Where it's all headed According to the many prophecies found in the Bible foretelling the Lord's return, all the conflicts in the Middle East and soon to engulf the world, eventually, lead to Jerusalem. In light of current events now unfolding in the Middle East, with all the key players foretold in scripture, we may begin asking ourselves "Are We There Yet?" "Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling and a burdensome stone for all people:" --- "For the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land". (Zech 12:2-3, Hosea 4:1)
Netanyahu says he will ‘never divide Jerusalem http://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-would-never-divide-jerusalem-but-would-accept-a-centrist-coalition/ Jan 8, 2013 Jerusalem will not be divided “so long as I’m prime minister,” Benjamin Netanyahu said in a Monday night Channel 2 broadcast. Asked by Yaakov Elon about polls showing two-thirds of Israelis support the division of the city as part of a peace agreement with the Palestinians, the prime minister responded, “I don’t buy it” and stressed that Hamas would be at the walls of Israel’s border if Jerusalem were split
Netanyahu takes on the world in Israeli election campaign http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/08/us-israel-election-netanyahu-idUSBRE9070Q720130108 Jan 8, 2013
It's Bibi against the world on a campaign trail that took the combative Israeli prime minister to a Jewish settlement on Tuesday. Enjoying a wide opinion poll lead before a January 22 election, Benjamin Netanyahu has been lecturing the international community - vocal in its criticism of settlement expansion on occupied territory and his hints of military action against Iran - about what it should really be worried about. The right-wing candidate, known by his childhood nickname "Bibi", has been striving in campaign appearances to strike a common chord in a country where a song titled, "The whole world is against us", was once a hit.
PM: The Danger to the World is not a University in Ariel http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0Oq7fXwYiPA (one minute video news clip)
PM: 'Settlements' Do Not Threaten World Stability, Iran Does http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/163994#.UOyNceRfAth
Jan 8, 2013 Iran's nuclear ambitions and Syria's chemical weapons are the real threats facing the Middle East and the stability of the entire international community, not the so-called “Israeli settlement” expansion, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu affirmed during a visit to Ariel University on Tuesday. After a lengthy process and much heated debate, Ariel University, located in Samaria (Shomron), recently received government recognition as a full-fledged university, making it the first Israeli university over the "green line" (1949 armistice line). "The danger to the world is not a university in Ariel. The danger to the world is not that Israel is building neighborhoods in Jerusalem," the Prime Minister said, addressinguniversity staff ahead of a January 22 general election and after a drive to approve thousands of new Jewish homes in east Jerusalem. "The danger is Iran, which is building nuclear weapons. The danger is Syria's arsenal of chemical weapons," Netanyahu said.
PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY CHIEF JUDGE: 'JERUSALEM WILL BE THE CAPITAL OF THE CALIPHATE http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2013/01/07/Palestinian-Authority-Chief-Judge-Confirms-Eradicate-IsraelAnd-Take-Jerusalem Jan 7, 2013 The caliphate will be restored after this tyrannical rule comes to an end... What we are seeing in Egypt are birth pangs. The struggle between Islam and others, and all the conspiracies that aim at stopping the train that has already set out to liberate Jerusalem and to restore Islamic rule. Jerusalem will be the capital of the caliphate, Allah willingL That is why I say that it is imperative to awaken the nation, because it has the capabilities. It is imperative to awaken the nation to its duty to liberate the land of Jerusalem and Palestine – the land of the Prophet Muhammad's nocturnal journal – using all its capabilities.
Israel Planning to Build Holy Temple, Claims PA Official http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/164007#.UO35IORfAth Jan 9, 2012 The head of manuscripts at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Najeh Bkeirat, has accused Israel of trying to "Judaize" the Temple Mount by building a new Holy Temple. Speaking on January 4 to thePalestine journal, which is affiliated with the Hamas terrorist group, Bkeirat claimed that "the constructionof the false Temple is closer than ever before."
