Tuesday, October 22, 2024

GUESS WHO-AMERICA BACK IN ISRAEL TRYING TO FORCE A CEASEFIRE.GET A LIFE BRAIN-DEAD HARRIS-BIDEN BRAIN DEADS.

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)

 GUESS WHO-AMERICA BACK IN ISRAEL TRYING TO FORCE A CEASEFIRE.GET A LIFE BRAIN-DEAD HARRIS-BIDEN BRAIN DEADS.

A FALSE PROPHET COMES FROM THE VATICAN ALSO AT THIS TIME.

ISAIAH 23:15-17
15  And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot.
16  Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.
17  And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.(COULD THIS BE 70 YEARS AFTER ISRAEL BECAME A NATION IN 1948)(IF SO THIS SATANIC ONE WORLD WHORE CHURCH WILL MINGLE TOGETHER BY 2018)(AND NOW ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITY AND ALL RELIGIONS ARE MINGLING AS ONE PEACE-LOVE-JOY-GET ALONG RELIGION LEAD BY THE VATICAN RIGHT NOW 4 YEARS FROM THE 70 YEAR TIME WHEN ISRAEL BECAME A NATION).AND IN CONTROL OF JERUSALEM.

REVELATION 13:11-18
11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth;(FALSE VATICAN POPE) and he had two horns like a lamb,(JESUS IS THE LAMB OF GOD) and he spake as a dragon.(HES SATANICALLY INSPIRED,HES A CHRISTIAN DEFECTOR FROM THE FAITH)
12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him,(WORLD DICTATOR) and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.(THE WORLD DICTATOR CREATES A FALSE RESURRECTION AND IS CROWNED LEADER OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER).
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM

REVELATION 17:1-18
1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication,(VATICAN IN POLITICS) and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4 And the woman (FALSE CHURCH) was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour,(VATICAN COLOURS)(ANOTHER REASON WE KNOW THE FALSE POPE COMES FROM THE VATICAN) and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:(THE VATICAN GOES AGAINST A PRIEST MARRING A WOMAN-LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS-AND WHATS AN ABOMINATION AGAINST GOD-HOMOSEXUALITY AND PEDOPHILIA JUST LIKE THIS SCRIPTURE SAYS-FORNICATION IS THE SINGLE HOMOSEXUAL PRIESTS IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH HAVING UNMARRIED FORNICATION OR SEX WITH SINGLES-IN THIS CASE ITS SEX WITH CHILDREN OR PEDOPHILIA)
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.(THE VATICAN IS BUILT ON 7 HILLS OR MOUNTAINS)
10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen,(1-ASSYRIA,2-EGYPT,3-BABYLON,4-MEDO-PERSIA,5-GREECE) and one is,(IN POWER IN JOHNS AND JESUS DAY-6-ROME) and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.(7TH-REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE OR THE EUROPEAN UNION TODAY AND THE SHORT SPACE IS-THE EUROPEAN UNION WILL HAVE WORLD CONTROL FOR THE LAST 3 1/2 YEARS.BUT WILL HAVE ITS MIGHTY WORLD POWER FOR THE FULL 7 YEARS OF THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD.AND THE WORLD DICTATOR WILL BE THE BEAST FROM THE EU.AND THE VATICAN POPE WILL BE THE WHORE THAT RIDES THE EUROPEAN UNION TO POWER.AND THE 2 EUROPEAN UNION POWER FREAKS WILL CONTROL AND DECIEVE THE WHOLE EARTH INTO THEIR DESTRUCTION.IF YOU ARE NOT SAVED BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS.YOU WILL BE DECIEVED BY THESE TWO.THE WORLD POLITICIAN-THE EUROPEAN UNION DICTATOR.AND THE FALSE PROPHET THAT DEFECTS CHRISTIANITY-THE FALSE VATICAN POPE.
11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.(VATICAN-CATHOLICS ALL AROUND THE WORLD OVER 1 BILLION)
16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast,(WORLD DICTATOR) these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.(GOD HIMSELF GIVES THE OK TO NUKE THE VATICAN)
17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.(VATICAN)

POPE FRANCIS FALLS TO SATANIC BLESSING OF HOMOSEXUALS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES6SD6RVcuo

Too Smart to Believe There is a Devil?-By Joe Tevington-7 September AD 2024    

More than a half-century ago, St Pope Paul VI warned that “the smoke of Satan has entered the Church of God” (6/29/1972).  He went on to say,This matter of the Devil and of the influence he can exert …is a very important chapter of Catholic doctrine which should be studied again, although it is given little attention today (11/15/1972).It was probably William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist that brought Satan more into early 1970s conversations than St Pope Paul VI’s words (cf, Exorcism and Popular Culture): I thought I was writing was a novel of faith in the popular dress of a thrilling and suspenseful detective story – in other words, a sermon that no one could possibly sleep through — and to this day I haven’t the faintest recollection of any intention to frighten the reader.When I first heard, in 1949, of an actual case of demonic possession and an exorcism going on nearby while I was a junior at Georgetown University, I remember thinking, ‘Someday, somebody’s got to write about this, because if an investigation were to prove that possession is real, what a help it would be to the struggling faith of possibly millions, for if there were demons, I reasoned, then why not angels? Why not God?’ (William Peter Blatty, FoxNews.com, 10/28/11)Though popular culture still seems to like a “good scare,” my impression is that notions of demonic influence are not taken very seriously.  Many seem to fancy themselves as “too smart” for such a belief.Civilization Before Jesus, With Jesus and After Jesus-A “messianic rabbi,” Jonathan Cahn, relates how Western Civilization was changed for the unimaginably better by its rejection of pagan “gods”/demons and its embrace of the One True God of Christianity:with the entrance of the gospel into the pagan world, there came an inevitable collision of values over the sanctity of human life, the value of women, the treatment of the weak, the care of the sick, and the worth and protection of children, born and unborn (The Return of the gods, p. 90).In a pattern unbelievable but sadly predictable, we are now witnessing widespread rejection of the Christian message (cf, p. 28).  We see the widespread embrace of abortion, IVF, marital dissolution, and encouragement of sexual confusion (cf., Catholic Stand, 8/7/2024).  Catholics need to embrace practices that keep evil at bay! (cf, Bishop Donald W. Montrose, 4/1/1996) Does the Catholic Church Even Still Teach that there is a Devil? It is widely known that many Catholics do not believe that Holy Communion is the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ.  How even practicing Catholics could fall into such error is beyond me.Though bishops, priests, and deacons may mention Satan and other demons infrequently, the Church absolutely acknowledges their existence! CCC 391 Behind the disobedient choice of our first parents lurks a seductive voice, opposed to God, which makes them fall into death out of envy.CCC 266  Scripture and the Church’s Tradition see in this being a fallen angel, called “Satan” or the “devil”.CCC 267 The Church teaches that Satan was at first a good angel, made by God….Scripture witnesses to the disastrous influence of the one Jesus calls “a murderer from the beginning”, who would even try to divert Jesus from the mission received from his Father.273….395 ….Although Satan may act in the world out of hatred for God and His kingdom in Christ Jesus, and although his action may cause grave injuries – of a spiritual nature and, indirectly, even of a physical nature – to each man and to society, the action is permitted by Divine Providence which with strength and gentleness guides human and cosmic history. It is a great mystery that providence should permit diabolical activity, but “we know that in everything God works for good with those who love him.”1673 When the Church asks publicly and authoritatively in the name of Jesus Christ that a person or object be protected against the power of the Evil One and withdrawn from his dominion, it is called exorcism. Jesus performed exorcisms and from Him the Church has received the power and office of exorcizing. In a simple form, exorcism is performed at the celebration of Baptism. the solemn exorcism, called “a major exorcism,” can be performed only by a priest and with the permission of the bishop. the priest must proceed with prudence, strictly observing the rules established by the Church. Exorcism is directed at the expulsion of demons or to the liberation from demonic possession through the spiritual authority which Jesus entrusted to his Church. Illness, especially psychological illness, is a very different matter; treating this is the concern of medical science. Therefore, before an exorcism is performed, it is important to ascertain that one is dealing with the presence of the Evil One, and not an illness.(Catechism of the Catholic Church) As we are reminded in Interview with an Exorcist, “confession is a divine gift much greater than exorcism…. Frequent confession strengthens us in sanctifying grace and is a powerful force in helping us resist temptation” Conclusion-As previously mentioned, we are seeing the widespread embrace of abortion, IVF, and marital dissolution, as well as the encouragement of sexual confusion.  Are we too naïve to question the source? Put bluntly by one priest: Catholics are obliged to believe in the existence of the Devil and of Hell…. Priests and bishops who don’t teach about Hell will probably wind up there.  It is my job to keep as many of you as possible out of Hell (Fr. John Zuhlsdorf, 11/21/2017)

WORSHIPPING MARY THE MOTHER ONLY OF JESUS IS FALSE.JESUS IS GOD MARY WAS JUST A NORMAL MOTHER NOT GOD.GO DIRECTLY TO JESUS.NOT THREW MARY. MARY CAN;T SAVE ANYBODY FROM HELL FIRE.

Holy Mary, Mother Of God-By Mark Belanger-22 October AD 2024

mother, mom, Mary, Fatima-More than anywhere else, I grew up in Permian Basin oil fields of West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico. At the northeastern edge of the Chihuahuan Desert, the area is flat, hot, dry, and apart from the Hispanic population, extremely Protestant.So being from West Texas, I grew up Episcopalian. And for many, Episcopalians are half-way Catholics.  But even if that were true, it is a half without Marian devotion.There was more than a little “Those Catholics worship Mary” rumbling in the background in those days.  Even then, however, I discarded this as ignorant and unfounded.  But it did leave me with a curiosity about Marian devotion. This curiosity  became very active when I converted to Roman Catholicism.While I went to RICA classes (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, now called OCIA) in 2006, the teachers covered a lot of ground in a (relatively) few short hours.  Mary and Marian devotion, however, did not receive a lot of coverage during the classes. So when my weekly study group recently decided to read and discuss the book “World’s First Love: Mary, Mother of God” by Archbishop Fulton Sheen and Fr. Andrew Apostoli C. F. R., I experienced some eager anticipation.I haven’t been disappointed.Correction – I haven’t been disappointed intellectually. I am still waiting to connect emotionally with Mary the way many of my friends in the Church do.Emotional Connections-Being honest, emotional connection in devotions is, to put it politely and mildly, not my strong suit. There are times during worship services, at times in the Adoration Chapel when I do have emotional surges. Usually these are feelings of sorrow accompanied by tears.There was a time a few years back when this was not uncommon for me during Mass.This was possibly a gift during a particular time of sorrow in the Church.  I think this because it has not persisted in any consistent way.  The emotional surges passed once the sorrow passed.The point is, while I know what emotional connection and experience is like, I have rarely experienced it except for certain special periods of time.So I find I have at least some mild feeling of being left out when people talk about their emotional connections in a way suggesting that this is their default experience in worship or devotional practices like prayer or meditation.This can present a challenge in approaching the study of Mary.Parental Relationships-I have read that our relationships with our earthly father can influence our relationships with God. The same, I suppose, is true of our relationship with the Mother of God.My relationship with my mother was increasingly distant over the years. At one point one I recall her church friends asked her how I was doing.  She replied “Well, you’ve probably heard from him more recently than I have.”To be fair to both of us, in her sudden final illness she called me and I came at once.  I  was either with her or outside in the hospital hall for her final 30 hours.  But even that final intimate devotion left me with difficult, complicated feelings.  It took several years of therapy and prayer to come to peace with these feelings.So when I read the enthusiastic, emotional comparisons of devotion to Mary that compares her to our earthly mothers, I can find myself struggling with my more difficult memories.I had some similar challenges during my adult conversion with God as our Father.  Likely this was because my mom had less than wonderful taste in husbands (only 2 of them, fortunately). Being a male and having been a husband since I was 20 years old, however,  has helped me here.  I had a somewhat easier time getting over the distortions my earthly fathers promoted in my image of God the Father.Dreaming-But it is only recently that I have really come to grapple with my desire to develop a relationship with our Heavenly Mother. It began in my weekly Holy Hour reflections and prayers, and intensified in our weekly study group.Some time back I had a vivid dream in which I was sleeping in one of the church pews! I was actually home in bed, but you know how dreams can be. I dream-awakened to find an apparition of the Blessed Virgin before me.In the dream I knew I needed to kiss her feet, but was convinced that to do that would leave my lips blistered and scorched. As I rose to do so, I woke up.  As you can imagine, the dream left a strong impression on me.Understanding-Since then I have gone through periods when I pray for a better, more emotional connection to Mary, but seldom for very long. I tend to return to my cautious, circumspect West Texas Episcopal childhood attitude.  This is one of respect tinged with caution against getting “carried away.”  And every few months I return to that dream, understanding that my fear in the dream must represent some fear in my current life.I have sought counsel, and have been advised that sometimes our reluctance is protecting us from issues that we are not ready to handle.   Slow and gentle progress is preferred to  sudden and abrupt change.My response to this runs from agreeing that it is wise thinking, and remembering an old cartoon.  The cartoon is two vultures sitting in a tree in a desert.  One vulture says to the other, “I’m done with patience; let’s kill something.”The stark brutality of the old joke usually bring me up short and back to the idea that gentle progress is likely far more wise than attempting to transform from a vulture to an eagle.Reading Bishop Sheen’s and Fr. Apostoli’s book is shoring up, expending, and refining my understanding of Marian devotion. But as is so often the case for us all, it will take time and prayer and God’s moving in His own time to bring me to the emotional connection that seems to be so rich and rewarding for many of my fellow parishioners.Prayer-Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us, lost children of Eve as we search to become closer to your Son, Jesus, to our God his Father, and to you and all the saints.Heavenly Father, help us balance our understanding with our feelings, that we may more fully enter nourishing relationships with you and the Trinity, with the communion of saints, and especially with the Holy Family. Guide us and guard us and lead us from seeing dimly, “as in a mirror,” to seeing “face to face,” and to knowing “fully, as I am fully known.”Amen.

Woe to Those who call Evil Good, and Good Evil-By Deacon Frank-19 October AD 2024    

Independence Day-The title of this article comes from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. The full quote is as follows:Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20) Isaiah conveyed this message of God to his people, 2,700 years ago; and it’s as relevant today as anytime in the history of Christianity. Our culture is under attack from forces that are attempting to destroy our Judeo-Christian culture, and they are doing so under the cover of darkness and confusion. These forces include powers and principalities aiding and abetting those who have rejected God and his eternal truth.A partial list of actions prevalent in our society today that are relevant to this passage of Isaiah are (1) abortion, which is tantamount to the killing of an innocent and helpless preborn life; (2) trans-sexual rights and activities, most especially those aimed at young children; this while parents are kept in the dark concerning their efforts at promoting gender confusion; (3) the human trafficking of women and children into the sex trade which is tolerated by and in some cases fostered by those in powerful positions within our society; (4) the fentanyl epidemic which currently claims the lives of nearly 100,000 Americans each year, the equivalent of two Vietnam war deaths every year; (5) inflation that is mislabeled as economic growth, increasing the real inflation rate which further impoverishes the lower and middle classes; (6) the perverse treatment of citizens frequently to the benefit of illegal migrants; (7) and, the indoctrination of philosophies in our school systems, most especially in higher education, whose aim is to divide us and to ultimately destroy our Judeo-Chistian culture.This is simply to name a few. There are many, many others. And all of this as we move inexhaustibly closer to a third world war! And that too is not by happenstance.All of these are symptomatic evils that are portrayed by many in our culture as a good. Each is conveyed as a great light of freedom but in truth is really an obfuscation, enslavement, and a great darkness. Presented as sweet they produce in one’s spiritual palate great bitterness. Is there any wonder why suicides have increased so dramatically in our recent past? What are we to do? The problems appear so monumental in scope that it paralyses the vast majority of good people. But Americans are resilient.I think St. Paul said it best. This quote from his letter to the Romans aptly sums up where we are and what we must now do:It is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed; the night is far spent, the day draws near. Let us then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and licentiousness, not in rivalry or jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh. (Rom 13:11-14) If one closely examines the partial list of actions I referenced above they all have at their root cause the desires of the flesh. And their consequences are causing great stress and strain on the very fabric on our nation and the world at large.In my view, we must take to heart these words of Paul. I think many of you may well recognize the night is indeed far spent in the present hour. If you believe this, then believe what Paul tells us is the necessary next step. To put on the armor of light which is eternal truth. We can no longer tolerate the obfuscation of the truth.An election looms over our great nation. From my vantage point the choice could not be clearer. Examine my partial list above and ask yourself are each of these evils in the eyes of God? And if you concur with all or most of these as indeed evil, ask yourself where do the two candidates for the presidency of the United States stand on each one? In my view, this election is the most important and consequential election since that of Abraham Lincoln in 1860.His election led us into the great conflict we call the Civil War. It was a war fought over the institution of slavery. A heinous institution that denied the basic and inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to black Americans solely on the basis of the color of their skin.Today our great nation faces an even more sinister enemy. I say this because it’s faceless and multifaceted and is every bit as evil as the proponents of slavery were in the 18th and 19th centuries. It’s true aim is to enslave the masses.As citizens we have a civic duty to vote. Exercise this constitutional right as a first and important step in putting on that armor of light! God’s eternal Truth! When casting your ballot ask yourself “What would Jesus do”? Let his wisdom lead you to choose wisely…The Editor- in chief’s reminder: The writers on Catholic Stand are united as obedient Catholics, but please do not attribute the opinions of any one writer to the entire group as a whole.

HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER

JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

REVELATION 18:10,17,19
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.(IN 1 HR THE STOCK MARKETS WORLDWIDE WILL CRASH)
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed:(CONFISCATED) their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.

MARK OF THE BEAST (engraved microchip in your hand or forehead)

REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, (SLAVE) to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM

REVELATION 16:1-2
1 And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
2 And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.

I KNOW THIS MARK WILL BE A MICROCHIP IMPLANT UNDER THE SKIN. LETS LOOK UP WHAT THE WORD MARK SAYS IN REVELATION 13:16-18, 14:9,11, 15:2, 16:2, 19:20, 20:4-ALL THESE VERSES FROM THE BOOK OF REVELATION SPEAK OF THIS DICTATORS MARK. NOW LETS SEE WHAT IT MEANS FROM STRONGS EXAUSTIVE CONCORDANCE OF THE BIBLE. UNDER MARK PAGE 684.MARK UNDER MARK. THE OLD TESTAMENT IS UNDER HEBREW AND THE NEW TESTAMENT IS UNDER GREEK. SO WHEN WE LOOK UNDER REVELATION 13:16-17 WE SEE IT IS UNDER GREEK, SO WE GO TO GREEK IN THE BACK SECTION AND GO TO 5480 TO SEE WHAT IT SAYS THIS MARK WOULD BE. SO LETS GET TO IT.MARK IN STRONGS GREEK 5480 XAPAYUA CHARAGMA, KHAR-AG-MAH: FROM THE SAME AS 5482: A SCRATCH OR ETCHING, I.E STAMP (AS A BADGE OF SERVITUDE), OR SCULPTURED FIGURE-(STATUE):-GRAVEN, MARK FROM 5482 XAPAE CHARAX, KHAR-AX; FROM XAPAOOW CHARASSO (TO SHARPEN TO A POINT; AKIN TO 1125 THROUGH THE IDEA OF SCRATCHING); A STAKE, I.E (BYIMPL.) A PALISADE OR RAMPART (MILITARY MOUND FOR CIRCUMVALLATION IN A SIEGE): - TRENCH FROM 1125 YPAPOE GRAPHO, GRAF-0; A PRIM. VERB; TO "GRAVE", ESPEC. TO WRITE; FIG. TO DESCRIBE:-DESCRIBE, WRITE (-ING, -TEN).G5516-GO TO G4742-666 - STRONGS NT 4742: στίγμα - στίγμα, στιγματος, τό (from στίζω to prick; (cf. Latinstimulus, etc.; German stechen, English stick, sting, etc.; Curtius, § 226)), a mark pricked in or branded upon the body. According to ancient oriental usage, slaves and soldiers bore the name or stamp of their master or commander branded or pricked (cut) into their bodies to indicate what master or general they belonged to, and there were even some devotees who stamped themselves in this way with the token of their gods (cf. Deyling, Observations, iii., p. 423ff); hence, τά στίγματα τοῦ (κυρίου so Rec.) Ἰησοῦ, the marks of (the Lord) Jesus, which Paul in Galatians 6:17 says he bears branded on his body, are the traces left there by the perils, hardships, imprisonments, scourgings, endured by him for the cause of Christ, and which mark him as Christ's faithful and approved votary, servant, soldier (see Lightfoots Commentary on Galatians, the passage cited). (Herodotus 7, 233; Aristotle, Aelian, Plutarch, Lcian, others.)

THE INVENTOR OF THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT-CARL SANDERS MICROCHIP ENGINEER LEADER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgH9D6n4ZWo

THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT IN YOUR RIGHT HAND OR FOREHEAD.

LEVETICUS 19.28
Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.

FAMINE

EZEKIEL 5:16
16  When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread:

REVELATION 6:5-6
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.(A DAYS WAGES FOR A LOAF OF BREAD)

MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

DEUTORONOMY 28:24
24  The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.

LOCUSTS (DEMONIC) TORTURES SINNERS 5 MONTHS
REVELATION 9:1-6
1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
3 And there came out of the smoke (DEMONIC) locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

China, Vatican extend deal on bishop appointments.

Vatican City, Oct 22 (AFP) Oct 22, 2024-China and the Vatican announced Tuesday they were extending a historic deal on the appointment of bishops for another four years, marking a new stage in improving ties.The Vatican and China's Communist leadership do not have formal diplomatic relations, as the Vatican recognises Taiwan while Beijing claims the self-ruled island as its own territory.But they agreed in 2018 to allow both sides a say in the naming of bishops in China, whose population includes around 12 million Catholics.The deal -- whose text has never been made public -- has drawn criticism from within the Church, with some seeing it as allowing the Communist government a stranglehold over the country's Catholics.Yet as Pope Francis seeks to make inroads for the Church in China, it was renewed in 2020 and again 2022, each time for two years.The four-year extension shows a "mutual trust", said Michel Chambon, an expert on Christianity in Asia at the National University of Singapore."It is not simply an extension, but a new generation agreement. It proves that it works sufficiently, trust is increasing and we are moving forward," he told AFP.- 'Constructive spirit' -Since a split in the 1950s, China's Catholic faithful have been divided between two camps.One was state-sanctioned, their religious celebrations strictly regulated by the Communist Party, the other operated underground but with the support of the Vatican.The 2018 deal aimed to bring them back together while giving Pope Francis -- the head of the world's almost 1.4 billion Catholics -- the final say in bishops' appointments."Through friendly consultations, the two sides have decided to extend the agreement for another four years," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a regular briefing on Tuesday.He said both sides "have given positive evaluations" of the deal and "will maintain talks with a constructive spirit and continue to promote the improvement of China-Vatican relations".The Vatican said in a statement Tuesday that it "remains dedicated to furthering the respectful and constructive dialogue" with Beijing aimed at furthering bilateral relations "for the benefit of the Catholic Church in China and the Chinese people as a whole".- 'Not a danger' -The Vatican said the renewal of the deal had followed "appropriate consultation and assessment".Many believers maintain that government repression against the underground Church still takes place despite the China-Vatican rapprochement.Since deal was struck, Beijing has appointed some bishops without consultations with the Vatican.Last year, the Vatican said China had appointed a new bishop of Shanghai, the country's largest Catholic diocese.And in November 2022, the Vatican expressed regret at the appointment of a bishop in a Chinese diocese that the Holy See does not recognise.China's constitution guarantees religious freedom.But rights groups say religious organisations face routine persecution and that freedom to worship is severely curtailed -- a trend they say has worsened under President Xi Jinping.Chambon said that under the deal, 25 bishops had been regularised out of a total of 98, "a very significant proportion"."Beijing is today much more reassured that Catholics are not a danger," he said.Returning from an Asia-Pacific tour in September, Pope Francis said he was "pleased with the dialogues with China", saying "the results are good".He said he would like to visit China, which he described as "a promise and a hope for the Church."

Lohrmann on Cybersecurity-From Progress to Bans: How Close Are Human Microchip Implants? A lot has happened in the past 12 months regarding human microchip implants. Here’s your roundup of recent developments.February 05, 2023 • Dan Lohrmann

A headline from The Hill in January 2023 proclaimed “Human microchip implants take center stage.”Here’s how that article begins:“The novelty of replacing one’s ‘home key’ with a microchip implant is gaining worldwide interest, but there’s another more compelling story under the surface. Why is this technology — an integrated circuit the size of a grain of rice — reviled by some and celebrated by self-proclaimed human cyborgs?“Arguably, William Shakespeare’sHamlet offers the most elegant explanation: ‘Nothing is neither good nor bad, but thinking makes it so.’ However, it would be prudent to tell Prince Hamlet that not all microchip implants are designed alike, and understanding the technological design enables one to better evaluate the competing viewpoints. Today, more than 50,000 people have elected to have a subdermal chip surgically inserted between the thumb and index finger, serve as their new swipe key, or credit card. In Germany, for example, more than 2,000 Germans have opted to receive these implants; one man even used it to store a link to his last will and testament. As chip storage capacity increases, perhaps users could even link to the complete works of Shakespeare.”The article goes on to provide an update of many advances and concerns in the practice of inserting microchips into humans, and this blog is referenced several times.Indeed, I have written about microchip implants from a cybersecurity and privacy perspective three times before, and it is clear to me that inquiring minds still want to know: What is the future of microchip implants? Why do I say that with confidence? Because blogs on this topic of microchip implants still receive very high page views and lots of interest from global readers. For your reference, here are those three blogs:July 2017: “Where Next for Microchip Implants?”November 2018: “Chip Implants: The Next Big Privacy Debate”January 2022: “Chip Implants: Opportunities, Concerns and What Could Be Next”MICROCHIP IMPLANT STORIES FROM THE PAST YEAR-Back in March of last year, Wired magazine offered this video on “The Science Behind Elon Musk’s Neuralink Brain Chip”:And in April 2022, the BBC published this story on microchip implants that let you pay with your hand. Here’s an excerpt:“Patrick Paumen causes a stir whenever he pays for something in a shop or restaurant.“This is because the 37-year-old doesn’t need to use a bank card or his mobile phone to pay. Instead, he simply places his left hand near the contactless card reader, and the payment goes through.“‘The reactions I get from cashiers are priceless!’ says Mr. Paumen, a security guard from the Netherlands.“He is able to pay using his hand because back in 2019 he had a contactless payment microchip injected under his skin.”But last December, another article asked if microchip implants in the human brain are still too dangerous. The article does a great job in covering the many benefits and drawbacks of the microchip implants, from curing diseases to complications in getting Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval.Meanwhile, many state governments are passing laws to prevent forced microchip implants on employees and others. For example, Wyoming just passed such a bill.According The Hill, “to date, at least 10 state legislatures in the United States have passed statutes to ban employers from requiring employees to receive human microchip implants.”FINAL THOUGHTS-Back in 2018, I listed a number of key questions that I think need to be answered as this human chip implant practice moves forward. I still think these are the right questions (and some are starting to get answered):What are the benefits of implanting the chip(s)?Is implanting chips physically and emotionally safe?Who owns the data on the chip?Who has access to the data — and when?Do the chips communicate, somehow, with outside networks?How are chips updated when flaws are found?Can the chips be hacked? Assuming yes, what security is in place to stop unauthorized access to data and manipulation of data?Do religious beliefs forbid the practice?Is implanting the microchip truly voluntary? Will it still be voluntary tomorrow or in 10 or 20 years? Is the practice medically necessary? Are incentives offered to those who participate?Are penalties coming for those who don’t participate?Will being chipped start as an exception and become the rule?Will ethical and moral processes and procedures be breached by hackers? (No way to stop the bad actors once you begin.)What laws are put in place on this implanted chip topic? What company policies are affected? On a wider scale, since the Internet is an accelerator for good and evil at the same time, what good or evil outcomes will we see from this implanted chip trend?

