Israel 2007

Abbas visits Olmert's home talking peace Breitbart.com (December 27, 2007) - Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem was the key topic for peace talks Thursday between Palestinian and Israeli leaders in Jerusalem, officials said. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at his official Jerusalem residence for the first time since the U.S.-brokered summit in Annapolis, Md., late last month, Haaretz reported. Prior to the meeting Palestinian media said two issues are considered deal-breakers by Abbas: Israel's decades-old annexation of East Jerusalem, which Palestinians want as a capital of their eventual state, and Israel's construction of new settlements inside the so-called Green Line near East Jerusalem. Negotiating teams from both sides have met twice since the Annapolis meeting and each time ran into roadblocks on the issues, the newspaper said. Other issues the two leaders could discuss included the removal of checkpoints in the West Bank, the Hamas control of the Gaza Strip and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, officials told Haaretz. U.S. President George Bush is scheduled to visit the region in January with a goal of encouraging both sides to move forward.
| Israel | Islam |

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 | Islam | Dividing the Land |

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...
| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land | EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | NewWorldOrder | America|

And who could step in if the U.S. is an issue in bringing the peace in the Middle East? Can't anyone stand up and make a difference? The world wonders and I couldn't have picked the next story in the list if I had tried. Keep watching Europe and the man who speaks for it.

“We have finally decided that Europe will speak with one voice, that of Mr. Solana.” | Jacques Chirac Regarding Solana's visit to Damascus for the Hariri inquiry Solana to Restore EU Ties with Syria (March 9, 2007)

“Solana has the power and has had it since January 30, 1999. We are speaking with one voice through Javier Solana.” | Madeline Albright USA Secretary of State Regarding Solana being given sole power to make all further military decisions over NATO Balkan operations.

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 |

Children promise to 'wipe out' Zionists WorldNet Daily (December 13, 2007) - Two children have made an appearance on Hamas Television's children's show called "Liberate" to exhort a liberation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, and to promise to "wipe out" Zionists. The new video captured from Hamas Television is being made available by the Middle East Media Research Institute, which monitors and publicizes media reports throughout the Middle East. MEMRI also has a web page that is devoted to Al-Aqsa television clips. The boy, in the Dec. 3, 2007, appearance, launches the message: "My beloved brothers, as you know, today the Al-Aqsa Mosque is crying out: 'Where are the people of the frontline, the Palestinian people?' Yes, my dear brothers, that is the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The subject of our lesson today is Jerusalem, to where your Prophet made his nocturnal journey - the Al-Aqsa Mosque," he says. "Yes, my beloved brothers, as you know today, and as you knew yesterday and the day before, the Al-Aqsa Mosque has fallen into oppressing and malicious hands, the hands of those who know nothing but injustice. But let me tell you how the Al-Aqsa Mosque will be returned, how we shall rescue it from the shackles of the occupation, from the shackles of the Zionist entity. "Will it be through conferences? No, not through conferences, but by means of force, because the Zionist entity, your enemy, the enemy of Allah, the enemy of Islam, knows nothing but injustice and the killing of Palestinians, the persevering people on the frontline. Indeed, the [mosque] will be returned only by means of force," he says. He continues to warn about "what the Zionist enemy has done," lumping Israel and America together. "But is it too late? No, it is not too late. If we all unite, the Al-Aqsa Mosque will not remain in the hands of the Zionist enemy, it will not remain in the hands of your enemy, despite all their conspiracies against the Palestinian people…" the boy says. The girl then takes over, saying, "To Al-Aqsa, to Al-Aqsa - we shall unite our ranks. We will wipe out the people of Zion, and will not leave a single one of them." The mosque has been the subject of discussion in recent weeks, as President Bush's Annapolis summit was held with the intention of getting a focus on the issues that remain to be negotiated for a two-state Middle East, a goal he has set to reach before his second term expires in a little more than a year. Jerusalem and the Temple Mount have been included in those talks, and Palestinian leaders have told WND Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has expressed a willingness to give up control of the Temple Mount. That is the location of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which was built on the location where the first and second Jewish temples, once housing the Holy of Holies and the Ark of the Covenant, stood. The Temple Mount currently is under Israeli control, but both Jews and Christians are barred from praying there. It was opened to the general public until 2000, when Palestinians launched an intifada by throwing stones at Jewish worshipers. The Israeli government closed the Mount to non-Muslims, but reopened it in 2003. The mosque, however, falls under control of the Waqf, which monitors and enforces its rules against visitors. The mosque was built around A.D. 709.
| Israel | Islam | Temple Mount |

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...

‘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...
| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land | NewWorldOrder | America |

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...
| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land |

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...
| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land | Apostasy |

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.

Iran Says Ties With Syria Rock Solid Associated Press (December 3, 2007) - Iran's adversaries cannot harm the strong ties between Tehran and Damascus, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday, a week after Iran appeared to chide Syria for its decision to take part in a Mideast summit in the United States. State-run television quoted Ahmadinejad as telling Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faysal Mekdad that "enemies cannot damage real and firm Tehran-Damascus relations." Though Iran never directly criticized Syria for attending the summit in Annapolis, Md. last week, Ahmadinejad and other top officials said the summit was doomed to fail and scolded Arab nations for going. Tehran was not invited to the meeting. But Syria's attendance and Iran's harsh criticism of the meeting appeared to indicate at least some tension between the two allies — a rare event in the past decades. During his meeting Sunday with Ahmadinejad, Mekdad gave the Iranian president a written message from Syrian President Bashar Assad and underlined the strategic relationship between the two countries, Iran's official news agency, IRNA, reported. No details of the message from Assad were given. Both Ahmadinejad and Mekdad said Iran-Syrian ties remained strong. Mekdad also said Syrian would "never let anyone harm the friendly ties" between Iran and Syria, IRNA reported. Syria said it decided to send Mekdad to the summit only after the issue of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights was added to the agenda. During the trip, the Syrian delegation shook hands with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice — indicating a slight thaw in the diplomatic chill between Washington and Damascus. U.S. officials had hoped the Annapolis meeting could mark a start to moving Syria out of its alliance with Iran and Hamas and Hezbollah, both of which are Iranian-backed militant groups. more...
| Iran | Gog/Magog | Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

Yet another earthquake shakes Israel Israel Today (December 2, 2007) - A mild earthquake was felt throughout central Israel on Sunday morning, the fourth tremor to hit the region in the last two weeks. The Geophysical Institute of Israel reported that the latest earthquake had registered at 4.0 on the Richter scale, and that its epicenter was the Dead Sea. Last Saturday, a 4.1 earthquake originating in Israel's central coastal plain strongly shook the country. Earlier that week, two mild earthquakes again centered on the Dead Sea struck the region. Israeli experts have been warning of a large-scale earthquake for years, and of the widespread damage it is expected to cause due to a general failure to comply with safety building regulations.
| Israel | Earth Changes |

According to Bible prophecy, there is some serious earthquakes coming both to Israel and the whole earth. One time is regarding the two witnesses:

Revelation 11:9-13
And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.

