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 to withdraw from UNESCO to save money, protest anti-Israel bias — report-Washington could announce exit from UN cultural body as early as next week, after final rounds of leadership vote-By TOI staff-October 12, 2017, 11:59 am
The United States reportedly plans to formally withdraw from the UN’s troubled cultural body out of financial considerations and what it says is an ingrained anti-Israel bias.Washington could announce its exit from UNESCO as early as next week, Foreign Policy magazine reported Wednesday.The US will remain an observer in the Paris-based cultural, scientific and educational organization.According to the report, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made the decision several weeks ago at the UN General Assembly, but the State Department urged Washington to remain in the organization until a new director general is voted in the coming weeks.Washington is also trying to mitigate the mounting unpaid dues it owes to the organization since it suspended its funding after UNESCO granted full membership to Palestine in 2011.The unpaid dues have now reached $500 million, and Tillerson is trying to “stop the bleeding,” the magazine said.The report comes as UNESCO member states are voting on a new director-general, in a process marked by intense diplomatic wrangling between the seven candidates.Arab countries have long wanted to lead the organization, though divisions over Palestinian membership have complicated their push.France and Qatar were running neck-and-neck in the race to lead UNESCO after a third round of voting Wednesday whittled the field down to five.Qatar’s Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kawari and France’s Audrey Azoulay — both former culture ministers — had 18 votes apiece in the battle to replace outgoing UNESCO director-general Irina Bokova.Carmel Shama-Hacohen, Israel’s UNESCO ambassador this week lamented the results of the initial rounds of voting, telling The Times of Israel it was “bad news for the organization and unfortunately also for Israel.”UNESCO delegates will continue to vote every day this week until one candidate receives a majority of votes. If, by the fourth round of voting, to be held on Thursday, no candidate has received a majority, only the top two candidates from that round of voting will be put forward for a final vote Friday.In recent months, the Paris-based body delighted Palestinians when it declared the Old City of Hebron in the West Bank an endangered world heritage site. It has also passed several resolutions ignoring Jewish ties to Jerusalem, drawing Israeli officials’ fury.Israeli officials have stepped up lobbying at the world body in recent years, charging it with passing one-sided resolutions that obsessively target Israel.
Abbas hails ‘final agreement’ with Hamas to end Palestinian split-PA president says unity deal with Gaza rivals will end decade-long division; officials say PA-imposed sanctions on Strip to be lifted soon-By Agencies-October 12, 2017, 2:21 pm
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday welcomed a unity deal between his Fatah party and rivals Hamas, telling AFP it was a “final agreement” to end their decade-long division.“I welcome the agreement reached between the Fatah and Hamas movements in Cairo,” he said by telephone, adding he gave orders to sign it immediately.“I received a detailed report from the Fatah delegation about what was agreed and I considered it the final agreement to end the division.”Details of the agreement have not yet been released and a press conference was being planned for Thursday afternoon in the Egyptian capital, where talks have been taking place since Tuesday.Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s office said in a statement, without giving further details, that “an agreement was reached today between Hamas and Fatah under Egyptian sponsorship.”An official from Abbas’s Fatah movement said the Palestinian president was now planning to travel to the Gaza Strip within a month as part of the unity bid in what would be his first visit in a decade.Sanctions taken by Abbas against Hamas-controlled Gaza will also soon be lifted, the Fatah official said.The deal includes 3,000 members of the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority’s police force redeploying to Gaza, a member of the negotiating team told AFP on condition of anonymity.The figure is however a fraction of the more than 20,000 police officers employed separately by Hamas.Another party to the negotiations, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the agreement would see Palestinian Authority forces take control of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.He added that all Palestinian factions would begin wider negotiations on the formation of a unity government in the coming two weeks.Abbas had insisted that he would only reassume control of Gaza if Hamas hands over power. Hamas, in turn, has said that it will not disarm — even if it is willing to give Abbas control of the Gaza government.Reports from Egypt Thursday, quoted by Israel Radio, said Hamas was not prepared to give up its arms. The Islamist terror group, which is dedicated to the elimination of Israel, was said to have instead agreed under the terms of the emerging reconciliation deal that it would not use its weaponry unless a resort to force was approved by a joint panel. There was no immediate official confirmation of this.One of the key issues has been punitive measures taken by Abbas against Gaza in recent months, including reducing electricity payments that left the territory’s residents with only a few hours of power a day.“All the measures taken recently will end very shortly,” Zakaria al-Agha, a senior Fatah leader in the Gaza Strip, told AFP.The two sides had been meeting in the Egyptian capital this week with the aim of ending the crippling decade-old split between the rival factions.Hamas seized Gaza from Fatah in a near civil war in 2007 and the two factions have been at loggerheads ever since. Multiple previous reconciliation efforts have failed.Egypt has been keen to improve security in the Sinai Peninsula which borders Gaza and where jihadist rebels have fought a long-running insurgency.An Egyptian source close to the talks said intelligence chief Khaled Fawzi had followed the talks closely.
