HAMAS & FATAH SIGN RECONCILIATION AGREEMENT!
by Gil Ronen (IsraelNationalNews)

Qatari mediation efforts between rival PLO groups Fatah and Hamas have succeeded and the twin terror organizations have signed a reconciliation agreement, it was reported Sunday. The impasse over the identity of the interim Prime Minister has been solved — but there are already threats within Hamas to split the organization.

The Qatari suggestion, which was accepted by both parties, was that Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas would head the temporary transition government until elections are held at a date that has yet to be set.

The transition government will be composed of independent “technocrats.” It will prepare the groundwork for elections for the Presidency and for the legislative council. These had been delayed for procedural reasons.

The ultra-leftist Geneva Initiative called the reconciliation “a diplomatic opportunity that may never be repeated” and called upon Israel to suggest “a serious plan that will test whether the united Palestinian leadership seeks peace.”

Al Arabiya news network reported Sunday that senior officials in Hamas are threatening to split the terror group in two, because they do not accept Mahmoud Abbas as Prime Minister, even in a transitional government.

IRANIAN PARLIAMENT WEB SITE: “ATTACK ISRAEL THIS YEAR!”
by Gil Ronen (Arutz Sheva News)

The Iranian parliament’s official website has published an article calling on the government to attack Israel before the end of the year.

According to Israeli TV Channel 2′s veteran Middle East expert, Ehud Yaari, the article cites three reasons for the call.

First – a religious fatwa allowing such a strike. Second – threats from Israel regarding a planned strike on Iran. And third – Iran’s alleged military capability to carry out such an attack.

The article specifies that the area between Lod and Jerusalem should be targeted, as well as Tel Nof Air Force Base.

The article seems to be part of a recent trend in Iran to step up the rhetoric regarding a possible attack on Israel. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Friday that Israel is a “cancerous tumor that should be cut and will be cut.”

“We have intervened in anti-Israel matters, and it brought victory in the 33-day war by Hizbullah against Israel in 2006, and in the 22-day war” between Hamas and Israel in Gaza, Khamenei was quoted as saying.

He added, “From now on, in any place, if any nation or any group confronts the Zionist regime, we will endorse and we will help. We have no fear expressing this.”

On Saturday, press outlets in Iran also widely quoted a blog post by Alireza Forghani, a computer engineer, who called upon Tehran to “wipe out Israel” by 2014.

Forghani called on his leaders to target Israeli sites using land-to-land missiles. Ballistic Sijil missiles should be launched at Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa, he suggested, as well as power stations and other vital infrastructure. Then, Shahab 3 and Ghader missiles should target the rest of Israel’s population centers. Nine minutes would suffice for “total annihilation,” he predicted.

AL QAEDA GROUP ATTACKS EGYPTIAN GAS LINE TO ISRAEL!
by Chana Ya’ar (Arutz Sheva News)

The Al Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Jihad terrorist group in northern Sinai has claimed responsibility for attacking the Egyptian gas pipeline to Israel and Jordan overnight Saturday. It was the 12th such attack in a year’s time.

The group claimed the attack was carried out in “revenge for the death of its leader in an Egyptian prison.” Ansar al-Jihad swore allegiance to international Al Qaeda terrorist leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, in a statement issued by the group on January 25, the first anniversary of the Tahrir Square Revolution.

The statement was posted on the Sinam al Islam jihadist web forum, translated by the SITE intelligence group and signed by “Your soldiers in Ansar al-Jihad in the Sinai Peninsula.”

It announced the group’s “allegiance for obedience in good and bad, in difficulty and ease, and altruism,” and was addressed to their “beloved Mujahid Sheikh Abu Muhammad Ayman al Zawahiri.”

The group has become the military arm of Al Qaeda in the Sinai Peninsula, and has cemented ties with Salafi terrorist organizations in Gaza, according to SITE.

The group has vowed in past flyers translated by the SITE group circulated in northern Sinai to wage a war against what it calls “the corrupt [Egyptian] regime and its Jewish and American backers.” It has also stressed adherence to the doctrine of “the martyr Imam Osama Bin Laden,” according to an article in the Egyptian daily Al-Masry Al-Youm.

According to a December 21 2011 alert by the Search for International Terrorist Entities (SITE), an organization that monitors jihadist movements., Ansar al-Jihad also announced its intentions to launch attacks on Egypt’s ruling military council, as well as U.S. interests abroad.

The group claimed responsibility for a series of bombings on the pipeline in December, and also claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack on Eilat in August 2011.

