Did YHVH's protective "Omen" come back to Israel when the Jews returned to their ancient land in 1948?

The Israel Omen “Dividing the Land” Blog powerfully reports a series of historically destructive events since 1991 to current, connected by a common thread: warnings found in Ancient Hebrew prophetic Scripture that Israel was not to be divided. Are these events the telling signs of an ancient Divine Omen, the same omen ignored by the Egyptians 3,500 years ago as Moses was leading the children of Israel out of Egypt by YHVH's mighty hand?

This Blog presents strong evidences that the "Four Horns" foretold in Zechariah 1:18-21 to be scattering Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem are the four nations of the "Quartet"!

As the nations of the world gather to remove the Jew from YHVH's promised Holy Land, the international group dubbed the Quartet is leading the effort. And, the same prophetic Scripture warns of YHVH's judgment against those nations attempting to divide Israel. Your view of current events might never be the same!

The Israel Omen website and Book by David Brennan





Thursday 28 April 2011

28-29/04/11 - Tornadoes devastate South, killing at least 280

Shocked Americans are struggling to grasp the magnitude of the worst US tornadoes in almost 40 years, which carved a trail of destruction across the south, claiming at least 295 lives. 



The storms were the deadliest since 310 people were killed in 1974 when 148 tornadoes hit several states and authorities have warned that the death toll could rise further.
Entire US towns were destroyed, as six states were struck by huge twisters. One that was captured on extraordinary video footage measured a mile wide – 20 times larger than the typical tornado.
States of emergency were declared by the governors of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and Tennessee, and governors called out the National Guard - including 2,000 troops in Alabama - to help with the rescue and clean-up operations.
Alabama, one of America's poorest states, was worst hit. More than 131 people there died, 36 in the city of Tuscaloosa alone. Walter Maddox, its mayor, said the city had been "obliterated".
"I don't know how anyone survived," said Mr Maddox. "It's an amazing scene.
"There are parts of the city I don't recognise and I've lived here my entire life."
James Sykes, a survivor, described watching a "silent monster" suck up the city's streets. "It was full of lightning, devastating everything," Mr Sykes said. Dozens of businesses and emergency service buildings across the city were wiped out.

"We had a major catastrophic event here in Alabama," said Robert Bentley, the state's governor. "We have major destruction in the state." A million people were left without power.

Storms caused the Browns Ferry nuclear power plant near Huntsville, Alabama, to lose power. Officials described the incident as a low-level emergency and said it was under control.
The National Weather Service said it had received 137 tornado reports on Wednesday, bringing to 300 the total number counted in the region since Friday.

In Mississippi, at least 32 people were killed. Another 30 were reported dead in Tennessee, 11 in Arkansas, 13 in Georgia, seven in Virginia, and three in Missouri.

President Barack Obama, who promised swift assistance, said: "Our hearts go out to all those who have been affected by this devastation". He will travel to Alabama to view the damage on Friday.
Mr Obama also paid tribute to the "heroic efforts" of those who were responding to the disaster by clearing up disaster-struck areas and searching for victims.

People throughout the south were left trapped in their homes, colleges and vehicles after fallen trees and flooding left large areas impossible to pass.

Tim Holt, a hotel worker in Ringgold, the hardest hit town in Georgia, said: "Our town is in pieces", adding: "It's an 80 per cent loss." Birmingham, Alabama's largest city, was also struck. Samantha Nail, a resident of one of its suburbs, described watching nearby brick houses being swept away.

"We were in the bathroom holding on to each other and holding on to dear life," she said. "If it wasn't for our concrete walls, our home would be gone like the rest of them." The storms appeared to have been the deadliest natural disaster in the US since Hurricane Katrina, which killed more than 1,800 people in Louisiana in 2005.

Further heavy rain and high winds are expected on Saturday, with 21 states throughout the country warned that they could face severe weather.

 Tornadoes devastate South, killing at least 280


AP/Butch Dill
 



PLEASANT GROVE, Ala. – Firefighters searched one splintered pile after another for survivors Thursday, combing the remains of houses and neighborhoods pulverized by the nation's deadliest tornado outbreak in almost four decades. At least 280 people were killed across six states — more than two-thirds of them in Alabama, where large cities bore the half-mile-wide scars the twisters left behind.
The death toll from Wednesday's storms seems out of a bygone era, before Doppler radar and pinpoint satellite forecasts were around to warn communities of severe weather. Residents were told the tornadoes were coming up to 24 minutes ahead of time, but they were just too wide, too powerful and too locked onto populated areas to avoid a horrifying body count.
"These were the most intense super-cell thunderstorms that I think anybody who was out there forecasting has ever seen," said meteorologist Greg Carbin at the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla.

"If you experienced a direct hit from one of these, you'd have to be in a reinforced room, storm shelter or underground" to survive, Carbin said.

The storms seemed to hug the interstate highways as they barreled along like runaway trucks, obliterating neighborhoods or even entire towns from Tuscaloosa to Bristol, Va. One family rode out the disaster in the basement of a funeral home, another by huddling in a tanning bed.

In Concord, a small town outside Birmingham that was ravaged by a tornado, Randy Guyton's family got a phone call from a friend warning them to take cover. They rushed to the basement garage, piled into a Honda Ridgeline and listened to the roar as the twister devoured the house in seconds. Afterward, they saw daylight through the shards of their home and scrambled out.
Click image to see photos of storms in the South

AP/The Decatur Daily, Gary Cosby Jr.

"The whole house caved in on top of that car," he said. "Other than my boy screaming to the Lord to save us, being in that car is what saved us."

Son Justin remembers the dingy white cloud moving quickly toward the house.
"To me it sounded like destruction," the 22-year-old said. "It was a mean, mean roar. It was awful."
At least three people died in a Pleasant Grove subdivision southwest of Birmingham, where residents trickled back Thursday to survey the damage. Greg Harrison's neighborhood was somehow unscathed, but he remains haunted by the wind, thunder and lightning as they built to a crescendo, then suddenly stopped.
"Sick is what I feel," he said. "This is what you see in Oklahoma and Kansas. Not here. Not in the South."
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley said his state had confirmed 194 deaths. There were 33 deaths in Mississippi, 33 in Tennessee, 14 in Georgia, five in Virginia and one in Kentucky. Hundreds if not thousands of people were injured — 600 in Tuscaloosa alone.

Some of the worst damage was about 50 miles southwest of Pleasant Grove in Tuscaloosa, a city of more than 83,000 that is home to the University of Alabama. A tower-mounted news camera there captured images of an astonishingly thick, powerful tornado flinging debris as it leveled neighborhoods.
That twister and others Wednesday were several times more severe than a typical tornado, which is hundreds of yards wide, has winds around 100 mph and stays on the ground for a few miles, said research meteorologist Harold Brooks at the Storm Prediction Center.

"There's a pretty good chance some of these were a mile wide, on the ground for tens of miles and had wind speeds over 200 mph," he said.

The loss of life is the greatest from an outbreak of U.S. tornadoes since April 1974, when 329 people were killed by a storm that swept across 13 Southern and Midwestern states.

Brooks said the tornado that struck Tuscaloosa could be an EF5 — the strongest category of tornado, with winds of more than 200 mph — and was at least the second-highest category, an EF4.
Search and rescue teams fanned out to dig through the rubble of devastated communities that bore eerie similarities to the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when town after town lay flattened for nearly 90 miles.

President Barack Obama said he would travel to Alabama on Friday to view storm damage and meet Gov. Robert Bentley and affected families. As many as a million homes and businesses there were without power, and Bentley said 2,000 National Guard troops had been activated to help. The governors of Mississippi and Georgia also issued emergency declarations for parts of their states.

"We can't control when or where a terrible storm may strike, but we can control how we respond to it," Obama said. "And I want every American who has been affected by this disaster to know that the federal government will do everything we can to help you recover and we will stand with you as you rebuild."
The storm prediction center said it received 164 tornado reports around the region, but some tornadoes were probably reported multiple times and it could take days to get a final count.

