Wednesday, February 14, 2018

SYRIA THREATENS ISRAEL WITH MORE SURPRISES.

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

Syria threatens Israel with ‘more surprises’-After weekend flareup in which F-16 downed, senior official says Damascus is not as defenseless as the 'aggressor' thinks-By Stuart Winer and Judah Ari Gross-TOI-FEB 13,18

A senior Syrian official warned Israel on Tuesday that it would face “surprises” if it launches any attacks on his country, claiming the Jewish state mistakenly thinks Syrian forces are incapable of defending the country.“God willing they will see more surprises whenever they try to attack Syria,” assistant foreign minister Ayman Sussan said at a press conference in Damascus, according to Reuters.“Have full confidence the aggressor will be greatly surprised because it thought this war — this war of attrition Syria has been exposed to for years — had made it incapable of confronting attacks,” Sussan warned.His comments came as tensions between Israel and Syria exploded into a brief air clash over the weekend.On Saturday morning, an Iranian drone was flown into Israeli territory, near the Jordanian border, where it was shot down by an IAF Apache attack helicopter. In response to the drone incursion, Israeli jets attacked the mobile command center from which it was operated, the army said.During the reprisal raid, one of the eight Israeli F-16 fighter jets that took part in the operation was apparently hit by a Syrian anti-aircraft missile and crashed. The Israeli Air Force then conducted a second round of airstrikes, destroying between a third and half of Syria’s air defenses, according to IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus.Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, visiting the northern city of Kiryat Shmona on Tuesday, vowed that Israel “respond to any provocation.”One of the lingering questions following the Israeli airstrikes was how Russia, Syria’s staunch ally and military backer, would react — specifically if Moscow would work to prevent future Israeli attacks in the country.“There are no limitations. We are not accepting any limitations. We acted with determination and with responsibility,” Liberman said.He added that Israel was in contact with Russia and that the relationship “is effective, even when we don’t agree.”The White House has expressed support for Israel’s retaliatory military strikes in Syria and called on Iran to “cease provocative actions” in the region.According to unconfirmed reports, Israel has carried out dozens of airstrikes on the Syrian armed forces and their allies since the civil war broke out there in 2011. Before the weekend clashes, the most recent such incident was on February 7 when a military position near Damascus was bombed.Israel has maintained a public policy of limited intervention in the Syrian civil war. The prime minister and senior defense officials have said that the country only takes action in Syria when a “red line” is crossed, generally meaning in retaliation to deliberate or accidental attacks on Israel from southern Syria or when advanced weapons are being transferred to the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist group.There have, however, been reports of additional Israeli actions that do not appear to have been in response to a violated “red line,” including in attacks against suspected chemical weapons facilities.

Iran accuses West of using lizards for nuclear spying-Adviser to Khamenei says aid collectors for Palestinians sought to deploy reptiles whose skin 'attracted atomic waves'-By AFP and Michael Bachner-TOI-FEB 13,18

The former chief-of-staff of Iran’s armed forces said Tuesday that Western spies had used lizards to “attract atomic waves” and spy on his country’s nuclear program.It was the latest in a long line of incidents of Western countries, including Israel, being accused of deploying secret agents from the animal kingdom.Hassan Firuzabadi, senior military adviser to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was responding to questions from local media on the recent arrest of environmentalists.He said he did not know the details of the cases, but that the West had often used tourists, scientists and environmentalists to spy on Iran.“Several years ago, some individuals came to Iran to collect aid for Palestine… We were suspicious of the route they chose,” he told the reformist ILNA news agency.“In their possessions were a variety of reptile desert species like lizards, chameleons… We found out that their skin attracts atomic waves and that they were nuclear spies who wanted to find out where inside the Islamic Republic of Iran we have uranium mines and where we are engaged in atomic activities,” he said.Firuzabadi said Western spy agencies had “failed every time.”His comments came after news that a leading Iranian-Canadian environmentalist, Kavous Seyed Emami, had committed suicide in prison after he was arrested along with other members of his wildlife NGO last month.Several spying allegations involving various creatures have been leveled against Israel over the past years.In January 2016, Lebanese residents captured a griffon vulture wearing an Israeli tracking device, but released it upon realizing that the transmitter strapped to the bird was intended for scientific research rather than espionage.Several months earlier, Hamas claimed to have caught a dolphin wearing Israeli spying equipment.Twice in recent years, Turkish media has highlighted allegations that birds tagged with Israeli university tracking devices were on espionage missions.In 2012, an eagle with an Israeli tag in Sudan was captured and alleged to be as a Mossad spy.Two years earlier, an Egyptian official said Israel-controlled sharks may have been involved in a number of attacks on tourists in the Red Sea.

Tunisian MP rips up Israeli flag in push for bill to criminalize ties-FEB 13,18-TOI--Opposition lawmaker Ammar Amroussia demands law criminalizing relations with Jewish state be advanced by parliament-By AP

TUNIS, Tunisia — A Tunisian legislator ripped up an Israeli flag during a parliament session to push his demands for a law criminalizing relations with Israel.A left-wing opposition coalition proposed a bill making it a crime to “normalize” relations with Israel, but the debate has been indefinitely delayed because parliament officials did not see at as a priority. Tunisia’s president has played down the proposed law.Opposition lawmaker Ammar Amroussia tore the flag Tuesday to protest the delay, in images shown on national television.Moderate Islamist party Ennahdha, part of the governing coalition, warned such a law could hurt Tunisia’s relations with western nations and international organizations.Tunisia, like most Arab countries, does not have diplomatic relations with Israel. Tunisia was long seen as a model of tolerance in the region but has faced growing Islamic extremism.Tunisian lawmaker Ammar Amroussia tears up Israel's flag during a meeting of the parliament today in Tunis. pic.twitter.com/m5Omu5HbAH— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) February 13, 2018.

Austria’s far-right party tries to clean up pro-Nazi image-Freedom Party announces appointment of historian committee to review its history, as maverick MK Yehudah Glick flouts Israeli rules to meet party leaders-By AFP and TOI staff-FEB 13,18

VIENNA, Austria — The far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) announced Tuesday a bid to clean up its pro-Nazi image by appointing a committee of historians to look into its history.The move comes two months after the party, launched by former Nazis, joined the government and follows a series of scrapes involving its members.In late January a regional official caught up in a scandal over a 1997 student fraternity songbook with lyrics glorifying Nazis was forced to resign.“There’s been a lot of criticism of the FPOe, much of it unjustified, some, we have to say, justified,” parliamentary group leader Walter Rosenkranz told a press conference.“We face the latent criticism that within the FPOe Nazi and neo-Nazi ideas are tolerated.“No, they are not tolerated and those who think they can impose such ideas on us have nothing to do in the party,” Rosenkranz said.The announcement came on the same day that Israeli lawmaker Yehudah Glick (Likud) met in Vienna with deputy chancellor and FPOe chief Heinz-Christian Strache and Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl, despite an Israeli Foreign Ministry ban on Israeli politicians meeting with FPOe ministers.Glick who has met with Strache before, has urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to follow suit, and has derided criticism against his visit.Former FPOe MP and retired university professor Wilhelm Brauneder will chair the committee of researchers and representatives of independent bodies.These will include the DOW resistance archive center which specializes in Nazism and neo-Nazism and has been a powerful critic of the FPOe-The party issued a statement Tuesday saying it “recognizes without reserve the Republic of Austria, democracy, parliamentarianism and the rule of law.”The FPOe’s position on the Austrian state has long been perceived as ambiguous, with one faction still considering the country annexed by Adolf Hitler in 1938 as a German province.“As members of the government, we have a special responsibility,” said FPOe general secretary Harald Vilimsky, adding that the party “clearly rejects Nazism, racism and anti-Semitism.”Strache pledged creation of the new committee of historians last month. The committee  is to produce a first report in the Fall.Strache, who flirted with neo-Nazism in his youth, has toned down the hardline rhetoric and expelled party members for overstepping the mark since taking over from Joerg Haider in 2005.The FPOe, which has 51 MPs and ministers, is still viewed with suspicion by Austria’s main Jewish organization, as well as by Israel, which boycotts official contact with the party.

Israel will soon clear 4,000 landmines at Qasr al-Yahud baptism site-Defense Ministry says de-mining effort on banks of Jordan River, led by international nonprofit HALO Trust, could begin within 6 weeks-By Melanie Lidman-TOI-FEB 13,18