Temple Institute Announces: High Priest's Crown is Ready! Israel National News (December 2, 2007) - The Temple Institute in Jerusalem announces the completion of the Tzitz, the High Priest's headplate - now ready for use in the Holy Temple. The tzitz is made of pure gold, was fashioned over the course of a more than a year by the craftsmen of the Temple Institute, and is ready to be worn by the High Priest in the rebuilt Holy Temple in Jerusalem. The words "Holy for G-d" are engraved on the headplate, in accordance with Exodus 28:36.  A short video clip presenting the tzitz can be viewed here. Rabbi Chaim Richman, International Director of the Temple Institute, explained to Arutz-7 that until it can actually be used, the tzitz will be on view in the Institute's permanent exhibition display, together with other vessels and priestly garments fashioned for use in the Holy Temple by the Institute.

Legal Aspects: Impurity and Hekdesh:

Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, Director of the Institute, explained some of the Halakhic [Jewish legal] aspects of the fashioning of the vessels for the Temple. "For one thing," he said, "they are made in impurity - for now we are impure, and will remain impure until we are able to have a Red Heifer whose ashes can be used in the Torah-prescribed purification ceremony. If no Red Heifer is available, then the High Priest must even serve in the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur in a state of impurity." Asked whether the fact that the vessels are dedicated for the Temple does not render them hekdesh (consecrated) and therefore forbidden for any other use, Rabbi Ariel explained, "There are two stages. First of all, we make it very clear to the donors and to the craftsmen that the ultimate purpose of these vessels is not to be used for exhibitions or the like, but rather for the fulfillment of Torah commandments in the Holy Temple. They must know this in advance. However, to gain the actual status of hekdesh, we similarly make it clear that this does not happen until the vessel is actually brought in to the Temple Mount for use in the Temple. This means that someone can try on and measure the headplate, for example, without worrying that he is benefiting in any way from something that has been consecrated to the Temple."

Menorah Moves Closer to Temple Mount

Rabbi Richman noted that in less than two weeks from now, on Rosh Chodesh Tevet, the famous Menorah (candelabrum) - suitable for use in the Holy Temple, familiar to visitors to the Cardo section of the Old City of Jerusalem - will be relocated to the landing of the wide staircase that leads down from the Jewish Quarter to the Western Wall. It will be protected inside the same type of glass structure that now houses it. more...
| Israel | Temple Mount |

I just did a study on the menorah that I think is fascinating. It seems the church was represented in the temple all along, the seven spirits of the seven churches are represented in the seven branches of the menorah!

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:

1. The Arab side, which is represented by Qatar, would use the opportunity to augment the Annapolis declaration with additional clauses detrimental to Israel, and possibly win US assent.

2. Security Council endorsement would obligate Israel and the Palestinians to bring negotiations to a conclusion by the end of 2008, less than a year hence, as demanded by Saudi Arabia. Either side could face being found in violation of a UN resolution.

3. The Security Council would become the overseer of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process with authority to reconvene and weigh up progress. In other words, the bilateral Israel-Palestinian conflict would be relegated to international authority. Israel has always resisted this since the odds in the world body are traditionally weighted against the Jewish state.

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.
| Israel | Islam | EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | 1^st Seal | Dividing the Land | America |

It seems America isn't as "in control" of the peace process as they might like to be. Herb Peters wrote in De-Facto Power:

"Today's news is about Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's trip to the Middle East and a possible three-way summit between Rice,  PA Chairman Mahoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Read about it here. Earlier this month, while in Washington, it was announced that Solana would be following in Rice's steps. And, after closed door talks at the Madrid+15 Conference, I believe Solana may have expressed the new feeling of most of the international community. Solana said, "the moment of action has come" Read about it here."

July 20, 2006, Rice met with Solana to discuss the Middle East. Given some of the quotes regarding the source of policy, many things seem to point to Solana. I wonder what the results of that meeting were. Could Rice be working toward globalist agendas in the peace process? Bible prophecy specifies the 7-year confirmed covenant with many comes from the head of the revived Roman Empire with 10 horns. Given these things I would expect to see a shift to Europe to handle the Middle East, whether anyone wants that or not.

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.
| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land |

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.

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...
| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land | EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | Solana | 1^st Seal | America |

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 | Islam | Dividing the Land | America |

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...
| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land |

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...
| Israel | Dividing the Land |

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 |

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...
| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land | EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | America |

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...
| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land | EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | Solana | 1^st Seal |

Read also: EU planning to back Mideast conference with new measures: text and an EU document co-authored by Javier Solana regarding the conference.

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.
| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land |

I found some old pictures from the late 1800 to the early 1900 here.

Earthquake felt across Israel YNet News (November 20, 2007) - Two earthquakes, measuring 3 and 4.2 on the Richter scale, were felt across Israel on Tuesday morning. The Geophysical Institute of Israel (GII) reported that the quakes shook the entire country and originated in the northern Dead Sea. According to the Magen David Adom rescue services, there were no reports of injuries or damage. The first quake was felt at around 11:19 am and the second one at 11:30 am. Ynet received reports from readers in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa and southern Israel, who said that they had felt their houses shake for several seconds. Rami Hopshteter, manager of the GII, explained that "this was a moderate earthquake, but was strong enough to be felt in many areas across the country. We received reports that the quake was felt in Haifa, Ashkelon, and of course Jerusalem, which is close to the quake's origin. We are certain that our Jordanian neighbors also felt it. "The quake is not surprising," he added, "As there is a lot of activity in the Dead Sea area… However, it is impossible to draw any clear conclusions about the future. The State of Israel has been preparing for an earthquake since 1999, but more can be done to improve out preparedness." Sidra Muoio from Ma'aleh Adumin, near Jerusalem, reported that the quake "lasted for about 10 seconds and the whole house shook". Dina Dagan, manager of the Bainkini beach in the northern Dead Sea, also felt the quake. "It was really scary. Everything started shaking and I suddenly saw a huge wave ascend from the Dead Sea and it looked like it was headed toward me. "It only lasted several seconds, but it was terrifying, like something you see in the movies. I experienced a few minutes of real anxiety. The quake today was not as strong as last time, but it was nonetheless scary." "Everyone felt it, but we remained calm," said Eilon from his workplace in Herzliya. "It lasted between five to 10 seconds." more...
| Israel | Earth Changes |