In fact, Brooks said 50 to 60 reports — from the Mississippi-Alabama line, through Tuscaloosa and Birmingham and into Georgia and southwestern Tennessee — might end up being a single tornado. If that's true its path would be one of the longest on record for a twister, rivaling a 1925 tornado that raged for 219 miles.

Brooks said the weather service was able to provide about 24 minutes' notice before the twisters hit.
"It was a well-forecasted event," Brooks said. "People were talking about this week being a big week a week ago."

Gov. Bentley said forecasters did a good job alerting people, but there's only so much they can do to help people prepare.

Carbin, the meteorologist, noted that the warning gave residents enough time to hunker down, but not enough for them to safely leave the area.

"You've got half an hour to evacuate the north side of Tuscaloosa. How do you do that and when do you do that? Knowing there's a tornado on the ground right now and the conditions in advance of it, you may inadvertently put people in harm's way," he said.

Officials said at least 13 died in Smithville, Miss., where devastating winds ripped open the police station, post office, city hall and an industrial park with several furniture factories. Pieces of tin were twined high around the legs of a blue water tower, and the Piggly Wiggly grocery store was gutted.
"It's like the town is just gone," said 24-year-old Jessica Monaghan, wiping away tears as she toted 9-month-old son Slade Scott. The baby's father, Tupelo firefighter Tyler Scott, was at work when the warning came on the TV.

"It said be ready in 10 minutes, but about that time, it was there," Monaghan said. She, Slade and the family's cat survived by hiding in a closet.

At Smithville Cemetery, even the dead were not spared: Tombstones dating to the 1800s, including some of Civil War soldiers, lay broken on the ground. Brothers Kenny and Paul Long dragged their youngest brother's headstone back to its proper place.

Unlike many neighboring towns, Kenny Long said, Smithville had no storm shelter.
"You have warnings," Long said, "but where do you go?"

Some fled to the sturdy center section of Smithville Baptist Church. Pastor Wes White said they clung to each other and anything they could reach, a single "mass of humanity" as the building disintegrated around them.
The second story is gone, the walls collapsed, but no one there was seriously hurt. The choir robes remained in place, perfectly white.

Seven people were killed in Georgia's Catoosa County, including Ringgold, where a suspected tornado flattened about a dozen buildings and trapped an unknown number of people.
"It happened so fast I couldn't think at all," said Tom Rose, an Illinois truck driver whose vehicle was blown off the road at I-75 North in Ringgold, near the Tennessee line.
Catoosa County Sheriff Phil Summers said several residential areas had "nothing but foundations left," and that some people reported missing had yet to be found.

In Trenton, Ga., nearly two dozen people took shelter in an Ace Hardware store, including a couple walking by when an employee emerged and told them to take cover immediately.
Lisa Rice, owner of S&L Tans in Trenton, survived by climbing into a tanning bed with her two daughters. Stormy, 19, and Sky, 21.

"We got in it and closed it on top of us," Rice said. "Sky said, `We're going to die.' But, I said, `No, just pray. Just pray, just pray, just pray.'"

For 30 seconds, wind rushed around the bed and debris flew as wind tore off the roof.
"Then it just stopped. It got real quiet. We waited a few minutes and then opened up the bed and we saw daylight," she said.

The badly damaged Moore Funeral Home, meanwhile, sheltered the woman who cleans Larry Moore's family business. When the first of three storms hit and uprooted trees in her yard, she figured the funeral home would be a safer place for her two children. As shingles began sailing past the window, she headed for the basement.

"That's what saved her, I guess," Moore said. "It was over in just a matter of seconds. She called 911 and emergency crews had to help her get out."
The storm system spread destruction from Texas to New York, where dozens of roads were flooded or washed out.

It was unclear how high the death toll could rise. In Mississippi, Lee County Sheriff Jim Johnson and a crew of deputies and inmates searched the rubble, recovering five bodies and marking homes that still had bodies inside with two large orange Xs.

"I've never seen anything like this," Johnson said. "This is something that no one can prepare for."
___
Mohr reported from Smithville, Miss. Associated Press writers Jay Reeves in Tuscaloosa; Phillip Rawls in Montgomery; Vicki Smith in Morgantown, W.Va.; Kristi Easton in Oklahoma City; Ray Henry in Ringgold, Ga.; Meg Kinnard in Columbia, S.C.; Michelle Williams in Atlanta; and Bill Poovey in Chattanooga, Tenn., contributed to this report.

Tuesday 26 April 2011

25/04/2011 - Tornado Outbreak: Severe Weather in Arkansas Leaves 5 Dead, Flooding in Missouri

Tornado Outbreak: Severe Weather in Arkansas Leaves 5 Dead, Flooding in Missouri

PHOTO: Home and businesses south of Poplar Bluff, Mo., are flooded out by rising waters from the Black River Monday, April 25, 2011




At least five deaths have been reported in connection with a series of tornadoes and severe weather that ripped through several states from Kentucky to Tennessee Monday, authorities said.
Forecasters expect more rain and storms today to slam across the Midwest, as the system moves east.

In Arkansas, three people were killed in rising floodwaters and two died in a town where a possible tornado barreled through Monday, according to the Associated Press.

In Vilonia, Ark., north of Little Rock, where a possible tornado killed two people, Caroline Thompson recalled taking cover as the storm approached.

"We all ended up in the closet. And then you could just hear crashing and stuff being knocked around and blown around. And it tore us up," Thompson said.

In Pocahontas, Ark., the Black River is a few feet from topping the levee.
Several roads are closed, including highway 90, because of flooding, officials said.
Daily American Republic, Paul Davis/AP Photo
Home and businesses south of Poplar Bluff, Mo., are flooded out by rising waters from the Black... View Full Size
Record Shattering Weather Hammers U.S. Watch Video
St. Louis Cleans Up as New Twisters Form in Texas Watch Video
Easter Helps St. Louis Recover After Tornados 
Marty Cagle of the Randolph County Office of Emergency Management said the river might crest at the end of the work week.

"The level of the Black River, here at Pocahontas right now is possibly 18 feet. They are predicting by sometime, Friday, that it will be approximately 25 point two foot," Cagle told ABC News Radio.


Missouri Flooding 
 
But Arkansas wasn't alone in flooding.
About 1,000 residents in Poplar Bluff, Mo., were evacuated because of rising waters Monday.
Butler County Sheriff Mark Dobbs said several county roads were closed because of rising water along the Black River.

"At this point, it's getting to where the roads are impassable. There's so much water spilling over the levees," Dobbs said.

Poplar Bluff resident Kenneth Kimbro worries about what he will find when he returns to his home.
Kimbro was among hundreds evacuated from their homes.
"I'm overwhelmed. Very overwhelmed and I'm scared inside. And I just got to be, I think I'm just going to have to be praying," Kimbro told ABC News Radio.
In Texas, hail shattered windshields and winds up to 100 miles per hour prompted officials to warn people to take cover just before a twister touched down near the town of Cleburne.
To date, there have been more than 5,400 severe weather reports recorded this month and 44 people killed nationwide in tornadoes.

Friday 22 April 2011

22/04/2011 - UN urges bold steps to relaunch Mideast peace talks

UN urges bold steps to relaunch Mideast peace talks

European countries believe Palestinians could drop push for UN recognition if 'parameters' for fresh peace talks announced; Diplomats said they hope Obama might do so.

UN headquarters AP October 12, 2010
The United Nations called on Thursday for "bold and decisive steps" to relaunch the Israeli-Palestinian peace process as the region awaits a possible new initiative by U.S. President Barack Obama.

UN political chief Lynn Pascoe and ambassadors of key Security Council countries said it was important to break the deadlock soon as a proclaimed September deadline for reaching an agreement draws closer.

Peace talks opened last September with the aim of an accord in one year but quickly broke down after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to extend a partial freeze on Jewish settlement building in the occupied West Bank.

