In March 2008 the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) went into the Gaza Strip seeking to limit the missile attacks by Hamas into Israel from Gaza. Although they had some success in destroying missile launchers and missile factories and some teams of Palestinian terrorists who worked as teams launching missiles into the nearby part of Israel about 100 Palestinian Arabs were killed. Although there were certainly some civilians among them the reports in the Jerusalem Post stated that the vast majority of those killed were militants in contrast to the international media which is often more favourable to the Palestinian or Arab account of this conflict. The Israeli IDF was doing this invasion in an attempt to stop the constant rain of missiles into the nearby Israeli town of Sderot and now also the much bigger Israeli city of Ashkelon so people also in this part of Israel could live in more peace and security.
On March 6, 2008 an Arab gunman who lived in East Jerusalem broke into a right wing Jewish seminary associated with the Jewish settler movement that seeks to erect and maintain Jewish settlements in the West Bank or Judaea and Samaria and formerly in the Gaza Strip. This gunman had an AK-47 automatic submachine gun with much ammunition. He was apparently disguised as a Yeshiva student. He fired a couple hundred shots and killed 8 students mostly in their late teens and seriously injured 9 others before being killed by an off-duty Israeli policeman. So far there has not been a clear claim of responsibility from any Palestinian or other terrorist group but when that is determined Israel will undoubtedly take prompt and stern measures against Palestinian or other Arabs especially any militants they can determine were responsible for this outrageous attack. Many of the students died holding Bibles or Jewish prayer books soaked with the blood of themselves or other students. The true God the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will undoubtedly take notice of this but also seek more of the Jewish people in Israel and outside Israel to trust in Him and for religious and secular Jews to trust in His Son Jesus of Nazareth as their Messiah. This is what will happen to a large extent by the end of the tribulation or time of Jacob's trouble according to both the Old and New Covenant scriptures but there will first and very soon be a false peace initiated by the Antichrist or False Messiah the Beast out of the Sea starting with his agreement with the Jews to enable them to build their Third Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem with some concessions to the Arabs or Muslims that will ensure they will accept this as part of possible wider covenant or treaty. Before this covenant the Church of all believers in Jesus the Messiah who have trusted in Him that he died for our sins and rose from the dead to give us new life will be caught up with our eternal bodies to heaven with Jesus or Y'Shua and will later come back with Him at the end of the tribulation when he comes to set up His Messianic Kingdom focused on Jerusalem and the Messianic Kingdom Temple and the Jewish people.
Around the beginning of May 2008, the Lebanese government, in an attempt to reign in Hezbollah that is already quite powerful in Lebanon tried a bold move. They tried to remove the Hezbollah officers that have been for some time responsible for security at Beirut International Airport from their posts. This is Lebanon's largest and most important airport and is a key site in the struggle for power with the government and Hezbollah. The government also tried to cut off Hezbollah's telecom network which they have been using to communicate with each other and would probably also use in any operation against the government or Lebanon or against Israel. In a show of power Hezbollah embarrased and intimidated the Lebanese government by taking over Western Beirut which had been mostly in control of Sunni Muslims who are more loyal to the Lebanese government. These Sunni Muslims would probably also be against interference and increased influence by Shiite Muslims from Iran or Syria through Hezbollah or otherwise. The government of Lebanon then backed down from its original measures against Hezbollah and Hezbollah then gave back control of Western Beirut to the government and the Lebanese Army. There were also power plays between Hezbollah in Tripoli, Lebanon's second biggest city in northern Lebanon and in the Shouf mountains in southern Lebanon but the Lebanese Army also eventually secured control of these areas as well. The Lebanese Army tries to maintain a balance with all sides and is respected generally from all sides including the Lebanese government and Hezbollah. However Hezbollah succeeded in showing it could stir up trouble and take over key centres in Lebanon at will which shows their increased power in Lebanon and possible soon plans to take over Lebanon and make it a Shiite Islamic state and a puppet state of Iran and possibly Syria.
On the weekend of May 16 2008 representatives from all major factions of Lebanon including the government and Hezbollah were called to Qatar to under pressure try to work out their differences and establish a working government in Lebanon. This meeting is supposed to last as long as necessary until some significant agreement is reached. Among other things this will require agreement on the positions of president as well as prime minister and a speaker the latter two that currently have filled positions. In Lebanon the positions of prime minister and president are given to one Sunni Muslim and one Shiite Muslim and the speaker is usually given to a Christian. The problem of Hezbollah wanting a veto in the Lebanese parliament which the governing partly with Mr Siniora doesn't want to give. There is also from the governing party and many people in Lebanon concern and dissatisfaction that Hezbollah seeks to gain more power militarily and politically in the government simultaneously. The goverment of Qatar has their own concern about Hezbollah and their increasing power as I think a mostly Sunni Arab state.
Although it is quite clear what the implications would be if Hezbollah succeeded in taking over Lebanon, even its ongoing increase in power is a concern to Israel and the West. Although Hezbollah and Iran and Syria have since about 2006 refrained from launching more rockets into Israel as it did with about 4000 of them in the 2006 war with Israel is hasn't moved to peace with Israel. Hezbollah in this time has been steadily rearming with even more sophisticated weapons especially from Iran. These include many more missiles including some that are able to fly longer range including the ability to hit Tel AViv which was not possible in 2006. One thing Israel did in the 2006 war with Hezbollah was to refrain from attacking infrastructure in Lebanon because they didn't want to jeopardize the government of Lebanon that is generally at least tolerant of Israel. However if Hezbollah takes over the country Hezbollah will be the government and responsible fully for what happens there and if they then attack Israel some spokespeople in Israel say that infrastructure in Lebanon will then be fair game. From a biblical perspective this would make Lebanon a puppet state of Iran or Persia and could make the stage set more for the invasion of Gog and Magog into Israel from the north which will include Persia or Iran and its allies. This could also include part of Iraq especially the southern Shiite part if United States pulls out of their under the next president. I still personally believe the main invasion of God and Magog (Russia) and its allies including Persia (Iran) will take place at the end of the tribulation that I don't believe has started yet but that there could be a dry run leading up to the tribulation and false peace of the Antichrist or Beast out of the Sea with Israel.
On Wednesday, May 28, 2008 Labour leader Ehud Barak who is the leader of the second biggest party in the ruling Israeli government coalition gave an ultimatum this day to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Ehud Barak threatened to pull the Labour Party out of the governing coalition if Ehud Olmert doesn't resign from leadership of the ruling Kadima Party which leads the government coalition. The Labour Party led by Ehud Barak who is also the defence minister has 19 seats in the 120 seat Israeli Knesset or Parliament. The Kadima Party has 29 seats which is currently the most of any party in the Israeli parliament. This ultimatum by Ehud Barak was instigated by the most recent corruption scandal involving Ehud Olmert which in this case is a case in which a businessman named Mr. Talansky who gave $150,000 in cash to support Ehud Olmert's run for the Prime Minister position. This is on top of some other financial corruption scandals involving Ehud Olmert and what many people including this writer think was an inferior effort of leadership in the 2006 war of Israel with the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah in which Israel failed its objective to root out Hezbollah. Later this day Ehud Olmert had indicated he has no intention of resigning or leaving office even temporarily in response to Ehud Barak's ultimatum. This will put the responsibility back with Ehud Barak whether or how soon he will make good on his ultimatum or be forced to lose face. In most polls in Israel the right wing Likud party led by Benjamin Netanyahu is given a popularity rating that would result in it picking up a substantial number of seats and perhaps become the leading party and be given the right to first try to set up a government if an election was held now. If Ehud Barak makes good on his ultimatum and pulls out of the coalition led by Ehud Olmert and his Kamima Party this will result in Ehud Olmert and his party losing their majority in the Israeli parliament and being forced to call new elections. Many people in Israel would be glad to have a chance to go to the polls and elect a new government after the intransigence of Ehud Olmert staying well beyond his welcome with the Israeli public. From a Bible prophecy viewpoint if Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud Party do get the most seats and right wing parties including right wing religious parties especially the Orthodox National Religious Party get more seats and are able to make a right wing coalition this could better prepare the government and public for building the Third Temple on the Temple Mount in the coalition with the Antichrist that will start the tribulation or 70th week of Daniel after the rapture or catching up of the Church. I encourage the reader if they are not a Christian to trust in Jesus the Messiah that he died for your sins on the cross and rose again from the dead to give you new life or if you are a Christian to stay faithful to Jesus and hopefully also witness to unbelievers while there is still opportunity.
