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
Republican senators call on US to recognize
Israeli sovereignty over Golan-Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton issue statement
saying Washington must affirm Jewish state’s claim over the heights to
ensure Israel can defend itself-By Ron Kampeas-TOI-JAN 10,19
WASHINGTON
(JTA) — US Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Tom Cotton of Arkansas on
Sunday again called on the United States to recognize Israel’s
sovereignty over the Golan Heights.Israel is stepping up its campaign
for international recognition of its claim to the strategic plateau.A
joint statement by the two Republican senators came on the same day that
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged John Bolton, the US national
security adviser, to recognize Israel’s claim to the Golan. Israel
captured the heights from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed them
in 1981.“Responding to the threat posed by Iran and its proxies
requires ensuring that Israel can defend its territory and its citizens
from attacks,” Cruz and Cotton said in their statement. “To support
Israel’s right to self-defense, Washington should take the long overdue
step of affirming Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.”In their
statement, the senators noted that in the last Congress, they had
introduced a nonbinding resolution calling for recognition of Israel’s
claim to the Golan. The resolution languished, and the senators did not
say whether they would reintroduce it.Bolton was in Israel to assuage
concerns that US President Donald Trump is no longer invested in getting
Iran and its proxy, the Lebanese Hezbollah terrorist group, to leave
Syria.Trump wants to pull 2,000 US troops out of Syria, where Iran and
Hezbollah have propped up Assad during Syria’s seven-year civil war,
which is winding down.
Progressive groups rage against
Rubio’s anti-BDS bill-As US senator tries to push through legislation
during shutdown, J Street and ACLU cast bill as ‘outrageous’ and
unconstitutional-By Eric Cortellessa-TOI-JAN 10,19
WASHINGTON
— Progressive advocacy groups have railed against an attempt by US
senators to push through a bill that would protect states that penalize
Israel boycotters, with one Jewish organization labeling it a
“farce.”Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Idaho Senator James Risch, both
Republicans, introduced the first bill last week to be considered in the
GOP-controlled Senate, which combined several bills that died in the
last Congress.One of those is the Combatting BDS Act, legislation that
would grant federal protections to states that target the Boycott,
Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel, including states
that ban contracts with individuals and entities who partake in Israel
boycotts.The bill has been fiercely criticized by progressive activists
and civil libertarians who say these laws infringe on Americans’
constitutionally protected rights to engage in political boycotts, with
liberal Mideast advocacy group J Street excoriating the measure.“While
millions of Americans suffer from the effects of the ongoing government
shutdown, it’s outrageous that Senate Republican leaders are
prioritizing legislation that tramples on the First Amendment and
advances the interests of the Israeli settlement movement,” said the
organization’s president, Jeremy Ben-Ami. “Not a single Democrat should
vote to enable this farce.”The Rubio-Risch bill also included the Ileana
Ros-Lehtinen United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization
Act, named for the Republican Florida congresswoman who just retired, to
codify into law $38 billion in defense assistance for Israel over the
next year, based on a deal struck during the Obama years.But the
anti-BDS rider in the bill has been far more controversial. Over the
weekend, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders tweeted that it was “absurd that
the first bill during the shutdown is legislation which punishes
Americans who exercise their constitutional right to engage in political
activity.”He linked to a story in The Intercept that quoted a lawyer
with the American Civil Liberties Union, which has been vociferously
opposed to this and similar legislation.“The legislation, like the
unconstitutional state anti-boycott laws it condones, sends a message to
Americans that they will be penalized if they dare to disagree with
their government,” said ACLU Senior Legislative Counsel Kathleen Ruane.