IRAN WARNS WORLD OF COMING GREAT EVENT!
by Reza Kahlili (World Net Daily)

Amid crippling sanctions over its nuclear weapons program, Iran is continuing to prepare itself for war against the West, and now is warning of a coming great event.

“In light of the realization of the divine promise by almighty God, the Zionists and the Great Satan (America) will soon be defeated,” Ayatollah Khamenei, the Iranian supreme leader, is warning.

Khamenei, speaking to hundreds of youths from more than 70 countries attending a world conference on the Arab Spring just days ago, told a cheering crowd in Tehran that “Allah’s promises will be delivered and Islam will be victorious.”

The countries represented included Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Palestine and Tunisia, all of which have been involved in the Arab Spring.

In his remarks, Khamenei advised the youths to remain vigilant, stating that the Islamic awakening in the region has delivered several blows to the enemies of Islam and that all Muslims, despite their own historical and social differences, remain united in opposing the “evil hegemony of the Zionists and the Americans.”

Khamenei then claimed the current century as the century of Islam and promised that human history is on the verge of a great event and that soon the world will realize the power of Allah.

Many clerics in Iran have stated that Khamenei is the deputy of the last Islamic messiah on earth and that obedience to him is necessary for the final glorification of Islam.

Khamenei has been heard to say that the coming of the last Islamic Messiah, the Shiites’ 12th Imam Mahdi, is near and that specific actions need to be taken to protect the Islamic regime for upcoming events.

Mahdi, according to Shiite belief, will reappear at the time of Armageddon. Selected forces within the Revolutionary Guards and Basij reportedly have been trained under a task force called “Soldiers of Imam Mahdi” and they will bear the responsibility of security and protecting the regime against uprisings. Many in the Guards and Basij have been told that the 12th Imam is on earth, facilitated the victory of Hizbullah over Israel in the 2006 war and soon will announce publicly his presence after the needed environment is created.

Sources within Vali’eh Amr, the revolutionary forces in charge of the supreme leader’s protection, also recently revealed an assassination attempt on Khamenei that was thwarted just in time.

SepahOnline reports that last year during Khamenei’s visit to the port of Asalouyeh in southern Iran, Revolutionary Guards found pistols and hand grenades hidden by one individual dressed as a janitor in a barracks that Khamenei was set to attend. The supreme leader was then returned to Tehran immediately.

Other sources within the Guards report that following Barack Obama’s letter to the Iranian leader last month requesting negotiations, Khamenei ordered Iranian officials to speak positively about holding nuclear talks and giving hope to Obama and other Western leaders that a negotiated solution is possible. This was apparent after a trip of U.N. nuclear inspectors to Iran this week, who called the talks positive.

At the same time, his directive to the Guards ordered a speedy completion of the Iranian nuclear bomb program in which Guards’ missiles can be armed with nuclear warheads. Khamenei believes once that’s achieved, Iran can test a nuclear bomb, letting the world know that Iran has joined the nuclear-armed club and that any confrontation will result in destruction of much of the Western world.

The Revolutionary Guards not only can hit all U.S. bases in the Middle East with their ballistic missiles but also reach most capital cities in Western Europe. The Guards, with the help of China and North Korea, are working on intercontinental ballistic missiles. But more dangerous to America, as reported last July, is the Guards action in arming their vessels with long-range ballistic missiles and their expansion of their mission into the Atlantic Ocean, right into the Gulf of Mexico.

Any Iranian military or commercial vessel easily could get right outside the U.S. coastline and in less than 60 seconds fire a ballistic missile armed with a nuclear payload and detonate it over U.S. skies in an electromagnetic attack that would plunge America back into the 18th century.

Studies show within just one year after such an attack, two-thirds of Americans would cease to exist and the rest would live under dire conditions.

The radicals ruling Iran not only have prepared for mass suppression of their own people as they get close to their confrontation with the West, but also have prepared to fuel unrest through their proxies in the Middle East and elsewhere.

SepahOnline, with sources within the Guards, reports that Afghanistan will soon witness an increase in terrorist activities against U.S. forces. The Guards not only are training Taliban fighters in Iran close to the Afghan border, but are shipping armaments to forces in Afghanistan with an order to create instability by harming U.S. forces and destabilizing the Afghan government.

Guards agents have also been ordered to do the same in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf counties.

The Guards also announced the imminent formation of a defensive unit to deal with possible radioactive contamination. Although they did not say why, they could be preparing for a nuclear exchange with the West once Iran becomes nuclear-armed.

WND previously has reported that the chieftains in Iran also are preparing to execute their own internal critics and opponents at the right time.

