JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER.
1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
OTHER TODAY STORIES
POPE SAYS SANDERS MEETING NOT POLITICAL
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2016/04/pope-says-its-crazy-to-think-his.html
OTHER TODAY STORIES
POPE SAYS SANDERS MEETING NOT POLITICAL
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2016/04/pope-says-its-crazy-to-think-his.html
REVELATION 12:4-6,13-17
4 And his tail (SATANS)drew the third part of the stars of heaven,(1/3RD OF ANGELS FELL WITH SATAN AT THE FALL WHO ARE DEMONIC FALLIN ANGELS-DEMONS) and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman (ISRAEL) which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.(SATANS LAST HOLOCAUST TO TRY TO DESTROY ISRAEL FOREVER)
5 And she brought forth a man child,(MARY DID-JESUS WHO IS(JEWISH) who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
6 And the woman (MARY WHOS JEWISH REPRESENTING ISRAEL)fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.(3 1/2 YRS)
13 And when the dragon (SATAN) saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman (MARY) which brought forth the man child. (JESUS IS JEWISH)(ISRAEL PERSECUTED THE WORST IN HISTORY YET)
14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.(PROTECTED FOR 3 1/2 YRS IN PETRA JORDAN)
15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.(A TSUNAMI I BELIEVE SATAN WILL TRY TO DESTROY ISRAEL WITH)
16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.(GOD PROBABLY CREATES A QUAKE TO STOP THE TSUNAMI WATERS)
17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed,(SAVED) which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Emergency services drill tsunami along southern coast-‘Tsunami Hazard Zone’ signs bearing emergency escape routes to be placed on Israeli beaches in coming months-By Tamar Pileggi April 4, 2016, 2:43 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Emergency services on Monday held a national tsunami drill, practicing evacuating cities along the southern portion of Israel’s Mediterranean coast.The drill, code-named Blue Tidal Wave, is aimed at raising the preparedness of citizens, local authorities, and emergency services for the case of a tidal wave.First responders practiced evacuating residents from the beachfront cities of Ashkelon and Ashdod to secure areas.The drill was jointly conducted by the Defense Ministry’s National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA) and Israel Police.Earthquakes caused by the African Plate drifting northward underneath the Eurasian Plate can trigger tsunamis in the Mediterranean Sea.Geologists warn that while rare, tsunamis in the Mediterranean tend to happen around once every century.In 1908, thousands were killed when a 7 magnitude quake hit the Messina region in Italy, triggering a tsunami with 10-meter-high waves.Last week, NEMA unveiled new tsunami warning signs at Ashkelon and Ashdod beaches that will be placed all along the coast in the coming months.The “Tsunami Hazard Zone” signs will demarcate areas at high risk for flooding, map escape routes and provide basic instructions to the public.Israel joins the US, Italy, Japan, Thailand and Chile in taking precautions and mapping emergency escape routes specifically designed for a tsunami-like flooding.
REBUILT 3RD TEMPLE
REVELATION 11:1-2
1 And there was given me a(MEASURING) reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
2 But the court which is without the temple leave out,(TO THE WORLD NATIONS) and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.(JERUSALEM DIVIDED BUT THE 3RD TEMPLE ALLOWED TO BE REBUILT)
DANIEL 9:27
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Police chief: MKs banned from Temple Mount-In letter to PM, Alshiech says actions of extremists on both sides could endanger the security of the state-By Sara Miller April 17, 2016, 2:06 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Israel Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich announces a new open-ended ban on Israeli lawmakers visiting the flash-point Temple Mount in Jerusalem.“In light of attempts by many extremist elements from both sides to create provocations… I surmise that at this time, ascent to the Temple Mount by Knesset members is likely to result in an exacerbation of tensions and escalation of incidents that would cause a real endangerment of the security of the state,” he writes in a letter to Netanyahu, Channel 2 reports.The letter continues: “I have decided to continue the ban on members of Knesset going up to the Temple Mount until further notice. The issue will be considered anew once the [holiday season is] over.”-20:11-Greek stores offer discounts to Israeli tourists-Israeli tourists will be offered 20-percent discounts this year at many Greek stores as part of an initiative to help the struggling Greek economy, Greek officials say.The plan will also apply to visitors from the United States, Russia and Turkey.Greek stores will voluntarily opt in to the program and the discounts will be in addition to tax-free benefits for which tourists are already eligible, says Vassilis Korkidis, the president of the Hellenic Federation of Commerce and Enterprise.— JTA-19:56-UN: No food or water at Palestinian camp in Syria-Conditions are “desperate” inside a Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus, with shortages of food and water, the UN says.UNRWA, the UN refugee agency for Palestinians, says violent battles between extremists have left residents of the Yarmouk camp without food or water for more than a week.“Civilians in Yarmouk are facing starvation and dehydration alongside the heightened risks of serious injury and death from the armed conflict,” says UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness.The camp, a built-up neighborhood once home to an estimated 150,000 people, is ravaged by fighting between the Islamic State and al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, the al-Nusra Front, while government forces regularly shell it from outside.— AP-18:23-Israel’s envoy to US ‘briefed Trump’s AIPAC speechwriter’-Haaretz says Israel’s ambassador to the US, Ron Dermer, briefed Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kurshner on Israeli diplomatic and security policy before he wrote the GOP front-runner’s speech to the AIPAC conference last month.The report says the two held a telephone conversation days before the speech, with Dermer outlining the government position on a range of issues.According to Haaretz, a source at the Israeli embassy in Washington confirms the two spoke by phone, saying that “the ambassador spoke to the people of all the leading presidential candidates.”-17:46-Syria: We will retake Golan by any means-Syria’s deputy foreign minister hits back after Netanyahu vows the Golan Heights will remain part of Israel, and warns that the war-torn state will retake the plateau “by any means necessary, including using military force.”Faisal al-Mekdad tells Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen network that “the Arab Syrian Golan is an occupied territory,” and that UN Security Council resolutions affirm that the area is Syrian, i24 reports.The minister adds that “Israel is trying to be provocative, but do not give in to it.”-17:27-American Jew arrested for praying on Temple Mount-A Jewish American tourist is arrested on Temple Mount for praying, an act that is banned under the fragile status quo at the flashpoint Jerusalem holy site.The man is detained by Israeli police officers after he is overhead quoting from Psalms in Hebrew as part of a longer biblical commentary in English, Jewishpress.com reports. When his companions argue that he is not praying, a police officer reportedly says: “On the Temple Mount I decide what’s prayer.”— Amanda Borschel-Dan-16:34-Hamas: We have assets that will force Israel to negotiate-The spokesman for the Hamas military wing, Abu Obeidah, says that Hamas is holding assets that will guarantee a prisoner swap with Israel, the Walla news website reports.“In the hands of the [Izz ad-Din al-Qassam] Brigades, we have something that will promise a prisoner swap with the Israeli enemy, and free the prisoners and our nation,” he says on Palestinian TV, in an official statement to mark Palestinian Prisoner Day.“We promised to free the prisoners, and we are certain that the Brigades can do it,” he says.Hamas claims to be holding the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in the 2014 war in Gaza, as well as two living Israelis who were seized by the terror group after they entered Gaza.-14:32-Palestinian PM: Israel has made our land a prison-Palestinian Authority PM Rami Hamdallah condemns the number of Palestinian children held in Israeli jails in a statement to mark Palestinian Prisoner’s Day.“The Israeli occupation has transformed our homeland into a large prison,” he says, according to Palestinian news agency Ma’an. He calls on the international community to “protect the human rights of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, especially the children who are subject to psychological and physical harm.”According to Palestinian prisoner rights group Addameer, Israel is currently jailing 438 Palestinian minors, including 98 under the age of 16.-14:07-Zahalka: I never advocated violence over Temple Mount-Arab MK Jamal Zahalka denies his recent call for Palestinians to stop Jews from ascending the Temple Mount was a call to violence.Speaking for first time since the PM asked the attorney general to look into whether the remarks were incitement to violence, the Joint (Arab) List MK tells Army Radio: “To immediately say that my every utterance has a violent bent … is nonsense. I never called for violence, it is not my way, it is not my thought [process].”
Herzog on graft probe: I’m calm, everyone needs to calm down-After 5-hour interrogation, opposition leader says suspicions of contribution irregularities timed to emerge ahead of primaries-By Times of Israel staff April 17, 2016, 8:14 pm
Opposition leader Isaac Herzog on Sunday maintained he was “calm,” after police questioned him for five hours under caution over suspicions that he received unlawful financial contributions during his successful 2013 campaign for the Labor Party leadership.“Believe me I’m calm, and you should be calm, and if there’s someone in the party who is not calm — they should calm down,” Herzog said at a Histadrut event.“It’s not easy, but what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” he added.The opposition leader vowed to bring his Zionist Union faction to victory in the next general election, and indicated the allegations were surfacing to discredit him ahead of the primaries in Labor, the larger of the two parties comprising the Zionist Union.“And you know it’s no secret that every time there are general or internal elections, all sorts of bizarre claims emerge and it’s good that these things are being examined, just as they were examined for previous opposition leaders who were questioned by police,” he said.Herzog urged political unity and pledged to bring the faction to victory in the next election.“We were on the cusp of victory, and in the next elections, I will win, and you will win, and the party will win, and the Zionist Union will win,” he said.Herzog, whose interrogation was approved by the attorney general, is also suspected of failing to report a donation and making a false statement. An interrogation session under caution is often a precursor to the opening of a criminal investigation.Earlier Sunday, Herzog said that he was relieved to have the opportunity to give police his side of the story.“From the moment that the existence of a probe was leaked… I requested permission to respond so that I could put the matter behind me. I have complete faith in the law enforcement officials and I thank them for their respectful and fair treatment,” he said in a statement.In response to the interrogtion, fellow faction member Shelly Yachimovich vaguely called for the Zionist Union to discuss “future steps,” while Meretz leader Zehava Galon urged Herzog to resign.“I am convinced Herzog has in mind the best interests of the party and the opposition, and I will work alongside him and the members of our faction to decide on the steps to take,” Yachimovich said. “There is no doubt that the faction chairman and opposition leader being questioned under warning exacerbates the situation. I have complete trust in the police and law enforcement authorities.”Galon, meanwhile, maintained Herzog should not remain in his position.“Herzog cannot continue in the role of chairman of the opposition,” Galon said, according to Channel 2. “Perhaps he needs to suspend himself.”Herzog said last week that he would cooperate with a police investigation so as to put the suspicions to rest “as soon as possible.”At the end of last month, Herzog was named as a second senior Israeli Knesset member suspected of graft. The news came shortly after Interior Minister Aryeh Deri — who has spent several years in prison for embezzlement — revealed he was again at the center of a major corruption investigation.Police were seeking permission from Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit to investigate Herzog, Channel 2 reported last week, also revealing that Herzog’s former campaign manager, Shimon Batat, has already been interviewed under caution in connection with suspected campaign financing violations.So far, Mandelblit has ordered a preliminary probe of suspicions that focus on the 2013 Labor Party primaries, in which Herzog beat incumbent Yachimovich for the leadership.Concerns center on funding connected to a nonprofit organization used by Herzog supporters to manage a negative campaign against Yachimovich, Channel 2 reported, adding that testimony has already been collected from individuals, among them known figures from the political world.Among other things, the case involves the director general of a nursing agency who allegedly invested tens of thousands of shekels over and above the official campaign budget to fund the negative campaign.To date, the only person convicted and sentenced to a jail term for internal party funding offenses has been former lawmaker Omri Sharon, son of the late prime minister Ariel Sharon.Former MK Naomi Blumenthal (Likud) was convicted of bribing 15 party activists and central committee members during Likud primaries in December 2003 by inviting them to a Ramat Gan hotel.In a June 2014 report, former state comptroller Yosef Shapira determined that Herzog had exceeded the limit on expenses allowed in the Labor Party leadership primaries against Yachimovich, but that he had not broken the law. Accepting Herzog’s explanation that an “innocent accounting mistake” had been made, Shapira decided against any financial sanction against him.Earlier this month, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon said talks about bringing Zionist Union into the governing coalition stalled when the suspicions concerning Herzog came to light.In 1999, Herzog exercised his right to remain silent when he was cabinet secretary, in connection with alleged campaign funding irregularities on the part of then-prime minister Ehud Barak.
