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
Ministers back bill slashing PA funding over terror payouts-Legislation would allow Defense Ministry to deduct sum of Ramallah's welfare payments to Palestinian prisoners and their families from tax revenues transferred to PA-By Marissa Newman and Dov Lieber-TOI-FEB 19,18
The Ministerial Committee for Legislation on Sunday approved a bill that would slash funds to the Palestinian Authority over salaries paid out by Ramallah to convicted terrorists and their families.If passed by the Knesset, the legislation would deduct welfare payments paid out by the Palestinian Authority to Palestinian prisoners and their relatives from the tax revenues Israel transfers annually to the PA.Under an economic agreement signed in 1994, Israel transfers to the PA tens of millions of dollars each year in customs duties levied on goods destined for Palestinian markets that transit through Israeli ports.The bill will have to pass three readings in the Knesset plenum before it becomes law. The ministerial panel’s backing on Sunday lends it coalition support, making it all but guaranteed to advance.The legislation is a softened version of a bill privately proposed by Yesh Atid MK Elazar Stern that would have seen the funds automatically deducted from the PA. Stern, on Sunday, hailed the ministers’ approval of the proposal and called on the government to swiftly pass it into law.The Defense Ministry’s version of the bill will allow the government to either deduct the funds, which would be irreversible, or “freeze” the payments, leaving the security cabinet with the final say.After the ministers cleared the bill, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman hailed the move and said the withheld tax revenues would go toward compensating Israeli terror victims who cannot sue their attackers.“Soon, this theater of the absurd will come to an end, and the salaries of the terrorists that we will withhold from [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud] Abbas will be used to prevent terrorism and compensate victims,” he said.Critics of the bill have warned it could bankrupt the PA, leading to its collapse.Last week, Avi Dichter, a Likud MK and former Shin Bet security agency chief, railed against the government proposal, saying the amended version would be ineffective, as the final decision will always be left to the security cabinet, based on diplomatic or national security considerations.The Palestine Liberation Organization gives monthly payments to all Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel, no matter the reason for their incarceration, and also to families of so-called “martyrs” — a term used by the PLO to refer to anyone killed by an Israeli, whether the person was killed attacking Israelis or not.A recent report published by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the Israeli Defense Ministry agency responsible for administering civilian affairs in the West Bank and the crossings with Gaza, said that around one-third of the Palestinian prisoners are “directly responsible for the murder of Israelis.”According to the Defense Ministry, the Palestinian Authority in 2017 paid NIS 687 million ($198 million) to the so-called “martyrs’ families fund” and NIS 550 million ($160 million) to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club — some 7 percent of its overall budget.Palestinian prisoners serving 20-30 year sentences for carrying out terror attacks are eligible for a lifetime NIS 10,000 ($1,900) monthly stipend, the Defense Ministry said, citing PA figures. Those prisoners who receive a 3-5 year sentence get a monthly wage of NIS 2,000 ($580). Palestinian prisoners who are married, have children, live in Jerusalem, or hold Israeli citizenship receive additional payments.US President Donald Trump in January threatened aid cuts to the PA, asking why Washington should make “any of these massive future payments” when the Palestinians were “no longer willing to talk peace.” The United States recently froze some $100 million in aid to the UN agency that deals with Palestinian refugees, calling for reforms to the international body.US lawmakers have also been advancing the Taylor Force Act — named for a US national killed in a Tel Aviv stabbing terror attack — which would cut US funding to the PA unless it discontinued its practice of paying monthly stipends to the families of terrorists who kill Israelis.The PA has refused to cease the payments to Palestinian prisoners.In June, Abbas, in a speech read by his foreign affairs adviser Nabil Shaath, argued that “payments to support the families are a social responsibility to look after innocent people affected by the incarceration or killing of their loved ones.“It’s quite frankly racist rhetoric to call all our political prisoners terrorists. They are, in effect, the victims of the occupation, not the creators of the occupation,” Abbas said.
PM credits Israeli counter-strikes for years of quiet in Gaza-After an IED attack on IDF troops, Netanyahu says relative calm maintained thus far by 'putting pressure on Hamas'-By Judah Ari Gross-TOI-FEB 19,18
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday credited Israel’s policy of targeting Hamas sites in the Gaza Strip in response to any aggression coming the territory with preventing additional attacks.He was speaking a day after an improvised explosive device injured four IDF soldiers and a rocket fired from the Strip hit an Israeli house in the nearby Sha’ar Hanegev region.“If we weren’t putting pressure on Hamas the way we do, we’d have what happened [yesterday] every day,” Netanyahu told reporters following a speech at the Munich Security Conference earlier in the day.The prime minister would not confirm comments made by Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, to the effect that the Popular Resistance Committees terrorist group was responsible for the IED attack.“It doesn’t matter who did it. It matters who didn’t stop it,” Netanyahu said, referring to Gaza’s Hamas rulers.Since the 2014 Gaza war, Hamas has prevented other terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip from carrying out attacks, leading to one of the quietest periods between Israel and the coastal enclave since the 1967 Six Day War, according to Israeli statistics on terror attacks.“This isn’t about [Hamas] loving us, but about loving itself,” Netanyahu said.Saturday’s attack represented the most significant strike from an armed group in the territory since the 2014 war.In response to the initial IED attack and the rocket launch, Israel conducted a series of airstrikes in the Strip, targeting 18 sites connected to terrorist activities, according to the Israeli army.The military said that those included an offensive tunnel dug toward Israeli territory from the Zeitun neighborhood of Gaza City.In a separate incident on Saturday night, an IDF tank fired at a group of Palestinians who had approached the security fence “in a suspicious manner.” The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry reported that two of the Palestinians were killed and two more were seriously injured.Despite the extensive strikes, the prime minister maintained that Israel “definitely doesn’t have an interest in escalating the situation.”As of Sunday afternoon, two of the soldiers injured in the IED blast remained in serious condition, while the other three were said to be in moderate condition, according to Beersheba’s Soroka Medical Center, where the servicemen were initially taken.One of the soldiers, whose father is a doctor at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem, was transferred there at the request of his family. His condition continues to be serious, the Jerusalem hospital said, and he is being treated in the hospital’s trauma center.Doctors said the condition of all four soldiers has stabilized and there is no immediate danger to their lives.
Netanyahu: Iran speech meant to sway US to renew sanctions-PM reiterates criticism of 2015 nuclear deal; diplomatic official says the Islamic Republic 'not immune' from Israeli attack-By Judah Ari Gross-TOI-FEB 19,18
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s dramatic speech Sunday about Iranian aggression in the Middle East seemed intended, above all, for the ears of US President Donald Trump, who in approximately two months will decide whether to renew sanctions against the Islamic Republic.“[The speech] was meant to address the current aggressiveness of Iran on the ground and to influence what will happen in Washington in a few months,” he told reporters after the address at the Munich Security Conference, in which he displayed the wing flap of an Iranian drone that was recently shot down in Israeli airspace.Netanyahu added that he will speak with Trump about the issue at the beginning of next month, when he will be in Washington as part of the annual AIPAC Policy Conference.His central argument is that if the US were to restore some sanctions against Iran, countries throughout the world would be forced to choose between access to the Iranian economy, with its GDP of approximately $500 billion, and the American economy — with its GDP of nearly $20 trillion.The prime minister has been a constant critic of the 2015 Iran deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, in part over its “sunset clause,” which eventually removes restrictions against nuclear development, as well as over the limitations it places on the International Atomic Energy Agency’s ability to inspect Iranian military sites.Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have maintained that these issues are serious flaws in the agreement. They also protest the fact that Iran has been able to develop ballistic missiles, with which it could launch a future nuclear weapon, despite a UN resolution calling for it to stop.The prime minister said those problems need to be addressed, though he stressed that this “did not necessarily mean altering the JCPOA, but changing the situation,” a reference to his call on world powers to contain Iranian aggression beyond the confines of the deal.A senior diplomatic official acknowledged that not everyone in attendance at the conference — notably including two of its main architects, former US secretary of state John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif — were likely to appreciate his harsh words.(Kerry, for his part, later called Netanyahu’s comments on the Iran deal “fundamentally false.”)-Netanyahu said the rest of the world should consider how Iran will act if it acquires an atomic arsenal, in light of its current destabilizing actions in the region.“This is what they do today, when they don’t have nuclear weapons,” he said, referring to Tehran’s involvement in Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.The decision to bring a piece of the Iranian drone as tangible “proof” of Iranian aggression came from the prime minister’s communications adviser David Keyes, who stashed the drone piece under the podium before the speech.Zarif responded to Netanyahu’s prop by calling it a “cartoonish circus” that did “not warrant a response.”Netanyahu, for his part, called Zarif’s dismissal a public relations win. “The fact that [Zarif] had to respond to it was the whole point,” he told reporters.Netanyahu kept his focus on the Iranians at the conference, and away from the burgeoning corruption investigations surrounding his affairs back in Israel. He refused to answer journalists’ repeated questions over news of the arrest of former senior officials from his office and from the Bezeq communications company in the context of one investigation.-Striking Iran-In his speech, Netanyahu issued a dramatic, explicit threat to act against Iran itself, and not limit Israeli responses to Tehran’s proxies in Syria, Lebanon, the Gaza Strip and Yemen.The prime minister told the conference that Israel “will not allow Iran’s regime to put a noose of terror around our neck. We will act without hesitation to defend ourselves. And we will act if necessary not just against Iran’s proxies that are attacking us, but against Iran itself.”Speaking to reporters after the speech, a senior diplomatic official would not comment on whether that meant targeting sites inside Iran or — as happened last week following the Iranian drone’s incursion into Israeli airspace — striking Iranian targets inside Syria.The Iranian drone, which entered northern Israel from Syria near the Jordan border last Saturday, was shot down by an Israeli attack helicopter. In response to the drone incursion, Israeli jets attacked the mobile command center from which it was operated, the army said at the time.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.A senior diplomatic official said Sunday that Israel would have no problem justifying an attack against Iranian targets if it decided to do so.“Iran attacks Israel. That’s clear. From Lebanon, from Gaza, from Syria. This is coming from Iran. Period,” the official told reporters after the speech, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Iran has no immunity.”
