Tuesday, December 19, 2017

PM APPLAUDS US FOR PUSHING BACK AGAINST UN MOVES ON ISRAEL.

JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER. 1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)

LUKE 21:28-29
28 And when these things begin to come to pass,(ALL THE PROPHECY SIGNS FROM THE BIBLE) then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (RAPTURE) draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree,(ISRAEL) and all the trees;(ALL INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES)
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.(ISRAEL LITERALLY BECAME AND INDEPENDENT COUNTRY JUST BEFORE SUMMER IN MAY 14,1948.)

JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth (ATOMIC BOMB) before them;(RUSSIAN-ARAB-MUSLIM ARMIES AGAINST ISRAEL) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(ATOMIC BOMB AFFECT)

ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)

EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.

ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE

Palestinians won’t meet with Kushner, Greenblatt or any US officials on peace-In wake of US administration's Jerusalem stance, Abbas aide says, PA adamant in boycotting entire Trump team; PA also says Greenblatt, due this week, hasn't sought Ramallah meet-By Dov Lieber-DEC 18,17

The Palestinians will not meet with any United States officials regarding the peace process in the future, in response to US President Donald Trump’s recent decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a senior diplomatic adviser to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told The Times of Israel on Sunday.The open-ended boycott includes Trump’s top peace envoy Jason Greenblatt, who is due here this week, as well as the US leader’s senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner.“No one from the American administration will be met to discuss peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis, because the [PA] president was very clear on that,” said Majdi al-Khalidi, referring to Abbas’s speech at the Organization of Islamic Countries on Wednesday in Istanbul.Khalidi added that Greenblatt, who is expected to arrive in the region amid violent protests over Trump’s announcement, did not request a meeting with the Palestinians, with whom he has met on numerous occasions in the past, Khalidi said.Greenblatt “knows that no meeting will happen, even if he asks,” said Khalidi.In his speech in Turkey, Abbas said Trump’s Jerusalem decision meant “the United States has chosen to lose its eligibility as an intermediary. It does not have any role in the political process.”On Abbas’s remarks, Khalidi said: “The statement of the president is self-explanatory.”The White House said Greenblatt would come to Israel this week and stay throughout the upcoming visit of US Vice President Mike Pence.The Palestinians last week canceled a meeting with Pence. According to Pence’s schedule, he will not now be visiting the Palestinian territories at all.Since the early days of the Trump presidency, Greenblatt has shuffled back and forth between the Israelis, Palestinians and other regional leaders in efforts to restart the peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis.The US has been the key mediator between the two sides since the early 1990s.In his speech at the OIC, Abbas said he would now work to seek a multilateral international process to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict led by the United Nations. He also said the Palestinians would return to seeking full membership at the UN, an effort they had frozen at  the behest of the United States in 2011.Abbas added that the Palestinians had been engaged with Washington in a new push to reach a peace agreement with Israel, the “deal of our times.” But “instead we got the slap of our times,” Abbas said.The White House shot back at those remarks, saying that kind of rhetoric from the Palestinian leader had “prevented peace for years.”“As we have said since the Jerusalem announcement, we anticipated reactions like the ones going on in the region but are going to remain hard at work on our peace plan,” a senior administration official told The Times of Israel on Friday.The Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of a Palestinian state, while Israel considers the whole city its capital.Trump’s December 6 decision to recognize Israel’s capital was welcomed by Israel, while numerous Arab leaders have railed against it. In his remarks, Trump stressed that he was not specifying the boundaries of Israeli sovereignty in the city, and called for no change in the status quo at the city’s holy sites.Abbas’s foreign affairs adviser Nabil Shaath told The Times of Israel last week that the PA would continue to communicate with the United States on affairs not connected to the peace process.“We think Mr. Trump has acted in a way that makes it impossible for the United States to act as an honest broker. We are just expressing that,” Shaath said.The US is a central source of aid for the Palestinian Authority. In 2016, the US provided $712 million to the Palestinians, and is the world’s largest supplier of such aid.Just over half of that funding is given to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNWRA).In Israel, Greenblatt will meet with European Union representative to the so-called Middle East “Quartet,” Fernando Gentilini, the White House official said.“The president remains as committed to peace as ever,” the official added.Eric Cortellessa contributed to this report.

PM applauds US for ‘pushing back’ against UN moves on Israel-Ahead of visit by VP Pence, Netanyahu hails Washington for its 'leadership and determination in the defense of the truth of Israel'-By TOI staff-DEC 18,17

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday praised US President Donald Trump and his administration for “pushing back” against United Nations efforts to criticize Israel.He was apparently referring to an impending Egypt-sponsored UN Security Council resolution to undermine the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, which Washington was expected to veto.At the weekly cabinet meeting, the prime minister hailed the US for its “leadership and determination in the defense of the truth of Israel,” the “decisiveness with which they are pushing back on the efforts to use the United Nations as a stage against Israel,” and for its public support.His statement followed a report by the Reuters news agency on Saturday that the UN Security Council was considering a draft resolution that would nullify Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital earlier this month.The text, drafted by Egypt, “affirms that any decisions and actions which purport to have altered the character, status or demographic composition of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal effect, are null and void and must be rescinded in compliance with relevant resolutions of the Security Council,” Reuters reported.It also calls upon all states not to establish diplomatic missions in Jerusalem, demanding that “all states comply with Security Council resolutions regarding the Holy City of Jerusalem” and not recognize “any actions or measures contrary to those resolutions.”In his address from the White House on December 6, Trump said that after repeated failures to achieve peace, a new approach was long overdue. He described his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the seat of Israel’s government as merely based on reality.Trump, whose declaration was hailed by Netanyahu and by leaders across much of the Israeli political spectrum but rejected by the Palestinians and most of the international community, stressed that he was not specifying the boundaries of Israeli sovereignty in the city, and called for no change in the status quo at the city’s holy sites.In a move that further angered the Palestinians, a White House official said Friday that the US could not “envision any situation” under which the Western Wall would not be part of Israel.The Western Wall, part of the retaining walls of the Second Temple compound, is the closest point of prayer for Jews to the site of the Temple itself, and thus the Jewish people’s holiest place of prayer. It was captured, along with the rest of the Old City and East Jerusalem, from Jordan in the 1967 Six Day War, and annexed by Israel as part of its united capital — a move not recognized internationally.Muslims claim it as the site where the Prophet Muhammad tied his horse, al-Buraq, on his night journey to Jerusalem before he rose to paradise. They call the Temple Mount Haram al-Sharif, site of the third-holiest mosque in Islam.In his address to the cabinet, Netanyahu also heaped praise on US Vice President Mike Pence, who is due to visit Israel later this week. Pence, he said, is a “great friend of Israel and of Jerusalem.”In December 2016, toward the end of the Obama administration, the Security Council voted through a resolution that “underlines that it will not recognize any changes to the 4 June 1967 lines, including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the parties through negotiations.” Bitterly opposed by Israel, the vote passed 14-0 with the US abstaining. Trump’s transition team reportedly tried to block the resolution.

Indonesia clerics urge US boycott as 80,000 protest Jerusalem recognition-Tens of thousands throng capital of world's largest Muslim country in 10th straight day of protests over Trump's decision-By AP and TOI staff-DEC 18,17

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Muslim clerics have called for a boycott of American products in Indonesia’s largest protest against US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.Wearing white robes and carrying banners reading “Indonesia unites for Palestine,” an estimated 80,000 people rallied Sunday in the capital of the world’s largest Muslim nation in the 10th straight day of protests organized by the country’s top Muslim clerical body.Anwar Abbas, a top cleric from the Indonesian Council of Ulema, read a petition calling on Indonesians to stop buying American products until Trump revoked his move.“Don’t rely on their products,” he said, as the crowd including men, women and children responded by waving Indonesian and Palestinian flags and shouting “boycott!”Previous anti-American protests have unsuccessfully lobbied for a boycott of US goods.Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono said the protesters marched peacefully about 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from the National Monument Park to the US Embassy. Some local media reported the number of the demonstrators was double the police estimate.About 20,000 security forces were deployed to secure the rally.In the petition, the clerics urged Trump to immediately revoke his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, saying it has hurt international justice, violated human rights of the Palestinians and undermined peace efforts.It also demanded nations not follow the US in moving their embassies from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and urged the UN Security Council to hold an emergency session to discuss Trump’s declaration.The chairman of the clerics council, Ma’ruf Amin, said “let’s fight together with the government and the world for the freedom of Palestine through political, diplomatic and economic ways.”Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has strongly condemned Trump’s move, which he described as a violation of UN resolutions.Indonesia does not have diplomatic ties with Israel and has long been a strong supporter of Palestinian aspirations for statehood.In an address on December 6 from the White House, Trump defied worldwide warnings and insisted that after repeated failures to achieve peace, a new approach was long overdue, describing his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the seat of Israel’s government as merely based on reality.The move was hailed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and by leaders across much of the Israeli political spectrum and drew a furious response from the Palestinians and Arab nations. Trump stressed that he was not specifying the boundaries of Israeli sovereignty in the city, and called for no change in the status quo at the city’s holy sites.

Pope says ‘fake news’ a ‘very serious sin’-'Sins of communication' include one-sided reporting, sensationalizing old news, pontiff says-By AP-DEC 18,17

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis is criticizing journalists who dredge up old scandals and sensationalize the news, saying it is a “very serious sin” that hurts all involved.Francis, who plans to dedicate his upcoming annual communications message to “fake news,” told Catholic media on Saturday that journalists perform a mission that is among the most “fundamental” to democratic societies.But he reminded them to provide precise, complete and correct information and not one-sided reports.The pope said,”You shouldn’t fall into the ‘sins of communication’ — disinformation, or giving just one side, calumny that is sensationalized, or defamation, looking for things that are old news and have been dealt with and bringing them to light today.”He called those actions a “grave sin that hurts the heart of the journalist and hurts others.”