Netanyahu to AG: Check if Arab MK’s Temple Mount comments are incitement-Joint List’s Jamal Zahalka, who has called on Palestinian leadership to reignite ‘popular struggle,’ dismisses PM’s move as ‘baseless’-By Raphael Ahren and Times of Israel staff April 15, 2016, 4:34 pm
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit on Friday to examine whether an Arab Knesset member’s call for Palestinians to prevent Jews from visiting the Temple Mount constitutes incitement.Netanyahu was referring to Joint (Arab) List MK Jamal Zahalka’s Thursday statements to a Palestinian website that Palestinians should prevent Jews from visiting the Temple Mount “in every possible way.”Zahalka in response said Netanyahu’s appeal “has no basis” and claimed the prime minister’s actions were only intended to “win cheap popularity by inciting against the Arab public and its leadership.”In an interview with Donia Al-Watan on Thursday, the Joint List lawmaker also claimed the number of Jews visiting the flashpoint site is growing daily.The Temple Mount is the holiest shrine in Judaism, and the location of both ancient Jewish temples. It is also is the third-holiest site in Islam, after Mecca and Medina, and houses Islam’s Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock shrine.The MK called for Palestinian organizations to embark on a “popular struggle” against Israel, six months after the start of a wave of Palestinian terror attacks against Israeli civilians and security forces that have claimed the lives of 29 Israelis and four non-Israelis. Close to 200 Palestinians have been killed in the violence, some two-thirds during the course of attacks they were carrying out and the rest in clashes with troops, according to the Israeli army.“During the Second Intifada, we sacrificed 4,000 martyrs for the sake of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the continuation of [visits] by the Jews are the cause of the current intifada,” Zahalka told the news website, citing an inflated number for the Palestinian casualties of the violent Palestinian uprising during 2000-2005, which included multiple suicide and other terror attacks against Israelis. Some 1,000 Israelis and 3,200 Palestinians were killed in the violence, according to official figures.“The question is if the [Palestinian] groups will join the popular struggle and act at a national level, or they will leave it to the youths who are carrying out lone-wolf attacks?”But in a statement issued after reports of his interview began to surface in the Hebrew-language media, Zahalka watered down his comments, claiming his intention was to avoid bloodshed and that authorities should prevent provocative visits to the Mount.“It is my public duty to warn against the possibility of a dangerous deterioration, as a result of right-wing people entering Al-Aqsa,” Zahalka said in his statement. He cited the rioting that followed a September 2000 visit to the site by then-prime minister Ariel Sharon, which he said “led to the outbreak of the Second Intifada and to the killing of more than four thousand people” — a number closer to the total fatalities of both Israelis and Palestinians.Earlier this week an Israeli nonprofit revealed it had carried out a furtive Jewish wedding on the Temple Mount, in violation of delicate status quo at the site, which bans Jews from praying there.“Everything must be done to prevent additional bloodshed, and if the Israeli government is interested in calming things down it needs to prevent provocative visits to the mosque areas,” Zahalka said in the later statement. “It needs to understand that the problem is in the visits, and not in the call to end them.”Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE
EU ‘deeply concerned’ by new phase of West Bank barrier-European body says security fence ‘will severely restrict access of almost 60 Palestinian families to their agricultural land’-By AFP April 15, 2016, 2:09 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
The European Union said Friday that it was “deeply concerned” by Israel’s construction of a new part of its West Bank security barrier.Cranes last week began erecting the fence south of Jerusalem in the Cremisan Valley, adjacent to the West Bank town of Beit Jala, after a nine-year legal battle.The EU said in a statement it was “deeply concerned at the relaunch of works for the construction of the separation barrier in the Cremisan Valley.”It added: “Once built, the barrier will severely restrict access of almost 60 Palestinian families to their agricultural land and profoundly affect their livelihoods.”Residents of the Christian village of Beit Jala fear the construction may lead to the expansion of the nearby Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo and the settlement of Har Gilo.They have sought to campaign against it, but Israel’s High Court ruled in July 2015 that the barrier was legitimate and allowed construction to resume.Israel began building the barrier of walls and fences along the border with and inside the West Bank in 2002, at the height of the Second Intifada, saying it was crucial for stopping the swarm of suicide bombers and other terrorists who claimed hundreds of Israeli lives. The Palestinians, however, call it a land grab aimed at stealing part of their future state.The barrier is a network of fences, concrete walls, trenches and closed military roads that will extend 712 kilometers (442 miles) when finished, separating the West Bank from Israel, taking in an estimated 7 percent of the West Bank. The original route, which took in about 15 percent of the West Bank, has gradually been moved closer to the pre-1967 lines, amid an ongoing series of petitions to Israel’s High Court of Justice.Where it approaches Beit Jala and the adjacent Cremisan Valley there has been fierce opposition from the local Christian community, which has enlisted papal support.The case grabbed special attention when a section of barrier was slated to separate the Cremisan monastery from the neighboring convent and vineyards. It would have also separated Palestinians in the nearby Beit Jala from their olive groves.The High Court ruled in April 2015 that the work must stop and told the government to consider alternative routes. But the new court decision on July 6 said work could go ahead, ruling that the previous ban referred only to an area of a few hundred meters alongside the monastery and the convent.
Israeli cabinet to meet on Golan, to underline land won’t be relinquished-Ministers to convene on Sunday in first ever session on the strategic ridge, amid reports that world deal for Syria will demand Israel return the territory-By Times of Israel staff April 15, 2016, 9:10 pm
The Israeli government is to hold its first ever cabinet meeting at a location on the Golan Heights on Sunday, in an effort to underline Israel’s determination never to relinquish the strategic ridge despite anticipated international pressure to do so.According to a Channel 2 report on Friday evening, the first clause of a draft agreement aimed at settling the brutal civil war in Syria, being worked on with the support of the US, Russia and other major world powers, specifies that the Heights, captured by Israel from Syria in the 1967 war, is Syrian territory and must be returned to Syria.Israel extended its law to the Heights in 1981, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly furious that the international community is deliberating the notion of Israel giving up the area.For the first time in the almost 50 years since the Golan was captured, therefore, Netanyahu and his ministers will hold their weekly meeting this Sunday in the Golan, to “symbolize” Israel’s determination not to relinquish the area, the TV report said.Netanyahu discussed the issue in a telephone call with US Secretary of State John Kerry a few days ago, a Channel 10 TV news report said earlier this week. He will also reportedly discuss the matter when he travels to Russia next week to meet with President Vladimir Putin.Netanyahu is said to have made clear to Kerry that any language in an accord on the fate of Syria that specifies that the Israeli-held western two-thirds of the Golan is Syrian land would be unacceptable to Israel, and to have vowed to “act to ensure” any agreement includes no such provision.Prior to to the eruption of the Syrian civil war, some Israeli security chiefs had encouraged the Israeli political leadership to explore the possibility of reaching a peace treaty with President Bashar Assad, which could also have enabled a treaty with Lebanon and the isolating of Assad’s key ally Iran, in return for relinquishing the Golan. Since Syria descended into civil war chaos and mass slaughter, however, the notion of Israel relinquishing the strategic high ground has become highly improbable.Netanyahu visited the Golan on Monday. During his tour, he said Israel has carried out dozens of strikes against Hezbollah and associated targets in Syria to prevent the Lebanese group from obtaining advanced weapons. Israeli officials have warned that Hezbollah and Iranian fighters may try to set up a base across the border, on the Syrian-held eastern one-third of the Golan, to launch attacks against Israelis.
Opposition MKs join forces to stop Netanyahu reelection-Bill seeks to introduce two-term limit for prime ministers, says those who stay in office too long are driven by self-interest-By Tamar Pileggi April 17, 2016, 8:48 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Opposition lawmakers have joined forces to pass a bill that would limit Israeli prime ministers to no more than two terms in office.If signed into law, the legislation would set a de-facto term limit for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is currently serving his fourth term as head of state.The bill was first proposed by Zionist Union MK Merav Michaeli in 2014, but was thwarted by the Likud leadership in the last Knesset.The legislation, which seeks to “prevent the degeneration and detachment” of Israel’s leaders, was re-submitted March 30 to the Knesset for a preliminary vote.Michaeli’s bill argues that a two-term limit produces a stable government and encourages serving prime ministers to maintain a strong coalition by eliminating the option of rushing to new elections.“Democracy is not a monarchy, and it is vital to not create long years of rule by a single person,” the bill reads.Zionist Union head Isaac Herzog, Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid, Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman and Joint (Arab) List chairman Ayman Odeh have joined forces in an effort to pass the bill into law, Channel 2 reported on Sunday.The lawmakers also are seeking to have Netanyahu barred from the plenum vote, because the legislation would affect him personally.Though the bill would limit a prime minister’s term, it would not impose a limit on a party’s ability to maintain power over multiple consecutive terms.In a statement on Sunday, Likud party members accused the right-wing Liberman of capitulating to a left-wing agenda, and accused him of “attempting to topple” the ruling Netanyahu government.In 2015, Netanyahu entered his third consecutive term in office. He previously served as prime minister between 1996 and 1999.
ISRAEL SATAN COMES AGAINST
1 CHRONICLES 21:1
1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.
GENESIS 12:1-3
1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I (GOD) will shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee,(ISRAELIS) and curse (DESTROY) him that curseth thee:(DESTROY THEM) and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
ISAIAH 41:11
11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee (ISRAEL) shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing;(DESTROYED) and they that strive with thee shall perish.(ISRAEL HATERS WILL BE TOTALLY DESTROYED)
ISRAELS TROUBLE
JEREMIAH 30:7
7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble;(ISRAEL) but he shall be saved out of it.
DANIEL 12:1,4
1 And at that time shall Michael(ISRAELS WAR ANGEL) stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people:(ISRAEL) and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation(May 14,48) even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro,(WORLD TRAVEL,IMMIGRATION) and knowledge shall be increased.(COMPUTERS,CHIP IMPLANTS ETC)
SECOND ANGEL - TO DR DOCTORIAN-We are five angels from the five continents of the world.
