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)
IN THE GOG-MAGOG WAR ISRAELS ENEMIES END UP DYING LIKE ISRAELIS DID IN THE 1940S,
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.
AMERICA (POLITICAL BABYLON)(NUKED BY SNEAK ATTACK FROM RUSSIA)
IN REVELATION 17 & 18 IS THE DESTRUCTION OF THE RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL BABYLONS.IF YOU CAN NOT DECERN BETWEEN THE 2 BABYLONS IN REV 17 & 18.YOU WILL JUST THINK THEIR BOTH THE SAME.BUT NO-THERES A RELIGIOUS BABYLON (THE VATICAN IN REV 17)(AND THE POLITICAL BABYLON IN REV 18 (AMERICA OR NEW YORK TO BE EXACT)
ISAIAH 34:10
10 It (AMERICA-POLITICAL BABYLON) shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.
JEREMIAH 51:29-32 (CYBER ATTACK 1ST)
29 And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon,(AMERICA-NEW YORK) to make the land of Babylon (AMERICA) a desolation without an inhabitant.
30 The mighty men of Babylon (AMERICA) have forborn to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.
031 One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew the king of Babylon (NEW YORK) that his city is taken at one end,
32 And that the passages are stopped,(THE WAR COMPUTERS HACKED OR EMP'D) and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.(DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO)
COMPLETE SILENCE AFTER AN EMP GOES OFF
REVELATION 8:1
1 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
JEREMIAH 50:3,24
3 For out of the north (RUSSIA) there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.
24 I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon,(AMERICA) and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the LORD. (RUSSIA A SNEAK CYBER,EMP ATTACK,THEN NUKE ATTACK ON AM
JOEL 3:2 (WW3 OCCURS WHEN JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED)
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people (ISRAEL) and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.(JERUSALEM)(WW3 STARTS BECAUSE JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED AND ISRAELIS UPROOTED FROM THEIR GOD GIVIN LAND BRINGS 3 DEAD BILLION IN WW3)
EZEKIEL 38:1-23
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY) of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.(AFRICAN MUSLIMS,SUDAN,TUNESIA ETC)
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
13 Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?(OIL IS IN SPOIL-I BELIEVE THATS WHY RUSSIA,ARAB/MUSLIMS MARCH TO ISRAEL)
14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?
15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
17 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?
18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face.
19 For in my jealousy and in the fire (atomic bomb) of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;
20 So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.
21 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man’s sword shall be against his brother.
22 And I will plead against him with pestilence (biological,chemical,nuclear) and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.(NUKED,THEN MIGRATING BIRDS EAT RUSSIA/ARAB/MUSLIMS FLESH)
23 Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.
EZEKIEL 39:1-29
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee,(300 MILIION RUSSIA-ARAB-MUSLIMS GET NUKED BY ISRAEL) and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou,(RUSSIA) and all thy bands,(RUSSIA SUPPORTED WITH WEAPONS-ARAB/MUSLIM COUNTRIES) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire (ATOMIC BOMB) on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
9 And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years:
10 So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD.
11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog.
12 And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.
13 Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD.
14 And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search.
15 And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man’s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamongog.
16 And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.
17 And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.
18 Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
19 And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.
20 Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.
21 And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.
22 So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward.
23 And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword.
24 According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them.
25 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name;
26 After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid.
27 When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations;
28 Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there.
29 Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.
JEREMEIAH 49:35-37 (IN IRAN AT THE BUSHEHR OR ARAK NUKE SITE SOME BELIEVE)
35 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam,(IRAN/BUSHEHR NUCLEAR SITE) the chief of their might.(MOST DANGEROUS NUKE SITE IN IRAN)
36 And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven,(IRANIANS SCATTERED OR MASS IMIGARATION) and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.(WORLD IMMIGRATION)
37 For I will cause Elam (IRAN-BUSHEHR NUKE SITE) to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger,(ISRAELS NUKES POSSIBLY) saith the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them:(IRAN AND ITS NUKE SITES DESTROYED)
ISAIAH 17:1,11-14
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
11 In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.
12 Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations,(USELESS U.N) that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
13 The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
14 And behold at evening tide trouble; and before the morning he is not.(ASSAD KILLED IN OVERNIGHT RAID) This is the portion of them that spoil us,(ISRAEL) and the lot of them that rob us.
