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)
US BEEFS UP WARSHIP PRESENCE IN THE MIDEAST.
INVENTION OF THE ATOMIC BOMB.
2 PETER 3:10-11
10
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which
the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements
(NUKES) shall melt with fervent heat,(BLAST) the earth also and the
works that are therein shall be burned up.(BUT ITS NO END OF THE WORLD
HOGWASH)
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved,(BY
NUKES INCLUDING 3 BILLION PEOPLE) what manner of persons ought ye to be
in all holy conversation and godliness,
NUCLEAR WEAPONS WILL BE USED.
JESUS
SHED HIS BLOOD FOR US THAT WE CAN BE SAVED FOREVER.AND DURING WW3
PEOPLES BLOOD WILL BE SHED AS A JUDGEMENT FOR HATING HIM AND ISRAEL.GOD
IS NOT MOCKED.
ZEPHANIAH 1:2-3
2 I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD.
3
I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven,
and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I
will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD.
PSALMS 97:3
3 A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about.
EZEKIEL 5:15-17
15
So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an
astonishment unto the (ARAB/MUSLIM) nations that are round about
thee,(ISRAEL) when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in
fury and in furious rebukes. I the LORD have spoken it.
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:
17 So will I
send upon you famine and evil beasts,(WHEN RUSSIA/MUSLIMS GET DEFEATED
THIER BODIES GET EATEN BY BIRDS,ANIMALS IN ISRAEL MIGRATION SEASON) and
they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through
thee;(NUKES) and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the LORD have
spoken it.
REVELATION 14:18-20
18 And another angel came out
from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to
him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and
gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully
ripe.
19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and
gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of
the wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trodden without the
city,(JERUSALEM) and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the
horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.(200
MILES) (THE SIZE OF ISRAEL)
ISAIAH 66:15-18
15 For, behold,
the LORD will come with fire,(NUKES) and with his chariots like a
whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of
fire.
16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.
17
They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens
behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination,
and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.
18 For I
know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather
all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.
ISAIAH 26:21
21
For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants
of the earth for their iniquity:(GOD/ISRAEL HATE AND BRAKING OF HIS
COMMANDMENTS) the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more
cover her slain.(WW3,1/2 earths population die - 3 BILLION).
ISAIAH 13:6-13 KJV
6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:(FROM FRIGHT)
8
And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them;
they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed
one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9 Behold, the day of
the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land
desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10 For
the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their
light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall
not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for
their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the
arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the
terrible.
12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13
Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of
her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his
fierce anger.
ISAIAH 24:17-23 KJV
17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18
And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the
fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of
the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are
open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
20
The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed
like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it;
and it shall fall, and not rise again.
21 And it shall come to pass
in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that
are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they
shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and
shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be
visited.
23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed,
when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and
before his ancients gloriously.
2 TIMOTHY 3:1
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.
JOEL 2:3,30
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12
And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the
people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume
away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and
their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)
and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM
ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD
PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that
day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they
shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand
shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN
WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say
to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the
Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour
every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall
not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be
burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor
their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath;
but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for
he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1
For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC
BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be
stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of
hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
REVELATION 8:7
7
The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with
blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees
was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
REVELATION 9:18
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.(ATOMIC BOMBS)(RUSSIA CHINA DESTROYED BY ISRAELS ATOMIC BOMBS)
REVELATION 16:12-16
12
And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river
Euphrates;(WERE WW3 STARTS IN IRAQ OR SYRIA OR TURKEY) and the water
thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be
prepared.
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of
the mouth of the dragon,(SATAN) and out of the mouth of the beast,(WORLD
DICTATOR) and out of the mouth of the false prophet.(FALSE POPE)
14
For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth
unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to
the battle of that great day of God Almighty.(WERE 2 BILLION DIE FROM
NUKE WAR)
15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
17
And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a
great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is
done.
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)
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.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
42 Watch therefore:(FOR THE LAST DAYS SIGNS HAPPENING) for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
NAHUM 3:13
13
Behold, your troops are women in your midst. The gates of your land are
wide open to your enemies; fire has devoured your bars.
Fatah
urges Hamas to cede power in Gaza to safeguard ‘Palestinians’
existence’-Hamas spokesman says terrorist organization has ‘no
aspiration to govern Gaza’; group’s control of enclave remains major
obstacle in negotiations over permanent ceasefire-By AFP and ToI Staff
Today, 6:48 pm-MAR 22,25
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud
Abbas’s Fatah movement on Saturday called on its Islamist rivals in the
Hamas terror group to relinquish power in the Gaza Strip in order to
safeguard the “existence” of Palestinians in the coastal enclave.“Hamas
must show compassion for Gaza, its children, women and men,” Fatah
spokesman Monther al-Hayek said.He called on Hamas to “step aside from
governing and fully recognize that the battle ahead will lead to the end
of Palestinians’ existence” if the group remains in power in Gaza.A
spokesman from Hamas responded to al-Hayek’s comments, saying that the
terror group “is prepared to accept any arrangement regarding the
administration of Gaza that garners agreement.”He added that Hamas has
“no aspiration to govern Gaza” and is instead concerned with “national
consensus.”Hamas’s refusal so far to relinquish its control of the Strip
and to disarm has been the main sticking point in negotiations with
Israel over a permanent ceasefire.The terror group seized power in Gaza
in 2007 from the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority after a violent
coup, and subsequent attempts at reconciliation have failed.The
territory has been devastated by an Israeli offensive following Hamas’s
October 7, 2023, attack, which saw terrorists kill some 1,200 people,
mostly civilians, and kidnap 251.After talks to extend the January
ceasefire failed, Israel resumed airstrikes against Gaza terror targets
on Tuesday, followed by ground operations the day after. Hamas responded
with rocket fire toward Israel on consecutive days.On Friday, Defense
Minister Israel Katz threatened to annex parts of Gaza unless Hamas
frees the remaining Israeli hostages seized during the October 7
massacre.Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are holding 59 hostages,
including 58 of the 251 abducted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7,
2023. They include the bodies of at least 35 confirmed dead by the
IDF.In mid-January, Israel and Hamas agreed to a hostage-ceasefire deal
that officially lasted 42 days and saw the terror group release 30
living hostages and the bodies of eight slain captives, while Israel
released almost 2,000 terrorists and other prisoners, before the
expiration of the deal’s first phase.The deal had originally envisioned a
potential second phase that would see a permanent end to the war in
exchange for the release of the remaining hostages and many more
Palestinian security prisoners, but Israel has refused to allow any
long-term settlement that would keep Hamas as the governing power in the
Strip.Netanyahu ordered the resumption of fighting in Gaza overnight
Monday-Tuesday, saying talks moving forward would be held under fire
after Hamas rejected proposals to extend phase one of the
ceasefire.Hamas has insisted on sticking to the terms of the deal signed
by Netanyahu in January, which required the sides to begin holding
talks on phase two in early February. Israel largely refused to do
so.Phase two envisions the release of all remaining living hostages in
exchange for more Palestinian prisoner releases, a permanent end to the
war, and a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. Netanyahu signed
on to a framework that included these stipulations but has also
insisted that Israel will not leave Gaza until Hamas’s military and
governing capabilities have been dismantled.
IDF bombs pair of
airbases in central Syria, reportedly wounding 2 defense
personnel-Military sources describe the strikes at Palmyra and T-4 as
‘extensive’; attacks come after air force intel recently monitored
weapons and other strategic capabilities at the sites-By Emanuel
Fabian-and Agencies Today, 2:47 am-MAR 22,25
The Israel Defense
Forces said it bombed a pair of airbases in central Syria on Friday
night, the latest strikes targeting military sites linked to the former
Assad regime since it was toppled by Islamist-led rebels.According to
the IDF, the airstrikes targeted “remaining strategic military
capabilities” at the Palmyra military airport and the nearby T-4
airbase.Two Syrian defense personnel were wounded in the strike at
Palmyra, local media reported.The airstrikes were launched after the
Israeli Air Intelligence Group — the Israeli Air Force’s intel unit —
had been monitoring weapons and other strategic capabilities at the two
military sites in central Syria over the recent period.The strikes
carried out by IAF fighter jets at both Palmyra and T-4 were described
by military sources as “extensive,” taking out capabilities that would
ensure the preservation of Israel’s aerial superiority in the
region.Following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December,
Israel has vowed to destroy weapons in Syria it fears could fall into
the hands of “hostile forces” that may seek to attack Israel.While
Assad’s fall brought an end to the country’s more than decade-long civil
war, a renewed wave of sectarian violence sparked fears that the new
government would not be able to effectively keep the peace in
Syria.Israeli leaders have consistently stated that they do not trust
the country’s interim leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, whom Defense Minister
Israel Katz has called an “extreme Islamic leader.” Sharaa, who
previously used the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Julani, headed the
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which began as the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda
though he has since sought to distance himself from the jihadist terror
group.Sharaa has dismissed Israel’s threats and Katz’s comments as
“nonsense,” and his government has denounced Israel’s continued strikes
in the country, as well as the IDF’s presence in a buffer zone in
southern Syria.The IDF describes its presence in the buffer zone, which
was manned by UN peacekeepers until the Assad regime’s ouster in
December, as a temporary and defensive measure, although Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu said last month that troops would remain there for
“an unlimited period of time” to maintain Israel’s security.Times of
Israel staff contributed to this report.
Missile from Yemen
triggers sirens across central Israel, Jerusalem; none hurt-Projectile
shot down outside Israeli borders, IDF says; Houthis claim Ben Gurion
Airport now ‘unsafe’ for travel * US said to carry out more strikes on
Iran-backed group’s stronghold-By Emanuel Fabian-and ToI Staff 21 March
2025, 11:35 pM
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis fired a ballistic
missile at Israel on Friday evening, the fourth such launch since Israel
renewed strikes on the Gaza Strip.The Israel Defense Forces said the
missile was successfully intercepted by air defenses and shot down
before crossing Israel’s borders. There were no reports of injuries or
damage in the attack, which triggered sirens in Central Israel,
Jerusalem and surrounding towns and West Bank settlements.The Houthis
later put out a statement taking responsibility for the missile fire,
again claiming to have targeted Ben Gurion Airport, which they said “has
become unsafe for air traffic and will remain so until the aggression
against Gaza stops and the blockade is lifted.”The Houthis also said
they launched more drones at US warships in the Red Sea that have been
involved in strikes against them.The missile launch came after Houthi
media in Yemen reported strikes on the Iran-backed rebels’ homeland of
Saada, blaming “American aggression.”The group’s Al-Masirah TV cited its
correspondent in Saada, in Yemen’s north, for the latest claim of
airstrikes since the United States on Saturday said it carried out
attacks that killed several Houthi leaders after the rebels said they
would resume targeting Israeli shipping.Washington began the new
military offensive last weekend, promising to use overwhelming force
until the Iran-backed group stops firing on vessels in the key shipping
routes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.In return, the Houthis claim that
they have repeatedly attacked a US aircraft carrier battle group.Citing
an Israeli official, the Ynet news site reported on Thursday that
Washington had asked Israel not to respond to the Houthis’ latest
missile attacks. According to the report, the US told Israel to “let
them deal with it.”The strikes on the Houthis are the largest American
military operation in the Middle East since US President Donald Trump
took office. Trump has said he would hold Iran responsible for the
Houthi strikes.The Houthis began attacking the vital maritime route in
November 2023, a month after fellow Iran-backed group Hamas stormed
southern Israel on October 7, 2023, to kill some 1,200 people and take
251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.While the Houthis have said they
were attacking Israeli-linked shipping in support of Gaza, they have
also targeted vessels with no known Israeli connections.The Houthis —
whose slogan is “Death to America, death to Israel, a curse upon the
Jews” — halted their attacks after Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire
and hostage deal in January. The Yemeni rebels pledged to resume attacks
after the deal’s 42-day first phase expired on March 2, and Israel,
which sought to extend phase one of the deal, and Hamas refused, blocked
the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.It began launching missiles in
response to Israel’s renewed offensive in Gaza on Tuesday.Agencies
contributed to this report.
ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 533-Northern
mayors fume: 'Government normalizing rocket fire' 6 rockets fired from
Lebanon at Metula; IDF airstrikes hit dozens of Hezbollah sites-3
rockets intercepted, 3 fall short in Lebanon; Hezbollah denies it fired;
some Metula residents leave town; several killed in Israeli strikes;
IDF: It’s Lebanon’s job to uphold ceasefire-By Emanuel Fabian-and
Agencies Today, 11:12 am-MAR 22,25
Six rockets were fired from
southern Lebanon at the northern Israeli border community Metula on
Saturday morning, in the first rocket attack on the northern border
since December.The Israel Defense Forces later responded with two waves
of airstrikes on dozens of Hezbollah sites, including rocket launchers,
across Lebanon.The IDF said air defenses intercepted three projectiles
that crossed the border, while the other three rockets fell short in
Lebanon.There were no reports of injuries or damage in the rocket
attack.Metula Mayor David Azoulai said some of the eight percent of the
town’s residents who have returned since the November ceasefire left
after the attack. “The return of residents to Metula under the current
conditions is unreasonable. Metula residents won’t be held hostage to a
security compromise,” he said.A number of hours later, the Hezbollah
terror group denied being responsible for the rocket fire on northern
Israel.In a statement, Hezbollah said it “reiterates its commitment to
the ceasefire agreement and stands behind the Lebanese state in
addressing this dangerous Zionist escalation against Lebanon.”The IDF
initially responded to the attack with artillery fire against the source
of the rocket fire in south Lebanon.The official National News Agency
in Lebanon reported Israeli artillery fire on the Nabatieh district in
the south and the town of Khiam, which was hit by “three shells [fired
by] Merkava tanks.”Troops also fired automatic weapons at the border
villages of Hula, Markaba, and Kfar Kila, the news agency said.The IDF
later launched a wave of airstrikes on dozens of Hezbollah rocket
launchers and a command center used by the terror group in southern
Lebanon.It was unclear why Israel knew the location of the rocket
launchers but had not previously targeted them.In the evening, the
military carried out a second wave of strikes, saying it targeted
Hezbollah command centers, infrastructure, operatives, rocket launchers,
and a weapons depot.The second wave was carried out across Lebanon,
with Lebanese media reporting strikes in the south of the country, in
the coastal city of Tyre, in the eastern Beqaa Valley, and in the Hermel
area in northern Lebanon.The rocket attack “is a blatant violation of
the understandings between Israel and Lebanon and a direct threat to
Israeli citizens,” the military said, adding that “the State of Lebanon
bears responsibility for upholding the agreement.”The IDF said that
Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir held a situation assessment and that
Home Front Command directives were unchanged.Lebanon’s Ministry of
Health announced that five people were killed, including a child, and
another 11 were injured in the strikes in south Lebanon. Another man was
killed and seven others were injured in Tyre and five people were
injured in another Israeli strike in the Hermel area.Defense Minister
Israel Katz said he instructed the IDF to respond to the rocket attack
and also issued an apparent threat to strike Beirut.“We will not allow a
reality of fire from Lebanon on the Galilee communities. We have
promised security to the Galilee communities, and that is exactly what
will happen,” he said in a statement.Katz said that “the fate of Metula
is the same as Beirut,” in an apparent threat to the Lebanese
capital.“The Lebanese government bears responsibility for any fire from
its territory. I have instructed the IDF to respond accordingly,” he
added.A number of hours after the attack, Lebanese army said it located
three makeshift rocket launchers between the south Lebanon towns of Kfar
Tebnit and Arnoun, which were used to fire the rockets at Metula.In a
statement, the Lebanese Armed Forces said it dismantled the
launchers.“Military units continue to take the necessary measures to
control the situation in the south,” the LAF added.Lebanese Prime
Minister Nawaf Salam warned his country was at risk of being drawn into a
“new war.”“All security and military measures must be taken to show
that Lebanon decides on matters of war and peace,” Salam said.“Salam
warned of renewed military operations on the southern border, because of
the risks they carry dragging the country into a new war, which will
bring woes to Lebanon and the Lebanese people,” a statement
read.Meanwhile, mayors of northern towns expressed their anger at the
situation.Metula’s Azoulay accused the government and the IDF Northern
Command of trying “to normalize” a situation of occasional rocket fire
from the north.“We won’t allow them to normalize this. I call on Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and of course IDF Northern Command head Maj.
Gen. Ori Gordin to act offensively and make it so that not one bullet
is fired ever again at northern communities,” he told the Ynet news
site.“This is a failure, this is exactly the policy of containment of
[before] October 7,” he said. “Instead of dealing with nonsense, start
providing security to the country’s residents.”Azoulay has in the past
described his town as “the most bombarded” along Israel’s border with
Lebanon. According to assessments, some 60 percent of homes and other
municipal buildings in the town have been totally destroyed by Hezbollah
attacks.Kiryat Shmona mayor Avichai Stern issued a statement, asking
the military’s Northern Command chief if he still believed it was safe
for people to return to their homes near the border.“I have just one
question for the head of the IDF’s Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Ori
Gordin, who said that nothing is preventing a return to the north. Do
you still think that?” Stern said in a statement cited by Hebrew media
outlets.A November 27, 2024, truce in Lebanon largely halted more than a
year of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. The fighting came
after the terror group attacked Israel on October 8, 2023, in support of
its ally Hamas, which invaded, from Gaza, a day earlier. The persistent
rocket fire from Lebanon displaced some 60,000 Israeli civilians.Israel
has continued to carry out strikes on Lebanese territory since the
truce agreement took effect, saying it is acting against Hezbollah’s
violations of the ceasefire.Last month, Israel withdrew all its forces
from southern Lebanon, except from five strategic points, saying it had
received a green light from the US to remain at those posts and citing
the need to prevent Hezbollah from returning to the area and threatening
Israel.The ceasefire also required Hezbollah to pull back north of the
Litani River, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border, and to
dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.Nurit
Yohanan and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
US
beefs up warship presence in Mideast, will have 2 aircraft carriers in
region-Amid operations against Houthis and in apparent message of
deterrence to Iran, USS Harry S. Truman will remain in Red Sea and USS
Carl Vinson will head to region-By AP Today, 9:16 am-MAR 22,25
WASHINGTON
— Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a rare move, is beefing up the
Navy warship presence in the Middle East, ordering two aircraft carriers
to be there next month as the US increases strikes on the Yemen-based
Houthis, according to a US official.It will be the second time in six
months that the US has kept two carrier strike groups in that region,
with generally only one there. Prior to that it had been years since the
US had committed that much warship power to the Middle East.According
to the official, Hegseth signed orders on Thursday to keep the USS Harry
S. Truman in the Middle East for at least an additional month. The
official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing military
operations.The ship has been conducting operations in the Red Sea
against the Houthis and was scheduled to begin heading home to Norfolk,
Virginia, at the end of March.And Hegseth has ordered the USS Carl
Vinson, which has been operating in the Pacific, to begin steaming
toward the Middle East, which will extend its scheduled deployment by
three months.The Vinson is expected to arrive in the region early next
month. It had been conducting exercises with Japanese and South Korean
forces near the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan and was slated to head
home to port in San Diego in three weeks.The presence of so much US
naval power in the region not only gives commanders additional ships to
patrol and launch strikes, but it also serves as a clear message of
deterrence to Iran, the Houthis’ main benefactor.The Houthis have been
waging persistent attacks against commercial and military ships in the
region. The Houthi rebels attacked more than 100 merchant vessels with
missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors, from
November 2023 until January this year. Their leadership described the
attacks as aiming to end the Israeli war against Hamas in the Gaza
Strip, sparked by the terror group’s devastating October 7, 2023,
attack. The Houthis have also launched direct missile and drone attacks
on Israel.Hegseth’s move shifts the Vinson and its warships away from
the Indo-Pacific region, which the Trump administration has touted as
its main focus.Instead, this bolsters the latest US campaign against the
Iran-backed Houthis. US ships and aircraft launched a new intensive
assault against the group, including a barrage of attacks over the
weekend that continued into this week.US President Donald Trump, in a
marked departure from the previous administration, lowered the
authorities needed for launching offensive strikes against the
Yemen-based Houthis.He recently gave US Central Command the ability to
take action when it deems appropriate.US President Joe Biden’s
administration had required White House approval to conduct offensive
strikes such as the ones over the weekend. It did allow US forces to
launch defensive attacks whenever necessary, including the authority to
take out weapons that appeared to be ready to fire.Biden went to two
carriers in the region for several weeks last fall. Then-Defense
Secretary Lloyd Austin had ordered the Roosevelt to extend its
deployment for a short time and remain in the region as the USS Abraham
Lincoln was pushed to get to the area more quickly.The Biden
administration beefed up the US military presence there to help defend
Israel from attacks by Iran and its proxies and to safeguard US
troops.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Pro-Palestinian
students, faculty sue UCLA over handling of anti-Israel
demonstrations-35 students, faculty members, legal observers,
journalists say school failed to protect activists at campus encampment
amid clashes with counter-protesters-By Agencies and ToI Staff Today,
5:01 pm-MAR 22,25
A group of 35 pro-Palestinian students, faculty
members, legal observers, journalists and activists filed a lawsuit
Thursday against the University of California, Los Angeles, over its
handling of last year’s anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian demonstrations.The
lawsuit filed in Los Angeles came days after the Trump administration
joined a separate lawsuit filed in June against the university by Jewish
students and a Jewish professor, accusing it of failing to protect
them.The demonstrations at UCLA became part of a movement last spring at
campuses nationwide against the Israel-Hamas war, sparked by the terror
group’s onslaught on October 7, 2023.Many Jewish students at the
university said they were made to feel unsafe due to antisemitic
statements and banners at the demonstrations.Last month, the Trump
administration opened new investigations into allegations of
antisemitism at Columbia University, the University of California,
Berkeley, the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and
Portland State University.UCLA was repeatedly roiled by protests and the
way administrators were handling the situation.The student encampments
attracted particular scrutiny last April after campus police failed to
promptly intervene when protesters erected physical barricades on
campus, preventing pro-Israel students from crossing. School security
instead instructed Jewish students to avoid the encampments.The tensions
culminated the night of April 20 when a group of counterprotesters
began dismantling an anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian encampment.The lawsuit
said UCLA failed to protect the demonstrators when dozens of people,
some in white masks and some draped in Israeli flags and armed with
fireworks, hammers, baseball bats and other weapons, attacked the
encampment while the loud sound of crying babies played on the
jumbotron.Several protesters were injured during the incident, which
happened after private security had left and police had not yet arrived,
the lawsuit said.“Encampment members witnessed the mob’s extreme
violence, threats of violence, and UCLA’s failure to intervene,” it
said. “They saw people get their heads split open, suffer from open
wounds and concussions, scream in pain and fear, with fireworks and
mayhem all around them.”The university did not immediately respond
Friday to an email from The Associated Press seeking comment.Los Angeles
Police and California Highway Patrol officers arrested dozens of
protesters on May 1 and 2 as the camp was cleared.The episode led to the
reassignment of the campus police chief and the creation of a new
campus safety office. A subsequent attempt to set up a new camp was also
blocked.S-The lawsuit also named the Los Angeles Police Department, the
California Highway Patrol and 20 people it describes as members of a
“mob.” It sought monetary damages for physical and psychological
injuries suffered by the protesters.Last June, three Jewish students and
a Jewish professor sued the university saying it allowed
pro-Palestinian protesters to block them from accessing classes and
other parts of campus. The students alleged they experienced
discrimination on campus during the protests because of their faith and
that UCLA failed to ensure access to campus for all Jewish students.A
federal judge ruled in a preliminary injunction last year that the
university cannot allow pro-Palestinian protesters to block Jewish
students from accessing classes and other parts of campus.On Monday, the
Trump administration filed a brief supporting the Jewish students and
professor in their case against UCLA.“DOJ has thrown down the gauntlet:
if university administrators aid and abet mistreatment of Jews, they
will pay the price,” said Mark Rienzi, president of the Becket Fund for
Religious Liberty and an attorney for the students and professor.“This
is a wake-up call for every university that allows antisemitic hatred to
fester unchecked. No Jewish student or professor should ever again face
this kind of terror on their own campus.”
