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
UK, France, Germany slam Israeli announcement to build new settlement-European powers issue closely timed statements saying new West Bank site for Amona residents will violate international law-By Times of Israel staff March 31, 2017, 11:17 pm
The UK, France and Germany on Friday condemned the Israeli security cabinet’s unanimous approval on Thursday to build the first officially sanctioned new settlement in the West Bank in more than 20 years.The new settlement late was approved late on Thursday for the evacuees of the illegal Amona outpost, which was razed last month after the High Court of Justice ruled that it was built on private Palestinian land. The new settlement will be built next to Shilo.The cabinet on Thursday also announced the approval of tenders for some 2,000 new settlement homes in the West Bank — housing units whose planned construction, among some 5,500, was first announced in January.Britain’s Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said in a statement: “These announcements are contrary to international law and seriously undermine the prospects of two states for two peoples. As a strong friend of Israel, and one prepared to stand up for Israel when it faces bias and unreasonable criticism, I urge Israel not to take steps such as these, which move us away from our shared goal of peace and security and make it harder to achieve a different relationship between Israel and the Arab world.Johnson added that he was “disappointed that Israel plans to expropriate additional West Bank territory as ‘state land’, and press forward with plans for almost 2,000 housing units in spite of significant international concern.”The French Foreign Ministry said Israel’s announcements were “extremely worrying” and that Paris “firmly condemns these decisions that threaten peace and risk exacerbating tensions on the ground.”“France reiterates that settlements are illegal under international law, notably under Resolution 2334 of the UN Security Council. It calls on Israel to respect its international obligation,” the statement read, in reference to the controversial resolution passed in December, with a US abstention, which labeled Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem “illegal.”A German government spokesperson cited by Haaretz said that “the federal government expects the Israeli government to clarify which solution they are pursuing for a lasting peace with the Palestinians. Germany will not recognize any change in the 1967 lines, which has not been agreed between the parties.”According to Haaretz, the three European nations published their condemnation statements in close proximity and timed the statements to come out at the same time.Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit also condemned the Israeli security cabinet’s decision to build a new West Bank settlement, saying on Friday that the move “clearly showed that Israel isn’t a true partner for achieving peace, and is captive in the hands of radical settlers.”Earlier Friday, the United Nations also expressed its disapproval of the newly planned settlement with a spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres saying the secretary-general expressed “disappointment and alarm” at the announcement.“The secretary general has consistently stressed that there is no Plan B for Israelis and Palestinians to live together in peace and security. He condemns all unilateral actions that, like the present one, threaten peace and undermine the two-state solution,” Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.The Palestinians reacted furiously to the plans.PLO Secretary General Saeb Erekat said in a statement on Friday that the Palestinians will “hold Benjamin Netanyahu and his extremist government fully responsible for the consequences of such violations.”“We send a clear message to the US administration, the United Nations and to the European Union: Peace is not going to be achieved by tolerating such crimes,” he added.Senior Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi said the move showed the government was pushing ahead with “their systematic policies of settler colonialism, apartheid and ethnic cleansing, showing a total and blatant disregard for Palestinian human rights.”The White House, meanwhile, warned Israel against “unrestrained” settlement activity, cautioning that “while the existence of settlements is not in itself an impediment to peace, further unrestrained settlement activity does not help advance peace,” according to an official.But the Trump administration did say it welcomed Netanyahu’s announcement Thursday, after the approval of the new settlement, that Israel will curb construction in West Bank settlements as a goodwill gesture to US President Donald Trump.The Prime Minister’s Office said Thursday that any future construction would be limited to existing settlement boundaries or adjacent to them. However, if legal, security or topographical limitations do not allow adherence to those guidelines, new homes will be built outside the current settlement boundaries but as close as possible to them.Israel will also prevent the construction of any new illegal outposts, Netanyahu told his ministers.
BDS leader calls Israeli tax fraud probe ‘vicious lies’-Authorities say Omar Barghouti is suspected of failing to disclose $700,000 in income between 2007 and 2017-By Agencies and Times of Israel staff April 2, 2017, 5:16 am
The founder of an anti-Israel boycott movement said Saturday that the Israeli authorities’ investigation into his suspected tax evasion is based on “vicious lies.”Omar Barghouti, a Palestinian who holds Israeli residency, said he is not allowed to delve into details of his case because of a gag order. But he insists the probe is politically motivated.The Israel Tax Authority says Barghouti is suspected of evading taxes between 2007 and 2017 on $700,000 in income from managing a cash machine business, and on income from lectures around the world and royalties on a book.Barghouti is a founder of the BDS movement advocating boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel. Supporters say BDS is a nonviolent movement for Palestinian independence, but Israel says it aims to delegitimize the Jewish state.Israeli authorities refused to renew Barghouti’s travel documents last year, effectively making it impossible for him to ravel.Israeli ministers have said they are considering revoking Barghouti’s residency status. Barghouti is married to an Israeli-Arab woman, thereby gaining permanent residency status in the Jewish state. He studied at Tel Aviv University, where he earned a philosophy degree.A BDS statement in late March, after Barghouti was arrested, said the investigation was part of a wider campaign against him.“After the effective travel ban imposed on him proved futile in stopping his human rights work, the Israeli government has resorted to fabricating a case related to Omar’s alleged income outside of Israel,” the statement said.A statement from the tax authorities said Barghouti was the manager of a company called National Computing Resources registered in Ramallah.“The suspect did not report approximately US $700,000 in income between 2007 and 2017; in order to conceal his criminal activity he deposited the income in a bank in Ramallah,” it said.Barghouti was due to travel to the United States to receive an award at Yale University, the BDS statement said, but that would no longer be possible.“No matter what extreme measures of repression Israel wields… it cannot stop this movement for human rights,” the statement added.Israel says it sees BDS as a major threat and accuses it of anti-Semitism — a claim the group denies. Last month, the Israeli Knesset passed a law banning entry to foreigners who support BDS.The BDS movement pushes for boycotts of Israeli products and institutions, divestment from companies and institutions “complicit” in the violation of Palestinian rights (through investments in Israel), and sanctions against Israel, such as pushing for the rejection of its membership in international forums.
