Syria Threatens to Fire Missiles at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport - Israel Today

Syria Threatens to Fire Missiles at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport

Tuesday, January 30, 2018 |  Israel Today Staff

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Syria

Syrian dictator Bashar Assad threatened at the weekend to strike Israel's primary point of entry, Ben Gurion International Airport.

Assad said in a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin that if Israel again attacks on Syrian soil, he will fire SCUD missiles at Ben Gurion Airport.

That according to the Lebanese newspaper A-Diyar, which reported that Putin promised to pass the message along to Israel.

Israel has struck both Syrian government and Hezbollah targets in the war-torn country on numerous occasions, the latest attack occurring just three weeks ago, when Israeli aircraft attacked a weapons depot not far from Damascus.

The Israeli attacks are ostensibly to prevent Syria from obtaining advanced weapons from Iran and other sources and then passing them on to Hezbollah.

PHOTO: An Up plane, a branch of the El Al airline, seen at the Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, on August 17, 2016. (Tomer Neubergi/Flash90)

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Pope Visits Yad Vashem, Calls for Two-State Solution - CBN News

Pope Visits Yad Vashem, 

Calls for Two-State Solution

CBN News - Chris Mitchel Monday, May 26, 2014

BEN GURION AIRPORT, Israel -- Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greeted Pope Francis at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday.

The pontiff's trip is the third papal visit to Israel since the year 2000. He came with the goal of building bridges -- within the church, between faiths -- and bridging the political divide between Israelis and Palestinians.

Francis issued a surprise invitation to both Peres and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to pray together at the Vatican. Both accepted and plan to come to Rome in early June.

On the last day of his two-day visit, Francis prayed at the Western Wall in the Old City and visited Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust Memorial, where he met with Holocaust survivors and prayed, "Never again Lord, never again."

Historic Christian Declaration

One major reason for the Pope's visit is to sign a joint declaration with Barthlomew, the patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church. The declaration marks the 50th anniversary of the end of a rift between the Eastern and Western Christian Churches, which began nearly 1,000 years ago.

Both men expressed grave concern for Christian persecution in the Middle East, an issue Netanyahu also addressed.

"Your Holiness, in the heart of the Middle East, the turbulent and violent Middle East, where Christians are often persecuted, Israel is an island of tolerance," MK Rabbi Dov Lipman told CBN News. "We also hope he basks in the holiness of Jerusalem and also recognizes the importance of a unified Jerusalem where there's access for all faiths to their places of worship."

During his visit, Pope Francis called for a two-state solution. That means a divided Jerusalem since Palestinians also want the city as their capital.

Watch here: CBN News video