An ancient Christian site abandoned due to landmines may be resurrected now that the Defense Ministry has promised funds to an international organization, after years of delays.Christians believe that Qasr al-Yahud, located about 10 kilometers east of Jericho, is the spot on the Jordan River where Jesus was baptized. But there are an estimated 4,000 landmines in the area, which contains seven churches along with chapels and monasteries, each belonging to a different denomination of Christianity. For decades, these bullet-pocked churches have remained abandoned, as some are booby-trapped.Qasr al-Yahud was a popular pilgrimage spot until 1968, when Israel blocked access and enfolded it in the closed military zone along the border with Jordan, fearing terrorists could use the churches as staging grounds for attacks on Israeli settlements. The Jordan River is only a few meters wide at that point.In 2011, COGAT — the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories —  and the National Parks Authority opened an access road that leads to the baptismal site on the Jordan River. Tens of thousands of people come each year, especially around the holiday of the Epiphany, celebrated on January 18.In 2016, HALO Trust, a UK-based de-mining group that operates in 19 places around the world, announced it would begin the process of clearing the landmines around Qasr al-Yahud. However, the actual de-mining work has yet to start. HALO Trust has previously worked in other locations around the West Bank, and said it was able to build bridges with the Israeli and Palestinian leadership due to their previous efforts in the region.HALO Trust surveyed the area with the Israel National Mine Action Authority, part of Israel’s Defense Ministry, and estimate that some 2,600 anti-tank and 1,200 anti-personnel mines are buried at the 1 square kilometer (0.4 square mile) site, along with booby traps and improvised explosive devices.However, the number of players involved and the politically sensitive location has held up negotiations and funding, and work has yet to begin. The negotiations required coordination between seven denominations of Christianity, the Defense Ministry, the IDF, COGAT, the National Parks Authority, the Palestinian Authority and other Palestinian  and Christian groups.A Defense Ministry spokeswoman told The Times of Israel it hopes the de-mining will start in the first quarter of 2018. A spokeswoman for the HALO Trust declined to comment as to a potential start date.HALO Trust fundraised almost $1 million toward the de-mining efforts, estimating the full cost of de-mining the area at around $4 million. The Defense Ministry also contributed funds.Most of the seven churches and numerous small chapels were built in the 1930s during the British Mandate period.“The chance to clear this very historic place of the mines is going to have not only implications for the area because it will allow people of faith to return and worship in those churches,” said James Cowan, the CEO of HALO Trust, when the project was first announced in 2016.“But it will also have wider implications because it means that all three faiths are working together and all seven Christian denominations have been working together. And I think, in an age in which, elsewhere in the world, religious or historical sites are being damaged and pulled down, for humanity to be working together to restore something as huge as this has symbolic implications.”Israel mined the area along the Jordan River following the Six Day War in a bid to prevent Jordanian tanks and infantry, as well as Palestinian fedayeen, guerrilla fighters and terrorists, from infiltrating into Israeli-held territory and attacking Israeli settlements.The mines were placed along many parts of the Israeli-Jordanian border, as well as on the Golan Heights.According to the Wall Street Journal there are approximately 90 square kilometers (35 square miles) of land with mines in Israel and the West Bank.The site also has economic importance for the region. Christian tourism is increasing at a steady rate, following general increases in tourism to Israel. Over 1.5 million Christian tourists came to Israel in 2016, accounting for 53% of all incoming tourists.Forty percent of Christian tourists said the purpose of their trip was a pilgrimage. The average Christian tourist stays 9.8 days in Israel and spends at least $1,500, according to statistics from the Tourism Ministry.The Qasr al-Yahud site is also holy to some Jews. Qasr al-Yahud translates as “The Castle of the Jews,” and some believe was the spot where the Jewish people crossed into Israel for the first time after leaving Egypt. It is also believed to be the site of Elijah’s ascent into heaven in a “chariot of fire” and the place where Elisha performed miracles.The landmines aren’t the only problem. The water quality at the baptism site, where thousands of people dunk in the water on holidays, has also raised concerns.According to an Environmental Ministry report from 2014, the fecal coliform count at the Qasr al Yahud site measured in November 2013 was 2,300 per 100 milliliter. The Health Ministry standards for swimming beaches is a maximum of 400 fecal coliform count per 100 milliliter, at which point a beach is closed to the public. This means at one point, the fecal coliform count was almost six times the acceptable amount.Moving rivers are hard to measure because they are dynamic, so levels change dramatically from hour to hour. Six months prior, in May, the Environmental Ministry measured just 190 fecal coliform counts per 100 milliliters, which is within the limits. The higher levels in November could have been due to recent rains or any number of factors.Authorities who monitor the water on a monthly basis said the water was safe for pilgrims to enter for baptism. Mira Edelstein, a researcher with EcoPeace Middle East, an Israeli-Palestinian-Jordanian environmental organization that monitors the Jordan River, said that the construction of three waste water treatment plants have contributed to cleaner water.In the past few years wastewater treatment plants have been built in Jericho, Israel’s Jordan Valley Regional Council, and Jordan’s Northern Jordan Valley region.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Virgin Atlantic removes ‘Palestinian’ from couscous description-Airline renames in-flight meal following outcry from Israel supporters; faces backlash from pro-Palestinians for change-By Michael Bachner-TOI-FEB 13,18

A British airline has removed the word “Palestinian” from the name of a couscous grain salad on its in-flight menu following complaints from pro-Israel customers.Virgin Atlantic has faced online criticism since December, when a social media user called its staff “terrorist sympathizers” and another called for an Israeli boycott of the airline for using the term “Palestinian couscous salad,” The Independent reported Monday.The dish has recently been renamed “couscous salad” and the airline has issued a public statement saying it did not intend to “cause offense through the naming or renaming” of the meal, the report said.The salad in question included maftoul grains, which are a version of couscous popular in the Palestinian territories and popularly known as “Palestinian couscous.” Couscous, originally a North African dish, is also popular in modern Israeli cuisine.On December 23, Twitter user Dani Williams posted a photo of the in-flight menu and wrote there was “nothing like some BDS and delusion with your salad,” adding that it was the “last time” the airline gets his money and dubbing its personnel “terrorist sympathizers.”    #virginatlantic this is the menu I received yesterday nothing like some BDS and delusionment with your salad, last time you get my money #TerroristSympathisers pic.twitter.com/OksgX5MSD3— Dani Williams (@Thedaniwilliams) December 23, 2017-On the same day, Facebook user David Garnelas posted an image of the menu to the Israel Advocacy Movement Facebook group. He wrote: “I thought this was an Israeli salad… obviously [Virgin Group founder Richard] Branson showing his true colors… Israelis must boycott Virgin and Israel must ask for an explanation. When I complained the stewardess tried to take back the menu from me.”Another online user identifying as Anthony Den tweeted: “Bearing in mind Jews have lived on the land you say they now occupy for over 3,000 years maybe it should be called Jewish Salad.”“Our customers’ experience on board is a key focus and we are constantly refreshing our food offerings on our flights,” Virgin Atlantic said in a statement following the renaming of the dish. “We recently introduced a maftoul salad on board our flights. It includes a mix of maftoul and other couscous, complemented by tomatoes and cucumber and seasoned with parsley, mint and lemon vinaigrette.“We were aware that maftoul is not a widely known ingredient – so the dish was listed as a ‘Palestinian couscous salad,’ and later as a ‘couscous salad.’ We’d like to reassure all customers that our sole intention was to bring new flavors on board, and never to cause offense through the naming or renaming of the dish.”The airline faced a second round of online backlash from pro-Palestinian supporters  following the change, with groups furious that it seemed to “apologize” for using the term “Palestinian.”“So Virgin Atlantic apologizes for using the term ‘Palestinian couscous’ to describe… well… Palestinian couscous on its in-flight menu,” said doctoral researcher Ragnar Weilandt.“You can’t get more Palestinian cuisine than maftoul (couscous), national Palestinian dish,” Bassam Mansour tweeted. “Virgin should not have caved in to falsification of the name of the Palestinian cuisine to please twisted and hate-filled passengers. Virgin is morally culpable.”The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign said that “after an orchestrated campaign by Zionist groups, Virgin Atlantic airlines decides that Palestinian food is offensive. Removes the word ‘Palestinian,’ but keeps the food. Shameful.”

Palestinian caught with pipe bomb at West Bank military courthouse-Explosive device concealed by man trying to enter building was filled with knife shards to cause more damage, police say-By Stuart Winer-TOI-FEB 13,18

Border Police guards and IDF military police on Tuesday foiled an attempt to bring a pipe bomb packed with metal shards into the Samaria Military Court in the northern West Bank, police said in a statement.A Palestinian man who was seeking to enter the building was found to be hiding the explosive device under his clothes.It was the second such incident in a week at the same courthouse.The officers’ actions “saved lives,” the statement said.A Palestinian man who arrived at the court building was asked to submit to a metal detector scan. The scanner alerted the guards that the man was carrying a metal object.Guards searched the man several times, and after not immediately finding any metal objects, asked him to take off his clothes, revealing the hidden pipe bomb.Police sappers who neutralized the device with a controlled explosion found that it contained shards from knives, apparently to increase the lethality of the blast.“Border police will continue to defend the military court house, a symbol of law and order that we will not allow to be compromised,” police said.The Samaria Military Court has been targeted several times in the past few months by Palestinians carrying pipe bombs.Last week a man was stopped under very similar circumstances as he tried to smuggle a pipe bomb into the military court.On December 28, Border Police officers arrested a 16-year-old Palestinian teen who was carrying a pipe bomb as he entered the court.Less than two weeks earlier, police arrested a Palestinian man who tried to enter the same military court with two pipe bombs.

US tells anti-Islamic State coalition to ‘keep eyes on prize’-As Secretary of State Tillerson rallies partners, Turkey's Erdogan warns American forces supporting Kurdish fighters to fear the 'Ottoman slap'-By Matthew Lee-TOI-FEB 13,18