‘Our mission is to save Jerusalem,’ Abbas tells Fatah supporters in TV address to huge Gaza rally http://www.timesofisrael.com/tens-of-thousands-of-fatah-supporters-rally-in-gaza-for-first-time-in-years/ Jan 4, 2013 Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party staged a massive rally Friday in the Gaza Strip, the first such gathering in the territory since Hamas seized control there in 2007 and a reflection of the warming ties between the two rival factions. Protesting the “occupation and blockade” imposed by Israel, and the expansion of settlements in Jerusalem, Abbas declared, “Our mission is to unify our efforts to save Jerusalem our capital.” Jordanian minister accuses Israel of planning to erect the third Temple http://www.timesofisrael.com/jordanian-minister-accuses-israel-of-planning-to-erect-the-third-temple/ Jan 3, 2013 Jordanian minister accused Israel on Wednesday of planning to partition the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem and the Temple Mount plaza surrounding it in order to erect the third Temple. Arab League chief says Palestinians to embark on new statehood bid at UN Security Council http://www.timesofisrael.com/arab-league-chief-says-palestinians-to-embark-on-new-statehood-bid-at-unsecurity-council/ Dec 29, 2012 Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby said two decades of talks with Israel have been “a waste of time” and that Palestinians will soon take a new statehood bid to the UN. “We will return to the UN Security Council,” he said in Ramallah Saturday after meeting Palestinian officials. “Palestine will be cooperating with Arab and EU countries to change the equation (in the peace process) that prevailed over the past 20 years, which was a waste of time.”
Arab League chief calls last 20 years of Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations 'waste of time' http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/arab-league-chief-calls-last-20-years-of-israeli-palestinianpeace-negotiations-waste-of-time-1.490685 Dec 29, 2012 "Our next move in agreement with the Palestinians and with full support from the Arab countries and the European Union is to change the current formula (for the peace process)," he added. "We cannot continue with the methods of the last 20 years. It was a waste of time." Hinting at war crimes charges, UK minister attacks Israel for East Jerusalem construction plans http://www.timesofisrael.com/hinting-at-war-crimes-charges-uk-minister-attacks-israel-for-east-jerusalemconstruction-plans/ Dec 27, 2012 British minister on Thursday harshly condemned Israel for its plans to expand construction in East Jerusalem and for conferring university status on a college in the West Bank city of Ariel, employing damning language rarely used by government officials. While international outcries following Israeli announcements of construction beyond the Green Line are a common occurrence, UK Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt took the unusual step of mentioning the Geneva Conventions, likely implying that settlement expansion is considered a war crime under international law. Disenchanted with peace process, EU may try to force Israel, PA into agreement http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/disenchanted-with-peace-process-eu-may-try-to-forceisrael-pa-into-agreement.premium-1.490010 Dec 26, 2012 Foreign Ministry report states that the EU has become disenchanted with the diplomatic process in its traditional format - direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians - because they doubt its ability to lead to a solution.
The European Union will step up efforts to pressure Israel and the Palestinians into an agreement in 2013, an internal Foreign Ministry document predicts.
After upgrading status, UN officially switches from ‘Palestine’ to ‘State of Palestine’
http://www.timesofisrael.com/after-upgrading-status-un-officially-switches-from-palestine-to-stateof-palestine/ Dec 25, 2012
While legislative scholars and political pundits continue to debate the exact meaning of the upgrade of the Palestinians to a nonmember observer state, the United Nations last week officially changed the way it refers to the body: it’s now the “State of Palestine,” as opposed to merely “Palestine.”
EU and Russia on Middle East Peace Process http://www.european-news-agency.de/special_interest/eu_and_russia_on_middle_east_peace_process53665/ Dec 24, 2012 Brussels [ENA] In light of recent developments in the Middle East the European Union and the Russian Federation firmly believe that now is the time to take bold and concrete steps towards peace between Palestinians and Israelis. The parties must engage in direct and substantial negotiations without preconditions in order to achieve a lasting solution to the IsraeliPalestinian conflict, ending all claims, on the basis of UN Security Council Resolutions 242, 338, 1397, 1515, 1850, the Madrid principles including land for peace, the Roadmap, the Arab Peace Initiative and the agreements previously reached between the parties. The European Union and the Russian Federation affirm that clear parameters outlining the basis for negotiations are key elements for a successful outcome. All parties must avoid acts which undermine confidence and the viability of a two-state solution. The European Union and the Russian Federation underline the urgency of renewed, structured and substantial peace efforts in 2013.
