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)
ISAIAH 56:5
5 Even unto them (ISRAELIS) will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name,(ISRAEL) that shall not be cut off.
ISAIAH 51:3-4
3 For the LORD shall comfort Zion:(JERUSALEM) he will comfort all her waste places;(FROM NUCLEAR WAR) and he will make her wilderness like Eden,(I BELIEVE THE EZEKIEL-4TH TEMPLE WILL BE BUILT 25 MILES FROM THE CURRENT TEMPLE MOUNT AFTER JESUS RULE FOR THE 1,000 YRS FROM JERUSALEM) and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.(PRAISE TO JESUS IN THE DESERT-COULD BE THE NEW JERUSALEM-4TH TEMPLE BUILT 25 MILES INTO THE DESERT FROM THE CURRENT TEMPLE MOUNT.SINCE EZEKIELS TEMPLE IS WAY TO BIG FOR THE CURRENT TEMPLE MOUNT)
4 Hearken unto me, my people;(ISRAEL) and give ear unto me, O my nation:(ISRAEL) for a law shall proceed from me,(JESUS IN JERUSALEM) and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.(ISRAEL AND THE WORLD)
LUKE 21:28-29
28 And when these things begin to come to pass,(ALL THE PROPHECY SIGNS FROM THE BIBLE) then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (RAPTURE) draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree,(ISRAEL) and all the trees;(ALL INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES)
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.(ISRAEL LITERALLY BECAME AND INDEPENDENT COUNTRY JUST BEFORE SUMMER IN MAY 14,1948.)
JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth (ATOMIC BOMB) before them;(RUSSIAN-ARAB-MUSLIM ARMIES AGAINST ISRAEL) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(ATOMIC BOMB AFFECT)
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE
Netanyahu meets Kushner as part of US peace push-PM says peace is ‘within our reach,’ while Trump’s son-in-law says US president ‘very committed’ to brokering a deal-By Alexander Fulbright August 24, 2017, 2:24 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with senior White House adviser Jared Kushner on Thursday as part of a US bid to find ways to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.Speaking alongside Kushner before the start of their meeting at IDF Headquarters in the Kirya compound in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu said he believed peace was “within our reach.”“We have a lot of things to talk about. How to advance peace, stability and security in our region — prosperity too — and I think all of them are within our reach,” he said.“So I am happy to see you and the effort you’re leading on behalf of the [US] President [Donald Trump] with Jason [Greenblatt] and other members of your team,” the prime minister said. “I think this is a sign of the great alliance between us and the great goals that guide us.”Kushner told Netanyahu that Trump is “very committed” to help broker a peace deal and thanked the prime minister for working with the White House toward that goal.“The president is very committed to achieving a solution here that will be able to bring prosperity and peace to all people in this area,” he said. “We really appreciate the commitment of the prime minister and his team to engaging very thoughtfully and and respectfully in the way that the president has asked him to do so.”Kushner also said “the relationship between Israel and America is stronger than ever and we really thank Prime Minister Netanyahu for his leadership and his partnership.”Kushner, who is also Trump’s son-in-law, arrived in Israel Wednesday evening as part of a trip to the region aimed at looking for way to jumpstart peace talks. Kushner is accompanied on the trip by peace envoy Jason Greenblatt and Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategy Dina Powell.The US delegation’s visit to the region comes as Palestinian figures have become more vocal in expressing disappointment in Washington’s unclear approach to peace efforts so far.Ahead of the US delegation’s meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday evening, dozens of Palestinians protested in Ramallah against alleged favoritism by the US toward Israel.One of the demonstrators held a sign of Kushner being held on a leash by Ivanka Trump, who says “Kushner is our dog” while wearing a dress with the Israeli flag. The protester led the crowd in chants of “The American is not welcome; the dog that serves Tel Aviv.”Palestinian officials quoted in Hebrew and Arabic media have accused Kushner of taking Israel’s side on Mideast peace process issues, including PA payments to convicted terrorists, which Ramallah has refused to halt.A US diplomatic source told reporters in Jerusalem on Wednesday night that Trump wanted discussions “to focus on the transition to substantive… peace talks, the situation in Gaza, including how to ease the humanitarian crisis there, and the economic steps that can be taken.”The president acknowledges that “there are likely to be a lot of ups and downs on the way to peace and making a peace deal will take time,” but he “remains optimistic that progress toward a deal can be achieved,” the source said.The delegation arrived in Israel after several meetings with other leaders around the Middle East on the topic, including in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. No breakthroughs are expected.Amman said in a statement that King Abdullah II, Kushner and Greenblatt stressed the need to start “serious and effective peace negotiations” on the “basis of the two-state solution,” during a meeting Tuesday.Abbas reportedly told Israeli left-wing politicians recently that despite more than 20 meetings with US officials he was still unclear what Trump’s strategy was.“I don’t even know how they are dealing with us, because his entire administration is in chaos,” Abbas told a delegation of dovish Israeli lawmakers visiting Ramallah.Ahmed Majdalani, a senior member of the Palestine Liberation Organization which Abbas heads, told AFP they were demanding “a clear and frank answer on the position of the administration on the two-state solution and settlements.”“Without a clear American commitment to the two-state solution and stopping settlements and ending the occupation, we don’t expect much from this administration.”On Tuesday, PA Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said that over two decades of peace negotiations with Israelis had produced “nothing,” and called on the international community to unilaterally establish a state of Palestine.“We convinced the international community that the best way to reach a state is through negotiations. But after 24 years of negotiations, we have not gotten anything,” Maliki said in a meeting with British Secretary of State for the Middle East and North Africa Alistair Burt in Ramallah.Omar al-Ghoul, a Palestinian political analyst, said there was little optimism from the Palestinian leadership.“The level of optimism from the Palestinian leadership and people towards the Trump administration is zero,” he said.“There is not a glimmer of hope the administration will change its politics and positions.”Despite the frustration expressed by Palestinian leaders, a White House official told The Times of Israel earlier this month that Trump believes an “opportunity” has opened up to advance his peace initiative.“He believes that the restoration of calm and the stabilized situation in Jerusalem after the recent crisis on the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif has created an opportunity to continue discussions and the pursuit of peace that began early in his administration,” the official said.Recently, off-the-record remarks by Kushner — made to a casual gathering of congressional interns — were leaked to the media in which he said there may not be a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Times of Israel staff and AFP contributed to this report.
