European Union External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner has called on Israel to lift travel restrictions in Judea and Samaria, in an effort to help boost the troubled Middle East peace process. Her comments came as the stand-off between Israel and Hamas deepened today. Palestinian terrorist organizations have fired over 110 Kassam rockets into Israel over the past three days. Earlier in the week a Palestinian sniper shot dead a foreign worker on a Kibbutz close to the Gaza border. And for the first time in many months, Hamas claimed responsibility for a salvo of Kassam rockets that struck the town of Sderot, injuring four people including a baby girl. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert promised that Hamas would pay a heavy price for the attacks. And today Israel destroyed the Hamas Interior Ministry building in a missile strike. A Palestinian woman was killed in the attack, and around a dozen people were injured. The building was unoccupied at the time. 

Quote: ""It felt like an earthquake," said Umm Fahmi, a woman who lives across from the blast site. "My house did not only shake, it jumped from its foundations and back down. How could they drop such a bomb in a residential area on top of people's heads?" she said, peering through the dust at the concrete and steel remains of the security complex. It was the first Israeli bombing of a Palestinian government building since Hamas Islamists seized control of Gaza in June after routing secular Fatah forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas.

...and yet Israeli citizens must face the threat of bombs landing on their heads on a daily basis. Palestinian terrorists belonging to President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah organization have also renewed their pledge to attack Israel, following the recent escalation in the Gaza Strip. And if that wasn't bad enough, now the European Union is calling on Israel to remove security checkpoints in Judea and Samaria, in an effort to strengthen Palestinian support for the Annapolis agreement. Benita Ferrero-Waldner also questioned why the European Union couldn't be given a greater role in monitoring the peace process...

Quote: ""It would be good if we Europeans could have a monitoring role, together with the Americans ... Because we have credit with the Palestinians just as the Americans have with Israel. Why can't we be there alongside them?" she asked.

As the article states, the European Union has already committed itself to the establishment of a Palestinian state. Over $7.6 billion has been raised to help realize this vision, following the Palestinian Donors conference in Paris last December. The European Union is also aiding the creation of institutions necessary for the day to day operatiion of a future Palestinian state. These institutions will be funded through a new international mechanism set up by the EU, codenamed PEGASE...

Quote: "Benita Ferrero-Waldner said "With PEGASE we will shift progressively from emergency assistance to a sustainable Palestinian development process widening the range of activities supported by us." PEGASE replaces the Temporary International Mechanism (TIM) which will be phased out in March 2008.

It's ironic, isn't it? That they should name a mechanism for funding the establishment of a Palestinian state after a flying horse. In my country we have another saying, "pigs fly". Just as nobody has ever seen a flying pig, so nobody will ever see a functioning Palestinian state. In case anybody gets any ideas, the flying "pig" is not an insult to Islam or Judaism, it's just a saying we have. God has promised in His Word that following the regathering of the Jewish people to the land, the nation of Israel would never again be divided into two peoples (Ezekiel 37:22). This "vision" of two states living side by side in peace and security is just a mirage that will never become reality. Concerning the division of the land and the battle of Har Megiddo, Psalm 2:1-3 states, "Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us".

But horses do fly. As the armies of the nations surround Jerusalem, so the armies of heaven will prepare for the battle. The Apostle John states in Revelation 19:11, "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse". And upon this horse sits a rider, who's name is the Word of God (Jesus Christ - John 1:1, 1:14). Men crowned Him with thorns at His First Coming (John 19:2), but at His Second Coming He will be crowned with many crowns. Men once mocked His claim to be King of the Jews (John 19:23), but upon His vesture will be written "King of Kings and Lord of Lords". Jesus Christ is coming again, with ten thousands of His saints (Jude 1:14). Will you be at the Lord's side on that day? Will you be numbered among the righteous? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved (Acts 16:31).

Revelation 19:14-16
And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

Source YNet News, YNet News, Europa

Final status negotiations paving the way for the establishment of a Palestinian state began in earnest today, as Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni met with former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei in Jerusalem. Following the Annapolis peace conference in November, the two sides agreed the form the meetings would take, and that they would commence final status negotiations following President Bush's visit to the region last week. Topics under consideration include the division of Jerusalem, the Israeli withdrawal from Judea and Samaria, and the right of return for Palestinian refugees. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had previously hinted that he would be willing to cede Arab-majority communities of Jerusalem to a future Palestinian state. It has also been reported that the Israeli government is planning to disengage from Judea and Samaria in several stages. And most recently Olmert is reported to have agreed to the absorption of some 50,000 Arabs displaced by the Arab-initiated War of Independence and Six Day War.

Quote: "Channel Ten reported Thursday night that in a private meeting between Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Abu Mazen, the two agreed that in the final-status agreement, Israel would withdraw from 92% of Judea and Samaria, including all the non-Jewish neighborhoods in eastern Jerusalem. It was also agreed that 50,000 "refugees from 1948" would enter and live in the State of Israel. Staffers in Olmert's office did not deny the report, and even hinted that it was at least partially accurate.

