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 PARIS STORIES
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2017/01/ex-british-spy-said-to-go-into-hiding.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2017/01/in-paris-world-will-try-one-more-time.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2017/01/72-countries-to-go-to-paris-peace-talks.html
OTHER PARIS STORIES
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2017/01/ex-british-spy-said-to-go-into-hiding.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2017/01/in-paris-world-will-try-one-more-time.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2017/01/72-countries-to-go-to-paris-peace-talks.html
LAND FOR PEACE (THE FUTURE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH)
JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people(ISRAEL) and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.(UPROOTED ISRAELIS AND DIVIDED JERUSALEM)(THIS BRINGS ON WW3 BECAUSE JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED,WARNING TO ARABS-MUSLIMS AND THE WORLD).
THE WEEK OF DANIEL 9:27 WE KNOW ITS 7 YRS
Heres the scripture 1 week = 7 yrs Genesis 29:27-29
27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week:(7 YEARS) and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.
29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.
DANIEL 11:21-23
21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
23 And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.
24 He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time.
DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks(62X7=434 YEARS+7X7=49 YEARS=TOTAL OF 69 WEEKS OR 483 YRS) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMAN LEADERS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.(THERE HAS TO BE 70 WEEKS OR 490 YRS TO FUFILL THE VISION AND PROPHECY OF DAN 9:24).(THE NEXT VERSE IS THAT 7 YR WEEK OR (70TH FINAL WEEK).
27 And he ( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant (PEACE TREATY) 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 ANIMAL 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.
JEREMIAH 6:14
14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
JEREMIAH 8:11
11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
1 THESSALONIANS 5:3
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
ISAIAH 33:8
8 The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant,(7 YR TREATY) he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man.(THE WORLD LEADER-WAR MONGER CALLS HIMSELF GOD)
ZECHARIAH 12:1-5 King James Bible
1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
4 In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.
JERUSALEM DIVIDED
GENESIS 25:20-26
20 And Isaac was forty years old (A BIBLE GENERATION NUMBER=1967 + 40=2007+) when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.
21 And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
22 And the children (2 NATIONS IN HER-ISRAEL-ARABS) struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD.
23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels;(ISRAEL AND THE ARABS) and the one people shall be stronger than the other people;(ISRAEL STRONGER THAN ARABS) and the elder shall serve the younger.(LITERALLY ISRAEL THE YOUNGER RULES (ISSAC)(JACOB-LATER NAME CHANGED TO ISRAEL) OVER THE OLDER ARABS (ISHMAEL)(ESAU)
24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.(THE OLDER AN ARAB)
26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob:(THE YOUNGER-ISRAELI) and Isaac was threescore (60) years old when she bare them.(1967 + 60=2027)(COULD BE THE LAST GENERATION WHEN JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED AMOUNG THE 2 TWINS)(THE 2 TWINS WANT JERUSALEM-THE DIVISION OF JERUSALEM TODAY)(AND WHOS IN CONTROL OF JERUSALEM TODAY-THE YOUNGER ISSAC-JACOB-ISRAEL)(AND WHO WANTS JERUSALEM DIVIDED-THE OLDER,ESAU-ISHMAEL (THE ARABS)
ISAIAH 28:14-19 (THIS IS THE 7 YR TREATY COVENANT OF DANIEL 9:27)
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.
19:19-Full text of Middle East Peace Conference Joint Declaration
I) Following the Ministerial meeting held in Paris on 3 June 2016, the Participants met in Paris on 15 January 2017 to reaffirm their support for a just, lasting and comprehensive resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They reaffirmed that a negotiated solution with two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security, is the only way to achieve enduring peace.They emphasized the importance for the parties to restate their commitment to this solution, to take urgent steps in order to reverse the current negative trends on the ground, including continued acts of violence and ongoing settlement activity, and to start meaningful direct negotiations.They reiterated that a negotiated two-state solution should meet the legitimate aspirations of both sides, including the Palestinians’ right to statehood and sovereignty, fully end the occupation that begin in 1967, satisfy Israel’s security needs and resolve all permanent status issues on the basis of United Nations Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), and also recalled relevant Security Council resolutions.They underscored the importance of the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002 as a comprehensive framework for the resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict, thus contributing to regional peace and security.They welcomed international efforts to advance Middle East peace, including the adoption of United Nations Security Council resolution 2334 on 23 December 2016, which clearly condemned settlement activity, incitement and all acts of violence and terror, and called on both sides to take steps to advance the two-state solution on the ground; the recommendations of the Quartet on 1 July 2016; and the United States Secretary of State’s principle on the two-state solution on 28 December 2016.They noted the importance of addressing the dire humanitarian and security situation in the Gaza Strip and called for swift steps to improve the situation.They emphasized the importance for Israelis and Palestinians to comply with international law, including international humanitarian law and human rights law.II) The Participants highlighted the potential for security, stability and prosperity for both parties that could result from a peace agreement. They expressed their readiness to exert necessary efforts toward the achievement of the two-state solution and to contribute substantially to arrangements for ensuring the sustainability of a negotiated peace agreement, in particular in the areas of political and economic incentives, the consolidation of Palestinian state capacities, and civil society dialogue. Those could include, inter alia: – a European privileged partnership; other political and economic incentives and increased private sector involvement; support to further efforts by the parties to improve economic cooperation; continued financial support to the Palestinian Authority in building the infrastructure for a viable Palestinian economy; – supporting and strengthening Palestinian steps to exercise their responsibilities of statehood through consolidating their institutions and institutional capacities, including for service delivery; – convening Israeli and Palestinian civil society fora, in order to enhance dialogue between the parties, rekindle the public debate and strengthen the role of civil society on both sides. III) Looking ahead, the Participants; – call upon both sides to officially restate their commitment to the two-state solution, thus disassociating themselves from voices that reject this solution; – call on each side to independently demonstrate, through policies and actions, a genuine commitment to the two-state solutions and refrain from unilateral steps that prejudge the outcome of negotiations on final status issues, including, inter alia, on Jerusalem, borders, security, refugees and which they will not recognize; – welcome the prospect of closer cooperation between the Quartet and Arab League members and other relevant actors to further the objectives of this Declaration.As follow-up to the Conference, interested Participants, expressing their readiness to review progress, resolved to meet again before the end of the year in order to support both sides in advancing the two-state solution through negotiations.France will inform the parties about the international community’s collective support and concrete contribution to the two-state solution contained in this joint declaration.
THE WORLD IS OBSSESSED OR INTOXICATED WITH JERUSALEM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0uiZqbINCs
Abbas Meets Pope, Opens Official Palestinian Embassy in Vatican-By JNI Media January 15, 2017 , 7:30 am-BREAKINGISRAELNEWS
“For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of deceit have they opened against me; they have spoken unto me with a lying tongue.” Psalms 109:2 (The Israel Bible™)-On Saturday, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas met with Pope Francis at the Vatican and inaugurated the Palestinian Authority (PA) embassy there. As he was raising the black, red, white and green flag, Abbas called on the world’s leaders to recognize the State of Palestine when they get together in Paris on Sunday.“Tomorrow, more than 70 countries will meet in Paris in order to discuss how to bring peace to our region, the holy land,” Abbas said. “We call upon the participants to take concrete measures in order to implement international law and UN resolutions.”Abbas told reporters he discussed Jerusalem with the Pope, accusing the Israeli government of “turning Jerusalem into an exclusive Jewish/Israeli city, demolishing Palestinian homes, expanding illegal settlements, building an illegal Annexation Wall, dividing families, and isolating our occupied capital from the rest of Palestine.”Regarding the next US Administration’s stated plan to move its embassy to Jerusalem, Abbas said that “Any attempts at legitimizing the illegal Israeli annexation of the city will destroy the prospects of any political process, bury the hopes for a two-state solution, and fuel extremism in our region, as well as worldwide.”Speaking to Le Figaro on the eve of the Paris conference, Abbas threatened that, should President Trump go ahead with the embassy move as promised, “there would be several options for us, and we would discuss them with Arab countries.” He suggested that one of those options would be “reversing our recognition of the State of Israel.”According to the Washington Post, PA leaders called on Muslim preachers on the Palestinian Authority payroll to dedicate their Friday sermons yesterday to opposing the US embassy relocation. The imams even received suggested talking points about the embassy move. The Post reported that the imam of the Jamal Abdel Nasser Mosque in Ramallah warned that moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem would “engulf the region in the flames.”A draft of the Paris conference resolution obtained by AP says the conference will urge Israel and the Palestinians “to officially restate their commitment to the two-state solution,” but “will not recognize” changes, such as the establishment of a Palestinian State without Israeli agreement. The resolution will instead reiterate “that a negotiated solution with two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security, is the only way to achieve enduring peace.”