Palestinian leaders have said that if the deadline expires with no deal, they may seek UN backing for a Palestinian state -- a move that Israel and its big power ally the United States are keen to avoid.

"Bold and decisive steps are needed to resolve this decades-long conflict, with vision, leadership and responsibility from all concerned," Pascoe told a monthly meeting of the Security Council on the Middle East.

He said it was a matter of concern that "the political track is falling behind the significant progress" made by the Palestinian Authority in its preparations to become a functioning government ready for statehood.

A planned meeting of the Quartet of Middle East mediators -- the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union -- has twice been called off in recent weeks.

European diplomats said the delays had been requested by the United States. Last week Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Obama would lay out plans for a new U.S. push for Arab-Israeli peace in a speech to be made in coming weeks.

Netanyahu is expected to address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress during a visit to Washington next month. He was invited by Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner, one of Obama's chief critics.

European countries believe the Palestinians could drop their push for UN recognition if "parameters" are announced for fresh peace talks. Diplomats said they had been hoping the Quartet would announce them, but now hoped Obama might do so.

The parameters, spelled out in a British-French-German statement to the Security Council in February, include: Palestinian and Israeli states based on 1967 borders but amended by land swaps, security arrangements for both sides, Jerusalem as capital of both states, and a refugee solution.

German Ambassador Peter Wittig told Thursday's council meeting that his country was looking forward to Obama's speech and that "strong U.S. leadership is required." French Ambassador Gerard Araud said "the time has passed for imagining new interim solutions."

U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice gave little clue as to what Obama would propose, saying only that Washington favored a two-state solution achieved through direct negotiations.

But she called on the United Nations to "end, once and for all" action on its controversial Goldstone report, which accused Israel and Hamas Palestinian militants of war crimes during the December 2008-January 2009 conflict in Gaza.

Richard Goldstone, the South African judge who led the inquiry, has recently said he no longer believes Israel had a policy of targeting civilians, as his report had alleged.

Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour appeared to lend support to the European initiative, saying Palestinians wanted "to resume a credible peace process on the basis of internationally supported parameters."

Israeli Ambassador Meron Reuben gave no detailed account of where he saw negotiations heading, but voiced long-standing Israeli skepticism about UN involvement, quoting President Shimon Peres as saying, "We need solutions, not resolutions."




Thursday 21 April 2011

21/04/11 - The F4 tornado hit St.Louis – strongest of the year so far!

The F4 tornado hit St.Louis – strongest of the year so far!
 April 25, 2011Posted in: Tornadoes 


Good Friday saw the year’s strongest tornado yet pound St. Louis, flattening houses and shredding the roof of a crowded airport terminal on its 35 kilometers path (22-mile) along the ground.




Shattered glass injured several people at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport April 22, but no one was reported killed. The tornado rated the second-highest level on the Enhanced-Fujita tornado damage scale, EF-4, a first for this year’s tornado season. The twister, with 322 kilometers per hourvwinds (200 mph), was the strongest in Missouri’s St. Louis County in 44 years. It was the latest exhibition of wild tornado weather this April, including triplet tornadoes and record numbers of outbreaks.
The Weather Channel has reported the confirmation of 292 tornadoes so far this month, besting the previous April record of 267 in 1974. The average for April is only 116, according to the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma. Along with amazing videos of twin and even triplet tornadoes have come new tornado records in several states.
 de
In North Carolina, 28 tornadoes have been confirmed so far for April 16, a record outbreak for any single day there. In Wisconsin, 14 tornadoes struck on April 10, the biggest outbreak for any April day in the state’s history.

Comparing the number of tornadoes from year to year isn’t an exact comparison. There seems to be an increase in the number of tornadoes since recording began in the 1950s, but the Storm Prediction Center says that upward trend is mostly due to more people reporting tornadoes, or more buildings being hit as the country’s population grows and its cities and towns expand. Storm survey teams continue to assess the damage from this month’s storms, and the tornado counts could change.

Remarkably, no one was killed Friday by the invisible, rain-wrapped tornado near St. Louis, and an expert credits advanced warnings. In most cases, people had more than 30 minutes notice that the tornado and a smaller one were coming, enough time to gather the kids and seek safe shelter.

Tornadoes have killed 41 people so far in 2011, only four fewer than the death toll for all of last year. More than half of this year’s fatalities were people in mobile homes. North Carolina has suffered the most this year, with 26 deaths. That’s the deadliest outbreak since the “Super Tuesday” storms in February 2008, when 57 people died in Dixie Alley, the southeastern extension of Tornado Alley.
In 2008, during a season among the all-time highest for number of tornadoes, 126 people were killed. (OurAmazingPlanet)

April 2011 has been a horrific month for severe weather so far with more than 550 reports of tornadoes, at least 39 tornado-related deaths and unthinkable destruction. As the wild weather pattern continues this week, the month’s total number of tornadoes will continue to rise. There is a good chance that April 2011 will end up being the most active April on record for tornadoes. With May and June typically being the most active months of the year for severe weather, people are wondering if the trend will continue and make 2011 a record-setting year.

The total number of tornado reports this month (through Friday) was up to 559, according to the Storm Prediction Center (SPC). At least 15 more reports of twisters were submitted thereafter over the weekend.
It’s important to note that these are the number of reports (or sightings), not confirmed tornadoes. Oftentimes multiple sightings of the same tornado are reported, and it will take quite some time until all the data is sorted through and the number of confirmed tornadoes is determined. According to the SPC, the highest number of confirmed tornadoes recorded in the month of April (since 1950) was 267 in 1974.

If all of the tornado reports so far this month were confirmed, April 2011 would by far be the most active April for tornadoes. Even though the number of confirmed tornadoes will probably end up being quite a bit smaller, this month is still likely to beat the record. The preliminary estimate for number of tornadoes so far in 2011 was 766, as of Sunday, with about two dozen states affected. More than 100 tornadoes have been reported in both Alabama and North Carolina.

The year that holds the record for the highest number of tornadoes is 2004 with a whopping 1,817 twisters. For people wondering if 2011 could set a new record, this year has a long way to go. Since May and June are typically the most active months of the year for severe weather, it may seem that 2011 could have a shot at setting a record following such an extreme April. However, AccuWeather.com Expert Senior Meteorologist Ken Reeves pointed out a trend that may suggest otherwise. (AccuWeather)

Tuesday 19 April 2011

19/04/2011 - PA launches campaign for EU recognition of statehood

PA launches campaign for EU recognition of statehood




Mahmoud Abbas set to visit France, Germany in bid to gain support for Palestinian state; Quartet reportedly weighing endorsement of state.

  The Palestinian Authority has launched a diplomatic campaign aimed at persuading the largest number of EU countries to recognize a Palestinian state on the 1967 lines before September.

In the context of these efforts, PA President Mahmoud Abbas is scheduled to visit France on Wednesday for talks with President Nicolas Sarkozy on the Palestinian state issue.

RELATED:
PA: US must present peace plan before we declare state
Key Quartet meeting put off by a month
'Palestinian state declaration would hurt US aid to PA'
Jewish groups mobilize against Palestinian unilateralism

Abbas is hoping to convince Sarkozy to support the PA’s intention to ask the United Nations Security Council in September to recognize a Palestinian state on the 1967 lines, with east Jerusalem as its capital.

Abbas is expected to meet next month with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to try to convince her too to recognize the Palestinian state.

PA negotiator Nabil Sha’ath said on Tuesday that the PA was determined to pursue its efforts to ask the UN Security Council to recognize a Palestinian state in September.

He said that in the context of these efforts the PA was continuing to build state institutions and isolate Israel in the international arena.

Sha’ath predicted that by September France, Sweden and Ireland would have recognized the proposed Palestinian state.

“By September, we would have won the recognition of two-thirds of the UN members,” he was quoted by the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper as saying. “This will entitle us to go to the Security Council and demand full membership.”

