People's voice thunders a clear 'yes'
The Jerusalem Post (December 25, 2007) -
The issue of Palestinian recognition of Israel's identity as a Jewish
state is emerging once again as a controversial issue in
Palestinian-Israeli negotiations. Israeli and Palestinian political and
opinion leaders have been debating this issue publicly, and leaders of
the Israeli Arab or Israeli Palestinian community have added their say.
In the process, this issue has become a tool in the hands of those who
contemplated to spoil the recent American initiative which began at
Annapolis and derail any ensuing peace process. We wish to add to the
public debate our insights based on our joint Israeli-Palestinian Public
Opinion Poll (JIPP). This project is an initiative of the Truman
Institute for the Advancement of Peace at the Hebrew University and the
Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) in Ramallah, and
is supported by the Ford Foundation and the Adenauer Foundation. It
tracks Palestinian and Israeli public opinion on the conflict and the
attempts to resolve it since mid 2000. We repeatedly examined this hotly
debated issue since mid 2003, and not often does one obtain such
clear-cut and consistent results as we do here. Our findings have
significant implications for the negotiations following the Annapolis
conference. They clearly indicate that the best negotiating strategy is
one that frames this issue in the context of two parameters: (1) it must
be mutual; i.e., Palestinians too must receive an Israeli recognition of
the national identity of their state as they grant Israelis recognition
of the Jewish nature of their state, and (2) it must come as a crowning
step; one that seeks to assure the two sides of future intentions rather
than one that seeks to impose an Israeli precondition for future
concessions. IF FRAMED within these parameters, the people's voice
thunders a clear "yes" to mutual recognition of identity. We wish here
to expose this silent majority, and turn private opinions of the
citizens on both sides into public opinion, and a factor in public
discourse. The question we ask our Israeli and Palestinian respondents
draws on the two states for two peoples formula from the
Ayalon-Nusseibeh Peace Plan from July 2002. The question we pose to both
Israelis and Palestinians is the following: There is a proposal that
after the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and the
settlement of all issues in dispute, including the refugees and
Jerusalem issues, there will be a mutual recognition of Israel as the
state of the Jewish people and Palestine as the state of the Palestinian
people. Do you agree or disagree to this proposal? In nine polls we
conducted between 2003 and 2006, our findings show substantial and
consistent majority support in both publics for a mutual recognition of
Israel as the state of the Jewish people and Palestine as the state of
the Palestinian people when such recognition comes at the crowing stage
of negotiations. WHAT IS perhaps even more striking is the high level of
support for this formula among Palestinian citizens of Israel. As a
matter of fact, the Arab minority in Israel supports this formula at a
higher degree than Israeli Jews as well as Palestinians, and the pattern
of the findings is highly consistent. Over two thirds of Israeli Jews
and Arabs and an average of 60% of the Palestinians over the nine polls
support such a declaration. more...
Israel fears clash with U.S. over peace talks' impasse
Haaretz (December 25, 2007) -
The United States will conduct confidential assessments of whether
Israel and the Palestinians are meeting their peacemaking commitments
and share the results privately with the parties, U.S. and Western
officials said. Israel has sought to keep the U.S. process of judging
compliance with the long-stalled "road map" peace plan largely secret.
Palestinians say they favour disclosure of judgments on whether Israel
is halting all settlement activity and whether the Palestinians are
curbing militants as the plan demands. Though the Bush administration
has decided to keep the assessment process confidential, it reserves the
right to go public with its views if necessary, the officials said.
U.S. judgments will be crucial because Israel has said it
will not implement any peace deal until the Palestinians meet their
commitments to combat militants in both the West Bank and the
Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, where militants continue to fire rockets
across the border into Israel. The monitoring process may be a test of
Washington's readiness to hold a key ally to its commitments. Despite
U.S. and Palestinian pressure on Israel to freeze settlements, the
Housing Ministry said on Sunday 740 new homes would be built in East
Jerusalem next year. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas agreed at U.S.-sponsored conference in
Annapolis, Maryland last month to relaunch final-status peace talks with
the goal of reaching a statehood agreement by the end of 2008.
more...
Javier SOLANA, EU High Representative for the CFSP, welcomes the completion of the procedures for the accreditation of EUPOL COPPS Europa Document (December 28, 2008) - Javier Solana, EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), today welcomed the completion of the procedures for the accreditation of EUPOL COPPS and made the following statement: "I welcome the completion of the procedure that paves the way for the accreditation of the European Union police mission for the Palestinian Territories (EUPOL COPPS) by the Government of Israel. I wish to thank Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mrs Tzipi Livni for her support. This agreement will facilitate the implementation of the mandate of the mission." The aim of the EUPOL COPPS mission is to work with the Palestinian civilian police to support the Palestinian Authority in taking responsibility for law and order, and improving its civilian police and law enforcement capacity. EUPOL COPPS helps to establish sustainable and effective policing arrangements under Palestinian ownership in accordance with the best international standards. This mission is a central pillar of the EU Action Strategy in support of renewed peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians launched in Annapolis last November.| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land | EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | Solana | 1st Seal | Israeli ministry drops plans for Jerusalem homes Reuters (December 20, 2007) - Israel's Housing Ministry backed away on Thursday from a preliminary proposal to build homes on occupied land near Jerusalem that had been criticized by Palestinian and Israeli officials. "The construction is no longer being discussed," a ministry official said. The issue of Israeli settlement building in the Jerusalem area has clouded renewed peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians launched at a U.S.-sponsored conference last month. Disputes over settlements and Jerusalem are central to the negotiations President George W. Bush hopes can be concluded before he steps down in January 2009. The ministry said on Wednesday it had been discussing the possibility of building homes near what Israel refers to as Atarot and the Palestinians call Qalandia in the occupied West Bank. Israel annexed Arab East Jerusalem after the 1967 Middle East war in a move that has not won international recognition. It regards all of Jerusalem as its capital. The Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of the state they hope to create in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land | Revealed: Israel agreed to forfeit Temple Mount WorldNet Daily (December 13, 2007) - In spite of longstanding denials by top officials here, the Israeli government in 2000 agreed to relinquish the Temple Mount – Judaism's holiest site – to the Palestinians during U.S.-backed negotiations, according to declassified documents made public today. The information comes as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert earlier this month denied talks started at November's Annapolis summit would lead to Israel giving up its sovereignty over the Temple Mount, while chief Palestinian negotiators tell WND the Jewish state already agreed to forfeit Judaism's holiest site to a coalition of Arab countries. According to declassified Israeli government documents published today by Israel's Haaretz newspaper, during U.S.-led negotiations in 2000 at Camp David, Ehud Barak, then prime minister, agreed sovereignty over the Temple Mount would be either "ambiguous" or control would be determined based on the bond of each party to the site. The Palestinians would therefore control the upper sections of the Mount, which houses the Al Aqsa Mosque and also is the site of the First and Second Jewish Temples. The 2000 negotiations fell through after Palestinian President Yasser Arafat rejected an offer of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and eastern sections of Jerusalem. Barak at times denied he offered the Temple Mount to the Palestinians, but he also indicated during interviews he was willing to compromise over the site. Haaretz published excerpts from a 26-page document it obtained, signed by Barak's negotiator Gilad Sher and said to be summaries of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. The document was titled "The Status of the Diplomatic Process with the Palestinians Points to Update the Incoming Prime Minister." Sher also wrote in his book published after the 2000 negotiations, titled "Beyond Reach," that President Bill Clinton floated a plan that called for the Temple Mount to become Palestinian sovereign territory, while the Western Wall below and its complex would fall under Israeli sovereignty. Barak was said to have initially rejected that plan, but according to participants at the negotiations summit, he was ultimately willing to forfeit the Temple Mount. The 26-page document published by Haaretz also said Barak was willing to give up most of the West Bank and split Jerusalem into two capitals, one called Jerusalem and another Al-Quds. Negotiations would have seen Arab sections of Jerusalem being turned over to the Palestinians. The release of the document follow's last month's Annapolis summit at which Olmert committed to aim at creating a Palestinian state before the end of next year, handing strategic territory to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. In a briefing to reporters upon returning to Israel from Annapolis, Olmert claimed Israel's sovereignty over the Temple Mount is not up for discussion. He said negotiations started at this week's Annapolis summit had no bearing on the situation on the Temple Mount. But a chief Palestinian negotiator, speaking to WND on condition of anonymity, said Olmert's denials were "false." "What Olmert said (regarding the Mount) is absolutely false. I think he's not yet ready to tell the Israeli public and is waiting for the right time, and he fears his coalition with religious extremists will fall apart if he announces it now," said the negotiator. Olmert's maintains a government coalition with the religious Shas party and Russian Yisroel Beiteinu party, but if those two bolt, the prime minister could create a new coalition with leftist parties. The chief Palestinian negotiator said that in the months leading up to Annapolis, the Palestinian team was "surprised" by Olmert's willingness to give up the Mount. "We had intense debates on many topics, which remain open and unsettled, but the Harem Al-Sharif (Temple Mount) is not a sticking point. The Israelis didn't argue with us. We were pleasantly surprised Olmert didn't debate about giving the lower section of the [Mount] either, which was a sticking point in the past." more... I believe the Temple Mount will be handed over in the dividing of Israel, but I also believe that the temple will be rebuilt, just the inner court, once God reveals Himself to Israel in the destruction of the Magog invaders from Russia, Turkey, Iran, Libya and others. The attitude of Israel and the world will shift dramatically, I believe, once God shows Himself in defense of Israel.
Blair
ducks MK question about Jewish state Jerusalem Newswire (December
12, 2007) -
Israeli parliamentarians were reportedly furious December
12 when former British Prime Minister Tony Blair refused to answer a
question directed at him about Palestinian Liberation Organization [PLO]
Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' [Abu Mazen’s] recently reiterated refusal to
recognize Israel as a JEWISH state. While the PLO has consistently held
to its refusal to acknowledge and agree to Israel being a Jewish state,
it began to more blatantly and vociferously express this position in the
week before last month's Annapolis conference. And it has repeated its
position since. Blair, who is in Israel in his new role as special envoy
on behalf of the so-called Quartet of world powers, was addressing the
Knesset [Parliament] Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee when one of
its members, Likud MK Limor Livnat, questioned him on the issue.
"Members of the committee were furious when Blair did not answer,"
reported the leftist daily, Haaretz. The international community is
widely understood to agree with the Arab point of view that there should
be no Jewish state per se, but that the Jews who live in the Middle East
should agree to being citizens of a one-man-one-vote state. By contrast,
the Jews who founded Israel believed, as does virtually the entire
nation as it exists today, that a Jewish state is essential if they are
to survive as a people in this almost universally anti-Jewish world.
‘America has abandoned us’ Jerusalem
Watchman (December 9, 2007) - The newspapers
here in Israel made for sobering reading this weekend. In the words of a
visiting compatriot in the cause of Christian Zionism, it is as if, after years
of moving towards a cliff in Israel-US relations, we have suddenly arrived, and
tipped over the edge. The United States has betrayed the trust of its once
“faithful friend” in the Middle East, and things are spiraling at an alarming
speed - seemingly out of control. Israelis today believe that Washington
successfully worked to lure them to Annapolis by promising to stand
shoulder-to-shoulder with the Jewish state against Iran’s fevered efforts to
obtain, deploy and possibly use nuclear weapons. Largely as a result of this
“guaranteed” alliance, the Olmert government went to Annapolis despite the
refusal of the Palestinian Arabs to, among other things, recognize Israel as a
Jewish state. Once there, believing that America truly has Israel’s best
interests at heart, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agreed to work towards the
creation of a Palestinian state by the end of the Bush presidency, and gave the
US the right to judge whether or not Jerusalem is complying with its commitments
under the Road Map. And then, with this Israeli commitment in its pocket, and
before the news crews had barely departed the US Naval Academy, Washington
suddenly lifted its threat to use force against Iran, issuing a report whose
heading announced that the genocidal mullahs had in fact halted their nuclear
weapons program in 2003 and therefore no longer posed a serious threat to Israel
or anyone else within reach of their long range, surface-to-surface missiles.
The fact that the body of the National Intelligence Estimate report soundly
contradicts its headline has done little if anything to alleviate the fallout
from its release. For Israelis, the announcement means that America has left it
dangling before the diabolical designs of the Islamic world - and particularly
of holocaust-threatening Tehran. This was the consensus of understanding, at
least on the staff of The Jerusalem Post, Israel’s biggest-circulation
English-language daily, who expressed their sense of shock and disbelief: We
have been
“bushwacked” exclaimed disbelieving editor-in-chief David Horowitz. America
has
“dropped a bomb on Israel” said reporter Ya’akov Katz. An American guest
columnist, Jonathan Tobin, said the “intelligence bombshell [had left] Bush’s
approach to Middle East peacemaking in ruins and Jerusalem isolated.” And
Post deputy managing editor and columnist Caroline Glick wrote a requiem
for Israel-US relations in her “Column One” piece hauntingly headlined:
“The abandonment of the Jews.” Elsewhere, in a
Ynetnews report Sunday Shas Party Minister Yitzhak Cohen slammed “the manner
in which the Americans relate to the intelligence report on Iran [as] similar to
the way in which they viewed those reports they received during the Holocaust on
railways transporting hundreds of thousands of Jews to their death at Auschwitz.
more... Pray for Israel. World politics are lined up against Israel as prophesied. The powers behind America have a secret agenda that falls in line with Bible prophecy as the whole world is coming against Israel. Zechariah 12:1-3 I'm learning that the world we are told of is not the world that is. Our perceptions are shaped by the powerful people who have consolidated their influence over media and politics to blind the population so they can carry out their dark plans.
Jerusalem To Be Divided, Declares Israeli Official WorldNet
Daily (December 9, 2007) - A top
member of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government today announced
Israel "must" give up sections of Jerusalem for a future Palestinian
state, even conceding the Palestinians can rename Jerusalem "to
whatever they want." "We must come today and say, friends, the
Jewish neighborhoods,
including Har Homa, will remain under Israeli sovereignty, and the
Arab neighborhoods will be the Palestinian capital, which they will
call Jerusalem or whatever they want," said Israeli Vice Premier
Haim Ramon. Positions held by Ramon, a ranking member of Olmert's
Kadima party, are largely considered to be reflective of Israeli
government policy. Ramon's statements follow last month's
U.S.-sponsored Annapolis summit at which Olmert committed to aim at
completing negotiations by next year to create a Palestinian state,
with Israel expected to evacuate swaths of Jerusalem and the
strategic West Bank. Ramon said due to the city's demographics, Arab
neighborhoods of Jerusalem "should not be under Israeli sovereignty,
because they pose a threat to Jerusalem being the capital of a
Jewish Israel." About 231,000 Arabs live in Jerusalem, mostly in
eastern neighborhoods. The city has an estimated total population of
724,000. Ramon listed population statistics as the reason Olmert's
government finds it necessary to split Jerusalem. But
WND broke the story last week that according to Jerusalem
municipal employees, during 10 years as mayor of Jerusalem, Olmert
instructed city workers not to take action against hundreds of
illicit Arab building projects throughout eastern sections of
Jerusalem housing over 100,000 Arabs squatting in the city
illegally. The workers and some former employees claim Olmert even
instructed city officials to delete files documenting illegal Arab
construction of housing units in eastern Jerusalem. Olmert was
Jerusalem mayor from 1993 to 2003. As mayor he made repeated public
statements calling Jerusalem the "eternal and undivided capital" of
Israel. Jerusalem municipal employees and former workers, though,
paint a starkly contrasting picture of the prime minister. "He did
nothing about rampant illegal Arab construction in Jerusalem while
the government cracked down on illegal Jewish construction in the
West Bank," said one municipal employee who worked under Olmert. She
spoke on condition of anonymity because she still works at the
municipality. One former municipal worker during Olmert's mayoral
tenure told WND he was moved in 1999 to a new government posting
after he tried to highlight the illegal Arab construction in
Jerusalem. He also spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing for his
current job. more...
Evangelical Leaders Reiterate Call for Two-State Solution for Israel and
Palestine Christianity
Today (December 3, 2007) -
Over
80 educators and ministry heads affirm efforts to negotiate lasting
peace, and warn of consequences of failure.
This week the Bush State Department is devoting its full diplomatic
efforts toward bringing a two-state resolution to the Israel-Palestine
conflict. Over the past few months, they have put on a full-court press
to gather a broad representation of Arab world leaders to join Israeli
and Palestinian negotiators for a historic meeting in Annapolis,
Maryland. Now, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian
National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas have agreed to a program of
sustained and focused negotiations throughout 2008. With these cautious
but hopeful beginnings, over 80 evangelical leaders have signed a
statement indicating their belief "that the way forward is for the
Israelis and Palestinians to negotiate a fair, two-state solution."