Police allow one-day ‘trial’ for MKs to enter Temple Mount-Unimpressed by announcement, Yehudah Glick says PM has until September 15 to respond to his High Court petition against ban on lawmakers visiting the holy site-By Times of Israel staff August 24, 2017, 10:41 am
Israel Police has announced that Knesset members will be allowed to enter the Temple Mount for one day next week as part of a “trial” coordinated with the Prime Minister’s Office.“The decision was made in light of the improvement in the security situation at the compound,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement Wednesday.The announcement came hours after MKs Yehudah Glick (Likud) and Shuli Mualem-Refaeli were stopped by police while attempting to enter the Temple Mount compound through the Mughrabi Bridge entrance.Last Monday, Glick held office hours outside an entrance to the Temple Mount in protest of the ongoing ban against MKs visiting the holy site.“I’m here to protest the fact that the prime minister won’t enable police to allow us to enter the Temple Mount,” Glick told journalists at the site.In 2014, a Palestinian terrorist attempted to assassinate Glick, telling him, right before pulling the trigger, that he was “an enemy of al-Aqsa,” the mosque that sits on the site, which is Judaism’s holiest place and Islam’s third-holiest after the Saudi Arabian cities of Mecca and Medina.Lawmakers have been banned from visiting the Temple Mount since November 2015 as part of an attempt to reduce tensions amid an uptick in Palestinian terror attacks against Israelis that included car-ramming and stabbing attacks.Following discussions with Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, the prime minister decided in early July that the ban on MKs going to the Temple Mount would be lifted for a period of seven days to assess the fallout from the move — though on Wednesday, the trial period seemed to have been reduced to a single day.That permission comes after Glick filed a petition to the High Court of Justice against the ban.In responding to Wednesday’s police announcement, Glick indicated his petition would not be withdrawn. “The prime minister must inform the High Court by September 15 why he does not allow lawmakers to ascend the Temple Mount.”Glick told Israel Radio on Thursday that the decision to open the mount for a single day to all MKs seemed intended to instigate a fight at the holy site, giving the prime minister an excuse to continue the ban. “When MKs Ahmad Tibi and Jamal Zahalke [of the Arab Joint List] walk past [Likud’s] Oren Hazan, they’ll confront each other,” Glick predicted, leading to shouting matches and possible violence at the holy site. Netanyahu could then tell the High Court he “tried and it didn’t work.”“I do not want to ascend the Temple Mount as a politician promoting an agenda and to participate in unnecessary conflicts. I want to ascend as an individual and commune with the Master of the Universe,” he said.
State Department: Endorsing two-state solution would make us biased-Comments come as US delegation arrives in region to jump start talks amid Palestinian grumblings about lack of clarity-By Eric Cortellessa August 24, 2017, 5:49 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
WASHINGTON — Committing to the two-state solution would bias Washington in Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts, a US official said Wednesday, as a high-level delegation arrived in the region to try and jump start talks amid Palestinian protests over a lack of clarity from the White House.“We are not going to state what the outcome has to be,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said. “It has to be workable to both sides. That’s the best view as to not really bias one side over the other, to make sure that they can work through it.”Her comments came as Palestinians have increasingly complained over the White House’s refusal to endorse the two-state solution, breaking with longstanding US policy and an international consensus.On Sunday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told a group of dovish Israeli lawmakers that he had met with Trump officials 20 times, but had no idea what their stance on issues was, describing the administration as “in chaos.”Other officials have expressed dismay as well and accused the US of being biased toward Israel, even as a delegation led by Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner arrives in the region to try and find a way forward.On Tuesday, Ahmad Majdalani, a top aide to Abbas, said the Palestinians asked Kushner for the US position on two key issues — Israeli settlements and support for Palestinian independence — during his last visit to the region in June.“Since then we didn’t hear from them,” he said.“We hope they bring clear answers this time,” he added. “If not, then the peace process cannot be resumed because we cannot negotiate from scratch.”Nauert’s comments appeared to reflect recognition of a lack of support for the two state solution in Israel’s right-wing government.While most members of the current Israeli government are not on record supporting two states, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has at least rhetorically held that stance since 2009, although he has wavered on it in recent years.Abbas supports a two-state outcome, which he articulated in remarks alongside President Trump during their last joint appearance in Bethlehem in May.Trump, however, broke with his predecessors last February when Netanyahu visited Washington. Standing alongside the Israeli premier, Trump said, “I’m looking at two-state and one-state, and I like the one that both parties like.”On Wednesday, Nauert suggested that the United States inserting its view into the negotiations would not yield to an agreement. Rather, only Israelis and Palestinians can find a lasting resolution.“It’s been many, many decades, as you well know, that the parties have not been able to come to any kind of good agreement and sustainable solution to this,” she said. “So we leave it up to them to be able to work that through.”Her remarks came as Kushner, Special Envoy for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt, and Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategy Dina Powell arrived in Israel to meet separately with Netanyahu and Abbas.The delegation arrived in Israel after several meetings with other leaders around the Middle East on the topic, including in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.On Tuesday, King Abdullah II of Jordan told the Kushner-led team that the two-state solution is the only way to solve the conflict.A US diplomatic source told reporters Wednesday night in Jerusalem that the president wants discussions “to focus on the transition to substantive … peace talks, the situation in Gaza, including how to ease the humanitarian crisis there, and the economic steps that can be taken.”That being said, Trump acknowledges “there are likely to be a lot of ups and downs on the way to peace and making a peace deal will take time,” but that he “remains optimistic that progress toward a deal can be achieved,” the source said.