Moscow Comes between Israel and Syria Kommersant (November 16, 2007) - Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Saltanov and special representative of the foreign minister for the Middle East Sergey Yakovlev arrived in Israel yesterday. The main topic of their talks there will be a Syrian-Israeli settlement. Russia hopes that its influence on Syria will permit it to overtake the United States as peacemaker in the Middle East. The Russians' visit is being given low-key treatment. They met with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni yesterday. The Israeli Foreign Ministry declined to comment on their talks. The Russians also met with head of the Israeli National Security Council Ilan Mizrahi. Officially, the topic of their talks was the upcoming Israeli-Palestinian meetings in Annapolis, Maryland. Other sources say they talked about a conference in Moscow, which the Kremlin has been hoping for since 2005. Since Israel prefers to deal with the Palestinians directly and recognizes only the U.S. as an intermediary, Moscow has revamped its proposal as a conference on Israeli-Syrian settlement. The possibility of returning the Golan Heights, captured from Syria in 1967, in return for a peace settlement, is more and more frequently mentioned in Israel now. The U.S., although jealous of its role as peacemaker in the Middle East, has indicated that it would agree to such a conference in Moscow. Damascus had made it know that, during the summit in Annapolis, it would host a summit of anti-Israeli forces. Former Russian prime minister and head of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Evgeny Primakov was able to dissuade Syria from that plan during a visit there at the beginning of the month. Instead, Syrian President Bashar Asad will send his own envoy to Annapolis. In return, Syria is demanding that the conference in Moscow take place, as the first step in its recovery of the Golan Heights.
| Gog/Magog | Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

Any apparent desire of Russia to bring peace to the Middle East is overshadowed by what the Bible says about those allied with Iran currently and a future attack on Israel. In this light, it is clear that Russia is on the side of Iran who has stated in no uncertain terms that the current administration desires the State of Israel to cease to exist. The m/o of the enemy is to come in with flattery and deceive, pretending to work for a common goal in order to get close enough to their enemy to undermine them and have an advantage. Russia's government has made itself an ally with all those who vehemently oppose Israel and given the Bible's description of what is to come, peace is not their ultimate goal.

Israeli TV Stations Showing 'Gog and Magog' Charts Israel National News (October 17, 2007) - Israeli evening newscasts prominently featured George W. Bush's comments regarding a possible breakout of World War Three Wednesday evening. Both Channel 2 and Channel 10 showed the world map and sketched the basic alignment of the two opposing axes in the possible world war, in a way that is bound to evoke associations of the Gog and Magog prophecy for many viewers. On one side were Israel, the United States, Britain, France and Germany. On the other were Iran, Russia, China, Syria and North Korea. The prophecy of Gog and Magog refers to a great world war centered on the Holy Land and Jerusalem and first appears in the book of Yechezkel (Ezekiel).
| Iran | Gog/Magog | Israel |

My belief from my study of scripture and news is that the Magog invasion will take place after the upcoming dividing of Israel for peace and possibly as a result of Israel destroying Damascus as prophesied in Isaiah 17. I believe this will be the "hooks in the jaws" that bring Iran, Russia, Turkey, Ethiopia and Libya against Israel from the North. These Muslim attackers will be destroyed by fire and brimstone from heaven according to Ezekiel 38,39. "And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them. So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward." -Ezekiel 39:21,22 This event that is coming is very pivotal in earth's history. I believe Israel will return to the Orthodox nation of the Old Testament. This will demand a temple and having just seen God destroy the people He prophesied He would several thousand years ago, there will be no fear in Israel, just faith. They will rebuild the temple, even respectful of the Dome of the Rock there. Thus will Revelation 11:1,2 be fulfilled. Thus will Bible prophecy be snapped to reality as we march ever forward through time to the inevitable choice to follow and love God or be of the world. As Christians, we are not of this world, but we are the salt and light of it. Let us proclaim the fulfillment of prophecy in glory of God and for the edification of them that love Him.

'Vatican-Israeli ties worsening' The Jerusalem Post (November 17, 2007) - A senior Vatican diplomat who served as papal envoy to Israel has described Vatican-Israeli relations as worsening, blaming Israel for failing to keep promises related to church land, taxes and travel restrictions on Arab clergy. Archbishop Pietro Sambi lashed out at Israel in an interview posted Friday on Terrasanta.net, an online publication about the Holy Land. "If I must be frank, the relations between the Catholic Church and the state of Israel were better when there were no diplomatic ties," said Sambi, interviewed earlier in the week in Washington, where he now serves as Pope Benedict XVI's envoy to the United States. "The Holy See decided to establish diplomatic relations (in 1993) with Israel as an act of faith, leaving to latter the serious promises to regulate concrete aspects of the life of the Catholic community and the Church" in Israel, Sambi said. Among the issues hanging are the status of expropriated church property, services that Catholic groups perform for Israel's Jewish and Arab population, and tax exemptions for the Church. The Vatican diplomat also cited a current sore point - the granting of permits for Arab Christian clergy traveling to and around the West Bank. Israel has rescinded some travel privileges for those clergy because of security concerns. Israel and the Palestinian territories are home to a small Christian minority. Sambi complained that the Knesset has failed to give necessary approval to various accords that had been signed by both sides, and noted that an impasse over taxes has been discussed on and off for nearly 10 years without resolution. He blamed the situation on Israel's "absence of political will." "Everyone can see what kind of trust you can give to Israel's promises," Sambi said. Asked about Sambi's criticisms, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said: "Israel is interested in good relations with the Vatican and Israeli and Vatican officials are working to overcome gaps that exist." Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said the interview with Sambi "reflects his thinking and his personal experience" during the diplomat's former posting in Israel. Lombardi said the Holy See reiterated the hope, expressed in September when Benedict met with Israeli President Shimon Peres, for a "rapid conclusion of the important negotiations" and a common solution to "existing problems." Earlier this year, tensions developed between the Vatican and Israel when the Holy See's ambassador to Israel initially decided to boycott a Holocaust memorial service because of allegations that during World War II Pope Pius XII was silent about the mass killings of Jews.

