MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

Israel is attacked by terrorists.  Arabs say nothing.  Israel defends itself.  Arabs blow a gasket …

Arab League to hold emergency meeting over IDF strikes on Gaza – “The Arab League will hold an emergency meeting on Sunday to discuss Israel Defense Forces air strikes on the Gaza Strip over the past two days, state media said Saturday. ‘The Arab League received a request from the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the Israeli aggression on Gaza,’ state television reported… After coordinated terror attacks that killed eight in southern Israel on Thursday, 30 Grad and Qassam rockets were fired throughout southern Israel on Friday, with rocket attacks continuing Saturday in areas near Be’er Sheva and in the communities surrounding the Gaza Strip.” Read more.

Egypt withdraws ambassador to Israel over policemen deaths – “Egypt will withdraw its ambassador to Israel until it receives an apology and the results of an official investigation into the killing of five Egyptian policemen near the border, the cabinet said Saturday. An emergency committee said the ambassador would be recalled until ‘Israeli authorities apologize for the hasty and regrettable statements about Egypt.’ It said Egypt also held Israel responsible for political and legal implications of the incident, which it called a violation of the Camp David Treaty.” Read more.

Hamas Ends ‘Ceasefire’ with Israel – “Hamas’ military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, called off a ceasefire with Israel late Friday, Hamas’ Al-Aqsa radio reported. According to the report, which was quoted by the Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency, Hamas will allow terror factions in Gaza to respond to Israeli attacks in the Strip. Those ‘attacks’ come in response to provocations by the same terror groups in Gaza, such as Thursday’s multiple attacks near Eilat or the barrage of rockets which were fired at Israel from Gaza on Friday. A representative of the militant group was quoted as having said, ‘There can be no truce with the Israeli occupation while it commits massacres against the Palestinian people without justification.'” Read more.

Egyptian demonstrators call for cancellation of peace treaty – “Egyptian demonstrators have held an angry protest outside the Israeli embassy in Cairo, over claims that up to five Egyptian security personnel were killed on Thursday. Protesters burnt the Israeli flag and chanted, ‘Close the embassy! Expel the ambassador’ and demanded on Friday the resignation of the Israeli ambassador and the cancellation of a peace treaty between the countries. The protest carried on throughout the night, with demonstrators bringing down the metal barriers surrounding the embassy and stomping on them, Al Jazeera correspondent Rawya Rageh reported from the scene. ‘People are still gathered outside the embassy and they are making quite a lot of noise. The protesters are insisting on making their voices heard and one of the protesters told me that they have no intention of leaving until the Israeli flag, perched on top of the 20th floor of the apartment building is brought down.’ our reporter said.” Read more.

“PESHAWAR, Pakistan – A suicide bomber struck a mosque in a Pakistani tribal region during Friday prayers, officials said, killing at least 40 people and wounding 85 others in the deadliest attack in the country in recent weeks.

The attack came during the holy month of Ramadan, a time of fasting, sharing and heightened community spirit for Muslims.

No group immediately claimed responsibility, but the Taliban and other Islamist militants have previously targeted mosques, especially if they believe enemies — such as army soldiers or anti-militant tribesmen — are using the facilities.

The mosque hit Friday is in Ghundi, a village in the Khyber tribal region, a part of Pakistan’s tribal belt. Khyber has long been a base for Islamist militants, and the Pakistani army has waged multiple operations aimed at pacifying the region but with limited success.

Khyber also is a key region for the U.S. and NATO, because a large portion of non-lethal supplies heading to U.S. forces in Afghanistan passes through it.

Some 300 people had gathered for prayers Friday afternoon in the Sunni mosque, and many were on their way out when the explosion occurred, local administrator Iqbal Khan said.

‘All the evidence we have gathered confirms that it is a suicide attack,’ said Fazal Khan, another local official who also confirmed the casualty figures. He said witnesses alleged the bomber was a young man.” Read more.

Obama: Islam ‘Known for its Diversity and a Commitment to Justice and the Dignity of All Human Beings’ – “‘No matter who we are or how we pray, we’re all children of a loving God,’ he said… ‘To the millions of Muslim Americans across the United States and more – the more than one billion Muslims around the world, Ramadan is a time of reflection and a time of devotion,’ Obama said in his brief remarks. ’It’s an occasion to join with family and friends in celebration of a faith known for its diversity and a commitment to justice and the dignity of all human beings. So to you and your families, Ramadan Kareem,’ he said.” Read more.

“Seven people were killed and at least 26 people were wounded Thursday in a series of terrorist attacks on Israeli targets approximately 20 kilometers north of the southern city of Eilat, close to the border with Egypt.

The first attack, at around 12 P.M., was a drive-by shooting targeting Egged bus 392 traveling from Be’er Sheva to Eilat, near the Netafim junction.

Shortly afterward, IDF forces rushed to the scene and were faced with several explosive devices that were detonated alongside an IDF vehicle.

At approximately 12:35, a mortar was fired from Egypt to Israel. No casualties were reported.

At 1:10 P.M., a terrorist cell fired an anti-tank missile at a private vehicle, wounding seven.

Minutes later, another cell fired an anti-tank missile at a private vehicle, killing six.

The IDF Spokesman reported that two to four terrorists were killed during the clashes.” Read more.

Barak: IDF will hunt down perpetrators of Eilat attack – “The IDF will hunt down the perpetrators of a three-stage terrorist attack along Israel’s border with Egypt, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Thursday. Barak said that Israel will strike back at the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza in response to the attacks. Speaking from his office at the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv, the defense minister added that the IDF was assessing the security situation along the border with Egypt.” Read more.

