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)
ISAIAH 51:3-4
3 For the LORD shall comfort Zion:(JERUSALEM) he will comfort all her waste places;(FROM NUCLEAR WAR) and he will make her wilderness like Eden,(I BELIEVE THE EZEKIEL-4TH TEMPLE WILL BE BUILT 25 MILES FROM THE CURRENT TEMPLE MOUNT AFTER JESUS RULE FOR THE 1,000 YRS FROM JERUSALEM) and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.(PRAISE TO JESUS IN THE DESERT-COULD BE THE NEW JERUSALEM-4TH TEMPLE BUILT 25 MILES INTO THE DESERT FROM THE CURRENT TEMPLE MOUNT.SINCE EZEKIELS TEMPLE IS WAY TO BIG FOR THE CURRENT TEMPLE MOUNT)
4 Hearken unto me, my people;(ISRAEL) and give ear unto me, O my nation:(ISRAEL) for a law shall proceed from me,(JESUS IN JERUSALEM) and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.(ISRAEL AND THE WORLD)
LUKE 21:28-29
28 And when these things begin to come to pass,(ALL THE PROPHECY SIGNS FROM THE BIBLE) then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (RAPTURE) draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree,(ISRAEL) and all the trees;(ALL INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES)
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.(ISRAEL LITERALLY BECAME AND INDEPENDENT COUNTRY JUST BEFORE SUMMER IN MAY 14,1948.)
JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth (ATOMIC BOMB) before them;(RUSSIAN-ARAB-MUSLIM ARMIES AGAINST ISRAEL) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(ATOMIC BOMB AFFECT)
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE
Netanyahu to Putin: Israel willing to act against Iran in Syria-‘We will act when necessary according to our red lines,’ PM says he told Russian president during 3-hour meeting in Sochi-By Raoul Wootliff August 23, 2017, 7:37 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said he told Russian President Vladimir Putin that Israel was willing to act to prevent a continued Iranian military presence in Syria, during a three-hour meeting between the two leaders in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.“Most of the discussion dealt with Iran’s attempt to establish a foothold in Syria in the places where ISIS was defeated and is leaving,” Netanyahu said in a statement following the meeting.“The victory over ISIS is welcome. Iran’s entry is unwelcome, endangering us, and in my opinion, endangering the region and the world,” Netanyahu added.His comments echoed those of Mossad intelligence agency chief Yossi Cohen, who was also present at the Sochi meeting, who said last week that as the Islamic State group is beaten back, Iran and its proxies are rushing in to take over its territory.Netanyahu said that he “spoke to President Putin very clearly about our positions on this matter and the fact that this is unacceptable to us.”Speaking to Israeli journalists in a conference call after the meeting, Netanyahu said he told Putin that Israel would take action if its “red lines” were crossed.“We will act when necessary according to our red lines,” Netanyahu said. “In the past, we have done this without asking permission, but we have provided an update on what our policy is.”Cohen reportedly provided Putin with “sensitive, credible and very disturbing detailed intelligence” on Iran’s military presence in Syria during the meeting.The visit comes after a senior Israeli delegation reportedly shared the same evidence with the Americans last week. Israel is striving to limit Iran’s expansion in the region.Iran is said to be trying to forge a land corridor from Iran, through Iraq and Syria, to Lebanon, where its ally Hezbollah operates.Netanyahu last met with Putin in Moscow in March, but the two have spoken by phone frequently since.“The two set the meeting to discuss the latest developments in the region,” a Saturday statement from the PMO said, adding that “it must be noted that in the last two years Prime Minister Netanyahu has met with President Putin every few months to discuss bilateral and regional issues with the intention of preventing any clashes between Israeli and Russian air forces in Syria, with success until now.”Russia entered the Syrian civil war in 2015 in support of the regime of Syria’s President Bashar Assad, carrying out bombing runs against rebel groups fighting against Damascus. Assad is also backed by Iran, which has provided the embattled Syrian leader with money, men and materiel.While Israel has rarely acknowledged carrying out its own airstrikes in Syria, numerous raids on weapons transfers have been attributed to Jerusalem.Despite the coordination between the two countries, some of the reported Israeli airstrikes in Syria on weapons convoys have led to tensions between Jerusalem and Moscow.In April, Moscow summoned Israel’s ambassador to Russia, Gary Koren, to protest a reported Israeli strike that nearly hit Russian troops stationed in the area. Syria’s ambassador to the UN later said that Russia had changed its policy and no longer grants Israel freedom of action over Syrian skies.Netanyahu subsequently denied reports Moscow had told Israel to end airstrikes in Syria, vowing that the IDF would continue attacking weapons convoys.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Netanyahu meets Putin to share secret intel on Iran threat-In Sochi, Mossad chief reportedly presents ‘detailed intelligence’ to Russian leader on Iranian military presence in Syria-By Alexander Fulbright August 23, 2017, 12:36 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Russia on Wednesday to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and give him top-secret intelligence on Iran’s military expansion in the region.“Iran is making an accelerated effort to entrench itself militarily in Syria. This poses a danger to Israel, the Middle East and in my opinion the world itself,” the prime minister said, with Putin at his side, at their talks at the Black Sea resort of Sochi.Netanyahu told Putin that while Israel welcomed the ongoing military operations against the Islamic State group, Iran is filling the void in Syria created by the terror group’s defeat.