AMOS 1:5
5 I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden:(IRAQ) and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir,(JORDAN) saith the LORD.(I belive ISIS-DAMASCUS GET NUKED BY ISRAEL)
CHINA AND KINGS OF THE EAST MARCH TO ISRAEL 2ND WAVE OF WW3 (200 MILLION MAN ARMY)(THIS WILL BE WW3 DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD I BELIEVE.2 BILLION DIE ON EARTH IN THIS NUKE WAR)
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.(THE TURKEY ATATURK DAM ON THE EUPHRATES CAN BE SHUT AND DRIED UP ALREADY BY TURKEY)
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.(ITS AT THIS TIME I BELIEVE WHEN AMERICA GETS NUKED BY RUSSIA ON THE WAY TO THE MIDEAST)
DANIEL 11:44 (2ND WAVE OF WW3)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
REVELATION 9:12-18
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.(WORLDWIDE WAR)(TURKEY-IRAQ-SYRIA)(EUPHRATES RIVER CONSISTS OF 760 MILES IN TURKEY,440 MILES IN SYRIA AND 660 MILES IN IRAQ)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,(WORLDWIDE WAR) which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.(1/3 Earths Population die in WW 3 2ND WAVE-2 billion)
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARMY FROM CHINA AND THE KINGS OF THE EAST) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
EZEKIEL 39:6
6 And I will send a fire on RUSSIA (Magog,) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
SECOND ANGEL: The Middle East DR DOCTORIAN
Then Isawthat the second angel had a sickle in his hand,such asis used in harvesting. The second angelsaid, “Harvest time has come in Israel and the countries all the wayto Iran.” Isawthose countriesin a fewsplitseconds. “All of Turkey and those other countries that have refused me and refused my message of love shall hate each other and kill one another.” I saw the angel raise the sickle and come down on all the Middle East countries.I saw Iran, Persia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, all of Georgia – Iraq, Syria,Lebanon,Jordan, Israel, all of Asia Minor – full of blood. Isaw blood all over these countries. And I saw fire; nuclear weapons were used in many of those countries. Smoke rising from everywhere. Sudden destruction – men destroying one another. I heard these words, “Israel, Oh Israel, the great judgment has come.”The angel said, “The chosen, the church, the remnant, shall be purified. The Spirit of God shall prepare the children of God.” I saw fires rising to heaven.The angel said, “This is the final judgment My church shall be purified, protected and ready for the final day. Men will die from thirst. Watershall be scarce all over the Middle East. Rivers shall dry up, and men will fight for water in those countries.” The angelshowed me that the United Nationsshall be broken in pieces because of the crisisin the Middle East. There shall be no more United Nations. The angel with the sickle shall reap the harvest.
PSALMS 91:7
A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT THE MIGRATING BIRDS LOOK LIKE. IF THIS IS THE TIME FOR THE RUSSIA-MUSLIM BIRD FOOD TIME. THESE 500 MILLION MIGRATING BIRDS WILL HAVE A FILL OF FLESH AND BLOOD.SO WE SEE A COMPARISON HOW THE ISRAELIS WERE MURDERED BY GERMANY IN THE 1940S. THEY WERE BURNED TO DRY BONES. THEN THROWN IN GRAVES - MASS GRAVES TO BE EXACT. AND WHEN THE RUSSIA-MUSLIN-GERMAN PLUS HOARD COMES AGAINST ISRAEL GOD WILL THROW 100 POUND HAILSTONES ON THEM. STORMS. AND SINK HOLES TO SWALLOW THEM WHOLE. AND FINALLY GOD ALLOWS MOST OF THE 300 MILLION THAT DIE IN THIS WAR TO BE NUKED OR BURNED UP. DOES THAT RING A BELL FROM THE 40,S. AFTER THE FIRE, THEN THE MIGRATING BIRDS EAT THEIR FLESH AND BLOOD AND LEAVES JUST RADIATED BONES OF THE ISRAELI ENEMIES. AND FINALLY THE ENEMIES BONES WILL BE BURRIED IN MASS GRAVES IN THE JORDAN VALLEY. EAST OF THE DEAD SEA. EXACTLY THIS DEAD HORDE DIES LIKE THE ISRAELIS BY HITLER. BURNED TO BONES AND THROWN IN MASS GRAVES.JUST MY GUESS. GOD WILL PROBABLY KILL 70 MILLION WITH HIS REVENGE (JUDGEMENTS). LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS 1000 ENEMIES WILL FALL, PLUS 10,000 WILL FALL AT THY RIGHT HAND. FOR EVERY ISRAELI MURDERED. 7 MILLION DIED AT HITLERS HAND. 70 MILLION ENEMIES OF GODS REVENGE. AND ISRAEL WILL NUKE 230 MILLION WITH FIRE NUKES. THIS IS JUST MY TAKE.
EZEKIEL 39:15
15 And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man’s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamongog.
