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
US presents ‘undeniable’ evidence Iran arming Yemen’s rebels with missiles-Segments of projectiles launched at Saudi Arabia bear markings proving origin in Islamic Republic, UN ambassador Haley says-DEC 14,17-TOI
US President Donald Trump’s envoy to the United Nations unveiled Thursday what she said was “undeniable” evidence proving that Iran is funneling missiles to Houthi rebels in Yemen in violation of international law.At a news conference in a hanger at a military base in Washington, Nikki Haley presented recently declassified evidence including segments of missiles launched at Saudi Arabia from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen.Haley said the missile parts bear markings showing they originate in Iran and that they have technical specifications specific to Iranian-manufactured weapons.“It was made in Iran then sent to Houthi militants in Yemen,” Haley said. “From there it was fired at a civilian airport with the potential to kill hundreds of innocent civilians in Saudi Arabia.”The missiles prove “blatant violations” of UN Security Council resolutions while the international community was “looking the other way” because of the nuclear deal, Haley said. The US will now rally other nations to push back on Iran’s behavior, she added.Iran immediately dismissed the evidence as “fabricated,” saying the accusations were baseless.“This purportedly evidence, put on public display today, is as much fabricated as the one presented on some other occasions earlier,” said Alireza Miryousefi, spokesman at Iran’s mission to the United Nations.Iran “categorically” rejects the accusation “as unfounded and, at the same time, irresponsible, provocative and destructive,” he said in a statement. “The US government has an agenda and is constantly at work to deceive the public into believing the cases they put together to advance it.”The Iranian mission said the accusations leveled by Haley were intended to divert attention from the devastating war in Yemen being led by Saudi Arabia, a key US ally.“These hyperboles” serve the US agenda in the Middle East including the administration’s “unbridled support for the Israeli regime,” Miryousefi added.Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations said Haley’s presentation was further indication of a need to contain Iran’s missile program, which Jerusalem has long argued is a lacuna in the nuclear deal.“Today’s revelations proved yet again that Iran’s dangerous presence in the Middle East is only growing despite their attempts to deceive the world,” Danny Danon said in a statement. “The threat of Iranian missiles stretches from the Persian Gulf, through Yemen, Syria and all the way to Lebanon and Gaza. The dangers emanating from Iran are unacceptable and it is imperative that the United Nations and the international community act immediately to ensure an end to these threats.”A confidential report to the Security Council this month said UN officials had examined debris from missiles fired at Saudi Arabia that pointed to a “common origin,” but there was no firm conclusion on whether they came from an Iranian supplier.The report from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, which was obtained by AFP, said the officials were still analyzing the information.A separate team of UN experts who inspected the missile fragments during a visit to Riyadh last month found a possible link to an Iranian manufacturer, the Shahid Bagheri Industrial Group, which is on the UN sanctions blacklist.The experts, who report to the sanctions committee, found a component marked by a logo similar to that of the banned group, which is a subsidiary of the Iranian Aerospace Industries Organization.Haley has called on the UN Security Council to take a tougher stance toward Iran, accusing Tehran of making illegal arms deals in Yemen, Lebanon and Syria.The Saudi-led coalition fighting the rebels in Yemen imposed a blockade of Yemen’s air and sea ports and borders after the missile was fired at Riyadh, citing concerns that weapons were being smuggled into Yemen.
Snubbed by Abbas, US vice president to skip Palestinians on upcoming trip-Mike Pence set to address Knesset, meet Israeli PM and president, visit Yad Vashem and Western Wall -- but will steer clear of Ramallah-By Raphael Ahren-TOI-DEC 14,17
US Vice President Mike Pence will skip the Palestinian territories during his upcoming trip to the region, after PA officials said they wouldn’t meet him due to the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Israeli officials and Pence’s spokesperson confirmed.Earlier in the day, it emerged that Pence had postponed his arrival in Israel by several days due to Congressional votes on tax reform.The Israeli officials told The Times of Israel that Pence is set to arrive at Ben-Gurion Airport from Cairo on Wednesday evening, and leave Israel en route to the US on Friday afternoon — without having set foot on Palestinian Authority territory.The office of Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein and the Foreign Ministry confirmed the US vice president’s trip — slated to begin Sunday — had been postponed. “They told us it was because of the votes on tax reform in Congress,” Edelstein’s spokesperson said.“We are so close to passing pro-growth pro-jobs tax reform for hardworking families,” said Pence spokesperson Alyssa Farah later on Thursday. “Yesterday the White House informed Senate Leadership that due to the historic nature of the vote in the Senate on tax cuts for millions of Americans, the VP would stay to preside over the vote.“The Vice President will then travel to Egypt & Israel where he’ll reaffirm the United States’ commitment to its allies in the Middle East and to working cooperatively to defeat radicalism,” she said in a statement. “He looks forward to having constructive conversations with both Prime Minister Netanyahu and President el-Sisi to reaffirm President Trump’s commitment to our partners in the region and to its future.”Next Thursday morning, Pence is slated to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Jerusalem office, Israeli officials said. Later that day, he will speak at the Knesset, before dining with Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, at the Prime Minister’s Residence.On Friday, Pence is set to visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and visit President Reuven Rivlin in his Jerusalem residence, before flying back home in time for Christmas.It is currently unclear when he will visit the Western Wall, though Israeli officials expect him to go to the holy site on Wednesday evening.Pence had been scheduled to light the Hanukkah menorah at the Western Wall, but the three-day delay means his visit will no longer coincide with the Jewish holiday.Pence’s stop in the region comes less than two weeks after US President Donald Trump formally recognized Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, while setting in motion plans to eventually move the US embassy there from Tel Aviv.The move was hailed by Netanyahu and by leaders across much of the Israeli political spectrum, but has elicited rage among the Palestinians and in the wider Arab world.The former Indiana governor was originally set to visit Bethlehem and meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, but Jibril Rajoub, a senior member of Abbas’s Fatah party, said last week he was “not welcome in Palestine,” and Abbas’s spokesman confirmed that the PA chief would not meet with him.In response to the the snub, the White House accused the Palestinians of “walking away” from peace efforts.“It’s unfortunate that the Palestinian Authority is walking away again from an opportunity to discuss the future of the region,” Jarrod Agen, Pence’s deputy chief of staff, said in a statement.In a speech Wednesday, Abbas said there would be no future US role in the peace process. Abbas said the Palestinians had been engaged with Washington in a new push to reach a peace agreement with Israel, the “deal of our times.” But “instead we got the slap of our times,” Abbas said. “The United States has chosen to lose its qualification as a mediator … We will no longer accept that it has a role in the political process.” He suggested the UN should take over as mediator.Arab Israeli lawmakers have said they will boycott Pence’s speech in the Knesset, “in order to send a clear message to the US administration and the world that there are citizens here that vehemently oppose Trump’s announcement” on Jerusalem.During his trip, Pence is expected to emphasize America’s commitment to brokering a peace deal.Eric Cortellessa and Raoul Wootliff contributed to this report.