Sha’ath said that if the US thwarts the PA’s moves through a veto, the Palestinians would take their case to the UN General Assembly.

“Then we could become a member with full rights in the General Assembly, which means that the independent state of Palestine, which is a UN member, would have its territories occupied by another UN member,” he explained.

Saeb Erekat, member of the PLO Executive Committee, said that if Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu wants peace with the Palestinians, he “must start preparing his people for ending occupation.” 

He said that Netanyahu must tell his people that Israel will have to withdraw to the pre-1967 lines, recognize the state of Palestine with east Jerusalem as its capital and solve the various final status issues if it wants peace with the Palestinians.

Erekat, who until recently served as the PLO’s chief negotiator, expressed hope that the members of the Quartet – the US, EU, UN and Russia – would immediately recognize the 1967 lines as the basis for the two-state solution. “There is no political or legal justification for the committee not to take such an important step,” he said. “Recognition of the state of Palestine would contribute to the cause of peace and would be regarded as a victory for international law.”

In a related development, the PA said that was planning to again ask the UN Security Council to condemn settlement construction.

The PA is also planning to ask the International Court of Justice to rule that the settlements are illegal.

Wasel Abu Yusef, member of the PLO Executive Committee, said that the PA was now holding consultations with a number of Arab and Islamic countries to present to the Security Council another resolution condemning the settlements as illegal, noting that the US had vetoed a similar move a few weeks ago.

The PLO has entrusted a six-member committee with studying the PA’s options before and after September.

Monday 18 April 2011

18/04/2011 - Obama preps for declaration of Palestinian state

Obama preps for declaration of Palestinian state

Land grab would give Arabs historically Jewish territories



Posted: April 18, 2011
9:02 pm Eastern
By Aaron Klein
© 2011 WorldNetDaily

JERUSALEM – The Obama administration has asked the Palestinian Authority to halt talks on a unity government with Hamas, according to a senior PA official.

The official said the White House fears a unity government with the Islamist group would make it difficult for the U.S. and European Union to support the unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state in the United Nations.

The information is the latest indicator Obama will not veto the controversial U.N. resolution, which would recognize a Palestinian state in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip as well as the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem, purportedly including the Temple Mount.
Like Jerusalem, the West Bank, or Judea and Samaria, is the site of biblical, historically Jewish communities.

According to the PA official, the Obama administration is concerned that support for a U.N. declaration of Palestinian statehood could have a negative impact on the president's 2012 re-election bid.

The official said the White House has asked the PA to take their U.N. state request directly to the international body's General Assembly, the only U.N. organ in which all member nations have equal representation, instead of to the Security Council, where the U.S. holds veto power.
(Story continues below)

 
Previously, PA officials stated the Obama administration would not veto a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a Palestinian state.
In 2009, Ahmed Qurei, former PA prime minister and member of the Palestine Liberation Organization executive committee, told WND in an interview that the PA "reached an understanding with important elements within the administration" to possibly bring to the U.N. Security Council a resolution to unilaterally create a Palestinian state.

Asked to which "elements" he was referring, Qurei would only say they were from the Obama administration.

In a clear attempt to pave the way for a U.N. vote on the matter, the international body announced last week the PA possesses the capacity to function as a state.

"In six areas where the U.N. is most engaged, government functions are now sufficient for a functioning government of a state," stated a U.N. report released last Tuesday.
The six areas were: "governance, rule of law and human rights; livelihoods; education and culture; health; social protection; and infrastructure and water."

Still, the report cautioned, "The key constraints to the existence and successful functioning of the institutions of a potential state of Palestine arise primarily from the persistence of occupation and the unresolved issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."

The reference to "occupation" is controversial, since the territories were never part of any previous Palestinian state and Israel is historically tied to the West Bank.


Sponsored Link: Pulled from TV! A major TV network and cable provider pulled the plug on a new ad. Is this subject matter too controversial... or should it be seen by every American? Judge for yourself here...
Related Offers:
Get Aaron Klein's bestseller "The Manchurian President" at WND's Superstore!
"Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That's Conspiring to Islamize America" - (Hardcover)
Learn Islam's global agenda to secure all nations under its only religious law: Get "Islam Rising" on DVD
"The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam and the Crusades"
"The Islamic Antichrist" (Autographed) (Hardcover)
"The Nazi Connection to Islamic Terrorism" (Autographed) (Paperback)
"Why We Left Islam: Former Muslims Speak Out" - (Hardcover)


Previous stories:
American military targeting Israel?
Israel looks to surrender control of strategic land
Palestinian leaders romancing Hamas

Read more: Obama preps for declaration of Palestinian state http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=288749#ixzz1K0deV7R6

Thursday 14 April 2011

14/04/2011 - Dozens tornadoes rip through U.S. southwest

Dozens tornadoes rip through U.S. southwest

At least nine people were killed as powerful thunderstorms and tornadoes tore through the southern Plains and lower Mississippi Valley Thursday night. The tiny town of Tushka, Oklahoma, was among...

At least nine people were killed as powerful thunderstorms and tornadoes tore through the southern Plains and lower Mississippi Valley Thursday night.

The tiny town of Tushka, Oklahoma, was among the hardest hit locations, struck head-on by a tornado Thursday evening that killed at least two people and injured more than two dozen others. Displaced residents say the town of 350 was devastated by the twister.


An vehicle sits in a tree in Tushka, Okla., Friday, April 15, 2011, following a tornado the night before. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Around the same time, multiple tornadoes were on the ground from eastern Kansas south through Oklahoma. Touchdowns were reported near Atlanta and Chautauqua in Kansas, as well as Madill and Milburn in Oklahoma. The damage persisted farther east well after dark and into the predawn hours.
Overnight in Crystal Springs, Arkansas, two more people were killed when a large tree crushed a mobile home during a thunderstorm. Residents were awakened to tornado sirens and strong winds in Little Rock less than an hour later as the same thunderstorm blasted through. Farther east, another person was killed when a mobile home was destroyed near Scott. Wind gusts from some of the stronger storms were estimated between 60 and 80 mph. Hail up to the size of softballs (4.25 inches in diameter) was also reported from the storms. In some locations, hailstones completely covered the ground for a time.
The powerful storms and tornadoes were in association with a large storm system that is bringing a plowable snow to the northern Plains. This system threatens to bring more violent storms and tornadoes farther east today across the Southeast.

Less than a week after devastating tornadoes hit the Upper Midwest, destructive twisters and thunderstorms have taken aim at areas farther south, demolishing homes and school buildings.
The Jackson, Mississippi, area was one of the latest locations to be hit by the extensive line of vicious thunderstorms. Reports say a tornado ripped through Clinton, just northwest of Jackson, around 11 a.m. CDT Friday, causing multiple injuries and widespread damage with roofs of homes torn off.
Even more recently, a tornado report out of Geiger, Alabama, Friday afternoon stated that houses had been severely damaged or completely destroyed. Another tornado report from Possumneck, Mississippi, included possible injuries.

As of mid-afternoon Friday, there were more than two dozen reports of tornadoes from central Mississippi into southwestern and west-central Alabama. One tornado was also reported near Bowling Green, Montana, northwest of St. Louis, Friday afternoon.
Thunderstorms have also produced wind damage farther north into north-central Tennessee and southwest into central Louisiana. The thunderstorms first ignited Thursday evening from eastern Kansas through eastern Oklahoma and northeastern Texas then tore across Arkansas and northern Louisiana Thursday night.

14/04/2011 - Palestinians hail international 'birth certificate' of statehood

Palestinians hail international 'birth certificate' of statehood

Donor countries meeting in Brussels say Palestinian Authority is 'above the threshold of a functioning state'.

By DPA Tags: Israel news Palestinians
Donor countries meeting in Brussels recognized on Wednesday that the "Palestinian Authority (PA) is above the threshold of a functioning state" - an assessment immediately hailed as a "birth certificate" for a Palestinian state by PA premier Salam Fayyad.

