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The spasm of Hamas-provoked violence that gripped the Gaza Strip and parts of southern Israel last week has temporarily halted for the time being. According to credible reports, Israel informed Cairo that it would begin targeting Hamas leaders and commanders if Hamas failed to rein in its assorted thugs and gangsters. Hamas heeded the call, and for good reason. Over the years, Israel’s various security branches have developed a penchant for liquidating dangerous enemies who seek to inflict harm on the Jewish State. Hamas is keenly aware of this fact having recently lost two of its operatives – Mohammad Zawari and Fadi...

Nizar Najoef, a Syrian journalist who recently defected from Syria to Western Europe and is known for bravely challenging the Syrian regime, said in a letter Monday, January 5, to Dutch newspaper “Di Telegraaf,” that he knows the three sites where Iraq’s WMD are kept. The storage places are: 1. Tunnels dug under the town of al-Baida near the city of Hama in northern Syria. These tunnels are an integral part of an underground factory, built by the North Koreans, for producing Syrian Scud missiles. Iraqi chemical weapons and long-range missiles are stored in these tunnels. 2. The village of...

The Syrian crisis unbelievably took another turn for the worse Saturday, Dec. 29: After making no headway with Bashar Assad in Damascus, the UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi was told in no uncertain terms by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow: “There is no possibility of persuading Syrian ruler Bashar Assad to leave Syria.” As they spoke, a record 400 people died in hostilities in the country. The burnt remains of hundreds of people slaughtered by the army were discovered in a Homs district. And Syrian opposition leaders have repeatedly preconditioned their acceptance of the Russian invitation to talks...

SNIPPET: "Israel Air Force jets attacked three tunnels in the Gaza Strip in a joint Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet operation on Thursday night, several hours after a Qassam rocket hit the Ashkelon Coast Regional Council. Two of the targets attacked were in the southern Strip and one was in the northern Strip. According to the IDF, terrorists were using the tunnels to try to infiltrate Israel. The IDF Spokesperson's Office said the tunnels were located about 1 kilometer (0.62 miles) from the border fence and that the targets were hit. There have been no reports of injuries among...

In the last few months, Lebanese terror group Hezbollah appears to have received over a hundred M600 ballistic missiles from Syria. Now, after many people scoured Google Earth satellite photos of Syria and Lebanon, looking for the weapons, something particularly interesting was found in northern Syria, outside the town of Masyaf. Google Earth users noted five compounds, that appear to be closed to all but authorized personnel. Inside these compounds there appeared to be entrances to bunkers dug into adjacent hills. In 2003, Syrian sources reported that Iraqi chemical weapons were sent to Syria, and some were storied in bunkers...

The Israeli intelligence community has determined that Hizbullah received a shipment of solid-fuel rockets from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Officials said the solid-fuel rockets were said to have included the Fateh-110, with a range of more than 200 kilometers. "Hizbullah in 2010 is very different to Hizbullah in 2006 in terms of military capability, which has advanced a great deal," Brig. Gen. Yossi Baidatz, a senior Israeli military intelligence officer, said. "Hizbullah is now regarded by the Syrians as a component of their defense establishment." On May 4, Baidatz, head of military intelligence's research department, told the Knesset Foreign...

While there has been much discussion in recent weeks over whether or not Hezbollah actually received Scud short range ballistic missiles from Syria, its Hezbollah’s growing stocks of Syrian made M-600 battlefield short range missiles that may prove more threatening. The M-600 is an improvement on the Iranian Fatah-110 missile, carrying a thousand pound warhead to ranges in excess of 300 kilometers. What makes these missiles a military, versus terror, threat is that they are fitted with GPS-aided inertial navigation. While the Scud is liquid fueled, which means it’s vulnerable to air strikes while fueling before launch, the M-600 is...

Israel's military has determined that Syria was producing its first solid-fuel rockets. Officials said the military and intelligence community said the regime of President Bashar Assad has been producing and deploying a variant of an Iranian long-range rocket. They identified the Iranian rocket as the Fateh-110, developed by Teheran nearly a decade ago and supplied to several countries as well as the Iranian-sponsored Hizbullah. "This certainly enhances the military capability of Syria from what it was even five years ago," an official said. Syria has taken the Fateh-110 and developed an enhanced variant. Officials said the upgraded weapon, termed M-600,...

Russia and Syria plan to significantly expand strategic relations in 2010. Officials said the Kremlin was discussing strategic programs with Syria during a meeting between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Syrian President Bashar Assad. "The Russian visit will mark a sign of support for isolated Syria, which Western countries accuse of supporting terrorism, although it mainly only supports Palestinian movements," Russian professor Yelena Melkumyan said. Ms. Melkumyan, professor at the Russian State University, said Syria marked an important regional partner for Russia. She said the Assad-Medvedev visit would result in strategic cooperation between Moscow and Damascus, both of which regard...

With a startled shout from the outcrop above, the Hizballah fighter bounded down the rocky slope, cocked his AK-47 rifle in a dramatic flourish as he drew near. "What are you doing here?" he demanded, his face a mix of anger and astonishment. "This is a military zone. You should not be here." It turned out that the youthful militant had been guarding a small outpost created by the Shi'ite militia on a remote mountain top in south Lebanon. The location was well chosen, offering the Hizballah men commanding views over the hills and valleys of the southern Bekaa Valley,...

Lebanese terror group Hezbollah is reported to have received over a hundred M600 ballistic missiles from Syria. This weapon is a copy of the Iranian Fateh which, in turn, is a copy of the Chinese DF-11A (which had a range of 400 kilometers). The M600 is a 8.86 meter (27.5 foot), 3.5 ton rocket with a half ton warhead. Range is about 250 kilometers. This might account for the reports, late last year, that Syria had provided Hezbollah with SCUD missiles. Both the M600 and SCUD are ballistic missiles, but the M600 is a more modern design. SCUD was developed...

Nearly four years after Hezbollah fought invading Israeli troops to a standstill in south Lebanon, the militant Shiite group says it's prepared for a fresh conflict and confident of victory. "We are ready for another war and we eagerly await it," says veteran Hezbollah fighter Abu Hadi on a drive through the Bekaa Valley. "We expect the next war to be short. The Israelis will not be able to endure what we will do to them." Hezbollah's leadership insists it does not seek a war and that its military preparations are a defense against potential Israeli aggression. Yet, the inconclusive...

Israel's mounting alarm at Hezbollah's reported acquisition of increasing numbers of long-range missiles stems in part from concern for the security of the country's emerging infrastructure. Jane's Intelligence Review reported the Israelis are concerned that their drive to develop an energy infrastructure built around the natural gas fields recently discovered in the Mediterranean off the northern port of Haifa would be put at risk by Hezbollah's swelling arsenal. The magazine, published in Britain, said the "relatively unsophisticated nature of Hezbollah's arsenal means that the militants' ability to successfully target individual critical energy sites in and around Haifa would be limited....

Syria has delivered advanced M600 rockets to Hezbollah militants in Lebanon within the past year, Israeli defense officials said on Wednesday. The M600, a Syrian copy of the Iranian Fateh-110, has a range of 300km and carries a half-ton warhead. If fired from southern Lebanon it would be capable of hitting Tel Aviv. Latest claims of arms transfers to Lebanon follow recent accusations by President Shimon Peres that Syria Hezbollah gave long-range Scud missiles, capable of inflicting heavy damage on Israel's cities. Other government figures, including Defense Minister Ehud Barak, have since avoided repeating the claims and it is unclear...