Biblical Origins of the 70-Nation Anti-Israel Paris Conference-By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz January 5, 2017 , 11:30 am -BREAKINGISRAELNEWS
“They have said: ‘Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Yisrael may be no more in remembrance.’ For they have consulted together with one consent; against Thee do they make a covenant.” Psalms 83:5-6 (The Israel Bible™)-High ranking officials from 70 nations of the world will gather in Paris on January 15th in an attempt to force Israel to accept a two-state solution with the Palestinian Authority. By so doing, they will be fulfilling a momentous Biblical prophecy foretold thousands of years ago.When Israeli statesman Shimon Peres passed away in September, leaders and dignitaries from 70 nations gathered in Jerusalem to pay their last respects. The symbolism is no mere coincidence; the very same number of representatives will gather in Paris, but this time to deny the Jewish connection to the Land of Israel.“Everyone knows already what the purpose of the conference is: it will be used as another opportunity to try to impose a settlement on Israel and avoid direct negotiations between Israel and it’s neighbors,” Rabbi Avraham Arieh Trugman, director of Ohr Chadash Torah Institute, told Breaking Israel News. “What’s interesting is that it isn’t just one or two enemies with a specific grudge, like the Arabs or the Nazis. It is 70 nations, which in Torah terms, means all of the nations,” explained Rabbi Trugman.Rabbi Shimon Apisdorf, a prominent Jewish educator and bestselling author, told Breaking Israel News that seeing 70 nations written in the headlines caught his attention.“There is no question that the aspect of specifically 70 nations gathering is significant, the point being Israel is not one of them,” said Rabbi Apisdorf, citing the book of Numbers.Lo, it is a people that shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations. Numbers 23:9-“We are fundamentally different,” stated Rabbi Apisdorf. “And as a light unto the nations, we are supposed to be separate and different.”Rabbi Trugman understood a different message in the gathering of the 70 countries.“There is no doubt this is a fulfillment of the prophecies that in the end of days, all the nations will come out against Israel,” noted the rabbi. He quoted the commentary of Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, an 11th century French commentator known by the acronym ‘Rashi’, on the first verse in the book of Genesis.“1,000 years ago, Rashi said that in the future, the nations of the world will come and say we stole the Land of Israel. This is precisely what we are seeing now,” Rabbi Trugman said. “The majority of the nations say we have no claim to Israel, and the rest say we only have a claim to a small section of Israel.”“Rashi told us how to answer this claim,” said Rabbi Trugman. “We need to remind them that the same God who created the heaven and earth gave it to them, and then he took it from them and gave it to us.”The concept of 70 nations has its source in the 70 grandsons of Noah listed in the Bible.These three were the sons of Noach, and of these was the whole earth overspread. Genesis 9:19-According to Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of homiletical teachings compiled around 400 CE, each nation is appointed an angel, except for Israel, which is protected by God Himself. According to Midrash Tanchuma, homiletical teachings believed to have been compiled around 500 CE, Jacob’s vision was of these national angels ascending and descending a ladder, determining the fortune of their nations.And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. Genesis 28:12-Jacob’s vision is interpreted as a message that the nation of Israel was no longer part of this natural process. Though other nations will rise and fall, eventually disappearing into the sands of time, Israel will never disappear.The concept of 70 nations also appears in reference to the 70 oxen offered in the Temple throughout Sukkot (the feast of the tabernacles) which the Talmud (Sukkah 55b) teaches are for the merit of the 70 nations.In the wake of the recent United Nations Security Council resolution 2334 declaring Jewish housing in Judea, Samaria and East Jerusalem to be illegal, the outcome of the Paris conference seems certain. A two-state solution would call for Israel to relinquish territories conquered in the 1967 Six-Day War, and subsequently create a Palestinian State. This would include establishing a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem, thereby removing the Kotel (Western Wall) and the Temple Mount from Jewish control. It is unclear whether the 800,000 Jews living over the 1949 Armistice Lines, comprising approximately 13 percent of Israel’s Jewish population, will be required to relocate, as they were when the Israeli government dismantled the communities of Gush Katif in the Gaza Strip in 2005.Even if the 70 nations at the conference decide in favor of the two-state solution it is unclear how this plan will be practically implemented. On January 20, five days after the conference is set to take place, Donald Trump will take the seat in Oval Office, and he has already made his opinion clear that, like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he believes the only solution to be face-to-face negotiations without pre-conditions between the Israelis and Palestinians.
Paris conference ends with call for both sides to affirm commitment to two-states-France warns of ‘serious consequences’ of US moving embassy to Jerusalem; Kerry tells Netanyahu he’s working to limit damage of confab-By Ilan Ben Zion January 15, 2017, 2:02 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
21:16-UK voices ‘reservations’ about Paris peace conference-Britain cited “reservations” over Sunday’s Middle East peace conference and refused to sign a joint statement that called for a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.A Foreign Office spokesman said the British had “particular reservations” about the meeting in Paris taking place without Israeli or Palestinian representatives, “just days before the transition to a new American president”.Britain had therefore attended the talks as an observer only, the spokesman said.— AFP-20:29-Abbas hails Paris declaration, says ready to resume talks-Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas welcomes the Paris peace conference’s final declaration, saying it “affirms” December’s UN Security Council resolution against Israeli settlements, the PA’s official Wafa news agency reports.“Palestine is ready to resume negotiations on all final status issues, to create a full and lasting peace through the framework of an international mechanism and a specific timeframe along international parameters, the Madrid principles, the Arab Peace Initiative, Security Council Resolution 2334 and the Paris declaration,” Abbas says in a statement.Abbas states the “necessity of following up the implementation” of Resolution 2334 and the peace conference’s declaration and will travel to Paris in the coming weeks for that purpose, and welcomes French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault to Ramallah.— Dov Lieber-18:51-French FM wraps up peace conference-French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault wraps up the Paris peace conference, telling reporters that the purpose of the conference was to convey a sense of urgency about the threat to the two-state solution.He urges all sides to refrain from unilateral actions that could inflame the situation: “Running the risk of making this conflict worse would be giving a gift to extremists.”He adds that December’s UN Security Council Resolution 2334 was an expression of the world’s voice on the issue.-17:58-Ex-IDF commanders: Annexing West Bank means end of Jewish state-A group of former high-ranking security officials says Israel is on course to lose its Jewish and democratic character if it goes through with Education Minister Naftali Bennett’s plan to annex portions of the West Bank.“We shouldn’t annex the West Bank and its 2.5 million Palestinians. We must preserve Israel as a democracy and a state for the Jewish people,” the group’s chairman Maj. Gen. (res.) Amnon Reshef tells reporters at a press conference in Tel Aviv.Reshef’s group, Commanders for the Security of Israel, is made up of hundreds of former high-ranking officers from Israel’s security services. It made waves on Sunday after it put up billboards across the country that warned of a Palestinian takeover of Israel.The group is apolitical but committed to a two-state solution with the Palestinians, which it sees as the only way to protect the country and its citzens.“I don’t want trucks to come from [the East Jerusalem neighborhood of ]Jabel Mukaber into Jerusalem and run over soldiers. I don’t want them,” former head of the IDF Central Command Maj. Gen. (res.) Gadi Shamni says.Shamni was referring to a terror attack last week in which a truck driver from Jabel Mukaber rammed his vehicle into a group of IDF soldiers, killing four of them and injuring more than a dozen others.According to Shabtai Shavit, a former director of the Mossad, the country’s leadership has no plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.“Does anyone know what Israel wants today? When I say Israel, I mean the government. Does anyone know where the hell we’re going? Or, more accurately, does anyone know where they’re taking us?” Shavit asks.— Judah Ari Gross-17:55-Danon: Paris conference ‘detached from reality’-Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon says the Paris peace conference “is so detached from reality that it has extended a hand toward Palestinian obstructionism instead of towards peace.”“Rather than advancing a joint effort to battle global terrorism, the conference focused obsessively on Israel as part of an attempt to push forward a last minute initiative just days before the new US administration takes office,” Danon says.17:37-UK snubs Paris peace confab-The British snubbed the French at the Paris peace conference by not sending any senior officials to the gathering, the Guardian reports.The paper speculates that the UK is trying to keep on President-elect Donald Trump’s good side and not “alienate” him.-17:15-Kerry calls PM from Paris, says he’s working to soften statement-US Secretary of State John Kerry called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from the Paris peace conference and promised him he’d work to soften the conference’s final text and to prevent further action against Israel at the UN. He promises to prevent any followup action, either at the confab itself or at the UN Security Council.Kerry updated Netanyahu about the steps he was taking to “soften” the text of the final communique, which is expected to be issued by the conference participants later today.The prime minister tells Kerry that the outgoing administration has already caused Israel damage by not vetoing UN Security Council Resolution 2334 last month, which criticized the settlements. No other resolution should be passed, Netanyahu says, neither in New York nor in Paris. Kerry promises Netanyahu that there will not be any followup action to the Paris conference and that Washington will oppose any further initiative at the Security Council.— Raphael Ahren-17:10-Damascus airstrike ‘targeted S-300 missiles’ — Kuwaiti newspaper-An Israeli airstrike on a Syrian military airport outside Damascus early Friday morning targeted Russian-made S-300 surface-to-air missiles, Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida cites unnamed sources saying.There was no confirmation that Israel was behind the alleged airstrike.-15:48-Hollande responds to Netanyahu’s rejection of peace conference-In an apparent reference to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rejection of the Paris conference, Hollande says that the peace initiative “doesn’t want to impose any solutions on the parties, as some argued to dismiss our effort. That can only come after direct negotiations.”“We want to give guarantees and assurances,” he says. “This initiative should help, not complicate; unite, not divide.”-15:47-Settlements, terrorism threaten 2-state solution: Hollande-French President Francois Hollande, addressing the conference, and says that settlements and terrorism threaten the two-state solution, and asks how the international community can expect stability in the Middle East when one of its oldest conflicts remains unresolved.