Study: Birds in Israel may be changing shape in response to global warming-TAU researchers suggest morphological changes enable birds to shed more heat; but they worry that as planet continues to warm, birds may run out of coping mechanisms-By Sue Surkes-APR 5,22-Today, 8:26 pm
Researchers at Tel Aviv University have found that many birds in Israel have either become smaller or longer over the past 70 years, and posit that this is an adaptation to global warming.The decrease in body mass of some species and the increase in the body length of others boosts the ratio between surface area and volume. The researchers said these could be strategies to lose heat as the climate warms.The study was led by Prof. Shai Meiri and Ph.D. student Shahar Dubiner of Tel Aviv University’s School of Zoology and Steinhardt Museum of Natural History. Their paper was published in the scientific journal Global Ecology and Biogeography.Prof. Meiri explained that according to Bergmann’s rule, formulated in the 19th century, birds and animals living in cold climates tend to be bigger than similar species living in warmer places.This is because the ratio of surface area to volume is higher in smaller animals, permitting more heat loss (an advantage in warm regions), and lower in larger bodies, to minimize heat loss (a benefit in colder climates).Based on this rule, scientists have recently predicted that global warming will lead to a reduction in animal size, with the possible exception of birds living close to humans such as pigeons and hooded crows, which have access to food and may gain size rather than lose it (this is what has happened with many jackals and wolves that feed on things humans have discarded).The researchers used the Steinhardt Museum’s vast bird collection to look for changes in bird morphology over the past 70 years in Israel.They examined almost 8,000 adult specimens from 106 different species, including migratory birds that pass through Israel every year (such as the common chiffchaff, white stork, and black buzzard), resident wild birds (among them the Eurasian jay, Eurasian eagle-owl, and rock partridge), and birds that live near humans.They built a complex statistical model to assess morphological changes in the birds’ body mass, body length and wing length.“Our findings revealed a complicated picture,” said Dubiner.“We identified two different types of morphological changes. Some species had become lighter — their mass had decreased while their body length remained unchanged — while others had become longer. Their body length had increased, while their mass remained unchanged.”These changes were found in more than half of the species examined, but there was practically no overlap between the two adaptations.“Almost none of the birds had become both lighter and longer.”Dubiner went on: “We think that these are two different strategies for coping with the same problem, namely the rising temperatures. In both cases, the surface area to volume ratio is increased… which helps the body lose heat to its environment. The opposite, namely a decrease in this ratio, was not observed in any of the species.“These findings were observed across the country, regardless of nutrition, and in all types of species.”Changes in body length tended to occur more in migrants, while those in body mass were more typical of non-migratory birds, Dubiner said.“The very fact that such changes were found in migratory birds coming from Asia, Europe, and Africa suggests that we are witnessing a global phenomenon,” he added.“Our findings indicate that global warming causes fast and significant changes in bird morphology. But what are the implications of these changes? Should we be concerned? Is this a problem, or rather an encouraging ability to adapt to a changing environment? “Such morphological changes over a few decades probably do not represent an evolutionary adaptation, but rather a certain phenotypic flexibility exhibited by the birds,” he said.“We are concerned that over such a short period, there is a limit to the flexibility or evolutionary potential of these traits, and the birds might run out of effective solutions as temperatures continue to rise.”
US completes test of hypersonic missile that travels 5 times the speed of sound-Latest test reportedly took place several weeks ago, but was kept quiet to avoid appearing to escalate geopolitical tensions surrounding Russian invasion of Ukraine-By AFP-APR 5,22-Today, 10:17 pm
WASHINGTON — The US military announced Tuesday a new test of a hypersonic missile, as Pentagon officials seek to match or get ahead of China’s and Russia’s advances in the cutting-edge strategic weapons technology.The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) said it had recently completed a free-flight test of an aircraft-launched hypersonic missile that maintained a speed of more than Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound (at least 3,800 miles per hour, or 6,100 kilometers per hour).The missile flew to an altitude greater than 65,000 feet (19,800 meters) and soared over 300 nautical miles, said DARPA, the Pentagon’s high-tech research body.It was the second test under the agency’s HAWC Program — named for hypersonic air-breathing weapon concept — and the missile had a different configuration from the first, which was tested last September.According to CNN, the newest test took place in mid-March, but was kept quiet to avoid appearing to escalate the geopolitical tensions surrounding the Russian invasion of Ukraine.In March 2020, the US army and navy undertook a joint test of a different hypersonic prototype.DARPA said air-breathing hypersonic missiles use air captured from the atmosphere to help sustain propulsion.“This Lockheed Martin HAWC flight test successfully demonstrated a second design that will allow our warfighters to competitively select the right capabilities to dominate the battlefield,” said Andrew Knoedler, HAWC program manager, in a statement.Hypersonic missiles pose a potential threat to the global military balance, capable of being steered to deliver nuclear weapons precisely on target, at speeds too fast to intercept.The Pentagon is under pressure to match China’s apparent successful test of a hypersonic missile last year that flew around the globe and hit a target in China.
