A NEW PEACE PLAN FROM THE ARAB LEAGUE???

ARAB LEAGUE TO PRESENT USA WITH MIDEAST PEACE PLAN!

An Arab League delegation is expected to present the US with a Mideast peace proposal soon, reports Maan.
Arab League PA Issues Secretary-General Mohammed Sbikh explains the delegation will provide Washington with a document containing new ideas to resolve the Israeli-Arab conflict. “We will include our suggestions on Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank, the establishment of a PA state, and security guarantees for both sides.”

SOME MORE OF THE LATEST PROPHECY NEWS HEADLINES AND ARTICLES FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

Prophecy News Headlines

	Israel- God's Timepiece Israel Warns Of Possible Pre-Emptive Chemical Weapons Strike In Syria Israel could launch a pre-emptive strike to stop Syria's chemical weapons from reaching Lebanon's Hezbollah or al Qaeda inspired groups, officials said Sunday ....  Click here for full story
	Christian Worldview and Issues Pastor Saeed Sentenced to 8 Years in Iran's Brutal Evin Prison Iran's notorious Islamic Revolutionary Court on Sunday convicted Pastor Saeed Abedini, a U.S. citizen, of "threatening the national security" by leading house churches years ago, and sentenced him to eight years in Tehran's Evin Prison ....  Click here for full story
	Christian Worldview and Issues Researchers Rank Most, Least Megachurch-Oriented Cities in U.S. A new study reveals which U.S. cities have the highest and lowest concentration of megachurch attenders among the Christian population ....  Click here for full story
	Christian Worldview and Issues UK Government Source: Teachers May Face Firing for Refusing to Teach Gay Marriage As Great Britain's government prepares to vote on a bill legalizing same-sex marriage, an official from the Secretary of State for Education's office reportedly has expressed trepidation toward the bill, arguing that primary school teachers in the country could possibly lose their jobs if they do not teach about gay marriage in the classroom ....  Click here for full story
	Increase In Knowledge and Technologies Experts Warn That Britain's Deadly Superdrone That Picks Its Own Targets Could Mark The Start Of 'Robot Wars' It is named after the Celtic god of thunder, can fly faster than the speed of sound and evades enemy radar with its single-wing stealth design. This is Taranis, Britain’s latest pilotless combat aircraft, which is even capable of selecting its own targets..... Click here for full story
	Increase In Knowledge and Technologies The National Intelligence Council Predicts A Very Transhuman Future By 2030 The National Intelligence Council is a high-level agency best known for producing National Intelligence Estimates – forecasts predicting future trends and issues of the next fifteen years ....  Click here for full story
	Increase In Knowledge and Technologies Hypersonic SpaceLiner That Travels At 24 Times The Speed Of Sound 'To Be Built By 2050' A hypersonic SpaceLiner capable of reaching 24 times the speed of sound and transporting passengers from London to Sydney in 90 minutes could be with us by 2050. .....  Click here for full story

EGYPT AND SYRIA FALL APART - ISRAEL'S WORST NIGHTMARE!!!

Israeli Nightmare Unfolds As Both Egypt And Syria Fall Apart

January 30, 2013 by soldierofthecross18

Israeli Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel warned Tuesday, Jan. 29, that Syria is falling apart and no one knows what the next day may bring: “War may not break out tomorrow,” he said, “but we stand ready for any eventuality.”
If war is not expected tomorrow, why have Israel’s armed forces, including the air force, been on their highest level of preparedness since Friday, Jan. 25? The Syrian crisis may not technically fit the description of a state of war. However, the violent turbulence in that country may at any time spill over the border into hostilities in some shape or form.

Gen. El-Sissi reacted to the chaos and lawlessness engulfing Egypt. The government headed by President Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood is no longer a functioning administration. They have been reduced to the single task of fighting to hang onto power.
The “no comment” stance on the Syrian civil war, long held by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak is untenable and pointless, especially after the latter cut short an overseas family trip to be flown home in a hurry Saturday.
No one believes the official explanation that the three Iron Dome anti-missile batteries stationed over the weekend in northern Israel – in the sight of many thousands of local dwellers – are there for a preplanned routine test – least of all after a senior Israeli officer told AFP that large Hizballah forces are parked at Bashar Assad’s chemical weapons stores poised ready to seize them.
If this happens, said the officer, “A decision to attack Syria or Lebanon will need to be implemented immediately.”
This is beginning to sound as though the politicians and the generals are not on speaking terms.
Gen. Eshel’s comment came hard upon the grave warning issued earlier Tuesday by Egypt’s army chief Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who is also the defense minister. “The political strife is pushing the state to the brink of collapse,” he said on the sixth day of turbulent protests across the country at the cost of more than 60 lives.
Gen. El-Sissi reacted to the chaos and lawlessness engulfing Egypt. The government headed by President Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood is no longer a functioning administration. They have been reduced to the single task of fighting to hang onto power.
None of the forces of law and order – the army, internal security, police – are willing to clash head-on with the opposition protesters rampaging on the streets of the main cities including Cairo.  Some towns have descended into chaos and some outlying areas in this country of 90 million are no longer receiving regular food and water supplies.
The Egyptian defense minister’s warning may be taken two ways:
1.  As a last warning to the Muslim Brotherhood and the opposition on the streets that this is the eleventh hour and if they don’t step back from their confrontation, the military will be forced to seize power to save the country.
2.  Alternatively, that the army will not interfere and will stand aside for now, while warning that a civil war in Egypt would be more extensive and calamitous than the vicious conflict bringing Syria to ruin in the last two years. As the two countries teeter on the brink of catastrophe, Gen. Eshel’s dry forecast of doom correctly noted that no one knows what tomorrow will bring.
However, Israel is coming face to face with its worst fear: being hemmed in by a blazing ring of hopeless conflicts just across its borders: Syria and Lebanon in the north; Egypt in the west and south; and Jordan under threat. source – DEBKA

"ISRAEL HAYOM" STATES THAT ISRAELI FORCES ATTACKED A TARGET ON THE SYRIAN-LEBANESE BORDER!!!

Israeli forces attacked a target on Syrian-Lebanese border overnight, western diplomat and a security source told Reuters on Wednesday • Israel concerned Syrian chemical weapons could fall to Hezbollah • Israel Post: not enough gas masks for all Israelis.

Shlomo Cesana, Lilach Shoval and Yoni Hersh (From Israel Hayom).

Israeli F-16s [Illustrative]    |    צילום: AFP

Israeli forces have attacked a target on the Syrian-Lebanese border overnight, a western diplomat and a security source told Reuters on Wednesday, at a time of growing concern in the Jewish state over the fate of Syrian chemical and conventional weapons.

The sources, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue, had no further information about what might have been hit or where precisely the attack happened.

Earlier, the Lebanese army reported a heavy presence of Israeli jets over its territory throughout the night.

There was definitely a hit in the border area," the source said.

Vice premier Silvan Shalom said on Sunday that any sign that Syria's grip on its chemical weapons was slipping, as President Bashar al-Assad fights rebels trying to overthrow him, could trigger Israeli intervention.

