MONDAY JULY 17, 2006  1:00 PM

Shalom from Jerusalem,

Israel remains on full alert today as the intense military battle against Hizbullah terrorists enters its sixth day.  The Tel Aviv area in particular is bracing for a possible Hizbullah-Iranian rocket attack as Israel Air Force jets continue to operate in all portions of Lebanon.  Fresh Hizbullah rocket attacks today have struck Tiberius again on the Sea of Galilee and other locations in the upper and western Galilee regions, leaving several more Israelis wounded.  Last evening rockets for the first time struck the town of Afula in the Jezreel Valley—the prophesied scene of the last battle of history, Armageddon—which is some 35 miles south of the Lebanese border.  Others hit Migal Haemek and Upper Nazareth, a Jewish area located next to Israel’s largest Arab Christian town, showing that the Shiite Lebanese terror group and their Syrian and Iranian sponsors are not afraid to strike close to heavily populated Arab areas of Israel (the same could be said for Haifa, which is around 10% Arab).  Israeli officials today said the rockets were actually aimed at the nearby Ramat David (Heights of David) air force base, from where many of the air strikes on Lebanon are being launched.

We in Jerusalem came close to directly joining the fray late this morning when a suicide terrorist was intercepted as he was on his way to carry out a massive attack on Jaffa Road in the center of the city.  I heard the familiar wail of multiple security sirens just a few blocks from my home and knew something was up.  The details are below, courtesy of the Jerusalem Post web site:

A terror attack in downtown Jerusalem was thwarted Monday, after a 25-year-old Palestinian was caught carrying a bomb in a bag on a main city thoroughfare, police said.  The male suspect, a West Bank resident, was stopped by police on the city's Jaffa Road near the Jaffa Gate for a routine security check during the late-morning incident.  The man was arrested on the scene, after the explosives were found in his bag.  During his initial police interrogation, the suspect confessed that he was carrying a bomb and said that he came to the area to carry out a terror attack, Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby said.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will give a nationwide address on the growing confrontation later today.  Analysts are especially looking to hear what he will say about Iran and Syria, sponsors of the Lebanese Hizbullah militia.  Portions of yesterday’s Raad rockets that struck Haifa with deadly precision have been definitely traced to both countries.

Thanks again for all of your prayers.  The attempted Jerusalem terror attack just a few blocks from my home was probably thwarted because of them.  I remind you that I will be giving an update on the situation via the Moody Broadcasting Network later today on the Prime Time America program, which begins at 5:00 PM EST in North America, or 21:00 GMT.  You may go to www.mbn.org and click the “listen live” section to hear it live on line.

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DAVID DOLAN is a Jerusalem-based author and journalist who has lived in Israel since 1980.  His new DVD, titled “FOR ZIONS’S SAKE—REPORTING FROM THE LAND OF THE BIBLE,” is now available on both PAL and NTCS versions.  Details are posted at his web site, www.ddolan.com