Other threats are more serious. One day soon, Hezbollah will have access to missiles with the range and accuracy to effectively target Tel Aviv from anywhere inside Lebanon. That will be a game-changer for Israel’s security, its economy, and its politics. More than half of Israel’s population and the heart of its economy are centered in and around Tel Aviv. As the city becomes more vulnerable to the threat of precision-guided missile attacks, those Israelis most directly involved in the country’s economic and financial life will be the most vulnerable to attack — and some may well leave the country.

The other threat to Israel | The Call

The Obama administration is acting more like an enemy of Israel instead of a friend.

However, in Jerusalem, prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu called his inner cabinet into its second session on the crisis that same night. The seven ministers were asked to review the situation after President Obama and secretary of state Hillary Clinton turned down their initial proposals for easing the upset and laid down three pre-conditions for restoring normal relations with Jerusalem:

DEBKAfile, Political Analysis, Espionage, Terrorism, Security

Fifteen police officers and some 40 Palestinian protesters were injured in East Jerusalem on Tuesday in a series of clashes during the orchestrated “Day of Rage” announced by Hamas.

Police predict that Palestinian rioters will continue to stage violent protests on Wednesday in East Jerusalem and elsewhere.

Police predict continued violence in Jerusalem – Haaretz – Israel News

“All of Jerusalem is on fire today,” said M. on Tuesday, as he gazed out over the golden Dome of the Rock from a traffic circle atop the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Ras al-Amud.

Smoke was rising from trash bins that had been set alight inside the neighborhood’s narrow alleyways and a police helicopter that had been circling the area all morning buzzed overhead. Then came the boom of a stun grenade and a rush of police officers decked out in full riot gear.

“Forget a third intifada,” M. said. “This is war.”

‘Forget about a third intifada… this is war’

Although Monday, March 15, went by without an unusual level of Palestinian violence, aside from sporadic rock-throwing incidents against Israelis, Fatah factions opposed to Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas called on the Palestinians of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as well as Israeli Arabs to mark Tuesday as a “Day of Rage.”

In the Gaza Strip, Halil al Haya, speaking for the ruling Hamas said “rivers of blood must be caused to flow,” while the radical Muslim leaders of the Israeli Arab communities threatened to descend on Jerusalem in force.

DEBKAfile, Political Analysis, Espionage, Terrorism, Security

While exploiting Israel’s ill-timed announcement of 1,600 new homes in East Jerusalem for concessions to the Palestinians, Washington will keep the hullabaloo against Israel at top pitch until the Netanyahu government toes the line on Iran, debkafile’s Washington sources report.

DEBKAfile, Political Analysis, Espionage, Terrorism, Security

debkafile’s military and Washington sources report: The Obama administration is considering withholding from Israel military items urgently needed in case of a flare-up of hostilities with Iran. This would further ratchet up the mounting row over Israel’s decision to build another 1,600 homes in E. Jerusalem. The requests were filed by defense minister Ehud Barak as recently as Feb. 26, when he visited Washington and met defense secretary Robert Gates and secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

DEBKAfile, Political Analysis, Espionage, Terrorism, Security

As the United States steps up its campaign to impose economic sanctions on Iran, fears are growing in Washington and in the Middle East that Iran will try to trigger a new war in the region in order to shift attention from its nuclear activities, throw the U.S. and its allies off balance, and put Israel on the defensive.

Few people, if any, envision Iran launching a direct attack. Rather, the concern is that Tehran will manage to stir up trouble in Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon, or even Syria, in order to spark a new confrontation between Israel and one of its Iran-allied neighbors.

WPR Article | World Citizen: Fears that Iran Wants to Trigger Mideast War