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
Israel tells its citizens to get out of Turkey now-Severe new travel warning issued following Istanbul terror attack and Turkish intel on Islamic State plots to target Jews-By Times of Israel staff March 28, 2016, 12:31 pm
The Counter-Terrorism Bureau at the Prime Minister’s Office on Monday issued a travel warning calling on the public to avoid visiting Turkey and urging Israelis currently there to leave as soon as they can.The warning, which raised the terror risk in Turkey from level 3 (basic concrete threat) to level 2 (high concrete threat), came in the wake of a terror attack in central Istanbul on March 19, in which three Israelis were killed and several others wounded.That attack, the PMO said in a statement, underscored the threat emanating from Islamic State cells that seek to attack tourism sites and proved that IS has “high capabilities of carrying out further attacks.”“Terrorist infrastructures in Turkey continue to advance additional attacks against tourist targets – including Israeli tourists – throughout the country,” the statement added.Israelis in Turkey should “leave as soon as possible,” it said.On Saturday, Turkish police warned of possible Islamic State attacks against Christians and Jews.IS has been blamed for four of six bombings that have rocked Turkey in the past eight months, including a double suicide attack at a peace rally in the capital, Ankara, in October that left 103 people dead.A radical offshoot of the rebel Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) claimed the other two attacks.The police have warned that IS group members may have scouted out places of worship as well as consulates and embassies, saying that churches and synagogues especially in Ankara, as well as foundations belonging to non-Muslims, should be on their guard.Israel has not stated definitively whether last Saturday’s blast had deliberately targeted Israelis. It has praised Turkey for its handling of the aftermath of the bombing.The Israeli victims of the attack were Yonathan Suher, 40, Simha Dimri, 59, and Avraham Goldman, 69. Suher and Goldman were also United States citizens.AFP contributed to this report.
Israel, Turkey mum on reported threat to Jewish schools-Hours after Israel told its citizens to get out of Turkey, Jerusalem and Ankara go silent on possible Islamic State plan to target synagogues, educational institutions-By AFP and Times of Israel staff March 29, 2016, 2:53 pm
Israeli and Turkish officials refused to comment Tuesday on a report by Britain’s Sky News that the Islamic State group planned to attack Jewish schoolchildren in Turkey.The report came hours after Jerusalem issued an alert urging all Israeli citizens to leave Turkey as soon as possible, citing an Islamic State threat, and nine days after three Israelis were killed in a bombing in Istanbul.According to Sky News, citing an “intelligence source,” terrorists are plotting to attack a synagogue which also doubles as a school and community center in the Beyoglu neighborhood of Istanbul.The source said the threat was imminent and could happen at any moment-“The most likely target of an attack is Istanbul’s synagogue in Beyoglu, which also has a community center and a school attached to it,” Sky reported.Asked by AFP to comment, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office and Israel and Turkey’s foreign ministries refused.Three Israelis were among four people killed in a March 19 suicide bombing in Istanbul. The fourth was Iranian.Israeli officials followed up that warning Monday by raising the terror risk in Turkey from level 3 (basic concrete threat) to level 2 (high concrete threat).The Prime Minister’s Office cited the March 19 attack, which, it said in a statement, underscored the threat emanating from Islamic State cells that seek to attack tourism sites and proved that IS has “high capabilities of carrying out further attacks.”The Turkish government said the bomber had links to IS.The group has been blamed for four bombings that have rocked Turkey in the past eight months, including a massacre at a peace rally in the capital Ankara in October that claimed 103 lives.Sky reported on its website that unidentified “intelligence officials” said that a fresh attack was imminent, based on information from six IS operatives arrested in southern Turkey.
13 injured as Palestinian police clash with gunmen in Nablus-Firefight erupts between PA security forces and armed Fatah militants as cops attempt to arrest a murder suspect-By Daniel Douek March 29, 2016, 5:55 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Armed clashes broke out Tuesday between Palestinian security forces and local youths in the West Bank city of Nablus, leaving seven youths and six security officials injured, the Ma’an news agency reported.The firefight, which took place in Nablus’s old city, ensued after PA security forces attempted to arrest a local man accused of murder, Nablus’s governor, Akram Rujoub, told Ma’an.A local man named Hani Halaweh, a leader in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, Fatah’s military wing, was identified as the murder suspect by Rujoub. Halaweh is believed to have been involved in the killing of a man named Ashraf al-Beia two months ago, the report said.Halaweh spoke out against the PA immediately after the clashes.“What happened today was a raid on houses of martyrs, prisoners, and resistance fighters in the old city, which we will not allow,” he said.“We look to the Palestinian Authority as a Palestinian national project that must be protected and defended, but there are people in the PA who still chase resistance fighters when they should be chasing spies and drug dealers,” he added.Since October 2015, when the recent round of violence erupted between Palestinians and Israelis, Palestinians have often expressed dissatisfaction with their leadership.A recent example of unrest was last month, when the PA used its security resources to violently quell a large-scale teachers’ strike throughout the West Bank.
Israeli chief rabbi retracts comments scorning non-Jews-Yitzhak Yosef says remarks about gentiles being unfit to live in Israel were only ‘theoretical’-By JTA March 29, 2016, 6:48 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef walked back his statement that non-Jews should not live in Israel, calling the comment “theoretical.”In a letter, he also retracted a statement made earlier this month that it is obligatory to kill terrorists.Yosef made the statement about non-Jews on March 26 during his weekly Saturday night lecture.He said non-Jews could live in Israel only if they observe the seven Noahide Laws, which include prohibitions against idolatry, blaspheming God, murder, forbidden sexual relations, stealing and eating limbs off a live animal, and which prescribe the establishment of a legal system. Non-Jews, Yosef said, are in Israel only to serve Jews.“According to Jewish law, gentiles should not live in the Land of Israel,” Yosef said. “If a gentile does not agree to take on the seven Noahide Laws, we should send him to Saudi Arabia. When the true and complete redemption arrives, that is what we will do.”Following a public backlash, Yosef on Tuesday clarified his comments in a statement, writing that his lecture referred to a future messianic era, not the present day. He wrote that he has “always adopted a peaceful and embracing path.”“These laws are theoretical, refer to fulfilling the seven Noahide Laws in the days of the messiah, and have no connection to the present day,” the statement read. “It’s clear that there’s no law in our time, God forbid, to expel non-Jews from Israel.”Earlier this month Yosef, the son of the late chief rabbi of Israel Ovadia Yosef, asserted during his weekly lecture that it was a mitzvah to kill a terrorist. He also asserted in the same March 12 lecture that the threat of being killed by an attacker’s would-be victim would deter such attacks.Yosef’s statement on Tuesday claimed that “contrary to reports, he was one of the few who declared that neutralized terrorists shouldn’t be killed, and should be turned over to the authorities.”
