Israel’s war alert unfolded in five days from Jan. 25 to 29 as Hizballah came close to seizing a major Syrian chemical arsenal and jihadists fighting in Syrian rebel ranks threatened to capture another chemical store.

The Al Qaeda group which seized hostages from 10 nations at the remote Algerian gas field in In Aminas Wednesday, Jan. 16, has addressed its first demand to the United States: The release of two American hostages for two high-profile Islamist terrorists jailed in the US: Egyptian Omar Abdel-Rahman, the Blind Sheikh convicted of masterminding the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and Pakistani-American neuroscientist Aafia Siddiqui, convicted for trying to kill US troops and FBI agents in Afghanistan in 2009. Algerian forces still battle terrorists holed up with hostages..

Israeli, US, Egyptian and Jordanian counterterrorism agencies are on elevated alert since Oct. 25, debkafile reports: Salafi and al Qaeda cells in Egyptian Sinai are said poised to unleash coordinated terrorist attacks on US and Egyptian targets in Sinai and in Israel to avenge Israel’s targeted killing of two senior commanders of the Salafi-al Qaeda Sinai-Gaza network. Perpetrators of the Benghazi murders of 4 US diplomats are among the jihadi reinforcements coming in from Libya.

To keep the truce with the Islamist terrorist groups in Sinai in place, Egypt is releasing dozens of jailed Salafist gunmen every few days in batches, so feeding them a steady supply of reinforcements. Cairo is also in negotiation with Bedouin tribal elders to grant a body of 6,000 Al-Qaeda-linked Salafi gunmen the status of an approved, independent militia. Armed with up-to-date Egyptian weapons, this militia is to be charged with responsibility for maintaining security. Israel is taxed with a new headache in the south.

 Tuesday night, Oct. 10, the Israeli cabinet approved the accord with Hamas for the release of Gilead Shalit  by a majority of 26. Three ministers opposed the deal – Avigdor Lieberman and Uzzi Landau of the Israel Beteinu party and Moshe Yaalon of Likud. To buy the Israeli soldier's freedom – probably next week – Israel will hand over 1,027 Palestinian terrorists so cutting short the multiple life sentences of 280 mass murderers responsible for hundreds of Israeli deaths. Hamas leaders pledge more kidnappings until all 8,000 jailed Palestinians are freed.

Amid spiraling Pakistani-US tensions, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani Sunday, Sept. 25, recalled Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar from New York shortly after she warned the US against "hot pursuit" of terrorists on Pakistani soil. Pakistan's army chief Gen. Ashfaq Kayani held a "special" meeting of top commanders "to review the security situation" – exacerbating the sense of crisis. debkafile: Pakistan appears to be steeling itself for a possible military clash with US soldiers after being accused of harboring and running terrorists.

Just four days after the much-heralded opening of the Rafah crossing between the Palestinian Gaza Strip and Sinai, Cairo virtually shut it down Tuesday, May 31, by a series of tight bureaucratic measures in response to a US warning that since the crossing's opening, Palestinian and al Qaeda terrorists had been roaming at large across Sinai exposing the Suez Canal to attack. After the US informed Jerusalem of the new restrictions, an Israeli defense official arrived in Cairo to discuss security coordination.

An Israeli border patrol intercepted and fought off a band of armed terrorists carrying explosives as they crossed into southern Israel through the Egyptian border of Sinai  opposite the Israeli desert town of Mitzpe Ramon early Wednesday, June 16. One terrorist was killed in the ensuing firefight - the rest, at least seven, fled back across the border. Investigation will try and determine if the came from Gaza or the al Qaeda cells in Sinai.

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has summoned allied Islamist and terrorist chiefs to Tehran Saturday, Feb. 27, to finalize their roles in military operations against Israel in the event of a Middle East conflagration. It will be the sequel to the preliminary discussions Ahmadinejad held in Damascus with Syrian president Bashar Assad and Hizballah and Hamas chiefs Thursday, Feb. 25.