Free Republic

Senior members of the Israeli security establishment are predicting that the month of May will be one of the most volatile periods in the current era. Maj. Gen. (Res.) Amos Yadlin, the former head of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Military Intelligence Directorate, said in an interview published April 22, “I have not seen a May this dangerous since May 1967.”Of particular note, two of the five military fronts concerning Israel have rapidly escalated in recent months. In the campaign against Iran being waged in Syria, the two sides have inched closer to an unprecedented tipping point. The situation in...

President Donald Trump on Friday castigated Iran for being a destabilizing force in the Middle East, saying at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel that wherever there is a "problem" in the region, the Islamic Republic is "right there." Trump said that he and Merkel discussed Iran during their meeting earlier at the White House. Iran was expected to be a contentious issue between the two world leaders, as Trump has lambasted the Iran nuclear deal and threatened to withdraw from it while Merkel strongly supports the accord. U.S. and European officials have been discussing a possible...

Palestinian health officials reported three people killed and 611 wounded, including 138 hit by live fire in incidents along the border throughout the day. In a statement, the Israeli military said it had "thwarted" an attempted infiltration by Palestinian protesters. It said "hundreds of rioters" tried to burn the fence and enter the Israel. It said the crowd threw explosives, firebombs and rocks, and that troops opened fire "in accordance with the rules of engagement" and halted the crowd. It released a video showing a young Palestinian man placing a burning tire along the fence in an apparent attempt to...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will make a televised announcement Monday evening in what his office said would disclose "dramatic news" regarding the nuclear agreement with Iran. In a corresponding move, Netanyahu cancelled a scheduled speech at the Knesset in honor of Theodore Herzl day.

The shadow war between Israel and Iran in Syria escalated sharply on Monday after suspected Israeli strikes killed 26 Iranian and Assad regime fighters, according to monitors. One strike tore through a military base dug into a mountain near the central city of Hama on Sunday night, causing an explosion so large it registered as a 2.6 magnitude earthquake. A second strike targeted an airbase near the northern city of Aleppo. There was no claim of responsibility for the attack but suspicion immediately fell on Israel, which has carried out a number of strikes as it tries to prevent Iran...

The Syrian army said 'enemy' rocket attacks struck military bases belonging to Syrian President Bashar Assad, Syrian state TV reported. A report on a Syrian newspaper facebook page attributes the attack to the U.S. and Britain. Media outlets affiliated with the Syrian opposition claim 38 government soldiers were killed in the strike in Hama, with an additional 57 wounded.

Syrian military positions in the province of Hama and Aleppo were targeted Sunday by a series of strikes that caused an explosion reportedly strong enough to trigger an earthquake observed by neighboring countries. Citing an unnamed military source, the official Syrian Arab News Agency reported that military positions in villages of Hama and Aleppo were hit by a still unidentified rocket attack at around 10:30 p.m. local time ...

The hidden battle in Syria – the one that rarely appears on our television screens – has been raging for years between Israel and a coalition comprising the Syrian government, Iran and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah. Watching over the proceedings without directly intervening has been Russia, although that might be about to change. The prize is control over Syrian territory but the battlefield is Syria’s skies.

Direct conflict between Israeli and Iranian forces is increasingly likely in Syria as Tehran pursues a permanent military presence there, US Secretary of Defense James Mattis warned on Thursday. Addressing a congressional panel before hosting his Israeli counterpart, Avigdor Liberman, at the Pentagon, Mattis said it was “very likely” from his perspective, “because Iran continues to do its proxy work there through Hezbollah.” Receiving Liberman, Mattis told reporters that he saw no reason for Iran to ship advanced missiles to Hezbollah through Syria except to threaten Israel. “I can see how it might start, but I am not sure when...

Hamas Engineer 'Negotiated Arms Deals With North Korea, Assassinated by Mossad' in Malaysia Report in The New York Times cites intelligence officials saying Batsh was killed as part of Mossad attempt to stop Hamas operations overseas, reveals ties to North Korea Haaretz | 26.04.2018 09:19 Updated: 12:26 PM Fadi al-Batsh, the Hamas engineer gunned down in Malaysia last week, was reportedly involved in talks with North Korea on arms intended for Gaza, The New York Times reported Thursday. To really understand the Middle East - subscribe to Haaretz According to the report, Batsh was killed as part of an alleged operation by...

Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Tuesday that Israel may strike the Russian-made S-300 anti-aircraft defense systems in Syria if they are used against Israel. "One thing should be clear - if someone fires on our planes, we will destroy them," Lieberman said in an interview with the Israeli website Ynet. "What's important to us is that the weapons defense systems that the Russians transfer to Syria are not used against us. If they are used against us, we will act against them."

As we seem to be inching ever closer to World War 3, heated rhetoric and threats between nations are becoming everyday occurrences. Israel has threatened to strike Russian systems in Syria after it was threatened with “catastrophic consequences” if it does. Russia will send advanced S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Bashar al-Assad, officials said Monday, warning Israel not to attack the new air defense systems or suffer “catastrophic consequences.” But Israel, in turn, threatened to strike those very systems anyway. Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Tuesday that Israel may strike the Russian-made S-300 anti-aircraft defense systems in Syria if they are...

A top Iranian general has threatened to sink the United States Navy's ships, warning that the US would find itself in a "catastrophic situation" amid an ongoing war of words between the countries over the possibility President Donald Trump could exit a landmark nuclear deal. "The actual information that the Americans have about us is much less than what they think they have. When will they figure this out? When it is too late," the Revolutionary Guard Corps navy commander, Admiral Ali Fadavim, told Iranian television on Saturday. "They will definitely figure it out when their ships are sunk, or...

Head of the U.S. military’s Central Command, Gen. Joseph Votel visits Israel amid concerns Trump will withdraw forces from Syria. Votel met with the head of the National Security Council, the IDF Chief of Staff, other defense officials. A diplomatic source said that the purpose of the visit was to send a signal of reassurance to Israel that the Americans had no immediate plans to withdraw from Syria and that they would continue to back Israel on any activity intended to maintain the security of its border. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the U.S. would be out...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a fiery address at a torch-lighting ceremony marking Israel’s 70th Independence Day, declared that the Jewish state is becoming a “world power” and said its light will overcome its 'enemies' "darkness." “We’re turning Israel into a rising world power,” Netanyahu said at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem before lighting a torch on behalf of all the governments of Israel since the founding of the state.