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
JERUSALEM DIVIDED
GENESIS 25:20-26
20 And Isaac was forty years old (A BIBLE GENERATION NUMBER=1967 + 40=2007+) when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.
21 And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
22 And the children (2 NATIONS IN HER-ISRAEL-ARABS) struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD.
23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels;(ISRAEL AND THE ARABS) and the one people shall be stronger than the other people;(ISRAEL STRONGER THAN ARABS) and the elder shall serve the younger.(LITERALLY ISRAEL THE YOUNGER RULES (ISSAC)(JACOB-LATER NAME CHANGED TO ISRAEL) OVER THE OLDER ARABS (ISHMAEL)(ESAU)
24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.(THE OLDER AN ARAB)
26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob:(THE YOUNGER-ISRAELI) and Isaac was threescore (60) years old when she bare them.(1967 + 60=2027)(COULD BE THE LAST GENERATION WHEN JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED AMOUNG THE 2 TWINS)(THE 2 TWINS WANT JERUSALEM-THE DIVISION OF JERUSALEM TODAY)(AND WHOS IN CONTROL OF JERUSALEM TODAY-THE YOUNGER ISSAC-JACOB-ISRAEL)(AND WHO WANTS JERUSALEM DIVIDED-THE OLDER,ESAU-ISHMAEL (THE ARABS)
ZECHARIAH 12:1-5 King James Bible
1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
4 In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.
5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.
Israel braces for violent protests over Trump Jerusalem announcement-Bethlehem protesters burn pictures of Trump; Israel says troops are preparing for a planned 'day of rage' in the wake of Washington's expected recognition of capital-By Sue Surkes and AP-DEC 5,17-TOI
Palestinians burned pictures of US President Donald Trump in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Tuesday night, as anger ramped up over an expected announcement by Trump Wednesday of US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.Israeli troops girded for the possibility of violence.The picture-burning protest came hours after Trump told the leaders of the Palestinian Authority and Jordan in phone calls that he intends to move the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, despite intense Arab and Muslim opposition to a move that would alter decades of US policy and risk potentially violent protests.Trump is to publicly address the question of Jerusalem on Wednesday and US officials familiar with his planning said he would declare Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, though he would not order the embassy move immediately.Palestinian factions have called for protests against the moves, which would de facto recognize Israeli sovereignty over the city despite Palestinian claims to part of it.Israeli security services were preparing for the possibility of violence in the West Bank in light of Palestinian terrorist groups calling for demonstrations in response to US Trump’s expected moves, sources said.There were no immediate reports of large troop call-ups or significant reinforcements to West Bank units.Intelligence minister Yisrael Katz warned Tuesday that “violent protests would be a big mistake for the PA.”“I suggest they don’t create security tensions and don’t lead down this road. We are ready for every possibility,” he said, according to the Ynet news website.In a statement earlier Tuesday, Hamas called for Palestinians to “make Friday a day of rage against the occupation, rejecting moving the American embassy to Jerusalem and declaring it the capital of the Zionist entity.”Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh warned that a US decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem and recognize the city as Israel’s capital would be a “dangerous escalation” that crosses “every red line.”Political factions led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement also called for daily protest marches this week, starting Wednesday, and Fatah’s youth wing said “all options [are] open for defending Jerusalem.”The US State Department on Tuesday ordered government employees to avoid Jerusalem’s Old City and the West Bank until further notice in anticipation of an outbreak of Palestinian violence over Trump’s upcoming announcements on Jerusalem.Jerusalem’s Old City includes the holiest ground in Judaism. It is also home to Islam’s third-holiest shrine and major Christian sites, and forms the combustible center of the Israeli-Arab conflict.Any perceived harm to Muslim claims to the city has triggered volatile protests in the past, both in the Holy Land and across the Muslim world.Within the Trump administration, officials on Tuesday were still debating the particulars of the president’s expected speech as they fielded a flood of warnings from allied governments.As international pressure has mounted, officials have said Trump could try to limit the impact of anything he says on Jerusalem. Among the ideas under consideration: A Trump nod to Palestinian “aspirations” for a capital in East Jerusalem or his endorsement of a two-state solution to the conflict, something he hasn’t clearly given. The officials said it’s unclear if any of that might be included.Majdi Khaldi, Abbas’ diplomatic adviser, said Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital could end Washington’s role as mediator.“This would mean they decided, on their own, to distance themselves from efforts to make peace,” Khaldi told The Associated Press in perhaps the most sharply worded reaction by a Palestinian official. He said such recognition would lead the Palestinians to eliminate contacts with the United States.Changing Jerusalem’s status would be “a stab in the back,” Husam Zomlot, the Palestinians’ chief delegate to Washington, told the AP.Judah Ari Gross contributed to this report.
TV: Netanyahu and aides were ‘active partners’ with Trump team on Jerusalem move-PM and his advisers have been 'encouraging, supporting, reassuring' the US administration, while the Palestinians knew nothing, Hadashot news says-By TOI staff and Agencies-5 December 2017
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his aides have been “active partners” working in “total coordination” with US President Donald Trump and his administration in the lead-up to the president’s anticipated speech Wednesday recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and declaring his intended relocation of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Israel’s Hadashot TV said Tuesday evening.Trump’s phone call to Netanyahu on Tuesday updating him on his scheduled Wednesday speech was not their first recent conversation on the highly sensitive subject, Hadashot news reported. Netanyahu’s team has been “encouraging, supporting, [and] reassuring” the Trump team over the likely fallout, the TV report said, “and this total coordination came while the Palestinians knew nothing about this move” until very recently. “They’d heard nothing about it.”Channel 10, meanwhile, said Netanyahu and Israel’s Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer have been privy to the details of what Trump is planning, and had played a key role.Trump “accepted the Israeli argument that said, Let’s separate the issue of Jerusalem recognition from the peace process. Prime Minister Netanyahu and Ambassador Dermer succeeded in convincing President Trump that this is a case of righting a historical wrong,” Channel 10 reported. (In fact, candidate Trump, while on the presidential campaign trail, pledged to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.)-In response to a threat by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to consider severing ties with Israel over Trump’s expected recognition, Israel’s Minister of Intelligence Yisrael Katz declared earlier Tuesday: “There is no more historically justified and correct step now than recognizing Jerusalem, which has been the capital of the Jewish people for the past 3,000 years, as the capital of Israel.”Overall, however, the TV reports said Netanyahu has asked his ministers not to speak out on the issue ahead of the Trump speech on Wednesday. And the Channel 10 report said Trump specifically asked Netanyahu to “keep a low profile” and see to it that Israel’s ministers do not demonstrably “rejoice” over the move, for fear of exacerbating a highly tense situation.Netanyahu did not make any public comments on the issue on Tuesday.Israeli TV reports have for days been predicting that Trump would make a declaration recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and announce he intends to move the embassy. Despite ongoing Arab and international efforts to persuade Trump to change his mind ahead of his Wednesday speech, Hadashot news on Tuesday evening asserted definitively that “it’s done.”US officials said Tuesday they expected Trump would make a generic statement about Jerusalem’s status as the “capital of Israel.” They said they did not expect the president to use the phrase “undivided capital,” which would imply Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem, which is not recognized by the United Nations.The Hadashot TV report said it was expected Trump would also highlight Jerusalem’s importance to all monotheistic faiths, and stress his desire to advance Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts — an ambition that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has warned this week will be dashed if Trump goes ahead with his planned speech.The TV reports said Trump would likely sign the waiver delaying for another six months a US legal requirement to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem, but that this was a strictly logistical and budgetary issue, since the logistics for moving the embassy would take months. US officials said Trump would likely give wide latitude to David Friedman, the US Ambassador to Israel, to make a determination on when such a move would be appropriate. Friedman has spoken in favor of the relocation, and said before he was confirmed as ambassador that he looked forward to working from Jerusalem.The Israeli army on Tuesday evening raised its alert ahead of possible violence in Jerusalem and the West Bank. The US told government employees to avoid Jerusalem’s Old City and the West Bank until further notice in anticipation of an outbreak of Palestinian violence over Trump’s upcoming announcements on Jerusalem.