Netanyahu: I'm not interested in what UN says about settlement construction http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/netanyahu-i-m-not-interested-in-what-un-says-aboutsettlement-construction-1.489204 Dec 21, 2012 Amid increasing international criticism of Israel's recent approval of construction plans in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a television interview Friday that he is not interested in what the UN has to say about the subject. Following the UN vote granting the Palestinians non-member status, Israel announced plans to advance a long-frozen project for the E-1 corridor, which links the city of Jerusalem with the settlement of Ma'aleh Adumim. The Netanyahu government also announced plans to build 3,000 new residential units beyond the green line. Criticism of these reached as far as the UN this week, when on Wednesday fourteen members of the UN Security Council condemned Israel for its intention to move ahead with construction in E-1, as well as with building new settler homes. On Tuesday the U.S. State Department accused Israel of engaging in a "pattern of provocative action" that runs counter to statements from Israeli leaders that they are committed to peace. Israel's Netanyahu vows to build in Jerusalem http://news.yahoo.com/israels-netanyahu-vows-build-jerusalem-203945740.html Dec 21, 2012 JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's prime minister has vowed to build in Jerusalem despite criticism from the United Nations, dismissing the international body in particularly strong terms. "The capital of the Jewish people for the past 3,000 years is Jerusalem," Benjamin Netanyahu told Israel's Channel 2 television on Friday. "So I will say in the clearest way possible, the Western Wall in not occupied territory and I don't care what the U.N. will say," he added, referring to the wall Jews consider their holiest place for prayer.
The U.N. last month endorsed a de facto Palestinian state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza, areas Israel won in the 1967 war, but which the world views as occupied territory.
EU, Russia condemn Israeli settlement expansion plans http://news.yahoo.com/eu-russia-condemn-israeli-settlement-expansion-plans-153449111.html Dec 21, 2012 BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union and Russia on Friday denounced Israel's plans to expand settlements in the occupied West Bank and urged Israelis and Palestinians to take "bold and concrete steps towards peace". Israeli officials said this week they would press on with plans to build 6,000 homes for settlers on land claimed by Palestinians, defying criticism from Western powers who fear the move will damage already faint hopes for a peace accord. "The European Union and the Russian Federation are deeply dismayed by and strongly oppose Israeli plans to expand settlements in the West Bank and in particular plans to develop the E1 area,"Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement.
EU joins chorus against Jerusalem building plans, reiterating threat to ‘act accordingly’ http://www.timesofisrael.com/eu-joins-chorus-against-israels-unprecedented-building-plans-reiterating-threatto-act-accordingly/ Dec 20, 2012 European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Thursday joined other international leaders blasting Israel for its “unprecedented” plans to increase construction in Jerusalem neighborhoods beyond the Green Line, repeating a thinly veiled threat to “act accordingly” if Israel doesn’t back down.
Ban Ki-moon, UN Security Council slam Israel on settlements http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2012/1220/Ban-Ki-moon-UN-Security-Council-slamIsrael-on-settlements Dec 20, 2012 Representatives of the 14 council members stepped to the microphone outside the council chamber after its monthly Mideast briefing to denounce the Israeli settlement plans, which they warned are threatening a twostate settlement with the Palestinians. The move was clearly aimed at intensifying pressure on Israel and demonstrating the isolation of the United States on the issue.
‘All Israeli governments have built in Jerusalem. We’re not going to change that,’ PM tells envoys http://www.timesofisrael.com/all-israeli-governments-have-built-in-jerusalem-were-not-going-to-change-thatsays-netanyahu/
Dec 19, 2012 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday reiterated Israel’s right to build in the eastern neighborhoods of Jerusalem, notwithstanding global outcries. Speaking to ambassadors of Asian and Pacific countries on the balcony of Jerusalem’s King David Hotel, overlooking the walls of the Old City, Netanyahu asked them to look down at the city and contemplate international demands that Israel stop building there.