In Kiev, Mattis says Moscow wants to redraw borders by force-The US defense secretary also suggests that he favors providing Ukraine with defensive lethal weapons-By Robert Burns August 24, 2017, 5:36 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — On the 26th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence from Moscow, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis accused Russia of menacing Europe and suggested that he favors providing Ukraine with defensive lethal weapons.Mattis also said the Trump administration will not accept Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region.After attending a spirted and colorful independence day parade, Mattis met with President Petro Poroshenko and other top government leaders. He is the first Pentagon chief to visit the former Soviet republic since Robert Gates in 2007.“Have no doubt,” Mattis said at a news conference with Poroshenko. “The United States stands with Ukraine.” He said Washington does not, “and we will not,” accept Russia’s annexation of Crimea, a 2014 action that was followed by Russian military intervention in support of separatists in eastern Ukraine.Poroshenko told reporters that Crimea is Ukrainian territory. “It should come back to Ukraine,” he said.Mattis was blunt in his criticism of Russia and said his presence in Kiev is intended as a statement of the depth of American commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty.“Despite Russia’s denials, we know they are seeking to redraw international borders by force,” Mattis said, an ambition by Moscow that the secretary said is undermining sovereign European nations and stirring tension.Asked by a reporter whether he agrees with the Obama administration’s view that selling defensive lethal weapons to Ukraine would provoke Moscow, Mattis replied, “Defensive weapons are not provocative unless you’re an aggressor.”Mattis declined to say explicitly what he would recommend to the White House on the weapons issue. He did not say so, but it is known that the Pentagon and the State Department have recommended going ahead with defensive weapons transfers to Ukraine.Poroshenko sidestepped the question of how soon he expects a White House decision on arms. He said, however, that Moscow should realize that stepping up US military support for Kiev “would increase the price if Russia made the decision to attack my troops and my territory.”Poroshenko said an estimated 3,000 “regular” Russian troops are in eastern Ukraine.In his remarks, Mattis cited agreements and commitments that Moscow has made since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, including a two-year-old accord known as the Minsk Agreement, which lays out a roadmap for reducing the conflict in Ukraine that has claimed some 10,000 lives over the past three years. He also cited other Russian commitments to Ukraine dating to 1994.“Unfortunately, Russia is not adhering to the letter, much less the spirit of these international commitments,” he said.“We in the United States understand the strategic challenges associated with Russian aggression,” Mattis added.It has been known for weeks that the Trump administration has reopened consideration of long-rejected plans to give Ukraine lethal weapons.Those deliberations put pressure on US President Donald Trump, who is fighting perceptions he is soft on Moscow amid investigations into whether his campaign colluded with the Kremlin to interfere in the 2016 US. election.In his remarks alongside Poroshenko, Mattis said the US was committed to helping Ukraine build and modernize its armed forces.Senator John McCain, a vocal critic of president Barack Obama’s cautious approach to assisting the Ukrainian army, said Wednesday that Trump should change that course.“It is long past time for the United States to provide Ukraine the defensive lethal assistance it needs to deter and defend against further Russian aggression,” McCain said in a statement.“Raising the cost of aggression may help to change Vladimir Putin’s calculus, pressure Russia to fully comply with the Minsk agreements, and, ultimately, create more stable security conditions on the ground that are essential for peace.”
Qatar restores diplomatic ties to Iran amid regional crisis-Move comes just days after Saudi Arabia began promoting a Qatari royal whose branch was ousted in a palace coup in 1972-By Jon Gambrell August 24, 2017, 1:29 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Qatar restored full diplomatic relations with Iran early Thursday, disregarding the demands of Arab nations now locked in a regional dispute with the energy-rich country that it lessen its ties to Tehran.In announcing its decision, Qatar did not mention the diplomatic crisis roiling Gulf Arab nations since June, when Qatar found its land, sea and air routes cut off by its neighbors over Doha’s policies across the Mideast.However, the move comes just days after Saudi Arabia began promoting a Qatari royal family member whose branch of the family was ousted in a palace coup in 1972.“Qatar has shown it is going to go in a different direction,” said Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a research fellow at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University who lives in Seattle. “It could very well be calculated toward reinforcing the point that Qatar will not bow to this regional pressure placed upon it.”Qatar’s Foreign Ministry announced early Thursday that the country’s ambassador would return to Tehran. Qatar pulled its ambassador in early 2016 after Saudi Arabia’s execution of a prominent Shiite cleric sparked attacks on two Saudi diplomatic posts in Iran, a move to show solidarity with the kingdom.“The state of Qatar expressed its aspiration to strengthen bilateral relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran in all fields,” a short Foreign Ministry statement said.Iranian state media acknowledged the development, without elaborating.Despite recalling its ambassador in 2016, Iran and Qatar maintained their valuable commercial ties. Qatar and Iran share a massive offshore natural gas field, called the South Pars Field by Tehran and the North Field by Doha.That gas field’s vast reserves made Qataris have the highest per capita income in the world, as well as funded the nation’s Al-Jazeera satellite news network and secured hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup.Since the diplomatic dispute with Arab nations began in June, Iran has sent food shipments to Qatar. Shiite power Iran also has incorporated the crisis into its regular criticism of the Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia, part of the two Mideast powers’ long-running proxy war.There was no immediate reaction from the Arab nations boycotting Qatar. On Wednesday, the Central African nation of Chad announced it would close its embassy in Doha, accusing Qatar of trying to destabilize it from neighboring Libya.The diplomatic crisis began June 5, when Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates cut ties to Qatar over allegations including it funding extremists and being too close to Iran. Qatar long has denied funding extremists.The boycotting countries later issued a list of 13 demands to Qatar, including that Doha shut its diplomatic posts in Iran. Qatar ignored the demands and let a deadline to comply pass, creating an apparent stalemate in the crisis. Attempts by Kuwait, the US and others have failed to make headway.In recent days, however, Saudi Arabia announced it would allow Qataris to make the annual hajj pilgrimage, which is required of all able-bodied Muslims once in their life. Saudi state media said that came in part due to an intercession by Qatari royal family member Sheikh Abdullah Al Thani, who met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and later a vacationing King Salman in Morocco.But Sheikh Abdullah has no role in Qatar’s government and his last position was as head of the equestrian and camel racing federation decades ago. Sheikh Abdullah’s grandfather, father and brother were rulers of Qatar until a palace coup ousted his branch of the royal family in 1972 and a prominent Saudi columnist has suggested the sheikh could be the start of a Qatari government-in-exile.Ulrichsen cautioned that so far, the Saudi moves appeared to be more needling than anything else.“Given that a formal escalation in terms of sanctions is probably off the table for now, we’re seeing this informal pressure on Qatar … to try and perhaps stir the pot,” the professor said. “I think the informal pressure is increasing because of the lack of formal alternative measures they can realistically hope to place on Qatar.”