The president’s guide to recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital-Changing the status of the entire city could derail Trump's peace plan, while naming 'West Jerusalem' will disappoint Israelis; hence, he'll likely remain ambiguous-By Raphael Ahren-5 December 2017
The United States had eight capitals before settling on Washington, DC. So who are the Americans to deny Israelis’ right to determine their own? Jerusalem Affairs Minister Ze’ev Elkin argued along those lines last week at a conference about Jerusalem’s legal status, urging the US administration to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognize the city as Israel’s eternal capital.As opposed to other countries, Israel has only ever had one capital city, Elkin noted.“The United States, for example, had eight temporary capitals before President George Washington signed the Residence Act, on July 16, 1790, stipulating the creation of a permanent capital city along the banks of the Potomac River — what is now known at Washington, DC,” he said.Elkin was likely referring to the fact that between 1774 and 1790, the US Congress and its predecessor bodies convened in Baltimore, Lancaster, York, Philadelphia, Princeton, Annapolis, Trenton, and New York, before Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison agreed on the passage of the “Act for Establishing the Temporary and Permanent Seat of the Government of the United States.”“No one denies that Washington is the capital of the United States,” Elkin said. “No other country would presume to suggest that New York or Los Angeles would be a more fitting capital for the United States, and yet with Israeli this is the case.”On Monday, US President Donald Trump failed to sign a waiver that would postpone the relocation of the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Such a waiver has been required by US law every six months since 1995, in the absence of actually moving the embassy. He is widely expected to issue a waiver later this week.But at the same time, he is also reportedly poised to publicly recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a move welcomed by Israel and bitterly opposed by the Palestinians — who claim the eastern part of the city as their capital — and the entire Arab and Muslim world.But will Trump recognize all of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, or only its Western part, as Russia did earlier this year? Depending on the wording of his expected declaration, Israelis may end up disappointed.When the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on April 6 saying that Moscow considers “West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel,” Israeli officials remained mum. It stands to reason that some of them rejoiced over the first-ever recognition by a foreign power of Israeli sovereignty over any part of city. But they also realized that recognizing only the Western part of it would appear to deny Israel’s claims to the eastern part, including the Old City, which it captured in 1967 and subsequently effectively annexed.Russia’s statement, for instance, specifically said that Moscow views “East Jerusalem as the capital of the future Palestinian state.” Not wanting to anger the Arab world and hoping to keep alive his dream of brokering the “ultimate” Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, Trump could choose a similar formulation.Would that be good or bad for Israel? One might argue that partial recognition is better than none. After all, the international community has thus far refused to recognize Israeli sovereignty over any part of the city. Isn’t an American recognition of West Jerusalem — where the Knesset, the President’s Residence, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Foreign Ministry and the Supreme Court are located, as well as most Jewish neighborhoods — a step in the right direction? Not necessarily, said Prof. Shlomo Slonim, a Hebrew University expert on US politics and constitutional law.“Recognition of West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is a step toward redividing the city,” he said.Ministers Yariv Levin and Miri Regev would presumably agree with Slonim. Last week, they threatened to withdraw state funding from the upcoming Giro d’Italia cycling tournament if organizers continued to say the race would take place in “West Jerusalem.”“In Jerusalem, Israel’s capital, there is no east or west. There is one unified Jerusalem,” the two Likud ministers said in a joint statement. The event organizers quickly apologized and removed the word “west” from their press material — to the annoyance of the Palestinians.The 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act, which was passed by large majorities in the Senate and the House but was left unsigned by then-president Bill Clinton and unimplemented by every president since, is very clear about the parts of the city that it refers to.“Jerusalem should remain an undivided city,” it says in Section 3. Since then, countless Congressional resolutions have reaffirmed the US lawmakers’ conviction that a united Jerusalem should be recognized as the capital of the Jewish state.In September 2016, after meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York, Trump — then the Republican candidate for president — vowed to recognize a united Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.“Mr. Trump acknowledged that Jerusalem has been the eternal capital of the Jewish People for over 3,000 years, and that the United States, under a Trump administration, will finally accept the long-standing Congressional mandate to recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the State of Israel,” according to a readout of the meeting.READOUT OF DONALD J. TRUMP'S MEETING WITH ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHUNEW YORK, NY – Donald J. Trump met…Posted by Donald J. Trump on Sunday, 25 September 2016-On the other hand, Trump is eager to broker an Israeli-Palestinian final-status deal, and he knows that recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital could be “the kiss of death” to the peace process, as Palestinian officials have warned.In recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Trump thus has three options, said Eytan Gilboa, an expert on US politics at Bar-Ilan University.“He can either say ‘Jerusalem,’ ‘West Jerusalem’ or ‘United Jerusalem.’ There is debate about the right wording even within the administration,” he said.Most likely, Trump will merely say “Jerusalem,” thus allowing all sides to interpret his statement as they wish, Gilboa speculated. Israel will then be able to cite the law and the president’s previous commitments in arguing he meant the entire city. The Palestinians, meanwhile, will be able to cling to the hope that he was only referring to West Jerusalem.
THE SEX FOR MURDER DEATH CULT ISLAMIC-ARAB-MUSLIMS CAN NOT BELIEVE THE WORLD WON'T FORCE TRUMP TO STOP MOVING THE EMBASSY.WHICH SAYS JERUSALEM IS ISRAEL AND ONLY ISRAEL FOREVER CAPITAL.
Arab MKs accuse ‘pyromaniac’ Trump of ‘diplomatic terror’ with Jerusalem moves-Leader of Arab Knesset party says US president 'will set entire region ablaze with his madness' as Trump signals 'intention' to relocate embassy-By Alexander Fulbright-TOI-5 December 2017
Arab Israeli lawmakers on Tuesday dubbed US President Donald Trump a “pyromaniac” and accused him of “diplomatic terrorism” after the Palestinian Authority and Jordan said their leaders were informed by the American president of his “intention” to move the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.Trump’s phone calls with PA President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Tuesday came amid speculation Trump could announce plans to relocate the embassy from Tel Aviv or recognize Israel’s capital on Wednesday.US officials have said he will hold off on moving the embassy right away, but may issue a statement reiterating his intent and even go as far as recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.But the US president critically did not provide a timeframe when speaking to the Arab leaders in a flurry of phone calls on Tuesday. Trump was also set to call Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to the White House.The head of the Knesset’s Joint (Arab) List MK Ayman Odeh called Trump a “pyromaniac” and warned that going through with the move risked inflaming the region.“Trump is a pyromaniac, and will set the entire region ablaze with his madness,” Odeh said. “If one thing has been made clear in recent days, it’s that the US should not remain the broker of talks between Israel and the Palestinians.”“If the Israeli government wants the world to recognize West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, all it has to do is recognize East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine,” he added.In a statement, Joint (Arab) List MK Ahmad Tibi said moving the US embassy would violate international law and “seriously damage” the prospects for a two-state solution.“This is an unreasonable move that is in violation of international law,” said Tibi. “It’s ridiculous that President Trump’s campaign promise ends up being ‘diplomatic terrorism,’ which will seriously damage the vision for two states.”“The US administration proved this time that they are part of the problem and not part of the solution,” he said.In the run-up to Wednesday’s expected announcement, a number of Arab and Muslim leaders have warned of the consequences of recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying Tuesday the issue is a “red line” for Muslims and any change in the city’s status could “set the entire Islamic world in motion.”Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, the Arab League, and the EU have also objected.While many Israeli politicians on both sides of the aisle have expressed their support for the embassy move, ministers were ordered by Netanyahu on Tuesday to not publicly comment on the issue.Jerusalem’s status has long been one of the thorniest issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The US has held the city’s status must be determined in negotiations between the sides.Along with the West Bank, Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 Six War. It later extended sovereignty over East Jerusalem, although the move was never recognized by the international community. Israel claims the entire city as its undivided capital, while the Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.Tamar Pileggi, AFP contributed to this report.