In first, Israeli warships practice refueling from US tanker in the Red Sea-Military says largest joint naval exercise in recent years increases navy’s operational range and abilities; combat at sea, vessel protection, disarming mines also drilled-By Emanuel Fabian-APR 5,22-Today, 9:39 pm
In a joint naval drill this week, Israeli missile boats practiced refueling from an American tanker in the Red Sea, increasing the Israeli navy’s “operational range and abilities,” the Israel Defense Forces announced Tuesday.With some 300 soldiers and commanders from each country, the exercise — dubbed “Intrinsic Defender” — which began last Sunday was the largest between the Israeli Navy and the US Fifth Fleet in recent years, the IDF said.It simulated naval combat, naval firing exercises, vessel protection, sabotage and neutralization of naval mines, search and rescue scenarios and providing medical aid at sea, the military said in a statement.“For the first time, Israeli Navy missile ships practiced refueling from an American replenishment tanker in the Red Sea, which increases the Israeli Navy’s operational range and abilities,” the statement read.“The ‘Intrinsic Defender’ exercise expands the range and operational capacities of the Israeli Navy. Cooperation with the US Fifth Fleet helps us to improve and refine ourselves,” said the chief of the Israeli Navy, Maj. Gen. David Sa’ar Salama.“This exercise is an important and significant step for our strategic stability in the maritime arena,” he added.The drill also included teams from the navy’s Underwater Mission Unit practicing with their US counterparts neutralizing naval mines at the Eilat bay in southern Israel, as well as neutralizing explosives using unmanned vessels at the Haifa Naval Base in the north.The navy’s Snapir Unit — a force protection and harbor security unit — practiced with the US Coast Guard taking over vessels and “preventing hostile terrorist activity,” the military said.The military hailed the drill as “another example of the close cooperation between the Israeli Navy and the US Fifth Fleet.”“This exercise provided an opportunity for mutual learning, sharing operational capabilities and strengthening the strategic partnership between the two militaries,” it said, adding that the exercise “brought forth new capabilities to the Israeli Navy which increase its operational capacities in both routine and emergency situations.”In November, the Israeli Navy participated in a 5th Fleet-led exercise in the Red Sea alongside the UAE and Bahrain in what Israeli officials said was meant to serve as a response to recent attacks by Iran against Israeli naval assets.Tensions have been particularly high with Iran in recent months amid indirect talks with the US in Vienna regarding a mutual return to the 2015 nuclear deal.
Lapid explicitly accuses Russia of war crimes, in first for top Israeli official-Earlier, PM Bennett expressed shock over atrocities but did not name Moscow; US says Bucha was a ‘deliberate campaign to kill, to torture, to rape’-By TOI staff and Agencies-APR 5,22-Today, 8:09 pm
Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid explicitly accused Russia of war crimes on Tuesday, in the strongest comments against Moscow yet by a top Israeli official.“A large and powerful country has invaded a smaller neighbor without any justification. Once again, the ground is soaked with the blood of innocent civilians,” Lapid charged while in Cyprus, speaking alongside his Cypriot and Greek counterparts, according to a statement from his spokesman.“The images and testimony from Ukraine are horrific. Russian forces committed war crimes against a defenseless civilian population. I strongly condemn these war crimes,” Lapid said in reference to the alleged atrocities committed in the Kyiv suburb Bucha.Lapid noted that the war in Ukraine offered opportunities for new energy partnerships, saying that it will “change the structure of the European and Middle Eastern energy market.”Earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett condemned the killing of civilians in Bucha, but did not blame Russia or anyone else for the atrocities.“We are shocked by the difficult pictures coming from Bucha, terrible scenes,” he said while visiting an army post in the West Bank.Asked about the alleged mass killings of civilians by Russian forces, Bennett said, “We condemn them with all force.”He noted that “the suffering of Ukrainian citizens is huge” and noted that Israel has set up a field hospital in western Ukraine, which “all Israelis should be proud of.”Israel has avoided aligning too closely with either side since Russian troops invaded Ukraine on February 24. It is one of the few countries that maintains relatively warm relations with both Ukraine, a fellow Western democracy, as well as Russia.Moscow controls the airspace over Syria, in which Israel operates to target Iranian proxies, and this is seen as a key reason for Israel’s careful comments on the war.While Lapid has taken a clearer stance against Russia, condemning its actions in Ukraine on several occasions and vowing that Israel will not be used as a “route to bypass” sanctions on Russian oligarchs, Bennett has avoided blaming Russia, instead attempting to position himself as a mediator in the conflict.His attempt at neutrality may prove increasingly difficult to maintain as world anger at Russia’s alleged actions against civilians grows.Earlier Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Russia of a “deliberate campaign to kill, to torture, to rape” in Bucha.His comments were among the strongest yet from the West after pictures of mass graves and streets strewn with dead civilians emerged from suburbs around Kyiv after Russian forces retreated.The atrocities there were “not the random acts of a rogue unit,” he argued, adding that the US and its allies were determined to make sure those responsible are brought to justice and to increase pressure on Russia while backing Ukraine.Blinken made the comments in Maryland before boarding a plane to Brussels for a NATO meeting.The United Nations said Tuesday that all the signs from Bucha pointed toward civilians having been directly targeted and killed in the town outside Kyiv.The UN Human Rights Office said the images emerging from Bucha were extremely disturbing and underlined that international law prohibited deliberate attacks on civilians.“What we’re talking about here appears to be the direct killing and targeting of civilians in Bucha,” rights office spokeswoman Liz Throssell told reporters in Geneva.Moscow has rejected Western accusations that its forces were responsible, suggesting the images are fake or that the deaths occurred after they pulled out.But newly released satellite photographs taken by Maxar Technologies in mid-March, before the Russian withdrawal, showed what appeared to be bodies in some of the same places they were later found by Ukrainian troops and seen by journalists.Breaking News: Satellite images refute Russia’s claim that the killing of civilians in Bucha, a suburb of Ukraine's capital, occurred after its soldiers had left town, a New York Times analysis found. https://t.co/2pDlly6EHs— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 4, 2022-Italy, Spain, and Denmark joined EU allies Tuesday in expelling Russian diplomats amid increasing outrage over the Ukraine conflict, with around 150 sent home in the last 48 hours. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday that the mass expulsion of its diplomats was “a short-sighted move.”
