WORLD AT WAR: 10.3.20 - The Dangerous New Iran-Qatar-Turkey-Hamas Alliance

The Dangerous New Iran-Qatar-Turkey-Hamas Alliance - by Khaled Abu Toameh - https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16553/iran-qatar-turkey-hamas Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's continued rapprochement with the Iran-backed Hamas is jeopardizing the Palestinians'relations with Egypt. Egyptian media outlets have resumed their scathing attacks on the Palestinian leadership in general, and the Islamist movement that has been ruling the Gaza Strip since 2007 in particular. The Egyptian attacks came on the eve of a meeting in Turkey between leaders of Abbas's Fatah faction and Hamas. At the meeting,held under the auspices of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Hamas and Fatah leaders discussed ways of ending their dispute and holding long overdue Palestinian presidential and parliamentary elections. The Fatah-Hamas meeting in Turkey took place in the context of Abbas's initiative to achieve Palestinian "national unity to confrontIsraeli and American schemes against the Palestinians." The reconciliation efforts are also designed to thwart normalization agreements between Israel and some Arab states. The Egyptian attacks, focusing mostly on Hamas, are aimed at sending a warning to Abbas against joining the extremist camp ledby Iran, Qatar and Turkey. In addition, the attacks are aimed at reminding Abbas and the rest of the world that Hamas, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, continues to pose a real threat to Egypt's national security. Abbas, however, seems determined to ignore the Egyptian warnings and is marching forward with full speed toward forming an alliancewith Hamas and its masters in Iran, Qatar and Turkey. Abbas has already damaged the Palestinians' relations with some Arab countries by condemning the United Arab Emirates (UAE) andBahrain for signing peace treaties with Israel. Abbas and his senior officials have accused both Gulf countries of "stabbing the Palestinians in the back" and betraying the Palestinian cause, Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque by signing normalization accordswith Israel. A sign of the growing rift between the Palestinians and the Arab world surfaced on September 22, when Palestinian Authority ForeignMinister Riyad Malki announced that the Palestinians decided to "relinquish" their right to preside over the Council of the Arab League at its current session, in protest of the decision of the UAE and Bahrain to normalize relations with Israel. "Since thedecision to rush after [normalization] was taken in Washington, it does not serve any purpose to exert any more effort to sway [the Arabs] against normalization, particularly since they are not the decision-makers, regretfully," Malki explained. The decision marks the beginning of a divorce process between the Palestinians and the Arab world. The Palestinian leadershiphas been boycotting the US administration since December 2017, when President Donald Trump announced his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The Palestinians have also suspended their ties with Israel, including security coordination. The Palestinians have, in addition, lost the support of several Arab countries because of their recurring condemnations of Arabgovernments and leaders who want to make peace with Israel. Now it appears that the Palestinians are also headed toward ruining their relations with Egypt because of Abbas's decision tomake peace with Hamas and appease Iran, Turkey and Qatar. Egyptian journalists and writers have joined the chorus of critics in the Arab world who are accusing the Palestinian leadershipof lacking a clear strategy that would serve the interests of the Palestinians. The journalists and writers have also launched a scathing attack on Hamas for its involvement in terrorism and for throwing itself into the open arms of Iran, Turkey and Qatar.According to Egyptian writer Farouk Jweideh: "The Palestinian issue is no longer at the forefront of Arab issues, and it has retreated in international forums and behind thescenes of the United Nations, and even in the Arab League... The Palestine issue was the first Arab issue in all situations. Nobody now knows Mahmoud Abbas's future, because everyone has abandoned him." Jweideh held Palestinian leaders responsible for the "decline" of the Palestinian issue, and in particular the conflict betweenFatah and Hamas. "No one knows how Mahmoud Abbas thinks and what the considerations of Fatah, Hamas and the rest of the Palestinian factions are...The state of confusion and disintegration that afflicted the Arab world put the leaders of Palestine