday night a similar incident occurred in the same area. Israel lodged a complaint with the United Nations over the shootings.

In February a Syrian tank shell landed in the Alonei Habashan community but did not explode. Sappers later disarmed the shell, also believed to have been a stray round fired during a battle across the border in the Syrian civil war.

Since the beginning of the year there have been a number of incidents of cross-border fire, some deliberate. Last week an Islamist Palestinian group claimed responsibility for several mortar rounds that were fired at Mount Hermon from Syria, without causing injury or damage.

Lapid Calls For Interim Peace Deal With Palestinians

Could this evolve into a 7 year "peace deal'?

 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s senior coalition partner says that reaching a final peace agreement with the Palestinians is unrealistic at the current time and the sides should instead pursue an interim arrangement.

Finance Minister Yair Lapid’s assessment, delivered in a published interview Sunday just days before the arrival of US Secretary of State John Kerry, throws a contentious idea into the mix as the US searches for ways to restart peace talks.

It remains unclear whether the idea of a temporary arrangement will be raised during Kerry’s visit later this week. In March, American officials confirmed that an interim arrangement, while not their preference, was one of the ideas being explored.

With the gaps between Israel and the Palestinians on many key issues seemingly unbridgeable, pursuing a Palestinian state with temporary borders has emerged as an option in recent months, particularly among Israelis searching for a way out of the status quo. The Palestinians have repeatedly rejected this option, fearing an interim deal that falls short of their hopes will become permanent.

At the same time, though, Lapid, like Netanyahu, rejects a full withdrawal to Israel’s 1967 lines.

Lapid favors a broad pullout from the West Bank, including the dismantling of many settlements, but believes Israel should hold on to major “blocs” along the Israeli frontier where the majority of settlers live.

Lapid also believes that Israel should keep control of east Jerusalem, home to sensitive Jewish, Muslim and Christian religious sites. The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem as their capital.

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