Iranian FM derides Netanyahu speech as ‘cartoonish circus’-Mohammad Javad Zarif takes stage in Munich after PM brandishes part of downed drone, says stunt 'doesn't deserve the dignity of a response'-By Agencies and TOI staff-FEB 19,18
Iran’s foreign minister on Sunday derided Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for staging a “cartoonish circus” at the Munich Security Conference, after the Israeli leader in his address to the summit brandished a fragment of an Iranian drone shot down by Israel a week ago.“You were the audience for a cartoonish circus just this morning which does not even deserve the dignity of a response,” Mohammad Javad Zarif said, as he took the stage shortly after Netanyahu’s fiery speech.Zarif, in his speech, repeatedly called Netanyahu “obsessive” in his focus on the Iranian regime as a threat to Israel’s security, and branded his assertion that Tehran would “do nothing” if the US pulled out of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal as “delusional.”“I can assure that if Iran’s interests are not secured, Iran will respond, will respond seriously and I believe it would be a response that means people would be sorry for taking the erroneous action they did,” said Zarif of the nuclear deal, adding that “we will not be the first ones to violate” the agreement.Iran’s top diplomat also alleged that the recent escalation of tensions on Israel’s borders with Syria and Gaza were an attempt to divert public attention from Netanyahu’s woes at home, namely the corruption probes against him and the police recommendations that the prime minister be indicted for bribery, fraud and breach of trust.He denounced what he said were Israel’s “almost daily illegal incursions into Syrian airspace,” and said Israel was trying “to create these cartoonish images to blame others for its own strategic blunders, or maybe to evade the domestic crisis they’re facing.”“What has happened in the past several days is the so-called invincibility [of Israel] has crumbled,” said Zarif, referring to the downing of an Israeli F-16 over northern Israel last Saturday, according to Reuters.Netanyahu had singled out Zarif in his speech, as he lifted up the wreckage of the UAV.“Mr. Zarif, do you recognize this? You should, it’s yours. You can take back with you a message to the tyrants of Tehran — do not test Israel’s resolve!” proclaimed Netanyahu earlier to the audience, which included Zarif.The Iranian drone, which entered northern Israel from Syria near the Jordan border last Saturday, was shot down by an Israeli attack helicopter. In response to the drone incursion, Israeli jets attacked the mobile command center from which it was operated, the army said last week.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.The flareup on the northern border marked the first direct confrontation between the Israeli air force and the Iranian regime on Israeli territory. Israel has warned of growing Iranian entrenchment in neighboring Syria and has said it will not abide an Iranian military presence on its borders.“Through its proxies — Shiite militias in Iraq, the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza — Iran is devouring huge swaths of the Middle East,” said Netanyahu.“Israel will not allow Iran’s regime to put a noose of terror around our neck,” he added. “We will act without hesitation to defend ourselves. And we will act if necessary not just against Iran’s proxies that are attacking us, but against Iran itself.”In his remarks on Sunday, the prime minister also railed against the nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, lambasted the Iranian regime, and branded Zarif the “smooth-talking mouthpiece of Iran.”“I’ll say this, he lies eloquently,” Netanyahu said. “Zarif said it was wrong to say Iran is radical. If that’s true, why do they hang gays from cranes in city squares?”Former US Secretary of State John Kerry, who was also in the audience, criticized Netanyahu’s speech later on Sunday, saying he was “fundamentally incorrect” on the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.US President Donald Trump is deeply skeptical about the nuclear deal. He extended sanctions waivers in January but said he would not do so again when they come up for renewal in May unless his concerns are addressed.Kerry, one of the leading negotiators on the deal, told the conference that “this is untenable. It is not good diplomacy.” He added that it is “absolutely critical” to make sure that the deal survives.“I believe it is absolutely critical for Europe, for the world, to make sure we hold on to this agreement,” said Kerry. “Because to go backward — we know what the world looks like without the Iran nuclear agreement. It’s not a better place.”
Israeli, US officials meet over gas dispute with Lebanon-Energy minister says 'diplomatic solution is preferable' for quarrel with Hezbollah over offshore oil zones-By AFP-toi-feb 19,18
Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz met Sunday with a senior United States official seeking to defuse an escalating oil and gas dispute with Lebanon, his office said.A statement from his spokesman said Steinitz held talks with Acting Assistant Secretary of State David Satterfield about conflicting claims to energy reserves off the coasts of Lebanon and Israel.The leader of Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah terror group said on Friday that Lebanon was strong enough to withstand US and Israeli pressure and to put Israeli gas rigs out of action.Last week Lebanon signed its first contract to drill for oil and gas in a pair of offshore zones, including one that its southern neighbor Israel says belongs to it.Lebanese officials have said the whole zone belongs to Beirut while Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman has insisted it is solidly in Israeli territory.Sunday’s Israeli statement quoted Steinitz as telling Satterfield that “a diplomatic solution is preferable for both sides.”It added that the two agreed to meet again during the coming week.Satterfield also held talks on the issue with top officials in Lebanon.Meanwhile work began on February 7 in Germany on four advanced corvettes for the Israeli navy “that will protect gas rigs and economic enterprises in Israeli waters,” the Israeli military said.It said that the “Saar 6” warships, to enter service between 2020 and 2022, would be equipped with helipads and advanced missiles.“Protecting strategic economic assets in Israeli waters is a priority for the state of Israel,” the Israeli navy’s website announced last week.In November, Israel installed a battery of its Iron Dome anti-missile system on a warship for the first time, calling it a valuable asset in protecting its offshore natural gas fields.Israel has major gas fields off its northern coast and is building valuable infrastructure to get the fuel out of the ground and onto land, all within range of Hezbollah rockets.Tamar, which began production in 2013, has estimated reserves of up to 238 billion cubic meters (8.4 trillion cubic feet).Leviathan, discovered in 2010 and set to begin production in 2019, is estimated to hold 18.9 trillion cubic feet (535 billion cubic meters) of natural gas, along with 34.1 million barrels of condensate.
Hamas may wish to emulate Hezbollah, but Gaza is no Lebanon-Palestinian terror group acknowledges its weak position by avoiding escalation of violence over IDF airstrikes, trying to earn points by saying it 'banished' IAF jets-By Avi Issacharoff-TOI-FEB 19,18
A few minutes after Israeli warplanes struck a series of targets, mostly belonging to Hamas, in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, the terrorist group’s military wing published a statement saying its air defense teams had banished the “cowardly enemy’s” planes, implying there had been anti-aircraft fire toward them.It wouldn’t be the first — or last — time anti-aircraft fire has been directed at Israeli fighter jets in Gaza. The Israeli air force has for years operated under the understanding that Hamas has relatively simple shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles.It is also not the first time Hamas has boasted of anti-aircraft abilities it probably doesn’t possess.But this time around, the remarks have added significance in light of the downing of an Israeli F-16 jet a week ago by the Syrian army in the north.In other words, Hamas is striving to be — or to be perceived as — militarily comparable to the Syrian army, or Hezbollah at the least.Quite apart from the sometimes pathetic attempts by Hamas to liken itself to Hezbollah, which has become one of the world’s most well-armed armies, the Gaza-ruling Palestinian Sunni group that threatens Israel from the south and the Lebanese-Iranian Shiite group that threatens Israel from the north have become remarkably close over the past few months.Things have changed since the overt conflict in 2011 between the Hamas leadership then in Damascus headed by Khaled Mashaal and the “axis of evil” headed by Iran, despite the natural enmity between the two organizations due to their contrasting religious affiliation.Hamas’s leaders abroad, such as its deputy political chief Saleh al-Arouri and foreign relations chief Osama Hamdan, have been staying in Lebanon under Hezbollah’s protection.Arouri lives in Dahieh, the Hezbollah-ruled Shiite quarter in Beirut. Hamdan is active throughout the Arab world but mainly in Lebanon. He has been posting near-daily photos of his meetings in and out of Lebanon, including with Hezbollah members and associates. Several months ago, Hamdan’s brother was injured in a mysterious explosion in southern Lebanon, in what was alleged to be an assassination attempt by the Israeli Mossad spy agency.This warming of ties re-raises the possibility of cooperation between Hamas and Hezbollah in the event of a war with Israel, paving the way for a multi-front conflict.Declarations along these lines have recently been voiced by several Palestinian figures, not only from Hamas but also from the Islamic Jihad, in the form of noncommittal statements suggesting that in the event of a war between Hezbollah and Israel in the north, the Palestinians in Gaza would join in.Such a scenario obviously cannot be taken lightly, and indeed Israel’s security establishment is troubled by it. But still, Gaza isn’t Lebanon and Hamas is no Hezbollah.The military damage caused to Hamas and Gaza in that event would be much more severe than the damage dealt to Hezbollah and Lebanon. Hamas’s military capabilities are far weaker than Hezbollah’s, and more importantly, Gaza’s economy doesn’t have the tools to deal with another war resembling that of the summer of 2014. Hamas chiefs in Gaza know this too; hence, the likelihood of a multi-fronted war against Israel remains low.On Saturday we witnessed a demonstration of Hamas’s understanding of the weakness of its position. A bomb planted ahead of time by Palestinian “protesters” near the border fence, under a Palestinian flag, wounded four IDF soldiers.The attack was probably committed by those groups described as “rogue” in the Strip, meaning not Hamas or the Islamic Jihad. Still, since it was committed during Hamas-organized demonstrations at the border, the terror group is also partly to blame for the incident. Such a scenario wouldn’t have been possible in Lebanon, where no group could carry out an attack against IDF soldiers without the knowledge of Hezbollah.The Israeli reaction to the attack was swift, with several Hamas sites being targeted throughout the Strip. Hamas, having understood its weakness and the danger of escalating tensions with Israel, opted for restraint — restraint cloaked by a grandiose statement of its anti-aircraft “banishing” the Israeli jets.
Lebanon says it can fend off Israeli attacks-After Netanyahu's fiery speech on Iran, Defense Minister Sarraf says Beirut 'will not accept any aggression'-By TOI staff-FEB 19,18
Lebanese Defense Minister Yaacoub Sarraf said Sunday that his country was prepared to defend itself if Israel launched strikes on its territory.The comments came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had shot down an Iranian drone in its airspace, and would “act if necessary” against Iran and its proxies, including the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah.Sarraf told participants at the Munich Security Conference that he had lived with “an Israeli drone above my head for the past 15 years” but that his country has “no belligerent intent” against anyone.But, Sarraf said, “we will defend ourselves” and “we are for peace, yet we will not stand for any threat and we will not accept any aggression.”During his own speech at the Munich conference, Netanyahu slammed the Iran nuclear deal, saying it has emboldened the regime in Tehran to become increasingly aggressive in the region.Brandishing a fragment of an Iranian drone downed over northern Israel a week ago, Netanyahu warned the Iranian foreign minister, who was in the audience, to “not test Israel’s resolve.”He told world leaders, defense officials and diplomats that the 2015 nuclear agreement has “unleashed a dangerous Iranian tiger in our region and beyond.”“Through its proxies — Shiite militias in Iraq, the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza — Iran is devouring huge swaths of the Middle East,” the prime minister said.Israel said Iran piloted the drone into its territory last week from a base it has established in Syria.The Iranian drone, which entered northern Israel near the Jordan border, was shot down by an attack helicopter. In response, 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 IAF 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.The hostilities marked the first direct clash in Syria between Israel and Iran, after repeated warnings by Israeli leaders that Iran is working to establish a new front on the northern border.AP contributed to this report.
