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
US official blasts deal that moved Islamic State fighters from Lebanon border-Lebanese army buses hundreds of jihadists out of combat zone in return for info on missing soldiers-By AP August 30, 2017, 4:01 pm
BEIRUT — A US official on Wednesday blasted a deal that led to the evacuation of hundreds of Islamic State group fighters and civilians from the Lebanon-Syria border to areas close to Iraq, saying the extremists should be killed on the battlefield.The evacuation agreement, the first such publicized deal, had already angered many Iraqis who accused Syria and Lebanon’s Hezbollah of dumping the militants on the Iraqi border rather than eradicating them.The top US envoy for the international coalition against IS, Brett McGurk, tweeted on Wednesday that IS “terrorists should be killed on the battlefield, not bused across #Syria to the Iraqi border without #Iraq’s consent.” McGurk added that the anti-IS coalition will help ensure that “these terrorists can never” enter Iraq.Lebanese troops launched an attack against IS on August 18 while Syrian troops and Hezbollah fighters launched a simultaneous offensive from the Syrian side of the border. Once IS extremists were squeezed over the weekend in a small part of the border area they agreed to a ceasefire.Lebanon has defended its stance of not totally crushing IS saying that the evacuation of IS militants from the area helped in revealing the fate of nine soldiers that the extremists kidnapped in 2014.Lebanese President Michel Aoun declared victory against IS Wednesday in a live statement from the presidential palace. Aoun praised the Lebanese army for carrying out the operation that ended with the deal to evacuate IS fighters and their families in return for information about nine troops who were kidnapped by IS in August 2014.The remains of several people have been uncovered in the border area where IS had a presence and DNA tests are underway to identify whether they belong to the missing soldiers. Lebanese officials say they are almost sure the remains are of the soldiers.“Our only consolation is that we knew the fate of the soldiers,” the president said. “We wish they were celebrating with us.”Army commander Gen. Joseph Aoun told reporters later Wednesday that as the army offensive against IS was ongoing, the Lebanese mediator called him to say that the extremists accepted a cease-fire in return for information about the fate of the soldiers.“I had one of two choices. Either to go on with the battle and not know the fate of the soldiers or succumb and know the fate of the soldiers,” Aoun said.The Lebanese army commander added that he cares most about the life of his soldiers and that one of the main achievements was to win the battle without going on with it till the end.In the Syrian capital Damascus, President Bashar Assad received Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari who is on a visit to Syria. State media gave no further details.Iran has been one of Assad’s main backers since Syria’s crisis began in March 2011.
Trump says ‘talking is not the answer’ with North Korea-On heels of North's missile test over Japan, president tweets that US has paid Pyongyang 'extortion money' for 25 years-By Jill Colvin-August 30, 2017, 5:20 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says that “Talking is not the answer” when it comes to North Korea. And he’s claiming the US has been paying North Koreans what he calls “extortion money” for decades.“The US has been talking to North Korea, and paying them extortion money, for 25 years,” Trump tweeted Wednesday morning, adding: “Talking is not the answer!”The tweet comes on the heels of the North’s recent missile test over Japan, a close American ally.Trump’s tweet did not spell out what he meant by “extortion” in the current standoff over North Korea’s nuclear program, and the White House did not immediately respond to questions.The U.S. has been talking to North Korea, and paying them extortion money, for 25 years. Talking is not the answer!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 30, 2017-North Korea has in the past temporarily halted nuclear development when the US and others provided food aid or other types of compensation. But the North hasn’t been making such demands, at least publicly, since Trump came into office. Instead, it has been focused on finishing its decades-long effort to master the technology for fitting a nuclear warhead on a missile that can striking the US mainland, calling such capability essential for its national defense.Trump’s assessment about the need for dialogue also appears at odds with his top diplomat, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who had in recent weeks been softening the conditions for a possible, formal dialogue with Pyongyang. The US also has been maintaining a diplomatic back channel with North Korea.Trump offered a surprisingly subdued response to Pyongyang’s latest missile test Tuesday, avoiding a repeat of his bombastic warnings earlier this month of a potential military confrontation.Nonetheless, US officials announced Wednesday morning that they had conducted a missile defense test that resulted in the successful intercept of a medium-range ballistic missile off the coast of Hawaii. The test was conducted by the Missile Defense Agency and US Navy sailors.“We are working closely with the fleet to develop this important new capability, and this was a key milestone in giving our Aegis BMD ships an enhanced capability to defeat ballistic missiles in their terminal phase,” Missile Defense Agency Director Lt. Gen. Sam Greaves said in a statement. “We will continue developing ballistic missile defense technologies to stay ahead of the threat as it evolves.”