US says doubts over Iran deal remain after meeting nuke watchdog-Nikki Haley writes that she got ‘many good answers’ during her sit-down with the IAEA, but many concerns over accord criticized by White House linger-By Times of Israel staff and AP August 24, 2017, 1:47 am
The United States still has doubts and concerns over the nuclear deal with Iran, the US ambassador to the United Nations said Wednesday, after a meeting with atomic officials intended to allay American anxieties about the landmark accord.Nikki Haley also said the US is determined to ensure the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency has the resources it needs for “robust verification of nuclear-related activities in Iran.”Haley met behind closed doors in Vienna Wednesday with IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano to be briefed on Iran’s compliance with the nuclear agreement, which US President Donald Trump has called into question, drawing threats from Iran of restarting its high-enrichment program.“We came to Vienna with lots of questions about the Iran Deal. We received many good answers but we still have many doubts and concerns,” Haley wrote on Twitter after the meeting.We came to Vienna with lots of questions about the Iran Deal. We received many good answers but we still have many doubts and concerns. http://pic.twitter.com/tpvcNRiolI— Nikki Haley (@nikkihaley) August 23, 2017-In an official statement, Haley said she discussed American concerns about “ensuring Iran strictly adheres to its obligations.”The IAEA is charged with verifying compliance with the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and six major powers, including the United States. The pact outlined what Tehran had to do to pull back its nuclear program from the brink of weapons-making capacity in return for the West ending many of the financial, trade and oil sanctions that had battered Iran’s economy.Trump has repeatedly criticized the deal, but has yet to pull out of it. Iran in response has threatened it can begin enriching weapons-grade uranium in a number of days if the US breaches the accord.Before the meeting, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a letter to Amano and European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini that Haley’s visit was another step by the US “that flies in the face” of the nuclear agreement.While US officials are free to travel and meet IAEA officials, Zarif said the publicly stated purpose of Haley’s visit to discuss US concerns “raises several serious concerns over further violations of the letter and spirit” of the nuclear deal and the UN Security Council resolution endorsing it.“Regrettably, this visit, with the stated purpose to ‘press the agency,’ is widely perceived by the international community as a manifest and blatant attempt…to put pressure on the agency and adversely affect the professional and impartial nature of the work of the IAEA in carrying out the job entrusted to it,” he said.The foreign minister complained that the way the US planned and publicized Haley’s visit created “further uncertainty and ambiguity” among other countries and the private sector over the sustainability of the nuclear agreement.He said this was another example of US “mala fide” — or “bad faith” — aimed at “limiting Iran’s benefits from the deal.”Zarif said in the letter, dated Saturday and obtained by The Associated Press, that Haley’s visit could also “undermine the credibility” of the IAEA, which is vital to global nuclear nonproliferation and is charged by the UN Security Council to play an “independent role” in verifying compliance with the Iran nuclear deal.Haley’s statement after meeting Amano praised the IAEA’s “credibility, professionalism and seriousness” in conducting its monitoring and verification work in Iran, but noted that the agency’s reports can only be as good as the access Iran grants.Zarif said he was confident that Amano “will deal with this visit and other similar attempts with absolute professionalism and integrity.”
Arab Israeli man charged with aiding Temple Mount terrorists-Shin Bet says investigation of deadly shooting attack uncovered connections between the gunmen and banned Northern Branch of Islamic Movement-By Judah Ari Gross August 24, 2017, 12:24 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
An Arab Israeli man was indicted Thursday for assisting the three gunmen who killed two police officers just outside the Temple Mount compound last month.The Shin Bet security service said the suspect, 35-year-old Amjad Muhammad Ahmad Jabarin from the city of Umm al-Fahm, transported the three terrorists to Jerusalem, spoke with them about their plans ahead of time, and “even offered to join them in carrying out the attack on at least two occasions.”During his interrogation, Jabarin also revealed connections between the three terrorists — all of them named Muhammad Jabarin from Umm al-Fahm — and the outlawed Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement, the Shin Bet said.On July 14, at approximately 3:00 a.m., the three gunmen, all of whom were named Muhammad Jabarin, arrived at the Temple Mount from Umm al-Fahm for prayers with guns and a knife hidden under their clothes. The weapons had been smuggled into the site by an accomplice.They remained at the holy site for four hours, before walking out toward the Muslim Quarter. Just after 7:00 a.m., they opened fire at two Israel Police officers, Haiel Sitawe, 30, and Kamil Shnaan, 22, who were stationed at one of the entrances to the Temple Mount, killing them. Other police officers on the scene shot back at the terrorists, killing them.Amjad Jabarin was arrested on July 23, nine days after the attack. On Thursday, he was formally charged in a Haifa District Court as an accessory to murder.According to the indictment, Jabarin trained with the terrorists ahead of the attack, joining them when they went to practice shooting their improvised “Carlo” submachine guns.The night before the attack, he also drove the three to a soccer field in Umm al-Fahm, which served as a pickup point for a shuttle to the Temple Mount, knowing that they were armed and planning to carry out the shooting, according to the charges against him.After the attack, Jabarin also hid some of the killers’ belongings — cellphones and keys to a car — which they’d given him beforehand, according to the indictment.The Shin Bet said the men came together to plan their attack at the mosque in Umm al-Fahm’s al-Malsa’a neighborhood.“The findings of the investigation pointed to a clear link between the al-Malsa’a mosque and the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement, which was declared an illegal organization in November 2015 and is now considered a terrorist organization,” the agency said.The Shin Bet noted that one of the gunmen was responsible for maintenance at the mosque and served as its muezzin, the person who performs the call to prayer.According to the indictment against Amjad Jabarin, he also used his position in the mosque to hide two of the guns used in the attack inside the building.“In addition, connections were found between the assailants and the Islamic Movement, including support for the ideas put out by the movement and through their involvement in organizations that have clear links to the Islamic Movement,” the Shin Bet said.As an example, the agency noted that the terrorist who served as the al-Malsa’a mosque’s muezzin was once active in the Mourabitoun, a group that often clashed with Israeli security forces on the Temple Mount and was declared illegal in September 2015 over its ties to the Islamic Movement and Hamas.In addition to the accessory to murder charge, Amjad Jabarin was also indicted for being an accessory to a terror attack, using a weapon for the purposes of terror, obstruction of justice and planning to commit a crime.The Temple Mount attack led to weeks of instability in Jerusalem and the West Bank. Following the Friday morning shooting, Israel shut down the complex for the rest of the day — something that hadn’t been done on a Friday, the most popular day for Muslim prayer, in nearly 50 years.When the site reopened two days later, police had installed metal detectors at the entrances to the holy site, which local Muslim officials decried as attempts to change the status quo. The weeks that followed saw numerous bloody clashes between police and East Jerusalemites, who refused to pass through the detectors and instead held at times violent protests outside the Old City.A degree of calm was restored to the capital after the government agreed to remove the metal detectors and other security measures from the entrances to the Temple Mount on July 25.