Erdogan and Abbas bark about Jerusalem, but their threats have no bite-In Istanbul, Islamic leaders denounce Israel, vow drastic steps to enable Palestinian statehood, and declare an end to US peace-brokering. But they know there's no alternative-By Raphael Ahren-TOI-DEC 14,17
At the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s “Extraordinary Islamic Summit” Wednesday in Istanbul, many leaders from Arab and Muslim-majority countries spoke out harshly about the US administration’s recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.But, despite their bluster, the forecast calls for mostly calm conditions. Many of the threats they issued are rendered meaningless by the rules of the UN or the dynamics of Middle East diplomacy; others have no teeth to begin with.The summit’s host, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, once again called Israel a “terror state,” denounced the US and issued a long list of pro-Palestinian statements. But he did not act on last week’s threat to sever ties with the Jewish state.Another keynote speaker was Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who threatened to abrogate all peace agreements since Oslo and yet again declared that he no longer considers the US an honest broker in the peace process.His announcement that he would seek full membership for the “State of Palestine” at the United Nations made headlines worldwide. That plan is not new. He already went to the Security Council in 2011 — and failed.Abbas has intermittently revived the idea since then, most recently during his speech at the General Assembly in September. “We look to the Security Council to approve our application for full membership of the State of Palestine to the United Nations. All those who support the two-state solution should recognize the other state, the State of Palestine,” he declared.Given the American move last week, Abbas saw fit to respond Wednesday with ferocious rhetoric, including announcing the return to seeking full UN membership for Palestine.Other speakers in Istanbul echoed his sentiment.#Pakistan suggested that the matter of #Palestine could be raised at the forum of General Assembly and Security Council.~ Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif http://pic.twitter.com/6SAPpvoXuJ— Govt of Pakistan (@pid_gov) December 14, 2017-But anyone with the even the most rudimentary understanding of how the UN works knows it is an empty threat.Before Palestine can become a full member of the club, it has to be nominated by the UN Security Council. Any Palestinian bid to join is sure to run headfirst into an American veto there. Barack Obama’s administration vetoed the Palestinians’ attempt in February 2011, and there can be no doubt that Donald Trump and Nikki Haley would do the same. (At the time, the 14 other Security Council members voted in favor of the resolution, which was co-sponsored by over 120 of the UN’s 192 members states.)-The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported Wednesday night that the Palestinians intend to try to bar the US from voting on a resolution that would both condemn President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and simultaneously admit them as full members of the UN. They will reportedly argue that a country should be prevented from voting on a resolution that deals with its own behavior.The last time this particular argument was successfully invoked at the Security Council was in 1960, when Argentina did not participate in a vote condemning Israel for abducting Adolf Eichmann in Buenos Aires, according to the paper.But that was 57 years ago, and Argentina was a non-permanent member of the Security Council at the time. There is no credible scenario in which the US could be prevented from blocking a resolution accepting Palestine as a full UN member state.The General Assembly can pass very comforting resolutions, which the Palestinians can word in any way they want. But that won’t change their status-The Americans, by contrast, cannot veto resolutions passed by the UN General Assembly, where the Palestinians are guaranteed a majority. “But I don’t think the General Assembly can give them any more than they already have,” said Yigal Palmor, a former spokesperson for the Israeli Foreign Ministry.“The General Assembly can pass very comforting resolutions, which the Palestinians can word in any way they want. But that won’t change their status,” he said, referring to the fact that the body already bestowed “nonmember state status” upon Palestine in 2012.Arguing that Washington is no longer “qualified” to mediate in the peace process, Abbas also demanded “to transfer the entire file of the conflict to the United Nations and to establish a new mechanism to adopt a new course to ensure the implementation of the resolutions of international legitimacy and achieving a comprehensive and just peace.”It is unclear what exactly he was referring to, but once again: the UN has very little power to actually do anything without US consent. It can pass sharply worded resolutions in the General Assembly, the Human Rights Council and elsewhere, but any concrete action with the potential to effect any concrete change would have to go through the Security Council, where the Trump administration is sure to veto anything it deems counterproductive.In its “Final Communiqué,” the OIC summit declared the US administration’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital constituted a “clear desertion … of its role as peace broker.”Citing the need to “internationalize peace,” the statement called on the international community to “promote a multilateral political process, to resume an internationally sponsored, credible process to achieve lasting peace based on the two-state solution.”This demand, too, appears toothless. Yes, the Palestinians have decided to boycott US Vice President Mike Pence’s (now delayed) visit to the region. It’s a strong protest, but the powers that be in Washington won’t be too offended. They understand that after last week’s blow, the Palestinians cannot just sit still and say nothing.Trump and his peace team are well aware that, for the time being, the Palestinians — and indeed the wider Islamic world — need to express outrage and indignation. But the Americans also believe that the Palestinians will eventually have to calm down and engage with the US — simply because there is no other game in town.“The president remains as committed to peace as ever,” a senior White House official said Wednesday, responding to Abbas’s fiery speech earlier in the day. Washington “anticipated reactions like this,” the official added, insisting that the US will “continue to work on our plan for peace that we hope will offer the best outcome for both peoples and look forward to unveiling it when it is ready and the time is right.”As long as the wound over Jerusalem is still fresh, no Islamic leader would admit the obvious: A peace process not led by the US is nothing but a pipe dream.Even the European Union, which forcefully rejected the American recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, made plain this week that Washington will remain at the center of any conceivable peace process.“I can say very clearly that there is no initiative, no peace initiative, no attempt to restart peace talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians that can happen without an engagement from the United States,” EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini declared on Monday, immediately after meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Brussels.While she stressed that Washington cannot act alone, she added that Europe does “not want to see a discredited US administration when it comes to negotiations in the Middle East.”France and Belgium reportedly plan to get the EU to issue a joint condemnation of Trump’s Jerusalem recognition, which would also express the hope that the city would become the joint capital of Israel and Palestine in the future. Given that such a resolution would require unanimous support from the union’s 28 member states — and Hungary already blocked such a move last week — chances of even this kind of statement passing are slim.More important still is the fact that Israel will simply not agree to any peace process that is not under American tutelage.The Palestinians can kick and shout and appeal to the Arab League and the United Nations, but if they want anything more than empty statements of support and comfort, they will have to engage constructively with the US administration.
Turkey, Lebanon eye embassies to Palestine in East Jerusalem-Ankara says it will make move only when world recognizes Palestinian state, while Beirut discusses territory swap to house missions-By TOI staff-DEC 14,17 and AP.
The Turkish and Lebanese foreign ministers announced in statements on Thursday their respective governments’ intentions to open embassies for the Palestinians in East Jerusalem.Their statements came against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump’s recognition of the city as Israel’s capital, which has drawn sharp criticism from Muslim countries.Turkey’s top diplomat, Mevlut Cavusoglu, specified that Ankara only plans to make the move once the world recognizes an independent Palestinian state. He said there was “serious determination” among countries that have not yet recognized Palestine to do so.“Once we succeed, embassies will open in the independent Palestinian state’s capital, East Jerusalem,” he asserted.Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil said he had informed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas of Beirut’s willingness to establish a Lebanese embassy in East Jerusalem.In a tweet, Bassil said he spoke with Abbas over the phone and he said that the two governments discussed exchanging territory to provide for the establishment of embassies.Abbas “promised to act quickly to provide property for Lebanon in East Jerusalem,” Bassil wrote .Israel would still have to approve the construction of such a complex.In an address last week from the White House, Trump insisted that after repeated failures to achieve peace, a new approach was long overdue. He described his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the seat of Israel’s government as merely based on reality.The move was hailed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and by leaders across much of the Israeli political spectrum, but elicited rage in the Arab world.Israel sees the entire city as its undivided capital, while the Palestinians want its eastern neighborhoods, which Israel captured in the 1967 Six Day War and later annexed, as the capital of their future state.Turkey has been one of the most vocal critics of Trump’s declaration. On Wednesday, Ankara hosted a meeting of 57 Muslim nations that rejected the decision and called for recognition of a Palestinian state whose capital is East Jerusalem.In Lebanon, massive demonstrations were held against Trump’s decision, including one led by the Hezbollah terror group. Its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, said his group was wrapping up fighting in Syria and would turn its attention to fighting Israel.
FCC votes along party lines to end ‘net neutrality’-Democratic FCC commissioner warns move will hurt businesses and ordinary people, hand over keys to internet to a 'handful of multibillion-dollar corporations'-By TALI ARBEL and Barbara Ortutay-TOI-DEC 14,17
AP — The Federal Communications Commission repealed the Obama-era “net neutrality” rules Thursday, giving internet service providers like Verizon, Comcast and AT&T a free hand to slow or block websites and apps as they see fit or charge more for faster speeds.In a straight party-line vote of 3-2, the Republican-controlled FCC junked the long-time principle that said all web traffic must be treated equally. The move represents a radical departure from a decade of federal oversight.The push toward eliminating the rules has touched off protests and stirred fears among consumer advocates and ordinary Americans that cable and phone companies will be able to control what people see and do online. On Thursday, about 60 demonstrators gathered in the bitter chill in Washington to protest the FCC’s expected decision.But the broadband industry has promised that the internet experience for the public is not going to change.The telecommunications companies lobbied hard to overturn the rules, contending they are heavy-handed and discourage investment in broadband networks.“What is the FCC doing today?” asked FCC chairman Ajit Pai, a Republican. “Quite simply, we are restoring the light-touch framework that has governed the internet for most of its existence.”The FCC vote is unlikely to be the last word. Opponents of the move plan legal challenges, with New York’s attorney general vowing to lead a multi-state lawsuit, and some hope to make it an issue in the 2018 midterm elections. There is also some hope that Congress might overturn the FCC decision.Mark Stanley, a spokesman for the civil liberties organization Demand Progress, said there is a “good chance” Congress could reverse it.“The fact that Chairman Pai went through with this, a policy that is so unpopular, is somewhat shocking,” he said. “Unfortunately, not surprising.”The FCC subscribed to the principle of net neutrality for about a decade and enshrined it in rules adopted in 2015.Under the new rules approved Thursday, the Comcasts and AT&Ts of the world will be free to block rival apps, slow down competing services or offer faster speeds to companies that pay up. They just have to post their policies online or tell the FCC.The change also eliminates certain federal consumer protections, bars state laws that contradict the FCC’s approach, and largely transfers oversight of internet service to another agency altogether, the Federal Trade Commission.AT&T and other big internet service providers welcomed the decision. AT&T senior executive vice president Bob Quinn said in a blog post that the internet “will continue to work tomorrow just as it always has.” Quinn said the company won’t block websites and will not throttle or degrade online traffic based on content.FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, a Democrat appointed by President Barack Obama, lambasted the “preordained outcome” of the vote that she said hurts small and large businesses and ordinary people. She said the end of net neutrality hands over the keys to the internet to a “handful of multibillion-dollar corporations.”With their vote, she added, the FCC’s Republican commissioners are abandoning the pledge they took to make a rapid, efficient communications service available to all people in the U.S., without discrimination.But Michael O’Rielly, a Republican commissioner appointed by Obama, called the FCC’s approach a “well-reasoned and soundly justified order.”The internet, he said, “has functioned without net neutrality rules for far longer than it has with them.” The decision “will not break the internet.”New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a Democrat, has been investigating what appears to be large numbers of fake public comments submitted to the FCC during the net neutrality comment process. Schneiderman said 2 million comments were submitted under stolen identities, including those of children and dead people.
