ISRAEL FORMING CIVIL DEFENSE UNITS IN ARAB AND JEWISH VILLAGES:

Israel is forming civil defense units throughout northern Israel to assist in any future conflict between Israel and Hizbullah, Col Eren Makov, the Northern Regional Commander of the Homefront Command told media sources. "There is a big change in the Arab population in Israel in that they are much more willing to cooperate with us,” Makov said. "We give them training in what to do and they see it as a contribution.” Makov said that more than half of the residents of northern Israel are Arab citizens of Israel, and are under the same missile threat from Hizbullah as Jewish citizens of Israel. While the vast majority of Arab citizens of Israel do not serve in the Israeli army, he said these civil defense units are not part of the army but of the Home Front Command and, for example, volunteers do not wear uniforms. The idea is to train them in both disaster relief and working with the population. After earthquakes, Makov said, 25% of those saved are rescued in the first hour, often by their neighbors. A similar situation would probably be in force if Hizbullah, which is believed to have more than 100,000 rockets aimed at Israel, scored direct hits on buildings in residential areas. (Medialine) It is vitally important to continue to pray for Israel’s safety and preparedness in the event of unanticipated developments or surprise attacks on its northern borders. This is especially true in the light of the words of the Biblical prophet who saw inJer 1:13 "the boiling pot facing away from the north,” tilting over Israel and set to be overturned.