Earth calamities and Rumors of war

[BABerean2]

This is a good thing. Trump is the only one with the guts to do it.

It is one of the greatest deceptions in the history of the Church.


Rev 11:8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

.

 

[alsughasoughaiuyfygh]

 

[Riberra]

The abomination who will cause the desolation ...Illuminati version.

 

[Bible2+]

BABerean2 said in post #1201:

It is one of the greatest deceptions in the history of the Church.

Note that it is not a deception for Christians and nations to be kind toward the non-Christian state of Israel, instead of trampling it down like the future Antichrist will do. For Christians should be kind toward all non-Christians (Matthew 5:45), whether Jews or Gentiles, preaching the Gospel to them (Romans 1:16, Luke 24:47).

The rebudding of the fig tree (Matthew 24:32) can refer to the 1948 reestablishment of Israel, just as Jesus Christ's cursing of the literal, fruitless fig tree (Matthew 21:19) foreshadowed his curse on the part of Old Covenant Israel which rejected Him (Matthew 21:43). For a fig tree can represent Israel (Hosea 9:10, Joel 1:6-7, Luke 13:6-9). And the Israel which was reestablished in 1948 is the same Old Covenant Israel which Jesus cursed at His first coming, insofar as it still mistakenly rejects Jesus and still mistakenly considers itself to be under the Old Covenant. This Israel merely "putting forth leaves" again (Matthew 24:32) in 1948 was only a restoration to what the fig tree in Matthew 21:19,43 had been before it was cursed by Jesus and then destroyed in 70 AD: a tree with leaves, but without any fruit. And the non-Christian nation-state of Old Covenant Israel which was reestablished by humans in 1948 may never bear fruit. For it could be destroyed before Jesus' Second Coming, during a future war, by a Baathist army, just as it had been destroyed in 70 AD by a Roman-empire army.

But Jesus Christ's Kingdom is still called "Israel" (John 1:49, John 12:13-15, John 19:19, Luke 22:30). And at His future, Second Coming, He will sit on the earthly throne of King David (Luke 1:32-33, Isaiah 9:7), and restore the kingdom to Israel (Acts 1:6-7, Acts 3:20-21). Jesus is, in His humanity, the son of David (Matthew 1:1, Matthew 21:15-16, Romans 1:3), of the house of David (Luke 1:69). So at Jesus' Second Coming, He will restore the tabernacle, the house, of David (Isaiah 16:5, Amos 9:11) to its royal glory (2 Samuel 5:12), which it had lost (2 Kings 17:21a). And Jesus will fulfill the prophecy and prayer of 2 Samuel 7:16-29. And He will bring salvation to all of the still-living, non-Christian elect Jews of the house of David. For they (along with all other still-living, non-Christian elect Jews) will become Christians when they see Jesus at His Second Coming (Zechariah 12:10-14, Zechariah 13:1,6, Romans 11:26-31). And so they will all become part of the Church at that time. For there are no Christians outside of the Church (Ephesians 4:4-6).

After Jesus Christ's future, Second Coming (Revelation 19:7 to 20:3, Zechariah 14:3-5) will occur the Millennium (Revelation 20:4-6, Zechariah 14:8-21), during which time the Gentile nations will come to seek the returned Jesus ruling the whole earth (Zechariah 8:22, Zechariah 14:9, Psalms 72:8-11) on the restored throne of David (Isaiah 9:7) in the earthly Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:1-4, Zechariah 14:8-11,16-19). And the physically resurrected Church will reign on the earth with Jesus during the Millennium (Revelation 20:4-6, Revelation 5:10, Revelation 2:26-29). For the Church is Israel (Romans 11:1,17,24, Ephesians 2:12,19, Galatians 3:29, Revelation 21:9,12; 1 Peter 2:9-10).

-

For just as the Gentile Ruth (a genetic forbear of Israel's Messiah: Matthew 1:5-16, Luke 3:23-32) could say to the Israelite Naomi: "thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God" (Ruth 1:16), so Gentiles in the Church have been grafted into Israel (Romans 11:17,24, Ephesians 2:12,19, Galatians 3:29).