400,000 face starvation in Damascus as Assad blocks humanitarian relief-Civilians trapped in suburbs in the city's east without enough food, fuel or medicine for the winter-By PHILIP ISSA-TOI-DEC 14,17
BEIRUT (AP) — At the doors of the Syrian capital, children with wrinkled faces and arms like sticks are going hungry because President Bashar Assad’s forces, supported by Russia and Iran, are blocking trucks filled with humanitarian relief.As the government and its opponents wrap up another fruitless round of talks in Geneva, humanitarian officials warn that conditions outside Damascus have reached crisis levels, with the government maintaining a siege on the Eastern Ghouta suburbs that has trapped close to 400,000 people without enough food, fuel or medicine for the winter.They say patients with empty stomachs and kidney failure are dying in their beds while waiting for evacuation to hospitals just minutes away.The fighting in Syria’s nearly seven-year war has tapered off in many areas since local cease-fires took hold, but the suffering in Eastern Ghouta — Damascus’ once fertile hinterland, now cut off from the world — has only gotten worse.According to the UN, roughly one in eight children are malnourished in Eastern Ghouta — a shocking jump from one in 50 in May.A top UN humanitarian official for Syria, Jan Egeland, said last week the government is refusing to allow convoys in. It has also refused to approve a list of nearly 500 people urgently needing medical evacuation.“We have people here who are only eating a meal every two or three days,” Ismael Yasin, a member of Eastern Ghouta’s local council told The Associated Press via Skype. “People’s faces are turning yellow from hunger.”The siege cast a cloud over the eighth round of UN-sponsored talks in Geneva, which concluded Thursday without any results. The head of the opposition’s delegation, Nasr Hariri, said the impasse on Eastern Ghouta reflected the international community’s “shame, impotence, and dereliction.”“It’s shameful that we have to go into negotiations so that they (the government) give us some loaves of bread,” said Hariri.The UN envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, called the Eastern Ghouta blockade and others like it a “medieval” approach to war. Amnesty International said last month that the government’s use of sieges against civilians — a tactic it called “surrender or starve” — was a crime against humanity.But the tactic has proven brutally effective for the government, which in the last two years has managed to recapture a constellation of towns around Damascus using the same playbook. In Zabadani and Daraya, the government executed its strategy so completely that it managed to completely depopulate the two towns, which had a combined population of about 100,000 people before the war.The government has followed the same strategy to restore its authority over the cities of Aleppo and Homs. The government denies besieging opposition areas, saying the militants, whom it refers to as “terrorists,” withhold aid.At least three rebel factions still claim a presence in Eastern Ghouta, and send shells whistling into the capital on a daily basis.In mid-November, a powerful faction called Ahrar al-Sham captured parts of a military base in the region, prompting the government to respond with waves of airstrikes and shelling that killed over 200 civilians, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Ahrar al-Sham said it attacked the base in response to the deteriorating humanitarian situation.Shortages have gotten so dire that residents are eating out of the trash and parents are skipping meals so their children can eat, Jakob Kern, the World Food Program’s top official in Syria, told The Associated Press.“They look exhausted, they look tired, and there is this despair in their eyes,” said Kern, who entered Eastern Ghouta with one of the few aid convoys the government has allowed in recent weeks.The convoys have provided just a trickle of relief — supplies for tens of thousands of people that will last only a month or less, at a time when hundreds of thousands are in need.Photos from Eastern Ghouta show children gaunt with hunger, their skin wrinkled and aged. Mothers are not producing milk to feed their infants, and baby formula is too scarce and expensive for most families to afford. Driven by desperation, some residents are trying to eat animal fodder.Since at least 2015, there have been Syrians dying every winter of starvation and other medical ailments made worse by the bitter cold. Families in besieged areas, as well as camps for the displaced, burn furniture, plastics, and even the doorframes and roof supports of their homes to cook and stay warm, as the cost of fuel has soared far beyond reach for most.Much of the country, including the hilly terrain around Damascus, sees freezing rain and snow in the winter months.Egeland said last week that 12 people have died waiting for medical evacuation from Eastern Ghouta. They were on a UN-drawn list first submitted six months ago that has yet to be approved by the government, and now contains 494 names. The UN’s children agency said Sunday that 137 children require immediate evacuation for conditions that include kidney failure, severe malnutrition and conflict wounds.Egeland, in pointed remarks in Geneva, placed full blame on the government for impeding aid shipments across the country.Eastern Ghouta saw large protests in the early days of the 2011 Arab Spring uprising against Assad. Government forces surrounded the area in 2013, but for most of the last four years, they turned a blind eye to tunnels and above-ground smuggling. Activists say local commanders made huge sums of money from checkpoint bribes, and traders got rich selling to a captive market. Patches of farmland also provided some food.The government tightened the noose this year, closing the tunnels and nearly all the crossings. Food in Eastern Ghouta at one point was up to 85 times more expensive than in Damascus, just a few minutes’ drive away, according to the WFP.“We need for the siege to be lifted,” said Anas al-Dimashqi, a local media activist. “Not just in front of the cameras, as the government does every now and then.”
Anti-Semitism rampant among Muslim refugees in Germany — study-While refugees from persecuted minorities tend to oppose anti-Semitism, many Muslims come with conspiracy theories about Jews and Israel controlling world-By JTA-TOI-DEC 14,17
BERLIN, Germany (JTA) — Anti-Semitism among Muslim refugees is rampant and requires urgent attention, a new study suggests.But the study, commissioned by the American Jewish Committee’s Ramer Institute for German-Jewish Relations in Berlin, also finds that refugees from persecuted minority communities are more likely to take a stand against anti-Semitism and for Israel.Titled “Attitudes of refugees from Syria and Iraq towards integration, identity, Jews and the Shoah,” the research report was prepared by historian and sociologist Günther Jikeli of Indiana University and the University of Potsdam, Germany, with help from Lars Breuer and Matthias Becker.The report, based on interviews with 68 refugees, comes amid a series of virulent anti-Israel and anti-America demonstrations in the German capital denouncing the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Thousands of protesters burned homemade Israeli flags and crowded city subway stations chanting anti-Israel and anti-American slogans on their way to rallies. The numbers of refugees among the demonstrators was unknown.At the same time, in a show of solidarity with Jewish communities in Germany, local imams joined with Christian and Jewish leaders in public celebrations of Hanukkah, including the annual candle-lighting ceremony at the Brandenburg Gate, where Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal of Berlin was joined in a cherry picker by Mayor Michael Mueller. Security has been tightened throughout Germany and at Jewish venues.The tensions run deep, the new study indicates. Anti-Semitic attitudes and rejection of Israel are widespread among the newcomers, the head of the Ramer Institute, Deidre Berger, said in a statement.While many of those interviewed had positive impressions of Germany, they also tended to believe in conspiracy theories, such as about Jews or Israel controlling the world.“Anti-Semitic thinking and stereotyping are very common … even among those who emphasize that they ‘respect’ Judaism or that there is no problem living together between Muslims, Christians and Jews in their countries of origin and in Germany,” Jikeli said in a statement.Berger said that given the depth of anti-Jewish hostility in Arab countries, this is not surprising based on the stereotypes that are implanted in schools, mosques and government propaganda in some countries.“[N]onetheless,” she said, “the dimensions of the problem are much larger than expected.”“When political challenges multiply, anti-Semitism often increases, a situation that must not be tolerated,” Berger said, calling for swift prosecution of crimes related to hate and incitement.She said integration classes for refugees must emphasize Germany’s links to Israel, support for Jewish communities in the country and liberal democratic values, adding that staff and volunteers must be trained to cope with anti-Semitic attitudes.The study was funded by the Bennet Fund and the Meyer Fund.At least a million Muslim refugees have arrived in Germany since the summer of 2015.
Lebanon approves first offshore oil and gas exploration-Just one group bids for government contract amid political instability-By AFP-TOI-DEC 14,17
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanon on Thursday approved a first bid from an international consortium including France’s Total, Italy’s ENI and Russia’s Novatek to explore for oil and gas off the country’s Mediterranean coast.The group was the only one to respond to a call for bids by the authorities in Beirut, with Lebanon’s attempts to begin offshore energy exploration in recent years hampered by political instability.The government of Prime Minister Saad Hariri has made finding progress on the oil and gas prospects a priority since its formation in 2016 as Lebanon looks to tap potential reserves after major offshore gas discoveries by neighboring Israel and Cyprus.“The cabinet has approved the granting of exploration permits… in blocks 4 and 9,” Energy Minister Cesar Abi Khalil wrote on Facebook.The successful bid from the consortium covers only two of five blocks that were offered by the Lebanese government.Khalil said the next step would be for the government to sign an official agreement with the group and that explorations would not start before the beginning of 2019.Lebanon is hoping the discovery of energy resources off its coast will provide a much-needed boost for its battered national coffers.Hariri insisted the offer from the consortium was “good” and marked an important step forward after lengthy delays.“After five years of discussions on this question, the government will be in a position to sign the first oil and gas exploration deal,” the premier said.Analyst Diana Kaissy, who heads the Lebanese Oil and Gas Initiative think-tank, said it was “impossible to know” the extent of the accessible reserves before exploration operations begin.But she said “preliminary evaluations” showed the five blocks offered by the government were the “most promising,” with block nine bordering a sector disputed by Israel.In the long term, it is obligatory for the Lebanese authorities to prove their “transparency” in the energy development sector, Kaissy said.The country is wracked by severe energy and electricity shortages due to the woeful state of its infrastructure and widespread corruption.
