WHITE HOUSE DEBATE OVER MIDEAST SPEECH
5/19/11 Against the backdrop of Middle East uprisings that have intensified animus toward Israel and growing momentum for global recognition of a Palestinian state, American and Israeli officials are struggling to balance national security interests against the need to adapt to a transformative movement in the Arab world.
The White House unveiled a $2 billion multiyear economic aid package for Egypt, which officials say would largely shift existing funds. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel prepared to arrive in Washington with a package that he hoped would shift the burden of restarting the peace process to the Palestinians.
Mr. Obama, who is set to address Americans — and, more significantly, Muslims around the world — from the State Department on Thursday morning, may yet have something surprising up his sleeve. One administration official said that there remained debate about whether Mr. Obama would formally endorse Israel’s pre-1967 borders as the starting point for negotiations over a Palestinian state, a move that would send an oratorical signal that the United States expected Israel to make concessions.
But Obama did not plan to present an American blueprint for peace, White House officials said, and it remained unclear if he would even endorse a Palestinian state on pre-1967 lines, a move opposed, administration officials said, by his chief Middle East adviser, Dennis Ross. Mr. Obama did seek to increase pressure on Syria by imposing largely symbolic sanctions on its leader, President Bashar al-Assad, in the wake of the bloody crackdown there.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/19...ddleeast/19diplo.html?_r=2&hp
Obama says Palestine must be based in 1967 borders
May 19, 2011
Barack Obama is endorsing the Palestinians' demand for their future state to be based on the borders that existed before the 1967 Middle East war, in a move that will likely infuriate Israel. Israel says the borders of a Palestinian state have to be determined through negotiations.
In a speech outlining U.S. policy in the Middle East and North Africa, Obama on Thursday sided with the Palestinians' opening position a day ahead of a visit to Washington by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu is vehemently opposed to referring to the 1967 borders.
Until Thursday, the U.S. position had been that the Palestinian goal of a state based on the 1967 borders, with agreed land swaps, should be reconciled with Israel's desire for a secure Jewish state through negotiations.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/201105...s/us_obama_mideast_palestinians_1
From Obama's own mouth!
May 19, 2011
So while the core issues of the conflict must be negotiated, the basis of those negotiations is clear: a viable Palestine, and a secure Israel. The United States believes that negotiations should result in two states, with permanent Palestinian borders with Israel, Jordan, and Egypt, and permanent Israeli borders with Palestine. The borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states. The Palestinian people must have the right to govern themselves, and reach their potential, in a sovereign and contiguous state.
full text of speach:
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com...text_of_obamas_middle_east_speech
Israeli leader rejects calls for withdrawal to 1967 lines ahead of major White House meeting
May 19, 2011
Israel's prime minister has rejected a key aspect of President Barack Obama's policy speech, saying that a return to his country's 1967 borders would spell disaster for the Jewish state.
In a statement released late Thursday, Benjamin Netanyahu called the 1967 lines indefensible.
The tough stand could set the stage for a tense meeting Friday when Netanyahu goes to the White House.
In his speech, Obama said a future Palestinian state must be based in territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, with minor adjustments reached through negotiations.
Netanyahu said such a withdrawal would jeopardize Israel's security and leave major West Bank settlements outside Israeli borders.
http://www.therepublic.com/view/s...c1bdc1784/ML--Israel-Obama-Speech
Right wing MKs: Obama is the new Arafat
Danon, Ben-Ari outraged by US president's call for creation of Palestinian state on '67 lines; Livni says plan in Israel's interests.
Knesset members on the Right expressed outrage on Thursday night at US President Barack Obama's call for the creation of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps in an exchange of territory for security.
Abbas calls emergency meeting over Obama address
PA president seeks urgent consultations with Arab leaders over address; Hamas spokesmen accuses Obama of "deception," favoritism to Israel.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday called an emergency meeting of the PA leadership to discuss US President Barack Obama’s speech on peace in the Middle East, a PA official in Ramallah said.
Israel's National Planning and Building Board earmarks eight sites for mass burial in case of nationwide catastrophe
6/14/11
Israel's National Planning and Building Board ruled Tuesday to designate eight sites across Israel as mass burial sites in case of a nationwide disaster, such as a catastrophic earthquake.
The Board's dire premise is that such a quake will result in thousands of fatalities, regardless of its geographic epicenter.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4082111,00.html
(MOVED * This was posted on the wrong thread by bornagain)
I think this is not so much for earthquake preparation but more for the events in:
Ezekiel 39:11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place for burial in Israel, the valley of them that pass through on the east of the sea; and it shall stop them that pass through: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude; and they shall call it The valley of Hamon-gog.
Most church people are clueless of whats in the Bible. They depend too much on their pastors who are failing to tell their congregations whats ahead. They don't want to get into prophetic scriptures which make up a large part of our Bible. Most of the world sadly take that news story at face value and don't use spiritual wisdom to fully understand whats heading our way.
Thank God for a remnant that will watch and pray in these end times.
Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2011 5:19 am Post subject: explosion rocks Israel
Gas explosion rocks Israel coastal town; 4 dead, man arrested
June 16, 2011
Dozens injured in overnight blast; part of downtown building collapses.