Israeli sources said on Tuesday that Syria's advanced conventional weapons would represent as much of a threat to Israel as its chemical arms should they fall into the hands of Syrian rebel forces or Hezbollah guerrillas based in Lebanon.

In Jerusalem, the Israeli military declined any comment.

"We do not comment on reports of this kind," an Israeli Defence Force spokeswoman said.

Israel Defense Forces intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi is traveling to Washington for consultations with American officials, defense sources told Al-Monitor.

Israeli officials declined to confirm the focus of his visit, but it comes amid signs of heightened Israeli concern about Syria, Al-Monitor reported.

Israel Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel expressed his worries on Tuesday about the fate of the Syrian chemical arsenal. "There have been tectonic movements in Syria shifting it toward collapse." Eshel said at the Israeli Air Force Center in Herziliya. "There is a massive weapons arsenal in Syria, some of which is very advanced and some that is unconventional. All that [weaponry] could find its way to our borders."

"Governments are falling apart and that's bringing a resurgence of terrorist activity on our borders the likes of which we haven't seen for decades. We need to deal with a very wide scope of threats, as of today we are faced with both the conventional and unconventional, from the knife to the nuclear weapon, both near and far," he said.

With Syria's arsenal potentially falling to rebel hands, Eshel warned that Israel could face a much broader threat. "We could be faced with a much wider arsenal, advanced Western weaponry, with weapons from the east and locally produced arms."

Israel fears that should such weapons fall into the hands of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon, this could dent the Jewish state's superiority in any future confrontation.

During a 2006 war with Hezbollah, Israel had complete air dominance during bombing runs over southern Lebanon, though it was surprised when one of its ships off the Lebanese coast was hit by a Hezbollah cruise missile, killing four servicemen.

Eshel said that while "in the past we may have seen these threats as residing on our borders, today it is entirely different," noting that terrorists today could use weapons "that can reach deep into Israel, be it in the form of ground to ground missiles, cruise missiles, unmanned drones and unconventional arms," Eshel said.

In his speech, Eshel did not address mounting speculation that Israel could launch preventive strikes in Syria, though other military brass has said such an option was feasible.

But Eshel said the air force was involved in what he termed "a campaign between wars," working with Israeli intelligence agencies in often covert missions. He did not elaborate other than to blame arch-adversary Iran for the lion's share of weapons supplies to Israel's regional enemies.

Sudan, a conduit for arms to the Palestinian Gaza Strip via Egypt, blamed Israel for an attack last October on a weapons factory in Khartoum. Israel also operates regularly in the skies over Lebanon.

"This campaign is 24/7, 365 days a year," Eshel said. "We are taking action to reduce the immediate threats, to create better conditions in which we will be able to win the wars, when they happen."

Meanwhile, Russia said it will take control of Syria's chemical weapons stockpile if Israel promises not to attack Syria, "until it gets a green light from Moscow and Washington", according to a report by Saudi news outlet Al-Watan.

If the reports are true, it would not be far fetched to connect it to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent dispatch of his National Security Council Chief Yaakov Amidror to Moscow. The report claims its information is based on a "senior Israeli official."

According to Al-Watan, as part of the deal, the U.S. won't insist on Assad's removal and NATO as well as the Arab League will refrain from attacking Syria. The report was not confirmed by Israeli sources.

Netanyahu reiterated his concern over Syria recently, adding that the situation does not only effect Israel, but is a matter of concern for the U.S. and the international community as a whole. Last week Russia deployed a sizable fleet off the coast of Syria, a move seen as unusual.

Israel and NATO countries say Syria has stocks of various chemical warfare agents at four sites. Syria is cagey about whether it has such arms but insists that, if it had, it would keep them secure and use them only to fend off foreign attack.

Syria is widely believed to have built up the arsenal to offset Israel's reputed nuclear weapons, among other reasons. Some Israeli experts fear the logic of mutual deterrence would not hold for subnational Islamist militant groups involved in the rebellion in Syria.

The United States and other world powers have also warned of the danger posed by Syria's chemical weapons.

Not enough gas masks

"The past few days have seen a rise in the demand for gas masks, following the reports of Syria's chemical weapons slipping into the hands of terrorist groups," Israel Postal Company Deputy Operations Manager Haim Mizaki told Army Radio on Wednesday. According to Mizaki, "every security related debate adds to the demand for gas masks."

Mizaki said currently there are not enough gas masks to cover the entire population, and that so far only 4,700,000 have been distributed. "We are working in accordance with the Homefront Defense Ministry ... by their protocols, we are only allowed to hand out 50,000 kits each month, 600,000 a year," he said.

The are two ways Israelis can get gas masks, one is at designated distribution centers spread throughout the country. The other is to call the telephone hotline 171 and arrange a delivery to the person's home, at the cost of delivery alone. According to Mizaki, the hotline verifies that each person ordering is eligible to receive a mask. "We check in our listings whether the person had returned their previous gas mask, or if they lost it and need to pay 70 shekels [$19] to be able to receive another."

Those who are tasked with delivering the masks go through a certification program, and upon arrival at the citizen's home, they perform mask fittings and replace faulty kits as required.

THE TELEGRAPH REPORTS THAT THE BANK OF AMERICA ISSUES "BOND CRASH" ALERT SIMILAR TO THE ONE IN 1994!!!

Bank of America issues `bond crash' alert on Fed tightening fears

The return of confidence and healthy growth in the US risks setting off a “bond crash” comparable to 1994 and triggering a string of upsets across the world, Bank of America has warned.

Bank of America said the “Great Rotation” under way from bonds into equities closely tracks the pattern of 1994, with bank stocks leading the way. Photo: AFP

By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

The US lender said investors face a treacherous moment as central banks start fretting about inflation and shift gears, threatening a surge in bond yields.

This happened in 1994 under Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan when yields on US 30-year Treasuries jumped 240 basis points over a nine-month span, setting off a “savage reversal of fortune in leveraged areas of fixed income markets”.

A similar shock this year is “likely” if the US economy continues to gather strength. “The moment we hear the first rhetorical talk of exit strategies by central banks this could turn,” said chief investment strategist, Michael Hartnett. There was already a whiff of this in the most recent Fed minutes.

“The period of Maximum Liquidity is close to an end. Yes, the Japanese reflation is gaining steam in 2013 but we regard this as the last of the great reflations. The big picture is a transition from deflation to normal growth and rates,” he said.

The 1994 bond shock - and seared in the memories of bond-holders - ricocheted through global markets. It bankrupted Orange Country, California, which was caught flat-footed with large bond positions. It set off the Tequila Crisis in Mexico as the cost of rolling over `tesobonos’ linked to the US dollar suddenly jumped.