Prime Minister of Israel Ehud Olmert, after popular discontent including in his own party for his latest scandal involving donations in cash for his election campaign and continuing unhappiness with his leadership in the war with Hezbollah in 2006 and his and the Kadima Party's continued poor showing in the polls in Israel, has called a primary or leadership contest for probably later this year. This primary is set tentatively for after the July 2008 date for the testimony of Mr. Talansky who Ehud Olmert is accused of receiving $500,000 in campaign donations from for his prime minister election campaign in cash and perhaps spending some of it on personal interests. No charges have been laid with Mr. Olmert yet but this adds to the impression of him as a corrupt leader and weakens his ability to lead Israel and be undistracted in his domestic or foreign policy including relations with the Palestinians or other Arabs. There has been much criticism of Mr. Olmert for not stating a fixed date as soon as possible for these primaries as some accuse him of putting the primaries off until after the testifying of Mr. Talansky in the hopes those hearings will drag on and the date for the primary will be postponed. Unfortunately in view of Mr. Ehud Olmert refusing to take responsibility and step down after the Winograd report where he received some blame even though it wasn't as independent as it could have been and his refusing to step down is some scandals since then there is some merit in thinking Ehud Olmert will try to hang onto power as long as possible. Both Ehud Barak, leader of the Labour Party, and the leaders of the ultra-orthodox Shas Party both of which uphold majority status of Ehud Olmert's governing coalition have insisted they still want general elections and don't see Ehud Olmert's call for a primary for his party as sufficient change especially if Ehud Olmert will be putting himself forward as a candidate for leader of the Kadima Party. The Kadima Party has only 29 of the 120 seats in the Israeli Knesset or Parliament. Although this is the largest any party currently has it definitely requires the alliance of other parties to maintaining a governing majority. If either of the Labour Party with 19 seats or the Shas Party with about 12 seats withdraws it will put the current coalition total of about 68 seats below the 61 seat total to maintain a majority and the right to maintain a government in Israel. This is the situation in early June 2008 but things could quickly change. Ehud Olmert's weak position also makes it difficult for him to give strong leadership in the peace negotiations with the Palestinian Arabs or Syrians at this time.
On July 15 Israel through a careful negotiation process managed by the Germans carried out a deal with the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah that had been two years in the making. In this deal Israel got back the two soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser who were captured by Hezbollah in 2006. However they were returned dead which isn't as comforting to Israel especially their families as if they were returned alive but at least it ends the uncertainty. Israel apparently has a policy of doing everything they can to get their captured soldiers returned preferably alive but even their dead bodies as this is still viewed as better than their being in enemy hands and lands. In return Hezbollah got the bodies of 199 dead prisoners of their fighters and five live soldiers including the infamous Samir Qantar who was responsible for killing three Israelis including a four year old child. Although the welcome ceremony in Israel was a brief sombre affair for the two bodies of their lost soldiers the welcome in Lebanon for the returned especially live Hezbollah soldiers was very exuberant including a personal welcome by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and unfortunately also a welcome from the Lebanese government which calls into question its regarded neutrality with regard to the strife between Hezbollah and Israel. Although this removes one source of strife even between Hezbollah and Israel unfortunately Hezbollah is probably still not interested in making peace with Israel as evidenced by its securing many more longer range missiles and other weapons over the time these negotiations were going on. It is still quite likely in Bible prophecy terms that Hezbollah will join any northern invasion of Israel led by Russia and Persia (Iran) although the Antichrist could manage a partial peace or ceasefire with Israel and Hezbollah as part of his false peace that will start the seven year tribulation that will allow Israel to build their temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem after the rapture or catching up and removal of all true Christians from earth to heaven.
On Wednesday, September 17, 2008 there was a leadership contest of the Kadima Party in Israel to replace former leader Ehud Olmert who has been under sustained heavy criticism for his alleged involvement in several corruption scandals and his mismanagement of the conflict of Israel with the Lebanese Hezbollah terrorist group in 2006. Kadima is the party with the most seats in the Israeli Parliament or Knesset and so has the right to lead a coalition government. In the leadership contest the main two contestants were the more right wing Shaul Mofaz and the more centrist and comparatively more left wing Tzipi Livni. Shaul Mofaz was thought to be more hard line towards any peace agreement with the Palestinians or how Israel should deal with Iran while Tzipi Livni is viewed as more of a moderate. Tzipi Livni has also been the foreign minister and main negotiator with the Palestinians for the Ehud Olmert government so she is very familiar with the elements of the Road Map to peace and other details of the peace process although there are some who question how good a leader she will be in her own right. On the other hand there was a fear with centre or left wing people that Shaul Mofaz would try to take the Kadima Party too far to the right with some people even calling that possibility Likud II. Anyway the results of the leadership vote are now known with some certainty. The results were approximately 43 % for Tzipi Livni and about 42 % for Shaul Mofaz which gives a slight victory to Tzipi Livni. Now she has the task of forming her own coalition government in the next 6 weeks. There has been some initial pessimism she can do this in a satisfactory way including from some in the Labor and Shas parties who have been the largest coalition partner parties in the government of Ehud Olmert. However she may surprise observers and accomplish this coalition more easily than many think at first. If she does form a coalition with at least 61 seats which is the majority of the 120 seats of the Knesset the Israeli Parliament she will have the right to lead a coalition government at least until some time in 2009 when general elections are scheduled. If she can't form a coalition government in the coming six weeks she will have to call a general election for three months from the end of these six weeks or perhaps three months from an earlier date in the these six weeks if it becomes very apparent that she won't be able to form a new coalition led by her and the Kadima Party. The Kadima Party now has I believe 29 seats of itself which is clearly not even near a majority of the Knesset but it is more that any other party in the current Israeli Parliament. In most of the current polls at least before the leadership contest the Likud Party was leading the polls including being ahead of the Kadima Party and we should soon know if that will still be the case with the Kadima Party led by Tzipi Livni. Based on the current economic problems in the United States and around the world and reports I have heard that progress is being made to built the third Jewish temple in a prefabricated way so it can be built faster once access to the Temple Mount is achieved it is possible that the rapture of the church could even be this year before a new government in Israel could be formed. This could lead to the False Prophet or the Beast out of the Land mentioned in Revelation 13 and some following chapters and probably as the Wicked one in 2 Thessalonians 2 obtaining the leadership of Israel as his being called the beast out of the land probably indicates he will be Jewish. Whatever actually happens and I am sure if the rapture of the church and following tribulation for those left behind doesn't happen this year it will still be very soon I urge the reader to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ (Messiah) as your personal Lord and Saviour as soon as possible that He died for your sins on the cross and rose from the dead to give you new life so you can be taken to heaven at the rapture and not left behind to endure God's wrath and the oppression and deception of the antichrist in the tribulation.
Since the election of Tzipi Livni as the new Kadima Party leader to replace former Kadima leader Ehud Olmert she has been given the task of forming her own coalition government. This is necessary because, according to Israeli law, the party with the most seats has to attempt to persuade other parties to join them in a coalition government that will have together at least 61 seats or the majority of the Knesset's 120 seats. This is necessary if the leading party itself does not have a majority of the 120 seats. Although Tzipi Livni has been able to persuade the Labor party which has 19 seats to join the Kadima party and their 29 seats to give them together 48 seats, in the end she wasn't able to persuade other parties to join her coalition. This was primarily because some of the most likely parties which she sought to join her coalition like the Gil pensioners party the ultraorthodox Shas party which were both in Ehud Olmert's party and the secular left wing Meretz part and the probably ultraorthodox United Torah Judaism had their own conditions for joining the coalition which Tzipi Livni was not willing to accomodate. To be honest some of this would have been next to impossible with some of the conditions being diametrically opposed such as the demand of Shas and probably United Torah Judaism that Tzipi Livni and the Kadima Party and their coalition take East Jerusalem including the Old City of Jerusalem off the table as a possible concession to the Palestinian Arabs in peace negotiations with them while Meretz demanded that East Jerusalem would be included as a consideration for concessions to the Palestinian Arabs. However if Tzipi Livni and other members of the Kadima party feared God and trused in the God of Israel and of the Bible more than of the Muslims, the United States or the international community she and they would not consider for a moment giving up East Jerusalem which includes the Old City of Jerusalem including the Jewish quarter and the Temple Mount. Another main consideration of the Shas Party was a billion dollars or shekels I forget which for children of poor families to help families with down to three children. Tzipi Livni offered about 750,000,000 that would help families with down to four children. Although theoretically the president of Israel Shimon Peres can in the next three weeks allow any other Member of the Knesset (the Israeli parliament) to form a government, it is unlikely anyone else in the Kadima Party could do this and Benjamin Netanyahu who is currently leading the Likud Party that has the largest popular vote in recent polls only has 12 seats in the current Knesset and would have trouble getting enough seats to make a right wing coalition or in having a clear leadership over other right wing parties that have comparable number of seats. So it is now generally agreed that Shimon Peres will shortly announce an upcoming general election which would take place in three months after the election call which would put it in the end of January or early February 2009. Many right wing politicians and right wing supporters as well as people weary of the corruption of Ehud Olmert and some of the Kadima Party have been longing to have their say in a new general election and will finally get their chance in the near future. Both the Kadima Party and the Labor party in current and recent polls are set to lose popularity and seats compared to the results of the last general elections but much could change between now and the likely election date in probably about three months. Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud Party have been slated to lead a new government in most current and recent polls and could likely continue that lead if they don't make major mistakes between now and the election as he and they are viewed as being tougher with some of Israel's adversaries such as the Palestinian Arab terrorist group Hamas the Lebanese Arab terrorist group Hezbollah, Syria and Iran while many Israeli think the Kadima Party and Labour were too soft or not very well organized in their was with Hezbollah in 2006 and that Kadima including Tzipi Livni are viewed by especially people in the right wing in Israel as soft with terrorists in evacuating Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Arabs which later came to be controlled by the Islamic terrorist group Hamas. However there are still also many supporters of Kadima among secular or other left wing or political centre voters in Israel who would not want an election victory by Benjamin Netanyahu, especially if it meant a right wing coalition for his government and would be quite dedicated to vote for Tzipi Livni and the Kadima Party which most of them would probably see as the best alternative compared to Labor to avoid a right wing coalition of Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud Party. Although Hamas and other Islamic terrorist groups have sent many crude rockets from the Gaza Strip especially since 2005 into adjacent parts of Israel they have mostly respected a ceasefire with Israel for some time including up to the current time but it is uncertain how long this will last.