In Jordan, Iraqi Christians dream of fresh start abroad-After decimation of their communities by IS, many members of religious minority no longer see a future in Iraq-By Kamal Taha-DEC 18,17

AMMAN, Jordan (AFP) — Inside a church in Jordan, a displaced Iraqi Christian mother dreams of a brighter future for her children far from the war-torn country they were forced to flee.She is among thousands of Iraqi Christians from the northern town of Bartalla to have sought refuge in neighboring Jordan after running for their lives from jihadists.“We’ve lost everything. Our houses have been pillaged and destroyed. There’s nothing left over there to make it worth returning,” said Walaa Louis, 40.When the Islamic State terror group swept across northern Iraq in 2014 they told Christians to convert, pay tax, leave or die. Tens of thousands chose to flee.Baghdad has announced final victory over the extremist group, but Louis says she will not return to a country where she does not feel safe.She, her husband and three children — now aged 16, 15 and eight — fled Bartalla in August 2014, trekking for hours in the dead of night to the Iraqi Kurdish capital of Erbil.They endured months of struggle in Erbil, including sleeping rough in parks or inside churches.Iraqi forces retook Bartalla from IS earlier this year, but when Louis returned to her hometown in August she found nothing but a home in cinders.She and her husband decided to head to Jordan, where they filed with the UN refugee agency for resettlement “in any safe country” to ensure her children’s future.But as Christmas approaches, Louis said her family has received no financial aid and their money is running out.“We’ve spent everything we had,” said Louis, who suffers from a heart condition.“I can’t even see a doctor or buy Christmas presents for my children,” she said.For now, her youngest son is among some 200 children aged 6 to 14 attending night classes at the Marka Latin Church in the Jordanian capital Amman.-‘Right to life’-They are taught by volunteer Iraqi teachers, and receive books, clothes and meals for free.The night classes are all in English, the school’s head Sanaa Baki said, as the parents of most Iraqi students have applied for resettlement abroad.She hopes the language skills will help the children better settle in foreign schools if these requests are granted.Some 10,000 Iraqi Christian refugees live in Jordan, according to Father Rifaat Badr, who heads a Catholic research center.Many of them dream of new lives in Europe, Canada, Australia or in the United States.The church’s priest, Khalil Jaar, believes education is also key to the children remembering where they come from.“The saying goes, ‘If you want to destroy a people, erase their history and make their children ignorant,‘” he said.“We need to work to ensure all these children are given their right to education and to life.”This month, France’s ambassador to Jordan, David Bertolotti, visited the church to announce a 120,000 euro ($140,000) donation for the night classes to continue until the end of the school year.Under a large Christmas tree, children with wooden crosses dangling around their necks sang the Iraqi national anthem at the top of their lungs.Ban Benyamin Yussef, a mother-of-four, was among the parents present.“After Daesh members plundered, destroyed and burned our home and my husband’s grocery shop, we decided to pack our bags and seek refuge in Jordan, hoping to start a new life,” the 43-year-old said, using an Arabic acronym for IS.It was the last leg of a journey fleeing harassment across Iraq.“When sectarian violence flared in 2006, we received death threats and fled Baghdad for Mosul,” a city in northern Iraq, she said.Threatened there too, they escaped to a small village north of the city — until IS arrived in 2014.But even now that Iraqi forces have claimed victory over the jihadists, Yussef and her family have no intention of returning to Iraq.“We can’t go back. Our towns have been destroyed. We’ve lost everything.”

Thousands rally in Pakistan against Trump’s Jerusalem move-Party leader urges Muslims across the globe to set aside differences and unite around the cause of 'liberating' Jerusalem-DEC 18,17-TOI-By Tamar Pileggi

5:52 pm-Iran says Macron acting like ‘Trump’s lapdog’ on Middle East-A top adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says that French President Emmanuel Macron is acting like US President Donald Trump’s “lapdog” regarding Middle East policy.“To sustain its international credibility, France should not blindly follow the Americans … The French president is now acting as Trump’s lapdog,” Ali Akbar Velayati is quoted as saying by the semi-official Fars news agency.Velayati also slams the US for accusing the Islamic Republic of supplying Houthi rebels in Yemen with arms.“This claim shows she lacks basic scientific knowledge and decency,” Velayati says, adding that American UN Ambassador Nikki Haley is like Trump in saying “baseless, ridiculous things.”“Iran has not supplied Yemen with any missile,” he says.5:22 pm-Ministers green-light bill for harsher penalties for teacher violence-The Knesset’s Ministerial Committee for Legislation approves legislation that will impose a 5-year jail sentence for assaulting teachers.The amendment to the Penal Law was proposed by Jewish Home lawmaker Moti Yogev in the wake of several incidents of violence against teachers.In addition, Education Minister Naftali Bennett says he has instructed his office to ensure that students who attack teachers may be permanently expelled from the school.“Teachers are our central resource and we are committed to empowering them,” Bennett says in a statement. “We have improved their employment conditions and now we are working to ensure their safety.”-4:50 pm-Crime bosses named as suspects in murder of state witnesses-Police reveal that the heads of two major criminal organizations have been arrested in recent months for the murder of two state witnesses earlier this year.State protectors are expected to file an indictment against crime bosses Yaniv (Nivi) Zaguri and Michael Mor tomorrow.Four others have been arrested in connection to the murders of Tal Korkus and Elisha Sabah.4:21 pm-IS claims pre-Christmas suicide bombing of Pakistan church-A suicide bomb attack on a Pakistan church that killed at least eight people and wounded 30 during a service earlier today is claimed by the Islamic State group.In a brief statement on its Amaq news agency, the jihadist group claimed responsibility.Earlier, officials said police intercepted and shot dead one attacker outside the church before he could detonate his bomb. But the second managed to reach the church’s main door, where he blew himself up.“Police were quick to react and stop the attackers from entering into the main hall,” provincial police chief Moazzam Jah tells AFP.Each attacker was carrying 15 kilograms (33 pounds) of explosive plus grenades, says civil defense official Aslam Tareen.— with AFP-4:09 pm-Thousands rally in Pakistan against Trump’s Jerusalem move-Thousands of Islamists have rallied in two major cities in Pakistan to condemn US President Donald Trump for declaring Jerusalem Israel’s capital.Supporters of the Jamaat-e-Islami party in Karachi and advocates of US-wanted Islamist Hafiz Saeed in Lahore dispersed peacefully after the rally.Protests have persisted in Pakistan since Trump’s announcement that sparked protests in the Muslim world.The chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, Sirajul Haq, called on all Muslim nations to suspend diplomatic ties with the US until it reconsiders its Jerusalem decision.Hafiz Saeed says that Muslims the world over should put aside any differences and unite around the cause of “liberating” Jerusalem.Muslim-majority Pakistan has reiterated its support for the Palestinians, who claim East Jerusalem as the capital of their hoped-for state.— AP-3:33 pm-Erdogan says Turkey to open embassy in East Jerusalem-Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he will open an embassy in East Jerusalem to protest against the decision by US President Donald Trump to declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel.“We have already declared East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state but we haven’t been able to open our embassy there because Jerusalem is currently under occupation,” Erdogan says at a ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) meeting in Karaman according to the Hurriyet Daily News.“God willing, the day is close when officially, with God’s permission, we will open our embassy there,” he says.Seeking to steer often disunited Muslim nations into a coordinated response on the changed US policy, Erdogan last week chaired a summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) where leaders declared East Jerusalem to be the capital of a Palestinian state.3:32 pm-Suicide bombers attack church in Pakistan, killing 8-Two suicide bombers attacked a church in the Pakistani city of Quetta on Sunday, killing eight people and wounding 42 others, officials say.Sarfaraz Bugti, home minister for the southwestern Baluchistan province, says hundreds of worshipers were attending services at the church ahead of Christmas. He said the attackers clashed with security forces, with one assailant killed at the entrance while the other made it inside.Baluchistan police chief Moazzam Ansari praises the response of security forces guarding the church, saying the attacker who made it inside was wounded and unable to reach the main building. “Otherwise the loss of lives could have been much higher,” he told reporters.Quetta police chief Abdur Razzaq Cheema said a search is underway for two suspected accomplices who escaped.Wasim Baig, spokesman for Quetta main hospital, confirmed the attack’s toll, updating earlier accounts from officials.No one immediately claimed the attack. Muslim extremists have targeted Pakistan’s small Christian minority in the past.— AP-3:07 pm-Coalition advancing ‘Jewish state’ bill without equality clause-The coalition agrees the so-called Jewish state bill will be go to the plenum for its first reading later this Knesset session in its current form.The legislation spearheaded by Likud MK Avi Dichter was being revised in a special committee after Kulanu MK Roy Folkman demanded a clause be added to ensure equal rights for all Israelis.The coalition said any changes in the law’s wording will take place after its first plenum reading.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made clear he is eager to see the law — which would for the first time enshrine Israel’s Jewish character in its constitutional Basic Laws — advanced as quickly as possible.2:29 pm-Security forces nab 15 Palestinians illegally crossing security barrier-Israeli security forces detain 15 Palestinians illegally attempting to cross the security barrier into Israel, the army says in a statement.The incident occurred the Palestinian village of Arabbuna near Jenin in the northern West Bank.The Palestinians are detained for questioning.2:21 pm-Teen in central Israel seriously injured when unexploded land mine goes off-A teenager and two children are injured after an unexploded ordnance they were playing with blew up in the Kula forest near the community of Elad in central Israel.The Magen David Adom ambulance service says a 14-year-old sustained serious injuries, and a 9 and 11-year-old are lightly hurt.— Judah Ari Gross-2:09 pm-Second Gaza crossing reopens after weekend closure due to rocket fire-Israel reopens the second crossing in and out of the Gaza Strip this morning, after closing the pair following numerous rocket attacks on Israel from the coastal enclave, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories says.The Kerem Shalom Crossing, which is used for transporting goods, operated as normal this morning, a COGAT spokesperson says.The Erez Crossing, which is used for people to enter and exit the Strip, reopened on Friday.Palestinians were able to leave Gaza as normal today, though people entering the Strip from Israel were barred from crossing this morning, not due to security considerations, but because of a general strike of Israeli workers.— Judah Ari Gross.

Australia arrests man accused of trying to sell missile parts for North Korea-[Reuters]-YAHOONEWS-December 18, 2017

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australian police said on Sunday they had arrested a man accused of working on the black market to sell missile components and coal on behalf of North Korea, the first charges ever brought in Australia over the sale of weapons of mass destruction.The man had been charged with two counts under an act preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, police said, and with another four under legislation enforcing United Nations and Australian sanctions against North Korea.The Sydney man was identified by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and other media as 59-year-old Chan Han Choi, who they said had been living in Australia for more than 30 years and was of Korean descent.He was arrested in the Sydney suburb of Eastwood on Saturday and was due to face court later on Sunday, police said. He came to the attention of authorities earlier this year, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said."This man was a loyal agent of North Korea, who believed he was acting to serve some higher patriotic purpose," AFP Assistant Commissioner Neil Gaughan told reporters."This case is like nothing we have ever seen on Australian soil," he said.Police will allege the man tried to broker the sale of missile components, including software for the guidance systems of ballistic missiles, as well as trying to sell coal to third parties in Indonesia and Vietnam.Gaughan said the trade could have been worth "tens of millions of dollars" if successful.Cash-strapped North Korea has come under a new round of stricter United Nations sanctions this year after pressing ahead with its missile and nuclear programmes in defiance of international pressure.Tensions have risen dramatically on the Korean peninsula because of the North's ballistic missile launches and its sixth and most powerful nuclear test, as well as joint military drills between South Korea and the United States that the North describes as preparation for war.Pyongyang claimed that its latest intercontinental ballistic missile launch in November had the range to reach all of the United States.U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urged North Korea on Friday to carry out a "sustained cessation" of its weapons testing to allow talks about its missile and nuclear programmes.However, the North has shown little interest in talks until it has the ability to hit the U.S. mainland with a nuclear-tipped missile, which many experts say it has yet to prove.Gaughan said the man had been in touch with high-ranking North Korean officials but no missile components ever made it to Australia. He also said there was no indication officials in Indonesia or Vietnam had been involved in the attempted coal sales."This is black market 101," Gaughan said."We are alleging that all the activity occurred offshore, and was purely another attempt for this man to trade goods and services as a way to raise revenue for the government of North Korea," he said.The man faces up to 18 years in jail if convicted. He did not apply for bail and will next face court on Wednesday.(Reporting by Alana Schetzer; Editing by Paul Tait and Stephen Coates)

Erdogan says Turkey will clear border of Syrian Kurds-[Associated Press]-YAHOONEWS-December 18, 2017

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey's president slammed a U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish militant group Sunday and said he'll clear his country's border with Syria of "terrorists."President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a rally in the central province of Karaman his country would not allow "terror nests" near its border, referring to areas held by the People's Protection Units or YPG in northern Syria.Turkey considers the YPG an extension of a Kurdish insurgency within its own borders, and launched an operation in August 2016 to clear part of its border of their and the Islamic State group's presence.Erdogan announced an expanded list of areas to be cleared. "We will clean Afrin of terrorists, we will clean Manbij of terrorists. We will clean Tel Abyad, Ras al-Ayn and Qamishli of terrorists," he said.Turkey has a military presence in the western Syrian province of Idlib as part of a de-escalation agreement struck with Russia and Iran. The province borders YPG-controlled Afrin and Turkey has threatened to attack the group there.Erdogan has frequently expressed frustration with the Syrian Kurdish militant group's presence at Turkey's border. But it's rare that he mentions Qamishli, a town further east controlled by both the Syrian Kurds and Syrian President Bashar Assad's government.Turkish officials regularly criticize the U.S. for backing and arming Syrian Kurds in combatting IS, a sticky issue in already tense bilateral relations.Last month, Turkey's foreign minister said President Donald Trump promised to stop arming the militant group but the Pentagon said it was reviewing the process, stopping short of announcing a halt to weapons transfers.Erdogan chided the NATO member's allies, saying they "will really be our allies when they stop working with structures we consider terror organizations in Syria."

STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES

LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in the moon,(MAN ON MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the stars;(ASTEROIDS ETC) and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear,(TORNADOES,HURRICANES,STORMS) and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:(DESTRUCTION) for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)

THE FIRST JUDGEMENT OF THE EARTH STARTED WITH WATER-IT ONLY MAKES SENSE THE LAST GENERATION WILL BE HAVING FLOODING
GENESIS 7:6-12
6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
GOD PROMISED BY A RAINBOW-THE EARTH WOULD NEVER BE DESTROYED TOTALLY WITH A FLOOD AGAIN.BUT FLOODIING IS A SIGN OF JUDGEMENT.

Landslides kill 26 in storm-hit Philippine province: local officials-[Reuters]-YAHOONEWS-December 18, 2017

MANILA (Reuters) - At least 26 people were killed while several residents were missing in an island province in central Philippines after tropical storm Kai-tak brought heavy rains that triggered landslides, local authorities and media said on Sunday.Kai-tak cut power supplies in many areas, forced the cancellation of several flights, stranded more than 15,000 people in various ports in the region and prompted nearly 88,000 people to seek shelter in evacuation centers.The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office of Biliran island said 26 residents had died, but the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) has yet to make any official announcement about fatalities.Biliran Governor Gerardo Espina Jr confirmed the deaths in an interview with DZMM radio, with 23 people still missing, he said."We received reports of three deaths coming from the DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government) but these are for confirmation," said NDRRMC spokeswoman Romina Marasigan. "We are still trying to check the others."Many areas were flooded, damaging crops and infrastructure.Kai-tak has weakened to a tropical depression after barrelling through the eastern region of Visayas on Saturday, hitting islands and coastal towns such as Tacloban City where supertyphoon Haiyan claimed 8,000 lives in 2013.Locally known as Urduja, Kai-tak was packing winds of 55 kilometers (31 miles) per hour with gusts of up to 80 km/h, according to a weather bureau bulletin issued at 2000 GMT.(Reporting by Enrico dela Cruz, editing by David Evans)

More than 30 dead in Philippines due to slow-moving storm-[Associated Press]-YAHOONEWS-December 18, 2017

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A slow-moving storm has left more than 30 people dead and several others missing mostly due to landslides and floods and stranded thousands of holiday travelers in the central Philippines, officials said Sunday.Sofronio Dacillo Jr., a disaster-response officer, said 26 villagers died and 23 others were missing mostly due to landslides in different areas in the island province of Biliran, where the weather has improved after Tropical Storm Kai-Tak blew over Saturday.At least seven other people were killed in landslides and floods in four central areas due to Kai-tak, which weakened into a tropical depression but moved southwestward and picked up speed Sunday with sustained winds of 55 kilometers (34 miles) per hour, according to officials and police.The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said it was trying to confirm the reported deaths caused by the storm, which forced more than 89,000 people to flee to emergency shelters. Thousands of Christmas holiday travelers were stranded due to canceled inter-island ferries and flights.Kai-tak, known locally as Urduja, has remained almost stationary over the eastern section of the central Philippines in recent days, drenching island provinces, setting off landslides and floods and knocking out power in some areas.President Rodrigo Duterte said he would visit the storm-hit region.About 20 typhoons and storms, mostly from the Pacific, lash the Philippines each year, making the poor country of more than 100 million people one of the most disaster-prone in the world.

THE PROOF OF THE LIBERALS-DEMOCRATS MIXED BAG OF EVERYTHING TRYING TO DESTROY TRUMP AND CUDDLE UP TO CLINTON IS FINALLY BEING REVEALED HOW CORRUPT AND DANGEROUS THE LEFT MIXED BAG OF TRUMP HATERS REALLY ARE.GOD IS REVEALING THEIR FRUITS OF EVIL TO THE WORLD.MUELLER HAS TO BE FIRED IMMEDIATELY AND THIS FAKE RUSSIA COLLUSION THE MEDIA AND LEFT DREAMT UP HAS TO BE INVESTIGATED.AND HITLARY CLINTONS ACTIONS INVESTIGATED CLOSELY TO SEE HOW MANY LOSE THEIR JOBS AND HOPEFULLY GET JAILED FOR TRYING TO DESTROY INNOCENT DONALD J TRUMP.THIS IS CORRUPTION AND BIAS AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF THE FBI-DOJ AND WHOEVER ELSE COLLUDED WITH CLINTON AND THE LEFT TO AVOID TRUMP FROM BECOMING PRESIDENT ANY WAY POSSIBLE.THANK GOD JESUS IS PROTECTING TRUMP. THIS IS PROOF TRUMP IS BEING PROTECTED AND LEAD BY GOD IN HIS ADMINISTRATION TO FULFIL PROPHECY.

Special counsel obtains thousands of Trump transition emails-[Associated Press]-YAHOONEWS-December 18, 2017

WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian contacts with President Donald Trump's campaign has gained access to thousands of emails sent and received by Trump officials before the start of his administration, according to several people familiar with Trump's transition organization.But the investigators did not directly request the records from Trump's still-existing transition group, Trump for America, and instead obtained them from the General Services Administration, a separate federal agency that stored the material, according to those familiar with the Trump transition organization.The tens of thousands of emails in question pertain to 13 senior Trump transition officials. Many of the emails that Mueller's investigators have now include national security discussions about possible Trump international aims as well as candid assessments of candidates for top government posts, said those familiar with the transition. They spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the records' sensitivity.On Saturday, Kory Langhofer, general counsel for the transition group, sent a letter to two congressional committees arguing that the GSA had improperly provided the transition records to Mueller's investigators. In the letter to the Republican chairmen of the House Oversight and the Senate Homeland Security committees, Langhofer contends that the disclosure by GSA was "unauthorized," and it considers the documents private and privileged and not government property.Langhofer also said that a GSA official appointed by Trump in May had assured the transition in June that any request for records from Mueller's office would be referred to the transition's attorneys. According to Langhofer, the assurance was made by then-GSA General Counsel Richard Beckler, who was hospitalized in August and has since died. A copy of the letter was viewed by the AP.But late Saturday, another GSA official present for the conversation told Buzzfeed News that there was nothing improper about the disclosure of the emails to Mueller's team. The GSA has provided office space and other aid to presidential transitions in recent years and typically houses electronic transition records in its computer system.GSA Deputy Counsel Lenny Loewentritt told Buzzfeed that Beckler didn't make a commitment to the transition team that requests from law enforcement for materials would be routed through transition lawyers.Loewentritt said the transition was informed that by using government devices, the agency wouldn't hold back records from law enforcement. Transition officials signed agreements that warn them that materials kept on the government servers are subject to monitoring and auditing, he told Buzzfeed, and there's no expectation of privacy.The documents were provided to Mueller's team by the GSA in September in response to requests from the FBI, but the transition wasn't informed at the time, according to people familiar with the transition organization. Officials with Trump for America learned last Wednesday that GSA officials had turned over the cache of emails to Mueller's team.Late Saturday, Mueller's spokesman, Peter Carr, said the special counsel's office has followed the law when it has obtained documents during its investigation."When we have obtained emails in the course of our ongoing criminal investigation, we have secured either the account owner's consent or appropriate criminal process," Carr said.Among the officials who used transition email accounts was former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to a count of making false statements to FBI agents in January and is now cooperating with Mueller's investigation. Flynn was fired by Trump in February for misleading senior administration officials about his contacts with Russia's ambassador to the U.S.It's unclear how revelatory the email accounts maintained by the GSA will be for Mueller. Several high-level Trump advisers sometimes used other email accounts to communicate about transition issues between Election Day and the inauguration.Flynn attorney, Robert Kelner, declined to comment. Jay Sekulow, an attorney on Trump's personal legal team, referred questions to the transition group. Spokespeople for GSA didn't immediately respond to AP's emailed requests for comment.The media site Axios first reported on the transfer of the emails to Mueller's team.

Monday, December 18, 2017

MY WOODBINE 2017 HARNESS RACE PREDICTIONS RD 36

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)

MY MOHAWK-WOODBINE HANOVER 2017 HARNESS RACE PREDICTIONS RESULTS
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2017/08/my-2017-mohawk-woodbine-harness-race.html

WOODBINE STANDARDBREAD HARNESS RACEWAY 2017 - RESULTS AS OF MON DEC-18,2017 - DAY-36

WOODBINE PICKS
01-1-7-4-2
02-1-6-2-4
03-4-5-7-3
04-2-3-7-4 S-3.20
05-8-5-7-9
06-9-10-5-1 W-11.70, P-7.60, EX-56.20
07-7-2-3-4 W-7.50, 4TH (3-1)
08-2-7-8-3 P-3.20, S-3.80
09-1-7-6-4 P-7.90, 4TH (22-1)
10-10-1-2-5-6 W-4.50
MONEY WON-$105.60 - OATOT $9,172.45

STANS PICKS
01-1-7-4-2
02-1-2-3-4 S-4.10 (10-1) - MY 4 WAS 13-1
03-3-4-10-8 P-3.40, 4TH (8-1)
04-2-3-4-6
05-8-7-10-2 EX-41.30
06-5-10-8-3 P-7.60 (9-1), 4TH (34-1)
07-2-4-1-7
08-2-7-8-6 P-3.20, S-3.80 (6-1) - MY 6 WAS 10-1
09-1-6-7-2 MY 7 WAS 7-1, MY 2 WAS 23-1
10-2-1-3-10-5 MY 3 WAS 23-1, MY 5 WAS 9-1
MONEY WON-$63.40 - OATOT $9,562.30

ACTUAL RACE RESULTS
01-4-2-3-5
02-6-4-3-5
03-6-4-5DH-8DH
04-5-2-7-8
05-7-8-4-6
06-9-10-1-3
07-7-6-8-4
08-6-7-8-4
09-3-7-2-4
10-10-2-4-3-5