Please learn a little of the history of the Vatican and their connection to and control of the plans for global governance through history. Much of my life I had a tendency to just accept without research and I'm discovering that things are not at all what they are made to appear to be. Keep watching.

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...
| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land | 1^st Seal |

Israel on alert for Syria air strike Times Online (November 11, 2007) - THE defensive missile shield around Israel’s Dimona nuclear reactor was placed on red alert 30 times last week amid fears of an air strike by Syria. A battery of American-made Patriot antiaircraft missiles has been moved to Dimona in the Negev desert following intelligence that a strike may be launched in retaliation for Israel’s bombing of a suspected nuclear site in Syria two months ago. In a highly unusual move, the officers in charge of the missiles were permitted to talk to Israeli state television about their preparations. “We’re ready to launch the missiles in seconds, once we’re on full alert,” said First Lieutenant Adi, a young female officer who is the deputy commander of the battery. Tension with Damascus has heightened since September 6 when Israeli fighters destroyed the suspected nuclear installation in northern Syria. “The fact that the Syrians didn’t launch an immediate strike against Israel doesn’t mean that they won’t retaliate in due course,” said an Israeli defense source. “Dimona is on the top of their list.” Tension is mounting in Israel. “Every civilian aircraft en route from Cairo to Amman, or from Jeddah to Cairo and vice versa, which deviates even slightly from its route, sets off an alarm and risks a missile being fired,” said the female commander of the Patriot battery. The unit is authorized to shoot down any aircraft which approaches, civilian or combat. An Israeli Mirage jet that approached Dimona by mistake was shot down during the Six-Day War in 1967, while a Libyan Boeing 727 which lost its way in a storm in 1973 and approached Dimona was also downed. All 113 on board were killed.
| Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

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.

'We must be ready to preempt threats' The Jerusalem Post (October 23, 2007) - Israeli Ambassador to the US Sallai Meridor declared Monday that Israel should always be prepared "to preempt, to deter and to defeat if we can" when speaking about the threats facing the country. Chief among those threats was Iran, said Meridor, who called for a unified international as well as domestic American front to counter the Islamic Republic's nuclear ambitions. "This will take a united United States on this matter, that they would not have the illusion today that come January '09, they [Teheran] have it their own way," he said, referring to the inauguration of President George W. Bush's successor, who could potentially change US policy on Iran. Meridor said "very little time" remained to keep Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to avoid the worst-case scenarios, outlined by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, of an Iranian bomb or a war with Iran. "There may be a third way still, but only if the diplomatic and economic steps could be dramatically - not incrementally - intensified," he said, adding that 33 percent of Iran's trade is with Europe. Meridor's comments appeared to put Israel at odds with America's approach to UN Security Council sanctions, in which the US is pushing for a gradual increase of pressure on Iran through a series of sanctions resolutions so long as Teheran refuses to halt uranium enrichment. A third such resolution is currently being considered. Israeli sources said that to their knowledge the administration is also calling for tougher sanctions. The ambassador said Iran would only stop its quest for nuclear capabilities when "the cost [is at] a level that in their minds will put at risk the accomplishments of the [1979 Islamic] revolution." Meridor began his remarks at an American Jewish Committee luncheon by saying, "As strong as we are, we should always be prepared to preempt, to deter, to defeat if we can, to protect, and not assume that threats have evaporated. They have not." more...
| Iran | Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

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!"
| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land | 1^st Seal | Temple Mount | America |

Syrian Confirms Israel Destroyed Nuclear Facility Israel National News (October 18, 2007) - A Syrian official has admitted that the Israeli operation on September 6 destroyed a nuclear facility - but the admission was followed shortly afterwards by a Syrian government denial. A Syrian representative said Tuesday at the United Nations that reports that the target was a nuclear device were accurate. Syrian officials, including President Bashar Assad had previously claimed that Israel attacked an abandoned army base or an agricultural facility. During a meeting of the UN Disarmament Commission, the Syrian representative acknowledged that the target had been the nuclear facility. Israeli Foreign Ministry officials were also attending. He accused Israel of aggression for targeting the facility. In Israel, details of the strike, beyond the fact that an operation took place on September 6 in Syria, are still under gag order. Local media continue to skirt the order by leaking information to foreign papers and then citing their reports. Some analysts have said the reason for the continued silence of the Israeli government on the September 6 attack is to avoid humiliating Assad and leading to a possible military escalation. Dr. Elon Liel, a former Director General of the Foreign Ministry, has gone one step further in his hope for a conciliatory approach to Israel’s northern neighbor, sending a letter to Education Minister Yuli Tamir asking her to prevent high school students from participating in the “In the Footsteps of the Warriors” tours in the Golan Heights. Liel said he feared the tours would strengthen the students’ connection to the Golan. He called the tours “a provocation,” saying Israel would discourage Syria from negotiating an Israeli retreat from the Golan. Brigadier-General Avigdor Kahalani, who participated in the liberation of the Golan and the creation of the “In the Footsteps of the Warriors” tours, rejected Liel’s demand as “nothing more than a leftist initiative.” The tours are important to the students’ morale and strengthen their sense of identification with IDF soldiers who fought in previous wars, he said. “A bus full of students is not a provocation.” more...
| Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

Mini-Earthquake Sets Off Predictions of a Larger One Israel National News (October 18, 2007) - The Patzael region in the central Jordan Valley, just 20 kilometers north of Jericho, was touched by a small earthquake on Saturday night, registering 3.0 on the Richter scale. A similar quake occurred in the same area two months ago. On Sunday morning, researchers at Tel Aviv University presented a new study on the timeline of earthquakes throughout history. No precise future earthquake dates can be extrapolated from the data, but the researchers say one is on the way - as no major quake has hit the danger area between the Dead Sea and the Kinneret in centuries. "It's like the first winter rain," said Dr. Shmuel Marko, who took part in the study. "The longer the dry summer lasts, the closer the first rain is. Here, as well: The quiet is worrisome. The longer we go without a large quake, the more we can expect one." On the other hand, experts have said that Israel's earthquakes are in general less frequent than those in other quake-prone regions such as California, Japan and Turkey. Israel is located along the Syria-Africa rift, a friction point between two subterranean plates and is therefore considered earthquake-prone. In 1927, some 250 people were killed in an earthquake that hit Jericho and central Israel. In November 1995, a 6.2 quake caused injuries to several people in Eilat. A minor quake, 5.0 on the Richter scale, hit Israel in February 2004, shaking buildings in many cities and even causing damage to the Knesset building. No one was reported hurt. The northern city of Tzfat was hit by two earthquakes in recent centuries, in 1759 and in 1837. The latter one killed at least 2,000 people, when residents were buried under the ruins of their homes and help did not arrive for days.
| Israel | Earth Changes |