Although the general election hasn't been called yet it would be extremely surprising if it isn't called in the next couple days now. Assuming the election is called soon one thing that will almost surely happen is that peace negotiations with the Palestinian Arabs will be at a standstill. Also probably the Kadima Party's intention to try to give up more West Bank settlements including Hebron, where not only Abraham but his wife Sarah his son Isaac and his son Jacob are buried that in Bible times was a city of refuge and for the first seven years of his reign was the centre of King David's rule over Israel will also be at a standstill. From a more direct connection to Bible prophecy this general election could provide an opportunity for the False Prophet to rise to power. The False Prophet who will rule the world in the tribulation in association with the Antichrist or beast out of the sea because the false prophet is also called the beast out of the land and the land in references like this usually refers to Israel or the Jews in the Bible. It is unwise to think this can't happen as Mr. Lieberman was able to start the Israel Beitenu party from nowhere to now having ten seats in the Israeli parliament in a very short period of time for example. Also if Benjamin Neyanyahu and the Likud Party do clearly get the most seats and are successful in forming a coalition government with probably mostly other right wing parties they could still get tricked into forming a peace deal with the Palestinian Arabs if it involved giving Israel and the Jews fuller control over the Temple Mount including the right to build the Third Jewish Temple or renewed version of the House of the LORD on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem as Daniel 9:27 says will be a primary consideration in a peace agreement the Antichrist will make with Israel to start the 7 year tribulation or 70th week of Daniel. The economic problems going on in the world could also be solved at least in a superficial way by him then as well. In view of this and the teaching according to a literal interpretation of the Bible that the rapture or catching up of true or born again Christians that have personally trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ that he died for our sins and rose from the dead to give us new life before the tribulation I urge the reader to trust in Jesus as your personal Lord and Saviour immediately if you haven't already and continue to faithfully live for him if you have trusted in him already. As I believed I have already mentioned in this series of web pages, the biblical prophecy possibility with another Kadima party victory and coalition would be a peace agreement with the Palestinians, including giving up Israeli land for peace with the Arabs. Some of this land could include East Jerusalem including the Temple Mount although especially under the Antichrist in this scenario there would be some provision for the Jews to build their third temple somewhere on the Temple Mount.
Through November 2008 there has been an ongoing effort by Israeli armed forces at the request of the Israeli government to remove Jewish settlers from Hebron house in Hebron, West Bank or Judaea. This order was issued by Ehud Barak who is the leader of the Labor Party and I believe the defence minister and the leader of the second party in the governing coalition previously led by Kadima leader Ehud Olmert and now primarily led by Kadima leader Tzipi Livni. Ehud Barak is also a strong advocate with the Kadima coalition of giving control of more West Bank cities including Hebron to the Palestinian leadership of Mahmoud Abbas to give him more support or popularity with the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Unfortunately neither Ehud Barak or Tzipi Livni or Ehud Olmert or most other members of Labor or Kadima parties acknowledge or significantly realize the key role Hebron has has in Israeli history especially in Bible times. Hebron can rightly be regarded by the Jews as the second holiest city in Israel after Jerusalem. This if for a couple reasons. The most important reason is that in the center of Hebron is located the Tomb of the Patriarchs where Abraham, Sarah, Isaac and Ishmael are all buried. Because Ishmael is buried there as well as Abraham this site is also holy and revered and regarded as a pilgrimage centre by Muslims as well as Jews and the right to visit it is currently on a shared basis. Especially religious Jews, especially those in Hebron believe that if control is given to the Palestinian forces in Hebron or especially if Jews are ordered to leave Hebron as they were in the Gaza Strip then these rights for Jewish people to visit the Tomb of the Patriarchs would be withdrawn in Hebron under Palestinian Arab control. Hebron is also regarded as holy to the Jews because it was there that King David, Israel's greatest king ruled for the first of his 40 years as king of Israel. Hebron was also one of six cities of refuge where someone who killed someone else unintentionally could flee for refuge. Now the main dispute in Hebron is over a building called Hebron House called the House of Peace by the Jews living there. It is claimed by the Jews that they bought this building and land from Palestinian Arabs and therefore have the right to live there and conduct Torah study etc. although the Palestinian Arabs who are regarded as the former owners of this land deny they have sold it to these Jewish settlers. So far it has been a stalemate between the Jewish settlers and the Israel Defence Forces that are carrying out Israeli government orders to evacuate them. These Jewish settlers are also very zealous for preserving Jewish control of Hebron including this Hebron house and are sometimes violent to Palestinian Arab residents by throwing stones etc. but the ultimate seizing control of the Gaza Strip by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas after it was evacuated by the Israeli IDF forces in 2005 and then used by Hamas and other Islamic terrorists to launch rockets (more than 5000 now) into the border cities in Israel of Sderot and Ashkelon only confirms the fears especially of the Jewish settlers that giving up the West Bank would eventually allow Palestinian Arab Islamic militants to take hostile action action Israel and the Jews there from the east as well as the west in Gaza in addition to the continuing threat of renewed attacks from the Hezbollah terrorist from the north in Lebanon. The true God and God of the Bible will hold the Israeli leaders respsonsible for any additional concessions they make to the Palestinian Arabs in Hebron or the WEst Bank (Judaea and Samaria) and this could have further adverse chastening consequences to Israel as the continuing drought in the West Bank could already be in the Israeli leadership trying to vainly give land for peace with the Arabs.
In early December 2008 Ehud Barak the leader of the Labour Party and I think the defence minister ordered the eviction of the Jewish settlers from the House of Peace in Hebron although they said they would consider giving it back to them in the future if it could be proven they had legal claim to it. However even if it is determined that the settlers have legal claim to this property as they say they have the documents to prove the Israeli government might still not give it back to them as the Kadima Party including current leader Tzipi Livni and the Labour Party including leader Ehud Barak have an agenda of land for peace with the Palestinians and other Arabs. This land that the more liberal or post-Zionist factions of the government consider giving to the Arabs include most of the West Bank including Hebron despite its great historic and religious significance to the Jews. To call this action of the Israeli government an action of the Jewish state of Israel is not very accurate in a sense as this action doesn't show anything of Israel being a Jewish state but a state of Jews that has given up on Biblical Jewish values that helped establish the modern state of Israel after almost 2000 years out of the land. This is the belief and promises God gave them through Abraham, Moses and David of a promises land that will ultimately be used as the focus of the rule of their Messiah over the whole world in an age of world peace and prosperity and exalting of the Israel as a Jewish nation above all the other nations of the world. This action of the current Israeli government to give up a significant part of Israeli jurisdiction over Hebron at least for the time being is the latest manistation of the battle between secular or post-zionist Jews and religious especially zionist Jews. Despite there being much less friendly terms between the Jewish settlers and the Israeli IDF or Israeli Defence Force soldiers than in the Gaza withdrawal and from the WEst Bank or Judaea community of Amona there were no deaths and only minor injuries on both sides. However some of the more militant settlers showed their displeasure at the current Israeli government and the Palestinian Arab residents of the WEst BAnk the settlers see the current Israeli government as making concessions to by attacking some of the Arabs and injuring or perhaps even killing some of them. It remains to be seen how this will affect the ongoing Israeli election campaign with some of the more militant action of the settlers giving those in the political middle more hesitation to vote for Likud of right wing parties but the possible illegal nature of the forced eviction of these settlers by the current left center Israeli government could also give more sympathy to the Likud Party under Benjamin Netanyahu and other right wing parties. In a Christian prophecy view such as I take from a literal Biblical perspective this will be another step to a probable soon false peace between Israel and other parties mediated by the Antichrist of beast out of the sea that will allow the building of the third Jewish temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to start the tribulation or time of Jacob's trouble or 70th week of Daniel after the rapture of the church. Also I and biblically literal people believe that especially according to Zechariah Israel by the end of the tribulation will have lost power over all the holy land except part of Jerusalem and be facing a vast anti-semitic Gentile army when their true Messiah Jesus of Nazareth will deliver them from heaven and set up their longed for Messianic Kingdom and destroy these anti-semitic armies and bless other Gentiles that are less hostile to Israel or her God. I would urge the reader to prepare for these events now if you have not already by trusting in the Lord Jesus (Y'Shua) the Messiah as your personal Lord and Saviour who died for your sins and rose again from the dead as the Son of God who came into this world.