This was similar to action taken by the founder of the Islamic regime in 1988, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

In the book, “A Time to Betray,” the CIA spy in the revolutionary guards reveals the mindset of the Shi’ite clerics and how they aspire for the destruction of the world. They truly believe the end of time is here. As revealed last year, the Iranian secret documentary “The Coming is Upon Us” clearly indicates that the radicals ruling Iran believe the destruction of Israel will trigger the coming of last Islamic Messiah.

HAMAS MAKES DIPLOMATIC INROADS – SEEKS PA PRESIDENCY!
(For Zion’s Sake)

New EU sanctions will have drastic effect on Iran’s economy.
Hamas leader visits Jordan; may move there.
Organization to move HQ from Syria.

Hamas’ political head Khaled Mashaal visited Jordan on Sunday as he seemingly stepped up his bid to replace Mahmoud Abbas as President of the Palestinian Authority.

It was Mashaal’s first visit to the Hashemite Kingdom in more than a decade. Jordan expelled Hamas’ leaders in 1999 in part because of their efforts to undermine the peace agreement between Amman and Jerusalem.

Jordan is said to be considering re-establishing ties with Hamas, which is trained, armed and funded by Iran. Amman is watching the strengthening of Islamist political movements throughout the region and does not want to be isolated.

On the other hand, King Abdullah is aware that the United States and European Union have designated Hamas a terror organization. Hamas is committed to the destruction of Israel and opposes any peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis.

There is speculation in the Palestinian areas that Mashaal is planning to run for the Presidency if elections are held later this year. He fueled these rumors by announcing his resignation as political chief of Hamas.

Mashaal has spent much of the last month traveling the Muslim world in a bid to garner support. His destinations included Qatar, Egypt and Turkey.

There are reports that given the turmoil in Syria he will not return to the country and the organization may move its headquarters away from Damascus. Some journalists are suggesting Mashaal and his family intend settling in Jordan.

IRAN’S RELIGIOUS LEADER: “WE’RE ALREADY NUCLEAR!”

Senior Iranian religious leader Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami says that Iran is already nuclear, and the U.S. too blind to realize that.

Senior Iranian religious leader Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami said on Friday that Iran is already a nuclear state and that Americans have not realized that.

“The United States says it will not allow Iran to be nuclear, but it is so blind that it hasn’t noticed that Iranhas already become a nuclear state,” Khatami was quoted by Channel 10 News as having said. He added that the U.S. has become isolated in the region, after its four “slaves” were removed from power. He was referring to former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, former Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi, former Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Khatami also addressed the EU’s embargo on Iranian oil imports, which was announced this week, and said that the Europeans decided to wait with the implementation of the sanctions until July because their economic situation is no better than Iran’s. “Why did the Europeans decide to wait half a year before implementing the sanctions? The answer is simple – the Europeans have their own serious trouble – they were hit by the financial crisis,” he said.

Khatami added the embargo will hurt Europe more than it will hurt Iran, because Saudi Arabia will not be able to provide the required oil they need.

PROVOKING GOD’S JUDGMENT
By William Koenig (Koenig’s International News)
watch.org

For all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah his son, by which they sinned, and by which they made Israel to sin, in provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities. – 1 Kings 16:13, KJV

The world is continuing its rapid acceleration toward the Apocalypse due to lawlessness and debauchery and what is taking place in Israel and the Middle East.

In the United States, we have a political party responsible for putting people in homes that they couldn’t afford for votes, which collapsed the U.S. housing market and wiped out $7 trillion in home equity and sent shock waves through the economy. The same political party approved abortion — which led to the slaughter of 55 million children in their mothers’ wombs.

President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and their political party fully endorsed and implemented the “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender” LGBT agenda. (Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! – Isaiah 5:20)

Furthermore, instead of approving domestic energy production, pipeline and refinery construction and tapping America’s vast energy resources, they have made the country more reliant on foreign sources of oil while taking hundreds of billions of dollars out of Americans’ pockets and sending the money to rogue nations.

Assisting their political party is a liberal church focused on social justice — which is a treatment of the symptoms rather than the root cause, which is sin. Unrepentant sinners from these liberal congregations serve openly — even in the pastorate. (Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind. – 1 Corinthians 6:9)

Yale professor H. Richard Niebuhr, in his book The Kingdom of God in America (1937), wrote that Protestant liberalism’s message and social gospel has led to a “God without wrath [who] brought men without sin, into a world without judgment, through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.”

