Cease-fire complexity update

by atharris, posted in Israel/Hamas conflict, Middle East

I had posted the news below in the previous post.

Mashaal made one more interesting point that relates to the US. He claimed that Secretary of State John Kerry called his friends in Qatar and Turkey at the start of the conflict and asked them to broker a ceasefire. If this is true, it’s nothing less than a scandal because it would mean Kerry had cut out the ground from beneath the Egyptian ceasefire proposal.

It turns out this was a true statement by Mashaal concerning the latest, absurd cease-fire proposal from Secretary of State John Kerry.

The Palestinian Authority is fuming at US Secretary of State John Kerry, accusing him of trying to undermine the Egyptian ceasefire initiative endorsed by Israel and the PA last week and rejected by Hamas, an Arab daily reported on Sunday.

Palestinian sources told the London-based A-Sharq Al-Awsat that Kerry had initially agreed to an Egyptian proposal for an immediate ceasefire followed by five days of negotiations between Israel and the PA, with American assurances to address some of Hamas’s demands. But on Friday evening Kerry produced a new plan based on consultations with Qatar and Turkey and conducted between “the State of Israel” and “the Palestinian factions,” excluding the PA. The Israeli cabinet unanimously rejected Kerry’s plan.

Read more: Abbas fumes at Kerry over alternative ceasefire bid | The Times of Israel http://www.timesofisrael.com/abbas-fumes-at-kerry-over-alternative-ceasefire-bid/#ixzz38i1vKPdw

“confidential draft” of the American ceasefire proposal leaked to the press appears to confirm what The Times of Israel reported Friday — that Washington was willing to generously accede to many of Hamas’s demands, while all but ignoring Israel’s security requirements.
The published text of the proposal, obtained by Haaretz, also shows that Qatar and Turkey – Hamas’s main sponsors in the region — were given prominent roles in the mediation, while the Palestinian Authority and Egypt were entirely marginalized.

According to the text, “the Palestinian factions” and the State of Israel would make three commitments:

a)……

b)……..

c) Convene in Cairo, at the invitation of Egypt, within 48 hours to negotiate resolution of all issues necessary to achieve a sustainable cease-fire and enduring solution to the crisis in Gaza, including arrangements to secure the opening of crossings, allow the entry of goods and people and ensure the social and economic livelihood of the Palestinian people living in Gaza, transfer funds to Gaza for the payment of salaries for public employees, and address all security issues.

…..as it basically accepts all of Hamas’s demands but addresses Israeli worries only tangentially.

Read more: Leaked document confirms US ceasefire bid generous to Hamas | The Times of Israel http://www.timesofisrael.com/leaked-document-confirms-us-ceasefire-bid-generous-to-hamas/#ixzz38i5aSH6x

Betrayal?

As Ha’aretz correspondent Barak Ravid, one of Israel’s premier left-wingreporters, put it:

“The document recognized Hamas’ position in the Gaza Strip… [and it] placed Israel and Hamas on the same level, as if the first is not a primary US ally and as if the second isn’t a terror group which overtook part of the Palestinian Authority in a military coup and fired thousands of rockets at Israel.”

 

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/24786/Default.aspx?utm_source=news&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=No-sidebar-news-1&utm_content=1308

Interesting words, a hint of something to come?

In the legitimacy stakes, Netanyahu has three solid allies for crushing Hamas: Saudi King Abdullah, Egyptian President Abdel-Fatteh El-Sisi and the UAE ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Sunday, Mahmoud Abbas attached a Palestinian voice to this group.

This regional coalition has enormous clout, derived, on the one hand, from the Israeli military and its fight against Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the Egyptian army’s containment of Hamas efforts to break out into Sinai for strategic depth; and, on the other, from the financial might of Saudi Arabia and the oil emirates and the world prestige they enjoy.

So why is the Obama administration shoving this powerful coalition out of his way and building a rival alliance to counter it?

