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)
LUKE 21:28-29
28 And when these things begin to come to pass,(ALL THE PROPHECY SIGNS FROM THE BIBLE) then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (RAPTURE) draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree,(ISRAEL) and all the trees;(ALL INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES)
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.(ISRAEL LITERALLY BECAME AND INDEPENDENT COUNTRY JUST BEFORE SUMMER IN MAY 14,1948.)
JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth (ATOMIC BOMB) before them;(RUSSIAN-ARAB-MUSLIM ARMIES AGAINST ISRAEL) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(ATOMIC BOMB AFFECT)
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE
Bennett submits bill to make it ‘impossible’ to divide Jerusalem-Education minister wants to change Basic Law to require two-thirds Knesset majority before handing over parts of capital under any peace deal-By Raoul Wootliff June 18, 2017, 6:43 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Education Minister Naftali Bennett formally proposed legislation Sunday that would require a special two-thirds Knesset majority on any decision to divide Jerusalem under a future peace deal with the Palestinians, saying that the bill would effectively make such a move “impossible.”Bennett, who leads the pro-settlement Jewish Home party, is seeking to amend the Basic Law on Jerusalem so that any future vote to divide the city would require the approval of 80 of the 120 MKs to pass, as opposed to a regular majority.“The purpose of this law is to unify Jerusalem forever,” Bennett said of his legislation in a statement. “Reaching a majority of 80 MKs in order to divide Jerusalem is impossible and has no feasibility in the Knesset, which is why this law is so important.”Currently the Jerusalem Law, passed in 1980 and amended in 2000, states: “No authority that is stipulated in the law of the State of Israel or of the Jerusalem Municipality may be transferred either permanently or for an allotted period of time to a foreign body, whether political, governmental or to any other similar type of foreign body.”With no provision in the Basic Law specifying how it can be amended, it currently can be overturned with a simple majority. Bennett’s proposal would add a clause requiring the supermajority.The bill was submitted to the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, presided over by Bennett’s fellow party member Justice Ministry Ayelet Shaked. It is expected to face a vote by cabinet ministers within two weeks after facing a legal review, a spokesperson for the party said.Speaking earlier Sunday at the weekly cabinet meeting, Bennett said he was confident the measure would gain the support of his government colleagues. “I am convinced the entire coalition and sensible opposition will join forces behind this important legislation… I am certain the bill will easily pass.”The Jewish Home chair added that he was concerned a future temporary coalition may agree to divide the city, whose eastern neighborhoods, including the Old City, are claimed by the Palestinians for their future capital.“Timing is crucial, since it is important to make clear, before the start of a diplomatic process, that Jerusalem will never be divided under any circumstance,” Bennet said. “The ideas put forward by Ehud Barak in 2000 and Ehud Olmert in 2007 to hand over the Old City, Temple Mount and the Mount of Olives to the Palestinians — are obsolete.”A spokesman for the Jewish Home party said last week that the proposed legislation was intended to strengthen Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s position vis-a-vis the new administration of US President Donald Trump.Last month, hours before Trump arrived in Israel during his first major foray abroad as president, Netanyahu declared that Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem’s holy sites was not up for negotiation and said the city will always be Israel’s capital.Trump has expressed his desire to reach a Palestinian-Israeli peace agreement, which he has described as the “ultimate deal.”In recent months the United Nations cultural body UNESCO has passed a series of resolutions that diminish or deny the Jewish connection to Jerusalem and refer to Israel as an occupying power.Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1980, but the move has not been recognized internationally and most countries refuse to recognize any part of the city as Israel’s capital, saying it was an issue that will need to be decided in negotiations with the Palestinians.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Cabinet reopens debate on expanding Palestinian city-Netanyahu announces decision amid backlash from right-wing ministers over scheme to add 14,000 housing units to Qalqilya-By Times of Israel staff and Jacob Magid June 18, 2017, 2:56 pm
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sunday that the cabinet would hold another debate on whether to allow the Palestinian Authority to greatly expand the city of Qalqilya in the West Bank, after right-wing ministers denounced the scheme and claimed it had not been reviewed properly in a previous cabinet session.The plan would see 14,000 new apartments built in the Israeli-controlled Area C surrounding the city, potentially more than doubling the city’s population, from 50,000 to 110,000.Netanyahu said during the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem that he “doesn’t remember the cabinet decision on expanding Qalqilya,” Channel 2 reported, an apparent reference to claims by ministers that the plan had not previously been given the proper attention.Education Minister Naftali Bennett, who leads the settlement-supporting Jewish Home party, lauded the decision to reconsider the plan, tweeting that “in light of the Palestinian incitement [to commit terror attacks] we should not give them a prize of 14,000 homes along Route 6. I hope that this time everyone will join us in our position.”Qalqilya is mostly surrounded by Israel’s security barrier and lies opposite the country’s central region only a few kilometers from the Tel Aviv suburb of Kfar Saba. The trans-Israel highway, Route 6, passes close to the city.The Yesha Council, an umbrella organization for Jewish settlements in the West Bank, said in a statement that it backs the government in the decision to debate the plan before going through with it.“It is inconceivable for the Palestinian Authority to build houses in Area C with government approval,” the council said. “We call on the the cabinet members to cancel the plan and to continue construction in Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley.”Under the 1995 Oslo Accords, administration of the West Bank was divided into three categorizes: Area A under full Palestinian control, Area B under joint Israeli-Palestinian control, and Area C under full Israeli control.Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council that oversees settlements in the northern West Bank, welcomed the decision, saying “We expect this government to continue to keep to its commitments and to strengthen the settlements and, as a result, all of Israel.”The Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement last Wednesday that the plan was “presented by the defense minister last year and approved by the cabinet.” Since that time, it noted, “over 10,000 homes have been approved for planning and construction in the Jewish communities.”However, the next day Environment Minister Ze’ev Elkin (Likud) slammed the proposal, saying, “A government of the nationalist camp cannot accept such a reality.”“As far as I recall, the plan, to this extent, was never discussed by the cabinet,” Elkin said. “Advancing the plan without an exhaustive discussion by the cabinet, is in my opinion, an attempt by senior ranks of the army to shape a new reality behind politicians’ backs, and I cannot agree with it.”The proposed construction will allow homes to be built up to 50 meters (54 yards) from the security barrier, despite the general rule banning construction within 200 meters (218 yards).Bennett and fellow party member Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said Thursday that although they approved of a “carrot and stick” approach to the Palestinians, “there is no doubt that the plan seems worse compared to the very limited scope of construction approved by the prime minister for Israeli communities,” Channel 2 news reported.They called on the prime minister to freeze the plan until it had received cabinet approval.Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely (Likud) called for a parallel increase in Jewish construction while fellow Likud lawmaker, Tourism Minister Yariv Levin, said the plan should be contingent on the behavior of the Palestinian leadership.