In recent months, the World Bank, the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have certified that Fayyad's state-building plans are on track for completion in mid-2011.


"We can today conclude that the Palestinian Authority is above the threshold of a functioning state," Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store said after chairing a meeting of the Ad Hoc Liason Committee, a panel of donor countries to the Palestinians.

"It amounts to a birth certificate for the reality of Palestinian statehood," Fayyad told reporters after the talks in Brussels.

The development took place against the backdrop of deadlocked peace negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis and running tensions in North Africa and the Middle East which have heightened Israeli security concerns.

A meeting of the Quartet - the panel of international mediators comprising the European Union, the United States, the United Nations and Russia - scheduled for Thursday in Berlin on the margins of NATO talks was called off, diplomats said.

Speculation has been mounting that the Palestinians would ask the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to recognize their statehood in September, if no progress in peace talks had been achieved by then.
But when asked, Fayyad refused to confirm that intention.

"We are not looking for another declaration of statehood, nor are we looking for a virtual state, what we are looking for, again, is a genuine, fully sovereign State of Palestine," including East Jerusalem which Israel captured in 1967, Fayyad said.

The Quartet's envoy, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, reiterated the need for a "negotiated solution," warning that a unilateral Palestinian move for recognition at the UNGA would split the international community.

"Probably if we are hoping for complete unity in the international community on anything to do with this issue, it would be a rather misplaced hope," he quipped.

On the sidelines of the meeting, the EU signed an agreement granting duty-free access to Palestinian agricultural produce - provided that fruit and vegetables are sold above a set price.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton also said the bloc had earmarked 300 million euros ($433 million) in 2011 to further support Palestinian state-building.

The trade deal is expected to give a much-needed boost to the Palestinian economy and to its trade ties with the EU, which amounted only to 57 million euros in 2009, to which exports from Palestine contributed only 6 million euros.

Fayyad called it "a very important agreement," but stressed its application depended on Israel allowing goods out of the Palestinian territories, including the Gaza Strip over which it maintains a tight grip because it is ruled by the Islamist Hamas group.

But Irit Ben-Abba, an Israeli foreign ministry official who also was in Brussels, said "there are no restrictions ... for exports from Gaza to the international markets" since the Israeli government relaxed its embargo on the enclave in December.

Wednesday 13 April 2011

13/04/2011 - Obama Bans Weapons Sales To Israel, Sells Billions In Arms To Arab States

Obama Bans Weapons Sales To Israel, Sells Billions In Arms To Arab States

April 13th, 2011 (16) Posted By Angelia Phillips.

The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs reported that the Israeli government was also refusing to protest massive U.S. weapons projects for Arab rivals in the Middle East, which has eroded Israel’s military superiority over its neighbors

Over the last year, the United States refused to approve any major Israeli weapons requests. Government sources asserted that the refusal represented a White House policy to link most arms sales to Israel to progress in the U.S. plan to establish a Palestinian state in the West Bank.

At the same time, Obama has approved more than $10 billion worth of arms sales to Arab League states, including Egypt, Kuwait, Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. JINSA said Israel, which receives more than $2.4 billion in annual American military aid, refrained from objecting to U.S. plans to sell F-16s, Harpoon Block 2 anti-ship missiles, Hellfire air-to-ground missiles, fast attack craft and helicopters to Egypt.
In a Jan. 27 report, the institute, regarded as close to the Defense Department and U.S. military, said the White House has blocked key weapons projects and upgrades for Israel. JINSA said Obama rejected Israel’s request for AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopters while approving advanced F-16 multi-role fighters for Egypt. “Indeed, Israel’s request for six AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters was blocked by the Obama Administration in June – the same time the Egyptian sale was approved,” the report said.
The administration’s policy, the report said, has violated a pledge given more than 40 years ago to maintain Israel’s military superiority over its Arab neighbors.
“How does Israel compete when the Obama administration announces 24 more F-16s for Egypt and 24 additional F-16s for Morocco,” the report said. “The concept of the Qualitative Military Edge failed to keep up with the changes in U.S. arms sales and training policy over the decades.”
JINSA dismissed Israeli government claims that the White House was ready to address the erosion of Israel’s military superiority. The institute said the January 2010 visit by U.S. National Security Advisor James Jones did not concern Israel’s qualitative military edge.

“Actually, it was to push Israel into more pointless talks with Palestinians, who declined to cooperate,” the institute said.

The U.S. aid to Arab states, the report said, has hampered Israeli military cooperation with Washington. More than 20 years ago, the Israel Air Force stopped participating in U.S.-sponsored regional exercises to prevent the leakage of combat tactics. ”It’s one thing for our lover to take pictures in the bedroom,” the report quoted an Israeli combat pilot as saying. “It is another for them to sell the pictures on the street.”
JINSA said Israel has lost its advantage over the Arabs regarding the quantity and quality of weapons. The institute said the Arabs also appear to have caught up to Israel in the area of tactics and training. The sole advantage was said to concern the quality of Israeli soldiers and officers. ”Changing Israel’s local security paradigm at the same time as increased sales to the neighbors — and no new sales to Israel – means the balance is pushed further out of whack,” the report said.

13/04/2011 - New U.S. peace push must come soon: Palestinians

New U.S. peace push must come soon: Palestinians

RAMALLAH (Reuters) – The United States must move fast on its planned drive to revive Middle East talks before Palestinians seek recognition as a state, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday.

"It's time for the American administration to move before September," the spokesman, Nabil Abu Rdainah, said.

Given a continuing impasse despite 18 years of talks, Palestinian leaders aim to ask the U.N. General Assembly in September for recognition of statehood on all of the territory Israel occupied in 1967. That would include Gaza, over which the Palestinian Authority currently has no control.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday that the United States planned a new push to promote comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace, suggesting a stronger hand by Israel's closest ally.

"Talk about plans and new initiatives is not enough. There should be an effective U.S. role and strong policy against settlements," Abu Rdainah said in response.

"The administration has started to realize the situation in the Mideast is dangerous."
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad briefed a panel of Western representatives in Brussels on Wednesday on his bid for nearly $5 billion in investment to launch a Palestinian state.
The committee welcomed reports by the United Nations, World Bank and International Monetary Fund praising Fayyad's efforts over the past two years to establish the institutions and attributes of a modern state in time for the U.N. assembly.

"BIRTH CERTIFICATE"

"It amounts to a birth certificate for the reality of Palestinian statehood," Fayyad told reporters after the meeting.

U.S.-brokered peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians broke down last September in a dispute over continued Jewish settlement building in the occupied West Bank.
In a speech to Arab and U.S. policy makers that placed particular emphasis on Israeli-Palestinian peace, Clinton said President Barack Obama will lay out his policy toward the Middle East and North Africa in the coming weeks.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned against unilateral moves such as declaring statehood, arguing that a solution could only be achieved by direct negotiations. Israel disputes the Palestinian claim on the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which it captured from Jordanian control in 1967.
Abbas refuses to resume the suspended talks until the Israelis freeze all West Bank settlement construction, arguing that it continues to take land away from a future Palestine.
An Israeli government official, who declined to be named, said Israel was ready to begin negotiations again at any time.

Netanyahu is widely expected to visit the United States in May and media reports have said he may float fresh ideas on how to get the peace process going again.
(Additional reporting by Justina Pawlak in Brussels and Allyn Fisher-Ilan in Jerusalem; Writing by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Douglas Hamilton)

Tuesday 12 April 2011

12/04/2011 - An Invasion of Israel? In 2012?

Published: 04/12/11, 12:10 AM

An Invasion of Israel? In 2012?

by Dr. Yacov Tabak
Negative-seeming events may be the fulfillment of a prophecy that is a harbinger of redemption. Read on for a possible scenario in keeping with current and recent events and Biblical prophecy.

Executive Summary: A careful comparison of current events vis-à-vis the Palestinians and the so-called Peace Process with a variety of Jewish sources concerning events that are destined to take place at the Final Redemption, leads to surprising and positive possibilities. The following article describes a possible scenario and the Jewish sources on which it is based.

