Biblical countries, in the news.

[Shammu]

In former Eastern Bloc, Czechs
stand out for pro-Israel feeling
By Dinah Spritzer
August 4, 2006

   
                  
PRAGUE, Aug. 4 (JTA) — And the Czechs have it.

When it comes to which former Eastern Bloc country has shown the most support for Israel in its conflict with Hezbollah, the Czech Republic now can boast two pro-Israeli demonstrations, one more than Poland. No marches for Israel have been held in Slovakia, Hungary, Romania or Bulgaria.

To be fair, though, Polish Jews had planned a special prayer service for Israel on Shabbat, and the Romanian Jewish community was to hold a rally at its office.

Last week, just outside central Prague, 200 Czechs led by a Christian evangelical group held a pro-Israel rally that included members of the Jewish community.

In former Eastern Bloc, Czechs stand out for pro-Israel feeling

[Shammu]

 France and U.S. said close to agreement on Israel-Hezbollah resolution

NICK WADHAMS, Associated Press Writer

August 4, 2006 11:12 AM

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The U.S. and France are close to agreement on a Security Council resolution aimed at ending fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, the American ambassador said Friday.

However, he and others said disagreements that have prevented a deal for weeks still remain.

After a meeting with his French counterpart, Ambassador John Bolton said the sides had to report on their latest talks to senior officials in their capitals. He said it was possible they could soon present the text of a draft resolution to the rest of the council.

''We want to check one more time with our respective capitals,'' Bolton said. ''There are still some issues we've not resolved, but I think we've come a little bit closer this morning.''

He refused to say what the differences were, but Security Council diplomats said one crucial problem was the timing of a cease-fire.

France, reflecting wide international opinion, wants an immediate halt to combat. The United States, all but isolated except for Israel, does not want a cease-fire without the immediate implementation of other steps, such as the deployment of international peacekeepers.

''This is the major difference between the parties in the region and the parties now having the talks,'' said China's deputy ambassador, Liu Zhenmin.

There were indications the United States might be inching closer to the French position.

In Washington, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed support Thursday for an immediate cease-fire as the first step in ending the conflict. It was the most concrete signal yet that the U.S. might be willing to compromise.

On CNN's ''Larry King Live,'' Rice said Washington was moving ''toward being able to do this in phases that will permit first an end or a stoppage in the hostilities and based on the establishment of some very important principles for how we move forward.''

Still, it was difficult to say how much Rice's comments indicated a softening of the American position - or was just a rephrasing of it.

Almost since the outbreak of fighting July 12, the Bush administration has insisted a cease-fire be accompanied by simultaneous steps aimed at creating a long-term peace.

Some diplomats expressed impatience with the Americans and the French.

''We need an urgent cease-fire - this is what I can tell you,'' Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said. ''Urgent cease-fire. We're working very hard for it.''

Ghana's ambassador, Nana Effah-Apenteng said the council was trying its best to get a quick solution. ''I wish that the council could have acted faster, but I also understand the difficulties and the realities on the ground,'' he said.

Other officials, including British Prime Minister Tony Blair, expressed hope for a deal within days. Blair echoed Rice when he said he hoped a resolution would outline a framework to prevent renewed conflict.

Any deal will have to gain agreement from both Israel and Hezbollah, which could prove difficult.

Israel has said it will not halt its campaign against Hezbollah unless an international military force is in place. Hezbollah's chief spokesman said the militia will not agree to a cease-fire until Israeli troops leave Lebanon.

France and U.S. said close to agreement on Israel-Hezbollah resolution

[Shammu]

 Tehrani worshipers condemn Zionist regime's crimes in Lebanon, Palestine
Tehran, Aug 4, IRNA

Tehran-Worshipers-Lebanon
Tehrani worshipers staged a vast rally after performing their Friday prayers here, in support of the oppressed Lebanese and Palestinian nations.

During the rally, held between Tehran University and the nearby Enqelab (Revolution) Square, the Tehrani worshipers chanted slogans in favor of the Lebanese and Palestinian nations, as well as the Hezbollah Movement, and condemned in strongest words the US and British support for the racist-Zionist regime.