Israel will let West Bank women, kids and some men into Al-Aqsa, despite high alert-Some restrictions for Palestinians eased for Ramadan after series of deadly attacks; Gantz tells Abbas that Israel is ready for more ‘civilian measures’ should calm persist-By Aaron Boxerman-APR 5,22-Today, 10:30 pm
The Defense Ministry announced on Tuesday that some restrictions on West Bank Palestinian movement will be eased for the Ramadan holy month, after a recent wave of terror attacks briefly raised the prospect of the gesture being canceled.Women, children and some men from the West Bank will be able to freely enter Israel for Friday prayers at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque for the holiday.Defense Minister Benny Gantz told Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in a phone call on Tuesday night that the measures could be expanded further if the terror wave did not continue.“I emphasized to [Abbas] that Israel is ready to expand its civilian measures during and after the month of Ramadan, in accordance with the security situation,” Gantz said in a statement.A string of deadly terrorist attacks in recent weeks has shaken Israelis. Officials fear tensions could rise further during both Ramadan and Passover, which are set to overlap this year. Eleven people inside Israel were killed in three terror attacks in a single week in late March.Abbas issued a rare condemnation after a West Bank Palestinian gunned down three Israelis and two Ukrainians in the central city of Bnei Brak last Tuesday in the wave’s deadliest attack.Gantz said he told Abbas that he appreciated the PA leader’s denunciation of the attack.“I told him that the holidays must be a month of peace and quiet and not one marked by terror,” Gantz said.Under the newly issued Ramadan rules, Palestinian women from the West Bank will be allowed to enter Israel without a permit for Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, said the Defense Ministry’s liaison to the Palestinians, widely known by its acronym COGAT.Palestinian men over 50 and boys under 12 will be allowed to enter Israel freely for Friday prayers as well, while those between the ages of 40-49 will be able to head to Al-Aqsa if they have a permit. Men under 40 will not be allowed in, according to usual policy, except if they have a permit that allows them in Israel on Fridays.Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank regularly patronize Al-Aqsa during Ramadan. The mosque is the third-holiest site in Islam and prayer there is a central facet of the holy month for many Palestinian Muslims.The flashpoint site is revered by Jews as the holiest point in their tradition: both Biblical temples are believed to have been built on the hilltop.Around 5,000 Palestinians with first-degree relatives in Israel will also be given permits to visit them between Sunday and Thursday during the coming week, according to COGAT.There was no immediate change in policy toward the Gaza Strip. Israeli authorities impose far more stringent restrictions on movement from the coastal enclave, which is ruled by the Hamas terror group.Israeli cabinet ministers signed off on the looser policy last Wednesday. The recent terror wave that left 11 dead had briefly left the policy change in doubt.All of the loosened restrictions will only apply for the next week, after which security officials will meet again to review the policy and discuss potentially expanding the permit quotas, COGAT said.For security reasons, Israel tightly regulates the movement of Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza into its territory. But Israeli authorities regularly ease some of those restrictions or issue special permits during Muslim and Christian holidays.In a phone call with The Times of Israel last week, a Fatah official, speaking on condition of anonymity, warned that imposing a lockdown on the Palestinians or canceling the looser holiday restrictions would raise tensions between the two sides.Russia also claimed two weeks ago to have fired two hypersonic missiles in strikes on Ukraine.
IDF chief tells commanders to ready for month or more of heightened alert – report-Kohavi said to also warn that Islamic Jihad could fire rockets from Gaza after three of its operatives were killed in West Bank shootout-By TOI staff-APR 4,22-Today, 8:49 am
IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi reportedly told commanders on Sunday that the military is gearing up to be on heightened alert for a month or more, following several recent attacks and the start of Ramadan.Kohavi made the remarks in Tel Aviv, where he was visiting soldiers sent to reinforce police, Channel 13 news reported.According to the report, Kohavi told the commanders they should be ready for a second “Operation Guardian of the Walls,” referring to the 11 days of fighting last year between Israel and the Hamas terror group, and accompanying violence in ethnically mixed Israeli cities.He also reportedly said that Palestinian Islamic Jihad could fire rockets from the Gaza Strip, after three of the terror group’s operatives were killed in a shootout with security forces in the West Bank, while allegedly headed to carry out an attack in Israel, in the predawn hours of SaturdayA series of recent terror attacks killed 11 people in Israel, putting security forces on heightened alert.Israel has ramped up security measures in response to the attacks and deployed additional forces to the West Bank, Gaza border and major cities such as Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.Earlier on Sunday, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Israel was entering a period of “vigilant routine” as security forces work to prevent further terror attacks.“Terrorists have all kinds of ideas, so we are on high alert, both the Shin Bet and the Israel Police, to identify any hint of an idea or plan for an attack, and thwart it in advance,” he said during a visit to the Shin Bet security service’s regional command in the northern West Bank.