Israel, Palestinians warned against taking unilateral measures harmful to peace-[Reuters]-By John Irish, Lesley Wroughton and Marine Pennetier-YAHOONEWS-January 15, 2017
PARIS (Reuters) - Some 70 countries on Sunday reaffirmed that only a two-state solution could resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and warned they would not recognise any unilateral steps by either side that could prejudge negotiations.The final communique of a one-day international Middle East peace conference in Paris shied away from explicitly criticising plans by U.S. president-elect Donald Trump to move the U.S Embassy to Jerusalem, although diplomats said the wording sent a "subliminal" message.Trump has pledged to pursue more pro-Israeli policies and to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, all but enshrining the city as Israel's capital, despite international objections.Countries including key European and Arab states as well as the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council were in Paris for the conference, that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected as "futile". Neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians were represented.However, just five days before Trump is sworn in, the meeting was seen as a platform for countries to send a strong signal to the incoming American president that a two-state solution to the conflict could not be compromised on and that unilateral decisions could exacerbate tensions on the ground.The participants "call on each side ... to refrain from unilateral steps that prejudge the outcome of negotiations on final-status issues, including, inter alia, on Jerusalem, borders, security, refugees and which they will not recognise," the final communique said.A French diplomatic source said there had been tough negotiations on that paragraph."It's a tortuous and complicated paragraph to pass a subliminal message to the Trump administration," the diplomat said.U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters it would have been inappropriate to include the issue of moving the U.S. embassy, it being publicly debated in the United States.Relations between the United States and Israel have soured during President Barack Obama's administration, reaching a low point late last month when Washington declined to veto U.N. resolution 2334 demanding an end to Israeli settlements in occupied territory.Paris has said the meeting did not aim to impose anything on Israel or the Palestinians and that only direct negotiations could resolve the conflict.The final draft did not go into any details other than reaffirming U.N. Security Council resolutions, including 2334. Diplomats said that had been a source of friction in talks."When some are questioning this, it's vital for us to recall the framework of negotiations. That framework is the 1967 borders and the main resolutions of the United Nations," French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, told reporters.Kerry, who abandoned his efforts to broker peace talks in April 2014, told reporters that the meeting had "moved the ball forward.""It underscores this is not just one administration's point of view, this is shared by the international community broadly," he said.Home to Europe's largest Muslim and Jewish communities, France has tried to breathe new life into the peace process over the past year and argued that it should not play second fiddle to the war in Syria and fight against Islamic State militants.The final statement said interested parties would meet again before year-end.But Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting on Sunday that "this conference is among the last twitches of the world of yesterday ... Tomorrow will look different and that tomorrow is very close."Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who said on Saturday that moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem would kill off the peace process, said the Paris meeting would help at stopping "settlement activities and destroying the two-state solution through dictations and the use of force."(Additional reporting Lesley Wroughton in Paris and Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem; Editing by Susan Fenton, Greg Mahlich)
Israel says Kerry sought to reassure Netanyahu over Paris conference-[Reuters]-YAHOONEWS-January 15, 2017
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel said on Sunday that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had sought to reassure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over a Middle East peace conference being held in Paris, which neither Israel nor the Palestinians are attending.Some 70 countries, including key European and Arab states as well as the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, were in Paris for a meeting that Netanyahu has rejected as "futile".Netanyahu's office issued a statement on Sunday saying that "Kerry called Netanyahu to tell him about the moves the U.S. was taking at the conference to soften the wording of the Paris communique."It added that the Israeli leader had replied by saying that "Israel had already suffered damage after the U.S. did not veto a Security Council resolution (last month) and it should not be compounded."The statement said that Kerry committed to Netanyahu that there would be no resulting consequences to the conference, neither at the United Nations Security Council or at the conference itself and that "the U.S. would oppose any proposal that may be put forward to the Security Council."(Writing by Ori Lewis; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
Netanyahu slams 'futile' Paris peace conference-[AFP]-YAHOONEWS-January 15, 2017
Jerusalem (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday dismissed as "futile" an international conference in Paris seeking to revive the moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace process."The conference convening today in Paris is a futile conference," he told ministers at the start of a weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem."It was coordinated between the French and the Palestinians with the aim of imposing upon Israel conditions that are incompatible with our national needs," he said.Netanyahu's government has bitterly opposed the conference, saying only direct talks with the Palestinians can end the long-running conflict.The Palestinians have welcomed the multilateral approach, saying years of negotiations with the Israelis have not ended the occupation of the West Bank.The conference is being held without either the Israelis or the Palestinians, but Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas will meet French President Francois Hollande in the coming weeks to be briefed on the outcome, French diplomats said.Netanyahu declined a similar invitation, they said.French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault formally opened the assembly of foreign ministers and representatives from around 70 countries and international organisations."We are here to reiterate strongly that the two-state solution is the only one possible," Ayrault said.The conference comes just five days before the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed unstinting support for Israel.Israel fears measures discussed at the conference could be taken to the UN Security Council before Trump takes office.In a break with previous administrations, Trump has pledged to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital and relocate the US embassy there from Tel Aviv.Abbas warned Saturday that such a move could "bury the hopes for a two-state solution".The city's status is one of the thorniest issues in the conflict, which is why foreign embassies are currently based in Tel Aviv.The Palestinians regard Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, while Israel proclaims the entire city as its capital.Hard-line Israeli lawmakers, including some from Netanyahu's Likud party, have said Trump's win represents an opportunity to quash the chance of Palestinians obtaining an independent state.Netanyahu, who says he still supports a two-state solution, appeared in his comments on Sunday to be looking forward to the impending change in the White House."This conference is among the last spasms of yesterday's world," he said. "Tomorrow will look different and tomorrow is very close."
