MIDEAST UPDATE: 5.15.21 - All Eyes On Israel As Jerusalem Becomes A Cup Of Trembling

Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem - By Hal Lindsey - https://www.hallindsey.com/ww-5-6-2021/ Reports from Israel this week reminded me of a place in scripture where God Himself makes a prayer request. Psalms 122:6 says, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.” Jerusalem’s i24 News reported on April 27th, “At least 40 rockets have been fired into Israel by Palestinian terrorists from the Gaza Strip over the weekend, marking themost dramatic escalation in tensions between the two sides in months.” At the same time, Iran continues its series of assaults on Israel, mostly using proxies in Syria and Lebanon. Over the weekend, Iran showed off more of its massive and growing fleet ofdrones to be used in kamikaze style attacks. In the middle of these dangers, Israel has struggled to elect a government. In each of the last four elections, Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party received the most votes.But in their parliamentary form of government, the vote splits between many parties. Prime Minister Netanyahu keeps finding it impossible to assemble enough willing partners to form a governing coalition. He has remained in charge, but the uncertainty weakensthe nation in a difficult time. Praying for Jerusalem has always made sense, but especially now. That raises an important question. Why would God give a prayer request? If He’s telling us about it, thenHe clearly knows the need. Why doesn’t He just do the thing He is telling us to ask Him for? Why loop us in? If you follow that line of reasoning, you’ll soon ask why we should ever pray. In Matthew 6:8, Jesus said, “Your Father knows what you need, beforeyou ask Him.” Yet clearly the Bible teaches us to pray. Philippians 4:6 in the New Living Translation says, “Pray about everything.” In Jeremiah 33:3, God makes it crystal clear. “Callto Me, and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Pray without ceasing.” Colossians 4:2 says, “Devote yourselves to prayer.” Ephesians 6:18 says, “Pray at all times in the Spirit.” According to Luke 18:1,Jesus taught His disciples that “at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart.” Why pray? Pray so that God “will tell you great and mighty things.” Pray so that you will “not lose heart.” Most of all, pray because God says to pray. You don’t have tounderstand how something works to know and trust that it will. You don’t have to be an engineer or a mechanic to drive a car. You don’t have to be an electrician to flip on a light switch. But on the question of why pray when God already knows the need, there seems to be an obvious answer. He wants to include us in the conversation. He wants us to be partof His plan. Also, prayer shapes us. The instruction in Philippians 4:6, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything,” covers a lot of territory. Should you pray abouta baseball game? If you’re tempted to worry about it, then you should pray about it. The beauty of such prayer is that it will change your attitude about the game. Taking matters before God — even seemingly trivial things — changes your priorities. In thelight of His presence, you’ll begin to see what’s really important. You will find yourself praying for everyone’s safety — your team and the other team. You’ll pray that the Lord’s name will be honored, and His word go forth. You will pray for the opposingside as heartily as you pray for your own. Prayer will change things on the field. More important, it will change the tenor of your heart. Prayer helps sync your will with His will. And so it is with prayer for Jerusalem. You do it out of obedience, but then you will find yourself doing it because your heart has changed. As you pray, you will beginto sense God’s heart for Jerusalem, her people, and His plan for the world. That plan in many ways centers on Jerusalem. God wants you to be a part of His great plan for the ages. Praying for Jerusalem brings you into His inner circle. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Eyes On Israel As Jerusalem Becomes A Cup Of Trembling Israel's annual Jerusalem Day was overshadowed Monday by rocket sirens and explosions as Hamas claimed responsibility for striking the country's capital and targets across the south, while the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it bombed a number of theterrorist group's positions in the Gaza Strip in response. By Monday night over 150 rockets had been launched from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory, at least dozens of which have been intercepted by Israel, according to the IDF. The rocket barrage towards Jerusalem and surrounding areas started just a few minutes following the expiration of an "ultimatum" by Hamas, which called for the withdrawal by the Israeli police from several areas in eastern Jerusalem and for freeing Palestinianprisoners. Marchers who participated in the Jerusalem Day flag parade were forced to run for cover and continued the celebration shortly after. According to the IDF, a barrage of rockets was also being fired toward southern Israel. The IDF said that it had detected seven rockets launched from the Gaza Strip at the Jerusalem area, at least one of which was intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defensesystem. In response, the IDF said it attacked a number of Hamas targets, including two rocket launchers, two military positions and eight of the terrorist group's operatives. The Magen David Adom rescue service said Monday night it had treated 10 people for injuries resulting from missile attacks, in most cases for shock, and another 15 people for light injuries resulting from stone-throwing attacks. Speaking at at the Jerusalem Day ceremony held at Ammunition Hill, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "We are in a struggle that is spreading across several fronts: in Jerusalem, in Gaza and elsewhere in the country. The terrorist organizations inGaza crossed a red line on Jerusalem Day evening and attacked us with missiles at the entrances to Jerusalem." "Israel will respond forcefully. We will not tolerate attacks on our territory, our capital, our citizens and our soldiers. Whoever attacks us will pay a heavy price," Netanyahu continued. "The current conflict may continue for some time." Also at the ceremony, President Reuven Rivlin said that the "wail of the sirens in Jerusalem a short time ago is still with us. Repeated code red alarms that disrupt normal daily lives in the south, right now too, are putting our dear ones in the southof the country, the Gaza envelope that envelopes our whole country, into their safe rooms." "We will not be bowed in the face of any threat. Let nobody challenge the lethal might of our forces. Do not put them to the test," Rivlin added. Hamas said it fired rockets towards Jerusalem in response to Israeli "crimes and aggression in the Holy City, and its harassment of our people in Sheikh Jarrah and Al-Aqsa Mosque." According to reports, a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit a house in the Judean hills. The IDF reported that an anti-tank missile was fired from Gaza toward Israel. As a result, an Israeli civilian in a nearby vehicle was lightly injured and evacuatedto a hospital for further medical treatment. According to Walla News, Israel's security cabinet gave the IDF a green light to hit targets throughout the Gaza Strip following the attacks. "In the next few days, Hamas will feel the long arm of the [Israeli] army. It won't take a few minutes, it will take a few days," IDF Spokesperson Hidai Zilberman said. "In Palestinian terrorism, an iron fist must be fought. Anyone who puts Israeli residents in shelters should know that he will regret it," said Israel's Defense Minister Naftali Bennett on Monday. "The Israeli government will take determined action." "No country can allow its citizens to live under the threat of terrorism," said leader of the Israeli opposition Yair Lapid. "Israel must act resolutely and forcefully and restore deterrence in the war against the enemies of Israel." Jerusalem has been the site of a number of days of violence as Palestinians clashed with Israeli police forces across the capital and around the Temple Mount ahead of the annual Jerusalem Day to celebrate the reunification of the city after the 1967 Six-DayWar. This year the march coincides with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Violence had also erupted in recent days in response to the tension around the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of eastern Jerusalem, where a number of Palestinian families are set to be evictedin an ongoing court case. The White House on Monday expressed "serious concerns" about the clashes in eastern Jerusalem, with White House press secretary Jen Psaki telling reporters during a press briefing, "We are continuing to closely monitor the violence in Israel. We have seriousconcerns about the situation, including violent confrontations that we've seen over the last few days." Before a Monday meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on "all sides" to "de-escalate, reduce tension and take practical steps to calm things down." "We are very deeply concerned about the rocket attacks that we are seeing now that need to stop and need to stop immediately," he said." Originally published at Algemeiner.com - reposted with permission. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Israel, Egypt, the US & the Approaching Apocalypse - By MichaelHile - https://www.raptureready.com/2021/05/09/israel-egypt-the-us-the-approaching-apocalypse-by-michael-hile/ The Story of Joseph The story of Joseph in the book of Genesis occupies a significant part of the first book in the Bible and provides the foundation for the birth of the nation of Israel some430 years after Jacob and his family entered Egypt (Gen. chapters 37-50, Ex. 12:40-41). After being thrown into a pit by Joseph�s ten brothers and later sold to some Ishmaelites (also Midianites) going to Egypt, Joseph was sold again to �Potiphar, an officerof Pharaoh�s, and captain of the guard� (Gen. 37:18-36, 39:1). While Joseph was enslaved in Egypt, the Lord prospered him, and Potiphar made him �overseer over his house, and all that he had, he put into his hand� (Gen. 39:2-6). ForJoseph�s sake, the Lord greatly blessed Potiphar and his house and all that he had in the field. Through no fault of his own, Joseph was thrown into prison due to false accusations from Potiphar�s wife (Gen. 39:7-20). While Joseph was in prison, the Lord blessedhim and helped him interpret the dreams of the chief butler and the chief baker, who had been thrown into the king�s prison after they had offended Pharaoh (Gen. 39:21-23, 40:1-23). From Prospering in Prison to Divine Providence with Pharaoh Two years passed after Joseph�s interpretation of the chief butler�s dream, and one night after going to bed, Pharaoh experienced two vivid dreams that greatly troubledhis spirit. So Pharaoh called for his magicians and wise men to see if they could interpret them, but after listening to Pharaoh�s dreams, no one was able to explain their meaning. The chief butler then remembered when Joseph, the Hebrew, had interpreted hisdream after he and the chief baker were thrown in prison. Since Joseph�s interpretation of the chief butler�s dream came true, just as Joseph had predicted, the chief butler decided to tell Pharaoh about his dream while in prison with Joseph. After Pharaoh heard from the chief butler that there was a Hebrew slave who had the ability to interpret dreams, Pharaoh sent for Joseph (Gen. 41:1-13). Pharaoh�s servantsthen went to the prison where Joseph was held and brought him out of the dungeon. Joseph cleaned himself up and changed his clothes. Then Joseph was brought before Pharaoh to see if he could interpret Pharaoh�s dreams (Gen. 41:14). Pharaoh then told Josephthat the magicians and wise men were not able to interpret his dreams, but he had heard that Joseph could interpret dreams. Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, �It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace� (Gen. 41:15-16). After Pharaoh had told Joseph the two dreams (Gen. 41:17-24), Joseph gave God the glory for the interpretation, and then he told their meaning to Pharaoh (Gen. 41:25-32).Both dreams referred to the same event, and having two dreams meant that the dreams were certain and would happen soon. The seven fat cows and the seven good ears of corn represented seven good years where Egypt would have an abundance of crops. The sevengood years would then be followed by seven bad years of famine where no food would be grown in the land (Gen. 41:26-32). Joseph�s Advice to Pharaoh Joseph told Pharaoh to find a prudent and wise man and put him in charge of gathering an abundant supply of food for the next seven years that would help them get throughthe seven years of famine (Gen. 41:33-36). Joseph�s interpretation of Pharaoh�s dreams and his advice to Pharaoh �was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants,� and Pharaoh said: �Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is theSpirit of God?� (Gen. 41:37-38). Pharaoh then told Joseph: �Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the thronewill I be greater than you� (Gen. 41:39-41). Then Pharaoh took off his ring and put it upon Joseph�s hand, had him arrayed in fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck. Joseph then rode in the second chariotbehind Pharaoh and was made �ruler over all the land of Egypt� (Gen. 41:42-46). Joseph was put in charge of setting up a program to store up food for the next seven years so the land of Egypt would be prepared when the seven years of famine arrived (Gen. 41:46-49). After Pharaoh promoted Joseph to second in command in Egypt and gave him authority over the agricultural crops, in order to prepare for the seven years of famine that wascoming in the future, Joseph put in place a program that required all farmers to give one fifth (20%) of their crops to Pharaoh (Gen. 41:33-46). With God�s blessings, the crops were overly productive, and the Egyptians had a substantial amount of food grownduring the seven years of plenty (Gen. 41:47-49). Are Pharaoh�s Dreams a Picture of the Coming 70th Week of Daniel? Are the seven years of plenty that the Egyptians enjoyed, before the seven years of famine decimated their crops, a harbinger of the time that will precede the future seven-yeartribulation period (Daniel�s 70th week)? Are we in transition between �the sevens� like Egypt experienced? To put it another way, will the world enjoy a time of wealth and prosperity just before the future seven-year tribulation that will be comparable insome ways to the abundance experienced by the Egyptians before the seven years of famine overtook their land? Although we are not currently experiencing a seven-year time cycle like God revealed to Joseph through Pharaoh�s dreams, the world has enjoyed increasing prosperity forover seventy years, since Israel became a nation in 1948 and Jerusalem was seized from Jordan in 1967. Perhaps the �peace� and �prosperity� of the United States, which greatly affects the whole world, has been a direct result of heeding the Psalmist: �Prayfor the peace of Jerusalem: �May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls, Prosperity within your palaces'� (Psalm 122:6-7). After coming out of the Great Depression during the decade of the 1930s, the United States rebounded and had a strong economy during World War II (1939-1945), which sawthree years of double-digit growth. Following three years of recession at the end of WWII (1945-1947), the United States began to recover economically in 1948 with over 4% GDP (Gross Domestic Product) that year. Today, the world economy consists of 193 nationaleconomies, with the United States being the largest (GDP: $21.43 trillion). [1] The total world GDP for the year 2019 was nearly $88 trillion ($87.80). The United States and China alone control over one-third (40.75%) of the total world GDP ($35.77trillion). [2] Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many small businesses, local governments, churches, institutions and organizations were coerced by governors, mayors and other governmental leaders to close or greatly limit their operation. With all of the manyclosings and restrictions adversely affecting the global economy (GDP), what long-term effects will these economic, religious, educational and social disruptions have on society? Before Covid-19, the global economy was at $88 trillion. The projected global growth from the International Monetary Fund�s (IMF) World Economic Outlook was -4.9% for 2020,with many of the world�s biggest economies in recession. �In 2021, global growth is projected at 5.4 percent. Overall, this would leave 2021 GDP some 6� percentage points lower than in the pre-COVID-19 projections of January 2020.