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
New Jewish neighborhood reportedly planned for East Jerusalem-Government said to grant millions of shekels to build ten thousand homes in Atarot, near Arab town of Qalandiya; planning experts dismiss the idea-By TOI staff-OCT 26,17
The government has reportedly set aside millions of shekels to lay the groundwork for a new Jewish neighborhood in East Jerusalem.The plan is to build some ten thousand new homes for Jews in north Jerusalem, near the Arab town of Qalandiya, just a few miles south of Ramallah, the de facto capital of the Palestinian Authority, Channel 1 reported Wednesday.The treasury has already allocated the money to develop the project, the report said. However, planning experts in Jerusalem told Channel 1 it is “nothing less than a fantasy.”No new Jewish neighborhoods have been built in Jerusalem since the 1990s.“Building ten thousand homes in the Atarot area is a Zionist act, an important settlement of the first order,” Construction Minister Yoav Galant (Kulanu) said. “Today we are investing the first funds in planning to get the project started,” he added.Left-wing activist group Peace Now condemned the plan, calling it “crazy.”“This is a crazy plan, both politically and in terms of planning,” the group said. “It is an attempt to drive a wedge into the heart of an urban area of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. Since the neighborhood of Har Homa was established in the 1990s, no new Israeli neighborhood has been built beyond the Green Line in Jerusalem.”
US Vice President Pence to visit Israel in December-White House says Mike Pence, set to arrive during Hanukkah, will discuss prospects for a peace deal in separate meetings with Netanyahu and Abbas-By AP and TOI staff-OCT 26,17
DALLAS — US Vice President Mike Pence announced Wednesday that he will travel to Israel and Egypt in late December at President Donald Trump’s request.Pence made the announcement in Washington in keynote remarks at In Defense of Christians’ annual solidarity dinner for Christians in the Middle East.He said he’ll deliver a message during the trip that now is the time to “end the persecution of Christians and all religious minorities.”.@POTUS asked me to go to the Middle East in Dec. to deliver the message that it is time to bring an end to the persecution of Christians. pic.twitter.com/IiOU28UFpb— Vice President Pence (@VP) October 25, 2017-The vice president will visit Israel during Hanukkah. He’ll discuss the prospects for a Middle East peace agreement in separate meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, according to the White House.Pence is also expected to address US policy toward Iran and highlight Israel’s space program.Pence will also meet with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and highlight US-Egypt cooperation on security issues. Pence also plans meetings with government and religious leaders to discuss combating the persecution of religious minorities – including Christians – in the broader Middle East.On Sunday it was reported that the Trump administration would shortly unveil a formal proposal for Middle East peace that aims to enable a “comprehensive regional arrangement,” but that will not be imposed on the sides, and that will not feature a rigid timetable. An administration official told The Times of Israel, however, that there were no imminent plans to present a proposal.Such an approach would apparently represent a departure from previous US peace efforts, which focused primarily on Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.Administration officials have in the past made plain that a proposal will be put forward at some point in the near future, and that the administration will discuss its specifics at that time.Pence, who has long been close to the pro-Israel community, has said several times that Trump would place Israel’s safety and security as a priority in any peace negotiations with the Palestinians.He has also repeatedly said that the US president would fulfill a campaign promise to move the US embassy to Jerusalem.“I promise you that the day will come when President Donald Trump moves the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. It is not a question of if, it is only when,” he told Christian supporters of Israel at the annual the annual CUFI conference in July.Trump, who himself visited Israel in May, renewed a waiver in June on a law passed in 1995 mandating the move, as all of his predecessors have done, and has backed away from the pledge.On Thursday, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is stopping in Israel during a Middle East tour focused on combating terrorism.Mnuchin, who is Jewish, is in the region to coordinate sanctions on backers of terrorist groups. He met in Riyadh on Wednesday with Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince, and other top Saudi officials.