Three hurt in Jerusalem Old City stabbing, attacker shot dead-2 civilians, policeman injured in capital’s second knifing this week; teenage terrorist posted selfies at Dome of the Rock shortly before attack-By Times of Israel staff April 1, 2017, 3:36 pm
An assailant stabbed two young men and a police officer in Jerusalem’s Old City Saturday afternoon, wounding them, before being shot and killed by security forces, police said.Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said the teenage terrorist stabbed two Jewish youths before fleeing, with police forces giving chase. He then stabbed one of the policemen before he was shot.The victims — two civilians aged 18 and 20, and a border policeman in his early 20s — received treatment at the scene and were taken to hospital. They were said to suffer light-to-moderate wounds.The attack took place on Haggai Street in the Muslim Quarter. This was the second stabbing attack in the Old City this week.A video filmed by a bystander showed the immediate aftermath of the stabbing.The assailant was identified by Palestinian media as 17-year-old Ahmad Jazal from the West Bank village of Sebastia, near Nablus.Shortly before carrying out the attack Jazal photographed himself smiling outside the Temple Mount’s Dome of the Rock. The photos were shared by Palestinians on social media, with some praising the “martyr” for his actions.Soon after the attack clashes broke out between stone-throwing Palestinians and police officers who used stun grenades, an AFP photographer said.On Wednesday Border Police shot and killed a woman as she attempted to stab them with scissors outside Damascus Gate. The Palestinian Health Ministry later identified the assailant as Siham Rateb Nimir, 49, from East Jerusalem.According to Palestinian media, her son was Mustafa Nimir, who was shot dead by Border Police officers in September after an apparent misunderstanding at an East Jerusalem checkpoint.Border guards closed off some the entrances and exits to the Old City following the incident and cleared the areas surrounding them, pushing back bystanders.In the past year and a half the Old City, and the Damascus Gate in particular, have seen several attacks by Palestinians, and in one case a Jordanian national.Agencies contributed to this report.
UN agency suspends Gaza missions after Hamas restrictions-Palestinian NGOs say ‘security goals should not come at expense of human rights,’ call on terror group to allow free movement-By AFP and Times of Israel staff March 31, 2017, 10:09 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
A United Nations political agency suspended its missions to Gaza Friday after the Hamas authorities in the Palestinian enclave partly closed the key border crossing into Israel, a source said.The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East peace process (UNSCO) will not send staff to Gaza until further notice, the source close to the organization told AFP on condition of anonymity, after Hamas imposed tough new restrictions following the assassination of one of its terror chiefs.The decision was made, the source added, as frustration grows at the negative impact of the restrictions for aid work and Gazan citizens.UNSCO is the key UN agency working on the currently stagnant Palestinian-Israeli peace process, and the restrictions will apply to its head, UN envoy for the Middle East Nickolay Mladenov.In previous conflicts between Hamas and Israel UNSCO helped to negotiate ceasefires, and Mladenov reports regularly to the UN Security Council.Hamas, the Islamist terror group which runs the Gaza Strip, shut the Erez Crossing into Israel on Sunday after blaming the Jewish state for assassinating one of its terror chiefs, Mazen Faqha, 38, near his home last Friday.Erez is the only crossing for people, although a separate route is available for goods.On Monday, they reopened Erez for those entering Gaza, but men between 18 and 45 are still largely prevented from leaving the enclave of two million people.Reports said Hamas was looking for the assassins, believing they are still in Gaza, but the knock-on effects have been significant.Around half a dozen international aid workers have been prevented from leaving in recent days, a senior humanitarian source said.So far, according to the World Health Organization, 79 Gazan patients have missed medical appointments in Israel because of the restrictions.More than two thirds of Gazans are dependent on aid, according to the United Nations.On Thursday, a coalition of more than 100 Palestinian NGOs and rights groups called on Hamas to reopen the crossing.“Security goals should not come at the expense of human rights,” the Palestinian NGOs Network said in a statement.The IDF’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, wrote on his Facebook page in Arabic:“The Hamas terror group has prevented the members of the Palestinian Olympic Committee to leave the Gaza Strip – and blamed Israel. It is a shame that Hamas does not invest more in its acting skills because the display it mounted today across from the Erez Crossing should be shown on the world’s largest stages – when the organization continues to lie and pretend it’s innocent.“This morning 17 members of the Palestinian Olympic Committee were supposed to go from Gaza to the West Bank. Hamas refused them passage until 1 p.m. – the time the Erez Crossing closes down. As the crossing closed Hamas released the members of the committee to the Israeli side but since it was closed they turned back. Hamas created a false impression that Israel prevented their entering the country.“We propose that the members of the committee present Hamas leaders as candidates for the world championship in lies and deceit – they will undoubtedly win first place,” Mordechai wrote.Israel has maintained a blockade on Gaza for a decade, largely restricting residents from entering. However, Israel grants hundreds of permits for medical, educational, business and other reasons per week.Israel maintains the blockade to prevent Hamas, which avowedly seeks to destroy Israel, from importing weaponry, Hamas has fought three wars with Israel since 2008.Originally from a small village in the West Bank, Faqha headed the Hamas office in Gaza tasked with launching terror attacks against Israel from and in the West Bank. His subordinates in the branch specialized in recruiting suicide attackers, collecting weapons and preparing explosive devices.Faqha was responsible for sending a suicide bomber to carry out an attack in northern Israel in 2002 in which nine people were killed and 52 were wounded. Before his release as part of the Shalit deal, Faqha was serving nine life sentences for planning the deadly attack.Dov Lieber contributed to this report.