Hamas, Fatah reach Palestinian unity deal at Cairo talks-Gaza-based terrorist organization says reconciliation talks with West Bank rivals successful, wider negotiations to follow in coming weeks-By Fares Akram and MOHAMMAD DARAGHMEH October 12, 2017, 9:17 amTOI
GAZA CITY (AP) — Rival groups Hamas and Fatah have reached a preliminary, partial agreement that could pave the way for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to resume governing the Gaza Strip, a decade after Hamas overran the territory, officials close to Egyptian-brokered negotiations said on Thursday.Details of the deal were to be presented at a news conference in Cairo later Thursday.Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement that the agreement was reached under “generous Egyptian auspices,” but provided no details.A senior Palestinian official said Abbas, the leader of Fatah, might visit Gaza in the coming weeks, depending on a successful implementation of the agreement. The official spoke on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement in Cairo.There was no indication that Hamas, a terrorist group bent on eliminating Israel, would give up its arms.Abbas has insisted that he will only reassume control of Gaza if Hamas hands over power. Hamas, in turn, has said that it will not disarm — even if it is willing to give Abbas control of the Gaza government.Reports from Egypt Thursday, quoted by Israel Radio, said Hamas was not prepared to disarm. The Islamist terror group was said to have instead agreed, under the terms of the emerging reconciliation deal, that it would not use its weaponry unless a resort to force was approved by a joint panel. There was no immediate official confirmation of this.The Western-backed Abbas hasn’t set foot in Gaza since 2007, when the Hamas terrorist organization, his main ideological rival, seized the territory in street battles with his loyalists.The Hamas takeover, which came a year after the group defeated Fatah in Palestinian parliament elections, left Abbas with autonomous enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.Hamas, meanwhile, became increasingly isolated, as Israel and Egypt enforced a Gaza border blockade of the coastal strip.Over the past decade, each side deepened control over its territory, making it increasingly difficult to forge compromises and repeated attempts at reconciliation failed.The preliminary deal being announced on Thursday came after two days of talks between Hamas and Fatah in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.Under the emerging agreement, Hamas would hand over responsibilities of governing Gaza to the West Bank-based government of Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah.Officials close to the talks said the sides agreed to set up committees to work out the details — in the past a mechanism that quickly led to deadlock.One committee would have four months to determine who among thousands of Hamas civil servants would be able to join the new government. Another committee would merge 3,000 Palestinian Authority loyalists into Gaza’s Hamas-run police force.Negotiators also agreed that control of the Gaza side of the border crossing with Egypt would be handed to Hamdallah’s government, said a senior Hamas official who spoke on condition of anonymity, also pending the formal announcement.He said both sides agreed that European monitors could be deployed at the border crossing.A permanent opening of the Rafah crossing would mean an end to the crippling Gaza border blockade which prevents free trade and bars the vast majority of Gaza’s 2 million people from leaving the territory. Egypt has opened the Rafah crossing only sporadically since 2007.Key issues were not addressed in the Cairo talks.A major sticking point has been the Hamas military wing and its arsenal. Abbas has said he would only return to Gaza if Hamas hands over power, while Hamas has said the military wing is not up for discussion. Hamas officials have assured the Fatah negotiators that the military wing would maintain a low profile as part of any deal.It’s not clear if this will satisfy Abbas, or if the dispute will re-emerge later on.The Hamas official said Hamas, Fatah and smaller Palestinian factions would meet early next month to discuss other issues related to Palestinian reconciliation, including holding long-overdue parliamentary and presidential elections.Hamas and Fatah would return to Cairo in early December to assess implementation of the agreement, the official said.In the current context, both sides might be more willing to reach a deal than in the past.Struggling with the fallout from the border blockade, Hamas has found it increasingly difficult to govern or provide basic services, such as electricity, to Gaza’s people.The 82-year-old Abbas, meanwhile, might be thinking about his legacy. The political split has been a major stain on his rule, particularly at a time when attempts to negotiate the terms of Palestinian statehood with Israel seem to be going nowhere.Abbas heads the political camp that seeks to establish a state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, lands Israel captured in the 1967 war.Hamas suggested in a new political manifesto earlier this year that it might consider a state in pre-1967 lines as an interim option, but also endorses an Islamic state in historic Palestine, including what is now Israel. The group refuses to renounce violence or recognize Israel.Times of Israel staff contributed to this story.
