MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

Seems like quite a lot of troops for border patrol. Either they’re quite worried about what is sprouting up out of the “Arab Spring” in Egypt and Syria, or something else is in play that isn’t being reported …

By Aaron Kalman, The Times of Israel – “The IDF has issued emergency call up orders to six reserve battalions in light of new dangers on the Egyptian and Syrian borders. And the Knesset has given the IDF permission to summon a further 16 reserve battalions if necessary, Israeli media reported on Wednesday.

An IDF spokesperson said intelligence assessments called for the deployment of more soldiers.

According to 2008′s Reserve Duty Law, combat soldiers can be called for active reserve duty once every three years, and for short training sessions during the other two. Rising tensions between Israel and Egypt and the ongoing unrest in Syria caused the army to ask the Knesset for special permission to call up more soldiers, more often.

The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee approved the request recently, enabling the IDF to summon up to 22 battalions for active duty for the second time in three years. Already, the army has called up six of them.

‘This signifies that the IDF regards the Egyptian and Syrian borders as the potential source of a greater threat than in the past,’ the former deputy chief of staff, Dan Harel, said on Wednesday night.” Read more.

Arab Spring Anarchy in the Sinai: 50 Terrorist Attacks on Police – “The blossoms of the ‘Arab Spring’ uprising in Egypt last year have wilted under a reign of terror in the Sinai, where Al Qaeda and other jihadi cells have carried out 50 terrorist attacks on police since the beginning of the January 25 uprising. Israel has frequently posted warnings to tourists not to visit the popular Sinai Peninsula and Red Sea resorts, but thousands of Israelis, most of them backpackers, still ignore the threats. Security sources in Egypt told the Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper that Rafiah, which straddles the border at Gaza and Egypt, and central Sinai are under out of control of Egyptian police and soldiers.” Read more.

Dozens of Deaths Continue in Syria Despite ‘Ceasefire’ Plan – “Dozens have been killed by government forces in Syria so far this week despite attempts to enforce a UN-brokered “ceasefire plan,” an ongoing issue that the arrival two weeks ago of an advance team of 24 international peacekeeping observers has not been able to change. The six-point peace plan advanced by UN and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan was supposed to have gone into effect 20 days ago.” Read more.