Steven Collins
October 13, 2008
The Israeli general who commands that nation’s northern defenses has issued a public warning to Hezbollah and Syria that if there is another war with Hezbollah, Israeli responses will be much harsher than in the previous war along the Israeli-Lebanese border. This declaration received surprisingly little coverage in the media sources that I read.
In the previous war, Israeli forces were handicapped because they were reluctant to fire on civilian homes and villages from which Hezbollah rockets were being fired into Israel. Israel fared poorly in that war due to such humanitarian policies. The link below discusses Israel’s new war-fighting strategy which calls for a “disproportionate response if Hezbollah…attacks Israel.” Indeed, the link details that Israel warns that it may also strike Syria if Hezbollah attacks because Syria has armed Hezbollah.
Specifically, Israel warned that it would “show no mercy on Lebanese villages that harbor Hezbollah fighters.” Israel has made it clear that it will annihilate villages from which Hezbollah missiles are launched or in which Hezbollah fighters are located. Civilians will not be spared. This is the same war-fighting strategy that the Germans used vs. the British in World War II’s “London Blitz,” and it was also used by the British, Americans and Russians against Germany’s cities in World War II. America used this same policy vs. Japanese cities near the end of World War II, so the Israelis have embraced the fighting policies of the major combatants in World War II. The Israelis are a tiny nation in a dangerous region. They have little choice but to embrace this policy when they face so many enemies in their region.
An aggressive Israeli war strategy is in harmony with biblical prophecies about the latter days. Zechariah 12:3 prophecies that Jerusalem will become a “burdensome stone” for all nations. This has certainly occurred as the city of Jerusalem is a stickling point in all Mideast peace negotiations. Verse 3 prophesies that those who fight against Jerusalem will be “cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.” Verse 6 prophesies that in the last days, Judah [biblical prophecy consistently identifies the Jews/Israelis as “Judah” and uses the term “Israel” to designate the modern nations of the ten tribes of Israel] will “burn up” and “devour” other people living around them in warfare. It sounds like the Bible anticipated the war-fighting strategy that the Israelis have just announced.
Hezbollah and Syria have been warned. Why has this warning been timed for public release at this time? I have a theory. Numerous media reports have stated that the Israelis are running out of time to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities. If they are going to do so, they cannot wait much longer. Perhaps they are holding off even now to avoid upsetting the American elections in exchange for certain American help in this future war. Iran is an ally of Syria and a sponsor of Hezbollah. If fighting starts, Iran has threatened to enlarge the war into a greater conflict against Israelis and Americans. Israel’s public warning that the Israeli military will harshly strike all civilian villages sheltering Hezbollah rocket sites or housing Hezbollah fighters warns Hezbollah that there will be a terrible cost to Hezbollah if it joins the fighting. Israel has also warned Syria that it may be targeted as well for aiding and abetting any Hezbollah war against Israeli targets. Jeremiah 49 contains a number of prophecies against various nations and the last verse in this chapter indicates that the prophecies in this chapter will be fulfilled in the latter days. Verses 23-27 specifically prophesy that Damascus and other cities in Syria will be laid waste and Syria’s soldiers slain. We do not yet know when in the latter-day prophetic sequence this prophecy will be fulfilled, but what God prophesies will happen.
The Israelis have publicly warned they will show their enemies no mercy whenever the next war occurs.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081003/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_lebanon&printer=1;_ylt=AvElm7nxEI4S09PiUY8q2A4UewgF