MIGRATING BIRDS IN ISRAEL EATS HUMANS FLESH FOR COMING AGAINST ISRAEL-JERUSALEM
EZEKIEL 39:11-12,18
11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog (RUSSIA/ARAB/MUSLIMS) a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers (EAST OF THE DEAD SEA IN JORDAN VALLEY) on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog (RUSSIAN) and all his multitude:(ARAB/MUSLIM HORDE) and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog.(BURIEL SITE OF THE 300 MILLION,RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIMS)
12 And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.(OF ISRAEL)
16 And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.(OF THE ISRAEL-GOD HATERS)
EZEKIEL 39:17-21
17 And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.(OF RUSSIAN/ISLAMIC HORDES AGAINST ISRAEL)
18 Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
19 And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.
20 Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.
21 And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.
22 So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward.
REVELATION 19:17-18
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;(AGAINST ALL NATIONS ARMIES THAT COME AGAINST JERUSALEM AND ISRAEL)
18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
EZEKIEL 38:1-7
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:TOBOLSK)
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)
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
EZEKIEL 39:1-8
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.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
Waving piece of downed drone, PM threatens direct military action against Iran-'Do you recognize this, Mr. Zarif?' PM asks security confab attended by Iran FM, warns Tehran to 'not test Israel's resolve'-By Judah Ari Gross and Michael Bachner-TOI-FEB 19,18
Brandishing a fragment of an Iranian drone downed over northern Israel a week ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday warned that Israel could strike the Islamic Republic directly and cautioned Tehran not to “test Israel’s resolve.”“Mr. Zarif, do you recognize this? You should, it’s yours. You can take back with you a message to the tyrants of Tehran — do not test Israel’s resolve!” proclaimed Netanyahu at the Munich Security Conference, which was also attended by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.The Iranian drone, which entered northern Israel from Syria near the Jordan border last Saturday, was shot down by an Israeli attack helicopter. In response to the drone incursion, Israeli jets attacked the mobile command center from which it was operated, the army said last week.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.The flareup on the northern border marked the first direct confrontation between the Israeli air force and the Iranian regime on Israeli territory. Israel has warned of growing Iranian entrenchment in neighboring Syria and has said it will not abide an Iranian military presence on its borders.“Through its proxies — Shiite militias in Iraq, the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza — Iran is devouring huge swaths of the Middle East,” said Netanyahu.“Israel will not allow Iran’s regime to put a noose of terror around our neck,” he added. “We will act without hesitation to defend ourselves. And we will act if necessary not just against Iran’s proxies that are attacking us, but against Iran itself.”In his remarks on Sunday, the prime minister also railed against the nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, lambasted the Iranian regime, and branded Zarif the “smooth-talking mouthpiece of Iran.”“I’ll say this, he lies eloquently,” Netanyahu said. “Zarif said it was wrong to say Iran is radical. If that’s true, why do they hang gays from cranes in city squares?”Displaying a map of the Middle East, Netanyahu noted that while the Islamic State terrorist group is in retreat, Iran has been steadily making gains. Israeli military intelligence has helped prevent dozens of terror attacks in dozens of countries by Islamic State, said Netanyahu.Iran is trying to take over large swaths of the Middle East, including setting up naval bases in the Mediterranean, Netanyahu charged.“Can you imagine Iranian submarines next to the US Sixth Fleet? Next to the port of Haifa?” he asked.The prime minister called for scrapping the 2015 nuclear deal between world powers and Tehran, saying, “Let’s not repeat the mistakes of the past. Appeasement never works.”He likened modern Iran to Nazi Germany on the eve of World War II, saying that agreements between both regimes and world powers had emboldened them.“Concessions to Hitler only emboldened the Nazis. Well-intentioned leaders only made war more difficult and costly,” he said.“Iran is not Nazi Germany. One championed a master race, the other champions a master faith,” said Netanyahu. “Iran looks to destroy Israel and is developing ballistic missiles that can also reach Europe and the US. Once nuclear-armed, Iran will be unchecked.”The Iran deal has “not made them more moderate internally, it has not made them more moderate externally. It released an Iranian tiger in our region. We must speak clearly; we must act boldly. We can stop this dangerous regime,” said Netanyahu.“I don’t care about the agreement, fixing it or nixing it. I care about preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon,” Netanyahu said, calling for “the toughest, crippling sanctions” against Iran’s development of ballistic missiles.The prime minister also hinted at a diplomatic row with Poland over a law outlawing blaming the Polish state or nation for crimes of the Holocaust, though he did not address it directly.Addressing the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki was rejecting criticism of a new law that criminalizes mentions of Polish state complicity in the Holocaust, when he was asked by an Israeli journalist if sharing his family’s history of persecution in Poland would be outlawed under the new legislation.“Of course it’s not going to be punishable, [it’s] not going to be seen as criminal to say that there were Polish perpetrators, as there were Jewish perpetrators, as there were Russian perpetrators, as there were Ukrainian; not only German perpetrators,” Morawiecki told Yedioth Ahronoth’s Ronen Bergman. In his initial response on Saturday night, Netanyahu responded that “the Polish prime minister’s remarks here in Munich are outrageous. There is a problem here of an inability to understand history and a lack of sensitivity to the tragedy of our people. I intend to speak with him forthwith.”Speaking about Nazi crimes in World War II, the prime minister said on Sunday that “60 million were killed, including a third of my own people. Six million Jews killed by the Nazis and their collaborators,” he said, emphasizing the last word.“We will not forget, we will not forgive, we will always fight for the truth,” Netanyahu said in Hebrew and English.Agencies contributed to this report.
Shin Bet says it thwarted plot to assassinate defense minister-Agency says Palestinian Islamic Jihad-linked cell members sought to kill Avigdor Liberman with roadside IED, were motivated by PA benefits to terrorists-By Tamar Pileggi-TOI-FEB 19,18
The Shin Bet security service said Sunday it had arrested members of a Palestinian terrorist cell who were plotting to assassinate Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman with a roadside bomb.The Shin Bet also announced it busted a second Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist cell planning shooting attacks against IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians in the Etzion Bloc of the West Bank.A statement from the internal security service said six suspects linked to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group were involved in the plot to detonate an explosive device underneath Liberman’s car while it was traveling in the West Bank.According to the Shin Bet investigation, the group sought assistance in carrying out the attack from terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip. But the agency said the Palestinian would-be terrorists were “deterred” by Liberman’s extensive security detail and the plot was foiled “in the very early stages” of planning.The ringleaders of the cell were identified as Bethlehem-area natives Awad Mahmoud al-Asakra, 25, and Muhammad Ali Ibrahim al-Askara, 32.Awad Asakra in 2015 served two years in an Israeli prison for plotting a terrorist attack.Ali Ibrahim Askara, a known Islamic Jihad activist, was also previously jailed for terrorist-related activities, serving two separate sentences in Israel for planning attacks against IDF soldiers.The suspects told Shin Bet interrogators they sought assistance from terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip to buy the materials for the bomb. When they were unable to purchase the materials or secure assistance from Gaza, the group built a dummy device in an effort to prove their intent to their peers in the Strip.The dummy bomb was confiscated during their arrest.The agency only briefly referred to the second Palestinian Islamic Jihad cell that is said had planned shooting attacks, but did not elaborate.The Shin Bet investigation also revealed that members of both cells were motivated by the Palestinian Authority’s benefits package awarded to the families of terrorists killed or jailed for carrying out attacks against Israeli targets.The statement did not specify when the arrests took place, but indicated it was in recent months.The announcement comes on the heels of a flareup in tensions along the Gaza border. Early Sunday morning, two Palestinians were killed by IDF tank fire in Gaza, Palestinian medical sources said, after four Israeli soldiers were wounded by an explosive device along the Strip’s border and as a rocket hit an Israeli border town.Israeli fighter jets also launched a series of airstrikes over the weekend targeting 18 “Hamas targets” in the Gaza Strip, after four Israeli soldiers were injured, two of them seriously, by explosives planted on the border.Liberman told the Ynet news site later on Sunday that an umbrella group of Palestinian terrorists, the Popular Resistance Committee, was responsible for planting the device along the border.
