War Looms In The Middle East: 'Israel-Syria Tensions Remind Me Of Pre-1967 War Period'

It seems that every day brings us closer to war in the region. Of course we know this from the prophetic scriptures, but to see it playing out, as expected in real time is surreal:

Israel-Syria Tensions Remind Me Of Pre-1967 War Period, Says Ex-Intel Chief

Underlining growing concerns over friction between Jerusalem and Damascus, the highly-respected former head of the Israeli army’s Military Intelligence hierarchy on Friday compared current Israeli-Syrian tensions to the strains that presaged the 1967 Israel-Arab war.

He also said Moscow, by continuing to stand by President Bashar Assad, was signaling to that it was not going to let the US get its hands on Syria.

Maj.-Gen (ret.) Amos Yadlin, a one-time fighter pilot, ex-head of IDF Military Intelligence and former Israeli military attaché to the US who now heads a prestigious Tel Aviv think tank, warned that Syria’s embattled president might well retaliate were Israel to again strike at weapons convoys in Syria, as it has done twice this month already.

Yadlin stressed that Israel has not attacked “Syrian targets” but rather weaponry that was being transferred to Hezbollah in Lebanon from Iran via Syria. Nonetheless, he said, “there’s an accumulation of pressure on the other side” — the Assad regime — “to retaliate.”

Before attempting any more of the airstrikes that “have worked well for us three or four times,” Yadlin said, Israel needed to ask itself whether it could “deal with the escalation that could develop. It reminds me to a certain extent of the years before the Six Day War” — the 1967 war in which Israel preempted Arab attacks and captured the Golan Heights from Syria, as well as territory from Jordan and Egypt.

 Russia has warned Israel against any further air strikes in Syria, a client state that Moscow is continuing to arm, to the open dismay of the United States. It said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who met on Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, had been told by the Russians that another Israeli attack could push the region into war.

Israeli media reports earlier in the week said Netanyahu had warned Putin of the very same consequence — a descent into war — were Russia to go ahead with its planned delivery of advanced S-300 air-defense systems to Assad. Netanyahu said that if acquired by Assad, the S-300 — a state-of-the-art system that can intercept fighter jets and cruise missiles — “is likely to draw us into a response, and could send the region deteriorating into war,” a Channel 2 report said.

U.S.: Russian Missiles To Syria Could Embolden Assad

The top US military officer on Friday condemned Russia's shipment of advanced anti-ship missiles to Syria, saying it could embolden President Bashar Assad's forces to keep fighting a bloody civil war.

"It's at the very least an unfortunate decision that will embolden the regime and prolong the suffering," General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon when asked about the weapons shipment.

"So it's ill-timed and very unfortunate," he said.

There was no direct comment on the shipment from Moscow, although Dmitry Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin's press secretary, reiterated Russia's long-held position that it will remain "true to its contractual obligations under previously signed contracts."

One US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Yakhont missiles were delivered recently, although the precise timing was unclear. They fly at just over 2.5 times the speed of sound, have a range of about 300 kilometers (185 miles) and pack a huge punch from their 200 kg (440 pound) warhead, according to Nick Brown, editor of IHS Jane's International Defense Review.

"They are hard to detect and even harder to shoot down or decoy away, so they're a powerful tool for keeping warships a long way off the Syrian shore," Brown said.

It looks like the race to serve as the tipping point in the Middle East - that tipping point which will lead to the Isaiah 17 and Ezekiel 38-39 prophecies -  now appears to be either the situation with Syria and the rising tensions between Russia and Israel vs. Iran and their nuclear progress (don't forget, Netanyahu has stated that his red line will be crossed late spring/early summer). 

We'll see. Stay tuned - things are moving faster than ever in the Middle East powder-keg.