5 Even unto them (ISRAELIS) will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name,(ISRAEL) that shall not be cut off.
ISAIAH 51:3-4
3 For the LORD shall comfort Zion:(JERUSALEM) he will comfort all her waste places;(FROM NUCLEAR WAR) and he will make her wilderness like Eden,(I BELIEVE THE EZEKIEL-4TH TEMPLE WILL BE BUILT 25 MILES FROM THE CURRENT TEMPLE MOUNT AFTER JESUS RULE FOR THE 1,000 YRS FROM JERUSALEM) and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.(PRAISE TO JESUS IN THE DESERT-COULD BE THE NEW JERUSALEM-4TH TEMPLE BUILT 25 MILES INTO THE DESERT FROM THE CURRENT TEMPLE MOUNT.SINCE EZEKIELS TEMPLE IS WAY TO BIG FOR THE CURRENT TEMPLE MOUNT)
4 Hearken unto me, my people;(ISRAEL) and give ear unto me, O my nation:(ISRAEL) for a law shall proceed from me,(JESUS IN JERUSALEM) and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.(ISRAEL AND THE WORLD)
LUKE 21:28-29
28 And when these things begin to come to pass,(ALL THE PROPHECY SIGNS FROM THE BIBLE) then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (RAPTURE) draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree,(ISRAEL) and all the trees;(ALL INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES)
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.(ISRAEL LITERALLY BECAME AND INDEPENDENT COUNTRY JUST BEFORE SUMMER IN MAY 14,1948.)
JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth (ATOMIC BOMB) before them;(RUSSIAN-ARAB-MUSLIM ARMIES AGAINST ISRAEL) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(ATOMIC BOMB AFFECT)
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE
Netanyahu meets Kushner as part of US peace push-PM says peace is ‘within our reach,’ while Trump’s son-in-law says US president ‘very committed’ to brokering a deal-By Alexander Fulbright August 24, 2017, 2:24 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with senior White House adviser Jared Kushner on Thursday as part of a US bid to find ways to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.Speaking alongside Kushner before the start of their meeting at IDF Headquarters in the Kirya compound in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu said he believed peace was “within our reach.”“We have a lot of things to talk about. How to advance peace, stability and security in our region — prosperity too — and I think all of them are within our reach,” he said.“So I am happy to see you and the effort you’re leading on behalf of the [US] President [Donald Trump] with Jason [Greenblatt] and other members of your team,” the prime minister said. “I think this is a sign of the great alliance between us and the great goals that guide us.”Kushner told Netanyahu that Trump is “very committed” to help broker a peace deal and thanked the prime minister for working with the White House toward that goal.“The president is very committed to achieving a solution here that will be able to bring prosperity and peace to all people in this area,” he said. “We really appreciate the commitment of the prime minister and his team to engaging very thoughtfully and and respectfully in the way that the president has asked him to do so.”Kushner also said “the relationship between Israel and America is stronger than ever and we really thank Prime Minister Netanyahu for his leadership and his partnership.”Kushner, who is also Trump’s son-in-law, arrived in Israel Wednesday evening as part of a trip to the region aimed at looking for way to jumpstart peace talks. Kushner is accompanied on the trip by peace envoy Jason Greenblatt and Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategy Dina Powell.The US delegation’s visit to the region comes as Palestinian figures have become more vocal in expressing disappointment in Washington’s unclear approach to peace efforts so far.Ahead of the US delegation’s meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday evening, dozens of Palestinians protested in Ramallah against alleged favoritism by the US toward Israel.One of the demonstrators held a sign of Kushner being held on a leash by Ivanka Trump, who says “Kushner is our dog” while wearing a dress with the Israeli flag. The protester led the crowd in chants of “The American is not welcome; the dog that serves Tel Aviv.”Palestinian officials quoted in Hebrew and Arabic media have accused Kushner of taking Israel’s side on Mideast peace process issues, including PA payments to convicted terrorists, which Ramallah has refused to halt.A US diplomatic source told reporters in Jerusalem on Wednesday night that Trump wanted discussions “to focus on the transition to substantive… peace talks, the situation in Gaza, including how to ease the humanitarian crisis there, and the economic steps that can be taken.”The president acknowledges that “there are likely to be a lot of ups and downs on the way to peace and making a peace deal will take time,” but he “remains optimistic that progress toward a deal can be achieved,” the source said.The delegation arrived in Israel after several meetings with other leaders around the Middle East on the topic, including in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. No breakthroughs are expected.Amman said in a statement that King Abdullah II, Kushner and Greenblatt stressed the need to start “serious and effective peace negotiations” on the “basis of the two-state solution,” during a meeting Tuesday.Abbas reportedly told Israeli left-wing politicians recently that despite more than 20 meetings with US officials he was still unclear what Trump’s strategy was.“I don’t even know how they are dealing with us, because his entire administration is in chaos,” Abbas told a delegation of dovish Israeli lawmakers visiting Ramallah.Ahmed Majdalani, a senior member of the Palestine Liberation Organization which Abbas heads, told AFP they were demanding “a clear and frank answer on the position of the administration on the two-state solution and settlements.”“Without a clear American commitment to the two-state solution and stopping settlements and ending the occupation, we don’t expect much from this administration.”On Tuesday, PA Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said that over two decades of peace negotiations with Israelis had produced “nothing,” and called on the international community to unilaterally establish a state of Palestine.“We convinced the international community that the best way to reach a state is through negotiations. But after 24 years of negotiations, we have not gotten anything,” Maliki said in a meeting with British Secretary of State for the Middle East and North Africa Alistair Burt in Ramallah.Omar al-Ghoul, a Palestinian political analyst, said there was little optimism from the Palestinian leadership.“The level of optimism from the Palestinian leadership and people towards the Trump administration is zero,” he said.“There is not a glimmer of hope the administration will change its politics and positions.”Despite the frustration expressed by Palestinian leaders, a White House official told The Times of Israel earlier this month that Trump believes an “opportunity” has opened up to advance his peace initiative.“He believes that the restoration of calm and the stabilized situation in Jerusalem after the recent crisis on the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif has created an opportunity to continue discussions and the pursuit of peace that began early in his administration,” the official said.Recently, off-the-record remarks by Kushner — made to a casual gathering of congressional interns — were leaked to the media in which he said there may not be a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Times of Israel staff and AFP contributed to this report.
