Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

U.S. Believes Israel May Soon Attack Iran
Nov 7th, 2011
Daily NewsIsrael Today - Ryan Jones
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

A senior American military official on Friday told CNN that the Obama Administration is "absolutely concerned" that Israel may soon strike Iran's nuclear facilities.

The official insisted that the US itself has no intention of attacking Iran (though other reports suggest otherwise), and said there is no guarantee Israel will notify Washington before launching its own military operation.

Next week, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is scheduled to publish a report that all but confirms Iran is building nuclear bombs. Many believe that report will mark the dreaded "point of no return" obligating Israel to use military intervention against the Iranian nuclear program, as did it against Iraq in 1981 and Syria in 2007.

In an interview with Israel's Channel 2 News on Friday, Israeli President Shimon Peres strongly hinted that Israel is closer than ever to striking Iran, and that the time for diplomatic efforts is nearly over.

"It seems Iran is moving closer to having a nuclear weapon," Peres said. "In the time that remains, we need to turn to the nations of the world and tell them that the time has come to fulfill their promise and their responsibility, which is about more than imposing sanctions. We must do what should be done to stop Iran."

Many Israeli officials are irritated that the discussion over whether or not to attack Iran has entered the public domain. But the obvious preparations for such an eventuality has all Israelis a little on edge.

MK Levin Warns: Demolitions Could Split Likud
Nov 7th, 2011
Daily NewsArutz Sheva - Eldad Benari
Categories: The Nation Of Israel

MK Yariv Levin (Likud) warned on Sunday that the planned demolitions in certain Jewish communities could cause a split in the Likud.

Several communities – Migron, Givat Assaf and the Ulpana neighborhood in Binyamin - are slated for demolition in the near future. At the root of the problem are several issues: Supreme Court Dorit Beinisch has ruled recently that land in Yesha (Judea, Samaria, Binyamin) that has no proven Arab owners but is not designated as state land is to be considered Arab land by default rather than state land; the court does not consider suggesting payment or alternate land in the rare cases of Arab landowner claimants whose claim is found to be justified; the state aided in the founding of certain communities without determining their final status and the court has ruled on demolitions without that final determination.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu recently ordered the formation of a government committee tasked with legalizing some of Judea and Samaria’s outposts. However, Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein threw a wrench into the committee’s work by determining that the committee will not be able to discuss communities on which there is already a court ruling.

Weinstein’s move means that the committee will only work to prevent future demolitions and will not discuss the communities already scheduled for demolition. Levin said that this is “not acceptable” and that solutions must be found for these communities as well.

Levin also criticized the decision to appoint former IDF Judge Advocate General Avichai Mandelbilt as chair of the committee. Mandelbilt, a confidant of Defense Minister Ehud Barak who advocates destroying the communities the committee is intended to legalize, oversaw during his time in the IDF policies aimed at curbing Jewish land-ownership and construction in Judea and Samaria, which are considered both discriminatory and partisan by Mandelbilt’s critics.

“The committee cannot be headed by someone who came from the military and whose decisions are being reviewed by the same committee,” Levin told Arutz Sheva. “A committee made up of the wrong people and not having a true mandate could be worse than not having a committee at all.”

He added that any demolitions would fundamentally undermine the coalition as well as the internal unity within the Likud party.

“Further demolitions will create a rift,” he said. “I do not how big it will be, but for me personally this is a red line that I cannot cross. I hope we don’t get to that point. There is no international pressure to demolish homes right now. There is no reason to do it. The ball is in the government’s court and everything depends on its will to stop these demolitions.”

Israel on Edge Over Preparations to Attack Iran
Nov 7th, 2011
Daily NewsIsrael Today - Ryan Jones
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Israel Intercepts New Gaza Flotilla
Nov 7th, 2011
Daily NewsIsrael Today - Ryan Jones
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Israeli naval forces on Friday successfully intercepted a two-ship flotilla attempting to break the maritime blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

An Irish yacht and a larger Canadian ship were both stopped and escorted to the Israeli port of Haifa after having set sail from Turkey earlier in the week.

Israeli naval commandoes met no resistance from the 27 activists aboard the ships, and did not find any weapons.

