You may view the 5 minute update this week via audio:
In this week’s 5 minute update, we focused on:
1) The current status of the Israel / PLO peace process
2) The current status of the situation with Syria
3) The current status of the situation with Iran
El Salvador became the last Central American country to establish diplomatic ties with the Palestinian Authority. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited China in the past week and China gave their view on what a Israel / Palestinian peace agreement should entail. There are four basic points which include the following:
a) A Palestinian state based upon 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. Israel has a right to exist and their security concerns need to be addressed
b) Israel should quit building Jewish homes in the West Bank, lift the blockade of the Gaza Strip and release Palestinian prisoners. Negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians should take place so that a peace agreement can be agreed upon.
c) A peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians should be based upon the principle of “land for peace” taking into consideration past UN Resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.
d) The international community should provide certain guarantees for progress in the peace talks
The civil administration in the West Bank approved the construction of 296 new houses in the settlement of Beit El. The new homes planned for construction were part of a 2012 agreement according to which settlers peacefully left their homes at the Ulpana outpost — which an Israeli court determined were built on privately owned Palestinian land – in return for new homes to be rebuilt elsewhere.
The United States responded by saying that the Israel announcement to build new homes in Beit El were “counterproductive” and “Israelis must recognize that continued settlement activity is counterproductive to the cause of peace and that an independent Palestine must be viable with real borders that have to be drawn.”
In any event, Binyamin Netanyahu talked with Housing Minister Uri Ariel and asked him to halt promotion of new projects in Judea and Samaria including no longer putting up for bids tenders on new projects. This move meant that Netanyahu was essentially ordering another construction freeze. Last week, Housing Minister Ariel warned that his political party, Jewish Home, would not support the 2013 budget in the Knesset unless construction projects in West Bank settlements are fully funded. Ariel said: “I turned to the prime minister today and warned him that if the 2013 budget doesn’t include full funding for building projects in Judea and Samaria, including those decided upon in reaction to the Palestinians’ unilateral statehood bid at the United Nations this past November and additional projects, Jewish Home will consider its coalition agreement as having been violated, and it won’t support the budget unless a solution is found for the promised funds.” While neither Netanyahu nor Housing Minister Ariel immediately responded to the report, Jewish Home MK Ayelet Shaked said that “the Housing and Construction Ministry has prepared tenders that it is interested in issuing in the West Bank settlement blocs. They require the prime minister’s signature and for some reason that is not happening. It’s a shame, there are many housing units ready to be tendered.” Previously, Netanyahu promised U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that he would put a hold on construction in West Bank settlements until mid-June. However, Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon said that “There will be no construction freeze in the Land of Israel. Not in Jerusalem and not in Judea and Samaria. We proved in the past that freezing construction does not advance peace, and therefore we will continue to build throughout the Land of Israel.”
Benjamin Netanyahu is for a national referendum on any peace agreement with the Palestinians. He is supported by the political party of Jewish Home led by Naftali Bennett. However, those opposed are the secular political party, Yesh Atid, headed by Yair Lapid, Israel our Home, led by Avigdor Liberman, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and Labor leader, Shelly Yachimovich.
Regarding the peace talks, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni told US Secretary of State, John Kerry that Israel would not agree, as a precondition for new talks, to declare the 1967 lines a basis for negotiations on the boundaries of a Palestinian state. Instead, she said that the border issue must be resolved through direct peace negotiations. Furthermore, Jewish Home leader, Naftali Bennett said: “when President Obama visited here I said that a nation cannot be an occupier in its own country, and I say now that a nation cannot be an occupier in its own capital. We are not occupying Jerusalem. Jerusalem is ours! Jerusalem belongs to my grandfather’s grandfather and to my grandson’s grandson. Neither I nor anyone else has the right to split it. In Israel we have no debate on one issue: the unity of Jerusalem. There are no two Jerusalems, there is only one Jerusalem. As far as we’re concerned, Jerusalem is not subject to compromise and there will be no peace without Jerusalem.”
Meanwhile, Jibril Rajoub, deputy secretary general of Mahmood Abbas’s Fatah’s Central Committee said that “resistance in all of its forms” remains the strategy of his party against Israel, and defined the Jewish state as “the main enemy” of Arabs and Muslims. Rajoub noted that Fatah, too, was a revolutionary movement. ”If you ask me as a Palestinian, I say — our battle is with the Israeli occupation. Our main enemy, not [just] as Palestinians but as Arabs and Muslims, is Israel and the Israeli occupation.” He called on all Arabs to take part in “the liberation of Jerusalem.” In addition, Muslim cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi warned that nobody is allowed to cede “any part of Palestine.” Egyptian-born Qaradawi, who is a citizen of Qatar and close to the Muslim Brotherhood, was heading of a delegation of 50 clerics from 14 countries. He further said: “Palestine was never Jewish. Palestine is Arab and Muslim and will remain Arab and Muslim and Islam will prevail.”