The angel showed me that the United Nations shall be broken in pieces because of the crisis in the Middle East. There shall be no more United Nations. The angel with the sickle shall reap the harvest.
UN seeks increased transparency in selecting leader-Candidates for United Nations chief answer questions from diplomats as Ban Ki-moon’s term set to expire-By Edith M. Lederer April 15, 2016, 7:32 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Nine candidates seeking to become the world’s top diplomat answered a total of about 800 questions over the past three days from ambassadors and advocacy groups in the first move in the UN’s 70-year history to open up the usually secret selection of the next secretary-general.General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft, who presided over the question-and-answer sessions, said he was “very inspired” that in addition to almost all 193 UN member states taking part, 227,000 people from 209 countries and territories watched some of the webcast.“It has already made a difference,” he told reporters late Thursday. “We have established a new standard of transparency and inclusivity for the selection of the secretary-general.”According to the UN Charter, the secretary-general is chosen by the 193-member General Assembly on the recommendation of the 15-member Security Council.In practice, this has meant that the council’s five permanent members — the US, Russia, China, Britain and France — have veto power over the candidates. That will not change in deciding whom to recommend to succeed Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, whose second five-year term ends on Dec. 31.Lykketoft has said the question-and-answer sessions could be “a potential game-changer” if many countries support one candidate, which would put pressure on the Security Council not to choose someone else.It’s too early to say if that will happen since more candidates are expected to throw their hats in the ring. Lykketoft encouraged those interested to “come forward quickly.”Britain’s UN Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said questioning and hearing from every candidate “will increase the quality of the decision-making in the Security Council when the time comes, and I think it will raise the bar in terms of the overall quality of the field.”Other council members were more cautious about the impact of the sessions.Angola’s UN Ambassador Ismael Gaspar Martins said they “could offer the council a first view of who the potential candidates really are” and help them “choose properly.”Russia’s UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said “some people seem to be excited” but he clearly wasn’t.“I think it might be useful. We’ll see,” he said, declaring diplomatically that he has a “very good impression of all candidates.”By tradition, the job of secretary-general has rotated among regions and Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe have all held the top UN post. East European nations, including Russia, argue that they have never had a secretary-general and it is their turn. There has also never been a woman secretary-general and a group of 56 nations are campaigning for the first female UN chief.Srgjan Kerim, a former Macedonian foreign minister and ex-General Assembly president, stressed the importance of following the unwritten rule of rotation, saying Thursday it maintains “mutual trust” and promotes needed unity at a time the world is facing many crises.Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, who heads the UN Development Program, said the UN needs “a proven leader who is pragmatic and effective” — and she has demonstrated those qualities. As one of four women in the race, she stressed that “all my life I have fought for gender equality and women’s empowerment.”Former Serbian foreign minister and General Assembly President Vuk Jeremic, who was only nominated by his government on Monday, presented General Assembly members with an 81-page platform containing 53 specific commitments on issues from stabilizing countries in the Mideast and North Africa to prioritizing genocide prevention.Lykketoft said a common thread among all the candidates was that the UN has taken some great steps forward with new development goals, a climate agreement and maybe progress in Iran and a start in Syria. But there was also widespread agreement on the need for the UN to undertake “pro-active intervention to avoid conflicts and contain conflicts,” adopt a stronger network to monitor human rights violations, and reform the UN bureaucracy, he said.Former Slovenian president Danilo Turk said “the secretary-general is neither secretary nor general” but “a servant of the organization” who must be available 24 hours a day. As UN chief, he said he would urgently review global crises, launch a program to implement the new UN goals for 2030, and carry out recruitment and budget reforms.The other candidates are Montenegro’s Foreign Minister Igor Luksic; former Croatian Foreign Minister Vesna Pucic; UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova from Bulgaria; former Moldovan Foreign Minister Natalia Gherman and former UN refugee chief and ex-Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres.
Hamas chief vows to free Palestinian prisoners in Israel-Mashaal rejects foreign mediation for prisoner swap so long as inmates rearrested after Shalit deal are still held-By Dov Lieber April 17, 2016, 6:56 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Hamas political chief Khaled Mashaal said Sunday that his group “must soon free all Palestinian prisoners” in Israeli jails and would not wait for negotiations with Israel to do so.Mashaal, in a televised speech on the occasion of Palestinian Prisoners Day, which takes place annually on April 17, said that Hamas would not open negotiations with Israel about anything until all the so-called “Shalit prisoners” who had been rearrested were freed.In 2011, kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was released in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian detainees, in a deal brokered with the help of a German diplomat. Israel rearrested some of those released in the deal in the summer of 2014 during a search for three Israeli teenagers who were kidnapped by a Hamas cell. It later emerged that the teens had been killed shortly after their abduction.“Our goal is not the completion of a deal, but the cleaning out of [Israeli] prisons,” he said.Israel and Hamas do not officially maintain direct contacts, and any deal would have to be mediated by international parties.Mashaal confirmed in his speech earlier reports that foreign parties were trying to mediate prisoner swaps between Hamas and Israel, but insisted such attempts would not bear fruit.“We will not succumb to conditions [from foreign governments], and we reject them completely,” Mashaal said.Abu Obeida, the spokesperson for Hamas’s Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades military branch, said his group was eagerly anticipating the freeing of Palestinian prisoners.“What the Qassam Brigades has in its possession will lead to an honorable deal that will gladden the Palestinian people, and will lead soon to the release of our heroic prisoners,” he said in an appearance on Palestinian TV in honor of Prisoners Day.Hamas claims to be keeping captive 29-year-old Avraham Mengistu, as well as another Israeli, a Bedouin man whose name has not been released for publication. The two reportedly crossed into the Gaza Strip of their own accord. Both hostages reportedly suffer from psychological issues.Hamas is also known to be holding the remains of two soldiers killed in the 2014 Gaza war, Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin.-‘We are morally superior’-Mashaal, in his speech, claimed Hamas has the upper hand in the ethical sphere of the conflict. “We are morally superior to the occupation as is evidenced by our treatment of the prisoner Shalit,” he said.In January, the Gaza-based terror group released a number of images and videos meant to show that Shalit was treated well during his five-year captivity, including one video showing the hostage barbecuing with his captors.Mashaal, however, did not discuss the conditions of the Israeli prisoners currently held in Gaza.Hamas has denied the International Red Cross access to Israeli captives and has refused to give any details about their physical conditions.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Hamas leader pledges to stick by ‘the rifle and the tunnel’-Ismail Haniyeh says the issue of incarcerated Palestinians is ‘at the top of our priority list’; dozens riot near Israeli border-By Times of Israel staff April 15, 2016, 6:16 pm
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said Friday the group remained committed to armed struggle against Israel, in a speech he made ahead of Prisoners’ Day, observed by the terror organization next week.Speaking at a rally in the Gaza Strip, Haniyeh said, “Our message to the prisoners is a message inked in blood. The rifle and the tunnel are our commitment.“The issue of prisoners is at the top of our priority list. As time passes, we stick to our principles, and the people who walk in the path of martyrs and prisoners also stick with us.”Later Friday several dozen people rioted near the security fence on the Gaza border, and hurled rocks at Israeli soldiers. Soldiers responded with non-lethal means. They also shot at the lower body of one demonstrator.On Thursday, an IDF officer said both sides were preparing for a future conflict, and while neither side was interested in renewing violence, a miscalculation on either side could bring about another round of fighting.“Hamas suspects that we will initiate offensive action against it by surprise, and so the fear of miscalculation exists,” the officer was quoted by the Hebrew website Ynet as saying. “Their level of sensitivity to our public proclamations is high. Hamas saw [the months of violent attacks] in the West Bank as a strategic opportunity, even at the cost of deterioration in Gaza, and the movement is disappointed with the drop in the number of terror attacks. Since October, 17 Palestinians were killed in border fence riots and some 800 were wounded,” the officer said.The terror group has been investing considerable resources in the Nukhba force, an elite unit of fighters. According to Ynet the number of Hamas fighters in the unit has grown to 5,000 people – a quarter of the group’s fighting manpower.On the other hand, the group’s development and construction of rockets has been severely damaged by Egypt’s closing of smuggling tunnels. Hamas has been finding it difficult to restore its array of short and medium-range projectiles since the end of Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014.Speaking earlier this week at a forum dedicated to the situation in Gaza at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, director of the Defense Ministry’s Political-Military Affairs Bureau Amos Gilad said that the Hamas armed wing, led by Muhammed Deif, ultimately paid no heed to the political wing, headed by Haniyeh.Gilad opined, however, that conflict would not erupt this year between Israel and Hamas.“The good news is that our deterrence is still working. They say that there will be a ‘hot’ summer. That’ll only be because of the high temperatures,” Gilad said, alluding to the tendency for regional conflicts to take place in warmer summer months.Judah Ari Gross contributed to this report.
Amid soaring tension, Israel drills for Hamas attack on Gaza border kibbutz-Extensive exercise by IDF and emergency services, the largest of its kind since 2014 war, involves troops overpowering terrorists and rescuing hostages held in community dining hall-By Times of Israel staff April 15, 2016, 9:34 pm
Amid fast-rising tensions along the Gaza Strip border, Israel on Thursday carried out its largest civilian drill near the Palestinian enclave since 2014’s war between Israel and Hamas, Channel 2 reported Friday.Soldiers and emergency response teams simulated a Hamas incursion into Israeli territory, including an attack on an Israeli kibbutz near the border and the taking of hostages by terrorists. The exercise, which was held at Kibbutz Erez, included troops overpowering the terrorists in the community’s dining hall.Participants in the drill included the army, the police, Magen David Adom medics, the fire department, civilian response teams and others.The report also said that although Israel believes Hamas does not want a new war now, the IDF has in recent days completed preparations for any outbreak of conflict.It added that the army has boosted its deployment adjacent to the Gaza border in preparation for such an eventuality.On Thursday Palestinian media said IDF bulldozers entered the Gaza Strip and carried out work near the border fence. The Ma’an News Agency, citing eyewitnesses, reported that four bulldozers moved several meters into the southern Gaza Strip in an area east of the city of Rafah and began leveling ground near the border.Drones were seen flying overhead as the IDF earth-movers worked.According to Ma’an, it was the latest in over half a dozen similar incursions over the past ten days.A senior IDF officer told reporters Thursday that Hamas is amassing fighters and materiel at a “surprisingly” quick pace in Gaza but that the terror group does not appear to be prepared for renewed direct conflict with Israel in the near future.He stressed the terrorist organization would not again drag Israel into a war, and that any future conflict would be one undertaken at the initiative of the Jewish state.His comments came a day after a senior Defense Ministry official indicated there is no expectation of an increase in violence with Hamas.“The good news is that our deterrence is still working,” said Amos Gilad, director of the ministry’s Political-Military Affairs Bureau, at a conference on the beleaguered coastal strip’s financial woes.“They say that there will be a ‘hot’ summer. That’ll only be because of the high temperatures,” he continued, alluding to the tendency for regional conflicts to take place in warmer summer months.“Economics alone can’t solve [Gaza’s problems]. Economics are not the fundamental solution,” Gilad said in his address.So long as Hamas rules the Gaza Strip, he added, there will not be peace there.Judah Ari Gross contributed to this report.
