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)
REBUILT 3RD TEMPLE
REVELATION 11:1-2
1 And there was given me a(MEASURING) reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
2 But the court which is without the temple leave out,(TO THE WORLD NATIONS) and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.(JERUSALEM DIVIDED BUT THE 3RD TEMPLE ALLOWED TO BE REBUILT)
DANIEL 9:27
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
MICAH 4:1-5
1 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.
2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
3 And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
4 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.
5 For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever.
DANIEL 11:31
31 And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.(3RD TEMPLE REBUILT)
DANIEL 12:11
11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away,(AT THE MIDPOINT OF THE TRIBULATION PERIOD)(3RD TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED BY DICTATOR) and the abomination that maketh desolate set up,(TO WORSHIP THE DICTATOR OR DIE) there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.(1,290 DAYS)(AN EXTRA 30 DAYS AT THE END OF THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD FOR JESUS TO DESTROY THE ARMIES AGAINST JERUSALEM.AND TO JUDGE THE SHEEP AND GOAT NATIONS OF MATTHEW 25:31-46-HOW THEY TREATED ISRAEL DURING THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD.AND THEN I BELIEVE JESUS WILL REBUILD THE 4TH TEMPLE 25 MILES FROM THE CURRENT TEMPLE MOUNT.AND THEN JESUS RULES FOR THE 1,000 YEARS-THEN FOREVER FROM THAT 4TH TEMPLE.)
MATTHEW 24:15-16
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)(THE DICTATOR SITS IN THE REBUILT 3RD TEMPLE CALLING HIMSELF GOD AT THE MIDPOINT OR 3 1/2 YEAR PERIOD OF THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD.OR 7 YEAR PEACE TREATY BETWEEN ISRAEL-ARABS AND MANY OF DANIEL 9:27)
16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
Reform rabbis celebrate mixed Western Wall worship with prayers at future site-Rabbinate comes out against plan for non-Orthodox plaza, says it’s illegal; Reform leader says rabbinate approved scheme-By Times of Israel staff February 25, 2016, 6:51 pm
More than 150 male and female Reform rabbis on Thursday celebrated the cabinet’s approval of an egalitarian plaza at the Western Wall with a prayer service at the future site of non-Orthodox worship, even as the rabbinate came out against the planned area.The Thursday morning prayers marked last month’s landmark government decision to allocate an expanded segment of the wall — located in an archaeological park known as Robinson’s Arch — for mixed-gender worship.The rabbinate, breaking its silence Thursday, declared the new prayer site at Robinson’s Arch unlawful, according to the ultra-Orthodox Kikar HaShabat website. It was reportedly basing its opposition on a legal opinion which maintained that only the religious affairs minister has the authority to designate a new “holy site” in Israel.The Chief Rabbinate Council convened a meeting Thursday, which concluded with a demand that the government freeze its plans at Robinson’s Arch until it consults with the rabbinate on the subject, according to the report.But Gilad Kariv, the leader of the Reform Movement in Israel, said the rabbinate had already approved the decision to designate the mixed-gender area.The Chief Rabbinate Council “is acting like it’s a branch of United Torah Judaism or Shas, rather than a state body,” he said in a statement, referring to the two ultra-Orthodox political parties in the government.“The rabbinical establishment was involved in the discussions about the Western Wall compromise and gave its consent,” he maintained, while accusing it of “shameful cowardice.”“The wave of incitement in the past weeks against Reform Judaism is not linked to the Western Wall or to mikvehs [ritual baths], but rather to the understanding and panic of Haredi wheeler-dealers over the fact that most of the Israeli public is sick of the Orthodox monopoly,” he said.In comments on Wednesday, Deputy Education Minister Meir Porush, also of the United Torah Judaism, reportedly termed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Monday meeting with the leaders of the Reform and Conservative movements to “a stab in the heart of true Judaism.” Fellow party member Yisrael Eichler on Tuesday likened Reform Jews to the mentally ill.The landmark agreement on prayer at the Western Wall was approved by the government cabinet In January, and officially sets aside an egalitarian prayer space at the Orthodox-controlled holy site for the first time in Israel’s history. According to the government plan, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, Israel will build a new plaza adjacent to the Orthodox prayer plaza.The far-reaching plan, which advocates say marks unprecedented government support for liberal streams of Judaism, was backed by Netanyahu.Talks over a plan to expand the non-Orthodox section of the wall began in April 2013. The negotiations were led by Jewish Agency chief Natan Sharansky and former cabinet secretary Avichai Mandelblit — now attorney general — and included representatives of the Reform and Conservative movements, the Heritage Foundation and Women of the WallAlmost three years later, the deal enacted last month calls for the creation of an “official and respected” 9,700-square foot prayer space in the non-Orthodox section of the Western Wall, running along a 31-foot segment of the wall, that Sharansky said will fit around 1,200 people. It will have a government-funded staff, Torah scrolls and other ritual objects, and be open to all forms of Jewish prayer. Sharansky estimated its construction could take up to two years.Agencies contributed to this report.