World rebrand comes with governance shuffle, promise of decentralized ownership-Tools for Humanity no longer identifies as World parent company-Oct 22, 2024, 5:05 pm EDT    | Joel R. McConvey

By now, most who are familiar with the World digital ID project will associate it with its main public advocates, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Tools for Humanity CEO Alex Blania. But who is Chris “W” Waclawek? Or Phillip Sippl? Pascal Weinberger? How about “a Cayman Islands based professional director”?Following World’s recent rebrand and announcement of a major expansion, the last four entities comprise the Board of Directors of the World Foundation. Tools for Humanity (TFH) – which was, until recently, acknowledged as its parent company and lead developer of the iris biometrics and digital identity venture – now asks to be credited as a “contributor.” The foundation’s website says it is “memberless” and “has no owners or shareholders.”“The Foundation’s founding documents specifically contemplate DAO-driven governance,” it says, referring to blockchain-based Decentralized Autonomous Organization structures. “The documents make it possible, through a prescribed process, for the [DAO] / [Worldcoin community] to make recommendations to the Foundation’s Board of Directors. The Board is then bound to ‘observe, implement, carry out, action and execute with best efforts any and all DAO Recommendations,’ subject to directors’ fiduciary duties and legal requirements.”Circular structure of World governance spins outward toward decentralization-World is aiming to project a sense of infinite openness and communal ownership as it sprints toward its vision of “a globally-inclusive identity and financial network, owned by the majority of humanity.” But even if everyone co-owns the boat, who is driving?Crunchbase tells us that “Chris Waclawek is an Executive at Worldcoin. He attended the University of Warsaw.” His bio on X promises “techno optimism & infinite games.” Phillip Sippl is German; there is not a ton of public information on him beyond that. LinkedIn tells us that Pascal Weinberger, sole director of Weinberger Ventures GmbH, is “building cool new things.” Presumably, someone in the Cayman Islands puts down their surfboard long enough to attend Zoom calls. These four govern the World Foundation, the “initial steward” of the decentralized open source World protocol and its biometric mission.World Foundation is also the sole member and sole director of World Assets Ltd., “a business company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands,” which distributes Worldcoin (WLD) tokens to the World Network. World Assets Ltd. is “solely responsible for the content of the World documentation located at whitepaper.worldcoin.org.”Where do Sam Altman and Alex Blania fit in? They are credited, along with Max Novendsternnow, as co-founders of the Worldcoin project. At this stage, Altman is largely being positioned as the chief prophet of World, a figurehead to lead the new faith. He is on course to accrue wealth on par with Mark Zuckerberg and other tech billionaires, and be lionized in the manner of Steve Jobs as an icon of technological transformation.Blania, meanwhile, is the CEO of TFH, which World defines as “a global technology company established to accelerate the transition towards a more just economic system, with its headquarters in San Francisco and a wholly-owned subsidiary in Bavaria, Germany.” TFH developed the Worldcoin protocol and supported the beta testing phase, but “transitioned the protocol to the independent World Foundation prior to the protocol’s launch in late July 2023.”Now, TFH is technically a vendor, providing “software development, hardware manufacturing and market operations logistical support.” It owns and operates World App, a key component in the World digital ecosystem, but its governance is separate from the World Foundation.World’s case for transforming human society could use some diversityWorld has the loftiest of goals, a rosy vision of a utopia in which human and machine coexist in harmony, governed by a decentralized network of peers. Its messages are evangelical in tone: “World is built to connect, empower and be owned by everyone.” The very names “World” and “Tools for Humanity” vibrate at a messianic pitch.But the seed determines the root structure. The men behind these ventures are, colloquially, “crypto bros”: entrepreneurs and investors who hover around the central brain of Silicon Valley, where every grandiose promise has mutated into a behemoth of commerce and destabilization.No one on World’s board brings demonstrable expertise in ethics, philosophy, sustainability or governance. These, it would seem, are still not requirements for an organization whose stated aim is “to realize more inclusive, fair and just institutions of governance and of the global digital economy.”World wants to be owned by everyone, but for now it is still, in essence, six or seven white guys with a bagful of algorithms and infinite ambition. Perhaps this explains why, following the big-hoopla announcement of its expansion by Blania and Altman last week, WLD tokens dropped 10 percent in value.

PopEye to strengthen EU border biometrics with gait recognition integration-Pilot to test on-the-move biometrics-Oct 17, 2024, 7:14 pm EDT    | Chris Burt

The European Union has launched a pilot project to study how biometrics can be captured from on-the-move subjects to speed up identity checks at border crossings.The goal of the project, known as PopEye, is to overcome the difficulties that current biometric technologies like fingerprints and 2D facial recognition have dealing with common conditions like poor lighting or changes in appearance. The integration of gait recognition with other biometrics is part of the approach participants will take.PopEye is supported by the European Commission, and draws on the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Halmstad University, Idiap Research Institute, KU Leuven, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), University of Twente, Idemia Identity & Security Germany AG, Netcompany-Intrasoft, Quadible, European Association for Biometrics, Finland’s Ministry of the Interior and the Romanian Border Authorities, according to a LinkedIn post.PopEye is an acronym for “robust Privacy-preserving biOmetric technologies for Passengers’ identification and verification at EU external borders maximising the accuracY, reliability and throughput of the rEcognition,” according to a description from VUB Tech Transfer.The EAB will lead the three-year project, which has a budget of just over 3.2 million euros (US$3.5 million) from a Horizon grant. VUB and KU Leuven will lead project compliance with ethics standards and AI regulations like GDPR and the AI Act. Impact assessments will be conducted to ensure human rights, privacy and data protection are preserved.If the project is successful, it will lead to the introduction of innovative biometric technologies for use by EU citizens and third-country nationals.The pilots will be conducted at the external borders of Romania and Finland, EAB CEO Dinusha Frings revealed on LinkedIn.

Mastercard highlights the growing case for biometric authentication and payment passkeys-The future of digital payments looks bright-Oct 17, 2024, 5:13 pm EDT    | Abigail Opiah

At the Authenticate conference, Mastercard executives Jonathan Grossar, VP, product management, and Fred Tyler, VP, emerging digital products for North America, delivered a presentation on the future of digital payments, emphasizing the case against passwords and the rise of biometric authentication. As online fraud continues to challenge the e-commerce sector, they outline Mastercard’s multi-layered security strategy, which includes the adoption of payment passkeys to improve both security and user experience.Grossar, from Mastercard’s global authentication product team, introduced the concept of the payment passkey, highlighting its role in addressing issues related to online security and friction in e-commerce transactions. Tyler, from the North American product team, provided context on the evolution of card-present fraud prevention techniques, such as contactless payments and EMV chips, and emphasized the need to extend similar levels of security to the digital realm.“Even though e-commerce has been around for over 20 years, there continues to be a lack of trust with ecommerce transactions,” Tyler states. He pointed out that existing methods like one-time passwords, though convenient, are vulnerable to phishing and SIM swapping attacks. This is where biometric authentication comes into play, offering a secure alternative by leveraging devices’ built-in fingerprint and facial recognition capabilities.The Mastercard team also underscored the importance of multi-layered security in payments, stressing that payment passkeys are bound to both the user’s device and their payment credentials. The binding ensures a higher level of security for online transactions. The presentation highlights pilots launched in India and the Middle East, showcasing how consumers can use biometric authentication to confirm payments seamlessly with passkeys, either through stored card details or manually entered credentials.A key component of their discussion focused on enhancing the user experience while ensuring security compliance. Mastercard’s solution integrates FIDO and W3C standards in a bid to make biometric authentication more user-friendly. Grossar mentioned ongoing discussions to further improve the security landscape with tokenization, dynamic linking, and network tokenization to replace traditional plastic card numbers, making transactions more secure and fraudsters’ efforts less effective.With pilots already in place, the Mastercard team emphasizes the potential for widespread adoption of payment passkeys, particularly as they work toward a consistent user experience. They also outline the Secure Payment Confirmation (SPC) standard, which will further improve transaction security by linking payment details and providing a browser-based authentication experience.Elsewhere, Mastercard has introduced a new Identity Attribute Verification service designed to enhance online interactions. The service aligns with the latest industry standards set by EMVCo, aiming to provide more secure and seamless identity verification for digital transactions.

Keyo partner brings palm biometrics to DRC for secure payments-Al.Tech also targeting in-person verification, access control markets-Oct 22, 2024, 7:48 pm EDT    | Ayang Macdonald

Palm biometrics firm Keyo has announced a partnership in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) which is intended to help advance financial inclusion efforts in the vast central African country.In a blog article, which is one in a series on Keyo’s customers and integration partners, the palm biometrics provider explains its partnership with Al.Tech which has led to the introduction of a digital payment platform dubbed MainMoney.The blog also presents the profile of Al.Tech Founder and CEO, Sylvain Mubenga, and his efforts in building the digital payments platform that facilitates financial transactions through a digital wallet using palm authentication. MainMoney is one of three Al.Tech products using palm biometrics from Keyo, along with MainID for identity verification and MainSecure for physical access control.The integration between Al.Tech and Keyo allows individuals in the DRC to use MainMoney as a store to deposit both checks or physical cash, according to the blog. It is described as a robust platform that is “secure, user-friendly, and scalable.”The service, introduced in August, was built by Al.Tech integrating Keyo’s membership dashboard web application into its product suite to permit the creation of accounts in a privacy-preserving manner.Those who use the wallet have the option not to carry huge amounts of cash with them, as they can complete their financial transactions using the service. It is explained that the wallet is made up of two applications: one for the enrollment of the user which allows them to easily open an account and register their palm vein biometrics, and the other for payments which enables users to easily access their accounts to complete transactions.The solution, born out of the integration, has a number of features. These include biometrics authentication using palm recognition, interface customization, scalability to allow for expansion of features and number of users.Keyo notes that the same technology can be used to comply with data protection regulations like the EU’s GDPR, California’s CCPA and Illinois’ BIPA.Mubenga, CEO of the platform, is presented in the Keyo blog as an entrepreneur with a rich career in the domains of telecommunications, engineering and banking. In the banking sector, for instance, he had a recent stint with payments giant Mastercard where he worked as lead architect, contributing to advancing the company’s payment solutions offering. Before then, he had also served as senior network and security architect at Barclays Bank.He is recognized for his exploits in helping people in the DRC get into the financial inclusion fold using MainMoney whose principal objective is to streamline payments and make financial transactions more secure and trustworthy. World Bank data estimates that about 1.4 billion adults around the world are currently financially excluded.MainMoney has been introduced at a time when there is a reported rise in mobile financial services in DRC, reflecting growing interest in the adoption of digital wallets and digital payment methods.

EU has an innovative new way of fighting against deepfakes-EITHOS is betting on microexpressions to crack down on synthetic faces-Oct 20, 2024, 8:09 pm EDT    | Masha Borak

More than half a century ago, American psychologist Paul Ekman wanted to know whether he could tell if a person would commit suicide just by looking at their face.He set up a projector and spent hundreds of hours examining a 12-minute interview with a psychiatric patient, frame by frame, taking note of each of her slightest expressions and gestures. During the interview, the patient seemed cheerful. Her face, however, told a different story. Ekman would go on to become one of the pioneers in studying microexpressions, minute facial expressions caused by emotional responses that typically last less than half a second.Today, European law enforcement agencies are trying to apply the same science to crack down on deepfakes, synthetically created videos of people often used for identity theft, fraud and extortion. Facial biometrics software maker Herta Security is helping them achieve this goal.The Barcelona-based company says it uses an innovative approach to detecting deepfakes. Unlike other deepfake detection tools on the market, it is trying to create technology that’s independent and neutral from the deepfake technology which is evolving at a rapid pace – hopefully making it future-proof.“We approach [deepfake detection] from a human point of view, based on microexpressions which are not very well imitated by deepfakes nowadays,” says Manuel Pastor, Herta’s chief technology officer. “They don’t blink in a natural way. They don’t smile in a natural way. It’s something that a person cannot really explain.”Herta is part of a 12-member consortium that aims to develop the software tools that would help European police departments crack down on cybercrime and identity theft. Known as the European Identity Theft Observatory System (EITHOS), the organization aims to be the continent’s central point for online identity theft, gathering universities, law enforcement agencies and companies working on detecting deepfake faces and voices.Funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 initiative, EITHOS comes at a crucial time for Europe. A recent Deloitte poll predicted a surge of deepfake financial fraud over the next 12 months while extortion cases using sexual deepfakes, or “deep nudes,” continue to grab headlines.The initiative is currently developing four tools to support police investigations against identity theft. Aside from deepfake video detection, this includes deepfake audio detection created by Vicomtech, an applied research and development center for AI based in Spain which supplies EITHOS with text and audio analysis software. Other tools analyze social media botnets for phishing and other scams and extract data from online forums where deepfake generators are discussed.Herta’s tool compares two sets of facial expressions, one from the suspected deepfake video and one from a video showing the real person.“Involuntary expressions are not controlled by the conscious part of your brain,” says Pastor, ”When a person is speaking naturally, they blink at natural frequencies and they smile in a particular way that cannot be imitated […]. That’s what we are looking for in potentially fake videos.”Several machine-learning algorithms are involved in the process. To build the technology, Herta is relying on its experience in creating microexpression algorithms for the National Police of Spain. The tool was designed to detect abnormal behavior of victims and suspects during interrogation.The new anti-deepfake software is currently in beta testing and is being explored by three law enforcement agencies in Sweden, Greece and Spain. The company expects that the product will be available to other police forces in Europe very soon.“The final target of the project is to create a commercial product that we can sell mainly to [law enforcement agencies] in Europe, but also outside the European Union,” says Pastor.According to EITHOS’ three-year plan, the tools should be ready in 2025.The project was launched in 2022 and is coordinated by the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH) in Thessaloniki, Greece. Other participants are Italian company Engineering, the Center for Security Studies (KEMEA) in Greece and the Public Safety Communications Europe (PSCE).Aside from developing technology tools for law enforcement, another task for the consortium is raising public awareness about identity theft and the safety of personal data. Educational institutions, such as the University of Bologna, The Cyber and Data Security Lab (CDSL) at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and the Technical University of Madrid are working on studying different aspects of identity theft, including social, psychological and legal.“Victims of identity theft don’t go to the police very frequently,” says Pastor.” They keep it secret, and they try to solve it themselves because they feel kind of embarrassed.”Studies have found that victims of identity theft appear in all social spheres, even among the technologically literate and highly educated. Identity theft often involves blackmailing with fake porn videos which leaves victims hesitant to reach out for help.“It’s very important that citizens are aware that they have the technical tools and also the support of the [law enforcement agencies] on these particular crimes,” says Pastor.

Reality Defender expands series A to $33M, integrated by Accenture-Plans to bring deepfake detection to more verticals-Oct 22, 2024, 6:22 pm EDT    | Chris Burt

Reality Defender has reached $33 million in an expansion of its series A funding round. While the company does not explicitly state how it plans to use the capital in the announcement, an accompanying notice suggests that the next phase of Reality Defender’s development will be focused on expanding the market presence of its deepfake detection technology.The expanded round was led by Illuminate Financial, with Booz Allen Ventures, IBM Ventures, the Jefferies Family Office and Accenture participating. Additional participants included the lead investor of its original series A, DCVC, and previous investors The Partnership Fund for New York City and Y Combinator. The initial portion of the series A was completed a year ago, and raised $15 million.Accenture says that along with its strategic investment, it will integrate Reality Defender’s technology with its deepfake detection offering. The integrated software will enable clients in financial services, media and high tech industries to quickly detect, prevent, and respond to fraud committed with deepfakes, Accenture says.Reality Defender is also a graduate of Accenture’s Fintech Innovation Lab New York accelerator.“Accenture’s global reach and cybersecurity expertise will allow Reality Defender to scale our technology during a time of heightened deepfake volatility,” says Ben Colman, co-founder and CEO of Reality Defender, in Accenture’s announcement. “With Accenture’s support and alignment with our mission of combatting AI-generated fraud, we can work toward defeating the most advanced cyber threats of our time. Through our collaborative efforts, we will pave the way for a more secure and trustworthy digital landscape, ensuring a safer future for all.”Illuminate General Partner Alexander Ross, who is joining Reality Defender’s board of directors, notes the growth of synthetic media attacks on financial institutions.In the general announcement, Colman notes the spread of deepfake attacks not just within the financial sector but beyond it, to call centers and elsewhere.“Reality Defender has swiftly established itself as the industry leader in deepfake detection,” says Ali Tamaseb, a general partner at DCVC and a member of Reality Defender’s board. “It offers vitally needed protection against emerging digital threats against enterprises, governments, and the world’s largest banks and financial institutions.”Reality Defender introduced a tool for real-time video deepfake detection just last week, and won Most Innovative Company at RSA’s Innovation Sandbox competition in May.

US DOJ issues final rule on foreign access to Americans’ PII-Oct 22, 2024, 4:40 pm EDT- Anthony Kimery

After months of reviewing the comments it received to its March 5 Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM), the US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday unveiled its final proposed rules to implement President Joe Biden’s February 28 Executive Order (EO), Preventing Access to Americans’ Bulk Sensitive Personal Data and United States Government-Related Data by Countries of Concern.The EO addressed the national security threat that’s posed by the continued efforts of Russia, Iran, China, and other countries of concern to access and exploit certain kinds of Americans’ sensitive personal data.US-based data brokers are the primary targets of the Justice Department’s proposed  rule, which would bar all third-party data brokers and businesses selling data they collect from data transactions that are tied to the countries identified by DOJ’s proposed rule.As Biometric Update has reported, US-based data brokers’ sales of American’s personally identifiable information to these – and other – countries, poses a serious threat to both national security and intelligence collection activities.The comment period on the rule ended April 19. Only 68 comments were submitted, far fewer than observers expected given the controversial nature of the proposed regulations.Only days after DOJ published its advance notice of proposed rulemaking in March, Biden signed into law H.R. 815, a national security and foreign aid spending bill that incorporated the Protecting Americans’ Data from Foreign Adversaries Act of 2024 (PADFA), which took effect in June and is to be enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).H.R. 815 also incorporated the legislation that forces TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, to divest from China within one year or face a ban from app stores in the US.H.R. 815 makes it “unlawful for a data broker to sell, license, rent, trade, transfer, release, disclose, provide access to, or otherwise make available personally identifiable sensitive data of a United States individual to any foreign adversary country or any entity that is controlled by a foreign adversary.”Exactly how, though, H.R. 815 will impact DOJ’s final rulemaking to carry out Biden’s EO remains murky, as Biometric Update reported in August.DOJ’s final comprehensive proposed rule would implement the EO “by establishing categorical rules for certain data transactions that pose an unacceptable risk of giving countries of concern or covered persons access to government-related data or bulk US sensitive personal data,” DOJ said Monday.“Among other things,” the Justice Department said, “the proposed rule identifies classes of prohibited and restricted transactions, identifies countries of concern and classes of covered persons to whom the proposed rule applies, identifies classes of exempt transactions, explains [DOJ’s] methodology for establishing bulk thresholds, provides [DOJ’s] initial assessment of economic and other regulatory impacts, establishes processes to issue licenses authorizing certain prohibited or restricted transactions, issue advisory opinions, and designate covered persons, and addresses recordkeeping, reporting, and other due-diligence obligations for covered transactions.”The proposed rule published Monday has a 30-day comment period. DOJ said the rule “is tailored to address the specific national security risks stemming from access by countries of concern and covered persons to Americans’ bulk sensitive personal data and certain sensitive US government-related data. These measures complement the United States’ commitment to promoting an open, global, interoperable, reliable, and secure internet; protecting human rights online and offline; supporting a vibrant, global economy by promoting cross-border data flows that are required to enable international commerce and trade; and facilitating open investment.”DOJ said “the proposed rule’s prohibitions and restrictions are consistent with other access restrictions on sensitive personal data that have been imposed in other contexts, including for transactions reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecommunications Services Sector (Team Telecom).”In addition, DOJ explained that “the proposed rule exempts several classes of data transactions from the scope of its prohibitions and restrictions, including certain personal communications, financial services, corporate group transactions, transactions authorized by federal law and international agreements, investment agreements subject to a CFIUS action, telecommunication services, biological product and medical device authorizations, clinical investigations, and others.”Both Biden’s EO and DOJ’s proposed rule “fill an important gap in the “government’s authorities to address the threat posed by countries of concern accessing government-related data or Americans’ bulk US sensitive personal data,” the proposed rules says.As the ANPRM explained, “countries of concern can use their access to government-related data or Americans’ bulk US sensitive personal data to engage in malicious cyber-enabled activities and malign foreign influence activities and to track and build profiles on US individuals, including members of the military and other Federal employees and contractors, for illicit purposes such as blackmail and espionage.”Countries of concern also “can exploit their access to government-related data or Americans’ bulk US sensitive personal data to collect information on activists, academics, journalists, dissidents, political figures, or members of nongovernmental organizations or marginalized communities to intimidate them; curb political opposition; limit freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, or association; or enable other forms of suppression of civil liberties.”DOJ noted in its proposed rule published Monday that the 2024 National Counterintelligence Strategy pointed out that “our adversaries are interested in personally identifiable information about US citizens and others, such as biometric and genomic data, health care data, geolocation information, vehicle telemetry information, mobile device information, financial transaction data, and data on individuals’ political affiliations and leanings, hobbies, and interests.”These and other kinds of sensitive personal data “can be especially valuable, providing adversaries not only economic and [research and development] benefits, but also useful [counterintelligence] information, as hostile intelligence services can use vulnerabilities gleaned from such data to target and blackmail individuals.”The Justice Department noted that “a recent study by the MITRE Corporation had summarized open-source reporting” that highlighted “the threat of blackmail, coercion, identification of high-risk government personnel and sensitive locations, and improved targeting of offensive cyber operations and network exploitation posed by hostile actors’ access to Americans’ data derived from advertising technology.”DOJ added that “the development of artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, big-data analytics, and other advanced technological capabilities by countries of concern amplifies the threat posed by these countries’ access to government-related data or Americans’ bulk US sensitive personal data. For instance, the US National Intelligence Council assessed in 2020 that ‘access to personal data of other countries’ citizens, along with [artificial intelligence]-driven analytics, will enable [the People’s Republic of China] to automate the identification of individuals and groups beyond China’s borders to target with propaganda or censorship.’”The rule would require vendor agreements, employment agreements, and investment agreements that qualify as restricted transactions to comply with the separately proposed security requirements that have been developed by the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) in coordination with the Justice Department.These proposed security requirements require that US persons engaging in a restricted transaction to comply with organizational and system-level requirements, such as ensuring that basic organizational cybersecurity policies, practices, and controls are in place, and data-level requirements, such as data minimization and masking, encryption, and privacy-enhancing techniques.CISA is concurrently making these proposed security requirements available for public comment at www.regulations.gov.