“We therefore urge senators to vote no on the Combatting BDS Act next
week.”More than 25 states have passed measures that target BDS
adherents. Those laws have already been challenged in the courts. In
September, an Arizona judge ruled that the state’s law that required
state contractors to certify that they are not participating in boycotts
of Israel didn’t hold constitutional muster.“A restriction of one’s
ability to participate in collective calls to oppose Israel
unquestionably burdens the protected expression of companies wishing to
engage in such a boycott,” US District Court Judge Diane Humetewa wrote
in her decision.A Kansas judge also struck down a similar law in
January.The vast majority of American Jewish organizations have
supported anti-BDS laws at the state level, including the American
Jewish Committee, the Israel Project, and StandWithUs.AJC filed an
amicus brief supporting the Arizona law that was eventually overturned,
arguing that the law “advances Arizona’s legitimate interest in
protecting its commerce with Israel and insuring that Arizona can take
full advantage of what Israel has to offer in its contracting.”The law
did not “infringe on private citizens’ rights,” to take actions against
Israel, the group asserted, because “contractors can choose to boycott
Israel in their private capacities as long as those private activities
do not affect their contracting activities.”The bill was fiercely
criticized over the weekend by freshman Democrat Rashida Tlaib, a
Palestinian-American member of Congress.“They forgot what country they
represent,” the Michigan Democrat said in her tweet, referring to
lawmakers’ attempts to pass the Combatting BDS Act. “This is the US
where boycotting is a right & part of our historical fight for
freedom & equality.”Rubio, who introduced the bill, castigated
Tlaib’s attacks as anti-Semitic.“This ‘dual loyalty’ canard is a typical
anti-Semitic line,” Rubio tweeted. “#BDS isn’t about freedom &
equality, it’s about destroying #Israel.“And if boycotting #Israel is
constitutionally protected, then boycotting companies that boycott
#Israel is also constitutionally protected.”
Zarif jeers at
‘blind’ Bolton visiting Western Wall; Bahraini FM fires back-After
Iran’s top diplomat lampoons photo of US official wearing VR goggles,
Manama counterpart comes to defense of DC and Jerusalem with a photo of
his own-By TOI staff -JAN 10,19
The foreign ministers
of Iran and Bahrain entered into a Twitter spat Monday over Israel, and
American support for the Jewish state, with a top Israeli diplomat also
chiming in.The exchange began with Tehran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad
Javad Zarif, who shared a photo of US National Security Adviser John
Bolton during a Sunday visit to Jerusalem’s Western Wall. Bolton and his
entourage were seen wearing goggles while attending a virtual reality
experience of the site’s history.“It’s said a picture says a thousand
words,” Zarif said.“This picture, however, says more than a thousand
words about decades of failed US policies in our region. In the valley
of the blind, even those with VR glasses are still blind.”It's said a
picture says a thousand words. This picture, however, says more than a
thousand words about decades of failed US policies in our region.In the
valley of the blind, even those with VR glasses are still blind.
pic.twitter.com/Tyip6iKbFl— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 7, 2019-He
received a prompt reply from Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed
Al Khalifa, who has defended Israel on several recent occasions.Al
Khalifa tweeted a 2010 photo of then-Iranian president Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad sporting goggles as he toured a site belonging to Iran’s
Atomic Energy Organization.“This picture says a million words…about
decades of ill intentions, hegemonic aims and misrepresentation of a
proud nation,” he wrote. “Iran is one thing and you guys are another.”Mr
Zariaf , this picture says a million words or about blindness ; but
about decades of ill intentions , hegemonic aims and misrepresentation
of a proud nation . Iran is one thing and you guys are another
pic.twitter.com/5wP7eWotQm-(@khalidalkhalifa) January 7, 2019-Israel’s
Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer, who accompanied Bolton on the tour,
also stepped into the ring, tweeting at Zarif: “If only Iran’s nuclear
weapons program, ballistic missiles, global terror campaign, vows to
destroy Israel and chants of Death to America were a virtual reality
game and not the real policies of the radical regime you
represent.”.@JZarif If only Iran’s nuclear weapons program, ballistic
missiles, global terror campaign, vows to destroy Israel and chants of
Death to America were a virtual reality game and not the real policies
of the radical regime you represent. https://t.co/IhlhfoVPYk— Amb. Ron
Dermer (@AmbDermer) January 7, 2019-Israel and Bahrain do not have
diplomatic relations, but are said to have solid clandestine ties. Both
countries see in Iran a strategic threat.In December Al Khalifa
condemned the Arab League as “irresponsible” after it attacked
Australia’s recognition of West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. He also
tweeted support for Israel’s operation to expose and destroy Hezbollah’s
cross-border tunnels and in May said the Jewish state had the right to
defend itself.Bolton’s visit to the Western Wall and the adjacent
Western Wall tunnels Sunday was met with anger by Palestinian officials,
with Saeb Erekat, the secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation
Organization, saying it undermined international law.“This behavior will
not change the fact that East Jerusalem is occupied territory and the
capital of the state of Palestine,” Erekat tweeted.Bolton visited Israel
to discuss US policy in Syria and the threat posed by Iran. During his
visit he vowed that Washington would remain “very supportive” of Israeli
strikes against Iranian targets in Syria.
