Rising Violence In Region Has Israel Concerned

Recent trends in the Middle East seem to indicate an increase in violence and recent news stories confirm this fact. Quite possibly, this represents an attempt to thwart the recent peace talks - a situation which serves as yet another reminder that the covenant of Daniel 9:27 can only be confirmed with the presence of peace-keeping troops. Either way, violence is increasing in the region:

Rising Palestinian Violence Has Israel Worried

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his security cabinet on Wednesday to discuss mounting Palestinian terrorist violence in both the so-called “West Bank” and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. 

Security officials have logged 167 Palestinian attacks on Israelis in December alone.

Among the more serious attacks were Sunday’s failed bus bombing near Tel Aviv, Monday’s stabbing of an Israeli police officer near Jerusalem, and yesterday’s fatal shooting of a technician doing repairs on the Gaza security fence.

In addition to those, there have been dozens of rock and firebomb attacks against Jews in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and more than a few rockets fired from Gaza.

Economy Minister Naftali Bennett laid the blame for the blood on both sides squarely on the Palestinian Authority, which continues to incite violence against Israel. “If the terrorism continues, there won’t be quiet on the Palestinian side,” Bennett told Army Radio.

Bennett and other ministers were expected to use Wednesday’s cabinet meeting to press Netanyahu to postpone or cancel the third release of Palestinian prisoners as part of renewed US-brokered peace talks in light of the escalating violence.

While the government is reluctant to do so, many Israelis, including those in the security forces, believe we are witnessing the outbreak, or at least the preparation for, a new intifada, or terrorist uprising.

Rocket Fire Triggers Code Red Sirens In Ashkelon

A rocket launched toward Israel from the Gaza Strip shortly after 12 a.m. on Thursday apparently failed to traverse the border and landed in the Palestinian territory, Army Radio reported.

Code Red sirens sounded in the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council and security forces were searching for remnants of a projectile, an IDF spokeswoman confirmed.

In light of the recent string of attacks from the coast enclave, an Iron Dome defense system battery has been deployed to Beersheba, according to the radio station.

Out of concern over potential rocket attacks amid heightened tensions a anti-rocket battery was also re-mobilized near Sderot on Wednesdsay.

The IDF struck targets in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday afternoon in retaliation for the cross-border shooting earlier in the day in which Israel sustained its first casualty since the end of Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012.

On Monday, security forces morning located the remains of a rocket fired overnight from Gaza into southern Israel.

Rocket Fire Triggers Code Red Sirens In Ashkelon

Egypt Formally Declares Muslim Brotherhood A Terrorist Group

The crackdown against the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt has intensified, with the government formally listing the group as a terrorist organization and accusing it of being behind a recent suicide attack that killed 16 people.

The new categorization gives the government new powers to detain any member of ousted President Mohamed Morsi’s regime by charging them with belonging to a terrorist group. Anyone found to be promoting or financing the group can also be charged.

"All of Egypt…was terrified by the ugly crime that the Muslim Brotherhood group committed by blowing up the building of the Dakahlyia security directorate,” an emailed statement from the interim government’s cabinet office said, according to Reuters. "The cabinet decided to declare the Muslim Brotherhood group a terrorist organization,” the statement continues.

On Tuesday, explosions at a police headquarters in Mansoura, located north of Cairo, killed at least 16 people and injured at least 140 others. Sinai-based militant group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis claimed responsibility for the attack, Reuters reported.

Although the Muslim Brotherhood condemned the attack, the Egyptian government accused the group of being responsible. It also vowed to seek justice for the perpetrators. Interim Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi described the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization in an official statement on Wednesday.

In response to being listed as a terrorist group, the Muslim Brotherhood vowed to continue its protests."The protests will continue, certainly," Ibrahim Munir, a member of the group's executive council who is in exile in London, told AFP. He called the move “illegitimate" and “an attempt to frame the Brotherhood.”

The Egyptian military-backed government has been pursuing a crackdown against Morsi and other Muslim Brotherhood leaders since Morsi’s overthrow in July.

Hundreds of Mosri supporters have been killed in the crackdown, with protests raging almost every day.

Netanyahu Defies Americans, Will Announce Extended Construction

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu plans to announce extended Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria next week,Channel 2 News reported on Wednesday.

The announcement is expected to come parallel to the release of another 26 terrorists as a “gesture” to the Palestinian Authority (PA).

With the planned announcement, Netanyahu has essentially rejected a request by the United States, which had asked him to hold off on new constructionannouncements so as not to hurt the ongoing peace talks with the PA.

Previous announcements on construction raised the ire of the PA, which demanded that Israel cancel any tenders it has issued for new construction or the talks would be over.

Meanwhile, there is growing pressure on Netanyahu not to go through with the planned terrorist release next week, particularly in the wake of the recent wave of terrorism.
Bereaved families staged a protest outside Netanyahu’s home on Wednesday, demanding that he cancel the release.

Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon indicated later on Wednesday that the government may be reconsidering releasing more terrorists.
"We are not happy with the prisoner releases," Yaalon remarked, speaking from an army training exercise of the Givati Brigade. "We are now before the third [terrorist] release [. . .]  we will decide if - and whom - to release."

"Judea and Samaria has not been quiet," he stated. "We call this an 'atmosphere of terror' and it is due to the Palestinian Authority's incitement against Israel. The statistics speak for themselves: in 2012 we saw a decline in terror attacks, but in the past several months we have seen a rise in terror attacks."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will announce new settlement construction next week, coinciding with Israel’s release of Palestinian prisoners in the third of four phased releases agreed to as a precondition to peace talks, an Israeli official said Wednesday.

Israeli TV reports said that the plan called for 1,000 to 2,000 new settlement homes. Channel 10 said Netanyahu was going ahead with the announcement of new settlement building despite the fact that the last such announcement, which coincided with the second phase of prisoner releases, almost caused the collapse of peace talks. 

It said the US and EU had both urged him not to go ahead with the plan, but he was unmoved.

Wasil Abu Yousif, a Palestinian official, said the expected announcement is evidence that Israel is “not serious” about pursuing peace. “It’s clear to everyone now that the Israeli government is killing the peace process.” While stopping short of threatening to withdraw from the current round of peace negotiations, he said Israel’s policy would force the Palestinians to seek “more substantial alternatives.”