3,000 Palestinian Authority police to redeploy to Gaza in unity deal-Unconfirmed reports say Hamas will not disarm, but a joint panel would have to approve any use of force-By Agencies and TOI staff-October 12, 2017, 12:57 pm
Some 3,000 police officers from the Palestinian Authority are to redeploy to Gaza as part of a unity agreement between rival movements Fatah and Hamas, a Palestinian official said on Thursday.“According to the agreement, the Palestinian government will be able to take over all its roles in the civil and security sectors, for which 3,000 Palestinian policemen from the …. Palestinian Authority will be redeployed,” the official involved in the talks told AFP on condition of anonymity.The figure is a fraction of the number of police officers employed by Hamas, the terrorist organization that runs the Gaza Strip.Earlier on Thursday, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said his group has reached an agreement with the rival Fatah party of PA President Mahmoud Abbas after Egyptian-brokered talks about the terms of control of the Gaza Strip.Haniyeh in a statement said that details would be announced later in the day in Cairo. The development follows two days of Hamas-Fatah talks in Cairo under what Haniyeh called “generous Egyptian auspices.”The talks marked the latest in a series of attempts to end a decade-long Palestinian territorial, political and ideological split that has crippled Palestinian statehood aspirations.In 2007, a year after winning Palestinian parliament elections, Hamas evicted Abbas’ Western-backed PA from Gaza. Abbas was left with autonomous enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.Over the past decade, each side deepened its control over its territory, making it increasingly difficult to forge compromises.Abbas has insisted that he will only reassume control of Gaza if Hamas hands over power. Hamas, in turn, has said that it will not disarm — even if it is willing to give Abbas control of the Gaza government.Reports from Egypt Thursday, quoted by Israel Radio, said Hamas was not prepared to give up its arms. The Islamist terror group, which is dedicated to the elimination of Israel, was said to have instead agreed under the terms of the emerging reconciliation deal that it would not use its weaponry unless a resort to force was approved by a joint panel. There was no immediate official confirmation of this.Sticking points in past and current talks included control over the arsenal of Hamas’s armed wing, the fate of thousands of Hamas’ public servants, arrangements for Gaza’s border crossings and a restructuring of the security forces.The union representing Hamas-allied civil servants in Gaza said Thursday that as part of an emerging deal, a committee would discuss over the next four months how they would be integrated into a new government.
TV report: Islamic State chiefs gather near Israel border, set up training camp-Having fled Iraq and northern Syria, several top commanders of terror group now in Golan Heights enclave, recruiting and running propaganda effort, says Israel's Channel 2-By TOI staff-October 11, 2017, 9:25 pm
Several senior commanders from Islamic State who recently fled from Iraq and northern Syria are now based in southern Syria, just across the Golan Heights border with Israel, and are training hundreds of new recruits there, an Israeli television report said.Israel’s Channel 2 said the commanders have made their way to an Islamic State-controlled enclave “close to the border” with Israel. They have set up a training camp to which they have recruited 300 local youths, said the report, which showed footage apparently of the camp and training sessions.Among the commanders is one of Islamic State’s most notorious recruiters, Abu Hamam Jazrawi, the TV report said.The commanders are also now running Islamic State internet propaganda campaigns from their new base, in place of the former campaign headquarters in Raqqa, the extremists’ former de facto capital in northwest Syria where the fight to oust them has entered what appear to be its final stages.The Israeli government has vowed to prevent IS from setting up operations close to the Israeli border. Israel “won’t allow Islamic State figures or other enemy actors, under the cover of the war in Syria, to set up next to our borders,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last November, soon after what was believed to be the first notable clash between IS gunmen and Israeli troops.The incident involved a short exchange of gunfire between an Islamic State-affiliated terrorist group and Israeli soldiers, and ended with an IDF airstrike that killed four militants.Both the IS-affiliated Khalid ibn al-Walid Army and the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly the al-Nusra Front, which is linked to al-Qaeda, have been set up on Israel’s borders for years.Despite a relatively long-lasting “live and let live” relationship with these groups, the IDF has warned of a potential — some say inevitable — conflict with them and has been preparing to respond to cross-border attacks.