Israel ranked world’s 10th-largest weapons exporter in past five years-Israeli exports accounted for 2.4% of global total, with India, Azerbaijan and Vietnam the leading recipients; arms shipments to Europe surged, and Russia’s stock dropped-By Luke Tress-APR O4,22-Today, 11:33 am
Israel was ranked the 10th-largest international weapons exporter in the past five years by an independent global security think tank.The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s latest report, measuring weapons trade from 2017 to 2021, said arms trade to Europe surged, the Gulf states were leading importers and Israel remains a major player.The report released last month said Israel accounted for 2.4% of international arms exports in the years 2017 to 2021, with the main recipients being India, Azerbaijan and Vietnam.Israel’s volume of exports dropped by 5.6% during the time frame, compared to the previous five years.The only other Middle East countries in the top 25 weapons exporters were Turkey, at 12th, the United Arab Emirates, ranked 18th, and Jordan, 25th.The five leading countries dominated the global trade, accounting for 77% of all exports. Those countries were the US, with 39%, followed by Russia, 19%, then France, China and Germany.The other countries in the top 10 exporters were Italy, the UK, South Korea and Spain.Europe and North America accounted for 87% of all arms exports, according to the research institute, which identified 60 countries that exported weapons during the time period.The study said that during that period global trade fell 4.6%. But there was a 19% increase in weapons transfers to Europe, driven by tensions with Russia, even before its invasion of Ukraine. Europe’s largest importers were the UK, Norway and the Netherlands.There was a slight increase to the Middle East, and large drops in trade to the Americas and Africa. The pandemic had very little impact on the arms trade, the report said.The US grew its market share by 7% and pulled far ahead of Russia, the second-largest exporter. The US delivered arms to 103 nations between 2017 and 2021, with aircraft making up the majority of those shipments, followed by missiles and armored vehicles. The largest share went to the Middle East.Russia mostly sent weapons to India, China, Egypt and Algeria, and its exports dropped by 26%.The US and France increased their exporters, while trade from China, Russia and Germany fell.Israel was the 14th largest importer of weapons, accounting for 1.9% of the global share. Ninety-two percent of Israel’s imports came from the US, mostly F-35 jets and guided bombs, followed by shipments from Germany and Italy. Germany supplies Israel’s submarines.Israel’s overall imports jumped 19% over the previous five years.India and Saudi Arabia were the world’s leading importers, accounting for 11% of global imports each. Four of the top ten importers were in the Middle East — Saudi Arabia, Egypt in third place, Qatar, in sixth, and the UAE, in ninth. Egypt’s imports surged by 73%.Saudi Arabia stepped up its imports by 27% as it waged war in Yemen and eyed its foe Iran, with most of its shipments coming from the US.The US was the 13th largest importer, with the leading suppliers being the UK, Netherlands and France. Russia was not among the top 25 importers.During the time period studied, Ukraine was fighting pro-Russia separatists in its east, but not directly combating Russia, and imported very few weapons — only 0.1% of global imports.The study said that, although the UN lifted an arms embargo on Iran in 2020, there is “no public evidence that Iran has since received or ordered notable volumes of major arms from abroad.”The think tank’s data is partly based on estimates and includes transfers including gifts, sales and production under license.
Macron calls for further sanctions against Moscow over ‘war crimes’French leader says there are ‘very clear indications’ Russian army was responsible for killings in Bucha; adds that fresh measures could target Russia’s oil and coal industries-By AFP-APR 4,22-Today, 11:11 am
PARIS, France — French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday he was in favor of new sanctions against Moscow following claims that Russian forces committed atrocities against Ukrainian civilians in Bucha, a town outside Kyiv.“There are very clear indications of war crimes. It was the Russian army that was in Bucha,” Macron told the France Inter broadcaster after the discovery of mass graves and hundreds of dead people northwest of Kyiv.“The scenes are unbearable. International justice must work. Those who were behind these crimes must respond,” he said.Local authorities said they had been forced to dig communal graves to bury the dead accumulating in the streets, including some found with their hands bound behind their backs, in scenes that sent shockwaves through international capitals more than a month into Russia’s invasion.Macron called for progress on further moves towards sanctions at the European Union level which he said could target the Russian oil and coal industries.“What happened in Bucha makes a new round of sanctions, and very clear measures, necessary,” Macron said.France would coordinate such steps with its EU partners, “especially Germany,” in the coming days, he said.Macron said that targeting the oil and coal industries would be “particularly” painful for Russia.The EU could also impose further sanctions against Russian individuals, Macron added.