REBUILT 3RD TEMPLE
REVELATION 11:1-2
1 And there was given me a(MEASURING) reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
2 But the court which is without the temple leave out,(TO THE WORLD NATIONS) and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.(JERUSALEM DIVIDED BUT THE 3RD TEMPLE ALLOWED TO BE REBUILT)
DANIEL 9:27
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
MICAH 4:1-5
1 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.
2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
3 And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
4 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.
5 For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever.
DANIEL 11:31
31 And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.(3RD TEMPLE REBUILT)
DANIEL 12:11
11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away,(AT THE MIDPOINT OF THE TRIBULATION PERIOD)(3RD TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED BY DICTATOR) and the abomination that maketh desolate set up,(TO WORSHIP THE DICTATOR OR DIE) there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.(1,290 DAYS)(AN EXTRA 30 DAYS AT THE END OF THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD FOR JESUS TO DESTROY THE ARMIES AGAINST JERUSALEM.AND TO JUDGE THE SHEEP AND GOAT NATIONS OF MATTHEW 25:31-46-HOW THEY TREATED ISRAEL DURING THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD.AND THEN I BELIEVE JESUS WILL REBUILD THE 4TH TEMPLE 25 MILES FROM THE CURRENT TEMPLE MOUNT.AND THEN JESUS RULES FOR THE 1,000 YEARS-THEN FOREVER FROM THAT 4TH TEMPLE.)
MATTHEW 24:15-16
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)(THE DICTATOR SITS IN THE REBUILT 3RD TEMPLE CALLING HIMSELF GOD AT THE MIDPOINT OR 3 1/2 YEAR PERIOD OF THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD.OR 7 YEAR PEACE TREATY BETWEEN ISRAEL-ARABS AND MANY OF DANIEL 9:27)
16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
US ambassador to Israel lights menorah at Western Wall-A week after Trump's Jerusalem announcement, David Friedman, says he's 'awed to stand on the same hallowed ground' as Second Temple-By JTA and TOI staff -dec 14,170
David Friedman, the US ambassador to Israel, lit the menorah at the Western Wall in Jerusalem for the second night of Hanukkah.Thousands attended the ceremony on Wednesday evening, one week after President Donald Trump announced that the United States would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.“A great honor to light the Menorah at the Western Wall,” Friedman tweeted after the lighting ceremony. “Some 2,180 years ago, the Maccabees reclaimed this very site and restored Jewish ritual to the Second Temple. Awed to stand on the same hallowed ground. Happy Chanukah to all!!”Friedman lit the candles accompanied by the Western Wall’s rabbi, Shmuel Rabinovitch; Jerusalem’s chief rabbi, Shlomo Amar; and the minister of tourism, Yariv Levin.In an address last Wednesday from the White House, Trump defied worldwide warnings and insisted that after repeated failures to achieve peace a new approach was long overdue, describing his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the seat of Israel’s government as merely based on reality.The move was hailed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and by leaders across much of the Israeli political spectrum, but criticized worldwide. Trump stressed that he was not specifying the boundaries of Israeli sovereignty in the city, and called for no change in the status quo at the city’s holy sites.Speaking last week after the announcement, Friedman said the move reflects the “best path for peace,” and those demonstrating against it failed to listen properly to the president’s speech.Before lighting candles at the Western Wall, Friedman met with Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, whose office said in a statement that the meeting was part of “the beginning of the process of moving the embassy to the capital,” and that they discussed “a shared future in Jerusalem.”
US jets fire warning flares as Russian planes enters Syria buffer zone-US Air Force says Russians infringing on forbidden airspace six to eight times a day, unclear whether by accident or design-DEC 14,17-TOI
Two US fighter jets on Wednesday fired warning flares after two Russian jets entered a buffer zone intended to keep Russian and US-led coalition forces operating over Syria apart.After crossing the so-called “de-confliction line,” the Russian Su-25s “were promptly intercepted by two F-22A Raptors providing air cover for partner ground forces conducting operations to defeat ISIS,” Air Forces Central Command spokesman Lt. Col. Damien Pickart told CNN.“The F-22s conducted multiple maneuvers to persuade the Su-25s to depart our de-conflicted airspace, including the release of chaff and flares in close proximity to the Russian aircraft and placing multiple calls on the emergency channel to convey to the Russian pilots that they needed to depart the area,” he said.Pickart added that one Su-25 flew close enough to an F-22A that it had to “aggressively maneuver to avoid a midair collision.”In early November, the US and the Russians agreed that the latter would keep west of the Euphrates River and the former to the east.“Since agreeing to this de-confliction arrangement, the Russians have flown into our airspace on the east side of the river 6-8 times per day, or approximately 10 percent of the Russian and Syrian flights,” Pickart said.“If either of us needs to cross the river for any reason, we’re supposed to first de-conflict via the [hot] line. It’s become increasingly tough for our pilots to discern whether Russian pilots’ actions are deliberate or if these are just honest mistakes,” he added, saying, “the coalition’s greatest concern is that we could shoot down a Russian aircraft because its actions are seen as a threat to our air or ground forces.”Russia has been backing Syrian President Bashar Assad in the ongoing Syrian civil war.
FALSE POPE FROM THE VATICAN
ISAIAH 23:15-17
15 And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot.
16 Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.
17 And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.(COULD THIS BE 70 YEARS AFTER ISRAEL BECAME A NATION IN 1948)(IF SO THIS SATANIC ONE WORLD WHORE CHURCH WILL MINGLE TOGETHER BY 2018)(AND NOW ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITY AND ALL RELIGIONS ARE MINGLING AS ONE PEACE-LOVE-JOY-GET ALONG RELIGION LEAD BY THE VATICAN RIGHT NOW 4 YEARS FROM THE 70 YEAR TIME WHEN ISRAEL BECAME A NATION).AND IN CONTROL OF JERUSALEM.
REVELATION 13:11-13
11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth;(FALSE VATICAN POPE) and he had two horns like a lamb,(JESUS IS THE LAMB OF GOD) and he spake as a dragon.(HES SATANICALLY INSPIRED,HES A CHRISTIAN DEFECTOR FROM THE FAITH)
12 And he (FALSE RELIGIOUS LEADER) exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him,(WORLD DICTATOR) and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.(THE WORLD DICTATOR CREATES A FALSE RESURRECTION AND IS CROWNED LEADER OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER).
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
REVELATION 17:1-5,9,15-18
1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication,(VATICAN IN POLITICS) and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4 And the woman (FALSE CHURCH) was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour,(VATICAN COLOURS)(ANOTHER REASON WE KNOW THE FALSE POPE COMES FROM THE VATICAN) and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.(THE VATICAN IS BUILT ON 7 HILLS OR MOUNTAINS)
10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen,(1-ASSYRIA,2-EGYPT,3-BABYLON,4-MEDO-PERSIA,5-GREECE) and one is,(IN POWER IN JOHNS AND JESUS DAY-6-ROME) and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.(7TH-REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE OR THE EUROPEAN UNION TODAY AND THE SHORT SPACE IS-THE EUROPEAN UNION WILL HAVE WORLD CONTROL FOR THE LAST 3 1/2 YEARS.BUT WILL HAVE ITS MIGHTY WORLD POWER FOR THE FULL 7 YEARS OF THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD.AND THE WORLD DICTATOR WILL BE THE BEAST FROM THE EU.AND THE VATICAN POPE WILL BE THE WHORE THAT RIDES THE EUROPEAN UNION TO POWER.AND THE 2 EUROPEAN UNION POWER FREAKS WILL CONTROL AND DECIEVE THE WHOLE EARTH INTO THEIR DESTRUCTION.IF YOU ARE NOT SAVED BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS.YOU WILL BE DECIEVED BY THESE TWO.THE WORLD POLITICIAN-THE EUROPEAN UNION DICTATOR.AND THE FALSE PROPHET THAT DEFECTS CHRISTIANITY-THE FALSE VATICAN POPE.
15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.(VATICAN-CATHOLICS ALL AROUND THE WORLD OVER 1 BILLION)
16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast,(WORLD DICTATOR) these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.(BOMB OR NUKE THE VATICAN)
17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city,(VATICAN) which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
Never underestimate the devil, he’s smarter than we are, pope warns-Satan is real and more intelligent than human beings, says Francis. 'He will turn your head'-By Sue Surkes-TOI-DEC 14,17
Never underestimate the devil.That was the advice Pope Francis gave Wednesday, on TV2000, a Catholic television channel.“He is evil, he’s not like mist. He’s not a diffuse thing, he is a person,” the pope said.“I want to say something about which I’m convinced. With Satan, you cannot have dialogue. If you start a dialogue with Satan, you are lost.“He is more intelligent than we are and he will turn you around, turn your head, and you’re lost.”The pope said the devil always behaved politely. “With us, the priest, the bishops, he is polite, he comes in like this,” but things ended badly if people failed to recognize who it was.Pope Francis, a Jesuit, refers more frequently than his immediate predecessors to the Prince of Darkness.He has recommended to priests not to hesitate resorting to local exorcists if they witness great spiritual disorder from their side of the confessional.During a mass in memory of a French priest, Jacques Hamel, who was murdered by Islamic extremists in his own church in July 2016, Francis said it was “satanic” to kill in the name of God.Hamel’s last words were reportedly “Get out, Satan!”AFP contributed to this report.