"Down With USA" and "Down With Britain" slogans were heard as often as "Down With Israel" slogans during the rally.

The Tehrani worshipers meanwhile signed a petition declaring their readiness to contribute financial support to the Lebanese and Palestinian nations, and to attend the war fronts with the Zionist enemy in defense of the Lebanese and Palestinian nations, "if necessary."
The Lebanese Hezbollah Movement's Leader Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah has often reiterated that the Hezbollah guerrillas are fully prepared for a full scale military confrontation with the Zionist aggressors, needless of other Islamic nations support, merely asking certain Islamic governments not to betray them.

People from different walks of life were present at the massive self-propelled rally.

Chemical victim, war disables veteran, Ali Assadzadeh told IRNA during the rally that the ongoing events in Palestine and Lebanon were "the repetition of history", adding, "Just as the army of Yazid, that massacred the most pious Muslims of the time, the Zionists are today determined to martyr the best Muslims in Palestine and Lebanon."
He added, "One day Imam Hussain, along with seventy-two of his faithful disciples, went to an uneven and unfair war in a bid to safeguard the eternity of dear Islam, during which his very young children, too, were martyred, and today, too, the Muslims, along with their very young children are being martyred in Qana, Rafah, and Gaza to safeguard Islam."
A university student, Davoud Ahadzadeh, too, told IRNA that today, Islam, as a justice seeking religion, is the greatest enemy of the global oppression.

He added, "The Great Satan (USA), by fabricating such grouplets as the stone age Taliban, or the sectarian extremist Al-Qaeda, try to sow the seeds of discord among Islamic and Arab societies, leading to the massacre of innocent Muslims in sectarian violence, and meanwhile, seeking assistance from the racist-Zionists, they start massive massacre of the Palestinian and Lebanese Muslims."
The Tehrani worshipers at the end of their anti-Israeli rally read out a communique in defense of the oppressed Palestinian and Lebanese nations, condemning the criminal acts of the occupier regime of Holy Qods.

The worshipers meanwhile condemned the international bodies, particularly the United Nations, deadly silence towards the Israeli crimes in Lebanon and Palestine, while issuing a resolution against Iran's righteous peaceful nuclear program.

Tehrani worshipers condemn Zionist regime's crimes in Lebanon, Palestine

[Shammu]

Pakistani parliament condemns Israeli attacks on Lebanon
Islamabad, August 4, IRNA

Pakistan-Parliament-Lebanon
Pakistani parliament on Friday passed a resolution, condemning the Israeli aggression against Lebanon and brutal killing of innocent people there by its forces describing it genocide of humanity.

The National Assembly, Lower House of the Parliament, in the resolution expressed complete solidarity and integrity with the people and government of Lebanon in this difficult time and asked the government to provide all possible support to the people of Lebanon.

"The National Assembly strongly condemns barbaric bombing, shelling and naked aggression from Israel and its supporters against the innocent and defenseless people of Lebanon and Palestine and view it as repressive and brutal steps against humanity. Such actions are blatant violation of international laws and human values," the resolution said.

Moved by Liaquat Baloch of Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal, the resolution described human killing in Lebanon as blatant violation of all international Laws and called for immediate ceasefire and expressed strong resentment over Israeli brutality.

The National Assembly expresses its profound grief and sorrow over the use of destructive weapons by Israeli troops on the innocent Lebanese, especially children, women and old people.

The continuous attacks also completely destroyed the
infrastructure of Lebanon and Gaza, airports, highways and roads were made impracticable, hospitals and educational institutions were giving a deserted look and the water and electricity installations were uprooted.

Even 37 disabled children were also martyred.

The resolution also expressed surprise that the European community has become mute spectacle and even could not unite on ceasefire appeal.

The House also condemned the role of the United Nations and its failure in bringing ceasefire, saying that the international body is losing its credibility and its recent action will result in no-confidence from oppressed nations.

The resolution called upon the United Nations and its Security Council to play its effective role for immediate ceasefire and stop brutality in Lebanon.

The house expresses shock over the senselessness of OIC which is proving its non-existence, although it had decided in the Mecca Declaration that attack on one member country would be considered attack on Muslim Ummah.