PM’s office backs mystery Qalqilya plan approval amid ministers’ denials-Ministers deny there was a cabinet meeting that decided to add 14,000 housing units to Palestinian city; Netanyahu’s office says otherwise-By Raoul Wootliff June 18, 2017, 9:14 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Sunday stood by a statement from last week, confirming a plan allowing the Palestinian Authority to expand the city of Qalqilya in the West Bank, even as several ministers said they had no recollection of approving the proposal.“There is no change in the information we put out last week,” a PMO spokesperson told The Times of Israel.However, it comes amid reports that Netanyahu told the cabinet that he planned to overturn the decision.The plan, first reported by Channel 2 news on Wednesday, would see 14,000 new apartments built on 2,500 dunams (617 acres) in Israeli-controlled Area C surrounding the city and would potentially double the city’s population from 50,000 to 110,000.Under the 1995 Oslo Accords, administration of the West Bank was divided into three categories: Area A under full Palestinian control, Area B under joint Israeli-Palestinian control, and Area C under full Israeli control.Responding to the report, and fierce opposition voiced by settler leaders, the Prime Minister’s Office said last Wednesday that the proposal was “presented by the defense minister last year and approved by the cabinet.” Since that time, it noted, “over 10,000 homes have been approved for planning and construction in the Jewish communities.”But on Sunday morning, after several right-wing ministers denounced the scheme and claimed it had not been reviewed properly by the cabinet, Netanyahu reportedly told government ministers that he too does not remember the 2016 decision and would work towards cancelling the expansion.Responding to the report, Education Minister Naftali Bennett, who leads the settlement-supporting Jewish Home party, lauded the apparent decision, tweeting that “in light of the Palestinian incitement [to commit terror attacks] we should not give them a prize of 14,000 homes along Route 6. I hope that this time everyone will join us in our position.”Qalqilya is mostly surrounded by Israel’s security barrier and lies opposite the country’s central region only a few kilometers from Kfar Saba, north of Tel Aviv. The trans-Israel highway, Route 6, passes right next to the city.Ministers Gilad Erdan and Yisrael Katz later denied that the cabinet had debated the plan.“I don’t understand who gave the Civil Administration the authority to approve such a large-scale building plan,” Erdan told Army Radio.“The Qalqilya plan was never presented. I never approved it or even voted for it,” Katz tweeted.The PMO spokesman, however, refused to confirm that Netanyahu would revisit the cabinet debate.On Sunday night, Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council that oversees settlements in the northern West Bank, led a protest on the outskirts of Qalqilya, calling on the government to cancel the decision.“We expect this government to continue to keep to its commitments and to strengthen the settlements and, as a result, all of Israel,” Dagan said, slamming what he called a “unacceptable” lull in settlement building.Jacob Magid and Raphael Ahren contributed to this report.
MKs criticize Netanyahu in wake of Jerusalem terror attack-Opposition legislators urge separation from Palestinians, accuse PM of failing to take necessary actions to thwart stabbings and shootings-By Times of Israel staff June 17, 2017, 6:41 pm
In the wake of Friday’s deadly terror attack in Jerusalem, members of the opposition on Saturday criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the conflict with the Palestinians, and urged the government to work toward a two-state solution in order to allow Israel to better defend itself.“We are in the midst of a terror wave that we’re not really noticing, but sporadic terror incidents are happening on a daily basis,” said Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog, speaking in Ramat Yishai in northern Israel.“In the end, the question is if we can change the reality,” Herzog said. “Even in these difficult days we need to think above the fray, and take advantage of historical opportunities to separate from the Palestinians.”Meanwhile, fellow Zionist Union MK Omer Bar Lev accused Netanyahu of failing to take the actions necessary to thwart terrorist attacks, and asserted that the Israeli leadership was not acting in the best interest of its citizens. “The government is abandoning the residents of Israel out of total surrender to the [Jewish West Bank] settlers,” he said during an event in the central Israeli city of Rehovot. “The right-wing government is not doing everything possible to prevent such attacks.”Zehava Galon, head of the left-wing Meretz party, charged that the prime minister had no concrete plan on how to address Palestinian terrorism. “Prime Minister Netanyahu has no solution to the reality of the terrorist attacks in Jerusalem,” Galon said. “His conception that it is possible to ‘manage the conflict’ with the Palestinians on a low flame has collapsed time and time again. Fifty years of control over millions of people and we see that this flame is sitting on a barrel of explosives, and the price is heavy.”Friday’s attack saw three Palestinians armed with an automatic weapon and knives carry out near simultaneous assaults at two adjacent locations before they were shot and killed. The three attackers were shot dead in the course of the attacks.Staff Sergeant Hadas Malka, 23, was critically injured when she was stabbed on Sultan Suleiman Street near Damascus Gate. She was transferred to Hadassah Hospital Mount Scopus in Jerusalem where she underwent emergency surgery but later succumbed to her injuries.At least four more people were injured in the attacks, including another cop. They all sustained light to moderate wounds and were being treated in hospital.The Shin Bet security service named the three assailants as Adel Ankush, 18, Bra’a Saleh Atta, 19, and Usama Ahmed Atta, 19, all from the West Bank village of Deir Abu-Mash’al near Ramallah.All three had been arrested for or involved in “popular terror activity,” a Shin Bet statement read.The attack was carried out by “two Palestinians from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and a third from Hamas,” Hamas said early Saturday, dismissing a claim of responsibility by Islamic State.Israeli officials cast doubt on both claims, saying there was no indication of IS involvement, and that the attack did not appear to have been directed by any group.Since September 2015, mainly Palestinian assailants have killed 43 Israelis, two visiting Americans and a British student, mainly in stabbing, shooting and vehicular attacks. In that time, some 250 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, a majority of them attackers, according to authorities.Israel has blamed the terrorism and violence on incitement by Palestinian political and religious leaders compounded on social media sites that glorify violence and encourage attacks.Hamas praised Friday’s attack, saying in a statement Friday evening that “the attack in Jerusalem is new proof that the Palestinian people continue their revolution against the occupiers and that the intifada will continue until complete freedom is achieved.”Agencies contributed to this report.
