MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

By Arutz Sheva Staff – “Assisted by the CIA, Arab nations and Turkey have dramatically increased military aid to Syrian rebels in recent months, The New York Times reported Monday.

The US Central Intelligence Agency was aiding their efforts, the newspaper added, citing air traffic data and interviews with unnamed officials and the rebel commanders.

The airlift has increased to include more than 160 military cargo flights by Jordanian, Saudi and Qatari military-style cargo planes landing at Esenboga Airport near Ankara, and at other Turkish and Jordanian airports, the report said.

US intelligence officers have helped the Arab governments shop for weapons, including a large procurement from Croatia. They had also vetted rebel commanders and groups to determine who should receive the weapons as they arrive.

According to The Times, Turkey had overseen much of the program, fixing transponders to trucks ferrying the military goods through Turkey so it could monitor shipments.

‘A conservative estimate of the payload of these flights would be 3,500 tons of military equipment,’ Hugh Griffiths, of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), told the paper.” Read more.

Syria Chemical Weapons: Finger Pointed At Jihadists – “Whatever happened last week in the town of Khan al-Assal, west of Aleppo, it achieved something extraordinary in the Syrian civil war: unity among Washington, Moscow and Damascus. All welcomed the rapid decision by Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary-general, to investigate an alleged chemical attack that reportedly killed 26, including Syrian soldiers. Unusually, the request for that investigation came from the Syrian regime, which claimed that Islamic jihadist rebels launched a chemical weapons attack… a home-made locally-manufactured rocket was fired, containing a form of chlorine known as CL17 … the warhead contained a quantity of the gas, dissolved in saline solution. The source said that the town of Khan al-Assal has been in government control since March 13 but … Rebel Sunni groups with al-Qaeda sympathies have been attacking the town, where the population is predominantly Shia.” Read more.

Flashback: Shock Video Shows ‘Syrian Rebels’ Testing Chemical Weapons, ‘This Is Your Fate … I Swear By Allah To Make You Die’ – “A shocking You Tube video shows alleged Syrian rebels testing chemical weapons on lab rabbits before making threats to use them against Syria’s pro-Assad Alawite population. The video is particularly pertinent given reports yesterday that claim President Bashar Al-Assad has ordered the Syrian military to load ‘the precursor chemicals for sarin, a deadly nerve gas, into aerial bombs,’in preparation for fighter jets to drop the bombs on the civilian population.” Read more.

Until we see a Syrian official confirming the death of Assad via mainstream media outlets, take all of this with a huge grain of salt. This could all be little more than intentional misinformation or the fog of war, but if verified, an already dire situation for Christians in Syria is about to get a whole lot more complicated …

By Israel News Agency Staff – “Jerusalem, Israel — March 24, 2013 … Russian media sources have confirmed that Syria President Bashar Assad was shot by an Iranian bodyguard Saturday night.

‘The lone assassination pumped several bullets at point blank range into Assad,’ said the source. ‘Assad was rushed to Al-Shami Hospital in Damascus in critical condition. He died on the operating table from heart failure resulting from massive blood loss.’

An Israeli security analyst believes the report to be accurate.

‘In the last 24 hours have we seen Assad? Any photographs or video? No. Nor will we see any as loyalists who are closest to Assad have been threatened if any leaked photos or reports reach Western media. Iran is attempting to take control of the Syrian army and its wealth of weapons as Syrian solders are now deserting in mass. I don’t believe that the West will allow any Iranian control of Damascus.’

‘There was a reason why Barack Obama visited Israel. And it was not for a photo op with Miss Israel. I don’t think Netanyahu would apologize to Turkey or to anyone. But if it was between a dead Assad and saying sorry to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan I think there was no hesitation in making that telephone call to Ankara.’

The Israeli analyst said that several events have taken place in the last 24 hours including the Syrian army shooting at an Israeli border patrol unit. It is believed that this action was coordinated by Assad loyalists who stood outside the dead President’s hospital room to deflect the global media from the assassination and to pull Israel into a war with the Syrian army. The leader of the Western-backed Syrian opposition coalition announced he was resigning.