These leaders—including Christian college and seminary presidents,
denominational heads, and other ministry leaders—pledge their "ongoing
support for the security of Israel," and state that "unless the
situation between Israel and Palestine improves quickly, the
consequences will be devastating" for Israel. Palestinians with little
economic opportunity "are increasingly sympathetic to radical
solutions." The full text of their statement and the list of signatories
follow. more... I think this is one of the consequences of not understanding Bible prophecy and what it says about the future. These leaders aren't looking at what the Bible says will happen to those that come against Israel. God said He would put Israel in the land and Jeremiah 30:20 says, "Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all that oppress them." Read Ezekiel 36,37 as well. Remember it is when everyone says peace and safety that sudden destruction comes. Recognizing the Bible's prophesies is much different from actively participating in what it says will happen. These things will happen without our help and given the judgment for those that come against Israel and God's putting Israel in the land, I think it is an error for Christians to get involved. We should pray for the peace of Jerusalem and Israel knowing that will only happen when Christ returns and sets up His eternal kingdom. Who doesn't want peace and security? But be careful of who you are trusting to give it to you. The Bible says the end-times is anything but a time of peace and security and the men fomenting the chaos are doing so to implement their control of the world, not to bring peace. The spirit of antichrist destroys many with peace, Daniel 8:25, much like the loss of freedom because of terrorism and in the name of peace and security. It's all about control and power for these elite who are working with the spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:11-20 Israel's security is guaranteed by God and will be shown when Iran, Turkey, Russia, Libya and others are destroyed in the mountains of Israel. However, I do believe Israel will be divided, I just don't want to be involved with it happening. The Hammer and Tongs behind the Hugs of Annapolis DEBKAfile (December 1, 2007) - No one at UN headquarters in New York remembers a case of a draft resolution being abruptly withdrawn hours before a UN Security Council session was scheduled to approve it. This is what happened to a US draft that would have endorsed President Bush’s announcement three days earlier at the Annapolis Middle East conference of Israeli and Palestinian consent to work toward a settlement of their conflict before the end of 2008. The Council had been called into closed session Thursday night, Nov. 30 to endorse the Annapolis declaration. The text was buried hastily in an undignified scramble by the Bush administration after two days of sharp words between the White House and prime minister Ehud Olmert and his threat not to turn up for talks with the Palestinians. This incident led also to the first real falling-out between President George W. Bush and his secretary of state Condoleezza Rice. He blamed her for seeking to bolster the Annapolis declaration by Security Council endorsement, thereby exposing the hyped-up event to the world as a charade and his own declaration as too flimsy to stand up. The head of the Israeli mission, Danny Gillerman, denied being fully briefed on the American text - a diplomatic figure of speech which applies equally to the situation of the Israeli delegation at the Middle East conference in Annapolis and since. But as soon as the Israeli ambassador heard that Khalilzad had obtained the consent of the five permanent members of the Security Council to a closed session for approving the US draft, he urgently alerted Olmert and Livni in Jerusalem. Gillerman warned them that a closed session means that neither Israel nor the Palestinians would be present or given a hearing. And that was not the only undesirable aspect:
Ambassador Gillerman alerted the
Israeli prime minister and foreign minister to the short distance from
UN sponsorship of the process to the dispatch of international troops to
the region as a buffer between Israel’s counter-terror forces and the
Palestinian terrorists ruling the Gaza Strip and West Bank. In the
Israeli ambassador’s opinion, the US initiative to bring the world body
in as a party to the Annapolis declaration originated with Secretary
Rice. She sought to punish Israel for not following her lead at the
conference. He pointed out that the application to the UN directly
contravened Rice’s own accords with the Israeli foreign minister.
Gillerman’s heads-up to Jerusalem sparked an urgent series of phone
calls between the prime minister’s office and the White House. Olmert
made no bones about threatening to pull out of the entire diplomatic
track charted at Annapolis if the Security Council were to be brought in
over its head. After 36 hours of hammer and tongs, US ambassador to the
UN, Zalmay Khalilzad, was instructed to call off the Council session and
withdraw the text. But recriminations on the American side for an
unprecedented loss of face were just as bitter. The White House accused
state department officials of egging Rice on to circumvent the
agreements Bush and Olmert had concluded and running off half-cocked to
the world body in a manner which left the administration red-faced.
Khalilzad was urgently recalled to Washington. When State Department
officials pushed the blame for the shambles on him, accusing him of
drafting the Security Council resolution without consulting the
secretary of state, the US ambassador’s aides shot back with a strong
denial. This incident also brought to the surface the frustrations
experienced by Israel’s delegation to the Annapolis conference, DEBKAfile’s
political sources report. US officials consistently neglected to inform
Olmert or foreign and defense ministers Tzipi Livni and Ehud Barak of
steps pre-coordinated with the Palestinians and Arab ministers,
presenting them as accomplished facts. When Israeli leaders flew out of
Washington Wednesday night, Nov. 28, none had yet been informed that the
White House had named Ret. Gen. James Jones to chair the
“US-Israel-Palestinian mechanism” accompanying the Palestinian-Israel
talks. When they read about it in the media, Olmert protested the
general's role, and it was downgraded to liaison officer. Neither did
the Americans bother to inform Israel about consultations with the
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov for a follow-up conference in
Moscow at the beginning of 2008. There, Israel will be required to agree
to the return of the Golan to Syria.
After Annapolis: PA Television Erases Israel From Map Israel
National News (November 29, 2007)
- Just one day after the Annapolis conference at which the PA recognized
the State of Israel's right to exist in peace and security, the PA's
official television station screened a map that shows a Palestinian
state in place of Israel. U.S. President George Bush, at the conference
on Tuesday, read aloud the summit's agreed-upon joint statement, which
declares, "In furtherance of the goal of two states, Israel and
Palestine, living side by side in peace and security, we agree to
immediately launch good-faith bilateral negotiations in order to
conclude a peace treaty." However, Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook of
Palestinian Media
Watch (PMW)
report that just a day later, "Mahmoud Abbas’s Palestinian Authority
continues to paint a picture for its people of a world without
Israel." Specifically, PMW reports that an information clip produced a
while ago by the PA's Central Bureau of Statistics was rebroadcast on
Wednesday on Abbas-controlled PA television. The
clip shows a map in which the
Land of Israel is painted in the colors of the Palestinian flag,
symbolizing the replacement of Israel by a Palestinian state. The
Palestinian entity depicted as replacing Israel includes all of Judea,
Samaria and Gaza, though not the Golan Heights. The depiction of all of
Israel as "Palestine" is not coincidental, PMW reports, "and is part of
a formal, systematic educational approach throughout the Palestinian
Authority. This uniform message of a world without Israel is repeated in
school books, children's programs, crossword puzzles, video clips,
formal symbols, school and street names, etc. The picture painted for
the Palestinian population, both verbally and visually, is of a world
without Israel." PMW concludes: "The fact that this campaign continues
before the ink on the Annapolis agreement is even dry appears to
contradict the central promise of the Palestinians at the Annapolis
conference: that Israel has a right to exist." The television clip
appears to be loyal to widespread public opinion on the PA street. PA
forces were forced to put down anti-Israel and anti-Annapolis rallies in
several cities this week, and one protestor was even shot and killed.
The protestors stated that Abbas has no right to make "concessions"
regarding Jerusalem, refugees and the like in the name of the
Palestinian people, and that any deal he makes with Israel will not be
binding. In Hevron, PA security forces killed a demonstrator, injured
dozens, and arrested 29 when using force to disperse a mass protest. PA
forces also dispersed large protests in Ramallah, Shechem (Nablus), and
Bethlehem, making several arrests. In Hamas-controlled Gaza, the
protests were much more intense, and hundreds of thousands of people
rallied in Gaza City, emphasizing the importance of the "right of
return" for millions of Arabs and their descendants, the "liberation" of
Jerusalem, the retention of "every inch of Palestinian land" and “the
path of resistance and jihad,” i.e., terrorism. Well it seems clear what the population is being told to expect of the future. We know from Bible prophecy that a period called the time of Jacob's trouble will occur after the abomination of desolation and will involve a supernatural army that goes through Judea murdering any Jews they find. Joel 2:1-10 We also see the rhetoric calling for the destruction of the State of Israel coming from the same nations that are supposedly backing the land-for-peace deal. So it seems in reality they view this as just a first step, taken with the backing of the international community, to reach their ultimate goal of a world without Israel. The extremists working to produce the chaos their prophecies tell precede the 12th Mahdi's return from the earth are going to keep railing publicly against Israel while the front-men to the international community will work with lies and deceit to bring about the same goal in steps. Understand Muslim goals and you will readily see where this is going, right where the Bible said it would thousands of years ago. Keep watching and praying! If anyone hasn't seen Farewell Israel: Bush, Iran And The Revolt Of Islam I would recommend checking it out. They point out some of the miscommunication based on the different societies and how even speaking the same words don't have the same meaning in the two worlds. This has disastrous ends of course when you know what the two sides actually mean, not just what they say. PA official: Olmert lying about Temple Mount YNet News (November 29, 2007) - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's statements on Wednesday that Israel's sovereignty over the Temple Mount is not up for negotiation are "false," according to a chief Palestinian negotiator, who told WND the Israeli leader already agreed to forfeit Judaism's holiest site to a coalition of Arab countries. "What Olmert said (regarding the Mount) is absolutely false. I think he's not yet ready to tell the Israeli public and is waiting for the right time and he fears his coalition with religious extremists will fall apart if he announces it now," said a senior Palestinian negotiator Thursady on condition his name be withheld. The chief Palestinian negotiator said in months leading up to Annapolis the Palestinian team was "surprised" by Olmert's willingness to give up the Mount. "We had intense debates on many topics, which remain open and unsettled, but the Harem Al-Sharif (Temple Mount) is not a sticking point. The Israelis didn't argue with us. We were pleasantly surprised Olmert didn't debate about giving the lower section of the Mount either, which was a sticking point in the past." According to the chief Palestinian negotiator, Olmert agreed to evacuate the Mount but not to turn it over to the Palestinians alone. The negotiator said both sides agreed the Temple Mount would be given to joint Egypt, Jordan and Palestinian Authority control. He said the Israeli government felt an umbrella group of several Arab countries controlling the holy site instead of only the PA would help ease Israeli domestic opposition to giving up the Temple Mount, since Egypt and Jordan are considered by Israeli policy to be moderate countries. The Palestinian negotiator pointed out Israeli prime ministers previously denied withdrawal plans only to later carry them out. Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, elected on a platform against evacuating territory, denied for his first year in office he would retreat from the Gaza Strip but in 2005 he carried out a Gaza withdrawal. In a briefing to reporters yesterday, Olmert claimed Israel's sovereignty over the Temple Mount is not up for discussion. He said negotiations started at this week's Annapolis summit had no bearing on the situation on the Temple Mount. At the start of Tuesday's summit, President Bush read a joint declaration agreed to by Olmert and PA President Mahmoud Abbas committing the two to launch immediate negotiations aimed at "two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side." The parties said they would aim to conclude an agreement before Bush leaves office next year, with Israel widely expected to evacuate large swaths of the West Bank and speculation about eastern sections of Jerusalem, handing Abbas the strategic territories. Israel recaptured the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount, in 1967. "The negotiations will address all of the issues which we have thus far avoided dealing with," said Olmert on Tuesday. "I am convinced that the reality that emerged in our region in 1967 will change significantly. I know this. Many of my people know this. We are prepared for it." I'm thinking that we may indeed see the Temple Mount handed over in the name of peace. I also believe that the Magog invasion will come after that division of Israel while the temporary peace is built. Ezekiel says that Israel is dwelling in safety when attacked from the North and this will only happen prophetically between now and the abomination of desolation. After that 2/3 of Israel are killed and 1/3 is taken to the wilderness for the remainder of the 70th week until Christ returns in glory. So clearly they won't be living in peace and safety then. So I believe we could see the Temple Mount handed over in the name of peace with a sudden shift in Israeli consciousness once God demonstrates His power in the destruction of the attackers with fire and brimstone from heaven. I think at that point nobody will desire to stop Israel from rebuilding the temple and many won't want to after seeing God's hand in the destruction of those coming against Israel. Time will tell, but it seems to fit together pretty well that way. Annapolis: A Day for the Prophetic History Books Fulfilled Prophecy (November 29, 2007) - Organizers and attendees appear to agree: the Annapolis Conference, Tuesday, was a success. But more than that, I think it was prophetically significant. For the first time, the entire international community -- including the United States, Israel and even the Arab nations -- gathered to declare their joint support for the creation of a Palestinian state. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas committed to working for a peace treaty by the end of 2008. (Read their statement of Joint Understanding here.) They're now creating a steering committee that will start continuous negotiations on Dec. 12. Olmert and Abbas will meet every two weeks to advance the negotiations. Olmert and Abbas also agreed to begin immediate implementation of their nation's obligations under the Road Map for Peace, created in 2003 by the Quartet on the Middle East (the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations). They even agreed to let the United States monitor the implementation of the Road Map and judge whether both parties are fulfilling their obligations. And, today, the United States appointed a Special Envoy for Middle East Security -- General James Jones, an ex-NATO commander -- to help Abbas' government bring security to Palestine. Read about it here. Despite the naysayers, I think we may see a peace deal within the next year. Of course, that's what we'd expect if we've entered the 70th week of Daniel. That's not to say there won't be bumps in the road and times when negotiations look like they've stalled. But we may look back to this conference as the breakthrough. In my father, Herb Peters', book, Recommendation 666 (available to read free here), he cited the 1992 Israeli election as the first time Israelis began saying "Peace and safety!" -- when they voted for Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin who ran on the platform of trading land for peace. According to 1 Thessalonians 5:3, when they are saying "peace and safety!" (in other words, when Israel is willing to give up its God-given land and turn to its enemies for protection) then destruction will come on Israel suddenly. Note two very similar words in the statement of Joint Understanding read by Bush at the conference:
This is a formal
declaration made by Israel -- and witnessed by the nations of the world
-- that Israel has chosen to give up its land for peace. And it was a
U.S. president -- sad for me to say -- that pushed for it.
Yes, I think we'll look back on
this day as prophetically significant.
Summary of remarks by Javier SOLANA on the occasion of the Annapolis
Conference Europa
(November 27, 2007) - NEW MOMENTUM IN THE
PEACE PROCESS: Recent developments have created a sense of cautious
optimism for progress towards resolution of the Israeli/Palestinian
conflict. President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert are engaged in a
substantive and wide-ranging bilateral dialogue. The United States
Government is actively supporting their efforts, including by calling
for an international meeting before the end of the year, in order to
launch a bilateral negotiation process that would lead to the
establishment of a Palestinian state. The new momentum in the peace
process benefits from the full backing and active involvement of the
Quartet. Arab support has been expressed through the voice of the Arab
League follow-up Committee. Comprehensive peace in the Middle East is a
strategic objective for the European Union. Any lasting and just
settlement to the conflict should be based on the principle of land for
peace, relevant UNSC resolutions, the Arab Peace Initiative, the Roadmap
and previous agreements reached between the parties. The EU considers
that the present opportunity should not be missed and is ready to take
its responsibilities, in accordance with the vital European interests
involved. The EU is therefore committed to supporting current efforts in
a serious and substantive way, offering a comprehensive and coherent
contribution to the process, including during the crucial implementation
period. The European Union calls on all other interested parties to
support the current process, bearing in mind the high cost of failure
for everyone involved. The forthcoming international meeting in
Annapolis should launch a bilateral negotiation between Israel and the
Palestinians on final status issues, as a first step towards a
comprehensive settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict. It should
establish a robust follow-up process under the auspices of the Quartet
and with the involvement of the international community. The EU calls on
its Quartet, Arab League and other international partners to contribute
to the success of the upcoming donors conference in Paris, which will
constitute an indispensable complement to the political process launched
at Annapolis. more...
Joint
Understanding Read by President Bush at Annapolis Conference US
Department of State (November 27, 2007)
- PRESIDENT BUSH: The representatives of the government of the state of
Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization, represented
respective by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and President Mahmoud Abbas in
his capacity as Chairman of the PLO Executive Committee and President of
the Palestinian Authority, have convened in Annapolis, Maryland, under
the auspices of President George W. Bush of the United States of
America, and with the support of the participants of this international
conference, having concluded the following joint understanding. We
express our determination to bring an end to bloodshed, suffering and
decades of conflict between our peoples; to usher in a new era of peace,
based on freedom, security, justice, dignity, respect and mutual
recognition; to propagate a culture of peace and nonviolence; to
confront terrorism and incitement, whether committed by Palestinians or
Israelis. In furtherance of the goal of two states, Israel and
Palestine, living side by side in peace and security, we agree to
immediately launch good-faith bilateral negotiations in order to
conclude a peace treaty, resolving all outstanding issues, including all
core issues without exception, as specified in previous agreements. We
agree to engage in vigorous, ongoing and continuous negotiations, and
shall make every effort to conclude an agreement before the end of 2008.
For this purpose, a steering committee, led jointly by the head of the
delegation of each party, will meet continuously, as agreed. The
steering committee will develop a joint work plan and establish and
oversee the work of negotiations teams to address all issues, to be
headed by one lead representative from each party. The first session of
the steering committee will be held on 12 December 2007. President Abbas
and Prime Minister Olmert will continue to meet on a bi-weekly basis to
follow up the negotiations in order to offer all necessary assistance
for their advancement. The parties also commit to immediately implement
their respective obligations under the performance-based road map to a
permanent two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, issued
by the Quartet on 30 April 2003 -- this is called the road map -- and
agree to form an American, Palestinian and Israeli mechanism, led by the
United States, to follow up on the implementation of the road map. The
parties further commit to continue the implementation of the ongoing
obligations of the road map until they reach a peace treaty. The United
States will monitor and judge the fulfillment of the commitment of both
sides of the road map. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties,
implementation of the future peace treaty will be subject to the
implementation of the road map, as judged by the United States.
Israel, Palestinians OK negotiating plan Associated
Press (November 27, 2007) -
Israeli and Palestinian leaders agreed Tuesday to immediately
resume long-stalled talks toward a deal by the end of next year
that would create an independent Palestinian state, using a
U.S.-hosted Mideast peace conference to launch their first
negotiations in seven years. In a joint statement read by
President Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pledged to start discussions
on the core issues of the conflict next month and accepted the
United States as arbiter of interim steps. "We agree to
immediately launch good-faith bilateral negotiations in order to
conclude a peace treaty resolving all outstanding issues,
including all core issues without exception, as specified in
previous agreements," it said. "We agree to engage in
vigorous, ongoing and continuous negotiations and shall make
every effort to conclude an agreement before the end of 2008,"
said the document, which was reached after weeks of intense
diplomacy and was uncertain until just before Bush announced it.
The conference at the U.S. Naval Academy has been greeted by
heavy skepticism, with many questioning its timing and prospects
for success, especially given the weaknesses of Olmert and
Abbas, whose leadership is challenged by the militant Hamas
movement. And the task is complicated by Arab pressure to
resolve other long simmering disputes Israel has with Syria and
Lebanon. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, in his
remarks to the conference, called for the earliest possible
resumption of talks with Lebanon and Syria, which wants the
return of the Golan Heights, land seized by Israel during the
1967 war. "We have come to support the launching of serious and
continuing talks between the Palestinians and the Israelis that
will address all the core and final status issues," Saud said.