A ferocious explosion believed caused by a gas leak rocked a four-story building in the Israeli coastal city of Netanya early Friday, killing four people and injuring dozens.
The explosion took place shortly after midnight Friday in Netanya, gutting a large apartment building and blowing out windows on a busy thoroughfare.
It was feared dozens of people were trapped inside.
Local police commander Shimon Shomroni said Friday the blast was an accident. Shomroni told Army Radio that investigators are looking into the cause and are questioning a technician who checked the gas canisters at the building on Thursday.
Israel Radio reported police arrested a person who may have cut a gas line causing a leak that led to the explosion, according to The Jerusalem Post. The man was detained by police earlier on Thursday and later released for trying to steal gas pipes that are made of metal that can later be sold, according to the report.
Police seek suspects
Police ask court to remand gas technician, alleged metal thief believed to be connected with explosion which killed 4, injured 50 brought before Court.
Probe has yet to rule out accident, negligence or foul play
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4083432,00.html
A man has been arrested suspected of cutting the gas pipe and causing the huge explosion and fire which wrecked a
four-story residential building on Independence Square in the Israeli seaside town of Netanyahu after midnight Thursday, June 16.
Large teams of paramedics and fire fighters were called in and fought their way into the building amid a strong smell of gas.
Four people were killed on the spot and another 96 injured – most with minor injuries.
By morning, rescue workers were still going from room to room in the charred building's 150 apartments in search of people trapped there.
The explosion occurred in one of the ground floor restaurants or cafes. Special police units on hand to question witnesses on suspected sabotage reached the suspect and detained him.
http://www.debka.com/article/21036
07/12/2011
Immigrants from as far as New Zealand, ages ranging from two-month-old baby to 81-year-old man arrive at Ben-GurionAirport. On Tuesday, 245 North Americans were brought to Israel by Nefesh b Nefesh on a chartered flight dedicated for the new immigrants, in partnership with the Jewish Agency. The new arrivals ranged in age from a two-month old baby to an 81-year old man who made aliyah with his wife.On the flight were 45 families with 103 children, 51 singles, 15 people going in to the army, six dogs and a cat, and they came from states as diverse as Arizona, Colorado and New York as well as from Canada.Minister of Immigrant Absorption Sofa Landver was at Ben Gurion International Airport to greet the newly minted Israeli citizens, along with the chairman of the Jewish Agency Natan Sharansky and Nefesh b Nefesh co-founders Rabbi Yehoshua Fass and Tony Gelbart.“Living in Israel is just more meaningful,” said 24-year old Mika Hakner from New Zealand. “Any big life change is scary but something’s missing for me in New Zealand, there’s not the same spirit that there is in Israel.”Mika, who has a political science degree and will be attending Ulpan Etzion in Jerusalem, said she didn’t think she would miss New Zealand all that much. “Separating from my parents will be hard,” Mika acknowledged, “but I want to live in the country where I most belong.”
http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=229010
Temple Institute Publishes Blueprints for Third Temple
2/2011
The Temple Institute, an organization which has tasked itself with preparing for the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem, has published the first set of blueprints for a small part of the building. Architects have completed work on an area known as the 'Chamber of Hewn Stone', the place where the 71 members of the Sanhedrin are to sit.
The Sanhedrin is a religious council that is made up of 71 of the most learned Jewish scholars in the land of Israel. The Sanhedrin, which presided over the trial of the Lord Jesus Christ, was dissolved in the year 358 AD. The council was officially reconvened on the 13th of October, 2004. Often in direct opposition to government policy, they have taken on various projects, such as planning for the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple and anointing a king to replace the democratically elected Knesset. They have in the past attempted to reinstate the sacrificial system, which the Bible prophesies will recommence just prior to or during the tribulation period (Daniel 9:27).
"No land can be prepared, no foundation can be laid, no wall can be erected without a detailed architectural plan first being drawn up, approved by engineers and presented to the appointed site manager. The plans you are viewing on this page fulfill every requirement necessary for the immediate commencement of work on this aspect of the Holy Temple complex.
The Sanhedrin Chamber of Hewn Stone is but a single chamber in the northern wall of the Holy Temple. It was chosen as the initial focus of the blueprint project, not because of its architectural significance, per se, but because of its overwhelming spiritual significance to the world. The seventy elders of the Sanhedrin have been vested with the authority of the seventy elders whom G-d commanded Moshe to appoint in the desert:
"Then HaShem said to Moses, 'Assemble for Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the people's elders and officers, and you shall take them to the Tent of Meeting, and they shall stand there with You. I will come down and speak with you there, and I will increase the spirit that is upon you and bestow it upon them. Then they will bear the burden of the people with you so that you need not bear it alone.'" (Numbers 11:16-17)
It is of course easy to be critical of the Sanhedrin. It is true that they did preside over the crucifixion of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. But there were members among the Sanhedrin who did believe, such as Joseph of Arimathaea, who did not consent unto the counsel and deed of them (Luke 23:50-51). And Caiaphas, the high priest, whether a believer or not, did prophesy that one man should die for the people that the nation perish not (John 11:49-50).
