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
IDF targets car, observation post used by Gazans launching fire balloons-No injuries reported as aircraft fires missiles toward group of Palestinians east of Gaza City-By Judah Ari Gross-jun 26,18
An Israeli drone targeted a car and observation post that were being used by a group of Palestinians to launch incendiary balloons into southern Israel from the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, according to Palestinian reports.The Israeli military confirmed that an aircraft conducted two strikes in response to repeated arson attacks from the Palestinian coastal enclave.No Palestinian injuries were reported.“An IDF aircraft attacked a car in the northern Gaza Strip that was being used by a group of incendiary balloon launchers, as well as an observation post from which they were launching balloons,” the army said in a statement.According to the Hamas-affiliated Shehab news outlet, the airstrikes were conducted by an Israeli drone east of Gaza City near the security fence.A number of small fires were reported in southern Israel throughout the day on Tuesday, apparently sparked by incendiary kites and balloons from the Gaza Strip.On Monday, a total of 11 fires broke out in southern Israel that were caused by these airborne arson devices, according to local government officials.Nine of the blazes took place in the Eshkol region, which has been the area hardest hit by these fire kites and balloons. The other two fires occurred in the nearby Sha’ar Hanegev region.The 11 fires were put out quickly before they could spread, spokespeople for the regions said.A number of balloons with small explosive devices attached to them were also found throughout the day on Tuesday.The IDF conducted similar airstrikes on Sunday, firing at groups of Gazans launching incendiary kites and balloons into southern Israel.In one case, three people were injured as an IDF drone fired a missile at a cart being used by the group, according to local Palestinian media.The Israeli military has carried out multiple warning strikes in recent weeks at groups of Gazans preparing to launch incendiary devices toward Israel. The army has said repeatedly that it will act to prevent the launch of the airborne incendiary devices and explosives.Since March 30, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have launched countless kites, balloons and inflated latex condoms bearing flammable materials, and occasionally explosives, into Israeli territory, sparking near-daily fires that have burned thousands of acres of farmland, parks and forests.Israeli leaders on Wednesday evening warned Hamas, which rules Gaza, and other terror groups in the Strip, that the military was prepared to take more intense offensive action as well.“The intensity will increase as necessary,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a graduation ceremony for new IDF officers last week. “We are prepared for every scenario, and it’s best that our enemies understand this right now.“The steel fist of the IDF will strike hard at anyone who attempts to harm us,” he added.Israeli leaders have been split on how to respond to those responsible for the airborne arson attacks, with some calling for the IDF to shoot the kite flyers and balloon launchers on sight, while others argued that it would be a step too far.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Rivlin asks Prince William to take ‘message of peace’ to Abbas-It's time the Palestinians understand that Jews have returned to their ancestral homeland, president tells visiting royal, adding, 'We have to end to the tragedy between us'-By Raphael Ahren-TOI-JUN 26,18
President Reuven Rivlin on Tuesday asked visiting Prince William to convey to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas a “a message of peace.”Hosting the Duke of Cambridge in his official Jerusalem residence, Rivlin said the Palestinians need to accept that Jews have returned to their ancestral homeland and that it was about time Israelis and Palestinians end their conflict.“I know that you’re going to meet President Abbas. I would like you to send him a message of peace,” Rivlin told his royal guest.“And tell him it is about time, it is about time that we have to find together the way to build confidence. To build confidence as a first step to bring to [an] understanding that we have to bring to an end to the tragedy between us” that has been going on for 120 years, he said, speaking in English.Prince William — the first member of the British royal family to make an official visit to Israel since the state was founded in 1948 — also expressed the hope for peace in the Middle East, though his formulation was very vague, steering clear of endorsing any political position.“I, like you, look forward to understanding lots about the region and about hoping that peace in the area can be achieved,” he said. “So I am very much looking forward to really absorbing and understanding the different issues, the different cultures, the different religions, culminating in a visit, which will be very symbolic and very interesting for me, in the Old City on Thursday which I am very much looking forward to seeing.”Prince William, the second in line to the British throne, is scheduled to meet Abbas at his Muqata headquarters in Ramallah on Wednesday. On Thursday, the duke is to tour Jerusalem’s Old City, where he is expected to visit the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and Al-Aqsa Mosque, though these visits have not been officially confirmed.In recent days, a minor controversy has clouded the prince’s visit to the Old City, as Kensington Palace’s official itinerary billed it as taking place in the “Occupied Palestinian Territories.”During their meeting at the President’s Residence, Rivlin stressed Israel’s commitment to guarantee freedom of worship to all, but suggested that the political divisions between Israelis and Palestinians can only be overcome when the latter accept Israel as a Jewish nation-state.“There’s only one God, and we are letting everyone worship God according to his belief,” the president said. “All the other problems have to be solved first of all with the understanding of both sides that we’re not doomed to live together. Our destiny is to live together. We are destined to live together,” he went on.Veteran residents of Jerusalem know that Israelis and Palestinians “could live together, and we can live together,” Rivlin added. “They [the Palestinians] have to understand only that the Jewish people have returned back to their homeland.”Earlier during their conversation, Rivlin commented on the fact that Prince William’s visit marked the first time a British royal officially visited the State of Israel.“This land knows about history, and you’re writing a new page of history,” he said.Rivlin recalled that he was born in 1939 “as a British subject,” and walked to school on a street named after a British king.His family has been living in Jerusalem since a decade before the 1917 Balfour Declaration, which promoted the idea of a Jewish homeland together with a “partnership with all the people who are living here,” Rivlin said.The president noted that there was much Israel had inherited from the British from their time ruling the country, including the Israeli legal system, which is based on the British system. “We adopted most of the provisions,” he said. “The only thing we did not adopt exactly, although we wanted to adopt, was the ability to have a Premier League as you have,” he said, referring to Israel’s soccer league. “Unfortunately, we are still trying.”Keeping to the soccer theme, the president mentioned the duke’s support for the Aston Villa team, praised the English national squad’s impressive performance at the current World Cup in Russia and jokingly asked him to lend Israel the team’s top scorer Harry Kane.