That is, all Jews in the Church remain members of whichever tribe of Israel they were born into (Romans 11:1, Acts 4:36). And all Gentiles in the Church have been grafted into Israel (Romans 11:17,24, Ephesians 2:12,19, Galatians 3:29), and so have been grafted into its various tribes (cf. Ezekiel 47:21-23). So the entire Church is the twelve tribes of Israel (Revelation 21:9,12; 1 Peter 2:9-10). This is necessary, for all those in the Church are saved only by the New Covenant (Matthew 26:28; 1 Corinthians 11:25; 2 Corinthians 3:6, Hebrews 9:15), which is made only with Israel (Jeremiah 31:31-34, John 4:22b). John 10:16 refers to the "other sheep" of Gentile Christians being brought into "this fold" of Israel, which is the "one fold" of the Church (1 Corinthians 12:13, Ephesians 4:4-6, Revelation 21:9,12). A Gentile Christian can pray and ask which tribe of Israel he has been grafted into, and he will receive an answer from God, if he asks in faith (cf. Matthew 21:22), without any wavering (cf. James 1:6-7).

Also, all those in the Church, whether Jews (Acts 22:3) or Gentiles (Romans 16:4b), have become spiritually-circumcised Jews if they have undergone the spiritual circumcision of water-immersion (burial) baptism into Jesus Christ (Romans 2:29, Philippians 3:3, Colossians 2:11-13).

 

[Bible2+]

Riberra said in post #1203:

The abomination who will cause the desolation ...

Regarding the "abomination of desolation", Daniel 11:31 was typically fulfilled by the abomination of desolation in 1 Maccabees 1:54, which occurred in the holy place (the inner sanctum) of the second Jewish temple in Jerusalem in the time of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. But per Jesus Christ's statement in Matthew 24:15, the Church will see the abomination of desolation in Daniel 11:31 fulfilled (antitypically) in the future when the Church will see the abomination of desolation stand in the holy place (of a future, third Jewish temple in Jerusalem). This future abomination of desolation could be a standing, android image of the Antichrist (Revelation 13:15) which his followers ("they") will put in the holy place of the temple (Daniel 11:31) to be worshipped (Revelation 13:15), after they have stopped the daily Mosaic animal sacrifices which the ultra-Orthodox Jews will have restarted in front of the temple (Daniel 11:31). This image will pollute the holy place of the temple (Daniel 11:31).

The Antichrist will then fulfill Daniel 11:36 and 2 Thessalonians 2:4 by sitting himself (at least one time) in the temple and proclaiming himself God. By the power of Satan (the dragon, Revelation 12:9), the Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast") will then rule and be worshipped by all of the nations of the earth for 3.5 literal years (Revelation 13:4-18), and will physically overcome Biblical Christians (not in hiding) in every nation (Revelation 13:7-10, Revelation 14:12-13, Revelation 20:4-6, Matthew 24:9-13).

Also, from the day on which (antitypically) "the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be 1,290 days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the 1,335 days" (Daniel 12:11-12, Revelation 16:15). Also, because the future Antichrist will fulfill Daniel 11:31 antitypically (Matthew 24:15), and will fulfill Daniel 11:36 for the first and only time (2 Thessalonians 2:4), he will also fulfill all of Daniel 11:21-45 (the first part antitypically, and the rest for the first and only time) when he arises on the world stage. For that passage refers to the career of the same man. And since the Antichrist will fulfill all of Daniel 11:21-45 when he arises on the world stage, then just preceding his arising on the world stage, Daniel 11:13-19 could be fulfilled antitypically by a future, Iraqi Baathist General (the Antichrist's precursor) who will defeat and occupy Israel and Egypt with a huge Iraqi Army (Daniel 11:15-17; in verse 17 the original Hebrew word translated as "daughter" is "bath").

Riberra said in post #1203:

...Illuminati version.

If Ezekiel 28:2 has application to future events because of its similarity to the never-fulfilled 2 Thessalonians 2:4, then the prince of Tyre could be the future human ruler commonly called the Antichrist (Daniel 11:36, Revelation 13:5-18). If that is the case, then the king of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:12) could be Lucifer (Satan, the dragon), who will empower the Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast") (Revelation 13:4, Revelation 12:9; 2 Thessalonians 2:9). Lucifer, before his fall and Adam's fall, could have been placed as a covering cherub over Eden (Ezekiel 28:13-15).

