Reports from Syria indicate President Bashar al-Assad and his government have met, issuing statements warning Israel that another assault by the IDF will result in a Syrian military response.

Israeli officials have indicated they too do not seek a conflict, but Jerusalem is unwilling to permit advanced weapons to make their way from Syria to Hizbullah in Lebanon. Israel has repeatedly warned warned that if and when the “red line” is crossed, military action will be required.

IDF forces along the northern border with Syria and Lebanon remain on heightened alert status. The IDF’s 7th Armored Division is taking up position as armored vehicles and tanks can be seen on the backs of carriers heading to the north.

On Sunday, 25 Iyar 5773 it was reported that areas of the north are already closed to hikers and visitors, now designated ‘closed military zones’ as military forces along the border are fortifying for another cross-border military conflict.

Unofficial reports from the Prime Minister’s Office signal Mr. Netanyahu would have preferred postponing his state visit to China because of the weekend developments in Syria, but the decision was made to continue with the trip to avoid signaling a state of urgency in Israel. The government wishes to continue with business as usual in the hope of avoiding an escalation in military activities on either side of the border.

IDF attacks against Syrian targets have placed northern areas on alert. Golan Heights communities’ leaders convened on Sunday to discuss the situation, and while visitors continue to arrive in the area, residents are checking and preparing bomb shelters, well aware the situation may change instantaneously.

The same holds true in Haifa, and while the IDF has not instructed Haifa City Hall to prepare for a military conflict, Mayor Yonah Yahav is not sitting around waiting for the Homefront Command to make a declaration. City bomb shelters are being prepared, albeit quietly, including plans to convert the Carmel Tunnels into giant public bomb shelters. Yahav has instructed his staff to prepare the situation room and begin monitoring events along the border. He has also made repeated urgent calls to the military officials and lawmakers to get the ammonia tanks in the city moved to the south as planned. Experts warn that if the tanks are hit by a missile, the result would be catastrophic.

The IDF on Sunday announced that Iron Dome batteries were deployed in Haifa and Tzfas. Life continues to follow the daily routine in these cities, but city leaders and security officials are working behind the scenes to prepare for a conflict, a most unwanted yet possible scenario.

Back in Yerushalayim the experts remain divided, and while the civil war continues in Syria there is a difference of opinion as to the fall of the Assad regime. Some intelligence experts believe Assad’s fall would be advantageous to Israel while other experts posit the rise of the fundamentalist rebel forces to power would place a hostile regime along Israel’s northern border.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)