It urged the OIC to take immediate measures and raise the voice of Muslims Ummah against this naked aggression and also adopt a strategy to unite the Muslim world at a single platform to face the challenges.

The resolution called upon the Muslim countries to continue their moral, political and diplomatic support for Lebanon to stop this aggression.

It also urged the international community to persuade Israel for halting uncalled for aggression against Lebanon and targeting innocent people particularly women and children.

Pakistani parliament condemns Israeli attacks on Lebanon

[Shammu]

 Aziz unveils eight-point plan to defuse crisis
Islamabad, Aug 4, IRNA

Pakistan-PM
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Thursday unveiled an eight-point action plan to bring to an end the ongoing crisis in Lebanon, including an immediate ceasefire and putting on trial those responsible for war crimes.

Accoding to the "Daily Times," addressing the Executive Committee of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) in its emergency meeting, which opened on Thursday in the Malaysian city of Putrajaya, the prime minister proposed:
- A UNSC demand for an immediate ceasefire honoured by all sides; - A UNSC demand that Israel withdraw from Gaza and end its physical and economic blockade of the Palestinian territories;
- A UN-mandated force be deployed in Lebanon with the consent of all parties concerned to ensure a ceasefire;
- OIC countries should consider contributing to a UN force if approved by parties concerned;
- A simultaneous exchange of all prisoners -- Lebanese, Palestinian and Israeli-- be conducted under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC);
- Those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity be brought before the international criminal system;
- The Quartet on Middle Eastern Peace re-engage more actively in the peace process to ensure a solution to end the conflict.

That is, the establishment of a Palestinian;
- The OIC should extend much-needed humanitarian and other assistance to the people of Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.

Prime Minister Aziz went on to stress that the failure of the international community to end the violence was fuelling popular anger in the Middle East and around the world.

[Shammu]

 USA, Britain, main obstacles for Mideast peace - IRI envoy
Kuala Lumpur, Aug 4, IRNA

Iran-US-Diplomat
Iran's Ambassador to New Zealand, Kambiz Sheikh-Hassani, referring to Mideast developments at that country's Asian Council, said on Friday that the United States and Britain are currently among main obstacles for establishment of peace in Middle East.

The session was held at the presence of former foreign minister of News Zealand Alain Williams, that country's current Deputy Foreign Minister in Asia-Pacific Affairs, representatives from the US, British, and Russian embassies, university professors and researchers, and New Zealander diplomats.

Sheikh-Hosseini added, "The responsible parties for the entire crises in the Middle East are the United States, Britain, and Israel." Reading a couple of paragraphs from retired US General Wessley Clarck's book, titled `Victory in Modern Time Wars', published in 2003, Sheikh-Hassani said, General Clark writes, "In November 2001, I had once gone to the Pentagon to heed an affair. I saw a high brass Pentagon official there and had a brief talk with him. He was enthusiastically talking about the US war plan against Iraq, and telling me that there are also other approved plans for the region.

"He was telling me that there are five countries that we would take care of within a five year plan, beginning with Iraq, followed by Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Iran, Somalia, and Sudan. I left Pentagon highly worried on that day."
Sheikh-Hassani said, "Keeping in mind Clarck's remarks and the prevailing Middle East developments due to the continuation of the US plots for the Middle East, we realized that the Lebanese Hezbollah's move in taking captive two Israeli soldiers merely provided the required pretext for the racist-Zionist regime to pursue US plots by launching such a massive attack relying on full US-British support." He added, "The arrested Israeli soldiers in Lebanon have confessed that Tel Aviv had plans to attack southern Lebanon between September and November 2006."
The Iranian Ambassador said, "We believe the Zionists' attack against Lebanon is the result of full harmony among the United States, Britain, and Israel, and proof for that claim is the very broad dimensions of the committed crimes there, that is the result of many months of premeditated planning and preparation."
He added, "The strong US and British opposition to the announcement of truce in Lebanon, exporting anti-cement US bombs through Britain to Israel shortly before the outbreak of the Zionists' criminal move, and the remarks made publicly by Bush, Blair, and Ulmert are all other proofs for the claim.