When Hamas and
Fatah fight, the ricochets are likely to end up hitting Israel-Relations
between Palestinian factions are again threatening to explode, after
the PA abandoned the Rafah crossing, leading to its closure-By Avi
Issacharoff-TOI-JAN 10,19
It’s hard to tell who started
the latest dispute between Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas. Was it
an arrest campaign by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, or a
major wave of arrests of Fatah operatives by Hamas in the Gaza Strip?
Either way, one thing is clear: The fallout from the current tussle
between the rival groups will surely be felt by Israel, including in the
form of an escalation in violence.The latest headline coming from
intra-Palestinian politics has been PA staff abandoning the Rafah
crossing, a step that has caused the closure of the only passage for
Gazans to travel overseas.The crossing had been operating for many
months with Egypt’s blessing, manned by PA staff, significantly easing
the feeling of being besieged in Gaza. Though exit was by no means free,
and not many people had been permitted to pass through, the crossing’s
continued operation gave the population some feeling of change.That
ended when the PA announced in recent days that it was evacuating the
officials who had been operating the crossing and supervising the
entries and exits from Gaza. The Egyptians, who refuse to cooperate with
the Hamas terror group as a government authority, reacted by closing
their side of the crossing.Hamas, true to form, accused Ramallah of
“declaring war” on Gaza, but conveniently ignored what led the PA to
take such a step.Fatah had been preparing to hold a mass rally in Gaza
commemorating the movement’s anniversary on January 1, but Hamas
prevented that by various means, including an exceptionally widespread
arrest campaign. Some 500 Fatah operative were arrested or taken in for
questioning in the days leading up to that planned anniversary,
according to Fatah; explanatory material was confiscated; and unknown
assailants broke into the PA’s TV and radio offices in Gaza and caused
extensive damage to the property and equipment.Those steps apparently
crossed a few red lines in the sensitive status quo between the
organizations in the PA’s eyes, leading to the closure of the Rafah
crossing.That is when the war of words and threats began. Senior Fatah
officials such as Azzam al-Ahmad have threatened that the removal of
officials from the Rafah crossing was just the first step out of many
that will topple Hamas, which openly seeks Israel’s destruction and
wrested control of Gaza from the PA in a violent coup in 2007.The PA’s
approach to Gaza, according to those senior Fatah officials, is “all or
nothing” — meaning, either Hamas surrenders all aspects of leadership in
Gaza to the PA, or the PA cuts itself off completely from the
Strip.That could just be a move intended to pressure Hamas or signal to
the Egyptian that there’s an emergency, but it seems that the fragile
situation in Gaza is destabilizing again.According to a report in the
London-based Arabic-language daily Asharq Al-Awsat, PA President Mahmoud
Abbas conveyed a clear message to the Egyptians during his recent visit
to Cairo that he intends to take stronger measures against Gaza,
including in the fields of health and education. That is essentially a
threat to cut PA funds to the Strip, which could drag the already
impoverished population there into an unprecedented crisis.Crises and
instances of deterioration in Hamas-Fatah relations have frequently led
to an increase in tensions with Israel: more border protests, rocket
fire and other incidents, such as the explosive device attached to
balloons that was launched into Israel on Sunday and prompted the IDF to
strike in Gaza in retaliation.All that is added to the current delay in
the transfer of Qatari aid money to the Strip — $15 million to pay
Hamas staff’s salaries — resulting in a general feeling in Gaza that
another round of violence is brewing.The famous rule in the Palestinian
arena hasn’t changed: When Fatah and Hamas have a brawl, Israel gets
hit.