US envoy calls on Hamas to return prisoners, IDF soldiers’ bodies-During tour of Gaza border area, Jason Greenblatt condemns terror group for its 'commitment to terrorist violence'-By Alexander Fulbright-August 30, 2017, 7:00 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
US President Donald Trump’s peace envoy toured the area around the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, and called on Hamas to release the bodies of two IDF soldiers and a number of Israeli citizens the terror group is holding.“I again call upon Hamas to return the IDF soldiers, Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, who were taken by Hamas, and I call on Hamas to release the Israeli civilians they are holding — Avraham Abera Mengistu, Hisham al-Sayed and Juma Ibrahim Abu Ghanima,” Jason Greenblatt said.He was accompanied on his tour by the IDF general responsible for coordinating civilian affairs in the West Bank and Gaza, who said Israel will not “enable significant development” in the coastal enclave until Hamas, which controls Gaza, releases the bodies of the soldiers.“The mission of returning the missing IDF soldiers has yet to be completed and we will not enable significant development in the Strip without a solution,” Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Maj-Gen Yoav Mordechai said.The issue of the bodies of the missing soldiers and Israeli citizens again become an issue of national debate in the past week following the resignation of Lior Lotan, who was appointed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to oversee efforts to come to an agreement with Hamas.The Palestinian group has been holding the bodies of Goldin and Shaul since the two were killed in the Gaza Strip during 2014’s Operation Protective Edge. The terror group is also believed to be holding Mengistu, al-Sayed and Abu Ghanima — who are all said to have entered Gaza on their own accord.During his tour of the Gaza area, Greenblatt visited Kerem Shalom, the main crossing through which goods are transferred from Israel to the Strip, as well as the Erez civilian crossing, where he spoke with Palestinian residents of Gaza.“Today I visited the Gaza border region and learned a great deal about the difficult challenges facing the IDF, Israelis living in surrounding areas and the Palestinians living in Gaza as a result of Hamas’s mismanagement of humanitarian aid and its commitment to terrorist violence,” Greenblatt said.“It is clear that the Palestinian Authority needs to resume its role in the administration of Gaza as Hamas has substantially harmed the people of Gaza and has failed to meet their most basic needs,” he added.Greenblatt also toured a cross-border Hamas attack tunnel with Mordechai, who criticized the terror group for pouring resources into its military arm rather than seeking to improve the humanitarian conditions for Gaza residents.“One kilometer of a tunnel like this costs an estimated two hundred thousand dollars. For the same amount hospitals can be built in the Gaza Strip instead of tunnels, but Hamas’s priorities are first the military branches’ interests and terror and only then, as a low priority, supporting the civilian population,” Mordechai said.