Detained anti-Israel
activist Khalil appears in Louisiana court as deportation looms-Mahmoud
Khalil accused by Trump administration of distributing pro-Hamas
propaganda; lawyers are challenging seldom-used statute justifying his
deportation-By AP and ToI Staff Today, 5:57 pm-MAR 22,25
JENA,
Louisiana — Detained Columbia University student activist Mahmoud Khalil
appeared briefly Friday in immigration court at a remote Louisiana
detention center as his lawyers fight in multiple venues to try to free
him.Khalil, 30, a legal US resident with no criminal record, sat alone
beside an empty chair through a brief court session that dealt only with
scheduling. His lawyer participated via video.Khalil swayed back and
forth in his chair while waiting for the proceeding to begin in a
windowless courtroom inside an isolated, low-slung Immigration and
Customs Enforcement detention complex. Ringed by two rows of tall
barbed-wire fences and surrounded by pine forests, the facility is near
the small town of Jena, roughly 150 miles (240 kilometers) north of
Louisiana’s capital, Baton Rouge.Khalil smiled at two observers as they
entered the room, where just 13 people ultimately gathered, including
the judge, attorneys and court staff. Two journalists and a total of
four other observers attended.By video, lawyer Marc Van Der Hout said he
had just started representing Khalil and needed more time to speak to
him, get records, and delve into the case. An immigration judge set a
fuller hearing for April 8.Khalil’s lawyers also have gone to federal
court to challenge his detention and potential deportation, which looms
as his wife, a US citizen, is expecting their first child. A federal
judge in New York ruled Wednesday that Khalil can contest the legality
of his detention but that the case should be moved to a New Jersey
federal court.The Columbia University graduate student was detained by
federal immigration agents on March 8 as part of US President Donald
Trump’s crackdown on what he calls antisemitic and “anti-American”
campus protests. Khalil served as a spokesperson and negotiator last
year for anti-Israel demonstrators who opposed the military campaign
against the Hamas terror group in Gaza.Protesters, some of them Jewish,
say it’s not antisemitic or anti-American to criticize Israeli military
actions and advocate for Palestinian human rights and territorial
claims.However, some Jewish students have said the demonstrations did
not just criticize Israel’s government but launched into rhetoric and
behavior that made Jews feel unwelcome or outright unsafe on the Ivy
League campus. A Columbia task force on antisemitism found “serious and
pervasive” problems at the university.Anti-Israel protesters at Columbia
have regularly been seen using rhetoric that condones actions by Hamas,
which triggered the war through its October 7, 2023, onslaught on
southern Israel, in which terrorists killed some 1,200 people, mostly
civilians, and kidnapped 251.The demonstrations, which frequently
included open endorsements of violence and support for terror groups,
resulted in waves of arrests as well as some suspensions and expulsions,
which many pro-Palestinian groups have condemned as an attack on free
speech.White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has asserted that
Khalil organized disruptive protests that harassed Jewish students and
“distributed pro-Hamas propaganda.” Hamas is designated by the US as a
terrorist organization.The US government is seeking to deport Khalil
under a rarely used statute that allows for removing noncitizens who
pose “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the
United States.”Khalil, an Algerian citizen who was born in Syria to a
Palestinian family, has said in a statement that his detention reflects
“anti-Palestinian racism” in the US. Before his detention by the
government, he said that a Columbia disciplinary investigation was
scapegoating him for being an identifiable figure at the
protests.Columbia is now contending with broader pressure to address the
Trump administration’s assertions of antisemitism, including
unprecedented government demands for changes at the private university
if it wants to continue receiving federal grants for research and other
purposes.The private university announced Friday that it was taking
steps that reflect the government’s demands concerning protests,
disciplinary procedures, the Middle Eastern studies department, and
other matters.
ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 533 'Qatar is criticized for
not being well motivated. Preposterous' Witkoff: Hamas isn’t
ideologically intractable, Gaza conflict can end through dialogue-In
candid podcast interview, top Trump aide indicates renewed IDF strikes
may be necessary after Hamas intransigence, says PM ‘going up against
Israeli public opinion that wants hostages back’ By Jacob Magid-Today,
12:44 pm-MAR 22,25
US special envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff
said Friday that he doesn’t believe Hamas is “ideologically
intractable,” while arguing that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is
“well-motivated,” but operating against Israeli public opinion that
prioritizes freeing the remaining hostages from Gaza over the
destruction of Hamas.In a 90-minute interview chock-full of headlines,
Witkoff discussed the motivations of Israel, Hamas and Qatar in the
ongoing Gaza war, offered an assertive defense of Doha against critics
questioning the Islamist country’s motivations, and acknowledged his
concern about the Gaza war’s potential for destabilizing countries like
Egypt and Saudi Arabia. He also suggested that Syria’s new leader Ahmed
al-Sharaa could be a changed man since his days in Al-Qaeda, revealed
new details about his successful January brokering of the now-defunct
Gaza ceasefire’s first phase, and insisted that the Iranian nuclear
threat can be solved diplomatically.Witkoff held the conversation with
Tucker Carlson, a right-wing talk show host who has come under fire in
American Jewish circles for hosting guests who have pushed antisemitic
claims and Holocaust revisionism. He is also known to enjoy a very large
fan base, particularly among Trump supporters.The filmed podcast
interview began with Trump’s Mideast envoy explaining that his job
requires him to understand the motivations of the various players with
whom he engages.“What does Hamas want? I think they want to stay there
till the end of time. They want to rule Gaza, and that’s unacceptable.