European Union puts Iranian intel agency on blacklist
over foiled plots-Danish foreign minister says measures will send a
strong signal to Tehran that Europe won’t accept attacks on Iranian
dissidents on its territory-By AP-TOI-JAN 10,19
BRUSSELS —
Danish Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen said the European Union has
agreed to put an Iranian intelligence service on its terror list after
Denmark and France alleged Iran was plotting to kill opposition
activists on European soil.Samuelsen said that EU government ministers
on Tuesday “agreed to enact sanctions.”He said it is a “strong signal
from the EU that we will not accept such behavior in Europe.”Paris
alleges that Tehran’s Intelligence Ministry’s internal security section
was linked to the alleged attempt to bomb a rally of opponents on June
30 outside Paris. The Danes say Iran in October was planning to kill in
Denmark a member of the group that Tehran has blamed for a September 22
attack that killed at least 25 people.
Turkey trial on
Russian envoy’s killing to open with US-based cleric as suspect-Ankara
says Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen is one of 28 involved in the 2016
shooting of Moscow’s ambassador by off-duty Turkish policeman-By
AFP-TOI-JAN 10,19
ANKARA, Turkey — Twenty eight suspects
were due to go on trial Tuesday over the assassination of the Russian
ambassador two years ago, including a US-based Muslim preacher blamed by
Ankara for a failed coup the same year.Andrei Karlov, 62, was shot dead
by an off-duty Turkish policeman at a photo exhibition in Ankara on
December 19, 2016, in a shock attack that was captured on camera by
photographers attending the event.The 22-year-old gunman, Mevlut Mert
Altintas, shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest) and “Don’t forget
Aleppo,” vowing that those responsible for events in Syria would be held
accountable.Altintas was killed shortly after by members of the Turkish
special forces.The Ankara prosecutor has charged 16 of the suspects
with “premeditated murder with the intention of causing terror,”
according to the indictment. The other 12 were charged with “being a
member of a terror organization.”Thirteen are currently in pre-trial
detention, while it is prosecuting others in absentia.Those not in
Turkey include Fethullah Gulen, a US-based Islamic preacher seen as an
arch foe of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and who Ankara blames for the
July 2016 coup attempt.Gulen has denied links to both the failed coup
and the murder.Turkish officials have alleged that Gulen’s movement
organized the murder of Karlov, a married father of one, to sow
“chaos.”Turkey refers to the organization as the “Fetullah Terrorist
Organisation” (FETO) but followers say it is peaceful, promoting secular
education.Another of the suspects named is Serif Ali Tekalan, who
headed a university linked to Gulen in Istanbul and now heads the
Texas-based North American University (NAU). ‘Attack’ on Turkey-Russia
ties-The prosecutor is seeking a variety of penalties for the suspects,
including aggravated life sentences, which have replaced the death
penalty in Turkey and carry harsher conditions than normal life
imprisonment convictions.The indictment says the Gulen movement plotted
the murder of Karlov, who had been appointed as ambassador in 2013, to
“break off bilateral relations” between Turkey and Russia and bring them
to the brink of “hot war.”The Kremlin had previously warned against
rushing to any assumptions.Although Moscow does not repeat the Gulen
claims, Selim Koru, a Black Sea Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research
Institute think tank noted in a report late last year that Russia sent
investigators and “if they had different findings, they didn’t
say.”Turkey and Russia had a dramatic falling out in November 2015 after
a Turkish fighter jet shot down a Russian warplane along the Syrian
border.But by the summer of 2016 relations had improved, with Russian
President Vladimir Putin and Erdogan keen to show they are working
together to find a solution to the Syrian conflict despite being on
opposing sides of the war.Tens of thousands of people have been arrested
over alleged links to Gulen since 2016 in a crackdown criticized by
human rights groups and Ankara’s Western allies.