Firearms debate rages as Florida rally coincides with gun show-[Reuters]-By Katanga Johnson and Zachary Fagenson-YAHOONEWS-February 18, 2018
MIAMI (Reuters) - Student survivors of a mass shooting that killed 17 people at a Florida high school called for gun restrictions on Saturday during an angry and somber rally, but attendees at a nearby gun show said firearms could not be blamed for the massacre.Wednesday's shooting in the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Parkland fueled the long-running U.S. debate between supporters of tougher controls on firearms and advocates for gun rights, which are protected by the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment.Both sides of the dispute were on display on Saturday.Many at a rally in Fort Lauderdale that was organized to demand tougher gun laws rejected comments by U.S. President Donald Trump and others that mental illness was the main factor behind the slaughter at Margory Stoneman Douglas High School."We need to pay attention to the fact that this isn't just a mental health issue," Emma Gonzalez, an 18-year-old student at the school, told hundreds demonstrators gathered on the steps of a federal building. The shooter "wouldn't have harmed that many students with a knife!" she yelled, shedding tears as the crowd cheered her on.Gonzalez criticized Trump for overturning a measure implemented by former President Barack Obama that required extra scrutiny of some gun buyers with a history of mental illness. She also condemned the National Rifle Association, which opposes laws that it says violate gun owners' rights."Politicians who sit in their gilded House and Senate seats funded by the NRA telling us nothing could have ever been done to prevent this, we call B.S." Gonzalez said.Nikolas Cruz, 19, a former student who was expelled from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, has been charged with 17 counts of murder. Police said he was armed with an AR-15-style rifle and had multiple magazines of ammunition.Cruz legally purchased the murder weapon from a licensed dealer in Coral Springs, Florida, the Broward County sheriff said.Representatives for the White House and the NRA did not immediately respond to requests for comment. On Friday, Trump visited a Florida hospital and met with people wounded in the shooting as well as first responders.Ryan Deitsch, 18, was among those locked in a classroom closet as the shooter stalked the school's corridors."The least lawmakers can do is vote on something," Deitsch said in an interview at the rally, referring to tighter gun controls. "What's the worst that can happen?"The rally coincided with a gun show attended by hundreds of people about 40 miles (64 km) away at the Dade County fairgrounds. Despite calls for the show to be canceled, there were more than $5 million worth of guns and accessories on display, organizers said, including dozens of assault-style rifles.Jorge Fernandez, a former police officer and show manager, said Florida Gun Shows, which runs more than 40 shows across the state, decided against canceling due to financial concerns.Joe Arrington, 29, a former law enforcement officer, was there with his infant daughter in his arms and a rifle over his shoulder. He said more background checks are needed on gun buyers, but that more regulation would not have stopped the Parkland massacre."I don't believe that any law that they would have added would have deterred what happened," Arrington said. "I think a lot of agencies didn't do their job necessarily like they were supposed to."The FBI has come under intense criticism after it said on Friday that it failed to act on a warning about Cruz that was called in to a tip line on Jan. 5. The caller provided information about Cruz's "desire to kill people ... as well as the potential of him conducting a school shooting," the FBI said.Adolfo David Ginarte, 30, a hotel conference service manager, was checking out some of the more than 140 vendors at the gun show. He called it "un-American" for anyone to call for the show to be canceled in the wake of the shooting."Facts don't care about your feelings," he said. "Things are going to happen. Life is going to go forward. What happens if I'm offended by a movie? Are they going to cancel the movie? This isn't the first time and unfortunately it's not going to be the last time."(Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Leslie Adler)
FBI admits failure to act on Florida school gunman, drawing anger-[Reuters]-By Bernie Woodall and Zachary Fagenson-YAHOONEWS-February 17, 2018
PARKLAND, Fla. (Reuters) - The Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Friday it had failed to act on a tip warning that the man now accused of killing 17 people at a Florida high school possessed a gun, the desire to kill and the potential to commit a school shooting.The disclosure sparked angry disbelief from residents of the Miami suburb of Parkland still reeling from Wednesday's massacre, the deadliest shooting ever at a U.S. high school, and led Florida's governor to call for the FBI chief to resign.A person described as someone close to accused gunman Nikolas Cruz, 19, called an FBI tip line on Jan. 5, weeks before the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, to report concerns about him, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said in a statement."The caller provided information about Cruz's gun ownership, desire to kill people, erratic behavior, and disturbing social media posts, as well as the potential of him conducting a school shooting," it said.That information should have been forwarded to the FBI's Miami field office for further investigation, but "we have determined that these protocols were not followed," the agency said.U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he has ordered a review of FBI procedures following the shooting, carried out by a gunman armed with an AR-15-style assault rifle and numerous ammunition cartridges."We have spoken with victims and families, and deeply regret the additional pain this causes all those affected by this horrific tragedy," FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement.The mishandled information followed a tip to the FBI in September about a YouTube comment in which a person named Nikolas Cruz said, "I'm going to be a professional school shooter." The FBI said it investigated that comment but was unable to trace its origins, closing the inquiry until Cruz surfaced in connection with Wednesday's mass shooting.The FBI's lapse regarding the Jan. 5 tip was met with anger in Florida after U.S. President Donald Trump made remarks seeming to chastise local residents for failing to alert authorities to Cruz's sometimes erratic and violent behavior prior to Wednesday's shooting rampage.Cruz has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder.Florida Governor Rick Scott said Wray, appointed to head the FBI by Trump last year after the president fired James Comey, should step down over the agency's blunder."The FBI's failure to take action against this killer is unacceptable," Scott, a Republican, said in a statement. "We constantly promote 'See something, say something,' and a courageous person did just that to the FBI. And the FBI failed to act."The FBI separately has been criticized by some Republicans over its investigation of issues relating to Russia and the 2016 presidential election.At the funeral on Friday for massacre victim Meadow Pollack, an 18-year-old senior, family friend Jeff Richman expressed dismay at the FBI's failure."The FBI apologized? Tell that to families," said Richman, 53, an advertising executive who lives in Parkland.Broward County's chief public defender, Howard Finkelstein, was quoted by the South Florida Sun Sentinel newspaper as saying that Cruz's legal team planned to meet with prosecutors to offer a guilty plea in exchange for a life prison term."There is only one question: 'Should this young man live or die by execution?'" Finkelstein told the Sun Sentinel. "We believe it's in nobody's best interest to go through a circus of a trial."The public defender's office could not immediately be reached by Reuters for comment.-"KIDS DON'T NEED GUNS"-The massacre has raised concerns about potential lapses in school security and stirred the ongoing U.S. debate pitting proponents of tougher restrictions on firearms against advocates for gun rights, which are protected by the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment.Authorities acknowledged that the tips to the FBI were not the only indications that Cruz was troubled.Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel told a news conference his office had received about 20 "calls for service" in the last few years regarding Cruz and would scrutinize all of them to see if they were handled properly.Israel indicated law enforcement should not be held responsible for Wednesday's tragedy. "The only one to blame for this killing is the killer himself," he said.Some political leaders including Trump have said mental illness prompted the shooting. Cruz had been expelled for undisclosed disciplinary reasons from the school where the attack occurred. Former classmates have described him as a social outcast trouble-maker with a fascination for weaponry.Some relatives and friends of shooting victims blamed Florida's lenient gun laws, which allow an 18-year-old to buy an assault rifle. Outside a vigil on Friday, a sign read: "Kids don't need guns. No guns under 21."The outpouring of grief was reflected in a multitude of prayer services and vigils on Friday - a total of six at various places of worship in and around Parkland. Funerals for at least two victims were also held.Late in the day, the Republican president and first lady Melania Trump visited a hospital where survivors from the shooting were treated, meeting privately with victims and medical staff.“The job they’ve done is incredible and I want to congratulate you,” the president said as he shook one doctor's hand in front of reporters afterward. Trump did not respond when asked if the nation's gun laws needed to be changed, then walked into another room.He later appeared at the Broward County Sheriff's Office, along with the governor and other politicians, offering praise to first responders for the "great job you've done."The vice mayor of Broward County, a strongly Democratic area, earlier blasted any visit by Trump, saying Republicans had failed to back common-sense gun laws and rolled back measures restricting severely mentally ill people from buying weapons.(Additional reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee and Mark Hosenball, Steve Holland, Roberta Rampton and Susan Heavey in Washington, Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Writing by Andrew Hay; Editing by Tom Brown, Will Dunham and Leslie Adler)
Florida school massacre suspect on authorities' radar in 2016: media-[Reuters]-By Katanga Johnson and Zachary Fagenson-YAHOONEWS-February 18, 2018
PARKLAND, Fla. (Reuters) - A teenager accused of fatally shooting 17 people at a Florida high school was investigated by police and state officials as far back as 2016 after slashing his arm in a social media video, and saying he wanted to buy a gun, but authorities determined he was receiving sufficient support, newspapers said on Saturday.Nikolas Cruz, 19, is charged with committing multiple murders on Wednesday at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. More than a dozen people also were wounded in the deadliest shooting at a U.S. high school.The charges can bring the death penalty, but prosecutors have not yet said if they will seek capital punishment. Days after the killings, a somber series of vigils and funerals were being held in and around Parkland, a Fort Lauderdale suburb of about 32,000 people.The South Florida Sun Sentinel first reported that a video of Cruz cutting his arm posted to the social media network Snapchat in September 2016 raised concerns among law enforcement and at the Florida Department of Children and Families."Mr. Cruz stated he plans to go out and buy a gun. It is unknown what he is buying the gun for," said a report written by department officials after investigators interviewed the teenager, the Sun Sentinel said.The newspaper reported investigators ultimately decided that Cruz, then 18, was receiving enough support from mental health professionals and from his school, and any risk in his case was low.The Department of Children and Families (DCF) has asked a court to release the records for transparency, adding it has reviewed the circumstances surrounding the 2016 case."Mental health services and supports were in place when this investigation closed," DCF Secretary Mike Carroll said in a statement.The long-simmering U.S. debate about gun rights played out on Saturday at events in the area.Hundreds of people attended a rally in Fort Lauderdale where students from the school demanded new gun control measures to tighten what they saw as easy access to firearms in the state. They also accused some politicians of being more concerned about protecting the firearms lobby than children."Because of these (current) gun laws, people that I know, people that I love, have died," Delaney Tarr, a senior at the school, told the rally.At a nearby gunshow, attendees said new laws would not have prevented the massacre, adding gun rights are protected by the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment.-TRUMP CRITICIZES FBI-In a tweet on Saturday night President Donald Trump criticized the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for its handling of the case."Very sad that the FBI missed all of the many signals sent out by the Florida school shooter. This is not acceptable," Trump wrote on Twitter.He accused the FBI of "spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion with the (2016) Trump campaign."The FBI admitted on Friday that it failed to investigate a warning that Cruz possessed a gun and the desire to kill.A person described as close to Cruz called an FBI tip line on Jan. 5 to report concerns about him, according to the FBI. That information was not forwarded to the FBI's Miami office, in what agency officials called a breakdown in protocol.The disclosure spread angry disbelief among Parkland residents and prompted Florida's Republican Governor Rick Scott to call for FBI Director Christopher Wray to resign.U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has ordered a review of FBI procedures following the shooting, in which 14 students and three school staff members died.Trump called local politicians and the school's principal from his Mar-a-Lago, Florida, resort on Saturday to express condolences, offer support and receive updates, a White House spokeswoman said. On Friday, he visited shooting survivors and first responders.He and some other Republican political leaders have said mental illness prompted the massacre. Cruz had been expelled from the high school for undisclosed disciplinary reasons and former classmates described him as an outcast and troublemaker with a fascination for weaponry.As more details emerged on the suspect, CNN reported that Cruz posted disparaging comments about Jews, African Americans and gays in a private chat group on the social media network Instagram."I think I am going to kill people," Cruz wrote in the group, according to CNN, which also quoted an unnamed law enforcement source as saying the suspect bought at least five guns in the past year.Cruz's attorneys at the Broward County Public Defender's Office did not return requests for comment on that or the 2016 report by Florida's Department of Children and Families."This kid exhibited every single known red flag, from killing animals to having a cache of weapons to disruptive behavior to saying he wanted to be a school shooter," the county's public defender, Howard Finkelstein, told the New York Times. The paper said it also received a copy of the report.Speaking on Saturday at an event in Dallas, Texas, Vice President Mike Pence said Trump was making the safety of the nation's schools a top priority."We will get to the bottom of what happened," Pence said, adding the administration would take "a renewed look at giving law enforcement and local authorities the tools they need to deal with individuals struggling with dangerous mental illness."(Additional reporting by Bernie Woodall in Parkland, Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee, Jeff Mason in West Palm Beach, Rich McKay in Atlanta and Lesley Wroughton in Washington; Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis and Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Bill Trott, Daniel Wallis and Keith Weir)