“Israel kept many of the British customs and laws from the Mandate, but we did not manage to keep the same level of British football,” Rivlin said. “I know you are a fan of Aston Villa, and I am a fan of Liverpool, but we can still talk about that during the World Cup…”“I was the president of the [Beitar] Jerusalem team 40 years ago,” Rivlin went on. “It was in the eyes of many Israelis much more important that the position that I am holding just now,” he quipped.The Duke of Cambridge gave Rivlin a Liverpool jersey, signed by former team captain Steven Gerrard.“It’s my first visit to Israel and I am obviously looking forward to getting to meet as many Israelis as possible, and understand Israeli history and Israeli culture over the next few days,” the prince told the president.“I had a very moving tour around Yad Vashem this morning which really taught me quite a lot more than I thought I knew about the true horrors of what happened to the Jews during the war, so I very much appreciate the time everyone gave to show me around that museum,” he added.Later on Tuesday, the prince will attend an event at the Tel Aviv beach with Mayor Ron Huldai and speak at a reception at the Ramat Gan residence of the UK’s ambassador to Israel, David Quarrey.On Wednesday morning, Prince William will attend an as-yet-unspecified “cultural event” in Tel Aviv before meeting with young Israelis at the city’s Beit Ha’ir Museum. He is also set to meet with Israel’s Eurovision Song Contest winner Netta Barzilai.The museum visit will conclude the part of the trip billed as taking place in Israel.On Wednesday at about 1:30 p.m., he will meet Abbas for a bilateral meeting followed by lunch. Later that afternoon, William will attend various events focusing on the issues facing refugee communities, Palestinian culture and food.On Wednesday evening, William will address a reception at the UK’s Jerusalem Consulate, where he will meet Palestinians from various walks of life.On Thursday morning, William will receive a briefing from a viewing point at the Mount of Olives from a member of the consulate. He will then proceed to the Russian Orthodox Church of St. Mary Magdalene to visit the grave of his great-grandmother.Princess Alice, who saved a Jewish family during the Holocaust, was interred there in the late 1980s.Her grandson, William’s father, Prince Charles, visited the grave in October 2016, during his trip to Israel to attend the funeral of president Shimon Peres.Later on Thursday, William is expected to tour the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount, and the Western Wall, though these visits have not been confirmed.On Thursday, in the early afternoon, the Duke will depart from Ben Gurion International Airport en route to London on a special flight.
Knesset vote on recognizing Armenian genocide withdrawn-With no coalition support, opposition MK cancels motion to officially acknowledge slaughter of 1.5 million during WWI-By TOI staff and AFP-jun 26,18
A Knesset vote scheduled for Tuesday on recognizing the World War I killings of Armenians as genocide has been canceled due to a lack of government support, the opposition lawmaker behind the initiative said.Last month the Knesset approved the motion, penned by Tamar Zandberg of the left-wing Meretz party, to hold a plenary debate and vote on “recognizing the Armenian genocide.”Turkey had expressed its opposition, and Zandberg, in an effort to ensure the support of the governing coalition for her motion, agreed to postpone the vote until after Sunday’s Turkish elections.On Monday, it became clear that the coalition was still opposed to Zandberg’s initiative, even after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s reelection.“Despite the promises and delays and despite the Turkish elections being behind us, the government and coalition are refusing to recognize the Armenian genocide,” Zandberg said on Twitter late Monday.“I am therefore forced to cancel the vote,” she said.Armenians have long sought international recognition of the 1915-1917 killings by the Ottoman Empire, which reportedly left some 1.5 million of their people dead, as a genocide. Turkey — the Ottoman Empire’s successor state — strongly rejects the allegation that the massacres, imprisonment and forced deportation of Armenians from 1915 amounted to a genocide.Israel’s refusal thus far to formally recognize the Armenian slaughter as genocide is based on geopolitical and strategic considerations, primary among them its relations with Turkey.Zandberg on Tuesday said that recognizing the Ottoman massacres as genocide was a “matter of basic historical justice, which the Jewish state should have been the first to recognize” in light of the Holocaust.The Foreign Ministry would not comment on Zandberg’s initiative since it did not involve legislation. It did, however, recommend the government postpone a vote on a bill to recognize the Armenian genocide earlier this month, over concern its advancement could benefit Erdogan ahead of the June 24 elections there.Zandberg’s motion would not have been considered an Israeli government move, but could have worsened already-tense ties with Turkey, which has harshly criticized Israel over deadly clashes on the Gaza border in recent months.Every year since 1989, Meretz has sought recognition of the century-old mass killings of Armenians by their Ottoman rulers as a genocide, but each year the initiative has been knocked down by sitting governments because of Israel’s diplomatic ties with Turkey.The United States has similarly avoided recognition of the mass killings over fears of angering Turkey.The latest striking down of the initiative comes amid a sharp increase in tensions between Jerusalem and Ankara during the recent clashes on the Israel-Gaza border in which dozens of Palestinians were killed, leading to a diplomatic spat that saw the ambassadors and consuls general of both countries expelled or withdrawn to their respective countries.Erdogan also engaged in a bitter Twitter exchange with Netanyahu, whom he accused of having “the blood of Palestinians” on his hands, while Netanyahu in return accused him of supporting Hamas and being a proponent of “massacres and terror.”Last month, Deputy Diplomacy Minister Michael Oren described the current rift with Turkey as the “most severe” since Israel and Turkey signed a reconciliation agreement in June 2016, upgrading their diplomatic relationship after years of frosty ties worsened by a fatal melee between Turkish activists and IDF soldiers aboard a Gaza-bound ship in 2010.
Palestinian steals Arab Israeli’s vehicle with 5-year-old in back seat-Boy later found on side of road near Hashmonaim checkpoint in West Bank; suspect ordered the child out of car after noticing him-By Jacob Magid-TOI-JUN 26,18
Police received a report Tuesday of a vehicle that was stolen in the central West Bank with a 5-year-old boy still in the back seat.The suspect began driving toward the Palestinian village of Nil’in when he noticed that the child was still inside. He then ordered the boy to get out of the car, police said.Authorities found the child at the side of the road near the Hashmonaim checkpoint and said he was unharmed.The suspect along with the vehicle was still at large and police were on their way to the scene accompanied by IDF troops.A police spokeswoman told The Times of Israel that the vehicle belonged to an Arab Israeli and that the suspect was a Palestinian.Tuesday’s incident is believed to be the third such crime in less than a week in the central West Bank.Last Thursday, an Israeli woman was driving near the settlement of Talmon, northwest of Ramallah, when she was cut off by a Palestinian vehicle, forcing her to stop abruptly to avoid a collision.Police said two suspects exited their car and approached the woman’s vehicle. They proceeded to smash the windshield and yank the woman out before taking her car and speeding away, police said.The victim, from the West Bank settlement of Neria, declined medical attention despite sustaining light injuries.The Binyamin Regional Council subsequently sent out a WhatsApp message to its residents telling them to be extra alert while driving as Thursday’s incident was the third alleged carjacking in the area in less than a week.The message encouraged residents to install reinforced glass windows and drive with their doors locked.