 

http://www.debka.com/article/24135/Netanyahu%E2%80%99s-dilemma-Back-Obama%E2%80%99s-save-Hamas-policy-or-fight-for-its-downfall-with-Egypt-and-Saudis-

Meanwhile Egypt continues to guard Israel’s back.

An official in Cairo reports that 14 Al Qaeda militants were killed and 47 other terrorists were arrested in Egyptian army raids in northern Sinai. Friday, 12 jihadists were killed and 11 others detained, said a spokesperson of the Egyptian Armed Forces, Mohamed Samir Abdel Aziz Saturday night.

 

The majority of Evangelical Christians are still in favor of Israel, but as I stated before, this White House Administration is not. So now the complexity increases with a new twist. With all of the consulting and counseling going on, is it starting to look more like Psalms 83?? Just a thought for now…..

Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.

2 For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head.

3 They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones.

4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.

5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:Psalms 83

 

 

 

 

 

Syrian Al-Qaeda fighters

by atharris, posted in ISIS, Middle East

The ever changing landscape of the Syrian Civil War continues as it has since March 2011. Now Syrian AL-Qaeda militants have moved next to the Israeli/Jordanian border after fleeing from IS (Islamic State or ISIL).

  Thousands of Syrian jihadists affiliated with al-Qaeda’s Al-Nusra Front have recently taken refuge near the Israeli and Jordanian borders fleeing northern Syria, which has fallen into the hands of the more extreme Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Created in January 2012 and led by Mohammed al-Jawlani, the Al-Nusra Front is classified as a terror organization by the United Nations, the United States, and other Western countries. Al-Qaeda, represented in Syria by Al-Nusra, has dissociated itself from the Islamic State, which has occupied vast territories in northern and western Iraq, as well as northern Syria.

IS continues its rampage to destroy.

Islamic State destroys Jonah’s Tomb in Mosul

Radical army continues to impose reign of terror on Mosul as Iraq faces major crises

Al Quds Day

by atharris, posted in Israel/Hamas conflict, Middle East

Violent riots were staged in different parts of Jerusalem Thursday night in protest against the IDF counter-terror operation in the Gaza Strip. A man was killed in a rally of some 10,000 at the Kalandia crossing into the West Bank. Some 90 people were injured. Three Jerusalem police officers were injured in another outbreak on Temple Mount. Hamas has called on West Bank and Jerusalem Palestinians to launch an intifada against Israel.

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Al Quds Day begins tomorrow, Friday the 25th.

Muslims across the world will be taking to the streets on Friday to protest against the atrocities and crimes committed by the Zionist regime of Israel against the innocent people of Gaza. 

International Quds Day is an annual event held on the last Friday of Ramadan that was initiated by the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979 to express solidarity with the Palestinian people and to oppose Zionism and Israel’s control of Jerusalem. 

http://www.tehrantimes.com/component/content/article/94-headline/117240-muslim-world-to-stand-up-to-israel-on-quds-day

 

 

         

Israel’s Prophetic Return to the Homeland Continues Today

by atharris, posted in Israel, Prophecy

Israelis from around the world continue to migrate back to Israel today as prophesied. But first, a little history of Israel beginning shortly after the Crucifixion.

Deuteronomy 28:49-50

49 The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; 50 A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young:

The prophetic scripture above was fulfilled with the Roman occupation of Jerusalem. The language of the Romans was foreign to the Jews and the eagle was the symbol of the Roman Empire. The Romans destroyed Jerusalem in AD 70 and destroyed the temple as prophesied by Jesus.

And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down. Matthew 24:1-2

The cities were destroyed and the Jews ate their own children out of hunger. Complete destruction came in 135 AD.

29 And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat. 0 And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you. 31 And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours.  Leviticus 26:29-31

Today the Jews reside in most countries of the world just as foretold in the scripture.

And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods,…Deuteronomy 28:64

accurate4_6

The Jewish people have survived 2,000 years of persecution without a king or authority.

