Danny Danon, Israel's Ambassador to the UN, has responded to the Iranian ballistic missile test by saying, "Iran has once again defied Security Council resolutions and revealed its true intentions." Danon warned, "The international community must not bury its head in the sand in the face of this Iranian aggression. The Security Council members must act immediately in response to these Iranian actions which endanger not only Israel, but the entire Middle East." (Arutz-7) [Comment]

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with President Trump at the White House on 15 Feb. 2017. Netanyahu thanked Trump for the invitation and said he looked forward to discussing "the areas of cooperation between us that are so vital to the security and well-being of our two countries.” Iran is expected to be a main topic at the White House meeting. Iran this week test-fired a medium-range ballistic missile, in what Netanyahu called "a flagrant violation of a Security Council Resolution.” The Israeli leader said he plans to "raise the need for a renewal of sanctions against Iran - sanctions against ballistic missiles but also other sanctions, against Iran’s sponsorship of terrorism, and also to deal with this entire failed nuclear agreement” in his meeting with Trump. Israel’s Intelligence Minister, Israel Katz, likewise said on Tues. 31 Jan. 2017 that "there is no doubt that further sanctions on Iran are needed," following the ballistic missile test. Katz said that not only Iran's ballistic missile program, but also its entrenchment in Syria and the aid it gives to Hezbollah constitute threats to Israel's security. The intelligence minister suggested that the Trump administration and its stance on Iran, offers new opportunities to thwart Iran's hegemonic ambitions in the region that endanger Israel. "The Trump administration and other [Middle East] leaders see Iran in a negative light. This is a significant development. There are initiatives to prevent Iranian meddling in the region, and Iran's entrenchment in Syria. These are goals that we must promote," Katz said. (NY Post/Times of Israel/J. Post) Intercede that world leaders will take action against the ploys and moves of the Islamic Republic to advance its weapons arsenal and its support of terrorism. [Comment]

Iran carried out a test launch of a medium-range ballistic missile on 29 Jan. 2017, which exploded after 630 miles, a USA official said the following day. The source disclosed the test launch was carried out from a site 140 miles east of Tehran. The last time this type of missile was test launched was in July 2016. The Obama administration previously said that Iran's ballistic missile tests had not violated the nuclear agreement, but President Donald Trump has said he will stop Tehran's missile program, per the UN resolution agreement. Under the UN motion approving the nuclear deal that was made in 2015, Iran is 'called upon' to refrain from work on ballistic missiles designed to deliver nuclear weapons for up to eight years. The deal was brokered by the United States, Russia, China, Britain, Germany and France. (UK Daily Mail) [Comment]

Massive winter storms ushered in severe weather starting on Thurs. 26 Jan. 2016 and brought a significant amount of precipitation and high winds. From Thurs to Sunday, Jerusalem was hit the hardest, recording 70mm of rain. The country also saw snow fall in several high-altitude communities in the center and the north. Mount Hermon saw more than 50cm of snow. Temperatures have been unseasonably cold in recent days and the trend were expected to continue with more rain predicted for Mon.30 Jan. and Tues. 31 Jan as well. (Ynet) Continue to pray for much needed abundant rains to fall upon Israel this winter and spring. "Be glad, O people of Zion; rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the autumn rains in righteousness. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before.” Joel 2:23 [Comment]

Israel’s PM Netanyahu on Saturday 28 Jan. 2017, expressed his support for President Trump’s controversial plan to build a wall along the USA-Mexico border, saying the barrier he built along his country’s southern border "stopped all illegal immigration”. Trump last week signed executive actions to start the construction of a continuous, "physical” wall, making good on a campaign promise to keep out illegal immigrants from Mexico, particularly "rapists” and drug dealers. "Beginning today, the United States of America gets back control of its borders," Trump declared. "We are going to save lives on both sides of the border." Trump has forged ahead on the wall promise, despite Mexico refusing to pay the bill, as Trump said it would. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto responded immediately to Trump’s declaration, saying in a nationally televised address that he regrets and rejects the president’s decision, nixing a planned meeting between the two leaders.

The southern wall in Israel -- completed in 2013 after two years of construction and paid for by Israel -- is not the Judea & Samaria barrier, built to end terror attacks launched from Palestinian Arab cities. The Southern wall was built because Israel was facing problems from the influx of tens of thousands of illegal African immigrants through Egypt -- mostly from Eritrea, Sudan, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast and Nigeria and seeking employment and asylum. Their arrival also coincided with a spike in crime, more burden on the Israeli health system and other social problems. Those coming into the USA from the south are seeking better economic conditions and include people fleeing El Salvador and other parts of Central America, ravaged by poverty, violence and other consequences of the region’s drug wars. (Fox)

 PM Benjamin Netanyahu clarified on Sunday 29 Jan. 2017 that the Israeli government holds the position that the USA embassy in the country should be located in Jerusalem. The premier's remarks came amid implications that Israel had urged new USA President Donald Trump to delay fulfilling his pledge to move the American mission in Israel from Tel Aviv to the capital. "I would like to clarify unequivocally that our position - now and at all times - has always been that the USA embassy should be here in Jerusalem," he stated. "Jerusalem is Israel's capital, and not only should the American embassy be in Jerusalem, but all embassies should be moved here, and I believe that in due time they will all reach Jerusalem," Netanyahu added. The prime minister's remarks came after Marc Zell, the co-chairman of the Republicans Overseas Israel group, indicated that Netanyahu had urged Trump to delay the process of moving the embassy. "Before the election Trump said that he would move the embassy to Jerusalem. Then he spoke to Bibi Netanyahu. I don't know what happened, but suddenly the White House said 'we'll think about it' and that same week Israel announced the construction of 2,500 new settlement units and the response from Washington was extraordinary - quiet," Zell told Army Radio on Sundaymorning.