“All of us are winning in the tremendous international effort against Daesh, which is a praiseworthy thing, but what is not praiseworthy is that Iran enters the places that Daesh leaves,” Netanyahu said, using the Arabic acronym for IS.“We don’t for a second forget that Iran continues to threaten Israel’s destruction on a daily basis,” the prime minister said. “It arms terrorist organizations and initiates terror itself. It is developing intercontinental ballistic missiles with the intention to equip them with nuclear warheads.”“For all of these reasons, Israel opposes Iran’s continued entrenchment in Syria. We will make sure we defend ourselves using every means against this threat.”Addressing Iran military expansion in the region, Netanyahu said “Iran is already in the advances stages of taking over Iraq and Yemen, and, in effect, already controls Lebanon.”Netanyahu was joined on his trip to the Black Sea resort of Sochi by Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, who was reportedly providing Putin with “sensitive, credible and very disturbing detailed intelligence” on Iran’s military presence in Syria, the Yedioth Ahronoth daily’s intelligence correspondent reported.The visit comes after a senior Israeli delegation reportedly shared the same evidence with the Americans last week. Israel is striving to limit Iran’s expansion into the region.However, there was “grave concern” in Israel after Cohen and other senior intelligence officials failed to obtain an American commitment during their trip. Israel has been pushing the US, and now Russia, not to support a peace deal in Syria that allows Iran and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terror group to keep boots on the ground.Officials in the Prime Minister’s Office said on Wednesday that Israel has updated the US on the upcoming meeting with Putin, the Walla news site reported.#Mossad chief Yossi Cohen will present #Putin this morning "sensitive, credible & very disturbing detailed intelligence" on #Syria & #Iran pic.twitter.com/mTPIH2X40C— Ronen Bergman (@ronenbergman) August 23, 2017-Perhaps reflecting the seriousness of the issue, Netanyahu received a rare display of support from his political foes for his mission to Putin.“The Iranian effort to establish a continuous territorial arch from Tehran to the Mediterranean Sea is a danger to security. It is good that Netanyahu is trying to block the intolerable front of threats against Israel,” former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon tweeted. Ya’alon has been one of Netanyahu’s most vocal foes in recent months since he was fired from his position.Labor party head Avi Gabbay said he “wishes the prime minister luck in his meeting with the Russian president, although I am not optimistic.”“The Iranians, mainly the Shiite militias they brought to Syria, are the true power on the ground,” he added.Ahead of the meeting with Putin, Netanyahu held consultations with his top security officials on Tuesday.“I will discuss with (Putin) Iran’s accelerated attempt to establish a military presence in Syria,” Netanyahu said in a statement.“This attests, of course, to Iran’s aggression which has not lessened in the wake of the nuclear agreement,” Netanyahu said, adding that “this also presents a problem not only to Israel, but rather to all the nations of the Middle East and the entire world.”In addition to Cohen, Netanyahu is also being joined on the trip by newly appointed National Security Council chief Meir Ben-Shabbat.The pair will sit in on the meetings with the Russian leader, during which Netanyahu is expected to raise concerns over a ceasefire in Syria brokered by Washington and Moscow. Israel has opposed the deal, saying it does not properly address Israel’s concerns about Iranian ambitions in the region.Iran is said to be trying to forge a land corridor from Iran, through Iraq and Syria, to Lebanon, where its ally Hezbollah operates.Netanyahu last met with Putin in Moscow in March, but the two have spoken by phone frequently since then.“The two set the meeting to discuss the latest developments in the region,” a Saturday statement from the PMO said, adding that “it must be noted that in the last two years Prime Minister Netanyahu has met with President Putin every few months to discuss bilateral and regional issues with the intention of preventing any clashes between Israeli and Russian air forces in Syria, with success until now.”Russia entered the Syrian civil war in 2015 in support of the regime of Syria’s President Bashar Assad, carrying out bombing runs against rebel groups fighting against Damascus. Assad is also backed by Iran, which has provided the embattled Syrian leader with money, men and materiel.While Israel has rarely acknowledged carrying out its own airstrikes in Syria, numerous raids on weapons transfers have been attributed to Jerusalem.Despite the coordination between the two countries, some of the reported Israeli airstrikes in Syria on weapons convoys have led to tensions between Jerusalem and Moscow.In April, Moscow summoned Israel’s ambassador to Russia, Gary Koren, to protest a reported Israeli strike that nearly hit Russian troops stationed in the area. Syria’s ambassador to the UN later said that Russia had changed its policy and no longer grants Israel freedom of action over Syrian skies.Netanyahu subsequently denied reports Moscow had told Israel to end airstrikes in Syria, vowing that the IDF would continue attacking weapons convoys.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
LAND FOR PEACE (THE FUTURE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH)
JOEL 3:2
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.(UPROOTED ISRAELIS AND DIVIDED JERUSALEM)(THIS BRINGS ON WW3 BECAUSE JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED,WARNING TO ARABS-MUSLIMS AND THE WORLD).