Despite Jewish backlash, Mormon leaders encourage baptisms for the dead-The church has come under fire for posthumously converting Holocaust victims, including Simon Wiesenthal’s parents-By BRADY McCOMBS April 2, 2017, 3:17 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Mormon leaders reminded church members Saturday about the importance of performing ceremonial baptisms on dead ancestors who didn’t receive the ordinance while alive — a practice unique to the faith that came under fire in the past from Jews when they discovered Holocaust victims were being baptized.Henry Eyring told a worldwide audience during a twice-yearly Mormon conference in Salt Lake City that God wants all his children “home again, in families and in glory.” He encouraged listeners to use the religion’s massive genealogical database to trace their roots.Ceremonial baptisms occur when a member brings an ancestor’s name to a temple. Mormons believe the ritual allows deceased people a way to the afterlife if they choose to accept what they see as an offering of love. The belief that families are sealed for eternity is one of the faith’s core tenets.The practice is becoming more common because young church members have embraced it, said Eyring, a member of a top governing body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, called the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.“They have learned that this work saves not just the dead; it saves all of us,” Eyring said. “There are now many people who have accepted baptism in the spirit world. … This is the work of our generation.”But ceremonial baptisms offend members of other religions, especially Jews, who became upset years ago when they discovered attempts by Mormons to alter the religion of Holocaust victims. They included Anne Frank, a Jewish teenager forced into hiding in Amsterdam during the Holocaust and killed in a concentration camp.In the 1990s, after negotiations with Jewish leaders, the church agreed to end the ceremonial baptism of Holocaust victims. After it was revealed that they continued, including baptizing the parents of Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal, Mormon leaders in 2012 spoke out against the practice and reminded the public that a virtual firewall was put in the database to block anyone who tried to access the names of people who died in the Holocaust.Some early Christian groups may have engaged in a similar practice, but the Mormons are the only mainstream Christian faith that currently practices baptisms for the deceased, said Mormon scholar Matthew Bowman, an associate professor of history at Henderson State University.The “proxy baptisms” also were mentioned Saturday at the conference in a speech by Russell M. Nelson, another member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles who is next in line to assume the church presidency. Nelson said Mormons who keep their covenants to Jesus Christ are given “Godly power.”“God’s plan provides for those blessings to be extended to ancestors who died without an opportunity to obtain them during their mortal lives,” Nelson said.Mark Bragg, a member of a secondary governing body, applauded the increase in baptisms for the deceased: “We are experiencing great joy and celebration on both sides of the veil.”Their speeches came during the first day of a two-day conference in which leaders implored the faith’s 15.8 million members worldwide to be compassionate and devout while avoiding the many temptations of the modern world that can pull them away from their faith.Nearly 100,000 church members are expected to attend five sessions on Saturday and Sunday. Thousands more around the world will listen to the conference or watch it on television, radio, satellite and internet broadcasts in 90 different languages.Jeffrey Holland, a long-time member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said in a speech about inclusivity that there’s room in the faith for people of different “sexual attractions” if they love God and honor his commandments.His remark marked the latest attempt by the faith to foster a climate of empathy for gays and lesbians while the religion still clings to fundamental doctrinal beliefs that homosexual activity is a sin.He said there’s room in the faith for all types of people, including from different cultures; those from different family structures; and those questioning their faith. Holland also encouraged church members to embrace their uniqueness.“When we disparage our uniqueness or try to conform to fictitious stereotypes — stereotypes driven by an insatiable consumer culture and idealized beyond any possible realization by social media — we lose the richness of tone and timbre that God intended when he created a world of diversity,” Holland said.Dale Renlund, one of the newest members Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, told church members to guard against being intolerant of others with different opinions.“We must not be guilty of persecuting anyone inside or outside the church,” Renlund said. “Church history gives ample evidence of our members being treated with hatred and bigotry. How ironically sad it would be if we were to treat others as we have been treated.”