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Most emerging markets now raise debt in their own currency but the effect of a worldwide tightening cycle could expose a host of problems. “Frontier markets are attracting tremoundous capital inflows and this new carry trade could reverse quite violently. The risk of local bubbles bursting is high,” said Mr Hartnett.
Bank of America said the “Great Rotation” under way from bonds into equities closely tracks the pattern of 1994, with bank stocks leading the way.
Over the past seven years US investors have pulled $600bn from US equity funds and poured $800bn instead into bond funds. This process is going into reverse. Equity funds have drawn $35bn over the last 13 trading days alone, creating the risk of an unstable “melt-up” in stocks over coming months.
The Bank for International Settlements has issued an alert on the high-yield `junk’ bonds and mortgage debt, currently trading at record lows. The Swiss-based watchdog said parts of the credit market credit are “highly valued in a historical context relative to indicators of their riskiness.”
The European Central Bank’s Mario Draghi warned earlier this month that leveraged buyouts and private equtiy deals are becoming frothy again.
Wall Street’s veteran technical analyst Louise Yamada said a whole generation of small investors has been lured into bonds since the stock market crash in 2008 in the belief that is a safe strore of wealth, seemingly unaware of the risk once inflation returns. “I am quite concerned. It’s distrubing to see a lot of retirees who got stuck at the top of the stock market, now got stuck at the top of the bond market,” she said.
She says the world may be at a turning point comparable to 1946 when deflation was defeated and the last bear market in bonds began, though it is likely to be a slow process. She advises people to switch into shorter term maturities, citing a “bottoming process in rates rates, which means a topping process in price”.
The great question is whether the world economy really is at the start of a fresh cycle of growth, or whether the roaring asset rally of the last few months is another false dawn driven by central bank liquidity that is failing to gain economic traction.
The International Monetary Fund’s said this week that the world economy is not yet out of the woods. “It is clear that financial markets are ahead of the real economy. The question is whether they are too much ahead or not, whether we are seeing a bubble,” said chief economist Olivier Blanchard.
Albert Edwards from Societe Generale said the bullish mood has returned to the “heights of optimism last seen in mid-2007” even though the global and US profit cycles have both peaked, and some shipping indicators point to a further economic relapse.
Mr Edwards said the markets will be caught out yet again as the West slides deeper into into the same deflationary trap as Japan and bond yields fall to historic lows.
Investors will have to wait a little longer for a “once in a life-time” chance to buy stocks dirt cheap, he said.

"ISRAEL TODAY" NEWSPAPER REPORTS THAT IRAN NUCLEAR FACILITY PARTIALLY DESTROYED??

Reports: Iran nuclear facility destroyed

Israel Today Sunday Edition. January 27, 2013 |  Israel Today Staff.

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Topics:

Iran

Reports are circulating that an important nuclear facility in Iran has been at least partially destroyed in a massive explosion. The news comes just days after an ex-Iranian diplomat who defected to the West warned that if Iran obtained a nuclear weapon, it would use that weapon against Israel.
The explosion reportedly took place at the Fordo nuclear facility near the city of Qom. Fordo is buried deep under a mountain, making it nearly immune to aerial assault, and therefore a perfect location for a significant portion of Iran's uranium enrichment activities.
According to reports in the American news website WorldNetDaily, which cited a former Iranian defense official who fled to the West, the explosion caused a collapse of the elevators that descend nearly 300 feet into the mountain facility, trapping some 240 personnel inside.
Tehran is said to be blaming the explosion on sabotage. Both Israel and the US are known to have taken various measures against Iran's defiant nuclear program over the past several years. Though Israel did not officially respond to speculation that it was behind the blast, Home Front Defense Minister Avi Dichter told Yediot Ahronot that "any explosion in Iran that doesn't hurt people but hurts its assets is welcome."
The debate over whether or not to take decisive action against Iran's nuclear program has been intensifying, especially after Iran's former consul in Oslo, Mohammed Reza Hedyari, told Israel's Channel 2 News that Iran is only one year away from fielding a nuclear weapon, which it will turn on Israel.
"If Iran is given more time, it will acquire the knowledge necessary to build a nuclear bomb within a year," Heydari told Israeli television viewers last Friday. "If Iran gets to the point where it has an atomic bomb, it will certainly use it, against Israel or any other enemy state."
The former diplomat suggested that it was a grave mistake for Western leaders to think that the Iranian leadership will be pragmatic with its nuclear weapons, in the way former Soviet leaders were.
Iran's leaders "are busying themselves with ideological preparations for the arrival of the 'hidden Imam' (a kind of Muslim messiah)," he said. "For this purpose, they are willing to spill much blood and destroy many countries."
Heydari defected to Norway in 2010.

THE LATEST EXCLUSIVE HEADLINES FROM THE EXCELLENT DEBKA FILES.

Summary of DEBKA Exclusives, January 26, 2012

January 18, 2013 Briefs: Panetta: Terrorists will find no sanctuary The US Defense Secretary, Leon Panetta said Friday the US is working with the British and Algerian governments to assess what's happening on the ground at a natural gas complex in the Sahara where Islamic militants are holding hostages from at least 10 countries. Panetta said the terrorists should be on notice that they'll find no sanctuary in Algeria or North Africa, in the Obama administration first direct comment on Algerian hostage crisis. Nuclear watchdog confirms no agreement in discussions in Tehran The IAEA team leader Herman Nackaerts said Friday that two days of intensive discussions in Tehran had failed to produce an agreement on access to Iranian nuclear facilities, but another round of talks will take place on Feb. 12 in Tehran. Egyptian forces secure French Cairo embassy against Islamist protest Salafist and other extreme Islamist movements called on the faithful to march Friday on the French mission in Cairo Friday in protest against the “colonial” move by France to send troops to Mali. Egyptian security forces were deployed at the embassy in advance. Ron Nachman, Ariel Mayor for 29 years, is dead He succumbed to cancer aged 70 after developing the Samaria town of Ariel into a thriving city over nearly three decades.  Ron Nachman, a former Likud Knesset Member, fought and won the battle to accord Ariel College full academic recognition as a university. He is widely mourned as a national figure. Al Qaeda offers to swap US hostages for terrorists DEBKAfile Special Report 18 Jan. The Al Qaeda group which seized hostages from 10 nations at the remote Algerian gas field in In Aminas Wednesday, Jan. 16, has addressed its first demand to the United States: The release of two American hostages for two high-profile Islamist terrorists jailed in the US: Egyptian Omar Abdel-Rahman, the Blind Sheikh convicted of masterminding the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and plotting the murder of Rabbi Kahane, and Pakistani-American neuroscientist Aafia Siddiqui, convicted for trying to kill US troops and FBI agents in Afghanistan in 2009. January 19, 2013 Briefs: Mali’s neighbors fear backlash from French Mali mission International security experts warn that if the Islamists can hit a major Algerian gas field protected by tough security forces, West African nations with ill-equipped and inexperienced troops, far from taking over the Mali mission from France, feel vulnerable to increasingly international terrorism. Senegal and Nigeria may follow Mauritanian and Niger as hosts for al Qaeda cells. Algerian security sources report that the gas field hostage siege, which targeted foreign workers from ten nations, was carried out by a multinational group that included Algerians, Egyptians, Tunisians, Libyans, two Canadians, a Frenchman and a Malian. Al Qaeda in North Africa (AQIM) threatens fresh strikes against regional powers and Western interests. Obama leads America into isolationism DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis 19 Jan. Barack Obama’s refusal to intervene directly in the Mali and Algerian gas field crises is a mark of his evolving isolationist policy. DEBKAfile:  Even though the US homeland may not be in immediate peril of from the two episodes, Al Qaeda’s interconnecting tentacles cannot be ignored:  Seven years ago on July 7, jihadist suiciders blew up London trains and a bus with explosives provided by the very Al Qaeda cells of Sahel Desert which occupy Mali and struck the Algerian gas field. The start of this policy was signaled last month by Obama’s withdrawal of the USS Eisenhower strike group and the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group from stations opposite Syria. The French Mali enterprise and Algerian hostage siege, both involving a Qaeda, found the United States without a single carrier, landing vessel or marine force anywhere in the vicinity. It is not surprising to hear Pentagon and top US military experts sharply criticizing the White House’s policy of non-intervention. January 20, 2013 Briefs: Tehran: Assad’s overthrow is red line for Iran A leading Iranian presidential contender Ali Akbar Velayati said Sunday: “If the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is toppled, the line of resistance in the face of Israel will be broken.” Velayati who is close to Supreme leader Ali Khamenei was in a Lebanese broadcast interview. January 21, 2013 Russia lifts first nationals out of Syria. Moscow, Iran arm Assad for big offensive DEBKAfile Exclusive Report 21 Jan. Moscow said Monday, Jan. 21 that two Russian planes would land in Beirut Tuesday to evacuate 100 Russians from Syria, and contingency plans were in hand to lift 30,000 Russians from the embattled country. DEBKAfile: This was decided after Bashar Assad told his high command to organize mobile armored strike groups for a big push to evict rebel forces out of the places they captured – mostly in the north and southeast. Russia and Iran have stepped up their arms deliveries to Assad’s army by sea and by air as Saudi, Qatari and UAE funding for arms to the rebels dries up. To camouflage heir heavy arms deliveries to Tartus, the Russian navy Sunday, Jan. 20, announced a large-scale sea maneuver in the Mediterranean.  DEBKAfile: Russian deliveries consist mainly of armored vehicles, self-propelling recoilless guns, all-purpose vehicles for rough terrain and a variety of missiles and rockets for combat in built-up areas – all items clearly designed to outfit Assad’s new armored strike groups. Tehran is sending ammo, spare parts for Syrian tanks and artillery and missiles.