UN chief calls Gaza a ‘dramatic humanitarian crisis,’ urges end to blockade-Antonio Guterres, visiting Hamas-run Palestinian coastal enclave, calls on Israel and Egypt to lift border restrictions-By Agencies-August 30, 2017, 2:02 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
UN chief Antonio Guterres called for the blockade of the Gaza Strip to be lifted Wednesday as he visited the Palestinian enclave which, he said, is enduring”one of the most dramatic humanitarian crises” he had seen.Guterres earlier visited Israeli communities near the border with Gaza.“I am deeply moved to be in Gaza today, unfortunately to witness one of the most dramatic humanitarian crises that I’ve seen in many years working as a humanitarian in the United Nations,” Guterres said.He later said it was “important to open the closures,” in reference to Israel and Egypt’s blockade of Gaza.Israel says the blockade it imposed a decade ago is necessary to prevent Hamas from smuggling in weapons to Gaza or the materials need to make them. Goods heading for Gaza are first shipped to Israel for inspection and then trucked into the Palestinian territory after items considered a security risk are removed.Egypt only allows the opening of the Gaza’s southern border occasionally.Hamas, the Islamist terror group that runs the Gaza Strip, welcomed the trip, calling it an “important visit,” but small demonstrations against the UN head also occurred.At one protest, around 25 people held a fake coffin with a sign that said “Welcome to the largest prison in the world.”In a statement issued upon Guterres’s arrival, Hamas also demanded he approve relief and development programs and pressure Israel about the Palestinian prisoners it holds.Guterres, who held talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in Jerusalem and Ramallah on Monday and Tuesday, was to visit a school in the Strip run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.Hamas called on Guterres to make “all efforts to lift the siege on the Strip and end the suffering for two million Palestinians living in the largest prison in the world.”Guterres is on his first visit to the region since taking office at the beginning of the year. His meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders are aimed at encouraging the resumption of peace talks.The Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli blockade for a decade, while its sole crossing with Egypt has also been largely closed in recent years.At least 70 percent of Gazans are dependent upon international aid. UNRWA plays a major role in the Strip, with the same percentage of the population classified as refugees.Hamas has largely observed a truce with Israel since the last battle, in 2014, though more radical groups in the territory have carried out occasional attacks.Egypt and Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza after the Hamas takeover that has crippled the local economy. In recent years, Egypt has also cracked down on the once-vibrant tunnel trade along the border. Israel began construction of an underground anti-tunnel barrier along the border last year.UN officials have however called for the blockade to be lifted, saying the enclave is fast becoming unlivable, with sparse electricity and a lack of clean water.Before crossing into the Gaza Strip, Israeli officials gave Guterres a tour of the Gaza border area and he was shown a tunnel, dug by terrorists, crossing from the Gaza Strip into Israel.Such tunnels, used by Hamas for terror attacks in the past, are a major concern for Israel.Guterres, who took office at the start of the year, was later due to give a speech in Tel Aviv before departing following his three-day visit.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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
US official blasts deal that moved Islamic State fighters from Lebanon border-Lebanese army buses hundreds of jihadists out of combat zone in return for info on missing soldiers-By AP August 30, 2017, 4:01 pm
BEIRUT — A US official on Wednesday blasted a deal that led to the evacuation of hundreds of Islamic State group fighters and civilians from the Lebanon-Syria border to areas close to Iraq, saying the extremists should be killed on the battlefield.The evacuation agreement, the first such publicized deal, had already angered many Iraqis who accused Syria and Lebanon’s Hezbollah of dumping the militants on the Iraqi border rather than eradicating them.The top US envoy for the international coalition against IS, Brett McGurk, tweeted on Wednesday that IS “terrorists should be killed on the battlefield, not bused across #Syria to the Iraqi border without #Iraq’s consent.” McGurk added that the anti-IS coalition will help ensure that “these terrorists can never” enter Iraq.Lebanese troops launched an attack against IS on August 18 while Syrian troops and Hezbollah fighters launched a simultaneous offensive from the Syrian side of the border. Once IS extremists were squeezed over the weekend in a small part of the border area they agreed to a ceasefire.Lebanon has defended its stance of not totally crushing IS saying that the evacuation of IS militants from the area helped in revealing the fate of nine soldiers that the extremists kidnapped in 2014.Lebanese President Michel Aoun declared victory against IS Wednesday in a live statement from the presidential palace. Aoun praised the Lebanese army for carrying out the operation that ended with the deal to evacuate IS fighters and their families in return for information about nine troops who were kidnapped by IS in August 2014.The remains of several people have been uncovered in the border area where IS had a presence and DNA tests are underway to identify whether they belong to the missing soldiers. Lebanese officials say they are almost sure the remains are of the soldiers.“Our only consolation is that we knew the fate of the soldiers,” the president said. “We wish they were celebrating with us.”Army commander Gen. Joseph Aoun told reporters later Wednesday that as the army offensive against IS was ongoing, the Lebanese mediator called him to say that the extremists accepted a cease-fire in return for information about the fate of the soldiers.“I had one of two choices. Either to go on with the battle and not know the fate of the soldiers or succumb and know the fate of the soldiers,” Aoun said.The Lebanese army commander added that he cares most about the life of his soldiers and that one of the main achievements was to win the battle without going on with it till the end.In the Syrian capital Damascus, President Bashar Assad received Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari who is on a visit to Syria. State media gave no further details.Iran has been one of Assad’s main backers since Syria’s crisis began in March 2011.