(WOODBINE PREDICTIONS)-RECORD 2017

01-116-BIG-$22.30 (NOV 06-10TH) (10-1)
02-062-BIG-$09.70 (NOV 10-8TH) (11-1)
03-045-BIG-$09.60 (NOV 03-4TH) (32-1)
04-055-BIG-36-1 (NOV 16-9TH)
1DD-04-BIG-$15.50 (NOV 02-2ND)
S EX-26-BIG-$82.50 (NOV 06-10TH)
S TRI-03-BIG-$62.10 (NOV 11-3RD)
S SUP-02-BIG-$42.45 (NOV 23-3RD)
M EX-20-BIG-$73.40 (NOV 27-2ND)
M TRI-24-BIG-$244.50 (NOV 11-7TH)
M SUP-19-BIG-$634.90 (DEC 09-7TH)
P3 (1-3)-02-BIG-$26.55 (NOV 02-3RD)
P3 (2-4)-02-BIG-$14.90 (NOV 10-4TH)
P3 (3-5)-01-BIG-$21.10 (DEC 04-5TH)
P5 (1-5)-00-BIG-$00.00 (DEC 00-0TH)
P3 (4-6)-02-BIG-$54.25 (NOV 18-6TH)
P3 (5-7)-01-BIG-$15.20 (NOV 02-7TH)
P4 (4-7)-00-BIG-$00.00 (DEC 00-0TH)
P3 (6-8)-02-BIG-$17.30 (DEC 15-8TH)
P3 (7-9)-01-BIG-$11.20 (DEC 15-9TH)
P3 (8-10)-00-BIG-$00.00 (DEC 00-0TH)
P4 (7-10)-00-BIG-$00.00 (DEC 00-0TH)
10TH -P5 (HF)-S-00-BIG-$0.00
10TH -P5 (HF)-M-01-BIG-$212.90 (NOV 16-10TH)
2DD-01-BIG-$04.90 (NOV 16-10TH)
5-1+ LONG-(03)-121-22.8%
LONGEST-32-1 (NOV 03-4TH)
OALTCI-(16)-530
TOP 4 PICKS EACH RACE-01-02,02-02,03-02,04-02,05-02,06-03,07-02,08-02,09-02,10-02=21-40-OATOT-865-1440-60.1%

(STANS PREDICTIONS)-RECORD AT WOODBINE 2017

01-097-BIG-$37.60 (NOV 03-8TH (17-1)
02-050-BIG-$08.20 (NOV 23-1ST) (14-1)
03-051-BIG-$12.50 (OCT 28-7TH) (47-1)
04-041-BIG-59-1 (DEC 14-9TH)
1DD-05-BIG-$60.30 (OCT 20-2ND)
S EX-17-BIG-$86.70 (DEC 02-9TH)
S TRI-03-BIG-$53.90 (DEC 07-1ST)
S SUP-00-BIG-$00.00 (DEC 00-0TH)
M EX-12-BIG-$81.70 (DEC 01-10TH)
M TRI-16-BIG-$172.90 (OCT 28-9TH)
M SUP-16-BIG-$1,125.95 (OCT 23-4TH)
P3 (1-3)-01-BIG-$25.40 (NOV 30-3RD)
P3 (2-4)-00-BIG-$00.00 (DEC 00-0TH)
P3 (3-5)-02-BIG-$21.10 (DEC 04-5TH)
P5 (1-5)-00-BIG-$00.00 (DEC 00-0TH)
P3 (4-6)-02-BIG-$45.40 (NOV 03-6TH)
P3 (5-7)-02-BIG-$131.90 (NOV 03-7TH)
P4 (4-7)-01-BIG-$816.15 (NOV 03-7TH)
P3 (6-8)-00-BIG-$00.00 (DEC 00-0TH)
P3 (7-9)-00-BIG-$00.00 (DEC 00-0TH)
P3 (8-10)-01-BIG-$17.30 (OCT 26-10TH)
P4 (7-10)-00-BIG-$00.00 (DEC 00-0TH)
10TH -P5 (HF)-S-00-BIG-$00.00 (DEC 00-0TH)
10TH -P5 (HF)-M-01-BIG-$304.50 (NOV 13-10TH)
2DD-03-BIG-$29.20 (OCT 26-10TH)
5-1+ LONG-(04)-161-30.4%
LONGEST-51-1 (NOV 03-5TH)
OALTCI-(16)-530
TOP 4 PICKS EACH RACE-01-02,02-02,03-02,04-01,05-02,06-02,07-02,08-03,09-02,10-03=21-40-OATOT-817-1440-56.7%

OALTCI-OVERALL LONGSHOT TOTAL THAT CAME IN THIS RACE SEASON 5-1+.
T4 P-ER-TOTAL 4 PLACINGS EACH RACE.
OATOT-OVERALL TOTAL TOP 4 PLACINGS. THIS RACE SEASON.

THE DOW WAS UP 143 POINTS FRIDAY-A NEW WEEK.

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)

HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER

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

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

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

LUKE 2:1-3
1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
2  (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3  And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(THE FALSE POPE WHO DEFECTED FROM THE CHRISTIAN FAITH) causeth all,(IN THE WORLD ) both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(MICROCHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark,(MICROCHIP IMPLANT) or the name of the beast,(WORLD DICTATORS NAME INGRAVED ON YOUR SKIN OR TATTOOED ON YOU OR IN THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT) or the number of his name.(THE NUMBERS OF HIS NAME INGRAVED IN THE MICROCHIP IMLPLANT)-(ALL THESE WILL TELL THE WORLD DICTATOR THAT YOUR WITH HIM AND AGAINST KING JESUS-GOD)
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast:(WORLD LEADER) for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM (6006006)OR(60020202006)(SOME KIND OF NUMBER IMPLANTED IN THE MICROCHIP THAT TELLS THE WORLD DICTATOR AND THE NEW WORLD ORDER THAT YOU GIVE YOUR TOTAL ALLIGIENCE TO HIM AND NOT JESUS)(ITS AN ETERNAL DECISION YOU MAKE)(YOU CHOOSE YOUR OWN DESTINY)(YOU TAKE THE DICTATORS NAME OR NUMBER UNDER YOUR SKIN,YOUR DOOMED TO THE LAKE OF FIRE AND TORMENTS FOREVER,NEVER ENDING MEANT ONLY FOR SATAN AND HIS ANGELS,NOT HUMAN BEINGS).OR YOU REFUSE THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT AND GO ON THE SIDE OF KING JESUS AND RULE FOREVER WITH HIM ON EARTH.YOU CHOOSE,ITS YOUR DECISION.

1 KINGS 10:13-14
13  And king Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.
14  Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold,

GENESIS 49:16-17
16  Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
17  Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.

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

DOCTOR DOCTORIAN FROM ANGEL OF GOD
then the angel said, Financial crisis will come to Asia. I will shake the world.

BANK RELATED INFORMATION
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2015/09/bank-related-links.html 
CURRENCIES
http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/currencies
COMMODITIES
http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/commodities 


UPDATE-DECEMBER 18,2017-12:00AM

DOW MARKET MONDAY-DECEMBER 18,,2017
09:30AM-5.07
10:00AM-199.99
10:30AM-173.07
11:00AM-164.06
11:30AM-174.55
12:00PM-190.13
12:30PM-180.44
01:00PM-164.14
01:30PM-147.92
02:00PM-145.40
02:30PM-147.51
03:00PM-149.18
03:30PM-154.27
04:00PM-140.46+ 24792.20 - S&P +14.35 2690.16 - NASDAQ +58.18 6994.76
HIGH +200 LOW +05
TSX +89.56 16,131.64 - GOLD $+05.26 $1,261.15 - OIL $+0.14 $57.16

EARTHQUAKES

EZEKIEL 37:7,11-14
7  So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.(POSSIBLE QUAKE BRINGS ISRAEL BACK TO LIFE-SO NOISE AND SHAKING-QUAKES WILL ALSO DESTROY ISRAELS ENEMIES)
11  Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
12  Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
13  And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,
14  And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.

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

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

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places,(DIFFERNT PLACES AT THE SAME TIME) and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

UPDATE-DECEMBER 18,2017-11:55PM

1 Day, Magnitude 2.5+ U.S.22 of 23 earthquakes in map area.

    2.8-13km SE of Likely, CA-2017-12-18 23:30:50 (UTC)-7.7 km
    5.1-100km E of Nishinoomote, Japan-2017-12-18 23:28:28 (UTC)-7.4 km
    4.8-47km N of Naisano Dua, Indonesia-2017-12-18 23:25:34 (UTC)-101.6 km
    2.8-81km WNW of Skagway, Alaska-2017-12-18 22:31:58 (UTC)-0.0 km
    4.8-52km SE of Ishinomaki, Japan-2017-12-18 21:54:33 (UTC)-52.3 km
    4.8-268km SSE of Amahusu, Indonesia-2017-12-18 21:08:42 (UTC)-283.5 km
    4.6-11km ESE of Jianyi, China-2017-12-18 18:39:38 (UTC)-10.0 km
    2.9-71km WNW of Talkeetna, Alaska-2017-12-18 16:58:39 (UTC)-54.6 km
    4.6-94km W of San Antonio de los Cobres, Argentina-2017-12-18 15:47:38 (UTC)-207.3 km
    4.9-47km SE of Bilungala, Indonesia-2017-12-18 15:09:29 (UTC)-144.5 km
    2.9-22km SSW of Whitehall, Montana-2017-12-18 14:52:09 (UTC)-5.0 km
    2.8-7km SSW of Langston, Oklahoma-2017-12-18 13:47:21 (UTC)-7.4 km
    2.6-45km SW of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska-2017-12-18 11:02:12 (UTC)-141.2 km
    2.5-16km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico-2017-12-18 09:38:36 (UTC)-8.0 km
    2.6-14km NE of Julian, CA-2017-12-18 08:25:41 (UTC)-10.0 km
    2.6-67km SW of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska-2017-12-18 06:35:42 (UTC)-164.4 km
    4.4-Banda Sea-2017-12-18 06:14:57 (UTC)-316.1 km
    2.5-14km NW of Pawnee, Oklahoma-2017-12-18 03:45:01 (UTC)-3.0 km
    4.0-33km ESE of Farkhar, Afghanistan-2017-12-18 00:27:41 (UTC)-216.0 km
    4.1-237km NNW of Luring, China-2017-12-18 00:20:03 (UTC)-13.7 km

STOCK MARKET AND EARTHQUAKE NEWS
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2017/12/weekend-quake-results-for-december-16.html 
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2017/12/the-dow-was-down-76-points-thursday.html 
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2017/12/the-dow-was-up-80-points-wednesday.html 
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2017/12/the-dow-was-up-118-points-tuesday.html 
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2017/12/the-dow-was-up-56-points-monday.html 
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2017/12/the-dow-was-up-117-points-friday-new.html 
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2017/12/weekend-quake-results-for-december-09.html 

THE USELESS UN WANTS TO STEAL JERUSALEM BACK FROM ISRAEL WITH A RESOLUTION. BUT THANK YOU JESUS FOR LEADING NIKKI HALEY TO PROTECT ISRAEL

JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER. 1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)

LUKE 21:28-29
28 And when these things begin to come to pass,(ALL THE PROPHECY SIGNS FROM THE BIBLE) then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (RAPTURE) draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree,(ISRAEL) and all the trees;(ALL INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES)
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.(ISRAEL LITERALLY BECAME AND INDEPENDENT COUNTRY JUST BEFORE SUMMER IN MAY 14,1948.)

JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth (ATOMIC BOMB) before them;(RUSSIAN-ARAB-MUSLIM ARMIES AGAINST ISRAEL) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(ATOMIC BOMB AFFECT)

ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)

EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.

ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE

UN Security Council considering resolution to annul US Jerusalem decision-Vote possible in next few days; US veto would stop move; Turkey has vowed to go to non-binding General Assembly if thwarted at Security Council-By Agencies-DEC 17,17-TOI

The United Nations Security Council is considering a draft resolution that would nullify US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Reuters reported Saturday.According to the report, the one-page text, seen by the news agency, was drafted by Egypt and does not specifically mention the US or Trump.Israeli envoy to the UN Danny Danon slammed the move as another Palestinian attempt to rewrite history.“No vote or discussion can change the clear reality — Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, now and always. We will continue to fight for the historical truth, this time, together with our allies,” Danon said.The report came a day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Muslim nations would ask the United Nations for an “annulment” of Trump’s December 6 decision.It’s highly unlikely that any resolution would pass the Security Council, where the US is one of five permanent members with a veto. US Ambassador Nikki Haley is a staunch supporter of Israel, who has made eliminating UN bias against Israel a key goal. Haley praised Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as “the just and right thing to do.”Erdogan said the initiative would start at the UN Security Council, where a vote would carry more weight, but promised, if it was vetoed there, that “we will work within the UN General Assembly for the annulment of this unjust and lawless decision.” General Assembly decisions are non-binding.The draft UN resolution “affirms that any decisions and actions which purport to have altered the character, status or demographic composition of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal effect, are null and void and must be rescinded in compliance with relevant resolutions of the Security Council,” Reuters said.It also “calls upon all States to refrain from the establishment of diplomatic missions in the Holy City of Jerusalem, pursuant to resolution 478 (1980) of the Security Council.” Trump in his declaration said he was giving instructions for the eventual relocation of the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.The draft council resolution “demands that all states comply with Security Council resolutions regarding the Holy City of Jerusalem, and not to recognize any actions or measures contrary to those resolutions,” Reuters said.In December 2016, toward the end of the Obama Administration, the Security Council voted through a resolution that “underlines that it will not recognize any changes to the 4 June 1967 lines, including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the parties through negotiations.” Bitterly opposed by Israel, the vote passed 14-0 with the US abstaining. Trump’s transition team reportedly tried to block the resolution.Erdogan’s comments followed Wednesday’s summit of Muslim and Arab nations — the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation — which declared East Jerusalem the capital of Palestine and urged the world to recognize the state of Palestine.Turkey has been one of the most vocal critics of Trump’s December 6 decision on recognizing Jerusalem.With the Islamic world itself mired in division, the Wednesday summit in Istanbul fell well short of agreeing on any concrete sanctions against Israel or the United States.But its final statement declared “East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine” and invited “all countries to recognize the State of Palestine and East Jerusalem as its occupied capital.”The statement declared Trump’s decision “null and void legally” and “a deliberate undermining of all peace efforts” that would give impetus to “extremism and terrorism.”It also said Trump’s move was “an announcement of the US administration’s withdrawal from its role as sponsor of peace” in the Middle East, echoing Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.Jerusalem’s status is perhaps the most sensitive issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Israel sees the entire city as its undivided capital, while the Palestinians want the eastern sector, which the international community regards as annexed by Israel, as the capital of their future state.In his address from the White House, Trump said that after repeated failures to achieve peace, a new approach was long overdue. He described his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the seat of Israel’s government as merely based on reality.Trump, whose declaration was hailed by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and by leaders across much of the Israeli political spectrum, stressed that he was not specifying the boundaries of Israeli sovereignty in the city, and called for no change in the status quo at the city’s holy sites.Erdogan — who regards himself a champion of the Palestinian cause — denounced Israel at the Wednesday OIC summit as a state defined by “occupation” and “terror.”“With this decision, Israel was rewarded for all the terrorist activities it has carried out. It is Trump who bestowed this award even,” said Erdogan, who holds the rotating chairmanship of the OIC.He said all countries who “value international law and fairness” should recognize “occupied Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine,” saying Islamic countries would “never give up” on this demand.Using unusually strong language, Abbas at the summit warned that there could be “no peace or stability” in the Middle East until Jerusalem is recognized as the capital of a Palestinian state.Moreover, he said that with Trump’s move the United States had withdrawn itself from a traditional role as the mediator in the search for Mideast peace.“We do not accept any role of the United States in the political process from now on. Because it is completely biased towards Israel,” Abbas said.Trump’s announcement last week prompted an outpouring of anger in the Muslim and Arab world, where tens of thousands of people took to the streets to denounce the Jewish state and show solidarity with the Palestinians.Hamas, the terrorist group that rules Gaza, has called for a new intifada against Israel and urged Palestinians to confront soldiers and settlers. Abbas’s Fatah movement called for days of rage in response to Trump’s declaration.

Furious Palestinians reject White House talk of Western Wall as Israel’s forever-After Trump official says US can't 'envision any situation' in which Wall not part of Israel, Abbas spokesman says this is unacceptable violation of law; Fatah vows 'resistance'-By Eric Cortellessa and Agencies-TOI-DEC 17,17

The Palestinian Authority bitterly rejected comments by a senior official in the Trump Administration on Friday that the White House “envisions” the Western Wall will remain part of Israel under any accord with the Palestinians.Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a senior adviser to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, declared Saturday that the PA would not accept any changes to what he called the borders of East Jerusalem. Israel captured East Jerusalem, including the Old City with the Temple Mount and Western Wall, from Jordan in the 1967 war.“We will not accept any changes on the borders of East Jerusalem, which was occupied in 1967,” Abu Rudeineh said. “This statement proves once again that this American administration is outside the peace process,” he added.“The continuation of this American policy, whether the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, or moving the American embassy, or such statements, by which the United States decides unilaterally on the issues of the final status negotiations, are a violation of international law and strengthen the Israeli occupation,” he said.“For us, this is unacceptable. We totally reject it. And we totally denounce it.”Mahmoud al-Aloul, Abbas’s deputy in Fatah, also slammed the White House official’s comment, and vowed to step up protests.“We have adopted a policy of popular resistance and now we will raise the level of resistance,” he was quoted as saying by the Ynet news site. “The occupation is responding to the resistance with unprecedented violence toward the (protesting) youths.”The administration official’s comments followed US President Donald Trump’s December 6 declaration that recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The Western Wall remarks were certain to delight Israeli leaders — the Western Wall is the holiest place where Jews are allowed to pray — and infuriate the Palestinians.“We cannot envision any situation under which the Western Wall would not be part of Israel,” the official said, speaking ahead of US Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to Israel next week.“But as the president said [in his speech last week on Jerusalem], the specific boundaries of sovereignty of Israel are going to be part of the final status agreement,” the official said.Furthermore, the official added, “We note that we cannot imagine Israel would sign a peace agreement that didn’t include the Western Wall.”The Israeli Foreign Ministry declined immediate comment on the remarks.Pence is due to arrive in Israel on Wednesday. His trip was delayed so that he could help push a tax reform bill through Congress that Trump heavily supports.While in Israel for three days, Pence will speak at the Knesset, visit Yad Vashem, and is slated to light a menorah at the Western Wall, which stands adjacent to the Temple Mount, the holiest place in Judaism and site of Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest shrine.Pence is likely to visit the Western Wall without accompanying Israeli officials, just as Trump did in May. Trump, who became the first ever serving president to go to the Wall, said that part of his trip to Israel was a private visit.Friday’s statements marked an abrupt shift from US comments ahead of Trump’s visit to the Wall, when a US official was reported to have angrily rejected a request that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accompany the president, and then sniped at his Israeli counterparts that the Western Wall is “not your territory. It’s part of the West Bank.”The Western Wall, part of the retaining walls of the Second Temple compound, is the closest point of prayer for Jews to the site of the Temple itself and thus the Jewish people’s holiest place of prayer. It was captured along with the rest of the Old City and East Jerusalem in the 1967 war, and annexed by Israel as part of its united capital — a move not recognized internationally.Before Trump’s visit to the Wall, no serving US president had ever visited the Western Wall, because US policy has been that the final status of Jerusalem has yet to be resolved in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.Pence will not meet with  Abbas or Palestinian officials on his visit — since they refused to see him in protest over Trump’s recent Jerusalem decision. Abbas has said the Jerusalem recognition means the US administration can no longer play a role in the peace process.In his address from the White House last week, Trump defied worldwide warnings and insisted that after repeated failures to achieve peace, a new approach was long overdue, describing his move as a “recognition of reality” — based on Jerusalem’s status as the seat of Israel’s government.His declaration, welcomed by Netanyahu and Israeli leaders across most of the political spectrum, prompted widespread violent protests in the region; four Palestinians died on Friday during clashes with Israeli forces in the West Bank and Gaza, including one who was shot after stabbing an Israeli Border Police officer.Amid these developments, the White House also announced on Friday that it would deploy its top peace envoy Jason Greenblatt to the region next week to try and advance the administration’s peace efforts.“As we have said since the Jerusalem announcement, we anticipated reactions like the ones going on in the region but are going to remain hard at work on our peace plan,” a senior administration official told The Times of Israel.

Israel’s leaders atypically quiet after Abbas asserts their state is invalid-Evidently disinclined to rub salt into wounds after Trump recognized Jerusalem as capital, ministers largely disregard speech in which PA head intimated Jews falsify faith, history-By Raphael Ahren and Dov Lieber-TOI-17 December 2017