There is a curious correlation between the prince and the king of Tyre on the one hand (Ezekiel 28), and the use of the name "Hiram" in the mystical teachings of a worldwide secret society which teaches Gnostic Luciferianism at its highest degree of initiation. For Hiram was the name of the human king of Tyre at the time of the building of King Solomon's temple (1 Kings 5). Also, Hiram was the name of another person from Tyre, the human master workman who helped Solomon build the temple (1 Kings 7:13-14). If the king and prince of Tyre addressed in Ezekiel 28 are Lucifer and the Antichrist, then the name "Hiram" would be a perfect code name (not the actual name) for both of them, a name by which their identity within the Gnostic Luciferian teachings of the worldwide secret society could be kept secret from all but its highest-level initiates. Just as the human workman named Hiram built a temple to God in which the world was to worship (1 Kings 8:41-43), so the Antichrist will bring the world into the conscious and open worship of Lucifer (Revelation 13:4), when the Antichrist gains power over the earth (Revelation 13:7).

The Antichrist's future, Luciferian rule over the earth could be pictured by the most common, publicly known symbol for the worldwide secret society, in which a drafting/measuring compass, an instrument shaped like the two legs of an "A" (as in "Antichrist"), is sometimes shown standing on top of a globe of the earth. And beneath, as in support of, the "A" is a drafting/measuring square, an instrument shaped like an "L" (as in "Lucifer"). Also, found within the "L" is the letter "G", which could ultimately stand for the (false) "Gnosis" (knowledge) of Gnosticism (compare the original Greek of 1 Timothy 6:20b), which the secret society (mistakenly) thinks can be found in Lucifer. The Antichrist will teach the ancient Gnostic lie that YHWH God is evil (Revelation 13:6, Daniel 11:36), and the ancient Gnostic lie that Christ isn't in the flesh (1 John 4:3). The Antichrist will also deny that Jesus is the Christ (1 John 2:22).

 

[jgr]

Note that it is not a deception for Christians and nations to be kind toward the non-Christian state of Israel, instead of trampling it down like the future Antichrist will do. For Christians should be kind toward all non-Christians (Matthew 5:45), whether Jews or Gentiles, preaching the Gospel to them (Romans 1:16, Luke 24:47).

The rebudding of the fig tree (Matthew 24:32) can refer to the 1948 reestablishment of Israel, just as Jesus Christ's cursing of the literal, fruitless fig tree (Matthew 21:19) foreshadowed his curse on the part of Old Covenant Israel which rejected Him (Matthew 21:43). For a fig tree can represent Israel (Hosea 9:10, Joel 1:6-7, Luke 13:6-9). And the Israel which was reestablished in 1948 is the same Old Covenant Israel which Jesus cursed at His first coming, insofar as it still mistakenly rejects Jesus and still mistakenly considers itself to be under the Old Covenant. This Israel merely "putting forth leaves" again (Matthew 24:32) in 1948 was only a restoration to what the fig tree in Matthew 21:19,43 had been before it was cursed by Jesus and then destroyed in 70 AD: a tree with leaves, but without any fruit. And the non-Christian nation-state of Old Covenant Israel which was reestablished by humans in 1948 may never bear fruit. For it could be destroyed before Jesus' Second Coming, during a future war, by a Baathist army, just as it had been destroyed in 70 AD by a Roman-empire army.

But Jesus Christ's Kingdom is still called "Israel" (John 1:49, John 12:13-15, John 19:19, Luke 22:30). And at His future, Second Coming, He will sit on the earthly throne of King David (Luke 1:32-33, Isaiah 9:7), and restore the kingdom to Israel (Acts 1:6-7, Acts 3:20-21). Jesus is, in His humanity, the son of David (Matthew 1:1, Matthew 21:15-16, Romans 1:3), of the house of David (Luke 1:69). So at Jesus' Second Coming, He will restore the tabernacle, the house, of David (Isaiah 16:5, Amos 9:11) to its royal glory (2 Samuel 5:12), which it had lost (2 Kings 17:21a). And Jesus will fulfill the prophecy and prayer of 2 Samuel 7:16-29. And He will bring salvation to all of the still-living, non-Christian elect Jews of the house of David. For they (along with all other still-living, non-Christian elect Jews) will become Christians when they see Jesus at His Second Coming (Zechariah 12:10-14, Zechariah 13:1,6, Romans 11:26-31). And so they will all become part of the Church at that time. For there are no Christians outside of the Church (Ephesians 4:4-6).