Liberman refuses to condemn Russia over Bucha, citing ‘mutual accusations’Ukrainian ambassador rebukes finance minister, says he’s welcome to ‘see for himself the bodies,’ Gantz calls killing of civilians in city near Kyiv a war crime-By Amy Spiro-APR 4,22-Today, 10:25 am
Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman refused to outright condemn alleged Russian atrocities in Bucha and other cities surrounding Kyiv, stating on Monday that Israel must uphold both its values and its own interests amid the ongoing war.Ukrainian officials said Sunday that the bodies of more than 400 civilians were found in towns around the capital, Kyiv, that were recaptured from Russian forces, calling the killings evidence of genocide.In Bucha, northwest of the capital, Associated Press journalists saw 21 bodies. One group of nine, all in civilian clothes, were scattered around a site that residents said Russian troops used as a base. They appeared to have been shot at close range. At least two had their hands tied behind their backs.“There are difficult images, and we all condemn all war crimes,” Liberman told Army Radio on Monday morning, adding, however, that “this is about mutual accusations.”Liberman, a native of Moldova, noted that Russia has called for a UN Security Council meeting over the situation in Bucha and has accused “Ukrainian radicals” of a “blatant provocation” in the city outside Kyiv.“Russia is blaming Ukraine and Ukraine is blaming Russia,” he said. “We condemn, but really what we need to understand is that there is a bloody war and we must, on the one hand, maintain Israel’s moral position and on the other hand preserve the interests of the State of Israel.”Amid the war between Russia and Ukraine, Liberman said, “I support first of all Israeli interests,” alluding to Israel’s good relations with both countries, as well as the Russian army’s presence in Syria, and noting his greater concern with the ongoing Iran nuclear talks in Vienna.In response to Liberman’s comments, Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korniychuk said the finance minister could visit Bucha and see firsthand the atrocities in the city.“I invite Mr. Liberman to come to Ukraine. We will take him with a convoy to Bucha and to other places where he can see for himself the bodies of civilians and meet the women who were tied up and raped,” Korniychuk said in a statement. “Maybe then he will know what happened.”Also Monday morning, Defense Minister Benny Gantz labeled the situation a war crime, going further than Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s comments a day earlier.“I condemn carnage of this kind. It is certainly a war crime,” Gantz told the Kan public radio of the situation in Bucha, without naming Russia as the antagonist. The defense minister noted that even during times of war, certain standards of conduct must be maintained.“Unfortunately, citizens may be harmed during fighting, but they cannot be murdered during fighting,” Gantz added, saying that the situation in Bucha “appears to be something very, very severe.”Despite Israeli criticism of Russian activity, Gantz maintained that the IDF will remain active in Syria, where Russia partially controls the airspace: “We will continue to operate anywhere in the Middle East that we need to operate.”On Sunday, Lapid tweeted that it “it is impossible to remain indifferent in the face of the horrific images from the city of Bucha near Kyiv, after the departure of the Russian army.”He added: “Intentionally harming a civilian population is a war crime and I strongly condemn it.”Lapid’s tweet did not explicitly accuse Russia of war crimes. Israel has used careful diplomatic language in relation to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, seeking to maintain good ties with Moscow as well as Kyiv.Lapid’s post came hours after his office refused to comment on potential Russian war crimes, in response to comments by Israel’s ambassador to Ukraine.“Deeply shocked by the photos from Bucha. Killing of civilians is a war crime and cannot be justified,” Israeli envoy Michael Brodsky wrote. But a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry told Haaretz that Brodsky had been speaking for himself and highlighted that the envoy “did not blame Russia.”AP contributed to this report.
6 arrested during 4th night of clashes between police and Palestinians in Jerusalem-Police say suspects hurled stones and other items at officers at Damascus Gate, as tensions remain high in capital during Ramadan and after a series of terror attacks-By Emanuel Fabian and TOI staff-6 April 2022, 1:14 am
Police said six Palestinians were detained during clashes at the Damascus Gate entrance to Jerusalem’s Old City on Tuesday, as Palestinians gathered to celebrate Ramadan.The suspects hurled stones and other items and launched fireworks at officers, police said.It was the fourth night in a row of scuffles at Damascus Gate, an entrance to the Old City’s Muslim Quarter, a frequent point of friction and the site of many past terror attacks.“Whoever chooses to disturb the order, riot, and engage in violence of any kind, harms first and foremost the large public of worshipers, merchants, and visitors, the vast majority of whom wished to celebrate Ramadan in peace and security, while maintaining freedom of worship,” police said in a statement.“We will not allow those inciting and violent margins [of society] to disrupt order. We call on the public to mark the month of Ramadan legally, obey police instructions, and avoid violence and disturbances of any kind,” the statement said.Separately, police said officers dispersed a mass brawl that broke out in the area. No injuries were reported.Israeli security forces have been on edge following a spate of deadly terror attacks that killed 11 people in Israel late last month. Authorities had also feared violence during Ramadan, often a period of unrest and high tension in the capital.On Monday, eight Palestinians were detained during clashes at Damascus Gate for throwing objects at officers. Saturday and Sunday also saw some clashes and at least 14 arrests.Foreign Minister Yair Lapid toured the Damascus Gate area with Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai on Sunday in a visit seen by both Palestinians and some of his coalition partners as provocative.Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Tuesday that the recent attacks should serve as a wake-up call, and that more than 15 attacks have been thwarted recently.A report on Monday said security forces arrested 14 East Jerusalem residents in the past three days for planning attacks or inciting others to carry out attacks.The Channel 12 report also said police believe they can contain clashes at Damascus Gate if they remain at the scale of the previous two nights.The Defense Ministry said Tuesday that some restrictions on West Bank Palestinian movement will be loosened for prayers for Ramadan, after the recent attacks raised the prospect of the gesture being canceled.Defense Minister Benny Gantz told Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in a phone call on Tuesday night that the measures could be expanded further if the terror wave did not continue.