Designated NY consul-general calls J Street ‘un-Jewish’-Shortly before his posting was announced, Dani Dayan attacked dovish pro-Israel lobby; now says comment was ‘somewhat undiplomatic’-By Raphael Ahren March 29, 2016, 5:46 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Dani Dayan, Israel’s just-designated consul-general to New York, last week called the dovish pro-Israel lobby J Street “un-Jewish” over its ostensible support for US politicians critical of Israeli policies.“I prefer the attitude of AIPAC to that of J Street that endorses all the anti-Israel candidates — the more anti-Israel you are the more you are endorsed by J Street. That’s un-Jewish,” he said during a television interview conducted Thursday and aired Saturday.Dayan, a former settler leader, had made comments critical of J Street in the past. The animosity was mutual: J Street has repeatedly voiced concerns over Israel’s intention to appoint him to diplomatic positions abroad due to his vocal opposition to a two-state solution.Responding to a Times of Israel query about his remarks, Dayan stressed that he is “one of the very few Israeli right-wing figures that never boycotted J Street.” On the contrary, he said, “I always made a point of maintaining an open dialogue with its leaders and missions. I am often criticized by my colleagues for that but I am proud of doing it.”The group’s head, Jeremy Ben Ami, would agree with that assessment, Dayan said. “We had our share of strong arguments but that did not prevent us from keep our dialogue alive.”Dayan, however, did express “harsh personal criticism of most of their policies, including their endorsements of Senate and House candidates,” he told The Times of Israel. “I believe that endorsing candidates that advocate leniency toward Hamas or routinely accuse Israel and only Israel of alleged intransigence is neither pro-Israel nor pro-peace. That endorsement policy indeed puzzles me.”His comment about J Street being “un-Jewish” was made as a private person, he added, though he admitted it was “somewhat undiplomatic.”At the time the interview was conducted by Tal Shalev for Israel’s i24news television channel, Dayan was Israel’s designated ambassador to Brazil, though it was apparent that the government in Brasilia was unwilling to confirm his nomination due to his past as leader of Israel’s settlement movement.On Monday morning, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Dayan had been appointed to succeed Ido Aharoni as consul-general in New York.In a series of tweets shortly after the announcement, Dayan pledged to work with all segments of American society and the local Jewish community. He promised to engage in an “inclusive dialogue” with everyone and promised to make “no exclusions.” I intend to reach out to Orthodox & Reforms, Liberals & Conservatives, Republicans & Democrats.— Dani Dayan (@dandayan) March 28, 2016- As CG of @IsraelinNewYork I will maintain an open & inclusive dialogue w/all parts of the general society & Jewish community. No exclusions-— Dani Dayan (@dandayan) March 28, 2016-J Street, in a press release published Monday, expressed “deep concern” over Dayan’s appointment as Israel’s consul general in the city home to the world’s largest Jewish community outside Israel.“Though the prime minister of Israel continues to express his concern that Israel not become a binational state, he is sending as his envoy to New York a man who served for years as chairman of the settlers’ council and who revels in predicting the demise of the two-state solution,” the group stated.Dayan’s posting “will serve to inflame opponents of Israel’s policies rather than signal a desire to heal the growing divisions between the world’s two largest Jewish communities,” the statement added.“To Dayan’s credit,” it goes on, “we note that he has shown himself willing to engage in dialogue and debate with those he disagrees with, including J Street. This trait is vital for a diplomat, and we welcome the opportunity to meet and engage with Dayan, even as we strongly disagree with many of his positions and beliefs.”
Hamas military wing’s Twitter account shut down-Palestinian terror group blames pressure from ‘Zionist groups’-By Dov Lieber March 29, 2016, 5:27 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
The Twitter account of Hamas’s military wing was shut down without warning Monday night, according to a statement from the Gaza-based terror group.The manager of the account said in a statement posted to the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades’ website that “Twitter closed the page following pressure by Zionist groups.”At the time of its closing, according to the account’s manager, the account had over 140,000 followers and reached 5 million tweet impressions in recent months.Twitter also shut down the English-language Twitter account of the Qassam Brigades earlier in March, according to the group’s statement.It wasn’t the first time that Twitter accounts associated with Hamas’s military wing have been shut down by the social media site.During the 45-day war between Hamas and Israel in the summer of 2014, Twitter shut down all of the group’s official accounts. However, almost immediately, the Qassam Brigades began operating new accounts.Rather than open a new account this time, Qassam Brigades spokesman Abu Obeida urged the 194,308 followers of his own account on Tuesday to follow a separate Twitter handle operated by the terror group that has been less active in recent months.The terror group’s Twitter handle was used to publish internal news about the organization, such as when its members died in training accidents, and also to call for and praise attacks against Israeli civilians.Twitter has been making efforts over the last two years to prevent terrorist organizations from spreading their messages through the service. The social media giant, however, has come under fire for its inability to prevent the terror groups, among them the Islamic State, from simply opening new accounts.
Kuwait to deport 60 Lebanese for alleged Hezbollah links-EU reportedly looking into blacklisting Shiite group as Gulf states press sanctions-By AFP March 29, 2016, 1:49 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Kuwait is to deport 60 Lebanese for alleged links to Hezbollah in the latest Gulf Arab move against the Shiite militant group, a newspaper reported on Monday.Those to be deported all had permanent residency, which has been revoked, the Al-Qabas daily said.Those classified as “dangerous cases” were given just two days to leave the country, it added.It is the second wave of deportations from Kuwait reported since Gulf Arab states blacklisted Hezbollah as a “terrorist” group earlier this month.Last week, Al-Qabas reported that 11 Lebanese and three Iraqis had been deported for alleged links to the group.Around 50,000 Lebanese live and work in the oil-rich emirate, providing remittances that are vital to the domestic economy.The terror blacklisting was the latest step taken by Gulf states, led by Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia, against Hezbollah, the leading force in Lebanon’s governing bloc which is backed by Riyadh’s Shiite rival Tehran.Last month, Saudi Arabia halted a $3 billion program of military aid to Lebanon to protest what it said was “the stranglehold of Hezbollah on the state.”It also urged its citizens to leave Lebanon and avoid travelling there.Qatar and Kuwait followed with similar travel advisories, while the United Arab Emirates banned its nationals from travel to Lebanon.Hezbollah is fighting in support of the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad against Gulf-backed rebel fighters and extremist militants.Earlier this month, the Arab League voted to blacklist Hezbollah as a terror group as well.However, former Egyptian minister Sameh Shoukry said the move was likely symbolic and wasn’t expected to lead to any changes on the ground.Condemnation of Hezbollah has been mostly limited to Sunni Gulf states, but a report in another Kuwaiti daily Tuesday indicated that the EU is also seeking to blacklist Hezbollah, after putting its military wing on the terror blacklist in 2013.The move, reported by Kuwaiti daily al-Seyassah, will allow the EU to further implement sanctions against the Lebanese movement, such as freezing assets connected to it in Europe.Israel has been pushing for the EU to blacklist Hezbollah since a 2012 bombing in Bulgaria against Israeli citizens blamed on the group.There was no official confirmation of the report.The latest moves against Hezbollah by the Arab league and the Gulf nations reflect an emerging solidarity of opinion between the US, Israel and the Sunni Arab world.The Saudi decision to cut aid to Lebanon is expected to pile further difficulties on the already hard-pressed Lebanese economy.Other Gulf states have also taken measures against alleged Hezbollah supporters since the terror blacklisting.Bahrain said it had deported several Lebanese residents for alleged links to the group.Saudi security forces arrested a Shiite preacher accused of glorifying the group, the kingdom’s Al-Watan newspaper reported last week.And the United Arab Emirates has reportedly put seven people on trial for allegedly forming a cell linked to Hezbollah.Daniel Douek contributed to this report.