January 22, 2013 Briefs: At least 17 people killed in Baghdad blasts Three blasts, including a suicide bomber attack near an army base in Baghdad left least 17 people dead and wounded more than 50 more in the Iraqi capital Tuesday. Israelis elect 19th parliament and next government More than 5.65 million voters were eligible to cast their votes among 31 parties at 10,000 polling stations up and down the country. Balloting proceeded smoothly. Early voting took place at military posts and diplomatic missions overseas. Election Day is by law a national holiday and people are taking advantage of the clear, sunny weather to head out for picnics and the beaches after voting. January 23, 2013 Briefs: Israeli soldiers shot and killed Palestinian woman The IDF spokesman said she and a Palestinian man had thrown petrol bombs at the soldiers on the Hebron-Etzion Block road on the West Bank Wednesday. The soldiers then opened fire.  The woman was killed and the man injured. Lavrov slams “obsession with toppling Assad” Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov Wednesday assigned the blame for the failure to find a solution to the Syrian crisis to the opposition: “For now, everything is running up against the opposition’s obsessing with toppling Bashar Assad’s regime,” he said. The US will run French airlift to Mali two more weeks The Pentagon is keeping eight to 10 people at the Mali capital’s airport after the US Air Force flew five C-17 flights into Bamako and delivered more than 80 French troops and 124 tons of equipment.  The US airlift will continue two more weeks as hundreds of African troops from Nigeria, Togo, Burkina Faso and Senegal arrive in Mali. Tuesday, Malian forces recaptured the key towns of Diabaly and Douentza with the help of the French.  The French intervention for ousting Islamist extremists from northern Mali began Jan 11. France will stay as long as necessary for other African countries to take over. Netanyahu may take defense portfolio DEBKAfile Exclusive Report 23 Jan. Binyamin Netanyahu may keep responsibility for defense in his next cabinet, naming Yair Shamir (of Israel Beitenu) minister in the defense ministry, DEBKAfile discloses. This would end outgoing Vice Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon’s expectation of defense in the post-election lineup. As an alternative, Ehud Barak would be retained as a non-political expert. After his stunning election showing, Yair Lapid is in line for Vice Prime Minister plus a key cabinet post, possibly foreign affairs. Naftali Bennett is in line for an economic portfolio although his first choice is Religious Affairs. Wednesday night, Lapid put paid to a chorus led by Labor’s Shelley Yacimovitch for his Future to join the left-of-center and the Arab parties to block Netanyahu’s efforts to build a coalition government. Instead, he welcomed Binyamin Netanyahu as next prime minister.  “I was glad to hear Netanyahu referring to all the things I have been aiming for,” he said to reporters. There will be no opposition bloc - certainly not with Hanin Zouabi,” said Lapid. To build a viable government, Netanyahu needs Lapid DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis 23 Jan. Even after losing one-third of his party’s support in the Tuesday Jan. 22 general election, no one but Binyamin Netanyahu (who is still leading with 31 out of 120 Knesset seats) can form Israel’s next government. But he cannot manage without the new centrist figure Yair Lapid and his fledgling Future party (second with 19 seats) and meeting their demands for peace talks and key economic, budget, security, and other policy changes. If they agree on guidelines, other parties will fall in line behind them. Naftali Bennett’s Jewish Home, which would have been Netanyahu’s natural senior partner had the Israeli voter given him the same chance as Lapid instead of only 12 seats, will no doubt soon join the new government lineup. The newcomers lack background in government. But Netanyahu was not prevented by long experience from making serious mistakes in the last year or two. New faces may not be a bad thing for Israel’s political wellbeing. January 24, 2013 Briefs: American Mumbai plotter gets 35 years David Coleman Headley, a US Chicago citizen of Pakistani descent was sentenced to 35 years prison as co-plotter of the 2008 terrorist attack on Mumbai, which killed 166 people, including six Israelis at the Habad center. He avoided life or death by agreeing to testify against additional terror suspects living in America. Official results of Israel’s 19th Knesset elections The results as released Thursday night by the Central Elections Committee: Likud-Israel Beitenu – 31; Future – 19; Labor – 15; Jewish Home -12 (up from 11); Shas – 11; Raam-Taal – 4; Kadima – 2; Tzipi Livni and Meretz – 6 each. Voter turnout reached 67.79 percent. Forty-one thousand ballots were disqualified. Germany, Netherlands join Britain in advising nationals to quit Benghazi They were responding to a “specific, imminent threat to Westerners,” a week after the hostage siege at an Algerian gas field left scores dead.  Wednesday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified to a House Committee on the murders of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three of his staff in Benghazi last September. DEBKAfile: The advisory applies in effect to all foreigners employed in Libyan oil fields since most have accommodation in Benghazi. North Korea plans nuclear test, more rocket launches The North Korean Defense Commission announced a third nuclear test will take place as well as more long-range rocket launches, “targeting the arch enemy, the United States.” White House on Israeli vote: Talk to Palestinians White House spokesman Jay Carney commenting on the Israeli election said: "We believe that what needs to take place is direct negotiations between the two parties (Israelis and Palestinians) that addresses the final-status issues and results in a two-state solution that provides the sovereignty that the Palestinian people deserve and the security that the Israeli people and Israel deserves."