Police allow one-day ‘trial’ for MKs to enter Temple Mount-Unimpressed by announcement, Yehudah Glick says PM has until September 15 to respond to his High Court petition against ban on lawmakers visiting the holy site-By Times of Israel staff August 24, 2017, 10:41 am
Israel Police has announced that Knesset members will be allowed to enter the Temple Mount for one day next week as part of a “trial” coordinated with the Prime Minister’s Office.“The decision was made in light of the improvement in the security situation at the compound,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement Wednesday.The announcement came hours after MKs Yehudah Glick (Likud) and Shuli Mualem-Refaeli were stopped by police while attempting to enter the Temple Mount compound through the Mughrabi Bridge entrance.Last Monday, Glick held office hours outside an entrance to the Temple Mount in protest of the ongoing ban against MKs visiting the holy site.“I’m here to protest the fact that the prime minister won’t enable police to allow us to enter the Temple Mount,” Glick told journalists at the site.In 2014, a Palestinian terrorist attempted to assassinate Glick, telling him, right before pulling the trigger, that he was “an enemy of al-Aqsa,” the mosque that sits on the site, which is Judaism’s holiest place and Islam’s third-holiest after the Saudi Arabian cities of Mecca and Medina.Lawmakers have been banned from visiting the Temple Mount since November 2015 as part of an attempt to reduce tensions amid an uptick in Palestinian terror attacks against Israelis that included car-ramming and stabbing attacks.Following discussions with Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, the prime minister decided in early July that the ban on MKs going to the Temple Mount would be lifted for a period of seven days to assess the fallout from the move — though on Wednesday, the trial period seemed to have been reduced to a single day.That permission comes after Glick filed a petition to the High Court of Justice against the ban.In responding to Wednesday’s police announcement, Glick indicated his petition would not be withdrawn. “The prime minister must inform the High Court by September 15 why he does not allow lawmakers to ascend the Temple Mount.”Glick told Israel Radio on Thursday that the decision to open the mount for a single day to all MKs seemed intended to instigate a fight at the holy site, giving the prime minister an excuse to continue the ban. “When MKs Ahmad Tibi and Jamal Zahalke [of the Arab Joint List] walk past [Likud’s] Oren Hazan, they’ll confront each other,” Glick predicted, leading to shouting matches and possible violence at the holy site. Netanyahu could then tell the High Court he “tried and it didn’t work.”“I do not want to ascend the Temple Mount as a politician promoting an agenda and to participate in unnecessary conflicts. I want to ascend as an individual and commune with the Master of the Universe,” he said.
State Department: Endorsing two-state solution would make us biased-Comments come as US delegation arrives in region to jump start talks amid Palestinian grumblings about lack of clarity-By Eric Cortellessa August 24, 2017, 5:49 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
WASHINGTON — Committing to the two-state solution would bias Washington in Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts, a US official said Wednesday, as a high-level delegation arrived in the region to try and jump start talks amid Palestinian protests over a lack of clarity from the White House.“We are not going to state what the outcome has to be,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said. “It has to be workable to both sides. That’s the best view as to not really bias one side over the other, to make sure that they can work through it.”Her comments came as Palestinians have increasingly complained over the White House’s refusal to endorse the two-state solution, breaking with longstanding US policy and an international consensus.On Sunday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told a group of dovish Israeli lawmakers that he had met with Trump officials 20 times, but had no idea what their stance on issues was, describing the administration as “in chaos.”Other officials have expressed dismay as well and accused the US of being biased toward Israel, even as a delegation led by Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner arrives in the region to try and find a way forward.On Tuesday, Ahmad Majdalani, a top aide to Abbas, said the Palestinians asked Kushner for the US position on two key issues — Israeli settlements and support for Palestinian independence — during his last visit to the region in June.“Since then we didn’t hear from them,” he said.“We hope they bring clear answers this time,” he added. “If not, then the peace process cannot be resumed because we cannot negotiate from scratch.”Nauert’s comments appeared to reflect recognition of a lack of support for the two state solution in Israel’s right-wing government.While most members of the current Israeli government are not on record supporting two states, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has at least rhetorically held that stance since 2009, although he has wavered on it in recent years.Abbas supports a two-state outcome, which he articulated in remarks alongside President Trump during their last joint appearance in Bethlehem in May.Trump, however, broke with his predecessors last February when Netanyahu visited Washington. Standing alongside the Israeli premier, Trump said, “I’m looking at two-state and one-state, and I like the one that both parties like.”On Wednesday, Nauert suggested that the United States inserting its view into the negotiations would not yield to an agreement. Rather, only Israelis and Palestinians can find a lasting resolution.“It’s been many, many decades, as you well know, that the parties have not been able to come to any kind of good agreement and sustainable solution to this,” she said. “So we leave it up to them to be able to work that through.”Her remarks came as Kushner, Special Envoy for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt, and Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategy Dina Powell arrived in Israel to meet separately with Netanyahu and Abbas.The delegation arrived in Israel after several meetings with other leaders around the Middle East on the topic, including in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.On Tuesday, King Abdullah II of Jordan told the Kushner-led team that the two-state solution is the only way to solve the conflict.A US diplomatic source told reporters Wednesday night in Jerusalem that the president wants discussions “to focus on the transition to substantive … peace talks, the situation in Gaza, including how to ease the humanitarian crisis there, and the economic steps that can be taken.”That being said, Trump acknowledges “there are likely to be a lot of ups and downs on the way to peace and making a peace deal will take time,” but that he “remains optimistic that progress toward a deal can be achieved,” the source said.