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 to withdraw from UNESCO to save money, protest anti-Israel bias — report-Washington could announce exit from UN cultural body as early as next week, after final rounds of leadership vote-By TOI staff-October 12, 2017, 11:59 am
The United States reportedly plans to formally withdraw from the UN’s troubled cultural body out of financial considerations and what it says is an ingrained anti-Israel bias.Washington could announce its exit from UNESCO as early as next week, Foreign Policy magazine reported Wednesday.The US will remain an observer in the Paris-based cultural, scientific and educational organization.According to the report, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made the decision several weeks ago at the UN General Assembly, but the State Department urged Washington to remain in the organization until a new director general is voted in the coming weeks.Washington is also trying to mitigate the mounting unpaid dues it owes to the organization since it suspended its funding after UNESCO granted full membership to Palestine in 2011.The unpaid dues have now reached $500 million, and Tillerson is trying to “stop the bleeding,” the magazine said.The report comes as UNESCO member states are voting on a new director-general, in a process marked by intense diplomatic wrangling between the seven candidates.Arab countries have long wanted to lead the organization, though divisions over Palestinian membership have complicated their push.France and Qatar were running neck-and-neck in the race to lead UNESCO after a third round of voting Wednesday whittled the field down to five.Qatar’s Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kawari and France’s Audrey Azoulay — both former culture ministers — had 18 votes apiece in the battle to replace outgoing UNESCO director-general Irina Bokova.Carmel Shama-Hacohen, Israel’s UNESCO ambassador this week lamented the results of the initial rounds of voting, telling The Times of Israel it was “bad news for the organization and unfortunately also for Israel.”UNESCO delegates will continue to vote every day this week until one candidate receives a majority of votes. If, by the fourth round of voting, to be held on Thursday, no candidate has received a majority, only the top two candidates from that round of voting will be put forward for a final vote Friday.In recent months, the Paris-based body delighted Palestinians when it declared the Old City of Hebron in the West Bank an endangered world heritage site. It has also passed several resolutions ignoring Jewish ties to Jerusalem, drawing Israeli officials’ fury.Israeli officials have stepped up lobbying at the world body in recent years, charging it with passing one-sided resolutions that obsessively target Israel.
Abbas hails ‘final agreement’ with Hamas to end Palestinian split-PA president says unity deal with Gaza rivals will end decade-long division; officials say PA-imposed sanctions on Strip to be lifted soon-By Agencies-October 12, 2017, 2:21 pm
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday welcomed a unity deal between his Fatah party and rivals Hamas, telling AFP it was a “final agreement” to end their decade-long division.“I welcome the agreement reached between the Fatah and Hamas movements in Cairo,” he said by telephone, adding he gave orders to sign it immediately.“I received a detailed report from the Fatah delegation about what was agreed and I considered it the final agreement to end the division.”Details of the agreement have not yet been released and a press conference was being planned for Thursday afternoon in the Egyptian capital, where talks have been taking place since Tuesday.Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s office said in a statement, without giving further details, that “an agreement was reached today between Hamas and Fatah under Egyptian sponsorship.”An official from Abbas’s Fatah movement said the Palestinian president was now planning to travel to the Gaza Strip within a month as part of the unity bid in what would be his first visit in a decade.Sanctions taken by Abbas against Hamas-controlled Gaza will also soon be lifted, the Fatah official said.The deal includes 3,000 members of the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority’s police force redeploying to Gaza, a member of the negotiating team told AFP on condition of anonymity.The figure is however a fraction of the more than 20,000 police officers employed separately by Hamas.Another party to the negotiations, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the agreement would see Palestinian Authority forces take control of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.He added that all Palestinian factions would begin wider negotiations on the formation of a unity government in the coming two weeks.Abbas had insisted that he would only reassume control of Gaza if Hamas hands over power. Hamas, in turn, has said that it will not disarm — even if it is willing to give Abbas control of the Gaza government.Reports from Egypt Thursday, quoted by Israel Radio, said Hamas was not prepared to give up its arms. The Islamist terror group, which is dedicated to the elimination of Israel, was said to have instead agreed under the terms of the emerging reconciliation deal that it would not use its weaponry unless a resort to force was approved by a joint panel. There was no immediate official confirmation of this.One of the key issues has been punitive measures taken by Abbas against Gaza in recent months, including reducing electricity payments that left the territory’s residents with only a few hours of power a day.“All the measures taken recently will end very shortly,” Zakaria al-Agha, a senior Fatah leader in the Gaza Strip, told AFP.The two sides had been meeting in the Egyptian capital this week with the aim of ending the crippling decade-old split between the rival factions.Hamas seized Gaza from Fatah in a near civil war in 2007 and the two factions have been at loggerheads ever since. Multiple previous reconciliation efforts have failed.Egypt has been keen to improve security in the Sinai Peninsula which borders Gaza and where jihadist rebels have fought a long-running insurgency.An Egyptian source close to the talks said intelligence chief Khaled Fawzi had followed the talks closely.