KEY IRANIAN NUCLEAR FACILITY HIT???

WND EXCLUSIVE

Sabotage! Key Iranian nuclear facility hit?

Source: Explosion destroys much of underground installation

Published: 2 days ago

by Reza Kahlili Email 

 

Reza Kahlili, author of the award-winning book "A Time to Betray", served in CIA Directorate of Operations, as a spy in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, counterterrorism expert; currently serves on the Task Force on National and Homeland Security, an advisory board authorized by Congress and the advisory board of the Foundation for Democracy in Iran (FDI). He regularly appears in national and international media as an expert on Iran and counterterrorism in the Middle East.More

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/01/sabotage-key-iranian-nuclear-facility-hit/#d6jmcJEyEezkapmA.99

GERRY GOLDEN FROM JERUSALEM ON "THINGS ARE MOVING VERY FAST"!

THINGS ARE MOVING VERY FAST!!

 

President Mohamed Morsi of Egypt has a really big supporter, his name is Obama. It would be very hard to believe that Obama isn't aware that Morsi makes statements such as "Jews are descendants of apes and pigs", that "Israel must be totally destroyed", and that "all Muslims should teach their children to hate Jews". The Egyptians school textbooks are full of Jew hatred teaching their children that to kill Jews will please Allah. It is worth mentioning that the same teaching is in the "Palestinian" textbooks as well, showing that there is absolutely no interest on the Arab side in ever having any kind of peace with the Jewish State of Israel. 

 

We are hearing here in Israel that Obama's administration will deliver 20 of the best F-16 fighter jets to Morsi. America has already delivered over 200 fighter jets to Egypt knowing that they have no other reason for such a large airforce other than to go to war with Israel. I also read at the same time of the delivery of the jets that several hundred tanks will be delivered as well. Without this new delivery Egypt already has more fighter jets than Israel (thanks to America, Germany, Russia, North Korea and China). 

 

In the past years I have always said it would be Egypt that would lead the charge against Israel in the coming war, and that war seems very close today. The few times I have travelled to Cairo by bus from Israel it was plain to see that the destroyed tanks from the 1967 war were still sitting in the open desert as a reminder of that war. They don't move them because they want to remember - and for a reason; they want revenge. Morsi is also head of the Muslim Brotherhood - a terrorist organization - yet Obama calls him a friend. The Muslim Brotherhood established Hamas in Gaza, and he tells them that there will be no peace with the descendants of apes and pigs; they must be destroyed. 

 

As you know, we here in Israel just had a new election, in which Likud (Netanyahu' party) didn't do so well. They lost 11 seats but still remain the strongest party with 31 seats, but it takes 61 seats to form a new government. At this time, because of the loss of the 11 seats, the left and the right are even at 60 seats each. This is making it very difficult for anyone to form a government without making a deal with the religious party Shas, and as usual they are for sale to the highest bidder. 

 

Most Israelis have come to the conclusion long ago that no amount of land for peace will give us peace. That peace can only come through strength, and if weakness is shown to the Arab Muslims war happens very quickly. Now with the results of this election it puts the doves in a position to force the government to make more concessions to the Arabs, meaning more land for peace, making Israel weaker with each deal made with those who hate us. The good news, and maybe the up side to this election, is Yesh Atid who has surprised everyone and if he stands true to his word it will help Netanyahu form a new government with his 19 seats. But this also brings the new government back towards the center and way from the right. 

 

It is not only our Islamic enemies on all of our borders, we are also watching Europe turn Islamic. I read an article in the Jerusalem Post the other day that said Muslim "modesty patrols" are patrolling the streets of London making sure all their women are dressed from head to toe showing no skin, and never making eye contact with a man.  

 

Holland, France, Greece and others are surrendering more very day to Muslims. All of Europe will one day be Islamic. 

 

Now with the election of the second term of Obama we will see further destruction of the US military. Not only is it now legal for homosexuals to be in the military but women are now going to be allowed to be among combat front line troops. I wonder how many reading this believe that men and women are equal physically and emotionally in a combat situation? 

 

Many are asking how it could be that Obama got elected; many say the election was rigged and crooked. Well maybe so, but I will tell you the way I see it, and I know someone will call me a racist for saying this, but those who know me know I am not a racist. There is nothing new about his tactics. It's called divide and conquer.   We know that 98% of all Blacks voted for him because of the color of his skin, (that is racist) we know that 90% of all Hispanics voted for him for reasons of race and citizenship. But the hardest thing for me to understand is how the Devil, through his power of spiritual mind control, has been able to take over the minds of the Liberal Democrats by the millions who seem to have lost all the ability to see the truth of this impostor. 

 

There is however something the Republicans should be very thankful for, that they didn't win the election. Because what has been put into place for the near future in the USA cannot be stopped and had they won, all that is about to happen would be blamed on them. Unlike Obama they wouldn't have been able to blame it on their predecessor. 

 

So with Egypt and Iran visiting each other [when just months ago they were bitter enemies], and Iran in a really bad situation in Syria - bringing their Hezbollah into play in that civil war - we now see Russia lining up 16 war ships along the Syrian coast, telling the Americans "don't you dare even think about it". 

 

It is a fair guess that Israel is in real trouble, but we are not outnumbered. You see, with God on your side you are the majority. 

 

Something very interesting is developing in Turkey as well. The Jewish community in Istanbul are becoming very uncomfortable as more anti-Semitic violence is occurring. I have had a very hard time moving one of our boats away from that area. It is now becoming easy to see that God once again has been blocking the moving of that boat for a reason. These Jews will need help getting to Israel when the war begins. This also makes the purchase of a much larger vessel necessary. 

 

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem for our son Joel and all the IDF. Pray for this ministry and your part in it. 

 

Shalom, Jerry Golden
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FAREWELL TO THE OSLO ACCORDS, ACCORDING TO THE ARABIC MEDIA!