EUDI Wallet sees more tensions, new criticisms and some wins-Oct 16, 2024, 7:38 pm EDT    | Masha Borak

Discussions on the technical specifications of the European digital identity project are seeing more confrontation which could potentially lead to delays in launching the EU Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet, according to reports.In August, the European Commission published drafts of the implementing acts, opening them for public feedback. The acts outline technical specifications and certifications to ensure uniform implementation of digital ID wallets across Europe.However, four major EU members, including Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Spain, have proposed an alternative draft of the implementing acts that emphasizes privacy, interoperability, and harmonizing standards, alongside explicit references to mandatory standards and certification schemes. Germany also wants European ID providers to ensure interoperability with secure hardware devices such as chips, which are integrated into the country’s physical ID cards.The move has ignited concern that the rollout of EU digital wallets could also be postponed. The implementing acts for the EUDI Wallet will require the approval of a qualified majority which will not be achieved if the four member states refuse the draft of the implementing acts proposed by the Commission, MLex reports.Other EU member states believe that the new draft introduces improvements, according to the report. The implementation of the EUDI Wallet, however, still has many other points of contention to solve.Among the points of contention are the right to use a pseudonym, handling cross-border data erasure requests, limitations in using the wallet based on a public registry and mandatory attributes to identify a person. The latter has been interpreted by some stakeholders as an attempt to introduce a “unique persistent identifier,” which could lead to users being tracked in all of their interactions. Using digital IDs to verify children’s age online has been another controversial topic.Member states are expected to offer at least one EUDI Wallet to all citizens, and residents by 2026.EU regulators are ignoring phishing: Criipto CEO-The security of digital identity wallets is another popular topic in Europe.European regulators are concerned with preventing criminals from breaking into data centers connected to digital identities. And while data centers need to be secured from hacks, a more pressing danger to users may be cheating them out of their money through phishing, says Niels Flensted-Jensen, CEO and co-founder of digital ID firm Criipto.“Of course, we need all that data center security, but without it, or even if we have that, they can still fish you,” Flensted-Jensen said at FIDO’s Authenticate conference this week.Romanian cybercriminal gangs have been targeting Norwegians by sending out fake SMS messages that appear to be from the country’s Department of Motor Vehicles. The phishing scam has resulted in users handing over their digital ID credentials which can be used to access bank accounts, according to the financial and cyber-crime units of the Norwegian police.The rise in crime is driven by the popularity of electronic identity in Scandinavia, including Norway’s largest digital identity BankID, says the Criipto CEO. The company was recently acquired by BankID operator operator BankAxept AS.Flensted-Jensen also said that eIDAS, the rulebook that regulates digital identities in Europe, has also made the use of passkeys more difficult.Germany, Italy continue work on EUDI wallets-Germany’s competition to design prototypes for the EUDI Wallet is showing first results.Lissi, which was spun off from banking institution Commerzbank AG, has announced it has completed the first phase of the competition organized by the German Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation (SPRIND) and will enter the second phase. This includes testing use cases as part of the Potential consortium, one of the large-scale pilots designed within the EUDI Wallet project.Lissi joined SPRIND’s 13-month prototype competition for digital ID prototype competition in the non-funding track in June. The company focuses on onboarding bank clients, payment authentication and Know-Your-Customer (KYC) processes for financial institutions.Italy is also preparing for the full rollout of the IT Wallet, which allows users to store digital documents and certificates. The smartphone app should become available to all Italians from December 4th, 2024, while the first digital services will be available from 2025.The IT Wallet, which is integrated into the public services app Io, started its first tests with a limited number of users this summer. The first credentials it will offer are driver’s licenses, health cards and the European disability card. In the future, the wallet should also contain identity documents, birth, marriage and residency certificates, school qualifications, public transport passes and more, according to La Stampa.Implementing the EUDI Wallet as an exercise in governance-As technology experts debate technical standards and security issues of implementing the EUDI Wallet, policy scholars are examining how states should approach this complex task from a governance perspective.“Governments must create a trustworthy collaborative partnership between public, private, and civic actors to gain legitimacy and achieve effective ecosystem orchestration that creates an equal level playing field,” says the paper, which was published in Springer by researchers from the Institute of Technology and Management in Berlin.Europe is seeing two approaches to orchestrating the introduction of digital IDs, with states leaning towards one or the other or combining them into their own unique approach.The first approach is the Government ID-Infrastructure Wallet model: The government or a community actor builds a core ID wallet and issues public personal identity data. Third parties use this infrastructure to introduce functionalities and build added-value services on top of it.“This model has a fixed scope and aims to ensure high data protection and security,” the researchers note.The second approach is the Trust ID Wallet Federation and it describes multiple ID wallet providers competing within defined guidelines. The government’s task is to certify non-government ID wallet providers and develop public ID wallet offerings.“In contrast, the second model […] promotes a competitive environment with multiple public and private ID wallet providers competing under equal regulatory conditions, allowing a more dynamic and user-centered ecosystem development,” says the paper.The research analyzes these approaches considering monetization, operating models and issues governments can expect with orchestration. Its goal is to help policymakers choose orchestration strategies that align with the government’s capabilities and market conditions.

REBUILT 3RD TEMPLE (THE EU DICTATORS TEMPLE)

ISAIAH 30:10-15
10 Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:
11 Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.
12 Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon:
13 Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant.
14 And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters’ vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit.
15 For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.
16 But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift.

REVELATION 11:1-2
1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

DANIEL 9:27
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

REBUILT 4TH TEMPLE (THE TRUE MESSIAHS TEMPLE)

ZECHARIAH 6:12-13
12 And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD:
13 Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.

ISAIAH 60:9-10
9 Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee.
10 And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee.

ISAIAH 2:1-5
1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

MARK 11:9-10,15-17
9 And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord:
10 Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.
15 And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;
16 And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple.
17 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.

EZEKIEL 40 TO 48 IS THIS 4TH TEMPLE TO BIG FOR THE MOUNT I BELIEVE TO BE BUILT 25 MILES FROM JERUSALEM.

Water Libation Reenactment Takes Place in Preparation for the Third Temple-Joyfully shall you draw water From the fountains of triumph-Isaiah 12:3 (the israel bible) Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz-October 22, 2024

On Sunday, a full-dress reenactment of the water libation, as it was performed in the Temple, was held in Jerusalem with several hundred participants led by Kohanim in priestly garb, accompanied by Levites playing musical instruments.The event began at Shaar Hashpot (the dung gate) in Jerusalem’s Old City where participants joined Kohanim (priests) in Biblically mandated vestments and Levites with musical instruments, also wearing special vestments. The musically gifted Levites led the ceremony with joyous music on drums, violin, guitar, and clarinet, winding down ancient walkways into the valley below the Temple Mount. The crowd sang and danced as they passed from the archaeological remains of the ancient City of David, through an Arab village, to the Shiloach (Siloam) Spring,  which was used in Temple times. The procession was punctuated by stops during which four-foot-long pure silver trumpets were sounded.The Temple Institute prepared a special gold-plated solid silver vessel for use in the Third Temple. This vessel was carried at the head of the procession to the Shiloach Pool where it was filled from the spring. The procession climbed back up to the top of the mountain. A model altar and its utensils had been set up in an open area adjacent to the Western Wall. The altar was decorated with large leafy willow branches as was done in the Temple.Though not explicitly mandated in the Torah, the water libation is part of the oral tradition passed down from Moses. Sukkot is a joyous holiday and the water libation was the focal point of this joy. In the Temple, the ceremony would take fifteen hours with accompanying celebrations lasting all night until the Temple service began again the next morning. Nations came from around the world came to take part in the Sukkoth celebrations, making it an international worship ceremony of God.In Temple times, a libation of water was made together with the pouring out of wine at the morning service on the last six days of the week-long Sukkot holiday. Kohanim descended from the Temple to the Shiloach Spring at the base of Mount Moriah, where they filled the flask with three log of spring water (approximately two pints) and then returned to the Temple.Two Kohanim then ascended the stone altar in the Temple’s inner courtyard, placing two silver cups on the southwestern corner. One Kohen poured the water from the silver flask while the second Kohen simultaneously poured wine from the second cup, both liquids flowing into holes in the altar specially prepared for this ceremony.The Shiloach Pool (Siloam in English, Silwan in Arabic) has a huge Biblical import that will re-emerge when the Third Temple is built. The Pool of Siloam was the starting point for pilgrims who made the annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Biblical feasts. They would use the pool to wash and ritually purify themselves before ascending by foot to the inner court of the Temple Mount to bring their sacrificial offerings. Located outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem to the southeast, the pool is fed by the waters of the Gihon Spring, which are carried there by the Siloam Tunnel, also known as Hezekiah’s Tunnel. Sometimes referred to in the Bible as the Lower Pool, the pool was built during the reign of Hezekiah (715–687 BCE) to replace an older Canaanite tunnel, known Biblically as the Upper Pool, that was vulnerable to attackers. The new pool and tunnel left besieging armies without access to the spring’s waters. Archeologists believe that during the Second Temple Era, the waters continued to flow south and were collected in an additional, larger pool. This pool was discovered during the summer of 2004 and is continuing to be uncovered today.It should be noted that the Talmud describes the days before the Messiah in-depth, and they are especially difficult times.

Priestly Blessing Unites Thousands at the Western Wall”Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz-October 22, 2024

More than 50,000 people gathered in the Kotel (Western Wall Plaza) on Sunday for the 54th biannual Birkat Kohanim (priestly blessing), recreating a mitzvah (Torah commandment) as it was once performed in the Temple.The holiday prayer included a recitation of the Hallel, celebratory verses in Psalms. As part of the Hallel service, the worshippers took the traditional four species—lulav, or palm frond; hadas, or myrtle; aravah, or willow; and the etrog, a citron—and performed the ritual shaking in six directions, emphasizing that  Sukkot is a particularly aesthetic holiday in which Jews are commanded to dwell in gaily-decorated booths for seven days.A special prayer for the safety and return of the hostages held by Palestinian Hamas in Gaza was added to the prayer service. Prayer was added for the safety and victory of the IDF soldiers fighting on the borders of Israel and in Judea and Samaria. A prayer was added for the health and recovery of the wounded.The blessing of Israel, once an integral part of the Temple Service, is now performed on a regular basis in synagogues around the world.The Kohanim are Jewish men who have a family tradition of patrilineal descent from Aaron, the first High Priest. The ritual may only be performed by a kohen and only in the presence of a quorum of ten Jews. A kohen who is under the influence of alcohol or in mourning may not perform the blessing. Demographically, kohanim represent about five percent of the Jewish population. The Temple Institute instituted a registry for the priestly class as a step towards reinstating the Temple service.Before giving the blessing, the Kohanim remove their shoes, and have their hands washed by men who have a family tradition of being from the tribe of Levi. The Kohanim then moved to the front of the crowd and took up places adjacent to the ancient stones of the Kotel. Since the priests served in the Temple barefoot, they removed their shoes and covered themselves entirely in a tallit (prayer shawl).The blessing is performed by the priests holding their hands up with the fingers of both hands separated so as to create five spaces between them. The spaces are between the ring finger and middle finger of each hand, between the index finger and thumb of each hand, and between the two thumbs touching each other at the knuckle.Speak to Aharon and his sons: Thus shall you bless the people of Yisrael. Say to them: Hashem bless you and protect you! Hashem deal kindly and graciously with you! Hashem bestow His favor upon you and grant you peace! (Numbers 6:23-26)-The event occurs twice yearly, during chol hamoed (the intermediary days) of Sukkot and Passover. In Temple times, people of all faiths came from around the world to celebrate Sukkot alongside the Jews. This is reflected in modern times as Jerusalem fills up with tourists from around the world. Approximately 200,000 people have visited the site adjacent to the Temple Mount on this Sukkot festival.The event Sunday was attended by Israel’s Chief Rabbi, the Rishon LeZion Rabbi David Yosef; the rabbi of the Western Wall and holy sites, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz; Israel Police Rabbi Rami Rahamim Berachyahu; Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai; Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon; Argentina’s Ambassador to Israel Rabbi Shimon Axel Wahnish; former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman. “In recent days, we have witnessed the downfall of the enemies of the Jewish people — ‘When the wicked perish, there is jubilation.’ But we will continue knocking on the gates of mercy and will not give up until they open,” Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz said in his remarks.“We all prayed for salvation from Heaven for the hostages, strength for the soldiers, a speedy recovery for the wounded, relief and rescue for the displaced, and for peace to reign over us and all of Israel: Amen!”

Documentary to Educate People about Israel’s Biblical Deed to the Land-Karen Whiting-Opinion-October 21, 2024
https://israel365news.com/397217/documentary-to-educate-people-about-israels-biblical-deed-to-the-land/

PALESTINIANS DON;T EXIST-THE LAND IN A TWO STATE SO CALLED SOLUTION.  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUUyC6A6V4E (1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-7Dwdq6FlE (2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkLNIGNEavY (3)
https://israel365news.com/video/the-fake-palestinian-population-in-the-west-bank-episode-4/

WHOS LAND IS IT?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQ99GBGtb2Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWB8IW5k2Sw

 
Filmmaker Tim Mahoney’s film Patterns of Evidence: The Israel Dilemma – Ancient Prophecies will be in theatres November 13, 14, and 17. Interviews conducted by Mahoney in 2007 with Benjamin Netanyahu, Shimon Perez, Rabbi David Hartman, archeologist Gabriel Barkay, and Israel Finkelstein and their comments on Israel’s right to the land start off an investigative film.The attack on October 7, 2023, again questioned Israel’s right to exist, so the documentary goes back to prophecies about the land and how God fulfilled them. This includes God’s warnings that God would allow the people to be scattered if they broke the covenant made with Him, and the promise of restoration.As usual, in the Patterns of Evidence approach, evidence is presented along with commentaries from both sides of the issue. The film reveals tremendous archeological evidence that confirms prophecies regarding the Holy Land and Israel’s history. The stunning photography reveals the beauty of the land and shows close ups of archeological artifacts. Mahoney hopes people will watch and learn, stating: Most people don’t have a historical understanding of the nation of Israel or what ancient prophecies the Bible has given showing God’s covenantal involvement with the Jewish people past, present, or future. This film, The Israel Dilemma, asks whether there is any credibility to what was written in the Bible about Israel. The audience will see evidence demonstrating God’s activity throughout history affirms the scriptures. I also want people to be aware that God might be forewarning us of significant changes in the world that were foretold by prophets several thousand years ago. The question is, how should we respond?Tim reviews the promises of the covenants, and the promise to Abraham to make his descendants into a great nation. God gave His people predicted prophesy as a testimony of His ability to know the future.Five predictive prophecies reveal God’s plans to build their kingdom, destroy it when they disobey, scatter the people, allow them to be persecuted, and then restore them to their land. The history in the Bible reflects these events as happening and archeology confirms the events and many people involved.Archeological evidence shows the discovery of inscriptions made by enemies’ of Israel with David’s name and the house of David, accounts of the conquests, and persecution of the Jews in captivity. Evidence at Lachish, Jerusalem, and Megiddo confirm the historic accounts in the Bible of the Assyrian and Babylonian sieges and captivities.More than six hundred inscriptions in Hebrew including pottery sherds, bullas, and seals attest to past events. In the past non-biblical archeologists pointed out the lack of evidence for the existence of King David or his kingdom, but recent discoveries refute those arguments.As ever, in a Thinking Man Film, the audience views the proofs and hears arguments from both sides to make informed conclusions. Mahoney’s own journey to find evidence led to his Patterns of Evidence Films. He relates his journey:My family raised me to believe the stories of the Bible, but as you get older, you are challenged to think other things and not to follow the path of the Bible or Christianity. I wanted to know if what I was believing was true. While investigating the first film, Patterns of Evidence: The Exodus, I had a crisis of faith because I was told there wasn’t any evidence for the Exodus event. However, this crisis only lasted a short time, and it was a supernatural circumstance that led me to new evidence confirming the Exodus events. Since that time I have heard of hundreds and even thousands of testimonies of people who have been encouraged in their faith and some to come to faith because of the evidence brought for in these Patterns of Evidence films. So I believe it has been my calling to make these types of films that demonstrate that the Bible is a true historical document revealing God’s activity in history.It’s been a continual struggle over the land since the end of World War II when the UN returned the land to the Jews. They believe the Torah is their deed to their homeland. More information can be found at https://www.patternsofevidence.com/israel/ including trailers. It provides many details for people to watch and then discuss the contents. A second part will be available next year.

Ezekiel 39 – The Disposal of Gog and the Cleansing of Israel-A. Recounting of the attack and defeat described in Ezekiel 38.1. (1-2) Yahweh directs Gog to attack Israel.

“And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal; and I will turn you around and lead you on, bringing you up from the far north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel.a. Prophesy against Gog: In Hebrew literature, it was common to give an account and then to repeat it to give emphasis and a few additional details. Ezekiel 39:1-8 is a summary of what was described in Ezekiel 38.i. “The overthrow of Gog and his forces is here retold in different language and in fuller detail. This is typical of Hebrew poetry and of the kind of semi-poetical writing which is used in these oracles. It is fond of repetition and delights to revert to previous statements and enlarge on them, even though the result is to destroy all sense of consecutive arrangement.” (Taylor)b. I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal: The words of Ezekiel 38:1-2 are repeated. Gog speaks of a person, a ruler (the prince). Rosh either describes one place where Gog rules, or completes the phrase chief prince. Meshech and Tubal are other places under the domain of Gog.c. Bringing you up from the far north: Coming with his allied nations, Gog comes from the north to attack the land of Israel. He does this not only from his own evil plans (Ezekiel 38:10), but ultimately because God promised to turn him and lead him, to bring him against Israel.2. (3-5) Gog defeated.Then I will knock the bow out of your left hand, and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand. You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. You shall fall on the open field; for I have spoken,” says the Lord GOD.a. I will knock the bow out of your left hand: Ezekiel described warfare as he knew it. A skilled archer was effective in battle, but not with the bow knocked from the hand and arrows dropped to the ground. Gog’s military effort against Israel would fail.i. “The bow is held by the left hand; the arrow is pulled and discharged by the right.” (Clarke)b. You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel: Gog – either himself personally or the army that was the extension of his power – would die in Israel in their unsuccessful attack.c. I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field: Gog and his armies would not only be dead but disgraced as their unburied corpses littered the field of battle.i. “It will be seen that the serious and fatal weakness of the enemies of Israel will be their reliance on numbers, and their confidence that Israel’s weakness means their strength and ultimate victory. They fail, as always, to take God into account.” (Feinberg) 3. (6-8) Magog itself attacked, and God’s name glorified.“And I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in security in the coastlands. Then they shall know that I am the LORD. So I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them profane My holy name anymore. Then the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. Surely it is coming, and it shall be done,” says the Lord GOD. “This is the day of which I have spoken.a. I will send fire on Magog: Either as part of the battle or soon afterward, God promised to send fire against Gog’s land (Magog). Gog brought the battle to Israel, but God would bring the battle to him.b. And on those who live in security in the coastlands: The same fire that came upon Magog would also come against the coastlands. The term does not refer to a distinct place, but to unspecified and distant coastlands or islands.i. Some have thought to connect coastlands to the United States or other modern nations. There is no foundation for this other than speculation and mystery at the fact that many modern nations (such as the United States) seem to be unmentioned in Biblical prophecy. ii. “The isles referred to are the coastland and islands of the Mediterranean. Though the judgment on the enemies will occur in Israel, the catastrophe will extend far out to the ends of the earth to accomplish the purpose of God.” (Feinberg) c. So I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel: God would use this remarkable victory over Gog and his allies, this miraculous defense of Israel, to bring His people to a restored relationship and to holiness. The result that I will not let them profane My holy name anymore means that though Israel was gathered to the land and lived in relative safety and prosperity, a true relationship with Yahweh had not yet been restored. It would be after this battle. i. My holy name: “The Gog debacle will demonstrate once and for all the holiness of Yahweh, not as a theological abstraction but in action, as he stands to defend his people against the universal conspiracy of evil.” (Block) d. Then the nations shall know that I am the LORD: Through this, God would reveal Himself not only to Israel but also to all of the watching world. God would glorify Himself through His defense of Israel and defeat of Gog. e. Surely it is coming, and it shall be done: God solemnly affirmed Ezekiel’s prophecy. The great victory over Gog would fulfill what God had spoken before (as also in Ezekiel 38:17).B. Gog in defeat.1. (9-10) Defeated Gog plundered by Israel.“Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and bucklers, the bows and arrows, the javelins and spears; and they will make fires with them for seven years. They will not take wood from the field nor cut down any from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons; and they will plunder those who plundered them, and pillage those who pillaged them,” says the Lord GOD.a. Those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and set on fire and burn the weapons: Israel will destroy all the military equipment (described with seven terms) brought by Gog and his allies. Protected by Yahweh, they would no longer need the weapons themselves.i. “These are not the weapons of a modern army, but Ezekiel used language the people could understand.” (Wiersbe) ii. “Usually weapons left by a defeated enemy would be added to the victor’s cache of arms. After all, there would be other battles to fight. The war against Gog was to be no ordinary war. It will be the final battle, whose conclusion will make armaments obsolete.” (Vawter and Hoppe) b. For seven years: This speaks of the vast amount of military equipment brought by Gog and her allies and left behind on the field of battle. There would be so much that they could use their fuel for seven years. c. They will plunder those who plundered them: What the evil Gog and his allies intended for Israel would fall upon the defeated attackers themselves.i. “The plunderers will be plundered and the robbers will be robbed. What the enemy will intend for Israel (Ezekiel 38:12) will be visited upon them, another vivid example of the law of recompense in kind.” (Feinberg)

2. (11-16) Defeated Gog buried by Israel.“It will come to pass in that day that I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea; and it will obstruct travelers, because there they will bury Gog and all his multitude. Therefore they will call it the Valley of Hamon Gog. For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land. Indeed all the people of the land will be burying, and they will gain renown for it on the day that I am glorified,” says the Lord GOD. “They will set apart men regularly employed, with the help of a search party, to pass through the land and bury those bodies remaining on the ground, in order to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will make a search. The search party will pass through the land; and when anyone sees a man’s bone, he shall set up a marker by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon Gog. The name of the city will also be Hamonah. Thus they shall cleanse the land.”’a. In that day I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel: Yahweh promised to give a proper burial to the slain soldiers of Gog and his allies. This could be regarded as a compassionate act, but it was more probably to cleanse the land. The unburied bodies of the slain defiled Israel (or any land), and God’s renewed people would be concerned to cleanse the land.i. A burial place: “It is the site of mass burial. A common burial ground was suggested by the awkwardly singular form of meqom sam geber (lit. ‘a place where there is a grave’).” (Block) b. It will obstruct travelers: The number of bodies would be so great that it would seem to fill the valley where they were buried, making it impassable by travelers c. They will set apart men regularly employed, with the help of a search party: The effort to find and bury the remains of Gog’s army would be organized and thorough, in order to cleanse the land. The effort would take a total of seven months.i. “Their work will take seven months, so immense were Gog’s forces and so complete was God’s victory. The Israelites contribute nothing to this victory; they merely clean up the battlefield.” (Vawter and Hoppe) d. Till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon Gog: The valley of burial would become known as Gog Valley.i. “So great will be the carnage that Gog will give his name to the valley, which will receive a new name commemorating God’s victory over Israel’s adversaries.” (Feinberg) ii. Hamonah: “It’s likely that the city called Hamonah (‘horde,’ referring to the ‘horde’ of soldiers slain) will be established as a headquarters for this mopping-up operation.” (Wiersbe) 3. (17-20) Defeated Gog as a grotesque sacrificial feast.“And as for you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Speak to every sort of bird and to every beast of the field:“Assemble yourselves and come;Gather together from all sides to My sacrificial meal-Which I am sacrificing for you,A great sacrificial meal on the mountains of Israel,That you may eat flesh and drink blood.You shall eat the flesh of the mighty,Drink the blood of the princes of the earth,Of rams and lambs,Of goats and bulls,All of them fatlings of Bashan.You shall eat fat till you are full,And drink blood till you are drunk,At My sacrificial meal-Which I am sacrificing for you.You shall be filled at My table-With horses and riders,With mighty men-And with all the men of war,” says the Lord GOD. a. Speak to every sort of bird and to every beast of the field: The section dealing directly with Gog and his allies ends with this strange and grotesque picture of bird and beast scavengers feasting upon the corpses of the defeated enemy.b. Gather together from all sides to My sacrificial meal: The strange and powerful picture is further developed. As it was customary to often eat a ceremonial meal with an animal sacrifice, God considered this meal for bird and beast something of a sacrificial meal. The armies of Gog were like rams and lambs offered in sacrifice.i. “After destroying the invading army of Gog, Yahweh adds a horrid indignity to the fate of the fallen warriors. Their corpses will be a sacrificial meal that birds and animals will consume. It is a stunning reversal. Instead of human beings consuming the animals of sacrifice, it is the animals who consume the human beings sacrificed for Yahweh’s honor.” (Vawter and Hoppe)ii. In Revelation John linked this sacrificial feast with the aftermath of the battle of Armageddon (Revelation 19:17-21). He also linked the invasion of Gog and Yahweh’s defense of His people to a battle at the end of Jesus’ 1,000-year reign (Revelation 20:7-9). Because John links aspects of Ezekiel 38-39 to two chronologically separated events, it is likely that he uses Ezekiel 38-39 as examples of these future events rather than the events actually fulfilling the prophecies of Ezekiel 38-39.c. You shall eat fat till you are full: There would be so many corpses of the defeated enemy that it would be more than the birds and beasts could eat.i. My table: “The sacrificial feast mentioned in Ezekiel 39:19 is referred to as ‘my table’ because it is the Lord who will hold the feast. It is a vivid figure to bring out the idea of vast carnage, deserved judgment and irrevocable doom.” (Feinberg) ii. “The metaphor is drawn from what all Israelites picture. Very few of us in England have ever seen an abattoir, or slaughter-house, or watched the ritual slaughter of animals, so it would be useless to use them as an illustration of blood pouring everywhere. But every Israelite had watched the blood flowing at the sacrifices. This was not pointless slaughter, since most sacrifices were eaten by the worshippers after they had been offered. They provided the fairly infrequent occasions when the average man had a meat meal. But here the quantities of blood that flowed at the sacrifices are used pictorially of the death of those who have campaigned against God.” (Wright) C. Yahweh’s exaltation among the nations. 1. (21-24) God vindicated among the Gentiles.“I will set My glory among the nations; all the nations shall see My judgment which I have executed, and My hand which I have laid on them. So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day forward. The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore I hid My face from them. I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I have dealt with them, and hidden My face from them.”’ a. I will set My glory among the nations: The amazing restoration described generally in Ezekiel 34-39 was focused on Israel, but never limited to them. God’s intention was also to set His glory among the nations. He would do this through the execution of His judgment. b. The house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day forward: This restoration would bring Israel permanently into a new relationship with God. This looks to the ultimate restoration described by Paul in Romans 11:26, when all Israel will be saved.c. The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: The nations would know that Israel’s suffering was never because God was unable to help them. They would see that Yahweh was not a weak god or mere local deity. They would know that Yahweh Himself directed ancient Israel’s suffering. The calamity came upon the house of Israel because of their sin and unfaithfulness. That was why Yahweh hid His face from them.i. “The sottish heathen thought meanly of the God of Israel, and reckoned they came into captivity because the people of some greater god had by the power of their god prevailed against Israel’s God and his people; but by this overthrow given to Gog, they shall see it was not impotence in Israel’s God, but iniquity in Israel’s people, that brought them into captivity.” (Poole) 2. (25-29) God in fellowship with His restored people.“Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Now I will bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name— after they have borne their shame, and all their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, when they dwelt safely in their own land and no one made them afraid. When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and I am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations, then they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, and left none of them captive any longer. And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord GOD.”a. Now I will bring back the captives of Jacob: Ezekiel first spoke these words to the Jewish exiles in Babylon, who especially after the fall of Jerusalem and Judah wondered if God would ever restore Israel. These promises were precious to them, and were given a minor and imperfect fulfillment in the return from captivity under Ezra and Zerubbabel. The greater and complete restoration still waits, as the New Testament recognizes (Romans 11:26).i. “We must never overlook the literal significance of this promise. All Israel, insists the apostle of the Gentiles, who never lost his love for his own people, shall be saved. The blindness which has happened to them is only till the fullness of the Gentile contingent to the one Church has been brought in.” (Meyer) b. After they have borne their shame, and all their unfaithfulness: Israel’s restoration would come in a spirit of repentance. They would see all that God did for them and it would humble them in light of His generous love. They would see and admit that it was their own sins that sent them into captivity and suffering. i. “He observes the response of the house of Israel to the new outpouring of divine mercy. Far from being a source of pride at having been selected as the objects of divine compassion, the experience of grace will lead to a recognition of their own unworthiness.” (Block) ii. “In that day of restoration, dwelling securely in their land, they would still bear their shame, that is to say, repentance for past failure would be profound, even in the day of restoration. By that attitude of mind Jehovah would be sanctified among them in the sight of the nations, but they would have the infinite healing of His unveiled face, and the abiding energy of His outpoured Spirit.” (Morgan) iii. Left none of them captive any longer: “Ezekiel’s declaration that not a single individual will be left behind when Yahweh restores his people is without parallel in the OT. Yahweh’s restoration is not only total, however; it is permanent. He promises never again to hide his face from his people.” (Block) c. I will not hide My face from them anymore: The completion of this work would be a true standing in God’s grace. With God’s Spirit poured out upon Israel, they would have a relationship with God based on the work and merits of the Messiah, not their own work and merits. i. “The imagery envisioned here is that Israel will prosper only when God’s face is toward Israel. When God is absent from Israel disaster results. No doubt Ezekiel borrows this imagery from the blessing of Aaron in Numbers 6:25-26.” (Vawter and Hoppe) ii. “It was sin that caused God to hide his face, and now grace shall be given to keep them out of sin, and to engage them to constant obedience, that God may rejoice over them to do them good in this their latter end.” (Poole) iii. I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel: “Finally, Ezekiel 36:27 is reiterated with the powerful statement, put in the prophetic perfect tense, that I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel (RV). To put this in the future (as RSV) weakens the dramatic force of this assertion. True, God had not yet done this in reality; but it was such an assured word that it could be spoken by Ezekiel as if it were an accomplished fact.” (Taylor)

WARN THE PEOPLE-WW3

EZEKIEL 33:1-6
1 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2  Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman:
3  If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;
4  Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
5  He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.
6  But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.