Saudi king to Trump: Jerusalem embassy move a ‘dangerous step’-King Salman says move will 'inflame' Muslims worldwide, harm chances for Israeli-Palestinian peace deal-By TOI staff-5 December 2017
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman warned US President Donald Trump on Tuesday against moving the American embassy to Jerusalem, saying it will “inflame” the Muslim world.“Such a dangerous step is likely to inflame the passions of Muslims around the world due to the great status of Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” he told Trump in a phone conversation between the two leaders, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.The king told the US president “that any American announcement regarding the situation of Jerusalem prior to reaching a permanent settlement will harm peace talks and increase tensions in the area,” the statement added.Trump’s call to the Saudi monarch was one of a number he made to Middle East leaders on Tuesday to signal the US embassy move to the holy city would go ahead.Amid a frantic round of telephone diplomacy, Trump told Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah of his “intention” to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, but crucially did not give a time-frame.Trump also spoke with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi on the subject. Sissi’s spokesperson Bassam Radhi said Egypt’s leader told Trump the Egyptian position is “to maintain the legal status of Jerusalem in the framework of international… decisions.”Sissi also affirmed “the necessity of not complicating the state of the region by taking measures that would undermine the chances for peace in the Middle East,” according to his spokesman.Trump also spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.The US president’s phone calls to the Middle East leaders came as vociferous Arab and opposition to any possible US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital continued to mount, and as European leaders expressed concern about harm to Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.Seeking to garner international support for opposing the move, Abbas later on Tuesday spoke with a number of world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Morocco’s King Mohammed VI.In separate conversations with both leaders, Abbas stressed the need for “everyone to protect Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian holy sites,” the official PA news agency Wafa reported.Abbas’s spokesman told Reuters the PA president also spoke with Pope Francis and French President Emmanuel Macron and “urged them to intervene to prevent” the embassy move.Abbas’s Fatah party and the Hamas terror group called for protests against the expected move, as the State Department has issued a travel warning barring US government employees from visiting Jerusalem’s Old City and the West Bank.Fearing the possibility of violence at its embassies abroad if Trump goes ahead with the move, the State Department sent at least two classified cables to embassies and consulates warning them of potential danger and advising they ramp up security, the Politico news site reported Monday.Israeli defense officials are also bracing for violent protests and terror attacks, with the Israel Police, Shin Bet security service and the IDF’s Central Command holding meetings in recent days to review possible scenarios in the event Trump follows through on his campaign promise to change America’s policy on Israel’s capital, the Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported Tuesday.Agencies contributed to this report.
Trump phones Sissi on Jerusalem moves as Abbas rallies world to intervene-In calls with Middle East leaders, US president expresses 'intention' to relocate embassy; officials say he will recognize capital but likely still sign waiver-By Dov Lieber and Agencies-TOI-5 December 2017
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday appealed to world leaders and the pope to prevent US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, as US President Donald Trump phoned Middle East leaders to tell them he intends to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city.Amid a frantic round of telephone diplomacy, Trump told Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah on Tuesday of his “intention” to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, but did not give a time-frame.US officials familiar with planning for a possible announcement on Jerusalem said they expect Trump to speak to the matter around midday Wednesday, although the specifics of what he will say were still being debated.The officials, along with an outside adviser to the administration, said they expected Trump would make a generic statement about Jerusalem’s status as the “capital of Israel.”They said they did not expect the president to use the phrase “undivided capital,” which would imply Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem, which is not recognized by the United Nations.They also said Trump planned to sign a waiver delaying for another six months a US legal requirement to move the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. But, they said Trump would likely give wide latitude to David Friedman, the US Ambassador to Israel, to make a determination on when such a move would be appropriate. Friedman has spoken in favor of the move.Seeking to garner international support for opposing the move, Abbas later on Tuesday spoke with a number of world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Morocco’s King Mohammed VI.In separate conversations with both leaders, Abbas stressed the need for “everyone to protect Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian holy sites,” the official PA news agency Wafa reported.Abbas’s spokesman told Reuters the PA president also spoke with Pope Francis and French President Emmanuel Macron and “urged them to intervene to prevent” the embassy move.Trump, meanwhile, was continuing his phone calls to Middle East leaders, reaching out to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi on the subject. He also spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, according to the White House.Sissi’s spokesperson Bassam Radhi said Trump called the Egyptian leader to discuss the “planned decision to by the American administration to move the US embassy to Jerusalem.”Sissi, according to his spokesperson, told Trump the Egyptian position is “to maintain the legal status of Jerusalem in the framework of international… decisions.”The Egyptian leader affirmed “the necessity of not complicating the state of the region by taking measures that would undermine the chances for peace in the Middle East.”The US president’s phone calls to the Middle East leaders came as vociferous Arab and opposition to any possible US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital continued to mount, and as European leaders expressed concern about harm to Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.As discussions continued on Tuesday, pressure from numerous quarters against full-on recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital appeared to have led to the possibility that Trump include comments in his speech that might mitigate the impact of the announcement.Among the ideas under discussion were Trump giving a nod to Palestinian aspirations to have the capital of an eventual state in East Jerusalem or endorsing the concept of a two-state solution, something he has yet to do. It remained unclear whether any such comments would be included.Meanwhile, opposition to any US policy change toward Jerusalem was building in the Arab and Muslim world.Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, the head of the Arab League, urged the United States to reconsider any recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Such a step would be a “dangerous measure that would have repercussions” across the region, he said during a Cairo meeting of Arab League representatives.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told parliament that US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital was a “red line” and that his country’s response “could go as far as us cutting diplomatic ties with Israel.Majdi Khaldi, Abbas’ diplomatic adviser, said recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital could end Washington’s role as mediator between Israelis and Palestinians.“If the Americans recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, then this would mean they decided, on their own, to distance themselves from efforts to make peace and that they will have no credibility or role in this issue,” Khaldi told The Associated Press in perhaps the most sharply worded comments yet by a Palestinian official.Should recognition occur, “we will stop our contacts with them because such a step goes against our existence and against the fate of our cause,” Khaldi said. “It targets Muslims and Christians alike.”Palestinian political factions led by Abbas’ Fatah movement called for daily protest marches this week, starting Wednesday.Key Washington ally Saudi Arabia also spoke out strongly against such a possible step. Saudi Arabia, a regional powerhouse, is crucial to any White House plans to promote a possible Mideast peace deal.Saudi Arabia expressed its “grave and deep concern” about possible recognition.In a statement on the state-run Saudi Press Agency, the Foreign Ministry said that the kingdom affirms the rights of Palestinian people regarding Jerusalem, which it said “cannot be changed.”On Monday, the Organization for Islamic Cooperation, which has 57 member states, said US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital would constitute “naked aggression” against the Muslim and Arab world.In Europe, Macron said he reminded Trump in a phone call Monday night that the fate of Jerusalem should be determined in negotiations on setting up a Palestinian state alongside Israel.Macron said Tuesday that he expressed concern about any possible unilateral US moves and that he agreed with Trump “to speak again shortly on this subject.”EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, who was meeting with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Brussels, said any actions that undermine Mideast peace efforts “must be absolutely avoided.”Israel captured East Jerusalem and the West Bank in the 1967 Six Day War. It later extended sovereignty over East Jerusalem in a move never recognized by the international community. Israel claims the entire city as its undivided capital, while the Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.The city’s status is among the most difficult issues in the conflict. US traditional policy has been that its status must be negotiated between the two parties.