Hamas, Fatah reach Palestinian unity deal at Cairo talks-Gaza-based terrorist organization says reconciliation talks with West Bank rivals successful, wider negotiations to follow in coming weeks-By Fares Akram and MOHAMMAD DARAGHMEH October 12, 2017, 9:17 amTOI
GAZA CITY (AP) — Rival groups Hamas and Fatah have reached a preliminary, partial agreement that could pave the way for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to resume governing the Gaza Strip, a decade after Hamas overran the territory, officials close to Egyptian-brokered negotiations said on Thursday.Details of the deal were to be presented at a news conference in Cairo later Thursday.Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement that the agreement was reached under “generous Egyptian auspices,” but provided no details.A senior Palestinian official said Abbas, the leader of Fatah, might visit Gaza in the coming weeks, depending on a successful implementation of the agreement. The official spoke on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement in Cairo.There was no indication that Hamas, a terrorist group bent on eliminating Israel, would give up its arms.Abbas has insisted that he will only reassume control of Gaza if Hamas hands over power. Hamas, in turn, has said that it will not disarm — even if it is willing to give Abbas control of the Gaza government.Reports from Egypt Thursday, quoted by Israel Radio, said Hamas was not prepared to disarm. The Islamist terror group was said to have instead agreed, under the terms of the emerging reconciliation deal, that it would not use its weaponry unless a resort to force was approved by a joint panel. There was no immediate official confirmation of this.The Western-backed Abbas hasn’t set foot in Gaza since 2007, when the Hamas terrorist organization, his main ideological rival, seized the territory in street battles with his loyalists.The Hamas takeover, which came a year after the group defeated Fatah in Palestinian parliament elections, left Abbas with autonomous enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.Hamas, meanwhile, became increasingly isolated, as Israel and Egypt enforced a Gaza border blockade of the coastal strip.Over the past decade, each side deepened control over its territory, making it increasingly difficult to forge compromises and repeated attempts at reconciliation failed.The preliminary deal being announced on Thursday came after two days of talks between Hamas and Fatah in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.Under the emerging agreement, Hamas would hand over responsibilities of governing Gaza to the West Bank-based government of Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah.Officials close to the talks said the sides agreed to set up committees to work out the details — in the past a mechanism that quickly led to deadlock.One committee would have four months to determine who among thousands of Hamas civil servants would be able to join the new government. Another committee would merge 3,000 Palestinian Authority loyalists into Gaza’s Hamas-run police force.Negotiators also agreed that control of the Gaza side of the border crossing with Egypt would be handed to Hamdallah’s government, said a senior Hamas official who spoke on condition of anonymity, also pending the formal announcement.He said both sides agreed that European monitors could be deployed at the border crossing.A permanent opening of the Rafah crossing would mean an end to the crippling Gaza border blockade which prevents free trade and bars the vast majority of Gaza’s 2 million people from leaving the territory. Egypt has opened the Rafah crossing only sporadically since 2007.Key issues were not addressed in the Cairo talks.A major sticking point has been the Hamas military wing and its arsenal. Abbas has said he would only return to Gaza if Hamas hands over power, while Hamas has said the military wing is not up for discussion. Hamas officials have assured the Fatah negotiators that the military wing would maintain a low profile as part of any deal.It’s not clear if this will satisfy Abbas, or if the dispute will re-emerge later on.The Hamas official said Hamas, Fatah and smaller Palestinian factions would meet early next month to discuss other issues related to Palestinian reconciliation, including holding long-overdue parliamentary and presidential elections.Hamas and Fatah would return to Cairo in early December to assess implementation of the agreement, the official said.In the current context, both sides might be more willing to reach a deal than in the past.Struggling with the fallout from the border blockade, Hamas has found it increasingly difficult to govern or provide basic services, such as electricity, to Gaza’s people.The 82-year-old Abbas, meanwhile, might be thinking about his legacy. The political split has been a major stain on his rule, particularly at a time when attempts to negotiate the terms of Palestinian statehood with Israel seem to be going nowhere.Abbas heads the political camp that seeks to establish a state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, lands Israel captured in the 1967 war.Hamas suggested in a new political manifesto earlier this year that it might consider a state in pre-1967 lines as an interim option, but also endorses an Islamic state in historic Palestine, including what is now Israel. The group refuses to renounce violence or recognize Israel.Times of Israel staff contributed to this story.