We had to know that… What they want is unacceptable,” Witkoff
said.“What’s acceptable to us is [that] they need to demilitarize. Then
maybe they could stay there a little bit… be involved politically,” he
continued.“But… we can’t have a terrorist organization running Gaza
because that won’t be acceptable to Israel. Then we’ll just have the
same exact experiences, that every five, 10, 15 years we’re going to
have another October 7.”Pressed on what it’s like negotiating with
Hamas, Witkoff acknowledged that he’s not talking to the terror group
directly and that he uses Qatar as a mediator.The US envoy did sign off
on Trump’s hostage envoy Adam Boehler holding secret direct talks with
Hamas officials earlier this year. However, Washington abandoned those
talks after they were leaked by Israel, which learned about them after
the fact and fumed over Boehler negotiating on its behalf, a senior Arab
diplomat told The Times of Israel earlier this month.Hamas’s
motivations-While he has worked to understand Hamas through the
negotiations, Witkoff said he was also informed by the footage
compilation of the terror group’s October 7 onslaught that Israeli
authorities screened for him during his first visit to Israel upon
taking the position.“It was horrific. It is about mass rapes. There were
pictures of Hamas people cutting the head off of an Israeli soldier…
It’s beyond what I’ve ever seen,” he recalled.“It can taint the way
you’re going to feel about [Hamas]. Sometimes as a negotiator, you have
to be dispassionate,” Witkoff continued. “It’s not easy to make
decisions if you’re going to [watch the film], but I had to see [it]… We
can’t ignore the reality of what happened on October 7. They would tell
you that they’ve got justification, but there’s no justification… for
what happened that day.”Still, Witkoff went back to the importance of
understanding Hamas’s motivations.“You have to know what Hamas wants…
and then you’ve got to figure out what you can give them that allows
them to walk out because that’s what’s needed here,” he said.“What we
heard in the beginning of this conflict is Hamas is ideological, that
they’re prepared to die for a whole variety of reasons. I personally —
and I talk to the president about this… I said to him, ‘I don’t think
that they are as ideologically locked in.’ They’re not ideologically
intractable… They strap the suicide vest onto young kids who don’t know
what they’re doing… They tell them a story.”“What we heard in the
beginning of this conflict is Hamas is ideological, that they’re
prepared to die for a whole variety of reasons. I personally — and I
talk to the president about this… I said to him, ‘I don’t think that
they are as ideologically locked in’. They’re not ideologically
intractable. I never believed that,” Witkoff maintained. “They strap the
suicide vest onto young kids who don’t know what they’re doing… They
tell them a story.“Once you understand that [Hamas] wanted to live, then
you were able to talk to them in a more effective way,” he
argued.Pressed on how he reached this conclusion about Hamas, Witkoff
said he has read lots of US intelligence reports and also felt “the
rhythm and the cadence of the negotiation.”“That’s when I came to the
conclusion that they wanted alternatives,” he said.The comments
rationalizing Hamas were somewhat similar to ones made by Boehler in a
series of interviews with American and Israeli press on March 9 that
infuriated Netanyahu and his inner circle. The premier’s top aide,
Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, went on to lobby Trump officials
to sideline Boehler after those interviews, a US official told The Times
of Israel earlier this month.Regardless, Hamas has yet to move from its
stance in the negotiations as Witkoff had hoped.The terror group
snubbed a bridge proposal he submitted last week that would have seen
phase one of the ceasefire extended through next month’s Passover
holiday, along with the release of five live hostages and a large number
of Palestinian security prisoners.Hamas has insisted on sticking to the
original terms of the deal Witkoff helped ink in January, which should
have seen negotiations on a second phase begin some two weeks into the
ceasefire. But Israel refused to proceed with such talks, as a second
phase would obligate the IDF to fully withdraw its troops from Gaza and
agree to a permanent end to the war.While Netanyahu signed on to these
terms, he has also insisted that he will not agree to end the war before
Hamas’s military and governing capabilities have been dismantled. The
US accepted the Israeli stance and worked to extend the first phase,
rather than proceeding with the second.Hamas didn’t accept the approach
and instead offered to release American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander
along with the bodies of four other hostages with US citizenship — an
offer that was based on the discussions that the terror group held with
Boehler earlier this month, the senior Arab diplomat said. But the Trump
administration had already moved on from those direct talks, and
Witkoff on March 16 called the Hamas proposal a “non-starter.”Two days
later, Israel resumed airstrikes in Gaza for the first time in two
months under orders from Netanyahu, who cited the terror group’s
“repeated refusal” to release hostages.Ceasefire can still be
restored-Still, Witkoff maintained Friday that he was hopeful the
ceasefire could be restored. “There have been signs,” he said.“The
Israelis going in [to Gaza] is in some respects unfortunate, and in some
respects falls into the ‘had to be’ bucket..Witkoff recalled warning
Arab leaders during a gathering in Doha last week that Hamas’s
“completely inappropriate” response to the bridge proposal “was going to
result in some sort of military action.”“I did not know before the
Israelis went in,” he clarified, appearing to contradict claims by White
House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt earlier this week that Israel
had consulted the US before ending the Gaza ceasefire.Nonetheless,
Witkoff insisted that “We may be able to use this to get Hamas to be a
whole lot more reasonable.”The Trump envoy later revealed that the sides
“are talking again” since the Israeli strikes.“We’re in a negotiation
right now to maybe stop some of these Israeli strikes and maybe finish
this conflict with dialogue,” he said. If I don’t have a feeling that we
can accomplish that, why would I waste my time?”For his part, the
senior Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel that the talks have been
stuck since the IDF renewed airstrikes.Netanyahu vs. public opinion on
the hostagesThe question that Witkoff appeared to have a harder time
answering focused on the Israeli government’s plan for Gaza after the
war.Carlson reflected on his conversations with officials throughout the
region who were all equally perplexed as to what Israel views as its
end game and he asked Witkoff if he understood it.“Well, I think that’s
complicated,” the US envoy said before shifting his answer to praise
Netanyahu for Israel’s military achievements against Hezbollah, Hamas
and Iran.“That Iranian crescent… that everybody thought was going to be
effective, it’s been largely eliminated.”The rap [Netanyahu] gets is
that he’s more concerned about the fight than he is about the hostages… I
understand how people make that assessment, but I don’t necessarily
agree with itNetanyahu has “done an exceptional job with that. But the
rap he gets is that he’s more concerned about the fight than he is about
the hostages,” Witkoff explained.“I understand how people make that
assessment, but I don’t necessarily agree with it. He does want to get
hostages home — if he can — but he believes that pressuring Hamas is the
only way to do it.”“I think Bibi feels that he’s doing the right thing.
[But] I think he goes up against public opinion… because public opinion
there wants those hostages home,” he said.Indeed, repeated polls over
recent weeks indicate a sizable majority of the public backs ending the
war in exchange for securing the release of the remaining 59
hostages.Witkoff recalled his visit to Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square during
his time in Israel. “It was spiritual.”Witkoff said that the loss of
his son to a drug overdose has given him a “sensitivity or empathy” that
has allowed him to relate to hostage families with whom he is in daily
contact. “That’s been a big help for them, but interestingly enough,
it’s been a big help for me.”The hostage crisis has “fractured Israel,”
Witkoff maintained. “It’s like a seam cutting right through the soul of
the country.”“We’ve got to get these people back. I talked to Bibi about
it, I talked to [Strategic Affairs Minister Ron] Dermer about it, but
they also have a view strategically about Hamas,” he continued.“There
are times that we agree with each other, there are times we slightly
disagree, but I think they’re well motivated,” Witkoff clarified.Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) meets with US special envoy Steve
Witkoff (3rd R) and National Security Adviser Michael Waltz (3rd L) ,
accompanied by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer (2nd R), National
Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi (2nd L), Ambassador to the US Yechiel
Leiter (R), and Chief of Staff Tzachi Braverman (L) and military
secretary Roman Gofman (bottom C) in Washington on February 4, 2025.
(Avi Ohayon/GPO)Does Israel have a plan? Pressed again on what Israel’s
plan for Gaza, Witkoff seemed to avoid responding directly.“I understand
that we have to be outcome-oriented,” he said before pivoting to how
solving Iran’s destabilizing regional activities could lead to
unprecedented regional cooperation-Carlson then tries to frame the
question in terms of the map, asking how much territory Israel is
looking to conquer after reaching deep into Lebanon and Syria. “What’s
the goal?” he asks.“The goal begins with how do we deal with Iran.
That’s the biggie,” Witkoff responded. “We can never allow someone to
have a nuclear weapon and have outsized influence.”Carlson tried to
steer the conversation back to Gaza, asking if the US could articulate
Israel’s approach.“I think so,” Witkoff said.“First of all, President
Trump’s approach to Gaza has engendered a lot of lively discussion about
different ways to deal with Gaza,” he said, referring to Trump’s
February proposal for the US to take over the Strip and relocate
Palestinians elsewhere.“We’re now seeing an Egyptian plan, we’re seeing
the Saudis put together a white paper,” Witkoff said in what appeared to
be the first official mention of a separate Saudi plan for Gaza in the
works.The Egyptian proposal was a counter to Trump’s call to relocate
Gazans, instead envisioning Palestinians being able to remain in the
enclave while it is being rebuilt and managed by a temporary committee
of Palestinian technocrats who would hand over control over the Strip to
the Palestinian Authority after six months.While it hinted at it, the
plan didn’t explicitly address the demilitarization of Hamas, and
Washington’s response has accordingly been lukewarm, at best.Wiktoff
made no mention of Israel’s plan for Gaza, but insisted that “what we’re
going to do with Gaza is going to become much more apparent over the
next six to 12 months.”The lack of an Israeli plan for the post-war
management of Gaza has long exposed Netanyahu to criticism. From the
first weeks of the war, the previous US administration pleaded with the
premier to put together a plan for the post-war management of Gaza,
arguing that failure to advance a viable alternative to Hamas would lead
to the IDF being bogged down in the Strip indefinitely.Netanyahu pushed
back on those calls by arguing that such planning was futile so long as
Hamas remains in the picture. Months later, he said his government was
working on plans to wrestle control of humanitarian aid from Hamas but
they have yet to be implemented.Finally, after Trump announced his Gaza
takeover proposal, Netanyahu quickly adopted it as Israel’s new plan for
the “day after” in Gaza. But while Jerusalem has engaged in talks with
the Trump administration aimed at identifying countries that will take
Gazans, no such volunteers have emerged.Carlson noted Friday that
despite the mounting military victories Jerusalem has achieved over the
past year, Israelis he engages with still give off the impression that
they’re under threat.I don’t think anyone has a feeling that you can
just kill off Hamas. It’s an idea… [but] we just can’t have an October 7
ever again. October 7 was like 9/11 in the United States“There’s a
feeling with some of, ‘When does the violence end? At what point have we
had enough of it? That’s the issue,” Witkoff responded.“I don’t think
anyone has a feeling that you can just kill off Hamas. It’s an idea…
[but] we just can’t have an October 7 ever again. October 7 was like
9/11 in the United States.”Israelis attend a rally against Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to dismiss the head of the Shin Bet
internal security service, and calling for the release of hostages held
by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, outside the Knesset, Israel’s parliament in
Jerusalem on Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg) The
meaning of ‘two-state’Witkoff argued that the key to getting the Abraham
Accords normalization agreements between Israel and its Arab neighbors
back on track is “stability on Gaza.”“Stability on Gaza could mean some
people come back, it could mean some people don’t come back,” he said of
Palestinians.While Trump initially said that Gaza’s entire population
would be permanently relocated, he clarified earlier this month that no
Palestinians will be forcibly evicted.“We’re going to attempt to
ascertain different development plans for Gaza. They could involve the
word two-state (solution). [They] could not,” Witkoff revealed.“I use
the word, [and] I could be attacked for it. To me, it’s just a word.
What two-state to me means is how do we have a better living
prescription for Palestinians who are living in Gaza?” he said.“But it’s
not just about housing. Maybe it’s about AI coming there. Maybe it’s
about hyper-scale data centers being seeded into that area… Maybe it’s
about blockchain and robotics coming there. Maybe it’s about
pharmaceutical manufacturing coming there,” Witkoff continued. “We can’t
rebuild Gaza [for it to again become] a welfare system.”We need real
elections in Gaza… We need a real security force there… If Israel thinks
they’re going to have a problem in Gaza because Hamas is going to be
there long-term, this is never going to end“We need real elections in
Gaza… We need a real security force there… If Israel thinks they’re
going to have a problem in Gaza because Hamas is going to be there
long-term, this is never going to end,” he said.Potential for regional
spill-over-Alongside his aspirations for Gaza are also concerns for
regional destabilization if the war there drags on.“King Abdullah in
Jordan has done an amazing job figuring out how to how to deal with that
instability, but in some respects, he’s been lucky,” Witkoff said.He
warned that the recent rollback of Iranian proxies in Syria and Lebanon
“could all be reversed if we lose Egypt.”Pointing to Egypt’s high youth
unemployment, Witkoff said, “A country can’t exist like that. They’re
largely broke. They need a lot of help.”Notably, the Trump aide made no
mention of Egypt’s role in mediating between Israel and Hamas — as he
has in the past — focusing solely on Qatar.The concern even extends to
Saudi Arabia, where “people are worried about [the] young population and
how they’re looking at [the Gaza war], which is why we’ve got to solve
Gaza,” the Trump envoy argued.“If we solve Gaza… then Saudi can
normalize,” Wiktoff said.Riyadh has repeatedly insisted, though, that it
will not normalize relations with Israel absent Jerusalem agreeing to a
credible, irreversible pathway to a Palestinian state, which Netanyahu
has long rejected.Still, Witkoff said, “We’re going to be announcing
several new countries who are joining,” and separately claimed that
Lebanon and Syria are potential candidates.People do change. You at 55
are completely different than how you were at 35… I’m a different person
today at 68 years old. So maybe Jolani in Syria is a different guy“The
indications are that Jolani is a different person than he once was,” he
argued, referring to Syria’s interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa by the nom
de guerre he held as a senior al-Qaeda operative.“People do change. You
at 55 are completely different than how you were at 35… I’m a different
person today at 68 years old,” Witkoff said. “So maybe Jolani in Syria
is a different guy. They’ve driven Iran out.”As for Turkey — which is
currently rocked by its unrest following the regime’s arrest of
Istanbul’s mayor and a prominent rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
— Witkoff appeared similarly optimistic.Trump “had a great conversation
with Erdogan a couple of days ago — really transformational,” he
continued. “There’s a lot of positive news coming out of Turkey right
now as a result of that conversation. You’ll see that in the reporting
in the coming days.”In defense of Qatar-Witkoff was also given the
opportunity to address criticism over his warm relations with Qatar,
which began before he entered the Trump administration when he was a
real estate investor.Qatar has been accused of supporting Hamas and
other extremist factions in the region. Doha has countered that its
hosting of Hamas officials was at the request of Israel and the US.