US Army inks $193 million deal to buy Israeli tank defense system-The TROPHY system, in use since 2011, will be supplied by an American company that partnered with Israel's Rafael arms manufacturer-By Judah Ari Gross-TOI-JUN 26,18
The US Army on Tuesday awarded a contract worth nearly $200 million for Israel’s TROPHY defense system to shield its Abrams tanks, according to the Rafael Advanced Defense Systems contractor.The systems, which block incoming anti-tank missiles, will be supplied to the US Army by the Armerican defense contractor Leonardo DRS, Inc., which partnered with Rafael to manufacture them.The TROPHY, known in Hebrew as me’il ruach, or windbreaker, is an active defense system manufactured by Rafael that is designed to protect tanks and other armored vehicles from missiles and rockets.It was first developed by Rafael and the Israel Aircraft Industries’ Elta Group and was declared operational in 2009.The system is made up of a radar detection system that spots incoming missiles and predicts their trajectories, and launchers that fire buckshot-like metal pellets, which cause the incoming missile or rocket to detonate away from the tank.The deal with the US Army to supply the system and accompanying parts is worth $193 million, Rafael said in a statement.“Under the terms of the contract, Leonardo DRS will provide the [US] Army with TROPHY systems, countermeasures, and maintenance kits,” the Israeli defense contractor said.Parts of the TROPHY will be made in the US and some in Israel, according to Rafael.“Leonardo DRS is proud to be a part of this important effort to bring life-saving technology to our warfighters, and we are actively investing to ensure TROPHY provides a solid, American-made foundation for the Army’s coming Vehicle Protection Suite program,” said Aaron Hankins, of Leonardo DRS, in a statement.The TROPHY system has been in use in Israel’s Merkava-model tanks since at least 2011, and more recently in the military’s armored personnel carriers.Rafael said it has supplied “some 1,000 systems to all major Israeli ground combat platforms.”I tried to kill the Abrams tank 48 times and failed-In 2016, the US military announced that it was planning to purchase the TROPHY system to protect American tanks until the US defense contractor Raytheon could produce its own active defense system.Last year, the US Army said it would be fielding tanks with the TROPHY system by 2020.At a conference, representatives from the US military said they were impressed by the system’s capabilities from live-fire testing on an Abrams tank equipped with the TROPHY.“I tried to kill the Abrams tank 48 times and failed,” said US Army Col. Glenn Dean at a defense expo last year, according to the Military.com news site.The system saw extensive real-world use in the 2014 Gaza war. Though many sustained damage, no tanks were destroyed in the fighting.
Prince William visits Yad Vashem, honors great-grandmother who rescued Jews-On first day of official visit, British royal meets Holocaust survivors saved as children by the UK; hosted by PM Netanyahu and President Rivlin-By Alexander Fulbright and Raphael Ahren-TOI-JUN 26,18
Britain’s Prince William, making the first ever official visit to Israel by a member of the royal family, on Tuesday visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem, where he took part in a wreath laying ceremony and met with Jews who were rescued by Britain as children.Before he laid a wreath at the Hall of Remembrance, the prince toured the Holocaust History Museum and the Museum of Holocaust Art, where he signed the museum’s guestbook.“It has been a profoundly moving experience to visit Yad Vashem today. It is almost impossible to comprehend this appalling event in history. Every name, photograph and memory recorded here is a tragic reminder of the loss suffered by the Jewish people. The story of the Holocaust is one of darkness and despair, questioning humanity itself,” he wrote.“We must never forget the Holocaust — the murder of 6 million men, women and children, simply because they were Jewish. We all have a responsibility to remember and to teach future generations about the horrors of the past so that they can never reoccur. May the millions of Jewish people remembered by Yad Vashem never be forgotten,” added the prince.William also referenced his great-grandmother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, who is recognized by Yad Vashem as a Righteous Among the Nations for helping save a Jewish family in Greece during the Holocaust.“The actions of those few, who took great risks to help others, are a reminder of the human capacity for love and hope. I am honoured that my own great grandmother is one of these Righteous Among the Nations,” he wrote.Duke’s message in @yadvashem book: I’m honoured my own great grandmother is Righteous Among Nations. We must never forget’#RoyalVistIsrael pic.twitter.com/aYH2QkWTgE— Justin Cohen (@CohenJust) June 26, 2018-William will visit Princess Alice’s grave on the Mount of Olives Thursday. She was interred there in the late 1980s in accordance with her wishes.Prince Philip, the son of Princess Alice and William’s grandfather, planted a tree at Yad Vashem in his mother’s honor during a private museum to the memorial in 1994.Her grandson, William’s father, Prince Charles, visited the grave in October 2016 during his trip to Israel to attend the funeral of president Shimon Peres.Yad Vashem said Princess Alice “hid the three members of the Cohen family – Rachel, Tilda and Michelle – in her palace in Athens during the Nazi occupation of Greece.”It said: “Princess Alice personally saw to it that the members of the persecuted Jewish family had everything they needed, and even visited them in their hiding place, spending many hours in their company.”Thanks to her, the Cohen family survived and today lives in France, it said.Robert Rozett, director of the Yad Vashem Libraries, told Hadashot TV news the prince showed great interest in the museum and asked questions such as why the Holocaust happened to the Jews.During the tour, William met with Paul Alexander and Henry Foner, two survivors of the Kindertransport, which before the outbreak of World War II helped bring thousands of Jewish children from across Europe to Britain.Before meeting the prince, Foner said he hoped to give William a copy of his book “Postcards to a Little Boy,” a collection of postcards his father sent him from Germany before he was murdered by the Nazis at Auschwitz.“I was a six-year-old refugee kid, and here I am giving a book I wrote, to honor my father, basically, to a member of the royal family,” Foner told Reuters before meeting the prince. “It’s great honor for me to be able to say thank you, symbolically, to the British people who saved my life.”William was accompanied on his visit to the Holocaust memorial by Yad Vashem chairman Avner Shalev, as well UK Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis.Following his visit to Yad Vashem, William was meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin at their respective residences in Jerusalem before heading to the Tel Aviv area for a series of events later Tuesday and Wednesday morning.During the meeting with the Netanyahu and his wife Sara, descendants of the Cohen family also took part and William was presented with a copy of Princess Alice’s Righteous Among the Nations certificate.William, the second in line to the British throne, will travel to the West Bank city of Ramallah Wednesday afternoon to meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at his Muqata headquarters and take part in various cultural events.On Wednesday evening, William will address a reception at the UK’s Jerusalem Consulate, where he will meet “a range of people from across society in the Occupied Palestinian Territories,” according to Philip Hall, the UK consul general in Jerusalem.On Thursday morning, William will receive a briefing from a viewing point at the Mount of Olives from a member of the consulate. He will then proceed to the Russian Orthodox Church of St. Mary Magdalene to visit the grave of his great-grandmother.Later on Thursday, William is expected to tour several religious sites in Jerusalem’s Old City, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount, and the Western Wall, though these visits have not been confirmed.That those visits are taking place under the auspices of the UK consulate in Jerusalem, which is in charge of London’s relations with the Palestinian Authority, has garnered some criticism from Israeli officials, with Jerusalem Minister Ze’ev Elkin accusing the second-in-line to the throne of “politicizing” his visit to the region.But David Quarrey, the UK’s ambassador, defended describing Jerusalem’s Old City as being part of the “Occupied Palestinian Territories” in the prince’s itinerary.