Lebanon Army on Alert After Reported IDF Build-Up on Border

By Chris Schang

In recent days we have seen several important news articles that are showing that the tension in the Middle East is slowly but surely rising. There have been rumors of military deployments on the borders and outrageous demands being made by the Palestinians over Jerusalem and other issues. Let's take a look at some of the headlines over the last several days.

The Haaretz newspaper is reporting that the Lebanese military is currently on high alert today as a result of an Israel Defense Forces buildup near the border. The newspaper reports:

Tension mounted Monday in southern Lebanon after Israeli forces reportedly advanced to the area of the Shaba farms, forcing the Lebanese army on alert, a Lebanese army source said. The source said three armored Israeli vehicles, accompanied by a civilian car, advanced towards Shaba Farms, located at the junction of south-east Lebanon, south-west Syria and northern Israel. Israel seized the 25-square-kilometre swath of land rich in water resources from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war when it captured the neighboring Golan Heights, which it later annexed.

In addition, Israel PM Netanyahu issued a warning for Lebanon that if Hezbollah joined the government, then Lebanon would bear the consequences in any future conflict and/or aggression. The Jerusalem Post reported:

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu warned Beirut on Monday that if Hizbullah becomes an official member of Lebanon's government, "we will hold the government accountable for any aggression against Israel coming out of its territory." Speaking to evacuees from the Gaza periphery in the Lakhish region, Netanyahu said "the sovereign government of Lebanon would be responsible" for any violent action against Israel, adding that "I hope we don't come to that." However, Netanyahu said current tensions between Israel and Hizbullah was not likely to spill over into violence.

As we can see from these two articles it appears the border region between Israel and Lebanon is beginning to heat up a little. There were reports before that the border area could actually "explode" at anytime, yet PM Netanyahu is starting to try to downplay that fact somewhat as we can see from his comments above. What is also interesting is that the terrorists in the Gaza strip have also resumed some of their rocket attacks on Israel despite warnings not to do so. The Jerusalem Post reports:

Shortly after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu warned that every rocket attack from the Gaza Strip would be met by an Israeli response, Palestinian gunmen launched yet another mortar shell into Israeli territory - the fourth attack in the past twenty-four hours. Nobody was wounded and no damage was reported by the latest round, which landed nearby a group of IDF engineers working on the perimeter fence on the border of central Gaza. Earlier in the day, during an inauguration ceremony of a school in Kibbutz Shomriya, where a group of Gush Katif evacuees now lives, Netanyahu said, "We are not prepared to take more rockets, and we will respond like we did last night."

Further:

His remarks came hours after IAF warplanes bombed a smuggling tunnel under the border of the Gaza Strip and Egypt. The IDF said that it launched the air strike in response to a Kassam rocket which hit an open field near the Sdot Negev region on Sunday. No casualties were reported in the air strike. Also on Sunday, two mortar shells struck near the Erez Crossing, just yards away from ambulances that were transferring a Palestinian heart patient to Israel for treatment.

These rocket attacks and military buildups come on the heals of the Fatah convention where policy for the terrorist group is formulated. One of the most outrageous and important articles of the last few days was the announcement by Fatah, Israel's supposed "peace" partner, that they would take all of Jerusalem by peace or by force. These remarks are simply outrageous and show what we have been reporting here at Rapture Forums, and that is the simple truth that there is no genuine desire for "peace" on the behalf of the Palestinians. All the negotiations for a Middle East peace deal are simply a covering for the Islamic terrorists to obtain as much as they can through peaceful means before resorting back to violence. This is simply an old Islamic trick and it has been used by them for hundreds and hundreds of years against their enemies. This is simply more of the same.

The Israel National News reported:

The Fatah party headed by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, re-elected in the fractured party convention in Bethlehem Saturday night, concluded all of Jerusalem is a "red line" for the PA. "Fatah will continue to sacrifice victims until Jerusalem will be returned, clean of settlements and settlers," according to a Fatah "all-or-nothing" policy paper, which did not distinguish between the part of the capital that was restored to Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967 and the section that was recognized by the United Nations as part of Israel in the 1949 Armistice Agreement.

Further:

Abbas warned at the opening of the convention that Israel faces violence from the PA if it does not agree to its terms for a new Arab state on the land of Judea, Samaria and Gaza. He claimed that attacks on Israelis are valid under international law. "Although we have chosen peace, we maintain the right to launch an armed resistance, which is legitimate as far as international law is concerned." he told the approximately 2,000 delegates. At-Tayyib Abdul-Rahim, a member of Fatah Central Committee, said following Abbas's re-election, "Fatah is still a liberation movement, and since we have not achieved our goals, we have popular resistance.... If peace efforts are thwarted, there will be no security, nor stability in the region."

While the Palestinians continue their call for a state beside Israel, the fact is the Palestinian have time and time again refused to recognize Israel or meet any of their obligations under existing peace deals promoted by the international community. And the truth of the matter is that they never intend on doing so. This is one of the reasons why the Palestinians keep the "settlements" / "occupation" etc. in the spotlight so that they are never confronted for not following their obligations. I have yet to see a single obligation fulfilled by the PA like recognizing Israel, stopping attacks aimed towards Israel, etc. and of course, the international community continues in "Neville Chamberlain" mode trying to appease the Islamic terrorists. History has shown that appeasement never works, yet the international community is bound and determined to repeat history and take the easiest way out which really is no way out at all.

To illustrate the severity of the ridiculous statements by Fatah, Israel FM Lieberman was reported as saying that the PA was essentially "burying" the prospects for peace. The Jerusalem Post reports:

The political platform formulated at the Fatah General Assembly in Bethlehem, combined with unrest in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, "has buried any chance of coming to an agreement with the Palestinians in the next few years," Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Monday. Speaking to 29 Democratic Congressmen in his Jerusalem office, Lieberman said that "the Palestinians' uncompromising, extremist positions on Jerusalem, right of return, and settlements are making a gap between us that can't be bridged." According to a statement from the Foreign Ministry, he also said that there was nobody representing all Palestinians, though there is "Hamastan in Gaza and Fatahland in Judea and Samaria."

As we mentioned before it appears that the issue of Jerusalem and Israel has definitely become a burdensome stone for all the nations that have burdened themselves with it. The other part of the prophecy is that those who burden themselves with it will be "cut to pieces" and that has yet to happen but will in the future. With the buildup of troops and arms on the borders, it appears that conflict is just around the corner. The Bible tells us that there will be conflict in the region before the start of the 70th week of Daniel. Eventually, a situation will arise in the Middle East where a Russian led coalition will make it's way down south to try to invade Israel as foretold in Ezekiel 38-39. God will use this war in Ezekiel 38-39 to save Israel and as a result the Israelis will have a spiritual "rebirth" that will result in a desire for a Third Temple and Old Testament style worship.

In addition, some also see the fulfillment of Pslam 83 and Isaiah 17 happening soon as well as a result of the situation on the borders with Israel and the Iranian terrorist proxies. We do know that conflict is coming, but only time will tell exactly when. Until then, we should work hard at spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ, his payment of sin on the Cross, his death, burial, and resurrection. Time is short and the shadows on the horizon point to the fulfillment of Bible prophecy in the near future.

Keep looking up, your redemption is drawing nigh!!

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