Israel has already handed control of several key towns to the Palestinian terrorist organizations. Jericho - the first Canaanite city conquered by Israel under the command of Joshua, and Shechem - where the Jewish patriarch Joseph is buried. Shechem is the place where God made a covenant with Abraham that his seed would inherit the land of Canaan for an eternal possession (Genesis 12:6). The conquering of Jericho was the beginning of the realization of this promise. In handing control of these cities to their enemies, the present Israeli government has shown absolute disdain for Israel's historial and Biblical heritage, and its lack of faith in a God who has brought His people back to their land after 1900 years of exile. Now Abbas wants to get his hands on Jerusalem - the city of the Great King (Psalm 48:2), and Israeli politicians are only too willing to give it to him if peace can be achieved. Today Israeli President Shimon Peres stated that the peace process must go on, and must not stop for one moment.

Quote: ""We have a year, and that's very little time. We cannot spend this year talking. We have to negotiate, both openly and secretly, and we must not stop for one moment. I believe that moving from the opening positions to the interim positions will take a long time, several months. "US President Bush was here and said, 'I am your best friend. I'll do whatever you tell me, but I am here to tell you that there is not much time. Just talking will yield nothing. If you think it's time to move forward, then it's time to move forward. Time is the most crucial thing.'"

But the Scriptures state in 1st Thessalonians 5:3 that there will be no peace. In Ezekiel chapter 13, God chastises the prophets and leaders of Israel who proclaim peace for Jerusalem, when there is no peace. Reading the chapter is almost like reading a news report of current events in Israel. The prophets see "visions" of peace for Israel. Today the international community has largely based its present Middle East peace initiative on President Bush's "vision" of two states. Ezekiel mentions a protecting wall that the people had built with untempered mortar. Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon built a wall in an attempt to bring peace to Israel, which the international community is demanding be dismantled. God promises Israel's wall will be Divinely destroyed, while Ezekiel 38 seems to indicate that there will be a massive Arab invasion of Israel during a time when the land is unprotected by walls.

Ezekiel 13:15-16
Thus will I accomplish my wrath upon the wall, and upon them that have daubed it with untempered morter, and will say unto you, The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it; To wit, the prophets of Israel which prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and which see visions of peace for her, and there is no peace, saith the Lord GOD.

Peace can come to the Middle East. Not through wars or walls, but through the Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah 52:7 says, "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!" We are bringers of good tidings. Our good tidings are that Jesus Christ has died, and though faith in the finished work of Calvary, all may have forgiveness of sins. Jesus Christ has made peace between God and men through the blood of His cross (Colossians 1:20). This is the salvation that we publish. This is our chief aim, to go into all the world and preach the good tidings to every creation (Mark 16:15), and to be witnesses to the Jewish people that their Messiah reigns. Have you made peace with God? Jesus Christ is our peace (Ephesians 2:14). Trust in Him for salvation today.

Source YNet News, Arutz 7, YNet News

SOS Israel, a Jewish organization that is opposed to the establishment of a Palestinian state in Gaza, Judea, Samaria and east Jerusalem, held a rally marking President Bush's visit to the country. President Bush has spoken in his strongest terms yet in regards to the establishment of a Palestinian state, calling for an end to the Israeli "occupation" that began in 1967. He said "painful political concessions would have to be made by both sides". Regarding the status of Jerusalem the President said that this would be one of the most difficult challenges on the road to peace, but that this was the road they had chosen to walk. President Bush said he believed that a peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians would be signed by the end of his term in office.

Quote: ""I believe we need to look to the establishment of a Palestinian state and new international mechanisms, including compensation, to resolve the refugee issue," said Bush, in a statement summing up two days of meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. "There should be an end to the occupation that began in 1967," continued Bush. "The agreement must establish Palestine as a homeland for the Palestinian people, just as Israel is a homeland for the Jewish people." "These negotiations must ensure that Israel has secure, recognized, and defensible borders," he said. "And they must ensure that the state of Palestine is viable, contiguous, sovereign, and independent."

Around 200 people gathered in Jerusalem's Zion Square tonight for what was billed as an emergency rally to protest against President Bush's support for the division of the land. Several prominent rabbis were in attendance at the gathering, including Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, founder of the Temple Institute. Advertisements for the meeting noted the prophetic nature of events now unfolding in the Middle East, quoting Psalm 2 which prophesies of the battle of Armageddon and the coming of the Messiah. 

Quote: "Advertisements announcing the rally referred to the pressure being put on Israel to cede more territory, destroy communities in Judea and Samaria, and divide Jerusalem as direct fulfilments of Biblical prophecy. The fliers quoted Psalms 2: "Why do the nations rage, and the peoples meditate a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against Y-h, and against His anointed." Rally organizers said this scenario was being realized in the recent freeze on construction in Judea and Samaria. This order and others, they claimed, are in fact edicts against the G-d of Israel, the Land of Israel and the Torah.