Maimonides (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Melachim 12) teaches that the Jewish Oral Tradition does not clarify the details of future events described by the Prophets of Israel in the Bible. In his words,וכל אלו הדברים וכיוצא בהן לא ידע אדם איך יהיו עד שיהיו  – "and in all these things and related matters man will not know how they will come about until they come about." In other words, no one knows exactly what the Prophets are describing until it takes place.

The Jewish Oral Tradition (תורה שבעל פה Torah she-Beal Peh) gives us abundant guidance on matters of Halakha – for instance, the  פרי עץ הדר  – “the fruit of the beauteous tree to be taken on Sukkot” - is defined by the Oral Tradition as the אתרוג  etrog – the citron. Or, the Biblical injunction to   וקשרתם לאות על ידך והיו לטטפת בין עיניך"bind them as a sign on your arms and frontlets between your eyes" we understand from the Torah she-Beal Peh refers to phylacteries – Tefillin – which are cubic black leather boxes containing parchments inscribed with very specific Biblical passages. Without the Oral Tradition, we would have no way of knowing this.

A comparable guide to understanding prophetic statements, however, is not revealed by the Oral Tradition. For instance, Isaiah 60:08, in reference to the returning of the Exiles to Israel in the Final Redemption, states:  מי אלה כעב תעופינה וכיונים אל ארבתיהם  – "who are these who will fly like a cloud, and like doves to their dovecotes?"

Before the era of piloted manned flight began in the early twentieth century, classical commentators were simply unable to understand this passage. Today, when virtually all modern-era immigrants have reached Israel by flying at the altitude of clouds, and, like doves, always landing in the same place – the Ben Gurion Airport, we understand clearly the prediction of Isaiah concerning this phenomenon of airborne ingathering of Exiles.
Another example is Isaiah 26:20   לך עמי בא בחדריך וסגור דלתך בעדך חבי כמעט רגע עד יעבר זעם  - “Go My people come into your rooms and close your doors behind you, hide for just a moment until the fury passes". The Biblical commentator Radak comments that this will occur during the War of Gog Umagog and the reference to "rooms" is allegorical and refers to "taking shelter" so to speak, by doing good deeds and doing penance. Rashi states that the Jews will go to their synagogues and study halls at that time.

As we now know, this passage is a very accurate description of the seclusion in the "sealed rooms" used as a protection in Israel against chemical warfare agents in the first Gulf War in 1991 and the "fury passing" occurred when the "All Clear" sounded (the code words were "Sharav Kaved") allowing people to exit the sealed rooms after the Scud missile landed and was determined to be chemically non-threatening.
As Maimonides had said, when the prophecy comes to pass, we are able to understand the passage, and so it was.
The People of Israel have been experiencing events described as those of  אחרית הימים "Acharit Hayamim" – the "Last of the Years" [not, as often mistranslated, "The End of Days"] referred to by the Torah and the prophets, when there is to be a massive ingathering of Jews to the Land of Israel, an extensive rebuilding of the country and its communities, and a Golden Age when  כי מציון תצא תורה ודבר השם מירושלים  -   "for from Zion shall issue forth Torah (Teaching = knowledge, including technological and scientific advances) and the Word of G-d from Jerusalem"  Isaiah 2:3 and Michah 4:2.

It is tempting to explore prophetic and Midrashic sources to look for the context of unfolding events. This study leads to encouragement as to their salutary outcome, despite the difficulties and challenges we face at present.

Rav Saadyah Gaon related to this over one thousand years ago in his ten-part seminal philosophical work   הנבחר באמונות ודעות"Hanivchar Be'emunot Ve'deot" "Selected Matters of Faith and Doctrines of Dogma".  In number 8 – בישועה "BaYeshuah" – "Concerning the Final Salvation" he states (according to the translation from the Arabic by Rav Yosef Kapach, page 247) ישתבח מי שהטיב לנו בהקדימו להודיע לנו את הצרות האלה שלא יבואו עלינו פתאום ויגרמו לנו ייאוש  - “praised be He who benefited us in that He gave us advance notice concerning these troubles so that they would not happen to us suddenly and cause us despair".

To paraphrase this idea, there is a reason the prophets provide so much detail in their accounts of future events in the Messianic Age. After all, to convey basic Jewish Faith in the Redemption concept it would be enough for the Prophets to write "trust in the Ultimate Redemption – it will surely come."
The reason for the detailed scenarios described in Biblical prophecy is so that when these events begin to take place, we will be able to recognize the patterns and context of ominous developments, and know that the final outcome is positive.

The message of Rav Saadyah is that the detail has been provided in order that the Jewish people will not despair. This foreknowledge of the outcome provided by the prophets will preclude mass despair on the part of the Jewish public when the scenario of upcoming events of the Messianic era seems threatening and foreboding.

An example of this principle at work was provided over five years ago on the occasion of the destruction of Gush Katif. At that time, the prospect of Israel destroying many rebuilt Jewish communities was considered by some to be an indication of a reversal of the אתחלתא דגאולה "atchalta de'Geula" "first stages of the Redemption" which the State of Israel embodied up to that point.

However, the Targum Yonatan ben Uziel on Deuteronomy 34:3 states: וית גלוות תלמידי אלישע דגלו מן קרוות דקליא על ידי אחוהון בית ישראל מאתן אלפין גוברין . . . וסדרי קרבא דגוג ובעידן צערא רבא ההיא מיכאל יקום בדרעא לפרוקא  – in translation "And the exile of the students of Elisha [the Prophet] who are exiled from the Town of Dekalim by their brethren of the House of Israel – 200,000 men - . . . and the battle orders of Gog [and Magog] and in that era of great pain, Michael [the Archangel Michael – the guardian angel of the Jewish people] will arise with the [outstretched] Arm [of the Almighty] in order to redeem."

This source tells us that the evacuation of Gush Katif and its principle town Neveh Dekalim, exiling the Jewish residents, could be seen as an integral part of the upcoming scenario of Ultimate Redemption. Were it not for this source, we might have despaired of the future.

Taking it into consideration, although we do not yet understand the logic and we share the pain of the exiled pioneers, and although those who perpetrated the act chose of their own free will to cause immeasurable suffering, we can be heartened that it is part of the overall redemption scenario so that we do not "despair".[See /Articles/Article.aspx/5497  for a detailed discussion of this source.]  
In Israel, we find ourselves in foreboding circumstances today, in Spring 2011. The State of Israel seems to have lost a major measure of its support in the non-Jewish world and is being stampeded into abandoning large parts of the Land of Israel to the tender mercies of sworn enemies who have no peaceful intentions at all – the Palestinians.

These are Arabs who constitute a "national entity" invented recently of whole cloth and which never existed in world history. Their wish is to destroy the State of Israel and kill as many Jews as possible in the process. Prime Minister Netanyahu is being pushed into formulating a plan of further concessions, beyond those already granted, lest the "World" (i.e. the Quartet - the USA, Russia, the UN, and the EU) force on Israel a "peace agreement" which would involve the abandonment of the homes of over 600,000 Israelis – including large parts of Jerusalem.

The Palestinian enemy fully expects this scenario to materialize and so, steadfastly refuses to negotiate. Since the "World", lead by US President Barack Hussein Obama whose father was a practicing Moslem, does not punish them in any way for not negotiating, they feel vindicated in this assessment.
Let us consult Jewish sources to see if there are hints as to upcoming events. First we will review a possible scenario constructed from the Palestinian declared intentions and from prophetic sources that correlate with them. Then we will quote these sources in detail so as to back up the scenario. The result is much more encouraging than currently considered.