Moaz al-Khatib didn’t detail what motivated his decision, in a status update made on social media Website Facebook. But he did say that he now had Read more…

A subsequent update indicates that Bashar al-Assad was “seriously wounded” by gunfire late Saturday, March 23, 2013 and is clinging to life. I’ll update this post as more information comes in …

Update: Rumor is also being reported by New York’s Daily News …

Update 2: Rumors continues to spread. Another report is now stating that Bashar al-Assad is confirmed dead and that Iran is attempting to control the Syrian army …

By Amos Lerah, JSS News (Translation) – “According to reports in the Arab press (and then republished in the Israeli press ), information that journalists say they have ‘verified’ the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad was killed this morning by one of his bodyguards. An important safety device has been set up at the hospital in Damascus.

The assassin Boucher Damascus would be his bodyguard Iran, a military officer named Mehdi Jakoby. He was in charge of presidential security and was ‘offered’ by Tehran’s ally Syria.

According to various sources, there are reports of heavy fighting in any armed Damascus. The roads leading to the hospital would be closed.

Syrian TV premises have been abandoned.

If this information had to be officially confirmed, it would be a victory for the Islamists who are fighting for the seizure of power in Syria. No one really knows what will happen tomorrow if Assad is actually dead. Is that Iran will take a step back? Russia will she see red at the loss of his best friend? What about China? And the United States who still pledged this week to put a term “in the coming days,” the regime in Damascus, will they be strong enough to transmit the power to Syrian honest?” Source – JSS News.

Flashback: Syrian Rebels: After Assad ‘We Have A Big Fight Against The Jews Ahead Of Us’ – “The results of Saudi Arabia’s tireless efforts were on display in Al-Midan, a suburb in southern Damascus where I recently interviewed rebel fighters. Mateen, a fighter who claimed to have traveled from Afghanistan, shared his ideas for Syria’s future after ridding it of the Assad dynasty. ‘We have to build a society of respect and brotherhood in accordance with the Prophet’s commandments … we have a big fight against the Jews ahead of us. We will take that up, God willing.’” Read more.

Flashback: Syria: Remaining Christians Fear Possible Islamist Rule, Would Be ‘Expelled From The Country In One Day’ If Assad Falls – “Christians living in conflict-torn Syria are afraid that their community would fall victim of religious extremism if President Bashar al-Assad regime collapses and Islamists come to power.‘I am afraid that we will suffer bad times,’ a member of Damascus’s Christian community, who identified himself as Jorge, told RIA Novosti… ‘Islamists will come to power,’ Jorge said, adding that Islamists ‘wrongly believe that we support the current regime,’ and for that reason they will complicate the life of Christians.” Read more.

By Marcus George and Zahra Hosseinian, Reuters – ” DUBAI (Reuters) – Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on Thursday that the Islamic Republic would destroy the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa if its nuclear infrastructure came under attack from the Jewish state.

Israel puts little stock in big power negotiations aimed at curbing Iran’s uranium enrichment – which Western nations suspect is a conduit to nuclear weapons capability – and has repeatedly hinted at pre-emptive war against its arch-enemy.

During a visit to Israel on Thursday, U.S. President Barack Obama acknowledged its security concerns, saying, ‘America will do what we must to prevent a nuclear Iran.’ But he also said big powers believed there was still time for a diplomatic solution.

Russia said Iran and six global powers made headway in expert-level talks this week to ease the 10-year-long standoff over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, but the risk of backsliding towards confrontation remained.

Higher-level political talks between the powers and Iran are to resume in the Kazakh city of Almaty early next month, part of a concerted effort to avert another Middle East war that could balloon oil prices and wreak havoc on the global economy.

Khamenei, in a televised speech marking the Iranian new year, said: ‘At times the officials of the Zionist regime (Israel) threaten to launch a military invasion but they themselves know that if they make the slightest mistake the Islamic Republic will raze Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground.'” Read more.

Flashback: Iran: ‘When the Entire World is Armed With Nuclear Weapons, it is Permissible to Use These Weapons as a Counter-[Measure]’ – “‘The spiritual leaders of the ultra-conservatives [in Iran] have accepted the use of nuclear weapons as lawful in the eyes of shari’a… [Iranian President Ahmadinejad’s spiritual mentor Gharavian] has spoken for the first time of using nuclear weapons as a counter-measure. He stated that ‘in terms of shari’a, it all depends on the goal.’… Gharavian is a lecturer at the religious schools of Qom, and is a disciple of [Ayatollah] Mesbah Yazdi. In his recent remarks, he said for the first time that the use of nuclear weapons may not constitute a problem according to shari’a. He further said that ‘when the entire world is armed with nuclear weapons, it is permissible to use these weapons as a counter-[measure]. According to shari’a, too, only the goal is important…’” Read more.