Arab media: Farewell Oslo Accords Arab world's coverage of Israeli election suggests Lapid's rise to power 'made Netanyahu's victory taste like defeat,' citing 'semi-coup'; warns next gov't will be hawkish, war-driven Roi Kais Like most of the international media, Arab newspapers and television networks tuned in to the results of Tuesday's Knesset election in an attempt to understand the bottom line - what is the next Israeli parliament going to be like? "Center-Left parties are becoming stronger, as the Netanyahu alliance is only slightly ahead," an Al-Jazeera headline read. Hezbollah's Al-Manar wrote there was only "A meager majority for Netanyahu in Israel's Knesset elections," referring to the fact that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud gained considerably fewer Knesset seats than it currently held. Related stories: Arab media: Right will win, peace will lose Netanyahu woos Arab world on Facebook Worldwide media enthralled by Israeli election "Netanyahu's win was not an easy one, which means he will have limited power when negotiating with his future partners in the coalition." The new-to-politics Yair Lapid roused the curiosity of the Arab media worldwide. Al-Manar stressed that the fact that Lapid's party won the second largest number of Knesset seats was "a surprise for everyone," and the United Arab Emirates' Al-Arabiya network called Lapid "The anchorman who made Netanyahu's victory taste like defeat." Lebanon's Al-Akhbar newspaper also led with "Netanyahu's defeat," following with "The Right failed to achieve a parliamentary majority to form a government and the last word would be of Yesh Atid," Lapid's party. In an attempt to delineate the still unfathomable Yair Lapid and his stance of diplomatic issues, Al-Jazeera cited a past Lapid statement, in which he said "We're not looking for a happy marriage with the Palestinians, but rather an amicable divorce." 'Death of the two-state solution and the peace process' Though celebrating the fact that Netanyahu did not gain as many votes as was predicted, many in the Arab media did not disregard the fact that he effectively won and will be leading Israel's next government. The London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi's editorial opened with "Farewell Oslo Accords and two-state solution," stressing that the race in this election was "between the radical and racist Right and the even more radical and racist Right, led by Naftali Bennett, who represents the settlers." Race 'between radical, racist Right and even more radical, racist Right' (Palestinian caricature) The results, the paper added, "Were a pivotal turning point in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict, signifying the death of the two-state solution and the peace process. "The government about to be born will be a government of war. First of all, war against the Palestinians. Then, a regional war brought about under the pretext of the Iranian nuclear danger and the Gazan Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah threats." 'Next government - government of war' (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg) Domestic Affairs The Jordanian Addustour Newspaper attributed the political stalemate expected of Netanyahu's government to domestic affairs, saying that "The diplomatic issues and the conflict with the Palestinians took a back seat to other, more pressing issues for the Israeli voter, mostly economic issues." Palestinian journalist Tawfiq Abu Shumar, writing in a European website dedicated to the study of the Arab world, also noted the focus on social and economic issues within Israeli society. He argued that "The most significant outcome of this election is that the voters have made it clear that Israeli politicians can no longer use Israel's military defense as an excuse to dismiss all other issues. Neither the issue of Iran's nuclear threat, nor the Palestinian demographics, nor terrorists are key issues. The day-to-day problems overcame the myth of the existential threat to the State of Israel. "This," he continued, "is manifested in the rise of the party of Yair Lapid, who was one of the initiators of the revolution against social injustice and economic tyranny in Israel." According to Abu-Shumar, the fact that many of the leaders in this election were journalists points to a transition in Israeli society, a society that has historically anointed military generals and defense officials. Shumar drew attention to the fact that Lapid has media background rather than a military one, as does Yachimoch, thus implying to the fact that Israeli society might be turning less militant.

 

NETANYAHU REMAINS AS ISRAEL'S PRIME MINISTER, BUT WITH A FEW MORE HEADACHES TO RESOLVE HIS NEW COALITION GOVERNMENT!

Israel election: headache for Benjamin Netanyahu as Left and Right blocs draw

Israel's Right and centre-Left blocs have won an equal share of the country's 120-seat parliament in the election, with 99.5 per cent of votes counted, presenting a potential political headache and complex coalition negotiations.

 

The figures published on the committee's website early on Wednesday showed the joint list fielded by Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, coming out ahead of its rivals in Tuesday's elections, with 31 seats in total.

But the success of various centrist, leftwing and Arab factions means the overall makeup of the parliament will be evenly split, in a rare result for Israel.

Within the rightwing bloc, in addition to the 31 seats garnered by a list joining Mr Netanyahu's Likud and the secular national Yisrael Beitenu, the national religious Jewish Home won 11 seats, as did the Sephardic ultra-Orthodox Shas.

The Ashkenazi ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism faction won seven seats, bringing the bloc's total to 60.

On the centre-Left side, the centrist Yesh Atid - the surprise success of the elections - came away with 19 seats, slightly ahead of the centre-left Labour party, which won 15.

NORTH KOREA PLANS NEW NUCLEAR TEST WHICH COULD THREATEN AMERICA!!!

North Korea plans new nuclear test, threatens to target US

Published: 24 January by "RT". 

TAGS:
Arms, Conflict, Military, Nuclear, North Korea, USA, War

Reuters / Lee Jae Won

North Korea has announced it's about to carry out a third nuclear test and more long-range rocket launches, which it says are designed to target the United States.
­"We are not disguising the fact that the various satellites and long-range rockets that we will fire and the high-level nuclear test we will carry out are aimed at the United States," North Korea's National Defense Commission says.
Pyongyang now threatens to wage a “fully-fledged confrontation'' against the US for what they call continued hostility.
The declaration follows the UN Security Council's condemnation of North Korea on Tuesday and expanded sanctions against the regime for launching a rocket in December. North Korea has always claimed the launch was a peaceful satellite mission, but the US and others say it was actually a test of long-range missile technology.
In the face of what it considers to be a US threat, North Korea “will take steps for physical counteraction to bolster the military capabilities for self-defense, including the nuclear deterrence, both qualitatively and quantitatively,'' the country's Foreign Ministry warned in a statement.
Japan states North Korea does not yet have the technology to create compact nuclear warheads, but its missiles are already advanced enough to reach the US West Coast. The latest report published by Japanese observers, states the North Korean missile program has attained a new high and poses a grave threat.
The North was banned from developing missile and nuclear technology under sanctions dating from its 2006 and 2009 nuclear tests. First tests used plutonium, were detonated underground and had limited success. This time around, the international concern is that Pyongyang may use highly-enriched uranium and get better results.
North Korea does not give a time-frame of when they intend to undertake the threatened nuclear test.
The US has already called on the North to not carry out its third test.
"We hope they don't do it. We call on them not to do it," Glyn Davies, the top US envoy for North Korean diplomacy, said in the South Korean capital, Seoul.
There is no clear indication of an imminent nuclear test, observers say. However, satellite photos recently taken at North Korea's underground nuclear test site in the far northeast showed continued activity that suggested a state of readiness even in winter.
North Korea has enough weapons-grade plutonium for about four to eight bombs, according to nuclear scientist Siegfried Hecker, who visited North Korea's nuclear complex in 2010. In 2009, Pyongyang also declared that it would begin enriching uranium, which would give North Korea a second way to make atomic weapons.
The latest UN Security Council resolution demands North Korea abandon its nuclear weapons program in a "complete, verifiable and irreversible manner," as well as Pyongyang cease rocket launches. The North insists its rocket launches are purely peaceful.
The December 12 ‘satellite’ rocket launch has been celebrated as a great triumph in North Korea. The scientists involved have been treated like heroes ever since. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un mentioned the launch in his New Year's Day speech laying out the country's main policies and goals for the year. Banners hailing the event were posted on buildings across the capital.
The US, however, is not buying into the ‘satellite’ story, considering such launches covert tests of ballistic missile technology since satellite launches and long-range missile launches have similar firing mechanisms. As if to confirm that suspicion, North Korea showed off what appeared to be an intercontinental ballistic missile at a military parade last April.