After Jesus Christ's future, Second Coming (Revelation 19:7 to 20:3, Zechariah 14:3-5) will occur the Millennium (Revelation 20:4-6, Zechariah 14:8-21), during which time the Gentile nations will come to seek the returned Jesus ruling the whole earth (Zechariah 8:22, Zechariah 14:9, Psalms 72:8-11) on the restored throne of David (Isaiah 9:7) in the earthly Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:1-4, Zechariah 14:8-11,16-19). And the physically resurrected Church will reign on the earth with Jesus during the Millennium (Revelation 20:4-6, Revelation 5:10, Revelation 2:26-29). For the Church is Israel (Romans 11:1,17,24, Ephesians 2:12,19, Galatians 3:29, Revelation 21:9,12; 1 Peter 2:9-10).

-

For just as the Gentile Ruth (a genetic forbear of Israel's Messiah: Matthew 1:5-16, Luke 3:23-32) could say to the Israelite Naomi: "thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God" (Ruth 1:16), so Gentiles in the Church have been grafted into Israel (Romans 11:17,24, Ephesians 2:12,19, Galatians 3:29).

That is, all Jews in the Church remain members of whichever tribe of Israel they were born into (Romans 11:1, Acts 4:36). And all Gentiles in the Church have been grafted into Israel (Romans 11:17,24, Ephesians 2:12,19, Galatians 3:29), and so have been grafted into its various tribes (cf. Ezekiel 47:21-23). So the entire Church is the twelve tribes of Israel (Revelation 21:9,12; 1 Peter 2:9-10). This is necessary, for all those in the Church are saved only by the New Covenant (Matthew 26:28; 1 Corinthians 11:25; 2 Corinthians 3:6, Hebrews 9:15), which is made only with Israel (Jeremiah 31:31-34, John 4:22b). John 10:16 refers to the "other sheep" of Gentile Christians being brought into "this fold" of Israel, which is the "one fold" of the Church (1 Corinthians 12:13, Ephesians 4:4-6, Revelation 21:9,12). A Gentile Christian can pray and ask which tribe of Israel he has been grafted into, and he will receive an answer from God, if he asks in faith (cf. Matthew 21:22), without any wavering (cf. James 1:6-7).

Also, all those in the Church, whether Jews (Acts 22:3) or Gentiles (Romans 16:4b), have become spiritually-circumcised Jews if they have undergone the spiritual circumcision of water-immersion (burial) baptism into Jesus Christ (Romans 2:29, Philippians 3:3, Colossians 2:11-13).

How much Jewish DNA must one possess in order for God to consider one to be a Jew?

 

[SeventyOne]

How much Jewish DNA must one possess in order for God to consider one to be a Jew?

Why do you keep asking people what God requires? You don't have the answer either, although you act like you do. If you want to know what God requires, ask Him.

 

[jgr]

Why do you keep asking people what God requires? You don't have the answer either, although you act like you do. If you want to know what God requires, ask Him.

Why do people keep telling us what God requires? They tell us that God requires us to bless the Jews. To do so, we therefore need to know how to identify Jews. If the identification criterion is DNA, how much of it is required, and how do we measure it?

I certainly do know what God requires from Scripture: Faith and obedience, and nothing else. For those who believe that it is DNA, I'm curious to know why they believe thus, and to know how they qualify and quantifiy that belief.

 

[SeventyOne]

Why do people keep telling us what God requires? They tell us that God requires us to bless the Jews. To do so, we therefore need to know how to identify Jews. If the identification criterion is DNA, how much of it is required, and how do we measure it?

I certainly do know what God requires from Scripture: Faith and obedience, and nothing else. For those who believe that it is DNA, I'm curious to know why they believe thus, and to know how they qualify and quantifiy that belief.

Because some things God requires He tells us. He doesn't tell us the answer to your question directly, so ask Him and quit asking us when you don't have any idea either.

 

[jgr]

Because some things God requires He tells us. He doesn't tell us the answer to your question directly, so ask Him and quit asking us when you don't have any idea either.

So God requires us to bless Jews, but He doesn't tell us how to identify Jews?

I pose questions in attempts to arrive at answers. I realize that there are no answers to some of the questions, so I'm not surprised when I don't receive any.

Like the answer to the question of how much DNA God requires.

Because He doesn't require any DNA.

He only requires faith and obedience.

That's the idea that comes from Scripture.