US House approves legislation to sanction Hezbollah, thwart its cash flow-A spate of bills passed the US House Wednesday that target the Iran-backed Lebanese-based organization; Lebanon fears measures will damage banking sector-By Eric Cortellessa-TOI-OCT 26,17
WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives passed a spate of bills on Wednesday to sanction Hezbollah and prevent its militants from receiving illicit funding as part of a package of measures designed to target one of Iran’s leading terrorist proxies.One of them — sponsored by Rep. Ed Royce, a Republican from California, and Rep. Eliot Engel, a Democrat from New York — would impose sanctions on individuals, entities and foreign governments for providing monetary, military or recruitment assistance to the Lebanese-based organization.Royce said the motion would hold Hezbollah “accountable for its acts of death and destruction.”Hezbollah, a member of Lebanon’s coalition government, is also considered a terrorist organization by the US government, which has sanctioned the group in the past.The bill’s passage reportedly set off alarms in Beirut, where officials feared major damage might be done to the country’s banking sector if the bill is signed into law.These latest moves come as the Trump administration intensifies its pressure on Iran. Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump decertified the Iran nuclear deal, setting of a 60-day review period on Capitol Hill over whether to renew nuclear-related sanctions against Tehran.Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters the administration will ask lawmakers to amend a domestic law that would address what they see as flaws in the deal. Mainly, they want to add “triggers” that would outlast the sunset provisions in the deal and include clauses addressing ballistic missiles.Another bill that passed the House Wednesday urges the Trump administration to push the UN Security Council to impose international sanctions against Hezbollah over its practice of using civilians as human shields, while another seeks to sanction Iran for its development and testing of ballistic missiles.A separate House resolution also passed that calls on the European Union to fully designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. Currently, the EU only recognizes its “military wing” a terrorist group but not its “political wing.”“More can be done to counter the Iranian proxy Hezbollah,” said Rep. Ted Deutch, a Florida Democrat who authored the measure.“That begins with calling them what they are – a terrorist organization committed to the destruction of Israel and undermining the values and interests of the United States and – our EU friends must acknowledge, as well – the values and interests of Europe. The world knows that Hezbollah is a terrorist group. It’s time for the European Union to end its false distinction and join us in designating all of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.”The Associated Press contributed to this report.
IDF to raze home of terrorist who killed Reuven Schmerling-Palestinian suspect, from West Bank city of Qabatiya, allegedly stabbed Elkana resident to death in Kafr Qassem-By TOI staff-OCT 26,17
The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday night gave notice that it will soon raze the West Bank home of one of the terrorists who murdered Reuven Schmerling in the Israeli Arab city of Kafr Qassem earlier this month.The family of the killer, whose name was not released by the army, must evacuate the home or appeal the decision within the coming days.In a statement earlier this month confirming the October 4 murder was a terror attack, the Shin Bet said it arrested two Palestinian suspects, both from the West Bank city of Qabatiya, in connection with the killing.A court has imposed a gag order on publishing details of the investigation. The Shin Bet did not elaborate on the findings that led them to suspect terrorism due to the gag order.The army did not confirm whether the murderer was being held in custody, and did not say whether the home of the other Palestinian suspect would also be demolished.Schmerling was found dead earlier this month in Kafr Qassem’s industrial zone with “signs of violence” on the body, police said. Initial reports indicated he had been stabbed repeatedly. Schmerling was set to celebrate his 70th birthday the following day.The father of four owned a coal business in Kafr Qassem, about a half-hour drive from the West Bank settlement of Elkana where he lived. His body was found in one of the business’s storage units by his son, who alerted police and emergency services.Police and the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, opened a joint investigation into the murder, looking initially at possible motives including a work- or money-related dispute.The practice of demolishing the family homes of terrorists has been criticized by nongovernmental groups, but Israeli officials have defended its use as a deterrent against future attacks.