In Kiev, Mattis says Moscow wants to redraw borders by force-The US defense secretary also suggests that he favors providing Ukraine with defensive lethal weapons-By Robert Burns August 24, 2017, 5:36 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — On the 26th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence from Moscow, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis accused Russia of menacing Europe and suggested that he favors providing Ukraine with defensive lethal weapons.Mattis also said the Trump administration will not accept Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region.After attending a spirted and colorful independence day parade, Mattis met with President Petro Poroshenko and other top government leaders. He is the first Pentagon chief to visit the former Soviet republic since Robert Gates in 2007.“Have no doubt,” Mattis said at a news conference with Poroshenko. “The United States stands with Ukraine.” He said Washington does not, “and we will not,” accept Russia’s annexation of Crimea, a 2014 action that was followed by Russian military intervention in support of separatists in eastern Ukraine.Poroshenko told reporters that Crimea is Ukrainian territory. “It should come back to Ukraine,” he said.Mattis was blunt in his criticism of Russia and said his presence in Kiev is intended as a statement of the depth of American commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty.“Despite Russia’s denials, we know they are seeking to redraw international borders by force,” Mattis said, an ambition by Moscow that the secretary said is undermining sovereign European nations and stirring tension.Asked by a reporter whether he agrees with the Obama administration’s view that selling defensive lethal weapons to Ukraine would provoke Moscow, Mattis replied, “Defensive weapons are not provocative unless you’re an aggressor.”Mattis declined to say explicitly what he would recommend to the White House on the weapons issue. He did not say so, but it is known that the Pentagon and the State Department have recommended going ahead with defensive weapons transfers to Ukraine.Poroshenko sidestepped the question of how soon he expects a White House decision on arms. He said, however, that Moscow should realize that stepping up US military support for Kiev “would increase the price if Russia made the decision to attack my troops and my territory.”Poroshenko said an estimated 3,000 “regular” Russian troops are in eastern Ukraine.In his remarks, Mattis cited agreements and commitments that Moscow has made since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, including a two-year-old accord known as the Minsk Agreement, which lays out a roadmap for reducing the conflict in Ukraine that has claimed some 10,000 lives over the past three years. He also cited other Russian commitments to Ukraine dating to 1994.“Unfortunately, Russia is not adhering to the letter, much less the spirit of these international commitments,” he said.“We in the United States understand the strategic challenges associated with Russian aggression,” Mattis added.It has been known for weeks that the Trump administration has reopened consideration of long-rejected plans to give Ukraine lethal weapons.Those deliberations put pressure on US President Donald Trump, who is fighting perceptions he is soft on Moscow amid investigations into whether his campaign colluded with the Kremlin to interfere in the 2016 US. election.In his remarks alongside Poroshenko, Mattis said the US was committed to helping Ukraine build and modernize its armed forces.Senator John McCain, a vocal critic of president Barack Obama’s cautious approach to assisting the Ukrainian army, said Wednesday that Trump should change that course.“It is long past time for the United States to provide Ukraine the defensive lethal assistance it needs to deter and defend against further Russian aggression,” McCain said in a statement.“Raising the cost of aggression may help to change Vladimir Putin’s calculus, pressure Russia to fully comply with the Minsk agreements, and, ultimately, create more stable security conditions on the ground that are essential for peace.”
Qatar restores diplomatic ties to Iran amid regional crisis-Move comes just days after Saudi Arabia began promoting a Qatari royal whose branch was ousted in a palace coup in 1972-By Jon Gambrell August 24, 2017, 1:29 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Qatar restored full diplomatic relations with Iran early Thursday, disregarding the demands of Arab nations now locked in a regional dispute with the energy-rich country that it lessen its ties to Tehran.In announcing its decision, Qatar did not mention the diplomatic crisis roiling Gulf Arab nations since June, when Qatar found its land, sea and air routes cut off by its neighbors over Doha’s policies across the Mideast.However, the move comes just days after Saudi Arabia began promoting a Qatari royal family member whose branch of the family was ousted in a palace coup in 1972.“Qatar has shown it is going to go in a different direction,” said Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a research fellow at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University who lives in Seattle. “It could very well be calculated toward reinforcing the point that Qatar will not bow to this regional pressure placed upon it.”Qatar’s Foreign Ministry announced early Thursday that the country’s ambassador would return to Tehran. Qatar pulled its ambassador in early 2016 after Saudi Arabia’s execution of a prominent Shiite cleric sparked attacks on two Saudi diplomatic posts in Iran, a move to show solidarity with the kingdom.“The state of Qatar expressed its aspiration to strengthen bilateral relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran in all fields,” a short Foreign Ministry statement said.Iranian state media acknowledged the development, without elaborating.Despite recalling its ambassador in 2016, Iran and Qatar maintained their valuable commercial ties. Qatar and Iran share a massive offshore natural gas field, called the South Pars Field by Tehran and the North Field by Doha.That gas field’s vast reserves made Qataris have the highest per capita income in the world, as well as funded the nation’s Al-Jazeera satellite news network and secured hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup.Since the diplomatic dispute with Arab nations began in June, Iran has sent food shipments to Qatar. Shiite power Iran also has incorporated the crisis into its regular criticism of the Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia, part of the two Mideast powers’ long-running proxy war.There was no immediate reaction from the Arab nations boycotting Qatar. On Wednesday, the Central African nation of Chad announced it would close its embassy in Doha, accusing Qatar of trying to destabilize it from neighboring Libya.The diplomatic crisis began June 5, when Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates cut ties to Qatar over allegations including it funding extremists and being too close to Iran. Qatar long has denied funding extremists.The boycotting countries later issued a list of 13 demands to Qatar, including that Doha shut its diplomatic posts in Iran. Qatar ignored the demands and let a deadline to comply pass, creating an apparent stalemate in the crisis. Attempts by Kuwait, the US and others have failed to make headway.In recent days, however, Saudi Arabia announced it would allow Qataris to make the annual hajj pilgrimage, which is required of all able-bodied Muslims once in their life. Saudi state media said that came in part due to an intercession by Qatari royal family member Sheikh Abdullah Al Thani, who met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and later a vacationing King Salman in Morocco.But Sheikh Abdullah has no role in Qatar’s government and his last position was as head of the equestrian and camel racing federation decades ago. Sheikh Abdullah’s grandfather, father and brother were rulers of Qatar until a palace coup ousted his branch of the royal family in 1972 and a prominent Saudi columnist has suggested the sheikh could be the start of a Qatari government-in-exile.Ulrichsen cautioned that so far, the Saudi moves appeared to be more needling than anything else.“Given that a formal escalation in terms of sanctions is probably off the table for now, we’re seeing this informal pressure on Qatar … to try and perhaps stir the pot,” the professor said. “I think the informal pressure is increasing because of the lack of formal alternative measures they can realistically hope to place on Qatar.”
