The Jim Bakker Show

Russian Build-Up At Syrian Base Concerning U.S., NATO, Israel

A sudden build-up of Russian forces at a base in Syria is raising an alarm in the halls of power in the U.S. and Israel along with commanders at NATO.

The Russian naval base in Tartus has been flooded with new troops and units. Two tank landing ships arrived at the base along with four transport aircraft with various pieces of equipment. Russian aircraft have also been using a joint airbase in Latakia in northwestern Syria.

Officials within the Obama administration say they believe the Russian move has nothing to do with their stated goal of taking out ISIS, but keeping their ally Bashir al-Assad in power. Moshe Ya’alon, the Israeli defense minister, echoed the administration’s views.

“The Russians’ intentions are to keep Assad in power, not to fight ISIL,” one administration official told Bloomberg. “They’ve shown their cards now.”

Even the President has hinted he sees the situation the same way.

“I think they get a sense that the Assad regime is losing a grip over greater and greater swaths of territory inside of Syria [to Sunni jihadist militias] and that the prospects for a [Sunni jihadist] takeover or rout of the Syrian regime is not imminent but becomes a greater and greater threat by the day,” President Obama told the New York Times. “That offers us an opportunity to have a serious conversation with them.”

NATO’s Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, said Russia’s move destabilizes the situation.

“I am concerned about reports about the increased Russian military presence in Syria,” Stoltenberg told reporters during a visit to Prague. “That will not contribute to solving the conflict. I think it is important to now support all efforts to find a political solution to the conflict in Syria.”

Russian leaders are dismissing the concerns of the world. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marie Zakharova called the concern “strange hysteria.”

Netanyahu Says He Will Immediately Negotiate with Palestinians

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu surprised many observers during his trip to London when he announced he would be willing to have immediate peace talks with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

“I want to say here in 10 Downing Street, and reaffirm again, that I am ready to resume direct negotiations with the Palestinians with no conditions whatsoever to enter negotiations, and I’m willing to do so immediately,” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu said he would meet and enter negotiations “without any preconditions, any preconditions whatsoever, to sit down with President Abbas and negotiate this peace.”

The talks between Israel and Palestinian officials have been essentially stagnant since April 2014.

The statement by Netanyahu comes as rumors are getting persistent that Abbas is considering stepping down from his position because of the lack of movement in the peace talks and the path for Palestinian statehood.

Several members of the British parliament used the visit by Netanyahu to call for the nation to put immediate sanctions on Israel, citing the stalled peace process.

Iran Rejects Further U.S. Involvement in Region

Iran’s supreme leader has said that he is done speaking with the United States.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei posted statements on his website calling for the downfall of Israel and stated that he is finished talking with the United States because his nation cannot allow American views to “penetrate” Iran.

“Some are insisting in presenting this Great Satan as an angel of salvation,” Khamenei said in reference to the United States. “When the Iranian nation kicked this Satan out of the door, we should not allow it to return from the window and gather influence.”

Khamenei also reiterated that the “Zionist regime” will be gone within 25 years.

“After negotiations, in Zionist regime they said they had no more concern about Iran for next 25 years; I’d say: You will not see the next 25 years, God willing there will be nothing as Zionist Regime by next 25 years,” Khamenei stated on Twitter in reference to Israel.

Analysts say the announcements from Khamenei were intended more to appease internal critics rather than upset foreign governments.

Massive Sandstorm Strikes Middle East

An out-of-season sandstorm has struck the Middle East causing thousands to have medical issues and reducing visibility in region.

The Times of Israel called the storm “a brownish-yellow fog throughout the country.” The storm has been working across Israel and into Lebanon, Iraq and Syria. Meteorologists say the storm will be followed by an intense heat wave that will last through the weekend.

Health officials through the region are telling residents to stay inside to avoid breathing problems. Schools were either closed to keep children inside to avoid the fine particulates in the air.

The head of a major hospital in Damascus told reporters that over 1,200 people had been treated for breathing problems. At least 100 of the victims were children.

“It is unbelievable. This must be some test,” said Mansour, a Damascus resident, who gave only his first name told the Associated Press. “It’s hot. Temperatures are high and above that we have this dusty weather! It is something beyond reasonable. Enough please!”

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that some villages such as al-Mayadeen were so short of medical supplies that they ran out of oxygen canisters and had to turn away victims of the storm.

Iranian Naval Vessels Confront US Navy Daily

US naval ships operating in the Strait of Hormuz have been reporting daily contacts with Iranian vessels and aircraft.

“US Naval forces are routinely approached by Iranian warships and aircraft as they operate in the region, with the majority of all interaction by the Iranians conducted in a safe and professional manner,” a Pentagon official confirmed to the Washington Free Beacon. “This happens on a near daily basis.”

The Strait is considered a vital shipping lane for the region and US forces have patrolled the area to keep ships safe from interference from Iran and terror groups.

The Iranian ships and drones appear to be videotaping the US forces. An Iranian government news agency released footage of some of the flights including a close up inspection of a US aircraft carrier.

“The latest IRGC operation is a mission to identify an American aircraft carrier passing through the region, carried out by a navy reconnaissance plane called the Harbin Y-2,” the report said.

Pentagon officials say they are recording the incidents.