Israel moves forward with new settlements in West Bank, east Jerusalem http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/12/19/israel-moves-forward-with-new-east-jerusalem-settlement/ Dec 19, 2012 JERUSALEM – Israel on Wednesday pressed forward with the construction of thousands of new homes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, part of a series of new settlement plans that have drawn worldwide rebuke, including from its closest ally, the United States. Separate planning committees on Wednesday gave approval to a new settlement in east Jerusalem, the first to be built in the contested area since 1997, and construction of 1,000 new homes in existing settlements across the West Bank.
Middle East conflict: it's time for Europe to suggest its own path to peace http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/03/middle-east-conflict-path-to-peace
Dec 3, 2012 Israel's ambassadors to Britain and France must have spent an uncomfortable few minutes on Monday as they were called in to hear of official displeasure in London and Paris at their government's decision to expand settlements in a key area of the occupied West Bank.
Merkel to warn Netanyahu: Promote peace process or face world seclusion http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/merkel-to-warn-netanyahu-promote-peace-process-orface-world-seclusion.premium-1.482465 Dec 5, 2012 With Israel and European Union states embroiled in a diplomatic crisis, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel Wednesday night in Berlin.
Abbas 'Victory Speech': Jerusalem 'Eternal Capital of Palestine' http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/162753#.UOzlNeRfAti Dec 2, 2012
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas Sunday promised someday the PA flag would fly over “Jerusalem, eternal capital of the state of Palestine.” Thousands of people greeted Abbas rapturously upon his return from the United Nations, where the GeneralAssembly granted the PLO, representing the PA, upgraded status as a nonmember observer state.
"Raise your heads high, because you are Palestinians!” Abbas told the joyous crowd, waving PA flags in the PA capital of Ramallah, located in Samaria.
"You have proof that you are stronger than the occupation, because you are Palestinians... stronger than the settlements, because you are Palestinians. "We were threatened with punishment and sanctions from various sides,” Abbas continued, in a reference to attempts by the United States and Israel to dissuade him from proceeding with the application. "And if we had listened to those threats we wouldn't have gone to the U.N. "One day, a young Palestinian will raise the Palestinian flag over Jerusalem,” he vowed, “the eternal capital of the state of Palestine!”
Netanyahu brushes off world condemnation of settlement plans http://news.yahoo.com/netanyahu-brushes-off-world-condemnation-settlement-plans-142559939.html Dec 2, 2012 JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday brushed off world condemnation of Israel's plans to expand Jewish settlements after the Palestinians won de facto U.N. recognition of statehood. "We will carry on building in Jerusalem and in all the places that are on the map of Israel's strategic interests," a defiant Netanyahu said at the weekly cabinet meeting.
Abbas says Palestine now ‘a country under occupation’ http://www.timesofisrael.com/abbas-says-palestine-now-a-country-under-occupation/ Dec 1, 2012
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Friday that Palestine was now “a country under occupation,” but indicated that he wasn’t ready to turn to the International Criminal Court just yet. Speaking to Palestinian journalists in New York ahead of a visit to Jordan, Abbas reacted to Israel’s announcement that it would build 3,000 housing units in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
"Doomsday" hill may be one Israeli settlement too far http://news.yahoo.com/doomsday-hill-may-one-israeli-settlement-too-far-162433380.html Dec 3, 2012 E1, West Bank (Reuters) - The hillside called E1 is one of the few places around Jerusalem that Jesus Christ might still recognize: a stony, dusty, barren slope on the way down to the desert and the Dead Sea. If Israel carries out plans announced this week, it is destined to be the site of another Jewish settlement city, on occupied land that thePalestinians believe must be part of the state for which they have just won de facto U.N. recognition.