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas this week threatened to cancel his agreements with Israel, appeared to accuse Israel and/or Jews of falsifying history and religion, and asserted that Israel does not meet the criteria for statehood and thus that the international community should reconsider its recognition of Israel.But while American Jewish groups — including, most unusually, J Street — issued highly critical responses to the PA chief’s address in Istanbul, Israel’s leaders and officials were markedly subdued in their response, apparently preferring not to kick a man when he’s down. Having pocketed the long-coveted American recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the Jewish state’s leaders may have decided, for a few days at least, not to pour additional salt on Abbas’s wounds.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a relatively mild response to Abbas’s ferocious speech Wednesday at the Organization for Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s “Extraordinary Islamic Summit,” but his office chose not to directly address some of Abbas’s most incendiary rhetoric, and numerous other Israeli leaders, contacted by The Times of Israel, also chose not to comment. A rare exception was Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely, who in a written response, castigated Abbas for what she called his “path of lies” and for denying “the Jewish people’s connection to its land.”The relative quiet in Jerusalem may also reflect the Trump administration’s repeatedly declared insistence — since the US president recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital on December 6 — that it remains committed to brokering a landmark Israeli-Palestinian agreement, with Jerusalem careful not to make statements that might be regarded in Washington as further complicating that ambition. Sensitivities are particularly acute, furthermore, ahead of Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to Israel next week, during which he is not now expected to visit the Palestinian territories, having been rebuffed by Abbas.In the past, by contrast, Netanyahu has frequently issued damning criticism of Abbas’s speeches, including accusing the PA president of refusing to accept Israel in any borders, peddling lies and libels, and proving that he is no partner for peace.In his hour-long address in Istanbul, at an emergency summit of Islamic and Arab nations convened in the wake of Trump’s Jerusalem declaration, Abbas denounced the US administration, threatened to abrogate all peace agreements since Oslo, and vowed to seek full membership for the “State of Palestine” at the United Nations. While he has issued similar threats in the past, however, he also made fresh inflammatory accusations.Notably, for instance, he declared that “there is no one better at falsifying history or religion than them,” in a comment that appeared to refer to Israel and/or Jews.That section of his speech, translated by The Times of Israel, went as follows: “At this occasion, I don’t want to discuss history or religion, because there is no one better at falsifying history or religion than them. But if we read the Torah, it says that the Canaanites lived here before Abraham and haven’t left since that time. It hasn’t been interrupted. That’s in the Torah. If they want to fabricate, ‘to distort the words from their [proper] usages,’ as God said. I don’t want to get into religion.”The phrase “to distort the words from their [proper] usages” is an expression directly quoted from the Quran, widely interpreted to refer to the Jews.In another passage of his address, as translated by the Washington Free Beacon, Abbas argued that Israel does not fulfill the criteria of statehood, and urged the nations of the world to rethink their recognition of the State of Israel.“International law says that the state must meet three conditions: authority [i.e., government], population and borders. But the third condition is not available in Israel, and I challenge it to say where its borders are. This leads us to [the conclusion] that recognizing it is invalid,” he said.The Palestinian president was likely referring to the declarative theory of statehood, which postulates that an entity needs to fulfill certain objective criteria before it can be considered a state. According to the first article of the 1933 Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States, which has traditionally been recognized as the benchmark to determine what constitutes a state under international law, a state needs to possess the following qualifications: a permanent population; a defined territory; government, and capacity to enter into relations with the other states. Israel has no defined borders, hence no defined territory, and therefore cannot be considered a state, Abbas seemed to be arguing.“I wonder,” he went on, “how can world nations remain silent to these violations of international law, and how can they continue to recognize Israel and deal with it while it mocks everyone, and continues to violate the agreements signed with it, and persists in its repressive and colonialist practices, and the creation of an apartheid, and the desecration of our peoples and our Christian and Islamic sacred [places]?”The official Palestinian news agency Wafa published its own text of Abbas’s speech in Arabic, and excerpts in English.Netanyahu responded to Abbas’s speech in general terms on Wednesday.“The Palestinians would do well to recognize reality and work toward peace, not extremism, and acknowledge an additional fact regarding Jerusalem: Not only is it the capital of Israel but in Jerusalem we uphold freedom of worship for all faiths and it is we who are making this promise in the Middle East even though no one else does and despite frequent severe failures in this regard,” Netanyahu said at an event for outstanding Mossad personnel in the President’s Residence. “Therefore all these statements fail to impress us. The truth will win in the end and many countries will certainly recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and also move their embassies.”Queried on some of the specific passages of Abbas’s speech, however, the Prime Minister’s Office had no further comment. Likewise, the Foreign Ministry merely responded to queries by referring to Netanyahu’s comments. (Netanyahu serves as his own foreign minister.)-The Times of Israel contacted numerous politicians — including Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, Regional Cooperation Minister Tzachi Hanegbi, Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan, Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz, Education Minister Naftali Bennett, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, Deputy Defense Minister for Diplomacy Michael Oren, and opposition leaders Avi Gabbay and Yair Lapid — but they either refused to comment or did not reply.Deputy Foreign Minister Hotovely responded in writing: “Abu Mazen [Abbas] insists to continue on the path of lies and to deny the Jewish people’s connection to its land. When the Hasmoneans returned to the Kingdom of Israel [around the year 110 BCE] no one disputed the Jewish people’s historic connection to the Land of Israel. Every stone in Jerusalem testifies to the thousand-year-old connection between the Jews and their land,” she told The Times of Israel.“The Palestinian leadership does not work for the benefit of the Palestinians, but rather only deals with negating Israel’s right to exist,” she went on. “This way, they will continue to watch from the sidelines as Israel flourishes and thrives, while they are losing the world’s sympathy.”Asked by The Times of Israel to respond to the passage of the speech in which Abbas appeared to accuse Jews and/or Israelis of fabricating history and religion, the PA president’s adviser on religious affairs, Mahmoud al-Habash, said Friday: “What he means is something in our faith. In the Quran. We don’t blame the Jews as Jews. We don’t consider ourselves in conflict with Judaism. You have to take the speech as a whole. From the beginning to the end. Don’t try to pick and choose some statements here and words there, trying to form something about the president.”“Abbas is not anti-Semitic,” Habash went on. “We are Arabs. We consider ourselves to be part of the Semitic people. We don’t want to enter the religious area in the conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis. This is exactly what Abu Mazen means. We don’t fight against Judaism. We don’t fight against Jews. We are fighting against the occupation. This is our position. This is the position of President Abbas.”Queried on who Abbas meant by “them” in the quote, “There is no one better at falsifying history or religion than them,” Habash said: “The occupiers. Any colonial occupation can do anything to convince the people, to convince the world, that he’s right, including, as you mentioned, distorting religion. This is not just for the Jews or some faiths here or there. Anybody who uses religion in the political conflict could be included in what Abu Mazen said. Anyone who uses religion for bad means in a political conflict, as Abu Mazen quoted the Quran saying, they ‘distort the words from their [proper] usages.’ It means don’t try to take the religion to bad areas in your political or personal conflict between each other. Religion belongs to God.”Pressed on the widespread interpretation that this Quranic verse refers to Jews, or as it says “Beni Israel,” Habash said: “‘Beni Israel’ is not the Jews. The Jews are not all part of the Beni Israel. Beni Israel means the children of Yaaqub. But there are many Jews that are not part of the Children of Yaaqub. There are many Arab Jews on the Arabian Peninsula in the era of the Prophet Mohammad. I have many examples of Jews not from the Beni Israel. I advise all people, Jews and non-Jews, don’t try to use religion in this conflict with the Palestinians.“Abu Mazen said in this speech, I don’t want to debate with them religion or history. It’s not a conflict about religious or historic narratives. The conflict focuses on the political issue. When you end your occupation of Palestinian land, everything will be ended. You will not find us in conflict with you.”Habash said he was “sure that many of the Israeli leaders will try to take to the statements to another area and to find some words in the speech and change the meaning of the words. Don’t try. We are focusing on specific points: the occupation and our national rights.”Regarding Abbas’s call to countries to review their recognition of the state of Israel, Habash said: “You know why Abu Mazen said this: because Israel until now doesn’t have specific borders. Any state, if you want to recognize a state, you have to recognize it within its borders. Where is the borders of Israel? Could Netanyahu himself draw the borders of Israel? If I want to recognize Israel, where are the borders to recognize? This is what Abu Mazen means. If any state wants to recognize Israel, okay, but you can recognize it in specific, well-known borders. But where are its borders? This is the question. This is not new. It’s not new.”

Fatah calls for ‘angry’ protests against US during Pence’s Jerusalem visit-Abbas adviser denounces White House's unilateral decisions regarding holy city, rejects 'any changes on the borders of East Jerusalem'-By Agencies and TOI staff-DEC 17,17

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction on Saturday called for “angry” demonstrations next week to protest against a visit to Jerusalem by US Vice President Mike Pence after Washington said it would recognize the holy city as Israel’s capital.“We call for angry protests at the entrances to Jerusalem and in its Old City to coincide with the visit on Wednesday of US Vice President Mike Pence and to protest against Trump’s decision,” Fatah said in a statement.Breaking with decades of US policy, President Donald Trump also said on December 6 that he would move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. And, in a move that further angered the Palestinians, a White House official said Friday that the US could not “envision any situation” under which the Western Wall would not be part of Israel.The moves were welcomed by Israel but have stirred widespread condemnation and sparked angry protests across Arab and Muslim countries, as well as deadly clashes in the West Bank and Gaza. Trump stressed that the city’s borders should be agreed upon between the sides under a peace deal, and that access to holy sites must not be impeded.The December 6 Jerusalem declaration by Trump also prompted Abbas to cancel a meeting with Pence, who arrives Wednesday in Jerusalem, and warn that Washington no longer had a role to play in the Palestinian-Israeli peace process.Ahead of Pence’s visit, a senior Trump administration official said Friday that the White House “envisions” the Western Wall will remain part of Israel under any accord with the Palestinians.Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a senior adviser to Abbas, reacted indignantly to the comments.“We will not accept any changes on the borders of East Jerusalem, which was occupied in 1967,” Abu Rudeineh told The Associated Press. “This statement proves once again that this American administration is outside the peace process.”“The continuation of this American policy, whether through the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, or by moving the American embassy, or other such statements, by which the United States decides unilaterally on the issues of the final status negotiations, are a violation of international law and strengthen the Israeli occupation,” he said. “For us, this is unacceptable. We totally reject it. And we totally denounce it.”Mahmoud al-Aloul, Abbas’ deputy in Fatah, also slammed the White House official’s comment, saying they would step up protests.“We have adopted a policy of popular resistance and now we will raise the level of resistance,” he was quoted as saying by Ynet’s news site. “The occupation is responding to the resistance with unprecedented violence toward the [protesting] youths.”The Western Wall, part of the retaining walls of the Second Temple compound, is the closest point of prayer for Jews to the site of the Temple itself, and thus the Jewish people’s holiest place of prayer. It was captured, along with the rest of the Old City and East Jerusalem, from Jordan in the 1967 Six Day War, and annexed by Israel as part of its united capital — a move not recognized internationally.Pence, who is set to go to the Western Wall, will likely visit the holy site without accompanying Israeli officials, just as Trump did in May. Trump, who became the first ever serving president to go to the Wall, said that part of his trip to Israel was a private visit.The status of Jerusalem is one of the most controversial issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Israel sees the whole of Jerusalem as its undivided capital. The Palestinians view East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.The call to protest came as thousands of Palestinians took part in funerals for two of four men killed Friday in clashes with Israeli forces during violent protests in the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip. One of the men was fatally shot after stabbing an Israeli border police officer near Ramallah.Mourners chanted anti-Trump slogans and masked men fired into the air during one of the ceremonies in the village of Beit Ula, located between Jerusalem and the West Bank.Funerals were also held for the two other Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, where Hamas, the terror group that rules the enclave, had on Friday called for a “day of rage.”One of those killed was Ibrahim Abu Thurayeh, a Palestinian who AFP reported lost his legs in an Israeli attack a decade ago, and who, with his wheelchair, was a regular feature at protests along Gaza’s border with Israel.The Israeli army has said it fired selectively on chief instigators during “extremely violent riots” along the border on Friday.Another Palestinian was killed in clashes in Anata on the northeast outskirts of Jerusalem, the PA health ministry said, naming him as Bassel Ibrahim, 24. It said he had been shot.