Their leaders — through the World Council of Churches, the National Council of Churches and the Vatican — have joined the world community to call on Israel to give up the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and East Jerusalem to Muslims who are committed to the destruction of the land of Israel. (I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. – Joel 3:2)

Interfaith meetings between Catholic and Protestant leaders, with Jews and Muslims who call for world peace, at the expense of the Gospel, and act as if there are many paths to God, and state publicly that Allah is the same God of the Jews and Christians. (But every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. – 1 John 4:3)

Major U.S. banks funded the corporate takeover boom that few people profited from while driving jobs overseas, raising significantly the costs of product on the shelves, driving down wages (which did not keep up with inflation), took a $770 billion American Taxpayer bailout, which was followed by exorbitant interest rates on their customers while their cost of funds were at record lows and then paid billions of dollar in bonuses to their employees the following years. (Yea, they are greedy dogs, which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter. – Isaiah 56:11)

Family photo ops for the Obamas and photos of the first family’s occasional trips to church (usually right after the President’s faith is questioned) are designed to win the public’s heart and support, but behind the scenes they are doing their scheming and planning.

The secular press from four of the five major U.S. TV networks and most major U.S. newspapers participates in the deception and refuses to hold the President accountable. (For His eyes are upon the ways of man, and he sees all his steps. – Job 34:21)

Half-truths mixed with lies have become a political art form in Washington and many other statehouses nationwide. (He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight. – Psalm 101:7)

Lawlessness and debauchery are running rampant in our streets, while Obama honors the sexually immoral at the White House every June at LGBT events and uses the Occupy Wall Street protests so he can further his socialist agenda, while spreading class division in the country. (A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. – Proverbs 6:19)

America’s brightest and most talented people from Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia and other Ivy League universities who run Washington think tanks and influence policy at the White House, the State Department and on Capitol Hill have helped produce the Arab Spring, which is an Islamist takeover of the Middle East, and spirally the region towards the Apocalypse.

After 50 years of involvement in the region, most of them still don’t understand Muslims and the Koran’s enormous influence. They speak as though they are just like any other people if given the right economic opportunities. (For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. – 1 Corinthians 3:19)

Islam’s apologist in chief, Barack Obama, said this in his “New Beginning speech from Cairo, Egypt, on June 4, 2009: “But I am convinced that in order to move forward, we must say openly to each other the things we hold in our hearts and that too often are said only behind closed doors. There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other; to learn from each other; to respect one another; and to seek common ground. As the Holy Koran tells us, ‘Be conscious of God and speak always the truth.’

“As a student of history, I also know civilization’s debt to Islam. It was Islam — at places like Al-Azhar — that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe’s Renaissance and Enlightenment.

“I also know that Islam has always been a part of America’s story. The first nation to recognize my country was Morocco. In signing the Treaty of Tripoli in 1796, our second President, John Adams, wrote, ‘The United States has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Muslims.’

“And since our founding, American Muslims have enriched the United States. They have fought in our wars, they have served in our government, they have stood for civil rights, they have started businesses, they have taught at our universities, they’ve excelled in our sports arenas, they’ve won Nobel Prizes, built our tallest building, and lit the Olympic Torch.

“And when the first Muslim American was recently elected to Congress, he took the oath to defend our Constitution using the same Holy Koran that one of our Founding Fathers — Thomas Jefferson — kept in his personal library.”

However, the truth that hundreds of millions of Muslims didn’t hear is that Thomas Jefferson fought wars with Muslim pirates who lived by the Koran. That is why he kept a copy of it — it was a war trophy. The wars he fought were called the Barbary Wars (1801-1805). Obama neglected to explain this in his speech.

No other world figures have had more to do with the rapid acceleration of apocalyptic events than American President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Our nation and world may never recover from their time in office.

The provoking of God to judgment continues!

US-ISRAEL STRAINS GROW OVER IRAN!
By David Dolan

Tensions grew in January between the governments of Israel and the United States as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Iran has begun building a nuclear bomb. The Israeli leader reiterated his earlier statements that the Shiite Muslim nation cannot be allowed to construct nuclear warheads. Although American President Barack Obama said virtually the same thing during the month in his annual State of the Union address to Congress—insisting that no option, including military strikes, should be taken off the table—officials in Jerusalem admitted that disputes over exactly how to deal with Iran continue to divide the two allies. This prompted the White House to send the overall US military commander to Jerusalem for urgent talks with senior Israeli officials.

Meanwhile radical Iranian clerical and military leaders issued fresh threats to shut down the narrow Straight of Hormuz sea outlet if US warships remain in the area. However the threats did not stop the Obama Administration from ordering a US navy aircraft carrier and support ships from entering the Persian Gulf in late January, accompanied in a clear show of unified force by British and French naval vessels. Despite their bellicose words, the Iranians took no immediate action in the wake of the ship sailings.