Analysis-Meet the next Palestinian president-Marwan Barghouti, jailed in Israel for murder and deep in plans with Hamas to ‘non-violently’ free Palestine, is the people’s choice to succeed Mahmoud Abbas. This would not be good news for Israel-By Avi Issacharoff April 15, 2016, 2:35 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
What conclusions should we draw from the plans for a new “nonviolent” intifada campaign to “free Palestine,” conceived for the post-Mahmoud Abbas era by Marwan Barghouti and his associates together with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and reported earlier this week by The Times of Israel?From the Hasharon Prison where he is serving five life terms for his role in Second Intifada murders, Barghouti, the Fatah Tanzim leader who anticipates succeeding Palestinian Authority President Abbas, has reached understandings with Hamas’s leadership abroad in recent weeks about coordinating a struggle against the Israeli occupation, forcing Israel back to the pre-1967 lines, ending the Oslo Accords and reversing Palestinian recognition of Israel.The ostensible idea is for a nonviolent struggle, to include marches and sit-ins and other acts of resistance, without terror attacks or shooting. As we have long been aware, however, the Middle East, like any other battlefield, is a “realm of uncertainty.” So with all due respect to the talk of nonviolence and whether or not such talk is genuinely meant, an intifada — any intifada — is a law unto itself.Clearly, the day after Abbas leaves office will be a much gloomier day for Israel. We may well end up missing the rais, however troubling his hierarchy’s ongoing incitement against Israel, simply because, in principle, he supports talks with Israel and opposes terror attacks and intifadas.If Barghouti does indeed take over, we may miss Abbas even more, especially as the convicted and jailed killer is planning intensively for his succession, and right now it does not seem that anyone is going to seriously challenge him.Barghouti was arrested 14 years ago this month in the home of his friend Ziad Abu Ein (who later died of a heart attack at an anti-Israel demonstration). Since then, although imprisoned in Israel — indeed, partly because he is imprisoned in Israel — Barghouti has become the most popular Palestinian leader in the West Bank and Gaza. He has already declared his intention to run in any presidential election, and if such elections are held, his chances of winning are excellent.Israeli officials, and perhaps also the Hamas leadership in Gaza, may want to prevent such elections — and there is potential for argument, confrontation and endless delay over such modalities as whether such a vote would extend to East Jerusalemites. But in light of the bleak political reality and the backing Barghouti enjoys from Hamas’s leadership abroad as well, there could be such widespread support for Barghouti as to prompt the Palestinians to hold elections even without Jerusalem; almost anything, just to get him elected.Would Israel try to prevent such elections at the risk of nasty conflict with the international community and the Palestinian public alike? Probably not.-A Palestinian Mandela?-In the interim, Barghouti’s associates have nominated him as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize, with the help of Nobel laureates from Argentina and Tunisia, and are trying to brand him as a Palestinian Nelson Mandela. He is, of course, nothing of the sort. He was an integral supporter and orchestrator of the armed Second Intifada, including suicide terror attacks after his comrade Raed al-Karmi was eliminated in Tulkarm in early 2002.His new plan may declaredly focus on nonviolent protest, but he is emphatically more radical than Abbas — hence the trust Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders place in him. His ostensible preference may be for a two-state solution arrived at via talks, but unlike Abbas, he believes that if talks do not work, the next recourse must be to take action — in other words, an intifada.Among the obvious indications of Barghouti’s rising public status are the endorsements he has been receiving from other high-ranking Palestinian figures who are also considered possible successors to Abbas. The most prominent of them is Mohammed Dahlan, Gaza’s former Fatah strongman.In recent years Dahlan has spun a web of political and financial connections all over the Arab world: Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and most recently Jordan. He owns a great deal of property and also has connections in Gaza and the West Bank (mainly in the refugee camps). Officials in Arab states believe for some reason that he is an expert in dealing with the Muslim Brotherhood, even though he signally failed to do so in Gaza in 2007, when Hamas easily and brutally ousted Fatah and took over the Strip.Dahlan has endorsed Barghouti for president because he plainly recognizes the public mood, which sees Barghouti as a kind of “savior.” Likewise Saeb Erekat, who, as secretary-general of the PLO’s Executive Committee, is the formal second in command in the organization after Abbas and officially, at least, would be Abbas’s interim successor when the time comes. Erekat announced that he would support Barghouti’s presidential candidacy even before Dahlan did — again, because of an awareness of the Palestinian public mood.What does this mean for Israel? It means a great big headache, plenty of embarrassment and perhaps international pressure to release Barghouti from prison. The idea of Israel feeling compelled to release Barghouti from prison may seem unrealistic now, but it is definitely a possible scenario in the not-too-distant future.-Abbas is staying put-For now, it should be stressed, the long-time president, battle-seasoned fox that he is, has no desire to step down.Ten days ago Abbas announced the establishment of a “constitutional court,” supposedly a legitimate measure that will serve the Palestinian legal system faithfully. Supposedly.The first to criticize the measure, not surprisingly, were members of Hamas, whose spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, made no attempt to hide his organization’s anger. Abu Zuhri claimed that unilaterally establishing the court was “illegitimate,” and that the measure should have been confirmed by national consensus.Why should the establishment of a constitutional court arouse such ire in Hamas, precisely when reconciliation talks between high-ranking members of Hamas and Fatah are resuming? Because such a court, loyal to Fatah, would presumably seek to pass the baton from Abbas, come the day, in a manner that would preserve Fatah’s control over the Palestinian Authority’s institutions and keep Hamas away from the centers of power.In the immediate practical sense, the establishment of a constitutional court will also help the Palestinian president to manage and control the PA. The passage of legislation in the Palestinian Authority is meant to require the approval of parliament. But that parliament, the Palestinian Legislative Council, has not convened since Hamas’s coup in Gaza in June 2007.When legislation of whatever sort is required from time to time, therefore, Abbas issues a “presidential order” approving the passage of “temporary” laws. The new court will be able to ratify such orders. It will also be able to lift the immunity of rebellious members of parliament — those who are considered Abbas’s rivals, particularly among supporters of Mohammed Dahlan.And what of more critical, fundamental and central decisions relating to the Palestinian Authority’s basic laws and their interpretations? The PA has a Supreme Court in Ramallah, but there are issues connected to the basic laws that even this court is not empowered to discuss. Abbas’s new constitutional court, whose justices were sworn in before the rais in Ramallah, is now supposed to handle such matters. In the immediate post-Abbas period, this court may thus be able to make vital political decisions, at Hamas’s expense.Palestinian basic law states that if the president is unable to remain in office due to incapacitation (for whatever reason), the speaker of the parliament takes his place for about two months until general elections are held. In the last parliamentary elections, which took place in 2006, Hamas won by a large majority. The elected speaker of the parliament is Sheikh Aziz Dweik, a high-ranking member of Hamas. If Abbas should be unable to function any longer, his would-be heirs, therefore, would have to prevent Dweik from becoming his temporary successor.Enter the new constitutional court. It could plausibly rule that since no parliamentary elections have been held for more than a decade, the Palestinian Legislative Council has lost its legitimacy and the PLO is the only group that can legitimately represent the Palestinians. And thus PLO chairman Abbas’s departure would not leave some of his key positions in Fatah hands and others in the hands of Hamas, but rather would see him succeeded, in all his various positions, on an interim basis at least, by Erekat.Abbas’s decision to set up the constitutional court, therefore, might usefully be regarded as an indication that he has finally begun to the ground for the day after. Will these preparations be completed and the issue of the succession be clarified completely? We shall see.It is highly likely that Abbas will take further measures in the near future. After all, Abbas would probably wish to be succeeded either by Erekat or by the PA’s intelligence chief Majed Faraj — and not by the unarguable people’s choice, Marwan Barghouti.
Israeli-developed imaging system lowers radioactive dose for patients-GE Healthcare’s SPECT/CT is diagnostic tool’s first reboot in decades-By David Shamah April 17, 2016, 5:16 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Single-photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT/CT) systems are a key tool to diagnose and monitor diseases, but for the past sixty years the technology has remained more or less the same. This year, the Israeli R&D center of GE Healthcare developed a new system that overcomes many of the problems of the systems that are largely in use at hospitals around the world.“We believe that the new technology in the Discovery NM/CT 670 CZT system will significantly improve the way exams are performed and enable new areas of exploration for researchers who are looking at ways to optimize imaging protocols and gain additional insights about a patient’s condition,” said Nathan Hermony, general manager of Nuclear Medicine at GE Healthcare.“This the first reboot for the camera technology used in SPECT/CT imaging in decades, and it was developed at our facilities in Rehovot and Haifa. We have about 600 employees between the two facilities.”SPECT scans, especially when merged with CT scans (while the two images are usually generated by separate machines, SPECT/CT systems can present a single image) produce 3D images of organs in action. For example, SPECT images can show what parts of the brain are active, which areas of the lungs have trouble absorbing oxygen, etc. CT scans, meanwhile, provide a cross-section of organs, bones, blood vessels and soft tissues. The images are used to analyze a variety of medical issues, such as clogged arteries, heart failure, seizures and endemic headaches.Patients are injected with a radioactive substance which acts as a tracer for the camera in the SPECT/CT machine. The system is usually built as a large circular device, with the patient lying down on a bed and the machine rotating around them and taking images of the areas where the radioactive substance was injected.Because of the limited scope of the cameras used until now, doctors could only get one image at a time; if there was a need to examine the hearts, lungs, and kidneys, three passes had to be made, and patients had to be injected with tracer material three times. While generally regarded as safe, it’s probably not a good idea to inject an ailing patient with anything too many times, much less a radioactive substance, said Hermony.The GE system was developed using CZT (cadmium zinc telluride) technology. CZT is a unique semiconductor that directly converts x-ray or gamma-ray photons into electrons, and is able to process many more photons than the current cameras.Because they are more accurate and much more compact CZT detectors can be placed very tightly in an array, allowing for the imaging of more than one part of the body at a time. Moreover, the additional imaging power means that much less radioactive tracers are needed – as much as 50% less, said Hermony.With the system, patients who may have had to undergo multiple scans in the past – with the accompanying hassle of having to contort their limbs in order to get into the right position for each scan – can get all their scanning done in one pass, said Hermony.“One example is cardiac SPECT exams that require the patient to hold their arms above their shoulders for the entire exam, very tightly to the head in order to permit the detectors to rotate closely around the chest for the best image quality,” he said. “For patients with arm or shoulder pain this can be extremely painful and possibly intolerable for the duration of the scan. The new SPECT/CT technology comes with tightly packed detectors, which allow increased proximity and flexibility when positioning the patient for the exam; therefore patients are not required to hold still in strenuous positions and they can tolerate the exam better.”Hospitals will benefit as well, said Professor Zohar Keidar of Rambam Hospital, where GE is placing one of its systems. “The use of this technology may also result in an increased patient throughput and lower procedure-related costs. We are thrilled about the opportunity to be currently involved in investigating and defining the optimization of the clinical protocols based on the use of this novel technology and are also looking forward to exploring new exciting research avenues in the very near future.”