KUWAIT CITY (AP) — The Trump administration, increasingly concerned that the 74-strong coalition it cobbled together to destroy the Islamic State group is losing sight of the prime objective, pressed its partners on Tuesday to refocus their efforts, overcome rivalries and concentrate on the task at hand: the eradication from Iraq and Syria of the extremist group.The alarm US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sounded at a coalition gathering in Kuwait came with the fight at a critical moment and the mission shifting from offensive military operations to stabilization.Distractions are adding up, such as Turkey’s fighting with US-backed Kurdish rebels in Syria and intensifying anti-American rhetoric from Turkish leaders. Meanwhile, renewed spillover from Syria’s civil war, including hostilities between non-coalition actors — Iran, its proxies in Syria, and Israel — risk creating a new conflict in an already crowded battle space.“The end of major combat operations does not mean we have achieved the enduring defeat of ISIS,” Tillerson told the meeting in Kuwait City, using an alternative acronym for the Islamic State group.“ISIS remains a serious threat to the stability of the region, our homelands and other parts of the globe,” he said. “Without continued attention and support from coalition members, we risk the return of extremist groups like ISIS in liberated areas of Iraq and Syria and their spread to new locations.”Tillerson announced that the United States would contribute an additional $200 million “to further support critical stabilization and early recovery initiatives in liberated areas of Syria,” bringing Washington’s total contribution to humanitarian efforts to nearly $7.9 billion since the conflict in Syria began in 2011.It was not immediately clear how that money would be distributed. Tillerson reaffirmed that the US “would maintain a conditions-based and ISIS-focused military presence in Syria” that would in part continue to train local security forces.US officials said the thrust of Tillerson’s message was that “eyes have to be on the prize” and anything that hinders IS’ defeat will impair broader objectives such as a political transition in Syria that ultimately leads to an end of the war and blunts Iranian behavior throughout the region.“It’s complicated enough as it is. Let’s not make it more so,” one official said in describing the administration’s view.Rising tensions between the US and NATO ally Turkey over Turkish military operations against the Syrian Kurds are a primary concern and Tillerson will end his five-nation swing through the region in Ankara on Friday, after stops in Jordan and Lebanon.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ramped up his criticism of the US on Tuesday, reacting angrily to reports that the Trump administration has proposed a boost in funding to Syrian Kurdish militia in its proposed budget for the next fiscal year. Erdogan also took aim at comments from US commanders in northern Syria, who said any attack on them or Kurdish partners would be met with force.“To those who say ‘if they hit us, we will respond with force,’ it is clear that they have never experienced the Ottoman slap,” Erdogan said.A day earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Melvut Cavusoglu said Tillerson’s upcoming visit, which follows a similar trip by national security adviser H.R. McMaster, comes at a make-or-break time for relations between the US and Turkey.Ankara is riled over Washington’s support for the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG — the top US ally in the fight against IS. Turkey considers the YPG a “terrorist” group linked to Kurdish insurgents fighting within Turkey’s own borders.At the meeting in Kuwait, Tillerson made a point of noting concerns about the situation and urged “all parties to remain focused on defeating ISIS, deescalating and resolving the Syrian conflict and protecting innocent civilians.”US officials allowed that Tillerson’s talks in Ankara would be difficult.But, they maintained — as Tillerson did again on Tuesday — that the US appreciates Turkey’s legitimate security concerns.In addition to keeping the fight against IS in Iraq and Syria on the front burner, Tuesday’s meetings in Kuwait will also focus on preventing the spread into Europe and elsewhere of retreating IS fighters.Tillerson said the US supports a new blueprint for boosting intelligence and information sharing and law enforcement cooperation to halt the flow of those fighters.“In Iraq and Syria, ISIS is attempting to morph into an insurgency. In places like Afghanistan, the Philippines, Libya, West Africa and others it is trying to carve out and secure safe havens,” Tillerson said. “We have seen in Iraq and Syria the consequences of an ISIS territorial presence. History must not be allowed to repeat itself elsewhere.”

Stockholm truck attacker pleads guilty as terrorism trial opens-Rakhmat Akilov mowed down pedestrians last April, killing 5 and injuring 10; prosecution has demanded a life sentence-By Agencies-TOI-FEB 13,18

An Uzbek asylum seeker who confessed to wanting to mow down “infidels” in an April 2017 Stockholm truck attack that killed five people and wounded 10 pleaded guilty to terrorism charges on Tuesday as his trial opened.Rakhmat Akilov appeared in the Stockholm courtroom, where he was charged with terror-related murder and attempted murder, handcuffed amid tight security, wearing green prison clothes and with a shaved head and a beard, accompanied by his lawyer, Johan Eriksson.Akilov, whose Swedish asylum application had been rejected in 2016, had sworn allegiance to the Islamic State terror group on the eve of his assault in one of Europe’s safest cities, though the jihadist group never claimed responsibility.On the afternoon of Friday, April 7, Akilov stole a beer delivery truck and barreled down a bustling pedestrian shopping street, swerving wildly to hit as many people as possible. He was arrested hours later.Five people were killed — a British man, a Belgian woman and three Swedes, including an 11-year-old girl.“Yes, it was Akilov who drove the truck that day,” his lawyer Johan Eriksson told the court. “Akilov took the truck … and drove it the way the prosecutor described. He killed five people and physically injured 10.”The prosecution has requested that he gets a life sentence and is extradited from Sweden.He has said he wanted to punish Sweden for participating in the international coalition against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.Throughout the nearly 10-month probe, Akilov has been cooperative, according to his lawyer and the prosecution.Three interpreters were at hand during the trial, which is expected to end May 9. A verdict is expected before the summer.Akilov had said he offered to the Islamic State group to carry out an attack in Stockholm on behalf of the group. It was not clear whether the group had accepted his offer.Investigators have found internet chat logs with unknown people in which Akilov discussed becoming a martyr and swore allegiance to IS between January 12, 2017, and the attack on April 7, as well as a memory card with “material that can be connected to IS,” including execution videos.The construction worker, who was 39 at the time of the attack, was subject to deportation from Sweden ahead of attack as his asylum application had been rejected.Akilov had been ordered to leave Sweden in December 2016. Instead, he went underground, eluding authorities’ attempts to track him down. Sweden’s domestic intelligence agency has said it had nothing indicating he was planning an attack.Security was high Tuesday, with heavily armed police officers and scores of reporters going through metal detectors before entering the courtroom.

International rights groups say Egypt’s election unfair-Sissi government has 'made a mockery of the basic rights' won in 2011 uprising, say 14 NGOs, after political rivals banned from entering presidential race-By Hamza Hendawi-TOI-FEB 13,18

CAIRO (AP) — Over a dozen international and regional rights groups said on Tuesday that next month’s presidential election in Egypt does not meet the “minimum requirements” for a fair and free vote and called on Cairo’s Western allies to denounce the “farcical” election.The incumbent, general-turned-president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, is virtually certain to win the March vote, his only challenger an obscure politician and one of his most ardent supporters.Moussa Mustafa Moussa entered the race in the eleventh hour, sparing Sissi and his government the deeper embarrassment of a one-candidate election.Meanwhile, leaders of opposition parties who called for a boycott of the vote are being investigated on allegations they are seeking to destabilize the country.The 14 rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists, said Sissi’s government has “suppressed freedoms, arrested potential candidates and rounded up their supporters.”Sissi has since 2013 overseen a wide crackdown on dissent, jailing thousands of Islamists and also scores of activists behind the 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak. The crackdown followed the July 2013 ouster by the military, then led by Sissi, of President Mohammed Morsi, an Islamist whose one-year rule proved to be divisive.Elected to office the following year, Sissi has since silenced most critics in the media, rolled back freedoms won by the 2011 uprising and placed draconian restrictions on demonstrations and the work of rights groups.“The Egyptian government has trampled over even the minimum requirements for free and fair elections for the planned March 26-28 vote,” the 14 groups said in a statement. Sissi’s government “has relentlessly stifled basic freedoms and arrested potential candidates and rounded up their supporters.”“Seven years after Egypt’s 2011 uprising, the government has made a mockery of the basic rights for which protesters fought,” it added.In a related development, Egypt’s military said late Monday that it would take action to safeguard its “honor and dignity” following incendiary comments by the country’s former top anti-graft official.The ex-auditor, Hesham Genena, told a private Arabic-language TV station earlier this week that former military chief of staff Sami Annan is in possession of documents incriminating the country’s “leadership.” The documents are kept abroad and would be released if any harm came to Annan, he said.Annan was arrested by the military last month, just days after he declared his intention to run for president. The military says Annan faces charges of incitement against the military and forgery.In a statement, the military said Genena’s comments raise “suspicions” around the state and its institutions and that it would refer the matter to “relevant” authorities to initiate legal proceedings, suggesting that Genena would be summoned for questioning.Genena, who was to be among Annan’s top campaign aides, was not immediately available for comment. Genena led Egypt’s watchdog agency until Sissi fired him in 2016.

CHINA AND KINGS OF THE EAST MARCH TO ISRAEL 2ND WAVE OF WW3 (200 MILLION MAN ARMY)

REVELATION 16:12-16
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates;(WERE WW3 STARTS IN IRAQ OR SYRIA OR TURKEY) and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.(THE TURKEY ATATURK DAM ON THE EUPHRATES CAN BE SHUT AND DRIED UP ALREADY BY TURKEY)
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon,(SATAN) and out of the mouth of the beast,(WORLD DICTATOR) and out of the mouth of the false prophet.(FALSE POPE)
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.(WERE 2 BILLION DIE FROM NUKE WAR)
15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.(ITS AT THIS TIME I BELIEVE WHEN AMERICA GETS NUKED BY RUSSIA ON THE WAY TO THE MIDEAST)

DANIEL 11:44 (2ND WAVE OF WW3)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)

REVELATION 9:12-18
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.(WORLDWIDE WAR)(TURKEY-IRAQ-SYRIA)(EUPHRATES RIVER CONSISTS OF 760 MILES IN TURKEY,440 MILES IN SYRIA AND 660 MILES IN IRAQ)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,(WORLDWIDE WAR) which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.(1/3 Earths Population die in WW 3 2ND WAVE-2 billion)
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARMY FROM CHINA AND THE KINGS OF THE EAST) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)

COUNTRIES WITH ISRAEL AND THE ENEMIES OF THE WEST

EZEKIEL 38:10-19
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say,(RUSSIA,ARAB,MUSLIMS) I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
13 Sheba, and Dedan,(SAUDIA ARABIA)(JORDAN) and the merchants of Tarshish,(ENGLAND) with all the young lions thereof,(USA,CANADA,AUSTRALIA,NEW ZEALAND,EU,ENGLAND,ENGLISH SPEAKING shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?
PSALMS 83:3-7 (COUNTRIES AGAINST ISRAEL)(EXCEPT JORDAN)
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, PALESTINIANS,JORDAN) and the Hagarenes;(EGYPT)
7 Gebal,(HEZZBALLOH,LEBANON) and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA,ARABS,SINAI) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)
ISRAEL-WEST ENEMIES EZEK 38:4-6,15-19
4 And I (GOD) will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY) of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.(AFRICAN MUSLIMS,SUDAN,TUNESIA ETC)
15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts,(RUSSIA-ARAB/MUSLIMS) thou, and many people with thee,(AFRICAN ISLAMIC COUNTRIES) all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
17 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?
18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face.
19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;
DANIEL 11:44 (CHINA WITH RUSSIA-MUSLIMS)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
EZEKIEL 39:1-6 ISRAELS ENEMIES DESTROYED
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back,(RUSSIA-ARAB MUSLIM ISRAEL HATERS) and leave but the sixth part of thee,(5/6TH OR 300 MILLION DEAD RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIMS I BELIEVE) and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