After deadly attack, Israel mulls new security strategy for Damascus Gate-Shin Bet says it’s yet to verify various claims of responsibility for terror assault that killed Border Police officer Hadas Malka-By Judah Ari Gross June 18, 2017, 5:00 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Following a spate of deadly attacks at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City, officials have started working on a plan to beef up security in the area that could involve turning it into a “sterile area,” police said SundayThe latest attack Friday, in which 23-year-old border guard Hadas Malka was stabbed to death, was only the most recent at the Damascus Gate, which has seen dozens of stabbings and shooting attempts, many of them successful, over the past two years.On Saturday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he was considering turning the Damascus Gate area into a “sterile area,” but declined to elaborate on what that would mean.Netanyahu repeated his call at the start of Sunday’s cabinet meeting. “I have instructed the police to reinforce security arrangements and checking procedures in the plaza around Damascus Gate,” he said.A police official said on Sunday that the discussions on if or how the security procedures around the busy Old City entrance would change were being held with “consultation from high-level political leadership.”“A proposal was made, and the topic is still in the stages of study and discussion,” the spokesperson said.“It’s still too early to establish [the plan] and make pronouncements,” she added.The police said they were working with the Shin Bet security service to investigate how exactly the stabbing took place, including how an armed terrorist was able to walk up behind an armed border guard without being noticed.The Damascus Gate, the main entrance into the Muslim Quarter, is usually teeming with local residents and tourists and already has a constant, extensive presence of security personnel, with Border Police officers spread throughout the area on foot patrols, on horseback and behind barriers.The police official would not elaborate on what measures were being discussed, if the new proposals would simply be a reinforcement of the current strategy or if the police would be setting up security checkpoints and metal detectors in the area surrounding the Damascus Gate.Friday’s attack was carried out by three Palestinian men — Usama Ahmed Mustafa Atta, Adel Hassan Ahmad Ankush and Bra’a Ibrahim Muhammad Saleh Atta — from the West Bank village of Deir Abu-Mashal, near Ramallah.In a well-organized attack, two members of the cell first opened fire at Border Police officers with automatic weapons and then the third jumped Malka from behind as her team responded to the initial gunfire. He stabbed her to death as she fought back and tried to shoot him. All three attackers were ultimately shot dead by border guards.Shortly afterwards, the Islamic State terror group took responsibility for the attack. Hamas rejected the Islamic State’s claim, saying that it was carried out by “two Palestinians from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and a third from Hamas.”The ongoing, though waning, terror wave that began in October 2015 has been marked by attacks carried out by so-called “lone wolves,” who act without direct organizational support or instruction, unlike in the Second Intifada when established terror groups directed the attacks.The Shin Bet security service said Sunday that it was still investigating the various claims of responsibility but “at this point there has been no verification of the publications connecting Daesh” —the Islamic State’s Arabic nickname — “or other groups” to Friday’s attack.The Islamic State’s claim of responsibly, though suspect, came as a surprise in Israel, which has yet to suffer an attack by the group of this nature. The group has carried out rocket attacks, and its predecessor Ansar Bait al-Maqdis also shot at Israeli troops.) The month of Ramadan is seen as a particularly tense period in the West Bank and Israel. Last year saw the deadly Sarona Market terror attack, in which four people were killed and over a dozen were wounded, take place during Ramadan.While there are heightened security fears during the month-long holiday, Israel also granted hundreds of thousands of special permits to Palestinians allowing them to enter Jerusalem in order to pray on the Temple Mount and visit family members in Israel.Following Friday’s terror attack, Netanyahu rescinded some 250,000 special entry permits for Ramadan. He did not, however, revoke permission for West Bank males over 40 to enter Jerusalem for Ramadan prayers.Since September 2015, mainly Palestinian assailants have killed 43 Israelis, two visiting Americans, a Palestinian man and a British student, mainly in stabbing, shooting and vehicular attacks. In that time, some 250 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, a majority of them attackers, according to authorities.The Israeli government has blamed the terrorism and violence on incitement by Palestinian political and religious leaders compounded on social media sites that glorify violence and encourage attacks.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Abbas’s Fatah slams Israel for killing 3 Palestinians carrying out fatal attack-After West Bankers are shot dead during Jerusalem attack in which they killed Border Police officer Hadas Malka, Fatah accuses Israel of ‘war crime’-By Times of Israel staff June 17, 2017, 2:23 am
Fatah, the political faction of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, condemned Israel for killing three Palestinians who killed Israeli police officer Hadas Malka and injured four others in a stabbing and shooting terror attack in Jerusalem on Friday.In a statement, Fatah called the deaths of the three assailants, who attacked at two locations near Jerusalem’s Old City, a “war crime.”Hamas said all three of the assailants were members of Palestinian terrorist organizations.Fatah “condemns the war crime carried out by Israeli occupation forces in Jerusalem against three Palestinian teens,” spokesperson Osama al- Kawasme said in a statement. Fatah added that “the international community’s silence emboldened Israel to further spill the blood of Palestinians.”The three West Bankers, armed with an automatic weapon and knives, carried out near simultaneous attacks at two adjacent locations. Two attacked a group of police officers at Zedekiah’s Cave with an automatic weapon and knives, and a third stabbed Malka a short distance away at Damascus Gate.The 23-year-old staff sergeant died of her wounds at Hadassah Hospital in Mount Scopus. Four other people were lightly and moderately injured in the attack — including a policeman and two East Jerusalem Palestinians. Some reports said the gun used by the attackers jammed, preventing further casualties.The attackers were identified by the Shin Bet internal security agency as Bra’a Saleh Atta and Usama Atta, both born in 1998, and Adel Ankush, born the following year. They were shot dead by security forces as they carried out their attacks.The three were from Deir Abu-Mashal, a village near Ramallah. All had previously been arrested for or involved in terrorist activity, a Shin Bet statement said. Security forces late Friday night surrounded Deir Abu-Mash’al, and were preparing to raid the assailants’ homes to question their family members regarding the attack.Hamas, the terrorist organization that rules the Gaza Strip, also condemned the shooting of the three attackers as a “crime by the occupation.”A spokesman for the movement, Hazem Qassem, said the attack was “proof that the Palestinian people are leading a revolution against the enemy.”He also said the attack showed that the Palestinian Authority’s policy of security coordination with Israel was wrong, calling it “a national crime.”Hamas dismissed a claim of responsibility for the attack by Islamic State, and said all three assailants were members of Palestinian terrorist organizations. The attack was carried out by “two Palestinians from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and a third from Hamas,” Hamas said early Saturday.In the wake of the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revoked the entry permits given to Palestinians during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan to visit their relatives in Israel.Israel had eased restrictions on the entrance of Palestinians from the West Bank for Ramadan, including permitting daily family visits during Sundays through Thursdays.Netanyahu canceled the family visits at the recommendation of Chief of Police Roni Alsheich and Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, according to a police statement.Netanyahu, however, did not revoke the permission given to Palestinian men aged over 40 from the West Bank to enter Jerusalem for Friday prayers, police said.Israel last month announced that it was relaxing restrictions on the movement of Palestinians to and from the West Bank and Gaza Strip during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, including easier access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, issuing more travel permits and allowing some to travel abroad. The measures were similar to those of previous years.Over the past 18 months the Old City, and the Damascus Gate in particular, have seen several attacks by Palestinians, and in one case a Jordanian national.Since September 2015, some 43 Israelis, two visiting Americans, an Eritrean national, a Palestinian man and a British student have been killed in stabbing, shooting and vehicular attacks by Palestinian assailants. In that time, more than 270 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, a majority of them attackers, according to authorities.Israel has blamed the violence and terrorism on incitement by Palestinian political and religious leaders compounded on social media sites that glorify violence and encourage attacks.