“All the terminology that was used in the program was consistent with years of practice by British governments. It’s consistent with British government policy,” he told reporters during a briefing at his Ramat Gan residence last week.On Thursday, in the early afternoon, the Duke will depart from Ben Gurion International Airport en route to London on a special flight.The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Hamas claims Russia opposes Trump peace plan-After meeting with Russian officials, Moussa Abu Marzouk says Moscow won't allow the 'deal of the century' to move forward-By TOI staff-JUN 26,18
A top leader of Hamas said Monday that Russia will oppose the White House’s plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace as a delegation from the terror group met with Russian officials in Moscow.“We agreed with the Russians that we won’t allow the advancement of the deal of the century,” Moussa Abu Marzouk said, according to the Haaretz daily.The assertion by Abu Marzouk, a member of Hamas’s politburo, came after he met with top Russian diplomats in Moscow, including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, Russia’s envoy to the Middle East.“The participants focused on the problems of a Palestinian-Israeli settlement in accordance with the well-known international legal framework, including UN resolutions, and the soonest possible restoration of national Palestinian unity based on the agreement signed in October 2017 in Cairo between the Hamas and Fatah movements,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said after Bogdanov’s meeting with the Hamas delegation.A senior Hamas member in the Gaza Strip told Haaretz the timing of the trip was intentional, coming on the heels of the US peace team’s visit to the Middle East to promote the Trump administration’s peace plan and enlist humanitarian aid for Gaza.“The Russians are a very central player in the Middle East. They have a direct connection with all the players in the region, from Israel to the Palestinian Authority and Iran,” the Hamas member was quoted as saying.In light of Russia’s status, the Hamas member said it was important for the terror group to coordinate with Moscow on humanitarian conditions in Gaza and US peace efforts.“The stance of the organization is to prevent the US, and especially the current government, to act as an exclusive player in the region that implements in practice the policies of Israel,” the Hamas member said.Though Hamas is listed as a terror group by Israel and the US, Russia has rejected this designation and has pushed back on criticism of its ties with the Islamist organization.Like its rival Hamas, the Palestinian Authority has also sought to cultivate closer relations with Russia, with President Mahmoud Abbas calling for an expanded Russian role in peace talks during a meeting with his counterpart Vladimir Putin in February.Jibril Rajoub, the head of the Palestine Football Association, said Monday Abbas would meet with Putin when he attends the World Cup final in Moscow next month.Hebrew media reports said Putin invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to also attend the game, though the premier has yet decide if he will go.Even if here were to attend, it is not clear that Netanyahu would meet with Abbas. Though both have previously expressed a willingness to meet in Russia, such a meeting has yet to take place.
Citing ‘new spirit’ at UNESCO, Israeli envoy wants to rethink withdrawal-After cultural agency again postpones Israel-related resolutions, Carmel Shama Hacohen says Washington and Jerusalem should at least consider a 'certain delay' before quitting-By Raphael Ahren-TOI-JUN 26,18
Israel’s envoy to UNESCO on Tuesday suggested a rethink of the country’s planned exit from the world cultural body, citing a “new spirit” in the organization after it agreed to delay a series of resolutions critical of the Jewish state.“I was the first to recommend leaving the organization after the United States announced its withdrawal, but now Israel must not ignore the new spirit emanating from UNESCO, and we need to reevaluate, in full coordination with the US, the question of leaving,” Ambassador Carmel Shama Hacohen said Tuesday.Jerusalem and Washington should at least consider “a certain delay” of their withdrawal in order to signal that “if all the politics and the going after Israel will be history, Israel has an interest in cooperating in a positive way on the issues of education, culture and science with all the nations of the world, and especially our neighbors,” the diplomat said in a statement sent to Israeli reporters.Israel and the US announced at the beginning of the year that would be leaving the group by the end of 2018.Shama Hacohen issued the statement after two resolutions, regarding the old cities of Jerusalem and Hebron, were delayed by one year at the agency’s World Heritage Committee, which is currently convening in Manama, Bahrain.Although Shama Hacohen is not attending the conference, due to security concerns and the fact that Israel and Bahrain do not have diplomatic ties, it was decided that the two resolutions would be delayed without a debate on them for a year.This move, brokered by the US and UNESCO director-general Audrey Azoulay, was done in accordance with agreements reached in Paris earlier this year, Shama Hacohen said.The Foreign Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office declined to comment on Shama Hacohen’s comments.In April, UNESCO’s Executive Board agreed to delay by at least six months voting on two resolutions, one on Gaza and another on Jerusalem, that Israel considered very “extreme.” Following negotiations by the Israeli delegation and the Arab nations that sponsored the resolution, the executive board voted unanimously to delay a decision on the two resolutions until the next session to be held in October.The decision was welcomed by Audrey Azoulay, the newly appointed director-general of UNESCO. “I welcome the spirit of dialogue and responsibility that has allowed a consensual decision to be reached in the framework of the Executive board during its discussions concerning the Middle East,” she tweeted.I welcome the spirit of dialogue and responsability that has allowed a consensual decision to be reached in the framework of the Executive board during its discussions concernant the Middle East.— Audrey Azoulay (@AAzoulay) April 12, 2018-She added that the agreement between the nations heralded a new era for the international body.“This spirit of consensus opens up a new positive dynamic within UNESCO. I thank all the delegations that have worked towards this, notably the representatives of the Palestinian, Israeli, Jordanian, American, and European Union delegations,” she wrote at the time. “This outcome bears witness to the Parties’ strong commitment to work together, including on the most sensitive issues.”Last October, the US and Israel decided to withdraw from UNESCO, citing among other reasons the body’s anti-Israel bias.UNESCO is best known for its World Heritage program to protect cultural sites and traditions, but it also works to fight violent extremism, improve education for girls, promote Holocaust understanding, defend media freedoms, and encourage science on climate change.In recent years, however, Israel has been infuriated by resolutions that ignore and diminish its historical connection to the Holy Land and that have named ancient Jewish sites as Palestinian heritage sites.