Islamists 'rearming on every level on the sea-front — systems, weapons and trainings'-Hamas looking undersea, not just underground, for attack routes-Gaza-based terrorist group is training and manufacturing weapons for naval warfare, officer warns-By Judah Ari Gross April 1, 2017, 11:07 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
While Hamas’s terror tunnels and its reportedly refilled and upgraded rocket arsenal garner attention, the Israeli Navy is keeping a watchful eye on the terror group’s growing maritime capabilities and is investing its resources in preventing attacks “at sea and from the sea,” a naval officer said.Since the 50-day war in 2014, Hamas has developed both its tactics and weaponry for sea-based warfare, training “endlessly” to carry out attacks with them, according to Maj. Irad Shtatar.A 20-year veteran of the navy, Shtatar commands the Ashdod Observation Company, a unit of mostly female soldiers who monitor optical cameras and radar arrays.“We see rearming on every level on the sea-front — systems, weapons and trainings. Hamas sees the sea as an option to achieve its aggressive, operational ambitions,” he said in his office at the Ashdod Naval Base.“In parallel, we are tracking these developments to make sure that we have a response to these threats,” he added.Hamas naval smuggling of people and materiel appears to have dropped off significantly, if not stopped completely, according to Shtatar.However, he said, there’s no way to ensure a “hermetic” seal of Gaza’s coast, leaving open the possibility that people could still be smuggled via the sea.In the time immediately following the 2014 war, the navy saw an increase in such smuggling attempts. But while there are regular reports of Israeli sailors firing warning shots toward Gazan fishing boats, Shtatar said his team has not seen any cases of it in nearly a year.He credits this to both the efforts of the Navy and the comparative ease with which Hamas can smuggle illicit goods through underground tunnels into the Sinai Peninsula.A small fishing boat, after all, can only carry so much materiel, whereas a tunnel can bring in far more, he noted.-Frogmen and submarine drones-Set up on two coastal control centers, Shtatar’s company watches above and, increasingly, below the water 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for infiltrations to Israel from the sea, smuggling and attacks on the country’s shipping lanes and gas fields.“Hamas is making serious developments in the underwater domain,” Shtatar said, but would not elaborate on what specific types of weaponry the navy believes Hamas has acquired.However, Mohammed al-Zoari, a Tunisian expert in unmanned vehicles, was said to be constructing small, remote-controlled submarine drones for the terrorist group when he was killed by gunmen in December. (The Mossad was blamed for the killing; Israel would not comment on the allegation.)-Analysts have also warned that Israel could be vulnerable to naval mines, like those that flooded global black markets with the fall of the Soviet Union.According to a 2015 assessment of Hamas written jointly by a researcher in the Prime Minister’s Office and Gabi Siboni, a program director at the Institute of National Security Studies think-tank in Tel Aviv, were the terrorist group to sink an Israeli naval ship, it would “generate a story of victory, which it long has been hoping to achieve.”But the terrorist group is working not only to attack Israeli military targets, but against civilian ones as well.“Attacking civilians is Hamas’s raison d’être,” Siboni said, in a phone conversation this week.In terms of attacks from the sea, over the past two years, Israel uncovered multiple attempts to smuggle wetsuits and other scuba gear into the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing, which the Defense Ministry says were bound for Hamas and its frogmen units.This type of attack was carried out during the 2014 war, known in Israel as Operation Protective Edge. On July 8, 2014, four Hamas naval commandos swam ashore outside Kibbutz Zikim on Israel’s southern coast.The frogmen brought with them automatic weapons, fragmentation grenades and explosives, the latter of which they used against an Israeli tank, unsuccessfully. Some 40 minutes after they came in from the surf, the Hamas operatives were killed in a combined attack from the sea, ground and air, and the incident came to a close.Initially presented by the military as an unmitigated victory, a leaked IDF review of the incident later showed the army’s response to be slower than previously thought and the commandos’ attack to be more successful than it had seemed. (Their attack on the tank, for instance, was not initially reported.) To prevent such coastal infiltrations in the future, Shtatar’s soldiers use “advanced optical cameras and radar,” as well us underwater sonar systems to track the movements of objects at sea, he said.-From Gaza to Netanya, 24 hours a day-The enlisted soldiers in the Ashdod Observation Company are exclusively female, Shtatar said, while the officers are a mix of men and women.This is not unique to Shtatar’s unit, throughout the navy, air force and ground forces, only women serve in these surveillance monitoring positions, as per the army’s understanding that they are better suited for the task than male soldiers.The unit is responsible for the waters from Gaza to just above Netanya, while the rest of the coast is monitored by soldiers in the Haifa Observation Company.Much of the soldiers’ time is spent watching and tracking Gazan fishermen, whose industry makes up a significant part of the Strip’s economy.As part of the naval blockade on Gaza, which Israel says is necessary for security reasons, fishermen must stay within 6 miles (9.66 kilometers) of the shore.Last year, that was temporarily extended in the southern half of the Gaza coast to 9 miles (14.5 kilometers) during the spring fishing season and, according to Shtatar, Israel intends to do the same this year as well.There were plans to enlarge the fishing zone for the fall season, but they eventually fell apart. Israel blamed the Palestinians for failing to abide by the conditions for the extension. Gazans blamed Israel for setting “unrealistic” demands.Palestinian fishermen who attempt to leave the permitted fishing area or those behaving “suspiciously” are intercepted by the navy, for fear that those ships could be used for smuggling or attacks, Shtatar said.A smuggling attempt was prevented in April 2016. A ship was spotted behaving suspiciously off the Gaza coast. When a navy patrol boat was called to the scene, the ship’s crew began dumping cargo overboard before jumping into the water themselves. Once the ship was empty, the navy boat blew it up.A few months later, the suspected smuggler was arrested after the ship he was sailing left the designated fishing zone, according to the Shin Bet.The Ashdod Observation Company also monitors the ships coming in and out of the Ashdod port and Israel’s commercial shipping lanes, which may not represent a security risk, but are considered a strategic asset, which could also be vulnerable to terrorist attacks.His soldiers monitor the seas around the clock, every day of the year, with the knowledge that they are responsible for the security of civilians and their fellow soldiers, Shtatar said.“It’s Sisyphean work,” he said. “But I wake up every morning with a smile.”