Mattis says US ‘not rushing to war’ with North Korea-US secretary of defense says Washington has military plan laid out in event of attack, but 'everyone is out for a peaceful resolution'-By AFP-TOI-OCT 26,17
BANGKOK, Thailand — Washington is seeking a “peaceful resolution” with North Korea, US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said ahead of a visit to the divided peninsula amid heightened tensions over Pyongyang’s nuclear threats.In recent months the North has staged its sixth nuclear test and fired a flurry of missiles, sparking a fiery war of words between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.But Mattis, who arrived in Thailand Thursday following a meeting with his ASEAN counterparts in the Philippines, said Washington was “not rushing to war” and looking for a diplomatic resolution.“Do we have military options in defense if we’re attacked, our allies are attacked? Of course we do,” Mattis said. “But everyone is out for a peaceful resolution.”Following talks with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts on the sidelines of the security forum in Manila, the ministers agreed Pyongyang’s weapons program posed an “unprecedented and grave threat” and vowed to step up diplomatic pressure against the regime.“And that’s really what — what it is all about, to keep DPRK efforts firmly in the diplomatic lane for resolution,” Mattis said, using the acronym for the North’s official name.Mattis is on an Asian tour which will see him arriving in Seoul on Friday for annual defense talks, ahead of a visit to South Korea by Donald Trump next month.All eyes will be on Trump’s message to the isolated North.The US president’s recent remark that “only one thing will work” with North Korea fueled concerns of a potential conflict.But even some Trump advisers say US military options are limited when Pyongyang could launch an artillery barrage on the South Korean capital Seoul — only around 50 kilometers from the heavily-fortified border and home to 10 million people.
US ambassador to UN evacuated from volatile South Sudan camp-Nikki Haley removed from refugee camp as demonstration against President Salva Kiir leads to guards firing tear gas-By SAM MEDNICK-TOI-OCT 26,17
JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — The US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, was evacuated from a UN camp for displaced people in South Sudan on Wednesday because of unrest at a demonstration against President Salva Kiir, witnesses said.Shortly after Haley left the camp, UN security guards fired tear gas to disperse the crowd of more than 100 residents who looted and destroyed the office of a charity operating there, an aid worker at the camp said. The aid worker spoke on condition of anonymity out of safety fears.Haley, in the middle of a three-country African visit, met earlier Wednesday with Kiir over the country’s long civil war. Speaking later to UN station Radio Miraya, Haley said she warned Kiir that the US no longer trusted South Sudan’s government and was no longer prepared to wait for change. She did not give details.The United Nations confirmed the incident with Haley, saying camp residents “became upset that she was not able to meet with them, due to time constraint.” The US Embassy did not comment on Haley’s evacuation.Frustration has been growing inside and outside South Sudan over the conflict that has killed tens of thousands and created Africa’s largest displacement of civilians since the Rwanda genocide in 1994.People are not happy,” said one resident of the UN camp, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of his safety. He said camp residents had been waiting to hand Haley a letter with their position on the “current crisis.” The UN said a “petition” was delivered before Haley’s departure.“We are disappointed by what we are seeing. This is not what we thought we were investing in,” Haley said in remarks later released by the UN “What we thought we were investing in was a free, fair society where people could be safe and South Sudan is the opposite of that.”Haley is the highest-level US government official to visit South Sudan since President Donald Trump took office. She is in Africa to see the involvement of the US and United Nations in Ethiopia, South Sudan and Congo, where she will be on Thursday.In his meeting with Haley, South Sudan’s president appealed for the Trump administration to stay engaged with his devastated country. According to a statement by his office, Kiir “emphasized his commitment” to end the conflict through peace talks that took place in the capital, Juba, last week and are expected to resume in December.“All disputes can only be resolved through dialogue and not arms,” Kiir told Haley, the statement said. Multiple attempts at peace deals have failed in the past.The United States is South Sudan’s largest donor and was instrumental in the country’s creation. Since the East African nation gained independence in 2011, the US has given more than $5 billion for humanitarian and development initiatives, according to the US Embassy.South Sudan plunged into civil war in late 2013, and the country faces mass displacement, starvation and allegations of government corruption and war crimes. More than 2 million people have fled the country.Before her visit to the UN camp, Haley said on Twitter that she hopes South Sudan’s peace process succeeds. “The pain in the stories of refugees from S.Sudan is a reminder we can’t look away. We can’t let armed conflict be their only choice,” she said.South Sudan’s president also said he was working with the United Nations to increase access for humanitarian workers across the country ravaged by hunger. The UN has long alleged government restrictions on aid, including harassment by troops.Rights groups have urged the United States to take a tougher approach to Kiir’s government.