DANIEL 11:40-45 (WW3 BREAKDOWN)
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south( EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) and the king of the north (RUSSIA AND MUSLIM HORDES OF EZEK 38+39) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.(JORDAN)
42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA 2ND WAVE OF WW3) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

ISAIAH 24:1
1 Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste,(NUKES USED) and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.(WORLD IMMIGRATION)

GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael;(ARAB/MUSLIM) because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he will be a wild man;(RIOTS-BURNING-MURDEROUUS RAGE) his hand will be against every man,(ISLAM WANTS WORLD DOMINATION) and every man's hand against him;(DEFENDING THEMSELVES) and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.(ARAB/MUSLIMS LIVE WITH ISRAELIS)

ISAIAH 33:1,18-19 Woe to thee that spoilest,(destroys) and thou wast not spoiled;(destroyed) and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil,(destroy) thou shalt be spoiled;(destroyed) and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.
18 Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers?
19 Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper speech than thou canst perceive; of a stammering tongue, that thou canst not understand.

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 THEIR MOON GOD ALLAH)

ISAIAH 14:12-23
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, (SATAN) son of the morning! (HEBREW MEANS CRESCENT MOON ANGEL-ISLAM OVIOUSLY)(SATAN IS THE GOD OF 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 will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

Ecclesiastes 9:10
10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.

EZEKIEL 31:10-17
10 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast lifted up thyself in height, and he hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height;
11 I have therefore delivered him into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen; he shall surely deal with him: I have driven him out for his wickedness.
12 And strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut him off, and have left him: upon the mountains and in all the valleys his branches are fallen, and his boughs are broken by all the rivers of the land; and all the people of the earth are gone down from his shadow, and have left him.
13 Upon his ruin shall all the fowls of the heaven remain, and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his branches:
14To the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves for their height, neither shoot up their top among the thick boughs, neither their trees stand up in their height, all that drink water: for they are all delivered unto death, to the nether parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with them that go down to the pit.(HELL).
15Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when he went down to the grave I caused a mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I restrained the floods thereof, and the great waters were stayed: and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for him.
16 I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth.
17They also went down into hell with him unto [them that be] slain with the sword; and [they that were] his arm, [that] dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen.
18To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the nether parts of the earth: thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with [them that be] slain by the sword. This [is] Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD.

EZEKIEL 32:17-32
17 It came to pass also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth [day] of the month, [that] the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
18 Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, [even] her, and the daughters of the famous nations, unto the nether parts of the earth, with them that go down into the pit.
19 Whom dost thou pass in beauty? go down, and be thou laid with the uncircumcised.
20 They shall fall in the midst of [them that are] slain by the sword: she is delivered to the sword: draw her and all her multitudes.
21 The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.
22 Asshur [is] there and all her company: his graves [are] about him: all of them slain, fallen by the sword:
23 Whose graves are set in the sides of the pit, and her company is round about her grave: all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which caused terror in the land of the living.
24 There [is] Elam (IRAN) and all her multitude round about her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, which caused their terror in the land of the living; yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit.
25 They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude: her graves [are] round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword: though their terror was caused in the land of the living, yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit: he is put in the midst of [them that be] slain.
26 There [is] Meshech, Tubal,(RUSSIA) (GERMANY, TURKEY) and all her multitude: her graves [are] round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, though they caused their terror in the land of the living.
27And they shall not lie with the mighty [that are] fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though [they were] the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.
28 Yea, thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shalt lie with [them that are] slain with the sword.
29 There [is] Edom,(JORDAN) her kings, and all her princes, which with their might are laid by [them that were] slain by the sword: they shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with them that go down to the pit.
30 There [be] the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Zidonians, which are gone down with the slain; with their terror they are ashamed of their might; and they lie uncircumcised with [them that be] slain by the sword, and bear their shame with them that go down to the pit.
31 Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude, [even] Pharaoh and all his army slain by the sword, saith the Lord GOD.
32 For I have caused my terror in the land of the living: and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised with [them that are] slain with the sword, [even] Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD.

EZEKIEL 38:1-23
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:TOBOLSK)
4 And I (GOD) will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY) of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.(AFRICAN MUSLIMS,SUDAN,TUNESIA ETC)
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say,(RUSSIA-ARAB-MUSLIMS) I will go up to the land of unwalled villages;(ISRAEL) I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil,(OIL IS IN SPOIL) and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
13  Sheba, and Dedan,(SAUDI-ARABIA) and the merchants of Tarshish,(SPAIN) with all the young lions thereof,(ENGLAND,AND ALL ITS ASSOCIATES-CANADA,AUSTRALIA-NEW ZEALAND, USA, AND WESTERN ENGLISH SPEAKING NATIONS) shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?(OIL IS IN SPOIL-I BELIEVE THATS WHY RUSSIA,ARAB/MUSLIMS MARCH TO ISRAEL)
14  Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?
15  And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
16  And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.

EZEKIEL 39:11-22
11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog (RUSSIA/ARAB/MUSLIMS) a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers (EAST OF THE DEAD SEA IN JORDAN VALLEY) on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog (RUSSIAN) and all his multitude:(ARAB/MUSLIM HORDE) and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog.(BURIEL SITE OF THE 300 MILLION,RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIMS)
12 And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.(OF ISRAEL)
13 Yea, all the people of the land (OF ISRAEL) shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I (GOD-JESUS) shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD.
14 And they shall sever out men of continual employment,(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMB EXPERTS) passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search.
15 And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man’s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it,(WON'T TOUCH IT) till the buriers have buried it (PROPERLY) in the valley of Hamongog.(RUSSIA/ARAB/MUSLIMS NEW BURIEL SITE)(EAST OF THE DEAD SEA IN THE JORDAN VALLEY)
16 And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.(OF THE ISRAEL-GOD HATERS)
17 And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl,(500 MILLION MIGRATING BIRDS THREW ISRAEL EVERY SPRING,FALL) and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.(OF THE RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIM ARMIES)
18  Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
19  And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.
20  Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.
21  And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.
22  So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward.

REVELATION 19:17-18
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;(AGAINST ALL NATIONS ARMIES THAT COME AGAINST JERUSALEM AND ISRAEL)
18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.

PROOF HALF ON EARTH DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD (8 BILLION ON EARTH)

REVELATION 6:7-8 (8 BILLION- 2 BILLION = 6 BILLION)
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth,(2 BILLION) to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).

REVELATION 9:15,18 (6 BILLION - 2 BILLION = 4 BILLION)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,
18 By these three was the third part of men killed,(2 BILLION) by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMBS)

HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)

LUKE 17:34-37 (8 TOTAL BILLION - 4 BILLION DEAD IN TRIB = 4 BILLION TO JESUS KINGDOM) (HALF DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD JUST LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS)(GOD DOES NOT LIE)(AND NOTICE MOST DIE IN WAR AND DISEASES-NOT COMETS-ASTEROIDS-QUAKES OR TSUNAMIS)
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other shall be left.(half earths population 4 billion die in the 7 yr trib)
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten by the birds).THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES.BECAUSE NOT HALF OF PEOPLE ON EARTH ARE CHRISTIANS.AND THE CONTEXT IN LUKE 17 IS THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION OR 7 YR TREATY PERIOD.WHICH IS JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH.NOT 50% RAPTURED TO HEAVEN.

MATTHEW 24:37-42 (THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-SURE NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)(50% OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE)
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.(ON EARTH)
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.(ON EARTH)
42 Watch therefore:(FOR THE LAST DAYS SIGNS HAPPENING) for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

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 32:18-29 (NOTICE ALL THE COUNTRIES LAND PROMISED ISRAEL BY GOD ARE IN THE JORDAN VALLEY BURIED)
18 “Son of man, wail for the multitudes of Egypt, and consign her and the daughters of the mighty nations to the depths of the earth with those who descend to the Pit:
19 Whom do you surpass in beauty? Go down and be placed with the uncircumcised! (IN HELL FIRES)
20 They will fall among those slain by the sword. The sword is appointed! Let them drag her away along with all her multitudes.
21 Mighty chiefs will speak from the midst of Sheol about Egypt and her allies: ‘They have come down and lie with the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword.’
22 Assyria (SYRIA) is there with her whole company; her graves are all around her. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword.
23 Her graves are set in the depths of the Pit, and her company is all around her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword—those who once spread terror in the land of the living.
24 Elam (IRAN) is there with all her multitudes around her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword—those who went down uncircumcised to the earth below, who once spread their terror in the land of the living. They bear their disgrace with those who descend to the Pit.
25 Among the slain they prepare a resting place for Elam with all her hordes, with her graves all around her. All of them are uncircumcised, slain by the sword, although their terror was once spread in the land of the living. They bear their disgrace with those who descend to the Pit. They are placed among the slain.
26 Meshech and Tubal (RUSSIA) are there with all their multitudes, with their graves all around them. All of them are uncircumcised, slain by the sword, because they spread their terror in the land of the living.
27 They do not lie down with the fallen warriors of old, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, whose swords were placed under their heads, whose shields rested on their bones, although the terror of the mighty was once in the land of the living.
28 But you too will be shattered and lie down among the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword.
29 Edom (JORDAN) is there, and all her kings and princes, who despite their might are laid among those slain by the sword. They lie down with the uncircumcised, with those who descend to the Pit.THIS IS RIGHT FROM 93:

SECOND ANGEL: MIDDLE EAST
Then I saw that the second angel had a sickle in his hand, such as is used in harvesting.The second angel said: "Harvest time has come in Israel and the countries all the way to Iran."I saw those countries in a few split seconds."All of Turkey and those [inaudible] countries that have refused me and refused my message of love shall hate each other and kill one another."I saw the angel raise the sickle and come down on all the Middle East countries. I saw Iran, Persia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, all of Georgia - Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, all of Asia Minor - full of blood. I saw blood all over these countries. And I saw fire; Nuclear weapons used in many of those countries. Smoke rising from everywhere. Sudden destruction – men destroying one another. I heard these words:"Israel, Oh Israel, the great judgment has come." The angel said, "The chosen, the church, the remnant, shall be purified. The Spirit of God shall prepare the children of God."I saw fires rising to heaven.The angel said: "This is the final judgment. My church shall be purified, protected and ready for the final day. Men will die from thirst. Water shall be scarce all over the Middle East. Rivers shall dry up, and men will fight for water in those countries."The angel showed me that the United Nations shall be broken in pieces because of the crisis in the Middle East. There shall be no more United Nations. The angel with the sickle shall reap the harvest.

PSALMS 83:1-8 (GODS LAND PROMISED TO ISRAEL)
1 O God, do not remain silent;do not turn a deaf ear,do not stand aloof, O God.
2 See how your enemies growl,  how your foes rear their heads.
3 With cunning they (ARAB,MUSLIMS) conspire against your people;they plot against those you cherish.(ISRAELIS)
4 “Come,” they say, “let us destroy them as a nation, so that Israel’s name is remembered no more.”
5 With one mind they plot together;(TREATIES) they form an alliance against you—
6 the tents of Edom (JORDAN)  and the Ishmaelites, (EGYPTIAN ARABS SO CALLED PALESTIANS) of Moab (JORDAN) and the Hagrites,(EGYPT)
7 Byblos,(HEZBOLLOH) Ammon (JORDAN) and Amalek,(SYRIAN ARABS IN THE SINAI) Philistia,(ARABS) with the people of Tyre (LEBANON).
8 Even Assyria (SYRIA) has joined them to reinforce Lot’s descendants.

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.

1 OF 3 GOD GAVE THEM OVER TO
1-PROMISCUOUS SEX AMOUNG EACH OTHER.
ROMANS 1:24
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: (THE 60S FREE SEX)
2 OF 3 GOD GAVE THEM OVER TO
2-SODOMITES - MEN LUSTING MEN, AND WOMEN LUSTING AFTER WOMEN.
ROMANS 1:26-27
26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
3 OF 3 GOD GAVE THEM OVER TO
3-A DEPRAVED MIND-ANY SIN GOES.
ROMANS 1:28-31
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER GOD GAVE THEM OVER TO THESE 3 DEPRAVED ABOMINATION SINS?
OH OH NOAHS DAY. WHAT HAPPENED IN NOAHS DAY. THE WHOLE WORLD WAS JUDGED BY WATER.
GENESIS 6:7,17
7 And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.
GENESIS 7:4
4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.
GENESIS 8:16
16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.
WELL THE SODOMITES PICKED THE RIGHT SIGN OF A RAINBOW FOR JUDGEMENT. THE SODOMITES TRYED TO STEAL GODS SIGN THAT THE WHOLE EARTH WILL NEVER DIE FROM FLOOD WATERS AGAIN. BUT THE JUDGEMENT THIS TIME IS GOING TO BE BY FIRE.NOT WATER.
2 PETER 3:7
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

EZIKIEL 38:12-13
13 Sheba, and Dedan,(SAUDIA ARABIA) and the merchants of Tarshish,(ENGLAND) with all the young lions thereof,(USA,CANADA,AUSTRALIA,NEW ZEALAND,EU,ENGLAND,ENGLISH SPEAKING shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil? (AGAINST ISRAEL)
14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, (RUSSIA AND HER MUSLIMS HORDES)Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?

ISRAEL SATAN COMES AGAINST

1 CHRONICLES 21:1
1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.

GENESIS 12:1-3
1  Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I (GOD) will shew thee:
2  And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3  And I will bless them that bless thee,(ISRAELIS) and curse (DESTROY) him that curseth thee:(DESTROY THEM) and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

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.(ALL THESE ARAB, MUSLIMS ARE OCCUPYING ISRAELS LAND. GET OFF IMMEDIATELY. BECAUSE YOUR DEATH CULT DAYS ARE NUMBERED)

ISLAMIC DEATH CULT AND FAKE MOHAMMAAD AND FAKE MOON GOD ALLAH WHICH IS SIMPLY SATAN IS THE LEADER OF ISLAM.
LEVITICUS 26:16
16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you( sudden) terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart:(WARS AND DEATH) and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.(CHINA CONTROLS AMERICAS ECONOMY BY BUYING UP DEBT)

ISAIAH 33:1,18-19 Woe to thee that spoilest,(destroys) and thou wast not spoiled;(destroyed) and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil,(destroy) thou shalt be spoiled;(destroyed) and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.
18 Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers?
19 Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper speech than thou canst perceive; of a stammering tongue, that thou canst not understand.

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 THEIR MOON GOD ALLAH)

GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael;(ARAB/MUSLIM) because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he will be a wild man;(RIOTS-BURNING-MURDEROUUS RAGE) his hand will be against every man,(ISLAM WANTS WORLD DOMINATION) and every man's hand against him;(DEFENDING THEMSELVES) and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.(ARAB/MUSLIMS LIVE WITH ISRAELIS)

The Family Tree of Ishmael
12 This is the family tree of Ishmael son of Abraham, the son that Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maid, bore to Abraham.
13-16 These are the names of Ishmael’s sons in the order of their births: Nebaioth, Ishmael’s firstborn, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah—all the sons of Ishmael. Their settlements and encampments were named after them. Twelve princes with their twelve tribes.
(ISLAM CLAIMS MOHAMMID IS A OFF SPRING OF ISHMAEL THE FIRST BASTARD CHILD OF THE ARABS WITH A SLAVE MOTHER TO THE ISRAELIS.DOES ANY ONE SEE THE NAME OF MOHAMMID IN ISHMAELS FAMILY TREE. BECAUSE I SURE DON'T. I DOUBT MOHAMMID EVEN EXISTS. AND SATAN IS THE LEADER OF ISLAM HHIMSELF. SO ISLAM IS NOT A RELIGION AT ALL. ISLAM IS NOTHING BUT A DEATH CULT THAT WORSHIPS DEATH. AND WILL BURN IN HELL FIRE, THEN THE FINAL JUDGEMENT IN FRONT OF JESUS.ONLY TO BE THROWN IN THE LAKE OF FIRE FOREVER WITH THEIR NEVER DYING BODIES.ISLAM EXPOSED AS A FRAUD SATAN LIE AND MURDER DEAT CULT.

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 8:44
44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Hamas is shooting Gazan civilians who try to evacuate Jabaliya, IDF paramedic says-Cpl. Shai Gilboa was photographed providing medical assistance to a Palestinian woman injured in the face by Hamas gunfire while trying to get to a designated safe zone-By ToI Staff Today, 6:53 am-OCT 22,24

Civilians in Gaza are being shot by Hamas terrorists while trying to evacuate from Jabaliya in the north of the Strip amid a renewed IDF offensive, an Israeli paramedic charged in an interview Monday, after she was photographed providing medical treatment to a Palestinian woman suffering from wounds to the face.Cpl. Shai Gilboa, who is serving as a paramedic in the IDF’s 9th Battalion, told Channel 12 that a photograph of her tending to a woman with an injury on her lower face was the result of Hamas’s attempts to prevent civilians from heeding Israeli orders to evacuate to designated safe zones as fighting rages anew across northern Gaza.“Our battalion went into action to exert as much military pressure as possible on Hamas terrorists, who held the civilian population in the area and forbade them from evacuating to a safe area,” Gilboa recounted.During the operation, she said, terrorists in the area had opened fire and wounded some of the Gazans who were trying to flee.“The wounded came to us and we provided them with first aid in the field, which mostly entailed stopping the bleeding,” she said.From there, she explained, they were evacuated from the area and directed toward “local medical forces” in the area for further treatment.She said that while her battalion’s primary objective is to “fight against and subdue” Hamas activity in northern Gaza, they are also determined to evacuate as much of the civilian population to safety as possible.Asked whether the civilians speak to the troops, and what the relationship is between the Israeli forces and the Palestinians in the war-torn areas they are sent to operate in, Gilboa admitted that the language barrier was one of several reasons that interactions tended to be limited.“But they smile at us, they wave goodbye at us,” she said, “they curse Hamas in front of us.”“Not only are they not afraid of us, a lot of them are on our side,” she added.The IDF said earlier this week that hundreds of Palestinian civilians have listened to calls for them to evacuate Jabaliya in recent days amid a renewed IDF offensive aimed at preventing Hamas from regrouping in the area.The evacuations were taking place despite the Hamas-run interior ministry ordering civilians earlier this month to ignore the instructions to relocate to other safer areas in the Strip, because “the occupation is conducting continued bombing and killing every day in the areas it claims to be safe.”The terror organization further accused Israel of carrying out an intentional “massacre against the civilians” in Jabaliya as a way to punish them for refusing to leave their homes.Reports of Hamas harming civilians trying to flee to safer areas of Gaza are not new, and the IDF has for years accused the terror group of using human shields and embedding its operatives deep within the civilian population to protect itself amid fighting with Israel, and says that it seeks to avoid civilian casualties.Earlier in October, the IDF published a recording of a conversation that it said was between a Gazan man and an Israeli soldier from Unit 504, responsible for human intelligence on the battlefield, in which the purported Gazan said that Hamas was beating residents of Jabaliya and preventing them from leaving.“The problem is that we listen to the army’s instructions and want to leave to the Muwasi [humanitarian zone], but there are people who come out against us and start hitting us with sticks,” the man allegedly said to the soldier.“We want to leave,” he continued. “We took our things and we want to leave now and they are hitting us and telling us to return home. What can we do?”The IDF did not say when the conversation took place.Israel estimates that tens of thousands of Palestinians have remained in northern Gaza throughout the last year of fighting, despite repeated calls for them to evacuate to designated humanitarian zones. It believes that among those who stayed there are thousands of Hamas operatives who survived previous rounds of fighting with Israeli forces.Israel has been at war with the Hamas terror group in Gaza since October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists invaded southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 42,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel said it had killed some 17,000 combatants in battle as of August, in addition to 1,000 terrorists killed inside Israel on October 7.Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 357.Lazar Berman contributed to this report.

Hezbollah naval base struck in Lebanese capital-Air Force pounds Hezbollah’s Beirut stronghold after civilians told to evacuate area-Al-Sahel Hospital denies IDF accusation that Hezbollah storing half a billion dollars in underground bunker, but evacuates patients amid more than a dozen Israeli airstrikes-By Emanuel Fabian,Agencies and ToI Staff Today, 4:50 am-OCT 22,24

More than a dozen Israeli airstrikes were said to hit Beirut’s southern suburbs on Monday night and in the early hours of Tuesday morning after the Israel Defense Forces accused Hezbollah of storing hundreds of millions of dollars in a bunker underneath one of Lebanon’s largest hospitals.The strikes were launched after the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee instructed residents of several buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs to evacuate the area, warning that they were “located near facilities and interests belonging to Hezbollah.”The military said earlier on Monday that it would continue striking Hezbollah targets with a focus on their financial infrastructure.IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said that Israel estimated there to be roughly “half a billion dollars in dollar bills and gold” in a bunker underneath the Al-Sahel Hospital in the southern Beirut suburb known as Dahiyeh, where Hezbollah is largely based.He warned that the Israeli Air Force was monitoring the compound, but stressed that Israel would not launch a strike on the hospital itself, as it is at war with Hezbollah, and not with the Lebanese people.The hospital nevertheless said that it was evacuating its patients to a safer location. Its director Fadi Alameh denied the allegations made by the IDF and invited the Lebanese army to visit the site.Alameh told the local Al-Jadeed TV that the hospital, which has been in the area for 42 years, has underground rooms for surgery and has no ties to Hezbollah or any political group.Following the calls to evacuate, residents of Beirut reported several loud explosions in the Dahiyeh area, and Lebanese media reported that at least 13 Israeli airstrikes had been launched in the Hezbollah bastion.The Lebanese health ministry said that a preliminary toll showed that four people, including a child, were killed in airstrikes near the Rafik Hariri University Hospital, Lebanon’s biggest public hospital, and 24 others were injured.The number provided by the health ministry does not differentiate between combatants and civilians.The strike caused “significant damage to the hospital,” the health ministry said, including to the entrance, “which is still operating and receives a large number of patients.”The IDF said early Tuesday that it did not target the hospital but, rather, struck a Hezbollah terror target.Lebanon’s National News Agency reported at least three Israeli strikes on the Ouzai district of south Beirut. Additional strikes were also reported in Haret Hreik, just south of Ouzai, and Hadath.In the morning, the IDF announced that it had struck a Hezbollah naval base in Beirut, among other targets.According to the military, the base was used by Hezbollah to store fast boats, carry out tests, and train its naval forces.Additional strikes in Beirut overnight hit weapons depots, command centers, and other infrastructure, some of which were underground, the IDF said.Before the strikes in Beirut, the IDF issued evacuation warnings to civilians.While most districts of Beirut’s southern suburbs had been emptied for almost a month in light of the escalation between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group, the densely packed residential area of Ouzai was still filled with people because it had never been targeted before.Elsewhere in Lebanon, the military said it struck three command centers belonging to Hezbollah’s aerial forces, known as Unit 127, responsible for drone attacks on Israel.The strikes came as ground forces continued to operate against the terror group in southern Lebanon.‘No room for escape’ Hezbollah-affiliated rescuers told AFP they were looking for survivors amid the devastation in Ouzai, adding that the evacuation order, then the strike, caused “panic among residents” who “started to run in the streets.”“They did not leave any room for people to escape. The strike came closely after the warning,” one said.A Lebanese security official told AFP that the country’s national airline had to switch landing strips after Israeli strikes near Beirut’s only international airport hit close to the main runway.“Middle East Airlines switched the runway it was using because the main runway is close to the site of the Ouzai strike,” the official said, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.AFPTV footage showed plumes of smoke rising from Beirut’s southern suburbs, with AFP correspondents also hearing several loud bangs before the strikes.The footage also showed two strikes that caused a huge fire, with black smoke surrounding dissipating orange flames.The strikes came as the IDF continued to hammer an array of Hezbollah positions across Lebanon, including strikes against some 300 targets in the previous 24 hours.In particular, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said on Monday that more than two dozen targets belonging to Hezbollah-linked financial firm Al-Qard Al-Hassan had been hit.Al-Qard Al-Hassan is a financial firm, officially registered as a charity, that has been offering customers credit in exchange for gold deposits on an interest-free basis since the 1980s. Israel charges that Hezbollah is making money from Lebanon civilians through AQAH.The firm is used mainly by Muslim Shiite communities battling a years-long financial crisis that has locked Lebanese out of their bank deposits.The United States has long sanctioned the association, accusing Hezbollah of using it as a cover to mask its financial activities and gain access to the international financial system.Al-Qard Al-Hassan says it has more than 30 branches nationwide, mainly in Hezbollah bastions including Beirut’s southern suburbs, but also in central Beirut and other major cities such as Sidon and Tyre.Overnight rocket fire, drone attacks-Throughout Tuesday morning, more than 25 rockets were fired from Lebanon at Israel, according to the IDF.The attacks include five rockets at central Israel and 15 more at the Upper Galilee at 7:45 a.m.; one rocket at the Modi’in Illit area in the West Bank at 6:35 a.m.; and five more rockets at the Haifa area at 4:50 a.m.Some of the rockets were intercepted and others hit open areas, causing no injuries.Separately, a drone launched from Lebanon shortly after midnight was shot down over the Upper Galilee, and a drone launched from Iraq impacted an open area in the Golan Heights shortly after, according to the IDF.Israel in late September widened the focus of its military operations to Lebanon after over a year of cross-border attacks by Hezbollah-led forces in solidarity with Hamas — another Iranian-backed terror group — amid the war in Gaza.Some 60,000 residents were evacuated from northern towns on the Lebanon border shortly after Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, due to fears Hezbollah would carry out a similar attack, and amid increasing rocket fire by the terror group.The attacks on northern Israel since October 2023 have resulted in the deaths of 29 civilians. In addition, 43 IDF soldiers and reservists have died in cross-border skirmishes and in the ensuing ground operation launched in southern Lebanon in late September.Two soldiers have been killed in a drone attack from Iraq, and there have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.The IDF estimates that around 2,000 Hezbollah operatives have been killed in the conflict. Around 100 members of other terror groups, along with hundreds of civilians, have also been reported killed in Lebanon.