Chairman of SOS Israel, Rabbi Dov Wolpe, also mentioned the prophetic nature of the events in his address to the gathering, stating that only the coming of the Messiah could save them, now that the government of Israel had turned its back on the people.

Quote: "Wolpe continued to say that "only the coming of the messiah can save us, not the High Court (of Justice), which is collaborating with the Arabs."

I find this news extremely interesting, that unbelieving Jews are realizing the significance of the days we are now living in. The nations of the world have indeed "imagined a vain thing", in pursuing President Bush's vision of "two states living side by side in peace and security". But many of these religious Jews, who are legitimately longing for the rebuilding of the Temple and the coming of their Messiah, are still so blinded as to His identity. It's ironic that SOS Israel should quote Psalm 2, referring to "the Lord and His Anointed (Messiah)", the very One they crucified (Acts 2:23). Judea and east Jerusalem will be taken by the Gentiles following the breakdown of the peace agreement in the Middle East (Zechariah 12:2, Zechariah 14:2). And at the close of the seven year period, all nations will gather together in the plain of Megiddo, just north of the "West Bank", to do battle against Jerusalem. Only when the Jewish nation has no-one else to turn to, will they finally look unto Him whom they pierced (Zechariah 12:10). Jesus Christ is coming again. These news articles are solid proof of that fact. Are you ready to meet Him? Have you trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved (Acts 16:32).

Malachi 3:16-17
Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him

Source Haaretz, Arutz 7, YNet News

President of the United States of America George W. Bush arrived in Israel today on a three day visit to the country as part of an effort to encourage progress in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Following his meetings with Israeli and Palestinian ministers, the President is expected to make stops in Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt over the next week. Middle East analysts are expecting no real breakthroughs as a result of the visit. That has also been my own feeling. The press have so far concentrated on the President's arrival to Israel, how his presence in Israel is affecting the traffic, how expensive his hotel is and what gifts he has been given by the Israeli government. The President hasn't really said anything new in regards to the peace process, apart from reiterating his vision of "two states living side by side in peace and security", calling on both sides to defeat terrorism and commenting on the recent Iranian attack on the US fleet. Well you might be forgiven for thinking that the world would at least have the courtesy to give President Bush a chance to do his bit in the Middle East before butting in. But it seems that the European Union is already preparing for the failure of America's Middle East peace drive, and is ready to step in with its own.

Quote: "The European Union is ready to get involved again in the Mideast peace process if the current US-led drive fails to make progress, the EU's current president, Slovenia, said Wednesday. Speaking after meeting the Palestinian information minister, Riyadh al-Maliki, here, Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel said the EU was ready to resume a key role if the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, set in motion in Annapolis last year, grind to a halt. The Middle East diplomatic Quartet, comprising the European Union, Russia, the United States and United Nations, had "stepped back to see what can be achieved through the agreement reached in Annapolis," Rupel told a news conference here. "But if there is no progress, the EU will involve itself in the process again, as far as it can."

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki told the Slovenian Foreign Minister that the Palestinians were ready to promote peace, and wanted the help of the European Union to bring about the creation of a Palestinian state.

Quote: ""We want the EU to be active in actions taken in creating an independent Palestinian state," Malki said in Ljubljana, as reported by the state-run news agency STA. Palestinians are ready "to take all kinds of steps" to promote peace with Israel, STA quoted him as saying.

So it seems that as President Bush is in Israel doing his bit, the European Union is waiting patiently in line. I'm not against America and I'm not against President Bush. And I'm not boasting because I live in Europe. If I had lived in America I would be saying exactly the same thing. As the news reports over the last few years have indicated and as the prophecies of Daniel have predicted, I believe it will be the European Union that will be the one to strengthen a peace agreement in the Middle East. And it will be specifically the Antichrist, the prince of the people that destroyed Jerusalem in 70AD (Daniel 9:26), who will divide the land for gain (Daniel 11:39). There is no doubt that this conflict affects the whole world. We know that the nations of the world, including America and Britain, will become involved in it to such an extent that they will gather together against the city of Jerusalem to do battle (Zechariah 14:2). With the Leader of the Free World in Jerusalem today, it is clear to see that this day is fast approaching. The Lord has a controversy with the nations that divide His land and disperse His people. Praise God that Jesus Christ will return to defend Jerusalem, the city where He has chosen to place His name (1st Kings 11:36), and to set up His Kingdom which shall never be destroyed (Daniel 2:44). Do you know Him as your personal Saviour? Do you have the joy of sins forgiven? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation today.

John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Source Telegraph, The Australian, YNet News, EU Business, Jerusalem Post