In late December 2008 a six month ceasefire between the Palestinian Arab terrorist group Hamas and the government of Israel ended. Although there was some effort to extend the ceasefire there has been no success in this area so fire and not much effort to compromise on either side so far. The government of Israel said that Hamas needs to be isolated with the Gaza blockade so Hamas not use the opportunity of more open borders to bring more arms into Gaza. Israel also said that Hamas needs to stop the resumed regular Kassam rockets from Gaza going into Israel as a condition for a resumed ceasefire. Hamas and other Palestinian Arab spokespeople said that an end of Israel's blockade of Gaza should be a condition of a ceasefire as well as no further invasion by air or on the ground of Israel armed forces into Gaza. Israel says they have the right to do this to retaliate for the ongoing rockets into Israel from Gaza. Hamas says they have the right to do this in exchange for execution attempts by Israel of its members and for the blockade and also for what they think is Israel occupying the land of Israel itself. It should also be remembered that Israel in 2005 gave back the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Arabs then mostly administred by the secular Fatah faction that recognizes Israel's right to exist. Since then Gaza has become under control of the militant group Hamas that doesn't recognize Israel and hasn't renounced the use of violence against her. Although it is true there were fairly minor fatalities in the recent round of rocket attacks by Hamas into Israel with perhaps one person killed and perhaps some people injured and some damage to homes or other places in Israel all of these were innocent Israeli civilians with no attempt by Hamas to distinguish between Israel soldiers of civilians. In contrast the earlier actions of Israel as well as the December 27 air raids of Israel into Gaza were carefully focused on targets of Hamas militant members or their installations in Gaza and a primary reason there could have been some civilian deaths or injuries among Palestinian Arabs by Israeli strikes is that Hamas and other Palestinian Arab militants deliberately hide in general and also when they launch rockets into Israel and in their buildings locate them among civilians or residential areas so Israel might be less inclined to attack or take more adverse international publicity if they do due to unavoidable civilian deaths or injuries. There have so far been about 200 deaths and perhaps 400 injuries among Palestinian Arabs in the Israeli air strikes with many of them being Hamas terrorists or associates. There is now more effort by international groups such as the European Union and the Vatican and probably soon if not already with United States and the United Nations for a new ceasefire that would stop or limit the rocket attacks into Israel by Hamas from the Gaza strip and an end of Israeli air or other raids into Gaza. However it should be noted there was no serious efforts by these or other international groups to get a ceasefire as long as Israel didn't retaliate against the ongoing terrorism of the Kassam rockets into Israel especially after the end of the ceasefire.
It should be stated that the idea of a Palestinian state is an imagination developed only since 1967 by Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and continued by other Palestinian Arabs since then. According to an accurate reading of Israel there was not such a thing as a Palestinian state before as the name Palestine originated from the Romans around 2000 years in an attempt to deny the Jewish nature of the Holy Land although it came to be a term for the Jewish nature of the Holy Land into the 20th century. Although the holy land was controlled by the Arabs after the conquest of the Holy land around 638 AD six years after Mohammed's death the holy land or the city of Jerusalem was never an Arab country or an Arab capital but was only a secondary territory. This was also the case when the holy land came under the control of the other Muslim occupier in the Ottoman turks from 1453 until they were replaced by the British near the end of World War 1 in 1917. The HOly land including the West BAnk and actually including the Gaza strip is land that God promised the Jews in His covenant with their forefather Abraham and repeated to his son Isaac and his son Jacob who God renamed Israel. This was an unconditional covenant and was not dependent on Israel's faithfulness to God however Israel's continuing possession of the Holy land was made dependent on their faithfulness to God and the Law of Moses in the Mosaic or so-called Palestinian covenenat in reference to the Jewish state in the holy land. God also promised he would bring the Jews back into their land in the last days before the return of their Messiah who myself and other Christians believe will be the return of Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ or Messiah at the end of the 7 year tribulation or 70th week of Daniel or time of Jacob's trouble. As Christians that take the Bible literally we think this 7 year tribulation will begin with the covenant between Israel and the Antichrist to allow the building of the Third Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and will probably provide some concessions to the Palestinian Arabs as mentioned in Daniel 9:27. We also believe according to 2 Thessalonians 2 and other scriptures that the gathering together to Jesus of Christians will occur in the air or near outer space for all true Christians from where we will be taken to heaven just before the 7 year tribulation begins so God will deal through Israel or the Jewish people in the tribulation and the 2nd coming and 1000 year Messianic kingdom primarily on earth although the Church will join Jesus in His second coming and in the Messianic Kingdom in a secondary way. Therefore we believe the ongoing problems between the Israelis and Palestinian Arabs will soon lead to a false peace of the Antichrist and resumption of God's prophetic program through Israel on earth and the bringing of the Church of people who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour to our home in heaven very soon.
As of January 12, 2009 the Israel Hamas conflict in southern Israel and the Gaza Strip is still continuing. This is despite the fact that an agreement passed in the UN security council ordered a ceasefire and end of fighting on both sides. However Israel does not accept this ordered ceasefire probably because from what I could see it doesn't specifically ask for an end of Hamas rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel let alone give measures to enforce this. Hamas doesn't agree to it because they say they weren't consulted which is probably true since they are still regarded as a terrorist organization because they refuse to recognize Israel's right to exist or renounce violence against her. There have now been about 900 fatalities of Palestinian Arabs in the WEst Bank although this includes hundreds of Hamas or other militants and their ranks continue to provide a substantial share of the new fatalities as Israel is trying to target them in order to stop or reduce the Hamas led violence against Israel. Some high-ranking casualities among Hamas both caused by Israeli air strikes on their homes when they were inside are Mr. Al-Mansi who was the Hamas leader of the rocket brigades and Mr. Al-Juberi who was the head of the Hamas militant wing. It is likely that other leading Hamas personnel were killed by Israel as well but I am not at this time familiar with the details. I also heard that there is a growing weariness among Hamas fighters at the persistant fighting against them by the Israelis and that the leaders of Israel are saying they are getting close to their objectives that include reducing the threat of Hamas in this campaign. While there have also been probably a couple hundred fatalities among the Palestinian Arab civilians the close proximity of everyone in the Gaza Strip and the habit of Hamas and other militants to use the Arab civilians in the Gaza STrip as human shields has increased the Palestinian Arab death and injury too more than it needed to be. There have also been about 14 deaths among the Israelis including a couple deaths from Hamas rockets in southern Israel and more deaths I think of Israeli soldiers including in the Israeli ground forces and their close combat with Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip. The rockets continue to fall at the rate of about 20 per day on southern Israel and Israel continues its air and ground offensive in the Gaza STrip at this time. As of January 15, 2009 there have been about 1080 Palestinian Arab fatalities including about half being children, women or other civilians and the other half Hamas or other militants. Although it is harder to avoid in Israel's ground offensive and in the urban fighting in Gaza city and elsewhere in the Gaza strip perhaps Israel could be more careful to avoid civilian casulties among the Palestinians. The recent hit by Israel of a United Nations compound in the Gaza STrip is certainly quite inappropriate and should be condemned against Israel but it should be equally condemned if it is true which by past experience is quite possible that Hamas was using this site as a shield to fire on Israeli troops from and that this is a main reason why Israel fired on this location. If this is true the United Nations can't totally condemn Israel without also pointing a finger at itself for not doing more to remove Hamas fighters for using its premises to attack Israelis. Although he was a moderate he still directed many of the regiments of Hamas fighters including in the current campaign and therefore provided a ready target for Israel but the killing on January 15, 2009 of Hamas interior minister Said Siyam could be another serious blow to the leadership and fighting ability of Hamas although its main leaders in Syria have been virtually untouched and Hamas' main leader in the Gaza Strip Ismail Haniya is in hiding and so far has been relativly untouched. However there is mounting condemnation on both sides internationally and increasing pressure for some more substantial solution to the Middle East crisis probably also much more effort from the United States when Barack Obama gets inaugarated as the new president of the United States on January 20 in several days time. He has said he will make getting some type of at least ceasefire a priority from the beginning of his mandate but getting peace or even ceasefires between the Israelis and Palestinians has frustrated and besmirches many former US presidents or other foreign leaders and will probably continue to be the case until the false peace of the Antichrist mentioned in Daniel 9:27 and Isaiah 28 as the covenant of death that will begin the seven year tribulation.
In the middle of January 2009 after an about 3 week offensive by Israel into Gaza first with air strikes and then with a ground invasion there was a ceasefire declared between the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas and Israel. The ceasefire was declared by Israel first initially to be for 10 days and about a day later a ceasefire was called by Hamas for 7 days. All the time of Israel's invasion there were also rockets coming from Hamas in the Gaza strip into Israel with much longer ranges than was the case before now up to 20 or 25 miles and able to hit some major southern Israeli cities such as Ashkelon, Ashdod and Beersheva. This ceasefire was designed mostly by the United Nations and called for a halt for Israel's military presence in Gaza and a stop to the rockets of Hamas into Israel and a monitoring of imports into Gaza for detection of weapons Hamas might attempt to smuggle in. There was also a call for an end or at least a loosening of Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip's borders particularly its land border with Egypt. Israel by this time has honoured its pledge to pull out its troops fully from the Gaza Strip and as of the date of writing this paragraph January 24th, 2009 there has been little or no further assaults by either Israel or Hamas. There have also been allowed in aid workers and reporters into Gaza to access the damage that was quite severe but this probably wouldn't have happened if Hamas hadn't continued with its rocket attacks before Israel's attack or continuing during it although Israel especially in the latter part of its 3 week campaign could probably have been more careful to focus on attacks on the Hamas or other Palestinian ARab militants and spare civilians more.