Arab Israelis protest US Jerusalem recognition in Jaffa, north-Demonstrators wave Palestinian flags, chant their willingness to die for holy city's Al-Aqsa Mosque-By TOI staff-DEC 17,17

Hundreds of Arab Israelis on Saturday protested against US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, with participants waving Palestinian flags and declaring their willingness to die for the city’s Al-Aqsa Mosque.The largest demonstration was in the Tel Aviv neighborhood of Jaffa, with protesters affiliated with the Islamic Movement chanting they were ready to die for Al-Aqsa, Channel 10 reported.The mosque, the third holiest site in Islam stands on the holiest site in Judaism, the Temple Mount.They protesters carried a picture of Sheikh Reid Salah on which it was written “Jerusalem and the land are ours.”Salah, a firebrand preacher and leading member of Israel’s now-outlawed Northern Branch of the Islamist Movement, is currently on trial for incitement to terror.The protests came as police in Jerusalem arrested 14 people overnight suspected of involvement in rock-throwing and other violence against security forces. Some violent incidents and clashes with police were also registered in East Jerusalem overnight.Earlier in the week, dozens of Arab Israelis demonstrated outside the American embassy in Tel Aviv against the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, with demonstrators waving Palestinian flags and carrying signs criticizing Trump, including one that likened the American president to a snake.On Saturday, Israeli security forces remained on high alert in preparation for a possible renewal of riots in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, a day after four Palestinians died in clashes and attacks on Israeli troops.Tensions could be further stoked following a senior White House official’s statement to reporters Friday that the administration “cannot envision any situation under which the Western Wall would not be part of Israel” in any peace accord.Palestinians claim East Jerusalem, including the Old City, as the capital of their intended independent state.Palestinians have been outraged by President Donald Trump’s December 6 declaration that the US recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Trump stressed that he was not specifying the boundaries of Israeli sovereignty in the city, and called for no change in the status quo at the city’s holy sites.But Palestinian leaders, angered by what they see as the US dismissing their claims to East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, have called for demonstrations and “days of rage.” Hamas leaders also urged the start of a new intifada, or uprising.Agencies contributed to this report.

Security forces brace for renewed Palestinian protests amid Jerusalem tensions-Police in Jerusalem arrest 14 people suspected of involvement in violence, a day after 4 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank and Gaza during clashes and attacks-By TOI staff    Today, 11:09 amUpdated: 17 December 2017

Israeli security forces were on high alert Saturday in preparation for a possible renewal of riots in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, a day after four Palestinians died in clashes and attacks on Israeli troops.Tensions could be further stoked following a senior White House official’s statement to reporters Friday that the administration “cannot envision any situation under which the Western Wall would not be part of Israel” in any peace accord.Palestinians claim East Jerusalem, including the Old City, as the capital of their intended independent state.Police in Jerusalem arrested 14 people overnight suspected of involvement in rock-throwing and other violence against security forces. Some violent incidents and clashes with police were also registered in East Jerusalem overnight.Thousands demonstrated in the West Bank and Gaza Friday against the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.One man, Mohammed Aqal, was shot near Ramallah after stabbing an Israeli Border Police officer in the upper torso while wearing a mock suicide belt. He was taken away by Palestinian medics and later died of his wounds.The Palestinian Authority health ministry said a second man was shot and killed in clashes in Anata on the northeast outskirts of Jerusalem.Two more Palestinians were killed along the Gaza-Israel border, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said. The army said it opened fire on the “main instigators” of violent protests at the Gaza border after they failed to heed repeated calls to stop approaching the fence.Following noontime prayers riots were reported in most major Palestinian cities. Demonstrators burned tires and threw petrol bombs and rocks at Israeli troops, who fired back at them with tear gas and rubber bullets. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that dozens of protesters sustained light wounds.Israeli officials said the number of violent protesters dropped significantly this weekend compared to the last.Palestinians have been outraged by President Donald Trump’s December 6 declaration that the US recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Trump stressed that he was not specifying the boundaries of Israeli sovereignty in the city, and called for no change in the status quo at the city’s holy sites.But Palestinian leaders, angered by what they see as the US dismissing their claims to East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, have called for demonstrations and “days of rage.” Hamas leaders also urged the start of a new intifada, or uprising.In Jerusalem itself, around 30,000 people prayed at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount Friday, according to the Islamic organization that administers the site. The vast majority left without incident, but small scuffles broke out in the Old City.Earlier on Friday, a 30-year-old Israeli was lightly injured near the West Bank town of Hizme, outside Jerusalem, when Palestinians threw rocks at his car.During riots at various locations in the capital in recent days, protesters threw stones, glass bottles, Molotov cocktails and other objects at officers as well as blocking roads, burning garbage cans and shooting firecrackers at police. Several officers have been injured.The West Bank has also seen daily confrontations between protesters and IDF troops.On Israel’s southern border with Gaza, protests along the border fence have been accompanied by a marked uptick in rocket attacks, with over a dozen missiles fired since Trump’s speech. Hamas, the terror group which rules Gaza and seeks to destroy Israel, has called for a new intifada to liberate Jerusalem and urged Palestinians to confront soldiers and settlers.Agencies contributed to this report.

Mayor in town of Jesus’s birth reinstates Christmas festivities-Nazareth's Ali Salam had previously announced festivities were canceled because of Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital-By TOI staff-DEC 17,17

The mayor of Nazareth said Saturday that Christmas celebrations would go ahead in Jesus’s hometown, days after announcing holiday festivities would be canceled in protest of the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.“Reports that Christmas events were canceled this year are incorrect,” said Ali Salam, who is mayor of the town in northern Israel. “Just as every year, the city is decorated for the holiday and we are excited to receive the tens of thousands of visitors who will arrive, and to give them a festive and special experience.”Salam, who is Muslim, said people of all faiths were welcome to visit the city.“[I] invite all the residents of the State of Israel — the Jews, Muslims and Christians — to come to the city of Nazareth and take part in the Christmas celebrations,” said Salam. “Nazareth is the city of peace and brotherhood between religions and nations, and there is nothing like the spirit of the holiday and the shared experience to prove it.”Salam’s statement came as the start of the Christmas festivities was set to begin in Nazareth later Saturday with the lighting of the tree.It marked a reversal from Thursday’s announcement by Nazareth’s city council that Salam had ordered the axing of all planned artistic events, including a festival and large Christmas market.“Our identity and faith aren’t up for debate,” Salam had said Thursday. “The decision [by Donald Trump on December 6 to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel] has taken away the joy of the holiday, and we will thus cancel the festivities this year.”Nazareth is one of the holiest cities in Christendom because it was there that the angel Gabriel is believed by Christians to have told the Virgin Mary she would conceive and bear Jesus.According to the New Testament, Jesus also grew up in the town.The annual celebrations are a major tourist draw and source of income for the city, which is inhabited primarily by Arab citizens of Israel, two-thirds of whom are Muslim and the remaining third Christian.In an address last Wednesday from the White House, Trump defied worldwide warnings and insisted that, after repeated failures to achieve peace, a new approach was long overdue.He described his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the seat of Israel’s government as merely based on reality.The move was hailed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and by leaders across much of the Israeli political spectrum, and condemned by the vast majority of the international community. Trump stressed that he was not specifying the boundaries of Israeli sovereignty in the city, and called for no change in the status quo at the city’s holy sites.Sue Surkes contributed to this report.

Egypt opens Gaza border for four days-Entry into Gaza allowed, but only humanitarian cases can leave; some 20,000 Gazans are seeking to exit-By AFP and TOI staff-DEC 17,17

Egypt opened its largely sealed border with Gaza on Saturday for only the second time since the Palestinian Authority took control of the crossing from the Hamas terror group that rules the Strip.The Hamas-run interior ministry, which was organizing departures from the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis, said the crossing would stay open for four days but, in the Egypt direction, for humanitarian cases only.Those cases include people needing medical treatment unavailable in Gaza, as well as students enrolled at Egyptian universities, and Gazans with jobs abroad.There were tearful scenes at the makeshift departure point as families said their farewells.Rafah is Gaza’s only border crossing not controlled by Israel.Hamas handed control of the Gaza side to the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority on November 1, as the first part of an Egyptian-brokered reconciliation deal designed to end a bitter, decade-long split.That was supposed to have been followed by the handover of full civil control in Gaza by December 1.But the target date was missed amid differences over the future of tens of thousands of civil servants recruited by Hamas since it seized control of the territory in 2007. Hamas is also refusing to give up its arms and its military wing.The Palestinian Authority has not agreed to lift sanctions on the Strip, including sanctions on payments for electricity.Egypt opened the border for three days last month — the first time it had done so since the reconciliation deal.Prior to that, the crossing had been open for just 14 days this year, according to the Hamas-run interior ministry.Up to 20,000 Gazans have applied to enter Egypt, far more than are able to cross during the brief openings.Some 200 people passed through on Saturday morning, 10 of them medical cases, the ministry said.Both Israel and Egypt have maintained blockades of Gaza for years, arguing that they are necessary to prevent Hamas, a terrorist group which seeks to destroy Israel, from importing rockets, arms, and materials to construct fortifications.

Amid uptick in rockets, Labor chief says Israel losing deterrence in Gaza-Gabbay slams defense minister for expressing 'understanding' for attacks when saying they come from internal Palestinian power struggles-By TOI staff-DEC 17,17

Labor party chairman Avi Gabbay said on Saturday that the recent surge in rockets launched at Israel from the Gaza Strip was reducing Israel’s deterrent capability against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.“We are losing our deterrence vis-a-vis Hamas in Gaza,” Gabbay said at a cultural event in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba.Gabbay criticized Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman for asserting last week that the recent rocket fire was the result of internal Palestinian political spats and not an indication that terrorist groups were no longer afraid of Israel.“He is a defense minister, not a military analyst,” Gabbay said. “These are dire statements that could be interpreted by the other side as a understanding attitude on our part toward the launches at the south.”On Thursday, Liberman called on Israelis to “relax,” despite the dramatic increase in the number of rocket attacks from Gaza over the past week.Speaking from the southern city of Sderot, Liberman said the rocket fire was the result of internal Palestinian political spats and not an indication that terrorist groups were gearing up for another war with Israel.The reassurance from the ordinarily bellicose defense minister appeared to be a response to growing calls for the Israel Defense Forces to take more aggressive action against terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the rocket attacks.In the past week, over a dozen rockets have been fired at Israel from Gaza. A number of them fell short, five were shot down by the Iron Dome defense system, and six struck Israel, two of them causing damage in the southern town of Sderot.After more than three years with limited rocket fire from Gaza — 26 rockets were fired in 2015, 20 in 2016, and nine from January to November 2017 — the sudden spike in December has raised concerns that Israel might be headed for another war with terrorist groups in the Strip.The Israel-Gaza tensions have been fed by Washington’s recognition last week of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.Protesting US President Donald Trump’s December 6 declaration, terror group Hamas called for a new intifada and vowed to liberate Jerusalem.On Friday, three Palestinians were killed in clashes between Israeli troops in the West Bank and Gaza, as thousands of Palestinians demonstrated for a second week against the shift in US policy regarding Jerusalem. A fourth was fatally shot stabbing an Israeli border police officer near Ramallah.At the cultural event on Saturday, Gabbay echoed the sentiment of other Israeli lawmakers that Jerusalem should remain under Israeli sovereignty, and not be shared with Palestinians, who seek the eastern sector of the city as the capital of their future state.“People came to Israel because of Jerusalem,” he said. “We have to restore our control of the capital and create positive motivations to do so. It’s one city.”