Report: Jewish CEO of ‘Russia’s Google’ leaves country for Israel over war-‘I cannot work in a country that is at war with its neighbors,’ Yandex’s Bunina is said to have written before moving-By TOI staff-APR 5,22-Today, 11:52 pm
Elena Bunina, a Russian-Jew who in recent years headed top Russian tech company Yandex, has stepped down as the firm’s CEO and has moved to Israel due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, according to media reports.Last week, Reuters reported that Bunina has decided to step down as chief executive of Yandex LLC, Russia’s largest tech company that has been dubbed “Russia’s Google,” two weeks before her tenure was set to expire.The report did not specify the reasons behind Bunina’s sudden departure from the company, where she had served as CEO since 2017.Following her departure from Russia, Russian media shared an unconfirmed screenshot of a statement she allegedly made, writing in an internal company forum that she “will not return” to Russia, adding, “I cannot work in a country that is at war with its neighbors.”On Tuesday, the Haaretz newspaper confirmed previous speculations about Bunina’s whereabouts, citing unnamed sources with knowledge of her whereabouts who said she was indeed in Israel.Bunina had also voiced her opposition to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the early days of the offensive, writing in a Facebook post that she was against “blood and war,” according to Haaretz.Elena Bunina, CEO/HR-director within the Russia division of Yandex, resigns and leaves for Israel."I will not return. I cannot work in a country that wages war against its neighbors." pic.twitter.com/qh8Gg3J8lp — Anatoly Karlin (????,????) (@akarlin0) April 3, 2022-According to one source cited by Haaretz, Bunina has been in Israel for several weeks now and does not plan on returning to Russia.According to sources cited by The Marker, Bunina is not working at the Israeli branch of Yandex, as some reports in Russian media had previously indicated.It was unclear whether Bunina holds Israeli citizenship or is in the process of becoming a citizen under Israel’s Law of Return.She wouldn’t be the first Russian figure to move to Israel amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On Monday, the Ynet news site reported that Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov had recently arrived in Israel and had filed all the necessary paperwork to become an Israeli citizen.There has been an increase in immigration from Ukraine, Russian, and Belarus since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
US plans fresh sanctions on Russia, including ban on all new investments-New measures expected to be rolled out in coordination with other allies, as global outrage grows over killings, devastation in Kyiv suburb Bucha-By AAMER MADHANI and Josh Boak-APR 5,22-Today, 11:52 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and western allies plan to pile additional sanctions on Russia on Wednesday after the emergence of troubling new evidence of war crimes in Ukraine, a US official said Tuesday. The new penalties will include a ban on all new investment in Russia.Among the other measures being taken against Russia are greater sanctions on its financial institutions and state-owned enterprises, and sanctions on government officials and their family members. The official insisted on anonymity to discuss the forthcoming announcement.Separately, the Treasury Department moved Tuesday to block any Russian government debt payments with US dollars from accounts at US financial institutions, making it harder for Russia to meet its financial obligations.US President Joe Biden and allies have worked together to levy crippling economic penalties against Russia for invading Ukraine more than a month ago, including the freezing of central bank assets, export controls, and the seizing of property, including yachts, that belong to Russia’s wealthy elite. But calls for increased sanctions intensified this week in response to the attacks, killings, and destruction in the Ukrainian city of Bucha.The official said the sanctions would further Russia’s economic, financial and technological “isolation” from the rest of the world as a penalty for its attacks on civilians in Ukraine. That isolation is a key aspect of the US strategy, which is premised on the idea that Russia will ultimately lack the resources and equipment to keep fighting a prolonged war in Ukraine.An increasingly desperate Russia has engaged in military tactics that have outraged much of the wider global community, leading to charges that it is committing war crimes and causing other sanctions.Still, almost all of the EU has refrained from an outright ban on Russian oil and natural gas that would likely crush the Russian economy. The US has banned fossil fuels from Russia, while Lithuania blocked natural gas from that country on Saturday, becoming the first of the 27-member EU to do so. The EU executive branch on Tuesday proposed a ban on Russian coal, while Germany’s government intends to end its use of Russian natural gas over the next two years.On Monday, Biden called for his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to be tried for war crimes and face new sanctions because of the atrocities and abuses seen around Kyiv after Russian forces pulled back from the Ukrainian capital. The corpses of what appeared to be civilians were seen strewn in yards, many of them likely killed at close range.Biden said the US and its allies would gather details for a war crimes trial, stressing that Putin has been “brutal” and his actions “outrageous.”Associated Press journalists saw dozens of bodies in Bucha on the outskirts of Kyiv. There were at least 13 bodies in and around a building that local people said Russian troops used as a base. Three other bodies were found in a stairwell, and a group of six were burned together.Many victims seen by AP appeared to have been shot at close range. Some were shot in the head. At least two had their hands tied. A bag of spilled groceries lay near one victim.