THE WEEK OF DANIEL 9:27 WE KNOW ITS 7 YRS
Heres the scripture 1 week = 7 yrs Genesis 29:27-29
27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week:(7 YEARS) and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.
29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.
DANIEL 11:21-23
21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
23 And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.
24 He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time.
DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks(62X7=434 YEARS+7X7=49 YEARS=TOTAL OF 69 WEEKS OR 483 YRS) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMAN LEADERS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.(THERE HAS TO BE 70 WEEKS OR 490 YRS TO FUFILL THE VISION AND PROPHECY OF DAN 9:24).(THE NEXT VERSE IS THAT 7 YR WEEK OR (70TH FINAL WEEK).
27 And he ( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant (PEACE TREATY) with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE ANIMAL SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
JEREMIAH 6:14
14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
JEREMIAH 8:11
11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
1 THESSALONIANS 5:3
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
ISAIAH 33:8
8 The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant,(7 YR TREATY) he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man.(THE WORLD LEADER-WAR MONGER CALLS HIMSELF GOD)
JERUSALEM DIVIDED
GENESIS 25:20-26
20 And Isaac was forty years old (A BIBLE GENERATION NUMBER=1967 + 40=2007+) when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.
21 And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
22 And the children (2 NATIONS IN HER-ISRAEL-ARABS) struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD.
23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels;(ISRAEL AND THE ARABS) and the one people shall be stronger than the other people;(ISRAEL STRONGER THAN ARABS) and the elder shall serve the younger.(LITERALLY ISRAEL THE YOUNGER RULES (ISSAC)(JACOB-LATER NAME CHANGED TO ISRAEL) OVER THE OLDER ARABS (ISHMAEL)(ESAU)
24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.(THE OLDER AN ARAB)
26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob:(THE YOUNGER-ISRAELI) and Isaac was threescore (60) years old when she bare them.(1967 + 60=2027)(COULD BE THE LAST GENERATION WHEN JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED AMOUNG THE 2 TWINS)(THE 2 TWINS WANT JERUSALEM-THE DIVISION OF JERUSALEM TODAY)(AND WHOS IN CONTROL OF JERUSALEM TODAY-THE YOUNGER ISSAC-JACOB-ISRAEL)(AND WHO WANTS JERUSALEM DIVIDED-THE OLDER,ESAU-ISHMAEL (THE ARABS)
ZECHARIAH 12:1-5 King James Bible
1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
4 In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.
ISAIAH 28:14-19 (THIS IS THE 7 YR TREATY COVENANT OF DANIEL 9:27)
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.
