Source International Herald Tribune

It seems history is destined to repeat itself once again. Around 3500 years ago, Israeli spies brought back an evil report of the good land that God had promised to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey. Rather than trusting God, the children of Israel believed the words of men who said, this is a land that devours its inhabitants...

Numbers 13:32-33
And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, [is] a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it [are] men of a great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, [which come] of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.

Today Israeli Vice Premier Haim Ramon said words to a similar effect, stating, "In my eyes, the occupation of the territories threatens our very existence, our legitimacy and our international standing". To the Israeli government, the lands of Judea, Samaria, Gaza and the Golan are lands that devour their inhabitants. Rather than trusting in the promises of God, and the great victory God gave Israel in 1967, the nation is turning its eyes towards the evil report being propagated by the international community. In July 2005, Israel forcibly evicted over 9000 of its own people from Gaza, many of whom had been living there from before the state's formation in 1948. Today many of those people are still homeless and unemployed, after having worked in what was one of the most productive areas of Israel. Now the Israeli government is considering relocating 240,000 people living in Judea and Samaria - "ethnic cleansing" by another name, in an effort to "legitimise" the state of Israel in the eyes of the world. Israel had legitimacy in 1967 when it defeated the armies of six Arab nations that were bent on its destruction. Today it is planning to hand legitimacy to a terrorist organization trying to do the same. President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority has formulated a new peace document, that he hopes can be implemented within a year.

Quote: "Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's platform for the new PA government includes the attainment of an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement consisting of Jerusalem as the capital of both states and the honouring of past agreements reached with Israel, it was reported Friday. Army Radio said that Abbas and PA Prime Minster Salaam Fayad showed the new Palestinian document to Meretz Chairman Yossi Beilin during their meeting in Ramallah the previous day. "It concerns peace with Israel and honouring past agreement wit Israel," confirmed the Meretz chairman.

You can't have a city as a joint capital that is referred to as the "eternal, undivided capital of Israel". The Palestinians took control of the Gaza Strip two years ago. Today the only Jews in that land are being held hostage by Hamas. The Palestinian Authority claims East Jerusalem as its own, and the Bible predicts the same fate for that city as what happened in Gaza.

Zechariah 14:2
For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

Israel's leaders are so spiritually blind, they cannot see this situation unfolding right before their eyes. Sadly many of those claiming to be Christians are also blind to this fact, having been brought up on a diet of replacement theology and amillennialism. The nation of Israel will soon face a time of great trouble. But those who have trusted in Christ have not been "appointed to wrath, but to obtain (physical) salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ", 1st Thessalonians 5:9. When Christ comes, will you go to be with Him, or will you be left behind to face the wrath of a righteous God? Trust in Christ for salvation today.

Associated Press

Monday, July 23, 2007 (Amman)

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair began his foray into Mideast peacemaking in the Jordanian capital on Monday, as British Foreign Office Minister Kim Howells called for a systematic approach to revive talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
Howells and Blair, a newly appointed envoy for the international Middle East Quartet, composed of the US, the UN, the EU and Russia, held separate talks with Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdul-Ilah al-Khatib on ways to resolve the long-simmering Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
''It needs a systematic effort and the good will of all sides,'' Howells told reporters following talks with al-Khatib.
''The biggest task is to involve all of the major players,'' he said.

Howells called Blair the right person to spearhead efforts aimed at breaking the peace deadlock.

''It will be an extremely difficult task for Blair. But if anyone can achieve success, it's going to be Tony Blair. His experience in Northern Ireland will be extremely crucial,'' Howells said, referring to Blair's pivotal role in resolving the conflict between Catholics and Protestants.
Few details have emerged from Blair's meeting in Amman. The former British prime minister was scheduled to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Tuesday.

Positive contributions
Howells said some nations were making positive contributions to the peace effort, but warned that others needed to improve their efforts.''Some countries, like Jordan are determined to play the role in building peace, while we have to convince other countries that don't seem to be doing that at the moment, like Iran and Syria, that they must play a part in building the peace as well,'' Howells said. Jordan and Egypt are the only Arab countries that have made peace with Israel.
Blair's visit comes amid a push to bring Palestinians and Israelis back to the negotiation table and renewed US commitment to see an independent Palestinian state established US President George W Bush called last week for an international peace conference on the Middle East, saying the meeting would bring together Israel, Palestinians and their neighbors to discuss ways to end their conflict. Since then, there has been a flurry of diplomatic activity. Jordan's King Abdullah II, a key US ally, is scheduled to meet with Bush in Washington on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the Jordanian foreign minister and his Egyptian counterpart, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, are due in Israel to formally present an Arab peace initiative, which envisions full Arab recognition of Israel in return for lands the Jewish state captured in the 1967 Middle East war

Middle East quartet envoy Tony Blair will not be charged with mediating in the Middle East conflict, but with channeling aid towards the construction of a Palestinian state, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana was quoted as saying on June 29.
Former British Premier Blair, whose appointment has been met with skepticism in parts of the region, will not conduct a peace process, the Spanish daily El Pais quoted Solana as saying in Lisbon. Blair’s task will be to mobilise political and economic aid, "will and solidarity" to create a government structure for a Palestinian state, Solana explained. The current situation in the Palestinian territories, with the confrontation between Fatah and Hamas, did not make Blair’s task easy, Solana added. Solana has been viewed as the EU’s chief negotiator for thorny tasks in the region and around the world, but there was no word from the Mideast Quartet on whether Blair’s responsibilities would clash with Solana’s.......

Once again Tony Blair sets himself against the God of Israel, by seeking to create a government structure for a "Palestinian State."  Blair also wants to channel aid to the Fatah organization, this aid will in no doubt include weapons that will ultimately be used against the State of Israel. On the other hand we have Javier Solana being described as the "chief negotiator for thorny tasks" in the region. Could this thorny task be the long awaited "Preace Treaty".

Source European Weekly