BETWEEN THE TRUMP TRAVEL BAN BEING UPHELD BY THE SUPREME COURT. AND THIS-THE LEFT LOONIES ARE GOING COMPLETE OUT OF THEIR HEADS WITH HATE PROPAGANDA. GOD WINS-LEFT LOSES AND WILL BE DEFEATED WITH THEIR GODLESS BELIEFS.
High court rules against Calif. crisis pregnancy centre law-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-June 26, 2018
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court effectively put an end Tuesday to a California law that forces anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centres to provide information about abortion.The 5-4 ruling also casts doubts on similar laws in Hawaii and Illinois.The California law took effect in 2016. It requires centres that are licensed by the state to tell clients about the availability of contraception, abortion and pre-natal care, at little or no cost. Centers that are unlicensed were required to post a sign that said so. The court struck down that portion of the law.The centres said they were singled out and forced to deliver a message with which they disagreed. California said the law was needed to let poor women know all their options.Justice Clarence Thomas in his majority opinion said the centres "are likely to succeed" in their constitutional challenge to the portion of the law involving licensed centres . That means that while the law is currently in effect, its challengers can go back to court to get an order halting its enforcement."California cannot co-opt the licensed facilities to deliver its message for it," Thomas wrote for himself and his conservative colleagues, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Anthony Kennedy, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch. He called the requirement for unlicensed centres "unjustified and unduly burdensome."Justice Stephen Breyer said among the reasons the law should be upheld is that the high court has previously upheld state laws requiring doctors to tell women seeking abortions about adoption services. "After all, the law must be evenhanded," Breyer said in a dissenting opinion joined by his liberal colleagues, Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.Attorney General Jeff Sessions and anti-abortion groups were among those cheering the decision. "Speakers should not be forced by their government to promote a message with which they disagree, and pro-life pregnancy centres in California should not be forced to advertise abortion and undermine the very reason they exist," Sessions said in a statement.California Attorney General Xavier Becerra called the decision "unfortunate" but said "our work to ensure that Californians receive accurate information about their healthcare options will continue."The abortion-rights group NARAL Pro-Choice California was a prime sponsor of the California law. NARAL contends that the centres mislead women about their options and tried to pressure them to forgo abortion. Estimates of the number of crisis pregnancy centres in the U.S. run from 2,500 to more than 4,000, compared with fewer than 1,500 abortion providers, women's rights groups said in a Supreme Court filing.California's law was challenged by the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates, an organization with ties to 1,500 pregnancy centres nationwide and 140 in California.In another lawsuit over regulating crisis pregnancy centres , a federal appeals court in New York struck down parts of a New York City ordinance, although it upheld the requirement for unlicensed centres to say that they lack a license.Other states have laws that regulate doctors' speech in the abortion context. In Louisiana, Texas and Wisconsin, doctors must display a sonogram and describe the fetus to most pregnant women considering an abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights. Similar laws have been blocked in Kentucky, North Carolina and Oklahoma.Doctors' speech has also been an issue in non-abortion cases. A federal appeals court struck down parts of a 2011 Florida law that sought to prohibit doctors from talking about gun safety with their patients. Under the law, doctors faced fines and the possible loss of their medical licenses for discussing guns with patients.Mark Sherman And Jessica Gresko, The Associated Press.
Ryan sets House vote on GOP immigration bill for Wednesday-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-June 26, 2018
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Paul Ryan scheduled a long-awaited showdown vote on a broad Republican immigration bill for Wednesday, but is showing little confidence that the package will survive.Underscoring the legislation's weak prospects in his GOP-run chamber, Ryan, R-Wis., declined to answer questions Tuesday about a separate, narrow measure Republicans are privately discussing. It would focus on the issue that has grabbed public attention in recent days: the Trump administration's separation of migrant children from their parents when families are caught crossing the border without authorization."If that doesn't succeed, then we'll cross that bridge," Ryan told reporters about his preference to focus on trying to pass the broader bill. "But the last thing I want to do is undercut a vote on what is a great consensus bill."Many conservatives are preparing to vote against the wider ranging bill because it would provide a chance for citizenship for many immigrants who arrived illegally in the U.S. as children. They have blasted that provision as "amnesty," and the emerging, narrower bill would give them a chance to show they are addressing family separation without risking the wrath of hard-right voters.The broader measure would also stop the Homeland Security Department from separating migrant families and provide $25 billion for President Donald Trump's border wall and other security measures. Democrats are expected to solidly oppose that bill, which is a compromise between GOP moderates and conservatives.Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., weighed in from across the Capitol, criticizing Trump for lacking a process for bringing families back together. Trump signed an executive order last week reversing his own administration policy of separating families, but many children remain apart from their parents."This administration needs to present a plan ASAP of how to unify the kids and how to deal with border. They have no plan," Schumer said.Ryan praised the compromise GOP bill."What we have here is the seeds of consensus," he said. He predicted it would be the basis for legislation that eventually becomes law, "hopefully now but if not, later."He also accused Democrats of favouring a return to the previous "catch and release" policy under which immigrants being prosecuted were released into the U.S. until their court dates. Under Trump's "zero tolerance" policy, more migrants are being prosecuted and therefore detained.Ryan said Democrats would in effect "tell the world, 'You can just come to this country, we're not going to have closed borders.'"Republicans exited a closed-door strategy session in the Capitol basement with little indication that party leaders had finally won enough over to approve the bill."You've got to be unified on this and I get the feeling we're not unified," said Rep. Paul Cook, R-Calif., who said he was still deciding what to do.Looking to garner support, leaders added provisions making it easier for migrant agriculture workers to stay in the U.S. for longer periods, and requiring employers to verify workers' citizenship. But several lawmakers said those provisions hadn't addressed the major reason for GOP disaffection — opposition to helping young immigrants stay in the U.S. legally who broke laws to arrive."I don't think it advances the ball, I really don't," said Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Ala.A Senate Republican family separation bill would also add more immigration judges to reduce the backlog of cases, but Trump has opposed that, saying it would only lead to graft.Still, many Republicans are eager to address the border crisis and distance themselves from the Trump administration's policy that has resulted in more than 2,300 migrant children being separated from their parents.Lawmakers heading into midterm elections want to be able to show constituents they voted to end it. Some 500 minors have been reunited so far, officials said."I don't know why we wouldn't vote for a bill that keeps families together," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.Senate Republicans have proposed legislation that would lift rules that prevent children from being held longer than 20 days in custody. It would add 200 immigration judges to more quickly process the claims.Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas has been holding discussions with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., to see if the parties can reach middle ground on what to do about separated families.With the Senate's narrow 51-seate GOP majority, a compromise with Democrats would likely be needed to reach the 60-vote threshold usually required to advance legislation. But resolution seemed difficult.Republicans are worried about leaving town for the weeklong July 4 recess without addressing immigration issues, particularly the family separations at the border.Lisa Mascaro And Alan Fram, The Associated Press.