3,000 Palestinian Authority police to redeploy to Gaza in unity deal-Unconfirmed reports say Hamas will not disarm, but a joint panel would have to approve any use of force-By Agencies and TOI staff-October 12, 2017, 12:57 pm
Some 3,000 police officers from the Palestinian Authority are to redeploy to Gaza as part of a unity agreement between rival movements Fatah and Hamas, a Palestinian official said on Thursday.“According to the agreement, the Palestinian government will be able to take over all its roles in the civil and security sectors, for which 3,000 Palestinian policemen from the …. Palestinian Authority will be redeployed,” the official involved in the talks told AFP on condition of anonymity.The figure is a fraction of the number of police officers employed by Hamas, the terrorist organization that runs the Gaza Strip.Earlier on Thursday, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said his group has reached an agreement with the rival Fatah party of PA President Mahmoud Abbas after Egyptian-brokered talks about the terms of control of the Gaza Strip.Haniyeh in a statement said that details would be announced later in the day in Cairo. The development follows two days of Hamas-Fatah talks in Cairo under what Haniyeh called “generous Egyptian auspices.”The talks marked the latest in a series of attempts to end a decade-long Palestinian territorial, political and ideological split that has crippled Palestinian statehood aspirations.In 2007, a year after winning Palestinian parliament elections, Hamas evicted Abbas’ Western-backed PA from Gaza. Abbas was left with autonomous enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.Over the past decade, each side deepened its control over its territory, making it increasingly difficult to forge compromises.Abbas has insisted that he will only reassume control of Gaza if Hamas hands over power. Hamas, in turn, has said that it will not disarm — even if it is willing to give Abbas control of the Gaza government.Reports from Egypt Thursday, quoted by Israel Radio, said Hamas was not prepared to give up its arms. The Islamist terror group, which is dedicated to the elimination of Israel, was said to have instead agreed under the terms of the emerging reconciliation deal that it would not use its weaponry unless a resort to force was approved by a joint panel. There was no immediate official confirmation of this.Sticking points in past and current talks included control over the arsenal of Hamas’s armed wing, the fate of thousands of Hamas’ public servants, arrangements for Gaza’s border crossings and a restructuring of the security forces.The union representing Hamas-allied civil servants in Gaza said Thursday that as part of an emerging deal, a committee would discuss over the next four months how they would be integrated into a new government.
TV report: Islamic State chiefs gather near Israel border, set up training camp-Having fled Iraq and northern Syria, several top commanders of terror group now in Golan Heights enclave, recruiting and running propaganda effort, says Israel's Channel 2-By TOI staff-October 11, 2017, 9:25 pm
Several senior commanders from Islamic State who recently fled from Iraq and northern Syria are now based in southern Syria, just across the Golan Heights border with Israel, and are training hundreds of new recruits there, an Israeli television report said.Israel’s Channel 2 said the commanders have made their way to an Islamic State-controlled enclave “close to the border” with Israel. They have set up a training camp to which they have recruited 300 local youths, said the report, which showed footage apparently of the camp and training sessions.Among the commanders is one of Islamic State’s most notorious recruiters, Abu Hamam Jazrawi, the TV report said.The commanders are also now running Islamic State internet propaganda campaigns from their new base, in place of the former campaign headquarters in Raqqa, the extremists’ former de facto capital in northwest Syria where the fight to oust them has entered what appear to be its final stages.The Israeli government has vowed to prevent IS from setting up operations close to the Israeli border. Israel “won’t allow Islamic State figures or other enemy actors, under the cover of the war in Syria, to set up next to our borders,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last November, soon after what was believed to be the first notable clash between IS gunmen and Israeli troops.The incident involved a short exchange of gunfire between an Islamic State-affiliated terrorist group and Israeli soldiers, and ended with an IDF airstrike that killed four militants.Both the IS-affiliated Khalid ibn al-Walid Army and the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly the al-Nusra Front, which is linked to al-Qaeda, have been set up on Israel’s borders for years.Despite a relatively long-lasting “live and let live” relationship with these groups, the IDF has warned of a potential — some say inevitable — conflict with them and has been preparing to respond to cross-border attacks.