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
New Jewish neighborhood reportedly planned for East Jerusalem-Government said to grant millions of shekels to build ten thousand homes in Atarot, near Arab town of Qalandiya; planning experts dismiss the idea-By TOI staff-OCT 26,17
The government has reportedly set aside millions of shekels to lay the groundwork for a new Jewish neighborhood in East Jerusalem.The plan is to build some ten thousand new homes for Jews in north Jerusalem, near the Arab town of Qalandiya, just a few miles south of Ramallah, the de facto capital of the Palestinian Authority, Channel 1 reported Wednesday.The treasury has already allocated the money to develop the project, the report said. However, planning experts in Jerusalem told Channel 1 it is “nothing less than a fantasy.”No new Jewish neighborhoods have been built in Jerusalem since the 1990s.“Building ten thousand homes in the Atarot area is a Zionist act, an important settlement of the first order,” Construction Minister Yoav Galant (Kulanu) said. “Today we are investing the first funds in planning to get the project started,” he added.Left-wing activist group Peace Now condemned the plan, calling it “crazy.”“This is a crazy plan, both politically and in terms of planning,” the group said. “It is an attempt to drive a wedge into the heart of an urban area of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. Since the neighborhood of Har Homa was established in the 1990s, no new Israeli neighborhood has been built beyond the Green Line in Jerusalem.”
US Vice President Pence to visit Israel in December-White House says Mike Pence, set to arrive during Hanukkah, will discuss prospects for a peace deal in separate meetings with Netanyahu and Abbas-By AP and TOI staff-OCT 26,17
DALLAS — US Vice President Mike Pence announced Wednesday that he will travel to Israel and Egypt in late December at President Donald Trump’s request.Pence made the announcement in Washington in keynote remarks at In Defense of Christians’ annual solidarity dinner for Christians in the Middle East.He said he’ll deliver a message during the trip that now is the time to “end the persecution of Christians and all religious minorities.”.@POTUS asked me to go to the Middle East in Dec. to deliver the message that it is time to bring an end to the persecution of Christians. pic.twitter.com/IiOU28UFpb— Vice President Pence (@VP) October 25, 2017-The vice president will visit Israel during Hanukkah. He’ll discuss the prospects for a Middle East peace agreement in separate meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, according to the White House.Pence is also expected to address US policy toward Iran and highlight Israel’s space program.Pence will also meet with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and highlight US-Egypt cooperation on security issues. Pence also plans meetings with government and religious leaders to discuss combating the persecution of religious minorities – including Christians – in the broader Middle East.On Sunday it was reported that the Trump administration would shortly unveil a formal proposal for Middle East peace that aims to enable a “comprehensive regional arrangement,” but that will not be imposed on the sides, and that will not feature a rigid timetable. An administration official told The Times of Israel, however, that there were no imminent plans to present a proposal.Such an approach would apparently represent a departure from previous US peace efforts, which focused primarily on Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.Administration officials have in the past made plain that a proposal will be put forward at some point in the near future, and that the administration will discuss its specifics at that time.Pence, who has long been close to the pro-Israel community, has said several times that Trump would place Israel’s safety and security as a priority in any peace negotiations with the Palestinians.He has also repeatedly said that the US president would fulfill a campaign promise to move the US embassy to Jerusalem.“I promise you that the day will come when President Donald Trump moves the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. It is not a question of if, it is only when,” he told Christian supporters of Israel at the annual the annual CUFI conference in July.Trump, who himself visited Israel in May, renewed a waiver in June on a law passed in 1995 mandating the move, as all of his predecessors have done, and has backed away from the pledge.On Thursday, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is stopping in Israel during a Middle East tour focused on combating terrorism.Mnuchin, who is Jewish, is in the region to coordinate sanctions on backers of terrorist groups. He met in Riyadh on Wednesday with Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince, and other top Saudi officials.