UN Calls for Moscow Conference on Middle East http://en.rian.ru/world/20121201/177852363-print.html Dec 1, 2012
UNITED NATIONS, December 1 (RIA Novosti) - The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution calling for the Moscow Conference on the Middle East that has repeatedly been postponed to be held as soon as possible, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported on Friday. The General Assembly said Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) should resume peace talks under the auspices of the Middle East Quartet of international mediators comprising Russia, the United States, the UN and the European Union. The UN General Assembly recognized on Thursday the PA as a non-member observer state by a more than two-thirds majority. Israel and the United States were among nine UN members that voted against the move. The Moscow Conference is an initiative proposed by Russian diplomats in 2005 to promote the Middle East peace process both between Israelis and Palestinians and between Israel and Syria. The Quartet on the Middle East was established in 2002 and is devoted to negotiating peace in the IsraeliPalestinian conflict. In historic vote, Palestine becomes non-member UN state with observer status http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/in-historic-vote-palestine-becomes-non-member-un-statewith-observer-status-1.481531 Nov 30, 2012 In a historic session of the United Nations in New York Thursday, exactly 65 years after passing the Partition Plan for Palestine, the General Assembly voted by a huge majority to recognize Palestine within the 1967 borders as a non-member state with observer status in the organization. Some 138 countries voted in favor of the resolution, 41 abstained and 9 voted against: Canada, Czech Republic, Israel, U.S., Panama, The Marshall Islands, Palau, Nauru, and Micronesia. Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas delivered a hard-hitting speech in which he was highly critical of Israel, drawing extensive applause from the floor. "Palestine comes today to the General Assembly because it believes in peace and because its people, as proven in past days, are in desperate need of it," Abbas said. The Palestinian Authority chairman said "The moment has arrived for the world to say clearly: Enough of aggression, settlements and occupation." "The world is being asked today to undertake a significant step in the process of rectifying the unprecedented historical injustice inflicted on the Palestinian people since Al-Nakba of 1948." "The General Assembly is called upon today to issue a birth certificate of the reality of the State of Palestine," Abbas said. He concluded his speech to a standing ovation. After UN vote, widespread calls for peace talks http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=294073 Nov 30, 2012
Not every diplomat and official who spoke after the UN General Assembly voted to upgrade the Palestinians' statehood status Thursday night was thrilled with the result, but nearly all of them made emphatic calls for a return to bilateral peace talks. Meanwhile, the Vatican hailed the United Nations's implicit recognition of a Palestinian state on Thursday and called for an internationally guaranteed special status for Jerusalem. The 193-nation UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution to upgrade the Palestinian Authority's observer status at the United Nations from "entity" to "non-member state," the same status as the Vatican. "The Holy See welcomes with favor the decision of the General Assembly by which Palestine has become a Non-member Observer State of the United Nations," a statement said. But it also said it was a "propitious occasion" to recall a "common position" on Jerusalem expressed by the Vatican and the Palestine Liberation Organization when the two sides signed a basic agreement on their bilateral relations in 2000. Thursday's statement called for "an internationally guaranteed special statute" for Jerusalem, aimed at "safeguarding the freedom of religion and of conscience, the identity and sacred character of Jerusalem as a Holy City, (and) respect for, and freedom of, access to its holy places." The United Kingdom's ambassador to the UN, explaining his country's abstention in the vote, said it had been unable to to secure certain assurances from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, whom he described as "a courageous man of peace." Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant reaffirmed that the only way to achieve a two-state solution is through negotiations. He added that the UK looks to the United States to take the lead in coming months in order to restart negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon responded to the vote by affirming that Palestinians have a right to their own independent state. But, the UN chief said there is no alternative to negotiations and urged Israel and the Palestinians to act responsibly, renew their commitment and intensify their efforts for a negotiated, just and lasting peace. At least 17 European nations voted in favor of the Palestinian resolution, including Austria, France, Italy, Norway and Spain. Abbas had focused his lobbying efforts on Europe, which supplies much of the aid the Palestinian Authority relies on. Britain, Germany and others chose to abstain. The Czech Republic was unique in Europe, joining the United States, Israel, Canada, Panama and tiny Pacific Island states likes Nauru, Palau and Micronesia in voting against the move.