The dire situation in Syria and the electoral victory by Muslim fundamentalists in Egypt were also the subject of intense Israeli government and military scrutiny during the month. Fresh statements of support for Syria’s repressive leaders by Russia, coupled with the stationing of more Russian naval vessels in two Syrian Mediterranean ports, brought renewed concern in Israel that the Syrian internal struggle—now morphing into a full blown civil war—could spark off a regional conflagration or possibly even a larger east-west conflict. Iran confirmed for the first time that Shiite Lebanese Hizbullah militiamen, under the control of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, are actively aiding the Assad regime in its battle to stay in power. This came as the Arab League stepped up its efforts to resolve the domestic Syrian crisis, calling upon Syrian dictator Bashar Assad to immediately leave office.

The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood’s “Freedom and Justice” political party triumphed once again in the third and final round of elections held in December and January for the Arab country’s lower house of parliament, sealing the party’s dominance over the law-making chamber. A Muslim Brotherhood candidate was elected as speaker on January 24th. Earlier in the month, party leaders said they intend to put the 1978 Camp David peace accord with Israel to a nationwide referendum, knowing full well that opinion surveys show a majority of Egyptians will vote to repeal the treaty. The news caused additional stress in Jerusalem since the accord has served as the cornerstone for overall Israeli security policy over the past three decades. This came as the interim Egyptian military government, which assumed power after President Hosni Mubarak was forced out of office one year ago, announced that the “state of emergency” that has been in effect in the impoverished country for many decades is finally coming to an end. It had allowed previous governments to take many far-reaching actions without needing parliamentary approval.

Closer to home, renewed efforts by the so-called Quartet—the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations—to unfreeze stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks proved unsuccessful as the Palestinian Authority again demanded that all Jewish home building in the disputed territories and Jerusalem be halted before renewed negotiations can get underway. The PA also insisted that PM Netanyahu agree in advance that the final borders of a Palestinian state will coincide with the 1949 ceasefire lines that were still in existence when Israeli military forces captured Jordan’s self-proclaimed “West Bank” during the 1967 Six Day War. Meanwhile Palestinian Hamas leaders, who are closely connected to the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood movement, vowed to defend the Gaza Strip if Israel launches another major military incursion. Warnings that a large-scale IDF operation might be imminent followed the firing of more Palestinian rockets into Israeli territory during the month.

On a more positive note, heavy snow and rain fell in the north and center of Israel several times during January, casing the Mount Hermon ski resort to briefly shut down as snow levels choked off the only road to the resort. While welcoming the much needed precipitation, water officials noted that the Sea of Galilee fresh water reservoir still remains at near record lows, meaning renewed water usage restrictions will undoubtedly be necessary once again during the upcoming hot summer months.

NETANYAHU: IRAN BUILDING NUCLEAR BOMB

Speaking at the end of a state visit to Holland, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on January 19th that Iran has taken a firm decision to construct nuclear weapons in defiance of the international community. The Israeli leader noted that the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had earlier confirmed that Iran has been engaged for some time in pre-production testing for such a destructive weapon. As he has done many times before, he went on to urge world leaders to urgently “take all the necessary steps required” to prevent Iran’s militant Shiite Muslim leaders from building nuclear bombs. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak had earlier stated that Tehran had not yet come to a final decision on whether or not to actually construct nuclear warheads. Just exactly what new information might have come to light which prompted Netanyahu to issue his dramatic statement was not revealed, but Middle East analysts said it was another strong indication that an Israeli military attack upon Iran’s rogue nuclear program might be in the offing.

Prime Minister Netanyahu noted that the UN report, issued last November, confirmed Israel’s long-held assertion that Iran has been working on nuclear weapons technology and development for over one decade. The IAEA report stated that in the year 2000, Iranian leaders began constructing special hardened vessels to conduct nuclear weapons tests. Computer models depicting nuclear explosions were already being created by Iranian scientists in 2008, said the UN report. Throughout the first decade of the new millennium, Israeli leaders had been repeatedly saying that Iran was actively engaged in efforts to develop nuclear weapons. They added that Iran only briefly halted those efforts following the 2003 American-led military campaign to oust Saddam Hussein from power and to rebuild Iraq. At the time, many international military analysts and some world leaders said Israeli officials were simply crying wolf, which is now abundantly clear was not at all the case.