"These talks must be followed by the launching of the Syrian and
Lebanese tracks at the earliest." more... Olmert Addresses the Annapolis Mideast Conference Washington Post (November 27, 2007) - PRIME MINISTER EHUD OLMERT (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): The honorable president of the United States, George Bush, my colleague, president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, heads of delegations, and distinguished guests, I came here today from Jerusalem, Mr. President, at your invitation, to extend, on behalf of the people of Israel and the state of Israel, to the Palestinian people and to our neighboring Arab states, to extend a hand in peace, a hand which marks the beginning of historic reconciliation between us and you, the Palestinians, and all of the Arab nations. I had many good reasons not to come here to this meeting. Memory of failures in the near and distant past weighed heavy upon us. The dreadful terrorism perpetrated by Palestinian terrorist organizations has affected thousands of Israeli citizens, has destroyed families and has tried to disrupt the lives of the citizens of Israel. I witnessed this when I served as mayor of Jerusalem in days of bombings at cafes, on buses, and in recreational centers in Jerusalem, as well as in other cities in the state of Israel. The ongoing shooting of Qassam rockets against tens of thousands of residents in the south of Israel, particularly in the city of Sderot, serves as a warning sign, one which we cannot overlook. The absence of governmental institutions and effective law enforcement mechanisms, the role of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the ongoing activity of murderous organizations throughout all the territories of the Palestinian Authority, the absence of a legal system that meets the basic criteria of democratic government, all of these are factors which deter us from moving forward too hastily. I am not overlooking any of these obstacles which are liable to emerge along the way. I see them. But I came here, despite the concerns and the doubts and the hesitations to say to you, President Mahmoud Abbas, and through you to your people, and to the entire Arab world, the time has come. We no longer and you no longer have the privilege of adhering to dreams which are (inaudible) from the sufferings of our peoples, the hardships that they experience daily, and the burden of living under ongoing uncertainty, which offers no hope of change or of a better future. We want peace. We demand an end to terror, an end to incitement and to hatred. We are prepared to make a painful compromise, rife with risks, in order to realize these aspirations. I came here today not in order to settle historical accounts between us and you about what caused the confrontations and the hatred, and what for many years has prevented a compromise, a settlement of peace. more... | Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land | EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | America |
Thousands rally in Jerusalem against parley Jerusalem
Post (November 27, 2007) - Any
Israeli concessions that would be forged in Annapolis would make
Jerusalem and the center of the country vulnerable to the kind of
Palestinian-launched rocket attacks that the border city of Sderot has
endured for years, Sderot resident Alon Davidi said on Monday night.
"Your actions in Annapolis will cause rockets to rain on Jerusalem,"
Davidi warned Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as he looked out at thousands
of right-wing protesters who packed Paris Square in Jerusalem. "You have
sacrificed Sderot and now you want to sacrifice the rest of the
country," Davidi said. "There is a moment in the life of a nation when
you have to say, enough is enough." The prime minister, Davidi said, "is
disconnected from the nation, but we are united." Shouting out "no" to a
divided Jerusalem and "yes" to the construction of more settlements and
Jewish homes in the West Bank, the protesters sent a message to Olmert
in advance of Tuesday's peace conference in Annapolis. They followed a
larger demonstration at the Western Wall in which some 15,000 prayed for
the Annapolis talks on any territorial withdrawal to fail. Standing on a
podium set up a block from Olmert's residence, politicians
and religious leaders buoyed by cheers from the crowd of
mostly teens and young adults vowed to prevent any further concessions
to the Palestinians. Many in the crowd held large black, red and white
signs that stretched over their heads proclaiming: "The agreement of
Olmert and Abu-Bluff will explode in our faces." Between the speeches,
protesters danced to live music performed by religious bands, the songs
reminiscent of the many anti-disengagement rallies that preceded the
2005 withdrawal from Gaza. But one speaker warned that Olmert should not
be fooled and that the new campaign against further territorial
withdrawals would not be like the anti-disengagement campaign, in which
the slogan was: "With love we will win." The stakes are high and the
fears of those gathered are not a minority concern, given that the
Annapolis talks endanger all of Israel, warned Dani Dayan, who heads the
Council of Jewish Communities of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip. "We
have not come just to defend the homes of Judea and Samaria, but first
and foremost the unity of Jerusalem and the security of Tel Aviv," Dayan
said. "We say 'no' to the 1967 border," which the Palestinians are
demanding, said Dayan. more... Mahmoud Abbas Remarks at Annapolis Conference Washington Post (November 27, 2007) - SPEAKER: PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY PRESIDENT MAHMOUD ABBAS (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): In the name of God, the compassionate, (SPEAKING IN ARABIC) with great hope, but it is accompanied with great worry that this new opportunity might be lost. But the meanings of your message are well known and they carry your personal bridge and commitment by your great country and its determination to embrace the Palestinian and Israeli peace and the Arab-Israeli peace to be converted in the arena of negotiations to be the first and foremost arena for making peace. And that this initiative would culminate your term of office is an outstanding achievement which would add a new shining star in the skies of the world, the world of the future free of violence, oppression and bigotry. And also we would like to applaud you, Mr. President, for choosing this charming city, Annapolis, as a venue for convening this international conference. In addition to its beauty and distinctive location, it bears the symbol of freedom; the most sublime value in our life. "Freedom" is the single word that stands for the future of the Palestinians and captures the meanings of all their generations. It is their sunshine and it is the life that inspires their future. It is the last word voiced by the martyrs and victims, and it is the lyric (ph) of their prisoners. I must also pay tribute to the role played by Dr. Condoleezza Rice and her aides. For without here relentless resolve and determination and her vision vis-a-vis all aspects of conflict in our region, we would not have been convening here. Dr. Rice took important strides with us in order to affirm that the path of peace is the only choice and it is irreversible. And that the path to negotiations for peace and to achieve peace is the right path. It is important for me to indicate here that this distinguished participation and large participation from sister Arab and Islamic countries, the quartet, and the group of great industrial countries, and the permanent members of the Security Council of the United Nations, and many prominent European and Asian countries, as well as non-aligned countries and African states and from South America, in a unique conference in the history of the conflicts would provide impetus and protection, in addition to the fact that it carries the meanings of encouragement to pursue the path of Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations and move that forward and the need to reach the solution of two states, based on ending occupation and the establishment of the state of Palestine side by side to the state of Israel, and the resolution of all issues relating to the Palestinian- Israeli conflict, Arab-Israeli conflict in all their aspects, as an indispensable qualitative step, so that comprehensive and normal peace relations would be established in our region. I am proud that this Arab and Islamic contribution and this broad international that this Arab and Islamic contribution and this broad international participation in the work of this conference is a testimony to the fact that sister and friendly states are standing by us, the people of Palestine, as a leadership, and for our efforts to achieve peace. It is a support of our approach that calls for a balanced historical settlement that would ensure peace and security for our independent state and for Israel, as well as for all countries in the region. more...| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land | EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | America | Hamas rejects Abbas speech at Annapolis conference Jerusalem Post (November 27, 2007) - Watching on TV Tuesday as Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas appealed for peace with Israel at the beginning of a Middle East conference in the United States, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza rejected his call and said Abbas speaks only for himself. The spokesman, Fawzi Barhoum, watched the opening speeches at his office in Gaza City. He said Abbas "has no mandate to discuss, to agree, or to erase any word related to our rights." Barhoum said Abbas went to the conference "without any support from his people. He is isolated (and) represents himself only." Barhoum expressed disappointment in the participation of Arab nations in the summit. Their presence is seen as support for renewed peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Instead, Barhoum indicated that Hamas would continue its violence against Israel. "We will use all the tools of resistance to achieve our rights," he said.| Islam | Dividing the Land |
Text of Bush’s Remarks at Annapolis Conference NY
Times (November 27, 2007) - Here are
the remarks President Bush delivered today at the United States Naval
Academy in Annapolis, Md., as transcribed by Federal News Service, Inc.,
a private firm not affiliated with the government. Mr. Bush’s remarks
opened a meeting of Middle Eastern leaders seeking peace in that region,
and were addressed to the leaders. Thank you for coming. Prime Minister
Olmert, President Abbas, Secretary-General Ban, former Prime Minister
Blair, distinguished guests, welcome to one of the finest institutions
we have in America, the United States Naval Academy. We appreciate you
joining us in what I believe is an historic opportunity to encourage the
expansion of freedom and peace in the Holy Land. We meet to lay the
foundation for the establishment of a new nation, a democratic
Palestinian state that will live side by side with Israel in peace and
security. We meet to help bring an end to violence that has been the
true enemy to the aspirations of both the Israelis and Palestinians.
We’re off to a strong start. I’m about to read a statement that was
agreed upon by our distinguished guests. “The representatives of the
government of the state of Israel and the Palestinian Liberation
Organization, represented respectively by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and
President Mahmoud Abbas, in his capacity as chairman of the P.L.O.
Executive Committee and president of the Palestinian Authority, have
convened in Annapolis, Maryland, under the auspices of President George
W. Bush of the United States of America, and with the support of the
participants of this international conference, having concluded the
following joint understanding. “We express our determination to bring an
end to bloodshed, suffering and decades of conflict between our peoples;
to usher in a new era of peace, based on freedom, security, justice,
dignity, respect and mutual recognition; to propagate a culture of peace
and nonviolence; to confront terrorism and incitement, whether committed
by Palestinians or Israelis. In furtherance of the goal of two states,
Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security, we
agree to immediately launch good-faith, bilateral negotiations in order
to conclude a peace treaty resolving all outstanding issues, including
all core issues, without exception, as specified in previous agreements.
more...
Bush: I remain personally committed to two state solution Jerusalem
Post (November
26, 2007) - "I remain personally committed to implementing my
vision of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side by
side in peace and security," US President George W. Bush pledged in a
statement released by the White House Sunday, ahead of the Annapolis
conference. Bush said the conference would signal international support
for the Israelis' and Palestinians' intention to commence negotiations
on the establishment of a Palestinian state and the realization of peace
between the two peoples. "The broad attendance at this conference by
regional states and other key international participants demonstrates
the international resolve to seize this important opportunity to advance
freedom and peace in the Middle East," continued the statement. [Israel] for thine affliction? thy sorrow is incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity: because thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee. Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey. For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after. [Pre 1948] Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his dwellingplaces; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof. And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small. [Technology of Israel] Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all that oppress them. And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the LORD. And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked. The fierce anger of the LORD shall not return, until he hath done it, and until he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it. Remember Andrew and Katrina? Bill Koenig wrote a book, Eye to Eye: Facing the Consequences of Dividing Israel journaling the events that transpired and the touchdown of these two hurricanes on the very days that America was working to divide the land of Israel. Coincidence? You decide. BTW, this plays right in with the comments of the story above regarding the earth changes and what is causing them. God's wrath is coming and acceptance of Yeshua is our ONLY escape. Those too proud to come humbly before Him will get to not be near Him. His wrath will make many humble and shake their foundations (wealth, strength, power, life). These all fade and every one of us comes before the God of the universe. I recommend you get His Son as your defender before the Father as your judge. American politics are not going to stop their dividing of Israel, there may be a reason they are acting the way they are. Watch this ( 1:30:27) and read through the America page.
EU expected to follow Middle East peace conference with major aid push International
Herald Tribune (November 21, 2007) -
The European Union goes to next week's Middle East peace conference
ready to back up an agreement with financial aid, recognizing that
without giving Palestinians hope for improved living standards, a
political settlement will remain out of reach. The EU, which will be
represented by its key Mideast envoys and a number of foreign ministers,
is expected, however, to take a back seat to the United States in the
diplomatic drive to restart a peace process between Israeli and the
Palestinians. The conference takes place Monday through Wednesday in
Annapolis, Maryland, and Washington. "The European Union is a bit on the
sidelines for this process. The idea is for the United States to get the
two key players together," said Alfred Pijpers, a senior researcher at
the Clingendael Netherlands Institute for International Relations. "The
European Union will be of great help for financing, and technical
assistance and investments and so on, but as far as the direct,
so-called peace process is concerned, at this moment I don't see a very
immediate and direct activity from the EU side," he said by telephone
from Amsterdam on Wednesday. The EU is the Palestinians' largest aid
donor. In 2007, the EU and its 27 member nations gave close to €1
billion (US$1.48 billion), most of it in humanitarian assistance for
Palestinians who now live under rival governments in the West Bank and
the Gaza Strip. This week, the EU foreign ministers endorsed steps to
support any peace moves emerging from the Annapolis conference, which
will also be attended by delegations from Arab nations. The steps were
outlined in a report written by Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the EU's
external relations commissioner, and Javier Solana, the EU security
affairs chief. The report makes clear EU aid will be made available for
practical purposes: money and technical assistance to boost the
Palestinian police force and to reform the Palestinians' health,
education and judiciary departments. more...
The 1,800-year Israeli drought WorldNet
Daily (November 21, 2007) - If
reports of what is to transpire at the Annapolis Mideast summit are
correct, not only is Israel prepared to give up the Temple Mount, divide
Jerusalem and hand over Judea and Samaria to terrorists, the Jewish
state is also ready to concede the so-called "right of return" to untold
numbers of Arabs – many of whom have no actual connection with the land.
I could tell you such a notion is a strategic error. I could tell you it
is a result of twisted history. I could tell you it threatens the
national security of the Jewish state. But I've said all that before.
Instead, I prefer to tell you what happened the last time the Jews left
large sections of their biblical homeland, turning it over to non-Jewish
foreigners. It happened in the first century, beginning in A.D. 70, with
the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, and continuing for decades
afterward as the global empire wiped out most of the Jewish presence in
Israel. It's not a threat. It's not a promise. It's not a prophecy. It's
just a fact. It's something I learned from a rabbi in Brooklyn by the
name of Menachem Kohen, author of a new book called
"Prophecies for the Era of Muslim Terror."
Have you ever wondered why the Holy Land was a wasteland during the
1,800-year dispersion of the Jews that lasted until they returned in
significant numbers beginning in the early 20th century? Have you ever
wondered why Mark Twain was so disappointed at what he found in his
travels through the area in the 19th century? Have you ever wondered
why, during that period of nearly two millennia, no other people
successfully and permanently settled this land that is so much in
dispute today? Rabbi Kohen points out the land suffered an
unprecedented, severe and inexplicable (by anything other than
supernatural explanations) drought that lasted from the first century
until the 20th – a period of 1,800 years coinciding with the forced
dispersion of the Jews. Kohen sees this as a miraculous fulfillment of
prophecy found in the book of Deuteronomy – especially chapter 28:23-24.
"And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that
is under thee shall be iron. "The LORD shall make the rain of thy land
powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be
destroyed." The climate in Israel dramatically changed during this
1,800-period – way before Al Gore discovered "global warming." Before
the Jews entered Canaan, it was described in the Bible as a land flowing
with milk and honey. If you read what Israel's climate and natural
landscape was like from the time Joshua crossed the Jordan right up
until the time of Jesus,
it sounds like a heavily forested land. There were amazing crops raised
by the people who inhabited the land when the Jews arrived. Sometimes
I've wondered what happened to Israel to turn it into the dusty, arid
land it was when the Jews came back in the 20th century. Until I read
that prophecy in Deuteronomy, brought to my attention by Rabbi Kohen, I
had no clue. For 1,800 years, it hardly ever rained in Israel. This was
the barren land discovered by Mark Twain. So-called "Palestine" was a
wasteland – nobody lived there. There was no indigenous Arab population
to speak of. It only came after the Jews came back. Beginning in
A.D. 70 and lasting until the early 1900s – about 660,000 days – no
rain. I decided to check this out as best I could and examined the
rainfall data for 150 years in Israel beginning in the early 1800s and
leading up to the 1960s. What I found was astonishing –
increasing rainfall almost every single year – with the heaviest
rainfall coming in and around 1948 and 1967. Is this just a
coincidence? I'll be quite honest with you: I don't think so.
Nor do I think Israel can continue today to make bad stewardship
decisions regarding the land bequeathed the Jews by God without
consequences – serious consequences.
Solana claims credit for “Roadmap to Peace” Unsealed Prophecy (November 15, 2007) - Javier Solana, the High Representative for the European Common, Foreign and Security Policy, has pledged that the EU will play a very important role at the international peace conference to be held in Annapolis, Maryland later this month. He made the comments during a press conference in Israel yesterday, convened by the head of the Israeli negotiating team, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. Solana said that he had discussed a number of issues with Tzipi Livni during his tour of the region, namely Israel’s desire to upgrade its relations with the European Union, increasing co-operation in fields such as science and technology, and they also discussed the need for a third round of sanctions against Iran in relation to its nuclear programme. He was also asked questions in relation to Europe’s involvement in the Middle East peace process. To that, Solana replied that the EU would have an important presence at the Annapolis gathering, and that the bloc would continue to play a very prominent role in the region after the event, taking on the responsibility of a monitoring mechanism, ensuring that both sides abide by any agreement that is reached. Solana reiterated his earlier statement, that a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority was “doable” by the end of 2008.
In regards to the American-backed “Roadmap to Peace” document, both Solana and Livni agreed that it was not necessary for the process to intricately follow the steps written in this document. The Palestinian Authority has not disarmed or disbanded terrorist organizations operating in its territory, as detailed in the first stage of the document. As a result, Israel has not felt obligated to halt all settlement activity in Judea and Samaria. Instead, the Roadmap to Peace would be used as a final check, pending the future implementation of any agreement. For his part, Solana said it was doubtful that the Israelis or Palestinians could reach an agreement that did not follow along the lines of the Roadmap to Peace. The US takes much of the credit for initiating the Roadmap to Peace, following President Bush’s speech of June 2002. But from that time America has not played much of a peace-making role in the Middle East. During yesterday’s press conference, Javier Solana stated that he believed the Roadmap to Peace would be accepted by both sides, and based this claim on his working knowledge of the document, having actually written part of the document himself.