Parole board to rule on Olmert’s early release next week-State prosecutor argues jailed former PM should not have sentence reduced while police investigate his handling of sensitive info-By Raoul Wootliff June 18, 2017, 7:54 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
The Prisons Service parole board will announce next week whether it will grant an early release for jailed former prime minister Ehud Olmert, the body said Sunday, after a hearing with the one-time premier.Olmert, who is serving a 27-month sentence for various corruption convictions, is seeking to have a third of his sentence cut off.The decision will be given, on Thursday, June 29, the board said. The announcement came days after the State Prosecutor’s Office asked police to open a criminal investigation into Olmert over his alleged divulging of sensitive information in the memoirs he is writing.The state requested last week that Olmert’s hearing be postponed a second time to allow police to complete their inquiry, but was denied by a judge. On June 1, the state had won an initial postponement of the hearing, as it sought to submit classified materials to the parole board that would require the committee members to obtain appropriate security clearance.Representatives of the State Prosecutor’s Office argued in the parole hearing Sunday that it would be inappropriate to consider an early release until the probe was completed and it was clear whether Olmert had engaged in illegal activity. Olmert’s lawyers pointed to their client’s “impeccable” record during his prison service to date and said the latest allegations do not constitute grounds to disregard his good behavior.On Thursday, police raided the offices of the Yedioth Books publishing house in the central town of Rishon Lezion in a search for classified material that may have been provided by Olmert. They also raided the home of Yehuda Yaari, who is editing Olmert’s memoirs on behalf of the publisher.“Olmert has been writing his book while incarcerated,” the state prosecution said in a statement Thursday. “Parts of the book deal with sensitive security issues. Recently, an incident took place in which one of Olmert’s lawyers was caught as he left the prison with a chapter of the book… The chapter includes, among other things, secret operational details that were not approved for publication in the past.”Olmert has insisted he was not trying to skirt any laws.“I have never been told that it is forbidden to transfer written material,” he said, according to Channel 2 news. “The lawyers are involved with my writing, and go over all the material.”Olmert was one of eight former officials and businessmen convicted in March 2014 in the Holyland real estate corruption case, which has been characterized as among the largest graft cases in Israel’s history.In September 2016, he was sentenced to an additional eight months behind bars for the so-called Talansky affair. In that case, a court upheld a 2015 conviction over his accepting envelopes full of cash from American businessman and fundraiser Morris Talansky, in exchange for political favors during his decade-long term as mayor from 1993 to 2003.The Prisons Service refitted a wing in the Ma’asiyahu Prison in Ramle to house Olmert, the first former premier to serve jail time, keeping him in a separate complex shared only by carefully screened fellow convicts.Olmert, who began serving his sentence in February 2016, is seeking early release. The law allows authorities to reduce sentences by a third for good behavior.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Israeli ministers approve bill to outlaw entire binary options industry-Draft law — prompted by Times of Israel reporting on decade-old, multi-billion dollar fraud — welcomed by Israel’s securities regulator and attorney-general-By Simona Weinglass June 18, 2017, 5:10 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
The Israeli cabinet on Sunday approved a bill to ban the entire binary options industry, a multi-billion dollar, widely fraudulent, Israel-based enterprise, whose activities have been exposed in a series of articles by The Times of Israel since March 2016.The bill was immediately also approved by the Ministerial Committee on Legislation, and will now go to the Knesset plenary for a first reading. It will then be debated by the Knesset Finance Committee, ahead of a second and third reading in the plenary.Israel Securities Authority Chairman Shmuel Hauser, who drafted the law together with the attorney general and Justice Ministry, welcomed the ministerial approval of the law.“Beyond the terrible economic harm to citizens around the world, sellers of binary options are causing increasing, accelerating ruinous damage to Israel and are inflaming anti-Semitism and anti-Israel feeling,” Hauser said in a statement after the bill was advanced.Once passed, and following a three-month interim period, the law will allow the ISA to prosecute and jail anyone still peddling binary options from within Israeli territory to anybody, anywhere.Fraudulent Israeli binary options companies, which employ thousands of Israelis, ostensibly offer customers worldwide a potentially profitable short-term investment, but in reality — through rigged trading platforms, refusal to pay out, and other ruses — these companies fleece the vast majority of customers of most or all of their money.“I welcome the important decision that the cabinet took today,” said Eli Groner, the director-general of the Prime Minister’s Office. Last October, alerted by The Times of Israel to the massive, decade-old, Israel-centered fraud, the Prime Minister’s Office issued a call for binary options dealing to be banned worldwide.“As part of our commitment, we are continuing our actions against binary options that cause damage to Israel’s image in the world. After we saw that other countries are not outlawing binary options, Israel is taking responsibility in order to prevent the defrauding of innocent people,” Groner said on Sunday.Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit also welcomed the vote. In a statement, the attorney general’s office wrote that he “has directed various law enforcement agents to act to eradicate the criminal phenomena associated with these online trading platforms, which in recent years mostly target people abroad.”Jason Roy, chairman of Canada’s Binary Options task force, also expressed satisfaction. “The world has woken up to this global fraud and we are seeing governments, securities regulators, law enforcement, credit card companies and social media companies all working together to protect people,” Roy told The Times of Israel.Unveiled at a session of the State Control Committee on February 28, the bill to ban the industry languished for several months amid rumors that lobbyists for binary options brokers were working to block its passage at the Ministerial Committee for Legislation. Proponents of the industry argued strenuously against a ban at the February meeting of the State Control Committee.Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, who presented the bill to the cabinet, is a firm supporter of the proposed law. The legislation is also backed by the State Control Committee’s chair, opposition Yesh Atid MK Karin Elharar.The draft legislation was approved by ministers more than a year after The Times of Israel began exposing the widespread fraudulent practices of the binary options industry. Last August, Hauser promised he would take the necessary steps to thwart the fraudsters. That same month, Jewish Agency chief Natan Sharansky urged the government to close down the “repugnant, immoral” industry.Israel banned binary options firms from targeting Israelis more than a year ago. The proposed law greenlighted on Sunday bans all binary options trading, period, and thus aims to put a complete halt to the blight of Israeli binary options firms duping victims all over the world into parting with their money. (The draft law also targets unregulated forex and CFD companies operating from Israel, requiring them to obtain a specific license to operate in any country where they have customers. Many such companies operating from Israel also engage in fraudulent practices.) Speaking on Channel 2’s “Meet the Press” program on Saturday, Hauser said that his authority had received hundreds of complaints from victims of the scam as well as from financial regulators around the world.“The [overseas] regulators tell us, ‘You have to do something, it’s like you’re turning a blind eye to this,’” he said. “I’m telling you,” Hauser added, “these binary options are a greater cause of anti-Semitism than any other factor. This is stoking anti-Semitism.”At a recent global meeting of securities regulators, he added, dozens of officials, from the United States, Canada, Belgium, France and beyond, all lined up and said to the Israeli officials, “You have to do something.”Hauser also mentioned two deaths as a result of binary options fraud. Last December, Canadian businessman Fred Turbide died by suicide after losing most of his life’s savings to an Israeli binary options company called 23Traders. Just recently, the Israel Securities Authority learned of another death, of an elderly woman on the island of Sardinia who lost a large sum to an Israeli binary options firm.Apple earlier this month banned binary options trading apps from its online store. In March, the FBI placed a public warning against binary options fraud at the top of its website.The Times of Israel, beginning with a March 2016 article entitled “The wolves of Tel Aviv: Israel’s vast, amoral binary options scam exposed,” has exposed the largely fraudulent Israel-based industry that has been stealing billions of dollars from hundreds of thousands of victims worldwide for the past decade.The proposed law would give the ISA the authority to impose penalties of up to two years in prison to anyone who violates the ban.The law would apply to anyone who “manages an online trading platform” that either sells binary options abroad or sells another financial product in a country where it lacks a license. The proposed law defines managing an online trading platform as “making strategic decisions for a company that manages the trading web site” or “operating the web site, including through software or hardware systems, call centers or online or telephone marketing, either directly or through a company that manages the trading web site or provides services to the web site.”The Israeli binary options industry, which has flourished for a decade with almost no intervention by Israeli law enforcement, has been estimated to bring in between $5 billion and $10 billion a year, to number well over 100 companies, and to employ between 5,000 and many tens of thousands of employees.Last month, in a move that indicated the Israel Police had finally begun to tackle the multi-billion dollar global fraud, Eliran Saada, the Tel Aviv owner of a fraudulent binary options firm, was arrested on suspicion of aggravated fraud, misrepresentation, false accounting, forgery, extortion and blackmail.In recent months, in anticipation of the proposed law, several binary options companies have shut down, while many have relocated their call centers abroad, including to Ukraine and elsewhere in Eastern Europe.