Flashback: Iran Ayatollah: Kill All Jews Worldwide, Annihilate Israel – “The Iranian government, through a website proxy, has laid out the legal and religious justification for the destruction of Israel and the slaughter of its people. The doctrine includes wiping out Israeli assets and Jewish people worldwide. Calling Israel a danger to Islam, the conservative website Alef, with ties to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said the opportunity must not be lost to remove ‘this corrupting material. It is a ‘jurisprudential justification’ to kill all the Jews and annihilate Israel, and in that, the Islamic government of Iran must take the helm.’” Read more.

Little more demonstrates the progression of Islamism in Egypt than the “brotherhoodization” of the military itself. Not only is Egypt’s “protective shield” now set to begin being outfitted by those who would love nothing more than to kill all Jews and “liberate Jerusalem“, those that desire to do so will now be much better equipped when Islam’s “blessed day” comes …

Egypt Independent – “The Military Academy has accepted Muslim Brotherhood members among its new recruits this year, ending a years-old ban, academy director Major General Esmat Mourad said on Monday.

‘They meet the scientific and physical criteria,’ he said. ‘Should we reject a student because his father or uncle belongs to the Brotherhood?’

‘If they indulge in politics after they graduate, the military law would be applied to them,’ he added. ‘And if while still at the academy, they are dismissed.’

The academy checks the families of the applicants up to the fourth degree only in regards to criminal records, not political orientation, Mourad explained.

President Mohamed Morsy’s nephew was accepted into the academy because he excelled in the physical fitness tests, the general asserted, claiming, ‘I deal with him as a student and not the president’s nephew.’

In response to the announcement, a number of party leaders spoke out against what they call the ‘brotherhoodization’ of the military institution, claiming that the enrollment of Morsy’s nephew and other Brotherhood members was a disaster.

‘Military college rules and regulations state that allegiance is only to the homeland, and not to some partisan or political institution,’ said Fouad Badrawy, secretary general of the Wafd Party. ‘This applies to everyone, even the president’s nephew, for the revolution has eliminated favoritism.’

‘The army is the nation’s protective shield, and must remain independent from politics,’ Badrawy continued. ‘This is an attempt to convert the army from a defender of the country into a defender of the regime.'” Read more.

Flashback: Hamas Leader: Jerusalem And The Homeland Will Be Restored Only Through Jihad, The Rifle, And Self-Sacrifice – “In a fiery speech in Cairo on October 3, 2012, at a rally commemorating Saladin’s liberation of Jerusalem, Hamas political bureau head Khaled Mash’al said that the Zionists are enemies of Allah and the prophets, and called for preparing to liberate Jerusalem and restore the homeland once more through jihad, the rifle, and self-sacrifice.” Read more.

Flashback: Muslim Brotherhood Spiritual Leader Qaradawi Defends Hitler, Calls For Nuclear Terror – “… Imam Yusuf al-Qaradawi, spiritual guide to the Muslim Brotherhood, has called on Muslims to acquire nuclear weapons ‘to terrorize their enemies.’ He also boycotted an interfaith meeting with Jews on grounds he believes they support murdering Muslims in Palestine, and he additionally said Muslims are permitted to kill Israeli women because they serve in the army.” Read more.

AP via Fox News – “Israel’s military intelligence chief says Syria’s embattled president, Bashar Assad, is preparing to use chemical weapons.

Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi told a security conference in the coastal town of Herzliya that Assad is stepping up his offensive against rebels trying to oust him.

Kochavi claims Assad is making advanced preparations to use chemical weapons, but has not yet given the order to deploy them.

He did not disclose information about why he thinks Assad is preparing to use them.

Israel has long expressed concerns that Assad’s stockpile of chemical weapons could end up in the hands of groups hostile to Israel like Hezbollah or al-Qaida inspired organizations.

Israel has kept out of Syria’s civil war, but it is concerned that violence could spill over the border into northern Israel.” Source – Fox News.