IS said to aim cyber ‘second strike’ against terror targets-Terrorists who strike European countries often follow attacks with mass hacking, according to Israeli cyber-security firm-By David Shamah March 27, 2016, 6:35 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Terror attacks are often followed, in an extra strike of cruelty, by major cyber-attacks on the targeted country, according to data gathered by Israeli cyber-security firm Cytegic.Such second strike attacks then provoke a response by anti-terror cyber-activists, with the result that a country could find its networks paralyzed for days because of the huge strain, just when communication is especially vital.Cytegic researchers have been observing this pattern for months, and the best example to date is the activity in the wake of the terror attacks in Paris last November – activity that has repeated itself in the days since the Brussels attack last week.According to this pattern, cyber-attacks peak about four days after the actual terror attack, and the attacks encompass major sectors of the economy, especially government, media, and the financial sector.The attacks have a clear political character, based on the messages left behind on defaced websites and the email messages sent out as part of the phishing attacks by hackers. Those messages include links to articles and stories connected to the terror attack, and when users click on them, they download malware that corrupts their computers and the networks they connect to.Based on the intelligence they have gathered, Cytegic experts have connected these cyber-operations to the Islamic State terror group and other Islamist groups that have take responsibility for terror attacks.“The most used attack methods are denial-of-service, defacements, email social engineering and malware injections,” said the Cytegic report. “The most targeted industries in the attacked country are government, media, banking and finance, critical infrastructure, military and defense.”Meanwhile, cyber-defenders in a targeted country – such as self-declared members of hacker group Anonymous – fight back, striking back at servers and websites affiliated with IS and other Islamist terror groups.“After the Paris attacks, the cyber-war included two sides – French government forces, Anonymous and its affiliated on one side, and pro-ISIS hacktivists and sensationalists on the other,” said Cytegic, using an alternate acronym for Islamic State.Less than a week after the Brussels attacks, “we have already been able to see political activists starting to ‘rally the troops’ and organize for an anti-ISIS campaign. This usually includes attacks on ISIS supporting websites and social-media accounts – mostly denial-of-service attacks, defacements, website redirections and taking down Twitter accounts,” the same tactics used by IS, the report said.But the medicine could be just as damaging as the disease; as pro- and anti-terror groups fight it out, they use up network resources. That causes the targeted country’s Internet traffic to falter, giving the terrorists a second victory with their ability to slow down business, government, and daily life revolving around the Internet.Cytegic figured all this out using its big data analysis system, which can quickly analyze Internet trends: who is threatening whom, which kinds of attacks are in vogue, what’s in the news that would prompt a cyber-attack, and much more, according to CEO Shay Zandani.“For example, we determine how much a term, like ‘nuclear Iran,’ is being used on the Internet and the ‘undernet,’ where hackers hang out, and if our client has something to do with nuclear power, criticism of Iran, or some other related matter, we would send them an alert that they need to be on guard against an attack. Our Dynamic Trend Analysis (DyTA) system collects data from over 1,000 sources and checks 20,000 terms and concepts, analyzing them and determining what the threat level is for relevant clients.”IS did not invent the idea of trying to bring down a country’s Internet after a terror attack or other act of aggression, said the Cytegic report. That honor apparently belongs to Russia.“It is important to mention the recent cyber-attacks on Ukrainian critical infrastructure and transportation targets, including Kiev’s international airport, a local railway company and an energy company, supposedly done by Russian government-backed hackers,” the report said.Those attacks occurred in January, and were traced back to a server in Russia, according to Ukrainian investigators who believe that they were part of Russia’s ongoing attacks against Ukraine in light of the latter’s opposition to Russia’s entry into Crimea in 2014 and the subsequent economic sanctions by the West against Russia.Expect more attempts by terror groups to disable the economy of a targeted country.“Cyber terrorists are constantly looking to place ‘doomsday buttons,’ in critical infrastructure targets, and are more likely to continue doing so as the war against ISIS continues and grows.”In any event, said Cytegic, “high-profile organizations in Belgium and Western Europe, mainly in the government, media, banking and defense sectors, should be on high alert for cyber-attacks in the coming weeks and take preemptive measures to prevent mostly DDOS, social-engineering and malware attacks on their websites, networks and employees.”
Israeli entrepreneurs tire of Chinese ‘tourist investors,’ says expert-Vadi Ventures think it can help bridge the gap between nervous Sino businesspeople and sabra tech companies-By David Shamah March 29, 2016, 6:55 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
In any given week, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of Chinese entrepreneurs, investors, and government officials in Israel, touring companies, attending tech and medical events, and examining potential business deals with start-ups.But for most, that’s where it ends, according to Liu Yiu Edwards, CEO of Vadi Ventures, who believes that there is a significant “trust gap” between Israelis and Chinese showing up most prominently in the business activity between the two countries.Israeli start-ups, he said, are “getting a little tired of all these supposed Chinese investors traipsing through their offices. The visitors come, look, ask questions, and take pictures – and then they leave, without investing anything.”In fact, said Edwards, many of the Chinese “investor trips” to Israel these days are organized not by venture capital funds or other investment-oriented organizations, but by travel agents.“Organizing ‘start-up nation’ tours is a big business in China these days,” said Edwards. “But there are no criteria for who goes on these trips other than how much they can pay for it. They are certainly not investor-only events.”The reluctance of Chinese investors to take their commitment to the next level is due to several factors, such as a lack of understanding of how Israel works, and fear that they are not getting an accurate picture of the industry or the prospects of a technology’s success, said Edwards.“We aim to change that with Vadi, a new firm that we developed dedicated to gathering data about Israeli companies for Chinese investors, and giving them the information they want and need in order to invest – such as the funding, the background of the team, the state of the industry they are working in, etc.,” said Edwards.Edwards’ account of the growing lack of enthusiasm for Chinese visitors was confirmed by several entrepreneurs who expressed their opinion on the matter.“We are always polite when they come by, and we usually book the visit when we are asked to,” said the chief marketing officer of a Tel Aviv start-up who asked to remain anonymous in order not to alienate potential Chinese partners. “You never know if there are going to be authentic investors in a group, and even if there aren’t, it doesn’t hurt to have your name known among the Chinese, because someone who visited us might tell a friend who knows a real investor. But we have come to the point where we aren’t expecting too much when these groups come by.”As a result, Israeli entrepreneurs are less enthusiastic about receiving Chinese visitors than they were two or three years ago; investment money they were led to believe would materialize just hasn’t – and it’s doubtful that the signing of the free trade agreement between the two countries will change things substantially, at least when it comes to start-up investments. “There are issues on both sides, but mostly on the Chinese side – which doesn’t feel comfortable with investing outside the country,” said Edwards.Israeli entrepreneurs tend to suspect China of being a difficult environment to work in – especially when it comes to their intellectual property. Despite the best efforts of the Chinese government, the country is seen by Israelis and many other Westerners as a death trap for IP, a place where ideas and technology are likely to be ripped off inside a broader system they suspect tacitly approves of IP theft in order to build up China’s tech capability.But the Chinese have their concerns, too, said Edwards.“Chinese investors of course don’t know Hebrew, and they don’t know how to find start-ups, so they rely on ‘handlers,’ both Israeli and Chinese, to point them in the right direction,” said Edwards. “But there have been several instances in which investors got burned when a company that was portrayed as having good prospects turned out to be a bad investment. The bottom line is that investors don’t know whom to trust, so they end up trusting no one.”With the database Vadi is developing, Edwards hopes to pull the veil off the mysterious world of Israeli start-ups.“You have to be above board and very clear and objective about companies and industries if you want Chinese investors to trust you,” he said. “Chinese in general are ‘holistic’ thinkers and want to see the whole picture – where a company came from and where it is going, and how it fits into an industry – before making their move. We believe that by supplying that kind of information, we will be able to attract many more investors, especially medium sized ones – the backbone of China’s market economy – to invest in Israel.”Many of those potential investors are “economic immigrants” – middle-aged and older people who as children were inculcated with the “purist” Communist principles of Mao, and then some 20 years ago set about building China into the world economic power it is today.“They know one thing – that they worked night and day to make their fortune, and they are not going to part with a nickel of it unless they understand where it is going and what their prospects for success is. The more we can allay the fears, the more we will be able to encourage Chinese investors to take the next step.”