At Paris meeting, major powers to warn Trump over Middle East peace-[Reuters]-By John Irish and Lesley Wroughton-YAHOONEWS-January 15, 2017
PARIS (Reuters) - Major powers will signal to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday that a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians is the only solution, with France warning him that plans to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem could derail peace efforts.Some 70 countries, including key European and Arab states as well as the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, are in Paris for a meeting that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected as "futile". Neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians will be represented.But, just five days before Trump is sworn in, the conference provides a platform for countries to send a strong signal to the incoming American president.Trump has pledged to pursue more pro-Israeli policies and move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv, where it has been for 68 years, to Jerusalem, all but enshrining the city as Israel's capital despite international objections.Calling it a provocation, France's Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said the move would have serious consequences on the ground."One cannot have such a clear-cut, unilateral position. You have to create the conditions for peace," he told France 3 television.Paris has said the meeting will not impose anything on Israel or the Palestinians and that only direct negotiations can resolve the conflict.A draft communique seen by Reuters reaffirms existing international resolutions, urges both sides to restate their commitment to the two-state solution and disavow officials who reject it. The communique asks the protagonists to "refrain from unilateral steps that prejudge the outcome of final status negotiations".-LOW POINT-Diplomats said the communique could be toughened up with an allusion to Trump's plans for Jerusalem and whether to have a follow-up to the French initiative intensely debated."This conference is among the last twitches of the world of yesterday," Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting on Sunday. "Tomorrow will look different and that tomorrow is very close."Relations between the United States and Israel have soured during President Barack Obama's administration, reaching a low point late last month when Washington declined to veto a U.N. resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlements in occupied territory.Obama's secretary of state, John Kerry, said the settlement programme threatened Middle East peace and the two-state solution.Palestinian President Authority Mahmoud Abbas said on Saturday that he had told Trump that a move to Jerusalem would kill off the peace process and strip the U.S. of its role as honest broker - and could lead to the Palestinians going back on their recognition of Israel.Home to Europe's largest Muslim and Jewish communities, France has tried to breathe new life into the peace process over the past year. It believes that, with the uncertainty surrounding how the next U.S. administration will handle the issue, it is important to push the sides back to talks rather than allowing a fragile status quo to fester.But with elections coming up this year in France and Germany, and Britain appearing to align itself more closely with the Trump administration on the issue, the prospects of the European Union, the largest economic partner for both Israel and the Palestinians, taking a lead on the matter appear unlikely.Arab states also have concerns about how Trump's relationship with them will turn out, and have taken a cautious line.(Additional reporting by Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Susan Fenton)
Pope meets Palestinian leader; Vatican calls Jerusalem holy-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-January 14, 2017
VATICAN CITY — The Vatican stressed the sacred nature of Jerusalem on Saturday as the Palestinian leader warned that prospects for peace could suffer if the incoming Trump administration goes ahead with plans to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.The developments came as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with Pope Francis and inaugurated the Palestinian embassy to the Holy See.Abbas said he had only heard through news reports of the proposal by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to move the embassy to Jerusalem.The Palestinians strongly oppose the embassy move, saying it would kill any hopes for negotiating an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement and rile the region by undercutting Muslim and Christian claims to the holy city."We hope that this news is not true, because it is not encouraging and will disrupt and hinder the peace process," he said. He urged Trump to open a dialogue with both Israelis and Palestinians.Trump hasn't yet laid out a clear Mideast policy, but has signalled he will be more sympathetic to Israel's hard-line right than previous administrations.In Paris on Sunday, the French government is hosting a Mideast peace conference attended by dozens of foreign ministers to show Trump's administration that most of the world wants a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians and is fed up with decades of conflict.The Vatican has long sought an internationally guaranteed status for Jerusalem that safeguards its sacred character. In its communique after the Abbas meeting, the Holy See didn't refer to Jerusalem by name but said during the talks "emphasis was placed on the importance of safeguarding the sanctity of the holy places for believers of all three of the Abrahamic religions."During the meeting, Abbas presented Francis with gifts recalling Christianity's birthplace in the Holy Land, including a stone from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem and documentation about the ongoing restoration of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.After the papal meeting, Abbas formally inaugurated the new Palestinian embassy across the street from one of the main gates of Vatican City. He pulled back a curtain revealing a plaque and extended the Palestinian flag from a flagpole outside a window.The embassy, located in the same building as the embassies of Peru, Ecuador and Burkina Faso, comes after recent accords in which the Vatican formally recognized the "State of Palestine.""This embassy is a place of pride for us and we hope all of the countries of the world will recognize the state of Palestine, because this recognition will bring us closer to the peace process," he said.Abbas had initially accepted an invitation to be in Paris on Sunday, but French officials say that visit has been postponed.___Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield-Nicole Winfield, The Associated Press.
Israel thanks Jamaica for skipping controversial UNESCO vote-Netanyahu welcomes Kingston’s refusal to back ‘absurd’ resolution, which ignored Jewish ties to Temple Mount-By JTA January 15, 2017, 9:09 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
RIO DE JANEIRO — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked his Jamaican counterpart for his country’s refusal to participate in the UNESCO vote that ignored Jewish ties to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.“Our relations are always friendly. We appreciate the fact that you didn’t join the recent vote against Israel, the absurd vote in UNESCO,” Netanyahu told Andrew Holness during his three-day visit to Israel that ended on Sunday, reported the Jamaica Observer newspaper.In a secret ballot, the resolution passed in Paris on October 26 with less than a majority of the World Heritage Committee’s 21 members — 10 states voted in favor and two were opposed, with eight abstaining and one absent — Jamaica. Among Latin American countries, Cuba voted in favor and Peru abstained.Both prime ministers met Thursday in Jerusalem in the first such visit by a leader of the Caribbean nation to the Jewish state. They discussed possibilities for cooperation in water, agriculture and domestic security.“I think this is the first visit ever by a prime minister of Jamaica to Israel, so it has a double significance for us,” Netanyahu told Israeli media, citing a “natural affinity” between Israel and Jamaica and stressing that the visit is a “hallmark of cooperation.”“I can see all the potential for cooperation in a variety of fields that relate to economy, to security, to technology. This is something that we eagerly are interested in doing with you,” he added.Holness drew parallels between Israel and Jamaica being “strong democracies” and extended his condolences for the recent truck ramming attack in Jerusalem which killed four Israeli soldiers and wounded another 17.“The Jamaican people and the Caribbean region is a zone of peace, and we wish peace for all the peoples of the world.” Holness said, inviting Netanyahu to visit Jamaica soon, which he accepted.Holness and some government officials intend to identify and capitalize on opportunities for collaboration and expanded exposure to best practice aiming at fostering economic growth and prosperity through pioneering and sustainable policies, reported the Jamaica Information Service, calling the visit “historic.”Jamaica is home to about 300 Jews in a population of 2.7 million.The Caribbean island is the third-most populous Anglophone country in the Americas, after the United States and Canada, Jamaica is a Commonwealth realm, with Queen Elizabeth II as its monarch and head of state.
With Lapid’s okay, MKs to kick off process to oust Arab lawmaker-70 lawmakers said set to trigger law to expel MK Basel Ghattas, accused of smuggling phones to Palestinian prisoners; final vote will require Zionist Union backing-By Times of Israel staff January 15, 2017, 9:05 pm
Seventy lawmakers were set to trigger a new law to expel an Arab MK, accused of smuggling cellphones to Palestinian terror prisoners, from the Knesset.The coalition-spearheaded measure will move ahead after Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid announced his party will now support the move, kicking off the process to oust MK Basel Ghattas from parliament, Channel 2 reported on Sunday night. Lapid was set on to the complaint on Monday, the TV report said.Ghattas, of the Arab Joint List’s Balad faction, is under a criminal investigation after he was caught on prison surveillance video passing envelopes to the prisoners last month. He was released to house arrest earlier this month, five days after he was arrested.Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit has authorized an indictment against Ghattas, which has yet to be lodged, and which includes charges of using property to abet terror, fraud, breach of trust, and aggravated fraud.Coalition lawmakers, led by Environmental Protection Minister Ze’ev Elkin, have sought to remove Ghattas from office with a new law passed in July, under which 70 Knesset members — 10 of whom must be from the opposition — may file a complaint with the Knesset speaker against any lawmaker who supports armed struggle against Israel or incites to racial hatred, launching the impeachment process.The Knesset House Committee can then debate the complaint before clearing it with a three-quarter majority in the committee. The motion to dismiss the lawmaker would then be sent to the plenum, where, if 90 of the 120 Knesset members vote in favor, the MK would be ousted. The deposed lawmaker could then appeal the decision with the Supreme Court.With Lapid’s support, the process to remove Ghattas can be set in motion, though it will require the support of the opposition Zionist Union party to remove Ghattas entirely in the Knesset vote. The Zionist Union has opposed the measure.The law was proposed after three Arab MKs, including Ghattas, paid a condolence visit last February to the families of Palestinians killed while attacking Israelis. The three reportedly observed a moment of silence during the visit — they denied it — which some said was tantamount to showing support for terror.Ghattas is currently accused of taking advantage of his position as a member of Knesset, who is not subject to a body search, during a visit to Ketziot prison where he met with Walid Daka, who received a 37-year sentence for the 1984 abduction and murder of 19-year-old IDF soldier Moshe Tamam. The MK also met with Basel Ben Sulieman Bezre, who is serving a 15-year sentence on a terror conviction.Police claim that, ahead of the visit, Ghattas planned with Walid’s 65-year-old brother, Assad, to hand over cellphones to Bezre who was to then pass them on to the incarcerated Daka and other prisoners. Asad Daka allegedly met with Ghattas at a gas station where he handed over four envelopes containing a dozen phones, SIM cards and chargers.The purported purpose of Ghattas’s visit was to hear complaints about prison conditions. He hid the envelopes inside his clothing and when a metal detector at the entrance to the prison beeped, Ghattas claimed it was because of his belt buckle, the indictment said.After the visit, Prisons Service officials found 12 to 15 cellphones and at least a dozen SIM cards in the prisoners’ cells, along with what officials said were “coded” notes.
JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people(ISRAEL) and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.(UPROOTED ISRAELIS AND DIVIDED JERUSALEM)(THIS BRINGS ON WW3 BECAUSE JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED,WARNING TO ARABS-MUSLIMS AND THE WORLD).
THE WEEK OF DANIEL 9:27 WE KNOW ITS 7 YRS
Heres the scripture 1 week = 7 yrs Genesis 29:27-29
27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week:(7 YEARS) and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.
29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.
DANIEL 11:21-23
21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
23 And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.
24 He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time.
DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks(62X7=434 YEARS+7X7=49 YEARS=TOTAL OF 69 WEEKS OR 483 YRS) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMAN LEADERS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.(THERE HAS TO BE 70 WEEKS OR 490 YRS TO FUFILL THE VISION AND PROPHECY OF DAN 9:24).(THE NEXT VERSE IS THAT 7 YR WEEK OR (70TH FINAL WEEK).
27 And he ( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant (PEACE TREATY) 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 ANIMAL 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.
JEREMIAH 6:14
14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
JEREMIAH 8:11
11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
1 THESSALONIANS 5:3
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
ISAIAH 33:8
8 The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant,(7 YR TREATY) he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man.(THE WORLD LEADER-WAR MONGER CALLS HIMSELF GOD)
ZECHARIAH 12:1-5 King James Bible
1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
4 In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.
JERUSALEM DIVIDED
GENESIS 25:20-26
20 And Isaac was forty years old (A BIBLE GENERATION NUMBER=1967 + 40=2007+) when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.
21 And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
22 And the children (2 NATIONS IN HER-ISRAEL-ARABS) struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD.
23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels;(ISRAEL AND THE ARABS) and the one people shall be stronger than the other people;(ISRAEL STRONGER THAN ARABS) and the elder shall serve the younger.(LITERALLY ISRAEL THE YOUNGER RULES (ISSAC)(JACOB-LATER NAME CHANGED TO ISRAEL) OVER THE OLDER ARABS (ISHMAEL)(ESAU)
24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.(THE OLDER AN ARAB)
26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob:(THE YOUNGER-ISRAELI) and Isaac was threescore (60) years old when she bare them.(1967 + 60=2027)(COULD BE THE LAST GENERATION WHEN JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED AMOUNG THE 2 TWINS)(THE 2 TWINS WANT JERUSALEM-THE DIVISION OF JERUSALEM TODAY)(AND WHOS IN CONTROL OF JERUSALEM TODAY-THE YOUNGER ISSAC-JACOB-ISRAEL)(AND WHO WANTS JERUSALEM DIVIDED-THE OLDER,ESAU-ISHMAEL (THE ARABS)
ISAIAH 28:14-19 (THIS IS THE 7 YR TREATY COVENANT OF DANIEL 9:27)
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.
19:19-Full text of Middle East Peace Conference Joint Declaration
I) Following the Ministerial meeting held in Paris on 3 June 2016, the Participants met in Paris on 15 January 2017 to reaffirm their support for a just, lasting and comprehensive resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They reaffirmed that a negotiated solution with two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security, is the only way to achieve enduring peace.They emphasized the importance for the parties to restate their commitment to this solution, to take urgent steps in order to reverse the current negative trends on the ground, including continued acts of violence and ongoing settlement activity, and to start meaningful direct negotiations.They reiterated that a negotiated two-state solution should meet the legitimate aspirations of both sides, including the Palestinians’ right to statehood and sovereignty, fully end the occupation that begin in 1967, satisfy Israel’s security needs and resolve all permanent status issues on the basis of United Nations Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), and also recalled relevant Security Council resolutions.They underscored the importance of the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002 as a comprehensive framework for the resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict, thus contributing to regional peace and security.They welcomed international efforts to advance Middle East peace, including the adoption of United Nations Security Council resolution 2334 on 23 December 2016, which clearly condemned settlement activity, incitement and all acts of violence and terror, and called on both sides to take steps to advance the two-state solution on the ground; the recommendations of the Quartet on 1 July 2016; and the United States Secretary of State’s principle on the two-state solution on 28 December 2016.They noted the importance of addressing the dire humanitarian and security situation in the Gaza Strip and called for swift steps to improve the situation.They emphasized the importance for Israelis and Palestinians to comply with international law, including international humanitarian law and human rights law.II) The Participants highlighted the potential for security, stability and prosperity for both parties that could result from a peace agreement. They expressed their readiness to exert necessary efforts toward the achievement of the two-state solution and to contribute substantially to arrangements for ensuring the sustainability of a negotiated peace agreement, in particular in the areas of political and economic incentives, the consolidation of Palestinian state capacities, and civil society dialogue. Those could include, inter alia: – a European privileged partnership; other political and economic incentives and increased private sector involvement; support to further efforts by the parties to improve economic cooperation; continued financial support to the Palestinian Authority in building the infrastructure for a viable Palestinian economy; – supporting and strengthening Palestinian steps to exercise their responsibilities of statehood through consolidating their institutions and institutional capacities, including for service delivery; – convening Israeli and Palestinian civil society fora, in order to enhance dialogue between the parties, rekindle the public debate and strengthen the role of civil society on both sides. III) Looking ahead, the Participants; – call upon both sides to officially restate their commitment to the two-state solution, thus disassociating themselves from voices that reject this solution; – call on each side to independently demonstrate, through policies and actions, a genuine commitment to the two-state solutions and refrain from unilateral steps that prejudge the outcome of negotiations on final status issues, including, inter alia, on Jerusalem, borders, security, refugees and which they will not recognize; – welcome the prospect of closer cooperation between the Quartet and Arab League members and other relevant actors to further the objectives of this Declaration.As follow-up to the Conference, interested Participants, expressing their readiness to review progress, resolved to meet again before the end of the year in order to support both sides in advancing the two-state solution through negotiations.France will inform the parties about the international community’s collective support and concrete contribution to the two-state solution contained in this joint declaration.
THE WORLD IS OBSSESSED OR INTOXICATED WITH JERUSALEM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0uiZqbINCs
Abbas Meets Pope, Opens Official Palestinian Embassy in Vatican-By JNI Media January 15, 2017 , 7:30 am-BREAKINGISRAELNEWS
“For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of deceit have they opened against me; they have spoken unto me with a lying tongue.” Psalms 109:2 (The Israel Bible™)-On Saturday, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas met with Pope Francis at the Vatican and inaugurated the Palestinian Authority (PA) embassy there. As he was raising the black, red, white and green flag, Abbas called on the world’s leaders to recognize the State of Palestine when they get together in Paris on Sunday.“Tomorrow, more than 70 countries will meet in Paris in order to discuss how to bring peace to our region, the holy land,” Abbas said. “We call upon the participants to take concrete measures in order to implement international law and UN resolutions.”Abbas told reporters he discussed Jerusalem with the Pope, accusing the Israeli government of “turning Jerusalem into an exclusive Jewish/Israeli city, demolishing Palestinian homes, expanding illegal settlements, building an illegal Annexation Wall, dividing families, and isolating our occupied capital from the rest of Palestine.”Regarding the next US Administration’s stated plan to move its embassy to Jerusalem, Abbas said that “Any attempts at legitimizing the illegal Israeli annexation of the city will destroy the prospects of any political process, bury the hopes for a two-state solution, and fuel extremism in our region, as well as worldwide.”Speaking to Le Figaro on the eve of the Paris conference, Abbas threatened that, should President Trump go ahead with the embassy move as promised, “there would be several options for us, and we would discuss them with Arab countries.” He suggested that one of those options would be “reversing our recognition of the State of Israel.”According to the Washington Post, PA leaders called on Muslim preachers on the Palestinian Authority payroll to dedicate their Friday sermons yesterday to opposing the US embassy relocation. The imams even received suggested talking points about the embassy move. The Post reported that the imam of the Jamal Abdel Nasser Mosque in Ramallah warned that moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem would “engulf the region in the flames.”A draft of the Paris conference resolution obtained by AP says the conference will urge Israel and the Palestinians “to officially restate their commitment to the two-state solution,” but “will not recognize” changes, such as the establishment of a Palestinian State without Israeli agreement. The resolution will instead reiterate “that a negotiated solution with two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security, is the only way to achieve enduring peace.”