Barack Obama the new president of the United States shortly after his inaugaration on January 20th, 2009 indicated a desire to achieve a peace agreement with Israel and the Palestinians including somehow involving Hamas a priority of his first term in office. To show this he has appointed George Mitchell the former negotiator in the parties in the dispute in Northern Ireland as his envoy to attempt to negotiate a peace agreement in the Middle East. Although that is a significant achievement to get some type of resolution to the problems in NOrthern Ireland and to get a power sharing agreement between the mostly protestant unionists that want to retain some form of union with the United Kingdom and the mostly Roman Catholics with participation from Sein Fein militant group that wants closer ties with the southern Republic of Ireland, Israel and the Middle East is a more distint matter. This is because Israel alone of all the countries on the earth is God's chosen earthly land and the Jews are alone God's chosen earthly people. (The Church of all born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God is God's chosen heavenly people but our promised land is only in the heavenly Jerusalem.) Since God has made covenants with the Jews for the land of Israel through Abraham (and Isaac and Jacob) unconditionally and conditionally with Moses people such as George Mitchell or other leaders including former US or European heads of State or their representatives who have already found out will quickly find that Israel is a most perplexing problem and is much harder to solve than other earthly conflicts. I heard a five minute speech from George Mitchell on the BBC just after his appointment as US envoy to the Middle East and he seemed to have a totally secular perspective and totally miss the point about the religious and spiritual dimensions of the Middle East conflict including of course Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. He was mostly talking of the political, social and economic barriers that need to be overcome to achieve a lasting peace there but I think it is a safe prediction to make based on what the Bible says and other spiritual realities that he will soon get bogged down as his predecessors have if he doesn't become more willing to also see and take into consideration the religious and spiritual differences of the Israelis and Palestinian Arabs in his attempt to achieve a Middle East peace agreement. The Bible says and it has been very accurate so far that there won't be even a semblance of peace in the Middle East until the Antichrict comes to make a peace with Israel and its neighbours that will also allow Israel to build her third temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem (that the Antichrist will later take over to force the world to worship him there and that at Jesus the Messiah's second coming God will take from the antichrist for worship of Himself through His Son and Messiah Jesus of Nazareth.) However the first task that George Mitchell has been appointed to as of this writing is to try to extend the ceasefire beyond the several days that both the Israel's and Hamas have committed themselves to so that negotiations can take place to try to make more progress towards peace between the Israelis and Palestinian Arabs both those led by Hamas in the Gaza Strip that so far do not recognize Israel or her right to exist and the WEst Bank led by Mahmoud Abbas and the secular Fatah party that do recognize Israel's right to exist and have been the main Palestinian leadership the west and Israel have had peace talks with over the last couple years.
The most recent Israeli election just occurred on February 10th and to the dismay of many but perhaps to the relief of some there was no clear winner. During most of the election campaign Benjamin Neyanyahu and his right wing Likud party had a clear lead over Tzipi Livni and the Kadima party. These elections had to be called because last fall after Tzipi Livni succeeded Ehud Olmert as the leader of the Kadima party which was the party in power she had to succeed in forming a coalition government with at least 61 of the 120 seats in the Knesset the Israeli parliament to have a mandate to govern. Although she had some success towards this goal, she ultimately failed to get the required 61 seats so this election in February was required. Although the results are not yet final and the results for the Israeli soldiers and diplomats abroad who voted at the advance polls might not yet have come in, almost all of the regular votes have come in and Tzipi Livni and the Kadima party were able to maintain a lead of 1 seat 28 to 27 over the nearest Likud party led by Benjamin Netanyahu. Shimon Peres the president of Israel now has the task of deciding who to ask or ask first to try to form a government. Although it would seem obvious that Tzipi Livni should be awarded the first opportunity, this isn't as obvious as it sees. This is because Benjamin Netanyahu and his fellow right wing parties make the largest ideological block of 65 seats or so while the Kadima party and its fellow left wing parties only amount to about 55 of the 120 seats available. As seemed apparent throughout the election campaign with its third place polling and actual third place finish on election day, the right wing but secular Israel Beitenu party led by Avigdor Leiberman will with its support probably determine which of the first two parties succeeds in forming a coalition or if there will be a coaltion of national unity that would involve both leading parties and perhaps many other parties. Israel Beitenu finished with 15 seats. Next was labour led by former prime minister Ehud Barak with 13 seats which is a left wing party then the ultra-orthodox Shas party that is a religious right-wing party, then the United Arab list with 5 seats that would only be interested in a left wing or national unity coalition, then the National Union party with 4 seats which is a religious (Orthodox) right wing party, then United Torah Judaism which is a right wing religious (Ultra-orthodox) party also with 4 seats, then Hadash also with 4 seats that I think is a left wing party, then Jewish home party which is a religious (Orthodox) right wing party with 3 seats, then Balad with 3 seats which is an Arab party which again would not be interested in a right wing coalition and finally Meretz that is a left wing secular party with 3 seats also.
What all this probably means is that the recent fighting with Hamas instigated by their continual rocket attacks on southern Israel with increasing range has hardened the Israeli electorate to a shift to the right and probable less williness to be involved and less trust towards the Palestinian Arabs to try to make peace with them. This is partly because Israel feels betrayed and threatened by further territorial concessions to the Palestinian Arabs since the handing over of the Gaza Strip did not lead to peace but instead had played into the hands of the radical Hamas and their providers Iran and Syria to use the Gaza Strip as a base to attack or terrorize Israel and the Jewish people. Although a coalition led by Tzipi Livni would probably be willing to follow peace attempts with the Palestinians, things could still be more strained with the Palestinian Arabs with her leadership of Israel than before because of Israel's launch of Operation Cast Lead against Gaza especially the Hamas militants under her leadership just before the Israeli election. Benjamin Netanyahu has said he is not interested in a two state solution and pursuing the existing peace process with the Palestinian Arabs but partly because he was blackmailed into it he agreed to the Wye River agreement with the Palestinians around 1998 when he was Prime Minister. He has also shown some willingness as Tzipi Livni has to negotiate with Syria for peace between Israel and them even if it involves some concessions to Syria of Israel's land on the Golan Heights. With renewed pressure around the world but especially under the new American leadership of Barack Obama Tzipi Livni would probably be the one leader of Israel most willing to go along with world ideas of land for peace in a peace agreement with the Palestinian and other Arabs since Benjamin Netanyahu hold fairly strongly to Israel's legitimate claim to also the land in the West Bank or Judaea and Samaria as they still hold to the covenants God made with Israel under Moses about 3500 years ago and with Abraham about 4000 years ago that the one true and living God says in His word the Holy Bible are eternal covenants and the one with Abraham (and his son Isaac and his son Jacob (Israel)) was an unconditional covenant not based on Israel's faithfulness to God. What this means to Bible prophecy is that this probably brings the false peace of Israel and the Antichrist (Beast out of the Sea or Man of Sin) closer in which Israel might be willing to make some concessions to the Palestinians and other Arabs such as land in the West Bank in exchange for allowing Israel to build their 3rd temple on at least part of the Temple Mount or Mount Zion in Jerusalem only more likely under a Kadima led government under Tzipi Livni which will be quite difficult to set up since other parties will want conditions for their joining or remaining in a coalition. On the other hand it is possible a right wing coalition could make a peace agreement with the Antichrist and the Arabs including the Palestinian Arabs if they wanted to build the 3rd Jewish Temple to keep the law of Moses better and this was offered to them. What all this means for most people now is that it can't be understated about the importance of trusting in the Lord Jesus (Y'Shua) the Messiah that he was God in the flesh who died for the sins of each of us as sinful human beings and who rose from the dead to give us new life if we trust in Him as our personal Lord and Saviour. This would also result in our being caught up or raptured to heaven with the Lord Jesus Christ who will come for all true Christians or the true Church immediately before the 7 year tribulation or time of Jacob's trouble starts with this false peace covenant between Israel and the Antichrist.
In March 2009 Benjamin Netanyahu who had been given the first opportunity to form a coalition government by the Israeli President Shimon Peres succeeded in forming a new coalition government. It was thought including by Shimon Peres that Tzipi Livni the leader of the centre Kadima Party would have difficulty forming a coalition since she was unable to last fall with fairly good numbers in her party and allies in the Israeli Parliament or Knesset and with reduced number of seats both for her own party and left wing allies in the Knesset in the new 2009 election results. It was generally thought and was certainly hoped by right wing supporters and right wing Jewish people or groups and their conservative Christian supporters including myself internationally that Benjamin Netanyahu would seek and hopefully succeed in forming a right wing coalition government which would provide him with 65 out of 120 seats if he could persuade all the right wing parties to join his coalition. This would be a majority of the seats and enough to form a coalition government by Israeli law. However, despite Netanyahu sometimes having a reputation as a right wing politician he showed that he might be nearer the centre politically than was traditionally believed by his attempts from the beginning of his alotted period to form a coalition of seeking a preferred national unity coaltion featuring the four main parties from the last election that would be led by Netanyahu and the Likud Party. These parties are Likud with 27 seats, Kadima led by Tzipi Livni with 28 seats, Israel Beitenu led by Avigdor Lieberman with 15 seats and Labor led by Ehud Barak with 13 seats. Netanyahu did early on succeed on a coaltion arrangement with the Israel Beitenu party but from the start and continuing to this day Tzipi Livni and the Kadima Party have refused to join any coaltion led by Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud Party stating their reason is that he is not interested in a 2 state solution in the peace process with the Palestinian Arabs like Tzipi Livni and Ehud Olmert and the Kadima Party were working towards. Since then Netanyahu has succeeded in achieving terms for the Ultra-Orthodox Shas party with about 11 seats to join his coalition and the Orthodox Jewish home party to join. However that did not yet provide a majority as he was having some disagreement on the terms such as cabinet appointments for the Orthodox National Union Party with about 4 seats or the Ultra-orthodox United Torah Judaism Party with 5 seats to join his coalition. I personally would have liked to see especially the National Union Party to be included in this coalition as they especially support a Jewish character of the nation of Israel and probably efforts to assert more Jewish presence on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem but neither of these parties have been included in the proposed coalition list presented to be presented to Shimon Peres on the last week or March first week of April 2009. However what has given Netanyahu enough seats for his coalition but has seriously changed the nature of the coalition is the agreement secured with Ehud Barak and the Labor Party to join the coalition. However this agreement with Labor was mostly through the initiative of their present leader Ehud Barak who is quite right wing especially with regard to proposed security measures with the Palestinians compared to most other members of his party and many in his party are still unahappy about the Labor Party joining a coalition made up mostly of right wing parties but for the time being this agreement seems to be standing. This agreement has also annoyed right wing members of Benjamin Netanyahu's own Likud Party of which Netanyahu is somewhat more towards the center than some other members of his party. This agreement with Labor has also annoyed some members of the other right wing parties in Netanyahu's coalition. With much international pressure especially from the European Union as well as the United states and the Palestinian Authority (PA) for Israel to continue the peace process followed by the Kadima Party there could be ongoing tension in Netanyahu's coaltion no matter what he does in regards to progress towards peace with the Palestinians unless tensions flare up with Hamas or other Islamic militants from the Gaza Strip or even in the West Bank in which case Ehud Barak and Labour would be more compelled to quiet their calls for progress towards peace with the Palestinian Arabs. As a Christian who believes in the literal interpretation of the Bible including Bible prophecy I still believe after this present church age ends with the rapture or catching up to heaven of all the true Church of born again believers that their will be a false peace between the Antichrist or Beast out of the Sea and Israel and probably involving the Arabs including the Palestinians and world powers such as the US, Eu, UN and Russia (the Quartet). It is hard to say yet how Netanyahu will deal with the peace process with the Palestinians but I believe his actions will still bring the day closer when the false peace of the Antichrist is established and God starts his prophetic clock moving forward in a more definite way although I am not sure what exactly the next immediate steps will be but I will keep watch to get a better idea.