� [3] The economic damagefrom Covid-19 for businesses and their employees will have serious repercussions for years to come. Will a Time of Prosperity Precede Daniel�s 70th week? Is the world beginning to transition from the �good times,� relatively speaking � where we experienced a record-breaking period of growth and prosperity in the United States,Israel and throughout the world � to the �bad times,� which will usher in a global, totalitarian government with a surveillance society and a closely monitored digital currency? Are the prophetic scriptures in the Bible aligning as the prophets predicted?(Dan. 12:4, 9-10). For some time, international bureaucrats have been positioning themselves (The Great Reset) to install a �one-world government� with open borders, restrictions on buyingand selling (trade), limitations on travel, curbs on free speech and religious liberty, restrictions on the right to own and bear arms, future quantum dot vaccinations, and other nefarious activities. How close are we to some of the apocalyptic events described in the books of Daniel and Revelation that will one day catch the world off guard, like a trap that closes quicklyon its unsuspecting prey? (Luke 21:28-36, Rev. 3:3, 10-11). What does today�s prosperity have to do with the future, seven-year tribulation (Daniel�s 70th Week)? How do the seven years of prosperity experienced in Egypt over 3,500 years ago, during the daysof Joseph and Pharaoh, relate to the seventy-plus years of prosperity we have enjoyed since the end of World War II? Just as God prospered Egypt because of Joseph, Jacob (Israel) and the children of Israel and for �blessing� the future descendants of Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3), the Lord hasprospered the United States because of her �blessings� to Israel (Gen. 12:1-3). The many �blessings� bestowed upon the nation of Israel in recent years by the United States, including recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and moving the U.S. Embassyfrom Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, has not been forgotten by the Creator of the universe Who watches over Israel (Psalm 121:1-8). �I will lift up my eyes to the hills�From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth� Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumbernor sleep� (Psalm 121:1-4). The prosperity of the world�s major superpower, the United States (like Egypt during Joseph�s days), combined with the economic prosperity of the rest of the world fromthe middle of the last century up through recent years, reveals that the world has experienced (and is still experiencing) a time of wealth and prosperity that greatly exceeds the seven good years that came before the seven bad years during the days of Joseph�sreign in Egypt. As the prosperity of the world today is much greater than the prosperity the Egyptians experienced, the future seven-year tribulation period will be worldwide and much greaterin scope and severity than the seven-year famine the Egyptians suffered through. The �great tribulation� (last half) will be a time such as the world has never experienced �since the beginning of the world,� with �men�s hearts failing them from fear and theexpectation of those things which are coming on the earth�� (Matt. 24:21-22, Luke 21:25-26, 35-36, Rev. 3:10, 6:1-19:21). The Generation of His Coming The Lord told His apostles, as recorded in Acts 1:6-7, that it was not for them ��to know the times or the seasons�� for the restoration of the kingdom to Israel. The mysteryof �the times and seasons� of the kingdom�s restoration to Israel was not for the apostles to know, but it was to be concealed and later revealed to a future generation that Jesus described in �the parable of the fig tree� (Matt. 24:32-34, Mark 13: 28-30,Luke 21:29-32). The official return to life of the fig tree (the nation of Israel) took place when Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion proclaimed Israel�s Independence �on May 14, 1948, inTel Aviv on behalf of the Provisional Government of Israel.� [4] Israel�s rebirth as a nation (Isaiah 66:8-10) is linked directly with the generation (Luke 21:28-36) that will witness the second coming of Christ back to earth. The specific generation Christ was talking about, that �will not pass away� until after the kingdom of God is established on earth, is alive today and is currently between70 and 80 years of age. Since the rapture of the saints, the seven-year tribulation period (Daniel�s 70th Week) and Christ�s physical return back to earth must all take place before the generation Christ was talking about dies off, we must be getting closeto the inception (beginning) of these three events. That is because the generation that began (was born) when Israel became a nation over 70 years ago is rapidly approaching the final years of its existence and will soon �pass away� (Matt. 24:33-34). The Times and Seasons of His Coming The �Day of the Lord� will begin when the words �peace and security� and �peace and safety� are commonplace among the global elite (1 Thess. 5:1-3). Use of the specificwords �peace, security and safety,� both oral and written, in speeches, treaties and negotiations by world leaders and the global media in reference to the Middle East peace process has increased in recent years with �many� new participants seeking peace (Dan.9:27). �Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will comelike a thief in the night. While people are saying, �There is peace and security,� then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape� (1 Thess. 5:1-3, ESV). This �last days� prophecy about �peace and security,� given by the Apostle Paul nearly 2000 years ago, uniquely fits today�s scenario that has been slowly unfolding withthe ongoing Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The �times and seasons� of the rapture (catching up) of the �bride of Christ� is a mystery (1 Cor. 15:51-52) that is linked with the scriptures about �peace and security� and the �day of the Lord,� almost as ifthey are contiguous or will occur at approximately the same time. �For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ willrise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words� (1 Thess. 4:16-18, ESV). The timing of the rapture, also called the �blessed hope� in Titus 2:13, will be as �a thief in the night� to those not watching, but �the times and seasons� of the rapturewill not be a surprise to those who are looking for His return (1 Thess. 5:4-6, Matt. 25:1-13, Luke 21:34-36, Rev. 3:3). Are you watching the many �signs� heralding Christ�s soon return as we begin to �see the day approaching?� (Heb. 10:25, Eph. 4:30, Luke21:28). Prepare for Lift Off With many prophecies that will be fulfilled during the future seven-year tribulation period (Day of the Lord) beginning to converge on the world stage and cast their shadowsbackward into today�s headlines, are we beginning to transition from a time of unparalleled prosperity to a time of declining affluence where fresh food and water will become scarce (dearth) and the events of Daniel�s 70th week begin to unfold? (Dan. 9:27,Rev. 6:1-8). When Jesus Christ returns �in the air� for His saints �at his appearing,� make sure you have already made your reservation to go to Heaven and are following the Lord�s planfor your life (John 14:1-3; Acts 1:9-11; 2 Tim. 4:1, 8; Titus 2:11-13; Heb. 9:28). Before His wrath is poured out on this wicked and God-rejecting world (John 1:11), make �your calling and election sure� (1 Thess. 1:10, 5:4-11, 2 Peter 1:10-11, 1 Cor. 15:51-58). �But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will comeas a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man� (Luke 21:34-36). Whatever your priorities in this life may be, reevaluate them now and make sure God is at the top of your priority list. The things of this world will not matter one minuteafter the �trumpet� blows and the bride of Christ is removed �in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye� to meet the Lord in the air (1 Cor. 15:51-58, 1 Thess. 4:16-17, James 4:4, 1 John 2:15-18). The �Day of the Lord� will be a time when literally, �all hellbreaks loose� on the earth (Rev. 9:1-21). Don�t be one of the many unfortunate souls who ignore the �signs� and will be left behind! �It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God� (Hebrews 10:31). ������� Endnotes [1] GDP (current US$), World Bank national accounts data, and OECD National Accounts data files, Year 2019, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?most_recent_value_desc=true [2] Ibid. [3] World Economic Outlook Update, January 2021: Policy Support and Vaccines Expected to Lift Activity, https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO, January 20, 2021 [4] Israel�s Declaration of Independence � May 14, 1948, https://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-declaration-of-independence-may-14-1948/ (Unless otherwise noted, scriptures are from the New King James Version (NKJV). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Could the Wildly Out of Control Violence in Jerusalem Spark a Major Regional War In The Middle East?- by Michael Snyder - http://endoftheamericandream.com/could-the-wildly-out-of-control-violence-in-jerusalem-spark-a-major-regional-war-in-the-middle-east/ Things have been getting more tense in Jerusalem for weeks, and Monday was the day when tensions really started to boil over. The violence that we witnessed in the streetsof Jerusalem shocked the entire globe, and it threatens to spark a major regional conflict. At one point, a tree that had been set on fire on the Temple Mount was burning wildly out of control, and that was a perfect metaphor for the emotions that we witnessedon both sides. As a result of multiple violent clashes, over 300 Palestinians and an undisclosed number of Israelis ended up with injuries� Though the past week has seen hundreds of Palestinians and Israeli police officers and civilians injured, the defense establishment still thought that the situation couldhave returned to normal. But that was wishful thinking. More than 300 Palestinians and several Israelis were injured in clashes with police officers on Monday in violence that the city has not seen in years. In response to the chaos in Jerusalem, Hamas fired more than 160 rockets into Israel, and the IDF responded by striking several targets in the Gaza strip. The followingcomes from the Jerusalem Post� The IDF warned Hamas that all options, including a ground operation, were on the table after over 160 rockets were fired towards Jerusalem and southern Israel as thousandsof Israelis were parading through downtown to celebrate Jerusalem Day. Following the rocket fire, the Israel Air Force carried out several strikes in Gaza, killing at least 8 Hamas militants and targeting rocket launchers and two military positions.Palestinian media reported that 20 people had been killed including nine children and another 95 wounded. We haven�t seen hostilities in the region reach this level in a long, long time. Politicians around the globe are crying out for peace to be restored, but the leader of Hamas is indicating that more violence may be coming� Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said on Monday night that �Jerusalem has called and Gaza has responded. We will continue as long as Israel does not stop the aggression and terrorismin Jerusalem and at the al-Aqsa Mosque.� And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is publicly warning that �the current conflict could continue for some time�� �We are in a fight on several fronts: Jerusalem, Gaza and elsewhere in the country. This evening, on Jerusalem Day, the terrorist organizations in Gaza have crossed a redline and attacked us with missiles in the outskirts of Jerusalem,� Netanyahu said at a ceremony at Ammunition Hill to mark Jerusalem Day. Netanyahu also said that while Israel does not seek an intensification of hostilities, �the current conflict could continue for some time.� So what does that mean? Could Netanyahu actually send troops into Gaza? If that happens, that could spark a full-blown regional war. Hamas and Islamic Jihad are no match for the IDF, but they would fight with everything that they have got and they are certainly capable of launching thousands of rocketstoward Israel. However, if Hezbollah decided to jump in and attack from the north, that would take the conflict to an entirely different level. Right now, Hezbollah has 150,000 missiles pointed at Israel, and those missiles could do some very serious damage. At this point, Beirut is absolutely teeming with Fateh110 rockets that have the range to hit Tel Aviv� Further north, in Beirut, is Hezbollah�s central headquarters, and the city area is packed with Iranian and Syrian-made Fateh 110 rockets that can reach greater Tel Aviv.It is here that Hezbollah is trying to turn some of those rockets into precision-guided missiles. Precision-guided missiles are not like the unsophisticated rockets that Hamas lobs toward Israel. It is being reported that such missiles �can strike targets within an accuracyof a 5-meter diameter�. And of course if Hezbollah goes to war with Israel, there is always a possibility that Iran may decide to take more direct action against Israel as well. The Iranians typically don�t like to attack anyone directly, but they could certainly use proxies other than Hezbollah to hit Israel with conventional or unconventionalweapons. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail, and the Biden administration is currently attempting to �de-escalate� the situation� US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Hamas must end the rocket attacks �immediately�, adding: �All sides need to de-escalate.� White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki echoed those calls, saying US President Joe Biden was seriously concerned about the violence. Unfortunately, at this point Biden�s words don�t exactly carry too much weight in the region. And I think that it is an ominous sign that cities all over Israel began to open their bomb shelters late on Monday night� The Tel Aviv Municipality sent an urgent message to all residents late Monday night that all citywide bomb shelters will be reopened. The cities of Givatayim, Ramat Gan and Bnei Brak have made similar announcements. By the time you read this article, events may have escalated even more. Things are moving very rapidly in the region, and there is a very real danger that a �point of noreturn� may soon be crossed. Unfortunately, whether it happens now or later, a major war in the Middle East is inevitably coming. Israel, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah and Iran have all been preparing for such a war for decades, and when it finally arrives the death and destruction it will causewill stun the entire planet. So let us hope that it can be put off for as long as possible. But right now the anger on both sides has reached a boiling point, and missiles are already flying. In the age of social media, a major event that happens on one side of the globe can go viral on the other side of the globe just moments later. This free flow of informationcan be a very good thing, but it can also inflame tensions when millions (or billions) of people around the world are focusing on a single crisis point all at once. Over the next few days, the eyes of the world will be on Jerusalem, and one false move could spark a major war. Let us pray that it does not happen right now, but at some point all of the sand will finally run out of the hourglass. ------------------------------------------------------------- Palestinians: Our True Goal is to Destroy Israel - by BassamTawil - https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17361/palestinian-goal-destroy-israel When former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein fired 39 Scud missiles at Israel in 1991, many Palestinians took to the streets to celebrate the attacks. Many demonstrations tookplace in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem even while Palestinians were being issued gas masks by the Israeli authorities to protect them against a possible chemical attack by Iraq against Israel. The Los Angeles Times reported back then that "several Palestinians expressed joy at last week's [Iraqi] missile assault on Tel Aviv and Haifa." When the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist group launched rocket attacks on Israel from Lebanon in 2015, Palestinians took to the streets to celebrate, holding Hezbollahflags and handing out sweets to drivers and passersby. For the Palestinians, anyone who attacks Israel or threatens to destroy it is a real "hero." In the past few days, the Palestinians have been cheering another "hero": Mohammed Deif, the shadowy figure who heads the military wing of the Palestinian Islamist movement,Hamas. Deif has been Israel's most wanted terrorist for the last 25 years because of his involvement in several terror attacks, including the killing of Israeli soldiers, suicidebombings and kidnappings. In 2015, the US State Department added Deif to its list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists. Because of his