Trump says ‘talking is not the answer’ with North Korea-On heels of North's missile test over Japan, president tweets that US has paid Pyongyang 'extortion money' for 25 years-By Jill Colvin-August 30, 2017, 5:20 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says that “Talking is not the answer” when it comes to North Korea. And he’s claiming the US has been paying North Koreans what he calls “extortion money” for decades.“The US has been talking to North Korea, and paying them extortion money, for 25 years,” Trump tweeted Wednesday morning, adding: “Talking is not the answer!”The tweet comes on the heels of the North’s recent missile test over Japan, a close American ally.Trump’s tweet did not spell out what he meant by “extortion” in the current standoff over North Korea’s nuclear program, and the White House did not immediately respond to questions.The U.S. has been talking to North Korea, and paying them extortion money, for 25 years. Talking is not the answer!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 30, 2017-North Korea has in the past temporarily halted nuclear development when the US and others provided food aid or other types of compensation. But the North hasn’t been making such demands, at least publicly, since Trump came into office. Instead, it has been focused on finishing its decades-long effort to master the technology for fitting a nuclear warhead on a missile that can striking the US mainland, calling such capability essential for its national defense.Trump’s assessment about the need for dialogue also appears at odds with his top diplomat, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who had in recent weeks been softening the conditions for a possible, formal dialogue with Pyongyang. The US also has been maintaining a diplomatic back channel with North Korea.Trump offered a surprisingly subdued response to Pyongyang’s latest missile test Tuesday, avoiding a repeat of his bombastic warnings earlier this month of a potential military confrontation.Nonetheless, US officials announced Wednesday morning that they had conducted a missile defense test that resulted in the successful intercept of a medium-range ballistic missile off the coast of Hawaii. The test was conducted by the Missile Defense Agency and US Navy sailors.“We are working closely with the fleet to develop this important new capability, and this was a key milestone in giving our Aegis BMD ships an enhanced capability to defeat ballistic missiles in their terminal phase,” Missile Defense Agency Director Lt. Gen. Sam Greaves said in a statement. “We will continue developing ballistic missile defense technologies to stay ahead of the threat as it evolves.”
US envoy calls on Hamas to return prisoners, IDF soldiers’ bodies-During tour of Gaza border area, Jason Greenblatt condemns terror group for its 'commitment to terrorist violence'-By Alexander Fulbright-August 30, 2017, 7:00 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
US President Donald Trump’s peace envoy toured the area around the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, and called on Hamas to release the bodies of two IDF soldiers and a number of Israeli citizens the terror group is holding.“I again call upon Hamas to return the IDF soldiers, Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, who were taken by Hamas, and I call on Hamas to release the Israeli civilians they are holding — Avraham Abera Mengistu, Hisham al-Sayed and Juma Ibrahim Abu Ghanima,” Jason Greenblatt said.He was accompanied on his tour by the IDF general responsible for coordinating civilian affairs in the West Bank and Gaza, who said Israel will not “enable significant development” in the coastal enclave until Hamas, which controls Gaza, releases the bodies of the soldiers.“The mission of returning the missing IDF soldiers has yet to be completed and we will not enable significant development in the Strip without a solution,” Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Maj-Gen Yoav Mordechai said.The issue of the bodies of the missing soldiers and Israeli citizens again become an issue of national debate in the past week following the resignation of Lior Lotan, who was appointed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to oversee efforts to come to an agreement with Hamas.The Palestinian group has been holding the bodies of Goldin and Shaul since the two were killed in the Gaza Strip during 2014’s Operation Protective Edge. The terror group is also believed to be holding Mengistu, al-Sayed and Abu Ghanima — who are all said to have entered Gaza on their own accord.During his tour of the Gaza area, Greenblatt visited Kerem Shalom, the main crossing through which goods are transferred from Israel to the Strip, as well as the Erez civilian crossing, where he spoke with Palestinian residents of Gaza.“Today I visited the Gaza border region and learned a great deal about the difficult challenges facing the IDF, Israelis living in surrounding areas and the Palestinians living in Gaza as a result of Hamas’s mismanagement of humanitarian aid and its commitment to terrorist violence,” Greenblatt said.“It is clear that the Palestinian Authority needs to resume its role in the administration of Gaza as Hamas has substantially harmed the people of Gaza and has failed to meet their most basic needs,” he added.Greenblatt also toured a cross-border Hamas attack tunnel with Mordechai, who criticized the terror group for pouring resources into its military arm rather than seeking to improve the humanitarian conditions for Gaza residents.“One kilometer of a tunnel like this costs an estimated two hundred thousand dollars. For the same amount hospitals can be built in the Gaza Strip instead of tunnels, but Hamas’s priorities are first the military branches’ interests and terror and only then, as a low priority, supporting the civilian population,” Mordechai said.