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
UK, France, Germany slam Israeli announcement to build new settlement-European powers issue closely timed statements saying new West Bank site for Amona residents will violate international law-By Times of Israel staff March 31, 2017, 11:17 pm
The UK, France and Germany on Friday condemned the Israeli security cabinet’s unanimous approval on Thursday to build the first officially sanctioned new settlement in the West Bank in more than 20 years.The new settlement late was approved late on Thursday for the evacuees of the illegal Amona outpost, which was razed last month after the High Court of Justice ruled that it was built on private Palestinian land. The new settlement will be built next to Shilo.The cabinet on Thursday also announced the approval of tenders for some 2,000 new settlement homes in the West Bank — housing units whose planned construction, among some 5,500, was first announced in January.Britain’s Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said in a statement: “These announcements are contrary to international law and seriously undermine the prospects of two states for two peoples. As a strong friend of Israel, and one prepared to stand up for Israel when it faces bias and unreasonable criticism, I urge Israel not to take steps such as these, which move us away from our shared goal of peace and security and make it harder to achieve a different relationship between Israel and the Arab world.Johnson added that he was “disappointed that Israel plans to expropriate additional West Bank territory as ‘state land’, and press forward with plans for almost 2,000 housing units in spite of significant international concern.”The French Foreign Ministry said Israel’s announcements were “extremely worrying” and that Paris “firmly condemns these decisions that threaten peace and risk exacerbating tensions on the ground.”“France reiterates that settlements are illegal under international law, notably under Resolution 2334 of the UN Security Council. It calls on Israel to respect its international obligation,” the statement read, in reference to the controversial resolution passed in December, with a US abstention, which labeled Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem “illegal.”A German government spokesperson cited by Haaretz said that “the federal government expects the Israeli government to clarify which solution they are pursuing for a lasting peace with the Palestinians. Germany will not recognize any change in the 1967 lines, which has not been agreed between the parties.”According to Haaretz, the three European nations published their condemnation statements in close proximity and timed the statements to come out at the same time.Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit also condemned the Israeli security cabinet’s decision to build a new West Bank settlement, saying on Friday that the move “clearly showed that Israel isn’t a true partner for achieving peace, and is captive in the hands of radical settlers.”Earlier Friday, the United Nations also expressed its disapproval of the newly planned settlement with a spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres saying the secretary-general expressed “disappointment and alarm” at the announcement.“The secretary general has consistently stressed that there is no Plan B for Israelis and Palestinians to live together in peace and security. He condemns all unilateral actions that, like the present one, threaten peace and undermine the two-state solution,” Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.The Palestinians reacted furiously to the plans.PLO Secretary General Saeb Erekat said in a statement on Friday that the Palestinians will “hold Benjamin Netanyahu and his extremist government fully responsible for the consequences of such violations.”“We send a clear message to the US administration, the United Nations and to the European Union: Peace is not going to be achieved by tolerating such crimes,” he added.Senior Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi said the move showed the government was pushing ahead with “their systematic policies of settler colonialism, apartheid and ethnic cleansing, showing a total and blatant disregard for Palestinian human rights.”The White House, meanwhile, warned Israel against “unrestrained” settlement activity, cautioning that “while the existence of settlements is not in itself an impediment to peace, further unrestrained settlement activity does not help advance peace,” according to an official.But the Trump administration did say it welcomed Netanyahu’s announcement Thursday, after the approval of the new settlement, that Israel will curb construction in West Bank settlements as a goodwill gesture to US President Donald Trump.The Prime Minister’s Office said Thursday that any future construction would be limited to existing settlement boundaries or adjacent to them. However, if legal, security or topographical limitations do not allow adherence to those guidelines, new homes will be built outside the current settlement boundaries but as close as possible to them.Israel will also prevent the construction of any new illegal outposts, Netanyahu told his ministers.
BDS leader calls Israeli tax fraud probe ‘vicious lies’-Authorities say Omar Barghouti is suspected of failing to disclose $700,000 in income between 2007 and 2017-By Agencies and Times of Israel staff April 2, 2017, 5:16 am
The founder of an anti-Israel boycott movement said Saturday that the Israeli authorities’ investigation into his suspected tax evasion is based on “vicious lies.”Omar Barghouti, a Palestinian who holds Israeli residency, said he is not allowed to delve into details of his case because of a gag order. But he insists the probe is politically motivated.The Israel Tax Authority says Barghouti is suspected of evading taxes between 2007 and 2017 on $700,000 in income from managing a cash machine business, and on income from lectures around the world and royalties on a book.Barghouti is a founder of the BDS movement advocating boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel. Supporters say BDS is a nonviolent movement for Palestinian independence, but Israel says it aims to delegitimize the Jewish state.Israeli authorities refused to renew Barghouti’s travel documents last year, effectively making it impossible for him to ravel.Israeli ministers have said they are considering revoking Barghouti’s residency status. Barghouti is married to an Israeli-Arab woman, thereby gaining permanent residency status in the Jewish state. He studied at Tel Aviv University, where he earned a philosophy degree.A BDS statement in late March, after Barghouti was arrested, said the investigation was part of a wider campaign against him.“After the effective travel ban imposed on him proved futile in stopping his human rights work, the Israeli government has resorted to fabricating a case related to Omar’s alleged income outside of Israel,” the statement said.A statement from the tax authorities said Barghouti was the manager of a company called National Computing Resources registered in Ramallah.“The suspect did not report approximately US $700,000 in income between 2007 and 2017; in order to conceal his criminal activity he deposited the income in a bank in Ramallah,” it said.Barghouti was due to travel to the United States to receive an award at Yale University, the BDS statement said, but that would no longer be possible.“No matter what extreme measures of repression Israel wields… it cannot stop this movement for human rights,” the statement added.Israel says it sees BDS as a major threat and accuses it of anti-Semitism — a claim the group denies. Last month, the Israeli Knesset passed a law banning entry to foreigners who support BDS.The BDS movement pushes for boycotts of Israeli products and institutions, divestment from companies and institutions “complicit” in the violation of Palestinian rights (through investments in Israel), and sanctions against Israel, such as pushing for the rejection of its membership in international forums.