Jerusalem and Washington also urged the Gulf kingdom to funnel large
amounts of aid to Gaza, which has come under renewed scrutiny since
October 7, with critics arguing that it allowed Hamas to amass its
military arsenal.“The Qataris… are criticized for not being well
motivated. It’s preposterous. They are well motivated,” Witkoff said,
using the same term he used to characterize Israel’s leadership.The
Qataris… are good, decent people… They’re a Muslim nation. In the past,
they’ve had some views that are a little bit more radical from an
Islamist standpoint than they are today, but they… moderated quite a
bit. There’s no doubt that they’re an ally of the United States. They
fund everything, [and] they don’t ask for much“They’re good, decent
people. What they want is a mediation that’s effective [and] that gets
to a peace goal… Because they’re a small nation, and they want to be
acknowledged as a peacemaker,” he asserted. “If they had a different
agenda, it would be fine, as long as we weren’t operating blind.”He
dismissed as “preposterous” the criticism that the Qataris operate as
agents of Iran.“They’re a Muslim nation. In the past, they’ve had some
views that are a little bit more radical from an Islamist standpoint
than they are today, but [Qatar] has moderated quite a bit. There’s no
doubt that they’re an ally of the United States,” he said, highlighting
the US military base that Doha hosts. “They fund everything, [and] they
don’t ask for much.”Witkoff said he was initially criticized for being a
“pro-Qatari sympathizer.”“They’re a mediator… No different than the
Swiss and the Norwegians. They’ve mediated in Russia. They’ve mediated
in Afghanistan… they’re good at it,” he continued. “If I’m not
collaborating with the mediator, I’m bound to be
ineffective.”Intimidating the parties-Carlson asked Witkoff about
reports — including in The Times of Israel — that he managed to sway
Netanyahu more in one fateful January meeting than Biden did in
countless interactions aimed at wrapping up the war.“President Trump
sets the table. This whole ‘Peace through strength’ thing — it’s not
just a slogan. It actually works. When he dispatches you to go to the
Middle East, people are almost a little bit intimidated before you get
there,” Witkoff reflected.He said Israel, Hamas and Qatar all didn’t
want to defy Trump by refusing to accept the ceasefire. “It was the
president’s overarching personality, and letting everybody know that
success was not an option. It had to be.”“The story was that you just
kind of rolled in and said, ‘Here’s what we’re doing. Here’s what the
president wants,” Carlson primed.“Well, that’s what [Trump] would do. So
that’s what I did,” responded a smiling Witkoff. What was in Trump’s
letter to Khamenei-Closing the interview on Iran, Witkoff argued that a
diplomatic resolution to mounting US tensions with the Islamic Republic
is possible.He revealed the general message in the letter Trump sent to
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei earlier this month.“It roughly said,
‘I’m a president of peace. That’s what I want. There’s no reason for us
to do this militarily. We should talk. We should we should clear up
misconceptions. We should create a verification program so that nobody
worries about weaponization of your nuclear material, and I’d like to
get us to that place because the alternative is not a very good
alternative,'” Witkoff said.He revealed that Tehran has since responded
to the US through intermediaries, without going into specifics.“The
president… doesn’t want to go to war, and he’ll use military action to
stop a war. That’s when he actually wants to use military action. In
this particular case, hopefully, it won’t be necessary,” Witkoff added,
expressing his hope that he or another Trump aide would be able to
travel to Tehran for talks aimed at a detente.
Detained Istanbul
mayor faces 2nd day of questioning as protests continue unabated-More
than 340 people arrested for rallies across Turkey after popular
opposition figure hauled in on corruption and pro-terror charges;
Erdogan blames ‘opportunists’ for unrest-By AP Today, 8:03 pm-MAR 22,25
ISTANBUL,
Turkey — Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu appeared before police for
questioning on terror-related charges on Saturday, a day after his
interrogation over corruption allegations. His arrest this week has
sparked widespread protests across Turkey, with demonstrators rallying
in multiple cities to voice their opposition.Interior Minister Ali
Yerlikaya posted on social media that 343 suspects had been detained in
protests in major cities on Friday night, adding “There will be no
tolerance for those who seek to violate societal order, threaten the
people’s peace and security, and pursue chaos and provocation.” The
cities listed included Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Adana, Antalya,
Canakkale, Eskisehir, Konya and Edirne.The mayor, who is a popular
opposition figure and seen as a top challenger to President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, was detained on Wednesday following a dawn raid on his
residence over allegations of financial crimes and links to Kurdish
militants. Dozens of other prominent figures, including two district
mayors, were also detained.Imamoglu is also under investigation for
“bribery, extortion, corruption, aggravated fraud, and illegally
obtaining personal data for profit as part of a criminal
organization.”Many view the arrest as a politically driven attempt to
remove a popular opposition figure and key challenger to Erdogan in the
next presidential race, currently scheduled for 2028. Government
officials reject accusations that legal actions against opposition
figures are politically motivated and insist that Turkey’s courts
operate independently.On Saturday, police questioned Imamoglu for some
five hours as part of an investigation into allegations of aiding the
outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, the Cumhuriyet newspaper
reported. A day earlier he was questioned for four hours over the
corruption accusations. The mayor rejected all charges during both
interrogations.He was transferred to a courthouse on Saturday afternoon
for questioning by prosecutors and to face possible charges.Several
hours before his appearance, the authorities announced they were sealing
off the main roads leading to the court.Growing protests-His arrest has
ignited protests that have steadily increased in intensity.On Friday,
police in Istanbul used pepper spray, tear gas and rubber bullets to
push back hundreds of protesters who tried to break through a barricade
in front of the city’s historic aqueduct while hurling flares, stones
and other objects at officers. Police also dispersed groups that had
rallied outside of the city hall for a third night running, after the
opposition Republican People’s Party leader, Ozgur Ozel, delivered a
speech in support of the mayor.Simultaneously, police broke up
demonstrations in Ankara, the capital, as well as in the Aegean coastal
city of Izmir, resorting to forceful measures at times, according to
television images. Thousands marched in several other cities calling on
the government to resign.Earlier, Erdogan said the government would not
tolerate street protests and accused the opposition party of links to
corruption and terror organizations. Authorities in Ankara and Izmir,
meanwhile, announced a five-day ban on demonstrations, following a
similar measure imposed earlier in Istanbul.“An anti-corruption
operation in Istanbul is being used as an excuse to stir unrest in our
streets. I want it to be known that we will not allow a handful of
opportunists to bring unrest to Turkey just to protect their plundering
schemes,” Erdogan said.Despite the ban, protests were expected to
continue for the fourth straight night on Saturday, having spread to
more than 50 of Turkey’s 81 provinces.Diyarbakir, the main city in the
Kurdish-majority southeast, was expected to join Saturday’s rallies as
well.The pro-Kurdish opposition DEM party, which has had 10 of its own
elected mayors removed over the past year and replaced by
government-appointed trustees has also thrown its support behind the
protests.“There is no explanation for this action against (someone)
elected by millions of Istanbulites… We want Ekrem İmamoglu.. and the
other mayors returned to their posts and we will continue to struggle
for this,” said DEM lawmaker Meral Danis Bestas.Imamoglu’s arrest came
just days before he was expected to be nominated as the opposition
Republican People’s Party’s presidential candidate in a primary on
Sunday. Ozel has said that the primary, where around 1.5 million
delegates can vote, will go ahead as planned.The opposition party has
also urged citizens to participate in a symbolic election on Sunday —
through improvised ballot boxes to be set up across Turkey — to show
solidarity with Imamoglu.In a message posted on his social media account
Saturday, Imamoglu described his arrest as a “coup” and accused the
government of exploiting the judiciary and worsening the country’s
troubled economy.“With your support, we will first defeat this coup, and
then we will send packing those who caused this,” he wrote on the
social media platform X.AFP contributed to this report.
Ukraine, Russia exchange blows; Gaza returns to total war as Israel repeatedly strikes-by Mike Heuer.
