When we talk about the Iranian-backed ring of fire that surrounds Israel on all sides, we focus oftentimes on Gaza and Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists. Lebanon is frequently discussed, which is Hezbollah’s main power base that is exchanging daily fire, even deadly fire, with Israel. We also have the Houthis in Yemen, harassing shipping in the Red Sea, and very active Iranian-backed Shia militias in Iraq causing havoc, in particular, against US targets.
But many times, it seems that Syria is left out of the equation in the larger conversation. Well, folks, let me tell you, Syria remains a very active front. Israel has carried out hundreds, if not more, airstrikes in Syria over the past several years, striking Iranian-backed targets in the region.
The Assad regime and the Syrian army are an avowed ally of the Iranian regime. Iran is in Syria, with the red carpet treatment. And by the way, Iran is here to stay. They’re not going anywhere—unless they are forcibly pushed out.
Syria is still formally in a state of war with Israel and has been for decades. It should come as no surprise that the Syrian military and Israel sometimes exchanged pretty heavy blows, and that has apparently happened again overnight.
Syria, or a terror group operating with the full cooperation of the Syrian Army, launched rockets from the Daraa region into the Israeli Golan Heights. While this has happened many times, since October 7, we’ve seen an uptick in escalation.
The Israel Defense Forces responded, striking targets around the Daraa region at Syrian Army positions.
I’ve been along the Israel-Syria border many times and can tell you it is (surprise, surprise) very tense. In particular, Daraa is very close to Israel’s Golan Heights. Over the years, Israel has had to neutralize terrorist forces on numerous occasions.
The Syrian army, most of the time over the past few years, have cried and gnashed their teeth when Israel has struck their positions, but they have not responded in any meaningful way.
But what does it mean prophetically, as Israel and Syria continue to go toe to toe?
Many times, people mention Isaiah 17 and Damascus, the Syrian capital. Isaiah 17 lays out that the day is coming when Damascus, which is arguably the world’s oldest continuously inhabited city, will one day become “a ruinous heap” and “cease to be a city” (Isaiah 17:1).
Folks, every time Israel and Syria go toe to toe, you have to consider the prophetic undertone, and the most recent strike is no different. Iran and Hezbollah continue to operate on Syrian soil in league with the Assad regime. You can expect the situation in Syria to remain very tense.
Oh, and by the way, Russia is there as well—talk about prophetic implications! Russia, I believe, is the major player in the Gog and Magog war of Ezekiel 38-39, and they already have a presence in Syria.
A Plot To ‘Impose’ A Palestinian State Upon Israel?
The prophetic chess pieces are moving on the board, and one of them may be the United States and the world—Western Europe, the UN, the EU—all banding together and unilaterally declaring a Palestinian state with no Israeli say in the matter.
Yesterday on my Watchmen Newscast, I reported that Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Cameron said exactly that, insisting that they may get together with their European counterparts and formally recognize a Palestinian state.
The EU’s Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell went even further a few weeks ago, saying that the international community may need to “impose” a Palestinian State upon Israel, whether they like it or not.
I previously stated I would not be surprised if the Biden Administration eventually comes on board with this initiative. Lo and behold, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is considering doing just that when the Gaza war ends, according to reports out of the region. When that will be, we have no idea. When the dust settles from Gaza.
Blinken has reportedly spoken to his team at the State Department and urged that they explore this possibility. How would that look if we were to tell Israel, “We, the United States and Europe, are simply recognizing a Palestinian State whether you like it or not? And oh, by the way, we will take some sovereign Israeli land as well as part of that deal.”
Even though Israel is a sovereign nation, it’s being dictated to. It’s very frustrating to observe.
Consider all this talk regarding a Palestinian state. There’s no viable peace partner on the other side. Hamas? Come on! It’s a vicious Iranian-backed genocidal terror group that Israel is at war with right now. Then you have the PA’s President Mahmoud Abbas, a Holocaust denier, and the Palestinian Authority, which pays the salaries of terrorists.
A few years ago, I interviewed my good friend Itamar Marcus of Palestinian Media Watch about how the Palestinian Authority literally brainwashes its people, including children from the youngest ages, to hate Israel and the Jewish people.
Itamar Marcus: Killing Israelis is not a Hamas problem. It is a mainstream Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, problem. It is the fundamental reason why we don’t have peace, and it’s the fundamental reason why we continue to have terror.
Erick Stakelbeck: A lot of people, when they think of Palestinian terror, think of the Gaza terror state run by Hamas, but this is a Palestinian Authority thing, through and through, as you just laid out.
Talk about the culture. It comes from the top. Talk a little bit more about the indoctrination of young children. We know their schools are named after terrorists. From the time children can walk, they’re indoctrinated in this glorification of terror and rampant anti-semitism.
Itamar Marcus: The glorification of terror is the last stage. What you have to have in the beginning is the demonization and anti-semitism so that Jews and Israelis are worthy of the terror.
We have children’s programs that we’ve seen on official Palestinian TV, owned and controlled by Muhammad Abbas, and have heard children recite a poem that has the words, “They are the most evil among creations, barbaric monkeys and wretched pigs” [refering to the Jewish people]. You see sweet, beautiful children on TV, and you can’t believe the words that are coming out of their mouths. We [have seen] seven children recite a poem in the last few years with the words, “Our enemy Zion is Satan. Satan with a tail.”
The Palestinian Authority pushes vicious anti-Israel propaganda. This is the entity that the West, apparently, wants to prop up and lead this Palestinian state that they would like to impose upon Israel.
Zechariah 12:3, 9 KJV – “And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it… And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.“
The prophetic chess pieces are clearly moving on the board. Fasten your seat belt. Keep it all in prayer. Prayer works, and God, even amid all the madness, is still on the throne. Do not forget it.