Three hurt in Jerusalem Old City stabbing, attacker shot dead-2 civilians, policeman injured in capital’s second knifing this week; teenage terrorist posted selfies at Dome of the Rock shortly before attack-By Times of Israel staff April 1, 2017, 3:36 pm
An assailant stabbed two young men and a police officer in Jerusalem’s Old City Saturday afternoon, wounding them, before being shot and killed by security forces, police said.Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said the teenage terrorist stabbed two Jewish youths before fleeing, with police forces giving chase. He then stabbed one of the policemen before he was shot.The victims — two civilians aged 18 and 20, and a border policeman in his early 20s — received treatment at the scene and were taken to hospital. They were said to suffer light-to-moderate wounds.The attack took place on Haggai Street in the Muslim Quarter. This was the second stabbing attack in the Old City this week.A video filmed by a bystander showed the immediate aftermath of the stabbing.The assailant was identified by Palestinian media as 17-year-old Ahmad Jazal from the West Bank village of Sebastia, near Nablus.Shortly before carrying out the attack Jazal photographed himself smiling outside the Temple Mount’s Dome of the Rock. The photos were shared by Palestinians on social media, with some praising the “martyr” for his actions.Soon after the attack clashes broke out between stone-throwing Palestinians and police officers who used stun grenades, an AFP photographer said.On Wednesday Border Police shot and killed a woman as she attempted to stab them with scissors outside Damascus Gate. The Palestinian Health Ministry later identified the assailant as Siham Rateb Nimir, 49, from East Jerusalem.According to Palestinian media, her son was Mustafa Nimir, who was shot dead by Border Police officers in September after an apparent misunderstanding at an East Jerusalem checkpoint.Border guards closed off some the entrances and exits to the Old City following the incident and cleared the areas surrounding them, pushing back bystanders.In the past year and a half the Old City, and the Damascus Gate in particular, have seen several attacks by Palestinians, and in one case a Jordanian national.Agencies contributed to this report.
UN agency suspends Gaza missions after Hamas restrictions-Palestinian NGOs say ‘security goals should not come at expense of human rights,’ call on terror group to allow free movement-By AFP and Times of Israel staff March 31, 2017, 10:09 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
A United Nations political agency suspended its missions to Gaza Friday after the Hamas authorities in the Palestinian enclave partly closed the key border crossing into Israel, a source said.The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East peace process (UNSCO) will not send staff to Gaza until further notice, the source close to the organization told AFP on condition of anonymity, after Hamas imposed tough new restrictions following the assassination of one of its terror chiefs.The decision was made, the source added, as frustration grows at the negative impact of the restrictions for aid work and Gazan citizens.UNSCO is the key UN agency working on the currently stagnant Palestinian-Israeli peace process, and the restrictions will apply to its head, UN envoy for the Middle East Nickolay Mladenov.In previous conflicts between Hamas and Israel UNSCO helped to negotiate ceasefires, and Mladenov reports regularly to the UN Security Council.Hamas, the Islamist terror group which runs the Gaza Strip, shut the Erez Crossing into Israel on Sunday after blaming the Jewish state for assassinating one of its terror chiefs, Mazen Faqha, 38, near his home last Friday.Erez is the only crossing for people, although a separate route is available for goods.On Monday, they reopened Erez for those entering Gaza, but men between 18 and 45 are still largely prevented from leaving the enclave of two million people.Reports said Hamas was looking for the assassins, believing they are still in Gaza, but the knock-on effects have been significant.Around half a dozen international aid workers have been prevented from leaving in recent days, a senior humanitarian source said.So far, according to the World Health Organization, 79 Gazan patients have missed medical appointments in Israel because of the restrictions.More than two thirds of Gazans are dependent on aid, according to the United Nations.On Thursday, a coalition of more than 100 Palestinian NGOs and rights groups called on Hamas to reopen the crossing.“Security goals should not come at the expense of human rights,” the Palestinian NGOs Network said in a statement.The IDF’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, wrote on his Facebook page in Arabic:“The Hamas terror group has prevented the members of the Palestinian Olympic Committee to leave the Gaza Strip – and blamed Israel. It is a shame that Hamas does not invest more in its acting skills because the display it mounted today across from the Erez Crossing should be shown on the world’s largest stages – when the organization continues to lie and pretend it’s innocent.“This morning 17 members of the Palestinian Olympic Committee were supposed to go from Gaza to the West Bank. Hamas refused them passage until 1 p.m. – the time the Erez Crossing closes down. As the crossing closed Hamas released the members of the committee to the Israeli side but since it was closed they turned back. Hamas created a false impression that Israel prevented their entering the country.“We propose that the members of the committee present Hamas leaders as candidates for the world championship in lies and deceit – they will undoubtedly win first place,” Mordechai wrote.Israel has maintained a blockade on Gaza for a decade, largely restricting residents from entering. However, Israel grants hundreds of permits for medical, educational, business and other reasons per week.Israel maintains the blockade to prevent Hamas, which avowedly seeks to destroy Israel, from importing weaponry, Hamas has fought three wars with Israel since 2008.Originally from a small village in the West Bank, Faqha headed the Hamas office in Gaza tasked with launching terror attacks against Israel from and in the West Bank. His subordinates in the branch specialized in recruiting suicide attackers, collecting weapons and preparing explosive devices.Faqha was responsible for sending a suicide bomber to carry out an attack in northern Israel in 2002 in which nine people were killed and 52 were wounded. Before his release as part of the Shalit deal, Faqha was serving nine life sentences for planning the deadly attack.Dov Lieber contributed to this report.