US House approves legislation to sanction Hezbollah, thwart its cash flow-A spate of bills passed the US House Wednesday that target the Iran-backed Lebanese-based organization; Lebanon fears measures will damage banking sector-By Eric Cortellessa-TOI-OCT 26,17
WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives passed a spate of bills on Wednesday to sanction Hezbollah and prevent its militants from receiving illicit funding as part of a package of measures designed to target one of Iran’s leading terrorist proxies.One of them — sponsored by Rep. Ed Royce, a Republican from California, and Rep. Eliot Engel, a Democrat from New York — would impose sanctions on individuals, entities and foreign governments for providing monetary, military or recruitment assistance to the Lebanese-based organization.Royce said the motion would hold Hezbollah “accountable for its acts of death and destruction.”Hezbollah, a member of Lebanon’s coalition government, is also considered a terrorist organization by the US government, which has sanctioned the group in the past.The bill’s passage reportedly set off alarms in Beirut, where officials feared major damage might be done to the country’s banking sector if the bill is signed into law.These latest moves come as the Trump administration intensifies its pressure on Iran. Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump decertified the Iran nuclear deal, setting of a 60-day review period on Capitol Hill over whether to renew nuclear-related sanctions against Tehran.Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters the administration will ask lawmakers to amend a domestic law that would address what they see as flaws in the deal. Mainly, they want to add “triggers” that would outlast the sunset provisions in the deal and include clauses addressing ballistic missiles.Another bill that passed the House Wednesday urges the Trump administration to push the UN Security Council to impose international sanctions against Hezbollah over its practice of using civilians as human shields, while another seeks to sanction Iran for its development and testing of ballistic missiles.A separate House resolution also passed that calls on the European Union to fully designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. Currently, the EU only recognizes its “military wing” a terrorist group but not its “political wing.”“More can be done to counter the Iranian proxy Hezbollah,” said Rep. Ted Deutch, a Florida Democrat who authored the measure.“That begins with calling them what they are – a terrorist organization committed to the destruction of Israel and undermining the values and interests of the United States and – our EU friends must acknowledge, as well – the values and interests of Europe. The world knows that Hezbollah is a terrorist group. It’s time for the European Union to end its false distinction and join us in designating all of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.”The Associated Press contributed to this report.
IDF to raze home of terrorist who killed Reuven Schmerling-Palestinian suspect, from West Bank city of Qabatiya, allegedly stabbed Elkana resident to death in Kafr Qassem-By TOI staff-OCT 26,17
The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday night gave notice that it will soon raze the West Bank home of one of the terrorists who murdered Reuven Schmerling in the Israeli Arab city of Kafr Qassem earlier this month.The family of the killer, whose name was not released by the army, must evacuate the home or appeal the decision within the coming days.In a statement earlier this month confirming the October 4 murder was a terror attack, the Shin Bet said it arrested two Palestinian suspects, both from the West Bank city of Qabatiya, in connection with the killing.A court has imposed a gag order on publishing details of the investigation. The Shin Bet did not elaborate on the findings that led them to suspect terrorism due to the gag order.The army did not confirm whether the murderer was being held in custody, and did not say whether the home of the other Palestinian suspect would also be demolished.Schmerling was found dead earlier this month in Kafr Qassem’s industrial zone with “signs of violence” on the body, police said. Initial reports indicated he had been stabbed repeatedly. Schmerling was set to celebrate his 70th birthday the following day.The father of four owned a coal business in Kafr Qassem, about a half-hour drive from the West Bank settlement of Elkana where he lived. His body was found in one of the business’s storage units by his son, who alerted police and emergency services.Police and the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, opened a joint investigation into the murder, looking initially at possible motives including a work- or money-related dispute.The practice of demolishing the family homes of terrorists has been criticized by nongovernmental groups, but Israeli officials have defended its use as a deterrent against future attacks.