in a historic deadlock. No one is standing with the Palestinian issue and people now." Egyptian writer Abdel Mun'em Said accused Turkey, Iran, Qatar and Hamas of "using history profusely, selectively and tragicallyto impose appropriate political and strategic choices to maintain a state of tension, hostility and conflict in the region." According to Said, the goal of the four parties is to infiltrate the Arab countries and obtain material and political gains in theregion. Egyptian broadcaster Basma Wahba noted that Hamas has a history of igniting strife in the region, with the help of Qatar and Turkey."We lived in a great illusion that Hamas aims to fight Israel to liberate Jerusalem," Wahba said. "It is time for people to know the truth about this movement and its sabotage goals in this region. With the backing of Qatarand Turkey, Hamas has armed militias and plays a destructive role in the region. Hamas is present and involved in every Arab country. Erdogan has used the Hamas leaders to achieve his goals in the region, and many Hamas members have acquired Turkish citizenship." Commenting on Hamas's hypocrisy and corruption, Egyptian writer Hashem al-Fahkrani remarked: "Those who believe that Hamas's first goal is to resist Israel are mistaken. Its first and only goal is to receive money. Hamas'sslogan is: Loyalty to anyone who pays the most." Al-Fakhrani was referring to the Qatari cash grants that have been delivered to Hamas in the past year. Noting that Hamas operatesunder the guidance of the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist organization, he added: "Hamas, founded on December 15, 1987 under the name of the Islamic Resistance Movement, is one of the wings of the internationalorganization of the Brotherhood. Hamas aims to achieve the goals of the organization without taking into account other considerations." Al-Fakhrani pointed out that Hamas has condemned some Arab countries for normalizing their relations with Israel, while ignoringthat the Qatari cash grants it receives were being delivered to the Gaza Strip with Israeli permission. "Qatar has provided Hamas with more than a billion dollars since 2012," he said. "Qatar did not provide these funds out of a humanitarian standpoint and to help the residents of the Gaza Strip. The Qataris didso to help Hamas and its leaders and to enable Qatar to establish a foothold in the region." Egyptian writer Mustafa Anbar denounced Hamas as a "satanic movement with a misleading history and constant support for terrorism."He accused Hamas of serving the Turkish-Qatari agenda in the region. "Day after day, the malicious goals and intentions of Hamas are revealed through its trading with the Palestinian issue in orderto achieve unlawful gains at the expense of the Palestinian people... This is the agenda of Turkey and Qatar: supporting terrorism." Another Egyptian writer, Isra'a Ahmed Fouad, wrote that Hamas's real goals have been exposed: While its leaders seek to enrichthemselves, they are working to serve Turkish ambitions in the region. Noting that Hamas has committed many crimes against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and threatened Egypt's national security, Fouad said: "The Hamas bombing of the Ibn Taymiyyah Mosque in the city of Rafah was one of the most heinous of these crimes, as they destroyedthe mosque with rocket launchers. After Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip, its members committed murders, kidnappings and torture. Its members also carried out many crimes by leaking poisonous gas into the cells of prisoners and detainees." Fouad quoted a Palestinian security officer as saying that "shameful acts" were being carried out inside the tunnels that Hamasbuilt on Gaza's borders with Egypt and Israel: "In addition to smuggling operations, other immoral acts were practiced inside the tunnels, especially during the rule of theousted [Egyptian] President Mohamed Morsi... Anyone who attempted to expose these acts was killed by Hamas. Hamas used to pump poisonous gas into the tunnels to kill those inside, and then it would claim that Israel had bombed the tunnels." The Egyptian newspaper Sout Al-Omma accused Hamas of abandoning the Palestinian cause and aligning itself with Qatar, which pouredbillions of dollars into its coffers to serve its own agenda and goals in the region. The paper quoted Egyptian MP Hammam al-Adli as saying: "[Hamas] adopts an extremist ideology and has a close relationship with Qatar, which is a suspicious relationship that takes placewithin the framework of supporting armed terrorist organizations and planning sabotage and terrorist operations in some Arab countries." Hamas, he added, is serving the