THE LATEST HEADLINES AND ARTICLES FROM AROUND THE WORLD BY PROPHECY NEWS WATCH!

Prophecy News Headlines

	Where Is The Us In Bible Prophecy? Most Americans Think Religious Freedom Fast Declining In US Millions of American adults, particularly Protestants and evangelicals, feel religious freedoms have grown worse in the last decade in the United States, and foresee further restrictions in the years to come ....  Click here for full story
	Where Is The Us In Bible Prophecy? Can America Survive If Americans No Longer Agree On A Core Set Of Shared Values? What does America stand for? That question is a lot more complicated than you might think. Our Founding Fathers established a Republic that was based on a set of shared values that were embodied in the text of the U.S. Constitution ....  Click here for full story
	Where Is The Us In Bible Prophecy? Do You Want To Scare A Baby Boomer? Look At These Retirement Statistics If you want to frighten Baby Boomers, just show them the list of statistics in this article. The United States is headed for a retirement crisis of unprecedented magnitude, and we are woefully unprepared for it ....  Click here for full story
	Where Is The Us In Bible Prophecy? Survey: Fewer Americans Believe Homosexuality Is a Sin; Nation's View 'Evolving' With Obama's? Fewer Americans believe homosexuality is a sin than a little more than a year ago, according to a survey completed by a faith-based research group just 14 months after a similar study ....  Click here for full story
	Where Is The Us In Bible Prophecy? U.S. Gift Of F-16 Fighters Headed to Egypt, Despite Morsi's Anti-Israel Rhetoric Four F-16 fighter jets left the U.S. this morning, bound for Egypt as part of a foreign aid package critics say should have been scrapped when the nation elected a president who has called President Obama a liar and urged that hatred of Jews be instilled in children. .... Click here for full story
	Christian Worldview and Issues 'Ben-Hur' Remake to Focus More on Story of Christ "Ben-Hur," one of the most popular biblical movies ever produced, is going to be remade by MGM studios, with sources saying the focus of the storyline will feature more heavily on Jesus Christ ....  Click here for full story
	Christian Worldview and Issues Comet Ison, Celestial Events & The Return Of Christ Later this year, Comet ISON will pass through the asteroid belt, enter the Inner Solar System and sidestep Mars on its way past Earth, putting on what scientists expect will be a spectacular heavenly show that is not to be missed .... Click here for full story

THE LATEST EXCLUSIVE HEADLINES FROM THE EXCELLENT DEBKA FILES.

Summary of DEBKA Exclusives, January 21, 2013

January 11, 2013 Briefs: • Islamists injured 7 Egyptian troops in Sinai Al Qaeda or Salifist Bedouin extremists attacked an Egyptian patrol Friday in the Sinai Ouja region near the gas pipeline to Israel and Jordan, and injured one officer and six recruits. They were taken to hospital in El Arish. US military option for Syria nixed before Hagel’s coming DEBKAfile Special Report 11 Jan. At a joint news conference Friday, Jan. 11, retiring Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs, Gen. Martin Dempsey, cleaned the Pentagon’s Syrian desk ready for incoming Secretary Chuck Hagel. Boiled down to essentials, their triple message was that Bashar Assad could not be stopped from using chemical weapons if he chose to do so, that securing the CW sites after Assad’s fall was the job of the “international community,” and that no US ground troops would be sent to Syria. AS DEBKAfile reported in thee third week of November, the White House has resolved to dump the Assad headache into the laps of Syria’s immediate neighbors, Turkey, Jordan and Israel, and cast the rebels adrift. January 12, 2013 Briefs: • Israel troops shoot two Palestinian infiltrators dead An military border patrol killed a Palestinian attempting to steal through the security fence near Hebron Saturday. Friday, a large group of Palestinians tried to break through the Gaza border fence near Jebalya. The Israeli force first fired warning shots to stop their advance and then aimed at lower limbs when they kept coming. One Palestinian was killed, a second injured. • Israeli police evict 150 Palestinians from E1 Area A large police force early Sunday evicted some 150 Palestinians who established a “settlement” Friday in the E1 Area between Jerusalem and the town of Maaleh Adummim. They were removed from the area and bussed to the West Bank. Their tents remain in place until it is determined whether they are standing on state or privately-owned land. Saturday night, on orders from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, the state prosecution petitioned the High Court to annul an earlier temporary injunction against removing the outpost. E1 was meanwhile declared a closed military zone. • Hamas: 885 Palestinians killed in Syrian uprising According to Hamas figures published in Lebanon’s Daily Star Saturday, 885 Palestinians have been killed since the uprising broke out against Bashar Assad nearly two years ago. A further 20,500 Palestinian refugees from Syria are trapped in Lebanon, including least 3,500 who fled last month from the fierce outbreak of violence in the Yarmouk refugee camp outside Damascus. France on national terror alert after African operations DEBKAfile Special Report 12 Jan. French President Francois Hollande placed the country on high domestic alert Saturday, Jan. 12, in case of retaliatory attacks by al Qaeda for French operations against two of its African wings: a failed mission to rescue a French hostage from the Somali Shabaab, and air and commando aid for the Mali army’s drive to stop advancing Islamists. The Islamists threatened to execute at least eight French hostages one by one, unless French forces pulled out of Somalia and Mali at once. Hollande said France had intervened in Mali because the wider Sahel region of West Africa was becoming an Afghanistan-like base for Islamist terrorists and threatened to establish a terrorist stage threatening all of Africa within range of Europe and France. January 13, 2013 Briefs: • Chief of staff sacks former C-in-C aide Wiener Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz has sacked Brig. Erez Wiener, bureau chief of ex-army C-in-C Gaby Ashkenazi over the State Comptroller’s disclosure of his leading role two years ago with disgraced ex-officer Boaz Harpaz in digging out information to malign the defense minister and block Yoav Galant, his appointee’s appointment as chief of staff. • Egyptian court orders new trial for Hosni Mubarak The court Sunday accepted the former Egyptian ruler’s appeal against his conviction and life sentence for failing to stop the killing of protesters during the 2011 uprising that overthrew him. Mubarak was moved to a Cairo military hospital last month. • Netanyahu: Iran is my number one task after my reelection Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu dismissed allegations by ex-PM Ehud Olmert that he wasted billions of dollars preparing for “illusory security escapades” that did not take place. Obama forced out of office in 2009 over a corruption scandal. January 14, 2013 Briefs: • Maj. Gen. Gady Eisenkott takes office as Dep. Chief of Staff He assumed the post Monday in a ceremony conducted by Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, after the state attorney ruled that Israel’s security situation demanded that the office be filled without delay - even during an election campaign. • Netanyahu: The next government must either cut spending or raise taxes In view of the mounting deficit, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told a TV interviewer Monday night that the post-election government which he hopes to head will have to decide whether to cut spending or raise taxes. Israelis go to the polls Jan. 22. • Syrian rebels forced out of Taftanaz air base Syrian rebel leaders admitted Jan. 14, that Syrian forces had forced them to retreat from the big Taftanaz air base in the north. DEBKAfile: They never seized the entire base only a small part of it. • Islamists counter French airstrikes, capture Diabaly in central Mali Al Qaeda-led insurgents Monday struck the town of Diabaly in government controlled central Mali in retaliation for French airstrikes Sunday. The rebels fought with reinforcements from Mauritania. French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said French bombardments had blocked the Islamist advance to the east of Mali, but the situation in the west “remains difficult.” • Iran plans “big-budget” film to “correct Golden Globe-winning Argo Tehran shot back at Ben Afleck’s thriller about the CIA’s rescue of 6 American diplomats from Islamist Iran by announcing plans to make its own epic film to “correct numerous historical distortions” in Hollywood's version of the takeover of the 1979 US embassy takeover by revolutionary students. Argo is banned in Iran but it bootleg copies have a wide circulation.