Iraqi militia vows to back Hezbollah in war with Israel-ead of Iran-sponsored Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba says his organization will stand in a 'single front' with terror group against Jewish state-By AFP-TOI-FEB 13,18

BEIRUT — The head of the powerful Iraqi Shiite militia Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba pledged on Tuesday to stand alongside its Lebanese ally Hezbollah if a new war breaks out with Israel.Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba and Hezbollah have fought side-by-side to bolster Syrian government troops since 2013, most prominently against the Islamic State terror group in eastern Syria.On Tuesday, the movement’s secretary general Akram al-Kaabi visited the tomb of top Hezbollah terror commander Imad Mughniyeh to commemorate the 10 years since his death.“We in the Iraqi resistance stand with Hezbollah, and we will stand with Hezbollah in any Israeli attack or action against it,” Kaabi said.He pledged to fight “with Hezbollah in a single row, on a single front, just as we stood with them on a single front in Iraq or Syria.”Kaabi spoke in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a strong support base.Both Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba and Hezbollah are backed by Iran. They fought alongside Syrian government troops and other allied groups to oust IS from key cities in eastern Syria last year, including Albu Kamal.Hezbollah has also dispatched top commanders and advisers to Iraq to help the paramilitary Hashed al-Shaabi force.In June, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah warned that hundreds of thousands of Arab and Muslim fighters would be ready to fight against Israel in a future war.It “would open the door for hundreds of thousands of fighters from all around the Arab and Islamic world to participate in this fight — from Iraq, Yemen, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan,” he said.Kaabi is the second top Iraqi militia leader in recent months to come to Lebanon in a show of support to Hezbollah.Senior Hashed commander Qais al-Khazali, who heads the Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia, visited southern Lebanon in December.

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

THE DOW WAS UP 410 POINTS MONDAY-YESTERDAY.

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-FEBRUARY 13,2018-12:00AM

DOW MARKET TUESDAY-FEBRUARY 13,,2018
09:30AM-5.07-
10:00AM-133.99-
10:30AM-91.41-
11:00AM-55.57-
11:30AM-95.63-
12:00PM-84.90-
12:30PM-125.52-
01:00PM-102.25-
01:30PM-11.44
02:00PM-40.86
02:30PM-38.17
03:00PM-69.29
03:30PM-52.97
04:00PM-39.18+ 24640.45 - S&P +6.94 2662.94 - NASDAQ +31.55 7013.51
HIGH +80 LOW -176
TSX -25.41 15,216.47 - GOLD $+05.31 $1,328.05 - OIL $-00.10 $59.19

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-FEBRUARY 13, 2018-11:55PM

1 Day, Magnitude 2.5+ U.S.32 of 33 earthquakes in map area.

    3.1-4km S of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii-2018-02-13 23:01:33 (UTC)-39.3 km
    4.4-276km SE of Kodiak, Alaska-2018-02-13 22:15:16 (UTC)-8.7 km
    2.6-7km ESE of Neah Bay, Washington-2018-02-13 21:30:49 (UTC)-32.5 km
    3.6-64km SE of Boca de Yuma, Dominican Republic-2018-02-13 21:13:12 (UTC)-128.0 km
    3.6-284km SE of Kodiak, Alaska-2018-02-13 20:29:32 (UTC)-20.7 km
    2.8-275km SE of Kodiak, Alaska-2018-02-13 20:29:37 (UTC)-10.0 km
    3.1-17km W of Anchor Point, Alaska-2018-02-13 19:29:24 (UTC)-54.4 km
    5.0-58km ESE of Vanimo, Papua New Guinea-2018-02-13 18:48:55 (UTC)-37.4 km
    3.8-263km SE of Kodiak, Alaska-2018-02-13 18:25:56 (UTC)-7.0 km
    4.0-Gulf of Alaska-2018-02-13 18:12:54 (UTC)-7.2 km
    2.9-80km ESE of Old Iliamna, Alaska-2018-02-13 17:09:17 (UTC)-126.1 km
    3.6-98km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico-2018-02-13 14:47:09 (UTC)-134.0 km
    2.6-28km ENE of Honaunau-Napoopoo, Hawaii-2018-02-13 14:44:58 (UTC)-8.0 km
    4.5-17km WNW of Agrihan, Northern Mariana Islands-2018-02-13 14:06:32 (UTC)-223.1 km
    4.3-44km WSW of Taltal, Chile-2018-02-13 13:38:42 (UTC)-45.7 km
    3.3-201km ESE of Kodiak, Alaska-2018-02-13 13:06:25 (UTC)-118.2 km
    3.9-259km SE of Kodiak, Alaska-2018-02-13 11:57:48 (UTC)-21.7 km
    3.2-287km SE of Kodiak, Alaska-2018-02-13 08:39:44 (UTC)-10.0 km
    4.2-250km SE of Kodiak, Alaska-2018-02-13 07:29:35 (UTC)-24.1 km
    3.9-257km SE of Kodiak, Alaska-2018-02-13 07:29:38 (UTC)-10.2 km
    2.9-70km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico-2018-02-13 06:24:05 (UTC)-128.0 km
    3.6-214km SE of Kodiak, Alaska-2018-02-13 05:48:10 (UTC)-0.0 km
    3.3-104km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico-2018-02-13 03:39:08 (UTC)-50.0 km
    3.1-7km S of Hennessey, Oklahoma-2018-02-13 03:34:36 (UTC)-8.8 km
    5.6-86km NNE of Bamboo Flat, India-2018-02-13 02:39:53 (UTC)-69.4 km
    5.6-136km ESE of Rota, Northern Mariana Islands-2018-02-13 02:31:09 (UTC)-10.0 km
    5.7-141km ESE of Rota, Northern Mariana Islands-2018-02-13 02:03:03 (UTC)-10.0 km
    4.9-102km ESE of Rota, Northern Mariana Islands-2018-02-13 01:18:51 (UTC)-41.0 km
    5.4-134km ESE of Rota, Northern Mariana Islands-2018-02-13 01:11:43 (UTC)-11.6 km
    4.5-103km ESE of Ainaro, East Timor-2018-02-13 00:50:54 (UTC)-35.0 km
    2.6-17km ESE of Enid, Oklahoma-2018-02-13 00:50:03 (UTC)-4.9 km

STOCK MARKET AND EARTHQUAKE NEWS
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2018/02/the-dow-was-up-330-points-friday-new.html 
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2018/02/weekend-quake-results-for-feb-10-11-sat.html 
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2018/02/the-dow-was-down-1032-points-thursday.html 
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2018/02/the-dow-was-down-19-points-wednesday.html 
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2018/02/the-dow-was-up-567-points-tuesday.html 
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2018/02/the-dow-was-down-1175-points-monday.html 
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2018/02/the-dow-was-down-665-points-friday-new.html 
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2018/02/weekend-quake-results-feb-03-042018-sat.html 

NETANYAHU-ISRAELI STRIKES DEALT SERIOUS BLOW TO IRAN AND SYRIA.

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

Netanyahu: Israeli strikes dealt ‘serious blow’ to Iran, Syria-After exchanges of fire on northern border, PM tells ministers Israel will 'continue to strike back at any attempt to harm us'-By TOI staff and AP-FEB 12,18

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said airstrikes targeting key Iranian military facilities in Syria over the weekend inflicted heavy damage on the Iranian and Syrian militaries, and vowed that Israel would act decisively to counter any further provocations.“Yesterday we dealt a serious blow to the armies of Iran and Syria,” Netanyahu told ministers at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting. “We made it unequivocally clear to everyone that our rules of engagement have not changed in any way.”“We will continue to strike back at any attempt to harm us,” Netanyahu said,  according to a statement. “This has been our policy and will remain our policy.”The wave of Israeli airstrikes came after the IDF intercepted an Iranian drone that had infiltrated its airspace and an Israeli F-16 was downed upon its return from Syria on Saturday. It was Israel’s most serious engagement in neighboring Syria since fighting there began in 2011 — and its most devastating air assault on the country in decades.The IDF said it destroyed the drone’s Iranian launching site along with four additional Iranian positions and eight Syrian sites, including the Syrian military’s main command and control bunker.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war in Syria through a network of activists on the ground, said Sunday that at least six Syrian troops and allied militiamen were killed in the airstrikes. The six included Syrian troops as well as non-Syrian allied troops, the Britain-based Observatory said.It began at approximately 4:25 a.m. on Saturday, when an Iranian drone from Syria entered Israeli territory from Jordan and was shot down by an Apache attack helicopter near the northern Israeli city of Beit She’an, according to the army.During retaliatory airstrikes later on Saturday, the Israeli jets came under heavy Syrian anti-aircraft fire. The pilots of one of the F-16s had to eject and the plane crashed in northern Israel. One pilot was seriously wounded and the other one lightly.Israel would not confirm whether its aircraft was actually shot down by enemy fire, which would mark the first such instance for Israel since 1982 during the first Lebanon war.Israel has recently issued several stern warnings about the increased Iranian involvement along its borders with Syria and Lebanon, which it attributes to Iran’s growing confidence following Syrian President Bashar Assad’s successes in the Syrian civil war, thanks to support by main allies Russia and Iran.On Sunday, members of the high-level security cabinet said Israel’s retaliatory strikes sent a clear message to Tehran that it would not tolerate an Iranian military foothold on its doorstep and vowed that Israel would continue to act against efforts to violate its sovereignty.Intelligence Minister Israel Katz told Army Radio that Israel was not seeking to inflame tensions along the northern border, and indicated the strikes caught Iran by surprise.“They, and we, know what we hit and it will take them some time to digest, understand, and ask how Israel knew how to hit those sites,” he said. “These were concealed sites and we have intelligence agencies and the ability to know everything that is going on there and yesterday we proved that.”Education Minister Naftali Bennett told the radio station Israel won’t show restraint when its sovereignty is violated, and warned that Saturday’s strikes were “a small example of what we know how to do.”Israel fears Iran could use Syrian territory to stage attacks or create a land corridor from Iran to Lebanon that could allow it to transfer weapons more easily to the Lebanese Hezbollah — an Iranian-backed Shiite militant group sworn to Israel’s destruction. Hezbollah’s fighters are also fighting on Assad’s side in the Syrian civil war.Though Israel has largely stayed out of the Syrian conflict, it has reportedly struck weapons convoys destined for Hezbollah dozens of times since 2012.Israel has also shot down several drones that previously tried to infiltrate its territory from Syria, but the capture of an Iranian drone and the direct targeting of Iranian sites in response marked a dramatic escalation in the Israeli retaliation.