28 And when these things begin to come to pass,(ALL THE PROPHECY SIGNS FROM THE BIBLE) then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (RAPTURE) draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree,(ISRAEL) and all the trees;(ALL INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES)
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.(ISRAEL LITERALLY BECAME AND INDEPENDENT COUNTRY JUST BEFORE SUMMER IN MAY 14,1948.)
JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth (ATOMIC BOMB) before them;(RUSSIAN-ARAB-MUSLIM ARMIES AGAINST ISRAEL) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(ATOMIC BOMB AFFECT)
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE
Bennett submits bill to make it ‘impossible’ to divide Jerusalem-Education minister wants to change Basic Law to require two-thirds Knesset majority before handing over parts of capital under any peace deal-By Raoul Wootliff June 18, 2017, 6:43 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Education Minister Naftali Bennett formally proposed legislation Sunday that would require a special two-thirds Knesset majority on any decision to divide Jerusalem under a future peace deal with the Palestinians, saying that the bill would effectively make such a move “impossible.”Bennett, who leads the pro-settlement Jewish Home party, is seeking to amend the Basic Law on Jerusalem so that any future vote to divide the city would require the approval of 80 of the 120 MKs to pass, as opposed to a regular majority.“The purpose of this law is to unify Jerusalem forever,” Bennett said of his legislation in a statement. “Reaching a majority of 80 MKs in order to divide Jerusalem is impossible and has no feasibility in the Knesset, which is why this law is so important.”Currently the Jerusalem Law, passed in 1980 and amended in 2000, states: “No authority that is stipulated in the law of the State of Israel or of the Jerusalem Municipality may be transferred either permanently or for an allotted period of time to a foreign body, whether political, governmental or to any other similar type of foreign body.”With no provision in the Basic Law specifying how it can be amended, it currently can be overturned with a simple majority. Bennett’s proposal would add a clause requiring the supermajority.The bill was submitted to the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, presided over by Bennett’s fellow party member Justice Ministry Ayelet Shaked. It is expected to face a vote by cabinet ministers within two weeks after facing a legal review, a spokesperson for the party said.Speaking earlier Sunday at the weekly cabinet meeting, Bennett said he was confident the measure would gain the support of his government colleagues. “I am convinced the entire coalition and sensible opposition will join forces behind this important legislation… I am certain the bill will easily pass.”The Jewish Home chair added that he was concerned a future temporary coalition may agree to divide the city, whose eastern neighborhoods, including the Old City, are claimed by the Palestinians for their future capital.“Timing is crucial, since it is important to make clear, before the start of a diplomatic process, that Jerusalem will never be divided under any circumstance,” Bennet said. “The ideas put forward by Ehud Barak in 2000 and Ehud Olmert in 2007 to hand over the Old City, Temple Mount and the Mount of Olives to the Palestinians — are obsolete.”A spokesman for the Jewish Home party said last week that the proposed legislation was intended to strengthen Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s position vis-a-vis the new administration of US President Donald Trump.Last month, hours before Trump arrived in Israel during his first major foray abroad as president, Netanyahu declared that Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem’s holy sites was not up for negotiation and said the city will always be Israel’s capital.Trump has expressed his desire to reach a Palestinian-Israeli peace agreement, which he has described as the “ultimate deal.”In recent months the United Nations cultural body UNESCO has passed a series of resolutions that diminish or deny the Jewish connection to Jerusalem and refer to Israel as an occupying power.Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1980, but the move has not been recognized internationally and most countries refuse to recognize any part of the city as Israel’s capital, saying it was an issue that will need to be decided in negotiations with the Palestinians.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Cabinet reopens debate on expanding Palestinian city-Netanyahu announces decision amid backlash from right-wing ministers over scheme to add 14,000 housing units to Qalqilya-By Times of Israel staff and Jacob Magid June 18, 2017, 2:56 pm
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sunday that the cabinet would hold another debate on whether to allow the Palestinian Authority to greatly expand the city of Qalqilya in the West Bank, after right-wing ministers denounced the scheme and claimed it had not been reviewed properly in a previous cabinet session.The plan would see 14,000 new apartments built in the Israeli-controlled Area C surrounding the city, potentially more than doubling the city’s population, from 50,000 to 110,000.Netanyahu said during the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem that he “doesn’t remember the cabinet decision on expanding Qalqilya,” Channel 2 reported, an apparent reference to claims by ministers that the plan had not previously been given the proper attention.Education Minister Naftali Bennett, who leads the settlement-supporting Jewish Home party, lauded the decision to reconsider the plan, tweeting that “in light of the Palestinian incitement [to commit terror attacks] we should not give them a prize of 14,000 homes along Route 6. I hope that this time everyone will join us in our position.”Qalqilya is mostly surrounded by Israel’s security barrier and lies opposite the country’s central region only a few kilometers from the Tel Aviv suburb of Kfar Saba. The trans-Israel highway, Route 6, passes close to the city.The Yesha Council, an umbrella organization for Jewish settlements in the West Bank, said in a statement that it backs the government in the decision to debate the plan before going through with it.“It is inconceivable for the Palestinian Authority to build houses in Area C with government approval,” the council said. “We call on the the cabinet members to cancel the plan and to continue construction in Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley.”Under the 1995 Oslo Accords, administration of the West Bank was divided into three categorizes: Area A under full Palestinian control, Area B under joint Israeli-Palestinian control, and Area C under full Israeli control.Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council that oversees settlements in the northern West Bank, welcomed the decision, saying “We expect this government to continue to keep to its commitments and to strengthen the settlements and, as a result, all of Israel.”The Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement last Wednesday that the plan was “presented by the defense minister last year and approved by the cabinet.” Since that time, it noted, “over 10,000 homes have been approved for planning and construction in the Jewish communities.”However, the next day Environment Minister Ze’ev Elkin (Likud) slammed the proposal, saying, “A government of the nationalist camp cannot accept such a reality.”“As far as I recall, the plan, to this extent, was never discussed by the cabinet,” Elkin said. “Advancing the plan without an exhaustive discussion by the cabinet, is in my opinion, an attempt by senior ranks of the army to shape a new reality behind politicians’ backs, and I cannot agree with it.”The proposed construction will allow homes to be built up to 50 meters (54 yards) from the security barrier, despite the general rule banning construction within 200 meters (218 yards).Bennett and fellow party member Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said Thursday that although they approved of a “carrot and stick” approach to the Palestinians, “there is no doubt that the plan seems worse compared to the very limited scope of construction approved by the prime minister for Israeli communities,” Channel 2 news reported.They called on the prime minister to freeze the plan until it had received cabinet approval.Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely (Likud) called for a parallel increase in Jewish construction while fellow Likud lawmaker, Tourism Minister Yariv Levin, said the plan should be contingent on the behavior of the Palestinian leadership.