US House passes bill to slash PA funds over terrorist stipends-Taylor Force Act must now clear the full Senate before going to the president's desk-By Eric Cortellessa-TOI-5 December 2017
WASHINGTON — The US House of Representatives passed on Tuesday the Taylor Force Act, legislation that would cut US funding to the Palestinian Authority unless it discontinues its practice of paying monthly stipends to the families of terrorists who kill Israelis.Last month, the measure unanimously advanced out of committee, including three exceptions: allowing for US funding to Palestinian water and childhood vaccination programs, as well as East Jerusalem hospitals.The bill must now pass the full Senate, which is expected to vote on it this month, when the upper chamber votes on a foreign operations bill it was packaged into last September. It is expected to pass.US President Donald Trump has not yet indicated whether he would sign the bill into law, though a White House official told The Times of Israel in July that the president supports its principal objective.Named after Taylor Force, a former US army officer who was stabbed to death by a Palestinian assailant while visiting Tel Aviv in March 2016, the bill garnered bipartisan support through the House.“We need to be clear about responsibility for this vicious attack,” said Ed Royce, a Republican from California who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “The Palestinian Authority gives salaries to Palestinians who attack innocent people like Taylor. If the attacker dies, their family is compensated.”“This system is a disgrace,” he went on. “It is also the result of an abiding climate of hatred Palestinians leaders continue to foster toward Jews and Israelis.”Israel, too, has demanded that the PA stop paying these wages via intermediary organizations.The Palestine Liberation Organization, for its part, has condemned the US legislation, saying that it is “unacceptable” and would violate Palestinians’ human rights.The bill’s House passage comes just one day before Trump is set to give a speech in which he was expected to formally recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a contentious move that would reverse decades of American foreign policy.It has already provoked the ire of the Palestinian and other Arab leaders, who warned the president of an outbreak of violence.These developments came as the Trump administration planned to ramp up its efforts to renew negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians and attempt to strike the coveted-but-long-elusive accord.Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner has been tasked with leading those peace efforts. The New York Times has recently reported that he and his team plan to announce their peace proposal in early 2018.It is not yet clear how these latest moves by the American government will impact these attempts, but a Palestinian delegation met with Kushner on Friday, warning him that relocating the American embassy to Jerusalem, or formally recognizing the holy city as Israel’s capital, would “kill the negotiations” and mark the end of the peace process.Nevertheless, Kushner told a crowd at the Saban Forum this weekend, a premier Middle East confab held each winter in Washington, D.C., that he remained “optimistic that there is a lot of hope [on both sides] for being able to come to a conclusion.”
Israel’s first female tank crews finish training, ready for deployment-Head of Armored Corps' training praises 13 recruits for completing grueling training as part of contentious pilot program-By Judah Ari Gross-TOI-5 December 2017
The Israeli army’s first female combat tank operators completed their training on Tuesday, earning medals marking them as such, as part of a pilot program to assess fuller gender integration in the Armored Corps.The 13 operators, of 15 picked for the program from female combat recruits, will shortly be sent to the borders of southern Israel to begin a four-month trial deployment.“We’re standing before a bit of history. For the first time, a tank operator medal will be pinned on the uniform of female IDF soldiers,” said Col. Moran Omer, head of the corps’ training brigade.In the ceremony at the Armored Corps’ monument in Latrun, outside Jerusalem, Omer lauded the female tank operators for finishing the intensive training program, which began earlier this year.“We demanded you complete the full and long training program… after you were fully trained as fighters in the Border Defense Force — no simple mission in itself — and you did so successfully,” the colonel said.“You stood up to the difficult physical challenges, learned the profession and no less importantly, you learned to love the power of metal,” Omer said.“Remember that no matter how advanced it is, the weapon isn’t what matters, but the person in the tank — that’s who wins!” he added, referring to the corps’ motto.In March, the army announced that it was choosing 15 women from a cohort of mixed-gender combat recruits who drafted that month to take part in the pilot tank program.Two of the candidates washed out in basic training, but the remaining 13 women then moved to the Armored Corps’ Shizafon base in the Negev where they completed training on the Merkava Mark 3 model, which they will operate.The 13 candidates will soon take up positions in southern Israel for the final stage of the pilot program. They will serve in the army’s 80th Division, which is responsible for the southern Negev and Arava deserts, and help guard the southern borders, a tank officer said earlier this year, speaking on condition of anonymity.The female recruits will not be formally integrated into the Armored Corps’ combat brigades — like the 188th, 7th and 401st Armored Brigades — but will serve in the newly formed Border Defense Force, which is meant to secure Israel’s borders but not cross them.This pilot program is part of a growing trend of women taking combat positions in the Israel Defense Forces. Over the past five years the number of female combat soldiers has increased nearly fivefold, from 547 in 2012 to 2,700 this year.Critics of the gender integration often decry it as a dangerous social experiment with potential ramifications on national security, while defenders generally trumpet it as a long-needed corrective measure, one that has already occurred in many Western countries.Detractors note that some requirements for combat soldiers have been lowered — which they say is a sign that effectiveness is being sacrificed — and that female soldiers suffer stress injuries at a higher rate.The army insists that it is allowing more women to serve in combat positions out of practical — not social — considerations, saying it requires all the soldiers that are available to it.The tank pilot program in particular has met considerable resistance.In November, when it was first formally announced, former high-ranking officers and religious groups came out firmly against it.Brig. Gen. (res.) Avigdor Kahalani, a famed commander of the IDF’s 7th Armored Brigade, told the Galey Israel radio station that tanks were not the right place for women.“The role of a woman is to be a mother, to bring children into the world,” he said.Former IDF general and current head of the Israel Electric Corporation Yiftach Ron-Tal claimed the proposal to allow women to operate tanks was a “scandal,” and part of a conspiracy by far-left “freaks” to debilitate the army. He later retracted the comment and apologized, amid backlash.Within the Armored Corps, there has also been some opposition voiced to gender integration.Before the army announced its plans to consider allowing women to serve in the tank brigades, head of the Armored Corps Brig. Gen. Guy Hasson, who attended Tuesday’s ceremony, told The Times of Israel he was concerned that such a move would harm the “image” of the unit.“We’re fighters. We’re trying to keep an image as fighters,” he said.“There are still people who look at us and say, there’s infantry and then there’s armored. You’re less ‘fighters.’ You’re less,” he said.Until now, women have been barred from serving in the tank brigades as it was believed that they could not physically handle the rigors of the Armored Corps. Female soldiers have, however, served as tank instructors.The candidates will serve in all-female tanks, in order to avoid modesty issues. Serving on the southern borders, they will be less likely to need to cross into enemy territory.However, all-male and all-female crews would come with their drawbacks, creating two distinct forces and shrinking the amount of flexibility the army has to move people between different crews.The trial program is expected to explore how to address some of these issues.The 13 candidates are being monitored throughout the pilot by nutritionists, doctors and exercise instructors to determine if they can handle the challenges of the position.By March 2018, the pilot program will officially end, and the military will review the results, the tank officer said.“We’re doing a test. After the test, we’ll have answers — if it’s possible or impossible for there to be girls [in the Armored Corps],” he said.