Egypt plane drama ends with hijacker arrested, passengers freed-‘It’s over,’ tweets Cypriot Foreign Ministry after seven-hour standoff at Larnaca airport; officials say no explosives found-By AP and Times of Israel staff March 29, 2016, 4:54 pm
An Egyptian man who hijacked an EgyptAir plane during a routine domestic flight to Cairo and forced it to land on the island of Cyprus on Tuesday surrendered and was taken into custody after he released all the passengers and crew.His surrender ended an hours-long drama and standoff at the Larnaca airport in southern Cyprus. The hijacker had earlier freed most of the passengers but kept seven people — four crew members and three passengers — with him.Just minutes before the arrest, local TV footage from the airport showed several people disembarking from the aircraft and a man who appeared to be a crew member climbing out of the cockpit window and sliding down the side of the plane.Alexandros Zenon, the permanent Secretary of the Foreign Ministry in Cyprus, confirmed the hijacker’s surrender and subsequent arrest, saying the situation was “over.”Its over. The #hijacker arrested. #LarnacaAirport # Egyptair-— Cyprus MFA (@CyprusMFA) March 29, 2016-The arrest was also reported by Egypt’s prime minister, Sharif Ismail, and Civil Aviation Minister Sharif Fathi.“All passengers and crew are safe,” Fathi said on state television.The man’s motivation was unclear, but Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades said the hijacking was “not something that has to do with terrorism” and a Cyprus government official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, said the man “seems (to be) in love.”Anastasiades, appearing alongside European Parliament President Martin Schulz in Nicosia, was asked by reporters whether he could confirm that the incident was about a woman. “Always, there is a woman” involved, he replied, drawing laughter.A Cyprus police official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose details of the situation, said the hijacker walked off the plane and was taken into custody by special anti-terrorist police. The official said the man wore a belt but there were no explosives in it.A civil aviation official, also speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t allowed to talk to the media, said the man gave negotiators the name of a woman who lives in Cyprus and asked to give her an envelope. It was not clear if she was his former wife.The hijacker had also complained about the current Egyptian government and had demanded the release of female prisoners from Egyptian jails, he said.The flight MS181 took off from the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria on Tuesday morning en route to Cairo with at least 55 passengers, including 26 foreigners, and a seven-member crew.An official with flight-tracking website FlightRadar24 said the plane showed no immediate signs of distress. The flight between Alexandria and Cairo normally takes about 30 minutes.There was also confusion about the hijacker’s identity. At a news conference in Cairo, Egypt’s Civil Aviation minister, Sharif Fathi, refused to identify him.Earlier, Egyptian government spokesman Hossam al-Queish said the hijacker was Ibrahim Samaha, but an Egyptian woman who identified herself as Samaha’s wife said her husband was not the hijacker and was on his way to Cairo so he could fly to the US to attend a conference.The woman, who identified herself only as Nahla, told the Egyptian private TV network ONTV in a phone interview that her husband had never been to Cyprus and that a photo on Egyptian and regional TV channels that supposedly showed the hijacker was not him. Later, the official Middle East News Agency gave a different name for the hijacker.Egypt’s state news agency, MENA, later identified the hijacker as Seifedeen Mustafa. The name was confirmed by a senior Cypriot official.Al-Queish, the government spokesman, also told the private CBC TV network that authorities could not confirm that the hijacker had explosives on him. An earlier statement from the Egyptian Aviation Ministry said the man claimed he had a belt with explosives.The plane landed at the airport in the southern Cypriot city of Larnaca, also on the Mediterranean. A statement from the Egyptian Civil Aviation Ministry statement said the foreigners on board included eight Americans, four Britons, four Dutch, two Belgians, a French national, an Italian, two Greeks and one Syrian. Three other foreigners could not be identified.The initial batch of passengers released by the hijacker was seen calmly walking off the plane down a set of stairs, carrying hand luggage, and boarding a bus parked by the plane’s side. Security was tight at the airport, with police repeatedly pushing back reporters and TV news crews working just outside the facility’s fence, near where the aircraft stopped.Police also evacuated the nearby Makenzy beach, a stretch of coast close to the airport and popular with tourists. It was not immediately clear why.An Egyptian aircraft was expected to later fly to Larnaca so it could bring back the released passengers, according to officials.The incident raises more questions about security at Egyptian airports, five months after a Russian aircraft crashed over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula minutes after it took off from Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.All 224 people on board were killed in the crash. Russia later said an explosive device brought down the aircraft and the extremist Islamic State group took responsibility.US Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, appearing on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program Tuesday, said that a “very good question” is whether the man who hijacked the plane Tuesday was able to pass through airport security with a bomb-laden belt.The hijacking was reminiscent of a deadly 1978 incident that involved Egyptians, planes and Larnaca airport.The incident arose when two Palestinians assassinated an Egyptian government minister at his hotel in Nicosia. The assailants took hostages and drove to the airport, where they boarded a plane with them. They later returned to Cyprus, where they had an hours-long standoff until an Egyptian C-130 carrying commandos landed at Larnaca airport.The commandos attempted to storm the Cyprus Airways jet, but were fired upon by Cypriot troops. Many were killed. The Palestinians eventually surrendered. They were arrested, sentenced and released years later.The incident poisoned Egypt’s relations with Cyprus for years. Relations eventually improved, but it was Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, in office since June 2014, who has forged close ties with Cyprus.Sissi and Anastasiades frequently confer in person or on the phone. They spoke by phone Tuesday about the hijacking.