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...
| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land | Temple Mount |

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...
| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land |

I think this is more like what most of Israel will be like after God destroys the Magog invaders in the mountains of Israel. Ezekiel 38:19-23 I believe this will be what pushes the rebuilding of the temple soon and I think it will also be what causes the mortal wound to the antichrist when he declares himself god at the abomination of desolation.

Israel Minister: War is Inevitable News Max (October 15, 2007) - An Israeli mission to destroy the terrorist infrastructure in the Gaza Strip is inevitable, an Israeli official said Monday. According to the Jerusalem Post, Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that Israel should conduct a mission similar to the country's Operation Defensive Shield in the West Bank, which occurred in the spring of 2002. Lieberman also advised Rice not to pressure Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to take steps that would cause the downfall of the Israeli government. "In the current political conditions, the government cannot allow itself to make controversial decisions on sensitive issues," Lieberman told Rice. "The conference planned for Annapolis is a mistake. It will be just another conference and just another document. Without a noticeable improvement in Israeli security or Palestinian economic conditions, the conference will not be different than any of the unsuccessful conferences of the past."
| Gog/Magog | Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

From Bible prophecy, we do know that war is inevitable. We also know that until the abomination of desolation Israel will remain where she is, protected by God. When that day comes however, 2/3 of Israel will be cut off and only 1/3 will be taken and protected in the wilderness until Yeshua returns in glory with His wife. Zechariah 13:8,9 | Revelation 12:13-16 So I wouldn't expect any war to successfully get rid of Israel until a man demands worship from the world after declaring himself god in the rebuilt Hebrew temple on the Temple Mount.

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 69^th 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):

"As I have recently testified to Congress, we are concerned about Syria's nuclear research and development program and continue to watch for any signs of nuclear weapons activity or foreign assistance that could facilitate a Syrian nuclear weapons capability. We are aware of Syrian efforts to acquire dual-use technologies that could be applied to a nuclear weapons program. . . Broader access to Russian expertise could provide opportunities for Syria to expand its indigenous capabilities, should it decide to pursue nuclear weapons. . . Since the 1970s, Syria has pursued what is now one of the most advanced Arab state chemical weapons capabilities. It has a stockpile of the nerve agent sarin that can be delivered by aircraft or ballistic missiles, and has engaged in the research and development of more toxic and persistent nerve agents such as VX."

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 49^th" 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:  

• "Frankly, it's time for the establishment of a Palestinian state"
• A two-state solution is "absolutely essential for the future, not just of Palestinians and Israelis but also for the Middle East and indeed for American interests."
• "Frankly, we have better things to do than invite people to Annapolis for a photo op."
• "I hope you understand that the President has decided to make this one of the highest priorities of his administration and of his time in office. It means that he is absolutely serious about moving this issue forward and moving it as rapidly as possible to conclusion."

Also see parts II and III of this article. Part III goes into the upcoming Annapolis meeting to divide Israel.

Israeli-Palestinian talks raise hope of peace Telegraph UK (September 4, 2007) - For most Israelis and Palestinians, peace seems such a remote prospect that it is scarcely worth thinking about. Even officials involved in the peace process are working hard to damp down optimism, fearful that hopes will once again be cruelly dashed. Yet there is a slowly dawning sense in parts of the Middle East that, after seven years of violence in the latest intifada, Israeli-Palestinian efforts are quietly gaining momentum. Ahead of a US-backed conference planned for November, the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, have begun tackling the core issues of the conflict - final borders, the division of Jerusalem, and the resettlement of Palestinian refugees. They have been meeting one-on-one, and seem to be getting along well, according to insiders. In their meetings, Mr Abbas smokes the occasional cigarette, and Mr Olmert the occasional cigar. There have been almost no unwanted leaks to the media, unlike the briefings and counter-briefings that have marred previous peace efforts. Just a few months ago, Israel was insisting that there was no Palestinian partner for peace and was ignoring the Palestinian government. Such talks were unthinkable. But in the weeks since Hamas's dramatic takeover in Gaza, the US and Israel have recalculated. They have concluded that a true peace push that offers Palestinians hope will be the best, and perhaps only, chance for Mr Abbas to fend off the rising power of Palestinian Islamists. Now supporters of Mr Abbas, as well as Israeli leaders, believe that a tangible peace document, endorsed by Arab leaders further afield and with an explicit endgame in sight, may split Hamas's ranks and tip the scales back towards the president's Fatah party. The US is lobbying moderate Arab powers, especially Saudi Arabia, to secure their involvement in the peace conference. Saudi Arabia has said it will sign on if it is convinced the talks will produce more than empty promises. Even the Arab League sent a delegation to Israel earlier this year for the first time. "Things are churning. There is a lot of scuttling and running around," said Danny Seidemann, a human rights lawyer and long-standing Israeli peace activist.
| Israel | Islam | 1^st Seal |

Iran warns US over risks of military action  YNet News (September 4, 2007) - New special military advisor to supreme leader Ali Khamenei says Washington could never foresee size of Tehran's response against US troops in region; adds reaction could affect Israel. Iran on Tuesday issued a stark warning to the United States over the danger of launching a military attack, saying Washington could never foresee the size of its response against US troops in the region. "The US will face three problems if it attacks Iran. Firstly, it does not know the volume of our response," said General Rahim Yahya Safavi, the new special military advisor to supreme leader Ali Khamenei. "Also, it can not evaluate the vulnerability of its 200,000 troops in the region, since we have accurately identified all of their camps," added Safavi, who stepped down last week as head of the elite Revolutionary Guards. Safavi also warned over how Iran's reaction to a US attack could affect Israel - Tehran's regional archfoe - and also crude oil supply from the world's fourth-largest producer. "Secondly, it does not know what will happen to Israel and, thirdly, the United States does not know what will happen to the oil flow," he was quoted by the ISNA news agency as saying. Washington has never ruled out taking military action against Tehran, and its tone has sharpened again over the past week, with President George W. Bush warning that Iran's atomic program could lead to a "nuclear holocaust." Iran has always insisted it would never launch any attack against a foreign country, but has also warned of a crushing response to any aggression against its soil. Tehran has an array of medium range missiles, and claims that its longer-range Shahab-3 missile has a reach of 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles), which would put Israel and US bases on the Arabian Peninsula within reach. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has dismissed the chance of any US attack against Iran, but influential former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has warned of the dangers still posed by the United States. more...
| Iran | Gog/Magog | Israel | Islam | America |