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
Ministers back bill slashing PA funding over terror payouts-Legislation would allow Defense Ministry to deduct sum of Ramallah's welfare payments to Palestinian prisoners and their families from tax revenues transferred to PA-By Marissa Newman and Dov Lieber-TOI-FEB 19,18
The Ministerial Committee for Legislation on Sunday approved a bill that would slash funds to the Palestinian Authority over salaries paid out by Ramallah to convicted terrorists and their families.If passed by the Knesset, the legislation would deduct welfare payments paid out by the Palestinian Authority to Palestinian prisoners and their relatives from the tax revenues Israel transfers annually to the PA.Under an economic agreement signed in 1994, Israel transfers to the PA tens of millions of dollars each year in customs duties levied on goods destined for Palestinian markets that transit through Israeli ports.The bill will have to pass three readings in the Knesset plenum before it becomes law. The ministerial panel’s backing on Sunday lends it coalition support, making it all but guaranteed to advance.The legislation is a softened version of a bill privately proposed by Yesh Atid MK Elazar Stern that would have seen the funds automatically deducted from the PA. Stern, on Sunday, hailed the ministers’ approval of the proposal and called on the government to swiftly pass it into law.The Defense Ministry’s version of the bill will allow the government to either deduct the funds, which would be irreversible, or “freeze” the payments, leaving the security cabinet with the final say.After the ministers cleared the bill, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman hailed the move and said the withheld tax revenues would go toward compensating Israeli terror victims who cannot sue their attackers.“Soon, this theater of the absurd will come to an end, and the salaries of the terrorists that we will withhold from [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud] Abbas will be used to prevent terrorism and compensate victims,” he said.Critics of the bill have warned it could bankrupt the PA, leading to its collapse.Last week, Avi Dichter, a Likud MK and former Shin Bet security agency chief, railed against the government proposal, saying the amended version would be ineffective, as the final decision will always be left to the security cabinet, based on diplomatic or national security considerations.The Palestine Liberation Organization gives monthly payments to all Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel, no matter the reason for their incarceration, and also to families of so-called “martyrs” — a term used by the PLO to refer to anyone killed by an Israeli, whether the person was killed attacking Israelis or not.A recent report published by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the Israeli Defense Ministry agency responsible for administering civilian affairs in the West Bank and the crossings with Gaza, said that around one-third of the Palestinian prisoners are “directly responsible for the murder of Israelis.”According to the Defense Ministry, the Palestinian Authority in 2017 paid NIS 687 million ($198 million) to the so-called “martyrs’ families fund” and NIS 550 million ($160 million) to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club — some 7 percent of its overall budget.Palestinian prisoners serving 20-30 year sentences for carrying out terror attacks are eligible for a lifetime NIS 10,000 ($1,900) monthly stipend, the Defense Ministry said, citing PA figures. Those prisoners who receive a 3-5 year sentence get a monthly wage of NIS 2,000 ($580). Palestinian prisoners who are married, have children, live in Jerusalem, or hold Israeli citizenship receive additional payments.US President Donald Trump in January threatened aid cuts to the PA, asking why Washington should make “any of these massive future payments” when the Palestinians were “no longer willing to talk peace.” The United States recently froze some $100 million in aid to the UN agency that deals with Palestinian refugees, calling for reforms to the international body.US lawmakers have also been advancing the Taylor Force Act — named for a US national killed in a Tel Aviv stabbing terror attack — which would cut US funding to the PA unless it discontinued its practice of paying monthly stipends to the families of terrorists who kill Israelis.The PA has refused to cease the payments to Palestinian prisoners.In June, Abbas, in a speech read by his foreign affairs adviser Nabil Shaath, argued that “payments to support the families are a social responsibility to look after innocent people affected by the incarceration or killing of their loved ones.“It’s quite frankly racist rhetoric to call all our political prisoners terrorists. They are, in effect, the victims of the occupation, not the creators of the occupation,” Abbas said.
PM credits Israeli counter-strikes for years of quiet in Gaza-After an IED attack on IDF troops, Netanyahu says relative calm maintained thus far by 'putting pressure on Hamas'-By Judah Ari Gross-TOI-FEB 19,18
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday credited Israel’s policy of targeting Hamas sites in the Gaza Strip in response to any aggression coming the territory with preventing additional attacks.He was speaking a day after an improvised explosive device injured four IDF soldiers and a rocket fired from the Strip hit an Israeli house in the nearby Sha’ar Hanegev region.“If we weren’t putting pressure on Hamas the way we do, we’d have what happened [yesterday] every day,” Netanyahu told reporters following a speech at the Munich Security Conference earlier in the day.The prime minister would not confirm comments made by Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, to the effect that the Popular Resistance Committees terrorist group was responsible for the IED attack.“It doesn’t matter who did it. It matters who didn’t stop it,” Netanyahu said, referring to Gaza’s Hamas rulers.Since the 2014 Gaza war, Hamas has prevented other terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip from carrying out attacks, leading to one of the quietest periods between Israel and the coastal enclave since the 1967 Six Day War, according to Israeli statistics on terror attacks.“This isn’t about [Hamas] loving us, but about loving itself,” Netanyahu said.Saturday’s attack represented the most significant strike from an armed group in the territory since the 2014 war.In response to the initial IED attack and the rocket launch, Israel conducted a series of airstrikes in the Strip, targeting 18 sites connected to terrorist activities, according to the Israeli army.The military said that those included an offensive tunnel dug toward Israeli territory from the Zeitun neighborhood of Gaza City.In a separate incident on Saturday night, an IDF tank fired at a group of Palestinians who had approached the security fence “in a suspicious manner.” The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry reported that two of the Palestinians were killed and two more were seriously injured.Despite the extensive strikes, the prime minister maintained that Israel “definitely doesn’t have an interest in escalating the situation.”As of Sunday afternoon, two of the soldiers injured in the IED blast remained in serious condition, while the other three were said to be in moderate condition, according to Beersheba’s Soroka Medical Center, where the servicemen were initially taken.One of the soldiers, whose father is a doctor at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem, was transferred there at the request of his family. His condition continues to be serious, the Jerusalem hospital said, and he is being treated in the hospital’s trauma center.Doctors said the condition of all four soldiers has stabilized and there is no immediate danger to their lives.
Netanyahu: Iran speech meant to sway US to renew sanctions-PM reiterates criticism of 2015 nuclear deal; diplomatic official says the Islamic Republic 'not immune' from Israeli attack-By Judah Ari Gross-TOI-FEB 19,18
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s dramatic speech Sunday about Iranian aggression in the Middle East seemed intended, above all, for the ears of US President Donald Trump, who in approximately two months will decide whether to renew sanctions against the Islamic Republic.“[The speech] was meant to address the current aggressiveness of Iran on the ground and to influence what will happen in Washington in a few months,” he told reporters after the address at the Munich Security Conference, in which he displayed the wing flap of an Iranian drone that was recently shot down in Israeli airspace.Netanyahu added that he will speak with Trump about the issue at the beginning of next month, when he will be in Washington as part of the annual AIPAC Policy Conference.His central argument is that if the US were to restore some sanctions against Iran, countries throughout the world would be forced to choose between access to the Iranian economy, with its GDP of approximately $500 billion, and the American economy — with its GDP of nearly $20 trillion.The prime minister has been a constant critic of the 2015 Iran deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, in part over its “sunset clause,” which eventually removes restrictions against nuclear development, as well as over the limitations it places on the International Atomic Energy Agency’s ability to inspect Iranian military sites.Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have maintained that these issues are serious flaws in the agreement. They also protest the fact that Iran has been able to develop ballistic missiles, with which it could launch a future nuclear weapon, despite a UN resolution calling for it to stop.The prime minister said those problems need to be addressed, though he stressed that this “did not necessarily mean altering the JCPOA, but changing the situation,” a reference to his call on world powers to contain Iranian aggression beyond the confines of the deal.A senior diplomatic official acknowledged that not everyone in attendance at the conference — notably including two of its main architects, former US secretary of state John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif — were likely to appreciate his harsh words.(Kerry, for his part, later called Netanyahu’s comments on the Iran deal “fundamentally false.”)-Netanyahu said the rest of the world should consider how Iran will act if it acquires an atomic arsenal, in light of its current destabilizing actions in the region.“This is what they do today, when they don’t have nuclear weapons,” he said, referring to Tehran’s involvement in Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.The decision to bring a piece of the Iranian drone as tangible “proof” of Iranian aggression came from the prime minister’s communications adviser David Keyes, who stashed the drone piece under the podium before the speech.Zarif responded to Netanyahu’s prop by calling it a “cartoonish circus” that did “not warrant a response.”Netanyahu, for his part, called Zarif’s dismissal a public relations win. “The fact that [Zarif] had to respond to it was the whole point,” he told reporters.Netanyahu kept his focus on the Iranians at the conference, and away from the burgeoning corruption investigations surrounding his affairs back in Israel. He refused to answer journalists’ repeated questions over news of the arrest of former senior officials from his office and from the Bezeq communications company in the context of one investigation.-Striking Iran-In his speech, Netanyahu issued a dramatic, explicit threat to act against Iran itself, and not limit Israeli responses to Tehran’s proxies in Syria, Lebanon, the Gaza Strip and Yemen.The prime minister told the conference that Israel “will not allow Iran’s regime to put a noose of terror around our neck. We will act without hesitation to defend ourselves. And we will act if necessary not just against Iran’s proxies that are attacking us, but against Iran itself.”Speaking to reporters after the speech, a senior diplomatic official would not comment on whether that meant targeting sites inside Iran or — as happened last week following the Iranian drone’s incursion into Israeli airspace — striking Iranian targets inside Syria.The Iranian drone, which entered northern Israel from Syria near the Jordan border last Saturday, was shot down by an Israeli attack helicopter. In response to the drone incursion, Israeli jets attacked the mobile command center from which it was operated, the army said at the time.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.A senior diplomatic official said Sunday that Israel would have no problem justifying an attack against Iranian targets if it decided to do so.“Iran attacks Israel. That’s clear. From Lebanon, from Gaza, from Syria. This is coming from Iran. Period,” the official told reporters after the speech, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Iran has no immunity.”