One day after Netanyahu spoke, French President Nicolas Sarkozy essentially confirmed the Israeli leader’s contention that Iran is indeed pursuing the production of nuclear weapons. He told reporters in Paris that Iran is engaged in “a senseless race for a nuclear bomb.” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast decried the blunt statement, maintaining that Sarkozy was “looking for a pretext to put pressure on the Iranian nation.” The spokesman added that “any sensible observer” could tell that Iran’s nuclear program is “transparent” and “in cooperation” with the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency. This came as a large IAEA delegation was heading for the Shiite Muslim country to conduct fresh inspections of Iranian nuclear facilities. However Israeli analysts noted that in its report last November, IAEA officials complained that Iran had hidden some of its nuclear weapons test facilities from UN inspectors during earlier visits. They said this revelation should produce strong doubt that Iranian leaders will fully open the doors at the present time, when they are much closer to actually constructing the ultimate bomb, if not already proceeding to do so as PM Netanyahu indicated is indeed the case.

The European Union announced on January 23rd that it was imposing tough new economic sanctions on Iran, in particular banning the importation of all Iranian oil into the EU while freezing Iranian Central Bank assets that are located inside the EU. Trade in gold with Iran was also outlawed. The United States had earlier taken similar action, although it imported very little oil from the Shiite nation. By contrast, the combined EU countries have been Iran’s second biggest petroleum customers following the number one importer, China. The Communist giant is not expected to copy the EU action, although Chinese leaders did call once again during January for Iran to open up its nuclear facilities to full international inspection. Economically stricken Greece and Italy rely heavily on Iranian crude oil imports, causing EU leaders to postpone the actual implementation of the oil import ban until July 1st, giving those countries extra time to secure other petroleum sources. Australia also announced that it would enact similar sanctions, designed to harm the Iranian economy and force the country’s extremist leaders to back away from their nuclear weapons ambitions.

JOINT US-IDF DRILL POSTPONED

It has been clear since Benjamin Netanyahu was elected as Israeli Prime Minister in February 2009 that the Likud Party leader’s conservative political policies were not always in accord with America’s liberal Democratic Party President. Differences reportedly surfaced behind the scenes once again in January as Barack Obama tried to extract a commitment from the Israeli leader that he would not order a military strike on Iran’s far-flung nuclear facilities without coordinating such action in advance with the United States. Israeli media reports said Netanyahu was not willing to give the President such a pledge, apparently fearing that news of a pending attack might be deliberately leaked in order to thwart any IDF action.

The political tussle came to the surface when a massive anti-missile defense drill between Israeli and American military forces was postponed in mid January. Said to be the largest joint military exercise with the United States ever scheduled, the drill had been code-named “Austere Challenge 12.” Military analysts said the moniker was probably an allusion to the likely, if unnerving, prospect that Israel would be struck by intense enemy missile fire if it attacks Iran’s burgeoning nuclear facilities during 2012. Iran has vowed to hit Tel Aviv and Israel’s nuclear reactor in the town of Dimona near Beerhseva and other targets if PM Netanyahu orders a military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities. It is now expected that the drill will be held sometime this coming summer, although some media reports said it might not take place at all.

The official reason for the postponement was given as budgetary considerations in both Israel and the United States, with both governments paring back military spending this year, especially in the United States where the defense budget has been cut by 450 billion dollars. However media reports in Israel said the main reason for the postponement was actually Washington’s concern that the joint exercise—designed to test Israel’s ability to withstand a missile blitz not only from Iran, but also from heavily armed Hizbullah militia forces in Lebanon, Hamas and Islamic Jihad forces in the Gaza Strip, and possibly also from Iran’s closest Arab ally, Syria—might be seen as giving a green light to an Israeli military strike on Iran’s nuclear program. In announcing the joint drill in early January, the Israeli Defense Ministry maintained it was “not in response to any real world event.” Still, it was clear to all that Iran’s apparent determination to build nuclear bombs was the impetus behind the missile defense drill.

DEMPSEY IN ISRAEL

The rising tensions between the Obama Administration and the Israeli government was said to be the trigger for a previously unannounced visit to Israel by the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Martin Dempsey who was appointed as the senior American military commander by the President last October. Dempsey was greeted by an official honor guard at a ceremony held at IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv on January 19th. He later met with Defense Minister Ehud Barak and with the IDF Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Benny Gantz, before meeting with PM Netanyahu.

