On Sunday May 15, 2011 about 50 to 100 rioters hurled rocks and firebombs at Israeli forces at the security fence near the Arab villages of Bil’in and Nil’in, located near the city of Modi’in between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Hundreds of Arab protestors rioted throughout Israel during the past three days in “Nakba Day” protests against the re-establishment of Israel. Nakba Day is a commemoration day for the Palestinian people that annually recognizes the displacement that accompanied the creation of Israel in 1948.
Police in the south Israel said on Saturday night that 50 rockets have been fired since Saturday morning.
The central Negev region was hit with 28 rockets. Police bomb squad officers found 13 rockets. Homes were damaged in the attacks. The Lachish region was hit with 22 rockets. Police found 4 of them. No damages or injuries were reported in those attacks.
Two rockets landed in the Eshkol Regional Council on Saturday night. One rocket fell in a community and caused damage to homes. No injuries have been reported.
A rocket also struck a kibbutz in the Shaa’r Hanegev Regional Council.
Palestinian Hamas increased missile offensive on Israeli cities. On Thursday, March 24, heavy Grad missiles hit Ashdod and Ofakim.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who met with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, said Israel is ready to use “great force” in retaliation for rocket fire from the Gaza Strip and a bombing at a bus station in Jerusalem.
More than two dozen people have been injured in a bomb explosion at a crowded bus stop in central Jerusalem. It appears to be the first militant attack in the city in several years.
A powerful bomb left inside a bag at bus stop outside Jerusalem’s Central Bus Station exploded Wednesday, killing one woman and wounding at least 25 people, several with life-threatening injuries.
The last bombing in Jerusalem involved a suicide bomber in 2004.
Two Iranian naval vessels entered the Suez Canal on Tuesday en route to Syria, officials said, the first time in three decades that Tehran has sent military ships through the strategic waterway.
Yesterday DEBKAfile reported that US Navy warships boxed in two Iranian of the 12th Flotilla, but today Suez Canal officials report taht two Iranian naval vessels have entered the Suez en route for the Mediterranean Sea, and FoxNews is reporting on the air at 10:40 CT that the ships have reached the Mediterranean Sea.
Canal officials report Iranian ships entered the canal early Tuesday morning and are expected to reach the Mediterranean later in the day.
Tuesday February 22, 2011 marks the first time in three decades that Iranian military ships have traveled the Suez Canal that links the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea.
Israel, which has been repeatedly threatened by Iran with total destruction, has declared it views the passage as a provocation.
Iranian officials say the ships are headed to Syria, also an enemy of Israel, for a training mission.
Suez Canal officials say the ships are expected to pay a fee of $290,000 for the crossing.
Pundits say Iran is taking advantage of Egypt’s current weakness during its February 2011 revolution.
Kharg Island is a continental island in the Persian Gulf belonging to Iran. It is located 25 km (16 miles) off the coast of Iran and 483 km (300 miles) northwest of the Strait of Hormuz. Administered by the adjacent coastal Bushehr Province, Kharg Island provides a sea port for the export of oil and extends Iranian territorial sea claims into the Persian Gulf oil fields.
View Larger Map The Suez Canal with Port Said and the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Great Bitter Lake near Ismailia at south-central, and the Gulf of Suez to the south.
Israel’s cabinet will meet on Wednesday, and is expected to approve a plan which could leave a border village split down the middle.
Ghajar is currently occupied by Israel but under an agreement with the UN, the northern half could be given to Lebanon.
Ghajar is an Alawite village on the Hasbani River on the border between Lebanon and the Israeli-occupied portion of the Golan Heights. It has a population of 2,000.
In an attempt to demarcate permanent borders between Israel and Lebanon, the United Nations drew up what became known as the Blue Line. Due to Ghajar’s location, wedged between Lebanon and the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, the northern half of the village came under Lebanese control and the southern part remained under Israeli control. This arrangement created much resentment among the residents, who see themselves as Syrian.
Despite the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, tension mounted as Hezbollah made repeated attempts to kidnap Israel soldiers in the Ghajar area. In 2005, Hezbollah launched a rocket attack on Ghajar and infiltrated it, but withdrew after being repelled by the Israelis. Following another attack in July 2006, Israel invaded southern Lebanon and re-occupied the northern half of Ghajar during the 2006 Lebanon War. Following a month of intense fighting, UNSC Resolution 1701 was unanimously approved to resolve the conflict, and it was accepted by combatants on both sides. Among other things, the resolution demanded the full cessation of hostilities, the withdrawal of Israeli forces, the disarming of Hezbollah, the deployment of Lebanese and UNIFIL soldiers, and the establishment of full control by the government of Lebanon.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 is a resolution that was intended to resolve the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict.
Hashim Safi Al-Din: New Hizballah commander of Israeli frontline
Hizballah’s Hassan Nasrallah has placed Hashim Safi Al-Din, his cousin and heir apparent, in command of southern Lebanon and its border with Israel.
Tehran views the newly appointed South Lebanon commander, Hashim Safi Al-Din, is its most stalwart partisan in the Lebanese Shiite Hizballah leadership since Imad Moughnieh passed away two years ago in an exploding car in Damascus.
The move and other signs point to speculation that Lebanon is upgrading Iran-backed preparations for an armed clash.
Israeli commandos stormed a flotilla carrying aid and protestors to Gaza, killing nine activists and sparking global outrage. The incident took place in international waters.
Israeli forces seized an aid vessel bound for Gaza on Saturday, preventing it from breaking a naval blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory days after a similar effort resulted in the deaths of 9 activists.
A Russian-designed Grad that was fired from beyond Jordan’s borders damaged a refrigerated warehouse a northern outskirt region of Aqaba, Jordan. Israeli news media reported that two rockets hit Aqaba and Israel’s nearby port of Eilat. No deaths or injuries were reported.
The incident occurred after Israel issued an “urgent” warning for its citizens to leave Egypt’s nearby Sinai Peninsula immediately, citing “concrete evidence of an expected terrorist attempt to kidnap Israelis in Sinai.”