WORLD POWERS IN THE LAST DAYS (END OF AGE OF GRACE NOT THE WORLD)
EUROPEAN UNION-KING OF WEST-DAN 9:26-27,DAN 7:23-24,DAN 11:40,REV 13:1-10
EGYPT-KING OF THE SOUTH-DAN 11:40
RUSSIA-KING OF THE NORTH-EZEK 38:1-2,EZEK 39:1-3
CHINA-KING OF THE EAST-DAN 11:44,REV 9:16,18
VATICAN-RELIGIOUS LEADER-REV 13:11-18,REV 17:4-5,9,18
WORLD TERRORISM
OH
BY THE WAY WHEN THE MEDIA SAYS ALLU-AK-BAR MEANS GOD IS GREAT LIE. IN
ISLAM ALLU-AK-BAR MEANS OUR GOD IS GREATER OR GREATEST. THIS IS HOW THE
MEDIA SUCK HOLES UP TO ISLAMIC-QURANIC-MUSLIMS. BY WATERING DOWN THE
REAL MEANING OF THE SEX FOR MURDER DEATH CULT ISLAM. TO MAKE IT SOUND
LIKE A PEACEFUL RELIGION (CULT OF DEATH AND WORLD DOMINATION).
GENESIS 6:11-13
11
The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with
violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13
And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the
earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and,
behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
GENESIS 16:11-12
11
And the angel of the LORD said unto her,(HAGAR) Behold, thou art with
child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael;(FATHER OF
THE ARAB/MUSLIMS) because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And
he (ISHMAEL-FATHER OF THE ARAB-MUSLIMS) will be a wild (DONKEY-JACKASS)
man;(ISLAM IS A FAKE AND DANGEROUS SEX FOR MURDER CULT) his hand will be
against every man,(ISLAM HATES EVERYONE) and every man's hand against
him;(PROTECTING THEMSELVES FROM BEING BEHEADED) and he (ISHMAEL
ARAB/MUSLIM) shall dwell in the presence of all his
brethren.(LITERAL-THE ARABS LIVE WITH THEIR BRETHERN JEWS)
ISAIAH 14:12-14
12
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,(SATAN) son of the
morning!(HEBREW-CRECENT MOON-ISLAM) how art thou cut down to the ground,
which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine
heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars
of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the
sides of the north:
14 I (SATAN HAS EYE TROUBLES) will ascend above
the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.(AND 1/3RD OF
THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN FELL WITH SATAN AND BECAME DEMONS)
JOHN 16:2
2
They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that
whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.(ISLAM
MURDERS IN THE NAME OF MOON GOD ALLAH OF ISLAM)
Netherlands
accuses Iran of murdering 2 dissidents on Dutch soil-Ministers say EU
has agreed to hit Tehran with fresh sanctions over killings of regime
opponents-By AFP-TOI-JAN 10,19
THE HAGUE, Netherlands —
The Netherlands accused Iran Tuesday of involvement in the murder of two
dissidents on Dutch soil, adding that the EU was hitting Tehran with
sanctions partly as a result of the killings.The Dutch secret service
“has strong indications that Iran was involved in the assassinations of
two Dutch nationals of Iranian origin in Almere 2015 and in The Hague in
2017,” Foreign Minister Stef Blok said in a letter to parliament.“These
individuals were opponents of the Iranian regime,” he said in the
letter, also signed by Dutch Interior Minister Kajsa Ollongren.“The
Netherlands considers it probable that Iran had a hand in the
preparation or commissioning of assassinations and attacks on EU
territory,” the ministers said.They added that the EU had on Tuesday
“partly at the recommendation of the Netherlands” agreed to impose fresh
sanctions on Iran.Dutch police have previously named the two victims as
Ali Motamed, 56, who was killed in the central city of Almere in 2015,
and Ahmad Molla Nissi, 52, murdered in The Hague in 2017.Dutch-Ahwazi
activist Ahmad Mola Nissi shot to death in Hague on Nov 8. (#IRGC’s Quds
allegedly involved in the terror attack) @VP @POTUS
pic.twitter.com/GcBsAVySfT— Kaveh Taheri ???? (@TaheriKaveh) November 9,
2017-Last June, the Netherlands expelled two workers from the Iranian
embassy in connection with the murders.Tehran at the time protested the
expulsion of the two diplomats as an “unfriendly and destructive move”
and threatened to retaliate.Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen
had earlier confirmed that the European Union has agreed on new
sanctions targeting the Iranian Intelligence and Security Ministry and
two Iranian nationals.Denmark had led efforts for sanctions after
allegations that Tehran tried to kill three Iranian dissidents on Danish
soil.France had meanwhile hit two suspected Iranian agents with asset
freezes over a plot to bomb a rally near Paris.