"The United States did not even permit the UN to condemn the premeditated murder of its peacekeeper forces in souther Lebanon by the invading Zionist forces."
Sheikh-Hassani referring to the continuation of Israeli crimes in Lebanon, said, "They intended to eliminate Hezbollah and pave the path for broader US plots in the region, occupy the southern Lebanon once again and deliver it to multi-national forces so that Israel would be totally safe from Hezbollah's missile attacks, minimizing Hezbollah's role in Lebanon, and establishment of a pro-US government in Lebanon."
Elaborating on the gained results due to Israeli attack, he said, "Hezbollah is definitely not eliminated, while Israel is under heavy missile attacks now and has lost at least two war ships and lost dozens of its military forces."
He added, "Four weeks after the beginning of the uneven war, Hezbollah has fired at least 230 missiles, including some that have landed some seventy kilometers in depth of the occupied Palestine, that proves not only Hezbollah's unpredictable power, put also unbelievable resistance and readiness to inflict heavier losses against the intruders."
Sheikh-Hassani said, "The Israelis have not had an easy time proceeding in Lebanese soil, and the number of their casualties is truly high, under such conditions that Hezbollah has announced it has engaged merely a tenth of its forces in the operations so far." He reiterated, "On the other hand, the public support for Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Islamic World, and the entire public opinion of the world nations is at highest level currently, the world nations keep condemning Israel for massacring the civilians and for destroying lebanon's infrastructure facilities, and pressure for putting an end to those crimes finds greater dimensions with the passage of each new day."
The Iranian Ambassador said, "Israel has not only not achieved any of its pre-planned objectives, but also lost very dearly in the region and the world up to now."
He added that the result of the land operations would definitely be of greatest significance for both sides, but one thing is already taken for granted and that is the fact that the myth of an invulnerable Israel belongs to the past today, and it is further proved that Hezbollah cannot be eliminated from the political and military scenes of the Lebanese developments.

The Iranian envoy said, "As the former US president Jimmy Carter has recently confessed in an article published in New Zealand daly, Dominion, the Middle East crisis is the result of six decades of oppressive policies, criminal acts, occupation, and violation of the most natural human rights of the Palestinian, Lebanese, and other regional nations."
He added, "We believe the establishment of peace and stability in the region is not possible under such conditions that the United States and Israel keep on committing crimes in the region.

"Today, the result of any free and fair election in the Middle East, free form US hegemony and interference, would be in favor of resistance and the Islamic movement."
He quoted the late British Prime Minister Winiston Churchil at the end, where he said, "The United States chooses the right option only after testing all other alternatives and facing failure in all.

Sheikh-Hassani added, "The US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said that the New Middle East is being born today. She may be right, but the new Middle East would be far from the one on the dreams of the White House, Tel Aviv, and No. 10 Downing Street." He prayed for the return of rationalism and sound reasoning to the political circles in Washington and London at the end, so that peace and stability would return to the world and the mankind would live free from the war threat.

[Shammu]

Iran cleric says shut down Security Council
05 August 2006

TEHRAN: The UN Security Council should be scrapped for trying to make Iran halt its atomic work while failing to stop Israel's offensive against Lebanon, a senior Iranian clerical politician has said.

The comments by Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, head of the constitutional watchdog the Guardian Council, confirmed Tehran's defiance in the face of a UN resolution ordering it to stop making atomic fuel by the end of this month.

The West accuses Iran of enriching uranium for use in warheads. Tehran says it is only for power stations.

"They must close down this United Nations and its Security Council, what kind of a Security Council is this?" Jannati told Friday prayer worshippers in Tehran.

Jannati lambasted Israel for brutal tactics during the massive offensive it launched against Lebanon after Hizbollah guerrillas seized two of its soldiers on July 12, and criticised the world body for taking no action.

"The United Nations and the Security Council are so weak, so incapable and so influenced by major powers that they cannot even issue a resolution," he said.

"But when it comes to Iran and trampling on Iran's right to use nuclear energy, they quickly issue a resolution," he added.
Advertisement
Advertisement

Some hardline student groups and Islamic militiamen vowed to attack the British embassy in Tehran after Jannati's sermon.