Frustrated with US, Abbas said to be weighing dissolving the PA-PA head also reportedly considering renewing bid for full membership at UN; a delegation from Ramallah will meet ICC chief prosecutor-By Dov Lieber August 23, 2017, 2:25 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Disillusioned about US efforts to revive the peace process, the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is considering dissolving the PA and renewing a Palestinian bid for full United Nations membership, Arabic media reported on Wednesday.Abbas’s deliberations come ahead of a visit by US President Donald Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is set to arrive in Israel on Wednesday night with a US peace delegation after quietly meeting with leaders of the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.According to the report in the Lebanese daily Al Hayat, which cited unnamed “reliable” sources in the PA, Abbas is waiting for Kushner and Trump’s envoy to the region Jason Greenbelt to give him a written response to his conditions for returning to the negotiating table, namely “freezing settlement construction in the West Bank and working towards a two-state solution.”The Palestinians are also reportedly renewing their bid to halt Israel’s settlement expansion through the International Criminal Court. The report said a PA delegation will travel Thursday to the ICC’s headquarters in the Hague in order to meet with the court’s chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda.On Tuesday, Ahmad Majdalani, a top aide to Abbas, said the Palestinians asked Kushner for the US position on two key issues — Israeli settlements and support for Palestinian independence — during his last visit to the region in June.“Since then we didn’t hear from them,” he said.“We hope they bring clear answers this time,” he added. “If not, then the peace process cannot be resumed because we cannot negotiate from scratch.”Should Abbas dissolve the PA, according to the Al Hayat report, he would transfer governing power back to the Palestine Liberation Organization, the historic umbrella group for Palestinians. Abbas is head of the PLO.Abbas is reportedly working to hold a meeting of the Palestinian National Council, which is the highest legislative body of the PLO and elects the PLO leadership. The PA president is aiming to hold the meeting before next month’s UN General Assembly, at which he is slated to give a speech.In 2011, Abbas initiated the Palestine 194 campaign, which, in the absence of fruitful peace talks, sought to win Palestinians a state through international forums.At the time, the administration of former US president Barack Obama promised to veto any resolution granting the Palestinians full UN membership in the Security Council.In 2012, the Palestinians changed course, and instead submitted a resolution to be granted status as an observer state in the UN through the General Assembly. The resolution passed, which allowed Palestinians to co-sponsor resolutions and to join treaties and specialized UN agencies, such as the ICC.Trump has asked his delegation to focus the talks on this trip around several broad themes, including finding “a path to substantive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, combating extremism [and dealing with] the situation in Gaza, including how to ease the humanitarian crisis there,” according to a senior White House official.While Ramallah has officially welcomed US peace efforts, officials have begun to grumble about what they see as a lack of US commitment to a two-state solution or finding a way forward, as well as a bias toward Israel’s positions.Abbas said on Sunday that the entire Trump administration was in “chaos,” and indicated that the White House disarray was affecting peace efforts.“I don’t even know how they are dealing with us, because his entire administration is in chaos,” Abbas told a delegation of dovish Israeli lawmakers visiting Ramallah.Recently, off-the-record remarks by Kushner — made to a casual gathering of congressional interns — were leaked to the media in which he said there may not be a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.AP contributed to this report.
Jordan king to US delegation: Two states the only solution to conflict-King Abdullah II stresses to the Jared Kushner-led team that negotiations need to be based on the traditional end goal-By Eric Cortellessa August 23, 2017, 7:15 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
WASHINGTON — King Abdullah II of Jordan on Tuesday told a US peacemaking delegation the two-state solution is the only way to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, ahead of meetings later this week between the US officials and Israeli and Palestinian leaders.During a Tuesday meeting with Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, Special Envoy for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt, and Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategy Dina Powell, Jordan’s king said any attempt to renew negotiations must be based on an end goal of two states, according to a readout provided by the Jordanian Royal Court.The meeting in Amman “focused on efforts to push forward the Palestinian-Israeli peace process and re-launch serious and effective negotiations between the two sides based on the two-state solution, which is the only way to end the conflict,” the statement said.Those discussions came two days before the Kushner-led team was scheduled to meet separately with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday in Jerusalem and Ramallah.The current US administration has not explicitly backed the two-state formula.The Palestinians were demanding the US explicitly express its backing of the two-state solution before talks may resume.Jibril Rajoub, a senior member of Abbas’s Fatah party, said Wednesday they would be demanding a clear commitment from Kushner and Greenblatt to an independent Palestinian state.“We hope that the American administration and the envoys of President Donald Trump that will meet tomorrow with President Mahmoud Abbas will announce the American administration’s adoption of the two-state solution to move the peace process forward,” he told AFP. “It is time for President Trump to pay serious attention to the establishment of a Palestinian state.”During a joint press conference with Netanyahu in February, Trump insisted that he did not have any preference over how exactly to end the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.“I’m looking at two state and one state, and I like the one that both parties like,” he said.After the Temple Mount tensions died down earlier this month, the US said it sensed an “opportunity” to advance Trump’s peace initiative, which he has billed a “top priority” of his administration.Trump “believes that the restoration of calm and the stabilized situation in Jerusalem after the recent crisis on the Temple Mount/Haram al Sharif has created an opportunity to continue discussions and the pursuit of peace that began early in his administration,” a senior administration official told The Times of Israel at the time.Tensions mounted between Israelis and Palestinians last month after a July 14 terror attack in which three Arab Israelis shot dead two Israeli police officers with weapons they had smuggled onto the site. Israel responded by installing new security measures, including metal detectors and cameras.That set off near-daily clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces in and around the Old City, East Jerusalem and the West Bank and triggered a boycott by Muslim worshipers who threatened not to return to the site until all the security installations were removed.Trump, after remaining silent for 10 days as the situation was unfolding, dispatched Greenblatt to the region to try and reduce tensions, while Kushner also worked from Washington to try and resolve the issue.King Abdullah II ultimately thanked the US president for his role in helping the sides find a resolution.AFP contributed to this report.