PM’s office backs mystery Qalqilya plan approval amid ministers’ denials-Ministers deny there was a cabinet meeting that decided to add 14,000 housing units to Palestinian city; Netanyahu’s office says otherwise-By Raoul Wootliff June 18, 2017, 9:14 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Sunday stood by a statement from last week, confirming a plan allowing the Palestinian Authority to expand the city of Qalqilya in the West Bank, even as several ministers said they had no recollection of approving the proposal.“There is no change in the information we put out last week,” a PMO spokesperson told The Times of Israel.However, it comes amid reports that Netanyahu told the cabinet that he planned to overturn the decision.The plan, first reported by Channel 2 news on Wednesday, would see 14,000 new apartments built on 2,500 dunams (617 acres) in Israeli-controlled Area C surrounding the city and would potentially double the city’s population from 50,000 to 110,000.Under the 1995 Oslo Accords, administration of the West Bank was divided into three categories: Area A under full Palestinian control, Area B under joint Israeli-Palestinian control, and Area C under full Israeli control.Responding to the report, and fierce opposition voiced by settler leaders, the Prime Minister’s Office said last Wednesday that the proposal was “presented by the defense minister last year and approved by the cabinet.” Since that time, it noted, “over 10,000 homes have been approved for planning and construction in the Jewish communities.”But on Sunday morning, after several right-wing ministers denounced the scheme and claimed it had not been reviewed properly by the cabinet, Netanyahu reportedly told government ministers that he too does not remember the 2016 decision and would work towards cancelling the expansion.Responding to the report, Education Minister Naftali Bennett, who leads the settlement-supporting Jewish Home party, lauded the apparent decision, tweeting that “in light of the Palestinian incitement [to commit terror attacks] we should not give them a prize of 14,000 homes along Route 6. I hope that this time everyone will join us in our position.”Qalqilya is mostly surrounded by Israel’s security barrier and lies opposite the country’s central region only a few kilometers from Kfar Saba, north of Tel Aviv. The trans-Israel highway, Route 6, passes right next to the city.Ministers Gilad Erdan and Yisrael Katz later denied that the cabinet had debated the plan.“I don’t understand who gave the Civil Administration the authority to approve such a large-scale building plan,” Erdan told Army Radio.“The Qalqilya plan was never presented. I never approved it or even voted for it,” Katz tweeted.The PMO spokesman, however, refused to confirm that Netanyahu would revisit the cabinet debate.On Sunday night, Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council that oversees settlements in the northern West Bank, led a protest on the outskirts of Qalqilya, calling on the government to cancel the decision.“We expect this government to continue to keep to its commitments and to strengthen the settlements and, as a result, all of Israel,” Dagan said, slamming what he called a “unacceptable” lull in settlement building.Jacob Magid and Raphael Ahren contributed to this report.
MKs criticize Netanyahu in wake of Jerusalem terror attack-Opposition legislators urge separation from Palestinians, accuse PM of failing to take necessary actions to thwart stabbings and shootings-By Times of Israel staff June 17, 2017, 6:41 pm
In the wake of Friday’s deadly terror attack in Jerusalem, members of the opposition on Saturday criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the conflict with the Palestinians, and urged the government to work toward a two-state solution in order to allow Israel to better defend itself.“We are in the midst of a terror wave that we’re not really noticing, but sporadic terror incidents are happening on a daily basis,” said Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog, speaking in Ramat Yishai in northern Israel.“In the end, the question is if we can change the reality,” Herzog said. “Even in these difficult days we need to think above the fray, and take advantage of historical opportunities to separate from the Palestinians.”Meanwhile, fellow Zionist Union MK Omer Bar Lev accused Netanyahu of failing to take the actions necessary to thwart terrorist attacks, and asserted that the Israeli leadership was not acting in the best interest of its citizens. “The government is abandoning the residents of Israel out of total surrender to the [Jewish West Bank] settlers,” he said during an event in the central Israeli city of Rehovot. “The right-wing government is not doing everything possible to prevent such attacks.”Zehava Galon, head of the left-wing Meretz party, charged that the prime minister had no concrete plan on how to address Palestinian terrorism. “Prime Minister Netanyahu has no solution to the reality of the terrorist attacks in Jerusalem,” Galon said. “His conception that it is possible to ‘manage the conflict’ with the Palestinians on a low flame has collapsed time and time again. Fifty years of control over millions of people and we see that this flame is sitting on a barrel of explosives, and the price is heavy.”Friday’s attack saw three Palestinians armed with an automatic weapon and knives carry out near simultaneous assaults at two adjacent locations before they were shot and killed. The three attackers were shot dead in the course of the attacks.Staff Sergeant Hadas Malka, 23, was critically injured when she was stabbed on Sultan Suleiman Street near Damascus Gate. She was transferred to Hadassah Hospital Mount Scopus in Jerusalem where she underwent emergency surgery but later succumbed to her injuries.At least four more people were injured in the attacks, including another cop. They all sustained light to moderate wounds and were being treated in hospital.The Shin Bet security service named the three assailants as Adel Ankush, 18, Bra’a Saleh Atta, 19, and Usama Ahmed Atta, 19, all from the West Bank village of Deir Abu-Mash’al near Ramallah.All three had been arrested for or involved in “popular terror activity,” a Shin Bet statement read.The attack was carried out by “two Palestinians from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and a third from Hamas,” Hamas said early Saturday, dismissing a claim of responsibility by Islamic State.Israeli officials cast doubt on both claims, saying there was no indication of IS involvement, and that the attack did not appear to have been directed by any group.Since September 2015, mainly Palestinian assailants have killed 43 Israelis, two visiting Americans and a British student, mainly in stabbing, shooting and vehicular attacks. In that time, some 250 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, a majority of them attackers, according to authorities.Israel has blamed the terrorism and violence on incitement by Palestinian political and religious leaders compounded on social media sites that glorify violence and encourage attacks.Hamas praised Friday’s attack, saying in a statement Friday evening that “the attack in Jerusalem is new proof that the Palestinian people continue their revolution against the occupiers and that the intifada will continue until complete freedom is achieved.”Agencies contributed to this report.