And it's therefore a complete and perfect idea.

 

[SeventyOne]

So God requires us to bless Jews, but He doesn't tell us how to identify Jews?

I pose questions in attempts to arrive at answers. I realize that there are no answers to some of the questions, so I'm not surprised when I don't receive any.

Like the answer to the question of how much DNA God requires.

Because He doesn't require any DNA.

He only requires faith and obedience.

That's the idea that comes from Scripture.

And it's therefore a complete and perfect idea.

Except, of course, when we are told specifically the genetics of the group mentioned, such as 12,000 from one tribe, 12,000 from another, etc.

 

[Handmaid for Jesus]

YOU ALL NEED TO START ANOTHER THREAD IF YOU WANT TO DEBATE WITH EACH OTHER!

 

[SeventyOne]

YOU ALL NEED TO START ANOTHER THREAD IF YOU WANT TO DEBATE WITH EACH OTHER!

Sorry. I actually didn't realize which thread I was on when I first responded to him. He'll keep bringing up the same hollow arguments in other threads, as usual. I'll get back with him then.

 

[jgr]

Sorry. I actually didn't realize which thread I was on when I first responded to him. He'll keep bringing up the same hollow arguments in other threads, as usual. I'll get back with him then.

You got it...the same hollow unanswerable arguments...see you there.

 

[Handmaid for Jesus]

Sorry. I actually didn't realize which thread I was on when I first responded to him. He'll keep bringing up the same hollow arguments in other threads, as usual. I'll get back with him then.

Thanks I appreciate your cooperation.

 

[alsughasoughaiuyfygh]

 

[alsughasoughaiuyfygh]

 

[alsughasoughaiuyfygh]

 

[alsughasoughaiuyfygh]

Report: Hezbollah in Lebanon fears Israeli attack, declares state of emergency

Report: Hezbollah in Lebanon fears Israeli attack, declares state of emergency

Hezbollah in Lebanon has declared a state of emergency for fear of an Israeli attack approved by the United States.

"Hezbollah declared its ranks in readiness for the past two days, for fear of Israeli aggression on Lebanon," the Rai Al-Youm newspaper published in London reported Thursday.

"High alert was declared in light of information received that the Israeli army is conducting secret military maneuvers jointly with the United States, which are currently taking place in the country and in the Mediterranean," journalist Kamal Halaf, who is close with Hezbollah, said.

Citing sources in Hezbollah, Halaf added that US military leaders gave the IDF a green light to attack Hezbollah in Lebanon. The only thing preventing Israel from launching a surprise attack is fear of retalition from the Iranian-backed group, the sources said.

Also according to the Hezbollah sources, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu persuaded the Americans to make a "quick surprise attack" on Lebanese soil, but there is concern that such an attack could lead to all-out war in the region, since Hezbollah's response would be "tough and very strong," Halaf wrote.

Pence: This is Iran's last chance

Pence: This is Iran's last chance

US Vice President Mike Pence said that unless the Iran nuclear deal is fixed in the “coming months,” the United States would withdraw from it.

Pence made the promise, to cheers, during his address Monday night to the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Washington, D.C.

The deal, which was signed in 2015 by Iran, the United States and a group of other world powers, curbs Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

Western countries say the tests are a violation of the UN resolution enshrining the 2015 nuclear deal. Iran denies it is in violation of any UN resolutions.

US President Donald Trump opposes the agreement. In October, he declined to certify that Iran was complying with it, but he has yet to fully withdraw the United States from the accord, instead asking Congress to pass legislation altering the pact.

Pence told AIPAC that Trump waived the sanctions to give US lawmakers and America’s allies time to act.

“But make no mistake about it, this is their last chance,” the vice president said. “Unless the Iran nuclear deal is fixed in the coming months, the United States of America will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.”

Iran: We Can Produce Enriched Uranium in Two Days if U.S. Pulls Out of Nuclear Deal

Iran: We Can Produce Enriched Uranium in Two Days if U.S. Pulls Out of Nuclear Deal

Iran claimed Monday that it could produce higher enriched uranium within a 48-hour period if the United States exits the 2015 nuclear deal, otherwise known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
“If America pulls out of the deal … Iran could resume its 20 percent uranium enrichment in less than 48 hours,” Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, told al-Alam TV, according to Reuters.