I'm afraid for the safety of the whole academic community'Anti-Israel US campus groups radicalize, with no one to stop them, experts warn-Former security officials say increasingly violent rhetoric mimics that of 1960s students who pivoted to domestic terror. It’s going unhindered as students point to First Amendment-By Cathryn J. Prince Today, 1:10 am-OCT 22,24

NEW YORK — These days, Brian Cohen, the executive director of the Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life at Columbia University, spends more time than he would like explaining the meaning behind social media posts to campus administrators — from one featuring an infamous photograph of a man holding up his bloody hands during the Ramallah lynching in 2000, to others highlighting the inverted red triangle used by the Hamas terror group to paint targets.“The administration needs to understand who that guy in the window [with the bloody hands] is to understand why that post is so problematic,” Cohen said. “Personally, I am afraid for the safety of the community for everyone at the university; I can see one random student get inspired to do something violent.”Since the start of the fall semester, Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), an anti-Israel coalition of more than 100 student organizations, has used explicitly violent rhetoric and images in its online postings. In its October 8 statement, the umbrella group wrote, “We support liberation by any means necessary, including armed resistance. In the face of violence from the oppressor equipped with the most lethal military force on the planet, where you’ve exhausted all peaceful means of resolution, violence is the only path forward.”In the statement, CUAD also rescinded an apology it had issued last spring after a video by one of its members, Columbia University student Khymani James, circulated in which he said, “Be grateful that I’m not just going out and murdering Zionists.” While the video was made last January, the university didn’t ban James from campus until April, when it received attention.In light of this, Columbia students and faculty are asking what it will take for law enforcement to start investigating groups that incite violence which, unlike disseminating hate speech, is not protected by the First Amendment. (The NYPD and FBI declined to comment for this story.)“I’m really concerned because I’ve seen this movie before,” said Mitch Silber, executive director of the Community Security Initiative (CSI). CSI is a joint UJA Federation of New York and Jewish Community Relations Council of New York (JCRC) initiative to safeguard the greater New York City Jewish community.Silber served as director of intelligence analysis at the New York City Police Department before joining CSI. Today, he teaches about terrorism at the university’s School of International and Public Affairs and said he sees parallels between the current anti-Israel groups on campus and the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), a group in the late 1960s that among other things opposed US involvement in Vietnam.“They protested and protested but nothing changed regarding US foreign policy. Eventually, some students peeled off to form the Weather Underground, and they turned to domestic terrorism,” said Silber.“Now, more than a year into the protests, the encampments, the building takeovers, nothing has changed. They aren’t getting it done and the retraction by CUAD shows they are getting more radical. We are on the same trajectory,” Silber said.According to an online list, CUAD groups include overtly pro-Palestinian groups, but also clubs seemingly unconnected to the Gaza war, such as Columbia Queer and Asian, BOSS Barnard Organization of Soul and Solidarity, Reproductive Justice Collective, Global Learning Exchange, Third Wheel Improv and Columbia Chicanx Caucus.Those on the more radical trajectory include anti-Israel groups such as Students for Justice in Palestine, Jewish Voices for Peace, and other members of CUAD who have participated in training sessions with outside groups such as Within Our Lifetime and activists in the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.One of those trainings included a remote conference titled “Resistance101.” During the April panel students were instructed that “there is nothing wrong with being a member of Hamas, being a leader in Hamas, being a fighter in Hamas.” The university suspended and evicted four students from university housing for their role in the conference.Samidoun has links to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which carried out some of the deadliest terror attacks in Israeli history prior to the Hamas-led massacre on October 7, 2023, including suicide bombings and aircraft hijackings.Last week, the US and Canada designated Samidoun as a terrorist entity. The designation included one of its primary leaders, Khaled Barakat, who took part in the “Resistance 101” panel.Germany and the Netherlands also recently banned Samidoun because it supported the October 7 onslaught, which saw 1,200 people slaughtered and 251 kidnapped to the Gaza Strip. Israel has considered Samidoun a terrorist group since 2021.While this designation should serve as a wake-up call to campus leaders, it doesn’t mean that outside law enforcement will begin investigating student groups, Silber said.“The tie is only meaningful retrospectively if there is a deep investigation that shows links between Samidoun and campus groups. The campus groups would have to cross a certain threshold for that to happen,” Silber said.In short, the calls for violence still aren’t yet specific enough to warrant an official investigation, he said.That doesn’t mean outside law enforcement isn’t aware of the postings.As another former law enforcement officer speaking to The Times of Israel explained, the NYPD regularly “crawls through publicly available social media” like Instagram, Facebook and Reddit to monitor what’s occurring in the city.‘Calls for violence have no place at Columbia’Columbia declined to answer whether it has called for assistance from outside law enforcement and whether the university will discipline students who signed on to the October 8 CUAD statement for its open support of armed resistance.“Statements advocating for violence or harm are antithetical to the core principles upon which this institution was founded. Calls for violence have no place at Columbia or any university,” said Millie Wert, Columbia’s assistant director of media relations.Several students and faculty interviewed for this article said they find the university’s position unacceptable.“It’s unbelievable that the university is allowing a coalition of 116 student groups to get away with publishing a statement calling for violence and defending calling for the murder of Zionists,” said computer science PhD candidate Tal Zussman. “The fact that there haven’t been any consequences for these groups is a complete abdication of responsibility.”“Frankly, it’s scary and discriminatory that the Barnard Gardening Club, for example, seems to think that murdering Zionists is some sort of legitimate political statement. Why do they even need to take a position on this conflict?” Zussman said.Likewise, Amy Werman, a full-time professor in the School of Social Work, said she’s alarmed by this most recent call for violence.“This type of violent rhetoric creates a hostile environment within these groups and has already pushed Jewish and Israeli — and actually many reasonable students — out of clubs that are part of CUAD. The university has to act immediately to resolve this,” Werman said.First Amendment is not a get-out-of-jail-free card-The increasingly incendiary language and actions used by CUAD and other groups needs to be addressed, said Richard Priem, CEO of the non-profit Community Security Service (CSS). He pointed out that the First Amendment doesn’t protect the obstruction, takeover, or vandalization of university buildings.“Obviously, I would support the idea that any group that is breaking the law be monitored. I understand the significance of free speech, but there should be a zero-tolerance policy by university administrations [for this kind of speech]. They should not be closing their eyes,” Priem said.“But in my conversations with law enforcement, there is a worry that if they act strongly they will infringe on free speech. Nobody wants to be accused of violating the First Amendment,” he said.Another former intelligence officer, who spoke to The Times of Israel on condition of anonymity, said the Department of Homeland Security is also likely keeping an eye on some of these campus groups.Indeed on October 1, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which was established after 9/11, issued a fact sheet titled Federal Campus Safety Resources. The resource is designed to assist campus public safety departments and make federal resources available “to help prepare for and prevent targeted violence and terrorism across our country.”Additionally, DHS also has a Campus Safety Placemat handout that instructs student protesters to “avoid violence, intimidation, and harassment.” (DHS declined to comment for this story.)Meanwhile, Silber cautioned that what happens at Columbia will likely continue to shape what happens on campuses nationwide.“Columbia is the epicenter for the student intifada in the United States. What happens at Columbia radiates outward. We saw that with the encampment and now here we have at Columbia a student who said taking someone’s life is better for the world,” Silber said.

Ringleader: I knew I was working for Iran, was proud of it-Seven East Jerusalem men arrested in Iran spy plot, including bid to kill scientist-Ring of suspects aged 19-23, almost all Israeli citizens, marks fifth Iranian spy case revealed since September, and first to profess a desire to hurt Israel as the main motivation-By ToI Staff Today, 2:48 pm-OCT 22,24

Seven East Jerusalem Palestinians have been arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran and plotting attacks in Israel on the Islamic Republic’s behalf, the Israel Police and Shin Bet said Tuesday, marking the fifth such case to be revealed in just over a month and the second in as many days.The suspects, all men aged 19 to 23 from the Beit Safafa neighborhood without previous criminal or security-related records, were pursuing the assassination of an Israeli nuclear scientist as well as the mayor of a large city in central Israel, the authorities said in a statement.Six of the suspects are Israeli citizens, and the other is a permanent resident. The leader of the ring, a 23-year-old named Rami Alian, was recruited by an Iranian agent, and Alian then recruited the other six members, authorities said.They are expected to be indicted by the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office on charges of serious security violations, the statement said.The suspects “worked as an organized cell, in which each of them had a defined role,” a security official said, adding that the suspects knew each other from the neighborhood, and had personal relationships that helped them coordinate their activities.The suspects carried out various missions for their Iranian contacts, including posting graffiti demanding the release of Israeli hostages, vandalizing sites in Jerusalem, and photographing various locations, the authorities said.After a while, “the missions turned into more serious sabotage efforts, like setting a vehicle on fire” — which the group did in the city’s Ein Kerem neighborhood, in exchange for 2,000 NIS ($529) — ”or purchasing weapons,” a security official said.At one point Alian was asked to hurl a hand grenade at an Israeli security serviceman, allegedly locating a soldier in Jerusalem and receiving 15,000 NIS ($3,969) to purchase the grenade, but not carrying out the mission in the end.After this incident, he was told to photograph a research center, which he allegedly did, in exchange for 5,000 NIS ($1,322).Alian was ultimately given a photo and address of a nuclear scientist whom the Islamic Republic wanted him to assassinate, and was told he would be paid NIS 200,000 ($53,000) if he succeeded, authorities said.He allegedly began preparations for the act, gathering information about the target, including his daily habits, whereabouts, and other personal information, but the cell was arrested before it could move forward.“They tried to prepare the ground for a planned assassination,” a security official said.Police said Alian told investigators he was aware he was working for Iranians and wanted to harm national security, citing the war in Gaza. “I feel proud that an Iranian turned to me,” he allegedly said.This would seem to mark the first of the recently uncovered spy rings to be primarily motivated by nationalist ideology, rather than by the financial rewards offered in exchange for the missions, though details on all the cases remain limited.The members of the alleged ring also appeared to have contacted their Iranian handlers directly. “They weren’t helped by a Turkish intermediary, as was the case in previous instances; rather they used different means, which we can’t share,” a senior police official said.The investigation into the ring began in September, and detectives followed the suspects for a month and a half. Their detention has so far been extended until October 24.A search of the suspects’ houses upon their arrest yielded some NIS 50,000 ($13,229), as well as some 10 credit cards, and a fake police license plate.The Shin Bet in recent months has announced a series of alleged Iranian plots, in which Tehran had tried to trick Israelis online into carrying out missions. In January, authorities uncovered a scheme involving Israelis who were allegedly recruited to gather intelligence on high-profile figures.In September, a man from the southern city of Ashkelon was arrested on allegations that he was smuggled into Iran twice and received payment to carry out missions on behalf of Tehran, and was recruited to assassinate either Israel’s prime minister, defense minister, or the head of the Shin Bet.Then, on October 14, a man and his 18-year-old partner, both from Ramat Gan, were arrested on charges they carried out various acts of sabotage and vandalism on behalf of an Iranian agent.On October 16, the Israel Police and State Attorney’s Office announced the arrest of a man from central Israel, who allegedly acquired a weapon in order to kill an Israeli scientist on instructions from an Iranian agent, after performing several smaller tasks on the agent’s behalf.And on Monday, it was announced that seven Israeli citizens, Jewish immigrants from Azerbaijan, had been arrested last month on suspicion of spying for Iran for as long as two years, carrying out hundreds of tasks at the behest of the Islamic Republic, motivated by a financial payout of hundreds of thousands of dollars.The suspects were accused of photographing and collecting information on IDF bases and facilities, including the Kirya defense headquarters in Tel Aviv and the Nevatim and Ramat David air bases, which have been targeted by Iran and Hezbollah since the outbreak of the war last year.The suspects announced Monday were also accused of gathering information on Iron Dome batteries, ports and energy infrastructure, including the power plant in Hadera, and allegedly received maps of strategic sites from their handlers.In addition, members of the ring revealed Monday were accused of collecting information about several Israeli citizens, including a senior security figure, and may have been part of a plot to ultimately assassinate the figure.

Blinken arrives in Israel as US looks to renew ceasefire talks, temper strike on Iran-Top US diplomat to meet with Netanyahu, other Israeli leaders on his 11th visit since Oct. 7 2023; will then head to Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates-By Agencies Today, 2:43 pm-OCT 22,24

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Tuesday on his 11th visit to the region since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, with the US hoping to revive a ceasefire-hostage deal after the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.Blinken is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials, including President Isaac Herzog and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.He is also expected to meet with families of the hostages who are being held in Gaza.Following his trip to Israel, he’s set to visit a number of Arab countries, likely to include Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.Hopes have been renewed that the long-stalled talks could be reignited following the killing on Sinwar, the architect of the October 7 Hamas massacre that killed some 1,200 people and saw another 251 taken hostage.The US had described Sinwar as the major stumbling block to an agreement. However, no new talks have been scheduled in the days since his death.The US State Department said ahead of the visit that Blinken would focus on ending the war in Gaza, securing the release of hostages held by Hamas and alleviating the humanitarian situation of Palestinian civilians in the Strip.US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Blinken would underscore the need for a dramatic increase in the amount of humanitarian aid reaching Gaza, which Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made clear in a letter to Israeli officials last week.The letter stated that the Biden administration could be forced by US law to curtail some forms of military aid to Israel should the delivery of humanitarian aid continue to be hindered.Blinken’s previous trips have yielded little in the way of ending hostilities, but he has managed to increase aid deliveries to Gaza in the past.The United States, Egypt and Qatar have brokered months of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas, trying to strike a deal in which the terror group would release dozens of hostages in return for a lasting ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners.Blinken also plans to speak to Israeli leaders about the expected strike on Iran and discourage any move that could massively escalate regional conflict, an official on the plane with him said.Israel is expected to respond to the massive Iranian missile strike on Israel at the beginning of the month.Blinken’s tour comes as Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has been traveling the region in recent days to try and built support ahead of Israel’s threatened retaliatory strike. Speaking in Kuwait on Tuesday, he said Gulf Arab countries had assured him they would not allow their territory to be used for any Israeli strike.“All the neighbors assured us that they will not allow their lands and air to be used against Iran,” Araghchi said, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. “This is an expectation from all friendly and neighboring countries and we consider this a sign of friendship.”Gulf Arab nations like the UAE and Qatar host major US military installations, and there are concerns that an all-out regional war could draw them in. Iran has repeatedly vowed to respond to any Israeli strike.Blinken’s talks were also likely to focus on Lebanon, where Israel has expanded its attacks on the Hezbollah terror group that began firing at Israel on October 8, 2023. Israel has vowed to push Hezbollah away from the border and allow tens of thousands of residents to return to their homes in northern Israel.Blinken landed just hours after Hezbollah launched a barrage of rockets into central Israel, setting off air raid sirens in the country’s most populated areas and its international airport, but causing no apparent damage or injuries.The Israeli military said it intercepted most of the five projectiles, with one landing in an open area. Another 65 projectiles were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel on Tuesday.In parallel to Blinken’s trip, US special envoy Amos Hochstein was in the Lebanese capital on Monday amid efforts to find a diplomatic solution to fighting, telling Lebanese officials that the conflict has “escalated out of control.”Hochstein said that Lebanon and Israel merely committing to UN Resolution 1701 would not be enough, and that Washington was working to devise a formula to end the conflict once and for all.The resolution, which ended the last round of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, calls for southern Lebanon to be free of any troops or weapons other than those of the Lebanese state.The resolution has gone largely unenforced since it was passed in 2006, allowing Hezbollah to build up a formidable arms cache and defensive capabilities, with neither UNIFIL peacekeepers nor the LAF willing to challenge the Iran-backed terror group.Hochstein said that neither Hezbollah nor Israel had adequately implemented the resolution and that while it would be the basis for the end to current hostilities, the US was seeking to determine what more needed to be done to make sure it was implemented “fairly, accurately and transparently.”Israel has repeatedly portrayed its offensive in southern Lebanon as essentially stepping in and doing UNIFIL’s job.After meeting with Lebanon’s parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, Hochstein said the US was aiming to end the conflict “as soon as possible.”

Doha-based committee to lead Hamas amid war, in wake of Sinwar’s death — report-Board established after Haniyeh’s assassination in July set to govern terror group at least through March, amid ‘war and exceptional circumstances,’ Hamas sources tell AFP-By AFP and ToI Staff Today, 1:04 am-OCT 22,24

The Hamas terror group is moving towards appointing a Doha-based ruling committee, two sources said earlier this week, rather than choosing a single successor to previous leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip last Wednesday.“The Hamas leadership’s approach is not to appoint a successor to the late chief, the martyr Yahya Sinwar, until their next elections” scheduled for March “if conditions permit,” a well-informed source from the Palestinian group told AFP.A five-member committee that was formed in August following the assassination of political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran “will take over the leadership of the group,” the source said.The committee was formed to facilitate decision-making given the difficulty of communicating with Sinwar in Gaza before his death.Sinwar was named the Gaza chief of the terror group in 2017, before rising to become the overall leader of Hamas after Haniyeh, who led its Doha-based political wing, was assassinated in July in an attack widely blamed on Israel.Sinwar, the mastermind of the October 7, 2023 terror onslaught in southern Israel, was killed by Israeli troops last Wednesday in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, a year into the war sparked by the invasion, slaughter, and mass abduction carried out by Hamas which left some 1,200 dead and 251 kidnapped to Gaza.According to the Hamas source, the Doha-based ruling committee is made up of representatives of the two Palestinian territories and the diaspora, namely Khalil al-Haya for Gaza, Zaher Jabarin for the West Bank, and Khaled Mashaal for Palestinians abroad.It also includes the head of Hamas’s Shura advisory council Mohammed Darwish and the secretary of the political bureau, who is never identified for security reasons.All current members of the committee are based in Qatar.According to the source, the committee is tasked with “governing the movement during the war and exceptional circumstances, as well as its future plans.”He added that it is authorized to “make strategic decisions.”Another source from the group said that the Hamas leadership discussed a proposal that was made “internally” to appoint a political chief without announcing their name.But, the source added, the leaders preferred to rule through the committee.A successor to Sinwar will face the challenge of guiding policy regarding internationally mediated talks for a ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages. The US and Israel accused Sinwar of deliberately shying away from reaching an agreement on a truce, refusing to compromise on hardline demands that were unacceptable to Israel.In a video statement Friday, Khalil al-Hayya, deputy leader of Hamas’s Qatar-based politburo, said Israel would come to regret killing Sinwar, adding that his “martyrdom” would only strengthen the terror group.The hostages “will not return… unless the aggression against our people in Gaza stops,” the senior Hamas official said.It is believed that 97 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.

Anti-Israel protesters arrested after occupying University of Minnesota building-Demonstrators demanding the school divest from Israel barricade doors, damage property, and block staff from exiting during brief takeover, school says; at least 11 arrested-By Agencies and ToI Staff Today, 2:27 pm-OCT 22,24

Police arrested around a dozen anti-Israel protesters who briefly occupied a University of Minnesota administrative building and blocked staff from being able to leave, the school said Monday.Demonstrators demanding the school divest from Israel entered Morrill Hall on Monday afternoon, using furniture to barricade doors and causing other damage before police were called in to remove them, the university said in a statement.“Once inside the building, protesters began spray painting, including covering lenses of all internal security cameras, breaking interior windows, and barricading the building’s entrance and exit points,” the school said. “A number of staff were working in the building at the time, and several people were not able to exit, with some being unable to exit the building for an extended period of time.”Authorities said 11 people were arrested inside the building, though the Minnesota Daily student newspaper put the number of arrests at 13, citing police. A reporter for the paper was also briefly detained, it said.Merlin Van Alstein, an activist with Students for a Democratic Society, said about 30 protesters had occupied Morrill Hall, with a larger group gathered outside. Demonstrators demanded that the university divest from Israel and repeal its political neutrality agreement.During the takeover, the group symbolically renamed the building “Halimy Hall,” in remembrance of 19-year-old Palestinian TikTok creator Medo Halimy who died in August in an apparent Israeli airstrike. The Israeli military said it was not aware of the strike that killed Halimy.The renaming was redolent of Columbia University protesters who dubbed that school’s Hamilton Hall in honor of Gazan Hind Rajab during a 22-hour takeover of the building in April.Protesters at the University of Minnesota were in the building for less than two hours when police were called in, but had shown up with tents and supplies, vowing to remain until their demands were met.Students with @DivestUMN @UMNSDS at the University of Minnesota have occupied Morill Hall and locked the doors, demanding the University divest from Israel’s genocide ????Get to the U of M to support if you are in the area! pic.twitter.com/YTxKDqDkme— charles (@deephousegibbon) October 21, 2024“We plan to stay until they forcibly remove us,” Van Alstein said before the arrests. “The people inside aren’t going to leave until they meet our demands or they are forced to leave.”The group earlier shared a video to Facebook of a speaker announcing that its members were occupying the building but not restricting anyone from exiting or entering.The speaker appeared in front of a large sign reading, “Money for education, not for bombs & occupation.”Protests against Israel have roiled campuses across the US for over a year in response to the war in Gaza against Hamas, prompted by the terror group’s October 7, 2023 onslaught of southern Israel, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 abducted. SUPPORT STUDENTS OCCUPYING MORRILL HALL-Morrill Hall – 100 Church St SE.Join the Telegram – https://t.co/4l0zgilCyC pic.twitter.com/I9NSzaCH8d— UMN SDS (@UMNSDS) October 21, 2024-The protests, including earlier this year at University of Minnesota campuses, have raised issues of free speech and antisemitism as students demanded that their universities cease doing business with Israel or companies they said supported the war in Gaza.Several schools have agreed to mull divestment resolutions in response to protest encampments, but in some cases the announcements have failed to quell student demonstrations.In August, University of Minnesota regents rejected a divestment resolution and instead backed a policy basing investment decisions on financial considerations alone.The university had previously been embroiled in controversy regarding statements made by faculty groups.In January, the US Department of Education said it was looking into a series of University of Minnesota faculty statements condemning Israel, following a complaint by a prominent Republican on the law school faculty. The university told The Minnesota Daily it will be “fully responsive” to the investigation.In June, it “paused” the search for a new director of its Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies after initially tapping an Israeli who had accused Israel of genocide.

Archaeology-Remains of one of the oldest churches in the world discovered in Armenia-Octagonal-shaped structure dates from the mid-4th century CE, not long after the Kingdom of Armenia is thought to have become the first Christian kingdom-By Gavriel Fiske-Today, 10:42 am-OCT 22,24

An academic team working in Armenia has discovered the remains of a church from the 4th century CE, making the structure one of the oldest churches in the world. It is the oldest yet found in ancient Armenia, considered the first kingdom to officially embrace Christianity.The remains of the octagonal-shaped church were unearthed in Artaxata, the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Armenia, by a joint team of archaeologists from the University of Münster and Armenia’s National Academy of Sciences, who have been working at the site since September, the University of Münster said in an October 11 press release.The discovery “consists of an octagonal building with cruciform extensions” that “corresponds to early Christian memorial buildings,” the release said. The structure was “around 30 meters in diameter” and had “a simple mortar floor and terracotta tiles.” The researchers also found marble fragments indicating the structure was “lavishly decorated” with imported marble.“In the cross-shaped extensions, the researchers discovered the remains of wooden platforms, which were radiocarbon dated to the mid-4th century CE,” the statement said.This dating enabled the researchers to determine that the structure “is the oldest archaeologically documented church in the country — sensational evidence for early Christianity in Armenia,” Professor Achim Lichtenberger of the University of Münster said.The now-ruined city of Artaxata, located on a hilltop in southern Armenia along the border with Turkey, was founded in 176 BCE and “developed into an important metropolis,” especially during the Hellenistic period, and ultimately served as “the capital of the Kingdom of Armenia for almost six centuries,” the researchers said.The same hilltop, which boasts a spectacular view of Mt. Ararat just across the Turkish border, houses Khor Virap, an ancient and still active monastery that is also a pilgrimage site.“This does appear to be a significant discovery and credible claim by well-qualified archaeologists,” said Prof. Jodi Magness, a classical and biblical archaeologist and religious historian who teaches at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in an email exchange with The Times of Israel.“The discovery of this church makes sense since the Kingdom of Armenia was the first state to adopt Christianity as its official religion in the early fourth century,” she said, and noted that at around the same time, “Armenians established a presence in Jerusalem, which they have maintained until today.”Although rare elsewhere, ancient “octagonal churches are not uncommon in the eastern Mediterranean, including the Church of the Kathisma [the Church of the Seat of Mary, 5th century CE], located between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, which was excavated by Rina Avner of the Israel Antiquities Authority,” Magness said.There is another octagonal church, dating from around 500 CE, in Caesarea, and at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, commissioned by Constantine in the early 4th century, “the grotto originally was enclosed within an octagon,” she said.“In addition, the Dome of the Rock [7th century CE] is octagonal,” she noted, as is the chapel “at the heart of Charlemagne’s palace [9th century CE], at Aix-la-Chapelle [Aachen, Germany]” which “is an inner octagon surrounded by a sixteen-sided ambulatory, and still stands today.”“I could not tell you what happened to this building type later in history,” Magness said. “There may well have been other, earlier Christian places of worship but they have not been identified in the archaeological record. Remember that Christianity was outlawed [in the Roman world] before 313 CE, so Christians had to worship in secret, for example in private houses.The Kingdom of Armenia, at the time a client-state of the Romans, formally became Christian in 301 CE, when, “according to legend, Gregory the Illuminator converted the Armenian king Tiridates III to Christianity in Artaxata,” the researchers noted in their press release.This was before the Council of Nicea in 325 CE, which codified and streamlined what had been diverse Christian tenets, and also before the Roman Emperor Constantine’s 313 CE Edict of Milan, which outlawed the prosecution of Christians and made Christianity a recognized religion in the empire.Therefore Armenia is considered the first Christian kingdom, and the Armenian Orthodox Church is one of the oldest Christian denominations. (There is also a significant number of Armenian Catholics, who have distinct traditions but owe allegiance to the Holy See in Rome.)Armenia already boasts what some consider the world’s oldest cathedral: the Etchmiadzin Cathedral, built in 301 CE in the city of Vagharshapat, around the time of King Tiridates III’s conversion, but it is unclear which structure holds the title of the earliest church, and many locations predate the newly discovered Artaxata building.Ancient Christian houses of prayer include the Dura-Europos house church in Syria, which is thought to have been a private home converted to a Christian house of worship in the mid-3rd century CE. The Meggido Church in Israel, also dating from the early 3rd century and thought to have been similarly repurposed, is another early contender, as is the Aqaba Church in Jordan from the late 3rd century, thought to be the earliest purpose-built Christian house of worship yet discovered.The German-Armenian team, which has been working at Artaxata since 2018, said they “will continue their excavations and hope to make new discoveries, including the question as to whom the church was dedicated.”