After deadly attack, Israel mulls new security strategy for Damascus Gate-Shin Bet says it’s yet to verify various claims of responsibility for terror assault that killed Border Police officer Hadas Malka-By Judah Ari Gross June 18, 2017, 5:00 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Following a spate of deadly attacks at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City, officials have started working on a plan to beef up security in the area that could involve turning it into a “sterile area,” police said SundayThe latest attack Friday, in which 23-year-old border guard Hadas Malka was stabbed to death, was only the most recent at the Damascus Gate, which has seen dozens of stabbings and shooting attempts, many of them successful, over the past two years.On Saturday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he was considering turning the Damascus Gate area into a “sterile area,” but declined to elaborate on what that would mean.Netanyahu repeated his call at the start of Sunday’s cabinet meeting. “I have instructed the police to reinforce security arrangements and checking procedures in the plaza around Damascus Gate,” he said.A police official said on Sunday that the discussions on if or how the security procedures around the busy Old City entrance would change were being held with “consultation from high-level political leadership.”“A proposal was made, and the topic is still in the stages of study and discussion,” the spokesperson said.“It’s still too early to establish [the plan] and make pronouncements,” she added.The police said they were working with the Shin Bet security service to investigate how exactly the stabbing took place, including how an armed terrorist was able to walk up behind an armed border guard without being noticed.The Damascus Gate, the main entrance into the Muslim Quarter, is usually teeming with local residents and tourists and already has a constant, extensive presence of security personnel, with Border Police officers spread throughout the area on foot patrols, on horseback and behind barriers.The police official would not elaborate on what measures were being discussed, if the new proposals would simply be a reinforcement of the current strategy or if the police would be setting up security checkpoints and metal detectors in the area surrounding the Damascus Gate.Friday’s attack was carried out by three Palestinian men — Usama Ahmed Mustafa Atta, Adel Hassan Ahmad Ankush and Bra’a Ibrahim Muhammad Saleh Atta — from the West Bank village of Deir Abu-Mashal, near Ramallah.In a well-organized attack, two members of the cell first opened fire at Border Police officers with automatic weapons and then the third jumped Malka from behind as her team responded to the initial gunfire. He stabbed her to death as she fought back and tried to shoot him. All three attackers were ultimately shot dead by border guards.Shortly afterwards, the Islamic State terror group took responsibility for the attack. Hamas rejected the Islamic State’s claim, saying that it was carried out by “two Palestinians from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and a third from Hamas.”The ongoing, though waning, terror wave that began in October 2015 has been marked by attacks carried out by so-called “lone wolves,” who act without direct organizational support or instruction, unlike in the Second Intifada when established terror groups directed the attacks.The Shin Bet security service said Sunday that it was still investigating the various claims of responsibility but “at this point there has been no verification of the publications connecting Daesh” —the Islamic State’s Arabic nickname — “or other groups” to Friday’s attack.The Islamic State’s claim of responsibly, though suspect, came as a surprise in Israel, which has yet to suffer an attack by the group of this nature. The group has carried out rocket attacks, and its predecessor Ansar Bait al-Maqdis also shot at Israeli troops.) The month of Ramadan is seen as a particularly tense period in the West Bank and Israel. Last year saw the deadly Sarona Market terror attack, in which four people were killed and over a dozen were wounded, take place during Ramadan.While there are heightened security fears during the month-long holiday, Israel also granted hundreds of thousands of special permits to Palestinians allowing them to enter Jerusalem in order to pray on the Temple Mount and visit family members in Israel.Following Friday’s terror attack, Netanyahu rescinded some 250,000 special entry permits for Ramadan. He did not, however, revoke permission for West Bank males over 40 to enter Jerusalem for Ramadan prayers.Since September 2015, mainly Palestinian assailants have killed 43 Israelis, two visiting Americans, a Palestinian man and a British student, mainly in stabbing, shooting and vehicular attacks. In that time, some 250 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, a majority of them attackers, according to authorities.The Israeli government has blamed the terrorism and violence on incitement by Palestinian political and religious leaders compounded on social media sites that glorify violence and encourage attacks.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Abbas’s Fatah slams Israel for killing 3 Palestinians carrying out fatal attack-After West Bankers are shot dead during Jerusalem attack in which they killed Border Police officer Hadas Malka, Fatah accuses Israel of ‘war crime’-By Times of Israel staff June 17, 2017, 2:23 am
Fatah, the political faction of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, condemned Israel for killing three Palestinians who killed Israeli police officer Hadas Malka and injured four others in a stabbing and shooting terror attack in Jerusalem on Friday.In a statement, Fatah called the deaths of the three assailants, who attacked at two locations near Jerusalem’s Old City, a “war crime.”Hamas said all three of the assailants were members of Palestinian terrorist organizations.Fatah “condemns the war crime carried out by Israeli occupation forces in Jerusalem against three Palestinian teens,” spokesperson Osama al- Kawasme said in a statement. Fatah added that “the international community’s silence emboldened Israel to further spill the blood of Palestinians.”The three West Bankers, armed with an automatic weapon and knives, carried out near simultaneous attacks at two adjacent locations. Two attacked a group of police officers at Zedekiah’s Cave with an automatic weapon and knives, and a third stabbed Malka a short distance away at Damascus Gate.The 23-year-old staff sergeant died of her wounds at Hadassah Hospital in Mount Scopus. Four other people were lightly and moderately injured in the attack — including a policeman and two East Jerusalem Palestinians. Some reports said the gun used by the attackers jammed, preventing further casualties.The attackers were identified by the Shin Bet internal security agency as Bra’a Saleh Atta and Usama Atta, both born in 1998, and Adel Ankush, born the following year. They were shot dead by security forces as they carried out their attacks.The three were from Deir Abu-Mashal, a village near Ramallah. All had previously been arrested for or involved in terrorist activity, a Shin Bet statement said. Security forces late Friday night surrounded Deir Abu-Mash’al, and were preparing to raid the assailants’ homes to question their family members regarding the attack.Hamas, the terrorist organization that rules the Gaza Strip, also condemned the shooting of the three attackers as a “crime by the occupation.”A spokesman for the movement, Hazem Qassem, said the attack was “proof that the Palestinian people are leading a revolution against the enemy.”He also said the attack showed that the Palestinian Authority’s policy of security coordination with Israel was wrong, calling it “a national crime.”Hamas dismissed a claim of responsibility for the attack by Islamic State, and said all three assailants were members of Palestinian terrorist organizations. The attack was carried out by “two Palestinians from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and a third from Hamas,” Hamas said early Saturday.In the wake of the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revoked the entry permits given to Palestinians during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan to visit their relatives in Israel.Israel had eased restrictions on the entrance of Palestinians from the West Bank for Ramadan, including permitting daily family visits during Sundays through Thursdays.Netanyahu canceled the family visits at the recommendation of Chief of Police Roni Alsheich and Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, according to a police statement.Netanyahu, however, did not revoke the permission given to Palestinian men aged over 40 from the West Bank to enter Jerusalem for Friday prayers, police said.Israel last month announced that it was relaxing restrictions on the movement of Palestinians to and from the West Bank and Gaza Strip during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, including easier access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, issuing more travel permits and allowing some to travel abroad. The measures were similar to those of previous years.Over the past 18 months the Old City, and the Damascus Gate in particular, have seen several attacks by Palestinians, and in one case a Jordanian national.Since September 2015, some 43 Israelis, two visiting Americans, an Eritrean national, a Palestinian man and a British student have been killed in stabbing, shooting and vehicular attacks by Palestinian assailants. In that time, more than 270 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, a majority of them attackers, according to authorities.Israel has blamed the violence and terrorism on incitement by Palestinian political and religious leaders compounded on social media sites that glorify violence and encourage attacks.