agenda of Qatar in return for the large financial funds that Hamas receives from the Qataris. Another Egyptian MP, Mohammed Salim, said that Hamas has fallen into the arms of the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood organizationin Qatar. Hamas, he added, "supports their malicious goals and plans in the region, and the plans of incitement against Egypt and some Arab countries to destabilize their security." Were these allegations against Hamas published by Israel, they would have been dismissed by many in the West as "Israeli propaganda."These accusations, however, are coming from Egypt, the largest Arab country that has a shared border with the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. The Egyptians are trying to sound an alarm bell to Abbas and the rest of the world about the dangers of the Hamas-Iran-Turkey-Qataralliance that poses a threat to security and stability in the Middle East. Yet, the Palestinian leadership and the international community appear distinctly indifferent to the looming danger of this newestaxis of evil. For them, the only fate worse than death is normalization between the Arabs and Israel. Abbas has once again pegged his hopes and those of his people on entities that would obstruct the Palestinians and destroy Israel. As War Breaks out Between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Rabbis make Gog-Magog Connection - Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz - https://www.israel365news.com/158955/current-war-between-azerbaijan-armenia-first-shots-gog-magog/ "After a long time you shall be summoned; in the distant future you shall march against the land [of a people] restored fromthe sword, gathered from the midst of many peoples-against the mountains of Yisrael, which have long lain desolate-[a people] liberated from the nations, and now all dwelling secure." Ezekiel 38:8 (The Israel BibleTM) ONE PLANE SHOT DOWN LEADS TO OLD CONFLICT REKINDLED On Tuesday, Armenia claimed that neighboring Azerbaijan shot down one of its warplanes, killing the pilot, over the disputedNagorno-Karabakh region of the border. Azerbaijan denied the claim. According to Armenia, a SU-25 from its air force was shot down in Armenian airspace by a Turkish F-16 fighter jet that took off from Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has repeatedly claimed that itsair force does not have F-16 fighter jets however, Turkey, a NATO member, does have the US-made fighter jet. Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry countered by claiming that Armenian forces shelled the Dashkesan region in Azerbaijan. Armenianofficials confirmed the claim, saying that their shelling was in response to Azerbaijani forces firing on an Armenian military unit in the town of Vardenis, setting a bus on fire and killing one civilian. Turkish military advisers were reportedly on the ground alongside Azerbaijani fighters who were using Turkish military equipmentand aircraft. Armenia also accused Turkey of transporting thousands of Syrian mercenaries to support the Azerbaijani military. Azerbaijan responded by accusing Russia of sending large numbers of weapons to Armenia. It was reported that 84 Armenian servicemen have been killed so far. Azerbaijan says 10 civilians have died on its side buthas yet to give details on military casualties. This current outbreak is considered the worst in recent years. The region is mainly inhabited by ethnic Armenians and has been fighting for decades to secede Azerbaijan. Though based onlongstanding territorial disputes, the current outbreak of violence is considered to be a proxy-conflict between Russia, supporting Armenia, and Turkey, supporting Azerbaijan. Russia has a defense pact with Armenia and a military base in Armenia but has been calling for calm. LOCAL CONFLICT WITH REGIONAL IMPLICATIONS: CHINA IS "GREAT ENEMY" Rabbi Ken Spiro, a historian and Senior Lecturer and Researcher for Aish HaTorah Yeshiva, emphasized that this local conflicthad regional implications. "There doesn't seem to be a direct influence on Israel other than the bigger picture power struggles," Rabbi Spiro told Israel365News. "But these are substantial. Putin wants to reestablish the Russian Empire and Erdogan wants to reestablish the Ottoman Turkish sultanate. These guys have been duking it out precisely in these region for centuries. There is certainly a religious elementin the conflict but the major issue has been the Bosporous and Russian access from the Black Sea into the Mediterranean." "Under President Obama, due to his isolationism, Russia got this Mediterranean access by establishing a naval base in Latakia,Syria. This is huge for them." "Erdogan is looking to expand his