Sword-wielding man injures 4 worshipers at Indonesian church-Perpetrator's motive in bloody assault during Sunday Mass is unknown, police say-By AFP-TOI-FEB 12,18

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesian police have shot a sword-wielding man who attacked church congregation during Sunday Mass, injuring four people including a priest.Around 100 people were attending the mass at the church in Sleman town, Yogyakarta province when a man wielding a one-meter-long sword and began attacking people seemingly indiscriminately.“Four people have been injured in the incident — quite seriously — but we still cannot determine the perpetrator’s motive,” Yogyakarta police spokesman Yulianto told AFP.A congregation member Andhi Cahyo said a few minutes after the mass started, a congregation member barged into the church with a bleeding head. A young man holding a sharp weapon was chasing him.“Everybody started panicking and screaming, I was scrambling to save my wife and children,” Cahyo told AFP.People in the church ran out through another door and the assailant pursued them while also destroying church property.He also attacked a priest who was standing at the altar.Police arrived on the scene shortly after the attack and fired a warning shot into the air to subdue the perpetrator, who refused to surrender.“After the warning shot was fired, the attacked charged towards the officer with his sword. The officer then shot him below his stomach, but he managed to injure the cop before being subdued,” Cahyo said.All victims have been taken to Panti Rapih hospital for treatment.The incident was the latest attack in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country against a minority group in Indonesia, which is home to significant numbers of Christians, Hindus and Buddhists.In 2016 several children were injured after a man allegedly threw Molotov cocktails at a church during a Sunday service.

Visiting injured pilots, Rivlin says Israel ‘proved’ it can deal with Iran-President praises aviators' 'persistence,' says Netanyahu was right to have warned world of 2015 nuclear deal-By Michael Bachner and TOI staff-FEB 12,18

President Reuven Rivlin on Sunday visited the two injured IAF pilots whose F-16 fighter jet was downed by an apparent Syrian anti-aircraft missile on Saturday, praising them for their quick response and issuing fresh warnings to Iran.“We have proven that we are capable of dealing with Iran,” he told the aviators, referring to the interception of an Iranian drone over Israel and to reprisal strikes on Iranian targets in Syria.“Once again we have seen the teams, who operate following training and whose DNA is to persistently pursue their objective, refusing to return before completing the mission.”Shortly after the meeting at Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center, one of the airmen, who was lightly wounded while ejecting the plane, was released from hospital.The other pilot was seriously hurt during the ejection, suffering injuries to his chest and abdomen and undergoing emergency surgery. On Sunday, he regained consciousness and was taken off the respirator, with his injuries now classified as moderate.Thanking the country’s security forces during the visit, Rivlin added a warning directed at Iran and its regional allies.“We have Hezbollah in the north and Hamas in the south, and today we have Iran, and everyone must understand that Israel will not sit idly by when someone tries to disrupt our state and our citizens’ daily lives,” he said. “We aren’t just talking about a nuclear threat, but about a state sponsor of terror.”Rivlin said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was right to have repeatedly warned the international community of the Iranian threat over the past years, including in his vocal criticism of the 2015 nuclear deal signed with world powers to curb Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.“Everyone in all the world powers and in all countries knows that we won’t be able to accept Iranian involvement on our border,” Rivlin continued.Rivlin on Saturday spoke over the telephone to the lightly injured pilot.”My heart is with you and your comrades, and I hope that I will meet you soon. You and the entire squadron have proven that you do not come back until your mission is fulfilled, and I thank God together with the entire nation that you have returned,” Rivlin told the pilot, according to his spokesperson.The F-16 jet took part in Israeli airstrikes in response to an Iranian drone that entered Israeli airspace from Syria in the early morning hours on Saturday.The Israeli Air Force said it was investigating what caused the pilots to eject and if the aircraft was hit by Syrian anti-aircraft missiles. If the plane was in fact shot down by enemy fire, it would mark the first such instance for Israel since the 1982 Lebanon War.An initial Israeli Air Force investigation indicated that crash was caused by explosion of an anti-aircraft missile next to the plane, the army said early Sunday.An army spokesperson stressed that the investigation into the crash is ongoing, but said that the current assessment is that the missile brought down the F-16, known in Israel as a Sufa.The Israeli Air Force conducted a series of reprisal strikes in Syria.Brig. Gen. Tomer Bar, the Israeli Air Force’s second-in-command, said the Israeli planes faced a massive barrage of Syrian anti-aircraft fire, which reportedly included at least four different types of Russian-made air defense systems, specifically the SA-5, SA-17, SA-6 and SA-3.While the Israeli Air Force has developed a reputation for aerial superiority in the region, Saturday’s crash served as a stark reminder of what many Israeli defense officials and analysts have been saying for years: no military system is perfect and unbeatable.The more advanced Israeli F-16 and F-15 fighter jets have a significant advantage over the generally older Russian air defense systems — to say nothing of the F-35 stealth aircraft, which was declared operational in December — but that advantage is not total.On Saturday, Maj. Gen. (res.) Amos Yadlin, a former fighter pilot and head of Military Intelligence, dismissed claims that the downing of the F-16 showed that Israel had lost its air superiority.“True, sometimes there are losses, or mistakes on our side, but the balance is unequivocal,” Yadlin tweeted.“Israel demonstrated its abilities to defend its skies; it struck for the first time directly Iranian forces in Syria and exacted a price from Iran; it destroyed many Syrian SAM sites and left Damascus exposed to future attacks,” he said.Agencies contributed to this report.

Freed from shroud of ‘foreign reports,’ Israel-Iran fight steps out from shadows-Long-heard warnings about a clash between Jerusalem and Tehran are poised to become reality -- unless someone can stop it-By Judah Ari Gross-FEB 12,18-TOI