Unlike the former US president, George W. Bush, the new American president Barack Obama has shown that he considers advancing the Middle East peace process between the Israelis and the Palestinians and other Arabs a priority. He or his envoys have met on a number of occasions with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu. The emphasis with the Americans has been to insist that Israel give up all Israeli settlements in the West Bank including the so-called natural growth of existing settlements that the Israelis are more insistant on preserving and which may have been conceded to them in some of the peace agreements. The Israelis have also been pressured into accepting the two state solution including a Palestinian state that the Americans as well as others such as the Europeans insisting should include all the allotted land in the West Bank as well as East Jerusalem to the Palestinian Arabs. Netanyahu and many in Israel still insist however that Jerusalem remain fully Jewish or Israeli and not be divided especially if it means giving the Old City and its many holy sites including the Temple MOunt to the Palestinians. There is also the problem that Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah faction are only in control to some extent of the West Bank with Palestinian control represented by Hamas which still refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist in the Gaza Strip. Obama's determination to achieve a breakthrough towards a MIddle East peace in his presidency seems to ignore the failure of many American and other leaders so far in this area and the Bible view on this subject that this won't be achieved even in a superficial way until the false peace of the Antichrist mentioned in Daniel 9:27 that will start the tribulation after the rapture of the Church. I personally don't believe Barack Obama will be the Antichrist especially because he is not from Europe but his multicultural position is probably consistant with what the Antichrist will believe and promote.
In the beginning of July, the human rights group Amnesty International, issued their report that was probably part of their general world report on human rights about the human rights situation with the conflict of Israel and the Palestinian Arabs in early 2009. In that situation Israel responded to a prolonged barrage of Sderot or even places further from the Gaza Strip like Ashkelon with rockets from the Gaza Strip fired by Hamas and other Palestinian Arab Islamic militant groups that operate there. Then in early 2009 Israel carred out some air attacks on militant locations in the Gaza Strip and killed many Islamic militants and their facilities but Amnesty said Israel later wasn't too careful to keep from killing or injuring Palestinian civilians including women and children. However Amnesty did also censure Hamas that is the Islamic Palstinian group that now controls the Gaza Strip for sending the rockets into Israel and killing and injuring and terrorizing Israelis and damaging their property as well as hiding their militants in civilian areas and firing rockets from some of those locations to try to deter Israel from striking their rocket launch sites. Amnesty also suggested no country supply arms to Israel or the Palestinian militants such as Hamas. However this is not realistic in the case of Israel because Israel has many other enemies among mostly Muslim nations especially Iran that would be glad to strike Israel if they thought they could win the battle and take control of the land of Israel and change it from a Jewish state to a Muslim one and these other Muslim countries are not being asked to limit their input of arms from other countries or from groups like Amnesty. Although I don't know what other battles their will be before the false peace with Israel and the Antichrist that will probably involve the Antichrist bringing some peace with Israel and the Palestinians and other Arabs I am confident the oppressive and hardline rule and stance of Hamas over the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip will make more of the Palestinians Arabs ready for more peace with Israel and a greater level of prosperity for the Palestinians as well. The best thing to do now is to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that he is the Son of God who died for your sins and rose again to offer you new life if you haven't done so already so you can be taken to heaven at the rapture of the church and not left on earth for the terrible tribulation that will come on all the earth for seven years with the earth after that judged by God at Jesus' second coming.
In the second week of August 2009 Fatah, the more secular Palestinian Arab party, previously led by Yasser Arafat and recently led by Mahmoud Abbas, held its first leadership conference in about 20 years. Some observers have commented on the fact that the length of time since the last leadership conference shows some of the lack of democracy in Fatah suggesting they should have a conference closer to every 5 years to which I would agree. Some of the complaints against Fatah is that is has been run by an "old guard" for a long time that are corrupt and look after their own interests and deny opportunities for younger leaders to gain power. This complaint is held by both Palestinians and westerners and perhaps even some Israelis as well as other Arabs than the Palestinians. One thing that did happen with these elections is that it swept most of the old guard out of power includnig the veteran Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qurei with only 4 of the 18 leadership positions in the new leadership council being the old guard and the rest being younger leaders. One of the old guard to be re-elected is Mahmoud Abbas who will continue to lead Fatah. Some of the younger guard that some sources say might be more conciliatory to Israel and the west but are also quite militant are Muhammed Dahlan, Sultan Abu al-Aynain, Marwan Barghouti, Jibril Rajoub and Tawfik Tirawi. However all these men have a history of violence towards Israel or otherwise and have shown no indication that they will change in the future. The Fatah leaders also set some definite conditions that the new or perhaps even a further future Fatah council will have to abide by in negotiations with Israel that are quite severe and uncompromising. Among other things they ruled that Fatah has the right to exercise violence against Israel including through their military branch the Al-aqsa Martyrs Brigade if they can't get everything they want in negotiations with Israel. These goals for negotiations with Israel include securing all of East Jerusalem for a Palestinian capital, the replacement of the Israels by the Palestinians in all of the West Bank, the removal of all Jewish settlers and settlements from the West Bank, and the right of return to live in Israel itself of any Palestinian Arab refugee now living in the surrounding countries such as Lebanon and Jordan. Some of these conditions especially the right of return and the handing over of East Jerusalem to the Palestinians are conditions that most Israelis and especially the current Israeli leadership under Likud leader and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not seriously consider. From a biblical Christian perspective this is just another indicator that the solutions of mere men to get a Middle East peace solution and that even to get a temporary or superficial one will take a supernatural effort such as what the Bible describes in Daniel 9:27 under the Antichrist to start the tribulation. This peace agreement is also mentioned as the covenant with death in Isaiah 28. The continued preoccupation of world leaders especially Barack Obama and his American government with achieving a Middle East peace could lead to the false peace of the Antichrist fairly soon and the rapture of catching up to heaven of all true Christians who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ that he died for our sins and rose from the dead to give us new life before the false peace of the Antichrist and the tribulation. At the end of the tribulation God will establish true peace through His only begotten Son and true Messiah Jesus of Nazareth at His second coming to earth to set up His kingdom here.