Despite Jewish backlash, Mormon leaders encourage baptisms for the dead-The church has come under fire for posthumously converting Holocaust victims, including Simon Wiesenthal’s parents-By BRADY McCOMBS April 2, 2017, 3:17 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Mormon leaders reminded church members Saturday about the importance of performing ceremonial baptisms on dead ancestors who didn’t receive the ordinance while alive — a practice unique to the faith that came under fire in the past from Jews when they discovered Holocaust victims were being baptized.Henry Eyring told a worldwide audience during a twice-yearly Mormon conference in Salt Lake City that God wants all his children “home again, in families and in glory.” He encouraged listeners to use the religion’s massive genealogical database to trace their roots.Ceremonial baptisms occur when a member brings an ancestor’s name to a temple. Mormons believe the ritual allows deceased people a way to the afterlife if they choose to accept what they see as an offering of love. The belief that families are sealed for eternity is one of the faith’s core tenets.The practice is becoming more common because young church members have embraced it, said Eyring, a member of a top governing body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, called the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.“They have learned that this work saves not just the dead; it saves all of us,” Eyring said. “There are now many people who have accepted baptism in the spirit world. … This is the work of our generation.”But ceremonial baptisms offend members of other religions, especially Jews, who became upset years ago when they discovered attempts by Mormons to alter the religion of Holocaust victims. They included Anne Frank, a Jewish teenager forced into hiding in Amsterdam during the Holocaust and killed in a concentration camp.In the 1990s, after negotiations with Jewish leaders, the church agreed to end the ceremonial baptism of Holocaust victims. After it was revealed that they continued, including baptizing the parents of Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal, Mormon leaders in 2012 spoke out against the practice and reminded the public that a virtual firewall was put in the database to block anyone who tried to access the names of people who died in the Holocaust.Some early Christian groups may have engaged in a similar practice, but the Mormons are the only mainstream Christian faith that currently practices baptisms for the deceased, said Mormon scholar Matthew Bowman, an associate professor of history at Henderson State University.The “proxy baptisms” also were mentioned Saturday at the conference in a speech by Russell M. Nelson, another member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles who is next in line to assume the church presidency. Nelson said Mormons who keep their covenants to Jesus Christ are given “Godly power.”“God’s plan provides for those blessings to be extended to ancestors who died without an opportunity to obtain them during their mortal lives,” Nelson said.Mark Bragg, a member of a secondary governing body, applauded the increase in baptisms for the deceased: “We are experiencing great joy and celebration on both sides of the veil.”Their speeches came during the first day of a two-day conference in which leaders implored the faith’s 15.8 million members worldwide to be compassionate and devout while avoiding the many temptations of the modern world that can pull them away from their faith.Nearly 100,000 church members are expected to attend five sessions on Saturday and Sunday. Thousands more around the world will listen to the conference or watch it on television, radio, satellite and internet broadcasts in 90 different languages.Jeffrey Holland, a long-time member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said in a speech about inclusivity that there’s room in the faith for people of different “sexual attractions” if they love God and honor his commandments.His remark marked the latest attempt by the faith to foster a climate of empathy for gays and lesbians while the religion still clings to fundamental doctrinal beliefs that homosexual activity is a sin.He said there’s room in the faith for all types of people, including from different cultures; those from different family structures; and those questioning their faith. Holland also encouraged church members to embrace their uniqueness.“When we disparage our uniqueness or try to conform to fictitious stereotypes — stereotypes driven by an insatiable consumer culture and idealized beyond any possible realization by social media — we lose the richness of tone and timbre that God intended when he created a world of diversity,” Holland said.Dale Renlund, one of the newest members Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, told church members to guard against being intolerant of others with different opinions.“We must not be guilty of persecuting anyone inside or outside the church,” Renlund said. “Church history gives ample evidence of our members being treated with hatred and bigotry. How ironically sad it would be if we were to treat others as we have been treated.”