As IS crumbles, experts warn of threat posed by foreign fighters-Thousands of jihadists may have escaped war zones, many of them with fighting skills and bomb-making knowledge-TOI-DEC 17,17

WASHINGTON — An estimated 40,000 people traveled from around the world to take up arms for the Islamic State group as it occupied territory in Syria and Iraq and declared a caliphate in 2014.A few hundred are believed to still be fighting as IS struggles to survive, having lost most of its territory to campaigns by Western-backed Syrian and Iraqi coalition armies.But what happened to the rest? Many thousands were certainly killed in the intense fighting, but US experts believe many have survived, posing a formidable threat going ahead.“The issue is: how many have died? How many are still there and willing to fight? How many have gone elsewhere to fight?” said Seth Jones, director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at the Rand Corporation.“How many have given up? I don’t think we have a good answer.”International counterterror groups are putting huge efforts into answering those questions, working hard to name, count and track IS foreign fighters.In France, officials say, around 1,700 people went to Iraq and Syria since 2013 to join IS. Of those, 400 to 450 have been killed, and 250 returned to France.Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on December 8 that about 500 are still in the Iraq-Syria theater, and for them it is now very hard to return to France.But that leaves another 500 whose whereabouts are unknown, many of them with the skills of war, wielding weapons and making bombs.-‘One-way ticket’-Terrorism specialist Bruce Hoffman of Georgetown University estimated during a conference Wednesday that “thousands” have escaped the war zone.“Today, some of them are most likely in the Balkans, lying low for the time being, waiting for the opportunity to infiltrate themselves to the rest of Europe,” he said.Some have traveled to other jihadist fronts, according to Thomas Sanderson, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Transnational Threats Project.For example, he said, at least 80 IS fighters from Morocco, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Yemen have joined the IS-allied Abu Sayyaf insurgents battling government forces in the southern Philippines since this past May.Local people in the northern Afghanistan province of Jowzjan have told AFP that French-speaking IS veterans — from France or northern African countries — have recently set up camp there.And they also have the option of other conflict zones in northern Africa, like Libya, Somalia, Yemen and elsewhere where jihadist groups akin to IS are conducting violent insurgencies.The defeat of IS on the battlefield in Syria in Iraq did not close off escape routes. IS fighters were able to blend in with civilian refugees or bribe their way to sneak into Turkey.Many don’t have much choice but to continue to fight: they never had a plan to return to their home countries, where they face imprisonment in most cases, according to Jones.“For many, it was a one-way trip. They wanted to live in the caliphate, permanently. So we don’t see a major move back,” Jones said.

Showdown EU vote on asylum looking likely for next June By Nikolaj Nielsen-EUOBSERVER

BRUSSELS, 15. Dec, 17:46-The prospect of EU states going to a vote next June on a deeply-disputed measure to impose mandatory asylum-seeker quotas on member states appears increasingly likely."I am not a fan of qualified majority decision-making but it is in the treaty," European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker told reporters on Friday (15 December).The issue of assigning a set number of how many asylum seekers each member state must take has underpinned sharp disputes among EU states. The Visegrad four, composed of Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia, flat out refuse the concept as opposed to Germany and Italy.Speaking alongside European Council president Donald Tusk, Juncker said some member states at an EU summit dinner in Brussels on Thursday are prepared to use the vote should a consensus become unattainable."Will a compromise be possible? It appears very hard but we have to try our very best," said Tusk.Tusk described relocation as an insignificant response to migration, which has instead taken disproportionate political dimensions."This is the most time consuming issue or dimension when it comes to migration debate," he said.But any move towards a majority vote in June is anathema among an EU leadership that continues to grapple with the concept of solidarity.A consensus, they argue, is better suited to rolling out EU-wide policy following the debacle over a two-year scheme to relocate asylum seekers from Greece and Italy to other member states.The 2015 scheme, which ended this past September, has soured relations and resulted in legal battles between the European Commission and the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland - an 'east-west' division of member states Tusk referred to at the opening of the summit on Thursday.A similar quota scheme is now part of a larger asylum reform proposal to distribute people in need of international protection to EU states on a more permanent long-term basis.EU leaders are supposed to reach a decision on this reform, also known as the Dublin regulation, by next June.The broader dispute underlies other realities among thousands stuck in over-crowded Greek islands in the lead up to winter."Solidarity on migration is not a theoretical debate," said Oxfam's EU migration policy adviser Raphael Shilhav.He said those stuck on the Aegean islands are now "paying a daily price that EU leaders are ignoring."-Damage control-Juncker also went into damage control after his migration commissioner, Dimitris Avramopoulos, labelled Tusk "anti-European" for describing relocation as "highly divisive" and "ineffective"."Donald Tusk is not anti-European, he is a pro-European," Juncker said, in response to Avramopoulos' comments."I know that Avramopoulos as a good commissioner and I think this is a real misunderstanding," he said.Tusk also weighed in, telling reporters that as European Council president he does not take sides with any group of member states or regions.The Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia have taken the lead among member states, against Germany, in opposing any system that would require them to accept asylum seekers based on quotas."But I do insist on my right and duty, because this is in fact my obligation, to come forward with an honest and factual analysis of the situation," he said.

EU stresses unity as it launches next phase of Brexit talks By Eszter Zalan-EUOBSERVER

BRUSSELS, 15. Dec, 17:13-EU-27 leaders on Friday (15 December) approved moving Brexit talks with British prime minister Theresa May onto the next phase, and start discussions about a transition period possibly as soon as in January.They agreed that sufficient progress has been achieved on the terms of divorce on citizens' rights, the Irish border and financial settlement with the UK.European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker commended May, saying she is a "tough, smart, polite, friendly negotiator".It took ten minutes for leaders to adopt the guidelines for the transition talks to begin in January.They had a "sober and short" discussion on the transition period, an EU source said.To kick off those transition talks, the EU commission is expected to propose a negotiating mandate next Wednesday to be adopted by member states in January.In the meantime, the EU and UK will transpose the deal reached last Friday (8 December) on key divorce issues into a legal text.The EU also wants more clarity from the UK on what sort of trade and future relationship it envisages after Brexit to be able to start discussions on that future after March, when EU leaders adopt another set of guidelines for those talks."It is now time for internal EU-27 preparations and exploratory contacts with the UK, to get more clarity on their vision," European Council president Donald Tusk told reporters after the meeting.Friday's guidelines set out that the transition period should be "clearly defined and precisely limited in time", suggesting it would be designed to coincide with the end of the next seven-year EU budget that runs out in 2020.In September, May outlined an "around" two-year-long transition period after the UK leaves the bloc in March 2019."It is important that it is time limited ... We have to make sure [a country that leaves] doesn't stay in a transition stage for ever – it wouldn't work for either the UK, nor the EU," Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar told press after the meeting.-Transition conditions-The EU has said that during the transition period the UK will have to abide by EU rules and regulations as if it were member, but without a seat at the table. That means no UK commissioner, no MEPs, and no UK minister at council meetings.The EU's rules for transition include complying with EU trade policy, which means the UK could start its own bilateral trade negotiations (but cannot conclude them before the transition period ends), and can ask the EU and third parties to roll-over existing trade accords.The UK will also need to continue to respect the rulings of the the EU's top court, the European Court of Justice during the transition period, an anathema for hardcore Brexit supporters.After the guidelines were adopted, May thanked her European counterparts."Today is an important step on the road to delivering a smooth and orderly Brexit and forging our deep and special future partnership," she tweeted.In a separate tweet she promised "securing the greatest possible access to European markets, boosting free trade with countries across the world, and delivering control over our borders, law and money" in the Brexit deal.May on Thursday night had updated the leaders on the divorce deal. Nobody commented on her intervention, but her brief talk was received with a round of applause."Some of us thought that she did make big efforts and this has to be recognised," EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said Friday.There was unease in Brussels over a Westminster vote on Wednesday that gives a final say to MPs on the Brexit deal, with concerns over May's ability to negotiate an agreement.But EU leaders offered their support to May."Everyone appreciated her personal efforts and engagement," Christian Kern, Austria's prime minister said Thursday night.Unity-The unity achieved at the end of the first phase of Brexit talks, and how it could be maintained, was very much on the mind of leaders on the summit.German chancellor Angela Merkel warned on Friday at her press conference that upcoming negotiations will be even tougher than the previous nine months of talks."Unity was very much the topic of the discussion," Varadkar said, adding that individual bilateral negotiations with the UK should be avoided.EU countries have started already and will continue to hold internal discussions on their priorities for the future relations.Divergences in priorities could surface, and thus be exploited by British negotiators, although leaders seem keen to avoid that.-Dutch tight-lipped-Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte at his press conference on Friday refused point blank to give details on the priorities in the future talks for the Netherlands, which is one of the countries that has been seen as a potential ally for the UK."I am not going to answer that, because then I would be breaking the unity of the 27," he said."The most important decision we made today was that we will do this behind the scenes, and that we will protect the unity of the 27," Rutte added."Remaining united was already challenging during the first phase," Rutte said, referring to the UK as "smart negotiators" who knew how to "call capitals"."We managed to keep that unity and really have the ambition to do the same in the next period," the premier added.

Dutchman to lead powerful euro working group By Peter Teffer-EUOBSERVER

Brussels, 15. Dec, 09:21-The most senior official in the Dutch finance ministry is expected to be chosen as head of the Eurogroup Working Group on Friday (15 December).Tuomas Saarenheimo, the only other candidate, dropped out of the race on Thursday, making it virtually certain that Hans Vijlbrief will lead the influential Brussels-based committee, which prepares the meetings of eurozone finance ministers, the Eurogroup.The move will secure Dutch continued influence in discussions about the euro, after their former finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem leaves the post of Eurogroup president in January 2018.Dutch media reported the news on Thursday, saying that Vijlbrief will officially be chosen via teleconference on Friday.A source in the Council of the EU confirmed to EUobserver that there was "only one candidate left", while a Finnish source told this website that the Finnish candidate, Saarenheimo, permanent under-secretary at the Finnish ministry of finance, dropped out on Thursday."He withdrew his candidacy because there was more support for the Dutch candidate," the Finnish contact said.The Eurogroup Working Group is made up of senior officials from euro area member states, the European Commission, and the European Central Bank.Outgoing Eurogroup Working Group president Thomas Wieser, an Austrian, had been in the post since January 2012.The position is for two years, but can be extended.'Most powerful man in Brussels'-Yanis Varoufakis, who was Greece's finance minister and Eurogroup member for seven months in 2015, described Wieser as "the true power broker within the eurozone".Varoufakis wrote in his 2017 book Adults in the Room that Wieser was "the most powerful man in Brussels, far more so than Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, or Pierre Moscovici, commissioner for economic and finance affairs … or even, on occassion, Dijsselbloem himself.""At such times he seemed to run the whole show," Varoufakis wrote about Wieser in his political memoirs, in which he gave his view of the struggle between debt-ridden Greece and the troika of creditors.He criticised the Eurogroup Working Group as "the shadowy crucible in which the troika forges its plans and policies".Wieser had also been the man who gave press off-the-record briefings ahead of Eurogroup meetings.-Dijsselbloem for Vijlbrief-The support for Vijlbrief suggests that the Dutch government played it smart by not accepting an extended six-month mandate for Dijsselbloem, as proposed by France and Germany.According to Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad, the Hague dropped Dijsselbloem so that they can focus their lobbying efforts on behalf of Vijlbrief – as securing both positions for such a relatively small member state would be unlikely.The newspaper noted that to the chagrin of its Benelux partner Luxembourg, the Netherlands supported the Portuguese candidate to succeed Dijsselbloem, and not the Luxembourgish one.According to UK newspaper the Financial Times last August, France initially also had a candidate for the Eurogroup Working Group.Hans Vijlbrief, who holds a doctorate in economics, had been the most senior civil servant at the Dutch finance ministry since 2011. Before that he worked for a decade at the ministry of economic affairs, where he also had experience in the 1990s.

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