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
Israel tells its citizens to get out of Turkey now-Severe new travel warning issued following Istanbul terror attack and Turkish intel on Islamic State plots to target Jews-By Times of Israel staff March 28, 2016, 12:31 pm
The Counter-Terrorism Bureau at the Prime Minister’s Office on Monday issued a travel warning calling on the public to avoid visiting Turkey and urging Israelis currently there to leave as soon as they can.The warning, which raised the terror risk in Turkey from level 3 (basic concrete threat) to level 2 (high concrete threat), came in the wake of a terror attack in central Istanbul on March 19, in which three Israelis were killed and several others wounded.That attack, the PMO said in a statement, underscored the threat emanating from Islamic State cells that seek to attack tourism sites and proved that IS has “high capabilities of carrying out further attacks.”“Terrorist infrastructures in Turkey continue to advance additional attacks against tourist targets – including Israeli tourists – throughout the country,” the statement added.Israelis in Turkey should “leave as soon as possible,” it said.On Saturday, Turkish police warned of possible Islamic State attacks against Christians and Jews.IS has been blamed for four of six bombings that have rocked Turkey in the past eight months, including a double suicide attack at a peace rally in the capital, Ankara, in October that left 103 people dead.A radical offshoot of the rebel Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) claimed the other two attacks.The police have warned that IS group members may have scouted out places of worship as well as consulates and embassies, saying that churches and synagogues especially in Ankara, as well as foundations belonging to non-Muslims, should be on their guard.Israel has not stated definitively whether last Saturday’s blast had deliberately targeted Israelis. It has praised Turkey for its handling of the aftermath of the bombing.The Israeli victims of the attack were Yonathan Suher, 40, Simha Dimri, 59, and Avraham Goldman, 69. Suher and Goldman were also United States citizens.AFP contributed to this report.
Israel, Turkey mum on reported threat to Jewish schools-Hours after Israel told its citizens to get out of Turkey, Jerusalem and Ankara go silent on possible Islamic State plan to target synagogues, educational institutions-By AFP and Times of Israel staff March 29, 2016, 2:53 pm
Israeli and Turkish officials refused to comment Tuesday on a report by Britain’s Sky News that the Islamic State group planned to attack Jewish schoolchildren in Turkey.The report came hours after Jerusalem issued an alert urging all Israeli citizens to leave Turkey as soon as possible, citing an Islamic State threat, and nine days after three Israelis were killed in a bombing in Istanbul.According to Sky News, citing an “intelligence source,” terrorists are plotting to attack a synagogue which also doubles as a school and community center in the Beyoglu neighborhood of Istanbul.The source said the threat was imminent and could happen at any moment-“The most likely target of an attack is Istanbul’s synagogue in Beyoglu, which also has a community center and a school attached to it,” Sky reported.Asked by AFP to comment, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office and Israel and Turkey’s foreign ministries refused.Three Israelis were among four people killed in a March 19 suicide bombing in Istanbul. The fourth was Iranian.Israeli officials followed up that warning Monday by raising the terror risk in Turkey from level 3 (basic concrete threat) to level 2 (high concrete threat).The Prime Minister’s Office cited the March 19 attack, which, it said in a statement, underscored the threat emanating from Islamic State cells that seek to attack tourism sites and proved that IS has “high capabilities of carrying out further attacks.”The Turkish government said the bomber had links to IS.The group has been blamed for four bombings that have rocked Turkey in the past eight months, including a massacre at a peace rally in the capital Ankara in October that claimed 103 lives.Sky reported on its website that unidentified “intelligence officials” said that a fresh attack was imminent, based on information from six IS operatives arrested in southern Turkey.
13 injured as Palestinian police clash with gunmen in Nablus-Firefight erupts between PA security forces and armed Fatah militants as cops attempt to arrest a murder suspect-By Daniel Douek March 29, 2016, 5:55 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Armed clashes broke out Tuesday between Palestinian security forces and local youths in the West Bank city of Nablus, leaving seven youths and six security officials injured, the Ma’an news agency reported.The firefight, which took place in Nablus’s old city, ensued after PA security forces attempted to arrest a local man accused of murder, Nablus’s governor, Akram Rujoub, told Ma’an.A local man named Hani Halaweh, a leader in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, Fatah’s military wing, was identified as the murder suspect by Rujoub. Halaweh is believed to have been involved in the killing of a man named Ashraf al-Beia two months ago, the report said.Halaweh spoke out against the PA immediately after the clashes.“What happened today was a raid on houses of martyrs, prisoners, and resistance fighters in the old city, which we will not allow,” he said.“We look to the Palestinian Authority as a Palestinian national project that must be protected and defended, but there are people in the PA who still chase resistance fighters when they should be chasing spies and drug dealers,” he added.Since October 2015, when the recent round of violence erupted between Palestinians and Israelis, Palestinians have often expressed dissatisfaction with their leadership.A recent example of unrest was last month, when the PA used its security resources to violently quell a large-scale teachers’ strike throughout the West Bank.
Israeli chief rabbi retracts comments scorning non-Jews-Yitzhak Yosef says remarks about gentiles being unfit to live in Israel were only ‘theoretical’-By JTA March 29, 2016, 6:48 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef walked back his statement that non-Jews should not live in Israel, calling the comment “theoretical.”In a letter, he also retracted a statement made earlier this month that it is obligatory to kill terrorists.Yosef made the statement about non-Jews on March 26 during his weekly Saturday night lecture.He said non-Jews could live in Israel only if they observe the seven Noahide Laws, which include prohibitions against idolatry, blaspheming God, murder, forbidden sexual relations, stealing and eating limbs off a live animal, and which prescribe the establishment of a legal system. Non-Jews, Yosef said, are in Israel only to serve Jews.“According to Jewish law, gentiles should not live in the Land of Israel,” Yosef said. “If a gentile does not agree to take on the seven Noahide Laws, we should send him to Saudi Arabia. When the true and complete redemption arrives, that is what we will do.”Following a public backlash, Yosef on Tuesday clarified his comments in a statement, writing that his lecture referred to a future messianic era, not the present day. He wrote that he has “always adopted a peaceful and embracing path.”“These laws are theoretical, refer to fulfilling the seven Noahide Laws in the days of the messiah, and have no connection to the present day,” the statement read. “It’s clear that there’s no law in our time, God forbid, to expel non-Jews from Israel.”Earlier this month Yosef, the son of the late chief rabbi of Israel Ovadia Yosef, asserted during his weekly lecture that it was a mitzvah to kill a terrorist. He also asserted in the same March 12 lecture that the threat of being killed by an attacker’s would-be victim would deter such attacks.Yosef’s statement on Tuesday claimed that “contrary to reports, he was one of the few who declared that neutralized terrorists shouldn’t be killed, and should be turned over to the authorities.”