Halevi: Over 2 dozen branches of Hezbollah-linked firm hit-IDF: Hezbollah hiding $500 million in gold, cash in bunker under Beirut hospital-Amid operation against group’s finances, military spokesman calls on Lebanon and international groups to prevent use of money to fund terror-By Agencies and ToI Staff 21 October 2024, 11:32 pm

The Israel Defense Forces on Monday declassified intelligence on the Hezbollah terror group’s finance hub, including a bunker hidden underneath a hospital in south Beirut that it said contains hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and gold.Israel expanded its campaign against Hezbollah on Sunday night, launching a series of strikes to degrade the Iran-backed terror group’s ability to fund its operations.“The Israeli Air Force carried out a series of precise strikes on these Hezbollah financial strongholds,” IDF Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a televised briefing.“One of our main targets last night was an underground vault with tens of millions of dollars in cash and gold. The money was being used to finance Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel,” he said, without specifying whether all of the money was destroyed in the strike.Hagari then referenced a separate bunker also allegedly filled with cash and gold under a hospital in the capital Beirut, but said the vault had not been targeted yet by the IDF.“According to the estimates we have, there is at least half a billion dollars in dollar bills and gold stored in this bunker,” Hagari said. “This money could and still can be used to rebuild the state of Lebanon.”“Tonight, I am going to declassify intelligence on a site that we did not strike—where Hezbollah has millions of dollars in gold and cash—in Hassan Nasrallah’s bunker. Where is the bunker located? Directly under Al-Sahel Hospital in the heart of Beirut.”Listen to IDF Spox.… pic.twitter.com/SjMZQpKqoJ— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 21, 2024-During the briefing, Hagari presented a map showing the location of the bunker, under Al-Sahel Hospital in the southern Beirut suburb known as Dahiyeh, where Hezbollah is largely based.He called on Lebanese authorities and international organizations to prevent Hezbollah from using “the money for terror and to attack Israel,” and warned that the Israeli Air Force is monitoring the compound.Asserting that Israel is at war with Hezbollah and not the Lebanese people, he said that the IDF would not launch a strike on the hospital.Earlier Monday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said more than two dozen targets belonging to Al-Qard Al-Hassan — a financial firm linked to Hezbollah — had been hit.“We struck close to 30 targets across Lebanon,” Halevi said in a statement after strikes began Sunday night against the US-sanctioned association that Israel accuses of financing “Hezbollah’s terrorist operations.”The announcements came as the IDF said it continued to hammer an array of Hezbollah positions across Lebanon, including strikes against about 300 targets in the previous 24 hours.Al-Qard Al-Hassan is a financial firm, officially registered as a charity, that has been offering customers credit in exchange for gold deposits on an interest-free basis since the 1980s. Israel charges that Hezbollah is making money from Lebanon civilians through AQAH.The United States has long sanctioned the association, accusing Hezbollah of using it as a cover to mask its financial activities and gain access to the international financial system.“In recent years, the state of Lebanon has experienced a deep financial crisis, which was exploited by Hezbollah,” the IDF spokesperson said on Monday, charging that the terror group’s two main sources of income are the Lebanese people and the Iranian regime.He said that as well as transferring money to Hezbollah via Syria, including “suitcases of cash and gold in planes to the Iranian embassy in Beirut,” the terror group has “built factories in Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Turkey that provide income for its terrorist operations.”On Sunday evening, Israel struck AQAH branches in Beirut, the eastern Beqaa Valley and south Lebanon. Hagari presented a map of the targets in his Monday briefing.Al-Qard Al-Hassan says it has more than 30 branches nationwide, mainly in Hezbollah bastions including Beirut’s southern suburbs, but also in central Beirut and in other major cities such as Sidon and Tyre.Hagari also confirmed that Israel carried out an airstrike in Syria on Monday targeting the head of Hezbollah’s financial arm responsible for funneling cash from Iran to its proxy.The IDF did not name the Hezbollah official, but said that he had only been in the position a few weeks since his predecessor was killed.Israel in late September widened the focus of its military operations to Lebanon after over a year of cross-border attacks by Hezbollah-led forces in solidarity with Hamas — another Iranian-backed terror group — amid the war in Gaza.Some 60,000 residents were evacuated from northern towns on the Lebanon border shortly after Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, due to fears Hezbollah would carry out a similar attack, and amid increasing rocket fire by the terror group.The attacks on northern Israel since October 2023 have resulted in the deaths of 29 civilians. In addition, 43 IDF soldiers and reservists have died in cross-border skirmishes and in the ensuing ground operation launched in southern Lebanon in late September.Two soldiers have been killed in a drone attack from Iraq, and there have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.The IDF estimates that around 2,000 Hezbollah operatives have been killed in the conflict. Around 100 members of other terror groups, along with hundreds of civilians, have also been reported killed in Lebanon.Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.

US official: PA has met Israeli requirements for Smotrich to extend banking deal-Far-right minister has until October 31 to approve deal allowing Israeli, Palestinian banks to work together; US warns failure to do so could lead to West Bank economic crisis-By Jacob Magid Today, 10:19 am-OCT 22,24

The US has concluded that the Palestinian Authority has met the requirements laid out by Israel for extending indemnification needed to allow Israeli banks to continue conducting transactions with Palestinian banks, a US official familiar with the matter told the Times of Israel on Monday.The recognition from the US is aimed at pushing the Israeli government to extend the framework, known as the corresponding banking agreement, with the Palestinians for at least another year.The US has said that failure to approve the waiver allowing Israeli banks to conduct transactions with their Palestinian counterparts risks an economic crisis in the West Bank and the collapse of the Palestinian Authority.The agreement is set to expire on October 31, after Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich agreed to extend it for only three months over the summer, despite US pressure for a much longer period. As the deadline approaches, the US has grown increasingly worried that Smotrich won’t agree to extend it further.In recent months, Smotrich’s office informed the PA Finance Ministry and the Biden administration that Israel would be willing to further extend the corresponding banking agreement if the PA conducted a risk assessment of its financial system and if a similar review by the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force was scheduled.Israel wants proof showing that PA-regulated banks comply with international statutes regarding counter-terrorism and anti-money launderingThe Palestinian economy relies heavily on the banks’ relationships with their Israeli counterparts to process transactions made in shekels, as the PA does not have its own currency. Some 53 billion shekels ($14 billion) were exchanged at Palestinian banks in 2023, according to official data.And US officials have warned that failure to maintain banking relations between Israel and the Palestinians would turn the West Bank into a “cash economy,” which would benefit terrorist organizations in the territory and make it harder for the already-weakened PA to fight such groups.The Treasury Department noted in a readout on a rare phone call held earlier Monday between US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo and PA Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa that the PA has met both of the requirements laid out by Israel.Adeyemo noted the PA’s progress, including completing key milestones for assessing risks within its jurisdiction and bolstering effective compliance with international standards, the US readout said.“They discussed the importance of the correspondent banking relationships between Israeli and Palestinian banks to the security and economic stability of the region,” the readout noted.Adeyemo “stressed the importance of preventing terrorists and violent extremists” from raising, using, and moving funds in the West Bank, the Treasury readout added, apparently referring to US sanctions against settler extremists.Ahead of the last waiver extension, Smotrich, the far-right leader of the pro-settlement Religious Zionism party, only agreed to extend the deal for four months, instead of the customary one year.And that only happened after significant prodding from Washington and an apparent quid pro quo agreement that saw Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government legalize five wildcat outposts in the West Bank, advance plans for thousands of new settlement homes, and approve a series of punitive measures against the PA.As the new deadline approaches, US officials have expressed concern that  Smotrich will try to find new reasons to justify punitive measures against the PA.The US has considered sanctioning Smotrich over his policies but has held off on the drastic step.Reuters contributed to this report.Senior cabinet ministers, as well as members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, called at a Monday event for the reestablishment of Jewish settlements in Gaza, while others urged the encouragement of Palestinian emigration from the war-ravaged territory.Speaking at the large ultranationalist conference on the Gaza border, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said that “encouraging emigration” of Palestinian residents of the territory was the best and “most ethical” solution to the conflict.Likud members made similar comments, with Social Equality and Advancement of the Status of Women Minister May Golan declaring at the conference that “taking territory” from Arabs is what “hurts them most,” and that settlements in Gaza would bolster Israel’s security.Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also attended the conference, endorsed the idea of rebuilding settlements in Gaza, stating on his way to the event that the Strip was “part of the Land of Israel” and that “without settlements, there is no security.”Numerous other government ministers and coalition MKs attended the event, including Negev and Galilee Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf of Ben Gvir’s ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit party, along with Likud MKs Avichay Buaron, Tali Gotliv and Ariel Kallner.Earlier, veteran settler leader Daniella Weiss, whose settlement movement organized the conference, declared that Gazans had “lost their right” to live in the territory in the wake of the October 7 massacre and would not remain there.A group of several dozen anti-government protesters, including residents of Gaza border communities, demonstrated outside the designated area for the conference, and decried the staging of the event in the area when hostages, including residents of the area, were still being held hostage by Hamas.Police prevented the protesters from entering the conference area itself.The event, dubbed the “Preparing to Settle Gaza” conference, was organized by the Nachala organization, which has for years promoted the establishment of settlements in the West Bank and is now advocating similar policies for Gaza.The conference sported the characteristic vim and ardor of the settler community, with musicians such as Aharon Razel providing the soundtrack to some zestful dancing in between political speeches.The event was attended overwhelmingly by members of the religious-Zionist community, many of whom came from West Bank settlements for the day. Some set up sukkahs, the temporary huts built for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, on Sunday night and slept at the site ahead of the conference.Workshops were put on by settler activists associated with Nachala to provide instructions on how to build new settlements from scratch, as Nachala has done on several occasions, most notably establishing the illegal outpost of Evyatar in the northern West Bank, which was recently legalized by the government.Along with Nachala, the ultranationalist Religious Zionism and Otzma Yehudit parties also participated in organizing the conference, while the Likud party sent a delegation of some 10 MKs to attend the event.It was the second such conference to be held this year, after a similar event staged by Nachala in Jerusalem in January led to international condemnation.“If we want to, we can renew settlement in Gaza,” Ben Gvir said in a brief but central speech from the podium at the conference, held opposite the Netzarim Corridor, which dissects central Gaza.“We can [also] do something else — encourage emigration. The truth is, this is the most ethical and the most correct solution,” he added, while adding that this should not be done “by force” and that Gazans should be told Israel is “giving them the option” of going to other countries.“The Land of Israel is ours,” he declared.Writing on X on his way to the conference, Smotrich said that territory relinquished by Israel in the past had turned into “Iranian forward terror bases,” and endangered the country.“Today’s conference is part of a public process of advocacy and meant to harness [the public], and is intended to promote a practical process of pioneering, Zionist settlement,” he wrote.He noted, however, that the national debate on rebuilding settlements in Gaza was relevant “for the day after the war,” which would be decided “in the normal democratic ways.”Earlier in the day, Nachala leader Weiss went even further, essentially calling for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza by proclaiming that the Palestinian population had “lost their right” to live there.“Wars bring about the terrible issue of refugees. October 7 changed history, as a result of the brutal massacre Gazan Arabs lost their right to be here; they will not stay here, they will go to different countries, we will convince the world,” declared Weiss, a veteran campaigner for the construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza.“We came here to settle the entire Gaza Strip, from north to south, not just part of it,” she added in reference to the purpose of the conference itself.Weiss said that Nachala had set up six “settlement groups” comprising a total of 700 families “who are ready right now” to establish new settlements in Gaza, should the opportunity arise.In a rambling speech assailing the media, progressives and other perceived opponents of the political right, Likud minister Golan declared that “taking territory from them is what hurts them most,” and insisted that “settlements in Judea and Samaria [the West Bank] brought security” to Israel.Speaking after her, hardline Likud MK Kallner declared that “settlements are total victory,” adding, “What they see as Dar Islam [the House of Islam] will become Dar Yahud [the House of Jews],” and insisting like Golan that settlements would improve security.The theme of settlements providing Israel with greater security was widely voiced at the conference, and repeated by Haim Waltzer, a current resident of the recently legalized West Bank outpost of Evyatar and former resident of the Gush Katif settlements in Gaza, which were evacuated in 2005 under the Gaza Disengagement plan.“Settling the land is my life’s mission. The real reason is that God commanded us [to settle the land] when he gave us the land 3,000 years ago as is written in the Bible,” said Waltzer.“Another reason why we want to settle Gaza is because I believe that this is the only thing that will bring peace,” he said.“We are a nation of peace, we only want peace. But I don’t think we have a partner for peace. The only way there will be quiet in Tel Aviv is if we settle Gaza — that is the only way they will feel defeated. The only thing they care about is land. [Taking it away] and settling there is the only thing that will make them feel that we have won and they have been defeated. ”Asked who should govern the Palestinian population of Gaza if Israel resettled the territory and annexed it as the ultranationalist parties seek, Waltzer endorsed Ben Gvir’s policy of “encouraging emigration.”Oved Hugi, the head of the Likud’s Yad Eliyahu branch in Tel Aviv and one of the few not overtly religious participants in the conference, echoed Golan and Kallner in asserting that only stripping away Gazan territory from the Palestinians would serve as a sufficient deterrent from continuing the conflict with Israel.Hugi advocated for lopping off northern Gaza from the coastal territory and allocating its land to the kibbutzim and other Israeli communities of the Gaza border region, for settlement and development, as well as maintaining Israeli control over the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border to prevent Hamas from rearming.“The Arabs must lose territory in the war, so that they remember that they lost. For an act like this [the October 7 massacre], they must get the punishment of losing territory,” he said in the Likud sukkah set up at the event.

Around 200 rockets fired at Israel Sunday-Blasts rock Beirut as Israeli sorties target financial group helping fund Hezbollah-Lebanese civilians in Hezbollah strongholds told to seek shelter as Israel strikes Al-Qard Al-Hassan, an unlicensed bank accused of helping terror group move money-By Emanuel Fabian,ToI Staff and Agencies 21 October 2024, 5:11 am

Israeli airstrikes targeted branches of an association accused of financing the Hezbollah terror group late Sunday and early Monday, as Israel appeared to expand its campaign against the Iran-backed group and degrade its ability to fund operations.At least 11 strikes were reported in Beirut’s southern suburbs, with more attacks tallied in southern Lebanon and the northeastern Beqaa Valley region, all Hezbollah strongholds, as panicked civilians tried to reach shelterMost of the strikes targeted branches of Al-Qard Al-Hassan, an unlicensed gray-market bank seen as one of the group’s main sources of cash.The IDF said Monday morning that its fighter jets hit “dozens of Hezbollah facilities and sites” overnight used to finance its activities in Beirut, southern Lebanon, and “deep within Lebanese territory.”The funds were “stored by the Al-Qard al-Hassan Association,” the military said, which holds billions of dollars for Hezbollah. The IDF said that ahead of the strikes, “numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including advance warnings issued via different platforms to the civilian population in the area.”Israel announced Sunday evening that it was launching a campaign against Hezbollah’s funding networks, warning civilians to get away from any Al-Qard Al-Hassan facility.“We will strike many sites in the coming hours, and more sites overnight. In the coming days, we will reveal how Iran finances Hezbollah’s terror activity using civilian institutions and associations as a cover,” IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Sunday night, shortly before the sorties began.The Israeli military also apologized on Monday for killing three Lebanese soldiers in south Lebanon a day earlier, saying that the strike was unintentional. The IDF said it struck a truck that had entered an area where it had previously targeted a Hezbollah truck transporting a launcher and missiles.The IDF said that soldiers were not aware that the second truck belonged to the Lebanese army, and that it is “not operating against the Lebanese Army and apologizes for these unwanted circumstances.”Hundreds of Beirut residents fled their homes as explosions echoed across the Lebanese capital, including near Beirut’s international airport, which sits adjacent to the southern Beirut suburb known as Dahiyeh where Hezbollah is largely based.Reuters witnesses saw dense plumes of black smoke billowing in the air after at least 10 blasts. They said a building located in Beirut’s Chiyah neighborhood was reduced to rubble and the few people in the area had fled ahead of the explosion, resulting in no casualties.An unverified video online appeared to show a multi-story building collapse following a strike on it.– BREAKING – Israeli IAF air strike on a High-rise building in the Dahiyeh, Southern suburbs of BeirutThe building was reportedly used by #Hezbollah affiliated bank "Al-Qard Al-Hassan"The air strike resulted in the collapse of the building https://t.co/zci62o21vI pic.twitter.com/B5XAPBbErG— The Global Eye (@TGEThGlobalEye) October 20, 2024-Panicked crowds clogged the streets and caused traffic jams in some parts of Beirut as they tried to get to neighborhoods thought to be safer, witnesses said.Al-Qard al-Hassan, which is sanctioned by the US Treasury Department, has more than 30 branches across Lebanon, including 15 in densely populated parts of central Beirut and its suburbs.There was no immediate statement from Al-Qard al-Hassan, Hezbollah or the Lebanese government.Asked by journalists whether the branches could be considered military targets, a senior Israeli intelligence official said: “The purpose of this strike is to target Hezbollah’s ability to function economically, both during the war but also afterward to rebuild and to rearm… on the day after.”The strikes came after Israel said it had hit dozens of targets during air raids on Lebanon earlier Sunday, as Hezbollah claimed numerous rocket strikes over the border and clashes with Israeli ground troops.Around 200 rockets were fired at Israel throughout Sunday, causing damage but no casualties, the Israel Defense Forces said.Israel was also targeted by drones apparently fired from Iraq on Sunday and early Monday. The IDF said it downed one drone “from the east” over Syria. A second drone, claimed by Iran-backed militias in Iraq, was shot down after crossing into Israel and triggering warnings in a pair of northern Jordan Valley settlements in the West Bank.About 70 projectiles were fired from Lebanon into Israel Sunday within a matter of minutes, the military said, adding it had intercepted some of them.In many cases, rocket impacts sparked fires, including a large blaze near Rosh Pina, in the Safed area.Hezbollah also claimed an attack against Haifa. AFPTV images showed puffs of smoke in the sky above the port of Haifa as air defenses intercepted rockets and a siren wailed.The Israel Fire and Rescue Service reported that fragments from an interceptor missile fell on a residential building in the western part of Haifa, causing some damage to the two-story property but no injuries.In southern Lebanon, the United Nations peacekeeping force, UNIFIL, said an Israeli “army bulldozer deliberately had demolished an observation tower and perimeter fence of a UN position.”The Blue Helmets have repeatedly alleged targeting by Israeli troops, a charge rejected by Israel, which says the peacekeepers should evacuate to avoid being caught in the crossfire.In a visit to northern Israel on Sunday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told troops of the IDF’s 98th Division that the military was stepping up strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon, destroying places the group “planned to use as launch pads for attacks against Israel.”Earlier Sunday, the Israeli military said it hit the “command center of Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters” and underground weapons facility in south Beirut.The IDF said Sunday its strikes in southern Lebanon killed more than 65 Hezbollah operatives, including a number of prominent figures.On Saturday night the military had similarly reported striking weapons stores and a “Hezbollah intelligence headquarters” in the area.Hezbollah meanwhile claimed it had downed an Israeli Hermes 450 drone Sunday, without saying where. There was no comment from the IDF.After suffering nearly a year of cross-border attacks, Israel launched a major offensive against Hezbollah in September with catastrophic consequences for the group, decimating its leadership and crippling much of its capabilities.The offensive is aimed at creating conditions that will allow tens of thousands of residents of northern Israel to safely return home, after Hezbollah began launching cross-border attacks on October 8, 2023 in support of the Gaza-based Hamas terror group.The attacks on northern Israel over the last year have resulted in the deaths of 29 civilians. In addition, 43 IDF soldiers and reservists have died in cross-border skirmishes and in the ensuing ground operation launched in southern Lebanon in late September.Two soldiers have been killed in a drone attack from Iraq, and there have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.Since its beginning last month, the Israel-Hezbollah war has killed at least 1,470 people in Lebanon, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry figures. Many of them are thought to be Hezbollah operatives.Hezbollah has named 516 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria. Another 94 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and hundreds of civilians have also been killed.These numbers have not been consistently updated since Israel began the campaign in September, but the IDF estimates that more than 1,500 Hezbollah operatives have been killed in the conflict.Agencies contributed to this report.

Explainer-Lebanon’s Al-Qard Al-Hassan: US-sanctioned Hezbollah cash source-The financial institution is the latest target of IDF airstrikes as Israel seeks to degrade the terror group’s ability to fund its war on the Jewish state-By Reuters and ToI Staff 21 October 2024, 3:57 pm

Israeli airstrikes targeted branches of an association accused of financing the Hezbollah terror group late Sunday and early Monday, as Israel appeared to expand its campaign against the Iran-backed group in an effort to degrade its ability to fund operations.At least 11 strikes were reported in Beirut’s southern suburbs, with more attacks in southern Lebanon and the northeastern Beqaa Valley region, all Hezbollah strongholds, as panicked civilians tried to reach shelter.Most of the strikes targeted branches of Al-Qard Al-Hassan, seen as one of the group’s main sources of cash.Here are some details about Al-Qard Al-Hassan (AQAH):– Founded in 1983, Al-Qard Al-Hassan describes itself as a charitable organization, which provides loans to people according to Islamic principles that forbid interest. It has more than 30 branches across Lebanon, including 15 in densely populated parts of central Beirut and its suburbs. It operates under a license granted by the Lebanese government.– Many people from Hezbollah’s Shiite constituency have borrowed from Al-Qard Al-Hassan, taking hard currency loans against the value of jewelry — for example — repayable over several years on flexible terms. Its role expanded as Lebanon sank into a deep financial crisis beginning in 2019, freezing ordinary Lebanese out of their savings. Hezbollah encouraged Lebanese from all sects and political factions to use AQAH.– The United States Department of the Treasury, which sanctioned AQAH in 2007, has said that Hezbollah uses Al-Qard Al-Hassan as a cover to manage “financial activities and gain access to the international financial system.” “While AQAH purports to serve the Lebanese people, in practice it illicitly moves funds through shell accounts and facilitators, exposing Lebanese financial institutions to possible sanctions,” it said in a later statement sanctioning individuals linked to it in 2021.– Hezbollah’s slain terror chief Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on September 27, spoke about AQAH many times. In 2020, after Al-Qard Al-Hassan was hacked and names of its clients were published, Nasrallah said the aim was to scare away its users in a bid to make the institution collapse. He urged Hezbollah supporters to respond by depositing any funds they had at home with Al-Qard Al-Hassan. He described it as an organization supported and protected by Hezbollah. – Al-Qard Al-Hassan is estimated to have hundreds of thousands of clients, according to two regional financial sources.