Iranian FM derides Netanyahu speech as ‘cartoonish circus’-Mohammad Javad Zarif takes stage in Munich after PM brandishes part of downed drone, says stunt 'doesn't deserve the dignity of a response'-By Agencies and TOI staff-FEB 19,18
Iran’s foreign minister on Sunday derided Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for staging a “cartoonish circus” at the Munich Security Conference, after the Israeli leader in his address to the summit brandished a fragment of an Iranian drone shot down by Israel a week ago.“You were the audience for a cartoonish circus just this morning which does not even deserve the dignity of a response,” Mohammad Javad Zarif said, as he took the stage shortly after Netanyahu’s fiery speech.Zarif, in his speech, repeatedly called Netanyahu “obsessive” in his focus on the Iranian regime as a threat to Israel’s security, and branded his assertion that Tehran would “do nothing” if the US pulled out of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal as “delusional.”“I can assure that if Iran’s interests are not secured, Iran will respond, will respond seriously and I believe it would be a response that means people would be sorry for taking the erroneous action they did,” said Zarif of the nuclear deal, adding that “we will not be the first ones to violate” the agreement.Iran’s top diplomat also alleged that the recent escalation of tensions on Israel’s borders with Syria and Gaza were an attempt to divert public attention from Netanyahu’s woes at home, namely the corruption probes against him and the police recommendations that the prime minister be indicted for bribery, fraud and breach of trust.He denounced what he said were Israel’s “almost daily illegal incursions into Syrian airspace,” and said Israel was trying “to create these cartoonish images to blame others for its own strategic blunders, or maybe to evade the domestic crisis they’re facing.”“What has happened in the past several days is the so-called invincibility [of Israel] has crumbled,” said Zarif, referring to the downing of an Israeli F-16 over northern Israel last Saturday, according to Reuters.Netanyahu had singled out Zarif in his speech, as he lifted up the wreckage of the UAV.“Mr. Zarif, do you recognize this? You should, it’s yours. You can take back with you a message to the tyrants of Tehran — do not test Israel’s resolve!” proclaimed Netanyahu earlier to the audience, which included Zarif.The Iranian drone, which entered northern Israel from Syria near the Jordan border last Saturday, was shot down by an Israeli attack helicopter. In response to the drone incursion, Israeli jets attacked the mobile command center from which it was operated, the army said last week.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.The flareup on the northern border marked the first direct confrontation between the Israeli air force and the Iranian regime on Israeli territory. Israel has warned of growing Iranian entrenchment in neighboring Syria and has said it will not abide an Iranian military presence on its borders.“Through its proxies — Shiite militias in Iraq, the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza — Iran is devouring huge swaths of the Middle East,” said Netanyahu.“Israel will not allow Iran’s regime to put a noose of terror around our neck,” he added. “We will act without hesitation to defend ourselves. And we will act if necessary not just against Iran’s proxies that are attacking us, but against Iran itself.”In his remarks on Sunday, the prime minister also railed against the nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, lambasted the Iranian regime, and branded Zarif the “smooth-talking mouthpiece of Iran.”“I’ll say this, he lies eloquently,” Netanyahu said. “Zarif said it was wrong to say Iran is radical. If that’s true, why do they hang gays from cranes in city squares?”Former US Secretary of State John Kerry, who was also in the audience, criticized Netanyahu’s speech later on Sunday, saying he was “fundamentally incorrect” on the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.US President Donald Trump is deeply skeptical about the nuclear deal. He extended sanctions waivers in January but said he would not do so again when they come up for renewal in May unless his concerns are addressed.Kerry, one of the leading negotiators on the deal, told the conference that “this is untenable. It is not good diplomacy.” He added that it is “absolutely critical” to make sure that the deal survives.“I believe it is absolutely critical for Europe, for the world, to make sure we hold on to this agreement,” said Kerry. “Because to go backward — we know what the world looks like without the Iran nuclear agreement. It’s not a better place.”
Israeli, US officials meet over gas dispute with Lebanon-Energy minister says 'diplomatic solution is preferable' for quarrel with Hezbollah over offshore oil zones-By AFP-toi-feb 19,18
Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz met Sunday with a senior United States official seeking to defuse an escalating oil and gas dispute with Lebanon, his office said.A statement from his spokesman said Steinitz held talks with Acting Assistant Secretary of State David Satterfield about conflicting claims to energy reserves off the coasts of Lebanon and Israel.The leader of Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah terror group said on Friday that Lebanon was strong enough to withstand US and Israeli pressure and to put Israeli gas rigs out of action.Last week Lebanon signed its first contract to drill for oil and gas in a pair of offshore zones, including one that its southern neighbor Israel says belongs to it.Lebanese officials have said the whole zone belongs to Beirut while Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman has insisted it is solidly in Israeli territory.Sunday’s Israeli statement quoted Steinitz as telling Satterfield that “a diplomatic solution is preferable for both sides.”It added that the two agreed to meet again during the coming week.Satterfield also held talks on the issue with top officials in Lebanon.Meanwhile work began on February 7 in Germany on four advanced corvettes for the Israeli navy “that will protect gas rigs and economic enterprises in Israeli waters,” the Israeli military said.It said that the “Saar 6” warships, to enter service between 2020 and 2022, would be equipped with helipads and advanced missiles.“Protecting strategic economic assets in Israeli waters is a priority for the state of Israel,” the Israeli navy’s website announced last week.In November, Israel installed a battery of its Iron Dome anti-missile system on a warship for the first time, calling it a valuable asset in protecting its offshore natural gas fields.Israel has major gas fields off its northern coast and is building valuable infrastructure to get the fuel out of the ground and onto land, all within range of Hezbollah rockets.Tamar, which began production in 2013, has estimated reserves of up to 238 billion cubic meters (8.4 trillion cubic feet).Leviathan, discovered in 2010 and set to begin production in 2019, is estimated to hold 18.9 trillion cubic feet (535 billion cubic meters) of natural gas, along with 34.1 million barrels of condensate.
Hamas may wish to emulate Hezbollah, but Gaza is no Lebanon-Palestinian terror group acknowledges its weak position by avoiding escalation of violence over IDF airstrikes, trying to earn points by saying it 'banished' IAF jets-By Avi Issacharoff-TOI-FEB 19,18
A few minutes after Israeli warplanes struck a series of targets, mostly belonging to Hamas, in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, the terrorist group’s military wing published a statement saying its air defense teams had banished the “cowardly enemy’s” planes, implying there had been anti-aircraft fire toward them.It wouldn’t be the first — or last — time anti-aircraft fire has been directed at Israeli fighter jets in Gaza. The Israeli air force has for years operated under the understanding that Hamas has relatively simple shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles.It is also not the first time Hamas has boasted of anti-aircraft abilities it probably doesn’t possess.But this time around, the remarks have added significance in light of the downing of an Israeli F-16 jet a week ago by the Syrian army in the north.In other words, Hamas is striving to be — or to be perceived as — militarily comparable to the Syrian army, or Hezbollah at the least.Quite apart from the sometimes pathetic attempts by Hamas to liken itself to Hezbollah, which has become one of the world’s most well-armed armies, the Gaza-ruling Palestinian Sunni group that threatens Israel from the south and the Lebanese-Iranian Shiite group that threatens Israel from the north have become remarkably close over the past few months.Things have changed since the overt conflict in 2011 between the Hamas leadership then in Damascus headed by Khaled Mashaal and the “axis of evil” headed by Iran, despite the natural enmity between the two organizations due to their contrasting religious affiliation.Hamas’s leaders abroad, such as its deputy political chief Saleh al-Arouri and foreign relations chief Osama Hamdan, have been staying in Lebanon under Hezbollah’s protection.Arouri lives in Dahieh, the Hezbollah-ruled Shiite quarter in Beirut. Hamdan is active throughout the Arab world but mainly in Lebanon. He has been posting near-daily photos of his meetings in and out of Lebanon, including with Hezbollah members and associates. Several months ago, Hamdan’s brother was injured in a mysterious explosion in southern Lebanon, in what was alleged to be an assassination attempt by the Israeli Mossad spy agency.This warming of ties re-raises the possibility of cooperation between Hamas and Hezbollah in the event of a war with Israel, paving the way for a multi-front conflict.Declarations along these lines have recently been voiced by several Palestinian figures, not only from Hamas but also from the Islamic Jihad, in the form of noncommittal statements suggesting that in the event of a war between Hezbollah and Israel in the north, the Palestinians in Gaza would join in.Such a scenario obviously cannot be taken lightly, and indeed Israel’s security establishment is troubled by it. But still, Gaza isn’t Lebanon and Hamas is no Hezbollah.The military damage caused to Hamas and Gaza in that event would be much more severe than the damage dealt to Hezbollah and Lebanon. Hamas’s military capabilities are far weaker than Hezbollah’s, and more importantly, Gaza’s economy doesn’t have the tools to deal with another war resembling that of the summer of 2014. Hamas chiefs in Gaza know this too; hence, the likelihood of a multi-fronted war against Israel remains low.On Saturday we witnessed a demonstration of Hamas’s understanding of the weakness of its position. A bomb planted ahead of time by Palestinian “protesters” near the border fence, under a Palestinian flag, wounded four IDF soldiers.The attack was probably committed by those groups described as “rogue” in the Strip, meaning not Hamas or the Islamic Jihad. Still, since it was committed during Hamas-organized demonstrations at the border, the terror group is also partly to blame for the incident. Such a scenario wouldn’t have been possible in Lebanon, where no group could carry out an attack against IDF soldiers without the knowledge of Hezbollah.The Israeli reaction to the attack was swift, with several Hamas sites being targeted throughout the Strip. Hamas, having understood its weakness and the danger of escalating tensions with Israel, opted for restraint — restraint cloaked by a grandiose statement of its anti-aircraft “banishing” the Israeli jets.
Lebanon says it can fend off Israeli attacks-After Netanyahu's fiery speech on Iran, Defense Minister Sarraf says Beirut 'will not accept any aggression'-By TOI staff-FEB 19,18
Lebanese Defense Minister Yaacoub Sarraf said Sunday that his country was prepared to defend itself if Israel launched strikes on its territory.The comments came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had shot down an Iranian drone in its airspace, and would “act if necessary” against Iran and its proxies, including the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah.Sarraf told participants at the Munich Security Conference that he had lived with “an Israeli drone above my head for the past 15 years” but that his country has “no belligerent intent” against anyone.But, Sarraf said, “we will defend ourselves” and “we are for peace, yet we will not stand for any threat and we will not accept any aggression.”During his own speech at the Munich conference, Netanyahu slammed the Iran nuclear deal, saying it has emboldened the regime in Tehran to become increasingly aggressive in the region.Brandishing a fragment of an Iranian drone downed over northern Israel a week ago, Netanyahu warned the Iranian foreign minister, who was in the audience, to “not test Israel’s resolve.”He told world leaders, defense officials and diplomats that the 2015 nuclear agreement has “unleashed a dangerous Iranian tiger in our region and beyond.”“Through its proxies — Shiite militias in Iraq, the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza — Iran is devouring huge swaths of the Middle East,” the prime minister said.Israel said Iran piloted the drone into its territory last week from a base it has established in Syria.The Iranian drone, which entered northern Israel near the Jordan border, was shot down by an attack helicopter. In response, 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 IAF 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.The hostilities marked the first direct clash in Syria between Israel and Iran, after repeated warnings by Israeli leaders that Iran is working to establish a new front on the northern border.AP contributed to this report.