4 And his tail (SATANS)drew the third part of the stars of heaven,(1/3RD OF ANGELS FELL WITH SATAN AT THE FALL WHO ARE DEMONIC FALLIN ANGELS-DEMONS) and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman (ISRAEL) which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.(SATANS LAST HOLOCAUST TO TRY TO DESTROY ISRAEL FOREVER)
5 And she brought forth a man child,(MARY DID-JESUS WHO IS(JEWISH) who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
6 And the woman (MARY WHOS JEWISH REPRESENTING ISRAEL)fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.(3 1/2 YRS)
13 And when the dragon (SATAN) saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman (MARY) which brought forth the man child. (JESUS IS JEWISH)(ISRAEL PERSECUTED THE WORST IN HISTORY YET)
14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.(PROTECTED FOR 3 1/2 YRS IN PETRA JORDAN)
15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.(A TSUNAMI I BELIEVE SATAN WILL TRY TO DESTROY ISRAEL WITH)
16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.(GOD PROBABLY CREATES A QUAKE TO STOP THE TSUNAMI WATERS)
17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed,(SAVED) which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Emergency services drill tsunami along southern coast-‘Tsunami Hazard Zone’ signs bearing emergency escape routes to be placed on Israeli beaches in coming months-By Tamar Pileggi April 4, 2016, 2:43 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Emergency services on Monday held a national tsunami drill, practicing evacuating cities along the southern portion of Israel’s Mediterranean coast.The drill, code-named Blue Tidal Wave, is aimed at raising the preparedness of citizens, local authorities, and emergency services for the case of a tidal wave.First responders practiced evacuating residents from the beachfront cities of Ashkelon and Ashdod to secure areas.The drill was jointly conducted by the Defense Ministry’s National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA) and Israel Police.Earthquakes caused by the African Plate drifting northward underneath the Eurasian Plate can trigger tsunamis in the Mediterranean Sea.Geologists warn that while rare, tsunamis in the Mediterranean tend to happen around once every century.In 1908, thousands were killed when a 7 magnitude quake hit the Messina region in Italy, triggering a tsunami with 10-meter-high waves.Last week, NEMA unveiled new tsunami warning signs at Ashkelon and Ashdod beaches that will be placed all along the coast in the coming months.The “Tsunami Hazard Zone” signs will demarcate areas at high risk for flooding, map escape routes and provide basic instructions to the public.Israel joins the US, Italy, Japan, Thailand and Chile in taking precautions and mapping emergency escape routes specifically designed for a tsunami-like flooding.
REBUILT 3RD TEMPLE
REVELATION 11:1-2
1 And there was given me a(MEASURING) reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
2 But the court which is without the temple leave out,(TO THE WORLD NATIONS) and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.(JERUSALEM DIVIDED BUT THE 3RD TEMPLE ALLOWED TO BE REBUILT)
DANIEL 9:27
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Police chief: MKs banned from Temple Mount-In letter to PM, Alshiech says actions of extremists on both sides could endanger the security of the state-By Sara Miller April 17, 2016, 2:06 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Israel Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich announces a new open-ended ban on Israeli lawmakers visiting the flash-point Temple Mount in Jerusalem.“In light of attempts by many extremist elements from both sides to create provocations… I surmise that at this time, ascent to the Temple Mount by Knesset members is likely to result in an exacerbation of tensions and escalation of incidents that would cause a real endangerment of the security of the state,” he writes in a letter to Netanyahu, Channel 2 reports.The letter continues: “I have decided to continue the ban on members of Knesset going up to the Temple Mount until further notice. The issue will be considered anew once the [holiday season is] over.”-20:11-Greek stores offer discounts to Israeli tourists-Israeli tourists will be offered 20-percent discounts this year at many Greek stores as part of an initiative to help the struggling Greek economy, Greek officials say.The plan will also apply to visitors from the United States, Russia and Turkey.Greek stores will voluntarily opt in to the program and the discounts will be in addition to tax-free benefits for which tourists are already eligible, says Vassilis Korkidis, the president of the Hellenic Federation of Commerce and Enterprise.— JTA-19:56-UN: No food or water at Palestinian camp in Syria-Conditions are “desperate” inside a Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus, with shortages of food and water, the UN says.UNRWA, the UN refugee agency for Palestinians, says violent battles between extremists have left residents of the Yarmouk camp without food or water for more than a week.“Civilians in Yarmouk are facing starvation and dehydration alongside the heightened risks of serious injury and death from the armed conflict,” says UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness.The camp, a built-up neighborhood once home to an estimated 150,000 people, is ravaged by fighting between the Islamic State and al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, the al-Nusra Front, while government forces regularly shell it from outside.— AP-18:23-Israel’s envoy to US ‘briefed Trump’s AIPAC speechwriter’-Haaretz says Israel’s ambassador to the US, Ron Dermer, briefed Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kurshner on Israeli diplomatic and security policy before he wrote the GOP front-runner’s speech to the AIPAC conference last month.The report says the two held a telephone conversation days before the speech, with Dermer outlining the government position on a range of issues.According to Haaretz, a source at the Israeli embassy in Washington confirms the two spoke by phone, saying that “the ambassador spoke to the people of all the leading presidential candidates.”-17:46-Syria: We will retake Golan by any means-Syria’s deputy foreign minister hits back after Netanyahu vows the Golan Heights will remain part of Israel, and warns that the war-torn state will retake the plateau “by any means necessary, including using military force.”Faisal al-Mekdad tells Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen network that “the Arab Syrian Golan is an occupied territory,” and that UN Security Council resolutions affirm that the area is Syrian, i24 reports.The minister adds that “Israel is trying to be provocative, but do not give in to it.”-17:27-American Jew arrested for praying on Temple Mount-A Jewish American tourist is arrested on Temple Mount for praying, an act that is banned under the fragile status quo at the flashpoint Jerusalem holy site.The man is detained by Israeli police officers after he is overhead quoting from Psalms in Hebrew as part of a longer biblical commentary in English, Jewishpress.com reports. When his companions argue that he is not praying, a police officer reportedly says: “On the Temple Mount I decide what’s prayer.”— Amanda Borschel-Dan-16:34-Hamas: We have assets that will force Israel to negotiate-The spokesman for the Hamas military wing, Abu Obeidah, says that Hamas is holding assets that will guarantee a prisoner swap with Israel, the Walla news website reports.“In the hands of the [Izz ad-Din al-Qassam] Brigades, we have something that will promise a prisoner swap with the Israeli enemy, and free the prisoners and our nation,” he says on Palestinian TV, in an official statement to mark Palestinian Prisoner Day.“We promised to free the prisoners, and we are certain that the Brigades can do it,” he says.Hamas claims to be holding the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in the 2014 war in Gaza, as well as two living Israelis who were seized by the terror group after they entered Gaza.-14:32-Palestinian PM: Israel has made our land a prison-Palestinian Authority PM Rami Hamdallah condemns the number of Palestinian children held in Israeli jails in a statement to mark Palestinian Prisoner’s Day.“The Israeli occupation has transformed our homeland into a large prison,” he says, according to Palestinian news agency Ma’an. He calls on the international community to “protect the human rights of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, especially the children who are subject to psychological and physical harm.”According to Palestinian prisoner rights group Addameer, Israel is currently jailing 438 Palestinian minors, including 98 under the age of 16.-14:07-Zahalka: I never advocated violence over Temple Mount-Arab MK Jamal Zahalka denies his recent call for Palestinians to stop Jews from ascending the Temple Mount was a call to violence.Speaking for first time since the PM asked the attorney general to look into whether the remarks were incitement to violence, the Joint (Arab) List MK tells Army Radio: “To immediately say that my every utterance has a violent bent … is nonsense. I never called for violence, it is not my way, it is not my thought [process].”
Herzog on graft probe: I’m calm, everyone needs to calm down-After 5-hour interrogation, opposition leader says suspicions of contribution irregularities timed to emerge ahead of primaries-By Times of Israel staff April 17, 2016, 8:14 pm
Opposition leader Isaac Herzog on Sunday maintained he was “calm,” after police questioned him for five hours under caution over suspicions that he received unlawful financial contributions during his successful 2013 campaign for the Labor Party leadership.“Believe me I’m calm, and you should be calm, and if there’s someone in the party who is not calm — they should calm down,” Herzog said at a Histadrut event.“It’s not easy, but what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” he added.The opposition leader vowed to bring his Zionist Union faction to victory in the next general election, and indicated the allegations were surfacing to discredit him ahead of the primaries in Labor, the larger of the two parties comprising the Zionist Union.“And you know it’s no secret that every time there are general or internal elections, all sorts of bizarre claims emerge and it’s good that these things are being examined, just as they were examined for previous opposition leaders who were questioned by police,” he said.Herzog urged political unity and pledged to bring the faction to victory in the next election.“We were on the cusp of victory, and in the next elections, I will win, and you will win, and the party will win, and the Zionist Union will win,” he said.Herzog, whose interrogation was approved by the attorney general, is also suspected of failing to report a donation and making a false statement. An interrogation session under caution is often a precursor to the opening of a criminal investigation.Earlier Sunday, Herzog said that he was relieved to have the opportunity to give police his side of the story.“From the moment that the existence of a probe was leaked… I requested permission to respond so that I could put the matter behind me. I have complete faith in the law enforcement officials and I thank them for their respectful and fair treatment,” he said in a statement.In response to the interrogtion, fellow faction member Shelly Yachimovich vaguely called for the Zionist Union to discuss “future steps,” while Meretz leader Zehava Galon urged Herzog to resign.“I am convinced Herzog has in mind the best interests of the party and the opposition, and I will work alongside him and the members of our faction to decide on the steps to take,” Yachimovich said. “There is no doubt that the faction chairman and opposition leader being questioned under warning exacerbates the situation. I have complete trust in the police and law enforcement authorities.”Galon, meanwhile, maintained Herzog should not remain in his position.“Herzog cannot continue in the role of chairman of the opposition,” Galon said, according to Channel 2. “Perhaps he needs to suspend himself.”Herzog said last week that he would cooperate with a police investigation so as to put the suspicions to rest “as soon as possible.”At the end of last month, Herzog was named as a second senior Israeli Knesset member suspected of graft. The news came shortly after Interior Minister Aryeh Deri — who has spent several years in prison for embezzlement — revealed he was again at the center of a major corruption investigation.Police were seeking permission from Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit to investigate Herzog, Channel 2 reported last week, also revealing that Herzog’s former campaign manager, Shimon Batat, has already been interviewed under caution in connection with suspected campaign financing violations.So far, Mandelblit has ordered a preliminary probe of suspicions that focus on the 2013 Labor Party primaries, in which Herzog beat incumbent Yachimovich for the leadership.Concerns center on funding connected to a nonprofit organization used by Herzog supporters to manage a negative campaign against Yachimovich, Channel 2 reported, adding that testimony has already been collected from individuals, among them known figures from the political world.Among other things, the case involves the director general of a nursing agency who allegedly invested tens of thousands of shekels over and above the official campaign budget to fund the negative campaign.To date, the only person convicted and sentenced to a jail term for internal party funding offenses has been former lawmaker Omri Sharon, son of the late prime minister Ariel Sharon.Former MK Naomi Blumenthal (Likud) was convicted of bribing 15 party activists and central committee members during Likud primaries in December 2003 by inviting them to a Ramat Gan hotel.In a June 2014 report, former state comptroller Yosef Shapira determined that Herzog had exceeded the limit on expenses allowed in the Labor Party leadership primaries against Yachimovich, but that he had not broken the law. Accepting Herzog’s explanation that an “innocent accounting mistake” had been made, Shapira decided against any financial sanction against him.Earlier this month, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon said talks about bringing Zionist Union into the governing coalition stalled when the suspicions concerning Herzog came to light.In 1999, Herzog exercised his right to remain silent when he was cabinet secretary, in connection with alleged campaign funding irregularities on the part of then-prime minister Ehud Barak.