Barkat slams Cameron: East Jerusalem better off now than under UK-After British PM’s criticism of ‘genuinely shocking’ conditions, capital’s mayor says — but only in Hebrew — it was worse under 1923-48 Mandate-By Raoul Wootliff February 25, 2016, 4:42 pm-the times of israel
Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat on Thursday slammed comments by British Prime Minister David Cameron in which he criticized conditions in East Jerusalem, questioning Cameron’s knowledge of the region and pointing a finger at the UK for its policies during the pre-state British Mandate.On Wednesday, Cameron told Britain’s Parliament that Israeli construction in East Jerusalem was “genuinely shocking,” even as he insisted that he was a “great friend of Israel” and defined Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.“I am well known for being a strong friend of Israel, but I have to say the first time I visited Jerusalem and had a proper tour around that wonderful city and saw what had happened with the effective encirclement of East Jerusalem, occupied East Jerusalem, it is genuinely shocking,” Cameron said during a weekly question-and-answer session.Barkat said Cameron’s statements were “incorrect, based on a lack of awareness of facts and the reality on the ground,” in a statement released by the Jerusalem municipality.The mayor rhetorically asked what it was that specifically shocked Cameron, highlighting investment in schools, infrastructure and community centers in East Jerusalem.Cameron’s comments were likely referring to a 2007 trip he took before being elected prime minister and before Barkat was elected mayor. During that visit he toured several parts of Jerusalem and the surrounding area, including a promenade that skirts the Jerusalem seam line.Jerusalem’s municipality is often accused of failing to provide equal services to Arab and Jewish parts of the city, something Barkat has claimed he is working to remedy.The city’s response included a pointed criticism of Britain’s own administration of Jerusalem from 1923 to 1948.“The quality of life for East Jerusalem residents is constantly progressing and is far superior to the quality of life for residents in any of our neighboring countries, certainly better than the time of the British Mandate in Israel,” read the Barkat statement in Hebrew.Notably, however, the reference to the British Mandate was left out of the English translation of statements circulated by the municipality.A spokeswoman for Barkat said it was normal practice to edit comments in translations in order to make statements appropriate for different audiences.“Sometimes we add some explanation and sometimes we take things out,” she told The Times of Israel. “In this case, we didn’t need to include the statements on the British Mandate in English as you can assume that the British public know about the Mandate and what went on. Those comments were directed at Israelis who may not.”Some 200,000 Israelis live alongside about 300,000 Palestinians in East Jerusalem, most of them in Jewish neighborhoods built after 1967.While Israel maintains it has the right to build anywhere in the capital, the international community never recognized its annexation of East Jerusalem, and building there is frequently condemned.Cameron said on Wednesday: “What this government has consistently done and gone on doing is saying, ‘Yes, we are supporters of Israel but we do not support illegal settlement, we do not want to support what is happening in East Jerusalem, and it’s very important that this capital city is maintained the way it was in the past.’”Barkat encouraged Cameron to visit Jerusalem again instead of speaking out against it.“I invite Prime Minister Cameron to work with us to advance the development of the city of Jerusalem, rather than work to build walls and sharpen divisions in the heart of Jerusalem.”Last week group of British lawmakers on a visit to the region clashed with senior Palestinian Authority officials Wednesday during a meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah, after a PA representative blamed the MPs, as Britons, for causing the entire Israel-Palestinian conflict with the British Mandate.A lunch meeting between a delegation from the Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI) and veteran PA negotiator Nabil Shaath turned hostile with Shaath and other Palestinian officials hurling accusations against the group for their implicit support of the 1923-48 British Mandate in Palestine.That was “years and years before I was even born,” said one of the MPs wryly later.
ISRAEL SATAN COMES AGAINST
1 CHRONICLES 21:1
1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.
GENESIS 12:1-3
1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I (GOD) will shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee,(ISRAELIS) and curse (DESTROY) him that curseth thee:(DESTROY THEM) and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
ISAIAH 41:11
11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee (ISRAEL) shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing;(DESTROYED) and they that strive with thee shall perish.(ISRAEL HATERS WILL BE TOTALLY DESTROYED)
ISRAELS TROUBLE
JEREMIAH 30:7
7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble;(ISRAEL) but he shall be saved out of it.
DANIEL 12:1,4
1 And at that time shall Michael(ISRAELS WAR ANGEL) stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people:(ISRAEL) and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation(May 14,48) even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro,(WORLD TRAVEL,IMMIGRATION) and knowledge shall be increased.(COMPUTERS,CHIP IMPLANTS ETC)
Netanyahu promises ‘imminent solution’ to Gaza tunnels-Prime minister assures communities around Strip the army is ready to tackle threat from the Hamas-controlled territory-By Raoul Wootliff February 25, 2016, 8:24 am-the times of israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told leaders of Israeli communities around the Gaza Strip Wednesday that the army was working to end the threat of attack tunnels emanating from the coastal Palestinian territory.In a meeting held with municipal heads, the prime minister said the IDF was “likely to find an imminent solution to the problem of tunnels from Gaza,” according to Haaretz.He told the group that the army has been employing the latest technology and that a budget has been earmarked for the job.“The money is waiting for the border and not the other way around,” he was quoted as saying.Israel has spent over NIS one billion (some $250 million) since 2004 in attempts to thwart tunneling under the Israel-Gaza border, an Israeli TV report said earlier this month. The money has gone toward developing technology to discover the locations of such tunnels and unspecified “operational efforts,” Channel 2 news said.During the 2014 Israel-Hamas war, Palestinian gunmen emerged from the tunnels on several occasions to ambush IDF soldiers, killing several.The IDF said it destroyed more than 30 Hamas tunnels during the 50-day conflict, about one-third of which extended beneath the Gaza border into Israel.Municipal heads confirmed that Netanayhu promised at Wednesday’s meeting to prevent the spread of tunnels again.Eshkol Regional Council head Gadi Yarkoni, who lost his legs in a mortar attack during the 2014 war, told Israel Radio Thursday morning that he had been impressed with the prime minister’s resolve.“He spoke openly with us and to the point,” he said. “It’s clear the army is ready to deal with the problem.”In late 2014, Egypt began setting up a buffer zone on its border with Gaza, and destroyed hundreds of tunnels it said were used for smuggling weapons and other items. Since September of last year, the Egyptian military has periodically pumped seawater into the underground cross-border tunnels dug between its Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip in a campaign to stamp out smuggling.Past weeks have seen at least five separate tunnel collapses in the Strip, according to Palestinian reports.Earlier this month, the head of the Israel Defense Forces hinted at hidden efforts to counter Gazan tunnels he said were built with the purpose of carrying out attacks on Israeli communities near the border.Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot told a conference at Herzliya’s Interdisciplinary Center that the IDF has been working, mostly in secret, to counter the tunnel threat and has employed nearly 100 engineering vehicles on the border to locate and destroy the Hamas passageways into Israel.“We are doing a lot, but many of [the things we do] are hidden from the public. We have dozens, if not a hundred, engineering vehicles on the Gaza border,” he said.Two days earlier Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said the tunnels beneath the Gaza Strip’s southern border were flooded by Egypt at Israel’s request. His office later said the remarks were misinterpreted.Hamas officials have pledged to continue building tunnels under the Israeli border, despite the recent collapses, and boasted that some tunnels already extend into Israel.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
IDF steps up West Bank arrests with 33 detained overnight-Palestinian youths reportedly injured in clashes with soldiers; army says 7 Hamas operatives detained-By Raoul Wootliff February 25, 2016, 12:45 pm-the times of israel
IDF troops arrested dozens of Palestinian suspects during raids across the West Bank overnight Wednesday in one of the largest hauls since the beginning of the current wave of terror attacks, the army said Thursday morning.A total of 33 Palestinians were arrested, including seven men described as Hamas members. Twenty-two of those detained are suspected of direct involvement in recent attacks on civilians and security forces, the IDF said.The suspects were transferred to the Shin Bet security agency for interrogation.Twenty-nine Israelis and three non-Israelis have been killed in a wave of Palestinian terrorism and violence since October. About 170 Palestinians have also been killed, some two-thirds of them while attacking Israelis, and the rest during clashes with troops, according to the Israeli army.While the IDF carries out operations most nights, arresting handfuls of suspects in each operation, Wednesday’s raids represent a significant increase in the number of people detained.During the raids, several Palestinian youths clashed with soldiers in the West Bank town of Ramallah, according to Palestinian news site Wafa. Two youths were reportedly injured lightly to moderately by shrapnel from shots fired in their direction.In a separate operation, combat engineers entered the West Bank village of Qabatiyah to map out the home of Balal Abu Zid, accused of helping three others carry out a deadly attack outside Jerusalem’s Old City earlier this month. The mapping procedure is conducted ahead of home demolitions.The three attackers, Ahmed Abou Al-Roub, Mohammed Kameel and Ahmad Rajeh Ismail Zakarneh, also from Qabatiya shot and stabbed a group of border police, killing 19-year-old Hadar Cohen. A second policewoman was seriously injured in the attack.Qabatiya, near Jenin, is one of a handful of Palestinian population centers from which several terrorists have emerged in the current round of violence, a list that includes the village of Samua near Hebron, and the Shuafat and Qalandiya refugee camps around Jerusalem.The practice of demolishing the family homes of terrorists has been criticized by non-governmental groups, but government officials have defended its use as a deterrent against attacks. Critics claim that in addition to being a form of collective punishment, house demolitions could motivate family members of terrorists to launch attacks themselves.On Tuesday night the IDF arrested 19 suspects in raids across the West Bank and seized weapons stockpiles including M16 rifles, handguns, hand grenades and combat gear presumed to be held in preparation for terrorist attacks in two caches in Nablus and near Jenin.