Today (September 7, 2009) I read an article on the BBC entitled The Rise of Israel's Military Rabbis that got my attention. As this article noted and as I am aware from following the Israeli-Arab situtation closely for some time, this is a development that has been growing for some time. What I am talking about it the increasing religious nature of Israel's military forces and how they perceive their goal of protecting Israel. Up until recently and for most of modern Israel's history the military of Israel was predominantly secular although there was always some religious or some would say religious Zionist element to it. I am a born again Christian who supports Israel and believes God has a glorious future on earth for the nation of Israel and the Jewish people although after a period of intense persecution Christians call the great tribulation and some of the Jews call the time of Jacob's trouble or the end of days. God says in the Bible concerning the tribulation that he would fight for the nation of Israel and the Jews as he fought for them in the days of battle. The days of battle could refer to previous times in their history such as under King David or some of the later kings or the beginning of their conquest of the holy land under their leader Joshua. The traditional nature of the Israeli military as primarily secular never seemed right or prepared for their role in the last days such as in the tribulation but the current shift to a more religious character in the Israeli military makes this element for Bible prophecy more ready for the last days as well. Some examples according to the BBC article referred to earlier of the increased religious nature of the Israeli military was the practice in the recent 2008 war with the Palestinians in Gaza of the Israeli rabbis supplying the Israeli soldiers with a copy of the book of Psalms to carry with them in their service for the state of Israel. Another sign of the increasing religious nature of the Israeli military according to this article is that a significant portion of the Israeli soldiers feel more loyal to some of these Orthodox Jewish rabbis than to the government of Israel especially if they are required to take more controversial action such as uproot more Jews from outposts or especially Jewish settlements in the West Bank or Judaea and Samaria. The reason for this is that the Orthodox or religious Jewish rabbis and soldiers regards rightly in a biblical sense that all the promised land between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River including all of present day Israel and the Gaza Strip and all the West Bank and the Golan Heights as part of the land covenanted to Israel by God in the Bible through Abraham and Moses and David. The increasing fundamentalist religious Jewish nature of the soldiers and leadership of the Israeli military views the situation of Israel and the Jews as in the days of Joshua when God commanded the Jews to kill off the non-Jewish people in the promised land to possess it for the people of Israel. This is probably what motivated some of the actions against Palestinian Arab people in the Gaza Strip in Israel's latest conflict with the Arabs instead of just focusing on the Hamas or other Palestinian Arab militants. I think from a Christian viewpoint Israel would have done better to just focus on the Islamic militants. Also from a biblical view including the New Testament in the tribulation and for the Messianic Kingdom God will have many people of the other nations including the Arabs to be spared and saved and it will be the 144,000 Messianic Jewish witnesses that will do most of the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ mentioning both his death for our sins and resurrection and in the tribulation then his soon glorious second coming that will lead to the salvation of Palestinians and other Arabs and other Gentiles as well as of course people of Jewish background which will result in the salvation of people then. According to this new religious view of many of the new soldiers and rabbi advisers of the Israeli military the Palestinian Arabs are to be viewed similiarly to what the Israelis of Biblical times viewed their arch foes the Philistines who were also concentrated in the area we now call the Gaza Strip. This increased religious nature of the Israeli military probably started in earnest around the time of the 2006 conflict of Israel with Hezbollah from Lebanon in Israel's northern frontier and has continued to grow since that time. It will probably continue in the same direction as we approach the tribulation and the coming of Messiah that I and other Christians think will be the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and the setting up of His 1000 year Messianic Kingdom and then God's eternal kingdom on a new earth. From the start of the tribulation there will be the false Messiah what the Bible calls the man of sin or the beast out of the sea or the abomination of desolation that will start by presenting himself as Israel's Messiah and probably as the Saviour of the world to other Gentile or non-Jewish people. Before that will be the rapture or the catching up all true Christians who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ that he died for our sins on the cross and rose again the third day to give us new life and received God's Holy Spirit and new nature. I urge the reader to do the same if you haven't already so you can be taken to be with Jesus and God in heaven before the tribulation as this is the way God will shift his focus for his witnessing people on earth from the church to the Jewish people or people of Israel. The professing Christians left behind in the tribulation will all be mere professors of Jesus but that hadn't received him as personal Lord and Saviour according to the scriptures especially the New Testament.
In the beginning of 2009 a leading judge from South Africa named Richard Goldstone issued a report on behalf of the United Nations reviewing the conduct of the Palestinian militant group Hamas and the Israeli Defence Forces in the early 2009 Gaza war and the events leading up to that. Mr. Goldstone criticized Israel for war crimes in blocking access to the Gaza Strip by sea, air and to some extent by land to food and other needed supplies to the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and for being careless in killing civilians instead of just the Hamas militants and for destroying civilian building in the Gaza Strip. In the early part of the Gaza Conflict, partly through the element of surprise Israel did manage to kill mostly and quite a large number of Islamic terrorists of Hamas etc but after the initial attacks the Hamas and other Palestinian terrorists got more crafty and often hid among Palestinian Arab civilian people or launched their attacks from civilian areas so Israel would suffer worse world public relation if she attacked the Hamas terrorists in that situation. Although especially in the latter part of the campaign there might be some truth to these allegations, there wouldn't be such incentive to conduct the blockade if Israel didn't have a well grounded fear that Hamas would use any freedom to the outside world to smuggle arms to use against Israel from places like Iran, Syria or Al Qaeda. In fact this is exactly what Hamas still managed to do through the tunnels under the land border with the Sinai part of Egypt and why Israel also repeatedly sought to destroy those tunnels even though they were also used to import food and other civilian goods. Hamas also made a practice of seizing the food from the United Nations or other organizations meant for the most needy of the Palestinians in Gaza and used it first to feed the Hamas fighters and then used the rest for propaganda purposes to make the general population feel indebted to Hamas for the food when they actually didn't give any of the food at all and this wasn't supposed to be the arrangement. Hamas also made a practice of using civilian people and buildings as human or civilian shields from which they fired their rockets or other weapons at Israel or Israeli troops. If Hamas hadn't done this there probably wouldn't be as many civilian deaths or injuries or damage to civilian buildings. Some of the civilian factories were also used to make rockets or other weapons against Israel. Hamas was accused of war crimes for indescriminate firing of their rockets into Israeli population centres. This was done for at least six months without Israel responding other than warnings until Israel finally initiated its campaign in Gaza in early 2009 or perhaps late 2008. At first these rockets only hit the small Israeli community of Sderot but later with improved rockets from Iran they were able to hit the much bigger Israeli city of Ashkelon which was somewhat farther from the Gaza Strip as well as Be'er Sheba in the northern part of the Israeli part of the Negev Desert which is also a substantial city. Although these rockets didn't kill too many people they did make it very difficult and fearful for people living in these areas never knowing when a rocket would hit them or their house or car or other buildings or places they might go such as stores, offices, parks, schools or synagogues. Hamas as a terrorist organization probably deliberately used these types of weapons in an effort to pressure people of these places to abandon these places to the Palestinian Arabs or to try to force more concessions from the Israeli government to the Palestinians. There is supposed to be a Palestinian election in January 2010 and hopefully the Palestinian people will this time elect a Fatah or other moderate led government instead of the militant Hamas group as at present so Israel and the West would feel justified in dealing with and assisting also Palestinian Arabs in the Gaza Strip. This would be because it hopefully wouldn't be ruled anymore by a group like Hamas that so far has refused to recognized the state of Israel and her right to exist or to renoucne the use of violence against her as Fatah led by Mahmoud Abbas has although sometimes their actions don't back this up. Both Israel and Hamas have received demands from the United Nations through this judge Goldstone to have independent investigations into these alleged war crimes and remedy them or force a war crimes investigation by the United Nations war crimes court in the Hague, Netherlands. Israel says that she has conducted an investigation into the conduct of its troops and hasn't found much objectionable and has remedied most unacceptable matters but Hamas doesn't recognize judge Goldstone and his report very much either and hasn't conducted any investigation of its conduct in or before the Gaza conflict. There has been much world reaction and media attention to this report most of it decidedly against Israel and its conduct in the war and ignoring the provocation of Hamas and its war crimes in the conflict. Israel is probably justified in saying that the judgment and any following fuller review at the Hague would be one-sided against Israel since most of the most one-sided and many of the critical measures taken up in the United Nations have been against Israel and this could carry into an anti-semitic bias in judge Goldstone's report as well. From a Bible believing Christian viewpoint this report and the international reaction to it is an indication of growing world anti-semitism that is probably getting the world ready for unprecedented persection of the Jews in the tribulation or 70th week of Daniel until Israel's Messiah Jesus of Nazareth comes at the end of the tribulation to judge the nations and deliver Israel and set her up as well as those Gentiles that trust in Jesus and support the Jewish people in the tribulation under God's great time of peace and proseperity on earth led by the nation Israel in the 1000 year Messianic Kingdom based in Jerusalem before the eternal age. I urge the reader to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ the Messiah and God come in the flesh that he died for your sins on the cross and rose again from the dead to give you new life to humans who are sinners and can't save ourselves. If we do this now before the catching up to heaven of all true Christians to heaven before the tribulation we will be part of the true Church and will be spared God's wrath in the great tribulation and will be able to reign on earth with Jesus in the Millennial Kingdom.