PM: UN can't force Israel to compromise on security http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=293919 Nov 29, 2012
With Israel facing a stinging diplomatic defeat Thursday at the UN, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said that regardless of how many vote against Israel, "no force in the world will get me to compromise on Israel's security." He also said no force in the world can sever the thousands-year-old tie between the Jewish people and the land of Israel. Relating to the expected overwhelming support of the world to upgrade the Palestinian status at the UN to that of a non-member state, Netanyahu said that the decision will "Not change anything on the ground. It will not further the establishment of a Palestinian state, but will make it more distant." Netanyahu's comments came while touring an exhibit of recently declassified documents marking the upcoming 35th anniversary of Anwar Sadat's visit to Jerusalem at the Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem. "Israel's hand is always extended in peace, but a Palestinian state will not be established without recognition of the state of Israel as the state of the Jewish people, without an end-of-conflict declaration, and without true security arrangements that will protect Israel and its citizens." Netanyahu, who said that none of the conditions he reiterated are even mentioned in the Palestinian's UN resolution, said that peace is only achieved through negotiations, and not by unilateral declarations "which do not take into consideration Israel security needs." "It does not matter how many will vote against us, there is no force in the world that will cause me to compromise on Israeli security and there is no force in the world able to sever the thousands year connection between the people of Israel and the Land of Israel," he said. Israel Pushing Controversial Settlements After U.N. Vote http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/01/world/middleeast/israel-moves-to-expand-settlements-in-eastjerusalem.html?_r=0 Nov 30, 2012 JERUSALEM — Israel is moving forward with development of Jewish settlements in a contentious area east of Jerusalem, defying the United States by advancing a project that has long been condemned by international leaders as effectively dooming any prospect of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. One day after the United NationsGeneral Assembly voted overwhelmingly to upgrade thePalestinians’ status, a senior Israeli official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the government would pursue “preliminary zoning and planning preparations” for a development that would separate theWest Bank cities of Ramallah and Bethlehem from Jerusalem — preventing the possibility of a viable, contiguous Palestinian state. The development, in an open area known as E1, would connect the large settlement town of Maale Adumim to Jerusalem. Israel also authorized the construction of 3,000 new housing units in parts of East Jerusalem and the West Bank. The timing of the twin actions seemed aimed at punishing the Palestinians for their United Nations bid, and appeared to demonstrate that hard-liners in the government had prevailed after days of debate over how to respond. They marked a surprising turnaround after a growing sense in recent days that Israeli leaders had acceded to pressure from Washington not to react quickly or harshly.
“This is a new act of defiance from the Israeli government,” Saab Erekat, the Palestinians’ chief negotiator, said in a statement. “At a moment where the Palestinian leadership is doing every single effort to save the two-state solution, the Israeli government does everything possible to destroy it.” Much of the world considers settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank to be illegal under international law, and the United States has vigorously opposed development of E1 for nearly two decades.
On Friday, Tommy Vietor, a White House spokesman, condemned the move, citing Washington’s “longstanding opposition to settlements and East Jerusalem construction and announcements.”
“We believe these actions are counterproductive and make it harder to resume direct negotiations or achieve a two-state solution,” Mr. Vietor said. “Direct negotiations remain our goal, and we encourage all parties to take steps to make that easier to achieve.” The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to comment on the zoning and construction decisions, which were made Thursday night around the time of the General Assembly vote. But Israel has long maintained its right to develop neighborhoods throughout East Jerusalem and the West Bank — more than 500,000 Jews already live there — and Mr. Netanyahu, responding to the United Nations speech by President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, said, “Someone who wants peace does not talk in such a manner.” While Israel has frequently announced settlement expansions at delicate political moments, often to its detriment, the E1 move came as a shock, after a week in which both Israelis and Palestinians toned down their rhetoric about day-after responses to the United Nations bid. Avigdor Lieberman, the ultranationalist foreign minister who for months denounced the Palestinian initiative as “diplomatic terrorism” and said Israel should consider severe sanctions against the Palestinian Authority, told reporters in recent days that there would be “no automatic response.” Mr. Erekat’s spokesman declined to discuss whether the Palestinians would use their upgraded status, as a nonmember observer state with access to United Nations institutions, to pursue a case in International Criminal Court regarding E1 or the other settlement expansion. Less contentious moves were already in progress: the Palestinian Authority has begun changing its name to “Palestine” on official documents, contracts and Web sites, and several nations are considering raising the level of diplomatic relations, giving Palestinian envoys the title of ambassador. All but one European country voted with the Palestinians or abstained in Thursday’s United Nations vote, many of them citing concerns about settlements in West Bank and East Jerusalem territories Israel captured in the 1967 war. The settlement of E1, a 4.6-square-mile expanse of hilly parkland where some Bedouins have camps and a police station was opened in 2008, could further increase Israel’s international isolation. After a day in which Israeli government officials insisted that the United Nations vote was a purely symbolic one that had not changed anything on the ground, the revelation of the development moves late Friday stunned and outraged even some of Mr. Netanyahu’s supporters.