Netanyahu to AG: Check if Arab MK’s Temple Mount comments are incitement-Joint List’s Jamal Zahalka, who has called on Palestinian leadership to reignite ‘popular struggle,’ dismisses PM’s move as ‘baseless’-By Raphael Ahren and Times of Israel staff April 15, 2016, 4:34 pm
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit on Friday to examine whether an Arab Knesset member’s call for Palestinians to prevent Jews from visiting the Temple Mount constitutes incitement.Netanyahu was referring to Joint (Arab) List MK Jamal Zahalka’s Thursday statements to a Palestinian website that Palestinians should prevent Jews from visiting the Temple Mount “in every possible way.”Zahalka in response said Netanyahu’s appeal “has no basis” and claimed the prime minister’s actions were only intended to “win cheap popularity by inciting against the Arab public and its leadership.”In an interview with Donia Al-Watan on Thursday, the Joint List lawmaker also claimed the number of Jews visiting the flashpoint site is growing daily.The Temple Mount is the holiest shrine in Judaism, and the location of both ancient Jewish temples. It is also is the third-holiest site in Islam, after Mecca and Medina, and houses Islam’s Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock shrine.The MK called for Palestinian organizations to embark on a “popular struggle” against Israel, six months after the start of a wave of Palestinian terror attacks against Israeli civilians and security forces that have claimed the lives of 29 Israelis and four non-Israelis. Close to 200 Palestinians have been killed in the violence, some two-thirds during the course of attacks they were carrying out and the rest in clashes with troops, according to the Israeli army.“During the Second Intifada, we sacrificed 4,000 martyrs for the sake of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the continuation of [visits] by the Jews are the cause of the current intifada,” Zahalka told the news website, citing an inflated number for the Palestinian casualties of the violent Palestinian uprising during 2000-2005, which included multiple suicide and other terror attacks against Israelis. Some 1,000 Israelis and 3,200 Palestinians were killed in the violence, according to official figures.“The question is if the [Palestinian] groups will join the popular struggle and act at a national level, or they will leave it to the youths who are carrying out lone-wolf attacks?”But in a statement issued after reports of his interview began to surface in the Hebrew-language media, Zahalka watered down his comments, claiming his intention was to avoid bloodshed and that authorities should prevent provocative visits to the Mount.“It is my public duty to warn against the possibility of a dangerous deterioration, as a result of right-wing people entering Al-Aqsa,” Zahalka said in his statement. He cited the rioting that followed a September 2000 visit to the site by then-prime minister Ariel Sharon, which he said “led to the outbreak of the Second Intifada and to the killing of more than four thousand people” — a number closer to the total fatalities of both Israelis and Palestinians.Earlier this week an Israeli nonprofit revealed it had carried out a furtive Jewish wedding on the Temple Mount, in violation of delicate status quo at the site, which bans Jews from praying there.“Everything must be done to prevent additional bloodshed, and if the Israeli government is interested in calming things down it needs to prevent provocative visits to the mosque areas,” Zahalka said in the later statement. “It needs to understand that the problem is in the visits, and not in the call to end them.”Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE
EU ‘deeply concerned’ by new phase of West Bank barrier-European body says security fence ‘will severely restrict access of almost 60 Palestinian families to their agricultural land’-By AFP April 15, 2016, 2:09 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
The European Union said Friday that it was “deeply concerned” by Israel’s construction of a new part of its West Bank security barrier.Cranes last week began erecting the fence south of Jerusalem in the Cremisan Valley, adjacent to the West Bank town of Beit Jala, after a nine-year legal battle.The EU said in a statement it was “deeply concerned at the relaunch of works for the construction of the separation barrier in the Cremisan Valley.”It added: “Once built, the barrier will severely restrict access of almost 60 Palestinian families to their agricultural land and profoundly affect their livelihoods.”Residents of the Christian village of Beit Jala fear the construction may lead to the expansion of the nearby Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo and the settlement of Har Gilo.They have sought to campaign against it, but Israel’s High Court ruled in July 2015 that the barrier was legitimate and allowed construction to resume.Israel began building the barrier of walls and fences along the border with and inside the West Bank in 2002, at the height of the Second Intifada, saying it was crucial for stopping the swarm of suicide bombers and other terrorists who claimed hundreds of Israeli lives. The Palestinians, however, call it a land grab aimed at stealing part of their future state.The barrier is a network of fences, concrete walls, trenches and closed military roads that will extend 712 kilometers (442 miles) when finished, separating the West Bank from Israel, taking in an estimated 7 percent of the West Bank. The original route, which took in about 15 percent of the West Bank, has gradually been moved closer to the pre-1967 lines, amid an ongoing series of petitions to Israel’s High Court of Justice.Where it approaches Beit Jala and the adjacent Cremisan Valley there has been fierce opposition from the local Christian community, which has enlisted papal support.The case grabbed special attention when a section of barrier was slated to separate the Cremisan monastery from the neighboring convent and vineyards. It would have also separated Palestinians in the nearby Beit Jala from their olive groves.The High Court ruled in April 2015 that the work must stop and told the government to consider alternative routes. But the new court decision on July 6 said work could go ahead, ruling that the previous ban referred only to an area of a few hundred meters alongside the monastery and the convent.
Israeli cabinet to meet on Golan, to underline land won’t be relinquished-Ministers to convene on Sunday in first ever session on the strategic ridge, amid reports that world deal for Syria will demand Israel return the territory-By Times of Israel staff April 15, 2016, 9:10 pm
The Israeli government is to hold its first ever cabinet meeting at a location on the Golan Heights on Sunday, in an effort to underline Israel’s determination never to relinquish the strategic ridge despite anticipated international pressure to do so.According to a Channel 2 report on Friday evening, the first clause of a draft agreement aimed at settling the brutal civil war in Syria, being worked on with the support of the US, Russia and other major world powers, specifies that the Heights, captured by Israel from Syria in the 1967 war, is Syrian territory and must be returned to Syria.Israel extended its law to the Heights in 1981, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly furious that the international community is deliberating the notion of Israel giving up the area.For the first time in the almost 50 years since the Golan was captured, therefore, Netanyahu and his ministers will hold their weekly meeting this Sunday in the Golan, to “symbolize” Israel’s determination not to relinquish the area, the TV report said.Netanyahu discussed the issue in a telephone call with US Secretary of State John Kerry a few days ago, a Channel 10 TV news report said earlier this week. He will also reportedly discuss the matter when he travels to Russia next week to meet with President Vladimir Putin.Netanyahu is said to have made clear to Kerry that any language in an accord on the fate of Syria that specifies that the Israeli-held western two-thirds of the Golan is Syrian land would be unacceptable to Israel, and to have vowed to “act to ensure” any agreement includes no such provision.Prior to to the eruption of the Syrian civil war, some Israeli security chiefs had encouraged the Israeli political leadership to explore the possibility of reaching a peace treaty with President Bashar Assad, which could also have enabled a treaty with Lebanon and the isolating of Assad’s key ally Iran, in return for relinquishing the Golan. Since Syria descended into civil war chaos and mass slaughter, however, the notion of Israel relinquishing the strategic high ground has become highly improbable.Netanyahu visited the Golan on Monday. During his tour, he said Israel has carried out dozens of strikes against Hezbollah and associated targets in Syria to prevent the Lebanese group from obtaining advanced weapons. Israeli officials have warned that Hezbollah and Iranian fighters may try to set up a base across the border, on the Syrian-held eastern one-third of the Golan, to launch attacks against Israelis.
Opposition MKs join forces to stop Netanyahu reelection-Bill seeks to introduce two-term limit for prime ministers, says those who stay in office too long are driven by self-interest-By Tamar Pileggi April 17, 2016, 8:48 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Opposition lawmakers have joined forces to pass a bill that would limit Israeli prime ministers to no more than two terms in office.If signed into law, the legislation would set a de-facto term limit for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is currently serving his fourth term as head of state.The bill was first proposed by Zionist Union MK Merav Michaeli in 2014, but was thwarted by the Likud leadership in the last Knesset.The legislation, which seeks to “prevent the degeneration and detachment” of Israel’s leaders, was re-submitted March 30 to the Knesset for a preliminary vote.Michaeli’s bill argues that a two-term limit produces a stable government and encourages serving prime ministers to maintain a strong coalition by eliminating the option of rushing to new elections.“Democracy is not a monarchy, and it is vital to not create long years of rule by a single person,” the bill reads.Zionist Union head Isaac Herzog, Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid, Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman and Joint (Arab) List chairman Ayman Odeh have joined forces in an effort to pass the bill into law, Channel 2 reported on Sunday.The lawmakers also are seeking to have Netanyahu barred from the plenum vote, because the legislation would affect him personally.Though the bill would limit a prime minister’s term, it would not impose a limit on a party’s ability to maintain power over multiple consecutive terms.In a statement on Sunday, Likud party members accused the right-wing Liberman of capitulating to a left-wing agenda, and accused him of “attempting to topple” the ruling Netanyahu government.In 2015, Netanyahu entered his third consecutive term in office. He previously served as prime minister between 1996 and 1999.
ISRAEL SATAN COMES AGAINST
1 CHRONICLES 21:1
1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.
GENESIS 12:1-3
1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I (GOD) will shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee,(ISRAELIS) and curse (DESTROY) him that curseth thee:(DESTROY THEM) and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
ISAIAH 41:11
11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee (ISRAEL) shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing;(DESTROYED) and they that strive with thee shall perish.(ISRAEL HATERS WILL BE TOTALLY DESTROYED)
ISRAELS TROUBLE
JEREMIAH 30:7
7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble;(ISRAEL) but he shall be saved out of it.
DANIEL 12:1,4
1 And at that time shall Michael(ISRAELS WAR ANGEL) stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people:(ISRAEL) and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation(May 14,48) even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro,(WORLD TRAVEL,IMMIGRATION) and knowledge shall be increased.(COMPUTERS,CHIP IMPLANTS ETC)
SECOND ANGEL - TO DR DOCTORIAN-We are five angels from the five continents of the world.