Washington
DC (UPI) Mar 20, 2025-Ukrainian drones struck a Russian strategic
bomber base in a "massive" attack, and Russia struck Ukraine's
Kirovohrad region during the overnight hours Thursday.Russian officials
reported a "massive" Ukrainian drone attack on the Engels airbase in
Saratov Oblast and said air defenses downed 54 drones during the
overnight attack."Saratov and Engels today suffered the most massive
[unmanned aerial vehicle] attack of all time," Saratov Gov. Roman
Busargin said in a Telegram post and reported by ABC News.Busargin said
the airfield was on fire and about 30 houses were damaged by the drone
attack.He said the attack blew out windows at a local hospital, which
injured a woman. Two local kindergartens and a school also were
damaged.Russia's Engels airbase is home to Russian Tu-95 and Tu-160
strategic bombers that are capable of launching long-range nuclear and
conventional airstrikes, Newsweek reported.Engels is located about 500
miles southeast of Moscow and has been targeted several times by the
Ukrainian military.Ukraine confirms aerial attackUkrainian defense
officials acknowledged the attack in a post on X."Fires, explosions and
secondary detonation of ammunition were recorded in the vicinity of the
airfield," the Defense of Ukraine post says."The occupiers' aviation
uses this military facility primarily for missile strikes on Ukrainian
territory and terrorist attacks against civilians," the post
said."Ukraine's Defense Forces possess detailed intelligence on the
strategic sites of Russian occupiers, adhere to international
humanitarian law and take measures to maximize civilian safety while
working to put an end to Russia's armed aggression against
Ukraine."Russian airstrikes in Ukraine-Russia also attacked targets in
Ukraine early Thursday morning, NBC News reported.Russian President
Volodymyr Zelensky posted 10 images to his Telegram account that he says
shows fires and damage caused by Russian airstrikes in Ukraine's
central Kirovohrad region."Russia attacks on Ukraine, despite its
propaganda statements, do not stop," Zelensky said.The photos showed
Ukrainian firefighters battling fires and other evidence of damage
caused by the Russian strike.Ukraine's State Emergency Service also
posted images of buildings and vehicles on fire in Kropyvnytskyi.The
Ukrainian Air Force reported it downed 75 Russian drones over 12
regions, including Kyiv."The air attack was repelled by aviation,
anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare units and mobile fire
groups," Ukrainian Air Force officials said.The attack occurred several
hours after Zelensky in a phone call told President Donald Trump he
agrees to a partial cease-fire with Russia.Russian energy facility
targeted by Ukraine-The Russian air assault also occurred a day after
Russia's Foreign Ministry reported Ukraine targeted an energy
infrastructure facility in Kavkazskaya, Krasnodar Territory, on
Wednesday.The attack caused the depressurization of an oil storage tank
and caused a fire spanning 1,700 square meters."This facility plays a
crucial role in the trans-shipment of oil from railway tankers into the
pipeline system of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, an international oil
transportation entity," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria
Zakharova said in an online announcement.Despite the exchange of
military blows, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday said
plans were "coming together" to reach a secure cease-fire between Russia
and Ukraine, the Telegraph reported.Starmer said allied countries are
working to create a plan to safeguard a potential cease-fire following a
meeting of what he called a "coalition of the willing" in the United
Kingdom.Israel expands Gaza ground operation as missiles
intercepted-Gaza City, Palestinian Territories (AFP) Mar 21, 2025 -
Israel's military on Thursday expanded ground operations across Gaza,
after it reported missiles intercepted from Yemen and Hamas militants
said they fired rockets towards Tel Aviv.The rocket fire from Hamas was
its first military response to the growing civilian death toll from
Israel's resumption of aerial bombardment and ground operations in Gaza
this week.The offensive has drawn widespread condemnation and shattered a
relative calm in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory where a
ceasefire began on January 19. Talks on extending the truce reached an
impasse, and Israel resumed intensive bombing of Gaza on Tuesday.Early
Friday, the head of Shin Bet -- Israel's domestic intelligence agency --
was sacked, days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he no
longer trusts him, and fallout from a report on the October 7, 2023
Hamas attack that sparked the conflict.Netanyahu on Sunday cited an
"ongoing lack of trust" as the reason for moving to dismiss Ronen Bar,
who joined the agency in 1993.Late Thursday the military said troops had
begun "conducting ground activity" in the Shabura area of Rafah, Gaza's
southernmost city near the Egyptian border."As part of the activity,
the troops dismantled... terrorist infrastructure," the military said in
a statement, adding that "troops are continuing ground activity in
northern and central Gaza."Israel earlier said it had closed off the
territory's main north-south route as part of expanding ground
operations that resumed on Wednesday.Gaza's civil defence agency said
504 people had been killed since Tuesday, including more than 190 under
the age of 18.The toll is among the highest since the war started more
than 17 months ago with Hamas's attack on Israel.The armed wing of
Hamas, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said it fired rockets at
Israel's commercial centre in response to "massacres" of Gaza
civilians.The Israeli army said it intercepted a missile launched from
Yemen, claimed by Iran-backed Huthi rebels who say they act in support
of the Palestinians, for the second time within a day.US President
Donald Trump "fully supports" Israel's renewed Gaza operations, White
House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters when asked if he
was trying to get a Gaza ceasefire back on track.Israel's military said
an air strike had "in recent days" killed Rashid Jahjouh, the head of
Hamas's internal security agency.In Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, Alaa Abu
Nasr said 17 members of his family were killed in an air strike."They
are targeting civilians, not fighters," he said among the rubble.-
Fleeing south -Military spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X that Israeli
troops "have begun a targeted ground operation in the central and
southern Gaza Strip in order to expand the security zone between the
northern and southern parts".Movement along Salaheddin Road between
northern and southern Gaza is prohibited "for your safety", he
said.Palestinians were seen fleeing south along a section of Salaheddin
Road still open, near central Gaza's Nuseirat refugee camp, atop
donkey-drawn carts piled high with belongings.In Gaza's south, the army
warned people to evacuate Bani Suheila before a strike on militants
"firing rockets from populated areas".Government spokesman David Mencer
said Israel controlled central and southern Gaza and was "expanding the
security zone" and creating a buffer between the north and south.An
official from Gaza's interior ministry said the Israeli army had closed
what it calls Netzarim Junction, just south of Gaza City on Salaheddin
Road.The official said Israeli tanks had deployed at the junction after
the withdrawal of American private security contractors stationed there
since the pullback of Israeli forces in February, under the
ceasefire.The first stage of the ceasefire, under which Israeli hostages
held by Hamas were exchanged for Palestinian prisoners, expired early
this month.Israel rejected negotiations for a second stage, demanding
the return of all remaining hostages under an extended first stage.
Hamas insisted on engaging in talks for phase two.Under the agreed truce
deal, as outlined by then-US president Joe Biden, negotiations towards
phase two were to begin during the initial six-week phase.-
'Unthinkable' -Mkhaimar Abusada, an associate professor at Al-Azhar
University in Gaza, said that if Netanyahu "was really interested in
releasing all Israeli hostages, he could have gone with a second phase
of the ceasefire. But he has never made any commitment to an end to the
war".Speaking before the UN Security Council, former hostage Eli Sharabi
called on the world to "bring them all home", referring to the dozens
still held by Gaza militants.He said he was "chained, starved, beaten
and humiliated" during his Hamas captivity.Resumption of fighting in
Gaza has coincided with a reignited protest movement by Israelis who see
Netanyahu's policies as a threat to democracy.On Thursday President
Isaac Herzog, whose role is largely ceremonial, spoke of "controversial
initiatives that create deep rifts within our nation."He also called it
"unthinkable to resume fighting while still pursuing the sacred mission
of bringing our hostages home."Hamas appealed to Arab and Islamic
nations "to take urgent action" in the United Nations Security Council
and other forums to halt the renewed fighting.Iran's supreme leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called Israel's latest strikes on Gaza a
"catastrophic crime" and said the United States "shares
responsiblity".Hamas's October attack on Israel that began the war
resulted in 1,218 deaths, mostly civilians, according to Israeli
figures.The overall death toll in Gaza since the start of the war is
49,617, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.
As Russia looms, EU defence plans fail to quell joint borrowing calls-By Max Delany.
Brussels,
Belgium (AFP) Mar 20, 2025-EU leaders on Thursday broadly welcomed a
blueprint from Brussels to help ramp up defence spending to face Russia
-- but a raft of countries pressed to go further and deploy joint
borrowing.US President Donald Trump has turbocharged calls for Europe to
rearm by casting doubt on Washington's central role in NATO and making
overtures towards Russia on Ukraine.Fears are rife that if Trump forces a
bad deal on Kyiv it will leave Europe facing the menace of an
emboldened Kremlin that could look to attack elsewhere in the coming
years.In a bid to put the EU's 27 countries in a better position to
defend themselves by 2030, Brussels on Wednesday detailed proposals it
says could mobilise up to 800 billion euros ($875 billion).Those include
relaxing budget rules to allow countries to spend more on defence and a
150-billion-euro programme of EU-backed loans.But the proposals have
failed to quell long-standing calls led by France for the bloc to be
more ambitious and rerun the sort of massive joint borrowing it used to
fund the recovery from the Covid pandemic."I am convinced... that we
will have to take on joint debt again," French President Emmanuel Macron
told reporters after summit talks in Brussels -- though he conceded
that "today, there is absolutely no consensus."Latvian Prime Minister
Evika Silina described the plan put on the table by Brussels as just a
"first step"."We are open for more discussions how we can find even more
finances," she said, speaking before the Brussels gathering.Greek
premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis was more explicit, pushing for the EU to
move in a "more ambitious direction towards the provision of grants to
European member states in order to make the important investments that
they need".The debate roughly pitches eastern countries most worried
about the threat of Russia and those struggling with high debt against
fiscal purists unwilling to finance spending by others.Most trenchant
against is the Netherlands -- with Prime Minister Dick Schoof once again
reiterating his country's firm opposition."The Netherlands does have a
few boundaries and they are very logical boundaries we have always had,"
Schoof told reporters in Brussels. "And there is nothing new under the
sun."So far the Dutch have been joined by Germany, whose Chancellor Olaf
Scholz dryly remarked Thursday that "Germany's position on this issue
is well known".But with chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz pushing
through plans for a mammoth defence splurge there is a sense Berlin
could soften its stance."I'd say joint bonds are not off the table but
for that conversation we need a new government in Germany," one EU
diplomat said.- East vs south? -However, that push could be complicated
by splits emerging within the group pressing for joint borrowing.Eastern
countries such as Poland and the Baltics have already massively ramped
up their military spending -- far outstripping NATO's two-percent target
on defence.They are laser-focused on the menace posed by Russian
President Vladimir Putin and want to make sure that any funding goes
towards making Europe stronger in the face of Moscow."We have to rearm
ourselves, because otherwise we will be the next victim of Russian
aggression," said Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda.But nations
further to the West -- such as Spain and Italy -- have long dragged
their heels on defence and are less convinced that the Kremlin is an
imminent threat."It is important to take into account that the
challenges that we face in the southern neighbourhood are a bit
different to the ones that the eastern flank face," said Spanish Prime
Minister Pedro Sanchez.He pointed to broader needs to "strengthen border
controls", fight terrorism and tackle cyber threats."These are the
things that, of course, we have to take into account," he said.While the
push for a Covid-style joint borrowing programme faces hurdles, others
are floating new proposals.Italy has put forward a common guarantee
scheme that would seek to raise some 200 billion euros in private
finance without raising debt levels.
Kim oversees NKorea's new weapons ahead of Russian security chief visit-by AFP Staff Writers.