On Thursday, the International Crisis Group think tank and advocacy firm warned in a new comprehensive report that Israel and Iran (plus its proxies) were barreling toward open conflict in Syria.Those prescient warnings came true — in part, at least — throughout Saturday morning, beginning shortly before 4:30 a.m., with the violation of Israeli airspace by a drone that the Israeli military says was piloted by an Iranian operator from an airfield that Tehran had taken control of months before, with Syrian permission.Israeli jets conducted reprisal raids in Syria, during which one of the F-16 fighter planes was apparently hit by shrapnel from an exploding anti-aircraft missile and crashed in northern Israel, in what appears to be the first downing of an Israeli plane since 1982.The aircraft’s pilots bailed out; one of them was seriously injured.Air force jets then completed a second set of retaliatory strikes. In the two rounds, the Israeli military said, its aircraft targeted several Syrian air defense systems as well as four Iranian positions in the country.This was the first time Israel publicly acknowledged conducting airstrikes against Iranian-held locations in Syria, though not the first time it had done so, according to foreign reports.In the aftermath of the Saturday morning clash, Israeli, Syrian and Iranian politicians released tough, threatening statements aimed at one another. The United States backed Israel’s right to self-defense. Russia called for calm on all sides, but singled out Israel for violating Syrian sovereignty with its strikes, while conspicuously ignoring the Iranian drone’s airspace violation.The aerial exchange thrust what had previously been a long-simmering but largely quiet conflict into the international spotlight and raised concerns that this bout will be the first of many clashes — and, in the nightmare scenario, the start of a full-fledged war across Syria, Lebanon and northern Israel.I don’t think it’s the last time we’ll see such an event, but for the time being both sides will restrain their responses-However, the prevailing belief among Israeli defense analysts is that Saturday’s events were not the prelude to open war, but the beginning of an extended period of increased tension, which is liable to see additional clashes.“I don’t think it’s the last time we’ll see such an event, but for the time being both sides will restrain their responses,” Sima Shine, a career defense official and current senior researcher at Tel Aviv’s Institute for National Security Studies think tank, told reporters on Sunday.She added, during the phone briefing organized by the Media Central group, that escalation is in neither side’s best interest.Amos Yadlin, a former fighter pilot and Military Intelligence chief, described Saturday as the “most significant day of fighting” in what Israel describes as its “campaign between wars,” often referred to in Hebrew by its acronym, Mabam.“Despite the containment of the incident, the campaign is expected to continue,” Yadlin said.In its report, released two days before Saturday’s flareup, the Crisis Group laid out how this campaign between Israel and the Iran-Syria-Hezbollah axis has developed and how it can be prevented from escalating further.The organization tracks the current tensions to the Syrian regime’s battlefield victories over the past two and a half years, which it has achieved in large part due to support from the Russian military, which has provided significant air power since September 2015.These have opened the Iran-led axis to shift toward preparing for a future conflict with Israel.Only Moscow is in a position to mediate a bolstering of the deescalation agreement. Unless it does, the rules of the Syrian game are likely to be worked out through attack and response, with risk of escalation-According to the think tank, Russia is also the only entity able to prevent such a bloody war, having emerged from the Syrian civil war as the region’s sole remaining superpower after the United States dramatically scaled back its involvement in the conflict.“Only Moscow is in a position to mediate a bolstering of the deescalation agreement. Unless it does, the rules of the Syrian game are likely to be worked out through attack and response, with risk of escalation,” according to the report.The group outlines three main issues that need to be addressed: the presence of Iranian and Shiite forces near the Israeli Golan Heights; the construction of Iranian military infrastructure in Syria; and ensuring any clashes that do take place remain confined to Syria.The Crisis Group has also been working directly with Russia to try to persuade it to accept the role of mediator between Israel, Hezbollah, Iran and Syria.“And we are seeing some traction with Russian officials,” Ofer Zalzberg, a senior Jerusalem-based analyst for the group and one of the report’s authors, told The Times of Israel last Wednesday ahead of the document’s publication.-The recipe for disaster-As Syrian dictator Bashar Assad vanquishes the remaining pockets of resistance in the country, the Israeli concern is that his allies — Iran, Hezbollah and Iran-backed Shiite militias — will be freed to focus on establishing positions along the Israeli border from which to antagonize the Jewish state, as well as permanent naval and air bases to bring in more advanced weaponry and conduct attacks.Israel has designated these issues to be “red lines,” which it will not allow to be violated, and has said it will take military action if they are.In its report, the Crisis Group warned that if the Iranian axis presses on with these efforts and Israel retaliates in kind, there is significant potential for escalation or even a large-scale war that could destabilize the entire region.The military assessments of what a war between Israel and Hezbollah would look like are chilling: Hezbollah launching over 1,000 rockets and missiles at Israeli cities and strategic sites each day, along with attempted infiltrations of Israeli communities along the Lebanese border. Israel conducting wave after wave of airstrikes against Hezbollah infrastructure, which the terrorist group has embedded deep inside civilian areas, ensuring significant noncombatant deaths, as well as large-scale IDF ground force maneuvers in southern Lebanon.Zalzberg said a major part of the problem is that there are no established “rules of the game” between Israel and Iranian proxies in Syria, as there are in Lebanon, where Israel has been fighting Hezbollah off-and-on for decades.That means the “rules” will be sorted out through back-and-forth, tit-for-tat clashes like Saturday’s. But this is a perilous path, fraught with opportunities for miscalculation and resulting in unintended casualties on both sides.For instance, Israeli officials often refer to the “proverbial kindergarten” — the type of target that if hit, even accidentally, would prompt Israeli citizens to demand harsh and swift reprisals. As Iran and Hezbollah lack civilian targets in Syria, their equivalent might be a case of significant casualties from an Israeli airstrike, which would forced them to retaliate.This is a current concern, following Saturday’s exchange, as the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a watchdog group, reported that at least six pro-regime fighters — including both Syrians and foreign nationals — were killed in Israel’s strikes and that “the death toll is expected to rise because there are some people in critical situation.”Zalzberg added the potential for escalation in Syria is driven higher by the fact that different sides do not have a clear grasp of one another’s goals and viewpoints, citing a year’s worth of interviews by the Crisis Group with officials in Jerusalem, Tehran, Beirut, Amman, Moscow and Washington.The report and its authors argue that it is ultimately in Russia’s best interest to avoid an all-out war between Israel and the Lebanon-based, Iran-backed Hezbollah, which would have the potential to completely destabilize the region.Unlike in the 2006 Second Lebanon War between Israel and Hezbollah when the fighting was primarily limited to northern Israel and southern Lebanon, the view of both Israeli and Hezbollah officials is that the next conflict between the two groups would also include fighting in Syria.“A massive campaign by Israel will do enormous damage to [Damascus and its backers’] achievements, perhaps even destabilizing the regime itself,” the report noted.According to Zalzberg, this is not a desirable situation for Russia, as Moscow would like to see Assad regain near-total control over Syria.The analyst noted that this is at odds with Iran, which wants to see Assad in power, but does not necessarily want to see him becoming too powerful, preferring instead to have Syria controlled by a coalition, similar to Lebanon, so that its Shiite militias could play a more significant role in the country.Russia and only Russia-Moscow’s active support for Assad and his other main supporters, Iran and Hezbollah, has left Israeli officials decidedly wary of their Russian counterparts.The Crisis Group report quotes an unnamed Israeli Foreign Ministry official as saying of the Russians, “It’s hard to trust them. They tell us they are not selling weapons to Hezbollah, but we know for a fact that they do. Their policies are cynical. They are not an enticing mediator.”Yet there is an understanding among some in Israel that, while not enticing, Russia is the only mediator that has significant leverage over Iran and Hezbollah.Israel has already had to maintain a close, if uneasy, relationship with Moscow due to its involvement in the region.After Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jets that had invaded its airspace, Moscow installed an S-400 missile defense system in Syria. With the system, one of the world’s most advanced anti-aircraft batteries, Russia can monitor the overwhelming majority of Israel’s active airspace, including Israeli military flights.Or, as one Israeli official told the Crisis Group, “A fly can’t buzz above Syria without Russian consent nowadays.”This came as a shocking blow to the Israeli Air Force, which had, until then, enjoyed aerial superiority in the region, and required Jerusalem and Moscow to set up a hotline to prevent any potential conflicts between the two militaries.Israel has also worked diplomatically with Russia to secure a buffer zone around the southwestern Syrian border, in which Hezbollah and other Iran-backed Shiite militias would not be allowed to maintain a presence.The border area has naturally been of significant concern for Israel, which is loath to see Hezbollah set up military positions along the Golan Heights to join the significant infrastructure it has already put in place in southern Lebanon.Last month, the Syrian military, with some assistance from Shiite militias, regained control over the area of Beit Jinn, or Beit Jann, which is located just 13 kilometers (8 miles) from Israel’s Mount Hermon ski resort.Though it is currently focused on retaking the area of Idlib in northwestern Syria, this coalition is likely to soon focus its attention on the Quneitra and Daraa regions, near the Israeli border.Though Israel secured its buffer zone for that area this summer, the Crisis Group report notes that it would be relatively easy for these groups to get around the restriction, “for instance by integrating the fighters into the Syrian army or simply having them don its uniforms.”The advocacy group argues that before the Syria-Iran-Hezbollah axis moves toward the southwest, Russia should work to negotiate an agreement between it and Israel.There is still time for Russia to try to broker a set of understandings to prevent a confrontation, protecting both its investment in the regime and Syrian, Israeli and Lebanese lives-The Crisis Group notes that Israel’s insistence that Iranian and Iran-backed troops stay out of southern Syria will be the most difficult to negotiate, as Hezbollah and the Shiite militias would not be inclined to accept it and could easily cheat by disguising themselves as Syrians.However, the authors say this could be resolved by getting Russia to agree to prevent Iran from setting up the types of infrastructure most concerning to Israel, like a seaport through which the Islamic Republic could carry out attacks against Israeli natural gas fields, an airport to transport weapons to Hezbollah, or a factory for the production of precise missiles.“There is still time for Russia to try to broker a set of understandings to prevent a confrontation, protecting both its investment in the regime and Syrian, Israeli and Lebanese lives,” the Crisis Group wrote.

Egypt invites Hamas for talks on ‘security,’ sparking rumors-Some Palestinians believe visit linked to Cairo's war on Sinai jihadists, others say it's meant to salvage Hamas-PA reconciliation efforts or address Gaza crisis-By Khaled Abu Toameh-TOI-FEB 12,18

A surprise visit by senior Hamas officials to Cairo has sparked a wave of speculation on the reasons behind Egypt’s invitation.Some Palestinians claimed the visit was linked to the deteriorating security situation in Sinai, while others argued that it was aimed at salvaging the Egyptian-brokered “reconciliation” agreement between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority’s ruling Fatah faction.The Hamas delegation, headed by Ismail Haniyeh, left the Gaza Strip on Friday to Egypt through the Rafah border crossing. Three senior Hamas officials are accompanying Haniyeh on his visit to Egypt: Khalil Al Hayya, Fathi Hammad and Rouhi Mushtaha.Last week, the Egyptian authorities reopened the Rafah terminal for three days (between Wednesday and Friday) for the first time since the beginning of the year.Hamas said the visit, which coincided with a major military operation waged by the Egyptian army against terrorists in Sinai, came at the invitation of the Egyptian government.The visit also came on the heels of reports claiming that the Egyptian authorities had helped Hamas thwart a plot by the Islamic State to assassinate Haniyeh.Hamas has neither confirmed not denied the reports, which first appeared in Egyptian media outlets.It was Haniyeh’s first trip outside the Gaza Strip since the recent US decision to add him to the American list of global terrorists.Sources in the Gaza Strip said on Saturday that the talks between Hamas and Egyptian officials would focus on security-related issues.According to the sources, Egyptian security experts who visited the Gaza Strip recently discussed with Hamas officials ways of strengthening cooperation between the two sides along their shared border.“The Egyptians want Hamas to step up security measures along the border to thwart terror attacks in Sinai,” the sources added.Hamas is hoping the security cooperation would prompt the Egyptians to help solve the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, the sources said.Palestinian political analyst Hamzeh Abu Shanab said the visit by the Hamas delegation to Cairo was mainly aimed at strengthening security coordination between the two sides, especially along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.Abu Shanab claimed that the visit was also connected to Egypt’s effort to prevent Qatar from regaining influence in the Palestinian arena.Last year, Egypt and three other Arab countries — Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — decided to cut off their diplomatic relations with Qatar, citing the emirate’s continued support for terrorism.Hours before he headed to Cairo, Haniyeh received a phone call from the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who pledged urgent aid worth $9 million to the Gaza Strip.Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said that the visit was in the context of joint efforts to “alleviate the suffering of our people in the Gaza Strip.”But according to Barhoum, the Hamas officials’ discussions in Cairo will also deal with ways of removing obstacles hindering the implementation of the “reconciliation” accord with Fatah, which was signed in Cairo in November 2017.Moussa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas official, said that the discussions would focus on the “conditions of our people in the Gaza Strip and their suffering as a result of the siege and sanctions.”The talks will also focus on the “floundering reconciliation” agreement and ways of “putting the Palestinian house in order,” he added.According to Abu Marzouk, the Egypt-Hamas discussions will also focus on the US administration’s “deal of the century” – a reference to a US plan for peace in the Middle East, the details of which remain unknown.It was unclear whether the Hamas officials would meet with Fatah representatives during their stay in Cairo.But Ismail Radwan, a Hamas spokesperson, said that his movement was not opposed to any meetings with Fatah officials.Radwan refused to comment on reports that suggested that the Hamas delegation was also planning to meet with ousted Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan.Dahlan, who was expelled from Fatah after falling out with Abbas, has since been living in exile in the UAE.Last year, Hamas and Dahlan were reported to have struck a deal that would have seen the former Fatah leader return to the Gaza Strip, paving the way for the UAE and other countries to provide financial aid to the Palestinians living there.The deal was apparently foiled by Abbas’s sudden decision to sign the “reconciliation” accord with Hamas.Abbas and his top aides believe that Dahlan wants to replace the PA president and have accused him of working together with some Arab countries to undermine the PA leadership in Ramallah.