If you are wondering why Solana is referred to as “Secretary General”, it is because he is the Secretary General of the 10 nation Western European Union (WEU), the military arm of the EU. He is also Secretary General of the Council of the European Union, the highest legislative body in the European Union. So as we can see from yesterday’s news, the European Union has in the past, and will in the future, have a direct role in mediating and strengthening a future peace agreement between Israel and the surrounding nations - just as the Bible said. According to Scripture, I believe that the identity of the Antichrist will not be revealed until the Church is removed from the scene. What is clear is that there are individuals like Solana, heavily involved in this Middle East peace process, who presently have little public exposure. Perhaps once we are gone, this will all change.
I believe that according to Scripture, the identity of this Person that withholds the appearance of the man of sin is none other than the Holy Spirit working through the Church. For only God can be addressed as both gender-neutral and masculine at the same time. When the “salt” and “light” of this world is taken home (Matthew 5:13-14), then the way will be opened up for the appearance of this man, the Antichrist. Are you waiting for the appearance of the Antichrist, or the appearance of God’s Son from heaven (1st Thessalonians 1:10)? Turn to Jesus Christ for salvation today.
| EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | Solana | 1st Seal | Dividing the Land |
Rice:
Israelis are prepared to give up West Bank for peace Haaretz
(November 13, 2007) - U.S. Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday she believes that the majority of
Israelis are prepared to give up the West Bank in exchange for peace.
Rice made the comments at the final panel of the yearly General Assembly
of the United Jewish Communities (GA), in Nashville Tennessee, which
ended Tuesday. Rice added that Israelis must be prepared for difficult
and painful sacrifices to some of their longest-held aspirations during
upcoming talks with Palestinian leaders. Rice did not specify what
sacrifices might be needed but added that the Palestinians must also be
prepared for sacrifices. "The threat from violent extremists means that
failure of the talks is not an option," she said. "What is at stake is
nothing less than the future of the Middle East," she added. Rice
expressed optimism ahead of the upcoming U.S.-hosted Annapolis summit
planned for the end of November, and said that the situation in the past
years had improved greatly. She maintained that Israelis believe today
that the establishment of a Palestinian state could benefit Israel, and
that most Arab states are not questioning whether Israel will exist, but
rather what the conditions for peace are. "In our view, the security of
the democratic Jewish state required the creation of a responsible
Palestinian state," she said. She suggested that the Palestinian state
also could serve as a bulwark against the threat from violent
extremists. She praised President George W. Bush for realizing a
Palestinian democracy was a necessary precondition for meaningful
negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis. "Some think that
this focus on democracy backfired with the election of Hamas," she said.
"I disagree with that conclusion. Hamas always had power. What it never
had was responsibility for power." "Hamas has chosen violence rather
than responsible government," she said, "and for that reason it is
isolated by the international community." Rice said a two-state solution
for the Israelis and Palestinians was more urgent than ever because of
the threat from violent extremists in the Middle East, referring
specifically to Hamas, Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas and Iran. "Iran is
choosing to destabilize the Middle East, pursue nuclear capabilities and
threaten our allies, especially Israel," she said. She also warned that
the mere thought of a nuclear Iran is unacceptable for the U.S., and
should be unacceptable for the international community as well. She
praised the Iranian people, maintaining that their leadership does not
properly represent them - investing million in financing terror and
developing nuclear weapons while the citizens of Iran are struggling to
find jobs.
Israel determined not to let peace meet fail: Peres AFP
(November 12, 2007) - Israeli President
Shimon Peres pledged Monday that his country would work for a tangible
result at an upcoming US-sponsored Middle East peace conference, saying
that the Jewish state is ready to make peace with the Palestinians.
"Israel has decided to make Annapolis a success, to bring an end to the
conflict, to finally make peace between the Palestinians and ourselves,"
Peres told a news conference here after talks with his Turkish
counterpart Abdullah Gul. "It takes time to make peace... but I believe
we can make peace now with the Palestinians," he said. The United States
is expected to host an international conference in Annapolis, Maryland,
later this year aimed at reviving the Middle East peace process that
broke down seven years ago. "All parties concerned are decided... not to
let this chance pass away," Peres said, but warned against expecting a
quick result from the meeting he described as a "station on the road to
peace". Gul said Turkey expects the Annapolis meeting to yield
"concrete" results to pave the way for comprehensive peace talks, but
stressed that all parties to the Middle East conflict, including Syria,
should attend the talks. Peres said those attending the talks should be
"all moderate countries which are for peace." "The more countries
participate, the stronger the voice of peace becomes," he said. No
invitations have yet been issued for the Annapolis conference, but US
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday it was likely Syria
would be invited. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said that
Damascus will stay away from Annapolis unless the Israeli-Arab conflict
at large is discussed, including the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Peres said Ankara would participate in the conference and described it
as a move that will bring "spirit, example and contribution to make
peace". Muslim-majority, secular Turkey believes it is in a position to
facilitate peace efforts in the Middle East, counting on its close ties
with Israel and the Palestinians both, as well as a recent rapprochement
with former foe Syria. Gul said Turkey was also ready to launch
negotiations for the release of two Israeli soldiers captured last year
by the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah. Peres is scheduled to meet Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ali Babacan later
Monday. The highlight of his trip will be on Tuesday when he addresses
the Turkish parliament in Hebrew, becoming the first Israeli head of
state to speak before the legislature of a Muslim-populated country.
more...
Rabbis warn Bush: Annapolis will bring destruction to US
YNet News (November
6, 2007) -
Group of right-wing
rabbis writes open letter to US president demanding he cancel
Annapolis summit or risk provoking 'wrath of the almighty.' Rabbis
assert Katrina disaster a result of America's support of 2005
disengagement, say California fires a warning.
A fringe group of prominent
ultranationalist rabbis issued a harshly-worded letter to United
States President George W. Bush earlier this week, warning him that
the upcoming Annapolis peace conference would bring destruction upon
America. The rabbis evoke their previous prediction in 2005, when
they published an open letter to Bush in the New York Times,
demanding the US rescind its support of the disengagement plan. "We
wrote to President Bush, a man who believes in the Bible, to warn
him against the terrible danger to which he is exposing his country
by hosting such a conference," said Rabbi Meir Druckman, one of
signatories to the letter. "The land of Israel belongs to the people
of Israel. God punishes anyone who coerces Israel to give up its
land," he said. "There is no doubt the New Orleans flood from the
Katrina hurricane was God's punishment for evicting the
settlements," said Druckman, "with hundreds of thousands left
homeless, hundreds killed or wounded and billions of dollars sent
down the drain – can we really ignore God's hand collecting an eye
for an eye?" The disengagement from Gaza and the northern West Bank
was completed August 23rd, 2005 – which was also the date Hurricane
Katrina formed over the Bahamas. "Despite those consequences, yet
again we find ourselves facing an initiative to expel Jews from
Judea and Samaria and cede their cities to terror organizations. And
once again the patrons of the event are President Bush and Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice. "This time the Almighty is warning the US
in advance: if the plague of water was not enough now he shall send
flames. While hundreds of thousands of families have already fled
the terrible fires in California, and we ask you, will you really
forge ahead with this malevolent plan?" added Druckman. The letter
was authored by SOS Israel, a right-wing movement which earlier this
year distributed citations to IDF soldiers who disobeyed orders and
refused to take part in the disengagement. The rabbis urged Bush's
administration to back down from the current direction of the peace
process, saying that not an inch of Israeli land should be ceded.
"Be merciful to yourselves and the beloved America and its citizens.
Lay down the hand you have raised against the Creator in war. Help
the people of Israel fight without compromise against the terrorists
who rise against it, and then, with a pure heart, you will truly be
able to pray: May God bless America," the rabbis said. Among the
rabbis who signed the letter are several leading religious figures,
including Rabbis Dov Wolfa, Yekutiel Rap, Gedalia Axelrod as well as
the chief rabbi of Kiryat Arba and Hebron, Dov Lior and the son of
former Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, Yaakov Yosef.
Solana Links Mideast Peace to Euro-Med Partnership Fulfilled Prophecy (November 5,6, 2007) - Mr Solana underlined to ministers the importance of the meeting on the Middle East peace process to be held in Annapolis and the need for all the parties to play a constructive part. The same was true of the presidential election in Lebanon: all parties must be constructive. As regards the Barcelona Process, Mr Solana stressed the importance of discussing security and energy issues in the Euro-Mediterranean forum and pointed to the progress made in the past year.
At the joint press conference with the Portuguese Foreign Minister and President-in-Office of the Council, Luis Amado, Mr Solana pointed to the strength and dynamism of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership. The work over the past year, the communiqué - a joint text agreed by everyone - and the fact that other countries wanted to join the club, reflected this. | Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land | EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | Solana | 1st Seal |
Dividing Jerusalem, it's a done deal. Below are pictures to prove it The
Golden Report (November 5, 2007) - The
politicians would like for you to believe that nothing has been decided
on Israel’s surrender to the Islamic Arabs on the division of
Jerusalem. But thanks to George Bush, Rice and God only knows who else,
the lines have been drawn and Border Crossings and walls are going up as
you read this article. If
we listen to the Media and believe what they say, and I am not stupid
enough to think anyone reading is does. They would have us believe that
the fences, borders and walls are going up in areas only to protect us
from the Islamic suicide bombers, that is true but not the whole truth
and what is really happening is they are using that to cover up the
division of Jerusalem. more... View pictures at link above.
EU Holds Talks with Israelis, Palestinians; Praises Olmert Deutsche
Welle (November 5, 2007) - The foreign
ministers will talk separately with senior European Union in Lisbon at the 9th
Euro-Mediterranean Conference which runs until Tuesday, Nov. 6. Discussions are
expected to focus on the Middle East peace process. Tensions are now high in the
Middle East after Israeli air and ground strikes on Sunday killed four
Palestinians, including three civilians. Palestinian militants fired six
missiles at western Israel, causing a power outage in one town. There are not
expected to be any direct talks between Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and
her Palestinian counterpart, Riyad Malki, but the two of them are expected to
face each other during a dinner Monday with fellow foreign ministers from the EU
and the Mediterranean area. The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership was set up in
1995 and aims on establishing a common area of peace and security and works
toward enhancing cooperation between the EU and 10 of its southern neighbors. The European Union's foreign policy chief Javier Solana on Monday praised the
"constructive" approach of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to the upcoming
US-sponsored conference on the Middle East, saying it could help
bring peace to the region. Preparations are being made for the international
conference to be held later this year in Annapolis, Maryland, although no
specific date has been set. "Olmert yesterday gave a very constructive speech,
one of his best in recent times," Solana said. "If that is the spirit
with which he is approaching the [Middle East peace] process, I think we have
many chances of having a positive outcome." Solana was addressing
reporters in Lisbon ahead of talks between senior EU officials and the foreign
ministers of Israel and the Palestinian Territories. Speaking in Israel on
Sunday, Olmert said he was willing to deal with the core issues of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the conference. "[The conference] will be the
start of a future process ... we will enter into intense and continuous
negotiations," Olmert said. more...
Israel, with US support, says peace possible by end of 2008 Breitbart.com
(November 4, 2007) -
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said
he may be able to make peace with the Palestinians by the end of 2008 as
the United States vowed to defend Israel's security during the difficult
process. "If we act decisively together, we and the Palestinians, there
is a chance for us to reach real achievements, maybe even before the end
of President (George W.) Bush's term," he said at the Saban Forum
think-tank in Jerusalem. "There is no intention to drag out the
negotiations without end. There is no reason to again hit the
foot-dragging that characterised our talks in the past," the premier
said. Israel and the Palestinians have been engaged in intensive talks
in an effort to draft a joint statement outlining a solution to the
decades-old conflict ahead of a meeting in Annapolis, Maryland expected
later this year. The two sides plan to launch intensive bilateral talks
on a permanent agreement following the international meeting, aimed at
reviving a
peace process that has been
dormant for seven years. The Palestinians have repeatedly demanded that
the joint statement include a clear timetable for the negotiations, but
Israel has insisted on a looser document based on a 2003 peace blueprint
known as the roadmap. At the same event US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice vowed to
defend Israel as it pushes ahead with the peace process, saying that it
was time for all sides to make the difficult decisions necessary for a
lasting peace. "All Israelis should be confident that America is fully
behind you, that we are fully committed to your security and that you
can thus be bold in your pursuit of peace," she said. Rice, on her
eighth visit to the region since the begining of the year, warned that
if peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians flounder,
extremists would take over the Palestinian leadership. "If we do not act
now to show the Palestinians a way forward, others will show them a way
forward," Rice said. "Failure is simply not an option." Around 2,000
Jewish settlers protested against the talks in central Jerusalem, saying
they would lead to painful concessions on the fate of the city, which
they call the indivisible, eternal capital of Israel. "We know perfectly
well that with the concessions envisaged by Olmert, Hamas will end up in
the
West Bank and the heart of
Israel will be within the range of their rockets," Shaul Goldstein, a
protest leader, said. The Islamist movement Hamas, which has ruled the
Gaza Strip since a bloody
takeover in which security forces loyal to Abbas were defeated nearly
five months ago, has also rejected the conference. "It's well-known
goals are normalisation with the Arabs, the hardening of internal
divisions and the preparation for the coming attack on Iran and Gaza and
Syria and Lebanon," Hamas leader Ismail Haniya said in Gaza City on
Sunday. Special Middle East envoy Tony Blair nevertheless insisted that
despite the differences between Israel and the Palestinians, everyone
involved in the negotiations knows what a final agreement will look
like. "The irony is the final settlement is not hard to see. It is
visible in the distance, the house on the hill. But the path to it is
utterly fraught," he said. Israeli negotiators and their Palestinian
counterparts have been divided for weeks over a joint document which
will form the basis of future negotiations, and until now have not
written a word. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has pushed for a
document with a timetable that addresses the most hotly contested issues
of the conflict -- the borders of a
Palestinian state and the fate
of Jerusalem and the refugees. On
Sunday, Olmert said he was not opposed to discussing the so-called final
status issues, but that he preferred to wait until after the conference
that Washington hopes to convene before the end of the year.
more...
Hamas setting stage for West Bank seizure
WorldNet Daily (November
1, 2007) - Hamas is setting the stage for a takeover of the
West Bank similar to the coup in which the terror group seized
control of the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli and Palestinian
security officials. Hamas leaders confirmed to WND they are planning
a West Bank takeover. "Fatah will fall in a matter of weeks at most,
and the Islamic resistance (Hamas) will reign in the West Bank just
as we do in Gaza," said Abu Abdullah, considered one of the most
important operational members of Hamas' so-called resistance
department. The West Bank borders Jerusalem and is within rocket
range of Tel Aviv and Israel's international airport. U.S. Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice, slated to arrive here next week for her
second visit this month, has been serving as mediator for an
upcoming U.S.-sponsored Israeli-Palestinian summit later this month.
At the meeting, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is widely expected to
outline a Palestinian state in most of the West Bank, ultimately
handing the strategic territory to security forces associated with
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah militias. But
Israeli security officials are warning Abbas' forces are not strong
enough to contend with controlling the West Bank without the aid of
the Israel Defense Forces. Yuval Diskin, head of Israel's Shin Bet
Security Services, estimated during a Knesset meeting earlier his
week that if control of the West Bank were handed over to Abbas,
Israel would suffer a "significant threat to its security."
Palestinian security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity,
admitted to WND they cannot control the West Bank without Israeli
intervention. According to the officials, Fatah's intelligence
apparatus routinely hands the IDF lists of Hamas militants that
threaten Fatah rule, requesting that Israel make arrests. Israeli
and Palestinian security officials told WND they have specific
information Hamas is quietly setting the stages for an imminent West
Bank takeover attempt. The officials said that among other things,
Hamas has been acquiring weaponry in the West Bank and has set up a
sophisticated system of communication between cells for a seizure
attempt. In what is considered the most threatening Hamas move,
according to the officials, the terror group is thought to have
heavily infiltrated all major Fatah forces in the West Bank and has
been attempting to buy off Fatah militia members, many times
successfully. According to Palestinian sources, Hamas has, among
other things, recruited important members of Fatah's declared
military wing, the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. The terror group
particularly has targeted those who were against a deal this past
summer in which Olmert extended amnesty to Brigades members as a
gesture to Abbas. The Brigades, along with the Islamic Jihad terror
group, has taken responsibility for every suicide bombing in Israel
the past three years along with thousands of shootings and rocket
firings against Jewish civilian population centers. According to the
Palestinian sources, a West Bank shooting against a Jewish vehicle
last week carried out by the Brigades was planned by Hamas. The
shooting, in which a man was seriously wounded at a major junction
near the Jewish community of Ariel, was perpetrated by a Brigades
cell calling itself the Army of al-Boraq, named after the Muslim
prophet Muhammad's horse. The cell used weapons given by Hamas, the
sources said. The issue of Hamas infiltration of Fatah was thought
to have been the Achilles heel that led to the terror group's
takeover last summer of the entire Gaza Strip, including dozens of
major, U.S.-backed Fatah security compounds there. Hamas' seizure is
thought to be a partial consequence of Israel evacuating Gaza in
2005. more...
Palestinians demand deadline for statehood One
News Now (October 30, 2007) -
The chief Palestinian
peace negotiator threatened on Tuesday that there would be no talks with
Israel unless a deadline is set for establishing a Palestinian state -
the first indication the Palestinians could scuttle a U.S.-sponsored
peace summit over the issue.
Palestinian officials have repeatedly said they want a detailed timeline
for talks that are expected to begin in earnest after a U.S.-sponsored
Mideast conference in November or December. But although Israeli Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert has consistently resisted the notion of a deadline,
they had never before made the matter a condition for talks. On Tuesday,
lead negotiator Ahmed Qureia tightened the screws. "The Israeli prime
minister has stated that he will not accept a timetable, and we say we
will not accept negotiations without a timetable," Qureia said at a news
conference with the European Union's external affairs commissioner,
Benita Ferrero-Waldner. He delivered the ultimatum as the two sides
struggle to bridge yawning gaps ahead of the fall peace summit. It
wasn't clear whether the Palestinians would really carry out the threat,
or were trying to wrest concessions from Israel. In the past, however,
deadlines have been set and ignored. No date has been set for the
U.S.-sponsored summit, set to take place in Annapolis, Md., because the
two sides remain so far apart on the starting point for talks. Israel
wants a vague, joint statement of objectives. The Palestinians want a
detailed outline that would address core issues that need to be resolved
before peace can be achieved and a Palestinian state can be established.