Seoul
(AFP) Mar 21, 2025-North Korea said Friday it had test-fired a new
weapons system which would boost its combat readiness, as Russia's
security chief arrived in Pyongyang for talks with leader Kim Jong
Un.Traditional allies Russia and North Korea have drawn closer since
Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with Seoul accusing Kim of sending
thousands of troops and container loads of weapons to help Moscow fight
Kyiv.Neither Moscow nor Pyongyang has officially confirmed the troop
deployment, but the two countries last year signed a sweeping military
deal, including a mutual defence clause, when Russian President Vladimir
Putin made a rare visit to the nuclear-armed North.Moscow's top
security official Sergei Shoigu has arrived in North Korea for a visit,
Russian news agency TASS reported Friday, the latest in a recent series
of high-level exchanges between North Korea and Russia.Shoigu is
scheduled to meet with Kim and other North Korean officials, both TASS
and RIA Novosti reported.Kim oversaw the test-fire of the country's
latest anti-aircraft missile system, the Korean Central News Agency
(KCNA) said Friday, without specifying when the test happened.Kim said
it showed North Korea's army would be "equipped with another major
defence weapon system with laudable combat performance," KCNA said.The
announcement came a day after South Korea wrapped up a major annual
joint military exercise with the United States, known as Freedom Shield,
which Pyongyang separately denounced Friday as "a rehearsal of war of
aggression".The North -- which attacked its neighbour in 1950,
triggering the Korean War -- has long been infuriated by any military
exercises between the United States and the South.Seoul said last week
the North had fired "multiple unidentified ballistic missiles" after it
began the joint drills, which involve US soldiers stationed in South
Korea.Pyongyang also carried out a test-launch of strategic cruise
missiles in the Yellow Sea in late February, which it said showed off
"counterattack capabilities".The most recent Freedom Shield exercise
featured a collaborative drill focused on countering weapons of mass
destruction, specifically targeting nuclear, chemical, biological, and
radioactive threats.Relations between Pyongyang and Seoul have been at
one of their lowest points in years, with the North launching a flurry
of ballistic missiles last year in violation of UN sanctions.- Tests for
Russia? -Ahn Chan-il, a defector-turned-researcher who runs the World
Institute for North Korea Studies, told AFP that the latest launch
appears to be "the testing of weapons for export to Russia to be used in
Ukraine".Pyongyang is using the US-South Korea joint exercises as an
excuse to develop and export such weapons to Moscow, he added.South
Korean and Western intelligence agencies have said that more than 10,000
soldiers from the reclusive North were sent to Russia last year to help
it fight a shock Ukrainian offensive into the Kursk border
region.Seoul's spy agency said last month that the North has sent more
soldiers and re-deployed several to the frontline in Kursk.Seoul has
also accused the North of sending container loads of weapons to Russia,
and a recent report by Seoul's defence ministry said the North was
"continuing to provide weapons, ammunition and other military support to
Russia following its troop deployment in the Ukraine war".North Korea's
repeated weapons tests are aimed as "showcasing the development of
strategically valuable weapons," Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea
Institute for National Unification, told AFP."If North Korea improves
its missile interception and air defense capabilities through
technological cooperation with Russia... it could significantly affect
South Korea's 'kill chain'" defence plan, he said."In particular, North
Korea may receive assistance for its vulnerable radar systems and field
command vehicles from Russia," he added.
Top EU diplomat hails Trump offer to help Ukraine get air defences-by AFP Staff Writers.
Brussels,
Belgium (AFP) Mar 20, 2025-The EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas on
Thursday welcomed US President Donald Trump's agreement to help Kyiv
obtain additional air defence systems, including in Europe, as its
fights Russia's three-year invasion."I very much welcome the
announcement by President Trump that the US is trying to find additional
air defences for Ukraine," Kallas told reporters upon arrival for talks
by EU leaders in Brussels."This is extremely important," said Kallas,
who is pushing EU member states to meet a Ukrainian request for two
million shells, worth five billon euros ($5.4 billion) -- having scaled
back a more ambitious proposal that included air defences and
missiles.Trump made the air defence commitment in a call with Volodymyr
Zelensky on Wednesday, in which the Ukrainian leader asked for help in
sourcing "Patriot missile systems" in particular, according to a US
readout."President Trump agreed to work with him to find what was
available particularly in Europe," the readout said.The offer was a rare
signal from Trump that he could help bolster Ukraine's defences as he
pushes for a peace deal with Russia.Ukraine currently has seven US-made
Patriot air defence systems, provided by the United States, Germany and
Romania.Officials say the system is the only one Kyiv possesses that can
counter Russia's ballistic missiles.In addition, for high-altitude
interceptions, Ukraine has two European-made SAMP/T systems from Italy
and France.It has some similar systems of its own and has been provided
with others for shorter-range interceptions.Ukraine could also rely on
fighter jets to intercept missiles: European allies have already given
it F-16 and Mirage 2000-5 fighters.Further Patriot systems could
theoretically be available from elsewhere in Europe, but the countries
hosting them have been reluctant to part with them for national security
reasons.
Japan, China, and South Korea agree to promote peace, cooperation.
Tokyo,
March 22 (AFP) Mar 22, 2025-Japan, South Korea and China agreed
Saturday that peace on the Korean peninsula was a shared responsibility,
Seoul's foreign minister said, in a meeting of the three countries' top
diplomats in which they pledged to promote cooperation.The talks in
Tokyo followed a rare summit in May in Seoul where the three neighbours
-- riven by historical and territorial disputes -- agreed to deepen
trade ties and restated their goal of a denuclearised Korean
peninsula.But they come as US tariffs loom over the region, and as
concerns mount over North Korea's weapons tests and its deployment of
troops to support Russia's war against Ukraine."We reaffirmed that
maintaining peace and stability on the Korean peninsula is a shared
interest and responsibility of the three countries," South Korea's Cho
Tae-yul told reporters after the trilateral meeting.Seoul and Tokyo
typically take a stronger line against North Korea than China, which
remains one of Pyongyang's most important allies and economic
benefactors.Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said he, Cho, and
China's Wang Yi "had a frank exchange of views on trilateral cooperation
and regional international affairs... and confirmed that we will
promote future-orientated cooperation"."The international situation has
become increasingly severe, and it is no exaggeration to say that we are
at a turning point in history," Iwaya said at the start of Saturday's
meeting.This makes it "more important than ever to make efforts to
overcome division and confrontation", he added.Wang noted this year
marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, saying "only by
sincerely reflecting on history can we better build the future".At
two-way talks between Iwaya and Wang on Saturday, the Japanese minister
said he had "frankly conveyed our country's thoughts and concerns" on
disputed islands, detained Japanese nationals and the situation in
Taiwan and the South China Sea, among other contentious issues.- World
'full of uncertainty' -Ukraine was also on the agenda, with Iwaya
warning "any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo by force will
not be tolerated anywhere in the world".Climate change and ageing
populations were among the broad topics officials had said would be
discussed, as well as working together on disaster relief and science
and technology.Iwaya said the trio had "agreed to accelerate
coordination for the next summit" between the countries' leaders.China
and to a lesser extent South Korea and Japan have been hit by tariffs
put in place by US President Donald Trump in recent weeks.On Saturday
afternoon, Japan and China held their first so-called "high-level
economic dialogue" in six years."The global economy is facing serious
changes. Unilateralism and protectionism are spreading", Wang told
reporters, according to Japan's public broadcaster NHK."China and Japan,
as major economies, should pursue development and cooperation together
with innovative thinking and bring stability to a world full of
uncertainty," Wang said.Patricia M. Kim, a foreign policy fellow at the
Brookings Institution in Washington, said that while "trilateral
dialogues have been ongoing for over a decade", this round "carries
heightened significance" due to the new US position.Beijing "has been
working actively to improve relations with other major and middle powers
amid growing frictions with the United States", she said.
War monitor says Israel strikes military airport near Palmyra, Syria.
Beirut,
Lebanon, March 21 (AFP) Mar 21, 2025-Israeli air strikes on Friday
targeted the military airport near Palmyra in central Syria, a war
monitor said, reporting the latest Israeli attack in the country since
the fall of Bashar al-Assad."Israeli warplanes targeted the Palmyra
military airport," the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
said.Since Islamist-led rebels overthrew Assad in December, Israel has
launched hundreds of strikes on military sites in Syria, saying it wants
to prevent weapons from falling into the hands of the new authorities
whom it considers jihadists.The Syrian rebels included those who once
formed Al-Qaeda's branch in Syria, though the new government has sought
to distance itself from that past.The Israeli military has also deployed
to the UN-patrolled buffer zone on the Golan Heights, separating the
Israeli-occupied part of the Golan from that still controlled by
Syria.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has demanded the
demilitarisation of southern Syria and said his country will not
tolerate the presence of forces from the new authorities south of the
capital Damascus.Syria's foreign ministry has accused Israel of waging a
campaign against "the stability of the country".
Iran's Khamenei says US threats 'will get them nowhere'
Tehran,
March 21 (AFP) Mar 21, 2025-Iran's supreme leader said on Friday that
US threats against his country "will get them nowhere", after President
Donald Trump warned of possible military action against the Islamic
republic."The Americans should know threats will get them nowhere when
confronting Iran," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in his live annual
televised speech marking Nowruz, the Persian New Year.He said Americans
"and others should know that if they do anything malign to the Iranian
nation, they will get a hard slap".On March 7, Trump said he had written
to Khamenei, urging negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear programme
and warning of potential military action if it refuses.On Thursday,
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the letter was "more of a threat",
but also said it appeared to offer opportunities.Araghchi added that
Tehran is weighing its response which will be issued in the coming
days.On Wednesday, US news website Axios, citing a US official and other
sources, reported that Trump's letter set a "two-month deadline for
reaching a new nuclear deal".It did not specify a start or end date of
the two-month period.Khamenei has previously dismissed Trump's overtures
for talks, accusing the US president of attempting to deceive global
public opinion by portraying the United States as willing to negotiate
and Iran as unwilling to engage.Trump, who began his second term in
January, has reinstated his policy of "maximum pressure" against
Tehran.During his first term, he unilaterally withdrew the United States
in 2018 from the landmark nuclear deal between Iran and world powers
and reimposed sweeping economic sanctions on Tehran.Iran initially
adhered to the deal for a year after Trump's withdrawal but then started
scaling back its own commitments, increasing uranium enrichment levels
up to 60 percent.The current level far exceeds the 3.67 percent limit
set under the deal, and is much closer to the 90 percent threshold
required for weapons-grade material.Efforts to revive the nuclear deal
have so far failed.Tehran accuses Trump of contradictory approaches, and
has repeatedly ruled out direct talks with Washington under
pressure.Iran "definitely will not negotiate directly while facing
pressure, threats, and increased sanctions," Araghchi said on Thursday.
Robots to retrieve radioactive sandbags at Fukushima plant.
Tokyo,
March 21 (AFP) Mar 21, 2025-Robots will begin moving sandbags that were
used to absorb radiation-contaminated water after the 2011 Fukushima
nuclear disaster as soon as next week, a spokesman for the plant
operator said Friday.TEPCO, the operator of the stricken Japanese power
plant, says the bags on underground floors of two buildings have been
left untouched following the worst nuclear accident since
Chernobyl.Radiation levels on the sandbags' surface are as high as 4.4
sieverts per hour, which means "humans can die if they approach" them,
TEPCO spokesman Tatsuya Matoba told AFP.Japanese media reports said
there were 2,850 bags to be collected, a number which has not been
confirmed by TEPCO, which says that they weigh 41.5 tonnes (91,500
pounds) in total.Two robots developed to collect the bags, one with a
moving claw, were on Wednesday placed on the underground floors, Matoba
said.Workers will use them to "carefully" bring the sandbags out in an
operation that TEPCO aims to finish by the end of the 2027 fiscal
year.The bags will then be placed inside containers for radioactive
material and kept at a temporary storage site outside the buildings, the
spokesman said.Three of Fukushima's six reactors went into meltdown 14
years ago after a huge tsunami swamped the facility.The tsunami,
triggered by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake, left 18,500 people dead or
missing.No one was recorded as having been directly killed by the
nuclear accident, which forced evacuations and left parts of the
surrounding area uninhabitable.In addition to contaminated sandbags,
around 880 tonnes of radioactive debris remain in the plant.Removing
this is seen as the most daunting challenge in the decades-long
decommissioning project because of the dangerously high radiation levels
involved.A trial removal of nuclear debris from the plant began last
year.