Hamas ‘does not want a new war with Israel,’ Gaza leader says-Mahmoud al-Zahar calls attack tunnels ‘defensive,’ no match for Israeli military; blames Fatah for lack of progress on unity talks-By Times of Israel staff February 25, 2016, 7:17 pm
Hamas does not want a new war with Israel and the tunnels it is digging into the Jewish state’s territory and Egypt are purely “defensive,” a senior figure in the Palestinian terror group told foreign journalists in Gaza on Thursday.But Mahmoud al-Zahar, a hardliner who co-founded Hamas and belongs to the organization’s leadership in Gaza, also reiterated the movement’s long-standing refusal to ever recognize Israel, as Mahmoud Abbas’ rival Fatah movement had done, Reuters said.“We are not looking for any confrontation with Israel, but if they are going to launch an aggression, we have to defend ourselves,” the 71-year-old Zahar said.On the subject of Hamas’s tunnel-building program, he said: “You are speaking about tunnels? You are not speaking about F-35 (fighter planes)? You are not speaking about the nuclear bomb in Israel… The tunnels are a matter of self-defense.”Hamas’s media outlets have been publishing videos almost daily showing — essentially mocking — Israeli engineering equipment digging on the border in an effort to locate the tunnels.Earlier this month, Zahar boasted that “the tunnels reach deep into the territory occupied in 1948…They reach beyond Gaza.”Later, however, he toned down the rhetoric, saying the tunnels were defensive and for “the protection of our people in the face of any Israeli aggression.”During the 2014 Israel-Hamas war, Palestinian gunmen emerged from the tunnels on several occasions to ambush IDF soldiers, killing several.On Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told leaders of Israeli communities around the Gaza Strip that the army has been employing the latest technology and that a budget has been earmarked to put a stop to the threat of attack tunnels emanating from the coastal Palestinian territory.On the issue of attempts between Hamas and the ruling Fatah organization in the West Bank to reach reconciliation, Zahar suggested that the chances were slim, according to Reuters.He blamed Fatah for the lack of progress in talks with Hamas, last held in the Qatari capital Doha, the news agency reported.Zahar’s son, a member of the Hamas military wing, was killed by IDF fire in 2008.
Israel cooperation puts Palestinian forces in tough spot-PA police say they feel humiliated when IDF tells them to step aside; Israeli officials: We’d prefer it if they caught the fugitives we seek-By Mohammed Daraghmeh February 25, 2016, 5:58 pm-the times of israel-ap
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — It was nearly 2 a.m. when Amjad Sallaj heard a loud explosion outside his home. In a matter of seconds, Israeli troops burst into the building, ransacking apartments in a door-to-door search for wanted Palestinian fugitives.When the raid was over, the apartments had been trashed, furniture destroyed and Sallaj’s 30-year-old son, Ahmad, had been taken into custody.Palestinian Authority officials say that such raids, carried out in PA-controlled territory, have become a daily occurrence since a wave of violence erupted five months ago — undermining the public’s trust in their own security forces and jeopardizing one of the last areas of official contact between Israel and the Palestinians.“The Israeli forces enter our territory every night, since the beginning of the current uprising, and this has a significant impact on the morale of our forces and on the image of these forces in the eyes of the public,” said Adnan Dameri, the spokesman for the Palestinian security forces.“In every joint meeting, we tell the Israeli side that the daily incursions embarrass the Palestinian forces,” he added.Security cooperation between the Israeli military and Palestinian security forces began following interim peace accords reached in the 1990s that granted the Palestinians limited autonomy in 40 percent of the West Bank.Although those agreements gave Israel overall security control in the West Bank, it yielded significant day-to-day responsibilities to Palestinian forces in a joint effort to control Islamic militants and to prevent friction between Israeli troops and Palestinian civilians.The system broke down during the second Palestinian uprising in the early 2000s, but resumed once the fighting subsided and has continued to function for the better part of a decade.Today, at a time when peace efforts are at a standstill and tensions are high, security is one of the last areas of coordination, playing a critical role in preventing near-daily violence from spinning out of control.The security coordination has also benefited PA President Mahmoud Abbas. A clampdown by his forces and Israeli troops has kept the rival Hamas terror group, which controls Gaza, in check.But the Palestinians say Israel’s recent stepped-up activity is putting them in a difficult situation. With the coordination still in place, the public widely sees the forces — and Palestinian political leaders — as essentially helping perpetuate Israel’s half-century occupation of the West Bank. Israel captured the area, along with East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip — all claimed by the Palestinians for a future independent state — in the 1967 Six Day War.The cooperation also has hurt morale. Under procedures in place, Israeli forces inform the Palestinians they are going in, ordering them to retreat to their barracks until they complete their operation.“It’s very depressing to leave your position and our missions just because the occupation forces have an operation that you know is against your people,” said Saleh Naser, a police officer in Ramallah.Sallaj said that during Tuesday’s night-time raid on his home, which is located in Askar refugee camp near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, troops detonated the main entrance to the building, and then pried open the doors of the four apartment units where his sons and their families live.He described seeing hundreds of soldiers in the camp, including dozens throughout his building.Sallaj, 55, said the families were each confined to one room of their apartment as soldiers moved through, leaving behind a trail of destruction. When troops found photos of children holding plastic guns, he said they interrogated two of his grandsons, a 9-year-old and a 5-year-old, about the pictures. Sallaj said he does not know why his son was arrested. He said it is the first time he has been sent to jail.“This is the occupation,” he said. “We expect nothing but the destroying of our life and our properties.”In a statement, the military said it confiscated guns, ammunition and grenades during the raid on a number of locations in Nablus and arrested nine Palestinians. It said soldiers were attacked by a stone-throwing mob, and that it shot one man “in light of the continued assault.”The current wave of violence erupted last fall, with clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem quickly spreading across Israel and into the West Bank. Some 30 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian stabbings, shootings and car ramming attacks, while at least 166 Palestinians have been killed, 119 of them in the course of attacking Israelis, according to the Israeli army.IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner confirmed there has been “increased activity” by the army in the West Bank due to the rising violence. The breadth of operations is based on the “threat assessment,” he said.Lerner said Hamas has been trying to take advantage of the unrest, and that Israel has uncovered bomb labs and foiled planned suicide bombings, kidnappings and shootings of Israelis. He said the raids took place in “order to prevent those attacks before they put innocent lives at risk.”Amani Sarahneh, a spokeswoman for the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, said she monitors new raids daily.“Each day, I collect the names of the detainees arrested overnight. Usually, I have up to 30 people arrested every night in various places in the West Bank,” she said.Israeli officials say they are aware of the Palestinian concerns and keep them in mind as they set security policy, but ultimately they do whatever security conditions dictate.Alon Eviatar, a former high-ranking official with COGAT, the Israeli military body that oversees Palestinian civilian affairs, said the Palestinian complaints are not a “new phenomenon,” and Israeli officials are aware of this constraint.“As long as the Palestinian security apparatus can do the job, Israel wants to let them do it,” he said. “If they can do it, do it. Better for Israel.”