Macron and Pope talk poverty, migration and Europe in long meeting-[Reuters]-By Philip Pullella-YAHOONEWS-June 26, 2018
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron, accused at home of straining France's secular foundations by seeking to mend ties with the Catholic Church, discussed Europe, migration and poverty in an unusually long meeting with Pope Francis on Tuesday.The two talked together for nearly an hour in the official papal library in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace, about twice as long as Francis usually spends with heads of state or government.They discussed "protection of the environment, migration, and multilateral commitment to conflict prevention and resolution, especially in relation to disarmament," a Vatican statement said.They also spoke about prospects for resolving conflicts in the Middle East and Africa and the future of Europe, it said.At the end of the private part of the audience, Macron gave Francis a rare copy of Georges Bernanos 1936 book "Diary of a Country Priest"."I've read this book many times and it has done me good. It is a book that I have always loved very much," the pope told Macron, 40, who was accompanied in the public parts of the meeting by his wife Brigitte.Francis gave Macron a medallion depicting Martin of Tours, a 4th century saint who is depicted cutting his cloak in half to give it to a beggar in winter."This means the vocation of those who govern is to help the poor. We are all poor," Francis told Macron as he was giving him the medallion.Macron earned himself the nickname "president of the rich" in France after scrapping a wealth tax and cutting a popular housing allowance in the first year of his mandate, hurting his popularity with the working class.As Macron left the library, he and Francis exchanged a two-cheek kiss, another very unusual gesture between a pope and a visiting head of state.The Vatican was expected to issue a statement later on the themes discussed during the private talks.Two months ago, Macron called for stronger ties between the state and the Catholic Church, a move critics said blurred a line that has kept French government free of religious intervention for generations.The issue is particularly sensitive in historically Catholic France, where matters of faith and state were separated by law in 1905 and which is now home to Europe’s largest Muslim and Jewish communities.France’s guiding principles also hold that religious observance is a private matter, for all faiths.Macron was raised in a non-religious family and was baptized a Roman Catholic at his own request when he was 12.After leaving the Vatican he was installed as the "First and Only Honorary Canon" of the Rome Basilica of St John's in Lateran, which is the pope’s cathedral in his capacity as bishop of Rome.Under a tradition that began in the 15th century when France was a monarchy, French leaders are automatically given the title.Macron took his seat of honor in basilica's elaborately carved wooden choir stall to the applause of those in attendance, including members of the local French ex patriot community.(Additional reporting by Michel Rose in Paris, Editing by Richard Balmforth)
WORLD POWERS IN THE LAST DAYS (END OF AGE OF GRACE NOT THE WORLD)
EUROPEAN UNION-KING OF WEST-DAN 9:26-27,DAN 7:23-24,DAN 11:40,REV 13:1-10
EGYPT-KING OF THE SOUTH-DAN 11:40
RUSSIA-KING OF THE NORTH-EZEK 38:1-2,EZEK 39:1-3
CHINA-KING OF THE EAST-DAN 11:44,REV 9:16,18
VATICAN-RELIGIOUS LEADER-REV 13:11-18,REV 17:4-5,9,18
WORLD TERRORISM
OH BY THE WAY WHEN THE MEDIA SAYS ALLU-AK-BAR MEANS GOD IS GREAT LIE. IN ISLAM ALLU-AK-BAR MEANS OUR GOD IS GREATER OR GREATEST. THIS IS HOW THE MEDIA SUCK HOLES UP TO ISLAMIC-QURANIC-MUSLIMS. BY WATERING DOWN THE REAL MEANING OF THE SEX FOR MURDER DEATH CULT ISLAM. TO MAKE IT SOUND LIKE A PEACEFUL RELIGION (CULT OF DEATH AND WORLD DOMINATION).