These are final borders, sovereignty over disputed Jerusalem, and a
solution for Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes in
the war that followed Israel's creation in 1948. Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas have met several times in recent months to try to come up with a
joint platform ahead of the meeting, and negotiating teams from both
sides have recently entered the process. more...
Zechariah's warning to Bush and Condi WorldNet
Daily (October 18, 2007) - The
Palestinians and Israelis are scheduled to meet at the Naval Academy in
Annapolis, Md., this November. This major "peace summit" is the
brainchild of the Bush administration and is under the supervision of
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Though most of the world –
especially the Arab world – seems dubious about the summit's prospects
for success, the United States appears bent on forcing some sort of
"peace" upon that troubled region. To do so, Secretary Rice is
pressuring Israel to drop all of its redline demands. Redlines are the
points that cannot be conceded. Both sides have redlines. Both sides
have points they will not give up, boundaries they will not cross. But
the State Department is pressuring Israel to drop all of its redline
conditions. For the first time, the division of Jerusalem is on the
table. Since 1967, Israel had steadfastly claimed a united Jerusalem as
"its eternal capital, never to be divided again." I will never
forget when Gen. Moshe Dayan first stood before the Western Wall after
the amazing six-day victory in June of 1967. He dramatically declared,
"We have returned to all that is holy in our land. We have returned
never to be parted from it again." Evidently, to Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert, "eternal" and "never" means about 40 years. According to the
Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the Palestinians are pressuring Secretary
Rice to guarantee that Israel will relinquish sovereignty over the
Temple Mount. What's more, they're making this guarantee a pre-condition
before they'll even show up at the conference! According to a senior
Palestinian official quoted by Haaretz, "No Arab country would agree for
a final-status arrangement in which the Temple Mount was not in Muslim
hands, particularly not Saudi Arabia." So, while Israel is not permitted
any redline issues, the Palestinian redlines are not only permitted, but
Secretary Rice is seeking guarantees of Israeli acceptance of them. And
their No. 1 redline demand is that Israel must surrender the very heart
and soul of Judaism as the price of admission to even start discussing
peace. Just suppose for a moment that Israel and the Muslims were in
reverse circumstances. Can you imagine the reaction to Israel demanding
that the Muslims guarantee the surrender of Mecca as a precondition to
"discussing" peace? The world would consider such a demand unthinkable.
Yet, according to
a report in WorldNetDaily, Secretary Rice singled out areas of
Jerusalem that will become part of a future Palestinian state. She
reportedly told Palestinian negotiators that she would publicly blame
Israel for the failure of next month's summit if the Jewish state didn't
agree to evacuate east Jerusalem neighborhoods. Rice traveled to the
Middle East this week to help the Israelis and Palestinians formulate a
joint statement ahead of November's conference. The Palestinians want
the statement to outline specifically a Palestinian state including the
Gaza Strip, West Bank and essentially all of east Jerusalem, which
includes not only the Muslim holy places, but those of the Jews and
Christians as well. They are ostensibly to be put under Jordanian
supervision. But I remember what that was like before June 1967. There
were walls and barbed wire separating East Jerusalem from Israel.
Christian pilgrims had to carry their own luggage across an intimidating
no man's land of about 40 meters while unfriendly Jordanian soldiers
looked on. I am stunned the Bush administration is pressuring Israel to
agree to all of the Palestinian demands in advance, with the threat that
they'll be blamed for the summit's failure if they don't. In view of
this, my question is, "What's the point of the conference?" "What's left
to negotiate?" President Bush and Secretary Rice have already done the
Palestinians' negotiating for them. And all of this despite the fact
that the Palestinians have not lived up to one prerequisite condition
outlined in Bush's own "Road Map for Peace." You know, I fear for both
President Bush and Secretary Rice. I also fear for my beloved country.
They must be ignorant of a prophecy God made 2,500 years ago through the
Hebrew prophet Zechariah. It applies to this precise time and situation
in history. God said, "Behold, I will make
Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples. …"
The people surrounding Jerusalem are all the current Muslim nations. As
predicted, they have become intoxicated over possessing Jerusalem. Like
drunken people, their emotions, inflamed with religious zeal, are
causing them to do unwise, reckless and violent things. The truth is
hardly any Muslims traveled to visit Jerusalem before the Jews returned
to it. Now you would think there is no other holy place on earth as
important to them. These are the exact conditions Zechariah predicted
would be part of the last stages of this age. He continues, "And
it shall happen in that day that I WILL make Jerusalem a very heavy
stone for ALL PEOPLES. …" – meaning the entire world. Now here's
the punch line: "ALL who would seek to heave it
away will surely be cut in pieces." The original Hebrew makes the
meaning of this even clearer. It reveals that everyone who tries to
remove the heavy burden of the Jerusalem crisis will be utterly
destroyed for getting involved with it. Isaac and Ishmael's fight over
possession of Jerusalem has drawn the whole world into it – just as the
prophets predicted. It is the culmination of Ishmael's 4,000-year-old
hatred of his half-brother Isaac, the forefather of the Israelites. I
pray that somehow this message will get through to President Bush and
Secretary Rice. This prophecy applies to this very moment in which we
live. And in light of what they are forcing on Israel, it applies to
them personally. While Bush and Rice strive to create legacies for
themselves – just as most presidents have tried to do with the Middle
East conflict for the last 40 years – they not only endanger themselves,
but also endanger this nation with the divine curse promised above. Mr.
President, there is nothing on this earth worth what you are doing. In
the power of God's Spirit, I warn them both, "Stop, before it's too
late!"
Likud official infers Temple Mount not Jewish holy place
Jerusalem
Newswire
(October 17, 2007) - The head of the
Likud Party's foreign relations department gave a massive boost to the
claims of Islam - Israel's most implacable enemy - Tuesday when he
inferred that Jerusalem's Temple Mount was not sacred to the Jewish
people. The Temple Mount is the Jewish people's holiest site. Arab and
other Muslim leaders and clerics, who assert that the hill is Islam's
third holiest site, have long and fiercely maintained that the Jews have
no historical connection or claim to the outcrop the Bible calls God's
"holy hill." While secular Jews often appear content to limit their
"right" to the Western Wall, Israelis who have the fear of the Lord and
who know that their nation's First and Second Temples were built on top
of the mount will not agree to relinquishing it to the followers of
another god. Zalman Shoval, a former ambassador to the United States,
and traditionally a right thinker on Israeli security issues, told a
meeting of the Foreign Press Association that the Likud - which is led
by former Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu - could allow an Arab or
Muslim country to administer the site for the sake of securing peace for
Israel. "It is not in Israel's interest to be in any way in charge of
the holy places other than those of the Jewish faith," the secular
Shoval said, adding he believed there were "ways to adopt formulae to
this end." Using politico-speech (universally known as the language of
compromise) Shoval first insisted that "the question of Israel's
sovereignty in Jerusalem, and first and foremost the Temple Mount, is
not negotiable." But he then reminded his audience that "actually there
have been plans for a long time" to find a way around this "immovable"
political reality. "Arab and Muslim countries, Jordan for instance,
could play a leading role," and it was even possible that the
Palestinian Authority could "run" the Temple Mount if there were real
peace. more... Shakings, Weighings and Divisions: Syria, Annapolis and the Return of YHVH - Part Three of Three – Cutting Israel Down To Size David's Tent (October 17, 2007) - In the first part of this three-part newsletter, we looked at the Israeli raid deep into Syria to destroy its nuclear capabilities, at a prophetic word about the destruction of Damascus, and at a lesson drawn from the First Gulf War, wherein coalition forces benefited from Israel's courage and heroism. In the second part of this three-part newsletter, we skimmed through some biblical perspectives regarding the biblical borders of Israel (from Abraham to the Second Coming), and what God thinks about moving or adjusting those borders. We looked at God's response to Arab nations (or any nation) who would try to shrink, claim, weaken, divide or control the land of Israel. In this third part, we will clarify what the USA and the international community are planning and doing regarding dividing up the land; how the Annapolis conference fits into this flow; and why Israel's main leader is going along for the ride. Zion and the Heart of America: Where is America's heart vis-à-vis Israel? Is it pro or anti-Israel? Are American Christians truly friends of Israel? Are American Jews actively committed to Israel's survival? Are US liberals and secular people for or against Zion? The following is an attempt at a short answer to a long question. Many people in the USA are for Israel. Most of them are Evangelical Christians. Many in the Jewish community are also highly supportive, both liberal, Orthodox and in between. A large percentage of Americans have a quiet respect for plucky Israel, her courage and heroism in battle, her tenacity in the face of many deadly challenges and her sufferings in the Holocaust. But there are also other Americans in that pluralistic country who are opposed to Zion. From secular isolationists to anti-Semitic professors, from self-hating Jews to jihadi Islamists, from oil barons to some State Department honchos and CIA movers and shakers – there are significant and influential layers of American society which are positioned against the land and people of Israel. At the upper echelons of politics, business and intelligence there are powerful people pressuring and persuading in ways which could weaken and destroy the apple of God's eye. Taking a line from Shakespeare's The Tempest (“Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows”), it has been said that politics makes for strange bedfellows. Constituencies change, neighborhoods evolve, voters are fickle. And so politicians must do a balancing act – sometimes for, sometimes against. US official positions regarding Israel have occasionally blown in the wind of public opinion, but deep below the surface of the water unfriendly currents have often prevailed. The next few paragraphs deal briefly with some of these deeper currents – events that are not so well known among Evangelicals. more...
Rabbis urge: 'Save Jerusalem!'
WorldNet Daily
(October 16, 2007) - A group of hundreds of prominent Israeli
rabbis yesterday called on Jews worldwide to speak out against what
rabbinic leaders called the "crime of dividing Jerusalem as proposed by
the current Israeli government." The move follows a flurry of media
reports that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is contemplating handing over
sections of Jerusalem to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas'
Fatah organization. Yesterday Olmert hinted he would be willing to
divide Jerusalem, asking during a speech whether it was "really
necessary" to retain certain Arab neighborhoods in Judaism's capital. At
a Tel Aviv press conference yesterday, leaders of the Rabbinical
Congress for Peace, a coalition of more than 350 Israeli rabbinic
leaders and pulpit rabbis, including some of Israel's most prominent
Jewish leaders, urged Jews worldwide to speak out. "We must scream and
protest not only to go through the motions, but maybe our protest will
bring another one in its chain and awaken the public," said RCP leader
Rabbi David Drukman, the rabbinic leader of the Kiryat Motzkin Israeli
community. "It pains us to see that there is no public outcry against
this; everyone is complacent," Drukman said at the press conference.
Rabbi Meir Horowitz, leader of the Hassidic Bostoner community and a
U.S. citizen, addressed U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
directly: "Madam Secretary, we request that you convey to President Bush
and to the leaders of the civilized world that although Jerusalem is
also holy to the three great faiths of the world, for the Jewish people
it is our only holy city; therefore, no one can expect the Jewish people
to forgo the central theme and focus of their religion." Rabbi Avrohom
Yaakov Shreiber, who was the rabbinic leader of Kfar Darom, one of the
largest Gaza Strip Jewish communities evacuated by Israel in 2005,
pointed out that while most Jewish expulsions throughout history were
perpetuated by non-Jews, he was "stunned" the Jewish state would "expel
their brothers from their homes." Meir Porush, a nationalist Knesset
Member, called Jerusalem "the soul of the nation and just like a man
cannot live without a soul, so we cannot live without Jerusalem." Rabbi
Gerlitzky, chairman of the Rabbinical Congress, commented, "It has been
several months now that the government has been discussing dividing
Jerusalem, but it was done quietly behind our back. Now when it came out
in the open, there is no outcry. I feel as though the public has been
sprayed with some kind of sleeping gas." A Rabbinic Congress resolution,
passed at yesterday's meeting, urged the Olmert government to "come back
to your senses." "The Congress calls on the government to abandon the
'land for peace' formula. It never worked in the past, it doesn’t work
now and will never work in the future. This formula is obsolete,
outdated, leads to bloodshed." The rabbis' statements followed a speech
yesterday in which Olmert asked whether it was "really necessary" for
Israel to control Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem. more...
Rice: Now is time for Palestinian State Associated
Press (October 15, 2007) - The
time has come for establishing a Palestinian state and it's in the
interest of the U.S. to do so, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
said Monday in one of her most forceful statements yet on the issue.
The comments from Rice, after a meeting with Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas, suggested that the Bush administration is determined
to try to bridge the wide gaps between Israel and the Palestinians
ahead of a U.S.-hosted Mideast conference. The gathering is expected
to take place next month, though a date has not been announced.
Moderate Arab countries, whose participation is widely viewed as
critical, have not committed to attending. Standing next to Abbas,
Rice defined Palestinian statehood as a U.S. interest. "Frankly,
it's time for the establishment of a Palestinian state," Rice said.
"I wanted to say in my own voice to be able to say to as many people
as possible that the United States sees the establishment of a
Palestinian state and a two-state solution as absolutely essential
for the future, not just of Palestinians and Israelis but also for
the Middle East and indeed to American interests," she said. "That's
really a message that I think only I can deliver." Tensions arose
Sunday when Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told his Cabinet that
he did not regard a joint declaration of principles for a future
peace deal to be a prerequisite for the conference. The Palestinians
said that without such a document, they would not attend. Rice did
not say whether she wants the document completed before the
conference, set in Annapolis, Md. However, the U.S. has said it
wants a substantive working paper dealing with all the key disputes
before the start of the conference. The issues include borders,
Jerusalem, Israeli settlements and Palestinian refugees. "We frankly
have better things to do than invite people to Annapolis for a photo
op," she said. She said ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a
top priority of the Bush administration. Rice praised Israel and
Palestinians for making their "most serious effort" in years to end
the conflict. Olmert and Abbas have held a series of meetings in
recent months, and the two sides have appointed negotiating teams to
hammer out their joint vision for peace in time for the gathering.
Abbas said he expects the conference to launch Israeli-Palestinian
peace talks, and that a deadline should be set for completion.
However, Israel rejects a timetable and U.S. officials have been
cool to the idea. more... Shakings, Weighings and Divisions: Syria, Annapolis and the Return of YHVH - Part One - Syria David's Tent (October 13, 2007) - Israel has been in the headlines again – a mysterious Israel Air Force attack delves deep into Syria; an upcoming US-prompted peace conference in Annapolis MD discusses a major dividing up of the land of Israel; a brazen new book accuses the American Jewish community and Israel of acting against the interests of the USA, raising the ante of anti-Semitism in the USA. The sharks smell blood and are circling, while the Jewish David, one arm tied behind his back by world pressure and opinion, finds himself confronting many modern-day Goliaths. We are indeed living in significant days! Serious stirrings in Syria Some secret events in Syria have hit the headlines in recent days. Israel's strict censorship rules on military matters forbid direct reporting of certain military matters, but anonymous leaks to major journalists have somewhat dispersed the mists of war. London's Sunday Times (www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article2461421.ece) reported on September 16 2007 that just after midnight on September 6, the 69th Squadron composed of eight Israeli F-15Is, F-16s and a UAV crossed the Mediterranean coastline of Syria and headed to a military target 50 miles from the Iraqi border – Deir ez-Zour. Syrian radar was somehow blocked, and a pre-positioned Israeli special forces Shaldag team (air force commandos) painted the target with laser beams. The pinpoint accurate bombing destroyed what Israeli intelligence anonymously describe as either nuclear material or a nuclear device from North Korea which could be fitted on North Korean Scud-C missiles (already in Syria's arsenal). An Israeli source said, "We’ve known for a long time that Syria has deadly chemical warheads on its Scuds, but Israel can’t live with a nuclear warhead." Over the years the world's intelligence community has given us some context for this attack. A CIA report from June 2003 stated, "Broader access to foreign expertise provides (Syria) opportunities to expand its indigenous capabilities and we are looking at Syrian nuclear intentions with growing concern." (https://www.cia.gov/library/reports/archived-reports-1/jan_jun2003.htm#7) On November 12 2003 John R. Bolton, Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security at the State Department, spoke at a public gathering in Washington DC (www.state.gov/t/us/rm/26129.htm):
On April 29, 2004 Bolton told the United Nations that the Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan had "several other" customers for his nuclear bomb factories besides Iran, Libya and North Korea. Western diplomats said then that Bolton was clearly referring to Syria (see the Reform Party of Syria's article in www.aina.org/news/20050104115532.htm). The Road To Annapolis (2007) The past few weeks have seen a flurry of activity concerning a possible peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland, a city that since American Colonial days has been known as the "Athens of America". Tony Blair recently stepped down from his position as Prime Minister and immediately was appointed Middle East Envoy of the Quartet (US, UK, European Union and Russia) on June 27 2007. He promptly stated that until Israel surrenders more land, there will be no peace in the Middle East. "The absolute priority is to try to give effect to what is now the consensus across the international community - that the only way of bringing stability and peace to the Middle East is a two-state solution" (PM Blair's final press briefing at Downing Street). According to Blair, it seems, Israel holds the key to Middle East and world peace. While there is a sense where Blair's words may be biblically true (Israel does hold the key to life from the dead, according to Romans 11:15), Blair's statement as it stands is grossly inaccurate, ignoring the bloody ongoing inter-Arab conflicts that churn across the Middle East on a daily basis – conflicts that have nothing to do with Israel in even the remotest way! See Dr. Daniel Pipes' article "Arab-Israeli Fatalities Rank 49th" at www.danielpipes.org/article/4990. The UK and the US seem to have come to a remarkable agreement regarding what to do with Israel. Speaking in Ramallah on October 15 2007 Secretary of State Rice said:
| Iran | Gog/Magog | Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 | Dividing the Land | America |
Jerusalem Emerges as Stumbling Block in Mideast Peace Talks
Voice of America News
(October 11, 2007) -
Jerusalem is emerging as a major stumbling block in new peace
negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. As Robert Berger
reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, both Jews and Muslims are claiming
the city's holy sites as their own. A senior Palestinian official has
thrown a wrench into peace talks by saying that the Western Wall in
Jerusalem's Old City, the holiest place in Judaism, belongs to Islam and
the Palestinians. The Palestinian Minister for Jerusalem Affairs Adnan
Husseini says the Western Wall is a "Wakf" or Islamic Trust that must be
returned to Palestinian control. He told Israel Radio that it is a
supporting wall for the al-Aksa Mosque, the third holiest place in
Islam. For Israel, the wall is the last remnant of the biblical Temple,
and turning it over to the Palestinians is unthinkable. As Israel and
the Palestinians try to hammer out a declaration of principles to be
presented at an international peace conference this year, Jerusalem is
back on the negotiating table. In a compromise proposal earlier this
week, Israel offered to hand over some Arab neighborhoods of East
Jerusalem to Palestinian control, though that would not include the Old
City, where contested holy sites are located. Israeli parliamentarian
Reuven Rivlin, of the hawkish opposition Likud party, says the
government made a mistake by negotiating on Jerusalem in the first
place. Rivlin told Israel Radio that if you begin by offering Arab
neighborhoods to the Palestinians then you end at the Western Wall. He
said no Israeli leader has the right to negotiate over Jerusalem, which
he says is the eternal capital of the Jewish people. Reinforcing
Palestinian demands, President Mahmoud Abbas said Israel must withdraw
from all territory captured in the 1967 war, including Jerusalem's Old
City. Israel's government says that is a non-starter.