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
JERUSALEM DIVIDED
GENESIS 25:20-26
20 And Isaac was forty years old (A BIBLE GENERATION NUMBER=1967 + 40=2007+) when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.
21 And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
22 And the children (2 NATIONS IN HER-ISRAEL-ARABS) struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD.
23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels;(ISRAEL AND THE ARABS) and the one people shall be stronger than the other people;(ISRAEL STRONGER THAN ARABS) and the elder shall serve the younger.(LITERALLY ISRAEL THE YOUNGER RULES (ISSAC)(JACOB-LATER NAME CHANGED TO ISRAEL) OVER THE OLDER ARABS (ISHMAEL)(ESAU)
24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.(THE OLDER AN ARAB)
26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob:(THE YOUNGER-ISRAELI) and Isaac was threescore (60) years old when she bare them.(1967 + 60=2027)(COULD BE THE LAST GENERATION WHEN JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED AMOUNG THE 2 TWINS)(THE 2 TWINS WANT JERUSALEM-THE DIVISION OF JERUSALEM TODAY)(AND WHOS IN CONTROL OF JERUSALEM TODAY-THE YOUNGER ISSAC-JACOB-ISRAEL)(AND WHO WANTS JERUSALEM DIVIDED-THE OLDER,ESAU-ISHMAEL (THE ARABS)
ZECHARIAH 12:1-5 King James Bible
1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
4 In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.
5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.
Israel braces for violent protests over Trump Jerusalem announcement-Bethlehem protesters burn pictures of Trump; Israel says troops are preparing for a planned 'day of rage' in the wake of Washington's expected recognition of capital-By Sue Surkes and AP-DEC 5,17-TOI
Palestinians burned pictures of US President Donald Trump in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Tuesday night, as anger ramped up over an expected announcement by Trump Wednesday of US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.Israeli troops girded for the possibility of violence.The picture-burning protest came hours after Trump told the leaders of the Palestinian Authority and Jordan in phone calls that he intends to move the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, despite intense Arab and Muslim opposition to a move that would alter decades of US policy and risk potentially violent protests.Trump is to publicly address the question of Jerusalem on Wednesday and US officials familiar with his planning said he would declare Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, though he would not order the embassy move immediately.Palestinian factions have called for protests against the moves, which would de facto recognize Israeli sovereignty over the city despite Palestinian claims to part of it.Israeli security services were preparing for the possibility of violence in the West Bank in light of Palestinian terrorist groups calling for demonstrations in response to US Trump’s expected moves, sources said.There were no immediate reports of large troop call-ups or significant reinforcements to West Bank units.Intelligence minister Yisrael Katz warned Tuesday that “violent protests would be a big mistake for the PA.”“I suggest they don’t create security tensions and don’t lead down this road. We are ready for every possibility,” he said, according to the Ynet news website.In a statement earlier Tuesday, Hamas called for Palestinians to “make Friday a day of rage against the occupation, rejecting moving the American embassy to Jerusalem and declaring it the capital of the Zionist entity.”Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh warned that a US decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem and recognize the city as Israel’s capital would be a “dangerous escalation” that crosses “every red line.”Political factions led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement also called for daily protest marches this week, starting Wednesday, and Fatah’s youth wing said “all options [are] open for defending Jerusalem.”The US State Department on Tuesday ordered government employees to avoid Jerusalem’s Old City and the West Bank until further notice in anticipation of an outbreak of Palestinian violence over Trump’s upcoming announcements on Jerusalem.Jerusalem’s Old City includes the holiest ground in Judaism. It is also home to Islam’s third-holiest shrine and major Christian sites, and forms the combustible center of the Israeli-Arab conflict.Any perceived harm to Muslim claims to the city has triggered volatile protests in the past, both in the Holy Land and across the Muslim world.Within the Trump administration, officials on Tuesday were still debating the particulars of the president’s expected speech as they fielded a flood of warnings from allied governments.As international pressure has mounted, officials have said Trump could try to limit the impact of anything he says on Jerusalem. Among the ideas under consideration: A Trump nod to Palestinian “aspirations” for a capital in East Jerusalem or his endorsement of a two-state solution to the conflict, something he hasn’t clearly given. The officials said it’s unclear if any of that might be included.Majdi Khaldi, Abbas’ diplomatic adviser, said Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital could end Washington’s role as mediator.“This would mean they decided, on their own, to distance themselves from efforts to make peace,” Khaldi told The Associated Press in perhaps the most sharply worded reaction by a Palestinian official. He said such recognition would lead the Palestinians to eliminate contacts with the United States.Changing Jerusalem’s status would be “a stab in the back,” Husam Zomlot, the Palestinians’ chief delegate to Washington, told the AP.Judah Ari Gross contributed to this report.
TV: Netanyahu and aides were ‘active partners’ with Trump team on Jerusalem move-PM and his advisers have been 'encouraging, supporting, reassuring' the US administration, while the Palestinians knew nothing, Hadashot news says-By TOI staff and Agencies-5 December 2017
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his aides have been “active partners” working in “total coordination” with US President Donald Trump and his administration in the lead-up to the president’s anticipated speech Wednesday recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and declaring his intended relocation of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Israel’s Hadashot TV said Tuesday evening.Trump’s phone call to Netanyahu on Tuesday updating him on his scheduled Wednesday speech was not their first recent conversation on the highly sensitive subject, Hadashot news reported. Netanyahu’s team has been “encouraging, supporting, [and] reassuring” the Trump team over the likely fallout, the TV report said, “and this total coordination came while the Palestinians knew nothing about this move” until very recently. “They’d heard nothing about it.”Channel 10, meanwhile, said Netanyahu and Israel’s Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer have been privy to the details of what Trump is planning, and had played a key role.Trump “accepted the Israeli argument that said, Let’s separate the issue of Jerusalem recognition from the peace process. Prime Minister Netanyahu and Ambassador Dermer succeeded in convincing President Trump that this is a case of righting a historical wrong,” Channel 10 reported. (In fact, candidate Trump, while on the presidential campaign trail, pledged to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.)-In response to a threat by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to consider severing ties with Israel over Trump’s expected recognition, Israel’s Minister of Intelligence Yisrael Katz declared earlier Tuesday: “There is no more historically justified and correct step now than recognizing Jerusalem, which has been the capital of the Jewish people for the past 3,000 years, as the capital of Israel.”Overall, however, the TV reports said Netanyahu has asked his ministers not to speak out on the issue ahead of the Trump speech on Wednesday. And the Channel 10 report said Trump specifically asked Netanyahu to “keep a low profile” and see to it that Israel’s ministers do not demonstrably “rejoice” over the move, for fear of exacerbating a highly tense situation.Netanyahu did not make any public comments on the issue on Tuesday.Israeli TV reports have for days been predicting that Trump would make a declaration recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and announce he intends to move the embassy. Despite ongoing Arab and international efforts to persuade Trump to change his mind ahead of his Wednesday speech, Hadashot news on Tuesday evening asserted definitively that “it’s done.”US officials said Tuesday they expected Trump would make a generic statement about Jerusalem’s status as the “capital of Israel.” They said they did not expect the president to use the phrase “undivided capital,” which would imply Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem, which is not recognized by the United Nations.The Hadashot TV report said it was expected Trump would also highlight Jerusalem’s importance to all monotheistic faiths, and stress his desire to advance Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts — an ambition that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has warned this week will be dashed if Trump goes ahead with his planned speech.The TV reports said Trump would likely sign the waiver delaying for another six months a US legal requirement to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem, but that this was a strictly logistical and budgetary issue, since the logistics for moving the embassy would take months. US officials said Trump would likely give wide latitude to David Friedman, the US Ambassador to Israel, to make a determination on when such a move would be appropriate. Friedman has spoken in favor of the relocation, and said before he was confirmed as ambassador that he looked forward to working from Jerusalem.The Israeli army on Tuesday evening raised its alert ahead of possible violence in Jerusalem and the West Bank. The US told government employees to avoid Jerusalem’s Old City and the West Bank until further notice in anticipation of an outbreak of Palestinian violence over Trump’s upcoming announcements on Jerusalem.