The angel showed me that the United Nations shall be broken in pieces because of the crisis in the Middle East. There shall be no more United Nations. The angel with the sickle shall reap the harvest.
UN seeks increased transparency in selecting leader-Candidates for United Nations chief answer questions from diplomats as Ban Ki-moon’s term set to expire-By Edith M. Lederer April 15, 2016, 7:32 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Nine candidates seeking to become the world’s top diplomat answered a total of about 800 questions over the past three days from ambassadors and advocacy groups in the first move in the UN’s 70-year history to open up the usually secret selection of the next secretary-general.General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft, who presided over the question-and-answer sessions, said he was “very inspired” that in addition to almost all 193 UN member states taking part, 227,000 people from 209 countries and territories watched some of the webcast.“It has already made a difference,” he told reporters late Thursday. “We have established a new standard of transparency and inclusivity for the selection of the secretary-general.”According to the UN Charter, the secretary-general is chosen by the 193-member General Assembly on the recommendation of the 15-member Security Council.In practice, this has meant that the council’s five permanent members — the US, Russia, China, Britain and France — have veto power over the candidates. That will not change in deciding whom to recommend to succeed Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, whose second five-year term ends on Dec. 31.Lykketoft has said the question-and-answer sessions could be “a potential game-changer” if many countries support one candidate, which would put pressure on the Security Council not to choose someone else.It’s too early to say if that will happen since more candidates are expected to throw their hats in the ring. Lykketoft encouraged those interested to “come forward quickly.”Britain’s UN Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said questioning and hearing from every candidate “will increase the quality of the decision-making in the Security Council when the time comes, and I think it will raise the bar in terms of the overall quality of the field.”Other council members were more cautious about the impact of the sessions.Angola’s UN Ambassador Ismael Gaspar Martins said they “could offer the council a first view of who the potential candidates really are” and help them “choose properly.”Russia’s UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said “some people seem to be excited” but he clearly wasn’t.“I think it might be useful. We’ll see,” he said, declaring diplomatically that he has a “very good impression of all candidates.”By tradition, the job of secretary-general has rotated among regions and Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe have all held the top UN post. East European nations, including Russia, argue that they have never had a secretary-general and it is their turn. There has also never been a woman secretary-general and a group of 56 nations are campaigning for the first female UN chief.Srgjan Kerim, a former Macedonian foreign minister and ex-General Assembly president, stressed the importance of following the unwritten rule of rotation, saying Thursday it maintains “mutual trust” and promotes needed unity at a time the world is facing many crises.Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, who heads the UN Development Program, said the UN needs “a proven leader who is pragmatic and effective” — and she has demonstrated those qualities. As one of four women in the race, she stressed that “all my life I have fought for gender equality and women’s empowerment.”Former Serbian foreign minister and General Assembly President Vuk Jeremic, who was only nominated by his government on Monday, presented General Assembly members with an 81-page platform containing 53 specific commitments on issues from stabilizing countries in the Mideast and North Africa to prioritizing genocide prevention.Lykketoft said a common thread among all the candidates was that the UN has taken some great steps forward with new development goals, a climate agreement and maybe progress in Iran and a start in Syria. But there was also widespread agreement on the need for the UN to undertake “pro-active intervention to avoid conflicts and contain conflicts,” adopt a stronger network to monitor human rights violations, and reform the UN bureaucracy, he said.Former Slovenian president Danilo Turk said “the secretary-general is neither secretary nor general” but “a servant of the organization” who must be available 24 hours a day. As UN chief, he said he would urgently review global crises, launch a program to implement the new UN goals for 2030, and carry out recruitment and budget reforms.The other candidates are Montenegro’s Foreign Minister Igor Luksic; former Croatian Foreign Minister Vesna Pucic; UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova from Bulgaria; former Moldovan Foreign Minister Natalia Gherman and former UN refugee chief and ex-Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres.
Hamas chief vows to free Palestinian prisoners in Israel-Mashaal rejects foreign mediation for prisoner swap so long as inmates rearrested after Shalit deal are still held-By Dov Lieber April 17, 2016, 6:56 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Hamas political chief Khaled Mashaal said Sunday that his group “must soon free all Palestinian prisoners” in Israeli jails and would not wait for negotiations with Israel to do so.Mashaal, in a televised speech on the occasion of Palestinian Prisoners Day, which takes place annually on April 17, said that Hamas would not open negotiations with Israel about anything until all the so-called “Shalit prisoners” who had been rearrested were freed.In 2011, kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was released in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian detainees, in a deal brokered with the help of a German diplomat. Israel rearrested some of those released in the deal in the summer of 2014 during a search for three Israeli teenagers who were kidnapped by a Hamas cell. It later emerged that the teens had been killed shortly after their abduction.“Our goal is not the completion of a deal, but the cleaning out of [Israeli] prisons,” he said.Israel and Hamas do not officially maintain direct contacts, and any deal would have to be mediated by international parties.Mashaal confirmed in his speech earlier reports that foreign parties were trying to mediate prisoner swaps between Hamas and Israel, but insisted such attempts would not bear fruit.“We will not succumb to conditions [from foreign governments], and we reject them completely,” Mashaal said.Abu Obeida, the spokesperson for Hamas’s Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades military branch, said his group was eagerly anticipating the freeing of Palestinian prisoners.“What the Qassam Brigades has in its possession will lead to an honorable deal that will gladden the Palestinian people, and will lead soon to the release of our heroic prisoners,” he said in an appearance on Palestinian TV in honor of Prisoners Day.Hamas claims to be keeping captive 29-year-old Avraham Mengistu, as well as another Israeli, a Bedouin man whose name has not been released for publication. The two reportedly crossed into the Gaza Strip of their own accord. Both hostages reportedly suffer from psychological issues.Hamas is also known to be holding the remains of two soldiers killed in the 2014 Gaza war, Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin.-‘We are morally superior’-Mashaal, in his speech, claimed Hamas has the upper hand in the ethical sphere of the conflict. “We are morally superior to the occupation as is evidenced by our treatment of the prisoner Shalit,” he said.In January, the Gaza-based terror group released a number of images and videos meant to show that Shalit was treated well during his five-year captivity, including one video showing the hostage barbecuing with his captors.Mashaal, however, did not discuss the conditions of the Israeli prisoners currently held in Gaza.Hamas has denied the International Red Cross access to Israeli captives and has refused to give any details about their physical conditions.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Hamas leader pledges to stick by ‘the rifle and the tunnel’-Ismail Haniyeh says the issue of incarcerated Palestinians is ‘at the top of our priority list’; dozens riot near Israeli border-By Times of Israel staff April 15, 2016, 6:16 pm
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said Friday the group remained committed to armed struggle against Israel, in a speech he made ahead of Prisoners’ Day, observed by the terror organization next week.Speaking at a rally in the Gaza Strip, Haniyeh said, “Our message to the prisoners is a message inked in blood. The rifle and the tunnel are our commitment.“The issue of prisoners is at the top of our priority list. As time passes, we stick to our principles, and the people who walk in the path of martyrs and prisoners also stick with us.”Later Friday several dozen people rioted near the security fence on the Gaza border, and hurled rocks at Israeli soldiers. Soldiers responded with non-lethal means. They also shot at the lower body of one demonstrator.On Thursday, an IDF officer said both sides were preparing for a future conflict, and while neither side was interested in renewing violence, a miscalculation on either side could bring about another round of fighting.“Hamas suspects that we will initiate offensive action against it by surprise, and so the fear of miscalculation exists,” the officer was quoted by the Hebrew website Ynet as saying. “Their level of sensitivity to our public proclamations is high. Hamas saw [the months of violent attacks] in the West Bank as a strategic opportunity, even at the cost of deterioration in Gaza, and the movement is disappointed with the drop in the number of terror attacks. Since October, 17 Palestinians were killed in border fence riots and some 800 were wounded,” the officer said.The terror group has been investing considerable resources in the Nukhba force, an elite unit of fighters. According to Ynet the number of Hamas fighters in the unit has grown to 5,000 people – a quarter of the group’s fighting manpower.On the other hand, the group’s development and construction of rockets has been severely damaged by Egypt’s closing of smuggling tunnels. Hamas has been finding it difficult to restore its array of short and medium-range projectiles since the end of Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014.Speaking earlier this week at a forum dedicated to the situation in Gaza at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, director of the Defense Ministry’s Political-Military Affairs Bureau Amos Gilad said that the Hamas armed wing, led by Muhammed Deif, ultimately paid no heed to the political wing, headed by Haniyeh.Gilad opined, however, that conflict would not erupt this year between Israel and Hamas.“The good news is that our deterrence is still working. They say that there will be a ‘hot’ summer. That’ll only be because of the high temperatures,” Gilad said, alluding to the tendency for regional conflicts to take place in warmer summer months.Judah Ari Gross contributed to this report.
Amid soaring tension, Israel drills for Hamas attack on Gaza border kibbutz-Extensive exercise by IDF and emergency services, the largest of its kind since 2014 war, involves troops overpowering terrorists and rescuing hostages held in community dining hall-By Times of Israel staff April 15, 2016, 9:34 pm
Amid fast-rising tensions along the Gaza Strip border, Israel on Thursday carried out its largest civilian drill near the Palestinian enclave since 2014’s war between Israel and Hamas, Channel 2 reported Friday.Soldiers and emergency response teams simulated a Hamas incursion into Israeli territory, including an attack on an Israeli kibbutz near the border and the taking of hostages by terrorists. The exercise, which was held at Kibbutz Erez, included troops overpowering the terrorists in the community’s dining hall.Participants in the drill included the army, the police, Magen David Adom medics, the fire department, civilian response teams and others.The report also said that although Israel believes Hamas does not want a new war now, the IDF has in recent days completed preparations for any outbreak of conflict.It added that the army has boosted its deployment adjacent to the Gaza border in preparation for such an eventuality.On Thursday Palestinian media said IDF bulldozers entered the Gaza Strip and carried out work near the border fence. The Ma’an News Agency, citing eyewitnesses, reported that four bulldozers moved several meters into the southern Gaza Strip in an area east of the city of Rafah and began leveling ground near the border.Drones were seen flying overhead as the IDF earth-movers worked.According to Ma’an, it was the latest in over half a dozen similar incursions over the past ten days.A senior IDF officer told reporters Thursday that Hamas is amassing fighters and materiel at a “surprisingly” quick pace in Gaza but that the terror group does not appear to be prepared for renewed direct conflict with Israel in the near future.He stressed the terrorist organization would not again drag Israel into a war, and that any future conflict would be one undertaken at the initiative of the Jewish state.His comments came a day after a senior Defense Ministry official indicated there is no expectation of an increase in violence with Hamas.“The good news is that our deterrence is still working,” said Amos Gilad, director of the ministry’s Political-Military Affairs Bureau, at a conference on the beleaguered coastal strip’s financial woes.“They say that there will be a ‘hot’ summer. That’ll only be because of the high temperatures,” he continued, alluding to the tendency for regional conflicts to take place in warmer summer months.“Economics alone can’t solve [Gaza’s problems]. Economics are not the fundamental solution,” Gilad said in his address.So long as Hamas rules the Gaza Strip, he added, there will not be peace there.Judah Ari Gross contributed to this report.