Parole board to rule on Olmert’s early release next week-State prosecutor argues jailed former PM should not have sentence reduced while police investigate his handling of sensitive info-By Raoul Wootliff June 18, 2017, 7:54 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
The Prisons Service parole board will announce next week whether it will grant an early release for jailed former prime minister Ehud Olmert, the body said Sunday, after a hearing with the one-time premier.Olmert, who is serving a 27-month sentence for various corruption convictions, is seeking to have a third of his sentence cut off.The decision will be given, on Thursday, June 29, the board said. The announcement came days after the State Prosecutor’s Office asked police to open a criminal investigation into Olmert over his alleged divulging of sensitive information in the memoirs he is writing.The state requested last week that Olmert’s hearing be postponed a second time to allow police to complete their inquiry, but was denied by a judge. On June 1, the state had won an initial postponement of the hearing, as it sought to submit classified materials to the parole board that would require the committee members to obtain appropriate security clearance.Representatives of the State Prosecutor’s Office argued in the parole hearing Sunday that it would be inappropriate to consider an early release until the probe was completed and it was clear whether Olmert had engaged in illegal activity. Olmert’s lawyers pointed to their client’s “impeccable” record during his prison service to date and said the latest allegations do not constitute grounds to disregard his good behavior.On Thursday, police raided the offices of the Yedioth Books publishing house in the central town of Rishon Lezion in a search for classified material that may have been provided by Olmert. They also raided the home of Yehuda Yaari, who is editing Olmert’s memoirs on behalf of the publisher.“Olmert has been writing his book while incarcerated,” the state prosecution said in a statement Thursday. “Parts of the book deal with sensitive security issues. Recently, an incident took place in which one of Olmert’s lawyers was caught as he left the prison with a chapter of the book… The chapter includes, among other things, secret operational details that were not approved for publication in the past.”Olmert has insisted he was not trying to skirt any laws.“I have never been told that it is forbidden to transfer written material,” he said, according to Channel 2 news. “The lawyers are involved with my writing, and go over all the material.”Olmert was one of eight former officials and businessmen convicted in March 2014 in the Holyland real estate corruption case, which has been characterized as among the largest graft cases in Israel’s history.In September 2016, he was sentenced to an additional eight months behind bars for the so-called Talansky affair. In that case, a court upheld a 2015 conviction over his accepting envelopes full of cash from American businessman and fundraiser Morris Talansky, in exchange for political favors during his decade-long term as mayor from 1993 to 2003.The Prisons Service refitted a wing in the Ma’asiyahu Prison in Ramle to house Olmert, the first former premier to serve jail time, keeping him in a separate complex shared only by carefully screened fellow convicts.Olmert, who began serving his sentence in February 2016, is seeking early release. The law allows authorities to reduce sentences by a third for good behavior.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Israeli ministers approve bill to outlaw entire binary options industry-Draft law — prompted by Times of Israel reporting on decade-old, multi-billion dollar fraud — welcomed by Israel’s securities regulator and attorney-general-By Simona Weinglass June 18, 2017, 5:10 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
The Israeli cabinet on Sunday approved a bill to ban the entire binary options industry, a multi-billion dollar, widely fraudulent, Israel-based enterprise, whose activities have been exposed in a series of articles by The Times of Israel since March 2016.The bill was immediately also approved by the Ministerial Committee on Legislation, and will now go to the Knesset plenary for a first reading. It will then be debated by the Knesset Finance Committee, ahead of a second and third reading in the plenary.Israel Securities Authority Chairman Shmuel Hauser, who drafted the law together with the attorney general and Justice Ministry, welcomed the ministerial approval of the law.“Beyond the terrible economic harm to citizens around the world, sellers of binary options are causing increasing, accelerating ruinous damage to Israel and are inflaming anti-Semitism and anti-Israel feeling,” Hauser said in a statement after the bill was advanced.Once passed, and following a three-month interim period, the law will allow the ISA to prosecute and jail anyone still peddling binary options from within Israeli territory to anybody, anywhere.Fraudulent Israeli binary options companies, which employ thousands of Israelis, ostensibly offer customers worldwide a potentially profitable short-term investment, but in reality — through rigged trading platforms, refusal to pay out, and other ruses — these companies fleece the vast majority of customers of most or all of their money.“I welcome the important decision that the cabinet took today,” said Eli Groner, the director-general of the Prime Minister’s Office. Last October, alerted by The Times of Israel to the massive, decade-old, Israel-centered fraud, the Prime Minister’s Office issued a call for binary options dealing to be banned worldwide.“As part of our commitment, we are continuing our actions against binary options that cause damage to Israel’s image in the world. After we saw that other countries are not outlawing binary options, Israel is taking responsibility in order to prevent the defrauding of innocent people,” Groner said on Sunday.Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit also welcomed the vote. In a statement, the attorney general’s office wrote that he “has directed various law enforcement agents to act to eradicate the criminal phenomena associated with these online trading platforms, which in recent years mostly target people abroad.”Jason Roy, chairman of Canada’s Binary Options task force, also expressed satisfaction. “The world has woken up to this global fraud and we are seeing governments, securities regulators, law enforcement, credit card companies and social media companies all working together to protect people,” Roy told The Times of Israel.Unveiled at a session of the State Control Committee on February 28, the bill to ban the industry languished for several months amid rumors that lobbyists for binary options brokers were working to block its passage at the Ministerial Committee for Legislation. Proponents of the industry argued strenuously against a ban at the February meeting of the State Control Committee.Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, who presented the bill to the cabinet, is a firm supporter of the proposed law. The legislation is also backed by the State Control Committee’s chair, opposition Yesh Atid MK Karin Elharar.The draft legislation was approved by ministers more than a year after The Times of Israel began exposing the widespread fraudulent practices of the binary options industry. Last August, Hauser promised he would take the necessary steps to thwart the fraudsters. That same month, Jewish Agency chief Natan Sharansky urged the government to close down the “repugnant, immoral” industry.Israel banned binary options firms from targeting Israelis more than a year ago. The proposed law greenlighted on Sunday bans all binary options trading, period, and thus aims to put a complete halt to the blight of Israeli binary options firms duping victims all over the world into parting with their money. (The draft law also targets unregulated forex and CFD companies operating from Israel, requiring them to obtain a specific license to operate in any country where they have customers. Many such companies operating from Israel also engage in fraudulent practices.) Speaking on Channel 2’s “Meet the Press” program on Saturday, Hauser said that his authority had received hundreds of complaints from victims of the scam as well as from financial regulators around the world.“The [overseas] regulators tell us, ‘You have to do something, it’s like you’re turning a blind eye to this,’” he said. “I’m telling you,” Hauser added, “these binary options are a greater cause of anti-Semitism than any other factor. This is stoking anti-Semitism.”At a recent global meeting of securities regulators, he added, dozens of officials, from the United States, Canada, Belgium, France and beyond, all lined up and said to the Israeli officials, “You have to do something.”Hauser also mentioned two deaths as a result of binary options fraud. Last December, Canadian businessman Fred Turbide died by suicide after losing most of his life’s savings to an Israeli binary options company called 23Traders. Just recently, the Israel Securities Authority learned of another death, of an elderly woman on the island of Sardinia who lost a large sum to an Israeli binary options firm.Apple earlier this month banned binary options trading apps from its online store. In March, the FBI placed a public warning against binary options fraud at the top of its website.The Times of Israel, beginning with a March 2016 article entitled “The wolves of Tel Aviv: Israel’s vast, amoral binary options scam exposed,” has exposed the largely fraudulent Israel-based industry that has been stealing billions of dollars from hundreds of thousands of victims worldwide for the past decade.The proposed law would give the ISA the authority to impose penalties of up to two years in prison to anyone who violates the ban.The law would apply to anyone who “manages an online trading platform” that either sells binary options abroad or sells another financial product in a country where it lacks a license. The proposed law defines managing an online trading platform as “making strategic decisions for a company that manages the trading web site” or “operating the web site, including through software or hardware systems, call centers or online or telephone marketing, either directly or through a company that manages the trading web site or provides services to the web site.”The Israeli binary options industry, which has flourished for a decade with almost no intervention by Israeli law enforcement, has been estimated to bring in between $5 billion and $10 billion a year, to number well over 100 companies, and to employ between 5,000 and many tens of thousands of employees.Last month, in a move that indicated the Israel Police had finally begun to tackle the multi-billion dollar global fraud, Eliran Saada, the Tel Aviv owner of a fraudulent binary options firm, was arrested on suspicion of aggravated fraud, misrepresentation, false accounting, forgery, extortion and blackmail.In recent months, in anticipation of the proposed law, several binary options companies have shut down, while many have relocated their call centers abroad, including to Ukraine and elsewhere in Eastern Europe.