Florida legislature passes anti-BDS bill-Approved 112-2, measure is the ‘strongest anti-BDS legislation to date,’ says Israel advocacy group-By Eric Cortellessa February 25, 2016, 4:42 am-the times of israel
WASHINGTON — Florida’s Senate overwhelmingly passed a measure Wednesday aimed to deter corporate entities from participating in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel.The bill passed by a vote of 112-2, and now moves to the office of Florida Governor Rick Scott, who must decide whether to sign it into law.In the last year, several other states have taken up similar legislation, such as Illinois and South Carolina. Illinois has targeted BDS activities through investment — prohibiting state investment in entities that boycott Israel or Israeli companies. South Carolina has done the same through procurement — banning the state from contracting with entities that engage in Israel boycotts.The Florida bill is the strongest of any anti-BDS measure passed through a state legislature, according to Peggy Shapiro, the Midwest director of Israel advocacy group StandWithUs, who lobbied for the bill, because it targets BDS activities through banning both state investment and procurement in such entities.While the bill received near unanimous support in the Florida Senate, critics cited it as an attempt to suppress or limit speech rights for those critical of Israel.Shapiro countered that it would merely allow the state of Florida to exercise its discretion in choosing what kinds of companies it spends taxpayer money on.“If one group of people write a textbook and another group writes a textbook, they are both able to express their speech and write the book,” she told The Times of Israel. “But the state of Florida can buy the book from whoever it wants.”
Signing law to defend Israel from boycott, Obama excludes settlements-US trade legislation features anti-BDS provision that relates to settlements, but president says this ‘conflation’ of Israel and the territories runs contrary to ‘longstanding bipartisan US policy’-By JTA and Eric Cortellessa February 25, 2016, 2:03 pm-the times of israel
WASHINGTON — US President Barack Obama signed a bill on Wednesday that punishes the international boycott campaign against Israel, but said he will not apply a segment that extends protections to West Bank settlements.The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, aimed at removing unfair barriers to competitive US trade, passed the US House of Representatives in December and the Senate on February 11.A lengthy section of the law on promoting US-Israel trade requires non-cooperation with entities that participate in the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, and reporting on such entities. The section includes within its definition of an Israel boycott actions that would target businesses in “Israeli-controlled territories.”“I have directed my administration to strongly oppose boycotts, divestment campaigns, and sanctions targeting the State of Israel,” Obama said in a signing statement. “As long as I am president, we will continue to do so. Certain provisions of this act, by conflating Israel and ‘Israeli-controlled territories,’ are contrary to longstanding bipartisan United States policy, including with regard to the treatment of settlements.”Obama further said in the statement that “consistent with longstanding constitutional practice” the administration would negotiate with other countries under the law “in a manner that does not interfere with my constitutional authority to conduct diplomacy,” language used in signing statements to signal that a president will not apply a part of a law that does not comport with US foreign policy.The BDS portion of the law, backed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, was authored by Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Ill. and Rep. Juan Vargas, D-Calif.There are multiple bills under consideration in Congress and in over 20 state legislatures targeting BDS. Many of the state bills mandate the divestment of state funds, including pensions, from entities that boycott Israel and a number of those bills extend protection to the settlements. Illinois and South Carolina have passed into law in recent months anti-BDS bills that include protection for settlements.The Florida legislature this week passed a law that includes settlement protections, and it awaits signing by Governor Rick Scott. A similar bill was introduced this week in the Ohio legislature.When the White House announced two weeks ago that Obama would sign the bill, AIPAC hailed the move: “The provision puts the US firmly on record opposing BDS and supporting enhanced commercial ties between the United States and Israel,” it said. “This measure builds on the important work of Congress … passing into law firm anti-BDS negotiating objectives for American trade negotiators.”Within 180 days after Wednesday’s signing, the US administration will be required to report to the Congress on global BDS activities, including the participation of foreign companies in political boycotts of the Jewish State. The law also includes a number of legal protections for American companies that operate in Israel.While the Obama administration has long expressed adamant opposition to BDS tactics targeting Israel, there are several references in the legislation to “Israeli-controlled territories” or “any territory controlled by Israel” as being included in the terms of the bill.The conflation of Israel proper with contested territory runs counter to longstanding US policy that Israeli settlement activity is an obstacle to achieving a two-state solution, an administration official told The Times of Israel earlier this month. For that reason, the US government abstains from pursuing policies that it sees as conflicting with that objective.The official stated that the White House seeks to strengthen its economic ties with Israel while at the same time maintaining the policies it considers integral to preserving and advancing the prospect of a two-state accommodation with Palestinians.Since 1967, the US government has opposed Israeli settlements and activity associated with them, the official said, also insisting that since the US-Israel Free Trade Agreement was first signed, in 1985, such a balancing act has been a priority of all US administrations, Democrat and Republican alike.Notwithstanding Obama’s reservations about some of the bill’s language, his signing it is likely to please Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as the BDS provision explicitly instructs US trade representatives to discourage European Union member countries from engaging in Israel boycott efforts.