28 Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the Lord: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished. Jeremiah 46:28

6 For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Malachi 3:6

4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: Hosea 3:4

  In 1948 the nation of Israel was formed.          

21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: Ezekiel 37:21

16 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come.

17 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. Ezekiel 11:16-17

Since 1948, Israel has been attacked many times and is once again under attack today. Israel will eventually trouble the whole world and it seems we see this happening today.

2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. Zechariah 12:2

Today the Jewish people of the world continue to migrate back to their homeland.

Chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel Natan Sharansky told The Times of Israel that not only aren’t there any postponements or cancellations, “We’ve had more new immigrants than missiles.”

While Sharansky may have slightly exaggerated — approximately 2,050 rockets have been fired at Israel since Operation Protective Edge began while 1,500 Diaspora Jews immigrated during the same time period —

There are a few thousand immigrants already “in the pipeline” for this year and some 10,000 scheduled briefings. Aliya, he said, generally takes about six months from Western countries. “This is not an evacuation, like in the recent cases of Ukraine,” he said.

Over 200 North American immigrants, undeterred by the continuing rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, winged their way into Israel on Tuesday to begin a new life.

A special flight chartered by the Nefesh B’Nefesh organization landed at Ben Gurion Airport with 228 immigrants from the US and Canada, 100 of whom are children.

Founded in 2002, the Nefesh B’Nefesh organization has worked with the Israeli government to bring some 40,000 North American immigrants to Israel.

When nearly 75 percent of French Jews reported they were considering emigration earlier this spring, they weren’t kidding. More than 400 French Jews arrived in Israel today, a group that included mostly young families from Paris and its suburbs, with almost 200 children making the trip.

There was a 62 percent increase in French rates of immigration to Israel in 2013—3,289 French Jews made aliyah, up from 1,917 the year before—and according to the Jewish Agency for Israel, which organizes these mass aliyah trips, those numbers are liking to keep increasing. They’re expecting 5,000 olim, or Jewish immigrants to Israel, this year.

 

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — Despite an ongoing and bloody conflict, hundreds of families left the United States to immigrate to Israel on Monday afternoon.

Nearly 400 people from across the United States and Canada gathered Monday for a farewell ceremony at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Many secular Jews are being drawn to the homeland without a clear understanding of why.

Scoggin is not your typical immigrant to Israel, and not just because she hails from the 49th state. Scoggin has no family in the Holy Land, hasn’t had much Judaism in her life and has a Christian father. But something drew her to Israel.

“I’m not religious, I grew up celebrating Christmas my whole life, but I do feel that connection to my land,” she said. “I don’t know if it’s my Jewishness or if I just like the heat.”

“There’s just something about Israel that is both dynamic and magnetic. The intellectual and historical experiences when I’m there are very challenging. And for me, I grew up never being around very many Jews. We were a very secular Jewish family. I went to an Episcopalian boarding school. I work for Catholic Social Services. There’s something really appealing for once about being among my own and having the holidays be the Jewish holidays.”

Read more: Alaskan immigrants trade grizzlies for Gaza rockets | The Times of Israelhttp://www.timesofisrael.com/alaskan-immigrants-trade-grizzlies-for-gaza-rockets/#ixzz38OyusQjX

Amazing isn’t it!!

Isaiah 40:8

8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

Jeremiah 32:37-40

37 Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely:

38 And they shall be my people, and I will be their God:

39 And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them:

40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.

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Cease-fire complexity

by atharris, posted in Israel/Hamas conflict, Middle East

The ongoing attempts for a ceasefire of the Israeli/Hamas conflict is complex and includes multiple countries and parties. They include the US, Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Palestinian Authority (PA) under President Mahmoud Abbas from the West Bank and Hamas political bureau, Khaled Mashaal from the Gaza Strip. Israel and the US have previously stated they only recognize Egypt as a legitimate cease-fire broker.