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
US presents ‘undeniable’ evidence Iran arming Yemen’s rebels with missiles-Segments of projectiles launched at Saudi Arabia bear markings proving origin in Islamic Republic, UN ambassador Haley says-DEC 14,17-TOI
US President Donald Trump’s envoy to the United Nations unveiled Thursday what she said was “undeniable” evidence proving that Iran is funneling missiles to Houthi rebels in Yemen in violation of international law.At a news conference in a hanger at a military base in Washington, Nikki Haley presented recently declassified evidence including segments of missiles launched at Saudi Arabia from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen.Haley said the missile parts bear markings showing they originate in Iran and that they have technical specifications specific to Iranian-manufactured weapons.“It was made in Iran then sent to Houthi militants in Yemen,” Haley said. “From there it was fired at a civilian airport with the potential to kill hundreds of innocent civilians in Saudi Arabia.”The missiles prove “blatant violations” of UN Security Council resolutions while the international community was “looking the other way” because of the nuclear deal, Haley said. The US will now rally other nations to push back on Iran’s behavior, she added.Iran immediately dismissed the evidence as “fabricated,” saying the accusations were baseless.“This purportedly evidence, put on public display today, is as much fabricated as the one presented on some other occasions earlier,” said Alireza Miryousefi, spokesman at Iran’s mission to the United Nations.Iran “categorically” rejects the accusation “as unfounded and, at the same time, irresponsible, provocative and destructive,” he said in a statement. “The US government has an agenda and is constantly at work to deceive the public into believing the cases they put together to advance it.”The Iranian mission said the accusations leveled by Haley were intended to divert attention from the devastating war in Yemen being led by Saudi Arabia, a key US ally.“These hyperboles” serve the US agenda in the Middle East including the administration’s “unbridled support for the Israeli regime,” Miryousefi added.Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations said Haley’s presentation was further indication of a need to contain Iran’s missile program, which Jerusalem has long argued is a lacuna in the nuclear deal.“Today’s revelations proved yet again that Iran’s dangerous presence in the Middle East is only growing despite their attempts to deceive the world,” Danny Danon said in a statement. “The threat of Iranian missiles stretches from the Persian Gulf, through Yemen, Syria and all the way to Lebanon and Gaza. The dangers emanating from Iran are unacceptable and it is imperative that the United Nations and the international community act immediately to ensure an end to these threats.”A confidential report to the Security Council this month said UN officials had examined debris from missiles fired at Saudi Arabia that pointed to a “common origin,” but there was no firm conclusion on whether they came from an Iranian supplier.The report from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, which was obtained by AFP, said the officials were still analyzing the information.A separate team of UN experts who inspected the missile fragments during a visit to Riyadh last month found a possible link to an Iranian manufacturer, the Shahid Bagheri Industrial Group, which is on the UN sanctions blacklist.The experts, who report to the sanctions committee, found a component marked by a logo similar to that of the banned group, which is a subsidiary of the Iranian Aerospace Industries Organization.Haley has called on the UN Security Council to take a tougher stance toward Iran, accusing Tehran of making illegal arms deals in Yemen, Lebanon and Syria.The Saudi-led coalition fighting the rebels in Yemen imposed a blockade of Yemen’s air and sea ports and borders after the missile was fired at Riyadh, citing concerns that weapons were being smuggled into Yemen.
Snubbed by Abbas, US vice president to skip Palestinians on upcoming trip-Mike Pence set to address Knesset, meet Israeli PM and president, visit Yad Vashem and Western Wall -- but will steer clear of Ramallah-By Raphael Ahren-TOI-DEC 14,17
US Vice President Mike Pence will skip the Palestinian territories during his upcoming trip to the region, after PA officials said they wouldn’t meet him due to the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Israeli officials and Pence’s spokesperson confirmed.Earlier in the day, it emerged that Pence had postponed his arrival in Israel by several days due to Congressional votes on tax reform.The Israeli officials told The Times of Israel that Pence is set to arrive at Ben-Gurion Airport from Cairo on Wednesday evening, and leave Israel en route to the US on Friday afternoon — without having set foot on Palestinian Authority territory.The office of Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein and the Foreign Ministry confirmed the US vice president’s trip — slated to begin Sunday — had been postponed. “They told us it was because of the votes on tax reform in Congress,” Edelstein’s spokesperson said.“We are so close to passing pro-growth pro-jobs tax reform for hardworking families,” said Pence spokesperson Alyssa Farah later on Thursday. “Yesterday the White House informed Senate Leadership that due to the historic nature of the vote in the Senate on tax cuts for millions of Americans, the VP would stay to preside over the vote.“The Vice President will then travel to Egypt & Israel where he’ll reaffirm the United States’ commitment to its allies in the Middle East and to working cooperatively to defeat radicalism,” she said in a statement. “He looks forward to having constructive conversations with both Prime Minister Netanyahu and President el-Sisi to reaffirm President Trump’s commitment to our partners in the region and to its future.”Next Thursday morning, Pence is slated to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Jerusalem office, Israeli officials said. Later that day, he will speak at the Knesset, before dining with Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, at the Prime Minister’s Residence.On Friday, Pence is set to visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and visit President Reuven Rivlin in his Jerusalem residence, before flying back home in time for Christmas.It is currently unclear when he will visit the Western Wall, though Israeli officials expect him to go to the holy site on Wednesday evening.Pence had been scheduled to light the Hanukkah menorah at the Western Wall, but the three-day delay means his visit will no longer coincide with the Jewish holiday.Pence’s stop in the region comes less than two weeks after US President Donald Trump formally recognized Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, while setting in motion plans to eventually move the US embassy there from Tel Aviv.The move was hailed by Netanyahu and by leaders across much of the Israeli political spectrum, but has elicited rage among the Palestinians and in the wider Arab world.The former Indiana governor was originally set to visit Bethlehem and meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, but Jibril Rajoub, a senior member of Abbas’s Fatah party, said last week he was “not welcome in Palestine,” and Abbas’s spokesman confirmed that the PA chief would not meet with him.In response to the the snub, the White House accused the Palestinians of “walking away” from peace efforts.“It’s unfortunate that the Palestinian Authority is walking away again from an opportunity to discuss the future of the region,” Jarrod Agen, Pence’s deputy chief of staff, said in a statement.In a speech Wednesday, Abbas said there would be no future US role in the peace process. Abbas said the Palestinians had been engaged with Washington in a new push to reach a peace agreement with Israel, the “deal of our times.” But “instead we got the slap of our times,” Abbas said. “The United States has chosen to lose its qualification as a mediator … We will no longer accept that it has a role in the political process.” He suggested the UN should take over as mediator.Arab Israeli lawmakers have said they will boycott Pence’s speech in the Knesset, “in order to send a clear message to the US administration and the world that there are citizens here that vehemently oppose Trump’s announcement” on Jerusalem.During his trip, Pence is expected to emphasize America’s commitment to brokering a peace deal.Eric Cortellessa and Raoul Wootliff contributed to this report.