EU will back Abbas if Hamas included
The Jerusalem Post
(October 11, 2007) -
The European Union would support Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud
Abbas if he reconciled with Hamas, according to Christina Gallach,
spokeswoman for EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana. Speaking to
visiting Israeli reporters in Brussels on Thursday, she said the EU,
nonetheless, still held firm to its policy not to recognize Hamas until
it recognizes Israel. Gallach said it was up to Abbas to find a way to
handle Hamas. "What we tell him [Abbas] is that he is the one we
recognize, the one we support," she said. "We work very well with him
and [PA] Prime Minister Salaam Fayad." In the past, Gallach said, the EU
found a way to move forward with Fatah when it sat in a government with
Hamas, dealing solely with Abbas and some of his Fatah ministers. Her
statements came in response to media reports of possible talks between
Hamas and Fatah just one month before the US-sponsored Middle East
meeting expected to be held in Annapolis on the Israeli-Palestinian
peace process. "We tell [Abbas] he has to do what he thinks is right,"
Gallach said. "On this issue, we will not take the lead." Hamas Prime
Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Wednesday night that Hamas would be willing
to hold talks with Fatah and hinted it would consider ceding control of
the Gaza Strip, Al Jazeera reported. "There is a serious improvement in
Palestinian dialogue, and we have agreed to hold talks with Fatah in one
of the Arab capitals," Haniyeh reportedly said. He reportedly said the
Hamas administration in Gaza was "temporary," adding that dialogue with
Fatah would be established following Ramadan. Nabil Amr, a senior Fatah
official and key adviser to Abbas, on Thursday strongly denied reports
about secret talks between his faction and Hamas. He said Fatah would
not talk to Hamas unless the Islamist movement relinquished control over
the Gaza Strip. "Hamas is a terror organization, and any connection of
any type whatsoever to Hamas will not bring peace - not to Israel and
not to the Palestinians," a Foreign Ministry official told The Jerusalem
Post Thursday. Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of former senior US
officials and congressmen pushed for dialogue with Hamas ahead of the
Annapolis peace conference. "We believe that a genuine dialogue with the
organization is far preferable to its isolation; it could be conducted,
for example, by the UN and Quartet Middle East envoys," they wrote in a
letter to the Bush administration published Wednesday. "If Syria or
Hamas are ostracized, prospects that they will play a spoiler role
increase dramatically." The signatories included former George H.W. Bush
administration national security adviser Brent Scowcroft, former Carter
administration national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski and former
Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker. The letter praised the invitation
extended to Syria and called for the conference to launch Israeli-Syrian
talks. more...
Israel signals shift on Jerusalem split
Associated Press
(October 8, 2007) -
Two senior Israeli politicians, including the prime minister's closest
ally, talked openly Monday about dividing
Jerusalem, signaling a possible shift in Israeli opinion about
one of the Mideast's most contentious issues. The dispute over Jerusalem
has derailed negotiations in the past, and the latest comments come at a
time when Israeli and Palestinian teams are trying to agree on
principles guiding future peace talks. The ideas raised by Vice Premier
Haim Ramon still fall far short of Palestinian demands to establish
their capital in all of the city's eastern sector, annexed by Israel
after the 1967 Mideast War. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert,
meanwhile, told parliament he will not be deterred from seeking a peace
deal with the Palestinians. He said Israel has missed opportunities in
the past, and warned that continued failure would mean a "demographic
struggle steeped in blood and tears." Olmert was unusually impassioned
but short on specifics. He made no mention of Jerusalem. Later Monday,
Israeli and Palestinian teams met for the first time to start drafting a
joint declaration of principles that would guide negotiators if peace
talks were to resume after a seven-year freeze. Abbas aide Yasser Abed
Rabbo said afterward that no results could have been expected from the
first meeting, but he hoped a meaningful document would emerge. The
document, which is to address the key disputes — borders, Jerusalem,
Israeli settlements, Palestinian refugees — will be the centerpiece of a
U.S.-hosted Mideast conference in November. Olmert's speech appeared to
be a careful balancing act — sending an encouraging message to the
Palestinians, while not giving his hardline critics at home too much
ammunition by going into detail. His central theme was a pledge not to
miss an opportunity to reach a long-elusive peace deal, even if it
requires costly concessions. Olmert said Israelis will have to led
go of some of the beliefs that "fed the national ethos for many years,"
a reference to giving up West Bank land. more...
Israel says peace conference not enough
Associated Press
(October 7, 2007) -
Israel's prime minister said Sunday the U.S.-sponsored Mideast
conference next month is not a substitute for direct Israeli-Palestinian
peace talks, an apparent attempt to lower expectations from the
gathering called by President Bush. However, violence threatened to
overshadow preparations. On Sunday, Gaza militants fired a Katyusha
rocket at southern Israel. No one was hurt, but it raised the dire
possibility of an escalation in the daily battles with Israeli forces if
the militants use more of the rockets, which are far more dangerous than
the homemade versions they have been using. Lebanese Hezbollah
guerrillas bombarded northern Israel with nearly 4,000 of the rockets in
their monthlong war with Israel in 2006, killing dozens of Israelis.
Palestinians were scaling back their demands before the conference,
improving chances for an agreement with Israel on an advance document.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told his Cabinet on Sunday that his meetings
with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have yielded no breakthroughs.
"There have been no agreements or deals," Olmert said. The two have been
sitting down every two weeks or so, and last week they appointed
committees to draft an accord to take to the Mideast conference,
expected to convene in late November in the U.S. The teams are set to
meet for the first time on Monday, and Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice is to return to the region later this week to assess progress.
While the international conference is designed to promote peacemaking,
"it will in no way replace direct negotiations with the Palestinians,"
Olmert said. He also said there could be no actual movement toward peace
until the Palestinians implement their commitments under the 2003 "road
map" plan. That includes dismantling violent groups like Hamas, which
has in the meantime taken over Gaza and is threatening Abbas' rival
Fatah faction in the West Bank. Palestinians charge Israel has not done
its part under the road map — halting settlement expansion and removing
illegal outposts. Palestinian government spokesman Nabil Abu Rdeneh said
Sunday Israeli intentions are the key. "If they are serious, we will
definitely reach a political document that handles the final status
issues with a timetable for the implementation and the establishment of
the independent Palestinian state," he said. But other Palestinian
officials said a detailed agreement is no longer a condition for
attending the conference — a document that lists the issues but does not
spell out Palestinian concessions would be acceptable. The officials
spoke on condition of anonymity because negotiations are still in
progress. Israel prefers a vague declaration of principles instead of a
detailed document including its concessions. The outline of a final
Israel-Palestinian peace deal has been clear for years — an Israeli
withdrawal from most of the West Bank, removal of most Jewish
settlements there, and deals over Palestinian refugees and division of
Jerusalem. The main problem is the perception on each side that the
other is too weak to make the necessary concessions to finalize such an
agreement. more...
Abbas: Jerusalem key to peace
YNet News
(October 6, 2007) -
The Israeli and Palestinian teams asked to draft a joint statement ahead
of a Mideast peace conference will hold their first meeting Monday,
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said. The teams are to write down
the principles that would guide future peace talks. The US-hosted
conference is to take place in November or early December. Abbas said he
expected at least 36 states to attend, including 12 Arab states, three
Muslim nations, the permanent members of the UN Security Council and the
G-8. "We hope that the number will increase to 40 states," Abbas was
quoted as telling Palestinian dignitaries from Jerusalem on Friday
evening, during a meal breaking the dawn-to-dusk fast of the Muslim holy
month of Ramadan. The remarks were carried by the Palestinian news
agency WAFA and confirmed by a participant. Abbas did not provide a list
of countries expected to attend. The US has not released such a list, or
set a date yet. In Friday's meeting, Abbas told his guests that a
solution for Jerusalem would be key to any peace deal. Israelis and
Palestinians both claim the city as a capital. "Jerusalem has always
been in our hearts, and the hope that we have been looking at," Abbas
was quoted as saying. "There is no independent Palestinian state without
Jerusalem as its capital. It is a concern in the coming, difficult
days." Abbas has met six times since the spring with Israeli Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert, to explore the chances of resuming negotiations,
which broke down in January 2001. more...
Bush says "very optimistic" on Mideast peace
Reuters (October
5, 2007) - President George W. Bush said in comments aired on
Friday he was "very optimistic" a Palestinian state could be set up
alongside Israel and that next month's Middle East conference could lead
towards peace in the region. The U.S.-sponsored conference is due to
take place in the Washington area in November, although there are doubts
over how far it will go towards ending decades of conflict and
uncertainty over which Arab states will attend. "I am very optimistic
that we can achieve a two-state solution," Bush told Al Arabiya
television. "We're hosting an international conference that will be
attended by interested parties and ... a committee from the Arab League.
It is an opportunity for serious, substantive discussions about the way
forward and a two-state solution," Bush said. "I fully understand that
the two-state solution is a part of a comprehensive peace in the Middle
East. Our strategy is to get all concerned countries to the table to get
this comprehensive peace, and move forward in a way that is tangible."
Reuters obtained a tape of Bush's remarks in English in the interview,
which was dubbed into Arabic by the network. Israeli and Palestinian
leaders agreed on Wednesday that formal negotiations on Palestinian
statehood would begin after the peace conference. But Israeli Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert has balked at Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's
call for setting a specific timeframe for the resolution of key issues
including borders and the fate of Jerusalem and the Palestinian
refugees. Abbas said on Thursday that formal negotiations for statehood
could be completed six months after the conference. more...
Ex-US officials: Divide Jerusalem YNet
News (October 4, 2007) - Five
former State Department and Pentagon officials are proposing Israeli
and Palestinian capitals in Jerusalem and excluding Arab refugees
from returning to Israel
as part of an Middle East accord. In a six-page policy statement
submitted to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, they also
suggested a series of peace conferences following the one she hopes
to convene next month, probably in Annapolis, Maryland, near
Washington. Hamas, which controls Gaza and about one-third of
Palestinian-held land, has not met US terms for attending. Those
conditions are recognizing Israel's right to exist and abandoning
violence against the Jewish state. But the ex-officials suggested
Hamas might be drawn to attend a second conference, which implicitly
would accept the first one and Israel's existence. They called the
role of Hamas the most difficult issue in peacemaking. Jerusalem's
future and that of Palestinian refugees have snarled past US peace
efforts. Former President Bill Clinton's mediation efforts between
the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and then-Israeli Prime
Minister Ehud Barak envisioned sharing Jerusalem. Clinton ruled out
requiring Israel to take in most Palestinians or their families who
claimed to have been forced out of Israel during creation of the
Jewish state in 1947-8. It will be very difficult, "but not
impossible," said Robert Pelletreau, a former US ambassador to Egypt
and ex-assistant secretary of state for the region. "There is a
little bit of momentum starting to build" with talks between Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and with former British
Prime Minister Tony Blair as a mediator, he said in a telephone
interview. Along with announcement of the conference, he said, "You
have several things that can reinforce each other if they are framed
properly." "The refugee issue is the most difficult," he said. "And
Jerusalem is right up with it." more...
Abbas: Peace Deal Possible By May
YNet News (September
28, 2007) - Israel and the Palestinians could sign a peace deal
within six months of an international peace conference scheduled for
November, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas told AFP on Friday. "The
meeting in November should define the principles settling the questions
over the final status (of the Palestinian territories)," Abbas said in
an interview in New York, where he is attending the UN General Assembly.
"Then we will begin negotiations on the details under a timeframe, which
ought not to exceed six months, to reach a peace treaty," he added. The
leader of the Palestinian Authority, who has met with several foreign
leaders during his stay in New York, said that the US-sponsored talks
would open in Washington on November 15. The leader of the Palestinian
Authority, who has met with several key foreign leaders during his stay
in New York, said that the US-sponsored talks would open in Washington
on November 15. "We have noted that the whole world is interested in
this meeting and attaches great hopes to its success," he added. Abbas
said that Palestinian and Israeli negotiators would start to tackle
preparations for the gathering in the coming days. "We want to prepare a
framework agreement defining clear principles and without equivocation
that will serve as a basis for the settlement. Immediately after the
meeting we will hold negotiations on the basis of this document." Key
stumbling blocks in previous talks between Israel and the Palestinians
have included the borders of a future Palestinian state, the fate of the
Jewish settlements, the status of Jerusalem and the question of
Palestinian refugees. "We, the Israelis and the Arabs, must make this
meeting succeed," he said. more...
Rare opportunity for peace YNet
News (September
27, 2007) - Last month, Jordan's Foreign Minister Abdul Ilah
Khatib and his Egyptian counterpart, Ahmed Abul Gheit, presented to our
prime minister and political leaders the details of the Arab initiative
ratified in Saudi Arabia. The initiative, which was rejected by former
premier Ariel Sharon, who was busy with the disengagement at the time,
is back on the international stage, and constitutes a rare window of
opportunity. For the first time in 60 years, all Arab countries are
willing to recognize the existence of the Jewish state and even maintain
normal relations with it. The conditions for it, according to a source
involved in drafting the initiative, are very general: Israel is
obligated to withdraw from the occupied territories and grant the
Palestinians an independent state whose capital is east Jerusalem. In
addition, the initiative calls for a fair solution to the Palestinian
refugee problem. However, the initiative does not require the parties to
base an agreement on the precise 1967 borders or allow refugees to enter
Israel. In addition, the initiative does not stipulate that the Old City
in Jerusalem become the Palestinian capital. What makes this initiative
unique is the agreement of all Arab states to accept any solution worked
out by the parties, as long as it constitutes an end to the conflict.
According to sources involved in the matter, the initiative is not an
outline of red lines for ending the conflict, but rather, constitutes a
sort of general umbrella for any agreement between any Arab state and
the State of Israel, or between the Palestinians and Israel. Another
issue that stems from the decisions taken in the Riyadh summit and was
not publicized, perhaps because of the sensitivity of the issue within
Arab states and among the Palestinians, is the solution to the refugee
problem within the borders of a future Palestinian state: Saudi Arabia
and other Gulf states expressed their willingness to take part in a
special compensation fund that will be established under American and
Israeli direction. The Saudis, who have played a significant role in
marketing the initiative, convinced other Arab countries to accept any
agreement signed by Mahmoud Abbas and Ehud Olmert. Saudi Arabia
continues to relay calming and positive messages to Israel via the US
while also receiving regular updates from the parties involved regarding
the progress in negotiations. Hence, the initiative's significance stems
from the fact all Arab states, including Syria, agreed to it, and its
implementation is not far removed from reality. We are facing a one-time
opportunity and a basis for a long-term agreement that will guarantee
quiet for many years to come. These developments, and the fall summit in
the US, encourage our prime minister to vigorously advance on the
Palestinian track. In addition, in light of the rare window of
opportunity, we must not view Olmert's desire to advance on the
Palestinian track as a mere matter of political survival and an attempt
to distract attention from the Winograd Commission or other affairs
threatening him. This may also be the reason for Ehud Barak's and
Tzipi's Livni's deep involvement in the process.
more...
Solana
calls for more substance in Israeli-Palestinian talks EU
Business (September 24, 2007) - "The
issues that are fundamental have been stated already many, many times,"
Solana said as the members of the quartet -- the United States, European
Union, United Nations and Russia -- began two hours of talks. "We have
to go beyond the mere stating of the issues and try to put some more
meat on every issue," he said. "Water, borders, security, Jerusalem,
refugees -- those are the fundamental issues that have to be resolved at
the end of the day," he said, adding: "We can not afford a failure."
"Without any doubt, it would be going back several years. We cannot
afford that to happen," he added. more...
More than half of Jews under 35 would not view the destruction of Israel
as a personal tragedy Jewish
World Review (September 12, 2007)
- Sociologists Stephen Cohen and Ari Kelman have now confirmed what
everyone already knew: Young American Jews do not care very much about
Israel. They are not just apathetic about Israel, that indifference is
"giving way to downright alienation," write Cohen and Kelman. More than
half of Jews under 35 said that they would not view the destruction of
Israel as a personal tragedy. The death and expulsion of millions is
something they could live with. By those standards, they probably would
not see the Holocaust as a "personal" tragedy either. "These results are
very upsetting," said Jewish Agency chairman Zev Bielski. He then
proceeded to give an inane explanation for those numbers: the
comfortable life of most American Jews. Cohen and Kelman know better.
And their answer is summed up in the demographic they did not interview
for their study: Orthodox Jews. A survey of young Orthodox Jews would
have yielded a diametrically opposed and highly embarrassing result.