PA, Hamas rehash lie that Jews planned 1969 burning of Al-Aqsa Mosque-Palestinian leaders link 48-year-old arson by mentally-ill Christian tourist to recent conflict on Temple Mount-By Dov Lieber August 22, 2017, 11:07 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
The Palestinian Authority and Hamas both revived the lie that a Jew or Jews were behind the 1969 arson of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by a Christian fundamentalist, which took place 48 years ago.Marking the August 23 anniversary, both parties again blamed Jews and tied the old incident to recent conflict at the Temple Mount, which saw weeks of protests and violence.Denis Michael Rohan, a 28-year-old mentally ill Christian fundamentalist from Australia, set fire to the Al Aqsa Mosque, believing he had been given a “sign from God” to carry out his crime. The Palestinians and much of the Arab world blamed the Israeli government for the fire, which destroyed part of the old wooden roof and a 800-year-old pulpit — a gift from the Islamic hero Saladin.Dr. Mahmoud Habbash, Supreme Sharia Judge in the Palestinian Authority and a close adviser to PA President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday, in statements published by the official PA news site Wafa, that “the fires that erupted in the Al-Aqsa Mosque 48 years ago by a Jewish terrorist of Australian origin are still burning today, as long as the noble sanctuary and the holy city [of Jerusalem] are violated by the Israeli occupation.”After a July 14 terror attack in which three Arab Israelis shot dead two Israeli police officers with weapons they had smuggled onto the site, Israel installed new security measures, including metal detectors and cameras, which set off near-daily clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces in and around the Old City, East Jerusalem and the West Bank.It also triggered a boycott by Muslim worshipers who threatened not to return to the site until all the installations were removed.Five Palestinians died in clashes and a Palestinian terrorist killed three members of a family sitting down to Shabbat dinner in the West Bank settlement of Halamish, saying he was avenging Al -Aqsa-Habbash said “the recent events in the occupied city of Jerusalem were a message that the Palestinian people will neither forgive nor forget and cannot not relinquish any of their legitimate rights guaranteed by international and humanitarian law.”According to a Monday report by the Israeli watchdog group Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), the official television station of the PA broadcast a documentary that claimed the 1969 fire was “planned by senior Jews of high position.”On Tuesday, the Hamas terror group, which controls the Gaza Strip, released a statement blaming the arson on a “Zionist criminal.”“On this day in 1969, Al-Aqsa Mosque was severely damaged after the Zionist criminal, Denis Michael Rohan, burned the holy site,” the statement said.The statement added that Hamas pays tribute “to the people of Jerusalem who have shown great courage and steadfastness in resisting the Israeli Occupation’s plots of seizing Al-Aqsa Mosque, Judaizing it and distorting its historical reality.”Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency on Tuesday also incorrectly referred to Rohan as “an extremist Jew,” in a report about Palestinians marking the anniversary of the fire.Notably, the Palestinian news agency Ma’an wrote an article based off of Anadolu’s report, but correctly referred to Rohan as a Christian.The Temple Mount, known to Muslims as the Haram-al-Sharif, is the holiest site in Judaism and third-holiest in Islam. The compound, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque atop it, have been a recurring source of tension in Jerusalem in recent years.Palestinians have cited Israeli “provocations” there as one of the main catalysts for violent attacks in recent years. They have become increasingly wary of Israel’s intentions at the holy site, often accusing the Jewish state of attempting to impose greater control over the compound, and even of planning to eliminate the mosque and establish Jewish hegemony there.Israel has repeatedly denied any change in the status quo at the site.