Police mustered at the building after some religious conservatives boasted they were going to storm the mission.

Britain is often attacked in Iran on the ground that it created the state of Israel.

[Shammu]

Hugo Chavez Compares U.S. to 'Dracula,' Israel to 'Hitler'

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Friday blasted Israel for its attacks against Lebanon and Palestinians, comparing its operations to those of Hitler.

In an interview with Qatar-based Al Jazeera television, Chavez also slammed U.S. backing for Israel, describing Washington as a "Dracula always searching for oil and blood".

"The Israeli offensive against the Palestinians and Lebanon is an aggression that we feel targets us also. It is an unjustified aggression that is being carried out in the style of (Adolf) Hitler, in a Fascist fashion," he said, referring to the leader of Nazi Germany.

"They (Israelis) are doing what Hitler did against the Jews. They are killing innocent children and whole families," he said in the remarks dubbed in Arabic.

On Thursday, Chavez said he ordered the withdrawal of Venezuela's ambassador to Israel in protest.

The Lebanon war, which erupted after Hizbollah snatched two Israeli soldiers in a border raid on July 12, has coincided with an Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip to recover another captured soldier and halt Palestinian rocket fire.

Chavez, on a visit to Doha where Al Jazeera is based, said Israel was carrying out an "imperialist offensive" against Lebanon and the Palestinians that was orchestrated by the United States as part of a bid to control the energy-rich region.

"The American hand is pushing them. It is behind the Israeli aggression, it is an imperialist aggression ... and Israel is one of the imperialist tools."

Hugo Chavez Compares U.S. to 'Dracula,' Israel to 'Hitler'

[Shammu]

Palestinians Call for Attacks on US & Israel
Aug 02, '06 / 8 Av 5766

Waving Hizbullah flags and chanting "Nasrallah, bomb Tel Aviv!", thousands of Palestinians rallied today in Ramallah and Shechem (Nablus) in a show of support for the Lebanese terror group in its conflict with Israel.
 
In addition, the protesters set American flags on fire and voiced encouragement to the Iraqi insurgency to continue their attacks on US troops.
 
The rally in Ramallah was organized by – you guessed it – the Fatah movement, which is headed by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas...

[Shammu]

Iran Is Racing To Resupply Hezbollah

BY ELI LAKE - Staff Reporter of the Sun
August 4, 2006
URL: http://www.nysun.com/article/37347

TEL AVIV, Israel — Iran is racing to resupply Hezbollah across the Syrian border ahead of a possible cease-fire being ironed out this week at the United Nations. Meanwhile, Israeli jets have begun a new bombardment of Beirut's suburbs and Hezbollah is threatening to launch a missile attack on Tel Aviv.

Israeli military and intelligence officials here say Iranian technicians were aboard a flight to Damascus on Monday with the Iranian foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki.

The Israel Defense Forces also says it has not been able to seal the border between Syria and Lebanon, making it possible to ferry men, small rockets, and other materiel to Hezbollah through the back roads and smuggling routes in the Bekaa Valley.

The Iranians this week began a double game in Lebanon best summed up by President Ahmadinejad's message to Muslim nations yesterday in Malaysia: "Although the main solution is for the elimination of the Zionist regime, at this stage an immediate cease-fire must be implemented."

This approach — of seeking both Israel's destruction and a temporary ceasefire — is evident in signals from Iran's Foreign Ministry to European countries. Mr. Mottaki met with his French counterpart Monday at the Iranian Embassy in Beirut. The French are supporting an immediate cease-fire and have pledged to contribute troops to an international force for southern Lebanon.

The meeting was significant because the French in the past year have been supportive of efforts to censure, if not sanction, Iran for its nuclear program at the United Nations, and have pressured Syria to remove its forces from Lebanon in 2005 as part of resolution 1559.

As Hezbollah was the only major political party in Lebanon to oppose the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon, the French meeting with Iran — preceded by French praise for the "constructive" role Iran is playing in the region — signals that Paris is willing to keep Hezbollah armed for now.

An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mark Regev, said yesterday, "The French played an important role in implementing the first part of resolution 1559 to get the Syrians to leave. We believe they can play an important role in implementing the second part of the resolution: to disarm Hezbollah."