Among younger Jews, those for whom their Judaism is important —
primarily the Orthodox — will remain connected to the fate of their
fellow Jews in Israel. Most Orthodox American youth will study in Israel
after high school, some for many years. And almost all will visit Israel
many times. Eretz Yisrael is not a mere abstraction for them, but the
center of the spiritual life of the Jewish people. Even an anti-Zionist
Satmar chassid living in the secluded village of Monroe will intensify
his prayers when Israel is at war and follow the action closely. Why?
Because for him the name Jew means something. The majority of young
American Jews and the majority of young Israelis share in common a lack
of interest in their Judaism. But that shared negativity provides little
basis for a relationship. Shared gene pools won't do it either — that
smacks of racism. And ethnic identity, it turns out, cannot be passed
down, or survive the breakup of ethnically homogeneous neighborhoods.
What young Jews under 35 feel towards Israel goes beyond apathy to
outright resentment. Israel complicates their social lives and muddies
their political identity. Only 54% profess to be comfortable with the
idea of a Jewish state at all. In Europe and on elite American campuses,
internationalism and a world-without-borders are the rage. The Jews of
Israel, with their stubborn insistence on protecting their nation-state,
are, as always, out-of-sync. more... This would explain why the dividing of Israel may work out at first. It also shows how quickly a generation forgets things like the holocaust and fail to recognize the spiritual hatred for their people as significant. I also think this attitude will change significantly once God destroys the attacking armies of Iran, Russia, Turkey and Libya. This could also represent many of those who could be blinded enough not to run at the abomination of desolation to be killed by the antichrist. Zechariah 13:8,9 Olmert Offers Judea, Samaria, Divides Jerusalem in Draft Accord Israel National News (September 6, 2007) - Israel's government has agreed, in writing, to hand over 6,250 square kilometers of land – the equivalent of its entire biblical and strategic heartland - to an Arab terror state. So reports Dr. Guy Bechor, a leading expert on Arab affairs, who also supplies some of the details of the negotiations. Bechor reports, based on "leaks from the Palestinian side," that Israel has, in the past few days, presented Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas at least one draft of an "agreement of principles."
Bechor says that Abbas and his men
have gone over the draft and are not pleased; they know how to
negotiate, he notes. In a recent interview with PA TV, Abbas said
that "declarations of principles are a waste of time" and "useless."
What the PA wants, he said, is a clear timetable for establishing
Palestine, as well as an Israeli pullback, demolition of Jewish
communities and "return of refugees" (i.e., the flooding of Israel
with Arab citizens). The Arabs are hoping Israel will become more
pliable in November, when an international diplomatic conference,
sponsored by the US, is to be held in an attempt to hammer out an
accord. An official close to Mahmoud Abbas, Mustafa Bargouti, said
that the idea of a conference is "an Israeli trap" and that nothing
will come of it.
| Israel | Islam | 1st Seal |
Ban Ki-Moon calls for peace World
News Network (August 31, 2007)
- The time has come, says the UN Secretary-General.
Ban Ki-Moon Pledges UN Support to End Israeli Occupation Of
Palestinian Land. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has
called for a just and lasting solution to the conflict in Palestine.
Addressing the UN International conference Of Civil Society In
support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace in Brussels, Belgium he said,
the gathering reflects the deep and enduring desire of people across
the world for a comprehensive, just and lasting resolution to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Such a settlement is also one of the
foremost priorities of the United Nations. The continued occupation
of the Palestinian territory prolongs hardship and injustice for
millions of Palestinians, yet it has also failed to ensure the
security of Israeli civilians. The Secretary general said he was
encouraged by recent international and regional efforts to get the
Palestinians and the Israelis back on the negotiating track. The
Arab Peace Initiative, Tony Blair’s appointment as the Quartet
Representative, and President Bush’s decision to convene a Middle
East Peace meeting all have the potential to result in a significant
breakthrough. He said, “Amidst this activity, I particularly welcome
the decision by Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas to meet
regularly to discuss a range of issues. I hope that the internal
challenges each faces will not deter them from moving forward with
discussions on the political horizon.” The Secretary General added,
“Of course, movement on the political front cannot obscure the dire
humanitarian situation on the ground. The unsustainable division of
the West Bank and Gaza Strip has grave humanitarian and political
implications. Conditions in the Gaza Strip have become particularly
acute; they demand the urgent reopening of border crossings for
commercial and humanitarian deliveries. To alleviate this crisis,
UNRWA and other UN Agencies are doing everything they can to support
the affected populations. Their efforts, however, cannot compensate
for the effect of the closed crossings. Today, I again encourage
both parties to demonstrate a true commitment to peace through a
negotiated two-State solution. Israel should cease settlement
activity and the construction of the barrier, ease Palestinian
movement and implement the Agreement on Movement and Access.
Palestinians, for their part, need to make every effort to end
violence by militant groups and make progress on building robust
institutions. The United Nations will continue to support
international efforts aimed at bringing an end to the occupation,
and achieving a two-State solution. This work is not easy, but it
would prove close to impossible without the active participation and
support of innumerable civil society groups and individuals in
Israel, in the occupied Palestinian territory, and around the world.
Civil society actors are helping build bridges between the Israeli
and Palestinian peoples. They are strengthening institutions and
providing critical humanitarian and other assistance. In every
aspect of their work, they are contributing towards a just solution
to this decades-old conflict. Working together, we can achieve our
goal: a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement, based on
Security Council resolutions 242, 338, 1397, 1515 and the principle
of land for peace. It is clear who is on Israel's side and who is not. In the face of historical fact, for the first time in history a nation is being forced to give up land won in a war a generation ago. Indeed all the nations of the earth are gathered against Israel to divide the land God portioned for her, and woe to the nations who interfere with God's design! We have been warned in the Bible regarding this and it has even been pointed out in Eye To Eye: Facing the Consequences of Dividing Israel by Bill Koenig.
The Blood-Red Moon, the Temple Mount and the Bible Bill
Koenig (August 28, 2007) - August
28, 2007, had very revealing headlines: A Blood-Red Moon
Rises over North America | Olmert Offers Temple Mount Sovereignty
to the Palestinians | Olmert and Abbas Meet on Israel's Land and
Jerusalem | Bush Says Iran's Actions Could Lead to a Shadow of a
Nuclear Holocaust | Bush Arrives in New Orleans for his 15th
Post-Katrina Visit |
These
were the news headlines on the day of a total lunar eclipse that
produced a "blood-red" moon, the second one in seven years with a
connection to the Temple Mount. A total lunar eclipse/"blood-red" moon
occurred on July 16, 2000, while U.S. President Bill Clinton, Israeli
Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat were
at the Middle East Summit at Camp David. The sticking point that
caused the summit to fail had to do with who would have sovereignty over
the Temple Mount — the Israelis or the Palestinian Arabs. During
this year's total lunar eclipse/"blood-red" moon of Aug. 28, 2007, that
rose over North America, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert offered
the Palestinians sovereignty over the Temple Mount. What was so
incredible about the timing of this offer is that it didn't take place
days, weeks or months after the "blood-red" moon but on the very same
day. In other words, the Temple Mount’s sovereignty was a central
focus during both total lunar eclipse/ "blood-red" moons in 2000 and
this week. Blood-Red Moon The Old and New Testaments speak of
blood-red moons prior to the Tribulation.
Joel 2:31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the
moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD come.
Acts 2:20 The sun shall be turned into darkness,
and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord
come. The Jewish Talmud (book of tradition/ interpretation) says,
"When the moon is in eclipse, it is a bad omen for
Israel. If its face is as red as blood, [it is a sign that] the sword is
coming to the world." Total-eclipse “blood-red” moons are rare.
The next total-eclipse/ "blood-red" moon will occur on Feb. 21, 2008.
Having another total eclipse this close to a previous one is extremely
rare; to say the least, we will be watching that day with much interest.
News From
the Last Two Blood-Red Moons more...
Israel offers Palestinians control of Temple Mount WorldNetDaily (August
28, 2007) - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office
today presented the Palestinian Authority with a formal plan in which
the Jewish state would forfeit the Temple Mount – Judaism's holiest site
– to Muslim control, according to top Palestinian sources. The sources
said Olmert's plan calls for the entire Temple Mount plaza to fall under
Arab sovereignty; Jerusalem's Old City holy sites near the Mount to be
governed by a Jewish, Christian and Muslim task force; and the Western
Wall plaza below the Mount to be controlled by Israel. The report
follows a
WND exclusive article last week stating Palestinian negotiators
drafting an agreement behind the scenes with Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert's office made clear they will not accept any final peace deal
with Israel unless the Jewish state forfeits the Temple Mount. According
to Palestinian negotiators who took part in today's Olmert-Abbas
meeting, the Israeli leader today also presented Abbas with a plan for
Israel to evacuate most of the West Bank and cede eastern sections of
Jerusalem. The plan called for Israel to retain three main settlement
blocks and in exchange Israel would offer the Palestinians Israeli Arab
towns in the north of the country, the Palestinian negotiators told WND.
David Baker, a spokesman for Olmert, would neither confirm nor deny the
prime minister offered the Temple Mount. He said ahead of today's talks
the summit would center on "the development of Palestinian-governing
institutions, bolstering Abbas' government and issues concerning
Israelis and Palestinians living side-by-side." Over the weekend, an
Egyptian newspaper reported Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak told the
Egyptian government the Jewish state is willing to forfeit control of
the Temple Mount to the management of Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian
Authority. The Al Massrioun daily reported Barak informed Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and the Jordanian
government Israel is willing to hand them joint control over the Temple
Mount. According to the Egyptian report, Barak stated an umbrella group
of several Arab countries controlling the holy site instead of only the
PA would help ease Israeli domestic opposition to giving up the Temple
Mount, since Egypt and Jordan are considered by Israeli policy to be
moderate countries. Ronen Moshe, a spokesman for Barak, told WND the
Egyptian media report is "untrue." "We do not comment on the specifics
of private conversations with world leaders, but this report is not what
was said during the talks," Moshe said. A senior Palestinian official,
speaking on condition his name be withheld, told WND yesterday Israel
"understands there won't be any deal with the Palestinians unless it
forfeits the Temple Mount." more...
Holy forfeit! Israel willing to give up Temple Mount World
Net Daily (August 28, 2007) -
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak told the Egyptian government the
Jewish state is willing to forfeit control over the Temple Mount –
Judaism's holiest site – to the management of Egypt, Jordan and the
Palestinian Authority, according to an Arab media report. The
Egyptian Al Massrioun daily reported last weekend Barak informed
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and the
Jordanian government Israel is willing to hand them joint control
over the Temple Mount. The report follows a
WND exclusive article last
week stating Palestinian negotiators drafting an agreement behind
the scenes with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office made clear they
will not accept any final peace deal with Israel unless the Jewish
state forfeits the Temple Mount. According to the Egyptian media
report over the weekend, Barak stated an umbrella group of several
Arab countries controlling the holy site instead of only the PA
would help ease Israeli domestic opposition to giving up the Temple
Mount, since Egypt and Jordan are considered by Israeli policy to be
moderate countries. Ronen Moshe, a spokesman for Barak, told WND the
Egyptian media report is "untrue." "We do not comment on the
specifics of private conversations with world leaders, but this
report is not what was said during the talks," Moshe said. A senior
Palestinian official, speaking on condition his name be withheld,
told WND yesterday Israel "understands there won't be any deal with
the Palestinians unless it forfeits the Temple Mount." The official
said the Mount was previously a sticking point in
Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, but he said Prime Minister
Olmert's government has expressed a number of times a willingness to
compromise on the Temple Mount. "We've recently received many
Israeli plans that showed Israel is willing to allow another body,
whether Palestinian or international, to control the [Temple Mount].
The issue is no longer a sticking point," the Palestinian official
said. During U.S.-led negotiations in 2000, Barak, then prime
minister, reportedly was willing to forfeit the Temple Mount to
international control. Those negotiations fell through after
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat rejected an offer of a
Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and eastern sections
of Jerusalem. Adviser Gilad Sher – who represented Barak at initial
Israeli-Palestinian planning meetings in 2000 during which President
Clinton discussed the Temple Mount – wrote in his book "Beyond
Reach" that Clinton's plan called for the Temple Mount to become
complete Palestinian sovereign territory, while the Western Wall
below and its complex would fall under Israeli sovereignty. Barak
was said to have initially rejected that plan, but according to
participants at the negotiations summit, he was ultimately willing
to place the Mount under international sovereignty. Some reports
claimed Barak offered the Temple Mount to the Palestinians, but the
Israeli politician has denied those claims. more...
Olmert, Abbas aim to pave way for two-state deal The
Jerusalem Post (August 28, 2007)
- Amid a swirl of reports that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas are drafting an
agreement on principles dealing with Jerusalem,
borders and refugees, officials from both sides adamantly denied
Tuesday night that such a document was exchanged when the two
leaders met earlier in Jerusalem. Al Jazeera satellite television
broadcast on Tuesday what it claimed was the two-page document drawn
up by the two sides, but Israel dismissed the report as false.
"There is no such document," a spokesman in the Prime Minister's
Office said. "It doesn't exist." The official, continuing with the
office's policy of releasing only minimal information about what is
being discussed with Abbas and the PA, said the two leaders - in a
90-minute private meeting at Olmert's official residence - "spoke
about the fundamental issues essential to arriving at two states for
two peoples." The two are widely believed to be putting together an
agreement that will be brought to the US-sponsored international
conference in the fall. A willingness to discuss these issues at the
international meeting is widely considered in Jerusalem as a
prerequisite to Saudi participation, which both Israel and the US
are very keen on securing. Olmert and Abbas, who last met on August
6, are expected to meet again before the scheduled visit in
mid-September of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Israeli government officials say that discussions on Jerusalem,
refugees and borders are being conducted at a very general level,
with details to be filled in at negotiating sessions that will be
held after the international summit. Meanwhile, PA officials played
down the significance of Tuesday's meeting, saying the two leaders
did not exchange any written documents and that in any case Abbas
was planning to call a national referendum on any agreement he
reached with Israel. They expressed doubt that a majority of
Palestinians would endorse an agreement that did not call for a full
Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 borders, including leaving east
Jerusalem. "Today's meeting was good and thorough, but until now we
haven't discussed any details related to the fundamental issues,"
said chief PA negotiator Saeb Erekat. "Nor have we reached the stage
of exchanging documents. We did not hand over to the Israelis any
written document. Likewise, we did not receive from them anything in
writing." Erekat said Abbas's goal was to achieve a just and
comprehensive peace with Israel based on the two-state solution. He
warned against attempts to "prejudice" the Israeli-Palestinian
talks, saying some parties were operating outside the frame of the
official negotiations. more...
PA - Temple Mount the price for peace
Jerusalem Newswire
(August 21, 2007) - The
Palestine Liberation Organization/Palestinian Authority will enter
into no peace pact with Israel that does not award the Muslim Arabs
who call themselves "Palestinians" full and irreversible control
over the site most sacred to the Jewish people. This is according to
a
WorldNetDaily report published Friday detailing some of the
issues being discussed in secret meetings between officials
representing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Arabs
negotiating on behalf of PLO/PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas. The meetings
are meant to be setting the stage for the International Middle East
Peace Conference called for by US President George W. Bush and
scheduled to be held in November this year under the chairmanship of
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Headlined with the question,
"Israel to give up the Temple Mount?" the report suggested that the
Olmert government would be willing to consider such a demand, a
suspicion fueled by the fact that three days have passed since its
publication without an outright denial from the Prime Minister's
Office. This "Palestinian" position, long held by the PLO leadership
at the aggressive insistence of the entire Islamic world, remains as
solid and unyielding today as it did when it helped scupper the
talks at Camp David in July 2000. There, under the benevolent eye of
US President Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered
PLO chief Yasser Arafat all of Gaza, 97 percent of Judea and Samaria
- with the other two percent exchanged for pieces of land from
"Israel proper" - the Arab-populated eastern parts of Israel's
capital, the Old City of Jerusalem, and the Temple Mount. What put
an abrupt end to the summit, and caused Arafat to hurl insults in
Barak's direction and storm out of the room, was the Israeli
leader's groveling plea for his nation to be awarded sovereignty
over the rubble from the First and Second Temple periods that lies
buried beneath the Temple Mount platform. Arafat could have
everything possible for the creation of his state, including the
coveted site of the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Barak
said. All Israel wished for was control over the "sub-terrace
spaces" containing dried-out pottery shards and other dusty remains
from an era those who discount the Bible don't even believe existed
at all. The arch-terrorist responded by returning to the Middle East
and igniting the Oslo War - or Al-Aqsa Intifada - that saw gallons
of Jewish blood spilled in Israel. But while the explosion of
terrorism awakened many deluded Israelis to the true goal and nature
of the "Palestinian" leadership and people - who consistently
supported and celebrated "suicide" and other massacres - it drove
dyed-in-the-wool Jewish leftists to advocate even further extremes
and carte blanch appeasement. more...
'Secret' plan would give Palestinians West Bank
World Net Daily
(August 13, 2007)
- Newly installed Israeli President Shimon Peres has quietly drafted
a plan for the Jewish state to evacuate and transfer to the
Palestinians nearly the entire West Bank and several Arab Israeli
cities located within territory that is undisputedly Israel's
according to the international community, WND has learned. The West
Bank is strategic territory that runs alongside Jerusalem and is
within rocket range of Tel Aviv and Israel's international airport.
It is home to many biblical Jewish communities and some of Judaism's
holiest sites. Peres has presented his initiative to Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert and to top aides for Palestinian Authority President
Mahmoud Abbas the past few weeks, after he took office as Israeli
president last month, diplomatic sources in Jerusalem told WND. The
official role of president here is limited largely to ceremonial
matters; the president does not create foreign policy. Olmert is
mulling over the plan and agrees with much of its contents, the
diplomatic sources said. Peres' plan calls for Israel to hand
97-percent of the West Bank over to Abbas, with Israel retaining a
small number of the territory's Jewish communities. In exchange for
Israel keeping some land, the Jewish state will give the PA control
of Arab Israeli cities north of Tel Aviv which, together with the
evacuated West Bank territory, would amount to the equivalent of 100
percent of the West Bank. Diplomatic sources said aside from Abbas
and Olmert, Peres has presented his plan to European Union
officials. Top EU diplomats in recent days told the media they want
a U.S.-sponsored international conference scheduled for November to
lead to negotiations on a final agreement with the Palestinians.