IDF apologizes for portraying Golan as outside Israel-Army says 'honest mistake' led to Heights being marked as disputed territory, stresses map does not reflect the military's position-By Judah Ari Gross-FEB 12,18-TOI

The Israeli military on Sunday apologized for a map it produced the night before in which the Golan Heights does not appear as fully part of Israel.A military spokesperson said it was an “honest mistake” and was in no way indicative of the Israeli army’s position on the status of the Golan Heights.“Yesterday during the production of an illustration to show the air force’s attacks in Syria, an honest mistake was made and the wrong map was used,” the army said in a statement.“Naturally, there was no intention behind sending out the map as it was. We regret the error, and it has been corrected,” the military said.The map, sent to reporters, showed four sites in Syria that were targeted in a series of Israeli reprisal raids after, first, an Iranian drone violated Israeli airspace and then an Israeli F-16 was apparently shot down by Syrian air defenses.IDF releases map of sites targeted in Saturday's strikes, notably SA-5, SA-17 and SA-2 batteries, as well as the mobile command unit from which the army says an Iranian operator flew a drone into Israeli airspace. pic.twitter.com/kFOHiwbPpb— Judah Ari Gross (@JudahAriGross) February 10, 2018-In the document, the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in 1967 and formally annexed in 1981, is portrayed as a disputed territory, with clear borders separating it from the rest of Israel and coloring as though it were both Israeli and Syrian.Israel’s annexation was never recognized by the international community and, as such, it generally appears in open-source maps as disputed territory.The officer noted that the map was created late at night, which contributed to the error. It was not widely distributed.

Coalition heads delay annexation bill following Syria clashes-Party leaders agree to postpone discussion of legislation that would apply Israeli sovereignty over all areas of Jewish settlement-By TOI staff and Jacob Magid-FEB 12,18

Citing the security incidents on Israel’s northern border over the weekend, the heads of coalition parties on Sunday pulled legislation aimed at annexing Israeli settlements in the West Bank from the agenda of a meeting on the coming week’s legislative timetable.The so-called Sovereignty Bill, drafted by Yoav Kisch (Likud) and Bezalel Smotrich (Jewish Home), seeks to apply Israeli sovereignty over all areas of Jewish settlement in the West Bank, which are currently under military rule.It will likely be pushed off until next week’s Ministerial Committee for Legislation meeting.The measure comes just over a month after the Likud Central Committee, the party’s top decision-making body, unanimously adopted a similar resolution calling on its members to act toward achieving West Bank annexation.On Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pulled the legislation from the Ministerial Committee for Legislation’s agenda, instead sending it to coalition heads for discussion during a Sunday meeting.A spokesman for a senior committee member told The Times of Israel that the prime minister wanted to coordinate the measure with the White House first.After Netanyahu pulled the vote from the committee meeting, 18 West Bank council chairmen signed a letter initiated by the Yesha settlement umbrella council calling on the prime minister to advance the legislation.Nevertheless, settler leaders were confident that the proposal has never had a higher likelihood of adoption. “Now more than ever, the conditions are ripe to apply sovereignty over Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley,” Yesha Director-General Shiloh Adler said.

71 feared dead as Russian plane crashes near Moscow-Rescue workers struggle to reach wreckage of Antonov An-148 jetliner; ministry says several causes possible, including bad weather, human error-By AFP-TOI-FEB 12,18

MOSCOW, Russia — A Russian passenger plane carrying 71 people crashed outside Moscow on Sunday after taking off from the capital’s Domodedovo airport, Russian media reported.The Antonov An-148 plane operated by the domestic Saratov Airlines was flying to Orsk, a city in the Urals, and crashed in the Ramensky district on the outskirts of Moscow. Russian news agencies reported 65 passengers and 6 crew were on board.News agencies said witnesses in the village of Argunovo saw a burning plane falling from the sky.A source from Russia’s emergency services told Interfax that the 71 people on board “had no chance” of survival.Plane crashed in Moscow, 60+ people on board, rescue can't get to it as its in the middle of the forest. Its debris already being covered by snowfall. Will update more pic.twitter.com/V58D5xk4ql— English Russia (@EnglishRussia1) February 11, 2018-The same news agency reported that the wreckage of the plane was spread over a wide area around the crash site.Russian state television aired a video of the crash site, showing parts of the wreckage in the snow. Russia has seen record high snowfalls in recent days and visibility was reportedly poor.The Russian-made plane was 7 years-old and bought by Saratov Airlines from another Russian airline a year ago.Russian media reported that the emergency services were unable to reach the crash site by road and that rescue workers walked to the scene on foot.A source at Domodedovo, Moscow’s second largest airport, told agencies that the plane disappeared from radars within two minutes of takeoff.The Russian transport minister was on his way to the crash site, agencies reported. The transport ministry said several causes for the crash are being considered, including weather conditions and human error.The governor of the Orenburg region, where the plane was flying to, told Russian media that “more than 60 people” on board the plane were from the region.Prosecutors opened an investigation into Saratov Airlines following the crash.Plane crashes are common in Russia, where airlines often operate ageing aircraft in testing flying conditions.A light aircraft crashed in November in Russia’s far east, killing six people on board.In December 2016 a military plane carrying Russia’s famed Red Army Choir crashed after taking off from the Black Sea resort of Sochi, killing all 92 people on board.The choir had been due to give a concert to Russian troops operating in Syria.Pilot error was blamed for that crash.In March 2016, all 62 passengers died when a FlyDubia jet crashed in bad weather during an aborted landing at Rostov-on-Don airport.

Iranian-Canadian environmentalist dies in Iran prison after ‘suicide’-Family, colleagues of prominent professor reject authorities' account of Kavous Seyed Emami's death-By Eric RANDOLPH-TOI-FEB 12,18

TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Questions surrounded the death of a prominent Iranian-Canadian environmentalist on Sunday after authorities claimed he committed suicide in prison a fortnight after his arrest.Iran’s academic community was in shock over the death of Kavous Seyed Emami, 63, one of the country’s most revered professors and head of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation.He was arrested along with seven colleagues from the wildlife NGO on January 24, and his death was announced by the family on social media late on Saturday.“The news of my father’s passing is impossible to fathom,” wrote his son Ramin Seyed Emami, a well-known singer, on his Instagram page.He said security officials had informed his mother on Friday.“They say he committed suicide. I still can’t believe this.”Asked about the case on Sunday, Tehran’s chief prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi confirmed the death.“This person was one of the accused and given that he knew there were many revelations against him and that he himself had made confessions, unfortunately he committed suicide in prison,” he told the reformist ILNA news agency.Dolatabadi had said on Saturday that several people linked to environmental causes had been arrested on espionage charges, without giving further details.“A number of individuals who collected information and gave it to foreigners were identified, some were arrested and some may be arrested in the future. The case is at its initial stage and details cannot be disclosed,” Gholamhossein Esmailie, the head of Tehran’s judiciary department, told ILNA on Sunday.Multiple ‘suicides’-The Iran Sociology Association, of which Emami was an active member, released a statement on Sunday questioning the claims.“The information published about him is not believable and we expect officials to respond and to provide the public with information concerning his death,” the statement said.A source close to the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation told AFP that the other seven were still in jail.Among them was Hooman Jokar, who headed a program to save the endangered Asiatic cheetah.Morad Tahbaz, an Iranian-American businessman who was a member of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation board, was also in detention.In November, the conservative-linked Tasnim news agency accused Tahbaz of being a big-game hunter who was trying to seize control of national park land in northern Iran.Tahbaz comes from a wealthy family who made their fortune before the 1979 revolution and once owned the renowned Kayhan newspaper, which is now controlled by the Islamic authorities.Emami’s death follows reports of at least two other “suicides” in detention that were linked to the week-long protests in late December and early January.Mahmoud Sadeghi, an outspoken lawmaker, had claimed a 23-year-old protester named Sina Ghanbari died in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, but the judiciary said he was a drug-trafficker who had committed suicide.Another man died after being arrested during protests in the city of Arak in central Iran. Local officials said he had stabbed himself to death.‘Loved Iran, the environment’-“Everyone is in shock,” an academic who knew Emami well told AFP on condition of anonymity.“He was one of the best professors. He was very profound, very composed, not at all political. He loved Iran and the environment.“He came back recently from Canada where he was doing research. On his return, he was called in several times” by the authorities.Emami had taught at the Imam Sadegh University, where many of the regime’s leading figures were educated including nuclear negotiator Said Jalili.Ali Shakourirad, head of the reformist Islamic Union Party, tweeted that the death “has caused a wave of questions and concerns among the public.”“The Tehran prosecutor’s incomplete and vague information has added to these concerns. What is going on in this country? Why doesn’t the judiciary give out information in time and transparently?” he wrote.Emami is the second Iranian-Canadian citizen to die in Iran’s prisons following the murder of 54-year-old Zahra Kazemi in 2003, who had been arrested for taking photos outside Evin Prison.The vice-president at the time, Mohammad Ali Abtahi, stated she died from “a brain hemorrhage caused by a beating.”The case overshadowed relations with Canada for years.Canada severed diplomatic relations with Iran in 2012, after its government criticized the Islamic republic’s support for the Syrian regime, its “incitement to genocide” against Israel and its leaders’ failure to account for their nuclear program.Iran does not recognize dual nationality and treats those arrested as Iranian citizens only.After a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and world powers in 2015, Canada announced the lifting of economic sanctions on the country and said it was reviewing its wider relations.