As for the possible rapprochement between Iran and France on Lebanon, Mr. Regev said, "We are hopeful that France, with the rest of the international community, are making it clear to countries that act against 1559 that they are acting outside the international consensus that such behavior will not be tolerated."

But the diplomatic game for Iran is only part of their role in the war, Israeli officials say. One intelligence analyst pointed to statements this week from an Iranian member of parliament and former ambassador to Syria, Mohtashemi Pur.

Mr. Pur, who was one of the founders of Hezbollah in the early 1980s, told the Iranian reformist newspaper Sharq that Hezbollah had the Zelzal-2 missile, with a range of 160 miles and the "courage to use them." This analyst interpreted this as "a green light from Iran to use the Zelzals at their own discretion and without permission."

If such a decision was made, then it would partly explain Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah's threat to Israel yesterday on Al-Manar television. He said, "If you bomb our capital Beirut, we will bomb the capital of your usurping entity," he said. "We will bomb Tel Aviv."

In the same speech, he said Hezbollah's rockets would stop raining on northern Israel if Israel stopped bombing Lebanon. The threat, however, does not seem to have deterred Israel's air force.

Yesterday evening, Israeli jets dropped leaflets on a southern Shiite suburb of Beirut that called on residents to leave their homes. In the early hours of Friday morning, wire services reported that two bombs hit southern Beirut.

A retired colonel in Israel's military intelligence, Reuven Erlich, said yesterday that there were gaps between the Syrian-Lebanese border that could be exploited by Iran. "Of course there are gaps. The Syrian-Lebanese border is a long border. It is very difficult to close such a border hermetically if the Syrian regime does not cooperate, and this is not the case. I guess the IDF are doing their best to decrease the amount of supply, but I don't think it can be stopped."

Mr. Erlich, head of the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Tel Aviv-based Center for Special Studies, said he believes that President Ahmadinejad is supporting a cease-fire now because it is in Hezbollah's best interest.

A former Pentagon analyst on Iran and current scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, Michael Rubin, said, "Iran is fighting a proxy war, but smugly feels itself immune to consequence. Not only is this unfair to the Lebanese, but it is dangerous for Washington. The more overconfident Iran becomes in its ability to get away with murder, the more likely Americans will be targeted down the line."

[Shammu]

Turkey, in spite of its efforts to remain a pro-Western nation, clearly appears headed for a dramatic change of mind in the prophetic future - one that will see it become one with its Islamic brethren in seeking Israel's destruction. Is there any evidence to support that notion? Yes, as I have documented on numerous occasions. As Turkey continues to attempt to gain entry into the European Union, all kinds of issues are popping up, seemingly frustrating Turkey's efforts. Am I surprised by that? Not at all, as this is what Bible prophecy seems to indicate we should expect to see happening.

The latest? Turkey, according to a Fox News story, recently tapped a hardliner to head its military, General Yasar Buyukanit. As I perused the story's content, I didn't see a great deal of significance in this taking place until I read the following (emphasis added mine):

   

Buyukanit's outspokenness and his strong nationalist views have made him popular in Turkey, especially as Turks become increasingly disillusioned with their country's EU bid and the growing opposition in Europe to their possible membership.

    The appointment came in advance of a meeting of the military's top leadership, which is expected to make a regularly scheduled series of appointments to the military's top positions. A Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject, said the extensive military changes were likely to have delayed the military's consideration of the possibility of Turkey contributing to a possible Lebanon peacekeeping force.

The Fox News story above is dated 7-31-06. What has shown up in the news since then is equally interesting, in my opinion. Middle East Newsline, in a story dated 8-3-06, is claiming Turkey plans to buy 30 advanced F-16 aircraft from the United States at a cost of $1.5 billion. Additionally, a Middle East Newsline story dated 8-4-06 indicates China and Turkey have developed and marketed an advanced rocket - the B-611, which the story indicates was "developed in secret", adding that "its arrival marks a secret Chinese-Turkish project meant to supply artillery-based rockets to both countries as well as client states."