Designated NY consul-general calls J Street ‘un-Jewish’-Shortly before his posting was announced, Dani Dayan attacked dovish pro-Israel lobby; now says comment was ‘somewhat undiplomatic’-By Raphael Ahren March 29, 2016, 5:46 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Dani Dayan, Israel’s just-designated consul-general to New York, last week called the dovish pro-Israel lobby J Street “un-Jewish” over its ostensible support for US politicians critical of Israeli policies.“I prefer the attitude of AIPAC to that of J Street that endorses all the anti-Israel candidates — the more anti-Israel you are the more you are endorsed by J Street. That’s un-Jewish,” he said during a television interview conducted Thursday and aired Saturday.Dayan, a former settler leader, had made comments critical of J Street in the past. The animosity was mutual: J Street has repeatedly voiced concerns over Israel’s intention to appoint him to diplomatic positions abroad due to his vocal opposition to a two-state solution.Responding to a Times of Israel query about his remarks, Dayan stressed that he is “one of the very few Israeli right-wing figures that never boycotted J Street.” On the contrary, he said, “I always made a point of maintaining an open dialogue with its leaders and missions. I am often criticized by my colleagues for that but I am proud of doing it.”The group’s head, Jeremy Ben Ami, would agree with that assessment, Dayan said. “We had our share of strong arguments but that did not prevent us from keep our dialogue alive.”Dayan, however, did express “harsh personal criticism of most of their policies, including their endorsements of Senate and House candidates,” he told The Times of Israel. “I believe that endorsing candidates that advocate leniency toward Hamas or routinely accuse Israel and only Israel of alleged intransigence is neither pro-Israel nor pro-peace. That endorsement policy indeed puzzles me.”His comment about J Street being “un-Jewish” was made as a private person, he added, though he admitted it was “somewhat undiplomatic.”At the time the interview was conducted by Tal Shalev for Israel’s i24news television channel, Dayan was Israel’s designated ambassador to Brazil, though it was apparent that the government in Brasilia was unwilling to confirm his nomination due to his past as leader of Israel’s settlement movement.On Monday morning, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Dayan had been appointed to succeed Ido Aharoni as consul-general in New York.In a series of tweets shortly after the announcement, Dayan pledged to work with all segments of American society and the local Jewish community. He promised to engage in an “inclusive dialogue” with everyone and promised to make “no exclusions.” I intend to reach out to Orthodox & Reforms, Liberals & Conservatives, Republicans & Democrats.— Dani Dayan (@dandayan) March 28, 2016- As CG of @IsraelinNewYork I will maintain an open & inclusive dialogue w/all parts of the general society & Jewish community. No exclusions-— Dani Dayan (@dandayan) March 28, 2016-J Street, in a press release published Monday, expressed “deep concern” over Dayan’s appointment as Israel’s consul general in the city home to the world’s largest Jewish community outside Israel.“Though the prime minister of Israel continues to express his concern that Israel not become a binational state, he is sending as his envoy to New York a man who served for years as chairman of the settlers’ council and who revels in predicting the demise of the two-state solution,” the group stated.Dayan’s posting “will serve to inflame opponents of Israel’s policies rather than signal a desire to heal the growing divisions between the world’s two largest Jewish communities,” the statement added.“To Dayan’s credit,” it goes on, “we note that he has shown himself willing to engage in dialogue and debate with those he disagrees with, including J Street. This trait is vital for a diplomat, and we welcome the opportunity to meet and engage with Dayan, even as we strongly disagree with many of his positions and beliefs.”
Hamas military wing’s Twitter account shut down-Palestinian terror group blames pressure from ‘Zionist groups’-By Dov Lieber March 29, 2016, 5:27 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
The Twitter account of Hamas’s military wing was shut down without warning Monday night, according to a statement from the Gaza-based terror group.The manager of the account said in a statement posted to the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades’ website that “Twitter closed the page following pressure by Zionist groups.”At the time of its closing, according to the account’s manager, the account had over 140,000 followers and reached 5 million tweet impressions in recent months.Twitter also shut down the English-language Twitter account of the Qassam Brigades earlier in March, according to the group’s statement.It wasn’t the first time that Twitter accounts associated with Hamas’s military wing have been shut down by the social media site.During the 45-day war between Hamas and Israel in the summer of 2014, Twitter shut down all of the group’s official accounts. However, almost immediately, the Qassam Brigades began operating new accounts.Rather than open a new account this time, Qassam Brigades spokesman Abu Obeida urged the 194,308 followers of his own account on Tuesday to follow a separate Twitter handle operated by the terror group that has been less active in recent months.The terror group’s Twitter handle was used to publish internal news about the organization, such as when its members died in training accidents, and also to call for and praise attacks against Israeli civilians.Twitter has been making efforts over the last two years to prevent terrorist organizations from spreading their messages through the service. The social media giant, however, has come under fire for its inability to prevent the terror groups, among them the Islamic State, from simply opening new accounts.
Kuwait to deport 60 Lebanese for alleged Hezbollah links-EU reportedly looking into blacklisting Shiite group as Gulf states press sanctions-By AFP March 29, 2016, 1:49 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Kuwait is to deport 60 Lebanese for alleged links to Hezbollah in the latest Gulf Arab move against the Shiite militant group, a newspaper reported on Monday.Those to be deported all had permanent residency, which has been revoked, the Al-Qabas daily said.Those classified as “dangerous cases” were given just two days to leave the country, it added.It is the second wave of deportations from Kuwait reported since Gulf Arab states blacklisted Hezbollah as a “terrorist” group earlier this month.Last week, Al-Qabas reported that 11 Lebanese and three Iraqis had been deported for alleged links to the group.Around 50,000 Lebanese live and work in the oil-rich emirate, providing remittances that are vital to the domestic economy.The terror blacklisting was the latest step taken by Gulf states, led by Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia, against Hezbollah, the leading force in Lebanon’s governing bloc which is backed by Riyadh’s Shiite rival Tehran.Last month, Saudi Arabia halted a $3 billion program of military aid to Lebanon to protest what it said was “the stranglehold of Hezbollah on the state.”It also urged its citizens to leave Lebanon and avoid travelling there.Qatar and Kuwait followed with similar travel advisories, while the United Arab Emirates banned its nationals from travel to Lebanon.Hezbollah is fighting in support of the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad against Gulf-backed rebel fighters and extremist militants.Earlier this month, the Arab League voted to blacklist Hezbollah as a terror group as well.However, former Egyptian minister Sameh Shoukry said the move was likely symbolic and wasn’t expected to lead to any changes on the ground.Condemnation of Hezbollah has been mostly limited to Sunni Gulf states, but a report in another Kuwaiti daily Tuesday indicated that the EU is also seeking to blacklist Hezbollah, after putting its military wing on the terror blacklist in 2013.The move, reported by Kuwaiti daily al-Seyassah, will allow the EU to further implement sanctions against the Lebanese movement, such as freezing assets connected to it in Europe.Israel has been pushing for the EU to blacklist Hezbollah since a 2012 bombing in Bulgaria against Israeli citizens blamed on the group.There was no official confirmation of the report.The latest moves against Hezbollah by the Arab league and the Gulf nations reflect an emerging solidarity of opinion between the US, Israel and the Sunni Arab world.The Saudi decision to cut aid to Lebanon is expected to pile further difficulties on the already hard-pressed Lebanese economy.Other Gulf states have also taken measures against alleged Hezbollah supporters since the terror blacklisting.Bahrain said it had deported several Lebanese residents for alleged links to the group.Saudi security forces arrested a Shiite preacher accused of glorifying the group, the kingdom’s Al-Watan newspaper reported last week.And the United Arab Emirates has reportedly put seven people on trial for allegedly forming a cell linked to Hezbollah.Daniel Douek contributed to this report.