MIGRATING BIRDS IN ISRAEL EATS HUMANS FLESH FOR COMING AGAINST ISRAEL-JERUSALEM
EZEKIEL 39:11-12,18
11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog (RUSSIA/ARAB/MUSLIMS) a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers (EAST OF THE DEAD SEA IN JORDAN VALLEY) on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog (RUSSIAN) and all his multitude:(ARAB/MUSLIM HORDE) and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog.(BURIEL SITE OF THE 300 MILLION,RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIMS)
12 And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.(OF ISRAEL)
16 And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.(OF THE ISRAEL-GOD HATERS)
EZEKIEL 39:17-21
17 And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.(OF RUSSIAN/ISLAMIC HORDES AGAINST ISRAEL)
18 Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
19 And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.
20 Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.
21 And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.
22 So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward.
REVELATION 19:17-18
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;(AGAINST ALL NATIONS ARMIES THAT COME AGAINST JERUSALEM AND ISRAEL)
18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
EZEKIEL 38:1-7
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:TOBOLSK)
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)
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
EZEKIEL 39:1-8
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.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
Waving piece of downed drone, PM threatens direct military action against Iran-'Do you recognize this, Mr. Zarif?' PM asks security confab attended by Iran FM, warns Tehran to 'not test Israel's resolve'-By Judah Ari Gross and Michael Bachner-TOI-FEB 19,18
Brandishing a fragment of an Iranian drone downed over northern Israel a week ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday warned that Israel could strike the Islamic Republic directly and cautioned Tehran not to “test Israel’s resolve.”“Mr. Zarif, do you recognize this? You should, it’s yours. You can take back with you a message to the tyrants of Tehran — do not test Israel’s resolve!” proclaimed Netanyahu at the Munich Security Conference, which was also attended by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.The Iranian drone, which entered northern Israel from Syria near the Jordan border last Saturday, was shot down by an Israeli attack helicopter. In response to the drone incursion, Israeli jets attacked the mobile command center from which it was operated, the army said last week.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.The flareup on the northern border marked the first direct confrontation between the Israeli air force and the Iranian regime on Israeli territory. Israel has warned of growing Iranian entrenchment in neighboring Syria and has said it will not abide an Iranian military presence on its borders.“Through its proxies — Shiite militias in Iraq, the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza — Iran is devouring huge swaths of the Middle East,” said Netanyahu.“Israel will not allow Iran’s regime to put a noose of terror around our neck,” he added. “We will act without hesitation to defend ourselves. And we will act if necessary not just against Iran’s proxies that are attacking us, but against Iran itself.”In his remarks on Sunday, the prime minister also railed against the nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, lambasted the Iranian regime, and branded Zarif the “smooth-talking mouthpiece of Iran.”“I’ll say this, he lies eloquently,” Netanyahu said. “Zarif said it was wrong to say Iran is radical. If that’s true, why do they hang gays from cranes in city squares?”Displaying a map of the Middle East, Netanyahu noted that while the Islamic State terrorist group is in retreat, Iran has been steadily making gains. Israeli military intelligence has helped prevent dozens of terror attacks in dozens of countries by Islamic State, said Netanyahu.Iran is trying to take over large swaths of the Middle East, including setting up naval bases in the Mediterranean, Netanyahu charged.“Can you imagine Iranian submarines next to the US Sixth Fleet? Next to the port of Haifa?” he asked.The prime minister called for scrapping the 2015 nuclear deal between world powers and Tehran, saying, “Let’s not repeat the mistakes of the past. Appeasement never works.”He likened modern Iran to Nazi Germany on the eve of World War II, saying that agreements between both regimes and world powers had emboldened them.“Concessions to Hitler only emboldened the Nazis. Well-intentioned leaders only made war more difficult and costly,” he said.“Iran is not Nazi Germany. One championed a master race, the other champions a master faith,” said Netanyahu. “Iran looks to destroy Israel and is developing ballistic missiles that can also reach Europe and the US. Once nuclear-armed, Iran will be unchecked.”The Iran deal has “not made them more moderate internally, it has not made them more moderate externally. It released an Iranian tiger in our region. We must speak clearly; we must act boldly. We can stop this dangerous regime,” said Netanyahu.“I don’t care about the agreement, fixing it or nixing it. I care about preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon,” Netanyahu said, calling for “the toughest, crippling sanctions” against Iran’s development of ballistic missiles.The prime minister also hinted at a diplomatic row with Poland over a law outlawing blaming the Polish state or nation for crimes of the Holocaust, though he did not address it directly.Addressing the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki was rejecting criticism of a new law that criminalizes mentions of Polish state complicity in the Holocaust, when he was asked by an Israeli journalist if sharing his family’s history of persecution in Poland would be outlawed under the new legislation.“Of course it’s not going to be punishable, [it’s] not going to be seen as criminal to say that there were Polish perpetrators, as there were Jewish perpetrators, as there were Russian perpetrators, as there were Ukrainian; not only German perpetrators,” Morawiecki told Yedioth Ahronoth’s Ronen Bergman. In his initial response on Saturday night, Netanyahu responded that “the Polish prime minister’s remarks here in Munich are outrageous. There is a problem here of an inability to understand history and a lack of sensitivity to the tragedy of our people. I intend to speak with him forthwith.”Speaking about Nazi crimes in World War II, the prime minister said on Sunday that “60 million were killed, including a third of my own people. Six million Jews killed by the Nazis and their collaborators,” he said, emphasizing the last word.“We will not forget, we will not forgive, we will always fight for the truth,” Netanyahu said in Hebrew and English.Agencies contributed to this report.
Shin Bet says it thwarted plot to assassinate defense minister-Agency says Palestinian Islamic Jihad-linked cell members sought to kill Avigdor Liberman with roadside IED, were motivated by PA benefits to terrorists-By Tamar Pileggi-TOI-FEB 19,18
The Shin Bet security service said Sunday it had arrested members of a Palestinian terrorist cell who were plotting to assassinate Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman with a roadside bomb.The Shin Bet also announced it busted a second Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist cell planning shooting attacks against IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians in the Etzion Bloc of the West Bank.A statement from the internal security service said six suspects linked to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group were involved in the plot to detonate an explosive device underneath Liberman’s car while it was traveling in the West Bank.According to the Shin Bet investigation, the group sought assistance in carrying out the attack from terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip. But the agency said the Palestinian would-be terrorists were “deterred” by Liberman’s extensive security detail and the plot was foiled “in the very early stages” of planning.The ringleaders of the cell were identified as Bethlehem-area natives Awad Mahmoud al-Asakra, 25, and Muhammad Ali Ibrahim al-Askara, 32.Awad Asakra in 2015 served two years in an Israeli prison for plotting a terrorist attack.Ali Ibrahim Askara, a known Islamic Jihad activist, was also previously jailed for terrorist-related activities, serving two separate sentences in Israel for planning attacks against IDF soldiers.The suspects told Shin Bet interrogators they sought assistance from terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip to buy the materials for the bomb. When they were unable to purchase the materials or secure assistance from Gaza, the group built a dummy device in an effort to prove their intent to their peers in the Strip.The dummy bomb was confiscated during their arrest.The agency only briefly referred to the second Palestinian Islamic Jihad cell that is said had planned shooting attacks, but did not elaborate.The Shin Bet investigation also revealed that members of both cells were motivated by the Palestinian Authority’s benefits package awarded to the families of terrorists killed or jailed for carrying out attacks against Israeli targets.The statement did not specify when the arrests took place, but indicated it was in recent months.The announcement comes on the heels of a flareup in tensions along the Gaza border. Early Sunday morning, two Palestinians were killed by IDF tank fire in Gaza, Palestinian medical sources said, after four Israeli soldiers were wounded by an explosive device along the Strip’s border and as a rocket hit an Israeli border town.Israeli fighter jets also launched a series of airstrikes over the weekend targeting 18 “Hamas targets” in the Gaza Strip, after four Israeli soldiers were injured, two of them seriously, by explosives planted on the border.Liberman told the Ynet news site later on Sunday that an umbrella group of Palestinian terrorists, the Popular Resistance Committee, was responsible for planting the device along the border.