Erdogan
denounces Bolton’s ‘unacceptable’ comments on Syrian Kurdish
militia-Turkish leader angry at US national security adviser for saying
that Syria pullout is conditional on ensuring safety of US-backed
fighters that Ankara considers terrorists-By Luana Sarmini-Buonaccorsi
and Fulya Ozerkan-TOI-JAN 10,19
ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) —
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday slammed as a “grave
mistake” comments by White House National Security adviser John Bolton
over the Syrian Kurdish militia, highlighting tensions between Ankara
and Washington.Erdogan’s comments came shortly after Bolton held more
than two hours of talks in the Turkish capital with Erdogan’s adviser
Ibrahim Kalin, in a key meeting focusing on the surprise US decision to
withdraw US troops from Syria.“It is not possible to accept or swallow
the message given by Bolton from Israel,” Erdogan told his party’s
lawmakers in parliament.Tensions erupted ahead of the Ankara talks after
Bolton said Sunday in Israel the retreat was also conditional on the
safety of US-backed Kurdish fighters, considered terrorists by Turkey.A
furious Erdogan said: “John Bolton has made a grave mistake on this
issue.”US President Donald Trump caused a political storm last month
when he announced the troop pullout because the battle against the
Islamic State (IS) group had been won.“President Trump made the right
call to withdraw from Syria,” Erdogan said in a column published in the
New York Times, outlining Turkey’s “comprehensive strategy” to eliminate
the causes of radicalization in the war-torn country.-‘Slander’-US
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also drew wrath of the Turkish leadership
when he said Washington will ensure Ankara does not “slaughter” Kurds
in Syria as American troops withdraw.Erdogan lambasted the comments
Tuesday and said: “That Turkey targets the Kurds is the most vile, the
most dishonorable, the ugliest and the cheapest slander.”Bolton held
“productive” talks with Kalin on Tuesday morning to discuss how the
withdrawal would take place, his spokesman said in a statement shared on
Twitter following the meeting.“They had a productive discussion of the
president’s decision to withdraw at a proper pace from northeast Syria,
identified further issues for dialogue,” Garrett Marquis said.Joining
Bolton were General Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, and the anti-Islamic State (IS) group envoy James Jeffrey.There
was no meeting with Bolton on Erdogan’s schedule.When Trump first
announced the pullout of 2,000 ground troops on December 19, Ankara was a
lonely voice among NATO allies welcoming the decision.Erdogan has
promised Trump that Turkey could finish off the remnants of IS in
Syria.“A military victory against the terrorist group is a mere first
step,” he said in the New York Times, warning against premature
declarations of victory.‘No concessions’-Trump said Monday the fight
against IS was not over.“We will be leaving at a proper pace while at
the same time continuing to fight ISIS and doing all else that is
prudent and necessary!” he tweeted.Nicholas Heras, an analyst at the
Center for a New American Security, said Ankara would need support from
Washington to completely eradicate IS, “to the point where the US
military would essentially still be inside Syria.”The US had been
working closely with the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG)
militia under the banner of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)
alliance.But US-Turkey relations have been especially rocky over
American military support to the YPG.Ankara says the YPG is a “terrorist
offshoot” of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has
been waging an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984.The PKK
is proscribed as a terror group by Ankara and its Western allies.And
Erdogan’s comments on Tuesday showed disagreements still existed over
the future of the YPG.The Turkish leader chastised Washington for
bringing a new definition to terror. “There cannot be such a thing,” he
said, assuring that Ankara would not make any concessions in the fight
against the YPG.“Those who are in the terror corridor in Syria will
learn necessary lessons,” he said. “To us, there is no little difference
between the YPG and the PKK.”-Airspace issue-Last month, Erdogan
threatened to launch a cross-border operation against the YPG, east of
the Euphrates River, which he said later would be delayed after Trump’s
order.But Turkey has sent military convoys to its border with Syria and
inside the war-ravaged country.Turkish military analyst Metin Gurcan
said Ankara was currently being held back on the operation by the issue
of airspace, which was on the agenda for Tuesday’s talks.Gurcan said it
was not clear whether the US would withdraw from the airspace, but even
if Washington did so, Ankara would need the support of Moscow for any
operation.Turkish military forces supporting Syrian rebels launched
incursions into northern Syria against IS in August 2016 and against the
YPG in January 2018.