Islamists 'rearming on every level on the sea-front — systems, weapons and trainings'-Hamas looking undersea, not just underground, for attack routes-Gaza-based terrorist group is training and manufacturing weapons for naval warfare, officer warns-By Judah Ari Gross April 1, 2017, 11:07 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
While Hamas’s terror tunnels and its reportedly refilled and upgraded rocket arsenal garner attention, the Israeli Navy is keeping a watchful eye on the terror group’s growing maritime capabilities and is investing its resources in preventing attacks “at sea and from the sea,” a naval officer said.Since the 50-day war in 2014, Hamas has developed both its tactics and weaponry for sea-based warfare, training “endlessly” to carry out attacks with them, according to Maj. Irad Shtatar.A 20-year veteran of the navy, Shtatar commands the Ashdod Observation Company, a unit of mostly female soldiers who monitor optical cameras and radar arrays.“We see rearming on every level on the sea-front — systems, weapons and trainings. Hamas sees the sea as an option to achieve its aggressive, operational ambitions,” he said in his office at the Ashdod Naval Base.“In parallel, we are tracking these developments to make sure that we have a response to these threats,” he added.Hamas naval smuggling of people and materiel appears to have dropped off significantly, if not stopped completely, according to Shtatar.However, he said, there’s no way to ensure a “hermetic” seal of Gaza’s coast, leaving open the possibility that people could still be smuggled via the sea.In the time immediately following the 2014 war, the navy saw an increase in such smuggling attempts. But while there are regular reports of Israeli sailors firing warning shots toward Gazan fishing boats, Shtatar said his team has not seen any cases of it in nearly a year.He credits this to both the efforts of the Navy and the comparative ease with which Hamas can smuggle illicit goods through underground tunnels into the Sinai Peninsula.A small fishing boat, after all, can only carry so much materiel, whereas a tunnel can bring in far more, he noted.-Frogmen and submarine drones-Set up on two coastal control centers, Shtatar’s company watches above and, increasingly, below the water 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for infiltrations to Israel from the sea, smuggling and attacks on the country’s shipping lanes and gas fields.“Hamas is making serious developments in the underwater domain,” Shtatar said, but would not elaborate on what specific types of weaponry the navy believes Hamas has acquired.However, Mohammed al-Zoari, a Tunisian expert in unmanned vehicles, was said to be constructing small, remote-controlled submarine drones for the terrorist group when he was killed by gunmen in December. (The Mossad was blamed for the killing; Israel would not comment on the allegation.)-Analysts have also warned that Israel could be vulnerable to naval mines, like those that flooded global black markets with the fall of the Soviet Union.According to a 2015 assessment of Hamas written jointly by a researcher in the Prime Minister’s Office and Gabi Siboni, a program director at the Institute of National Security Studies think-tank in Tel Aviv, were the terrorist group to sink an Israeli naval ship, it would “generate a story of victory, which it long has been hoping to achieve.”But the terrorist group is working not only to attack Israeli military targets, but against civilian ones as well.“Attacking civilians is Hamas’s raison d’être,” Siboni said, in a phone conversation this week.In terms of attacks from the sea, over the past two years, Israel uncovered multiple attempts to smuggle wetsuits and other scuba gear into the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing, which the Defense Ministry says were bound for Hamas and its frogmen units.This type of attack was carried out during the 2014 war, known in Israel as Operation Protective Edge. On July 8, 2014, four Hamas naval commandos swam ashore outside Kibbutz Zikim on Israel’s southern coast.The frogmen brought with them automatic weapons, fragmentation grenades and explosives, the latter of which they used against an Israeli tank, unsuccessfully. Some 40 minutes after they came in from the surf, the Hamas operatives were killed in a combined attack from the sea, ground and air, and the incident came to a close.Initially presented by the military as an unmitigated victory, a leaked IDF review of the incident later showed the army’s response to be slower than previously thought and the commandos’ attack to be more successful than it had seemed. (Their attack on the tank, for instance, was not initially reported.) To prevent such coastal infiltrations in the future, Shtatar’s soldiers use “advanced optical cameras and radar,” as well us underwater sonar systems to track the movements of objects at sea, he said.-From Gaza to Netanya, 24 hours a day-The enlisted soldiers in the Ashdod Observation Company are exclusively female, Shtatar said, while the officers are a mix of men and women.This is not unique to Shtatar’s unit, throughout the navy, air force and ground forces, only women serve in these surveillance monitoring positions, as per the army’s understanding that they are better suited for the task than male soldiers.The unit is responsible for the waters from Gaza to just above Netanya, while the rest of the coast is monitored by soldiers in the Haifa Observation Company.Much of the soldiers’ time is spent watching and tracking Gazan fishermen, whose industry makes up a significant part of the Strip’s economy.As part of the naval blockade on Gaza, which Israel says is necessary for security reasons, fishermen must stay within 6 miles (9.66 kilometers) of the shore.Last year, that was temporarily extended in the southern half of the Gaza coast to 9 miles (14.5 kilometers) during the spring fishing season and, according to Shtatar, Israel intends to do the same this year as well.There were plans to enlarge the fishing zone for the fall season, but they eventually fell apart. Israel blamed the Palestinians for failing to abide by the conditions for the extension. Gazans blamed Israel for setting “unrealistic” demands.Palestinian fishermen who attempt to leave the permitted fishing area or those behaving “suspiciously” are intercepted by the navy, for fear that those ships could be used for smuggling or attacks, Shtatar said.A smuggling attempt was prevented in April 2016. A ship was spotted behaving suspiciously off the Gaza coast. When a navy patrol boat was called to the scene, the ship’s crew began dumping cargo overboard before jumping into the water themselves. Once the ship was empty, the navy boat blew it up.A few months later, the suspected smuggler was arrested after the ship he was sailing left the designated fishing zone, according to the Shin Bet.The Ashdod Observation Company also monitors the ships coming in and out of the Ashdod port and Israel’s commercial shipping lanes, which may not represent a security risk, but are considered a strategic asset, which could also be vulnerable to terrorist attacks.His soldiers monitor the seas around the clock, every day of the year, with the knowledge that they are responsible for the security of civilians and their fellow soldiers, Shtatar said.“It’s Sisyphean work,” he said. “But I wake up every morning with a smile.”
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