UN chief to make first visit to Israel next week-Antonio Guterres to meet Netanyahu and Abbas, go to Gaza, during 3-day trip-By Times of Israel staff and AFP August 22, 2017, 10:22 pm
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will, for the first time since taking the helm at the UN, pay a visit to Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip next week.The UN chief will hold talks with Israeli leaders, travel to Ramallah to meet Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and to the Gaza Strip, where the United Nations runs a major Palestinian aid program, during the three-day visit.On Monday, Guterres will visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, meet with President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and attend a special event at the Israel Museum, according to a statement from Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon.On Tuesday, he will meet with Palestinian leaders in Ramallah, and on Wednesday will visit the Gaza Strip and Israeli communities along the border with the enclave.The former prime minister of Portugal will wrap up his trip Wednesday with an address at the Tel Aviv Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot, the statement said.Danon said he hoped the trip would reveal “the true face of Israel,” its accomplishments, as well as its challenges.Earlier this month, Danon said the Israeli government will discuss strengthening the mission of the UN interim force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), following a series of skirmishes along the UN-monitored demarcation line between Israel and Lebanon.Since taking over from Ban Ki-moon on January 1, Guterres has been cautious in his approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, partly in response to US accusations that the United Nations was biased against Israel.In March, the UN chief demanded that a report by a UN body be withdrawn after it accused Israel of imposing an apartheid system on the Palestinians.Guterres had initially distanced himself from the report, but the United States insisted that it be withdrawn altogether.
Jerusalem freezes plan to build luxury villas on ancient village-Opponents of construction in Lifta say theirs is only a temporary victory, as city hall is keen to push plan forward-By Dov Lieber August 23, 2017, 5:51 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
A controversial plan to build luxury real estate in Lifta, a remarkably kept historic village on the outskirts of Jerusalem, has been frozen, but opponents say the plan isn’t dead yet as it enjoys the backing of senior officials in city hall.The plan was taken off the agenda after the city’s local planning committee chairman Meir Turgeman, who supports it, realized it was strongly opposed by a majority of the committee’s members during a hearing on the subject on August 9, according to records of the meeting and a member of the committee who spoke to The Times of Israel.Following the August 9 meeting, the Jerusalem Municipality released a statement saying, “The plan was dropped from the agenda in order to undergo another professional examination. Once this examination is completed, it will be re-discussed by the Local Planning and Building Committee.”The main reason for opposition to the plan by committee members was that it calls for some 200 high-cost villas to be built in the historically important landscape, rather than low-cost housing that could accommodate thousands in the congested capital.One source familiar with discussions of the plan, who wished to remain anonymous because he wasn’t authorized to discuss the subject, said that “the mayor and the people who work for the mayor are really determined to make this thing happen.”The source said proponents of the plan are considering “how to make this site more profitable for the city.”The construction of the new neighborhood in Lifta was meant to begin years ago. But in 2012, opponents of the plan, including former residents and their descendants, Israeli academics, architects, members of the Society for the Protection of Nature, and recently expelled Jewish residents of Lifta, managed to win a temporary reprieve. The court revoked the building tender and ordered the Israeli Antiquities Authority IAA to conduct a thorough survey of the village.The IAA proceeded to carry out what Avi Mashiach, the conservation architect who led the survey, said in a statement to the Haaretz daily “was the biggest, most complex and important survey ever carried out by the Antiquities Authority.” It ended last December.The archaeologists found evidence of settlement in the site dating back thousands of years to the First Temple period, and were able, with the help of former Palestinian residents, to completely map out the evolution of the current village from a crusader farmhouse to a warren of connected buildings perched on the hills overlooking the valley.Nevertheless, after the survey, the Jerusalem municipality continued to back the plan for housing at the site, which it said, in a statement to The Times of Israel, would be revised to take the results of the archaeological survey into account. However, whatever revisions it planned were not made available to the public. The IAA survey of Lifta has also not been made available to the public.Mashiach and the coalition of opposition activists argued that no amount of careful planning could do justice to Lifta.Ilan Shtayer, one of the leaders of the coalition opposing the Lifta plan, said, “We need to be sure that professionals and people making the decisions understand that this plan is dead. There are people who are trying to make it happen.”He argued that during the IAA review there were no underground excavations, and there could perhaps be “another 2,000 years of history underground.”Yoav Yeivin, a member of the local planning committee and a Jerusalem city council member for the Hitorerut party, said he voted against the plan because “we don’t need 200 villas to ruin one of the most historical sites in Israel.”“I don’t want a castle for a few rich people. I want an open place for the public,” he added.Yeivin said he understood city hall’s desire to continue developing Jerusalem, and said he would vote for a plan that renewed the site “intelligently.”He recommended turning the village into a tourist site, similar to sites in Italy, by adding a few hotels and restaurants while maintaining and restoring the archaeological remains.The buildings at the site are in a state of disrepair, and many are in danger of collapsing. All sides agree that urgent action is needed to protect the history of the site.During the 1948 War of Independence, Lifta, due to its strategic location at the entrance to Jerusalem, was quickly enveloped in the battle. When the war was over, Lifta was empty, and it is a matter of historical debate whether the villagers had fled or were forced out.Since that time, most of the village has remained untouched and neglected.Today, Lifta is on the list of UNESCO’s tentative world heritage sites for bearing “unique testimony of the traditional village life.”Thousands of the Palestinian inhabitants of Lifta and their descendants continue to visit the village every year, and say they plan to return one day to live there.