That international conference and talk from the Bush administration
the past few weeks has led many here to speculate the U.S. will push
in the near future for intense Israeli-Palestinian negotiations
leading to a Palestinian state. With a year and a half left in
office, Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have been
urging meetings between Abbas and Olmert to establish a framework
for momentum leading to a breakthrough at November's conference.
Olmert and Abbas have been meeting bi-monthly in summits brokered by
the U.S. Already Olmert during the meetings has granted a number of
security concessions to Abbas regarding increased Palestinian
control of the West Bank. The Israeli prime minister
last month amnesty to 178 gunmen from Abbas' Fatah organization
who comprise most of the senior leadership of the Al Aqsa Martyrs
Brigades, the declared military wing of Fatah that is responsible
for every suicide bombing in Israel the past three years. more...
Peres: Talk to P.A. without preconditions JTA
(August 9, 2007) - Shimon Peres
said Israel should not place preconditions on peace talks with the
new Palestinian Authority government. Israel Radio
quoted Peres as saying Thursday that Palestinian Authority President
Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who set up a new,
Western-backed administration in the West Bank after breaking with
Hamas over its Gaza takeover in June, deserve to be treated as full
negotiating partners. "I get the impression that Abu Mazen wants to
hold serious negotiations, and we have to talk to him without
preconditions," Peres was quoted as telling visiting U.S.
congressmen. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has recently
signaled willingness to talk to Abbas about the formation of a
Palestinian state, though the latter has yet to prove the extent of
his mandate after the schism with Hamas.
Olmert to comply with 100% of Palestinian land demands Israel
Today (August 7, 2007) - Israeli
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is considering a final status peace deal
with the Palestinians that would require Israel to allow the
creation of a Palestinian state on the 100 percent of the territory
liberated by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War. According to the
proposal, which was first reported on by Ha'aretz, Israel
would retain control over several large settlement blocs in the West
Bank, and in exchange transfer a number of Arab towns insider
sovereign Israel to Palestinian control. Olmert's office issued a
denial of the original Ha'aretz report, but the newspaper
got confirmation from aides to Israeli President Shimon Peres that
the prime minister had in fact adopted the plan, which was
formulated by their boss when he was serving as Olmert's deputy.
Meanwhile, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said that
Monday's meeting between Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman
Mahmoud Abbas had accelerated the establishment of a Palestinian
state on Israel's biblical heartland. “Abbas and Olmert discussed
the fundamentals that will allow a Palestinian state to be
established in an expeditious manner,” Erekat told Israel's Army
Radio.
PM: Israel, PA to expand talks on establishing Palestinian state as
soon as possible Haaretz (August
7, 2007) - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Palestinian
Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas at a meeting in the West Bank on
Monday he would push for the establishment of a Palestinian state as
"fast as possible." In a Jericho meeting with the PA chairman,
Olmert refrained from setting a schedule, but said statehood would
be achieved by adherence to the internationally brokered road map to
Middle East peace, and through mutual understanding. "We have
decided to expand the scope of the negotiations between us in order
to advance mutual understanding and formulate the framework that
will allow us to move forward toward establishing a Palestinian
state," Olmert said. Monday's meeting marked the first time an
Israeli prime minister has visited the Palestinian Authority since
the outbreak of the second intifada in September 2000. The meeting
took place under heavy security. Palestinian Presidential Guard
officials and Shin Bet security service VIP officers held a number
of meetings in recent days to lay the groundwork for the security at
this historical meeting. While Olmert did not present a timetable,
he declared that he has no intention to stall for time on the issue
of Palestinian statehood. "Our mutual goal is to realize the shared
vision between us and [U.S. President George] Bush regarding the
establishment of two states for two peoples who live side by side in
security and peace. We want to achieve this as soon as possible,"
Olmert added. Olmert also mentioned that the basis for negotiations
"will continue to be the road map, which is acceptable to both
sides." The prime minister was referring to a peace plan proposed by
the Quartet of Middle East peace negotiators - the United States,
the European Union, the United Nations and Russia - that calls for
an independent Palestinian state. During the meeting between the two
leaders, Abbas told Olmert that Israel's release of the 255
Palestinian prisoners last month had a positive effect on the
Palestinian people, and requested the release of additional
prisoners in the coming weeks. Olmert said he would consider Abbas'
request. more...
Peres' aides confirm plan for PA state on land equal to 100% of West
Bank Haaretz (August
7, 2007) - Aides to President Shimon Peres confirmed
Tuesday a Haaretz report that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is
examining a new framework for peace, in which Israel will propose
transferring to the Palestinian state areas equivalent to 100
percent of the territories conquered in 1967. According to the
aides, the proposal was formulated while Peres was vice premier, and
presented to Olmert a few days after he entered the President's
Residence. The PMO, however, denied the existance of the proposal
Tuesday. "We do not know of any plan as described in the [Haaretz]
article," the prime minister's office said in a statement. "We would
like to clarify that such a plan has not been considered, nor is it
being raised for discussion in any forum." The proposal includes a
timetable for negotiations for the final status agreement and
implementing it, similar to the framework of the Peres-Abu Ala
agreement reached at the end of 2001. Israel will suggest to the
Palestinians to conduct negotiations for adequate territorial
compensation from Israel's sovereign territory, in exchange for
settlement blocs amounting to about 5 percent of the West Bank's
area. Israel is also examining various options of exchanging
settlement blocs with Arab community blocs within Israel, in
agreement with the residents. An agreement on this issue would
enable Yisrael Beiteinu, headed by Avigdor Lieberman, to remain in
the coalition. Olmert has not yet decided on his position regarding
all the plan's clauses, but apparently has not dismissed its main
ideas. Olmert and Mahmoud Abbas agreed Monday that cooperation
between Israel and the Palestinian Authority would be expanded, in
an effort to expedite progress in their talks for the establishment
of the Palestinian state. "Exchanges between the two sides will
become increasingly more substantive, and will deal less with
routine matters," a senior political source in Jerusalem said
Monday.
Primor: EU Troops Could Bring Peace to Middle East Deutsche
Welle (August 1, 2007)
- DW-WORLD.DE:
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said last week that he thought a
peace agreement could be reached by the end of 2008. One of the
reasons he gave was because US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
assured him of it. Is it wishful thinking? As the head of the WEU, the 10 member-state military wing of the European Union, Javier Solana has emergency powers over the E.U.'s military. If a peace is going to happen and a great diplomat get the credit for it, things seem to be falling in order. This peace will also play into the dividing of the land of Israel, required in order for Islam to even consider peace. This will probably also result in the dividing of the Temple Mount such that the outer court area of the rebuilt temple will be "left out," Revelation 11:1,2, to allow the co-habitation of the Dome of the Rock and the Jewish temple.
Solana talks of revival The
European Weekly (July 21, 2007)
- The European Union has vowed full support for US President George
W Bush’s renewed drive to revive stalled Middle East peace talks and
seek a two-state solution to the conflict. EU foreign and security
policy chief Javier Solana said the 27-nation bloc also backed
Bush’s call for an international conference to explore moves to
create an independent Palestinian state. “The European Union
will continue to work side by side with the United States ... in a
determined effort to bring about an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict,”
said Solana. Solana said the proposed international meeting would
also give substantial support to the parties in negotiations towards
a permanent settlement. The diplomatic Quartet - whose members
include the US and the EU as well as Russia and the United Nations -
would have a “major part” to play in such a gathering, he added.
Solana is also expected to underline EU support for the Bush
initiative in talks with the new Quartet envoy and former British
premier Tony Blair who was in Brussels for meetings with key EU
officials. The Quartet was to meet in Lisbon for the first time
since the appointment of Blair. It was also the first encounter of
the group since Hamas captured the Gaza Strip in June and the
subsequent nomination of a non-Hamas interim government led by
Palestinian prime minister-designate Salam Fayyad. Bush has said
the US will provide full backing to Blair’s peace efforts but
several EU officials and ministers, including Solana, were taken
aback by the US push to give the former British premier the Quartet
job. Like the US, the EU has pledged to improve the clout and
standing of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his moderate
Fatah movement. But unlike Washington, the EU has yet to release
millions of dollars in direct aid to the Fatah-led Palestinian
government. The funds were frozen after last year’s Hamas electoral
victory. The militant group is black-listed as a terrorist
organisation by the EU and the US. The EU has, however, been
channelling aid for the Palestinian health and security sector
through non-governmental aid groups. Officials said an estimated 700
million Euro in such emergency aid was sent to Gaza and the West
Bank last year. The money was used to pay the salaries of teachers,
doctors and health workers and for supplies of fuel, water and
electricity to the territories. Bush has announced USD 190 million
in direct aid to the Palestinian government, with an additional USD
80 million for security. The amount includes funding humanitarian
causes in Gaza. “We are showing the Palestinian people that a
commitment to peace leads to the generous support of the United
States,” Bush said.
Rabbis: 'Peres must repent' WorldNet
Daily (July 19, 2007) - A
group of hundreds of prominent Israeli rabbis today urged veteran
politician Shimon Peres to immediately "repent" for calling on the
Jewish state to evacuate strategic territory the they fear will be
used by terrorists to attack Israel. Peres officially was installed
as Israeli president earlier this week. Upon his inauguration, he
immediately stated Israel must withdraw from the West Bank, which
borders Jerusalem and is within rocket range of Tel Aviv and
Israel's international airport. "We call on Shimon Peres to publicly
retract his 'shameful' remarks on the day of his inauguration
calling for Israel to 'rid itself of the territories,' referring to
the biblical Judea and Samaria (West Bank)," read a statement by the
Rabbinical Congress for Peace, a coalition of more than 350 Israeli
rabbinic leaders and pulpit rabbis. "Our sages tell us in the Talmud
that when a person assumes an exalted position, all of his sins
previously committed are forgiven. But you, Mr. Peres, missed the
opportunity to rectify your historical blunders when you declared so
blindly that Israel must rid itself of the territories. You caused
tremendous damage not only to Jews in Israel but to the status of
the Jewish people the world over." The rabbis called on Peres to
"repent, stand up and proclaim with authentic Jewish pride that you
no longer support the hazardous and futile formula of 'territory for
peace.'" The rabbinic leaders blasted Peres for leading the 1993
Oslo Accords, in which Israel evacuated strategic territory in
exchange for pledges from the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat
to refrain from terror and make peace with the Jewish state. "Today
it is crystal clear to everyone the Oslo Accords and Israeli
evacuations lead to spilling of Jewish blood in all parts of Israel.
This is exactly why the Jewish Code of Law forbids Jews to give up a
border town – it opens the way for enemies to conquer the land," the
rabbis stated. more...
Beit Hanassi: The Peace President
The Jerusalem Post (July
19, 2007) - President Shimon
Peres,
Israel's eldest statesman known for his vision of "a new Middle
East," proclaimed in his inaugural speech in the Knesset on Sunday
that he was leaving divisive politics after six decades to devote
himself "to unifying the nation." But, the 83-year-old declared
defiantly, he would not shy away from using the presidency to
promote peace in the region. "When the opportunity for peace is
created, it must not be missed," Peres told a packed house after
taking the oath of office. "[The president] must encourage peace
processes. At home. With our neighbors. In the entire region." Five
Arab MKs chose to attend a poetry reading in Haifa by Palestinian
national poet Mahmoud Darwish instead of the inauguration, but the
gallery was full of VIPs and invited guests. The ceremony ushering
in Peres as the country's ninth president capped a momentous career
that included international acclaim and a Nobel Peace Prize but also
a string of embarrassing electoral defeats - including his last
presidential race against Moshe Katsav seven years ago. In a
half-hour interview with the Associated Press on the day of his
inauguration, Peres pledged to fight poverty and global warming and
even expressed the hope of making peace with Iran. "After such a
long career, let me just say something: My appetite to manage is
over. My inclination to dream and to envisage is greater," he said,
looking vigorous and discounting age as a factor that could slow him
down. He wasted no time in getting down to business, moving into
Beit Hanassi a day later. He told staff at the presidential
residence: "Remember, we are the servants of the people, and not
their masters." He then began a flurry of diplomatic meetings,
most notably welcoming EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana
on Wednesday. Peres told him that those residents of Gaza who
voted Hamas into power must not be allowed to determine the future
of the whole Palestinian people. He commended Solana for the work he
has done over the years to try to bring peace to the region and
argued that despite the current difficulties, there are "new
opportunities." "Europe can play a major role," he
said. Solana concurred, saying he hoped that the peace that they had
discussed "so many times together" would one day become a reality.
Then, addressing Peres directly, he said: "Mr. President and my dear
friend, it is a moving moment to see you here." Solana
was plainly confident that as president Peres would be able to do
much more to advance the peace process than anyone else.
more...
Oslo Accords Redux
Israel National News (July 18, 2007)
- Israel is poised to re-establish a joint committee with the
Palestinian Authority to discuss the legal status of land in Judea
and Samaria, according to a report published Tuesday in the
London-based Arabic-language newspaper, Al-Hayat. The interview
quoted Chief PA Negotiator Saeb Erekat, a veteran of numerous talks
held with Israel over the years, as saying the committee will renew
discussions on the issues that preceded the Oslo War, also known as
the second intifada, which broke out in September 2000. Among the
items to be discussed, according to a report on the interview posted
by the Bethelehem-based Ma’an news agency, is the determination of
the legal status of land in Judea and Samaria. “The committee has
[already] started dealing with the issue of the intifada activists,
the ‘wanted’ fighters and also the issue of the nativity church
deportees,” said Erekat. A Quick Primer on the Oslo Accords: Israel
and the PA came to the agreement known as the Oslo Accords in the
Norwegian capital on August 20, 1993. The deal was signed by
arch-terrorist and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Chairman
Yasser Arafat and then-Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin. This was the
document that handed jurisdiction over large parts of Judea, Samaria
and Gaza to the PA, defining those areas as a single territorial
unit. According to the Oslo Accords, a five-year transitional period
ending in a permanent status agreement was to begin with Israel’s
withdrawal from Gaza and Jericho. The establishment and structure
for a PA government, including a PA Legislative Council, and a PA
police force began with this document as well. Ultimately, upon the
establishment of the council, Israel’s civil administration over
Judea, Samaria and Gaza (“Yesha”) was to be dissolved and the IDF
was to be withdrawn. A joint Israeli-PA Liaison Committee was
established to deal with coordination on security and other issues,
and various agreements on Israeli-PA economic cooperation were
signed as well. The final agreement was to include establishment of
a PA state, covering the status of Jerusalem, a Law of Return for
millions of the descendants of Arabs who fled the state during the
1948 wars and those who became residents of post-1967
Israeli-controlled areas, Jewish communities in the disputed Yesha
areas, security arrangements and borders. more...
Bush
to call for regional summit on Mideast peace process Haaretz
(July 16, 2007)
- U.S. President George
W. will call for a regional conference on restarting the Middle East
peace process during a special address Monday, a U.S. official said
ahead of the speach. The U.S. president will also announce $190
million in aid to the Palestinian Authority, the official said.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would lead the peace conference,
which would include representatives of Israel and neighbors in the
region, said a senior administration official who spoke on the
condition of anonymity. The speech to be given by the U.S. president
will express a plan for "activism" on the part of the Bush
administration, according to a senior Israeli political source who
was briefed in advance about it. Bush's tone is meant to express his
approval of the formation of a new Palestinian Authority government
under Salam Fayad, as well as the appointment of former British
prime minister Tony Blair as the special envoy for the Quartet of
Middle East peace negotiators. White House officials said Bush was
planning to rally diplomatic and financial support for Palestinian
Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' government. Abbas controls only
the West Bank after the Islamic militant group Hamas gained
authority in Gaza in June. more...
President Peres: Time to sever Israel's biblical heartland
Israel Today
(July 16, 2007)
- Just hours before
being sworn in as Israel's ninth president on Sunday, Shimon Peres
said the time had come for his nation to surrender its biblical
heartland in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) to the Palestinian
Arabs. “We have to get rid of the territories,” Peres said in an
interview with The Associated Press. The elder statesman insisted,
contrary to recent opinion polls, that an overwhelming majority of
Israelis agree with him on this issue. In his inauguration speech
later in the evening, Peres expounding upon his vision of peace for
the Middle East, but Israel National News pointed out that he did
not once mention ongoing Arab terrorism against the Jewish state
that has made the conclusion of any peace deal impossible. Despite
filling a largely ceremonial role, an Israeli diplomatic source told
The Jerusalem Post that Peres can be expected to continue behaving
like a “one-man foreign ministry” as he works to forward his own
agenda.
Livni: Israel must hand over parts of West Bank for peace
Prophecy in the News
(May
12, 2007) - Any future Palestinian state will require
Israel to withdraw from the West Bank, Foreign Minister
Tzipi Livni said in an interview to Egyptian newspaper al-Ahram on
Saturday. According to Livni, Israel is ready to move forward in negotiations
with the Palestinians, and is waiting for the Palestinians to take
responsibility for the violence and extreme forces within Palestinian society.
"The majority of the Israeli nation understands not only the need for peace,
but also the need to compromise for a solution to achieve this peace. "And in
this context, I present the vision, shared by the majority, of a two-state
solution, one for Jews and one for Palestinians… the path to the [creation of]
a Palestinian state begins with the denunciation of terrorism. I am convinced
that this reflects not only the interests of Israel, but also the interests of
the Palestinians. During the interview, which took place as part of the
foreign minister's visit to Cairo, Livni said that the 2005 Israeli withdrawal
from the Gaza Strip was a necessary and crucial step in the peace process.
Livni said that in order to complete this process and create a Palestinian
state, Israel will need to withdraw from the West Bank as well. "I can assure
you that Gaza is not the last step, we are convinced that to establish a
Palestinian state, we have to withdraw from other areas," she said. "We do not
want to control the Palestinians." Livni's visit
culminated in a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit and
Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdelelah Al-Khatib in Cairo, where the Arab League
peace initiative was discussed. |
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