Report: Sinwar was offered a chance to leave Gaza for Egypt during war, but refused-In talks for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Arab mediators made the proposal to now-slain terror chief, who rejected the idea, Wall Street Journal says-By ToI Staff 21 October 2024, 1:02 pm

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, killed by IDF troops last week, was at one stage offered the chance to leave the Gaza Strip in exchange for allowing Egypt to negotiate on the terror group’s behalf for a hostage deal, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.“I’m not under siege, I’m on Palestinian soil,” Sinwar reportedly told Arab mediators in response to the proposal, soon after the start of the war sparked by the October 7, 2023, massacre, which he orchestrated.According to the report, as the war went on, Sinwar accepted that he was likely to be killed and according to mediators, suggested that the terror group choose a leadership council to govern and manage the transition after his death.According to the report, based on interviews with Israeli, US, Hamas and Arab officials, Siwnar repeatedly told Hamas negotiators in Qatar to not agree to a ceasefire deal, saying in one message that high civilian deaths in Gaza would put international pressure on Israel. Sinwar was said to be holding out in the hope that the fighting in Gaza would trigger a regional war against Israel.As Israel closed in on Sinwar, destroying the Gaza tunnel infrastructure where he was hiding, he was forced to spend more time on the surface, which increased the chances of him being killed.In a message to prepare for his possible death, Sinwar warned that Israel would offer concessions if he was killed but that Hamas should not give in.The report said that under a previous government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, attempts were made to kill Sinwar and his military chief Muhammad Deif, but Israeli officials believed that the terror leaders were deterred. Netanyahu’s successor (and predecessor) Naftali Bennett proposed assassinating Sinwar on at least two occasions before his government collapsed, according to the report.Sinwar, who was seen as a major obstacle to a hostage deal, was killed last Wednesday in an encounter with IDF troops operating in southern Gaza’s Rafah. Israel says Deif was assassinated in July.Sinwar’s death has sparked hopes of a renewed opportunity to revitalize the long-stalled negotiations for the release of the 101 remaining hostages held by Hamas and for an end to the fighting between Israel and the Palestinian terror group that has reduced much of the enclave to rubble over the past 12 months.Officials in Egypt are hoping that Sinwar’s death will provide new impetus to stalled negotiations for a ceasefire, including changing Israel’s “uncompromising position” on Gaza after the war ends, the Saudi-based Al-Arabiya network reported Monday.US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is due to visit Israel on Tuesday and then Egypt the day after. Al-Arabiya reported that talks in Cairo will focus on establishing an international force to oversee the administration of Gaza and the strategic border between the enclave and Egypt, the so-called Philadelphi Corridor. Israel has insisted on maintaining some control over the corridor, saying it needs to prevent weapons smuggling into Gaza.On Sunday, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar reportedly visited Cairo to discuss the attempted revival of hostage deal negotiations.An Israeli official told The Times of Israel that Netanyahu was looking for an opportunity to wrap up the war with a hostage deal, as the relatives of many of the hostages have urged him to do.Channel 12 reported that Israel had indicated to the US in recent days that it was ready to make concessions in some areas that previously were not considered up for debate.The report did not elaborate on what the concessions could entail.The US, too, has voiced optimism that Sinwar’s death could present a new opportunity for a hostage release and ceasefire deal. But reports on Sunday indicated that in private, officials are doubtful.It is believed that 97 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.Ongoing attempts since then to broker a deal for the release of the remaining hostages still held captive by Hamas have repeatedly failed, as Israel and the terror group accuse each other of sabotaging negotiations.

US defense chief says THAAD missile defense battery is now ‘in place’ in Israel-Visiting Ukraine, Lloyd Austin says Washington is working ‘to dial down the tensions’ between Tehran and Jerusalem, declines to say if anti-missile system is fully operational-By Agencies and ToI Staff 21 October 2024, 9:48 am

The US military has rushed its advanced anti-missile system to Israel and it is now “in place,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Monday.THAAD, or the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, is a critical part of the US military’s layered air defense systems and adds to Israel’s already formidable anti-missile defenses.“The THAAD system is in place,” Austin said, speaking to reporters before he arrived in Ukraine on Monday.He declined to say whether it was operational, but added: “We have the ability to put it into operation very quickly and we’re on pace with our expectations.”The missile defense battery was sent by the US military to protect Israel in case of an Iranian reaction to an expected Israeli reprisal attack following Tehran firing 200 ballistic missiles at Israel earlier this month.Austin told reporters on Monday that “it’s hard to say exactly what [Israel’s] strike will look like.”“At the end of the day, that’s an Israeli decision, and whether or not the Israelis believe it’s proportional and how the Iranians perceive it, I mean those may be two different things,” Austin added.“We’re going to do — continue to do — everything we can… to dial down the tensions and hopefully get both parties to begin to deescalate. So, we’ll see what happens,” he added.Austin’s comments came a day after two reports indicated that the THAAD system was already operational on the ground in Israel.The Kan public broadcaster reported Sunday evening that the missile defense battery had begun operations in Israel, citing two Israeli sources, while the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya outlet quoted sources saying that three batteries were functioning.Around 100 US troops were expected to be deployed to operate the system, which is considered a complementary system to the Patriot system but can defend a wider area, capable of hitting targets at ranges of 150-200 kilometers (93-124 miles).The Pentagon said last Tuesday that an advance team of US military personnel and initial components necessary to operate the system had arrived in Israel a day earlier.Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder said at the time that additional US military personnel and THAAD battery components would continue to arrive in Israel over the coming days.Ryder added that the air defense battery would be fully operational and capable in the near future, but the exact timeline would not be announced due to security concerns.“The deployment of the THAAD battery to Israel underscores the United States’ commitment to the defense of Israel and to defend Americans in Israel from any ballistic missile attacks by Iran,” Ryder said last week.Iran has been bracing for retaliation after its October 1 attack on Israel that included firing some 200 ballistic missiles — which it said came in response to Israeli strikes in Lebanon last month that killed the top leadership of the Hezbollah terror group, an Iranian proxy, and a July blast in Tehran that killed Hamas politburo head, Ismail Haniyeh.The deployment of the US system in Israel, including US personnel on the ground, deepens the United States’ involvement in the conflict after a year of it largely offering support from outside the country’s borders.US ships and warplanes have helped defend Israel from the Iranian attacks, but the deployment of the battery puts US troops — as well as the system itself — on the ground in Israel and more directly in harm’s way.The THAAD system — developed in the 1990s, with the first battery activated in 2008 — is operated by 95 soldiers and consists of six truck-mounted launchers with eight interceptors each, a radar, and a fire control component, according to the US Congressional Research Service.The Pentagon announcement of its deployment came the same day that a letter was publicized from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to Israeli officials, warning that Jerusalem has one month to implement significant improvements to the humanitarian situation in Gaza or jeopardize the continued supply of US weapons.Over the past week, Israel has said that dozens of aid trucks have entered Gaza via Israel. COGAT, the Defense Ministry body in charge of overseeing such aid, said Monday that 114 aid trucks entered Gaza via the Kerem Shalom and Erez crossings a day earlier, and that approximately 600 trucks worth of aid are waiting for collection on the Gaza side.Jacob Magid contributed to this report.

US House speaker confirms probe into intelligence leak on Israel’s Iran attack plans-Mike Johnson expects update as to how classified reports were published on social media; Pentagon says looking into reported disclosure of information-By Reuters and ToI Staff 20 October 2024, 7:33 pm

The United States is investigating the leak of a pair of highly classified intelligence documents describing Israel’s preparations for a retaliatory strike on Iran, House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Sunday.The documents appear to have been prepared by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, describing US interpretations of Israeli Air Force and Navy planning based on satellite imagery from October 15-16.They began circulating last week on the Telegram messaging app. Israel has been planning a response to a ballistic missile barrage carried out by Iran on October 1, its second direct attack on Israel in six months.Asked about the leak of the documents during an interview with CNN, Johnson, the US House of Representatives’ top lawmaker, said an “investigation (is) underway and I’ll get a briefing on that in a couple of hours.”“…We are following it closely,” Johnson added.The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Pentagon said it was looking into the leak reports.My Colleague, Middle East Spectator, has leaked some documents relating to an NGIA analysis done by the Pentagon in recent activities in Israel relating to a response against Iran.The documents are probably real. https://t.co/vkACSN1Lo5 pic.twitter.com/5qIllcvDtL— MedManOG (@MedManOG) October 17, 2024-A senior Israeli official told the Axios news site that the defense establishment was taking the leak very seriously. A US official said that the alleged leak, while extremely concerning, would not impact plans for an attack against Iran.The New York Times reported that officials acknowledged privately that the documents were authentic, but that they likely only represent a portion of information the US has on its close ally’s plans.The two files were published by a pro-Iran Telegram account, the “Middle East Spectator,” which claimed they were sent by a source in the Pentagon and detailed US observations of measures taken by the Israeli Air Force on October 15-16, in the lead-up to an attack.The first document is titled: “Israel: Air Force Continues Preparations for Strike on Iran and Conducts a Second Large-Force Employment Exercise.” It describes activities including ballistic and air-to-surface missile handling.The second is titled: “Israel: Defense Forces Continue Key Munitions Preparations and Covert UAV Activity Almost Certainly for a Strike on Iran.” UAVs are also known as drones.The documents noted observing IAF exercises using air-launched ballistic missiles (ALBMs), air-to-surface ballistic missiles, fighter jets, UAVs, and refueling tankers previously used during Israeli strikes on Houthi sites in Yemen.According to the documents, the IAF has handled at least 16 Golden Horizon ALBMs and 40 IS02 (ROCKS) ALBMs since October 8.The Islamic Republic has been bracing for an Israeli reprisal after its latest direct attack on Israel, in which it fired 200 ballistic missiles that sent most of Israel to bomb shelters on October 1, killed a Palestinian man in the West Bank, and caused minor damage in residential areas and at military bases. Iran said the missile assault came in response to strikes in Lebanon that killed the top leadership of the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group and a July blast in Tehran that killed Hamas politburo head Ismail Haniyeh.Washington has sought to temper Jerusalem’s plans to retaliate for the October 1 attack — which forced most of the country to rush to bomb shelters and safe rooms and killed a Palestinian man in the West Bank — fearing that the escalating tit-for-tats could spark a wider war, drawing in others in the region.It has urged Israel not to strike Iran’s nuclear or oil facilities.The attack caused damage in Israel, including in Israeli airbases, though the military has said that no aircraft or critical infrastructure were hit, and the IAF is operating at full capacity.Channel 12 news on Saturday evening quoted an unnamed Israeli source as saying Israel hopes that a drone attack on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private home in Caesarea earlier in the day would give Israel “greater legitimacy for a wider range of targets” in Iran if necessary.Netanyahu said the drone attack represented an attempted assassination and blamed it on “the agents of Iran.”US President Joe Biden, responding to questions from reporters, said last week he had a good understanding of when and how Israel would attack Iran. But he also said he sees an opportunity to end the two enemies’ back-and-forth strikes.

Iran complains to UN watchdog, alleging Israeli threats to hit its nuclear sites-In letter to International Atomic Energy Agency, foreign ministry argues striking such facilities is against global body’s resolutions and should be condemned-By Reuters and ToI Staff 21 October 2024, 3:39 pm

Iran has written to the UN nuclear watchdog to raise its concerns about a potential Israeli attack on its nuclear sites, foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Monday at a weekly news conference.Israel has vowed to attack Iran after Tehran fired some 200 ballistic missiles at Israel on October 1, leading to speculation that Iran’s nuclear sites could be among Israel’s potential targets.“Threats to attack nuclear sites are against UN resolutions…. and are condemned… we have sent a letter about it to… the UN nuclear watchdog,” Baghaei said in the televised news conference.Separately, Baghaei said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will travel to Bahrain and Kuwait.Israel has promised a “serious and significant” but has not openly listed any targets. Jerusalem has for years vowed that it would not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons and has reportedly readied the use of military force for that objective if Iran moves toward acquiring such weapons.With an Israeli response expected, there has been speculation it may be mulling attacks on Iranian oil infrastructure or nuclear sites.Iran insists its nuclear program is strictly peaceful but has accelerated its enrichment of uranium to up to 60 percent fissile purity, close to 90% of weapons-grade, a level of purity experts say has no practical use except to make a bomb.US President Joe Biden has publicly spoken out against Israel targeting Iran’s nuclear sites or oil infrastructure. The US said it opposes both actions for their potential to escalate the fighting, including Iranian reprisals aimed at civilian infrastructure in Israel or other regional states aligned with the West.Republican US presidential candidate former president Donald Trump and former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett have both said Israel should bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities.Iran launched its October missile attack to retaliate against Israeli strikes targeting its allies terror groups Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza amid an ongoing war against both that was triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. It was the second direct Iranian attack on Israel this year; Israel responded to the first missile volley in April with an airstrike on an air defense site in central Iran that was reportedly guarding a nuclear facility.Iran has repeatedly said it would give a forceful response if Israel attacks nuclear or oil sites, calling them a “red line.”A Hezbollah drone attack on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in the coastal city of Caesarea over the weekend saw Israel further ratchet up its vengeful rhetoric against Iran, which tried to distance itself from the incident. The premier and his wife were not home at the time of the attack.Washington has sought to temper Jerusalem’s plans to retaliate for the October 1 attack — which forced most of the country to rush to bomb shelters and safe rooms and killed a Palestinian man in the West Bank — fearing that the escalating tit-for-tat could spark a wider war drawing in others in the region. The attack caused damage in Israel, including in Israeli airbases, though the military has said that no aircraft or critical infrastructure were hit, and the Israeli Air Force was operating at full capacity.Last week, the Washington Post reported that Netanyahu had told US President Joe Biden that Israel’s retaliation against Iran will not include strikes on non-military sites, such as its nuclear or oil infrastructure.Two officials familiar with the matter, including one identified as a US official, pointed to Netanyahu’s softening stance as a key factor in the US decision to send an advanced anti-ballistic missile air defense system to Israel. The THAAD system has been activated after equipment and troops to operate it were airlifted to Israel in recent days.Iran’s atomic energy agency spokesperson Behrouz Kamalvandi said last Wednesday that the probability of an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear sites was “low” but any potential damage would be “quickly compensated,” according to Nournews.At the same time, Iran’s top diplomat Araghchi warned UN chief Antonio Guterres that Tehran is ready for a “decisive and regretful” response if Israel attacks his country.Israel’s response to Iran’s missile attack is already a “done deal,” an Israeli official told The Times of Israel on Sunday.Two officials said that the drone attack on Netanyahu’s home will not impact the scale or timing of the Israeli attack.Nonetheless, a lengthy security cabinet meeting later that evening reportedly did not ultimately give Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant the authority to decide on the timing of a strike on Iran, as had been expected.As Israel says it is preparing for the attack, the US is probing the leak of a pair of highly classified intelligence documents describing Israel’s preparations for a retaliatory strike on Iran.Those documents mentioned Israeli forces handling dozens of air-to-surface ballistic missiles that could be used in a strike.The prospect of an all-out war between Israel and Iran has placed the region on edge. Iran supports a network of militias across the Middle East, tightening the belt around Israel, which has for over a year been locked in battle with Iran-backed terror groups Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Macron’s office denies ban on Israeli firms at defense show amounts to boycott-French official says Paris supports Israel, but can’t allow weapons used in Gaza or Lebanon to be promoted while president pushes for ceasefire; Israel blasts move as ‘a disgrace’-By Lazar Berman-21 October 2024, 5:23 pm

Amid anger over French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to ban Israeli firms from exhibiting at a major naval arms show, an official in the Élysée Palace denied on Monday that Israeli companies were being boycotted.“There was never any intention to prohibit Israeli companies from participating — allowing access, visiting, holding meetings — in trade exhibitions in France,” said the French official. “Israeli companies interested in this will of course be able to enter the Euronaval exhibition. There is nothing in the French government’s position that can be interpreted as a boycott of Israeli companies in Euronaval.”The official asserted that France’s support for Israel and its right to defend itself “has always been unequivocal and without exception.”“However,” explained the official, “while French diplomacy is clearly calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon — the only way to curb the escalation and achieve peace and stability in the region — it would be inconsistent to allow any promotion of weapons used in Gaza and Lebanon, which cause unacceptable damage to the civilian population.”The official said, “We made it clear to the Israeli authorities that the participation of the companies setting up booths must reflect this balance, which is in line with France’s position. Also, companies whose equipment is not used for offensive operations in Gaza and Lebanon will of course be able to set up booths at the exhibition.”Euronaval, the organizer of the November 4-7 event, said in a statement last week that the French government had informed it that Israeli delegations were not allowed to exhibit stands or show equipment, but could attend the trade show. The decision affected seven firms, it said.Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Sunday that his ministry would take “legal and diplomatic measures” against Macron’s decision.An Israeli official told The Times of Israel that Jerusalem will take the issue to French courts, where they will claim illegal discrimination by Macron, who has grown increasingly critical of Israel’s offensives in Gaza and Lebanon.Writing on X in French and Hebrew, Katz said the “anti-democratic” boycott is unacceptable coming from an ally, and called on France and the West to support Israel, “the only state on the front lines” against the “Iranian axis of evil and radical Islam.”Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also ripped into the decision, writing on X that Macron’s actions were “a disgrace” and that France had adopted “a hostile policy toward the Jewish people.”France had previously barred Israeli firms from participating in the Eurosatory military trade show, which took place in Paris in June, as Macron was urging a ceasefire in Gaza.The French president has provoked outrage in Jerusalem over his call for an arms embargo on Israel earlier this month, saying it was the only way to end the fighting in Gaza and in Lebanon, a former French colony where Paris still wields great influence.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had blasted Macron’s statement, calling it “a disgrace,” and “anti-democratic.”

US electionsTrump 'hasn't necessarily forgotten disputes' with Netanyahu-If Trump wins, Israeli officials fear clash over inability to quickly end Gaza war-Officials point to coalition’s ‘constraints’ on Netanyahu; opposition MK says it would also be an issue if Harris wins, but PM ‘campaigns’ on standing up to Democrats, not GOP-By Jacob Magid 21 October 2024, 11:50 pm

Two senior Israeli officials have expressed concern to The Times of Israel over Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s repeated call for Israel to quickly end its war against Hamas in Gaza, fearing an inability to do so will lead to a clash if the former president returns to office in January.“There are internal political constraints to ending the war quickly,” one of the Israeli officials from the security establishment said on Sunday.While declining to elaborate, he appeared to refer to the makeup of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, which includes far-right elements who have opposed hostage deal proposals conditioned on a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.There is also near-unanimity within the Netanyahu government against allowing the Palestinian Authority to play a role in the governance of Gaza. A second Israeli official said this has contributed to the war dragging on, as Jerusalem struggles to find a viable alternative to fill the power vacuum in Gaza, thereby allowing Hamas to regain its footing in areas where the IDF has left.A lawmaker from the opposition — also speaking on condition of anonymity — acknowledged that dragging out the war through the 2025 US presidential inauguration would sour relations with Vice President Kamala Harris if she were to win in November.However, “Netanyahu has managed clashes with Democratic presidents without paying a heavy price. In fact, he campaigns on his ability to stand up to them,” the lawmaker said.“A fight with Trump is something he hasn’t really had to deal with, and I think it’s something he’d want to avoid, but [Finance Minister Bezalel] Smotrich and [National Security Minister Itamar] Ben Gvir may not let him,” the MK added, referring to the far-right cabinet ministers whose support the premier needs to remain in power.Netanyahu and Trump enjoyed a very warm relationship from 2016 to 2020, when the former president moved the US Embassy to Jerusalem, pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal, recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights and oversaw the Abraham Accords.But their ties quickly soured after Netanyahu recognized Joe Biden’s victory over Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Trump went on to describe the Israeli premier as an obstacle to peace with the Palestinians and repeatedly claimed Netanyahu had backed out of plans to assist the US in killing top Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.The two have apparently patched up their differences in the lead-up to the November 5 presidential election, with Trump hosting Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago resort in July, and speaking on the phone several times since then.The opposition lawmaker, who spoke to The Times of Israel on Monday, said Netanyahu “has a clear preference for Trump to win the election… But be careful what you wish for.”The MK pointed to Trump’s close ties with Arab leaders, who have gradually turned away from Israel as the war in Gaza has dragged on and who have been among the most vocal advocates for an immediate ceasefire.“I have great respect for Saudi Arabia and for many of the other rulers over there — many of the other countries over there,” Trump told the Saudi-run Al-Arabiya network in an interview over the weekend.Riyadh had been in talks with the Biden administration about normalizing ties with Israel, but those negotiations stalled amid the war in Gaza, with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman declaring last month that such a deal would not happen without the establishment of a Palestinian state. The stance represented a significant hardening of the Gulf kingdom’s condition on the Palestinian issue, in relation to the less far-reaching measures it was demanding before the war, US and Arab officials told The Times of Israel.While the opposition lawmaker suggested that Trump would be more inclined to heed the advice of his Gulf allies, those were the same leaders he snubbed in 2017 when he recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.The opposition MK noted that Trump will have no more elections to win and asserted that the Republican nominee has not necessarily put his disagreements with Netanyahu behind him.

IAF said to drill ballistic missiles, UAVs, refueling tanker-Biden ‘deeply concerned’ about Pentagon leak of Israel’s Iran attack preparation plans-US investigating publication of classified docs showing Israeli Air Force, Navy planning based on satellite imagery from Oct. 15-16; Israel reportedly taking issue ‘very seriously’By Jacob Magid,ToI Staff and Agencies 21 October 2024, 10:41 pm

US President Joe Biden is “deeply concerned” about the release of classified documents on Israel’s preparation for a potential retaliatory attack on Iran, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Monday.Officials in Washington confirmed on Saturday that the administration was investigating an unauthorized release of classified documents that assess Israel’s plans to attack Iran, after Tehran fired some 200 ballistic missiles at Israel on October 1.Kirby said the US was still not sure how Pentagon documents detailing US interpretations of Israeli Air Force and Navy planning based on satellite imagery from October 15-16 managed to be leaked into the public domain.“You can rest assured that [Biden] will be actively monitoring the progress of the investigative effort to figure out how this happened,” he added.He said the US hadn’t received any indication that additional classified documents would be leaked and has been in communication with Israel on the matter.“We’re deeply concerned and the president remains deeply concerned about any leakage of classified information into the public domain. That is not supposed to happen and it’s unacceptable when it does,” Kirby said.Asked about the leak of the documents during an interview with CNN, House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Sunday that an “investigation [is] underway and I’ll get a briefing on that in a couple of hours.”“We are following it closely,” Johnson added.A senior Israeli official told the Axios news site that the defense establishment was taking the leak very seriously. A US official said that the alleged leak, while extremely concerning, wouldn’t impact plans for an attack against Iran.The two files were published by a pro-Iran Telegram account, “Middle East Spectator,” which claimed they were sent by a source in the Pentagon and detailed US observations of measures taken by the Israeli Air Force on October 15-16 in the lead-up to an attack.My Colleague, Middle East Spectator, has leaked some documents relating to an NGIA analysis done by the Pentagon in recent activities in Israel relating to a response against Iran.The documents are probably real. https://t.co/vkACSN1Lo5 pic.twitter.com/5qIllcvDtL— MedManOG (@MedManOG) October 17, 2024-The first document is titled: “Israel: Air Force Continues Preparations for Strike on Iran and Conducts a Second Large-Force Employment Exercise.” It describes activities including ballistic and air-to-surface missile handling.The second is titled: “Israel: Defense Forces Continue Key Munitions Preparations and Covert UAV Activity Almost Certainly for a Strike on Iran.”The documents have not been authenticated by news outlets, and the Pentagon and the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence have not officially commented on the alleged leak.The documents appear to have been prepared by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), describing US interpretations of Israeli Air Force and Navy planning based on satellite imagery from October 15-16.The documents, allegedly showing a visual intelligence report by the NGA, noted observing IAF exercises using air-launched ballistic missiles (ALBMs), air-to-surface ballistic missiles, fighter jets, UAVs, and refueling tankers previously used during Israeli strikes on Houthi sites in Yemen.According to the documents, the IAF has handled at least 16 “Golden Horizon” ALBMs and 40 IS02 (Rocks) ALBMs since October 8.Iran has said that its October 1 missile assault on Israel came in response to strikes in Lebanon that killed the top leadership of the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group and a July blast in Tehran that killed Hamas politburo head Ismail Haniyeh.Washington has sought to temper Jerusalem’s plans to retaliate for the October 1 attack — which forced most of the country to rush to bomb shelters and safe rooms and killed a Palestinian man in the West Bank — fearing that the escalating tit-for-tats could spark a wider war, drawing in others in the region.The attack caused damage in Israel, including in Israeli airbases, though the military has said that no aircraft or critical infrastructure were hit, and the IAF is operating at full capacity.The US has urged Israel not to strike Iran’s nuclear or oil facilities in retaliation for the October 1 attack.On Monday, Tehran wrote to the UN nuclear watchdog to raise its concerns about a potential Israeli attack on its nuclear sites, foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said at a weekly news conference.“Threats to attack nuclear sites are against UN resolutions… and are condemned… we have sent a letter about it to… the UN nuclear watchdog,” Baghaei said in the televised news conference.Channel 12 news on Saturday evening quoted an unnamed Israeli source as saying Israel hopes that a drone attack on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private home in Caesarea earlier in the day would give Israel “greater legitimacy for a wider range of targets” in Iran if necessary.Netanyahu said the drone attack represented an attempted assassination and blamed it on “the agents of Iran.”