32 said killed in Islamic State
counterattack in east Syria-Despite losses, US-backed Syrian Democratic
Forces rally and recapture all territory jihadists seized in offensive
launched under cover of bad weather-By AFP-TOI-JAN 10,19
BEIRT,
Lebanon — Die-hard jihadists defending their last bastions in eastern
Syria used the cover of bad weather to launch a vain but deadly
counterattack against Kurdish-led fighters.The Islamic State group was
unable to hold on to the positions it attacked but the assault killed 23
members of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and also left
nine jihadists dead.IS fighters took advantage of poor visibility to
unleash suicide attackers on SDF forces along the front line in the
Euphrates valley late on Sunday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
said Tuesday.“Twenty-three SDF fighters were killed and nine IS
jihadists were also killed in fighting that lasted all night and into
Monday morning,” Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.The jihadists
often launch attacks under the cover of bad weather that cancels out
their opponents’ advantage of US-led coalition air power.The SDF
launched what is meant to be the final offensive on the jihadist
organisation four months ago with air and ground support from coalition
forces.The Kurdish-Arab alliance has deployed some 17,000 fighters for
an operation aimed at flushing out IS from the last rump of its
now-defunct “caliphate.”IS fighters “launched deadly counterattacks in
three different directions against the Syrian Democratic Forces,
including in the villages of Sousa and Al-Shaafa,” Abdel Rahman
said.-Final push-He said they used at least two suicide bombers in their
attacks, which inflicted the latest in a string of heavy losses on the
SDF.According to the Observatory, 1,087 IS jihadists were killed since
the start of the operation on September 10 while 602 members of the SDF
also died.“On Monday morning, the SDF launched an offensive and retook
all the positions they lost,” the Observatory said.“Due to its depleted
manpower, IS was unable to hold on to the positions it attacked,” it
said.Abdel Rahman said the jihadists’ defenses in the area have
collapsed and the end of the battle is near.The IS jihadists who remain
however include seasoned fighters who have little to lose and are
prepared to die in a last stand.The meanders of the Euphrates in those
areas of the Deir Ezzor province near the border with Iraq are
considered the heartland of IS and are a perilous terrain for the SDF.In
mid-December, the SDF took Hajin, the last town of note in the
IS-controlled pocket, signalling the imminent fall of the jihadists’
last bastion.An announcement by US President Donald Trump last month
that he was ordering a complete troop pullout from Syria rattled the
Kurds.It left them exposed to the threat of a cross-border operation by
their arch-foe Turkey and protesting that they had been poorly rewarded
for doing much of the heavy-lifting in the battle against IS.They have
pressed on with their operation in eastern Syria regardless and
Washington has since stressed any withdrawal would be gradual.