But as you can see from what is happening today, this rebuilding of the Temple is being done in unbelief. The very fact that the Sanhedrin have focused their attention on designing the building where they will sit, rather than on God's dwelling place, shows just how full of self-importance they are. It seems that even God Himself must take second place to them.
Reading the article by the Temple Institute on the relevant Scripture portion in Exodus 25:8, they speak of how Moses was amazed that the Creator of the universe should desire to dwell in a house made with hands, and how the nation should be ready and willing to build the Temple in our days. But they are willingly ignorant of the fact that Lord went much further than that. For He came into the world that He had created (John 1:10). He "made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men" (Philippians 2:7). Praise God that He ever came. And John adds, "the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). What grace and glory the Temple of the Son of God displayed here on earth compared to the monstrosities now being engineered by man!
The Lord referred to the Temple on three separate occasions throughout His earthly ministry. On the first occasion, when He drove the moneychangers out of the Temple, He said, "make not my Father's house an house of merchandise" (John 2:16). On the second occasion the Lord says, "It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves" (Matthew 21:13). On the third and final occasion, it was no longer the 'Father's house' or 'My house', but 'your house':
"Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord" (Luke 13:35).
The same mindset still exists in the Sanhedrin today. This is still very much 'their house', and it will remain desolate until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. This will be the house that the Antichrist will eventually defile during the tribulation period (2nd Thessalonians 2:4). Only when the Jewish people recognize the Lord Jesus as their Messiah, will the Lord return and set up His kingdom (Zechariah 12:10).
Praise God that we are alive to witness these events coming to pass. How close must be the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. At His first coming, John records that "He came unto his own, and his own received him not" (John 1:11). The Jewish Sanhedrin and the nation in general did not recognize Christ at His first coming. But the Bible says that "as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name" (John 1:12). Have your sins been forgiven? Have you believed on Jesus Christ for salvation? He came into this world the first time that He might "put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself" (Hebrews 9:26). And Hebrews 9:28 promises that "unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation". Don't wait until it's too late. Turn away from your sin, and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation today.
Allen West to ‘Post’: IDF action on 'Mavi Marmara' was justified; Barak’s apology to Egypt makes Israel look bad
Israel owes no apology to Turkey over the Mavi Marmara incident, and should not have issued any type of apology to Egypt over the killing of three security officers there, outspoken US Congressman Allen West (RFlorida) said in an interview with The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.
West, 50, a Tea Party-associated freshman congressman from South Florida already being touted as a possible presidential candidate in the future, is in the country with a delegation of 27 Republican congressmen. He spent 22 years in the US military, including fighting in the First Gulf War and in Iraq, and retired with the rank of lieutenant- colonel.
“Not only does Israel not owe Turkey an apology, but I think the fact that [Defense Minister] Ehud Barak apologized for the [killing of] three Egyptian soldiers before we knew the circumstances of their deaths are the types of things that get played out in the international media that end up making you being castigated as the bad guy,” West said.
“You have to be very careful with words, and how words are used in the international arena,” he said.
Israel need not issue “any type of apology to Egypt. When these terrorists [who carried out Thursday’s attack] transferred through Egypt, they obviously felt safe and secure doing that. And then they launched a very well-coordinated ambush – this was not just a bunch of guys getting lucky in the middle of the night, this was a well-coordinated event – that meant the routes were wellplanned out as well,” West said.
He said if you take that incident, coupled with Iranian war ships transiting the Suez Canal since the fall of Hosni Mubarak and the repeated attacks on the natural gas pipeline to Israel, “I think Israel has every right to be concerned about what they are seeing in Egypt.”
Regarding Turkey, West said Israel had the “right to uphold that blockade [of Gaza], which is very important, and you shouldn’t have to apologize when your military has been attacked.”
Asked whether it might not be wise for Israel to swallow its “national pride” for the long-term strategic benefit of good ties with Turkey, West said, “It does come back to your national pride and your stature. Because if someone is going to look at you in a negative light anyhow, you don’t need to throw more dirt upon yourself. Turkey knows you had every right to do what you did, and I think you need to be able to express that to Turkey.”
Regarding the Mavi Marmara incident, West said that the fact that the IDF commandos landed on the ship carrying paint guns showed that the country did everything necessary to try and have “less of a confrontation, but yet you were attacked. What I told people in America is that they should think about what if America was participating in a sanction-led blockade, and all of a sudden we boarded a ship, and our Navy SEALs were attacked. What would you expect our Navy SEALs to do? We should allow Israel to do the exact same thing.”
West, who along with the rest of the congressional delegation will be meeting Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Thursday, said his message to the PA was “not to try and back door” the Israeli- Palestinian diplomatic process.
“I think they need to reject this reconciliation pact with Hamas, because Hamas’s Charter is definitely anti-Israel and talks about Israel’s elimination, and never its recognition. I think the PA has to present itself as a credible peace partner,” he added.
The congressman also said that “for us to believe that there can be a return to pre-’67 lines is not a viable alternative for the security of Israel.”
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