Erdogan and Abbas bark about Jerusalem, but their threats have no bite-In Istanbul, Islamic leaders denounce Israel, vow drastic steps to enable Palestinian statehood, and declare an end to US peace-brokering. But they know there's no alternative-By Raphael Ahren-TOI-DEC 14,17
At the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s “Extraordinary Islamic Summit” Wednesday in Istanbul, many leaders from Arab and Muslim-majority countries spoke out harshly about the US administration’s recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.But, despite their bluster, the forecast calls for mostly calm conditions. Many of the threats they issued are rendered meaningless by the rules of the UN or the dynamics of Middle East diplomacy; others have no teeth to begin with.The summit’s host, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, once again called Israel a “terror state,” denounced the US and issued a long list of pro-Palestinian statements. But he did not act on last week’s threat to sever ties with the Jewish state.Another keynote speaker was Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who threatened to abrogate all peace agreements since Oslo and yet again declared that he no longer considers the US an honest broker in the peace process.His announcement that he would seek full membership for the “State of Palestine” at the United Nations made headlines worldwide. That plan is not new. He already went to the Security Council in 2011 — and failed.Abbas has intermittently revived the idea since then, most recently during his speech at the General Assembly in September. “We look to the Security Council to approve our application for full membership of the State of Palestine to the United Nations. All those who support the two-state solution should recognize the other state, the State of Palestine,” he declared.Given the American move last week, Abbas saw fit to respond Wednesday with ferocious rhetoric, including announcing the return to seeking full UN membership for Palestine.Other speakers in Istanbul echoed his sentiment.#Pakistan suggested that the matter of #Palestine could be raised at the forum of General Assembly and Security Council.~ Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif http://pic.twitter.com/6SAPpvoXuJ— Govt of Pakistan (@pid_gov) December 14, 2017-But anyone with the even the most rudimentary understanding of how the UN works knows it is an empty threat.Before Palestine can become a full member of the club, it has to be nominated by the UN Security Council. Any Palestinian bid to join is sure to run headfirst into an American veto there. Barack Obama’s administration vetoed the Palestinians’ attempt in February 2011, and there can be no doubt that Donald Trump and Nikki Haley would do the same. (At the time, the 14 other Security Council members voted in favor of the resolution, which was co-sponsored by over 120 of the UN’s 192 members states.)-The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported Wednesday night that the Palestinians intend to try to bar the US from voting on a resolution that would both condemn President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and simultaneously admit them as full members of the UN. They will reportedly argue that a country should be prevented from voting on a resolution that deals with its own behavior.The last time this particular argument was successfully invoked at the Security Council was in 1960, when Argentina did not participate in a vote condemning Israel for abducting Adolf Eichmann in Buenos Aires, according to the paper.But that was 57 years ago, and Argentina was a non-permanent member of the Security Council at the time. There is no credible scenario in which the US could be prevented from blocking a resolution accepting Palestine as a full UN member state.The General Assembly can pass very comforting resolutions, which the Palestinians can word in any way they want. But that won’t change their status-The Americans, by contrast, cannot veto resolutions passed by the UN General Assembly, where the Palestinians are guaranteed a majority. “But I don’t think the General Assembly can give them any more than they already have,” said Yigal Palmor, a former spokesperson for the Israeli Foreign Ministry.“The General Assembly can pass very comforting resolutions, which the Palestinians can word in any way they want. But that won’t change their status,” he said, referring to the fact that the body already bestowed “nonmember state status” upon Palestine in 2012.Arguing that Washington is no longer “qualified” to mediate in the peace process, Abbas also demanded “to transfer the entire file of the conflict to the United Nations and to establish a new mechanism to adopt a new course to ensure the implementation of the resolutions of international legitimacy and achieving a comprehensive and just peace.”It is unclear what exactly he was referring to, but once again: the UN has very little power to actually do anything without US consent. It can pass sharply worded resolutions in the General Assembly, the Human Rights Council and elsewhere, but any concrete action with the potential to effect any concrete change would have to go through the Security Council, where the Trump administration is sure to veto anything it deems counterproductive.In its “Final Communiqué,” the OIC summit declared the US administration’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital constituted a “clear desertion … of its role as peace broker.”Citing the need to “internationalize peace,” the statement called on the international community to “promote a multilateral political process, to resume an internationally sponsored, credible process to achieve lasting peace based on the two-state solution.”This demand, too, appears toothless. Yes, the Palestinians have decided to boycott US Vice President Mike Pence’s (now delayed) visit to the region. It’s a strong protest, but the powers that be in Washington won’t be too offended. They understand that after last week’s blow, the Palestinians cannot just sit still and say nothing.Trump and his peace team are well aware that, for the time being, the Palestinians — and indeed the wider Islamic world — need to express outrage and indignation. But the Americans also believe that the Palestinians will eventually have to calm down and engage with the US — simply because there is no other game in town.“The president remains as committed to peace as ever,” a senior White House official said Wednesday, responding to Abbas’s fiery speech earlier in the day. Washington “anticipated reactions like this,” the official added, insisting that the US will “continue to work on our plan for peace that we hope will offer the best outcome for both peoples and look forward to unveiling it when it is ready and the time is right.”As long as the wound over Jerusalem is still fresh, no Islamic leader would admit the obvious: A peace process not led by the US is nothing but a pipe dream.Even the European Union, which forcefully rejected the American recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, made plain this week that Washington will remain at the center of any conceivable peace process.“I can say very clearly that there is no initiative, no peace initiative, no attempt to restart peace talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians that can happen without an engagement from the United States,” EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini declared on Monday, immediately after meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Brussels.While she stressed that Washington cannot act alone, she added that Europe does “not want to see a discredited US administration when it comes to negotiations in the Middle East.”France and Belgium reportedly plan to get the EU to issue a joint condemnation of Trump’s Jerusalem recognition, which would also express the hope that the city would become the joint capital of Israel and Palestine in the future. Given that such a resolution would require unanimous support from the union’s 28 member states — and Hungary already blocked such a move last week — chances of even this kind of statement passing are slim.More important still is the fact that Israel will simply not agree to any peace process that is not under American tutelage.The Palestinians can kick and shout and appeal to the Arab League and the United Nations, but if they want anything more than empty statements of support and comfort, they will have to engage constructively with the US administration.
Turkey, Lebanon eye embassies to Palestine in East Jerusalem-Ankara says it will make move only when world recognizes Palestinian state, while Beirut discusses territory swap to house missions-By TOI staff-DEC 14,17 and AP.
The Turkish and Lebanese foreign ministers announced in statements on Thursday their respective governments’ intentions to open embassies for the Palestinians in East Jerusalem.Their statements came against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump’s recognition of the city as Israel’s capital, which has drawn sharp criticism from Muslim countries.Turkey’s top diplomat, Mevlut Cavusoglu, specified that Ankara only plans to make the move once the world recognizes an independent Palestinian state. He said there was “serious determination” among countries that have not yet recognized Palestine to do so.“Once we succeed, embassies will open in the independent Palestinian state’s capital, East Jerusalem,” he asserted.Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil said he had informed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas of Beirut’s willingness to establish a Lebanese embassy in East Jerusalem.In a tweet, Bassil said he spoke with Abbas over the phone and he said that the two governments discussed exchanging territory to provide for the establishment of embassies.Abbas “promised to act quickly to provide property for Lebanon in East Jerusalem,” Bassil wrote .Israel would still have to approve the construction of such a complex.In an address last week from the White House, Trump insisted that after repeated failures to achieve peace, a new approach was long overdue. He described his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the seat of Israel’s government as merely based on reality.The move was hailed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and by leaders across much of the Israeli political spectrum, but elicited rage in the Arab world.Israel sees the entire city as its undivided capital, while the Palestinians want its eastern neighborhoods, which Israel captured in the 1967 Six Day War and later annexed, as the capital of their future state.Turkey has been one of the most vocal critics of Trump’s declaration. On Wednesday, Ankara hosted a meeting of 57 Muslim nations that rejected the decision and called for recognition of a Palestinian state whose capital is East Jerusalem.In Lebanon, massive demonstrations were held against Trump’s decision, including one led by the Hezbollah terror group. Its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, said his group was wrapping up fighting in Syria and would turn its attention to fighting Israel.
FCC votes along party lines to end ‘net neutrality’-Democratic FCC commissioner warns move will hurt businesses and ordinary people, hand over keys to internet to a 'handful of multibillion-dollar corporations'-By TALI ARBEL and Barbara Ortutay-TOI-DEC 14,17
AP — The Federal Communications Commission repealed the Obama-era “net neutrality” rules Thursday, giving internet service providers like Verizon, Comcast and AT&T a free hand to slow or block websites and apps as they see fit or charge more for faster speeds.In a straight party-line vote of 3-2, the Republican-controlled FCC junked the long-time principle that said all web traffic must be treated equally. The move represents a radical departure from a decade of federal oversight.The push toward eliminating the rules has touched off protests and stirred fears among consumer advocates and ordinary Americans that cable and phone companies will be able to control what people see and do online. On Thursday, about 60 demonstrators gathered in the bitter chill in Washington to protest the FCC’s expected decision.But the broadband industry has promised that the internet experience for the public is not going to change.The telecommunications companies lobbied hard to overturn the rules, contending they are heavy-handed and discourage investment in broadband networks.“What is the FCC doing today?” asked FCC chairman Ajit Pai, a Republican. “Quite simply, we are restoring the light-touch framework that has governed the internet for most of its existence.”The FCC vote is unlikely to be the last word. Opponents of the move plan legal challenges, with New York’s attorney general vowing to lead a multi-state lawsuit, and some hope to make it an issue in the 2018 midterm elections. There is also some hope that Congress might overturn the FCC decision.Mark Stanley, a spokesman for the civil liberties organization Demand Progress, said there is a “good chance” Congress could reverse it.“The fact that Chairman Pai went through with this, a policy that is so unpopular, is somewhat shocking,” he said. “Unfortunately, not surprising.”The FCC subscribed to the principle of net neutrality for about a decade and enshrined it in rules adopted in 2015.Under the new rules approved Thursday, the Comcasts and AT&Ts of the world will be free to block rival apps, slow down competing services or offer faster speeds to companies that pay up. They just have to post their policies online or tell the FCC.The change also eliminates certain federal consumer protections, bars state laws that contradict the FCC’s approach, and largely transfers oversight of internet service to another agency altogether, the Federal Trade Commission.AT&T and other big internet service providers welcomed the decision. AT&T senior executive vice president Bob Quinn said in a blog post that the internet “will continue to work tomorrow just as it always has.” Quinn said the company won’t block websites and will not throttle or degrade online traffic based on content.FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, a Democrat appointed by President Barack Obama, lambasted the “preordained outcome” of the vote that she said hurts small and large businesses and ordinary people. She said the end of net neutrality hands over the keys to the internet to a “handful of multibillion-dollar corporations.”With their vote, she added, the FCC’s Republican commissioners are abandoning the pledge they took to make a rapid, efficient communications service available to all people in the U.S., without discrimination.But Michael O’Rielly, a Republican commissioner appointed by Obama, called the FCC’s approach a “well-reasoned and soundly justified order.”The internet, he said, “has functioned without net neutrality rules for far longer than it has with them.” The decision “will not break the internet.”New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a Democrat, has been investigating what appears to be large numbers of fake public comments submitted to the FCC during the net neutrality comment process. Schneiderman said 2 million comments were submitted under stolen identities, including those of children and dead people.