Egypt hits Sinai targets, killing 16 jihadists and arresting dozens-Military says it has destroyed 66 sites in major crackdown on Islamist insurgency in war-rattled peninsula-By Agencies-TOI-FEB 12,18

Egypt’s military has destroyed dozens of targets, killed 16 fighters and detained over 30 suspects as part of its latest operation against Islamic jihadists in the restive northern Sinai Peninsula, the army said on Sunday.Army spokesman Col. Tamer el-Rifai said that airstrikes hit vehicles, weapons caches, communications centers and illegal opium fields in the sweep, which began on Friday and comes as a response to a pickup in extremist violence in Egypt.“The air force targeted and destroyed 66 targets used by terrorist elements to hide from air and artillery attacks” during raids by security forces, he said in a statement.The operation, which targets “terrorist and criminal elements and organizations,” involves land, naval and air forces from the army and police, and covers north and central Sinai, the Nile Delta and the Western Desert along the porous border with Libya.The offensive comes ahead of a March vote that will undoubtedly see President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi win a second four-year term, after all serious opponents have been sidelined or driven out of the race.Sissi, who has waged a sweeping crackdown on dissent in Egypt, claims he is the only one who can restore Egypt’s security, and ordered the Sinai operation after militants struck.In November, jihadists killed 311 worshipers in a mosque attack in north Sinai, the deadliest such killing in Egypt’s modern history, prompting Sissi to give security forces a three-month deadline to restore order using “all brute force” required.But the terrorists launched another brazen attack in December, firing a missile at a helicopter that was part of the entourage of Egypt’s defense and interior ministers, who were in the provincial capital el-Arish on an unannounced visit. Neither minister was in the aircraft when the attack took place but the missile killed an officer and wounded two others.Jihadist insurgency has long been a problem in Sinai, but it spiked dramatically after Sissi led the military’s 2013 overthrow of elected but divisive Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. Violence has been concentrated in north Sinai, but has also spread to the mainland.Meanwhile, two terror groups that have carried out previous attacks on security forces, denounced the new operation in statements posted online.The group known as Hasm urged Egyptians to unite against the “traitorous regime” which was “digging its own grave” by “declaring open war on Sinai.”Another group, called Liwaa el-Thawra, said the offensive, involving tens of thousands of troops, was a sign the government was losing control of Sinai, where it vowed to continue it struggle.Authorities believe both groups, which have been designated as terrorist organizations by Egypt and the United States, to be splinter groups of Morsi’s outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

Former Qaeda leader in Syria ‘welcomes’ Israeli airstrikes-Saleh Al-Hamwi tweets rare public support for Jerusalem, but contends Iran succeeded in creating deterrence over Syrian skies-By Dov Lieber-TOI-FEB 12,18

In a rare public expression of support for Israel by a radical Islamist figure in Syria, a former leader in al-Qaeda’s Syrian militia on Saturday welcomed Israeli airstrikes against Syrian and Iranian targets in the country after an Iranian drone infiltrated Israeli airspace, and called on the Jewish state to quickly “uproot” Iran from its northern neighbor.“We welcome any Israeli aerial or naval bombardment against the [Syrian] regime and Iran in Syria. We urge them to do more. And we say to Israel: Your silence over Iran’s intervention in Syria will turn against you. It’s inevitable. Act with haste to uproot them,” Saleh Al-Hamwi wrote on Twitter.Hamwi was a founder of the Nusra Front in 2012. In July 2015, the jihadist group said it dismissed him for not falling in line with the group’s internal politics.He is now reportedly affiliated with the hardline Islamist group Ahrar il-Sham.On Saturday, tensions flared on the Israeli-Syrian border, after the IDF intercepted an Iranian drone that entered Israeli airspace from Jordan and an Israeli F-16 was apparently hit while flying over Syria during a retaliatory raid. The Israeli plane managed to return to Israel, where its two pilots ejected. One of the airmen was severely injured, while the second was lightly wounded.In response, the Israeli Air Force quickly conducted a series of reprisal strikes in Syria.Hamwi contended that Iran had intentionally sent the drone into Israeli airspace in order to draw Israeli planes into the range of anti-aircraft weaponry stationed at the base where the UAV had taken off from.“[Iran] sent a drone and penetrated Israeli airspace with the prior knowledge that Israel would respond and bomb the launch site of the UAV,” he tweeted.“A decision was made in advance to bring down any Israeli fighter plane that would bomb the airport” using the Russian-made S-200 air defense system, Hamwi added.The outspoken Syrian militant concluded that neither Iran nor Israel are interested in war right now. He argued, however, that Iran had succeeded in its goal of deterring Israeli airstrikes, which have reportedly become commonplace in Syria in recent years.“It certainly opens a new stage,” he wrote.The Iranian-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah, which has been fighting for the Assad regime, hailed Syria’s air defenses, saying Saturday’s incident marked the start of a new era.“This is the beginning of a new strategic era that puts an end to the violation of Syrian airspace and territory,” the terror group said in a statement published by Lebanon’s ANI news agency.During Israel’s widespread retaliatory offensive on Saturday in Syria, the IDF said, it hit four Iranian positions and eight Syrian sites, causing significant damage.Israel also said it destroyed the Syrian military’s main command and control bunker in its most devastating assault in the country in decades.Saturday’s exchange marked Israel’s most serious engagement in neighboring Syria since fighting there began in 2011. The events also seemingly marked the first direct combat between Israel and Iran.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

On revolution anniversary, Rouhani decries US, Israeli ‘plots’ to divide Iran-Addressing hundreds of thousands in Tehran, president says mass attendance a response to 'Zionists' moves in the region'-By Agencies and TOI staff-FEB 12,18

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called for a “year of unity” in the face of “Israeli plots” to create division, as Iran celebrated 39 years since the Islamic Revolution Sunday in the wake of protests that rocked the country last month.“The plots by the United States and Israel to create division among the Iranians, Iraqis and the Lebanese were defeated,” Rouhani said in a speech before a huge crowd in Tehran, as hundreds of thousands converged on the city’s central Azadi Square.“The Americans wanted to interfere in our internal affairs, but our people turned its back to them,” Rouhani said, as demonstrators chanted traditional slogans of “Death to the United States” and “Death to Israel.”Earlier, Rouhani said the widespread attendance was a “response to the new US conspiracies against our nation and the Zionists’ moves in the region,” apparently referring to IDF strikes on Iranian targets in Syria over the weekend and the downing of an Iranian drone that entered Israeli airspace.“I request that the 40th year of the revolution, the coming year, be the year of unity,” he added. “I ask conservatives, reformists, moderates and all parties and all people to come and be together.”Abroad, Iran has successfully helped push back the Islamic State group in Iraq and assisted embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad in regaining strategic ground in his country’s long war.At home, however, the country’s economy still struggles despite its 2015 landmark nuclear deal with world powers.In late December and early January, protests across the country began over the economy. They later changed into demonstrations directly challenging the government.Rouhani, a long-time regime insider who won power in 2013 and again in 2017 with the backing of reformists, has faced tough criticism from conservatives over his efforts to rebuild relations with the West and ease civil liberties.“We should trust the people. We must allow all inclinations to participate in elections,” he said. “In the last 39 years, we have progressed in many fields, but at the same time we have had shortcomings. Maybe in decision-making, we have had delays. Maybe we haven’t been speaking transparently with our people.”The conservative-dominated Guardian Council has the power to veto candidates in all elections, and has in the past barred hundreds of reformists from standing for the presidency and parliament.The ceremony comes a day after Israel shot down an Iranian drone that infiltrated its airspace and launched a widespread retaliatory offensive against Iranian targets in Syria.The IDF said it destroyed the drone’s Iranian launching site along with four additional Iranian positions and eight Syrian sites, including the Syrian military’s main command and control bunker.An Israeli F-16 fighter jet was apparently hit while flying over Syria during the raid, but managed to return to Israel, where its two pilots bailed out of the plane, which crashed into a field in the Jezreel Valley, according to IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus. One of the airmen was severely injured, while the second was lightly wounded.Intelligence Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday the Israeli strikes sent a clear message to the Islamic Republic that Jerusalem won’t tolerate an Iranian military foothold on its doorstep.Katz told Army Radio it would take the Iranians time to “digest” the Israeli airstrikes.“They, and we, know what we hit and it will take them some time to digest, understand, and ask how Israel knew how to hit those sites,” he said. “These were concealed sites and we have intelligence agencies and the ability to know everything that is going on there and yesterday we proved that.”

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