“A number of important countries are telling us that they think it’s wrong to do settlements, and these are our best friends,” noted one senior government official, speaking on the condition of anonymity for fear of being fired. “After they say this directly or indirectly, the immediate response is to build more settlements, even in one of the most controversial areas, E1? How does that make sense? What is the message the government is sending its best friends?” Dani Dayan, the leader of Israel’s settler movement, said the development of E1 was an “important Israeli strategic interest,” but he, too, was somewhat dismayed by the timing.
“We don’t like the idea of developing our communities as a sort of retaliatory or punitive step,” Mr. Dayan said. “I think it should be done routinely. We have a legal and a political and a moral right to build.” Shelly Yachimovich, head of the left-wing Labor Party, also questioned the strategy. “Construction in the Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem is not controversial,” she said in a television interview Friday night. “But to do this now? That’s sticking a finger in the eye. It’s raising the height of the flames. And it’s already been proven that raising the level of the flames isn’t good for us.” It is hardly the first time Israel has been criticized for awkward timing on settlement expansion. In August 2011, a month before a previous bid by Mr. Abbas for upgraded status at the United Nations Security Council, Israel’s Interior Ministry gave final approval for the construction of a 1,600-unit apartment complex in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo. On the eve of an April 2011 meeting between President Obama and Israel’s president, Shimon Peres, a Jerusalem planning committee gave its go-ahead for 1,000 units in Gilo, a neighborhood in the city’s south that was Jordanian territory before 1967. And in 2010, Mr. Netanyahu was embarrassed by an early approval of the Ramat Shlomo development issued hours after a Jerusalem visit by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. But E1 — where a preliminary plan approved years ago calls for 3,910 housing units, 2,192 hotel rooms and an industrial park in addition to the police station — is more contentious than all those projects combined. Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama have all strenuously objected to any settlement there, and it is internationally known as the third rail for the peace process. Dani Seidemann, a Jerusalem lawyer and peace activist, described E1 as “the fatal heart attack of the twostate solution” and said Mr. Netanyahu was wielding “the doomsday weapon.”
“This is punitive: ‘Don’t mess with me — you have the ability to get the votes, I have the ability to build the buildings,’ ” Mr. Seidemann said, imagining the prime minister’s reasoning. Still, Mr. Seidemann and others noted that the approval was only for zoning and planning, early steps in a months-long development process before bulldozers begin work, and could be just what he called “the dramatic flourish.”
“We’re going to stop this,” he said. “If Netanyahu decides to pursue E1, Henny Penny the sky will fall on him. If he pursues this, Israel is going to find itself isolated in a non-wartime situation as we have never been before."
THE BEGINNING OF THE END! 12/88 ML# 2490
--It's Now Begun! --The Meaning of Current Mideast Developments! THE SOON-COMING SOLUTION TO THE MIDEAST CRISIS!--COURTESY OF THE AC! 25. The U.N. will vote that Israel should return the occupied territories, & demand, "You've got to give back Old Jerusalem!" But Israel will flatly refuse. Then--probably with the Antichrist's help--the U.N. will say, "Well, we'll make a compromise. We will internationalise the city & make it accessible to all races, all peoples, all religions."--Because it's already got three religions there & three of the most holy places of those religions--"We will internationalise it & make it accessible, available, open to all." In other words, make it U.N. territory, U.N.-governed & guarded territory to ensure its accessibility to all. 26. And they will say to Israel, "You've still got to give up these occupied territories to make a Palestinian State. We're willing to internationalise Jerusalem, but you've got to get out of the rest of the Palestinian State!" Of course, the Israelis will refuse to do either one, flatly refuse. And that's just about time for the Antichrist to come along & become the World dictator, the guy with enough force & power & guts to tell the Jews off! He'll probably be the Head of the U.N. by that time & they'll have U.N. forces combined with his own forces. Of course, it's got something to do with Russia as well. 27. He'll tell Israel, "You either get out or we're going to put you out! This is a fair decision. The whole World has voted for it. I am for it & I am going to enforce it with our new U.N. worldwide army! You've got to follow the will of the people of the World, they all want you to get out! The Palestinians have the right to their own State. And either you, Israel, get out willingly, voluntarily, or we're coming in to throw you out!" 28. It's right in the Bible, there's nothing new about that! It's all right in the Bible. That's when the big invasion of Israel comes, when the forces of the North come down & invade Israel & enforce the decisions of the United Nations & kick the Jews out of the part of Israel which the U.N. decided must be returned to the Palestinians. And that's when some of those big battles come &, according to the Bible, the United Nations wins, led by this nation of the North & its superman, the Antichrist! (See Eze.38 & Dan.11!)