Biblical Origins of the 70-Nation Anti-Israel Paris Conference-By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz January 5, 2017 , 11:30 am -BREAKINGISRAELNEWS
“They have said: ‘Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Yisrael may be no more in remembrance.’ For they have consulted together with one consent; against Thee do they make a covenant.” Psalms 83:5-6 (The Israel Bible™)-High ranking officials from 70 nations of the world will gather in Paris on January 15th in an attempt to force Israel to accept a two-state solution with the Palestinian Authority. By so doing, they will be fulfilling a momentous Biblical prophecy foretold thousands of years ago.When Israeli statesman Shimon Peres passed away in September, leaders and dignitaries from 70 nations gathered in Jerusalem to pay their last respects. The symbolism is no mere coincidence; the very same number of representatives will gather in Paris, but this time to deny the Jewish connection to the Land of Israel.“Everyone knows already what the purpose of the conference is: it will be used as another opportunity to try to impose a settlement on Israel and avoid direct negotiations between Israel and it’s neighbors,” Rabbi Avraham Arieh Trugman, director of Ohr Chadash Torah Institute, told Breaking Israel News. “What’s interesting is that it isn’t just one or two enemies with a specific grudge, like the Arabs or the Nazis. It is 70 nations, which in Torah terms, means all of the nations,” explained Rabbi Trugman.Rabbi Shimon Apisdorf, a prominent Jewish educator and bestselling author, told Breaking Israel News that seeing 70 nations written in the headlines caught his attention.“There is no question that the aspect of specifically 70 nations gathering is significant, the point being Israel is not one of them,” said Rabbi Apisdorf, citing the book of Numbers.Lo, it is a people that shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations. Numbers 23:9-“We are fundamentally different,” stated Rabbi Apisdorf. “And as a light unto the nations, we are supposed to be separate and different.”Rabbi Trugman understood a different message in the gathering of the 70 countries.“There is no doubt this is a fulfillment of the prophecies that in the end of days, all the nations will come out against Israel,” noted the rabbi. He quoted the commentary of Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, an 11th century French commentator known by the acronym ‘Rashi’, on the first verse in the book of Genesis.“1,000 years ago, Rashi said that in the future, the nations of the world will come and say we stole the Land of Israel. This is precisely what we are seeing now,” Rabbi Trugman said. “The majority of the nations say we have no claim to Israel, and the rest say we only have a claim to a small section of Israel.”“Rashi told us how to answer this claim,” said Rabbi Trugman. “We need to remind them that the same God who created the heaven and earth gave it to them, and then he took it from them and gave it to us.”The concept of 70 nations has its source in the 70 grandsons of Noah listed in the Bible.These three were the sons of Noach, and of these was the whole earth overspread. Genesis 9:19-According to Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of homiletical teachings compiled around 400 CE, each nation is appointed an angel, except for Israel, which is protected by God Himself. According to Midrash Tanchuma, homiletical teachings believed to have been compiled around 500 CE, Jacob’s vision was of these national angels ascending and descending a ladder, determining the fortune of their nations.And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. Genesis 28:12-Jacob’s vision is interpreted as a message that the nation of Israel was no longer part of this natural process. Though other nations will rise and fall, eventually disappearing into the sands of time, Israel will never disappear.The concept of 70 nations also appears in reference to the 70 oxen offered in the Temple throughout Sukkot (the feast of the tabernacles) which the Talmud (Sukkah 55b) teaches are for the merit of the 70 nations.In the wake of the recent United Nations Security Council resolution 2334 declaring Jewish housing in Judea, Samaria and East Jerusalem to be illegal, the outcome of the Paris conference seems certain. A two-state solution would call for Israel to relinquish territories conquered in the 1967 Six-Day War, and subsequently create a Palestinian State. This would include establishing a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem, thereby removing the Kotel (Western Wall) and the Temple Mount from Jewish control. It is unclear whether the 800,000 Jews living over the 1949 Armistice Lines, comprising approximately 13 percent of Israel’s Jewish population, will be required to relocate, as they were when the Israeli government dismantled the communities of Gush Katif in the Gaza Strip in 2005.Even if the 70 nations at the conference decide in favor of the two-state solution it is unclear how this plan will be practically implemented. On January 20, five days after the conference is set to take place, Donald Trump will take the seat in Oval Office, and he has already made his opinion clear that, like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he believes the only solution to be face-to-face negotiations without pre-conditions between the Israelis and Palestinians.
Paris conference ends with call for both sides to affirm commitment to two-states-France warns of ‘serious consequences’ of US moving embassy to Jerusalem; Kerry tells Netanyahu he’s working to limit damage of confab-By Ilan Ben Zion January 15, 2017, 2:02 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
21:16-UK voices ‘reservations’ about Paris peace conference-Britain cited “reservations” over Sunday’s Middle East peace conference and refused to sign a joint statement that called for a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.A Foreign Office spokesman said the British had “particular reservations” about the meeting in Paris taking place without Israeli or Palestinian representatives, “just days before the transition to a new American president”.Britain had therefore attended the talks as an observer only, the spokesman said.— AFP-20:29-Abbas hails Paris declaration, says ready to resume talks-Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas welcomes the Paris peace conference’s final declaration, saying it “affirms” December’s UN Security Council resolution against Israeli settlements, the PA’s official Wafa news agency reports.“Palestine is ready to resume negotiations on all final status issues, to create a full and lasting peace through the framework of an international mechanism and a specific timeframe along international parameters, the Madrid principles, the Arab Peace Initiative, Security Council Resolution 2334 and the Paris declaration,” Abbas says in a statement.Abbas states the “necessity of following up the implementation” of Resolution 2334 and the peace conference’s declaration and will travel to Paris in the coming weeks for that purpose, and welcomes French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault to Ramallah.— Dov Lieber-18:51-French FM wraps up peace conference-French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault wraps up the Paris peace conference, telling reporters that the purpose of the conference was to convey a sense of urgency about the threat to the two-state solution.He urges all sides to refrain from unilateral actions that could inflame the situation: “Running the risk of making this conflict worse would be giving a gift to extremists.”He adds that December’s UN Security Council Resolution 2334 was an expression of the world’s voice on the issue.-17:58-Ex-IDF commanders: Annexing West Bank means end of Jewish state-A group of former high-ranking security officials says Israel is on course to lose its Jewish and democratic character if it goes through with Education Minister Naftali Bennett’s plan to annex portions of the West Bank.“We shouldn’t annex the West Bank and its 2.5 million Palestinians. We must preserve Israel as a democracy and a state for the Jewish people,” the group’s chairman Maj. Gen. (res.) Amnon Reshef tells reporters at a press conference in Tel Aviv.Reshef’s group, Commanders for the Security of Israel, is made up of hundreds of former high-ranking officers from Israel’s security services. It made waves on Sunday after it put up billboards across the country that warned of a Palestinian takeover of Israel.The group is apolitical but committed to a two-state solution with the Palestinians, which it sees as the only way to protect the country and its citzens.“I don’t want trucks to come from [the East Jerusalem neighborhood of ]Jabel Mukaber into Jerusalem and run over soldiers. I don’t want them,” former head of the IDF Central Command Maj. Gen. (res.) Gadi Shamni says.Shamni was referring to a terror attack last week in which a truck driver from Jabel Mukaber rammed his vehicle into a group of IDF soldiers, killing four of them and injuring more than a dozen others.According to Shabtai Shavit, a former director of the Mossad, the country’s leadership has no plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.“Does anyone know what Israel wants today? When I say Israel, I mean the government. Does anyone know where the hell we’re going? Or, more accurately, does anyone know where they’re taking us?” Shavit asks.— Judah Ari Gross-17:55-Danon: Paris conference ‘detached from reality’-Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon says the Paris peace conference “is so detached from reality that it has extended a hand toward Palestinian obstructionism instead of towards peace.”“Rather than advancing a joint effort to battle global terrorism, the conference focused obsessively on Israel as part of an attempt to push forward a last minute initiative just days before the new US administration takes office,” Danon says.17:37-UK snubs Paris peace confab-The British snubbed the French at the Paris peace conference by not sending any senior officials to the gathering, the Guardian reports.The paper speculates that the UK is trying to keep on President-elect Donald Trump’s good side and not “alienate” him.-17:15-Kerry calls PM from Paris, says he’s working to soften statement-US Secretary of State John Kerry called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from the Paris peace conference and promised him he’d work to soften the conference’s final text and to prevent further action against Israel at the UN. He promises to prevent any followup action, either at the confab itself or at the UN Security Council.Kerry updated Netanyahu about the steps he was taking to “soften” the text of the final communique, which is expected to be issued by the conference participants later today.The prime minister tells Kerry that the outgoing administration has already caused Israel damage by not vetoing UN Security Council Resolution 2334 last month, which criticized the settlements. No other resolution should be passed, Netanyahu says, neither in New York nor in Paris. Kerry promises Netanyahu that there will not be any followup action to the Paris conference and that Washington will oppose any further initiative at the Security Council.— Raphael Ahren-17:10-Damascus airstrike ‘targeted S-300 missiles’ — Kuwaiti newspaper-An Israeli airstrike on a Syrian military airport outside Damascus early Friday morning targeted Russian-made S-300 surface-to-air missiles, Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida cites unnamed sources saying.There was no confirmation that Israel was behind the alleged airstrike.-15:48-Hollande responds to Netanyahu’s rejection of peace conference-In an apparent reference to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rejection of the Paris conference, Hollande says that the peace initiative “doesn’t want to impose any solutions on the parties, as some argued to dismiss our effort. That can only come after direct negotiations.”“We want to give guarantees and assurances,” he says. “This initiative should help, not complicate; unite, not divide.”-15:47-Settlements, terrorism threaten 2-state solution: Hollande-French President Francois Hollande, addressing the conference, and says that settlements and terrorism threaten the two-state solution, and asks how the international community can expect stability in the Middle East when one of its oldest conflicts remains unresolved.