Earlier in October 2009 there were rumors started in Israel among the Arabs that Jewish settlers or other right wing Jews were planning to march to the Temple Mount to take it over and remove the Muslim presence there. According to these rumors this could even include some of the Muslim mosques there such as the Dome on the Rock and the Al Aqsa mosque. One Muslim leader who was capitalizing or exploiting these rumors was Raad Salah who is the leader of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement of Israel. He has been in trouble with Israeli authorities before including for standing in the Temple Mount with a bullhorn and inciting Muslims against Jews including causing them to throw stones down at Jewish worshippers and the nearby Western Wall below the Temple Mount and has been banned from going to the Temple Mount. Although these rumors are very greatly exagerated or twisted they were started around the time of the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles when there is usually a march by the Jewish temple group the Temple Mount Faithful in the hopes of starting construction of the Third Temple on the Temple Mount. Although I and other Christians who hold to the Bible believe this is part of God's prophetic program and a good part of it, non-Christians from the west or Muslims might include the Jews in the Temple groups as right wing or extremist Jews although they are what the Bible would say are the ones being faithful to the LORD God and his word and other people including other Jews are forgetting or being faithless to Him. At the Feast of Tabernacles there is usually and was this year again many Gentiles mostly Christians who also participated in a march in support of Israel through the streets of Jerusalem although I don't know if it is the same march as the one conducted by the Temple Mount Faithful about the same time. Many Christians think the Feast of Tabernacles is an especially good time to show support for Israel and the Jewish people because the Bible mentions that that will be a Jewish festival that will especially observed in the Millennial Kingdom or Messianic Kingdom by Gentiles or people of the nations to show support for Israel and her Messiah which will be Jesus of Nazareth and their temple in Jerusalem then. Although this year's march at the Feast of Tabernacles was uneventful as regards any acts of opposition partly due to significant police protection, there was some action by young Palestinian or other Muslim Arabs or Middle East men especially young men around Jerusalem such as throwing rocks at Israeli police. This action of these Muslims was partly due to the action of the Israeli government of temporarily closing the Temple Mount to Arabs or Muslims under 50 years of age that are likely to be more radical than older people. At the end of October due to the same rumors and the action of Jewish groups that want (justifiably) to have more access to the Temple Mount and to build their third temple on what is the holist place on earth to the Jews on a much stronger basis than the Temple Mount being supposedly the third holist place on earth to Muslims conducted a meeting on Sunday, October 26, 2009. At this meeting Jews that support better access by Jews especially for religious Jews who have been hindered from freer access to the Temple Mount even compared to other Jews also voiced support for the soon building of the third Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The religious Jews including some more bible based members of the Israeli government and some of the temple groups. This led to some rioting of Muslims right on the Temple Mount and response from Israeli police to counter the violence. There was also mention led by Ismail Haniya the leader in Gaza of the militant Palestinian group Hamas of the beginning of a confrontation between Muslims and the Jews for control of the Temple Mount that he calls Al Aqsa. The next day on Monday, October 26 Israeli Temple police tried and the last I heard were having considerable success in getting the situation on the Temple Mount back to the status quo that limits Muslim incitement against Jews on the Temple Mount but still lets them pray there but limits Jews or Christians from praying there or doing other religious acts such as reading or showing a Bible or praising the LORD there and probably a return to searches and limits on the numbers allowed at one time on the Temple Mount for religious Jews.
I am not sure what will happen next in the immediate future but with the recent supreme court victory of Israel that said the Temple police should stop descriminating against religious Jews that want to visit the Temple Mount and guarantees by Israeli law that Jews should be able to pray on the Temple Mount there will probably soon be more efforts by the religious Jews including those that want to build the temple for better access for Jews to the Temple Mount. This will probably result in more Muslim counter-demonstrations by Muslims possibly including violence possibly again on the Temple Mount or other locations in Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and possibly further away. From a biblical viewpoint all these events are probably making it increasing likely and apparent that mere men can't achieve a solution to the problems between the Jews and Arabs with the Arabs including the Palestinians but that only a person with supernatural ability could achieve this. This will prepare the way more for the Satanic Antichrist who will achieve a false peace between Israel and the Arabs and the rest of the world that will give some concessions to the Muslims and the rest of the world but allow the Jews to build their temple somewhere on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Before this will be the rapture or catching up of all true or born of the holy Spirit Christians including myself who have from our heart trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour and as the Son of God who died on the cross for our sins and rose again from the dead to give us new life. I urge the reader to believe in Jesus to believe in Jesus in this biblical and true way so that you will be ready when Jesus comes to take his true Church to heaven to be with himself and God the Father and so you won't be left behind on earth to experience God's wrath on an unbelieving world. There will also be a true Middle East peace at the end of the tribulation when the Lord Jesus Christ comes from heaven to earth with all true Christians and risen Old Testament saints and his holy angels to set up God's Kingdom on earth by force with God's blessing Israel and the other people that supported the Jews in the tribulation for the Messianic or Millennial Kingdom starting with Jesus' second coming at the end of the tribulation.
In the second week of November Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Salaam Fayad threatened to unilaterally declare a Palestinian state. This state would include much of the land taken by the Israeli in the 1967 Six-day war. However it has to be kept in mind that just before the Six-day war Israel was in imminent threat of invasion by Nasser's Egypt and other Arab countries who wanted to overrun Israel as a Jewish state. The territory envisioned by Mr. Fayad for a Palestinian Arab state would include all the West Bank inlcuding areas with substantial Jewish settlements and East Jerusalem including all of the Old City which includes the Temple Mount where the former Solomon's and Herod's Temples stood and the Western Wall. Bible believing Jews also want to soon build a third Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount. This Palestinian state could also include the Gaza Strip which Israel in 2005 gave to the Palestinians in the hope for peace which has proven mostly unfounded although there is a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas which rules the Gaza Strip but Hamas is probably using the opportunity to rearm itself. Anyway Mr. Fayad and PA President Mahmoud Abbas would have to get permission from Hamas to combine territory in the West Bank and EAst Jerusalem with the Gaza Strip under one Palestinian leadership. Anyway the stated reason by Mr. Fayad for threatening a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state is the lack of progress in the Middle East peace negotiations with Israel under the Road Map plan. The Fatah Palestinian party with Mr. Abbas and Fayad etc. have likely partly brought some of their frustration on themselves by making total ceasing of Jewish settlement growth in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as a pre-condition for resuming talks with Israel which was not the case with the former leadership of Israel under Ehud Olmert or Tzipi Livni of the Kadima party or George Bush the former president of United States. At that time Israel and the Palestinians were in regular talks based on the Road Map with the mediating of the United States under especially Condaleeza Rice. If the Palestinians do go ahead with unilaterally declaring a Palestinian state it could probably be readily approved by the United Nations General Assembly based on the majority of Muslim and Non-alligned states most of which are more sympathetic to the so-called Palestinians (Palestinian Arabs) than with Israel although United States might veto such legislation. Apparently the Palestinians tried to do something like this also in 1988 but it didn't have much effect then in practical terms. At this time it sounds like some of the other Palestinian Fatah leadership is giving increasing support of this idea including senior leader Saeb Erekat and PA president Mahmound Abbas although they haven't gone ahead with this plan yet. However on November 15 Israeli Prime Minister rejected this idea saying that any Israeli approved Palestinian state would have to follow the process outlined in the Middle East Road Map peace proposal. It has to be understood that Benjamin Netanyahu is fairly right wing and has quite a strong idea that Israel needs the West Bank for their security and that EAst Jerusalem includes the biblical part of Jerusalem that God promised to return to the Jews in the last days and that many in his party and his coalition are even more conservative or biblical than he has and he has pressure to consider their positions to keep his government and coalition together and to continue to receive the support of many Israeli that voted for him and their parties. It will be interested to see now how far the PA leadership is willing to go to pursue a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state and what the world reaction will be but if Israel gives in to this it will probably result in less security as it did when Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip and south Lebanon and if Israel refuses to concede to this plan it will probably cause a further rise in world anti-semitism by a world that doesn't understand Israel's security needs and the view of many Muslims that all of the Middle East including all the recognized land of Israel should be under Muslim control because it was at some times previously. Especially if the Palestinians pursue this unilateral plan it could give opportunity for the Antichrist to bring the promised false peace with Israel and others that will start the 7 year tribulation as Israel would be desparate for support of their continuing authority over the West Bank and East Jerusalem including what authority they have over the Temple Mount. To be safe and to be asssured of being caught up to heaven before the tribulation I urge the reader to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ (Messiah) that he died on the cross for your sins and rose again from the dead to give you new life and that you (as myself and all other people except Jesus) are sinners who can't save ourselves.
In the end of November 2009 Benjamin Netanyahu the Prime Minister of Israel and his government took the initiative in the so-called Middle East peace process by ordering a 10 month freeze in new construction in Jewish settlements in the West Bank (Judaea and Samaria). This was done for basically two reasons. One was the incessant pressure of Barack Obama and his administration for the Israeli to halt new settlement building and by the Europeans to some extent giving pressure in the same direction and two because the Palestinian Authority led by Mahmoud Abbas had recently made the complete halt of settlement building by Israelis a pre-condition for talks with him and the Palestinians whereas before this was regarded as something that could be discussed later in the talks. However Mr. Abbas and other leaders in the Palestinian Authority have from that time continue to say this move by Mr. Netanyahu doesn't go far enough as it still allows new building in Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem that the Palestinian Arabs also want as part of a future Palestinian Arab state as their capital even though it was never a capital of an Arab state before even when it was under Arab control from about 638 AD six years after Mohammed's death to about 1000 AD when the crusaders captured it. On the other hand especially in December it has become a rallying cry by the settlers who say Mr. Netanyahu hasn't been faithful for the vision they voted for him which is to preserve Jewish control over as much of the holy land as possible including the West Bank and there could be a strong possibility they will not vote for Likud next time just for a more right wing Jewish religious party or leader. As a Bible believing Christian I think this could bring the day closer when the Anti-christ the Beast out of the Sea or false Messiah will come on the world stage and present himself as Israel's deliverer as well as the world peacemaker especially in the Middle East. I would therefore as I have stated before urge the reader to trust with all your heart in the Lord Jesus Christ (the MEssiah) that he died on the cross for your sins as God come in the flesh and that he rose from the dead to give you new life if you admit you have sinned against God and can't save yourself and trust in the Lord Jesus as your personal Lord and Saviour. Although the Antichrist will offer and carry out a false Middle East and probably world peace for a time he will break it half way through the tribulation but only the true Messiah Jesus of Nazareth will bring the true world peace and Middle East peace when he comes from heaven to judge the world and set up his kingdom on earth at his second coming at the end of the tribulation. Then he will also remove the Anti-christ and everyone else to hell who are still continuing in their sins without repentance by that time.
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