direct involvement in terrorism against Israel, Deif has always been regarded by many Palestinians as a "hero." Now, after Deif warned Israel of retaliation if it does not change its policies in east Jerusalem, he seems to be even more popular among the Palestinians. In a rare public statement, the arch-terrorist, who is based in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, said that Israel will pay a "heavy price" if it does not stop the eviction ofPalestinian families living in Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. "This is a clear and final warning," Deif threatened, hinting that Hamas would resume its rocket attacks and other forms of terrorism against Israel. The threat came after a Jerusalem court approved the eviction of a number of Arab families in Sheikh Jarrah from homes that had belonged to Jews before the establishmentof Israel in 1948. During mass demonstrations in Jerusalem and some parts of the West Bank over the past few days, thousands of Palestinians chanted slogans in praise of Deif and urged himto carry out his threat to fire rockets at Israel. The Palestinians also chanted slogans in support of Hamas's military wing, Izaddin al-Qassam, which is responsible for thousands of terrorist attacks against Israel during the past three decades. "We are the men of Mohammed Deif," thousands of Palestinians chanted during a demonstration at the al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam. They also called on himto "strike" Tel Aviv with rockets, thereby echoing the 1991 call to Saddam Hussein: "O' beloved Saddam, strike, strike Tel Aviv!" The demonstrations in Jerusalem began on the first day of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, when scores of youths attacked police officers and Jewish residents with rocks,firebombs and other objects. The protesters initially justified the attacks by arguing that the Israel Police had set up barricades at one of the entrances to the Old City of Jerusalem, thus preventing them from gathering at night to celebrate Ramadan. The riots, however, continued even after the police removed the barricades. The rioters said that they were protesting the possible eviction of the families from SheikhJarrah and attempts by Jews to "storm" the al-Aqsa Mosque, a reference to routine visits by Jews to the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism. So how does Deif, the chief Hamas terrorist, fit into the clashes between Palestinians and the Israel Police in Jerusalem? By invoking the name of Deif and calling on him to bomb Tel Aviv, the protesters exposed the truth: that their protests were less about the al-Aqsa Mosque or the controversysurrounding the Sheikh Jarrah houses or the police barriers at the Old City than about the elimination of Israel. It is worth noting that Israel has not taken any new measures to "alter the historical or legal status" of the al-Aqsa Mosque, as the Palestinians and other Arabs have claimed. The Palestinians are upset because Jews are being permitted to tour the Temple Mount. The Palestinians do not want to see Jews visiting their holy site; they do not wantto see Jews in Jerusalem, and they do not want to see any Jew at all in the land that stretches from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. How does the bombing of Tel Aviv help the cases of the Arab families in Sheikh Jarrah, who are challenging the eviction order in Israeli courts? How does calling on Hamasto launch terrorist attacks against Israel assist the Palestinians in their campaign to stop Jews from touring the Temple Mount? By raising Hamas flags and chanting slogans in support of an arch-terrorist at the al-Aqsa Mosque, the demonstrators desecrated the holy site, not the Jews. Those who usedthe mosque compound to throw rocks and other objects at police officers are the ones who defiled the holy site. You cannot attack police officers and then complain that Israel sent police to "raid" and "desecrate" the al-Aqsa Mosque -- unless your mind hasbeen twisted by terrorist logic. No one is disputing the Palestinians' right to protest Israeli policies. Yet when the protests turn into large pro-Hamas demonstrations, with calls for bombing Tel Avivand killing Jews, they expose the true deadly intention of the protesters. When thousands of Palestinians chant "We are all Mohammed Deif," they are saying that they see themselves as terrorists ready to attack and destroy Israel. They are alsosaying that Deif is their role model because he managed to murder many Jews and remains at large, despite Israeli attempts to apprehend or kill him. The violence that erupted in Jerusalem over the past few days shows that Hamas has a large following among Palestinians, including residents of east Jerusalem who hold Israeli-issuedID cards but are not Israeli citizens. After Israel annexed east Jerusalem in 1968, it gave the Palestinians living there the right to apply for Israeli citizenship. Most of them, however, chose not to ask for Israeli citizenship out of fear of being brandedtraitors. As permanent residents of Israel, the Palestinian residents of Jerusalem enjoy all the rights bestowed on Israeli citizens with one exception: the right to vote for theIsraeli parliament, the Knesset. At the same time, these residents are entitled to apply for Israeli citizenship any time they wish and several thousand have already done so. Hamas's popularity is on the rise not only in east Jerusalem, but also in the West Bank, where some Palestinians also heaped praise on Deif and urged him to unleash a newwave of terror against Israel. Hamas owes its growing popularity to the anti-Israel inflammatory campaign waged in the Palestinian media, especially social media platforms, the mosques and public rhetoricof Palestinian leaders. Hamas also owes its popularity to the ongoing corruption and incompetence of the Palestinian Authority and its autocratic president, Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas had good reason to delay until further notice the parliamentary and presidential elections he was planning to hold on May 22 and July 31. He knew very well that hisrivals in Hamas were headed toward a victory similar to the one they scored in the last parliamentary election in 2006. Yet Abbas did not have the courage to admit that this was the real reason why he called off the elections. Instead, he chose to blame Israel by falsely accusing it of preventingthe Palestinians in Jerusalem from participating in the elections. As he sits in his living room and watched thousands of Palestinians in Jerusalem denouncing him as a traitor and hailing Hamas and Deif, Abbas must have heaved a sigh ofrelief that the elections were indefinitely postponed. The pro-Hamas demonstrations in Jerusalem should worry not only Israel, but Abbas and his Palestinian Authority as well. The demonstrations in favor of Hamas should also sound alarm bells with the Biden administration and serve as an accurate indicator as to Palestinian priorities. The Bidenadministration is talking about reviving the stalled peace process between Israel and the Palestinians on the basis of the "two-state solution." Hamas and the thousands of Palestinians who chanted slogans in support of Hamas and Deif, however, have a differentsolution in mind: the annihilation of Israel and the deaths of Jews -- the more the merrier. ------------------------------------------------------- Tic Tok the Prophetic Clock � Bill Wilson � www.dailyjot.com God�s prophetic time piece, Israel, is a mess. Reeling from COVID, failure to form a government, and violence from terrorist-inspired �Palestinians,� Israel�s turmoil couldbe a sign that the prophecy clock is accelerated. Each year around this time, the �Palestinians� start attacking Israel, and then when Israel defends itself with superior force, the �Palestinians� cry that Israel is racist, that it is attacking the poor, underserved �Palestinian� community. The news media rarely mentions the billions of dollars that pours into the Palestinian Authority every year from various countries, and how that money funds terrorism against Israel. President Trump shut down America�s contribution.Joe Biden is reversing that policy. Biden is opening up the American cash faucet once again for the Palestinians. Breitbart reports that the Biden Administration gave �the Palestinians commitments of hundredsof millions of US taxpayer dollars�likely in violation of the Taylor Force Act, which prevents US funding of the Palestinian Authority until it stops paying terrorists and their families. Biden did not seek any concessions from the Palestinians in return forthat funding�no new negotiations with Israel, no end to inciting hatred. Now the Biden administration is rewarding the Palestinians for the violence by calling on Israel to stop the clashes�as if Israel wanted any of this to happen.