In a statement issued after his meeting with Defense Minister Barak, the US military leader said the talks had been designed to “bolster communication between the US and Israel,” which many viewed as a thinly veiled reference to America’s demand that Israel notify Washington in advance of any plans to attack Iranian nuclear sites. Dempsey went on to state that the two allies “have many interests in common in the region in this very dynamic time, and the more we can continue to engage each other, the better off we’ll all be.” During a visit to Afghanistan one month earlier, the American military chief raised eyebrows when he stated that contingency plans are in the making for a potential US strike against Iran’s nuclear program. During an interview with CNN, Dempsey also acknowledged that there is “no guarantee” that Israeli leaders would give Washington any advance notice of an IDF military operation against Iran. One week later, the Israeli Defense Minister said the world must quickly stop Iran from reaching the point where even what he termed “a surgical military strike” could not prevent it from obtaining nuclear weapons

During a subsequent meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres, General Dempsey declared that the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear ambitions is “a challenge shared by Jerusalem and Washington.” He went on to say that what he termed “the deep trust” between the two allied countries “will protect our shared value of freedom.” In an apparent attempt to lessen concerns that the Obama Administration might work to thwart any Israeli government decision to bomb Iran’s nuclear sites, he added “We respect you as our partner in the fight for freedom, not only in this region, but also in the entire world.” President Peres was equally sanguine, telling the senior American military commander that “I’m sure we will win this battle too, in the struggle for a free and safe world for all nations. Israel and the United States stand on the same front.”

Neither General Dempsey nor PM Netanyahu issued statements following their meeting in Jerusalem. However after a subsequent visit to the Yad Va Shem Holocaust Memorial in the southwest portion of Israel’s contested capital city, Dempsey spoke with emotion to reporters, saying “I have studied the Holocaust and visited concentration camps in Europe. Nothing is so profound and moving as this site.” He added that the United States is “committed to ensuring that such a human tragedy never happens again. God bless the victims and protect Israel.”

CIVIL WAR IN SYRIA

Israeli government and military leaders watched with increasing concern as the ten month old anti-government revolt in Syria morphed into a full blown civil war during January. During the first few months of the uprising, the mostly Sunni Muslim army remained loyal to the Assad family regime that has ruled the country for nearly four decades. The regime is mainly comprised of members of the Alowite Muslim sect, connected to the minority Shiite wing of Islam. Most Syrians are Sunni Muslims, and many have never been happy with hard line Alowite rule. However they remained fairly docile until last year, recalling that the current dictator’s father, the late Hafez Al Assad, viciously crushed a Sunni Muslim rebellion in the city of Hama in 1982, killing untold thousands of Syrian civilians in the process.

Defections from the army began in earnest last August, when several mid ranking army commanders crossed over to the opposition side. This came after anti-Assad leaders formed the “Syrian National Council” as a sort of shadow government, gearing up to assume power if the Assad regime is successfully driven from power. With the growing desertions of many Syrian army commanders and foot soldiers, the Council announced the formation of the so-called “Free Syrian Army” to buttress and command the spreading street revolt against the repressive Assad regime. Council leaders proclaimed in January that they will not negotiate with the regime unless all violent government suppression ends and jailed opposition leaders and fighters are released. By the end of the month, rebel forces had taken control of many parts of Syria, including several suburbs of the capital city, Damascus, where fierce battles raged with government forces. As more innocent civilians got caught up in the fighting, additional soldiers defected to the opposition army, refusing to fire on their fellow Sunni Muslims. According to human rights and opposition sources, the death toll is nearing 10,000 in the fractured country.

The Arab League formally called upon Syrian dictator Bashar Assad to step down during January, saying he should be replaced by Vice President Farouq al-Sharaa, who previously served as foreign minister. However the regime put out a statement denouncing the call as a QUOTE “flagrant interference in Syria’s internal affairs.” All this occurred just before the Arab League pulled its “monitors” out of the torn country, saying they could no longer help to protect the civilian population from harm. Some Israeli analysts said this step might indicate that an outside attack upon the Assad regime is in the offing, either by Arab League member states or possibly by NATO forces, as occurred last year in Libya.

The intense situation in Syria was taken to the United Nations once again in late January, soon after the French foreign minister accused the Assad regime of committing “crimes against humanity.” However serious UN action was not expected since the Russian government, which holds veto power at the Security Council, continues to stand by its longtime regional Arab ally. The Russian foreign minister warned once again against “outside interference” in the intensifying internal Syrian conflict, virtually echoing the Assad regime’s earlier statement quoted above. This came after additional Russian warships were sent to dock in two Syrian Mediterranean seaports, sending a concrete signal that any outside forces attempting to intervene in the growing conflict will meet Russian military resistance. Meanwhile Iran—Assad’s closest regional ally—confirmed for the first time in January that its Lebanese Shiite Hizbullah puppet militia force is directly aiding the regime in its desperate struggle to remain in power, with militiamen guarding strategic government positions that were formally protected by the crumbling Syrian army.

WORLD WAR THREE?