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her,(HAGAR) Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael;(FATHER OF THE ARAB/MUSLIMS) because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he (ISHMAEL-FATHER OF THE ARAB-MUSLIMS) will be a wild (DONKEY-JACKASS) man;(ISLAM IS A FAKE AND DANGEROUS SEX FOR MURDER CULT) his hand will be against every man,(ISLAM HATES EVERYONE) and every man's hand against him;(PROTECTING THEMSELVES FROM BEING BEHEADED) and he (ISHMAEL ARAB/MUSLIM) shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.(LITERAL-THE ARABS LIVE WITH THEIR BRETHERN JEWS)
ISAIAH 14:12-14
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,(SATAN) son of the morning!(HEBREW-CRECENT MOON-ISLAM) how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I (SATAN HAS EYE TROUBLES) will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.(AND 1/3RD OF THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN FELL WITH SATAN AND BECAME DEMONS)
JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.(ISLAM MURDERS IN THE NAME OF MOON GOD ALLAH OF ISLAM)
Court upholds Trump travel ban, rejects discrimination claim-Ruling passes on a 5-4 decision, with majority opinion noting US presidents have substantial power to regulate immigration, while rejecting allegation of anti-Muslim bias-By Mark Sherman-TOI-JUN 26,18
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld US President Donald Trump’s ban on travel from several mostly Muslim countries, rejecting a challenge that it discriminated against Muslims or exceeded his authority.The 5-4 decision Tuesday is the court’s first substantive ruling on a Trump administration policy.Trump responded to the decision by tweeting “Wow!”Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, joined by his four conservative colleagues.Roberts wrote that presidents have substantial power to regulate immigration. He also rejected the challengers’ claim of anti-Muslim bias.But he was careful not to endorse Trump’s provocative statements about immigration in general and Muslims in particular.“We express no view on the soundness of the policy,” Roberts wrote. SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS TRUMP TRAVEL BAN. Wow!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 26, 2018-The travel ban has been fully in place since the court declined to block it in December. The justices allowed the policy to take full effect even as the court fight continued and lower courts had ruled it out of bounds.Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in a dissent that based on the evidence in the case “a reasonable observer would conclude that the Proclamation was motivated by anti-Muslim animus.” She said her colleagues arrived at the opposite result by “ignoring the facts, misconstruing our legal precedent, and turning a blind eye to the pain and suffering the Proclamation inflicts upon countless families and individuals, many of whom are United States citizens.”Justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Elena Kagan also dissented.The policy applies to travelers from five countries with overwhelmingly Muslim populations — Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen. It also affects two non-Muslim countries: blocking travelers from North Korea, and some Venezuelan government officials and their families. A sixth majority Muslim country, Chad, was removed from the list in April after improving “its identity-management and information sharing practices,” Trump said in a proclamation.The administration had pointed to the Chad decision to show that the restrictions are premised only on national security concerns.The challengers, though, argued that the court could just ignore all that has happened, beginning with Trump’s campaign tweets to prevent the entry of Muslims into the United States. Just a week after he took office in January 2017, Trump announced his first travel ban aimed at seven countries.That triggered chaos and protests across the US as travelers were stopped from boarding international flights and detained at airports for hours. Trump tweaked the order after the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco refused to reinstate the ban.The next version, unveiled in March 2017, dropped Iraq from the list of covered countries and made it clear the 90-day ban covering Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen didn’t apply to those travelers who already had visas. It also eliminated language that would give priority to religious minorities. Critics said the changes didn’t erase the ban’s legal problems.The current version dates from September and it followed what the administration has called a thorough review by several federal agencies, although it has not shared the review with courts or the public.Federal trial judges in Hawaii and Maryland had blocked the travel ban from taking effect, finding that the new version looked too much like its predecessors. Those rulings that were largely upheld by federal appeals courts in Richmond, Virginia, and San Francisco.Roberts wrote that presidents have frequently used their power to talk to the nation “to espouse the principles of religious freedom and tolerance on which this Nation was founded.”But he added that presidents and the country have not always lived up “to those inspiring words.”Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Iran economic protests enter second day amid rial’s collapse-Rouhani dismisses protests as foreign propaganda as demonstrations show growing anger at regime's support for regional terror groups at expense of country's troubled economy-By TOI staff-JUN 26,18
Protests continued in Iran for a second day Tuesday amid an economic crisis that many Iranians are blaming on their government’s foreign policies, even as Tehran dismissed the protests as “foreign media propaganda.”At Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, protesters, including many local shopkeepers, urged owners to close their shops in an expanding strike following the collapse of the country’s currency amid the renewal of US sanctions over the regime’s nuclear program.Videos posted on social media showed hundreds of people taking part at the bazaar on Tuesday and hundreds more marching down streets of Tehran.Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday sought to calm growing discontent at the tanking economy, assuring the public the country would be able to withstand the new sanctions imposed by US President Donald Trump in the wake of the American exit from the Iran nuclear deal earlier this year.In speech broadcast live on state TV, Rouhani blamed the spontaneous demonstrations that erupted across the country a day earlier on “foreign media propaganda,” and accused the US of waging “an economic war” against Tehran.“Even in the worst case, I promise that the basic needs of Iranians will be provided. We have enough sugar, wheat, and cooking oil. We have enough foreign currency to inject into the market,” Rouhani said according to the Reuters news agency.The president accused Washington of waging a “psychological, economic and political war” on Iran, and warned it would pay a high price for exiting the 2015 accord that lifted international sanctions in exchange for a scaling back of Tehran’s atomic program.“Withdrawal was the worst decision he [Trump] could make. It was appalling. It hurt America’s global reputation,” he added. “The US cannot defeat our nation, our enemies are not able to get us to their knees.”The protests have seen unusual scenes of demonstrators chanting against continued Iranian spending of billions of dollars on regional proxy wars and support for terrorist groups, which many say has meant less investment in the struggling economy at home.In recent years, Iran has provided financial aid to Palestinian terror groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Shiite militias in Iraq. Since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Tehran has poured a reported $6 billion into propping up president Bashar Assad’s government.Monday’s protests in Tehran and around the country — including economically hard-hit cities like Kermanshah in western Iran — included shouts of “Death to Palestine,” “No to Gaza, no to Lebanon” and “Leave Syria and think of us.” Chants of “We don’t want the ayatollahs” and “Death to the dictator” were also heard at some rallies.Police attempted to suppress the Monday protests in Tehran with tear gas, but early reports from Iran on Tuesday seem to indicate the demonstrations are only expanding.