400,000 face starvation in Damascus as Assad blocks humanitarian relief-Civilians trapped in suburbs in the city's east without enough food, fuel or medicine for the winter-By PHILIP ISSA-TOI-DEC 14,17
BEIRUT (AP) — At the doors of the Syrian capital, children with wrinkled faces and arms like sticks are going hungry because President Bashar Assad’s forces, supported by Russia and Iran, are blocking trucks filled with humanitarian relief.As the government and its opponents wrap up another fruitless round of talks in Geneva, humanitarian officials warn that conditions outside Damascus have reached crisis levels, with the government maintaining a siege on the Eastern Ghouta suburbs that has trapped close to 400,000 people without enough food, fuel or medicine for the winter.They say patients with empty stomachs and kidney failure are dying in their beds while waiting for evacuation to hospitals just minutes away.The fighting in Syria’s nearly seven-year war has tapered off in many areas since local cease-fires took hold, but the suffering in Eastern Ghouta — Damascus’ once fertile hinterland, now cut off from the world — has only gotten worse.According to the UN, roughly one in eight children are malnourished in Eastern Ghouta — a shocking jump from one in 50 in May.A top UN humanitarian official for Syria, Jan Egeland, said last week the government is refusing to allow convoys in. It has also refused to approve a list of nearly 500 people urgently needing medical evacuation.“We have people here who are only eating a meal every two or three days,” Ismael Yasin, a member of Eastern Ghouta’s local council told The Associated Press via Skype. “People’s faces are turning yellow from hunger.”The siege cast a cloud over the eighth round of UN-sponsored talks in Geneva, which concluded Thursday without any results. The head of the opposition’s delegation, Nasr Hariri, said the impasse on Eastern Ghouta reflected the international community’s “shame, impotence, and dereliction.”“It’s shameful that we have to go into negotiations so that they (the government) give us some loaves of bread,” said Hariri.The UN envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, called the Eastern Ghouta blockade and others like it a “medieval” approach to war. Amnesty International said last month that the government’s use of sieges against civilians — a tactic it called “surrender or starve” — was a crime against humanity.But the tactic has proven brutally effective for the government, which in the last two years has managed to recapture a constellation of towns around Damascus using the same playbook. In Zabadani and Daraya, the government executed its strategy so completely that it managed to completely depopulate the two towns, which had a combined population of about 100,000 people before the war.The government has followed the same strategy to restore its authority over the cities of Aleppo and Homs. The government denies besieging opposition areas, saying the militants, whom it refers to as “terrorists,” withhold aid.At least three rebel factions still claim a presence in Eastern Ghouta, and send shells whistling into the capital on a daily basis.In mid-November, a powerful faction called Ahrar al-Sham captured parts of a military base in the region, prompting the government to respond with waves of airstrikes and shelling that killed over 200 civilians, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Ahrar al-Sham said it attacked the base in response to the deteriorating humanitarian situation.Shortages have gotten so dire that residents are eating out of the trash and parents are skipping meals so their children can eat, Jakob Kern, the World Food Program’s top official in Syria, told The Associated Press.“They look exhausted, they look tired, and there is this despair in their eyes,” said Kern, who entered Eastern Ghouta with one of the few aid convoys the government has allowed in recent weeks.The convoys have provided just a trickle of relief — supplies for tens of thousands of people that will last only a month or less, at a time when hundreds of thousands are in need.Photos from Eastern Ghouta show children gaunt with hunger, their skin wrinkled and aged. Mothers are not producing milk to feed their infants, and baby formula is too scarce and expensive for most families to afford. Driven by desperation, some residents are trying to eat animal fodder.Since at least 2015, there have been Syrians dying every winter of starvation and other medical ailments made worse by the bitter cold. Families in besieged areas, as well as camps for the displaced, burn furniture, plastics, and even the doorframes and roof supports of their homes to cook and stay warm, as the cost of fuel has soared far beyond reach for most.Much of the country, including the hilly terrain around Damascus, sees freezing rain and snow in the winter months.Egeland said last week that 12 people have died waiting for medical evacuation from Eastern Ghouta. They were on a UN-drawn list first submitted six months ago that has yet to be approved by the government, and now contains 494 names. The UN’s children agency said Sunday that 137 children require immediate evacuation for conditions that include kidney failure, severe malnutrition and conflict wounds.Egeland, in pointed remarks in Geneva, placed full blame on the government for impeding aid shipments across the country.Eastern Ghouta saw large protests in the early days of the 2011 Arab Spring uprising against Assad. Government forces surrounded the area in 2013, but for most of the last four years, they turned a blind eye to tunnels and above-ground smuggling. Activists say local commanders made huge sums of money from checkpoint bribes, and traders got rich selling to a captive market. Patches of farmland also provided some food.The government tightened the noose this year, closing the tunnels and nearly all the crossings. Food in Eastern Ghouta at one point was up to 85 times more expensive than in Damascus, just a few minutes’ drive away, according to the WFP.“We need for the siege to be lifted,” said Anas al-Dimashqi, a local media activist. “Not just in front of the cameras, as the government does every now and then.”
Anti-Semitism rampant among Muslim refugees in Germany — study-While refugees from persecuted minorities tend to oppose anti-Semitism, many Muslims come with conspiracy theories about Jews and Israel controlling world-By JTA-TOI-DEC 14,17
BERLIN, Germany (JTA) — Anti-Semitism among Muslim refugees is rampant and requires urgent attention, a new study suggests.But the study, commissioned by the American Jewish Committee’s Ramer Institute for German-Jewish Relations in Berlin, also finds that refugees from persecuted minority communities are more likely to take a stand against anti-Semitism and for Israel.Titled “Attitudes of refugees from Syria and Iraq towards integration, identity, Jews and the Shoah,” the research report was prepared by historian and sociologist Günther Jikeli of Indiana University and the University of Potsdam, Germany, with help from Lars Breuer and Matthias Becker.The report, based on interviews with 68 refugees, comes amid a series of virulent anti-Israel and anti-America demonstrations in the German capital denouncing the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Thousands of protesters burned homemade Israeli flags and crowded city subway stations chanting anti-Israel and anti-American slogans on their way to rallies. The numbers of refugees among the demonstrators was unknown.At the same time, in a show of solidarity with Jewish communities in Germany, local imams joined with Christian and Jewish leaders in public celebrations of Hanukkah, including the annual candle-lighting ceremony at the Brandenburg Gate, where Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal of Berlin was joined in a cherry picker by Mayor Michael Mueller. Security has been tightened throughout Germany and at Jewish venues.The tensions run deep, the new study indicates. Anti-Semitic attitudes and rejection of Israel are widespread among the newcomers, the head of the Ramer Institute, Deidre Berger, said in a statement.While many of those interviewed had positive impressions of Germany, they also tended to believe in conspiracy theories, such as about Jews or Israel controlling the world.“Anti-Semitic thinking and stereotyping are very common … even among those who emphasize that they ‘respect’ Judaism or that there is no problem living together between Muslims, Christians and Jews in their countries of origin and in Germany,” Jikeli said in a statement.Berger said that given the depth of anti-Jewish hostility in Arab countries, this is not surprising based on the stereotypes that are implanted in schools, mosques and government propaganda in some countries.“[N]onetheless,” she said, “the dimensions of the problem are much larger than expected.”“When political challenges multiply, anti-Semitism often increases, a situation that must not be tolerated,” Berger said, calling for swift prosecution of crimes related to hate and incitement.She said integration classes for refugees must emphasize Germany’s links to Israel, support for Jewish communities in the country and liberal democratic values, adding that staff and volunteers must be trained to cope with anti-Semitic attitudes.The study was funded by the Bennet Fund and the Meyer Fund.At least a million Muslim refugees have arrived in Germany since the summer of 2015.
Lebanon approves first offshore oil and gas exploration-Just one group bids for government contract amid political instability-By AFP-TOI-DEC 14,17
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanon on Thursday approved a first bid from an international consortium including France’s Total, Italy’s ENI and Russia’s Novatek to explore for oil and gas off the country’s Mediterranean coast.The group was the only one to respond to a call for bids by the authorities in Beirut, with Lebanon’s attempts to begin offshore energy exploration in recent years hampered by political instability.The government of Prime Minister Saad Hariri has made finding progress on the oil and gas prospects a priority since its formation in 2016 as Lebanon looks to tap potential reserves after major offshore gas discoveries by neighboring Israel and Cyprus.“The cabinet has approved the granting of exploration permits… in blocks 4 and 9,” Energy Minister Cesar Abi Khalil wrote on Facebook.The successful bid from the consortium covers only two of five blocks that were offered by the Lebanese government.Khalil said the next step would be for the government to sign an official agreement with the group and that explorations would not start before the beginning of 2019.Lebanon is hoping the discovery of energy resources off its coast will provide a much-needed boost for its battered national coffers.Hariri insisted the offer from the consortium was “good” and marked an important step forward after lengthy delays.“After five years of discussions on this question, the government will be in a position to sign the first oil and gas exploration deal,” the premier said.Analyst Diana Kaissy, who heads the Lebanese Oil and Gas Initiative think-tank, said it was “impossible to know” the extent of the accessible reserves before exploration operations begin.But she said “preliminary evaluations” showed the five blocks offered by the government were the “most promising,” with block nine bordering a sector disputed by Israel.In the long term, it is obligatory for the Lebanese authorities to prove their “transparency” in the energy development sector, Kaissy said.The country is wracked by severe energy and electricity shortages due to the woeful state of its infrastructure and widespread corruption.