“During these interactions we, too, capture imagery for the record,” the official said. “Safe, professional, and routine interactions are of no concern, and we are fully confident in the ability of US Naval forces to defend themselves. We also publicly acknowledge those interactions with the Iranians which we consider to be unsafe.”

Iranian officials have restated their intent to support groups that will attack Israel or the US.

“I officially declare that under no circumstances will we refrain from providing material and moral support to Hezbollah, or to any group of the resistance to the US and Israel,” said Hossein Dehghan, Iran’s defense minister, earlier this month.

ISIS “Mein Kampf” Document Discovered

Intelligence officials are calling a document found in Pakistan as the ISIS version of “Mein Kampf” that blames Israel for the rise of the terrorist group and calls President Obama “the mule of the Jews.”

“It reads like the caliphate’s own Mein Kampf,” said a U.S. intelligence official, who reviewed the document. “While the world is watching videos of beheadings and crucifixions in Iraq and Syria the Islamic State is moving into North Africa the Middle East, and now we see it has a strategy in South Asia. It’s a magician’s trick, watch this hand and you’ll never see what the other is doing.”

The document, “A Brief History of the Islamic State Caliphate (ISC), The Caliphate According to the Prophet,” is aimed to recruit Pakistani and Afghani Taliban members into ISIS. The document provides the group’s version of their history along with various battle plans that would make their leader ruler of the world.

“Accept the fact that this caliphate will survive and prosper until it takes over the entire world and beheads every last person that rebels against Allah,” it proclaims. “This is the bitter truth, swallow it.”

Retired Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn called the document “a red flag to which we must pay attention.”

“If I were in their shoes, I would say, ‘We are winning, we are achieving our objectives,’” Flynn said. “They have demonstrated an incredible level of resiliency and they will not be defeated by military means alone.”

Captured Hamas Terrorist Gives Up Tunnel Locations

Israel’s Shin Bet General Security Service announced Tuesday they had captured a Hamas terrorist who has given up a trove of information on the terrorist group’s tunnel system into Israel.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has confirmed much of the terrorist’s information including a tunnel in the area of the Kerem Shalom border crossing. The IDF says they are working “around the clock” to take care of the threat from the newly discovered tunnels.

The terrorist, Ibraheem Adel Shehadeh Shaer, was a tunnel digger for the terror group. In addition to the locations of new parts to the Hamas tunnel system, Shaer provided information emergency procedures and how they plan to use the tunnels to attack Israel.

Shaer told Shin Bet that Iran provided cash to Hamas along with advanced weapons and electronic equipment. Some of the advanced equipment is designed to interfere with the control signals for Israeli drone aircraft.

The fighter detailed the advanced units of Hamas along with the group’s anti-tank and anti-aircraft capabilities. He also gave up the location of observation posts and photographic capabilities into Israel.

Shaer also confirmed that Hamas commanders keep weapons and explosives in their homes around their families because of fear of Israeli airstrikes.

Hamas Strikes Israel; IDF Responds with Air Strikes

Two terrorist attacks were carried out against Israel in the last 24 hours, resulting in a stern response from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).

The first was a car attack against Israeli soldiers in the West Bank. Three soldiers were standing along a road in the northern West Bank when the Palestinian driver drove straight into them. Two of the soldiers were seriously wounded with the third suffering slight injuries.

“We welcome the brave attack that was carried out against the Zionists,” a Hamas spokesperson said, according to the Hebrew-language Maariv website.

“We demand from our people in the West Bank to carry out more attacks, in order to teach the occupation a lesson,” the Hamas statement continued.

Then Friday two rockets were fired by Hamas toward Israel that landed in the Gaza Strip. The rockets never made it across the Israeli border and no reports of damage or injuries were reported by Hamas.

However, the Israeli Defense Forces struck against Hamas, continuing the policy that Israel will retaliate for any attempted attack upon them by the terrorist group.

“The IDF, by means of Israeli air force aircraft, attacked the Hamas terror organization’s infrastructure in the central Gaza Strip a short time ago,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit announced in a press release.

“The attack was executed in response to the rocket fire at Israeli territory earlier in the afternoon,” the military said. “Hamas is the party responsible for what takes place in the Gaza Strip.”

The IDF reported a direct hit against their target.

U.S. Pledges to Defend Israel from Iranian Attacks

The United States has told Israeli officials that if Iran attacks the nation in any way, the U.S. will be there to defend them.

“We have an ally relationship. The word ‘ally’ means something to us. It means that if you are attacked, we will defend you. That is what an ally relationship means… We use that term sparingly,” the senior defense official told the Times of Israel.

“We think that this deal decreases the need and likelihood of an attack. That’s why we signed it. We understand that military action is always an option. It’s an option for the United States,” the official said. “It’s an option for Israel. But the goal is to have an agreement that makes a military attack less needed. But Israel has the right to self-defense. We understand that.”

The two nations are reportedly working on a new “memorandum of understanding” that will increase America’s defense commitment to Israel.

The officials told the Times that administration officials are not pleased with Iran’s continued calls for wiping Israel off the map.

“That is not the way countries should act in today’s world,” the official said of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei’s calls for Israel’s annihilation. “That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t sign a deal that helps decrease the likelihood of them becoming a nuclear state. That’s the very reason we signed it.”

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