IDF says it killed top Hezbollah money man in Syria strike-Ben Gurion briefly halts takeoffs as drones downed over sea; rocket lands near Tel Aviv-Airport quickly returns to normal operations; Hezbollah fires over 100 rockets at north; US envoy tells Lebanese officials in Beirut conflict has ‘escalated out of control’By Emanuel Fabian,Agencies and ToI Staff 21 October 2024, 8:38 pmUpdated at 9:25 pm

The Israel Aviation Authority briefly halted and then resumed takeoffs at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport on Monday evening, amid an apparent escalation in Israel’s offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon and ahead of an expected retaliation for Iran’s ballistic missile attack earlier this month.The IAA announced a short while after takeoffs were halted that the airport was operating normally, without giving a reason for the pause, and the Israel Defense Forces said that the security incident had been cleared.In the same statement, the IDF said that helicopters and fighter jets intercepted and shot down five drones over the Mediterranean Sea, before they entered Israeli airspace.A short while later, the IDF said that a loud explosion heard in Tel Aviv and the Sharon region was caused by a rocket fired from Lebanon that landed in an open area. Hebrew media reported that it landed in the sea.Sirens did not sound in accordance with the policy that warnings are only issued if the rocket is deemed to pose a threat, the military said.Later on Monday evening, IDF Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari confirmed that Israel carried out an airstrike in Syria earlier in the day, targeting the head of Hezbollah’s financial arm responsible for funneling cash from Iran to its proxy, in one of a series of IDF strikes carried out in recent days against the terror group’s financial network.The IDF spokesperson did not name the Hezbollah official but said he had only been in the position a few weeks since his predecessor was killed.Syrian state media said a car exploded in the Mazzeh district of Damascus, which is home to embassies, UN offices and security headquarters, killing two people.The official SANA news agency reported “a car explosion in one of the neighborhoods” of Mazzeh, where an AFP correspondent said a hotel was damaged and vehicles torched following the blast near Syria’s Information Ministry.Since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Israel — which rarely comments on individual strikes in Syria — is believed to have carried out hundreds of strikes, mainly targeting army positions and Iran-backed fighters including from Hezbollah.Since Hamas’s October 7 massacre last year, Israel has escalated its strikes on Iranian-backed terror targets in Syria and has also struck Syrian army air defenses and some Syrian forces.In the press briefing, Hagari revealed further details on Hezbollah’s money laundering system and said that Israel would carry out further strikes in the coming days.The statement came after the IDF carried out airstrikes late Sunday and early Monday, including in Dahiyeh, on branches of a Hezbollah-run financial institution that Israel says is used to fund attacks but where many ordinary people keep their savings.Lebanese authorities and emergency services were surveying the damage on Monday after the overnight Israeli strikes hit nearly a dozen branches of Al-Qard Al-Hassan. The strikes targeted branches in the southern neighborhoods of Beirut, across southern Lebanon and in the eastern Beqaa Valley, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. One strike flattened a nine-story building in Beirut with a branch inside it. Smoke was still rising from several locations on Monday.The IDF issued evacuation warnings ahead of the strikes. There were no reports of casualties.Earlier, Israel reportedly threatened to raze Hezbollah’s stronghold in Beirut’s southern Dahiyeh district to the ground if the Iran-backed terror group attempts to target its leaders again.The Israeli message, which the Saudi Al-Hadath news channel reported was conveyed to Hezbollah through a third party, came after the terror group launched a drone at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private residence in the coastal city of Caesarea on Saturday.A man rides a moped past the site of an overnight IDF airstrike that targeted a branch of the Al-Qard Al-Hassan group thatHezbollah continued to fire rockets at Israel on Monday, with the IDF assessing that over 100 rockets had been launched at northern communities throughout the day.One person, a foreign national in his 40s, sustained light injuries when he was hit in the head by shrapnel in the Ayelet HaShahar area amid a barrage on the Upper Galilee in the early afternoon. He was evacuated to Ziv Medical Center in Safed for treatment.The IDF said that it destroyed some 15 short-range Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon that were aimed at northern Israel on Monday afternoon, including some used in recent attacks on the Western Galilee, along with buildings used by the terror group in several areas of southern Lebanon.Meanwhile, US special envoy Amos Hochstein was in the Lebanese capital on Monday amid efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the escalating conflict, telling Lebanese officials that the conflict has “escalated out of control.”Hochstein said that Lebanon and Israel merely committing to UN Resolution 1701 would not be enough, and that Washington was working to devise a formula to end the conflict once and for all.The resolution, which ended the last round of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, calls for southern Lebanon to be free of any troops or weapons other than those of the Lebanese state.The resolution has gone largely unenforced since it was passed in 2006, allowing Hezbollah to build up a formidable arms cache and defensive capabilities, with neither UNIFIL peacekeepers nor the LAF willing to challenge the Iran-backed terror group.Hochstein said that neither Hezbollah nor Israel had adequately implemented the resolution and that while it would be the basis for the end to current hostilities, the US was seeking to determine what more needed to be done to make sure it was implemented “fairly, accurately and transparently.”Israel has repeatedly portrayed its offensive in southern Lebanon as essentially stepping in and doing UNIFIL’s job.After meeting with Lebanon’s parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, Hochstein said the US was aiming to end the conflict “as soon as possible.”The US State Department said on Monday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken was also departing for the Middle East, as Washington pushes to kickstart ceasefire negotiations to end the Gaza war following the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar earlier this month, while aiming to reach a diplomatic solution to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.The top diplomat’s trip will start with Israel, the State Department said, without providing the other exact destinations.Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis since October 8, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the war there.Some 60,000 residents were evacuated from northern towns on the Lebanon border shortly after October 7, amid fears Hezbollah would carry out a similar attack, and increasing rocket fire by the terror group.On Monday, the IDF reported that it had defeated Hezbollah’s forces in every area that troops have so far operated in southern Lebanon.According to the military’s latest estimates, more than 1,200 Hezbollah members have been killed amid the ground offensive. In all, since October 2023, over 2,000 members of the terror group have been killed, the IDF said.Among the dead Hezbollah members are seven brigade-level commanders, 21 battalion-level commanders, and two dozen company commanders, according to the IDF.Amid the ongoing operations, the military said that it could see Hezbollah struggling to bring in reinforcements to counter the IDF’s five divisions operating against it in southern Lebanon, and that the terror group’s offensive capabilities were seriously affected by the amount of weapons that the army has seized.In terms of rocket capabilities, the IDF estimated Monday that Hezbollah maintains about 30 percent of what it initially had before the war, which is still thousands of rockets.However, due to the elimination of Hezbollah’s leadership, including numerous field commanders, the IDF said the terror group was struggling to carry out the massive rocket fire on Israel that it had initially planned.The IDF said it still aims to wrap up its operations in southern Lebanon within a few weeks. Once the threat of a Hezbollah invasion is removed from the border area, residents of the north will be able to return to their homes.Also Monday, the IDF apologized for a strike that killed three Lebanese soldiers in southern Lebanon a day earlier, saying it is not battling the country’s military and that soldiers believed they were targeting a vehicle belonging to Hezbollah.The IDF said it struck a truck that had entered an area where it had previously targeted a Hezbollah truck transporting a launcher and missiles.IDF troops were not aware that the second truck belonged to the Lebanese army, the military said, adding it was “not operating against the Lebanese Army and apologizes for these unwanted circumstances.”The Lebanese troops were killed on a road connecting the border village of Ain Ebel to the nearby town of Hanin. The deaths brought the number of Lebanese troop casualties to eight since all-out war erupted between Israel and Hezbollah last month.The attacks on northern Israel since October 2023 have resulted in the deaths of 29 civilians. In addition, 43 IDF soldiers and reservists have died in cross-border skirmishes and in the ground operation launched in southern Lebanon.Two soldiers have been killed in a drone attack from Iraq, and there have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.

Captured Hezbollah fighters are 'terrified,' Gallant says-IDF hits Hezbollah installations in Beirut as terrorists fire more than 170 rockets-Three commanders of the terror group killed in separate strike; Lebanon army says 3 troops killed in strike on vehicle; rocket attacks cause damage but no injuries in Israel-By Emanuel Fabian-20 October 2024, 4:43 pm

Israeli fighter jets struck a command center belonging to Hezbollah’s intelligence division and an underground weapons manufacturing site in Beirut on Sunday morning, the Israel Defense Forces said.Before the strike, the IDF issued evacuation warnings to civilians in the area.Separate strikes in southern Lebanon targeted and killed three prominent Hezbollah operatives.The IDF named them as al-Hajj Abbas Salameh, a senior member of Hezbollah’s Southern Front; Reda Abbas Ouda, a communications specialist; and Ahmed Ali Hussain, responsible for weapons manufacturing.The Lebanese army said three soldiers were killed Sunday in an Israeli strike that “targeted” their vehicle in the country’s south. It was not immediately clear if that strike was linked to the ones claimed by Israel.The troops were killed on a road connecting the border village of Ain Ebel to the nearby town of Hanin, the army said. The latest deaths bring the number of troop casualties to eight, since all-out war erupted between Israel and Hezbollah last month.Meanwhile, Hezbollah launched several volleys of rockets, including a total of some 170 rockets toward Israel, triggering sirens in the Western and Upper Galilee regions as well as Haifa and its environs, the IDF said.Some rockets were shot down, while others impacted, sparking fires, the military said. Firefighters were deployed to extinguish the blazes.The Israel Fire and Rescue Service reported that fragments from an interceptor missile fell on a residential building in the western part of Haifa, causing some damage to the two-story property but no injuries.Hezbollah also said it fired “a big rocket salvo” at an Israeli army base east of Safed, claiming the attack was “in defense of Lebanon” and “in response to the Israeli enemy’s attacks on villages and homes.”There were no immediate reports of injuries in the attacks.In a visit to northern Israel on Sunday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told troops of the IDF’s 98th Division that Hezbollah operatives captured and interrogated by Israel were “terrified,” and that the Iran-backed terror group was “collapsing.”“The prisoners tell us what’s happening, that they’re terrified because they know that they don’t have what it takes to deal with what’s happening. Not in terms of strength, combat ability, precision or determination,” he said. “This whole great formation they call Hezbollah is collapsing.”The IDF last week published footage of an alleged member of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan forces being interrogated about the terror group’s plans in southern Lebanon and the current state of its operations.“We are moving from a situation of defeating the enemy village by village, to destruction — blowing up the tunnels and the ammunition depots, and dismantling Hezbollah,” Gallant told troops.“The result is that in every place that Hezbollah was waiting and preparing to raid [Israeli] border town, there are IDF soldiers.”He reiterated that Israel’s goal was to “completely clean this area so that residents can return to their homes and their lives.”Tens of thousands of residents of northern Israel have been displaced from their homes for the last year, after Hezbollah began launching cross-border attacks in the wake of the October 7, 2023 Hamas terror onslaught, saying it was doing so in support of the Gaza-based terror group.After suffering nearly a year of cross-border attacks, Israel launched a major offensive against Hezbollah in September with catastrophic consequences for the group, decimating its leadership and crippling much of its capabilities.This month, it launched a ground offensive in southern Lebanon to dismantle terror infrastructure that threatened communities near the border.The attacks on northern Israel over the last year have resulted in the deaths of 29 civilians. In addition, 43 IDF soldiers and reservists have died in cross-border skirmishes and in the ensuing ground operation launched in southern Lebanon in late September.Two soldiers have been killed in a drone attack from Iraq, and there have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.Hezbollah has named 516 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria. Another 94 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and dozens of civilians have also been killed.These numbers have not been consistently updated since Israel began a new offensive against Hezbollah in September, but the IDF estimates that more than 1,500 Hezbollah operatives have been killed in the conflict.Agencies contributed to this report.

China says reached 'resolution' with India on contested border issues.by AFP Staff Writers.

Beijing (AFP) Oct 22, 2024-China said Tuesday it had reached a "resolution" with India over issues related to their disputed border, after New Delhi said it had struck a deal with Beijing for military patrols along the frontier.China and India, the world's two most populous nations, are intense rivals and have regularly accused each other of trying to seize territory along their unofficial divide, known as the Line of Actual Control.After a border skirmish in 2020, which killed at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers, both sides pulled back tens of thousands of troops and agreed not to send patrols into a narrow strip surrounding the Line of Actual Control.Beijing's foreign ministry said Tuesday it had given its "positive approval" to a border deal, confirming a similar statement by New Delhi on Monday."Recently, China and India have maintained close communication through diplomatic and military channels on issues relating to the China-India border," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a regular news briefing."Currently, the two sides have reached a resolution on the relevant issues. China gives its positive approval to this," Lin said."In the next stage, we will properly implement that resolution with the Indian side," he said.On Monday, India's top foreign ministry bureaucrat Vikram Misri said that "agreement has been arrived at on patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control".The deal would lead to "disengagement and eventually a resolution of the issues that had arisen in these areas in 2020," Misri said.India's external affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said disengagement with China was "complete" and that details would come out in "due course".The understanding "creates a basis for peace and tranquillity along the border, which were there before 2020," he said at a conference hosted by Indian broadcaster NDTV.Disputes over the 3,500-kilometre (2,200-mile) frontier are a perennial source of tension between China and India, major economies vying for strategic influence across South Asia.China claims all of India's northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, considering it part of Tibet, and the two countries fought a border war in 1962.- BRICS talks? -The announcements came as Chinese and Indian leaders prepared to gather in Russia for the opening of a summit of the BRICS emerging economies.Chinese state media reported on Tuesday that President Xi Jinping was on his way to the meeting, the biggest of its kind in Russia since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.Around two dozen world leaders are expected to join the summit in the city of Kazan, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The border resolution has fed speculation that Xi and Modi may hold official talks there.Lin, the spokesman for Beijing's foreign ministry, declined to confirm the mooted discussions at Tuesday's press conference, saying that China would issue information "in due course".

Iran says neighbours won't allow use of their 'soil or airspace' for attack.by AFP Staff Writers.

Kuwait City (AFP) Oct 22, 2024-Iran's neighbours have pledged they will not allow the use of their "soil or airspace" for any attack, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tuesday, as Israel weighs a retaliation for the Islamic republic's missile strike."All our neighbours have assured us that they won't allow their soil or airspace to be used against the Islamic Republic of Iran," Araghchi told a press conference in Kuwait, weeks after Iran's October 1 missile attack on Israel.Before Kuwait, Araghchi was in Bahrain on Monday as part of a regional tour that has also taken him to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Iraq, Egypt and Turkey."We are monitoring closely the movements of American bases in the region and are aware of all their movements and flights," Araghchi said, adding: "If Israel attacks Iran in any form, Iran will respond in the same format."The United States, Israel's staunch ally, has military resources across the region including in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.Araghchi also repeated Iran's warnings against Israel not to attack its nuclear facilities."Attacking nuclear sites is a big international crime; even threatening (to attack) nuclear sites is a crime and against international rights," he said."To defend ourselves and our nuclear sites, we have our own tools and methods, and we count on them," the minister added.

China launches live-fire exercise in Taiwan Strait.by AFP Staff Writers.

Beijing (AFP) Oct 22, 2024-China's military began a live-fire exercise near Taiwan on Tuesday, maintaining pressure on the self-ruled island after staging large-scale drills and President Xi Jinping called for troops to prepare for war.China's Communist Party has never ruled the island, but it claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has said it will not renounce the use of force to bring it under its control.This month it sent planes and warships around the island in what Beijing said was a "stern warning to the separatist acts of 'Taiwan Independence' forces".On Monday, the Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) in the eastern island of Pingtan announced that "gun firing" would take place in a limited area close to the Chinese mainland, about 105 kilometres (66 miles) from Taiwan.The MSA said they would start at 9:00 am local time (0100 GMT) and take place for four hours in an area encompassing about 150 square kilometres (60 square miles).Pingtan is the closest point in mainland China to Taiwan's main island.Maritime authorities did not say which Chinese force would carry out the live firing, or its objective.In response to the drills, Taiwan's defence ministry said it was closely monitoring China's "military activities and intentions".Taipei said the exercises could be part of Beijing's "tactics to bolster its intimidation in conjunction with the dynamics in the Taiwan Strait".Premier Cho Jung-tai described them as a "threat that undermines regional peace and stability".- Passing ships -Over the weekend, a US and a Canadian warship passed through the 180-kilometre Taiwan Strait, part of regular passages by Washington and its allies meant to reinforce its status as an international waterway.Beijing condemned the passage as disrupting "peace and stability" in the strait.China sent a record number of military aircraft as well as warships and coast guard vessels to encircle Taiwan on October 14 in the fourth round of major drills in just over two years in the area.Taiwan deployed forces and put outlying islands on heightened alert in response to the exercises.Beijing has ramped up military pressure on Taipei in recent years, deploying on a near-daily basis warplanes and other military aircraft as well as ships around the island.Following its "Joint Sword-2024B" exercises, its army vowed never to renounce the use of force to retake the island.In a visit to a brigade of the Chinese military's Rocket Force in the wake of those drills, President Xi urged them to strengthen their preparedness for war, state media said.

North Korea UN representative denies Pyongyang sent troops to Russia.by AFP Staff Writers.

United Nations, United States (AFP) Oct 22, 2024-North Korea has not sent troops to Russia to help Moscow fight Ukraine, one of its United Nations representatives said Monday, dismissing Seoul's claims as "groundless rumor".Seoul's spy agency said Friday that Pyongyang sent a "large-scale" troop deployment to help its ally, claiming that 1,500 special forces were already training in Russia's Far East and ready to head soon for the frontlines of the Ukraine war."As for the so-called military cooperation with Russia, my delegation does not feel any need for comment on such groundless stereotyped rumors," a North Korean representative said at a committee meeting during the UN General Assembly.Seoul's claims were "aimed at smearing the image of the DPRK and undermining the legitimate, friendly and cooperative relations between two sovereign states," the representative told the meeting, held late Monday in New York.Pyongyang and Moscow have been allies since North Korea's founding after World War II, and have drawn even closer since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with Seoul and Washington long claiming that Kim Jong Un has been sending weapons for use in Ukraine.North Korean state media have not commented on the purported troop deployment.Russia has also not confirmed the troop deployment, but defended its military cooperation with the North.After Seoul summoned Moscow's ambassador in South Korea to complain, the envoy "stressed that cooperation between Russia and North Korea... is not directed against the interests of South Korea's security."Neither NATO nor the United States have confirmed the deployment, but both have cast it as a potentially dangerous escalation in the long-running Ukraine conflict."We have seen reports the DPRK has sent forces and is preparing to send additional soldiers to Ukraine to fight alongside Russia," Robert Wood, US ambassador to the United Nations, told the Security Council."If true, this marks a dangerous and highly concerning development and an obvious deepening of the DPRK-Russia military relationship," Wood said.The United States and its allies have already voiced concern about North Korea providing weapons to Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022.- Urge immediate withdrawal -The South Korean government "strongly condemned" North Korea on Tuesday, urging North Korean troops to be immediately withdrawn."North Korea, which has been providing large-scale military weapons to Russia, sending troops to Russia's illegal war of aggression in Ukraine is a significant security threat not only to our country but also to the international community," said the National Security Council.The government "urged the immediate withdrawal of North Korean troops and declared that if the current military alliance between North Korea and Russia continues, it will not stand idly by.""In response to the advancement of military cooperation between Russia and North Korea following the deployment of North Korean combat troops, the government will implement phased countermeasures," it added.On Tuesday also, the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that Seoul is considering sending a team of personnel to Ukraine to monitor North Korean troops being deployed, citing a government source.According to the source, if deployed the team will likely consist of military personnel from intelligence divisions to analyze North Korean battlefield strategies and participate in interrogating any captured prisoners of war.Yonhap also reported that a pro-Russia Telegram account posted a photo showing the Russian and North Korean flags side by side on a Ukrainian battlefield.

India, China and S.Africa leaders bolster Putin at key summit.

Kazan, Russia, Oct 22 (AFP) Oct 22, 2024-Some of Moscow's key allies rallied round Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday on the first day of a major summit that the Kremlin hopes will show Western attempts to isolate it over the Ukraine offensive have failed.Putin is hosting around 20 world leaders -- including China's President Xi Jinping, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan -- for a three-day gathering of the BRICS group in the central city of Kazan.The Kremlin leader wants to use the forum to challenge the West and advance his idea of a "multipolar world" as a bulwark against US "hegemony".The gathering is the largest diplomatic event in Russia since it sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and comes after Putin scrapped plans to attend last year's summit in South Africa after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him.In a series of bilateral talks on Tuesday, including with Xi and Modi, Putin hailed Moscow's close ties and "strategic partnerships" with its chosen partners.But concerns over Moscow's Ukraine offensive, grinding through its third year, still loomed over the event.Modi, who is casting himself as a possible peacemaker, called for a quick end to the conflict during televised talks with Putin."We have been in constant touch over the conflict between Russia and Ukraine," Modi told Putin after the two shook hands and embraced."We believe that disputes should only be resolved peacefully. We totally support efforts to quickly restore peace and stability," the Indian leader added.India has walked a delicate tightrope since the Ukraine conflict began, pledging humanitarian support for Kyiv while avoiding explicit condemnation of Moscow's actions.Modi visited Kyiv in August and Moscow in July in an effort to encourage talks -- an initiative that appeared to make little progress.Moscow has steadily advanced on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine this year as it strengthens ties with the likes of China, Iran and North Korea.- 'Chaotic world' -Xi, meanwhile, praised China's "profound" ties with Russia in what he called a "chaotic" world.Ties have "injected strong impetus into the development, revitalisation and modernisation of the two countries", Xi said.Putin said he saw relations between Beijing and China as a foundation of global "stability.""Russian-Chinese cooperation in world affairs acts as one of the stabilising factors in the global arena. We intend to further increase coordination in all multilateral platforms to ensure global security and a just world order," he told Xi.The two leaders discussed the conflict in Ukraine behind closed doors, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state media, while providing no details."There was an exchange of opinions on Ukraine," the spokesman said."In general, on the international agenda, there was a significant convergence of positions," Peskov added.Ukraine has heavily criticised China for backing Putin, accusing Beijing of supporting and enabling Moscow's offensive.South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who has also urged an end to the conflict, praised Moscow as a "valued ally" and friend in his meeting with Putin."We continue to see Russia as a valued ally, as a valued friend, who supported us right from the beginning: from the days of our struggle against Apartheid, right through to now," Ramaphosa said.- 'Geopolitical rival' -The summit is being held amidst tight security in Kazan.Around 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) from the Ukraine border, the surrounding Tatarstan region has been previously targeted in drone attacks launched by Kyiv.Movement around the city centre is being limited, residents advised to stay home, and university students moved out of dormitories, local media reported.Among the topics on the official agenda will be Putin's idea for a BRICS-led payment system to rival SWIFT, an international financial network that Russian banks were cut off from in 2022, as well as the escalating conflict in the Middle East.Separate talks between Putin and Erdogan as well as Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian are planned for Wednesday.UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will meet Putin on Thursday -- a visit slammed by Ukraine's foreign ministry.Guterres's deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters Tuesday the UN chief planned to meet with a "large number" of the leaders in Kazan.Asked about talks with Putin, he said Guterres would "reaffirm his well known positions" on the Ukraine conflict and outline "the conditions for just peace."Starting with four members -- Brazil, Russia, India and China, when it was established in 2009 -- BRICS has since expanded to include other emerging nations such as South Africa, Egypt and Iran.Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, meeting Putin for talks Tuesday evening, praised "the development of bilateral relations", citing Russia's "effective contribution" to national projects such as the country's first nuclear power plant.Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro made a previously unannounced arrival. His country is not a member of BRICS but is keen to join. He was quoted by Russian news agencies as calling the group "the epicentre of the new multi-polar world".The United States has dismissed the idea that BRICS could become a "geopolitical rival" but has expressed concern over Moscow flexing its diplomatic muscle as the Ukraine conflict rages.

Iran, Saudi plan joint military exercises: Iranian media.

Tehran, Oct 22 (AFP) Oct 22, 2024-Iran and Saudi Arabia are planning to conduct joint military exercises in the Red Sea, according to an Iranian report not confirmed by Riyadh, in what would be a first for the regional heavyweights.The two Middle East rivals, which have long backed opposing sides in conflict zones across the region, severed diplomatic ties in 2016.However Shiite Muslim-dominated Iran and Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia resumed relations last year under a surprise China-brokered deal."Saudi Arabia has asked that we organise joint exercises in the Red Sea," the commander of Iran's navy, Admiral Shahram Irani, was quoted as saying by the Iranian news agency ISNA."Coordination is underway and delegations from both countries will hold the necessary consultations on how to conduct the exercise," he added, without providing details including a timeline.Saudi Arabia did not immediately confirm whether it would hold joint military exercises with Iran.Since November, Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels have waged a campaign of attacks against ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in what they say is a show of solidarity with Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.The Huthis have been fighting a Saudi-led coalition since 2015, months after they seized the capital Sanaa and most of Yemen's population centres, forcing the internationally recognised government south to Aden.Saudi Arabia, which has backed the Aden government, has engaged in a delicate balancing act as the world's biggest oil exporter tries to extricate itself from the war on its doorstep.It did not join a US-led naval coalition to deter Huthi attacks.Efforts by the kingdom to broker a Yemen peace deal also faltered in the wake of the Huthi attacks on ships.

Italy lays groundwork for return to nuclear power.

Milan, Italy, Oct 21 (AFP) Oct 21, 2024-Italy announced Monday it would within weeks create the legislative framework for its first nuclear power stations in almost 40 years."By the end of the year we will create the legislative framework to ensure that new third and fourth generation nuclear power plants can be installed in Italy," enterprise minister Aldolfo Urso said."We do not want to import nuclear reactors from other countries. We want to build them in Italy using Italian technology and science, to export them to other countries," he said on the sidelines of a business conference in Milan.He said he intended to present an "industrial entity" that could build such reactors.Italy abandoned nuclear power in November 1987 following a referendum called in the wake of the Chernobyl nuclear accident.In June 2011, three months after the Fukushima disaster in Japan, some 94 percent of Italians voted against a return to nuclear energy during another referendum organised by Silvio Berlusconi's government.But energy security has become a major issue since the war in Ukraine, as Italy was forced to wean itself off Russian gas.Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's hard right government also believes nuclear energy is essential to achieve the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.Long taboo in Brussels, nuclear power now benefits from more accommodating legislation as a lever for decarbonisation alongside renewables.The European Parliament and EU member states agreed in February to include the entire nuclear sector in the list of "strategic technologies".Urso said the use of nuclear power could help lower the cost of energy in Italy, which is, he said, "too expensive compared to European competitors"."Nuclear energy, which was invented in this country, must once again become the pride of the 'Made in Italy' brand," Urso said.He was referring to the Italian-American physicist Enrico Fermi, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1938 and famous for having created the first nuclear reactor.

China, Russia, Iran and N. Korea cooperation worries Swiss intelligence.

Geneva, Oct 22 (AFP) Oct 22, 2024-Swiss intelligence warned Tuesday of the impact of shifting global power relations on security in Switzerland and beyond, voicing particular concern at growing military cooperation between China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. Presenting its annual report, the Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) cautioned that "Switzerland's security environment continues to deteriorate from year to year".In a statement, the FIS pointed to the "dangerous and volatile period of transition to a new order of global power relations", amid a "heavily polarised environment with multiple and simultaneous crises as well as armed conflicts in Europe and on its periphery"."Switzerland is significantly less secure than it was just a few years ago," it warned.Europe as a whole "finds itself in a challenging position", it said, pointing out that "the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine is making it painfully clear how dependent Europe is on the USA for its security".Of all the strategic patterns currently emerging, the intelligence agency said that "the closer military cooperation between a group of Eurasian autocracies is one of the most concerning".This swelling cooperation between China, Russia, Iran and North Korea was having an impact on regional wars and crises, it warned.Tuesday's report warned that the "political, economic, technological and military relations between these countries with revisionist intentions" had become "closer and stronger than ever" ."These states want to reduce the USA's influence and are opposed to Western ideas of political order," the FIS pointed out, adding that "they are seeking to change the status quo in their respective regions and to establish their own spheres of influence."The intelligency service also reiterated its warnings of a high threat of espionage in Switzerland."Numerous services maintain covert bases in Switzerland, known as residencies. These usually operate out of diplomatic missions," it said.It reiterated prior warnings that the greatest espionage threat came from Russia, but cautioned that "the threat to Switzerland from the Chinese intelligence services is also high".FIS also emphasised that the terrorist threat in Switzerland "remains elevated, and in 2024 became even more pronounced".It remained substantially shaped by individuals inspired by Islamic extremist ideologies, it said, warning that in the case of jihadism, but also right-wing extremism, "an increase in the radicalisation of minors in Switzerland can be seen"

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