Once committed to quickly moving America's embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the Trump administration has recently turned to express caution, promising only to review the matter extensively and in consultation with "stakeholders" in the conflict. Asked days ago about moving the embassy, a move he said he favored during the campaign, Trump said, "I don’t want to talk about it yet. It’s too early.” That deliberative process tracks closely with the policy evolution of two prior presidents, Barack Obama and George W. Bush, who also campaigned on a pledge to move the embassy. Both ultimately reversed course while in their first terms office. Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and other Arab allies have warned the White House of severe repercussions should it proceed with the move, including a review of bilateral relations with both the USA and Israel. Arab states have also warned of an upsurge in violence should the embassy be relocated. (J.Post) "This is what the Lord says, ‘I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City, and the mountain of the Lord Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain.’”Zech 8:3

It happens nearly every night. After dark, the Syrian wounded come to known locations on the Israel-Syria front in the Golan Heights, driven by desperation to seek help from an enemy army. Israeli soldiers on lookout or patrol spot them waiting by the fence and whisk them away to a rear position where army medics soon arrive, according to army officials operating in the area that was seized by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war. Israel refuses to accept refugees fleeing the nearly six-year conflict in Syria, a country with which it remains technically at war. But it has allowed in more than 2,600 Syrians for medical care. On one bitterly cold January night, gunfire and explosions could be heard in the near distance as Israeli medics dressed the injuries of two Syrian men, one suffering a head wound. "We're doing everything we can to save their lives, to stabilize them and evacuate them to hospital," said Captain Aviad Camisa, deputy chief medical officer of the Golan brigade.

"Some of the stories stir your emotions. When children come, as a father, it touches me personally," Camisa said. Millions have fled and hundreds of thousands have been killed in Syria's conflict, which shows only fitful signs of being resolved. The Israeli army helps facilitate access to nearby hospitals. One man, his legs pierced by shrapnel, survived a bomb attack in his village in which 23 people were killed. "In the past we used to know Israel as our enemy. That's what the regime used to tell us," he said. "When we came to Israel we changed our minds, there is no enmity between us. In the end we discovered that our regime is the enemy of us all," he said, referring to Syrian president Bashar al-Asad. (Reuters) [Comment]

 The ISIS suicide bombers who attacked Brussels airport on 22 March 2016, targeted passengers travelling to the USA and also Jewish people. Airport security camera footage shows one bomber apparently pursuing Hasidic Jews seconds before one of the blasts. One of the airport bombers attacked the Delta Airlines check-in at Zaventem airport. "Early on in the investigation there were indications that they targeted USA, Russian and Israeli check-in counters," a USA law enforcement source said. An airport source said a bomb that did not explode was left near the United and El Al counters, which face each other. Mohamed Abrini, a member of the attack team nicknamed the "man in the hat” who was arrested in Brussels on 8 April, 2016 told a Belgian court that one of the original targets in the attacks that killed 32 was the departure area for flights to Tel Aviv. Abrini ran from the scene of the airport attack without detonating his bomb-filled suitcase. "We know they wanted to target Americans. It’s clear they had quite specific targets,” the law-enforcement source told AFP. "We know they were obsessed with the Israelis too,” he added. (AFP) [Comment]

Israel approved the construction of approximately 2,500 homes in Judea & Samaria, most of them in existing settlement blocs, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman announced on 24 Jan. 2017. The decision came two days after a Jerusalem planning committee approved the construction of 566 housing units in East Jerusalem, and on the heels of a phone conversation over the weekend between Netanyahu and USA President Donald Trump, in which the two discussed their plans for the region. Most of the housing units will be built in the large settlement areas, notably in the city of Ariel and in Givat Ze’ev, outside Jerusalem. But some will also go up in settlements outside the larger blocs, due to prior agreements and court decisions. "We’re building - and will continue to build,” PM Netanyahu said, following the announcement. (Arutz-7) Pray Israel will stand strong in its resolve to provide much needed housing for its citizens and peruse its rights to expand well established and thriving Jewish communities – despite Palestinian and international unmerited disapproval. "For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities.” Isa. 54:3 [Comment]

Gulf Arab states are quietly applauding the arrival in the White House of a leader opposed to their adversary Iran, even if they suspect Donald Trump's short temper and abrasive Tweets may at times heighten tensions in the combustible Middle East. While many countries around the world listened with concern to his protectionist inaugural address, Gulf Arab officials appear optimistic. They see in Trump a strong president who will shore up Washington's role as their main strategic partner in a region central to USA security and energy interests. In Gulf Arab eyes, that involves above all checking what they see as a surge of Iranian support for paramilitary allies in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon and for fellow Shi'ite Muslims in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia's oil-producing Eastern Province.

Saudi Arabia in particular appears relieved at the departure of Barack Obama, who it felt considered Riyadh's alliance with Washington less important than negotiating a deal in 2015 to neutralize Iran's nuclear program. The relationship is a pillar of the Middle East's security balance. But it has suffered since Riyadh took issue with what it saw as Obama's withdrawal from the region, and a perceived inclination towards Iran since the 2011 Arab uprisings. There have been tensions over Syria, where Obama dismissed Gulf Arab urgings to give more aid to rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad, who has survived thanks to Iranian and Russian backing. "Perception is important: Trump does not look like the kind of guy who will bend towards Iran or anyone else," said Abdulrahman al-Rashed, a veteran Saudi commentator. "If he behaves as he says, then we will see another Ronald Reagan, someone all the forces in the region will take seriously. That's what we have missed in the past eight years." (J.Post)