Israel, Palestinians warned against taking unilateral measures harmful to peace-[Reuters]-By John Irish, Lesley Wroughton and Marine Pennetier-YAHOONEWS-January 15, 2017
PARIS (Reuters) - Some 70 countries on Sunday reaffirmed that only a two-state solution could resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and warned they would not recognise any unilateral steps by either side that could prejudge negotiations.The final communique of a one-day international Middle East peace conference in Paris shied away from explicitly criticising plans by U.S. president-elect Donald Trump to move the U.S Embassy to Jerusalem, although diplomats said the wording sent a "subliminal" message.Trump has pledged to pursue more pro-Israeli policies and to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, all but enshrining the city as Israel's capital, despite international objections.Countries including key European and Arab states as well as the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council were in Paris for the conference, that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected as "futile". Neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians were represented.However, just five days before Trump is sworn in, the meeting was seen as a platform for countries to send a strong signal to the incoming American president that a two-state solution to the conflict could not be compromised on and that unilateral decisions could exacerbate tensions on the ground.The participants "call on each side ... to refrain from unilateral steps that prejudge the outcome of negotiations on final-status issues, including, inter alia, on Jerusalem, borders, security, refugees and which they will not recognise," the final communique said.A French diplomatic source said there had been tough negotiations on that paragraph."It's a tortuous and complicated paragraph to pass a subliminal message to the Trump administration," the diplomat said.U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters it would have been inappropriate to include the issue of moving the U.S. embassy, it being publicly debated in the United States.Relations between the United States and Israel have soured during President Barack Obama's administration, reaching a low point late last month when Washington declined to veto U.N. resolution 2334 demanding an end to Israeli settlements in occupied territory.Paris has said the meeting did not aim to impose anything on Israel or the Palestinians and that only direct negotiations could resolve the conflict.The final draft did not go into any details other than reaffirming U.N. Security Council resolutions, including 2334. Diplomats said that had been a source of friction in talks."When some are questioning this, it's vital for us to recall the framework of negotiations. That framework is the 1967 borders and the main resolutions of the United Nations," French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, told reporters.Kerry, who abandoned his efforts to broker peace talks in April 2014, told reporters that the meeting had "moved the ball forward.""It underscores this is not just one administration's point of view, this is shared by the international community broadly," he said.Home to Europe's largest Muslim and Jewish communities, France has tried to breathe new life into the peace process over the past year and argued that it should not play second fiddle to the war in Syria and fight against Islamic State militants.The final statement said interested parties would meet again before year-end.But Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting on Sunday that "this conference is among the last twitches of the world of yesterday ... Tomorrow will look different and that tomorrow is very close."Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who said on Saturday that moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem would kill off the peace process, said the Paris meeting would help at stopping "settlement activities and destroying the two-state solution through dictations and the use of force."(Additional reporting Lesley Wroughton in Paris and Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem; Editing by Susan Fenton, Greg Mahlich)
Israel says Kerry sought to reassure Netanyahu over Paris conference-[Reuters]-YAHOONEWS-January 15, 2017
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel said on Sunday that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had sought to reassure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over a Middle East peace conference being held in Paris, which neither Israel nor the Palestinians are attending.Some 70 countries, including key European and Arab states as well as the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, were in Paris for a meeting that Netanyahu has rejected as "futile".Netanyahu's office issued a statement on Sunday saying that "Kerry called Netanyahu to tell him about the moves the U.S. was taking at the conference to soften the wording of the Paris communique."It added that the Israeli leader had replied by saying that "Israel had already suffered damage after the U.S. did not veto a Security Council resolution (last month) and it should not be compounded."The statement said that Kerry committed to Netanyahu that there would be no resulting consequences to the conference, neither at the United Nations Security Council or at the conference itself and that "the U.S. would oppose any proposal that may be put forward to the Security Council."(Writing by Ori Lewis; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
Netanyahu slams 'futile' Paris peace conference-[AFP]-YAHOONEWS-January 15, 2017
Jerusalem (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday dismissed as "futile" an international conference in Paris seeking to revive the moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace process."The conference convening today in Paris is a futile conference," he told ministers at the start of a weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem."It was coordinated between the French and the Palestinians with the aim of imposing upon Israel conditions that are incompatible with our national needs," he said.Netanyahu's government has bitterly opposed the conference, saying only direct talks with the Palestinians can end the long-running conflict.The Palestinians have welcomed the multilateral approach, saying years of negotiations with the Israelis have not ended the occupation of the West Bank.The conference is being held without either the Israelis or the Palestinians, but Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas will meet French President Francois Hollande in the coming weeks to be briefed on the outcome, French diplomats said.Netanyahu declined a similar invitation, they said.French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault formally opened the assembly of foreign ministers and representatives from around 70 countries and international organisations."We are here to reiterate strongly that the two-state solution is the only one possible," Ayrault said.The conference comes just five days before the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed unstinting support for Israel.Israel fears measures discussed at the conference could be taken to the UN Security Council before Trump takes office.In a break with previous administrations, Trump has pledged to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital and relocate the US embassy there from Tel Aviv.Abbas warned Saturday that such a move could "bury the hopes for a two-state solution".The city's status is one of the thorniest issues in the conflict, which is why foreign embassies are currently based in Tel Aviv.The Palestinians regard Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, while Israel proclaims the entire city as its capital.Hard-line Israeli lawmakers, including some from Netanyahu's Likud party, have said Trump's win represents an opportunity to quash the chance of Palestinians obtaining an independent state.Netanyahu, who says he still supports a two-state solution, appeared in his comments on Sunday to be looking forward to the impending change in the White House."This conference is among the last spasms of yesterday's world," he said. "Tomorrow will look different and tomorrow is very close."