No Egypt-Israel hot line after Egypt hosts al Qods chiefDEBKAfile Exclusive Report 14 Jan. The IDFs’ closure to civilian traffic of a 182-kilometer long security strip, 300 meters deep, along the Israeli-Egyptian border, resulted, DEBKAfile reports, from the failure of US Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Michael Vickers to breathe life into the US-Egyptian-Israeli partnership for combating terror during his Cairo trip earlier this month. Refusing to reactivate the Cairo-Jerusalem “hot line” for terror, the Egyptians were instead engaged in détente with Iran after Al Qods chief Gen. Qassam Soleimani paid them a secret visit. Deeply impressed with his feat for keeping Bashar Assad in power, President Morsi invited him for expert advice on hanging onto office. Cleansing Sinai of Islamist terrorists was far from his mind. January 15, 2013 Briefs: • Hollande: 750 French troops in Mali to increase French President Francois Hollande said Tuesday that a total of 750 troops are taking part in the offensive against Islamist rebels in Mali and their number would increase. During a visit to the French Middle East military base, Peace Camp in Abu Dhabi, Hollande said French overnight strikes “achieved their goal.” French sources commented that the rebels’ conquest Monday of the western town of Diabali "was not a setback.” US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta confirmed that the US was backing French forces in Mali. • New secret tunnel from Gaza runs 600m into Israel A tunnel, of the type used by Gazan Palestinian terrorists to infiltrate Israel or pack with explosives for remote detonation, was discovered by a routine IDF patrol Monday. It ran 600 meters into Israeli territory from a point in southern Gaza. Iran to send monkeys into space DEBKAfile Special Report 15 Jan. Iran will parade its ballistic rocket achievements by sending monkeys into space next month. This was announced by Hamid Fazeli, head of the country’s space agency Tuesday, Jan. 15. DEBKAfile: Since firing the first Iranian-made satellite, the 27-kilogram Omid, in February 2009, Tehran has developed a rocket with a payload capacity of 330 kilograms, capable of placing nuclear warheads anywhere on the face of the earth. The Iranians habitually mask advances in their nuclear and missile programs as pure scientific research. Obama ready for first Iranian nuclear test DEBKAfile Special Report 15 Jan. After US intelligence admitted it cannot detect or stop a Syrian chemical attack, US experts now estimate that Iran will not be able to produce enough weapon-grade uranium for one or bombs before mid-2014 “without detection by the West.” DEBKAfile: Barack Obama is preparing the world for the “surprise” of an Iranian nuclear test. The new, delayed dateline, moreover, is based on a false supposition. Already today, Iran has acquired or produced enough enriched uranium to build five nuclear bombs. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told an Israeli TV interviewer Monday night, Jan. 14 that his government had spent billions of shekels to outfit Israel’s Defense Forces with offensive and defensive options hitherto lacking. He stressed Israel is obliged to be extremely strong – whether to stand up to the Iranian nuclear threat and the extremist Islamist wave lashing the Arab world – or to make peace. The new nuances in Netanyahu’s reference to the Iranian nuclear threat suggest that he too is aware of the new winds blowing in Washington. In his latest statement, he departed from his standard assertion that his government would not permit Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon and said instead: “The government which I head has invested billions to prepare the country for the Iranian threat.” January 16, 2013 Briefs: • Washington ignores “compelling” evidence of Syrian chemical warfare A leaked State Department report by US diplomats in Turkey, which made a “compelling case” that Bashar Assad’s forces had used poison gas, was dismissed by National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor, who said there was no such evidence. • Netanyahu: No return to 1967 borders Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said he stands by his refusal to return to the pre-1967 war borders and will make certain to keep Jerusalem united, against international pressure. This was his associates’ comment on the an article by Jeffrey Goldberg quoting Barack Obama as saying Netanyahu does not know what Israel’s best interests are and is driving Israel into grave isolation. Israelis go to the polls for a new parliament and government in six days. • France must triple troops in Mali after no agreement on African force France pledged to triple the size of its 750-strong force fighting an Al Qaeda-rebel force threatening to overrun Mali, after West African army chiefs failed to agree on the deployment of the 3,300 troops promised by the region at a meeting in Bamako Tuesday. The regional force was to have taken over from France. DEBKAfile: This number is a drop in the sand for contending with well-trained, highly mobile al Qaeda and rebel forces equipped with high quality weaponry in broad desert regions. France in Mali fights the unfinished Libyan War DEBKA Video 16 Jan. Neither France nor the US has learned from the Afghanistan War that aerial warfare won’t defeat al Qaeda – certainly not when they are highly-trained in special forces’ tactics and backed by mobile, well-armed local militias with advanced anti-aircraft weapons. Those militias are Touareg tribesmen, trained and armed by the US in Libya as a spearhead against al Qaeda in Africa, who instead defected to the enemy. January 17, 2013 Briefs: • The Algerian operation at the gas field hostage site is ongoing Thursday night there were with no definite figures on the number of 41 hostages held by al Qaeda for two days who survived and how many were freed. Many were used as human shields by their kidnappers, the al Qaeda (AQIM) Islamists who took them hostage Wednesday. Washington reported a US drone joined the Algerian air operation at the embattled Algerian gas field, where the Islamists had threatened to blow up the BP-operated gas facility with their Norwegian, British, Japanese, American, French and other foreign hostages unless France ended its military operation in N. Mali. • Somali Al-Shabaab says French captive killed, fears for 41 hostages The Al Qaeda-linked Somali al-Shabaab rebels claimed Thursday they had executed Denis Allex, the French secret agent held since 2009, after a French mission to rescue him failed Saturday. Al Qaeda’s African wings have threatened to execute all 10 French hostages they are holding unless France ends its Mali offensive. Paris has repeatedly claimed that Denis Allex died in the failed French rescue mission, in which two French soldiers were killed. As DEBKAfile reported earlier, the French intervention in Mali has united al Qaeda’s African factions.