Life under the “Color Red” Alert YNet News (September 4, 2007) - A baby's heart-wrenching cry is heard against a backdrop of falling Qassam rockets. Mothers fearfully dart to kindergartens to check whether their children have been hurt. Helpless people run about the streets seeking shelter. These are the pictures that came out of Sderot Monday; a city located less than an hour's drive away from the heart of Tel Aviv. And it's not as if we didn't know what was going on there. For the past seven years we have been clicking our tongues each time we hear of another Qassam rocket landing there, another house that has collapsed, more shock victims. Once in a while we read articles about these people who live in the shadows of the "Color Red" alert system, after which we let out a few words of solidarity, less than a proper sentence so that we can appear righteous. So that we can prove to someone - or even to ourselves - that we care. Something the likes of: How terrible, or how can one live like this. Then we proceed with our daily lives. But to what extent do we really understand the lives of these people, who beyond the daily anxieties accompanying every Israeli citizen raising children here, must face a constant tangible, existential and statistical threat. A threat so chilling it is almost surreal: Will my house be hit by a Qassam rocket today? Or where will my child be in the next Qassam attack? And the dilemma of each sane parent in Sderot: Am I being irresponsible by continuing to live in a place where my children are in danger's way? Hence, the images from Sderot Monday were so effective. They didn't depict ruined houses or the cries of residents following a Qassam attack. They depicted people in their daily routine: People like you and I, who take their children to kindergarten or to school in the morning. Mothers who heavy-heartedly part from their babies, who would from that moment on become dependent on the resourcefulness, the courage and resilience of the kindergarten teacher. more...
| Israel | Islam |

Muslims Ransacking Israel’s Temple Mount Jerusalem Newswire (September 3, 2007) - Two thousand years ago, Roman Legions pillaged and burned Israel’s Second Temple, turning the hilltop on which it once stood into a desolate heap. As they wandered the planet, looking for a place to find rest for their feet, hounded and harried everywhere by anti-Semitic Christians and others, the descendants of the exiled Jews prayed for and looked toward their return to the Temple Mount and the rebuilding of the house of worship to their God. It is their holiest site—the place where God’s glory once shone visibly for the entire nation to see, and the place from which their Messiah is prophesied to reign. And yet, despite this purported highest importance to their nation, Israel’s government is apparently unmoved by reports of ongoing and unrestrained destruction of the site and its priceless remains at the hands of the Palestinian Islamic Waqf. In an exclusive report Monday [September 3], WorldNetDaily [WND] revealed that the Waqf—or Islamic Trust—has been caught “red-handed” destroying Temple-era antiquities, including parts of what may well be a wall from the Second Temple. The destruction is being wrought as the Arabs blast trenches in which to lay new electrical wiring for their mosques and other Muslim-controlled structures. Whereas Muslims throughout the Middle East and around the world have rioted and protested violently any plans by Israel to carry out excavations or repair work anywhere near the Temple Mount, Israel’s Jews are conspicuous by their silence and almost total lack of interest in what the Muslims are doing to their holy of holies. One of the few Israelis to register their shock and anger is Eilat Mazar, considered one of the most prominent Temple Mount archaeologists. WND reports Mazar analyzed a photo showing damaged stone elements and said they “might be part of a Jewish Temple wall Israeli archaeologists charge the Waqf found and has been attempting to destroy.” “It certainly looks like Second Temple antiquity and could very well be part of a Second Temple courtyard wall,” Mazar said. If authenticated, said WND, the wall would be one of the most important Temple Mount archaeological discoveries in recent history. Mazar said she would need to examine the stone in the photo to certify it. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert reportedly gave the Waqf permission to use earth-moving gear to dig a long, deep trench across the top of the mount. Israeli police are protecting the diggers and, in fact, helping oversee the destruction of the most important piece of their national heritage. Archaeologists like Mazar are prevented from inspecting how the work is being done. more...
| Israel | Islam | Temple Mount |

Solana hopes for developments in Mideast peace process YNet News (September 2, 2007) - Following meeting with Palestinian president in Ramallah, EU foreign policy chief says, 'We have to take advantage of the opportunity created.' Abbas stresses that 'there will be no dialogue with Hamas until it goes back on the coup it carried out in June'. It is time for the Palestinian people to reap the fruits of security and peace, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Sunday following his meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah. In a press conference held after the meeting, Solana said he hoped for positive developments in the coming months. According to the foreign policy chief, he came to the Middle East to advance the peace process. He stressed that the Europe Union would continue to help Abbas and his government with financial and security aid. "We need to see achievements by the end of the year. We have to take advantage of the opportunity created," he added. Solana noted that the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians would be backed by the EU and expressed his hope that the talks would succeed and that each side would be open to the other side's suggestions. Addressing the US-sponsored peace conference scheduled to take place in November, the foreign policy chief said that "a solution will not be achieved tomorrow, but we have to make progress." The Palestinian president said that his meetings with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert dealt with all the relevant issues, both daily issued and disputed diplomatic issues. "Every such meeting requires a lot of preparation, so that it is not defined as a failure," he said. more...
| Israel | Islam | EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | Solana | 1^st Seal |