A Possible Scenario:
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
After extensive preparation of the apparatus of statehood and widespread recognition by a growing list of countries of an "independent state of Palestine with borders defined by the 1967 cease-fire lines", the Palestinians turn in September 2011 [see Note 1 below] to the UN Security Council to be recognized as an independent State within the pre-1967 armistice lines– meaning that the Ramat Eshkol neighborhood of Jerusalem, as well as many others, will be part of Security-Council-recognized Palestine.
The USA does not veto this resolution (the recent US veto of the anti-settlement Security Council resolution was a feint, and not a precedent) and it passes [see Note 2]; alternatively, if there is a veto, the Palestinians turn to the UN General Assembly, using the 1950's "Uniting for Peace" tactic which enabled the USA to engage in the Korean War although a Russian-Chinese veto had paralyzed the Security Council on this issue and receive their approval.

The Palestinians then turn to the State of Israel and request immediate evacuation of its nearly 650,000 citizens from "their state". Israel offers to discuss the matter, the Palestinians refuse any discussion [see Note 3] and refer the issue back to the Security Council, requesting that they act to remove these interlopers post haste from "their state". After a short time, the Security Council and/or Quartet decide that the festering wound of the Israel-Palestine conflict has persisted long enough and decide to settle the matter once and for all by sending an expeditionary force to Israel to carry out the evacuation forcibly [see Note 4].
The deadline for Israel acting is by January 15, 2012 [see Note 5]. On or about that date, if Israel does not begin to seriously evacuate its citizens (and it won't), an expeditionary force consisting of contingents from both Christian and Moslem countries [see Note 6] lands on the shores of Israel. The force consists of at least 185,000 combat soldiers [see Note 7], and is well-armed enough to counter the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) in whatever conflict configuration that might develop.

It has been demonstrated on the Internet that there is an elaborate US Armed Forces base in Israel, located near Shoham, and straddling the Green Line, and the force may be quartered there. This base was given to Pres. George W. Bush by Prime Minister Sharon on the occasion of the second Iraq War about five years ago. For a detailed description of this extra-territorial US presence in Israel, see http://www.rense.com/general66/excl.htm , including many pictures.

Eight months after the initial invasion [see note 8], the force approaches Jerusalem on the Eve of Sukkot 5773 (October 2012) [see Note 8]. They cause substantial havoc, but one week later, on the night between Oct. 06 and Oct. 07, 2012 -  in the Hebrew calendar ליל הושענא רבה Leil Hoshanna Rabbah – the eve of the seventh day of Sukkot - , the L-rd, G-d of Israel says "Enough!" and puts an end to this force by some as yet unidentified natural phenomenon, devastating all the home countries who contributed personnel to the invasion [see Note 8]. Furthermore, on this occasion, all the capitals of the historic enemies of the Jews (for example Berlin, Teheran, Cairo, Rome, London, Madrid, Mecca, Moscow) will be reduced to rubble in a natural disaster that engulfs the entire planet [see Notes 9 and 11].
On the morning of Hoshanna Rabbah, the world looks entirely different. The final end to political or military pressure exerted on Jews and their State of Israel arrives.

At the close of this scenario, the Israel-Palestinian conflict ends forever. The Jews present in the Holy Land emerge unscathed and those surviving the devastation overseas soon make a final Aliyah [see Note 10].

The Sources:

Those readers familiar with Jewish sources describing the War of Gog and Magog will recognize elements thereof in the above scenario. Let us now elaborate in detail the sources for the above account, point-by-point.
1. August-September, 2011 Security Council approval of a Palestinian State in the 1967 lines:
This is the proclaimed intention of the Palestinian leadership, as declared repeatedly by their Prime Minister Salam Fayyad over the last 1 1/2 years. It is also the date by which the "Quartet" has determined that a final settlement of the Israel-Palestinian conflict be completed.

2. American non-use of the Veto at the Security Council : For the first time in history, America has a President – Barack Obama – with a sympathetic orientation to Moslem countries. He visited Cairo early in his presidency but has not yet visited Israel, and actions speak louder than words. The Palestinians’ moves would logically be made such that the entire planned process of forcing Israel militarily to do their bidding is completed before November 2012 when Obama stands for re-election.

3. The Palestinians demand evacuation of their country by the Jewish non-citizens and refuse to negotiate: This is simply a logical conclusion based on their behavior and statements to date – force Israel to vacate all territory beyond the post-1967 lines without resorting to negotiation and without conceding anything at all. They have announced clearly that their state must be judenrein.

4. The "Quartet" decides to force Israeli evacuation militarily: The entire tenor of the anti-Israeli international political atmosphere for the last two years leads directly to this outcome. It is this prospect that has Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak running scared and feeling pressured to make proposals to "advance the peace process," even though the current logjam in negotiations is entirely the fault of the Palestinians. Note the Arab League's announced plan to ask to make Gaza a no-fly zone and Obama advisor Samantha Power's suggestion to send UN forces to protect the Palestinians from the IDF.
5. The Jan.15, 2012 date: The first Gulf War in 1991 was fixed to begin on this date. Events in the solar calendar have particular significance for the non-Jewish world and those in the lunar calendar are significant for the Jewish world. (see BT Tractate Succa 29a – a solar eclipse is a bad omen for the non-Jews and a lunar eclipse is a bad omen for the Jews).
In 2012, the interval between Jan. 15 and Oct. 07, Hoshanna Rabbah – the seventh day of Sukkot, is exactly 266 days – 38 weeks, i.e. the nine months of a human pregnancy. According to BT Yoma 10a, "Ben-David (the Messiah) will only arrive after the evil kingdom of Rome dominates the entire world for a period of nine months as it says in Micah 5:2 "therefore give them the time it takes for her to give birth." The events at the closing stages of the Redemption process will last the nine months of human gestation.

Since it is understood that the finale of G-d's victory over the nations at the close of the Gog and Magog War takes place on the seventh day of Sukkot – Hoshanna Rabbah, it is logical to seek the year when this interval is 266 days. 2012 is such a year.

In Zechariah 14, it states that in response to the nations' invasion of Eretz Yisrael, ויצא השם ונלחם בגוים ההם כיום הלחמו ביום קרב - "And Hashem will go forth and do battle with those nations as on the day of His fighting on the day of Battle." The Targum Yonatan renders this: כיום אגחותיה קרב על ימא דסוף - "As on the day that he fought the battle at the Red Sea", referring to the night of the seventh day of Passover, when the Egyptian pursuers were drowned in the Red Sea.

Since G-d's victory over the Egyptians in the Exodus culminated in the crossing of the Red Sea and the final destruction of the Egyptian enemy on the seventh day of Passover, so in the Final Redemption on the Seventh Day of Sukkot all the nations who were/are enemies of the Jews will be destroyed. As it states in Michah 7:15  כימי צאתך מארץ מצרים אראנו נפלאות "kimei tzeitcha mei-eretz Mitzrayim ar'enu niflaot" – "I will show you miraculous events (at the Final Redemption) as in the days of the Exodus."

The connection with the Sukkot holiday is clearly indicated in Zechariah 14 and is the reason the chapters related to the War of Gog and Magog were chosen to be read as Haphtorot on Sukkot.
This connection is Torah-mandated. The 70 bulls sacrificed on Sukkot in the Holy Temple on behalf of the welfare of the 70-nations of the world are sacrificed not 10 per day for 7 days, but in a curious countdown from 13 on the first day to 7 on the last day. The total is 70, but the declining numbers are an ominous message to the nations that in the ultimate events to take place on Sukkot, they will not fare well (unless there is massive Teshuva – repentance - on their part; see Rashi on Numbers 29:18).