� This, at the same time Turkey is fanning the flames of violence. The Jerusalem Post Sunday reported, �Accusing Israel of being a �cruel� and �terrorist� state is part ofAnkara�s desire to use the tensions in Jerusalem to boost Turkey�s image. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday [May 8] called Israel a cruel �terrorist� state, as Turkish media called to �free al-Aqsa� in Jerusalem, just like he reconsecratedthe historic Church of Hagia Sophia as a mosque last year. Writing in Turkish, Erdogan said he �invite[s] the whole world, especially the Islamic countries, to take effective action against Israel�s attacks on al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem and Palestinian homes.� It is no secret that the terrorist organization Hamas is an object of diplomatic favor with Turkey, which allows Hamas to plan terrorist attacks from the Turkey capitol of Ankara. The significance of these recent events is underscored by several end time prophecies, but none more specific than the description of a colossal end of days battle foundin Ezekiel 38 and 39. In Ezekiel 38:3-8, the Lord says, �Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: and I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army�Persia, Ethiopia, andLibya with them�against the mountains of Israel�� These areas mentioned in the verses of Ezekiel 38 coincide with modern Turkey, Iran, Sudan, Libya, and parts of Iraq, even Saudi Arabia. Biden and Erdogan are moving the prophecy clock forward. Keep an eyeon Turkey. Watch and discern. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iran's Proxy War Against Israel- by Khaled Abu Toameh - https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17364/iran-proxy-war-israel The Iranian-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) organization announced on May 11 that its members fired a burst of "Badr-3" missiles into Israel, killing two women andinjuring dozens others. The announcement was made by PIJ's military wing, Al-Quds Brigades, after the group and other terror factions in the Gaza Strip, including Hamas, fired hundreds of rockets into Israel within 24 hours. The "Badr-3" missile is an Iranian-made missile that appeared for the first time on the battlefields of the Middle East in April 2019, when the Iranian-backed Houthi militiaused it during the fighting in war-torn Yemen. The "Badr-3" missile carries an explosive warhead weighing 250 kg, and has a range of more than 160 km, according to Debka, an Israeli website that reports on military issues."The missile explodes within 20m of target and releases a 1,400-piece shower of shrapnel fragments," the website reported. PIJ was the first terrorist organization to use the Iranian missile against Israel in 2019. Until a few years ago, PIJ, Hamas and other Gaza-based terrorist groups used to receive rockets and other weapons directly from Iran -- smuggled in by sea or across theborder between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. For some years now, however, according to Israeli intelligence sources, these terrorist groups have used years of experience with Iranian and other rockets to develop their own versions. Over the past 15 years, Iran became the most dominant weapon supplier to Hamas and PIJ. The major smuggling route was from Iran to Sudan, on to Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula,and from there to the Gaza Strip. These weapons include long range rockets, mortar shells, anti-tank missiles, tons of standard explosives and raw materials for explosive production. Last year, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei admitted for the first time that his country was supplying the Palestinian terrorist groups with weapons. "Iran realizedPalestinian fighters' only problem was lack of access to weapons," Khamenei said in an online speech. "With divine guidance and assistance, we planned, and the balance of power has been transformed in Palestine, and today the Gaza Strip can stand against the aggression ofthe Zionist enemy and defeat it." Khamenei went on to offer the reason why Iran was sending rockets, missiles and tons of explosives to the Gaza Strip: "The Zionist regime is a deadly, cancerous tumor inthe region. It will undoubtedly be uprooted and destroyed." Khamenei's admission shows how the mullahs in Tehran have been lying to the West for many years. In 2011, Mohammad Khazaee, the Permanent Representative of Iran to the UnitedNations, sent a letter to the President of the United Nations Security Council in which he vehemently denied that Iran was smuggling weapons into the Gaza Strip: "The Islamic Republic of Iran categorically rejects the allegations concerning the so-called smuggling of advanced weapons into the Gaza Strip, which are based on falseand misleading information provided by the Zionist regime. Iran's support for the peoples of Palestine has been of a moral, humanitarian and political nature." The denial exposes the extent of Iran's scheme to deceive the international community not only regarding its supply of weapons to the Palestinian terrorist groups, but alsoconcerning its plan to acquire nuclear weapons and bolster its production of nuclear material. So while the Obama administration was sending $400 million of cash to Iran, the Iranians were continuing to supply rockets and missiles to their proxies in the Gaza Stripso that they could use them to destroy the "Zionist entity." In 2015, the Obama administration, the UK, France, China, Russia and Germany reached a deal with Iran, whereby it agreed to limit its nuclear activities and allow in internationalinspectors in return for the lifting of economic sanctions. Iran, however, repeatedly violated the terms of the nuclear deal, according to the UN's nuclear monitoring Atomic Energy Agency. The same Iran that lied about the smuggling of the weapons into the Gaza Strip also managed to deceive the US and the world powers regarding its willingness to adhere tothe nuclear deal. Last month, a report published by the Israeli Walla news website revealed that in 2006, Iran opened a route to smuggle missiles and ammunition to the Palestinian terroristgroups in the Gaza Strip through Yemen and Sudan. The smuggling operations were led by Hamas military commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, who was assassinated by Israel in 2010. On April 9, Mahmoud Mardawi, a Hamas leader and former member of the group's military wing, Izaddin al-Qassam Brigades, told the Al-Monitor news website: "Hamas wants to explore all sources of military supplies from every country and movement, mainly from Iran. We will not stop knocking on doors to find parties to provideus with weapons." An arms smuggler who deals with Hamas told Al-Monitor that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps sent weapons to the Palestinian terrorist groups through the Suez Canalall the way to the Mediterranean Sea, where Iranian ships dock off the coast of the Gaza Strip in Egyptian territorial waters. When night sets, he revealed, Hamas frogmen transport the weapons in closed containers. Earlier this year, the secretary-general of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Ziyad al-Nakhaleh, disclosed that Qassem Soleimani, the slain commander of Iran's Quds Force, "personally"managed a complex operation to send weapons to the Gaza Strip. Nakhaleh said that Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone attack on January 3, 2020 near Baghdad International Airport in Iraq, traveled to several countries to supply weapons for the Palestinianterrorist groups in the Gaza Strip. Were it not for Iran's financial and military aid, the Palestinian terrorist groups would not have been able to attack Israel with thousands of rockets and missiles. Liketheir patrons in Tehran, Hamas and PIJ do not recognize Israel's right to exist and are committed to its destruction. In the past, Iran used its proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah, to attack Israel. Iran is now using its Palestinian proxies to achieve its goal of eliminating Israel and killingJews. This is a war not only between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist groups. Rather, it is a war waged by Iran against Israel. The Western powers that are currently negotiating with Iran about the revival of the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal are emboldening the mullahs and allowing them to continue theirwar of "kill[ing] all the Jews." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Blamingthe Victim By Hal Lindsey On May 10th,amid hundreds of rocket attacks against Jerusalem, the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs released the following statement. �We call on the international community to condemn the rocket fire and Palestinian terrorism targeting Israeli citizens in the strongestmanner, as well as to support Israel�s right of self-defense.� Why should they even have to make a statement? If any other country received a massive, unprovoked rocket attack aimed at its civilian population, theworld would be outraged. Leaders would be stepping all over one another in their rush to condemn such barbarity. But in this case, the world mostly condemns Israel. Some nations and international organizations have given tepid acknowledgement of Israel�s rightto defend its civilian population. But they always call on Israel to �show restraint.� None of them � not one other nation � would show restraint in its response to such a hideous attack on the civilians of its national capital. They would attack with ferocity.Israel, on the other, does show restraint, often compromising their military response in order to avoid civilian casualties. Remember that Hamas loves to put its military operations in the middle of civilian population centers. Israel�s critics would have us believe that this started with Israeli �interference� on the Temple Mount. US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, tweeted, �AlAqsa� [is] a sacred site for Muslims. This is equivalent to attacking the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Christians, or the Temple Mount for Jews.� But, for several reasons, that makes no sense. Muslims frequently attack Jews on the Temple Mount. It�s a regular thing. Muslim authorities and Palestinianpolice forbid Jews to pray on their most sacred ground, and that�s been going on for decades. Even after taking back East Jerusalem during the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel put their holiest site, the Temple Mount, in the control of Muslims. They did it in theinterest of peace. In anticipation of �Jerusalem Day,� Palestinians gathered at the site, collecting rocks, bottles, Molotov cocktails, and other makeshift weapons. Whenthey started to riot, Israeli police entered the area. Today, Muslims use this �sacred site� as a place from which to plan and launch violent attacks on Israeli civilians and police. The recent rocket barrage from Gaza has been different from earlier attacks. This time, Hamas is targeting the old city of Jerusalem itself � Islam�sso-called �third holiest city.� Why are they bombing their holy city? Why not bomb other Israeli cities? Maybe it�s not so holy to them after all. The immediate beneficiary of all this has been Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas. In a May 10thopinion piece for the New York Post,Jonathan S. Tobin wrote, �Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas wants to divert attention from his decision to postpone elections again as he serves the 17thyear of a four-year term to which he was elected in 2005.� Imagine the world outcry if any other leader carried on a four-year term for 17 years. Imagine the anger if any other leader kept setting dates forelections, then postponing them year after year. Abbas�s Palestinian Authority regime is corrupt through and through. Meanwhile, UN and various leaders around the world continue to attack Israel� for defending itself! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IT�S WAR!: Israeli Forces Strike GazaAs The World Braces For A Horrific Conflict In The Middle East - by Michael Snyder - http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/its-war-israeli-troops-enter-gaza-as-the-world-braces-for-a-horrific-conflict-in-the-middle-east/ ***UPDATE: It appears that Israeli statements about the conflict have caused much confusion among news outlets. Earlier in the day Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus had told thepress that there were Israeli ground troops �attacking in Gaza�, but now he has told reporter Alex Ward the following: �Clarification: there are currently no IDF ground troops inside the Gaza Strip. IDF air and ground forces are carrying out strikes on targetsin the Gaza Strip.� So it appears that ground forces are being used to conduct strikes in Gaza, but they have not officially crossed over into Gaza just yet. I apologize for any confusion, and we will continue to monitor further developments.*** The next Middle East war has begun. Israel has sent troops over the line into Gaza, and Israeli officials are telling us that they will be there for as long as it takes. Ultimately,the Israeli government didn�t have much of a choice. Hamas had already fired more than 1,600 rockets into Israeli territory, and the Israeli people were crying out for action. If someone had fired 1,600 rockets at major U.S. cities, millions upon millionsof Americans would literally be begging the Biden administration to nuke whoever did it. Now that war has started, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pledging that �this operation will continue as long as necessary�� The Israel Defense Force tweeted from its official account on Thursday night: �IDF air and ground troops are currently attacking in the Gaza Strip.� Military spokesman Lt Col Jonathan Conricus confirmed: �There are ground troops attacking in Gaza, together with air forces as well.� Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted moments later: �The last word was not said and this operation will continue as long as necessary.� What does that exactly mean? We don�t know, but it sounds like there is no end in sight for this conflict. Previously, Defense Minister Benny Gantz had stated that there is �no end date� for airstrikes against Gaza� Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Wednesday that the military operation will continue in the Gaza Strip for as long as necessary and that there is currently no end in sight. �Israel is not preparing for a ceasefire. There is currently no end date for the operation. Only when we achieve complete quiet can we talk about calm,� Gantz said duringa tour of rocket-hit Ashkelon. �We will not listen to moral preaching from any organization or institution regarding our right and duty to protect the citizens of Israel.� I think that Israeli officials are finally fed up with having rockets being lobbed at them out of Gaza. Now that Israeli troops have gone in, one of the first jobs will be to neutralize the tens of thousands of rockets that Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad have stockpiled overthe years� Hamas and Islamic Jihad fired more than 1,000 missiles in the first 48 hours of the conflict which began on Monday, an average of one every three minutes, and has enoughto keep the bombardment going for two months. Israeli military spokesman Lt Col Jonathan Conricus said: �According to our estimates we�re talking about between 20,000 and 30,000 rockets in Gaza today, rockets and mortars. It is going to take some time to achieve that goal, but if the Israelis want the constant bombardment to stop they need to find those weapons. Beyond that, there are many in the Israeli government that would like to destroy Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza for good. Both groups have sworn to never stop until Israelis wiped off the map, and so there is no negotiating any sort of a permanent peace with them. Over the past couple of days, a number of key Hamas targets have been eliminated, and an IDF spokesperson has stated that the terror group is in the process of �losing everything�� On Thursday morning the IDF bombed government targets, Hamas�s central bank, a force that the Israeli military said belonged to the terror group�s navy unit as well thehome of Iyad Tayeb, a top Hamas commander who oversaw a number of battalions. The IDF said that the home was being used for terrorist purposes. �The organization is losing everything,� IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Hidai Zilberman told reporters on Thursday morning. If Hamas and Islamic Jihad lose their grip on Gaza, that would give Mahmoud Abbas and Fatah an opportunity to consolidate control over the Palestinian people. So even though