REVELATION 11:1-2
1 And there was given me a(MEASURING) reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
2 But the court which is without the temple leave out,(TO THE WORLD NATIONS) and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.(JERUSALEM DIVIDED BUT THE 3RD TEMPLE ALLOWED TO BE REBUILT)
DANIEL 9:27
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
MICAH 4:1-5
1 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.
2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
3 And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
4 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.
5 For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever.
DANIEL 11:31
31 And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.(3RD TEMPLE REBUILT)
DANIEL 12:11
11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away,(AT THE MIDPOINT OF THE TRIBULATION PERIOD)(3RD TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED BY DICTATOR) and the abomination that maketh desolate set up,(TO WORSHIP THE DICTATOR OR DIE) there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.(1,290 DAYS)(AN EXTRA 30 DAYS AT THE END OF THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD FOR JESUS TO DESTROY THE ARMIES AGAINST JERUSALEM.AND TO JUDGE THE SHEEP AND GOAT NATIONS OF MATTHEW 25:31-46-HOW THEY TREATED ISRAEL DURING THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD.AND THEN I BELIEVE JESUS WILL REBUILD THE 4TH TEMPLE 25 MILES FROM THE CURRENT TEMPLE MOUNT.AND THEN JESUS RULES FOR THE 1,000 YEARS-THEN FOREVER FROM THAT 4TH TEMPLE.)
MATTHEW 24:15-16
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)(THE DICTATOR SITS IN THE REBUILT 3RD TEMPLE CALLING HIMSELF GOD AT THE MIDPOINT OR 3 1/2 YEAR PERIOD OF THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD.OR 7 YEAR PEACE TREATY BETWEEN ISRAEL-ARABS AND MANY OF DANIEL 9:27)
16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
Reform rabbis celebrate mixed Western Wall worship with prayers at future site-Rabbinate comes out against plan for non-Orthodox plaza, says it’s illegal; Reform leader says rabbinate approved scheme-By Times of Israel staff February 25, 2016, 6:51 pm
More than 150 male and female Reform rabbis on Thursday celebrated the cabinet’s approval of an egalitarian plaza at the Western Wall with a prayer service at the future site of non-Orthodox worship, even as the rabbinate came out against the planned area.The Thursday morning prayers marked last month’s landmark government decision to allocate an expanded segment of the wall — located in an archaeological park known as Robinson’s Arch — for mixed-gender worship.The rabbinate, breaking its silence Thursday, declared the new prayer site at Robinson’s Arch unlawful, according to the ultra-Orthodox Kikar HaShabat website. It was reportedly basing its opposition on a legal opinion which maintained that only the religious affairs minister has the authority to designate a new “holy site” in Israel.The Chief Rabbinate Council convened a meeting Thursday, which concluded with a demand that the government freeze its plans at Robinson’s Arch until it consults with the rabbinate on the subject, according to the report.But Gilad Kariv, the leader of the Reform Movement in Israel, said the rabbinate had already approved the decision to designate the mixed-gender area.The Chief Rabbinate Council “is acting like it’s a branch of United Torah Judaism or Shas, rather than a state body,” he said in a statement, referring to the two ultra-Orthodox political parties in the government.“The rabbinical establishment was involved in the discussions about the Western Wall compromise and gave its consent,” he maintained, while accusing it of “shameful cowardice.”“The wave of incitement in the past weeks against Reform Judaism is not linked to the Western Wall or to mikvehs [ritual baths], but rather to the understanding and panic of Haredi wheeler-dealers over the fact that most of the Israeli public is sick of the Orthodox monopoly,” he said.In comments on Wednesday, Deputy Education Minister Meir Porush, also of the United Torah Judaism, reportedly termed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Monday meeting with the leaders of the Reform and Conservative movements to “a stab in the heart of true Judaism.” Fellow party member Yisrael Eichler on Tuesday likened Reform Jews to the mentally ill.The landmark agreement on prayer at the Western Wall was approved by the government cabinet In January, and officially sets aside an egalitarian prayer space at the Orthodox-controlled holy site for the first time in Israel’s history. According to the government plan, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, Israel will build a new plaza adjacent to the Orthodox prayer plaza.The far-reaching plan, which advocates say marks unprecedented government support for liberal streams of Judaism, was backed by Netanyahu.Talks over a plan to expand the non-Orthodox section of the wall began in April 2013. The negotiations were led by Jewish Agency chief Natan Sharansky and former cabinet secretary Avichai Mandelblit — now attorney general — and included representatives of the Reform and Conservative movements, the Heritage Foundation and Women of the WallAlmost three years later, the deal enacted last month calls for the creation of an “official and respected” 9,700-square foot prayer space in the non-Orthodox section of the Western Wall, running along a 31-foot segment of the wall, that Sharansky said will fit around 1,200 people. It will have a government-funded staff, Torah scrolls and other ritual objects, and be open to all forms of Jewish prayer. Sharansky estimated its construction could take up to two years.Agencies contributed to this report.