influence as a leader in the Sunni world and establish his reputation as the defender ofSunni Islam. He can do this by supporting Azerbajain in their conflict against a Christian country." The two countries are both bordered on the south by Iran which has remained conspicuously silent in the recent flare-up. "Iran will stay out of this because as Shiites, they have no interest in defending Sunnis. The only Sunni Iran supports isHamas and that is because of the common Zionist enemy." "Putin has no interest in expanding this conflict. Russia is not really a superpower anymore. They lost a lot of territoryand economically it is a mess. Russia is a sick old man company. The Soviet Union had an agenda to push to actively export its socialist ideology. Putin does not have an agenda. He wants to cement the control over the territory around him and building up abuffer zone against the West." "China has taken on the role of the 'great enemy' with an agenda posing the greatest threat to the Western World but, unlikethe Soviet Union, they do not want to take over the world militarily. They are dominating through information and technology which is a much deeper level of control. Right now, Russia has national interests but China has international interests. Radical Islam,in particular Iran, also has an international ideology. But Iran's economy is a mess. China is a serious threat." Rabbi Spiro stated that when discussing global politics on this level, it is absolutely relevant to refer to prophetic principlessuch as Gog and Magog. "I don't attempt to apply specific identities to countries today," Rabbo Spiro said. "The descriptions in Zechariah of chariotsand horses is clearly not meant to be literal or relevant for the 21st Century." "I look at Gog and Magog as a global holistic phenomenon. The prophets describe a time when Israel is trying to reestablishitself as a country, which is what we see today. Gog and Magog are the nations of the world line up to try to prevent that. That is certainly the UN General Assembly. Not every country but the countries that stood up to defend Israel are few and far between." "It is always a mistake to try to apply the title of Gog and Magog to one country. It is a deeper ideological struggle. Justas the US is a deeper struggle that is greater than the single country. Gog and Magog is the ultimate ideological struggle. Different countries and different people fulfilled these roles throughout history. People can choose a side according to which ideologythey identify with, which is what is happening in the world today. People are being forced to choose a side." SMALL SPARK SETTING OFF GOG-MAGOG WAR Rabbi Pinchas Winston, a prolific end-of days author, noted that this conflict is to the north of Israel, placing it in thegeneral direction the Gog and Magog conflict is prophesied to break out. Rabbi Winston preceded his explanation of the situation with the disclaimer that he was not a prophet and, as such, had no definitive idea of what the future holds. "But what is clear is that the War of Gog and Magog, despite being a major conflict, could be set off by a smaller 'spark'of a conflict, something localized that grows bigger. This conflict between Armenia and Azerbajain has threads that connect to the world at large. Russia is involved as is the conflict between Christianity and Islam." "From the divine providence persepective, this could be `is a small fire that could cause a larger destabilization. Thesesmaller conflicts are happening with more frequency which raises the concern that they could be building up until one small conflict that doesn't seem serious will tip it all over, resulting in Gog and Magog." BACKGROUND OF ARMENIA-AZERBAJAIN CONFLICT Azerbaijan and Armenia do not have diplomatic relations and have frequently clashed. They are separated by different ethnicitiesand religions with Armenia being 95% Christian whereas Azerbaijan is 91% Muslim. When the USSR collapsed in 1991, Armenia and Azerbaijan which had been Soviet republics became independent nations. war brokeout over the Nagorno-Karabakh region killing about 30,000 people and displacing an estimated one million. Karabakh is a region within Azerbaijan that has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces. A ceasefire was signed in 1994 but despite the ceasefire,hundreds of soldiers from both sides have been killed in clashes. The involvement of Turkey in the conflict against Armenia raises disturbing memories of the genocide perpetrated by the OttomanEmpire between 1914 and 1923 in which an estimated 1.5 million Christian Armenians were murdered. VISIT: PROPHECY WATCHER WEEKLY NEWS: HTTP://PROPHECY-WATCHER-WEEKLY-NEWS.BLOGSPOT.COM