Firearms debate rages as Florida rally coincides with gun show-[Reuters]-By Katanga Johnson and Zachary Fagenson-YAHOONEWS-February 18, 2018
MIAMI (Reuters) - Student survivors of a mass shooting that killed 17 people at a Florida high school called for gun restrictions on Saturday during an angry and somber rally, but attendees at a nearby gun show said firearms could not be blamed for the massacre.Wednesday's shooting in the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Parkland fueled the long-running U.S. debate between supporters of tougher controls on firearms and advocates for gun rights, which are protected by the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment.Both sides of the dispute were on display on Saturday.Many at a rally in Fort Lauderdale that was organized to demand tougher gun laws rejected comments by U.S. President Donald Trump and others that mental illness was the main factor behind the slaughter at Margory Stoneman Douglas High School."We need to pay attention to the fact that this isn't just a mental health issue," Emma Gonzalez, an 18-year-old student at the school, told hundreds demonstrators gathered on the steps of a federal building. The shooter "wouldn't have harmed that many students with a knife!" she yelled, shedding tears as the crowd cheered her on.Gonzalez criticized Trump for overturning a measure implemented by former President Barack Obama that required extra scrutiny of some gun buyers with a history of mental illness. She also condemned the National Rifle Association, which opposes laws that it says violate gun owners' rights."Politicians who sit in their gilded House and Senate seats funded by the NRA telling us nothing could have ever been done to prevent this, we call B.S." Gonzalez said.Nikolas Cruz, 19, a former student who was expelled from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, has been charged with 17 counts of murder. Police said he was armed with an AR-15-style rifle and had multiple magazines of ammunition.Cruz legally purchased the murder weapon from a licensed dealer in Coral Springs, Florida, the Broward County sheriff said.Representatives for the White House and the NRA did not immediately respond to requests for comment. On Friday, Trump visited a Florida hospital and met with people wounded in the shooting as well as first responders.Ryan Deitsch, 18, was among those locked in a classroom closet as the shooter stalked the school's corridors."The least lawmakers can do is vote on something," Deitsch said in an interview at the rally, referring to tighter gun controls. "What's the worst that can happen?"The rally coincided with a gun show attended by hundreds of people about 40 miles (64 km) away at the Dade County fairgrounds. Despite calls for the show to be canceled, there were more than $5 million worth of guns and accessories on display, organizers said, including dozens of assault-style rifles.Jorge Fernandez, a former police officer and show manager, said Florida Gun Shows, which runs more than 40 shows across the state, decided against canceling due to financial concerns.Joe Arrington, 29, a former law enforcement officer, was there with his infant daughter in his arms and a rifle over his shoulder. He said more background checks are needed on gun buyers, but that more regulation would not have stopped the Parkland massacre."I don't believe that any law that they would have added would have deterred what happened," Arrington said. "I think a lot of agencies didn't do their job necessarily like they were supposed to."The FBI has come under intense criticism after it said on Friday that it failed to act on a warning about Cruz that was called in to a tip line on Jan. 5. The caller provided information about Cruz's "desire to kill people ... as well as the potential of him conducting a school shooting," the FBI said.Adolfo David Ginarte, 30, a hotel conference service manager, was checking out some of the more than 140 vendors at the gun show. He called it "un-American" for anyone to call for the show to be canceled in the wake of the shooting."Facts don't care about your feelings," he said. "Things are going to happen. Life is going to go forward. What happens if I'm offended by a movie? Are they going to cancel the movie? This isn't the first time and unfortunately it's not going to be the last time."(Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Leslie Adler)
FBI admits failure to act on Florida school gunman, drawing anger-[Reuters]-By Bernie Woodall and Zachary Fagenson-YAHOONEWS-February 17, 2018
PARKLAND, Fla. (Reuters) - The Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Friday it had failed to act on a tip warning that the man now accused of killing 17 people at a Florida high school possessed a gun, the desire to kill and the potential to commit a school shooting.The disclosure sparked angry disbelief from residents of the Miami suburb of Parkland still reeling from Wednesday's massacre, the deadliest shooting ever at a U.S. high school, and led Florida's governor to call for the FBI chief to resign.A person described as someone close to accused gunman Nikolas Cruz, 19, called an FBI tip line on Jan. 5, weeks before the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, to report concerns about him, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said in a statement."The caller provided information about Cruz's gun ownership, desire to kill people, erratic behavior, and disturbing social media posts, as well as the potential of him conducting a school shooting," it said.That information should have been forwarded to the FBI's Miami field office for further investigation, but "we have determined that these protocols were not followed," the agency said.U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he has ordered a review of FBI procedures following the shooting, carried out by a gunman armed with an AR-15-style assault rifle and numerous ammunition cartridges."We have spoken with victims and families, and deeply regret the additional pain this causes all those affected by this horrific tragedy," FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement.The mishandled information followed a tip to the FBI in September about a YouTube comment in which a person named Nikolas Cruz said, "I'm going to be a professional school shooter." The FBI said it investigated that comment but was unable to trace its origins, closing the inquiry until Cruz surfaced in connection with Wednesday's mass shooting.The FBI's lapse regarding the Jan. 5 tip was met with anger in Florida after U.S. President Donald Trump made remarks seeming to chastise local residents for failing to alert authorities to Cruz's sometimes erratic and violent behavior prior to Wednesday's shooting rampage.Cruz has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder.Florida Governor Rick Scott said Wray, appointed to head the FBI by Trump last year after the president fired James Comey, should step down over the agency's blunder."The FBI's failure to take action against this killer is unacceptable," Scott, a Republican, said in a statement. "We constantly promote 'See something, say something,' and a courageous person did just that to the FBI. And the FBI failed to act."The FBI separately has been criticized by some Republicans over its investigation of issues relating to Russia and the 2016 presidential election.At the funeral on Friday for massacre victim Meadow Pollack, an 18-year-old senior, family friend Jeff Richman expressed dismay at the FBI's failure."The FBI apologized? Tell that to families," said Richman, 53, an advertising executive who lives in Parkland.Broward County's chief public defender, Howard Finkelstein, was quoted by the South Florida Sun Sentinel newspaper as saying that Cruz's legal team planned to meet with prosecutors to offer a guilty plea in exchange for a life prison term."There is only one question: 'Should this young man live or die by execution?'" Finkelstein told the Sun Sentinel. "We believe it's in nobody's best interest to go through a circus of a trial."The public defender's office could not immediately be reached by Reuters for comment.-"KIDS DON'T NEED GUNS"-The massacre has raised concerns about potential lapses in school security and stirred the ongoing U.S. debate pitting proponents of tougher restrictions on firearms against advocates for gun rights, which are protected by the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment.Authorities acknowledged that the tips to the FBI were not the only indications that Cruz was troubled.Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel told a news conference his office had received about 20 "calls for service" in the last few years regarding Cruz and would scrutinize all of them to see if they were handled properly.Israel indicated law enforcement should not be held responsible for Wednesday's tragedy. "The only one to blame for this killing is the killer himself," he said.Some political leaders including Trump have said mental illness prompted the shooting. Cruz had been expelled for undisclosed disciplinary reasons from the school where the attack occurred. Former classmates have described him as a social outcast trouble-maker with a fascination for weaponry.Some relatives and friends of shooting victims blamed Florida's lenient gun laws, which allow an 18-year-old to buy an assault rifle. Outside a vigil on Friday, a sign read: "Kids don't need guns. No guns under 21."The outpouring of grief was reflected in a multitude of prayer services and vigils on Friday - a total of six at various places of worship in and around Parkland. Funerals for at least two victims were also held.Late in the day, the Republican president and first lady Melania Trump visited a hospital where survivors from the shooting were treated, meeting privately with victims and medical staff.“The job they’ve done is incredible and I want to congratulate you,” the president said as he shook one doctor's hand in front of reporters afterward. Trump did not respond when asked if the nation's gun laws needed to be changed, then walked into another room.He later appeared at the Broward County Sheriff's Office, along with the governor and other politicians, offering praise to first responders for the "great job you've done."The vice mayor of Broward County, a strongly Democratic area, earlier blasted any visit by Trump, saying Republicans had failed to back common-sense gun laws and rolled back measures restricting severely mentally ill people from buying weapons.(Additional reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee and Mark Hosenball, Steve Holland, Roberta Rampton and Susan Heavey in Washington, Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Writing by Andrew Hay; Editing by Tom Brown, Will Dunham and Leslie Adler)
Florida school massacre suspect on authorities' radar in 2016: media-[Reuters]-By Katanga Johnson and Zachary Fagenson-YAHOONEWS-February 18, 2018
PARKLAND, Fla. (Reuters) - A teenager accused of fatally shooting 17 people at a Florida high school was investigated by police and state officials as far back as 2016 after slashing his arm in a social media video, and saying he wanted to buy a gun, but authorities determined he was receiving sufficient support, newspapers said on Saturday.Nikolas Cruz, 19, is charged with committing multiple murders on Wednesday at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. More than a dozen people also were wounded in the deadliest shooting at a U.S. high school.The charges can bring the death penalty, but prosecutors have not yet said if they will seek capital punishment. Days after the killings, a somber series of vigils and funerals were being held in and around Parkland, a Fort Lauderdale suburb of about 32,000 people.The South Florida Sun Sentinel first reported that a video of Cruz cutting his arm posted to the social media network Snapchat in September 2016 raised concerns among law enforcement and at the Florida Department of Children and Families."Mr. Cruz stated he plans to go out and buy a gun. It is unknown what he is buying the gun for," said a report written by department officials after investigators interviewed the teenager, the Sun Sentinel said.The newspaper reported investigators ultimately decided that Cruz, then 18, was receiving enough support from mental health professionals and from his school, and any risk in his case was low.The Department of Children and Families (DCF) has asked a court to release the records for transparency, adding it has reviewed the circumstances surrounding the 2016 case."Mental health services and supports were in place when this investigation closed," DCF Secretary Mike Carroll said in a statement.The long-simmering U.S. debate about gun rights played out on Saturday at events in the area.Hundreds of people attended a rally in Fort Lauderdale where students from the school demanded new gun control measures to tighten what they saw as easy access to firearms in the state. They also accused some politicians of being more concerned about protecting the firearms lobby than children."Because of these (current) gun laws, people that I know, people that I love, have died," Delaney Tarr, a senior at the school, told the rally.At a nearby gunshow, attendees said new laws would not have prevented the massacre, adding gun rights are protected by the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment.-TRUMP CRITICIZES FBI-In a tweet on Saturday night President Donald Trump criticized the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for its handling of the case."Very sad that the FBI missed all of the many signals sent out by the Florida school shooter. This is not acceptable," Trump wrote on Twitter.He accused the FBI of "spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion with the (2016) Trump campaign."The FBI admitted on Friday that it failed to investigate a warning that Cruz possessed a gun and the desire to kill.A person described as close to Cruz called an FBI tip line on Jan. 5 to report concerns about him, according to the FBI. That information was not forwarded to the FBI's Miami office, in what agency officials called a breakdown in protocol.The disclosure spread angry disbelief among Parkland residents and prompted Florida's Republican Governor Rick Scott to call for FBI Director Christopher Wray to resign.U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has ordered a review of FBI procedures following the shooting, in which 14 students and three school staff members died.Trump called local politicians and the school's principal from his Mar-a-Lago, Florida, resort on Saturday to express condolences, offer support and receive updates, a White House spokeswoman said. On Friday, he visited shooting survivors and first responders.He and some other Republican political leaders have said mental illness prompted the massacre. Cruz had been expelled from the high school for undisclosed disciplinary reasons and former classmates described him as an outcast and troublemaker with a fascination for weaponry.As more details emerged on the suspect, CNN reported that Cruz posted disparaging comments about Jews, African Americans and gays in a private chat group on the social media network Instagram."I think I am going to kill people," Cruz wrote in the group, according to CNN, which also quoted an unnamed law enforcement source as saying the suspect bought at least five guns in the past year.Cruz's attorneys at the Broward County Public Defender's Office did not return requests for comment on that or the 2016 report by Florida's Department of Children and Families."This kid exhibited every single known red flag, from killing animals to having a cache of weapons to disruptive behavior to saying he wanted to be a school shooter," the county's public defender, Howard Finkelstein, told the New York Times. The paper said it also received a copy of the report.Speaking on Saturday at an event in Dallas, Texas, Vice President Mike Pence said Trump was making the safety of the nation's schools a top priority."We will get to the bottom of what happened," Pence said, adding the administration would take "a renewed look at giving law enforcement and local authorities the tools they need to deal with individuals struggling with dangerous mental illness."(Additional reporting by Bernie Woodall in Parkland, Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee, Jeff Mason in West Palm Beach, Rich McKay in Atlanta and Lesley Wroughton in Washington; Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis and Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Bill Trott, Daniel Wallis and Keith Weir)