WORLD CURRENTS!--No.82 M. #339 7/96 3062 By M. 1. (Maria:) Recently the Lord encouraged us, saying, "I will speak to you in revelation. I will speak to you of current events. I will speak to you of the things to come." When I thought and prayed more about this, I was reminded of several subjects--current events or other noteworthy news topics--that I felt the Lord would want to speak to us about. And sure enough, when coming before Him in prayer, the Lord gave the "inside information" on what's really happening. I will include very little commentary on the following prophecies because they are clear and straightforward, and therefore not in need of explanation.
Netanyahu, a Man of War! 86. (M:) When I asked the Lord if He had anything to say about Benjamin Netanyahu, He gave the following: 87. (Prophecy, Jesus speaking:) Curtain time! Curtain time! The stage is set. One, two, three--action! This is it! The curtain goes up in the Endtime play--the greatest show on Earth! It won't be long now, for I do set the actors in position. I give them their parts, I assign the roles, and I pass out the scripts for the final scene. 88. This one, Netanyahu, plays a leading role in My Endtime play. For have I not said that the evil one of the Last Days shall fight wars?--And not one, nor two, but five? Therefore, with whom shall he wage war but with yet another man of war. Is this one not hard-line for his cause? He stands strong, firm in conviction, and is not afraid of war. He opposes peace and is willing to fight for what he believes. And he who opposes peace shall fight in war. 90. Therefore watch and pray, My children, that you enter not into temptation. Watch and pray that you be not overtaken as by a thief in the night. Watch and pray and work My works, before the night is upon you when no man can work. I will lead you a step at a time. I will lead and I will guide and I will reveal unto you, My children, at the given time, as the choices are made, a step at a time. Watch and pray that you be not overtaken as by a thief in the night. 91. The curtain is going up for the final act! The rulers of the Earth and the kings of men are in My hand. It is I who will put up one and take down another, for all that I have spoken through My prophets will be fulfilled. 92. I do put this one in place at this time that My purposes be established. For he will rule with a hard hand. He will not be afraid to stand up to the Evil One. He will resist and stand his ground. There will not be one jot or one tittle that will not come to pass. For these are tools in My hand and I do use them to prepare the way for My return. Be prepared, the curtain is going up! (End of prophecy.) 93. (M:) The outstanding message that the Lord is trying to impress upon us in this prophecy is the same one He has been giving us all along: "Be prepared!" He repeatedly tells us to "watch and pray" so that we're not overtaken or surprised by the
awesome events of the End that are about to befall the world. 94. Apparently the Lord views the new prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, as a man of war, one who will withstand and fight against the "King of the North" of Daniel chapter 11--who, as you know, is none other than the Antichrist, or the "evil one," as the Lord refers to him in this prophecy. 95. It's also interesting to note that Netanyahu is not only a man of war, but he's firmly in the camp of the Israeli religious right, the orthodox Jews who will insist that the King of the North hammer out some kind of "holy covenant" with them, guaranteeing them access to their holy sites in Jerusalem. (Daniel 9:27; 11:28.) So hold on to your hats, it may be later than you think, and the End may be closer than you think! God help us all to "work the works of Him that has sent us while it is still day!" Amen?