UN chief calls Gaza a ‘dramatic humanitarian crisis,’ urges end to blockade-Antonio Guterres, visiting Hamas-run Palestinian coastal enclave, calls on Israel and Egypt to lift border restrictions-By Agencies-August 30, 2017, 2:02 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
UN chief Antonio Guterres called for the blockade of the Gaza Strip to be lifted Wednesday as he visited the Palestinian enclave which, he said, is enduring”one of the most dramatic humanitarian crises” he had seen.Guterres earlier visited Israeli communities near the border with Gaza.“I am deeply moved to be in Gaza today, unfortunately to witness one of the most dramatic humanitarian crises that I’ve seen in many years working as a humanitarian in the United Nations,” Guterres said.He later said it was “important to open the closures,” in reference to Israel and Egypt’s blockade of Gaza.Israel says the blockade it imposed a decade ago is necessary to prevent Hamas from smuggling in weapons to Gaza or the materials need to make them. Goods heading for Gaza are first shipped to Israel for inspection and then trucked into the Palestinian territory after items considered a security risk are removed.Egypt only allows the opening of the Gaza’s southern border occasionally.Hamas, the Islamist terror group that runs the Gaza Strip, welcomed the trip, calling it an “important visit,” but small demonstrations against the UN head also occurred.At one protest, around 25 people held a fake coffin with a sign that said “Welcome to the largest prison in the world.”In a statement issued upon Guterres’s arrival, Hamas also demanded he approve relief and development programs and pressure Israel about the Palestinian prisoners it holds.Guterres, who held talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in Jerusalem and Ramallah on Monday and Tuesday, was to visit a school in the Strip run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.Hamas called on Guterres to make “all efforts to lift the siege on the Strip and end the suffering for two million Palestinians living in the largest prison in the world.”Guterres is on his first visit to the region since taking office at the beginning of the year. His meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders are aimed at encouraging the resumption of peace talks.The Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli blockade for a decade, while its sole crossing with Egypt has also been largely closed in recent years.At least 70 percent of Gazans are dependent upon international aid. UNRWA plays a major role in the Strip, with the same percentage of the population classified as refugees.Hamas has largely observed a truce with Israel since the last battle, in 2014, though more radical groups in the territory have carried out occasional attacks.Egypt and Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza after the Hamas takeover that has crippled the local economy. In recent years, Egypt has also cracked down on the once-vibrant tunnel trade along the border. Israel began construction of an underground anti-tunnel barrier along the border last year.UN officials have however called for the blockade to be lifted, saying the enclave is fast becoming unlivable, with sparse electricity and a lack of clean water.Before crossing into the Gaza Strip, Israeli officials gave Guterres a tour of the Gaza border area and he was shown a tunnel, dug by terrorists, crossing from the Gaza Strip into Israel.Such tunnels, used by Hamas for terror attacks in the past, are a major concern for Israel.Guterres, who took office at the start of the year, was later due to give a speech in Tel Aviv before departing following his three-day visit.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