At Paris meeting, major powers to warn Trump over Middle East peace-[Reuters]-By John Irish and Lesley Wroughton-YAHOONEWS-January 15, 2017
PARIS (Reuters) - Major powers will signal to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday that a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians is the only solution, with France warning him that plans to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem could derail peace efforts.Some 70 countries, including key European and Arab states as well as the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, are in Paris for a meeting that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected as "futile". Neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians will be represented.But, just five days before Trump is sworn in, the conference provides a platform for countries to send a strong signal to the incoming American president.Trump has pledged to pursue more pro-Israeli policies and move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv, where it has been for 68 years, to Jerusalem, all but enshrining the city as Israel's capital despite international objections.Calling it a provocation, France's Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said the move would have serious consequences on the ground."One cannot have such a clear-cut, unilateral position. You have to create the conditions for peace," he told France 3 television.Paris has said the meeting will not impose anything on Israel or the Palestinians and that only direct negotiations can resolve the conflict.A draft communique seen by Reuters reaffirms existing international resolutions, urges both sides to restate their commitment to the two-state solution and disavow officials who reject it. The communique asks the protagonists to "refrain from unilateral steps that prejudge the outcome of final status negotiations".-LOW POINT-Diplomats said the communique could be toughened up with an allusion to Trump's plans for Jerusalem and whether to have a follow-up to the French initiative intensely debated."This conference is among the last twitches of the world of yesterday," Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting on Sunday. "Tomorrow will look different and that tomorrow is very close."Relations between the United States and Israel have soured during President Barack Obama's administration, reaching a low point late last month when Washington declined to veto a U.N. resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlements in occupied territory.Obama's secretary of state, John Kerry, said the settlement programme threatened Middle East peace and the two-state solution.Palestinian President Authority Mahmoud Abbas said on Saturday that he had told Trump that a move to Jerusalem would kill off the peace process and strip the U.S. of its role as honest broker - and could lead to the Palestinians going back on their recognition of Israel.Home to Europe's largest Muslim and Jewish communities, France has tried to breathe new life into the peace process over the past year. It believes that, with the uncertainty surrounding how the next U.S. administration will handle the issue, it is important to push the sides back to talks rather than allowing a fragile status quo to fester.But with elections coming up this year in France and Germany, and Britain appearing to align itself more closely with the Trump administration on the issue, the prospects of the European Union, the largest economic partner for both Israel and the Palestinians, taking a lead on the matter appear unlikely.Arab states also have concerns about how Trump's relationship with them will turn out, and have taken a cautious line.(Additional reporting by Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Susan Fenton)
Pope meets Palestinian leader; Vatican calls Jerusalem holy-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-January 14, 2017
VATICAN CITY — The Vatican stressed the sacred nature of Jerusalem on Saturday as the Palestinian leader warned that prospects for peace could suffer if the incoming Trump administration goes ahead with plans to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.The developments came as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with Pope Francis and inaugurated the Palestinian embassy to the Holy See.Abbas said he had only heard through news reports of the proposal by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to move the embassy to Jerusalem.The Palestinians strongly oppose the embassy move, saying it would kill any hopes for negotiating an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement and rile the region by undercutting Muslim and Christian claims to the holy city."We hope that this news is not true, because it is not encouraging and will disrupt and hinder the peace process," he said. He urged Trump to open a dialogue with both Israelis and Palestinians.Trump hasn't yet laid out a clear Mideast policy, but has signalled he will be more sympathetic to Israel's hard-line right than previous administrations.In Paris on Sunday, the French government is hosting a Mideast peace conference attended by dozens of foreign ministers to show Trump's administration that most of the world wants a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians and is fed up with decades of conflict.The Vatican has long sought an internationally guaranteed status for Jerusalem that safeguards its sacred character. In its communique after the Abbas meeting, the Holy See didn't refer to Jerusalem by name but said during the talks "emphasis was placed on the importance of safeguarding the sanctity of the holy places for believers of all three of the Abrahamic religions."During the meeting, Abbas presented Francis with gifts recalling Christianity's birthplace in the Holy Land, including a stone from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem and documentation about the ongoing restoration of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.After the papal meeting, Abbas formally inaugurated the new Palestinian embassy across the street from one of the main gates of Vatican City. He pulled back a curtain revealing a plaque and extended the Palestinian flag from a flagpole outside a window.The embassy, located in the same building as the embassies of Peru, Ecuador and Burkina Faso, comes after recent accords in which the Vatican formally recognized the "State of Palestine.""This embassy is a place of pride for us and we hope all of the countries of the world will recognize the state of Palestine, because this recognition will bring us closer to the peace process," he said.Abbas had initially accepted an invitation to be in Paris on Sunday, but French officials say that visit has been postponed.___Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield-Nicole Winfield, The Associated Press.
Israel thanks Jamaica for skipping controversial UNESCO vote-Netanyahu welcomes Kingston’s refusal to back ‘absurd’ resolution, which ignored Jewish ties to Temple Mount-By JTA January 15, 2017, 9:09 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
RIO DE JANEIRO — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked his Jamaican counterpart for his country’s refusal to participate in the UNESCO vote that ignored Jewish ties to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.“Our relations are always friendly. We appreciate the fact that you didn’t join the recent vote against Israel, the absurd vote in UNESCO,” Netanyahu told Andrew Holness during his three-day visit to Israel that ended on Sunday, reported the Jamaica Observer newspaper.In a secret ballot, the resolution passed in Paris on October 26 with less than a majority of the World Heritage Committee’s 21 members — 10 states voted in favor and two were opposed, with eight abstaining and one absent — Jamaica. Among Latin American countries, Cuba voted in favor and Peru abstained.Both prime ministers met Thursday in Jerusalem in the first such visit by a leader of the Caribbean nation to the Jewish state. They discussed possibilities for cooperation in water, agriculture and domestic security.“I think this is the first visit ever by a prime minister of Jamaica to Israel, so it has a double significance for us,” Netanyahu told Israeli media, citing a “natural affinity” between Israel and Jamaica and stressing that the visit is a “hallmark of cooperation.”“I can see all the potential for cooperation in a variety of fields that relate to economy, to security, to technology. This is something that we eagerly are interested in doing with you,” he added.Holness drew parallels between Israel and Jamaica being “strong democracies” and extended his condolences for the recent truck ramming attack in Jerusalem which killed four Israeli soldiers and wounded another 17.“The Jamaican people and the Caribbean region is a zone of peace, and we wish peace for all the peoples of the world.” Holness said, inviting Netanyahu to visit Jamaica soon, which he accepted.Holness and some government officials intend to identify and capitalize on opportunities for collaboration and expanded exposure to best practice aiming at fostering economic growth and prosperity through pioneering and sustainable policies, reported the Jamaica Information Service, calling the visit “historic.”Jamaica is home to about 300 Jews in a population of 2.7 million.The Caribbean island is the third-most populous Anglophone country in the Americas, after the United States and Canada, Jamaica is a Commonwealth realm, with Queen Elizabeth II as its monarch and head of state.
With Lapid’s okay, MKs to kick off process to oust Arab lawmaker-70 lawmakers said set to trigger law to expel MK Basel Ghattas, accused of smuggling phones to Palestinian prisoners; final vote will require Zionist Union backing-By Times of Israel staff January 15, 2017, 9:05 pm
Seventy lawmakers were set to trigger a new law to expel an Arab MK, accused of smuggling cellphones to Palestinian terror prisoners, from the Knesset.The coalition-spearheaded measure will move ahead after Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid announced his party will now support the move, kicking off the process to oust MK Basel Ghattas from parliament, Channel 2 reported on Sunday night. Lapid was set on to the complaint on Monday, the TV report said.Ghattas, of the Arab Joint List’s Balad faction, is under a criminal investigation after he was caught on prison surveillance video passing envelopes to the prisoners last month. He was released to house arrest earlier this month, five days after he was arrested.Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit has authorized an indictment against Ghattas, which has yet to be lodged, and which includes charges of using property to abet terror, fraud, breach of trust, and aggravated fraud.Coalition lawmakers, led by Environmental Protection Minister Ze’ev Elkin, have sought to remove Ghattas from office with a new law passed in July, under which 70 Knesset members — 10 of whom must be from the opposition — may file a complaint with the Knesset speaker against any lawmaker who supports armed struggle against Israel or incites to racial hatred, launching the impeachment process.The Knesset House Committee can then debate the complaint before clearing it with a three-quarter majority in the committee. The motion to dismiss the lawmaker would then be sent to the plenum, where, if 90 of the 120 Knesset members vote in favor, the MK would be ousted. The deposed lawmaker could then appeal the decision with the Supreme Court.With Lapid’s support, the process to remove Ghattas can be set in motion, though it will require the support of the opposition Zionist Union party to remove Ghattas entirely in the Knesset vote. The Zionist Union has opposed the measure.The law was proposed after three Arab MKs, including Ghattas, paid a condolence visit last February to the families of Palestinians killed while attacking Israelis. The three reportedly observed a moment of silence during the visit — they denied it — which some said was tantamount to showing support for terror.Ghattas is currently accused of taking advantage of his position as a member of Knesset, who is not subject to a body search, during a visit to Ketziot prison where he met with Walid Daka, who received a 37-year sentence for the 1984 abduction and murder of 19-year-old IDF soldier Moshe Tamam. The MK also met with Basel Ben Sulieman Bezre, who is serving a 15-year sentence on a terror conviction.Police claim that, ahead of the visit, Ghattas planned with Walid’s 65-year-old brother, Assad, to hand over cellphones to Bezre who was to then pass them on to the incarcerated Daka and other prisoners. Asad Daka allegedly met with Ghattas at a gas station where he handed over four envelopes containing a dozen phones, SIM cards and chargers.The purported purpose of Ghattas’s visit was to hear complaints about prison conditions. He hid the envelopes inside his clothing and when a metal detector at the entrance to the prison beeped, Ghattas claimed it was because of his belt buckle, the indictment said.After the visit, Prisons Service officials found 12 to 15 cellphones and at least a dozen SIM cards in the prisoners’ cells, along with what officials said were “coded” notes.