REBUILT 3RD TEMPLE
REVELATION 11:1-2
1 And there was given me a(MEASURING) reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
2 But the court which is without the temple leave out,(TO THE WORLD NATIONS) and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.(JERUSALEM DIVIDED BUT THE 3RD TEMPLE ALLOWED TO BE REBUILT)
DANIEL 9:27
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
MICAH 4:1-5
1 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.
2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
3 And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
4 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.
5 For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever.
DANIEL 11:31
31 And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.(3RD TEMPLE REBUILT)
DANIEL 12:11
11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away,(AT THE MIDPOINT OF THE TRIBULATION PERIOD)(3RD TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED BY DICTATOR) and the abomination that maketh desolate set up,(TO WORSHIP THE DICTATOR OR DIE) there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.(1,290 DAYS)(AN EXTRA 30 DAYS AT THE END OF THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD FOR JESUS TO DESTROY THE ARMIES AGAINST JERUSALEM.AND TO JUDGE THE SHEEP AND GOAT NATIONS OF MATTHEW 25:31-46-HOW THEY TREATED ISRAEL DURING THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD.AND THEN I BELIEVE JESUS WILL REBUILD THE 4TH TEMPLE 25 MILES FROM THE CURRENT TEMPLE MOUNT.AND THEN JESUS RULES FOR THE 1,000 YEARS-THEN FOREVER FROM THAT 4TH TEMPLE.)
MATTHEW 24:15-16
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)(THE DICTATOR SITS IN THE REBUILT 3RD TEMPLE CALLING HIMSELF GOD AT THE MIDPOINT OR 3 1/2 YEAR PERIOD OF THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD.OR 7 YEAR PEACE TREATY BETWEEN ISRAEL-ARABS AND MANY OF DANIEL 9:27)
16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
US ambassador to Israel lights menorah at Western Wall-A week after Trump's Jerusalem announcement, David Friedman, says he's 'awed to stand on the same hallowed ground' as Second Temple-By JTA and TOI staff -dec 14,170
David Friedman, the US ambassador to Israel, lit the menorah at the Western Wall in Jerusalem for the second night of Hanukkah.Thousands attended the ceremony on Wednesday evening, one week after President Donald Trump announced that the United States would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.“A great honor to light the Menorah at the Western Wall,” Friedman tweeted after the lighting ceremony. “Some 2,180 years ago, the Maccabees reclaimed this very site and restored Jewish ritual to the Second Temple. Awed to stand on the same hallowed ground. Happy Chanukah to all!!”Friedman lit the candles accompanied by the Western Wall’s rabbi, Shmuel Rabinovitch; Jerusalem’s chief rabbi, Shlomo Amar; and the minister of tourism, Yariv Levin.In an address last Wednesday from the White House, Trump defied worldwide warnings and insisted that after repeated failures to achieve peace a new approach was long overdue, describing his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the seat of Israel’s government as merely based on reality.The move was hailed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and by leaders across much of the Israeli political spectrum, but criticized worldwide. Trump stressed that he was not specifying the boundaries of Israeli sovereignty in the city, and called for no change in the status quo at the city’s holy sites.Speaking last week after the announcement, Friedman said the move reflects the “best path for peace,” and those demonstrating against it failed to listen properly to the president’s speech.Before lighting candles at the Western Wall, Friedman met with Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, whose office said in a statement that the meeting was part of “the beginning of the process of moving the embassy to the capital,” and that they discussed “a shared future in Jerusalem.”
US jets fire warning flares as Russian planes enters Syria buffer zone-US Air Force says Russians infringing on forbidden airspace six to eight times a day, unclear whether by accident or design-DEC 14,17-TOI
Two US fighter jets on Wednesday fired warning flares after two Russian jets entered a buffer zone intended to keep Russian and US-led coalition forces operating over Syria apart.After crossing the so-called “de-confliction line,” the Russian Su-25s “were promptly intercepted by two F-22A Raptors providing air cover for partner ground forces conducting operations to defeat ISIS,” Air Forces Central Command spokesman Lt. Col. Damien Pickart told CNN.“The F-22s conducted multiple maneuvers to persuade the Su-25s to depart our de-conflicted airspace, including the release of chaff and flares in close proximity to the Russian aircraft and placing multiple calls on the emergency channel to convey to the Russian pilots that they needed to depart the area,” he said.Pickart added that one Su-25 flew close enough to an F-22A that it had to “aggressively maneuver to avoid a midair collision.”In early November, the US and the Russians agreed that the latter would keep west of the Euphrates River and the former to the east.“Since agreeing to this de-confliction arrangement, the Russians have flown into our airspace on the east side of the river 6-8 times per day, or approximately 10 percent of the Russian and Syrian flights,” Pickart said.“If either of us needs to cross the river for any reason, we’re supposed to first de-conflict via the [hot] line. It’s become increasingly tough for our pilots to discern whether Russian pilots’ actions are deliberate or if these are just honest mistakes,” he added, saying, “the coalition’s greatest concern is that we could shoot down a Russian aircraft because its actions are seen as a threat to our air or ground forces.”Russia has been backing Syrian President Bashar Assad in the ongoing Syrian civil war.
FALSE POPE FROM THE VATICAN
ISAIAH 23:15-17
15 And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot.
16 Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.
17 And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.(COULD THIS BE 70 YEARS AFTER ISRAEL BECAME A NATION IN 1948)(IF SO THIS SATANIC ONE WORLD WHORE CHURCH WILL MINGLE TOGETHER BY 2018)(AND NOW ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITY AND ALL RELIGIONS ARE MINGLING AS ONE PEACE-LOVE-JOY-GET ALONG RELIGION LEAD BY THE VATICAN RIGHT NOW 4 YEARS FROM THE 70 YEAR TIME WHEN ISRAEL BECAME A NATION).AND IN CONTROL OF JERUSALEM.
REVELATION 13:11-13
11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth;(FALSE VATICAN POPE) and he had two horns like a lamb,(JESUS IS THE LAMB OF GOD) and he spake as a dragon.(HES SATANICALLY INSPIRED,HES A CHRISTIAN DEFECTOR FROM THE FAITH)
12 And he (FALSE RELIGIOUS LEADER) exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him,(WORLD DICTATOR) and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.(THE WORLD DICTATOR CREATES A FALSE RESURRECTION AND IS CROWNED LEADER OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER).
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
REVELATION 17:1-5,9,15-18
1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication,(VATICAN IN POLITICS) and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4 And the woman (FALSE CHURCH) was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour,(VATICAN COLOURS)(ANOTHER REASON WE KNOW THE FALSE POPE COMES FROM THE VATICAN) and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.(THE VATICAN IS BUILT ON 7 HILLS OR MOUNTAINS)
10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen,(1-ASSYRIA,2-EGYPT,3-BABYLON,4-MEDO-PERSIA,5-GREECE) and one is,(IN POWER IN JOHNS AND JESUS DAY-6-ROME) and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.(7TH-REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE OR THE EUROPEAN UNION TODAY AND THE SHORT SPACE IS-THE EUROPEAN UNION WILL HAVE WORLD CONTROL FOR THE LAST 3 1/2 YEARS.BUT WILL HAVE ITS MIGHTY WORLD POWER FOR THE FULL 7 YEARS OF THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD.AND THE WORLD DICTATOR WILL BE THE BEAST FROM THE EU.AND THE VATICAN POPE WILL BE THE WHORE THAT RIDES THE EUROPEAN UNION TO POWER.AND THE 2 EUROPEAN UNION POWER FREAKS WILL CONTROL AND DECIEVE THE WHOLE EARTH INTO THEIR DESTRUCTION.IF YOU ARE NOT SAVED BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS.YOU WILL BE DECIEVED BY THESE TWO.THE WORLD POLITICIAN-THE EUROPEAN UNION DICTATOR.AND THE FALSE PROPHET THAT DEFECTS CHRISTIANITY-THE FALSE VATICAN POPE.
15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.(VATICAN-CATHOLICS ALL AROUND THE WORLD OVER 1 BILLION)
16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast,(WORLD DICTATOR) these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.(BOMB OR NUKE THE VATICAN)
17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city,(VATICAN) which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
Never underestimate the devil, he’s smarter than we are, pope warns-Satan is real and more intelligent than human beings, says Francis. 'He will turn your head'-By Sue Surkes-TOI-DEC 14,17
Never underestimate the devil.That was the advice Pope Francis gave Wednesday, on TV2000, a Catholic television channel.“He is evil, he’s not like mist. He’s not a diffuse thing, he is a person,” the pope said.“I want to say something about which I’m convinced. With Satan, you cannot have dialogue. If you start a dialogue with Satan, you are lost.“He is more intelligent than we are and he will turn you around, turn your head, and you’re lost.”The pope said the devil always behaved politely. “With us, the priest, the bishops, he is polite, he comes in like this,” but things ended badly if people failed to recognize who it was.Pope Francis, a Jesuit, refers more frequently than his immediate predecessors to the Prince of Darkness.He has recommended to priests not to hesitate resorting to local exorcists if they witness great spiritual disorder from their side of the confessional.During a mass in memory of a French priest, Jacques Hamel, who was murdered by Islamic extremists in his own church in July 2016, Francis said it was “satanic” to kill in the name of God.Hamel’s last words were reportedly “Get out, Satan!”AFP contributed to this report.
via EVENTS IN TIME (BIBLE PROPHECY LITERALLY FULFILLED)(BY GOD) http://ift.tt/2ArZIcr
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