 

Hamas rejected Secretary of State John F. Kerry’s call for a cease-fire amid concerns that an agreement won’t be reached before other parties are drawn into its conflict with Israel

 

Wednesday’s speech by the head of the Hamas political bureau, Khaled Mashaal, in Qatar, did not constitute good news. One way or another Mashaal made clear that the fighting is likely to continue for a considerable time. The stance he presented, which is accepted by all wings of Hamas — military and political, in Gaza and overseas — is that there will be no ceasefire without the full lifting of the blockade on the Strip.

The blockade mentioned by Mashaal is the Rafah border crossing between Israel and the Sinai Peninsula, currently guarded by the Egyptian army.  It is the main route in which Hamas can continue to receive arms and men to ensure survival.

Mashaal made one more interesting point that relates to the US. He claimed that Secretary of State John Kerry called his friends in Qatar and Turkey at the start of the conflict and asked them to broker a ceasefire. If this is true, it’s nothing less than a scandal because it would mean Kerry had cut out the ground from beneath the Egyptian ceasefire proposal.

 

While Khaled Meshal haggles with ceasefire brokers in Qatar, his agents are known to have appealed urgently to Tehran to find the weapons they need and deliver them at top speed to the Gaza Strip – possibly from Libya by the Iranian-terrorists’ arms smuggling route through Egypt.

For now, Egypt is still protecting Israel’s southern border.

  Egypt: Army shoots suicide bomber near Gaza border

The Ma’an news agency quoted an Egyptian army source to the effect that the attacker carried an explosive device and was shot after he attempted to cross the border with Israel south of Rafah.

The source claimed that the Egyptian army had also destroyed a vehicle loaded with Grad missiles in Sheikh Zuweid in the North Sinai district, killing at least two operatives inside.

The Egyptian army said that it had thwarted a total of two missile attacks against Israel since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge on July 8.

 

 

 

 

Hamas terrorist astounded

by atharris, posted in Israel/Hamas conflict, Middle East
Israel-Gaza-Hamas-God-changes-their-path-in-mid-air
 
Headlines in Israel claim miracles are protecting the Jews during the Gaza Strip ground war, with one headline proclaiming that Hamas terrorists are complaining about God changing the direction of rockets in mid-air.
Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/1364461/israel-miracle-gaza-strip-hamas-complain-their-god-changes-the-paths-of-our-rockets-in-mid-air/#FsS5DyCwr8rrbk6G.99

ISIL update

by atharris, posted in ISIS, Middle East

IS – Islamic State is also known as ISIL—Islamist State of Iraq and the Levant.  Wikipedia defines the Levant as, “The Levant (/ləˈvænt/), also known as the Eastern Mediterranean, is a geographic and cultural region consisting of the “eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt“.[2] The Levant today consists of the island of Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and part of southern Turkey.

IS – has declared Iraq as their very own giving Iraq the new title of Islamic State. IS plans to continue their assault into the Levant with the intention to eventually control all of that area. Today ISIL now controls an astounding 35% of Syria.

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is now in control of 35 percent of the Syrian territory following a string of victories, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Friday.

ISIS holdings include nearly all of Syria’s oil and gas fields, the monitoring group said in a statement.

One of the latest gains of the self-proclaimed “caliphate” was the seizure of the country’s biggest oil fields, in Deir el-Zour in eastern Syria, earlier in the week.

 

ISIL is now moving into northern Syria.

The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), the group that overran Mosul in Iraq last week and has been pushing south towards Baghdad, announced it is also preparing an offensive in northern Syria.
In a statement dated June 17, 2014, and published on several Arabic websites, ISIS called on its fighters to attack the city of Al-Qamishli and its rural areas. In the last several hours a number of bombings have been reported on Twitter and some reports say the airport of Qamishli has been heavily damaged.

 

ISIS is leaving a path of destroyed churches, shrines and mosques in its wake as it storms across Syria and Iraq, and has even set its sights on Mecca — Islam’s holiest site.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/07/10/isis-destroys-shrines-and-mosques-sets-sights-on-mecca/