N. Korea's Kim oversees test of latest anti-aircraft missile system: state media.
Seoul,
March 21 (AFP) Mar 21, 2025-North Korea test-fired its latest
anti-aircraft missile system in a drill watched by leader Kim Jong Un,
state media reported Friday, as the nuclear-armed state lashed out at
US-South Korea joint drills.The launch proved the system's "combat fast
response", the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, and came a day
after South Korea wrapped up a major annual joint military exercise with
the United States, known as Freedom Shield.The North -- which attacked
its neighbour in 1950, triggering the Korean War -- has long been
infuriated by any military exercises between the United States and the
South, which it claims are rehearsals for invasion.Kim praised the
latest anti-aircraft system, saying North Korea's army would be
"equipped with another major defence weapon system with laudable combat
performance," KCNA wrote.It did not specify where the test took
place.Seoul said last week the North fired "multiple unidentified
ballistic missiles" after it began the joint drills involving US
soldiers stationed in South Korea.In a separate statement Thursday, an
unnamed spokesperson for the North's defence ministry denounced the
military exercise as "no more than a rehearsal of war of
aggression".Pyongyang also carried out a test-launch of strategic cruise
missiles in the Yellow Sea in late February, which it said showed off
"counterattack capabilities".The most recent Freedom Shield exercise
featured a collaborative drill focused on countering weapons of mass
destruction, specifically targeting nuclear, chemical, biological, and
radioactive threats.Relations between Pyongyang and Seoul have been at
one of their lowest points in years, with the North launching a flurry
of ballistic missiles last year in violation of UN sanctions.- Tests for
Russia? -South Korean and Western intelligence agencies have said that
more than 10,000 soldiers from the reclusive North were sent to Russia
last year to help it fight a shock Ukrainian offensive into the Kursk
border region.Seoul's spy agency said last month that the North has sent
more soldiers to Russia and re-deployed several to the frontline in
Kursk.A report by Seoul's defence ministry said the North was
"continuing to provide weapons, ammunition and other military support to
Russia following its troop deployment in the Ukraine war".Ahn Chan-il, a
defector-turned-researcher who runs the World Institute for North Korea
Studies, told AFP that the latest launch appears to be "the testing of
weapons for export to Russia to be used in Ukraine".Pyongyang is using
the US-South Korea joint exercises as an excuse to develop and export
such weapons to Moscow, he added.Earlier this month, Pyongyang slammed
the United States for "political and military provocations" over the
visit of a US Navy aircraft carrier to the South Korean port of Busan.
Trump floats US takeover of Ukraine nuclear plants-By Danny Kemp with Khrystyna Zanyk in Kyiv.
Washington
(AFP) Mar 20, 2025-Donald Trump has told Volodymyr Zelensky that the
United States could own and run Ukraine's nuclear power plants as part
of his latest bid to secure a ceasefire in Russia's invasion of its
neighbor.The offer comes as some 30 military chiefs from countries keen
to help protect an eventual ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine
prepared for talks in Britain on Thursday to discuss planning for a
peacekeeping force.Following the Wednesday call with Trump, Ukrainian
President Zelensky said that Kyiv was "ready" to pause attacks on
Russia's energy network and infrastructure, a day after Russian leader
Vladimir Putin agreed to halt similar strikes on Ukraine.Zelensky also
said he had discussed Trump's power plant takeover plan."We talked only
about one power plant, which is under Russian occupation," Zelensky, who
was on an official visit to Finland, said during an online briefing,
referring to the plant in Zaporizhzhia.He added that he had "not felt
any pressure" from Trump to make concessions to Russia.But a wider
ceasefire remains elusive with the Kremlin leader insisting in his own
call with Trump on Tuesday that the West first stop all military aid for
Ukraine.UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and France's President Emmanuel
Macron have said they are willing to put British and French troops on
the ground in Ukraine.The UK government says a "significant number" of
nations are prepared to do the same, but it is not clear exactly how
many countries are keen.Trump's tone on Wednesday was markedly more
positive after the Zelensky call, with the White House describing it as
"fantastic" -- despite the fact that the two men had a blazing televised
row in the Oval Office recently.Trump "discussed Ukraine's electrical
supply and nuclear power plants" and said Washington could be "very
helpful" in running them," National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a joint statement."American
ownership of those plants would be the best protection for that
infrastructure," it said.- 'Ending the war' -Trump also pledged to help
Kyiv get more air defense equipment from Europe, and to find Ukrainian
children "abducted" by Russia, the statement said.The US president
earlier said on his Truth Social network that efforts to reach a full
truce were "very much on track."Zelensky said Ukrainian and US officials
could meet in coming days for fresh talks in Saudi Arabia, where
Russian and American teams are also due to meet early next week.Russia
and Ukraine exchanged 372 prisoners, Moscow said Wednesday, which was
planned as a goodwill gesture following the Trump-Putin call.Kyiv and
Moscow however have accused each other of continuing attacks.Russia said
it destroyed 132 Ukrainian drones in overnight attacks in several
regions throughout the country.Ukrainian emergency services said on
Thursday that an overnight Russian drone attack struck residential
buildings in Kropyvnytsky in central Ukraine wounding eight people,
including a child.- 'Don't believe Putin' -The major sticking point
remains Putin's resistance to a full ceasefire -- something that Kyiv
and some Western allies say underscores how the Russian leader cannot be
trusted.Putin insisted during his call with Trump on Tuesday that a
full ceasefire was only possible if the West agree to Moscow's
long-standing demand to halt its billions of dollars in military aid for
Ukraine.The Kremlin chief also demanded Ukraine must not be allowed to
re-arm and must halt mandatory mobilization.Moscow and Washington were
even at odds on the results of the call.The Kremlin said they only
discussed halting power plant attacks, but the White House insisted the
talks covered both energy and other civilian infrastructure.Trump's
overtures to Putin, and indications Washington will no longer guarantee
European security, have also spooked Kyiv and the United States's NATO
allies."I don't believe Putin at all, not a single word. He only
understands force," said Kyiv resident Lev Sholoudko, 32.In Moscow,
locals were more optimistic the talks could bring an end to the fighting
-- to Russia's advantage."Definitely this is in our favor," said Moscow
resident Larisa, 46."There is no other way. What happened in 1945 will
happen now," she added, referring to the Soviet Union's victory over
Nazi Germany.
Japan begins its first dismantling of a commercial nuclear reactor.by AFP Staff Writers.
Tokyo
(AFP) Mar 18, 2025-A Japanese utility has started dismantling an old
nuclear reactor with an eye toward building a new one, a spokesman said
Tuesday, as the country drives for more clean energy.This is the first
such attempt on a commercial unit in Japan, after Chubu Electric decided
in 2008 to dismantle two reactors at its Hamaoka plant in the central
Shizuoka region, to avoid paying for costly anti-earthquake measures for
them.Only about 25 nuclear reactors worldwide have been fully
dismantled, according to the World Nuclear Association.Japan, targeting
net-zero emissions by 2050, is shifting back to nuclear power after
shutting down all its 54 reactors after the tsunami-triggered 2011
Fukushima meltdown.Under its current plan, Japan aims for nuclear power
to account for 20-22 percent of its electricity by 2030, up from well
under 10 percent now.It is slowly bringing its still-operable units
online, and also plans to extend their lifespan, while encouraging the
development of next-generation atomic plants.On Monday, Chubu Electric
began removing the top lid of its "Number Two" reactor at Hamaoka,
before a similar exercise starts for another unit at the same plant, a
company spokesman told AFP Tuesday.The complicated dismantling process
is expected to continue until 2042, which means building a replacement
reactor is still many years away.A total of 26 reactors in Japan,
including the Hamaoka units and research units, are currently slated for
dismantling, according to the Nuclear Regulation Authority.Japan
scrapped a research reactor in the 1990s after it ended operations in
1976.Meanwhile Japan is also embroiled in a decades-long project to
scrap the damaged reactors at Fukushima Daiichi plant, which was hit by a
huge tsunami in 2011, triggering the world's worst nuclear disaster
since Chernobyl.hih/kaf/sn
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:(VATICAN)
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.(THATS PEDOPHELIA-FORNICATION IS SINGLES
HAVING SEX OUT SIDE OF MARRIAGE)(AND SINCE PREISTS CAN NOT MARRY IN THE
CATHOLIC CHURCH. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THIS FALSE CHURCH GOES AGAINST THE
BIBLE.THE CATHOLIC CHURCH BECOMES A HOMOSEXUAL HAVEN OF PEDOPHILIAS
FACTORY).
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 to be discharged from hospital Sunday, continue recovery at the
Vatican-Pontiff’s doctor says he will require at least two months of
rest and rehabilitation as he recovers from life-threatening case of
pneumonia in both lungs-By Nicole Winfield Today, 8:19 pm-MAR 22,25
ROME,
Italy (AP) — Pope Francis will be released from hospital on Sunday,
after 38 days of battling a life-threatening case of pneumonia in both
lungs, his doctors said.Gemelli medical director Dr. Sergio Alfieri said
Saturday that Francis will require at least two months of rest and
rehabilitation as he continues recovering at the Vatican.Francis was
admitted to Gemelli Hospital on February 14 after a bout of bronchitis
worsened. He later developed a life-threatening case of pneumonia.Pope
Francis’s doctors provided their first in-person update on the pontiff’s
condition in a month, a sign that he has made good and steady progress
in his battle to recover.The Saturday evening briefing is the first
since February 21, a week after the 88-year-old Francis was brought to
Gemelli Hospital. He subsequently experienced several respiratory crises
that landed him in critical condition, though he has since
stabilized.In another development, the Vatican announced that Francis
would appear on Sunday morning to bless the faithful from his 10th-floor
suite at the hospital. While Francis released an audio message on March
6 and the Vatican distributed a photo of him on March 16, Sunday’s
blessing will be the first live appearance since Francis was admitted on
February 14 for what has become the longest hospitalization of his
12-year papacy.The Argentine pope, who has chronic lung disease, is
prone to respiratory problems in winter and had part of one lung removed
as a young man.Doctors first diagnosed a complex bacterial, viral and
fungal respiratory tract infection and soon thereafter, pneumonia in
both lungs. Blood tests showed signs of anemia, low blood platelets and
the onset of kidney failure, all of which later resolved after two blood
transfusions.The most serious setbacks began on February 28, when
Francis experienced an acute coughing fit and inhaled vomit, requiring
him to use a noninvasive mechanical ventilation mask to help him
breathe. He suffered two more respiratory crises in the following days,
which required doctors to manually aspirate the mucus, at which point he
began sleeping with the ventilation mask at night to help his lungs
clear the accumulation of fluids.At no point did he lose consciousness,
and doctors reported he was alert and cooperative.He no longer needs to
wear the ventilation mask at night and is cutting back his reliance on
high flows of supplemental oxygen during the day.
