Israel Calls Up The Reserves

Six Army Battalions Called Up Under Emergency Orders To Meet Growing Threat On Egypt, Syria Borders -- Times Of Israel

Knesset approves IDF request to call up a further 16 battalions if needed

The IDF has issued emergency call up orders to six reserve battalions in light of new dangers on the Egyptian and Syrian borders. And the Knesset has given the IDF permission to summon a further 16 reserve battalions if necessary, Israeli media reported on Wednesday.

An IDF spokesperson said intelligence assessments called for the deployment of more soldiers.

According to 2008′s Reserve Duty Law, combat soldiers can be called for active reserve duty once every three years, and for short training sessions during the other two. Rising tensions between Israel and Egypt and the ongoing unrest in Syria caused the army to ask the Knesset for special permission to call up more soldiers, more often.

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My Comment: Why the call-up now .... but not in the past year when Egypt's internal revolt cascaded enough to overthrow Mubarak .... and the Syrian civil war was just starting. My gut is telling me two things .... (1) Israeli intelligence is picking up terrorist info that is very disquieting to them .... or (2) these are the first moves to get ready for a backlash should Israel decide to launch a military strike against Iran's nuclear faciltiies.