Mattis says US ‘not rushing to war’ with North Korea-US secretary of defense says Washington has military plan laid out in event of attack, but 'everyone is out for a peaceful resolution'-By AFP-TOI-OCT 26,17
BANGKOK, Thailand — Washington is seeking a “peaceful resolution” with North Korea, US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said ahead of a visit to the divided peninsula amid heightened tensions over Pyongyang’s nuclear threats.In recent months the North has staged its sixth nuclear test and fired a flurry of missiles, sparking a fiery war of words between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.But Mattis, who arrived in Thailand Thursday following a meeting with his ASEAN counterparts in the Philippines, said Washington was “not rushing to war” and looking for a diplomatic resolution.“Do we have military options in defense if we’re attacked, our allies are attacked? Of course we do,” Mattis said. “But everyone is out for a peaceful resolution.”Following talks with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts on the sidelines of the security forum in Manila, the ministers agreed Pyongyang’s weapons program posed an “unprecedented and grave threat” and vowed to step up diplomatic pressure against the regime.“And that’s really what — what it is all about, to keep DPRK efforts firmly in the diplomatic lane for resolution,” Mattis said, using the acronym for the North’s official name.Mattis is on an Asian tour which will see him arriving in Seoul on Friday for annual defense talks, ahead of a visit to South Korea by Donald Trump next month.All eyes will be on Trump’s message to the isolated North.The US president’s recent remark that “only one thing will work” with North Korea fueled concerns of a potential conflict.But even some Trump advisers say US military options are limited when Pyongyang could launch an artillery barrage on the South Korean capital Seoul — only around 50 kilometers from the heavily-fortified border and home to 10 million people.
US ambassador to UN evacuated from volatile South Sudan camp-Nikki Haley removed from refugee camp as demonstration against President Salva Kiir leads to guards firing tear gas-By SAM MEDNICK-TOI-OCT 26,17
JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — The US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, was evacuated from a UN camp for displaced people in South Sudan on Wednesday because of unrest at a demonstration against President Salva Kiir, witnesses said.Shortly after Haley left the camp, UN security guards fired tear gas to disperse the crowd of more than 100 residents who looted and destroyed the office of a charity operating there, an aid worker at the camp said. The aid worker spoke on condition of anonymity out of safety fears.Haley, in the middle of a three-country African visit, met earlier Wednesday with Kiir over the country’s long civil war. Speaking later to UN station Radio Miraya, Haley said she warned Kiir that the US no longer trusted South Sudan’s government and was no longer prepared to wait for change. She did not give details.The United Nations confirmed the incident with Haley, saying camp residents “became upset that she was not able to meet with them, due to time constraint.” The US Embassy did not comment on Haley’s evacuation.Frustration has been growing inside and outside South Sudan over the conflict that has killed tens of thousands and created Africa’s largest displacement of civilians since the Rwanda genocide in 1994.People are not happy,” said one resident of the UN camp, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of his safety. He said camp residents had been waiting to hand Haley a letter with their position on the “current crisis.” The UN said a “petition” was delivered before Haley’s departure.“We are disappointed by what we are seeing. This is not what we thought we were investing in,” Haley said in remarks later released by the UN “What we thought we were investing in was a free, fair society where people could be safe and South Sudan is the opposite of that.”Haley is the highest-level US government official to visit South Sudan since President Donald Trump took office. She is in Africa to see the involvement of the US and United Nations in Ethiopia, South Sudan and Congo, where she will be on Thursday.In his meeting with Haley, South Sudan’s president appealed for the Trump administration to stay engaged with his devastated country. According to a statement by his office, Kiir “emphasized his commitment” to end the conflict through peace talks that took place in the capital, Juba, last week and are expected to resume in December.“All disputes can only be resolved through dialogue and not arms,” Kiir told Haley, the statement said. Multiple attempts at peace deals have failed in the past.The United States is South Sudan’s largest donor and was instrumental in the country’s creation. Since the East African nation gained independence in 2011, the US has given more than $5 billion for humanitarian and development initiatives, according to the US Embassy.South Sudan plunged into civil war in late 2013, and the country faces mass displacement, starvation and allegations of government corruption and war crimes. More than 2 million people have fled the country.Before her visit to the UN camp, Haley said on Twitter that she hopes South Sudan’s peace process succeeds. “The pain in the stories of refugees from S.Sudan is a reminder we can’t look away. We can’t let armed conflict be their only choice,” she said.South Sudan’s president also said he was working with the United Nations to increase access for humanitarian workers across the country ravaged by hunger. The UN has long alleged government restrictions on aid, including harassment by troops.Rights groups have urged the United States to take a tougher approach to Kiir’s government.