Iran has fired nearly two dozen ballistic missiles, at least 16 of them nuclear-capable missiles, since signing the controversial 2015 nuclear deal.

While President Donald Trump and his administration have indicated the United States’s intention to see the deal discarded, Germany, Britain, France, Russia, and China appear to be committed to keeping the deal intact.

Iran has continuously insisted that its ballistic missile program is purely for defensive purposes. The regime has also denied that it is supplying arms and missile technology to Houthi rebels in Yemen and, despite evidence showing otherwise, that the ballistic missiles that were fired into Saudi Arabia from Yemen were not theirs.

In December, Iran claimed that United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley “fabricated” her announcement that the charred remains of a short-range ballistic missile discovered in Yemen, which was prominently displayed behind her during her speech, originated in Iran.

That same month, an independent panel to the U.N. Security Council declared, “Design characteristics and dimensions of the components inspected by the panel are consistent with those reported for the Iranian designed and manufactured Qiam-1 missile.”

Last week, ahead of his trip to Iran this week, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian’s said at a news conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that Iran’s ballistic missiles program “worries us enormously.” He reportedly added, “Having such tools is not uniquely defensive, given the distance they can reach.”

In October, Iran said it has no need to increase the range of its ballistic missiles because they were already capable of reaching U.S. forces stationed in the region.

Arabs advising Abbas to accept Trump peace plan or risk losing out — report

Arabs advising Abbas to accept Trump peace plan or risk losing out — report

A number of Arab countries have advised Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to accept whatever US President Donald Trump proposes in the context of his long-awaited Middle East peace plan, according to a Thursday report.

The report in the the privately-owned Egyptian newspaper Al Shorouk cited an Arab diplomat in Cairo, who warned that the Palestinians may in the future “regret” not having accepted what they consider today to be too little.

One key Arab country relayed a message to Abbas which stated that “a realistic reading of the situation makes it imperative that the Arabs and Palestinians accept whatever is available,” the diplomat told the paper. The paper described the unnamed diplomat as a “prominent” figure.

“Wisdom requires accepting the maximum of what is available now,” the diplomat was quoted as saying. “The dealing should be in accordance with the logic of ‘take and negotiate’ so that we won’t be surprised after a few years that the monster of settlements has devoured the Palestinian territories.”

The diplomat did not reveal the names of the Arab countries that had reportedly relayed the advice to Abbas, who has consistently rebuffed the nascent US peace plan.

The US administration is expected to announce the main points of its peace plan in the coming weeks, the Egyptian newspaper said. Administration officials have said the plan is close to being finished, but have also refused to give a timeline for when it might be published.

Abbas has denounced the purported plan as the “slap of the century” — a reference to the phrase “deal of the century” used by Trump himself to describe his peace initiative. Furious over the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move its embassy there, Ramallah has blackballed negotiators Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt, and has pushed for a multilateral peace effort that sidelines Washington.

Abbas is reported to have told member of his ruling Fatah faction last week that he does not intend to end his life as a “traitor,” in apparent reference to the peace plan.

Abbas, according to the Egyptian paper, told some of the Arab leaders he had met or contacted lately that he fears that he would be accused of treason if he accepted what Israel was offering the Palestinians.

However, one of the Arab leaders rejected Abbas’s argument, saying the time has come to “prepare Arab public opinion for the new phase, away from charges of treason,” the Arab diplomat added.

The officials of one Arab country, the diplomat said, told Abbas that there was no way the Palestinians would be able to “resist Israel’s hardline position on certain issues, such as its insistence on the presence of Israeli military forces along the border between Israel and Jordan out of fear that extremist groups would infiltrate the border and reach the outskirts of the Galilee and Jerusalem.”

According to the report, the Arab country that relayed this message to Abbas “demonstrated understanding for the Israeli demand” to maintain security control over the Israel-Jordan border.

The Americans, according to the report, have notified some Arab capitals that Trump’s decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was “part of an American effort to persuade Israel, especially the hardliners, to agree to possible concessions to the Palestinians.”

Trump has repeatedly said Israel will have to “pay a price” for the recognition of Jerusalem, though he has not detailed what concessions are expected. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters after meeting Trump this week that the issue had never come up between them.

At least one Arab country made it clear to the Americans that the Arabs would not accept any peace plan that does not recognize East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state, the report said.

A senior Hamas official told the newspaper that the Egyptians have assured the terror group that Cairo would not accept any plan that does not call for the establishment of a Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, “on the 1967 borders.”