IS said to aim cyber ‘second strike’ against terror targets-Terrorists who strike European countries often follow attacks with mass hacking, according to Israeli cyber-security firm-By David Shamah March 27, 2016, 6:35 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Terror attacks are often followed, in an extra strike of cruelty, by major cyber-attacks on the targeted country, according to data gathered by Israeli cyber-security firm Cytegic.Such second strike attacks then provoke a response by anti-terror cyber-activists, with the result that a country could find its networks paralyzed for days because of the huge strain, just when communication is especially vital.Cytegic researchers have been observing this pattern for months, and the best example to date is the activity in the wake of the terror attacks in Paris last November – activity that has repeated itself in the days since the Brussels attack last week.According to this pattern, cyber-attacks peak about four days after the actual terror attack, and the attacks encompass major sectors of the economy, especially government, media, and the financial sector.The attacks have a clear political character, based on the messages left behind on defaced websites and the email messages sent out as part of the phishing attacks by hackers. Those messages include links to articles and stories connected to the terror attack, and when users click on them, they download malware that corrupts their computers and the networks they connect to.Based on the intelligence they have gathered, Cytegic experts have connected these cyber-operations to the Islamic State terror group and other Islamist groups that have take responsibility for terror attacks.“The most used attack methods are denial-of-service, defacements, email social engineering and malware injections,” said the Cytegic report. “The most targeted industries in the attacked country are government, media, banking and finance, critical infrastructure, military and defense.”Meanwhile, cyber-defenders in a targeted country – such as self-declared members of hacker group Anonymous – fight back, striking back at servers and websites affiliated with IS and other Islamist terror groups.“After the Paris attacks, the cyber-war included two sides – French government forces, Anonymous and its affiliated on one side, and pro-ISIS hacktivists and sensationalists on the other,” said Cytegic, using an alternate acronym for Islamic State.Less than a week after the Brussels attacks, “we have already been able to see political activists starting to ‘rally the troops’ and organize for an anti-ISIS campaign. This usually includes attacks on ISIS supporting websites and social-media accounts – mostly denial-of-service attacks, defacements, website redirections and taking down Twitter accounts,” the same tactics used by IS, the report said.But the medicine could be just as damaging as the disease; as pro- and anti-terror groups fight it out, they use up network resources. That causes the targeted country’s Internet traffic to falter, giving the terrorists a second victory with their ability to slow down business, government, and daily life revolving around the Internet.Cytegic figured all this out using its big data analysis system, which can quickly analyze Internet trends: who is threatening whom, which kinds of attacks are in vogue, what’s in the news that would prompt a cyber-attack, and much more, according to CEO Shay Zandani.“For example, we determine how much a term, like ‘nuclear Iran,’ is being used on the Internet and the ‘undernet,’ where hackers hang out, and if our client has something to do with nuclear power, criticism of Iran, or some other related matter, we would send them an alert that they need to be on guard against an attack. Our Dynamic Trend Analysis (DyTA) system collects data from over 1,000 sources and checks 20,000 terms and concepts, analyzing them and determining what the threat level is for relevant clients.”IS did not invent the idea of trying to bring down a country’s Internet after a terror attack or other act of aggression, said the Cytegic report. That honor apparently belongs to Russia.“It is important to mention the recent cyber-attacks on Ukrainian critical infrastructure and transportation targets, including Kiev’s international airport, a local railway company and an energy company, supposedly done by Russian government-backed hackers,” the report said.Those attacks occurred in January, and were traced back to a server in Russia, according to Ukrainian investigators who believe that they were part of Russia’s ongoing attacks against Ukraine in light of the latter’s opposition to Russia’s entry into Crimea in 2014 and the subsequent economic sanctions by the West against Russia.Expect more attempts by terror groups to disable the economy of a targeted country.“Cyber terrorists are constantly looking to place ‘doomsday buttons,’ in critical infrastructure targets, and are more likely to continue doing so as the war against ISIS continues and grows.”In any event, said Cytegic, “high-profile organizations in Belgium and Western Europe, mainly in the government, media, banking and defense sectors, should be on high alert for cyber-attacks in the coming weeks and take preemptive measures to prevent mostly DDOS, social-engineering and malware attacks on their websites, networks and employees.”
Israeli entrepreneurs tire of Chinese ‘tourist investors,’ says expert-Vadi Ventures think it can help bridge the gap between nervous Sino businesspeople and sabra tech companies-By David Shamah March 29, 2016, 6:55 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
In any given week, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of Chinese entrepreneurs, investors, and government officials in Israel, touring companies, attending tech and medical events, and examining potential business deals with start-ups.But for most, that’s where it ends, according to Liu Yiu Edwards, CEO of Vadi Ventures, who believes that there is a significant “trust gap” between Israelis and Chinese showing up most prominently in the business activity between the two countries.Israeli start-ups, he said, are “getting a little tired of all these supposed Chinese investors traipsing through their offices. The visitors come, look, ask questions, and take pictures – and then they leave, without investing anything.”In fact, said Edwards, many of the Chinese “investor trips” to Israel these days are organized not by venture capital funds or other investment-oriented organizations, but by travel agents.“Organizing ‘start-up nation’ tours is a big business in China these days,” said Edwards. “But there are no criteria for who goes on these trips other than how much they can pay for it. They are certainly not investor-only events.”The reluctance of Chinese investors to take their commitment to the next level is due to several factors, such as a lack of understanding of how Israel works, and fear that they are not getting an accurate picture of the industry or the prospects of a technology’s success, said Edwards.“We aim to change that with Vadi, a new firm that we developed dedicated to gathering data about Israeli companies for Chinese investors, and giving them the information they want and need in order to invest – such as the funding, the background of the team, the state of the industry they are working in, etc.,” said Edwards.Edwards’ account of the growing lack of enthusiasm for Chinese visitors was confirmed by several entrepreneurs who expressed their opinion on the matter.“We are always polite when they come by, and we usually book the visit when we are asked to,” said the chief marketing officer of a Tel Aviv start-up who asked to remain anonymous in order not to alienate potential Chinese partners. “You never know if there are going to be authentic investors in a group, and even if there aren’t, it doesn’t hurt to have your name known among the Chinese, because someone who visited us might tell a friend who knows a real investor. But we have come to the point where we aren’t expecting too much when these groups come by.”As a result, Israeli entrepreneurs are less enthusiastic about receiving Chinese visitors than they were two or three years ago; investment money they were led to believe would materialize just hasn’t – and it’s doubtful that the signing of the free trade agreement between the two countries will change things substantially, at least when it comes to start-up investments. “There are issues on both sides, but mostly on the Chinese side – which doesn’t feel comfortable with investing outside the country,” said Edwards.Israeli entrepreneurs tend to suspect China of being a difficult environment to work in – especially when it comes to their intellectual property. Despite the best efforts of the Chinese government, the country is seen by Israelis and many other Westerners as a death trap for IP, a place where ideas and technology are likely to be ripped off inside a broader system they suspect tacitly approves of IP theft in order to build up China’s tech capability.But the Chinese have their concerns, too, said Edwards.“Chinese investors of course don’t know Hebrew, and they don’t know how to find start-ups, so they rely on ‘handlers,’ both Israeli and Chinese, to point them in the right direction,” said Edwards. “But there have been several instances in which investors got burned when a company that was portrayed as having good prospects turned out to be a bad investment. The bottom line is that investors don’t know whom to trust, so they end up trusting no one.”With the database Vadi is developing, Edwards hopes to pull the veil off the mysterious world of Israeli start-ups.“You have to be above board and very clear and objective about companies and industries if you want Chinese investors to trust you,” he said. “Chinese in general are ‘holistic’ thinkers and want to see the whole picture – where a company came from and where it is going, and how it fits into an industry – before making their move. We believe that by supplying that kind of information, we will be able to attract many more investors, especially medium sized ones – the backbone of China’s market economy – to invest in Israel.”Many of those potential investors are “economic immigrants” – middle-aged and older people who as children were inculcated with the “purist” Communist principles of Mao, and then some 20 years ago set about building China into the world economic power it is today.“They know one thing – that they worked night and day to make their fortune, and they are not going to part with a nickel of it unless they understand where it is going and what their prospects for success is. The more we can allay the fears, the more we will be able to encourage Chinese investors to take the next step.”