Netanyahu
hails arrest of suspected terrorist-Politicians welcome capture of Asem
Barghouti but call for harsher measures; mother of slain soldier says
she will campaign for death penalty-By Stuart Winer and TOI staff-JAN
10,19
Lawmakers on Tuesday welcomed the capture of a
Palestinian man suspected of carrying out a deadly terror shooting last
month, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing to bring to justice
any who attack Israeli citizens.Asem Barghouti is believed to have
opened fire at a bus stop outside the Givat Assaf outpost near Ramallah
in the West Bank on December 13, killing two soldiers stationed there —
Sgt. Yosef Cohen and Staff Sgt. Yovel Mor Yosef — and seriously injuring
a third serviceman and a civilian woman. Barghouti fled the scene after
the attack, evading Israeli troops for almost a month before his
capture in the village of Abu Shukheidim in the predawn hours of the
morning, the Shin Bet security service said.In a tweet, Netanyahu
congratulated the security forces involved in “the capture of the
depraved terrorist” and vowed that “Israel’s long arm will reach those
who attack our citizens and Israel will bring them to justice.”Ofir
Gendelman, the prime minister’s spokesperson for Arab media, tweeted,
“We always get those who kill our people.”Ilanit Mor Yosef, mother of
slain soldier Yovel, told Army Radio that she would campaign for
legislation enabling the death sentence for terrorists.“My son was
fighting terrorism and we will continue his war,” she said. “We will not
rest until the death penalty for terrorists is passed [into law].”Asked
about Barghouti’s capture, she noted that he had already been
imprisoned in Israel in the past.“He was already in jail and released,
so what? Apparently the conditions there were so good that he chose to
go back and carry out this attack,” she said.Barghouti was set free from
an Israeli prison in April 2017 after serving an 11-year
sentence.Transportation Minister Israel Katz congratulated security
forces and declared in a tweet, “We will bring to justice all of the
terrorists and those who send them.”Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein
similarly tweeted, “We will catch and bring to justice all those who
seek to drive us out of here and to undermine our existence in the Land
of Israel.”Education Minister Naftali Bennett applauded the capture, but
called for more stringent measures against terrorists, including
controversial home demolitions, ending Palestinian Authority payments to
the families of attackers, and the expulsion of attackers’ families
from their homes to other areas of the West Bank.“It is not enough to
catch terrorist murderers,” he tweeted. “Their homes must be destroyed
quickly, compensation money must be denied to their families, and the
family members should be deported.“As long as that doesn’t happen, the
incentives [paid by the PA] will continue to encourage Palestinians to
murder Jews,” he continued, and vowed that his recently formed New Right
party will “act not just to kill the terrorist mosquitoes, but also to
dry up the terrorist swamp.”The demolition of attackers’ homes has been
criticized by human rights groups as a form of collective punishment,
and some analysts and officials question its effectiveness as a
deterrent measure.Former defense minister Avigdor Liberman, while
welcoming Barghouti’s arrest, panned the government for not passing the
death sentence legislation previously proposed by his Yisrael Beytenu
party. Liberman resigned from the government in November in protest to
what he said was the government’s weakness in dealing with terrorism
from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.“[Barghouti] is an extremist
Islamic activist who belongs to a clan that has been involved in attacks
against Israelis for many years,” Liberman wrote. “This is the classic
case in which it is lamentable that Yisrael Beytenu’s death penalty for
terrorists [bill] was torpedoed by the Likud and coalition
leaders.”According to the Shin Bet, Barghouti also took part in another
shooting attack at the entrance to the Ofra settlement on December 9
with his brother, Salih — days before the fatal Givat Assaf shooting —
in which they injured seven Israelis, among them a seven-months pregnant
woman. The woman’s baby was delivered in an emergency operation, but
died days later.Salih was shot dead on December 12 in Kobar as he
attacked Israeli security forces in an attempt to evade arrest, the army
said.The national-religious Jewish Home party, which Bennett headed
until he left last month together with Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked to
form the New Right party, is sponsoring a bill that would allow Israel
to forcibly relocate the families of Palestinian attackers from their
homes to other areas of the West Bank. In December ministers voted to
advance the legislation despite opposition from the attorney
general.Yisrael Beytenu’s death sentence bill is currently being
reviewed by the Knesset Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee, which
has yet to approve it for a first reading in parliament. Liberman has
accused the government of deliberately holding up the legislation.The
bill passed a preliminary reading in Knesset in January 2018 despite
reservations by some coalition lawmakers. Its progress since then has
been repeatedly delayed due to opposition from the security
establishment.Although the death penalty formally exists in Israeli law,
it has only ever been used once — in 1962 in the case of Nazi officer
Adolf Eichmann, one of the architects of the Holocaust. The Yisrael
Beytenu bill aims to make capital punishment easier to apply by reducing
the number of judges required to approve it.