While there seems to be no cause for anyone to conclude that General Yasar Buyukanit had anything to do with either of the matters addressed by the Middle East Newsline articles, isn't it interesting that, at a moment when tensions in the Middle East are so high, a hardliner would be appointed as the commander of Turkey's military? Isn't it likewise interesting that he is specifically popular with Turks who are disillusioned with Europe's growing opposition to Turkey becoming an EU member? Isn't it interesting that Turkey is presently looking to upgrade its air forces, in light of Ezekiel's prediction that the Gog-Magog alliance will "be like a cloud to cover the land?"

I think it's quite possible we're witnessing yet another development leading us closer to the fulfillment of Ezekiel's end time prophecies hidden within the selection of this Turkish hardliner to head Turkey's military, another reason for us to keep looking up!

[Shammu]

Israeli police wilt before threat of Muslim violence
Close Temple Mount to Jews and Christians on Tisha B'Av

By Stan Goodenough
Aug 03, 2006

The Israeli Police Force, able to turn out tens of thousands of members in order to uproot Jews from their homes in parts of the Promised Land, was unwilling to secure the rights of Jews to pray at their holiest site Thursday for fear of Arab violence.

In an announcement aimed at circumventing a ruling of the High Court of Justice earlier this week, according to which members of the Temple Mount Faithful would be permitted to pray on the Temple Mount on the Jewish fast day of Tisha B’Av, Jerusalem police chief Ilan Franco ruled that the site would be off-limits to Jews and Christians for the day.

The reason, according to Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby as stated by The Jerusalem Post:

    The decision to shut the Mount to visitors … followed an amalgamation of intelligence information that thousands of Muslims were planning to flock to the site to "protect" it from Jews who were planning to visit on Tisha B'av at the urging of "extremist" Jewish groups…

Muslims, who refuse to recognize or respect Jewish veneration of the place on which Israel’s ancient temples stood, are being allowed to pray on the Mount today

Tisha B’Av (the Ninth Day of Av) is one of the holiest days on Israel’s calendar, when Jews around the world mourn the destruction of both the first and second temples, along with numerous other catastrophes that impacted them as a nation down the ages.

Included in that long list this year is the 2005 uprooting of Jews from their homes in the Gaza Strip and the abandoning of that ancient Jewish land to Muslim Arabs. Tens of thousands of soldiers and policemen were used to carry out that expulsion.

The lack of readiness on Israel’s part to use its law-enforcers to guarantee the rights of its own people to worship God at sacred sites has only served to strengthen the Islamic hold on these places.

And instead of coming out in support of their countrymen, Israel’s almost exclusively leftist media supports these police decisions. Reported the Post Thursday:

    In the past, the site has been repeatedly closed down to non-Muslim visitors on Tisha B'av due to concern over the outbreak of violence, drawing the wrath of Israeli rightists who accuse police of "capitulating" to Arab threats.

Israeli police wilt before threat of Muslim violence

[Shammu]

Lots of French still blame Israel
Very few trust US to resolve conflict

By Ryan Jones
Jul 26, 2006

While a majority in France believe Hizb'allah and Iran are to blame for the current Middle East crisis, a solid 30 percent of the French population says Israel is to blame.

Those number came from a public opinion poll published this week in Le Journal du Dimanche, and suggested that even when the instigator of a particular outbreak of violence is clearly known, French disdain for Israel clouds the judgment of many.

The survey also reinforced the belief that the French don't think very highly of Israel's allies in America.

Only nine percent of those polled said they would trust the US to broker a ceasefire to the fighting. A 48 percent majority put its faith in the UN, which incidentally has a dismal record when it comes to conflict resolution.

Lots of French still blame Israel

[Shammu]

England: You could be next
‘Iran already has the missiles to reach London’ - Netanyahu

By Stan Goodenough
Aug 04, 2006

Former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu warned the people of England Thursday that they, too, are in the firing line for missiles out of the Islamic Middle East.

In an interview in the London studios of Sky News television, Netanyahu – who heads the opposition Likud Party – explained to skeptical presenter Mark Longhurst why Israel has no choice but to seriously degrade, and in fact defeat, the Hizb’allah.