In settler elections, a choice between foreign and domestic-Oded Revivi boasts ability to relate to audiences abroad while Yigal Lahav argues that the next Yesha Council chairman must place greater emphasis on internal dialogue-By Jacob Magid August 23, 2017, 5:35 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
An election for the head of the settlement movement’s umbrella group is shaping up into a referendum over whether the group’s leader should primarily serve his constituents in the West Bank or act as a global ambassador for the controversial enterprise.Members of the Yesha Council, which represents Israel’s West Bank settlers, will convene Monday to elect a new leader, choosing between Efrat Mayor Oded Revivi and Karnei Shomron Mayor Yigal Lahav to fill the shoes of outgoing chairman Avi Roeh.Revivi is seen as the favorite. The 48-year-old father of six has gained considerable name recognition over the last nine years as mayor of Efrat, a sprawling settlement south of Jerusalem popular with English speakers.He speaks fluent English and has served as Yesha’s chief foreign envoy since August 2016. He was part of a delegation of settlers who attended US President Donald Trump’s inauguration.He has also built relationships with key representatives throughout the government, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Revivi is seen as a relative moderate. He has spoken out against West Bank annexation, saying it could lead to apartheid, and has opposed the construction of a security barrier around Efrat, arguing that cutting off Israelis from Palestinians will not bring peace.One former Yesha official told The Times of Israel that while both candidates offer impressive track records, Revivi is “the right man at the right time… His relationship with Netanyahu and foreign media finesse make him a natural fit for the position.”While less known to those outside Yesha, Yigal Lahav has gained a sizable following since taking over the Karnei Shomron local council in 2013. In the upcoming year, the settlement west of Nablus is set to welcome 500 new families, making it the fastest-growing community beyond the Green Line. He says he’d like to see the total settler population double to a million.Lahav, 56, also represents a growing population of secular settlers in an umbrella organization where an uncovered head is rare to find. While he insists his views on religion are a non-issue, the organization thrived under the leadership of its last secular leader, Dani Dayan, whom Roeh replaced over four years ago. Lahav also told The Times of Israel that he has the support of 15 local council chairmen within Yesha.Though both candidates emphasized the importance of putting together a long-term plan for the organization that included planning and infrastructure improvements for West Bank settlers, they differed in their diagnoses of Yesha’s problems of late.“There has been great leadership over the past three years, but in the last two-three months, the contact between local council chairmen has been lacking,” Lahav said, adding that he would work to bring every Yesha member to the decision table.Revivi focused on a separate issue. “In the last few years, the Yesha Council hasn’t been widely represented in the media, and in that respect I think I could serve as a good presenter,” he said.The Efrat mayor argued that West Bank residents are treated as “second-class citizens” in the eyes of the law, which he said takes longer to be implemented over the Green Line.“People don’t understand this and instead believe misconceptions that the government gives preferential treatment to residents in Judea and Samaria,” Revivi said, referring to the West Bank by its biblical name.“I can present our needs to the media in way that they won’t be seen as the needs of a certain sector, but rather of an entire community that can’t be ignored,” he added.But Lahav argues that external relations should not be the priority of the Yesha chairman. “We don’t need to always be focused on responding to the outside world and proving that we’re right,” he said.The Karnei Shomron mayor said that time would be better spent cementing Israeli presence in the West Bank. “If we do this, we will no longer always need to be justifying,” he said. “It will simply be clear to everyone.”Nonetheless, Lahav argued that settlers have a role to play in strengthening the Jewish identities of those living abroad. “I want to reach out to Reform and Conservative Jews as they absolutely should have a part of what we are doing here,” he said.“But 80% of the job should be reserved for Judea and Samaria residents and 20% for foreign relations,” he clarified.“At the end of the day, I prefer talking to the residents of Amona than to the foreign media, and people appreciate me for that,” he said, referring to the evacuees of an illegal outpost that was dismantled in February and for whom a new settlement is now under construction.-The incumbent’s perspective-Recognizing the style differences between the two candidates, the outgoing chairman, Roeh, said that each is trying to play up his strengths. Asked whether the next chairman needed to place an emphasis on internal or external dialogue, Roeh diplomatically responded that an even balance was necessary.He described a sense of relief in his decision to step down. “I accomplished what I had set out to do when I took this job over four years ago. We are much more unified now as a movement, and I am proud of that,” Roeh told The Times of Israel.The 63-year-old will continue functioning as chairman of the Binyamin Regional Council, but explained that he had been increasingly uncomfortable with the evolving duties of Yesha’s top post. “I don’t really like making public appearances. It’s just not who I am,” he explained. “But when I turn down an invitation from the US ambassador to attend an Independence Day celebration, this becomes a problem that can hurt the organization.”Among the roughly 20 settler leaders who will be choosing Yesha’s next leader is Jordan Valley Regional Council chairman David Elhayani. The Argaman resident refused to endorse a candidate, saying it would depend on the answers each would give at the Monday meeting prior to the vote.However, he made a point of commenting on the fact that both candidates intend to maintain their roles as local council chairmen, as previous Yesha leaders have done.“This job is way too important for it to be part time,” he said, adding that there have been a number of Yesha members who have been trying to recruit a third candidate from outside of the organization that would devote 100% of his time to the post.Officials said others would be eligible to submit their candidacy until the day of the vote.