6. Christian and Moslem Contingents in the Invading Expeditionary Force: See Daniel 11:40 and following: 40 – ובעת קץ יתנגח עמו מלך הנגב וישתער עליו מלך הצפון ברכב ובפרשים ובאניות רבות ובא בארצות ושטף ועבר   -  “And at the time of the End [a synonym in Biblical terminology for Acharit Hayamim] there will be a collision with him by the King of the South and the King of the North will storm [his defences] with chariots and horsemen and many ocean-going vessels and he will sweep through and pass on”. – ויטע אהלי אפדנו בין ימים להר צבי קודש ובא עד קצו ואין עוזר לו  - “And he will pitch his Royal tents between the seas and the mount of the Sacred Beauty [a synonym for the land of Israel] and he will come to his End, and there is no one to help him”. 12:1 – ובעת ההיא יעמוד מיכאל השר הגדול העמד על בני עמך והיתה עת צרה אשר לא נהיתה מהיות גוי עד העת ההיא ובעת ההיא ימלט עמך כל הנמצא כתוב בספר - "And at that time, the Great Archangel Michael [the traditional Guardian Angel of the Jews], who guards over Your people, will arise and there will be a time of troubles such as never before since becoming a nation until then, and at that time, Your people will escape – all those found to be written in the book."

The above passages describe a seminal war between the King of the South and the King of the North, who then unite to invade Israel, where they will meet their end. Over one hundred years ago, the classic commentary Malbim identified the King of the South as "artzot Yishmael" the Ishmaelite countries, a clear reference to Moslem forces; the Metzudot David, another commentary, identifies the King of the North as "Romi", Rome, a reference to the Christian countries.

From these sources, it derives that the invasion of Israel at the end of the scenario involves a coalition of both Moslem and Christian forces. This invasion and its consequences – the War of Gog-u-Magog – are described in detail in Ezekiel 38 and 39. There, Persia is mentioned as part of the invading coalition, so that now Iran may be part of the expeditionary force as well. The intent of the invading force is (38:12) לשלול שלל ולבוז בז להשיב ידך על חרבות
נושבות ואל עם מאסף מגוים עשה מקנה וקנין יושבי על טבור הארץ -"To take as booty the booty [the booty already taken--in the Six Day War?], and to despoil the spoils, to return your [violent] hand on resettled ruins and against a people ingathered from the Nations, dealing in commercial trade, and dwelling in the heartland [literally: the navel of the Land]".

This description closely suits the intent to uproot communities rebuilt in Israel [referred to as "the settlements" in the current diplomatic jargon], the intent of the Expeditionary Force. Finally, in 39:06 –   ושלחתי אש במגוג וביושבי האיים לבטח וידעו כי אני השם - "I will send fire in Magog [the home countries of Gog and his coalition] and in the dwellers of the Islands [a biblical term for overseas territories – other continents] in security and then they will know that I am the L-rd." This is a clear reference to world-wide destruction and catastrophe. In Zechariah 13:8, a reference to "two-thirds will be cut off and perish and one-third will be left over [from the destruction]" is interpreted as referring to the vast toll of this world-wide catastrophe (see BT Sanhedrin 111a – debate between R' Yohanan and Resh Lakish).

7. 185,000 Soldiers: The B.T. Sanhedrin 95b describes that the future armies of Gog Umagog will encompass 185,000 troops as did the besieging army of Sancheriv (Sennacherib) who laid unsuccessful siege to Jerusalem during the reign of King Hezekiah. The force is itemized there as 45,000 senior officers (with their camp-following consorts), 80,000 soldiers equipped with scale-equipped body-armor, and 60,000 swordsmen, in addition to various horsemen.
This analogy derives from the similarities between this account and the scenario foretold by the prophets for the Gog Umagog conflict. An expeditionary force coming against Israel has to be capable theoretically of defeating the IDF in battle, although a battle may not occur.

8. The attack on Jerusalem on Sukkot: See Zecharia 14  - the entire chapter – for the details of this invasion. The association with Sukkot is made at the end of the chapter where in the aftermath of G-d's victory over the nations, their survivors are commanded to visit Jerusalem annually on Sukkot in remembrance of this event.
This chapter is read in synagogues as the Haphtorah on the first day of Sukkot. And Chapters 38-39 of Ezekiel, mentioned above, are read on the Intermediate Sabbath of Sukkot as the Haphtorah. The two readings are associated with Sukkot because the events described there are destined to take place on Sukkot (see Rav Hai Gaon in Tur Shulhan Arukh – Orach Chaim – 490).

9.The Planet-wide Disaster on Hoshanna Rabbah: See the detailed scenario in Ezekiel 38-39 and Zecharia 14. Earthquakes, tidal waves, avnei elgavish (which I have identified as a major fall of earth-crossing asteroids on the planet that night of Hoshanna Rabbah); each of these has enough energy and destructive power to leave a crater or devastation where a city stood previously).

10.  The Jews in Israel survive: In Joel 4:16:   והשם מציון ישאג ומירושלים יתן קולו ורעשו שמים וארץ והשם מחסה לעמו ומעוז לבני ישראל   - In the context of this war, "and G-d will roar forth from Zion, and He will raise His voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth will tremble [the Biblical verb for an earthquake] and G-d will be a shelter for His people and a fortress for the children of Israel".

Furthermore, by analogy with the Exodus as defined above, the concept of   הפלאה"hafla'ah" – contradistinction – was a dominant theme in the Exodus. Plague after plague smote the Egyptians but the Israelites were unaffected. See the account of the plague of "dever" – cattle blight – in Exodus 9:7 where Pharaoh cannot believe that the Israelites lost no cattle to this plague and sent a personal emissary to the land of Goshen to confirm this amazing contradistinction.

So may we hope that it will be in the Final Redemption, and although there will be massive perishing all over the planet, the Jews in Israel will survive unharmed, decisively demonstrating G-d's intervention on their behalf. This will serve to convince the surviving non-Jews of the globe Who orchestrated this world-wide catastrophe – and why.

Finally, in Deuteronomy 32:25, the song of Ha'azinu, it states  מחוץ תשכל חרב ומחדרים אימה - "michutz teshakel cherev umechadarim eimah" literally – "outside there will be loss of life by sword, and indoors there will be great fear." The Targum Yonatan on this passage: עמא דגלו מברא לארעא דישראל תתכיל יתהון מחת חרבא ודמשתיירין בארעא דישראל בגו קיטוני מדמיכיהון איגרי בהון הגרת מותא - "The people exiled outside the boundaries of the Land of Israel will suffer the blow of the sword and those remaining in the Land of Israel in their bedrooms where they sleep will fear the fear of death."

This strongly suggests that the safest place for the Jews to be during that Sukkot will be in Israel – they will fear, but will remain alive.

11. Destruction of the Past and Current Enemies of the Jews at that time: This theme recurs in the Bible and the words of the prophets repeatedly. One quote will illustrate the point: Deuteronomy 32:43 – again from the Song of Ha'azinu:  הרנינו גוים עמו כי דם עבדיו יקום ונקם ישיב לצריו וכפר אדמתו עמו - "Nations, praise His people, for He has avenged the blood of His servants, and He will visit vengeance on His adversaries and will atone for His land and for His people."
In Conclusion:
As quoted above, Maimonides warns that no one knows for sure to what events specific prophecies refer until they come to pass. However, we live in times so replete with prophecies in the midst of fulfillment that we may be forgiven for constructing possible scenarios.
The above is one such scenario, congruent with Jewish sources. There may be others with different outcomes. If there is an armed invasion of Israel by a joint Christian-Moslem force intending to eject Jews from the historic Land of Israel, and this takes place in early 2012, there will be those who will ominously predict the imminent demise of the independent State of Israel, as there are even those who do so today.
However, as described above, the outcome may be dramatically more favorable for the Jews. There will be no room for despair, but rather for intense optimism, and that precisely is the message of Rav Saadyah Gaon above in explaining why we have been provided by Divine guidance with all this information.

[Note: The ideas and substance of the above, including the key dates and details, were broadcast on Arutz 7 Internet Radio – the Tamar Yonah Show, on the occasion of Yom Yerushalayim 5770 (on May 11, 2010) in an interview conducted by Tamar with the author. It is interesting to note that the events of the last 10 months, including the Palestinian absolute refusal to negotiate and their marshalling of many countries to support the 1967 cease-fire lines as their borders, have served only to reinforce the impression that this scenario is indeed underway.]