Flashback: From Bad To Worse: Syria Combining Chemicals For Sarin Nerve Gas – “Engineers working for President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime in Syria have begun combining the two chemical precursors needed to weaponize sarin gas, an American official with knowledge of the situation told Wired.com’s Danger Room on Monday. International observers are now more worried than they’ve even been that the Damascus government could use its nerve agent stockpile to slaughter its own people, the report said… ‘Physically, they’ve gotten to the point where they can load it up on a plane and drop it,’ the official told Wired.com.” Read more.

Flashback: Former Top Syrian General: Assad Will Use Chemical Weapons, Lists VX Nerve Agent As Part Of Arsenal – “A former top general in Syria’s chemical weapons program says he doesn’t doubt for a moment that President Bashar al-Assad will deploy his chemical weapons arsenal as he tries to hold onto power and crush the uprising that started almost two years ago. ‘The regime started to fall and deteriorate. It’s coming to its end,’ said retired Major General Adnan Sillou in an interview in a hotel near Antakya, on Turkey’s southern border with Syria. ‘It’s highly possible that he’ll start using [chemical weapons] to kill his own people because this regime is a killer.’” Read more.

Flashback: Israel Warns Of Possible Pre-Emptive Chemical Weapons Strike In Syria; Iran: Any Attack On Syria Is Attack On Us – “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. The warning came as the military moved a rocket defense system to a main northern city, and Israel’s premier warned of dangers from both Syria and Iran. Israel has long expressed concerns that Syrian President Bashar Assad, clinging to power during a 22-month civil war, could lose control over his chemical weapons.” Read more.

By Adam Kredo, The Washington Free Beacon – “Unrest is growing in the Palestinian territories ahead of President Barack Obama’s first visit to Israel on March 20.

Riots and protests have erupted throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip in recent days, prompting some Israeli officials and Middle East observers to warn that Obama’s visit could spark a third intifada.

‘The Palestinians have not said the final word yet, and we expect that there will be attempts to take advantage of the upcoming events, like the visit by Barack Obama, in order to continue the violence,’ Israel public security minister Yitzhak Aharonovich was quoted as saying Monday by news outlet Arutz Sheva.

Hamas officials have warned that Obama’s visit will further fracture its relations with the Palestinian Authority and have even stated that a presidential visit to Jerusalem’s Temple Mount will be viewed as a declaration of war.

Hamas official Mushir al-Masri ‘called for a third intifada [or uprising] and for Egyptian assistance in the ‘resistance’ if Obama chooses to visit the Temple Mount,’ the site of Muslim places of worship, Arutz Sheva reported on Friday.

Former United States officials and Middle East experts said that the rising tide of violence is causing great anxiety in the final days before Obama touches down in Tel Aviv.

‘There is a lot of discussion of this in Israel,’ said Elliott Abrams, a former Bush administration national security adviser. ‘The PA is trying to stop this from getting out of control and turning from demonstrations to violence.’

Hamas could use Obama’s visit as a pretense to incite violence, Abrams said.

‘The old rule used to be that there would be no intifada without government support, and we know [Yassir] Arafat was behind the second intifada,’ Abrams said. PA President Mahmoud Abbas ‘is trying to stop it, not promote it. But Hamas and other groups may have other plans.'” Read more.

• Flashback: Hamas: Obama Visit To Temple Mount Will Be A ‘Declaration Of War’ On The Islamic World
• Flashback: ‘The Loss Of Jewish Sovereignty On The Mount’: Violent Muslim Mob Prevents Jews From Visiting Temple Mount
• Flashback: Al-Aqsa Group: The Temple Mount Is An Islamic Site, Demands Jewish Prayers Cease Because They’re ‘Defiling The Holiness’ Of Western Wall

By Gil Ronen, INN – “Jewish Temple organizations demanded Sunday that the Prime Minister immediately establish an official commission of inquiry into Friday’s events on the Temple Mount and the way the Temple Mount police handled them.

Friday’s events were worse even than those that took place during the Great Terror War that began in 2000, the groups said. For the first time ever, they said, fire bombs were thrown at police on the Mount, and one policeman caught fire and miraculously suffered only slight wounds.

Police knew in advance of the intention to carry out severe violence but did not limit the age of worshipers allowed to enter or stay on the Mount, even after violence had broken out, the groups charged.

Videos posted by Muslims show police refraining from quelling the violence, the Temple groups said. In private conversations, policemen described feelings of humiliation and betrayal by their commanding officers, the temple activists added.

Source – INN.