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with special Middle East envoy Tony Blair in Rome. While in Rome, Kerry also met with Israeli Justice Minister, Tzipi Livni, and Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh. Kerry said that Jordan is an important partner in the efforts to renew peace talks. In order for the peace process to succeed, Kerry said: “Israel needs guarantees for security. The Palestinians need guarantees for a contiguous state.” Kerry cautioned that talks to resume the stalled peace process should be kept private to give everyone the chance “to make tough judgments in their own appropriate space.”
Kerry has announced that he will return to the Middle East May 21 or 22 to meet again with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Israeli Channel 2 Television said that Kerry will present a peace plan based on the principle of establishing a Palestinian state on 1967 borders with slight land-swap with certain security arrangements to the two sides. In commenting to this announcement, senior Palestinian negotiator, Mohamed Ishteyah, said that the Palestinian leadership is expecting to “officially receive the written ideas and proposals from Kerry and to will make a response” at that time.
During the annual celebration of Jerusalem day which celebrates the reunification of the city in 1967 under Israeli sovereignty, Israel limited the entrance of Muslim worshipers to the Temple Mount while allowing access to Jewish visitors. In protest, the Jordanian parliament’s lower house voted to call on the government to expel Israeli Ambassador Daniel Nevo and to recall Jordanian Ambassador to Israel. Historically, the Israeli government has restricted Jews from being on the Temple Mount. Recently, Likud Knesset Member Moshe Feiglin has been trying to change this seeking to affirm the Jewish rite to be on the Temple Mount. This effort has been getting the attention of the Israel Religious Services Ministry who is working on ways to allow Jews to pray on the Temple Mount.
Finally, there is a strong secular / religious divide in Israel due to ultra-Orthodox Jews seeking to impose their religious views on the rest of the Jewish nation. The ultra-Orthodox have advocated a policy of separation between men and woman on Israeli buses. However, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni wants to change this. She said, “Back-of-the-bus seating for women on public transport in Israel will be outlawed soon. I instructed the Justice Ministry to draft legislation … that will make any segregation of women and their humiliation in a public space a criminal offense.” It will include the following mandates. Men and women may not be separated in ceremonies or events sponsored by the government or any of its ministries, in health clinics or on public transportation. Signs indicating separate sidewalks for men and women or calling for modest dress must be removed by local authorities, especially when posted in a public place. The ultra-Orthodox “Kol Barama” radio station will have to stop its policy of not employing female broadcasters within six months.
An agreement to divide Jerusalem and establish a PLO state is a tribulation event.
The link to these articles are as follows:
1) El Salvador establishes diplomatic ties with PA
2) Chinese President makes four-point proposal for settlement of Palestinian question
3) Defense minister okays 296 homes in West Bank settlement
4) U.S.: Beit El Construction is ‘Counterproductive‘
5) Report: Netanyahu promised Kerry to put ‘hold’ on settlement construction
6) ‘PM orders freeze of W. Bank settlement tenders’
7) Lapid nixes Netanyahu-backed referendum on peace
8) Israel reportedly rejects 1967 lines ‘precondition’
9) Bennett: No One Has the Right to Split Jerusalem
10) Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood stages anti-Israel rally
11) Top PA official: Israel ‘is our main enemy, resistance is still our agenda’
12) Top Muslim cleric Qaradawi against ceding ‘any of Palestine’
13) Kerry Talks Peace with Tony Blair
14) Kerry: Jordan key player in Middle East peace process
15) Hagel: US-Arab relations benefit Israel
16) Kerry sees ‘short time’ to revive ME peace bid
17) Kerry, Abbas Discuss Peace Talks by Phone
18) Kerry to Return to Israel in Late May
19) Livni to end back-of-the-bus gender segregation
20) Jordanian parliament calls to expel Israeli envoy
21) Jerusalem: Haredim attack Women of the Wall
22) Ministry to arrange Jewish prayer on Temple Mount
Israel carried out an airstrike in Syria directed toward a shipment of advanced surface-to-surface missiles from Iran that Israel believed was intended for Hezbollah. Israel has repeatedly cautioned that it will not allow Hezbollah to receive “game changing” weapons that could threaten the Israeli heartland even if a new Syrian government takes power. According to US officials, the missiles were being stored in a warehouse at Damascus International Airport when they were struck. It was the second time in four months that Israel has carried out an attack in Syria intended to disrupt the pipeline of weapons that runs from there to Hezbollah. Shortly after the Israel attacks, the IDF posted additional Iron Dome anti-missile batteries in Haifa and Safed to defend those northern towns against potential incoming Syrian and Hizballah rockets.