Barkat slams Cameron: East Jerusalem better off now than under UK-After British PM’s criticism of ‘genuinely shocking’ conditions, capital’s mayor says — but only in Hebrew — it was worse under 1923-48 Mandate-By Raoul Wootliff February 25, 2016, 4:42 pm-the times of israel
Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat on Thursday slammed comments by British Prime Minister David Cameron in which he criticized conditions in East Jerusalem, questioning Cameron’s knowledge of the region and pointing a finger at the UK for its policies during the pre-state British Mandate.On Wednesday, Cameron told Britain’s Parliament that Israeli construction in East Jerusalem was “genuinely shocking,” even as he insisted that he was a “great friend of Israel” and defined Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.“I am well known for being a strong friend of Israel, but I have to say the first time I visited Jerusalem and had a proper tour around that wonderful city and saw what had happened with the effective encirclement of East Jerusalem, occupied East Jerusalem, it is genuinely shocking,” Cameron said during a weekly question-and-answer session.Barkat said Cameron’s statements were “incorrect, based on a lack of awareness of facts and the reality on the ground,” in a statement released by the Jerusalem municipality.The mayor rhetorically asked what it was that specifically shocked Cameron, highlighting investment in schools, infrastructure and community centers in East Jerusalem.Cameron’s comments were likely referring to a 2007 trip he took before being elected prime minister and before Barkat was elected mayor. During that visit he toured several parts of Jerusalem and the surrounding area, including a promenade that skirts the Jerusalem seam line.Jerusalem’s municipality is often accused of failing to provide equal services to Arab and Jewish parts of the city, something Barkat has claimed he is working to remedy.The city’s response included a pointed criticism of Britain’s own administration of Jerusalem from 1923 to 1948.“The quality of life for East Jerusalem residents is constantly progressing and is far superior to the quality of life for residents in any of our neighboring countries, certainly better than the time of the British Mandate in Israel,” read the Barkat statement in Hebrew.Notably, however, the reference to the British Mandate was left out of the English translation of statements circulated by the municipality.A spokeswoman for Barkat said it was normal practice to edit comments in translations in order to make statements appropriate for different audiences.“Sometimes we add some explanation and sometimes we take things out,” she told The Times of Israel. “In this case, we didn’t need to include the statements on the British Mandate in English as you can assume that the British public know about the Mandate and what went on. Those comments were directed at Israelis who may not.”Some 200,000 Israelis live alongside about 300,000 Palestinians in East Jerusalem, most of them in Jewish neighborhoods built after 1967.While Israel maintains it has the right to build anywhere in the capital, the international community never recognized its annexation of East Jerusalem, and building there is frequently condemned.Cameron said on Wednesday: “What this government has consistently done and gone on doing is saying, ‘Yes, we are supporters of Israel but we do not support illegal settlement, we do not want to support what is happening in East Jerusalem, and it’s very important that this capital city is maintained the way it was in the past.’”Barkat encouraged Cameron to visit Jerusalem again instead of speaking out against it.“I invite Prime Minister Cameron to work with us to advance the development of the city of Jerusalem, rather than work to build walls and sharpen divisions in the heart of Jerusalem.”Last week group of British lawmakers on a visit to the region clashed with senior Palestinian Authority officials Wednesday during a meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah, after a PA representative blamed the MPs, as Britons, for causing the entire Israel-Palestinian conflict with the British Mandate.A lunch meeting between a delegation from the Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI) and veteran PA negotiator Nabil Shaath turned hostile with Shaath and other Palestinian officials hurling accusations against the group for their implicit support of the 1923-48 British Mandate in Palestine.That was “years and years before I was even born,” said one of the MPs wryly later.
ISRAEL SATAN COMES AGAINST
1 CHRONICLES 21:1
1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.
GENESIS 12:1-3
1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I (GOD) will shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee,(ISRAELIS) and curse (DESTROY) him that curseth thee:(DESTROY THEM) and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
ISAIAH 41:11
11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee (ISRAEL) shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing;(DESTROYED) and they that strive with thee shall perish.(ISRAEL HATERS WILL BE TOTALLY DESTROYED)
ISRAELS TROUBLE
JEREMIAH 30:7
7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble;(ISRAEL) but he shall be saved out of it.
DANIEL 12:1,4
1 And at that time shall Michael(ISRAELS WAR ANGEL) stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people:(ISRAEL) and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation(May 14,48) even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro,(WORLD TRAVEL,IMMIGRATION) and knowledge shall be increased.(COMPUTERS,CHIP IMPLANTS ETC)
Netanyahu promises ‘imminent solution’ to Gaza tunnels-Prime minister assures communities around Strip the army is ready to tackle threat from the Hamas-controlled territory-By Raoul Wootliff February 25, 2016, 8:24 am-the times of israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told leaders of Israeli communities around the Gaza Strip Wednesday that the army was working to end the threat of attack tunnels emanating from the coastal Palestinian territory.In a meeting held with municipal heads, the prime minister said the IDF was “likely to find an imminent solution to the problem of tunnels from Gaza,” according to Haaretz.He told the group that the army has been employing the latest technology and that a budget has been earmarked for the job.“The money is waiting for the border and not the other way around,” he was quoted as saying.Israel has spent over NIS one billion (some $250 million) since 2004 in attempts to thwart tunneling under the Israel-Gaza border, an Israeli TV report said earlier this month. The money has gone toward developing technology to discover the locations of such tunnels and unspecified “operational efforts,” Channel 2 news said.During the 2014 Israel-Hamas war, Palestinian gunmen emerged from the tunnels on several occasions to ambush IDF soldiers, killing several.The IDF said it destroyed more than 30 Hamas tunnels during the 50-day conflict, about one-third of which extended beneath the Gaza border into Israel.Municipal heads confirmed that Netanayhu promised at Wednesday’s meeting to prevent the spread of tunnels again.Eshkol Regional Council head Gadi Yarkoni, who lost his legs in a mortar attack during the 2014 war, told Israel Radio Thursday morning that he had been impressed with the prime minister’s resolve.“He spoke openly with us and to the point,” he said. “It’s clear the army is ready to deal with the problem.”In late 2014, Egypt began setting up a buffer zone on its border with Gaza, and destroyed hundreds of tunnels it said were used for smuggling weapons and other items. Since September of last year, the Egyptian military has periodically pumped seawater into the underground cross-border tunnels dug between its Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip in a campaign to stamp out smuggling.Past weeks have seen at least five separate tunnel collapses in the Strip, according to Palestinian reports.Earlier this month, the head of the Israel Defense Forces hinted at hidden efforts to counter Gazan tunnels he said were built with the purpose of carrying out attacks on Israeli communities near the border.Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot told a conference at Herzliya’s Interdisciplinary Center that the IDF has been working, mostly in secret, to counter the tunnel threat and has employed nearly 100 engineering vehicles on the border to locate and destroy the Hamas passageways into Israel.“We are doing a lot, but many of [the things we do] are hidden from the public. We have dozens, if not a hundred, engineering vehicles on the Gaza border,” he said.Two days earlier Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said the tunnels beneath the Gaza Strip’s southern border were flooded by Egypt at Israel’s request. His office later said the remarks were misinterpreted.Hamas officials have pledged to continue building tunnels under the Israeli border, despite the recent collapses, and boasted that some tunnels already extend into Israel.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
IDF steps up West Bank arrests with 33 detained overnight-Palestinian youths reportedly injured in clashes with soldiers; army says 7 Hamas operatives detained-By Raoul Wootliff February 25, 2016, 12:45 pm-the times of israel
IDF troops arrested dozens of Palestinian suspects during raids across the West Bank overnight Wednesday in one of the largest hauls since the beginning of the current wave of terror attacks, the army said Thursday morning.A total of 33 Palestinians were arrested, including seven men described as Hamas members. Twenty-two of those detained are suspected of direct involvement in recent attacks on civilians and security forces, the IDF said.The suspects were transferred to the Shin Bet security agency for interrogation.Twenty-nine Israelis and three non-Israelis have been killed in a wave of Palestinian terrorism and violence since October. About 170 Palestinians have also been killed, some two-thirds of them while attacking Israelis, and the rest during clashes with troops, according to the Israeli army.While the IDF carries out operations most nights, arresting handfuls of suspects in each operation, Wednesday’s raids represent a significant increase in the number of people detained.During the raids, several Palestinian youths clashed with soldiers in the West Bank town of Ramallah, according to Palestinian news site Wafa. Two youths were reportedly injured lightly to moderately by shrapnel from shots fired in their direction.In a separate operation, combat engineers entered the West Bank village of Qabatiyah to map out the home of Balal Abu Zid, accused of helping three others carry out a deadly attack outside Jerusalem’s Old City earlier this month. The mapping procedure is conducted ahead of home demolitions.The three attackers, Ahmed Abou Al-Roub, Mohammed Kameel and Ahmad Rajeh Ismail Zakarneh, also from Qabatiya shot and stabbed a group of border police, killing 19-year-old Hadar Cohen. A second policewoman was seriously injured in the attack.Qabatiya, near Jenin, is one of a handful of Palestinian population centers from which several terrorists have emerged in the current round of violence, a list that includes the village of Samua near Hebron, and the Shuafat and Qalandiya refugee camps around Jerusalem.The practice of demolishing the family homes of terrorists has been criticized by non-governmental groups, but government officials have defended its use as a deterrent against attacks. Critics claim that in addition to being a form of collective punishment, house demolitions could motivate family members of terrorists to launch attacks themselves.On Tuesday night the IDF arrested 19 suspects in raids across the West Bank and seized weapons stockpiles including M16 rifles, handguns, hand grenades and combat gear presumed to be held in preparation for terrorist attacks in two caches in Nablus and near Jenin.