The Egyptians also affirmed their “commitment to the right of return” for Palestinian refugees and their descendants to their former homes inside Israel, according to the Hamas official.

Last month, a senior Hamas delegation headed by Ismail Haniyeh spent three weeks in Cairo, where its members held talks with Egyptian government officials on a number of issues, including the floundering reconciliation agreement with Abbas’s Fatah movement and ways of enhancing security measures along the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.

The Hamas official quoted the Egyptians as saying that Cairo was strongly opposed to the idea of “settling Palestinians in Sinai.”

The Egyptian stance came in response to unconfirmed reports in some Arab media outlets that claimed that Trump’s peace plan includes transferring parts of Sinai to the future Palestinian state.

U.S. and IDF troops, in major joint drill, simulating battle on 3 fronts

http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Ju...-IDF-troops-simulating-missile-attacks-544598

Juniper Cobra, the largest joint US-Israeli air-defense exercise, is under way, with thousands of troops deployed across the country simulating scenarios where Israel faces missile barrages simultaneously on various fronts.

In the two years since the last Juniper Cobra exercise, Israel’s enemies have changed. And while 2017 was a relatively quiet year for Israel, the IDF’s Aerial Defense Division successfully intercepted drones in the North, as well as rockets fired from the Gaza Strip and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.

The environment in which Israel find itself is “explosive,” said Brig.-Gen Zvika Haimovitch, head of the Aerial Defense Division, adding that “at the beginning of the next war the enemy will use more fire in the opening barrage.”

Some 2,000 IDF Aerial Defense troops will be participating alongside 2,500 US troops – some 1,400 Marines and 1,100 sailors – in the largest joint exercise with the US military’s European Command.

The Americans have also deployed the USS Iwo Jima and USS Mount Whitney as well as their Patriot missile-defense system, Aegis ballistic missile-defense system, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, TPY-2 radar system, communication systems, 25 aircraft and three hovercraft.

Over the course of the two-week-long exercise troops will practice challenging and complex scenarios adapted to Israel’s operational reality such as missile threats in various sectors simultaneously as well as the threat posed by precise missiles that Iran is trying to produce for Hezbollah.

Simulations during the exercise will include the use of the Arrow missile-defense system, the Iron Dome, the Patriot system and, for the first time, the David’s Sling system, which was declared operational in April 2017.

“Juniper Cobra 2018 is another step in improving the readiness of the IDF and the IAF in particular to enhance their operational capabilities in facing the threat posed by high-trajectory missiles,” Haimovitch said.

While “the exercise demonstrates the close and strategic cooperation between the IDF and the US armed forces,” Haimovitch continued, Israel has the capabilities to protect the country from threats posed by its enemies.

Nevertheless, “you want to have all the capabilities and the Americans bring additional strengths.”

According to Haimovitch, Israel’s Air Defense Division is “better equipped and better prepared” as opposed to the last Juniper Cobra, which took place in June 2016, as new missile defense systems have become operational, including David’s Sling and the Naval Iron Dome.

MILLIONS OF DOLLARS have been spent on the exercise, with preparations for it beginning some 24 months ago. While the main Juniper Cobra drill will occur from March 4-15, additional joint exercises between Israeli and American troops will continue after the completion of the drill through the end of March.

“The United States and Israel enjoy a strong and enduring military-to-military partnership built on a trust that has been developed over decades of cooperation,” said USAF Third Air Force commander Lt.-Gen. Richard Clark, who also serves as the commander for the deploying Joint Task Force – Israel.

“The Juniper Cobra exercises continue to strengthen this relationship, providing us with the opportunity to bolster interoperability and develop seamless integration with our Israeli partners.”

According to Clark, the US and Israeli troops will work side-by-side under each other’s relevant chain of command.

“As far as decision-making, it is a partnership,” he continued, stressing nonetheless that “at the end of the day it is about the protection of Israel – and if there is a question in regards to how we will operate, the last vote will probably go to Zvika [Haimovitch].”

Washington and Israel have signed an agreement which would see the US come to assist Israel with missile defense in times of war and, according to Haimovitch, “I am sure once the order comes we will find here US troops on the ground to be part of our deployment and team to defend the State of Israel.”

And those US troops who would be deployed to Israel, are prepared to die for the Jewish state, Clark said.