Iran and Hezbollah have both backed President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian civil war, now in its third year. But as fighting in Syria escalates, they also have a powerful interest in expediting the delivery of advanced weapons to Hezbollah in case Assad loses his grip on power and Syria ceases to be an effective channel for funneling weapons from Iran. In a second day of airstrikes, Israel struck the Jamraya military research center just north of Damascus. Arab sources say that Israeli rockets also hit two 4th Division Republican Guard battalions. The 4th Division is the main Syrian military unit protecting Bashar Assad.
Syria’s Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said the Israeli airstrike on Syria represented a “declaration of war” by Israel. . He added Syria would respond in the manner and timing of its choosing. Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoabi said, “The Israeli enemy exhibited gross aggression against Syria and used missiles to bomb military facilities in violation of all international laws. This aggression opens a door to all options. The Syrian government extended the authority of the army to respond to “Israeli aggression” immediately and without prior governmental authorization. The Syrian army has compiled a “target bank” inside Israel that will be showered by missiles immediately in case of another Israeli strike on Syria.
Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar Assad said that Syria will “give Hizbullah everything” in recognition of its support and will follow the terrorist group’s model of “resistance” against Israel. “We have decided that we must move forward towards them and turn into a nation of resistance like Hizbullah, for the sake of Syria and future generations.”
US Secretary of State John Kerry insisted that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must be removed from power and could play no role in a potential transitional government. Furthermore, US ambassador Robert Ford Ford met with the head of the Aleppo military council, Abdul Jabbar Okaidi, a member of the Syrian rebels who thanked him for US shipment of nonlethal aid.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Israel that Russia would not tolerate further Israeli attacks on Syria and would respond appropriately. Putin did not say how, but he did announce he had ordered the acceleration of highly advanced Russian weapons supplies to Syria. Putin has ordered the acceleration of highly advanced Russian weapons supplies to Syria. It is believed that Putin was referring to the S-300 anti-air systems and the nuclear-capable 9K720 Iskander surface missiles, which are precise enough to hit a target within a 5-7 meter radius at a distance of 280 kilometers. Syrian air defense teams have already trained in Russia on the handling of the S-300 interceptor batteries so they can go into service as soon as they are landed by one of Russia’s daily airlifts to Syria. Russian air defense officials would supervise their deployment and prepare them for operation. The Russian response is not just for Israel’s air operations against Syria but in anticipation of the Obama administration’s impending decision to send the first US arms shipments to the Syrian rebels.
A war with Syria where Damascus is destroyed (Isaiah 17) is a tribulation event.
The link to these articles is as follows:
1) Israel Targeted Iranian Missiles in Syrian Attack
2) Israeli Air Force continues air strikes against Damascus
3) Syrian deputy FM: Israeli strike a ‘declaration of war’
4) Syria: Israeli attack equals declaration of war. Iron Domes at Haifa and Safed
5) Syrian minister: Alleged Israeli strike ‘opens up all options’
6) Syria vows to retaliate for any future Israeli attack
7) Assad: Syria Will ‘Give Hizbullah Everything’
8) Nasrallah: Syria to Supply ‘Game Changing Weapon’
9) President Bashar Assad must go, Kerry insists
10) Top U.S. Official Meets With Rebels Inside Syria
11) US to arm Syrian rebels
12) IDF on war alert, US set to act on Syria
13) US envoy Ford’s secret crossing into Syria
Israel is considering partnering with several Sunni-Muslim Arab states in a U.S.-brokered defense alliance that would be aimed at containing a nuclear Iran. The alliance would see Israel teaming up with Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Turkey and the United Arab Emirates to forge a Middle East “moderate crescent” to “contain” Iran, rather than confront its nuclear program. The alliance would give Israel access to radar stations in Saudi Arabia and the UAE in exchange for its own early warning radar information and anti-ballistic missile defense systems. Jordan would be protected by Israel’s Arrow long-range anti-missile batteries. The plan is being brokered by the United States.
Likud MK Tzachi Hanegbi said that Israel will come to a final decision over whether to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities must be approved no later than the beginning of 2014.
The link to these articles is as follows:
1) Israel ‘Opting to Contain’ Nuclear Iran?
2) Likud MK says Iran strike decision will come by early 2014
From a Biblical prophetic perspective, the reason why the God of Israel would allow these events to happen is because it will result in the end of the exile of the house of Jacob and the reunification of the 12 tribes of Israel (Ephraim and Judah).
We will to be “watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem” and we will not rest until the God of Israel makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth (Isaiah 62).
Shalom in Yeshua the Messiah,
Eddie Chumney
Hebraic Heritage Ministries Int’l