#Iran| Protests erupted in the capital #Tehran for the third straight day – activists pic.twitter.com/qTnh5iL1eI-— Asharq Al-Awsat English (@aawsat_eng) June 26, 2018-Monday’s protests in Tehran began at the capital’s sprawling Grand Bazaar, which has long been a center of conservatism in Iranian politics and where the ayatollahs’ 1979 Islamic Revolution first gathered pace. Protesters there forced storekeepers to close down their shops.June 26, #Tehran, #Iran-Protesters are chanting shop owners to close their stores:"Close it, close it" #IranStrikes, #IranProtests continue to #IranRegimeChange & #FreeIran2018 pic.twitter.com/BsHufsBH4Y— Masoud Dalvand (@Masoud_Dalvand) June 26, 2018-At the end of last year, similar economic protests roiled Iran and spread to some 75 cities and towns, becoming the largest demonstrations in the country since its 2009 disputed presidential election. The protests in late December and early January saw at least 25 people killed and nearly 5,000 arrested.#Iran,Early morning in Tehran protesters chanting “Iran has become like Palestine,why don’t you stand up people”.Yesterday protesters in Tehran and Shiraz also chanted “death to Palestine,death to Syria, death to the @bbcpersian.”A very different picture from Iran.#TehranPars pic.twitter.com/y7DydD0Xn9— Raman Ghavami (@Raman_Ghavami) June 26, 2018-However, those protests largely struck Iran’s provinces as opposed to Tehran itself. Analysts believe conservative elements in the regime may have encouraged the first protest that took place in Mashhad to try to weaken President Hassan Rouhani, considered a moderate member of the ruling ayatollah class. The protests then spiraled out of control, with people openly criticizing both Rouhani and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.The slogans heard at Monday’s rallies mark a shift in Iranian street protests, where “Death to Israel” and “Death to America” are commonly heard. The protests signaled widespread unease in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw America from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers and restore sanctions on the country.According to Hadashot TV news’s veteran Middle East analyst Ehud Ya’ari, Monday’s protests marked the first time that Iranians have chanted “Death to Palestine” during anti-regime protests.In the last six months, Iran’s currency has lost almost 50 percent of its value, with the US dollar now buying around 85,000 rials on the open market.Apart from the rial’s collapse, the Iranian private sector has long been starved of investment, its banking system is crippled by bad loans and record levels of unemployment mean a third of under-30-year-olds are out of work.Rouhani’s government has struggled with the economic problems, including high unemployment. A government-set exchange rate of 42,000 rials to $1 has generated a vibrant black market. On Monday, state television quoted Iranian Central Bank chief Valiollah Seif as saying the government plans to create a parallel market next week to combat the black market.Meanwhile, some conservatives have called for new elections or for Rouhani’s civilian government to be replaced by a military-led one. The Fars news agency, believed to be close to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, made a point Monday of publishing an article from the Sobh-e No daily newspaper describing the government as being ready to “bow down to foreign threats and sit at the negotiation table.”Eshaq Jahangiri, Iran’s first vice president, was quoted Monday as saying, “We’re on the verge of an economic war by an economic terrorist,” referring to the US.“Conditions will get worse in future,” Jahangiri said, according to the pro-reform Etemad daily newspaper. “Even our friends and neighbors like Russia, China and Europeans can’t help us today.”Agencies contributed to this report.
Syria widens southwest offensive, U.N. says 45,000 flee-[Reuters]-YAHOONEWS-June 26, 2018
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian troops widened a major offensive against rebels in the southwest on Tuesday and Jordan said it would not open its border to tens of thousands of civilians fleeing the attack.At least 45,000 people have fled the upsurge in fighting in Syria's southwestern Deraa province, heading toward the border with Jordan, the United Nations said.President Bashar al-Assad is aiming to restore control over a strategically vital part of Syria at the borders with Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, building on his military's momentum elsewhere in the seven-year conflict.Government forces opened a new front on Tuesday against the rebel-held part of Deraa city, the provincial capital, state media reported. A commander in the regional alliance that backs Assad told Reuters the aim was to reach the Nassib crossing with Jordan, an economic artery in rebel hands since 2015.Assad is pressing the offensive with Russian support despite warnings from the United States which has been seeking to uphold a "de-escalation" deal it brokered with Moscow in the southwest last year. Washington had warned Assad of serious repercussions.But there has been no sign of action to stop him: Washington has told Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels they should not expect military support against the offensive, according to a message sent to rebel commanders seen by Reuters.The war has pivoted toward the southwest since Assad, backed by Russian and Iranian military power, crushed the last insurgent pockets near the cities of Damascus and Homs.Assad, whose control was reduced to a fraction of Syria in 2015, now commands the single biggest chunk of the country, though nearly all the northern border with Turkey and much of the east remains outside his control.In the first big advance in the southwest, government forces seized a swathe of rebel-held territory including the town of Busra al-Harir in northeastern Deraa province, media controlled by Lebanon's Hezbollah and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Tuesday.There was no statement from rebel groups about the reported government advances.State media said government warplanes and artillery were also targeting the rebel-held sector of Deraa city at the Jordanian border, aiming to cut the supply road to Jordan.Air strikes hit the rebel-held town of Nawa for the first time in nearly a year, the Observatory said.The offensive has so far focused on Deraa province, not rebel-held parts of neighboring Quneitra province at the Golan frontier that are more sensitive to Israel.Israel is determined to keep Iranian and Iran-backed forces that support Assad away from its border, and wants them removed more widely from Syria.Two Israeli missiles hit near Damascus airport overnight, state news agency SANA and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said. An Israeli military spokesman declined to comment on the reports.SANA said the missile strikes near Damascus international airport were a sign of support by Israel for the rebels in the southwest.Iran is a leading ally of Assad and backs several militias, including Lebanon's Hezbollah, fighting in support of him.HUMANITARIAN CONCERN-The attack has fueled concern of a new wave of displacement in a conflict that has already uprooted 11 million people, forcing millions abroad as refugees.Jens Laerke, spokesman of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that civilians including children had been killed and injured and a hospital had been put out of operation by an air strike.The number of displaced so far stood at 45,000, he said."People don't know where to go," said Ahmad al-Dbis, safety and security manager at UOSSM, a medical charity that works in opposition parts of Syria.He said five of the aid group's facilities in the south, including a mobile clinic and a healthcare center, went out of service during the latest clashes.The U.N.'s World Food Programme has provided food to 30,000 people and plans to deliver more in the coming days over the border from Jordan, said spokeswoman Bettina Luescher."We expect the number of displaced people could more than double as violence escalates," she added.Jordan will keep its borders shut and the United Nations can help displaced Syrians in their own country, Jordan's foreign minister said."The Jordanian contacts over southern Syria aim to stem bloodshed...and help the displaced inside Syria," Ayman Safadi said on Twitter. "We do all we can to help the brothers and we protect our interests and our security."A rebel source said Jordanian authorities, citing safety, have warned factions there not to allow refugee flows next to the border, which has in effect been closed for years.(Reporting by Lisa Barrington in Beirut and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Editing by Tom Perry, William Maclean, Richard Balmforth)