The president’s guide to recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital-Changing the status of the entire city could derail Trump's peace plan, while naming 'West Jerusalem' will disappoint Israelis; hence, he'll likely remain ambiguous-By Raphael Ahren-5 December 2017
The United States had eight capitals before settling on Washington, DC. So who are the Americans to deny Israelis’ right to determine their own? Jerusalem Affairs Minister Ze’ev Elkin argued along those lines last week at a conference about Jerusalem’s legal status, urging the US administration to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognize the city as Israel’s eternal capital.As opposed to other countries, Israel has only ever had one capital city, Elkin noted.“The United States, for example, had eight temporary capitals before President George Washington signed the Residence Act, on July 16, 1790, stipulating the creation of a permanent capital city along the banks of the Potomac River — what is now known at Washington, DC,” he said.Elkin was likely referring to the fact that between 1774 and 1790, the US Congress and its predecessor bodies convened in Baltimore, Lancaster, York, Philadelphia, Princeton, Annapolis, Trenton, and New York, before Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison agreed on the passage of the “Act for Establishing the Temporary and Permanent Seat of the Government of the United States.”“No one denies that Washington is the capital of the United States,” Elkin said. “No other country would presume to suggest that New York or Los Angeles would be a more fitting capital for the United States, and yet with Israeli this is the case.”On Monday, US President Donald Trump failed to sign a waiver that would postpone the relocation of the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Such a waiver has been required by US law every six months since 1995, in the absence of actually moving the embassy. He is widely expected to issue a waiver later this week.But at the same time, he is also reportedly poised to publicly recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a move welcomed by Israel and bitterly opposed by the Palestinians — who claim the eastern part of the city as their capital — and the entire Arab and Muslim world.But will Trump recognize all of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, or only its Western part, as Russia did earlier this year? Depending on the wording of his expected declaration, Israelis may end up disappointed.When the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on April 6 saying that Moscow considers “West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel,” Israeli officials remained mum. It stands to reason that some of them rejoiced over the first-ever recognition by a foreign power of Israeli sovereignty over any part of city. But they also realized that recognizing only the Western part of it would appear to deny Israel’s claims to the eastern part, including the Old City, which it captured in 1967 and subsequently effectively annexed.Russia’s statement, for instance, specifically said that Moscow views “East Jerusalem as the capital of the future Palestinian state.” Not wanting to anger the Arab world and hoping to keep alive his dream of brokering the “ultimate” Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, Trump could choose a similar formulation.Would that be good or bad for Israel? One might argue that partial recognition is better than none. After all, the international community has thus far refused to recognize Israeli sovereignty over any part of the city. Isn’t an American recognition of West Jerusalem — where the Knesset, the President’s Residence, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Foreign Ministry and the Supreme Court are located, as well as most Jewish neighborhoods — a step in the right direction? Not necessarily, said Prof. Shlomo Slonim, a Hebrew University expert on US politics and constitutional law.“Recognition of West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is a step toward redividing the city,” he said.Ministers Yariv Levin and Miri Regev would presumably agree with Slonim. Last week, they threatened to withdraw state funding from the upcoming Giro d’Italia cycling tournament if organizers continued to say the race would take place in “West Jerusalem.”“In Jerusalem, Israel’s capital, there is no east or west. There is one unified Jerusalem,” the two Likud ministers said in a joint statement. The event organizers quickly apologized and removed the word “west” from their press material — to the annoyance of the Palestinians.The 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act, which was passed by large majorities in the Senate and the House but was left unsigned by then-president Bill Clinton and unimplemented by every president since, is very clear about the parts of the city that it refers to.“Jerusalem should remain an undivided city,” it says in Section 3. Since then, countless Congressional resolutions have reaffirmed the US lawmakers’ conviction that a united Jerusalem should be recognized as the capital of the Jewish state.In September 2016, after meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York, Trump — then the Republican candidate for president — vowed to recognize a united Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.“Mr. Trump acknowledged that Jerusalem has been the eternal capital of the Jewish People for over 3,000 years, and that the United States, under a Trump administration, will finally accept the long-standing Congressional mandate to recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the State of Israel,” according to a readout of the meeting.READOUT OF DONALD J. TRUMP'S MEETING WITH ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHUNEW YORK, NY – Donald J. Trump met…Posted by Donald J. Trump on Sunday, 25 September 2016-On the other hand, Trump is eager to broker an Israeli-Palestinian final-status deal, and he knows that recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital could be “the kiss of death” to the peace process, as Palestinian officials have warned.In recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Trump thus has three options, said Eytan Gilboa, an expert on US politics at Bar-Ilan University.“He can either say ‘Jerusalem,’ ‘West Jerusalem’ or ‘United Jerusalem.’ There is debate about the right wording even within the administration,” he said.Most likely, Trump will merely say “Jerusalem,” thus allowing all sides to interpret his statement as they wish, Gilboa speculated. Israel will then be able to cite the law and the president’s previous commitments in arguing he meant the entire city. The Palestinians, meanwhile, will be able to cling to the hope that he was only referring to West Jerusalem.
THE SEX FOR MURDER DEATH CULT ISLAMIC-ARAB-MUSLIMS CAN NOT BELIEVE THE WORLD WON'T FORCE TRUMP TO STOP MOVING THE EMBASSY.WHICH SAYS JERUSALEM IS ISRAEL AND ONLY ISRAEL FOREVER CAPITAL.
Arab MKs accuse ‘pyromaniac’ Trump of ‘diplomatic terror’ with Jerusalem moves-Leader of Arab Knesset party says US president 'will set entire region ablaze with his madness' as Trump signals 'intention' to relocate embassy-By Alexander Fulbright-TOI-5 December 2017
Arab Israeli lawmakers on Tuesday dubbed US President Donald Trump a “pyromaniac” and accused him of “diplomatic terrorism” after the Palestinian Authority and Jordan said their leaders were informed by the American president of his “intention” to move the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.Trump’s phone calls with PA President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Tuesday came amid speculation Trump could announce plans to relocate the embassy from Tel Aviv or recognize Israel’s capital on Wednesday.US officials have said he will hold off on moving the embassy right away, but may issue a statement reiterating his intent and even go as far as recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.But the US president critically did not provide a timeframe when speaking to the Arab leaders in a flurry of phone calls on Tuesday. Trump was also set to call Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to the White House.The head of the Knesset’s Joint (Arab) List MK Ayman Odeh called Trump a “pyromaniac” and warned that going through with the move risked inflaming the region.“Trump is a pyromaniac, and will set the entire region ablaze with his madness,” Odeh said. “If one thing has been made clear in recent days, it’s that the US should not remain the broker of talks between Israel and the Palestinians.”“If the Israeli government wants the world to recognize West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, all it has to do is recognize East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine,” he added.In a statement, Joint (Arab) List MK Ahmad Tibi said moving the US embassy would violate international law and “seriously damage” the prospects for a two-state solution.“This is an unreasonable move that is in violation of international law,” said Tibi. “It’s ridiculous that President Trump’s campaign promise ends up being ‘diplomatic terrorism,’ which will seriously damage the vision for two states.”“The US administration proved this time that they are part of the problem and not part of the solution,” he said.In the run-up to Wednesday’s expected announcement, a number of Arab and Muslim leaders have warned of the consequences of recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying Tuesday the issue is a “red line” for Muslims and any change in the city’s status could “set the entire Islamic world in motion.”Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, the Arab League, and the EU have also objected.While many Israeli politicians on both sides of the aisle have expressed their support for the embassy move, ministers were ordered by Netanyahu on Tuesday to not publicly comment on the issue.Jerusalem’s status has long been one of the thorniest issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The US has held the city’s status must be determined in negotiations between the sides.Along with the West Bank, Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 Six War. It later extended sovereignty over East Jerusalem, although the move was never recognized by the international community. Israel claims the entire city as its undivided capital, while the Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.Tamar Pileggi, AFP contributed to this report.