Analysis-Meet the next Palestinian president-Marwan Barghouti, jailed in Israel for murder and deep in plans with Hamas to ‘non-violently’ free Palestine, is the people’s choice to succeed Mahmoud Abbas. This would not be good news for Israel-By Avi Issacharoff April 15, 2016, 2:35 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
What conclusions should we draw from the plans for a new “nonviolent” intifada campaign to “free Palestine,” conceived for the post-Mahmoud Abbas era by Marwan Barghouti and his associates together with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and reported earlier this week by The Times of Israel?From the Hasharon Prison where he is serving five life terms for his role in Second Intifada murders, Barghouti, the Fatah Tanzim leader who anticipates succeeding Palestinian Authority President Abbas, has reached understandings with Hamas’s leadership abroad in recent weeks about coordinating a struggle against the Israeli occupation, forcing Israel back to the pre-1967 lines, ending the Oslo Accords and reversing Palestinian recognition of Israel.The ostensible idea is for a nonviolent struggle, to include marches and sit-ins and other acts of resistance, without terror attacks or shooting. As we have long been aware, however, the Middle East, like any other battlefield, is a “realm of uncertainty.” So with all due respect to the talk of nonviolence and whether or not such talk is genuinely meant, an intifada — any intifada — is a law unto itself.Clearly, the day after Abbas leaves office will be a much gloomier day for Israel. We may well end up missing the rais, however troubling his hierarchy’s ongoing incitement against Israel, simply because, in principle, he supports talks with Israel and opposes terror attacks and intifadas.If Barghouti does indeed take over, we may miss Abbas even more, especially as the convicted and jailed killer is planning intensively for his succession, and right now it does not seem that anyone is going to seriously challenge him.Barghouti was arrested 14 years ago this month in the home of his friend Ziad Abu Ein (who later died of a heart attack at an anti-Israel demonstration). Since then, although imprisoned in Israel — indeed, partly because he is imprisoned in Israel — Barghouti has become the most popular Palestinian leader in the West Bank and Gaza. He has already declared his intention to run in any presidential election, and if such elections are held, his chances of winning are excellent.Israeli officials, and perhaps also the Hamas leadership in Gaza, may want to prevent such elections — and there is potential for argument, confrontation and endless delay over such modalities as whether such a vote would extend to East Jerusalemites. But in light of the bleak political reality and the backing Barghouti enjoys from Hamas’s leadership abroad as well, there could be such widespread support for Barghouti as to prompt the Palestinians to hold elections even without Jerusalem; almost anything, just to get him elected.Would Israel try to prevent such elections at the risk of nasty conflict with the international community and the Palestinian public alike? Probably not.-A Palestinian Mandela?-In the interim, Barghouti’s associates have nominated him as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize, with the help of Nobel laureates from Argentina and Tunisia, and are trying to brand him as a Palestinian Nelson Mandela. He is, of course, nothing of the sort. He was an integral supporter and orchestrator of the armed Second Intifada, including suicide terror attacks after his comrade Raed al-Karmi was eliminated in Tulkarm in early 2002.His new plan may declaredly focus on nonviolent protest, but he is emphatically more radical than Abbas — hence the trust Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders place in him. His ostensible preference may be for a two-state solution arrived at via talks, but unlike Abbas, he believes that if talks do not work, the next recourse must be to take action — in other words, an intifada.Among the obvious indications of Barghouti’s rising public status are the endorsements he has been receiving from other high-ranking Palestinian figures who are also considered possible successors to Abbas. The most prominent of them is Mohammed Dahlan, Gaza’s former Fatah strongman.In recent years Dahlan has spun a web of political and financial connections all over the Arab world: Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and most recently Jordan. He owns a great deal of property and also has connections in Gaza and the West Bank (mainly in the refugee camps). Officials in Arab states believe for some reason that he is an expert in dealing with the Muslim Brotherhood, even though he signally failed to do so in Gaza in 2007, when Hamas easily and brutally ousted Fatah and took over the Strip.Dahlan has endorsed Barghouti for president because he plainly recognizes the public mood, which sees Barghouti as a kind of “savior.” Likewise Saeb Erekat, who, as secretary-general of the PLO’s Executive Committee, is the formal second in command in the organization after Abbas and officially, at least, would be Abbas’s interim successor when the time comes. Erekat announced that he would support Barghouti’s presidential candidacy even before Dahlan did — again, because of an awareness of the Palestinian public mood.What does this mean for Israel? It means a great big headache, plenty of embarrassment and perhaps international pressure to release Barghouti from prison. The idea of Israel feeling compelled to release Barghouti from prison may seem unrealistic now, but it is definitely a possible scenario in the not-too-distant future.-Abbas is staying put-For now, it should be stressed, the long-time president, battle-seasoned fox that he is, has no desire to step down.Ten days ago Abbas announced the establishment of a “constitutional court,” supposedly a legitimate measure that will serve the Palestinian legal system faithfully. Supposedly.The first to criticize the measure, not surprisingly, were members of Hamas, whose spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, made no attempt to hide his organization’s anger. Abu Zuhri claimed that unilaterally establishing the court was “illegitimate,” and that the measure should have been confirmed by national consensus.Why should the establishment of a constitutional court arouse such ire in Hamas, precisely when reconciliation talks between high-ranking members of Hamas and Fatah are resuming? Because such a court, loyal to Fatah, would presumably seek to pass the baton from Abbas, come the day, in a manner that would preserve Fatah’s control over the Palestinian Authority’s institutions and keep Hamas away from the centers of power.In the immediate practical sense, the establishment of a constitutional court will also help the Palestinian president to manage and control the PA. The passage of legislation in the Palestinian Authority is meant to require the approval of parliament. But that parliament, the Palestinian Legislative Council, has not convened since Hamas’s coup in Gaza in June 2007.When legislation of whatever sort is required from time to time, therefore, Abbas issues a “presidential order” approving the passage of “temporary” laws. The new court will be able to ratify such orders. It will also be able to lift the immunity of rebellious members of parliament — those who are considered Abbas’s rivals, particularly among supporters of Mohammed Dahlan.And what of more critical, fundamental and central decisions relating to the Palestinian Authority’s basic laws and their interpretations? The PA has a Supreme Court in Ramallah, but there are issues connected to the basic laws that even this court is not empowered to discuss. Abbas’s new constitutional court, whose justices were sworn in before the rais in Ramallah, is now supposed to handle such matters. In the immediate post-Abbas period, this court may thus be able to make vital political decisions, at Hamas’s expense.Palestinian basic law states that if the president is unable to remain in office due to incapacitation (for whatever reason), the speaker of the parliament takes his place for about two months until general elections are held. In the last parliamentary elections, which took place in 2006, Hamas won by a large majority. The elected speaker of the parliament is Sheikh Aziz Dweik, a high-ranking member of Hamas. If Abbas should be unable to function any longer, his would-be heirs, therefore, would have to prevent Dweik from becoming his temporary successor.Enter the new constitutional court. It could plausibly rule that since no parliamentary elections have been held for more than a decade, the Palestinian Legislative Council has lost its legitimacy and the PLO is the only group that can legitimately represent the Palestinians. And thus PLO chairman Abbas’s departure would not leave some of his key positions in Fatah hands and others in the hands of Hamas, but rather would see him succeeded, in all his various positions, on an interim basis at least, by Erekat.Abbas’s decision to set up the constitutional court, therefore, might usefully be regarded as an indication that he has finally begun to the ground for the day after. Will these preparations be completed and the issue of the succession be clarified completely? We shall see.It is highly likely that Abbas will take further measures in the near future. After all, Abbas would probably wish to be succeeded either by Erekat or by the PA’s intelligence chief Majed Faraj — and not by the unarguable people’s choice, Marwan Barghouti.
Israeli-developed imaging system lowers radioactive dose for patients-GE Healthcare’s SPECT/CT is diagnostic tool’s first reboot in decades-By David Shamah April 17, 2016, 5:16 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Single-photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT/CT) systems are a key tool to diagnose and monitor diseases, but for the past sixty years the technology has remained more or less the same. This year, the Israeli R&D center of GE Healthcare developed a new system that overcomes many of the problems of the systems that are largely in use at hospitals around the world.“We believe that the new technology in the Discovery NM/CT 670 CZT system will significantly improve the way exams are performed and enable new areas of exploration for researchers who are looking at ways to optimize imaging protocols and gain additional insights about a patient’s condition,” said Nathan Hermony, general manager of Nuclear Medicine at GE Healthcare.“This the first reboot for the camera technology used in SPECT/CT imaging in decades, and it was developed at our facilities in Rehovot and Haifa. We have about 600 employees between the two facilities.”SPECT scans, especially when merged with CT scans (while the two images are usually generated by separate machines, SPECT/CT systems can present a single image) produce 3D images of organs in action. For example, SPECT images can show what parts of the brain are active, which areas of the lungs have trouble absorbing oxygen, etc. CT scans, meanwhile, provide a cross-section of organs, bones, blood vessels and soft tissues. The images are used to analyze a variety of medical issues, such as clogged arteries, heart failure, seizures and endemic headaches.Patients are injected with a radioactive substance which acts as a tracer for the camera in the SPECT/CT machine. The system is usually built as a large circular device, with the patient lying down on a bed and the machine rotating around them and taking images of the areas where the radioactive substance was injected.Because of the limited scope of the cameras used until now, doctors could only get one image at a time; if there was a need to examine the hearts, lungs, and kidneys, three passes had to be made, and patients had to be injected with tracer material three times. While generally regarded as safe, it’s probably not a good idea to inject an ailing patient with anything too many times, much less a radioactive substance, said Hermony.The GE system was developed using CZT (cadmium zinc telluride) technology. CZT is a unique semiconductor that directly converts x-ray or gamma-ray photons into electrons, and is able to process many more photons than the current cameras.Because they are more accurate and much more compact CZT detectors can be placed very tightly in an array, allowing for the imaging of more than one part of the body at a time. Moreover, the additional imaging power means that much less radioactive tracers are needed – as much as 50% less, said Hermony.With the system, patients who may have had to undergo multiple scans in the past – with the accompanying hassle of having to contort their limbs in order to get into the right position for each scan – can get all their scanning done in one pass, said Hermony.“One example is cardiac SPECT exams that require the patient to hold their arms above their shoulders for the entire exam, very tightly to the head in order to permit the detectors to rotate closely around the chest for the best image quality,” he said. “For patients with arm or shoulder pain this can be extremely painful and possibly intolerable for the duration of the scan. The new SPECT/CT technology comes with tightly packed detectors, which allow increased proximity and flexibility when positioning the patient for the exam; therefore patients are not required to hold still in strenuous positions and they can tolerate the exam better.”Hospitals will benefit as well, said Professor Zohar Keidar of Rambam Hospital, where GE is placing one of its systems. “The use of this technology may also result in an increased patient throughput and lower procedure-related costs. We are thrilled about the opportunity to be currently involved in investigating and defining the optimization of the clinical protocols based on the use of this novel technology and are also looking forward to exploring new exciting research avenues in the very near future.”