US says doubts over Iran deal remain after meeting nuke watchdog-Nikki Haley writes that she got ‘many good answers’ during her sit-down with the IAEA, but many concerns over accord criticized by White House linger-By Times of Israel staff and AP August 24, 2017, 1:47 am
The United States still has doubts and concerns over the nuclear deal with Iran, the US ambassador to the United Nations said Wednesday, after a meeting with atomic officials intended to allay American anxieties about the landmark accord.Nikki Haley also said the US is determined to ensure the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency has the resources it needs for “robust verification of nuclear-related activities in Iran.”Haley met behind closed doors in Vienna Wednesday with IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano to be briefed on Iran’s compliance with the nuclear agreement, which US President Donald Trump has called into question, drawing threats from Iran of restarting its high-enrichment program.“We came to Vienna with lots of questions about the Iran Deal. We received many good answers but we still have many doubts and concerns,” Haley wrote on Twitter after the meeting.We came to Vienna with lots of questions about the Iran Deal. We received many good answers but we still have many doubts and concerns. http://pic.twitter.com/tpvcNRiolI— Nikki Haley (@nikkihaley) August 23, 2017-In an official statement, Haley said she discussed American concerns about “ensuring Iran strictly adheres to its obligations.”The IAEA is charged with verifying compliance with the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and six major powers, including the United States. The pact outlined what Tehran had to do to pull back its nuclear program from the brink of weapons-making capacity in return for the West ending many of the financial, trade and oil sanctions that had battered Iran’s economy.Trump has repeatedly criticized the deal, but has yet to pull out of it. Iran in response has threatened it can begin enriching weapons-grade uranium in a number of days if the US breaches the accord.Before the meeting, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a letter to Amano and European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini that Haley’s visit was another step by the US “that flies in the face” of the nuclear agreement.While US officials are free to travel and meet IAEA officials, Zarif said the publicly stated purpose of Haley’s visit to discuss US concerns “raises several serious concerns over further violations of the letter and spirit” of the nuclear deal and the UN Security Council resolution endorsing it.“Regrettably, this visit, with the stated purpose to ‘press the agency,’ is widely perceived by the international community as a manifest and blatant attempt…to put pressure on the agency and adversely affect the professional and impartial nature of the work of the IAEA in carrying out the job entrusted to it,” he said.The foreign minister complained that the way the US planned and publicized Haley’s visit created “further uncertainty and ambiguity” among other countries and the private sector over the sustainability of the nuclear agreement.He said this was another example of US “mala fide” — or “bad faith” — aimed at “limiting Iran’s benefits from the deal.”Zarif said in the letter, dated Saturday and obtained by The Associated Press, that Haley’s visit could also “undermine the credibility” of the IAEA, which is vital to global nuclear nonproliferation and is charged by the UN Security Council to play an “independent role” in verifying compliance with the Iran nuclear deal.Haley’s statement after meeting Amano praised the IAEA’s “credibility, professionalism and seriousness” in conducting its monitoring and verification work in Iran, but noted that the agency’s reports can only be as good as the access Iran grants.Zarif said he was confident that Amano “will deal with this visit and other similar attempts with absolute professionalism and integrity.”
Arab Israeli man charged with aiding Temple Mount terrorists-Shin Bet says investigation of deadly shooting attack uncovered connections between the gunmen and banned Northern Branch of Islamic Movement-By Judah Ari Gross August 24, 2017, 12:24 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
An Arab Israeli man was indicted Thursday for assisting the three gunmen who killed two police officers just outside the Temple Mount compound last month.The Shin Bet security service said the suspect, 35-year-old Amjad Muhammad Ahmad Jabarin from the city of Umm al-Fahm, transported the three terrorists to Jerusalem, spoke with them about their plans ahead of time, and “even offered to join them in carrying out the attack on at least two occasions.”During his interrogation, Jabarin also revealed connections between the three terrorists — all of them named Muhammad Jabarin from Umm al-Fahm — and the outlawed Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement, the Shin Bet said.On July 14, at approximately 3:00 a.m., the three gunmen, all of whom were named Muhammad Jabarin, arrived at the Temple Mount from Umm al-Fahm for prayers with guns and a knife hidden under their clothes. The weapons had been smuggled into the site by an accomplice.They remained at the holy site for four hours, before walking out toward the Muslim Quarter. Just after 7:00 a.m., they opened fire at two Israel Police officers, Haiel Sitawe, 30, and Kamil Shnaan, 22, who were stationed at one of the entrances to the Temple Mount, killing them. Other police officers on the scene shot back at the terrorists, killing them.Amjad Jabarin was arrested on July 23, nine days after the attack. On Thursday, he was formally charged in a Haifa District Court as an accessory to murder.According to the indictment, Jabarin trained with the terrorists ahead of the attack, joining them when they went to practice shooting their improvised “Carlo” submachine guns.The night before the attack, he also drove the three to a soccer field in Umm al-Fahm, which served as a pickup point for a shuttle to the Temple Mount, knowing that they were armed and planning to carry out the shooting, according to the charges against him.After the attack, Jabarin also hid some of the killers’ belongings — cellphones and keys to a car — which they’d given him beforehand, according to the indictment.The Shin Bet said the men came together to plan their attack at the mosque in Umm al-Fahm’s al-Malsa’a neighborhood.“The findings of the investigation pointed to a clear link between the al-Malsa’a mosque and the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement, which was declared an illegal organization in November 2015 and is now considered a terrorist organization,” the agency said.The Shin Bet noted that one of the gunmen was responsible for maintenance at the mosque and served as its muezzin, the person who performs the call to prayer.According to the indictment against Amjad Jabarin, he also used his position in the mosque to hide two of the guns used in the attack inside the building.“In addition, connections were found between the assailants and the Islamic Movement, including support for the ideas put out by the movement and through their involvement in organizations that have clear links to the Islamic Movement,” the Shin Bet said.As an example, the agency noted that the terrorist who served as the al-Malsa’a mosque’s muezzin was once active in the Mourabitoun, a group that often clashed with Israeli security forces on the Temple Mount and was declared illegal in September 2015 over its ties to the Islamic Movement and Hamas.In addition to the accessory to murder charge, Amjad Jabarin was also indicted for being an accessory to a terror attack, using a weapon for the purposes of terror, obstruction of justice and planning to commit a crime.The Temple Mount attack led to weeks of instability in Jerusalem and the West Bank. Following the Friday morning shooting, Israel shut down the complex for the rest of the day — something that hadn’t been done on a Friday, the most popular day for Muslim prayer, in nearly 50 years.When the site reopened two days later, police had installed metal detectors at the entrances to the holy site, which local Muslim officials decried as attempts to change the status quo. The weeks that followed saw numerous bloody clashes between police and East Jerusalemites, who refused to pass through the detectors and instead held at times violent protests outside the Old City.A degree of calm was restored to the capital after the government agreed to remove the metal detectors and other security measures from the entrances to the Temple Mount on July 25.
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