Solana to meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders European Jewish Press (August 31, 2007) - EU’s foreign policy chief Javier Solana will travel to Israel and the Palestinian Territories over the weekend as part of the European Union’s desire to play an important role in the Quartet of international Middle East mediators, his spokeswoman, Mary Brazier, told EJP. Solana will have talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders ahead of several important gatherings later this year, including the informal meeting of EU Foreign Ministers on 9 September in Portugal, the Quartet meeting in New York next month and the international Mideast peace conference to be convened in November at the initiative of US president George Bush. Solana is to meet on Sunday in Ramallah with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad before meetings in Jerusalem Sunday and Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Defence Minister Ehud Barak and Knesset (Israel’s parliament) Speaker Dalia Itsik. Solana is said to be “cautiously optimistic” about Israeli-Palestinian peace prospects and appreciates the current momentum created by the talks between Olmert and Abbas. He also feels that there is for the first time in seven years a “unique opportunity” to seize with Bush’s peace conference proposal. His spokesperson said that there is “no change” in the EU’s policy towards Hamas. “There is no political contact with Hamas,” Mary Brazier, said. During his visit, Solana will also meet the heads of the EU border assistance mission at the Rafah crossing point (EU BAM Rafah) and of the EU Police Mission in the Palestinian territories (EUPOL COPPS) which is helping the Palestinian Authority to establish a modern and effective civil police service and develop security capacity. more...
| Israel | Islam | EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | Solana | 1^st 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.
| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land | EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | 1^st Seal |

Sheikh Salah: Israel wants to encroach on parts of Temple Mount YNet News (August 30, 2007) - Israel is conspiring to encroach on the Temple Mount to build a Jewish temple near the Al-Aqsa mosque, Sheikh Raed Salah, the head of the Islamic Movement northern branch, said Thursday. Salah called on Arab and Muslim nations to "prevent the division of the Al-Aqsa by Israel." In a letter to Arab kings and leaders of Muslim countries, Salah urged all Muslims to torpedo "Israel's plan that aims at dividing the Al-Aqsa Mosque between Muslims and Jews whereas in the Jewish part it plans to build its imaginary temple." Salah also lamented Israel's practice of allowing groups of religious Jews to visit the Temple Mount, and according to Salah, to pray and perform religious rituals. The Temple Mount, which houses the Al-Aqsa and Dome of the Rock Mosques, is the holiest site for Jews. The Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest Muslim shrine, nests just above the last remaining wall of the Temple, the Western Wall. Salah said the whole complex was Muslim but Israel was trying to expropriate parts of it.
| Israel | Islam | Temple Mount |

'Hamas in Damascus instructed W. Bank cells to launch mega attack' Jerusalem Post (August 26, 2007) - Yahiya Moussa, a member of the Hamas parliament in Gaza, said the organization did not change its policy regarding suicide attacks, Israel Radio reported Sunday evening. He said reports aired in Israeli media earlier Sunday were meant to "set the ground for renewed Israeli violence against the Palestinians." Moussa added, however, that Hamas was not in complete control over its activists and that "pressure against activists in the [West] Bank could lead bring about an explosion." A Palestinian source in Ramallah contradicted Moussa, and confirmed that the leadership in Damascus had indeed instructed West Bank Hamas members to carry out a large-scale attack. Earlier Sunday, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) deputy director said at the cabinet meeting that Hamas leaders in Damascus have told the group's loyalists in the West Bank to carry out a large-scale terrorist attack inside Israel. Due to Hamas's current frustrations, he said, there was an increased chance it would become more actively involved in carrying out attacks here and abroad. Hamas, the official told the ministers, was irritated it had not been able to break out of its international isolation and had been unable to create a mechanism that would bring about dialogue with Fatah. The organization, he said, was also finding it increasingly difficult to effectively govern the Gaza Strip. In addition, he said, there were increasing signs of economic separation between Gaza and the West Bank, with the economic situation in Gaza getting worse, while recently there had been some improvement in the West Bank's private economic sector. "There is no real threat to Hamas in Gaza," the Shin Bet official added. "Its situation is stable." He said Hamas was continuing to smuggle large quantities of arms and explosives from Egypt. In the two months since it took control of Gaza, he said, some 40 tons of explosives had been smuggled in, representing half of the amount of explosives smuggled since Israel left Gaza in 2005. The Shin Bet official said there had been a recent decrease in Egyptian efforts to stop the smuggling. more...
| Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

Since Damascus is considered the origins of this push for violence, could Israel catch wind of something and fulfill the prophesied destruction of Damascus? Keep watching.

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 | Islam | Dividing the Land | Temple Mount | America |

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...
| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land |  1^st Seal | Temple Mount |

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...
| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land |

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...
| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land | Temple Mount |

Are Turkey’s Relations With Israel Crumbling? Today's Zaman (August 25, 2007) - Just as Turkey is tackling domestic issues surrounding the election of its next president, the decision of an influential Jewish group -- the New York-based Anti-Defamation League (ADL) -- to recognize the World War I killing of Anatolian Armenians as genocide, kicked the genocide debates back onto Turkey’s agenda again. Israel and Jewish lobbyists have so far pursued a policy of siding with Turkey on this controversial issue, refusing to recognize those incidents as genocide, but this long-time policy has been reversed with the ADL’s move, arousing suspicion that something might be askew in Turkey-Israel relations, which cannot be considered independent from Jewish groups operating in the US. There is a widely held view that Turkey’s improving relations with neighboring countries, particularly Iran, has disturbed both Israel and the US, resulting in such consequence. Milliyet columnist Taha Akyol speculates about the possible reasons for such an attitude change among Jewish groups in the US and connects this to recent political developments. Akyol thinks it was the politics of yesterday that prompted Jews to take sides with Turkey on this controversial issue and it is politics again that has made their stance change. Akyol, for instance, shows that Turkey’s rejection of a motion in 2003 that would have allowed US troops to be deployed in Turkey during the Iraq War and Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal visiting Turkey after winning elections in Palestine as some of the reasons for deteriorating relations with the Bush administration neocons, who are in political and economic alliance with Zionism. He also talks about Turkey’s improving relations with Iran and Syria as possible reasons for the change in stance among Jewish groups. “The Jewish groups do no act independently from Israel. So, their taking a stance against Turkey will undoubtedly deal a severe blow to Turkish-Israeli relations. Turkey, Israel and the US will all suffer from the deteriorating relations,” argues Akyol. more...
| Iran | Gog/Magog | Israel | Islam |

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...
| Israel | Islam | 1^st Seal | Dividing the Land | Temple Mount |

Whether or not Israel initially gets any control of the Temple Mount, the Gog/Magog invasion and the subsequent destruction of those invaders will silence the extremists temporarily. And with Israel recognizing their God and coming out of the secular downward spiral they are currently in, I believe they will push to rebuild the temple in the absence of the uprising against that idea now.