Hamas ‘does not want a new war with Israel,’ Gaza leader says-Mahmoud al-Zahar calls attack tunnels ‘defensive,’ no match for Israeli military; blames Fatah for lack of progress on unity talks-By Times of Israel staff February 25, 2016, 7:17 pm
Hamas does not want a new war with Israel and the tunnels it is digging into the Jewish state’s territory and Egypt are purely “defensive,” a senior figure in the Palestinian terror group told foreign journalists in Gaza on Thursday.But Mahmoud al-Zahar, a hardliner who co-founded Hamas and belongs to the organization’s leadership in Gaza, also reiterated the movement’s long-standing refusal to ever recognize Israel, as Mahmoud Abbas’ rival Fatah movement had done, Reuters said.“We are not looking for any confrontation with Israel, but if they are going to launch an aggression, we have to defend ourselves,” the 71-year-old Zahar said.On the subject of Hamas’s tunnel-building program, he said: “You are speaking about tunnels? You are not speaking about F-35 (fighter planes)? You are not speaking about the nuclear bomb in Israel… The tunnels are a matter of self-defense.”Hamas’s media outlets have been publishing videos almost daily showing — essentially mocking — Israeli engineering equipment digging on the border in an effort to locate the tunnels.Earlier this month, Zahar boasted that “the tunnels reach deep into the territory occupied in 1948…They reach beyond Gaza.”Later, however, he toned down the rhetoric, saying the tunnels were defensive and for “the protection of our people in the face of any Israeli aggression.”During the 2014 Israel-Hamas war, Palestinian gunmen emerged from the tunnels on several occasions to ambush IDF soldiers, killing several.On Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told leaders of Israeli communities around the Gaza Strip that the army has been employing the latest technology and that a budget has been earmarked to put a stop to the threat of attack tunnels emanating from the coastal Palestinian territory.On the issue of attempts between Hamas and the ruling Fatah organization in the West Bank to reach reconciliation, Zahar suggested that the chances were slim, according to Reuters.He blamed Fatah for the lack of progress in talks with Hamas, last held in the Qatari capital Doha, the news agency reported.Zahar’s son, a member of the Hamas military wing, was killed by IDF fire in 2008.
Israel cooperation puts Palestinian forces in tough spot-PA police say they feel humiliated when IDF tells them to step aside; Israeli officials: We’d prefer it if they caught the fugitives we seek-By Mohammed Daraghmeh February 25, 2016, 5:58 pm-the times of israel-ap
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — It was nearly 2 a.m. when Amjad Sallaj heard a loud explosion outside his home. In a matter of seconds, Israeli troops burst into the building, ransacking apartments in a door-to-door search for wanted Palestinian fugitives.When the raid was over, the apartments had been trashed, furniture destroyed and Sallaj’s 30-year-old son, Ahmad, had been taken into custody.Palestinian Authority officials say that such raids, carried out in PA-controlled territory, have become a daily occurrence since a wave of violence erupted five months ago — undermining the public’s trust in their own security forces and jeopardizing one of the last areas of official contact between Israel and the Palestinians.“The Israeli forces enter our territory every night, since the beginning of the current uprising, and this has a significant impact on the morale of our forces and on the image of these forces in the eyes of the public,” said Adnan Dameri, the spokesman for the Palestinian security forces.“In every joint meeting, we tell the Israeli side that the daily incursions embarrass the Palestinian forces,” he added.Security cooperation between the Israeli military and Palestinian security forces began following interim peace accords reached in the 1990s that granted the Palestinians limited autonomy in 40 percent of the West Bank.Although those agreements gave Israel overall security control in the West Bank, it yielded significant day-to-day responsibilities to Palestinian forces in a joint effort to control Islamic militants and to prevent friction between Israeli troops and Palestinian civilians.The system broke down during the second Palestinian uprising in the early 2000s, but resumed once the fighting subsided and has continued to function for the better part of a decade.Today, at a time when peace efforts are at a standstill and tensions are high, security is one of the last areas of coordination, playing a critical role in preventing near-daily violence from spinning out of control.The security coordination has also benefited PA President Mahmoud Abbas. A clampdown by his forces and Israeli troops has kept the rival Hamas terror group, which controls Gaza, in check.But the Palestinians say Israel’s recent stepped-up activity is putting them in a difficult situation. With the coordination still in place, the public widely sees the forces — and Palestinian political leaders — as essentially helping perpetuate Israel’s half-century occupation of the West Bank. Israel captured the area, along with East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip — all claimed by the Palestinians for a future independent state — in the 1967 Six Day War.The cooperation also has hurt morale. Under procedures in place, Israeli forces inform the Palestinians they are going in, ordering them to retreat to their barracks until they complete their operation.“It’s very depressing to leave your position and our missions just because the occupation forces have an operation that you know is against your people,” said Saleh Naser, a police officer in Ramallah.Sallaj said that during Tuesday’s night-time raid on his home, which is located in Askar refugee camp near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, troops detonated the main entrance to the building, and then pried open the doors of the four apartment units where his sons and their families live.He described seeing hundreds of soldiers in the camp, including dozens throughout his building.Sallaj, 55, said the families were each confined to one room of their apartment as soldiers moved through, leaving behind a trail of destruction. When troops found photos of children holding plastic guns, he said they interrogated two of his grandsons, a 9-year-old and a 5-year-old, about the pictures. Sallaj said he does not know why his son was arrested. He said it is the first time he has been sent to jail.“This is the occupation,” he said. “We expect nothing but the destroying of our life and our properties.”In a statement, the military said it confiscated guns, ammunition and grenades during the raid on a number of locations in Nablus and arrested nine Palestinians. It said soldiers were attacked by a stone-throwing mob, and that it shot one man “in light of the continued assault.”The current wave of violence erupted last fall, with clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem quickly spreading across Israel and into the West Bank. Some 30 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian stabbings, shootings and car ramming attacks, while at least 166 Palestinians have been killed, 119 of them in the course of attacking Israelis, according to the Israeli army.IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner confirmed there has been “increased activity” by the army in the West Bank due to the rising violence. The breadth of operations is based on the “threat assessment,” he said.Lerner said Hamas has been trying to take advantage of the unrest, and that Israel has uncovered bomb labs and foiled planned suicide bombings, kidnappings and shootings of Israelis. He said the raids took place in “order to prevent those attacks before they put innocent lives at risk.”Amani Sarahneh, a spokeswoman for the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, said she monitors new raids daily.“Each day, I collect the names of the detainees arrested overnight. Usually, I have up to 30 people arrested every night in various places in the West Bank,” she said.Israeli officials say they are aware of the Palestinian concerns and keep them in mind as they set security policy, but ultimately they do whatever security conditions dictate.Alon Eviatar, a former high-ranking official with COGAT, the Israeli military body that oversees Palestinian civilian affairs, said the Palestinian complaints are not a “new phenomenon,” and Israeli officials are aware of this constraint.“As long as the Palestinian security apparatus can do the job, Israel wants to let them do it,” he said. “If they can do it, do it. Better for Israel.”