‘Eilat bus ambush unlikely to have come from Egypt’ – “Egyptian security sources said on Thursday that a bus ambush north of Eilat was unlikely to have come from Egyptian territory. Security patrols on the Egyptian-Israeli border had not picked up on ‘suspicious movements’ on the Egyptian side, a source said, adding that security had been heightened on the border after news of the attack. The comments came after a three-stage terrorist attack along Israel’s border with Egypt took place late Thursday morning, when terrorists opened fire at an Egged bus traveling on Road 12 near Eilat.” Read more.

If Gaddafi falls, expect Obama to tout his ‘leadership’ and take credit the following day.  When the Islamists take over, expect Obama to deny that he had anything to do with Libya …

By Richard Spencer – “Abdel-Elah al-Khatib, the former Jordanian foreign minister appointed by the United Nations to try to negotiate an end to the conflict, said he was meeting representatives of both sides of the Libyan conflict in Tunisia.

The rebel leaders’ Transitional National Council denied that its representatives were involved, but no such claim came from the Gaddafi regime.

The rebels now believe they have no need to offer concessions on their demand for Col Gaddafi to leave Libya or surrender, after cutting off his supply lines in the last four days.

Mansur Saif Al-Nasser, their ambassador to France, said they hoped to have secured victory by the end of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan in two weeks’ time.

‘Our forces totally control Zawiyah, which will open the way to Tripoli,’ he said in a radio interview. ‘This will allow the population there to revolt.

We are entering a decisive phase.

‘Soon we will liberate all of southern Libya. We hope to celebrate the final victory at the same time as the end of Ramadan.’

Nato leaders are also increasingly confident that the war is moving towards an endgame. ‘I think the sense is that Gaddafi’s days are numbered,’ the new US defence secretary, Leon Panetta, said in Washington.” Read more.

Flashback: Libyan Rebel Commander Admits His Fighters Have al-Qaeda Links – “By Praveen Swami, Nick Squires and Duncan Gardham – In an interview with the Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, Mr al-Hasidi admitted that he had recruited ‘around 25′ men from the Derna area in eastern Libya to fight against coalition troops in Iraq. Some of them, he said, are ‘today are on the front lines in Adjabiya’. Mr al-Hasidi insisted his fighters ‘are patriots and good Muslims, not terrorists,’ but added that the ‘members of al-Qaeda are also good Muslims and are fighting against the invader’.” Read more.

Flashback: FBI Counter-Terror Official: Al Qaeda ‘Thrives’ After Dictators Fall – “On the same day reports emerged of a new al Qaeda video that praised the revolutions sweeping the Arab world, one the U.S.’s top counter-terror officials warned the terror organization ‘thrives’ in the political unrest that follows.” Read more.

By Reza Kahlili – “Iran is warning Israel that its citizens should flee the Middle East or face annihilation.

The chief commander of Iran’s Basiji forces, Brig. Gen. Mohammad-Reza Naghdi, recently stated that Iran has no option but to destroy Israel. Ratcheting up the war of words, Naghdi is now threatening Israelis in the ‘occupied lands’ that they are surrounded by mujahedeen of Islam bent on their destruction.

‘I quote our supreme leader, Imam Khamenei, who clearly stated during the recent gathering of the leadership’s elite that Zionists are now encircled by those who are willing to wage jihad for Islam, and that those concerned for their safety and well-being should quickly go back to the countries they left behind,’ Naghdi told the Fars News agency, the media outlet for the Revolutionary Guards.

When asked by the Fars News reporter about what he called empty threats by the Zionist government against Muslims, Naghdi responded: ‘(Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu and the Zionists don’t even have the capability to keep the Hamas mujahedeen in check, let alone take it upon themselves to devise plans and plots for Muslims elsewhere. Our response to all the threats is that the heads of the Zionist government and Mr. Netanyahu should prepare themselves for the cage (prison).’

Referring to the imprisonment and ultimate indictment of Islamic mujahedeen in the prisons of the former Egyptian dictator, Hosni Mubarack, Naghdi added: ‘The time for jailing Islamic mujahedeen has come to an end, and the time of caging kings and obstinate rulers is upon us.’

Citing the Quran, Naghdi emphasized that the payback awaiting ‘these kings and other cruel tyrants around the world’ will be much worse than what they did to the Islamic mujahedeen.” Read more.

Precursor to Armageddon? Hizbullah MP Believes That Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Hizbullah (Lebanon) Will Wipe Out Israel – “Hizbullah MP Brig.-Gen. Walid Sakariya (Ret) – ‘Iran is the country most hostile to Israel, but Iraq serves as a buffer between Iran and the Palestine front – from the days of Saddam Hussein and until the US military presence in Iraq. Iran supports the forces of confrontation: Hamas, Hizbullah, and Syria. If, following the US withdrawal, Iraq becomes a bridge linking Iran to Syria, the Iranian forces could cross Iraq and arrive in Syria, in order to participate in a direct war on the Golan front. In that case, Israel would not be fighting Hizbullah alone. It would be fighting Hizbullah, Syria, Iraq, and Iran. This is the so-called ‘Shiite Crescent’ that they fear. Since Iran dominates this (axis), the Arab countries refer to it as the ‘Shiite Crescent.’ If Hizbullah has 50,000 missiles and can destroy some targets in Israel, the equation will completely change when Syria and Iran join the war.'” Read more.