Saudi king to Trump: Jerusalem embassy move a ‘dangerous step’-King Salman says move will 'inflame' Muslims worldwide, harm chances for Israeli-Palestinian peace deal-By TOI staff-5 December 2017
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman warned US President Donald Trump on Tuesday against moving the American embassy to Jerusalem, saying it will “inflame” the Muslim world.“Such a dangerous step is likely to inflame the passions of Muslims around the world due to the great status of Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” he told Trump in a phone conversation between the two leaders, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.The king told the US president “that any American announcement regarding the situation of Jerusalem prior to reaching a permanent settlement will harm peace talks and increase tensions in the area,” the statement added.Trump’s call to the Saudi monarch was one of a number he made to Middle East leaders on Tuesday to signal the US embassy move to the holy city would go ahead.Amid a frantic round of telephone diplomacy, Trump told Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah of his “intention” to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, but crucially did not give a time-frame.Trump also spoke with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi on the subject. Sissi’s spokesperson Bassam Radhi said Egypt’s leader told Trump the Egyptian position is “to maintain the legal status of Jerusalem in the framework of international… decisions.”Sissi also affirmed “the necessity of not complicating the state of the region by taking measures that would undermine the chances for peace in the Middle East,” according to his spokesman.Trump also spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.The US president’s phone calls to the Middle East leaders came as vociferous Arab and opposition to any possible US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital continued to mount, and as European leaders expressed concern about harm to Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.Seeking to garner international support for opposing the move, Abbas later on Tuesday spoke with a number of world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Morocco’s King Mohammed VI.In separate conversations with both leaders, Abbas stressed the need for “everyone to protect Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian holy sites,” the official PA news agency Wafa reported.Abbas’s spokesman told Reuters the PA president also spoke with Pope Francis and French President Emmanuel Macron and “urged them to intervene to prevent” the embassy move.Abbas’s Fatah party and the Hamas terror group called for protests against the expected move, as the State Department has issued a travel warning barring US government employees from visiting Jerusalem’s Old City and the West Bank.Fearing the possibility of violence at its embassies abroad if Trump goes ahead with the move, the State Department sent at least two classified cables to embassies and consulates warning them of potential danger and advising they ramp up security, the Politico news site reported Monday.Israeli defense officials are also bracing for violent protests and terror attacks, with the Israel Police, Shin Bet security service and the IDF’s Central Command holding meetings in recent days to review possible scenarios in the event Trump follows through on his campaign promise to change America’s policy on Israel’s capital, the Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported Tuesday.Agencies contributed to this report.
Trump phones Sissi on Jerusalem moves as Abbas rallies world to intervene-In calls with Middle East leaders, US president expresses 'intention' to relocate embassy; officials say he will recognize capital but likely still sign waiver-By Dov Lieber and Agencies-TOI-5 December 2017
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday appealed to world leaders and the pope to prevent US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, as US President Donald Trump phoned Middle East leaders to tell them he intends to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city.Amid a frantic round of telephone diplomacy, Trump told Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah on Tuesday of his “intention” to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, but did not give a time-frame.US officials familiar with planning for a possible announcement on Jerusalem said they expect Trump to speak to the matter around midday Wednesday, although the specifics of what he will say were still being debated.The officials, along with an outside adviser to the administration, said they expected Trump would make a generic statement about Jerusalem’s status as the “capital of Israel.”They said they did not expect the president to use the phrase “undivided capital,” which would imply Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem, which is not recognized by the United Nations.They also said Trump planned to sign a waiver delaying for another six months a US legal requirement to move the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. But, they said Trump would likely give wide latitude to David Friedman, the US Ambassador to Israel, to make a determination on when such a move would be appropriate. Friedman has spoken in favor of the move.Seeking to garner international support for opposing the move, Abbas later on Tuesday spoke with a number of world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Morocco’s King Mohammed VI.In separate conversations with both leaders, Abbas stressed the need for “everyone to protect Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian holy sites,” the official PA news agency Wafa reported.Abbas’s spokesman told Reuters the PA president also spoke with Pope Francis and French President Emmanuel Macron and “urged them to intervene to prevent” the embassy move.Trump, meanwhile, was continuing his phone calls to Middle East leaders, reaching out to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi on the subject. He also spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, according to the White House.Sissi’s spokesperson Bassam Radhi said Trump called the Egyptian leader to discuss the “planned decision to by the American administration to move the US embassy to Jerusalem.”Sissi, according to his spokesperson, told Trump the Egyptian position is “to maintain the legal status of Jerusalem in the framework of international… decisions.”The Egyptian leader affirmed “the necessity of not complicating the state of the region by taking measures that would undermine the chances for peace in the Middle East.”The US president’s phone calls to the Middle East leaders came as vociferous Arab and opposition to any possible US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital continued to mount, and as European leaders expressed concern about harm to Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.As discussions continued on Tuesday, pressure from numerous quarters against full-on recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital appeared to have led to the possibility that Trump include comments in his speech that might mitigate the impact of the announcement.Among the ideas under discussion were Trump giving a nod to Palestinian aspirations to have the capital of an eventual state in East Jerusalem or endorsing the concept of a two-state solution, something he has yet to do. It remained unclear whether any such comments would be included.Meanwhile, opposition to any US policy change toward Jerusalem was building in the Arab and Muslim world.Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, the head of the Arab League, urged the United States to reconsider any recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Such a step would be a “dangerous measure that would have repercussions” across the region, he said during a Cairo meeting of Arab League representatives.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told parliament that US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital was a “red line” and that his country’s response “could go as far as us cutting diplomatic ties with Israel.Majdi Khaldi, Abbas’ diplomatic adviser, said recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital could end Washington’s role as mediator between Israelis and Palestinians.“If the Americans recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, then this would mean they decided, on their own, to distance themselves from efforts to make peace and that they will have no credibility or role in this issue,” Khaldi told The Associated Press in perhaps the most sharply worded comments yet by a Palestinian official.Should recognition occur, “we will stop our contacts with them because such a step goes against our existence and against the fate of our cause,” Khaldi said. “It targets Muslims and Christians alike.”Palestinian political factions led by Abbas’ Fatah movement called for daily protest marches this week, starting Wednesday.Key Washington ally Saudi Arabia also spoke out strongly against such a possible step. Saudi Arabia, a regional powerhouse, is crucial to any White House plans to promote a possible Mideast peace deal.Saudi Arabia expressed its “grave and deep concern” about possible recognition.In a statement on the state-run Saudi Press Agency, the Foreign Ministry said that the kingdom affirms the rights of Palestinian people regarding Jerusalem, which it said “cannot be changed.”On Monday, the Organization for Islamic Cooperation, which has 57 member states, said US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital would constitute “naked aggression” against the Muslim and Arab world.In Europe, Macron said he reminded Trump in a phone call Monday night that the fate of Jerusalem should be determined in negotiations on setting up a Palestinian state alongside Israel.Macron said Tuesday that he expressed concern about any possible unilateral US moves and that he agreed with Trump “to speak again shortly on this subject.”EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, who was meeting with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Brussels, said any actions that undermine Mideast peace efforts “must be absolutely avoided.”Israel captured East Jerusalem and the West Bank in the 1967 Six Day War. It later extended sovereignty over East Jerusalem in a move never recognized by the international community. Israel claims the entire city as its undivided capital, while the Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.The city’s status is among the most difficult issues in the conflict. US traditional policy has been that its status must be negotiated between the two parties.