Evangelical pastor told to leave Israel Haaretz (August 18, 2007) - An American evangelical pastor and his wife who have been living in Israel for nearly two decades have been ordered to leave the country within two weeks, after their request for permanent residency was turned down, officials said on Thursday. Ron Cantrell, 59, and his wife Carol, 54, have run a small Jerusalem-based ministry, Shalom Shalom Jerusalem, for the past four years. Cantrell previously worked for Bridges for Peace, an evangelical organization, for 14 years. Two of the couple’s children have married Israelis and have Israeli ID cards. Interior Ministry officials said the decision was made following suspicions that Cantrell was involved in missionary work. The pastor categorically denied the allegations as baseless. Cantrell, who has been active in raising money for Israel as well as working on behalf of Soviet Jews, had resided in Israel on a special clergy visa during his work for Bridges for Peace, but then went back to a regular tourist visa, which needed to be renewed every three or six months, he said. The highly-coveted but sparsely-distributed clergy visa is primarily given to officials from mainstream Christian organizations. Cantrell, who travels extensively on lecture tours, could have continued living in Israel if he had left the country at least once every three months, but said that was an “unworkable solution” for his wife. Cantrell said the Interior Ministry had cited no reason for rejecting the residency request. Interior Ministry spokeswoman Sabine Haddad said that the couple’s request to receive residency status, after residing in Israel for years on various temporary permits, had been brought before all ministry levels up to the acting head of the population authority, who was also the director-general of the office. The request was turned down last month, she said. Ministry officials cited suspicions of missionary work. The Shalom Shalom Jerusalem Web site says that the couple “encourages Christians and Messianic Jewish believers in their understanding of the prophetic Scriptures” and “encourages believers to participate in God’s end-time plans by being involved in positive support for the nation of Israel and Jewish communities worldwide … in the regathering of the Jewish people to their homeland.” The issue underscored the delicate balancing act evangelical Christian supporters of Israel face, between proselytizing, which is banned in Israel, and their fundamental belief that the return of the Jews to the Holy Land was foretold in the Scriptures and heralds the return of the messiah.
| Israel |

European Parliament to Host Anti-Israel Hate-Fest UN Watch (August 16, 2007) - Under the auspices of the UN's Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, a "Conference of Civil Society in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace" will take place on August 30-31 in Belgium. These meetings are part of a round-robin of anti-Israel gatherings organized year-round by the UN's 16-member Division for Palestinian Rights.  It all dates back to 1975, when these mechanisms were installed within the UN on the same day that the General Assembly adopted its infamous "Zionism is Racism" resolution.  What is new, however, is the venue:  the European Parliament in Brussels. What the conference will pronounce is pre-determined. Carefully pre-determined: the UN's Palestinian Division runs a tightly-controlled operation that accredits only anti-Israel NGOs and speakers. And recently they've become quite clever. Without altering the virulently anti-Israel nature of their meetings, the organizers instead seek to mask their activities — under such innocent-sounding titles as "support for Israeli-Palestinian peace." Moreover, to add credence to their cover, they invite specially approved "Israelis" — a select group of radicals who openly espouse hatred of Israel, claiming the license to do so because of their citizenship. Both tactics give conference organizers the cover they need for their allies and enablers to then use the material. Among the speakers at the conference are Michel Warschawski, who proudly describes himself as a "well-known anti-Zionist activist." Others speakers include Nurit Peled Elhannan, Amira Hass, Raji Sourani, Jamal Jumaa (Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign), Mohammed Khatib (Popular Committee of Bilin Coordinator), and David Shearer (OCHA). See the recent meeting in South Africa, featuring Gideon Levy and others, to get a sense of what to expect in Brussels. None of the radical Israeli Jews at the Brussels conference represents even a tiny segment of the Israeli Jewish population. So it's like holding a conference on U.S.-Islamic rapprochement and inviting John Walker Lindh—the American who joined the Taliban—to represent America's position. Technically, Walker is as American as Warschawski and Hass are Israeli. But only a scoundrel or a fool would treat either exercise as anything but a sham. Who was behind the European Parliament's decision to play host to this poorly disguised hate-fest? With the conference façade removed, who in Europe will now have the courage to speak out?
| Israel | Islam | EU/UN / 4th Kingdom |

Giuliani: No Palestinian State; It Would Support Terror Jerusalem Newswire (August 15, 2007) - A candidate for the US Republican Party's presidential nominee has taken a stand against supporting the creation of a Palestinian state on Israel's biblical heartland at this time. Laying out his foreign policy positions in a magazine article, Rudy Giuliani said it "is not in the interest of the United States, at a time when it is being threatened by Islamist terrorists, to assist the creation of another state that will support terrorism." The former New York mayor stressed that "America's commitment to Israel's security is a permanent feature of our foreign policy." If the Palestinians wanted a state they would have to earn it "through sustained good governance, a clear commitment to fighting terrorism, and a willingness to live in peace with Israel." Giuliani took a swipe at President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who have become almost obsessive about getting a Palestinian state established before the end of the presidential term. "Too much emphasis" has been put on trying to secure an agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs, he said. Turning to Iran, Giuliani said that, if he is made president, he would threaten to use a "big stick" to put a stop to Tehran's nuclear program. Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is universally believed to be committed to developing an atomic bomb and has vowed to wipe Israel off the map.
| Israel | Islam | America |

Israel's Netanyahu wins re-election as Likud chief Reuters (August 14, 2007) - Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu easily won re-election as head of the rightist Likud party and pledged on Wednesday to reclaim Israel's leadership. A year after Likud was routed in a national election, Netanyahu has rebounded in opinion polls that have shown a steep plunge in the popularity of the current prime minister, Ehud Olmert, who leads the centrist Kadima party. Official results of Tuesday's Likud balloting gave Netanyahu 75 percent of the vote in a sweeping victory against his main challenger, West Bank settler Moshe Feiglin, who opposes relinquishing Israeli-occupied land to the Palestinians. "The internal battle ended tonight and tomorrow we will focus our efforts on bringing Israel a new leadership," Netanyahu, 57, said in a victory speech. A Netanyahu win was never in doubt in the party he led out of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's government in 2005 in protest over Israel's withdrawal of troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip that year. Whether the Likud, Israel's main opposition party, can claw its way back to power is an open question. The party won only 12 seats in the 120-member parliament in last year's election, down from 38 in the previous poll. A general election is not due until 2010. But Olmert has been plagued by a string of corruption scandals and a potentially dama