Israeli military analysts are increasing warning that we might be witnessing the foundations for a third world war being laid in the unraveling Middle East. Such a conflagration would pit Iran and Syria and allied groups like Hizbullah and Hamas, actively backed by the Kremlin and supported on the sidelines by China, against NATO forces led by the United States, France and Britain, plus Sunni Arab states like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar. Israel would of course be at the center of the conflict. However most analysts think that Russia’s leaders would probably back down before any warfare escalated to the point of becoming a full blown East-West clash, knowing that the United States and its allies still possess superior forces overall, although that might change if China became an active participant on Moscow’s side.

Adding to the prospect of a major regional conflict breaking out, the extremist Muslim Brotherhood Movement triumphed once again in the third round of parliamentary elections in the turbulent country of Egypt. Anti-western Muslim fundamentalists now control over two-thirds of the seats in the Egyptian Lower House, and are expected to win the presidential election scheduled for next June. The fact that they apparently intend to dissolve Cairo’s peace treaty with Israel and revert to the path of jihad against the Jewish state only increases the chances for a major regional conflict, said some Israeli analysts. Meanwhile IDF leaders warned once again in January that the small Jewish state needs to be ready for all contingencies in the explosive region, where revolutions and potential conflicts are currently flaring to the north, south, east and west of Israel.

With the Middle East engulfed in crisis, it is reassuring to recall an ancient biblical prophecy that depicts the glorious future time when Israel’s righteous Messiah will rule the world with justice from the holy city, Zion, bringing full peace and rest to Jerusalem and to all the earth: “Violence will not be heard again in your land, nor devastation or destruction within your borders. But you will call your walls salvation, and your gates praise.” (Isaiah 60:18)

NETANYAHU READY TO GO TO RAMALLAH
by Chana Ya’ar (IsraelNationalNews)

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is “ready to go to Ramallah” to meet with Palestinian Authority / PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and open negotiations, according to an interview published Monday night by the PA-linked Ma’an news agency.

In Arabic-language comments typed live through the chat function on his official Facebook page, Netanyahu told Arab journalists, “We are completely serious about talks with the Palestinians, but unfortunately the Palestinian side refuses.”

The PLO called a halt to dialogue after the fifth and final meeting in a series of exploratory negotiations between Israeli envoy Yitzchak Molcho and PLO representative Saeb Erekat ended last Wednesday.

“Advancing negotiations is the only way towards peace,” he pointed out. “I want to talk with the Palestinians in order to open channels at all levels. This is in the Palestinians’ and the Arabs’ interest,” he continued.

“Israel can help develop the region economically, and wants to see a prosperous future for all countries in the region. I feel disappointed because peace treaties have not led to an economic boom for all. Economy is the outcome of relationships, and economic peace isn’t an alternative to political peace, but it helps,” he pointed out.

The Prime Minister added in response to a question about what he thinks Palestinians should do, “The Palestinian President should have continued with talks. This is what the international community wants both sides to do.”

In response to a question about the Arab Spring, Netanyahu commented that Israel was supportive of the democratic process. “There are misconceptions about Israel, and many Arabs do not know that the Arabs living in Israel serve in the government, in the parliament, and enjoy complete rights.

“The impression that Israel does not want peace is incorrect. We know the value of peace, and one of the obstacles is the misconception about Israel’s attitude toward peace.

Asked about Iran, Netanyahu pulled no punches:

“Iran is a threat to peace, to Israel, to the Arab countries, to the Middle East and to the whole world,” he wrote.

“They are arming terrorist organizations while they develop their nuclear power seeking to control the Middle East and the whole world.”

UNIVERSITY BLASTED FOR INTOLERANCE OF CHRISTIANITY
by Zionica Press

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered a trial at the district level for a graduate level counseling student who was dismissed from her program for asking that a client with “gay” issues be referred to another counselor because as a Christian she could not affirm that lifestyle choice.

Officials at Eastern Michigan University took that action against Julea Ward, a student approaching the end of her degree program with a 3.91 grade point average, even though, as the appeals judges noted, the school’s own practices in fact permitted such referrals.

The result is that a jury needs to make a determination on whether officials at the school attacked Ward because of her Christian beliefs or not, the ruling said.

“What exactly did Ward do wrong in make the referral request? If one thing is clear after three years of classes, it is that Ward is acutely aware of her own values. The point of the referral request was to avoid imposing her values on gay and lesbian clients. And the referral request not only respected the diversity of practicum clients, but it also conveyed her willingness to counsel gay and lesbian clients about other issues – all but relationship issues – an attitude confirmed by her equivalent concern about counseling heterosexual clients about extra-marital sex and adultery in a values-affirming way,” said the opinion, written by Circuit Judge Jeffrey Sutton.