SYRIA PREPARING FOR WAR WITH ISRAEL

IDF: Syria Preparing for War with Israel, Al-Qaeda in Lebanon May Attack Foreign Peacekeepers - Gideon Alon and Amos Harel (Ha'aretz)
The head of the research division of Military Intelligence, Brig.-Gen. Yossi Baidatz, told the Cabinet Sunday that Syrian President Bashar Assad is preparing for a war with Israel. Assad has ordered increased production of long-range missiles and instructed the Syrian army to position its anti-tank missiles closer to the Syrian border with Israel, on the Golan Heights. Baidatz also said Iran is continuously operating in Lebanon to reinforce Hizballah, while also working to strengthen Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Palestinian territories. He also noted, "There are major signs of a Global Jihad [al-Qaeda] presence in Lebanon, especially the refugee camps, and one of their intentions is to attack the foreign peacekeepers.... They see the peacekeepers as symbols of the West."