That Islamist terror group was fighting a proxy war on behalf of both Syria and Iran, especially Iran, the Israeli said. Removing this Hizb’allah threat – as Israel is trying to do – was only “part of the problem.”

    “The big problem, the mother of all problems is Iran [and] the fact that if it arms itself with nuclear weapons it already has the missiles to reach London and soon it will have the missiles to reach the United States.

    “They’re developing those missiles, not because they want to target Israel, they already can, but because they want to target you.”

Netanyahu said the Islamic world – Shiite and Sunni, representatives of whom are currently tearing each other apart in Iraq – believes that “fighting with and defeating each other is a prelude to fighting and defeating the west.”

And Israel just “happens to be the first western country in the way.”

Already today, before Israel is even defeated, Islamic eyes are turning greedily towards Europe.

    “So unless the West wakes up and realizes that there is a new fascism here, a new Islamic-Hitlerism that threatens the West, it will not wake up in time.”

In an attempt to reason with his British viewers, Netanyahu questioned their widespread condemnation of Israel’s actions in Lebanon.

Seventy-seven percent of Britons polled believe Israel is acting disproportionately in its fight against the Hizb’allah.

    “What would you be saying today, what would you ask Tony Blair, the prime minister of Britain, to do today if London was being hit by hundreds and indeed thousands of rockets?

    “You would be screaming your head off, saying ‘Get rid of the source of that fire!’”

England’s capital knows (or once knew) what it feels like to have its civilians targeted by flying bombs. In World War II, 2,400 V-1 rockets, (the Vengeance Weapon-1, also known as the “doodle bug” and the “buzz bomb”) were fired into London by the Germans.

Said Netanyahu:

    “When London was rocketed, [Prime Minister Winston] Churchill’s response was to flatten German cities. Dresden was wiped out completely.

    “And I do not criticize Churchill’s government for doing that because it was in fact a time of great urgency.”

Hizb’allah has fired 2,400 Katyusha, Fajr-1 and Khaider-1 rockets into northern Israel since July 12, intentionally killing and maiming Jewish civilians.

Israel’s response, which Britain and virtually all mankind has slammed as “disproportionate,” has been to avoid in every way possible in the midst of a war situation the targeting of civilian Lebanese life, even when this has meant risking – and paying with – the lives of its own soldiers.

The V-1 may have carried a greater payload than do the rockets Hizb’allah has thus far drafted from its arsenal. But for more than a decade, Iran has been developing its Shahab-5 and Shahab-6 rockets, whose range brings almost all of Europe within striking distance. The utility of these rockets has been described as “attacking population centers or spreading radiation rather than hitting military targets.”

That Iran is feverishly and deceptively working on its nuclear program too is a reality that has alarmed western states.

Jerusalem Newswire believes that the stubborn and pride-driven insistence of politically-correct, and in many cases anti-Semitic, British journalists and politicians to criticize and condemn Israel for trying to crush Hizb’allah will ultimately help pave the way for a devastating rocket strike on the UK.

England: You could be next

[Shammu]

Pakistan House slams Israel’s ‘crime against humanity’
Web posted at: 8/5/2006 2:21:54
Source ::: AFP

ISLAMABAD • Pakistan’s parliament called on the United Nations yesterday to declare Israeli attacks on Lebanon as a “crime against humanity”, state media said.

A resolution adopted unanimously by the mainly Muslim country’s National Assembly — the lower house of parliament — strongly condemned Israeli aggression, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

It also urged rights organisations to take notice of what it called human rights violations by Israeli forces during the three-week-old conflict in the Middle East.

The resolution was tabled by Liaquat Baloch, a senior leader of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, an alliance of six hardline Islamic opposition parties. It “condemned the Israeli atrocities against innocent Lebanon people and urged the world body to take it up as a case of crime against humanity.”

No international peacekeeping force should be deployed in Lebanon unless the Jewish state completely withdraws its forces from the south of the country, the resolution said.

The National Assembly also urged the United Nations to act before its credibility was harmed, and appealed to the international community to mount pressure on Israel for an immediate ceasefire.

Pakistan House slams Israel’s ‘crime against humanity’