Egypt plane drama ends with hijacker arrested, passengers freed-‘It’s over,’ tweets Cypriot Foreign Ministry after seven-hour standoff at Larnaca airport; officials say no explosives found-By AP and Times of Israel staff March 29, 2016, 4:54 pm
An Egyptian man who hijacked an EgyptAir plane during a routine domestic flight to Cairo and forced it to land on the island of Cyprus on Tuesday surrendered and was taken into custody after he released all the passengers and crew.His surrender ended an hours-long drama and standoff at the Larnaca airport in southern Cyprus. The hijacker had earlier freed most of the passengers but kept seven people — four crew members and three passengers — with him.Just minutes before the arrest, local TV footage from the airport showed several people disembarking from the aircraft and a man who appeared to be a crew member climbing out of the cockpit window and sliding down the side of the plane.Alexandros Zenon, the permanent Secretary of the Foreign Ministry in Cyprus, confirmed the hijacker’s surrender and subsequent arrest, saying the situation was “over.”Its over. The #hijacker arrested. #LarnacaAirport # Egyptair-— Cyprus MFA (@CyprusMFA) March 29, 2016-The arrest was also reported by Egypt’s prime minister, Sharif Ismail, and Civil Aviation Minister Sharif Fathi.“All passengers and crew are safe,” Fathi said on state television.The man’s motivation was unclear, but Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades said the hijacking was “not something that has to do with terrorism” and a Cyprus government official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, said the man “seems (to be) in love.”Anastasiades, appearing alongside European Parliament President Martin Schulz in Nicosia, was asked by reporters whether he could confirm that the incident was about a woman. “Always, there is a woman” involved, he replied, drawing laughter.A Cyprus police official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose details of the situation, said the hijacker walked off the plane and was taken into custody by special anti-terrorist police. The official said the man wore a belt but there were no explosives in it.A civil aviation official, also speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t allowed to talk to the media, said the man gave negotiators the name of a woman who lives in Cyprus and asked to give her an envelope. It was not clear if she was his former wife.The hijacker had also complained about the current Egyptian government and had demanded the release of female prisoners from Egyptian jails, he said.The flight MS181 took off from the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria on Tuesday morning en route to Cairo with at least 55 passengers, including 26 foreigners, and a seven-member crew.An official with flight-tracking website FlightRadar24 said the plane showed no immediate signs of distress. The flight between Alexandria and Cairo normally takes about 30 minutes.There was also confusion about the hijacker’s identity. At a news conference in Cairo, Egypt’s Civil Aviation minister, Sharif Fathi, refused to identify him.Earlier, Egyptian government spokesman Hossam al-Queish said the hijacker was Ibrahim Samaha, but an Egyptian woman who identified herself as Samaha’s wife said her husband was not the hijacker and was on his way to Cairo so he could fly to the US to attend a conference.The woman, who identified herself only as Nahla, told the Egyptian private TV network ONTV in a phone interview that her husband had never been to Cyprus and that a photo on Egyptian and regional TV channels that supposedly showed the hijacker was not him. Later, the official Middle East News Agency gave a different name for the hijacker.Egypt’s state news agency, MENA, later identified the hijacker as Seifedeen Mustafa. The name was confirmed by a senior Cypriot official.Al-Queish, the government spokesman, also told the private CBC TV network that authorities could not confirm that the hijacker had explosives on him. An earlier statement from the Egyptian Aviation Ministry said the man claimed he had a belt with explosives.The plane landed at the airport in the southern Cypriot city of Larnaca, also on the Mediterranean. A statement from the Egyptian Civil Aviation Ministry statement said the foreigners on board included eight Americans, four Britons, four Dutch, two Belgians, a French national, an Italian, two Greeks and one Syrian. Three other foreigners could not be identified.The initial batch of passengers released by the hijacker was seen calmly walking off the plane down a set of stairs, carrying hand luggage, and boarding a bus parked by the plane’s side. Security was tight at the airport, with police repeatedly pushing back reporters and TV news crews working just outside the facility’s fence, near where the aircraft stopped.Police also evacuated the nearby Makenzy beach, a stretch of coast close to the airport and popular with tourists. It was not immediately clear why.An Egyptian aircraft was expected to later fly to Larnaca so it could bring back the released passengers, according to officials.The incident raises more questions about security at Egyptian airports, five months after a Russian aircraft crashed over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula minutes after it took off from Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.All 224 people on board were killed in the crash. Russia later said an explosive device brought down the aircraft and the extremist Islamic State group took responsibility.US Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, appearing on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program Tuesday, said that a “very good question” is whether the man who hijacked the plane Tuesday was able to pass through airport security with a bomb-laden belt.The hijacking was reminiscent of a deadly 1978 incident that involved Egyptians, planes and Larnaca airport.The incident arose when two Palestinians assassinated an Egyptian government minister at his hotel in Nicosia. The assailants took hostages and drove to the airport, where they boarded a plane with them. They later returned to Cyprus, where they had an hours-long standoff until an Egyptian C-130 carrying commandos landed at Larnaca airport.The commandos attempted to storm the Cyprus Airways jet, but were fired upon by Cypriot troops. Many were killed. The Palestinians eventually surrendered. They were arrested, sentenced and released years later.The incident poisoned Egypt’s relations with Cyprus for years. Relations eventually improved, but it was Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, in office since June 2014, who has forged close ties with Cyprus.Sissi and Anastasiades frequently confer in person or on the phone. They spoke by phone Tuesday about the hijacking.
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