Florida legislature passes anti-BDS bill-Approved 112-2, measure is the ‘strongest anti-BDS legislation to date,’ says Israel advocacy group-By Eric Cortellessa February 25, 2016, 4:42 am-the times of israel
WASHINGTON — Florida’s Senate overwhelmingly passed a measure Wednesday aimed to deter corporate entities from participating in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel.The bill passed by a vote of 112-2, and now moves to the office of Florida Governor Rick Scott, who must decide whether to sign it into law.In the last year, several other states have taken up similar legislation, such as Illinois and South Carolina. Illinois has targeted BDS activities through investment — prohibiting state investment in entities that boycott Israel or Israeli companies. South Carolina has done the same through procurement — banning the state from contracting with entities that engage in Israel boycotts.The Florida bill is the strongest of any anti-BDS measure passed through a state legislature, according to Peggy Shapiro, the Midwest director of Israel advocacy group StandWithUs, who lobbied for the bill, because it targets BDS activities through banning both state investment and procurement in such entities.While the bill received near unanimous support in the Florida Senate, critics cited it as an attempt to suppress or limit speech rights for those critical of Israel.Shapiro countered that it would merely allow the state of Florida to exercise its discretion in choosing what kinds of companies it spends taxpayer money on.“If one group of people write a textbook and another group writes a textbook, they are both able to express their speech and write the book,” she told The Times of Israel. “But the state of Florida can buy the book from whoever it wants.”
Signing law to defend Israel from boycott, Obama excludes settlements-US trade legislation features anti-BDS provision that relates to settlements, but president says this ‘conflation’ of Israel and the territories runs contrary to ‘longstanding bipartisan US policy’-By JTA and Eric Cortellessa February 25, 2016, 2:03 pm-the times of israel
WASHINGTON — US President Barack Obama signed a bill on Wednesday that punishes the international boycott campaign against Israel, but said he will not apply a segment that extends protections to West Bank settlements.The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, aimed at removing unfair barriers to competitive US trade, passed the US House of Representatives in December and the Senate on February 11.A lengthy section of the law on promoting US-Israel trade requires non-cooperation with entities that participate in the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, and reporting on such entities. The section includes within its definition of an Israel boycott actions that would target businesses in “Israeli-controlled territories.”“I have directed my administration to strongly oppose boycotts, divestment campaigns, and sanctions targeting the State of Israel,” Obama said in a signing statement. “As long as I am president, we will continue to do so. Certain provisions of this act, by conflating Israel and ‘Israeli-controlled territories,’ are contrary to longstanding bipartisan United States policy, including with regard to the treatment of settlements.”Obama further said in the statement that “consistent with longstanding constitutional practice” the administration would negotiate with other countries under the law “in a manner that does not interfere with my constitutional authority to conduct diplomacy,” language used in signing statements to signal that a president will not apply a part of a law that does not comport with US foreign policy.The BDS portion of the law, backed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, was authored by Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Ill. and Rep. Juan Vargas, D-Calif.There are multiple bills under consideration in Congress and in over 20 state legislatures targeting BDS. Many of the state bills mandate the divestment of state funds, including pensions, from entities that boycott Israel and a number of those bills extend protection to the settlements. Illinois and South Carolina have passed into law in recent months anti-BDS bills that include protection for settlements.The Florida legislature this week passed a law that includes settlement protections, and it awaits signing by Governor Rick Scott. A similar bill was introduced this week in the Ohio legislature.When the White House announced two weeks ago that Obama would sign the bill, AIPAC hailed the move: “The provision puts the US firmly on record opposing BDS and supporting enhanced commercial ties between the United States and Israel,” it said. “This measure builds on the important work of Congress … passing into law firm anti-BDS negotiating objectives for American trade negotiators.”Within 180 days after Wednesday’s signing, the US administration will be required to report to the Congress on global BDS activities, including the participation of foreign companies in political boycotts of the Jewish State. The law also includes a number of legal protections for American companies that operate in Israel.While the Obama administration has long expressed adamant opposition to BDS tactics targeting Israel, there are several references in the legislation to “Israeli-controlled territories” or “any territory controlled by Israel” as being included in the terms of the bill.The conflation of Israel proper with contested territory runs counter to longstanding US policy that Israeli settlement activity is an obstacle to achieving a two-state solution, an administration official told The Times of Israel earlier this month. For that reason, the US government abstains from pursuing policies that it sees as conflicting with that objective.The official stated that the White House seeks to strengthen its economic ties with Israel while at the same time maintaining the policies it considers integral to preserving and advancing the prospect of a two-state accommodation with Palestinians.Since 1967, the US government has opposed Israeli settlements and activity associated with them, the official said, also insisting that since the US-Israel Free Trade Agreement was first signed, in 1985, such a balancing act has been a priority of all US administrations, Democrat and Republican alike.Notwithstanding Obama’s reservations about some of the bill’s language, his signing it is likely to please Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as the BDS provision explicitly instructs US trade representatives to discourage European Union member countries from engaging in Israel boycott efforts.
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