Outcry as women asked to lift skirts, shirts at entrance to Western Wall-Liberal Jewish groups say 4 female rabbinical students were initimated, humiliated ahead of Women of the Wall prayer service-By Alexander Fulbright August 23, 2017, 2:59 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Guards at the entrance to the Western Wall complex in Jerusalem “strip searched” four female rabbinical students on Wednesday ahead of the Women of the Wall’s monthly prayer service at the holy site, liberal Jewish groups said.The Israel Religious Action Center, which serves as the legal arm of the Reform Movement in Israel, said the four students of Hebrew Union College were delayed and questioned by guards, then were asked to lift up their shirts and skirts. “Four female rabbinical students strip searched while trying to enter the Western Wall Complex,” it declared in a press release.The director of the IRAC said the searches were “a new low” for the Western Wall rabbinate, which is strongly opposed to the Women of the Wall.“This is a new low for the Rabbi of the Kotel trying to intimidate, humiliate, and exclude liberal women trying to pray at the Western Wall. Despite today’s events these four brave Jewish leaders will continue to love Israel, the Wall, and justice,” Rabbi Noa Sattath said in a statement, using the Hebrew term for the Western Wall.“Today we are submitting formal letters of complaint to the Attorney General and the Prime Minister’s office demanding they act to address the events of this morning,” she added.Women of the Wall said the search of the four women was illegal.“These searches go against [Supreme Court] Judge Rubinstein’s decision which states that body searches on Women of the Wall are illegal without a serious security threat. A few of these students, who were visiting the Kotel for the first time, were shocked by the incident and the difficult experience imposed on them,” the group said in a statement.Religious media outlets said the women were smuggling Torah scrolls on their persons, which Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch called a “desecration.”“Today, the first of the [Jewish] month of Elul, all the red lines were crossed. They smuggled holy Torah schools wrapped around their bodies, they hid whistles in their private parts, and for what? For the “sanctity” of the civil war at the Western Wall,” he said in a statement.At the prayer service, women read from a Torah scroll and blew 15 shofars, activities that are vehemently opposed by ultra-Orthodox Jews, who hold that only men may do these things.“We sounded the shofar today in order to knock down the walls of apathy, exclusion, silencing and discrimination…We look to the Supreme Court, that has proven itself as the ‘responsible adult’ in the state, to lead to a just solution to our basic demand for equal rights for women at the Wall,” Women of the Wall head Anat Hoffman said.The High Court of Justice is set to hear a petition on the pluralistic prayer section at the Western Wall, which was brought by the Women of the Wall after the cabinet voted to freeze the deal in June.The decision to freeze the agreement coincided with a High Court deadline for the state to respond to petitions on its failure to implement the agreement and construct the mixed-gender plaza near Robinson’s Arch.It also came amid pressure from Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox lawmakers to dial back the plan to establish an egalitarian prayer space at the Western Wall, which was approved by government ministers in January 2016.The cabinet’s decision was met with widespread dismay from liberal groups and Diaspora Jews.Prime Minister Benjamin defended the move, with an aide to the premier saying that it will in fact help push the deal forward, and that Netanyahu had no choice but to halt the agreement as a result of pressure from the ultra-Orthodox parties, whose support he needs to maintain his ruling coalition.Last week, the US State Department released its International Religious Freedom Report for 2016, which criticized the Western Wall rabbi over “guidelines for religious observance mandating separation of women and men, with the women’s section being less than half the size of the men’s section, and the government continued to enforce these rules.”The report, which was completed before the suspension of the deal on permanent pluralistic prayer area, also criticized the prohibitions against bringing in privately owned Torah scrolls to the Western Wall plaza, and on women “accessing the public Torah scrolls or giving priestly blessings at the site.”Amanda Borschel-Dan contributed to this report.