US House passes bill to slash PA funds over terrorist stipends-Taylor Force Act must now clear the full Senate before going to the president's desk-By Eric Cortellessa-TOI-5 December 2017
WASHINGTON — The US House of Representatives passed on Tuesday the Taylor Force Act, legislation that would cut US funding to the Palestinian Authority unless it discontinues its practice of paying monthly stipends to the families of terrorists who kill Israelis.Last month, the measure unanimously advanced out of committee, including three exceptions: allowing for US funding to Palestinian water and childhood vaccination programs, as well as East Jerusalem hospitals.The bill must now pass the full Senate, which is expected to vote on it this month, when the upper chamber votes on a foreign operations bill it was packaged into last September. It is expected to pass.US President Donald Trump has not yet indicated whether he would sign the bill into law, though a White House official told The Times of Israel in July that the president supports its principal objective.Named after Taylor Force, a former US army officer who was stabbed to death by a Palestinian assailant while visiting Tel Aviv in March 2016, the bill garnered bipartisan support through the House.“We need to be clear about responsibility for this vicious attack,” said Ed Royce, a Republican from California who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “The Palestinian Authority gives salaries to Palestinians who attack innocent people like Taylor. If the attacker dies, their family is compensated.”“This system is a disgrace,” he went on. “It is also the result of an abiding climate of hatred Palestinians leaders continue to foster toward Jews and Israelis.”Israel, too, has demanded that the PA stop paying these wages via intermediary organizations.The Palestine Liberation Organization, for its part, has condemned the US legislation, saying that it is “unacceptable” and would violate Palestinians’ human rights.The bill’s House passage comes just one day before Trump is set to give a speech in which he was expected to formally recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a contentious move that would reverse decades of American foreign policy.It has already provoked the ire of the Palestinian and other Arab leaders, who warned the president of an outbreak of violence.These developments came as the Trump administration planned to ramp up its efforts to renew negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians and attempt to strike the coveted-but-long-elusive accord.Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner has been tasked with leading those peace efforts. The New York Times has recently reported that he and his team plan to announce their peace proposal in early 2018.It is not yet clear how these latest moves by the American government will impact these attempts, but a Palestinian delegation met with Kushner on Friday, warning him that relocating the American embassy to Jerusalem, or formally recognizing the holy city as Israel’s capital, would “kill the negotiations” and mark the end of the peace process.Nevertheless, Kushner told a crowd at the Saban Forum this weekend, a premier Middle East confab held each winter in Washington, D.C., that he remained “optimistic that there is a lot of hope [on both sides] for being able to come to a conclusion.”
Israel’s first female tank crews finish training, ready for deployment-Head of Armored Corps' training praises 13 recruits for completing grueling training as part of contentious pilot program-By Judah Ari Gross-TOI-5 December 2017
The Israeli army’s first female combat tank operators completed their training on Tuesday, earning medals marking them as such, as part of a pilot program to assess fuller gender integration in the Armored Corps.The 13 operators, of 15 picked for the program from female combat recruits, will shortly be sent to the borders of southern Israel to begin a four-month trial deployment.“We’re standing before a bit of history. For the first time, a tank operator medal will be pinned on the uniform of female IDF soldiers,” said Col. Moran Omer, head of the corps’ training brigade.In the ceremony at the Armored Corps’ monument in Latrun, outside Jerusalem, Omer lauded the female tank operators for finishing the intensive training program, which began earlier this year.“We demanded you complete the full and long training program… after you were fully trained as fighters in the Border Defense Force — no simple mission in itself — and you did so successfully,” the colonel said.“You stood up to the difficult physical challenges, learned the profession and no less importantly, you learned to love the power of metal,” Omer said.“Remember that no matter how advanced it is, the weapon isn’t what matters, but the person in the tank — that’s who wins!” he added, referring to the corps’ motto.In March, the army announced that it was choosing 15 women from a cohort of mixed-gender combat recruits who drafted that month to take part in the pilot tank program.Two of the candidates washed out in basic training, but the remaining 13 women then moved to the Armored Corps’ Shizafon base in the Negev where they completed training on the Merkava Mark 3 model, which they will operate.The 13 candidates will soon take up positions in southern Israel for the final stage of the pilot program. They will serve in the army’s 80th Division, which is responsible for the southern Negev and Arava deserts, and help guard the southern borders, a tank officer said earlier this year, speaking on condition of anonymity.The female recruits will not be formally integrated into the Armored Corps’ combat brigades — like the 188th, 7th and 401st Armored Brigades — but will serve in the newly formed Border Defense Force, which is meant to secure Israel’s borders but not cross them.This pilot program is part of a growing trend of women taking combat positions in the Israel Defense Forces. Over the past five years the number of female combat soldiers has increased nearly fivefold, from 547 in 2012 to 2,700 this year.Critics of the gender integration often decry it as a dangerous social experiment with potential ramifications on national security, while defenders generally trumpet it as a long-needed corrective measure, one that has already occurred in many Western countries.Detractors note that some requirements for combat soldiers have been lowered — which they say is a sign that effectiveness is being sacrificed — and that female soldiers suffer stress injuries at a higher rate.The army insists that it is allowing more women to serve in combat positions out of practical — not social — considerations, saying it requires all the soldiers that are available to it.The tank pilot program in particular has met considerable resistance.In November, when it was first formally announced, former high-ranking officers and religious groups came out firmly against it.Brig. Gen. (res.) Avigdor Kahalani, a famed commander of the IDF’s 7th Armored Brigade, told the Galey Israel radio station that tanks were not the right place for women.“The role of a woman is to be a mother, to bring children into the world,” he said.Former IDF general and current head of the Israel Electric Corporation Yiftach Ron-Tal claimed the proposal to allow women to operate tanks was a “scandal,” and part of a conspiracy by far-left “freaks” to debilitate the army. He later retracted the comment and apologized, amid backlash.Within the Armored Corps, there has also been some opposition voiced to gender integration.Before the army announced its plans to consider allowing women to serve in the tank brigades, head of the Armored Corps Brig. Gen. Guy Hasson, who attended Tuesday’s ceremony, told The Times of Israel he was concerned that such a move would harm the “image” of the unit.“We’re fighters. We’re trying to keep an image as fighters,” he said.“There are still people who look at us and say, there’s infantry and then there’s armored. You’re less ‘fighters.’ You’re less,” he said.Until now, women have been barred from serving in the tank brigades as it was believed that they could not physically handle the rigors of the Armored Corps. Female soldiers have, however, served as tank instructors.The candidates will serve in all-female tanks, in order to avoid modesty issues. Serving on the southern borders, they will be less likely to need to cross into enemy territory.However, all-male and all-female crews would come with their drawbacks, creating two distinct forces and shrinking the amount of flexibility the army has to move people between different crews.The trial program is expected to explore how to address some of these issues.The 13 candidates are being monitored throughout the pilot by nutritionists, doctors and exercise instructors to determine if they can handle the challenges of the position.By March 2018, the pilot program will officially end, and the military will review the results, the tank officer said.“We’re doing a test. After the test, we’ll have answers — if it’s possible or impossible for there to be girls [in the Armored Corps],” he said.
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