Israel Update for April 2009

The public charge of Iranian induced terrorist activity sparked a verbal war between the Mubarak government, Iran and the Lebanese Hizbullah movement. This came after officials in Cairo charged that the Iranian regime had ordered its Lebanese Hizbullah surrogate force to step up attempts to overthrow the Mubarak government. The veteran Egyptian President himself spoke out on the issue in the strongest possible terms, warning Iranian leaders on April 24 that they would "face Egypt's wrath" if they continued to meddle in Egyptian affairs.

Hizbullah's clerical leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah again attacked Egypt's peace treaty with Israel, but denied any involvement in such a plot to depose the Mubarak government. However he did boast that his extremist Shiite group had sent "a senior representative" to the Sinai to help funnel weapons and additional fighters to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Two days later, the state-run Al Gomhouria newspaper in Cairo poured scorn upon Nasrallah, calling him an "Iranian agent bandit and veteran criminal monkey sheik," adding pointedly that "if you threaten our sovereignty you will burn!"

Israeli security analysts said the unusually blunt words from Cairo showed that Mubarak has had enough of Iranian interference in his country. They said he directly gave the order to publicize the fact that Iranian-backed terror cells had been apprehended, adding that this gives further proof that moderate pro-western Arab countries in the Middle East will be privately satisfied if Israel carries out a military strike upon Iran's nuclear program, even as they publicly protest it.

Meanwhile several terror attacks were undertaken by Palestinians against Israeli Jews during the month. An axe-wielding Palestinian entered the Jewish settlement of Bat Ayin just south of Jerusalem on April 2, murdering a 16-year-old teenage boy and seriously wounding a 7-year-old boy in his skull. The terrorist managed to escape the scene. Two days later, a 15 year old armed Bedouin girl was shot dead as she attempted to enter a Negev army base. An unmanned remote controlled Palestinian fishing boat laden with explosives was intercepted three days later off of the Gaza coast. A knife wielding Palestinian teenager was shot and killed later that same week as he attempted to infiltrate a Jewish community near Hebron.

Don't Do It!

Netanyahu government officials were undoubtedly not too thrilled to hear both American Vice President Joe Biden and Defense Secretary Robert Gates say during April that an Israeli military strike against Tehran's nuclear program would not be welcomed by the new Obama administration. US logistical support for such a difficult operation could be crucial to its success, say many analysts. The issue is expected to be front and center when PM Netanyahu meets with the US President and other senior American officials in May.

Israeli and American security officials also seem to be at loggerheads over how close Iran is to actually possessing nuclear weapons capability. The latest Israeli assessment was issued by Army Intelligence chief Amos Yadlin in late March. He told a Knesset committee that Iran "has already crossed the technological threshold" necessary to construct a nuclear warhead, but added it has "probably not done so yet" in order to stave off additional UN sanctions against Tehran. He stated ominously that the radical Shiite regime, with North Korean assistance, has completed development of long range Shihab 3 surface to surface missiles capable of carrying such warheads to Israel and beyond.

Naturally enough, Israel is not just sitting around waiting for the Iranian threat to actually mutate into a nuclear holocaust. The advanced Arrow Two anti-ballistic missile system, built with substantial American assistance, was tested again on April 7. It successfully intercepted and destroyed a missile fired by an Israeli warplane that was designed to mimic the capabilities and dimensions of Iran's Shihab missile. The test was jointly conducted with the American Missile Defense Agency from an air force base near Ashdod.

Meanwhile it was announced in Washington that the US and Israel will conduct the most extensive joint anti missile tests ever later this year. The tests will integrate the sophisticated Arrow system with the advanced American X Band radar system that the Pentagon sent to the Negev desert region last year, along with the sea-based Aegis anti ballistic missile defense system deployed on US warships which regularly patrol the region.

It was also announced in Jerusalem that the largest ever Home Front defense drills will be conducted throughout the country in early June. Commander Colonel Hilik Sofer told Israeli media outlets that the military would "have to rely on the population itself" to help defend the country in the next major war, likely to involve missile strikes on all parts of the land. He said that while the mass drill was mainly designed to test Israel's preparedness and capabilities, it would also serve as a necessary reminder to the civilian population that "war can happen at any time, with the entire country instantly transformed into a battlefield with no front lines and no safe places."

As continuing strong military ties between Israel and America were further highlighted during the month, Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband told Parliament in London on April 21 that "recent events in Gaza" were prompting a review of British weapons sales to Israel to ensure that they were "not being used against the Palestinian people."

Monetary Woes

During his inaugural speech, PM Netanyahu noted that Israel's formerly sizzling economy-producing one of the hottest stock markets on earth-is now struggling to stay afloat, along with the rest of the world. He vowed to work night and day to put the country's financial course back on track. Analysts say this important issue is of particular concern to the new Premier, given that his tough policy changes as Finance Minister in the Sharon government earlier this decade were largely credited for the powerful economic expansion that lasted over five years, only coming to a sudden crashing end in the wake of the American financial tsunami that struck shores worldwide during the second half of 2008.

Netanyahu's economic comments came just days before the Finance Ministry announced that over 20,000 Israelis lost their jobs during March, bringing the total of pink slips to over 100,000 since the meltdown began last September. That amounts to nearly 7% of the usual workforce, with the Bank of Israel forecasting that the jobless rate will probably go above 8% by the end of this year, while the economy shrinks some 1.5%. Although a small percentage of March's job losses were expected seasonal layoffs, most workers were dismissed in the hard hit hi tech and manufacturing industries. Economic analyst's note that both sectors rely heavily on exports to the United States and Europe-each struggling with its own serious financial woes.

Netanyahu quickly announced plans to help stimulate the faltering Israeli economy by launching large government spending projects. Like in the United States and elsewhere, the projects will focus on improving the country's road and other transport infrastructures, along with the construction of several new desalination and electric power plants. Drilling will also be expanded to discover and exploit new gas and oil deposits both inside the small country and off of the Mediterranean coast. Meanwhile new Welfare Minister Isaac Herzog pledged to increase government spending for the country's impoverished poor and homeless sectors. A portion of the designated funds will flow to several large non profit organizations that are increasingly struggling to meet mushrooming needs all over the land.

With increasingly strong shock waves engulfing the region and the world, it appears that the time when Israel's Messiah will reign in glory from Jerusalem is drawing very close! "And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will not be destroyed" (Daniel 7:14).