he would never admit it publicly, I have a feeling that Mahmoud Abbas is very pleased with what is happening right now. Israel was never going to negotiate a permanent peace deal with the Palestinians as long as Hamas was running Gaza. But if Hamas and Islamic Jihad are out of the way, thatwould clear a path for a comprehensive peace plan and the establishment of a �two state solution� that is so greatly coveted by the Biden administration. Needless to say, any such �peace deal� would be a tragic error, and this is something that I have discussed in numerous other articles. For the moment, we need to watch and see how this current conflict plays out. Hamas and Islamic Jihad are no match for the Israeli military. But now that the IDF is preoccupied in the south, this could be a golden opportunity for Hezbollah to takeaction in the north. And if that happened, all of a sudden the Israelis would find themselves fighting a war on two fronts. As I discussed the other day, Hezbollah has more than 150,000 missiles currently pointed at Israel. If Hamas and Islamic Jihad were able to overwhelm the Iron Dome system,what would happen if Hezbollah suddenly started launching thousands upon thousands of highly advanced rockets at Israeli cities? In addition, we need to watch Iran. The Iranians try to avoid attacking anyone directly, but they could choose to use this moment as an opportunity to strike Israel throughvarious proxies other than Hezbollah. In the days ahead, keep alert for any attacks against Israel that seem to come from unusual sources. At some point, there will be open conflict between Israel and Iran, but hopefully that day can be put off for as long as possible. Of course I always said the same thing about the coming conflict between Israel and Hamas, and now it is here. I think that Hamas officials realize that Israel intends to destroy the organization, and so they will throw everything that they have got at the Israeli military. A lot of blood is going to be spilled, and it will be a very messy conflict. But if Hezbollah jumps in, things will get a whole lot worse. And if things escalate to a point where Israel and Iran are openly firing missiles back and forth, we would potentially be facing an apocalyptic scenario in the Middle East. We have entered a time of �wars and rumors of wars�, and the days ahead are certainly going to be very dark for the entire globe. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Israel's Options on How to Confront PalestinianTerror Groups in Gaza Strip � Yaakov Lappin - https://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=4722 Almost the minute Israel fully withdrew from the Gaza Strip in September 2005, the area became a hotbed of terror. Some 18 months later, after Hamas seized the territoryin a violent coup from its internal Palestinian rival, Fatah, the Islamist-ruled enclave had turned into a heavily armed fortress, which hosts a terrorist army that is funded and assisted by Iran. Qatar has also provided funds to keep the fire against Israelgoing. On Thursday night local time, the Israel Defense Forces announced on Twitter that "air and ground" troops have entered the Gaza Strip, without providing more details onthe scope of the operation. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas "will pay a heavy price" for its barrage of rockets on the Jewish state, more than 1,300 and counting. "I said that we would exact a very heavy price on Hamas; we are doing this, and we will continue with great force. The final word has not been said, and this operation willcontinue for as long as needed," declared the Israeli leader, according to the Prime Minister's Office. Israel has been reluctantly dragged into three large armed conflicts with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) prior to the current escalation, in addition to smallerrounds of fighting. With each truce, Gaza's terror factions and the IDF study the battles, draw lessons and build up their capabilities accordingly, for the next round. As the current firepower of Hamas and PIJ demonstrates, Gaza's factions have not been resting on their laurels in recent years, exploiting a period of quiet to create adomestic industry of weapons production. According to figures from the research department of the Alma Research and Education Center, the Iranian-backed PIJ has some 10,000 operatives--half of them armed combatants--andprior to now was armed with some 10,000 rockets, most of them up to a range of 45 kilometers. Hamas, for its part, has a military wing with as many as 35,000 members, of which between 10,000 to 15,000 are armed combatants, and the remainder are in combat support,force build-up and administrative roles. Of the armed combatants, about one-third are members of the elite Nukhba unit. According to the figures, Hamas is armed with some 15,000 rockets, which include short-range Qassam or Quds rockets with a range of 15 kilometers; Grads (or Sajils) witha range of 55 kilometers; Fajr rockets, also known as J80 or M75, which have a range of around 100 kilometers; and long-range M302 rockets that have a range of 200 kilometers. Some of these projectiles are industrial-made Iranian or Chinese rockets, though many are manufactured as part of Gaza's weapons industries. According to Alma's assessment, Hamas can fire up to 400 to 500 rockets per day for an extended period of time (Hezbollah can fire four times more), while PIJ can fire around150 rockets per day. A number of options to confront Hamas, none of them ideal Faced with this threat, Israel has four fundamental options at its disposal. The first is to accept temporary ceasefires that do not last long. This would become reality if Israel's deterrence fails to be restored. Under this scenario, Hamas's decisionto use its firepower to gain political points or extort Israel could occur frequently. A failure by Israel to restore its deterrence and to extract a high price from Hamas for its aggression that began on Monday, when it fired on Jerusalem as part of its internalpower struggle with Fatah, could easily lead to such a reality. The second option is to deal a severe blow to Hamas and PIJ's capabilities and roll them back by years. An intense round of fighting that relies on Israel's firepower andintelligence capabilities, supported by limited ground maneuvers, could in theory restore Israel's deterrence, but it remains unclear for how long. A third option is a full ground offensive to topple the Hamas regime and seize the whole of Gaza. The IDF is perfectly capable of doing this, despite the fact that it wouldinvolve extremely challenging urban warfare scenarios that would be costly in the lives of its soldiers. The IDF has sent two infantry brigades and one armored brigade, as part of its 162nd maneuvering division, to the Gaza border and placed them under the command of its Gazaterritorial division. That step was preparation for potential ground offensives. The forces are also helping ensure that the border remains sealed to Hamas cross-border raids. Should Israel choose to topple the Hamas regime, it would find itself in an extremely unenviable situation with two additional fundamental choices. The first is to rulethe Strip and occupy roughly 2 million hostile Palestinian residents. The second is to search for someone else to rule Gaza; the idea that Fatah would be able to pull to take on that role is highly unlikely. Fatah would lose all of its remaining legitimacy if it was seen by Palestinians to "ride into Gaza on Israeli tanks," and its ability to remain intact as a regime therewithout daily Israeli military backing is in great doubt, as the incidents of 2007 demonstrate. Should Israel leave Gaza and no regime take power, the territory could become a Somalia-like failed state zone, brimming with jihadist gangs that would be impossible todeter for any amount of time. A fourth possibility, however, could involve the idea of a broad assault on Hamas's military wing, but keeping its police force and political wing intact. This could potentiallyenable the IDF to withdraw and not see Gaza disintegrate into a Somalia-like failed state chaos, and to have a "central address" for ruling purposes, even if it remains hostile. Under such an option, Hamas could survive and begin to rebuild its capabilities,though it would take it years to recover. The current situation is extremely dynamic and changing hour by hour. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISIT: PROPHECY WATCHER WEEKLY NEWS: HTTP://PROPHECY-WATCHER-WEEKLY-NEWS.BLOGSPOT.COM