“We are ready to commit to the defense of Israel and anytime we get involved in a kinetic fight there is always the risk that there will be casualties. But we accept that – as every conflict we train for and enter, there is always that possibility,” he said.

 

[alsughasoughaiuyfygh]

5 reasons why Israel is ready for war with Hezbollah in Lebanon

5 reasons why Israel is ready for war with Hezbollah in Lebanon

WASHINGTON — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a simple, straightforward message this week when he toured Israel’s border with Syria and Lebanon with top security officials.

“Our face is turned toward peace, we are ready for any eventuality, and I don’t suggest anyone test us,” he said Tuesday in a video message he posted on Twitter, the sound of helicopter blades whirring in the background.

The mixed message signaled Israel’s ambivalence about taking on the terrorist group Hezbollah 12 years after Lebanon and Israel were left gutted by a summer war.

The 2006 war was costly for both sides: Hezbollah, the preeminent militia in Lebanon, lost political capital for inviting a devastating response to its provocations along Israel’s border. Israel’s military and political class at the time paid a price for not decisively winning a war that precipitated a mass internal movement of civilians southward.

Yet the sides are making increasingly belligerent noises. Here are five factors contributing to increasing tensions along the border.

Syria may be winding down, and Iran is winding up.

The Assad regime, along with its allies Russia, Iran and Hezbollah — Iran’s proxy in the region — have the opposition in Syria’s civil war on the run. Iran and Hezbollah are striking while the iron is hot, establishing preeminence in the region. Iranian brass recently toured southern Lebanon and Tehran, according to Israeli reports, and Iran is financing a military factory in Lebanon.

Israeli officials reject a permanent Iranian presence on its border — a message that Netanyahu delivered to Russian President Vladimir Putin when they met last month in Moscow.

“I told him that Israel views two developments with utmost gravity: First is Iran’s efforts to establish a military presence in Syria, and second is Iran’s attempt to manufacture – in Lebanon – precision weapons against the State of Israel,” he said after the meeting. “I made it clear to him that we will not agree to either one of these developments and will act according to need.”

A U.S. leadership vacuum is creating anxiety.

President Donald Trump ordered a missile strike on a Syrian missile base last year after it was revealed that Syria used chemical weapons against civilians, but otherwise the U.S. engagement with shaping the outcome of Syria’s civil war has been desultory. Russia is filling the vacuum, which is stoking Israeli anxieties. Despite generally good relations between the Netanyahu and Putin governments, Israel cannot rely on Russia to advance Israeli interests in the same way it has with the United States.

“As the shape of the Syrian war changes, Israel may find its working relations with Russia undermined by Moscow’s desire to exercise influence in Syria generally from afar, and by its shifting relations with Iran,” Shoshana Bryen, the senior director at the Jewish Policy Center, wrote this week in The Algemeiner.

Absent focused U.S. leadership, Israel may strike out on its own to prevent Hezbollah from becoming the preeminent force in the nations to its north.

There are signs that the Trump administration, albeit belatedly, is noticing what its absence has wrought: Last month, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said 2,000 U.S. troops currently in Syria to assist pro-Western rebels would remain stationed there to mitigate against a permanent Iranian presence in Syria.

New fences make restive neighbors.

Israel is building a wall on its northern border along a line demarcated by the United Nations in 2000, when Israel ended its 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon. Israel is building the wall in order to prevent the deadly Hezbollah incursions that spurred the 2006 war, which claimed 1,200 Lebanese lives and more than 60 Israeli lives.

But neither Lebanon nor Hezbollah accepted the demarcation as a permanent outcome, citing disputes over small patches of land that extended back to the 1949 armistice, and the Lebanese government and Hezbollah have threatened action.

Oil and gas

Lebanon last month approved a joint bid by Italian, French and Russian oil companies to explore seas off its coast. Israel claims a portion of the waters. Israeli leaders have called for a diplomatic solution to the dispute, but the competing claims are aggravating tensions between the countries.

Hezbollah, intermittently, has also threatened to attack Israeli platforms in the Mediterranean extracting natural gas.

Gaza

The Gaza Strip also is restive, with an increase in rocket attacks from Hamas and Israeli retaliatory strikes after Trump in December recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. An Israel distracted by an engagement with Hamas and other terrorist groups in the south could be seen by Hezbollah as an opening to strike in the north.