Learning from the May 2010 interception of a Turkish-led flotilla attempting to reach Gaza, the Israeli forces were armed with cameras and immediately uploaded images and footage of the operation to international media outlets.

In the 2010 raid, the Israelis were lynched as they boarded the flotilla's largest ship, the Mavi Marmara. After two soldiers were taken hostage, the remaining commandoes opened fire both to defend themselves and quickly rescue the two abducted men. The Israeli army's delay in broadcasting images and footage of that incident allowed Israel's detractors to put forward exaggerated and falsified stories of "Israeli brutality" that formed the backdrop of all subsequent reports on the topic.

A UN-backed inquiry later acquitted the Israeli navy of any wrong doing, and reiterated the legitimacy of Israel's Gaza blockade, but the damage had already been done.

Thanks to the improved PR efforts of the Israeli military, Friday's maritime interception received far less attention, and again proved that Israeli forces as a policy only use violence as a respones to violence.

Six of the activists brought to Ashdod were immediately released, while the other 21 insisted on remaining incarcerated in order to "keep authorities busy." The activists admitted their sole purpose had been to provoke Israel.

The fact that the activists were permitted to continue drawing attention to themselves while voluntarily remaining in jail, and were not treated violently despite admitting to a provocative action, again spoke to the enormous difference between Israel and its neighbors when it comes to human rights.

Iran Answers Rumors of Planned Attack: ‘Our Wrath on Tel Aviv’
Nov 7th, 2011
Daily NewsArutz Sheva - Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

A week of rumors that Israel plans to attack Iran has prompted a warning that it can deal Israel a “crushing response” and that “any Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic would be reciprocated with a destructive reprisal.”

Responding to repetition in the media that Israel has decided that the “military option” is the only way to stop Iran from possessing a nuclear weapon, an Iranian legislator was quoted by the state-run Fars News Agency as saying, "Before (being able to take) any action against Iran, the Israelis will feel our wrath in Tel Aviv.”

Hossein Ebrahimi, a member of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission said that "since the beginning of the Islamic Revolution, the U.S., UK and Israel have frequently threatened Iran… This is not a new development."

"The Israelis entered the (Lebanon) war with the capabilities they had but earned nothing but humiliation," Ebrahimi said. "I do not think that Israelis along with the Americans and Britons will commit such a folly.

"If the threat is carried out, they will see the political might of the (Islamic) establishment, the solidarity of the Iranian nation, and the strength of the country.”

Media reports of an imminent Israeli attack on Iran crop up at least twice a year, with different predictions on when Iran will possess a nuclear weapon. It possesses enough enriched uranium to manufacture two to four nuclear weapons, according to various experts.

With each rumor, there is less time to stop Iran from obtaining an atomic bomb, which the Islamic Republic constantly denies it seeks.

Different interpretations over the weekend pointed to mild American reactions to the reports that most, if not all, Israeli ministers have removed previous objections to a military attack.

During the period of the Obama administration’s attempt to “engage Iran," the regime has built nuclear plants deep underground in rocky areas that make it difficult, if not impossible, to attack except through a strike mounted by anti-regime agents in Iran.

Fatah: Israel’s Tax Freeze “Declaration of War’
Nov 7th, 2011
Daily NewsArutz Sheva - Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Israel has declared war on the Palestinian Authority (PA) by freezing tax revenues after the PA joined UNESCO, a Fatah official charges.

Fayiz Abu Aita, a spokesman for the party headed by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, said that the Israeli measure and its announced speed-up of building in Judea and Samaria will have “disastrous results for the entire region.”

"This is a declaration of war", Aita said in a statement issued by the Media and Culture Commission and quoted by the Bethlehem-based Ma'an news agency, closely identified with the PA. Israel decided last week to withhold customs revenues collected by Israel on behalf of the PA at crossings into Judea, Samaria and Gaza.

"Israel bears full responsibility for this dangerous escalation,” he added, warning that trying to “undermine” the PA will impact the entire Middle East.

Israel froze the tax revenue and sped up building plans in retaliation to Abbas’ most blatant violation of the Oslo Accords, which prohibit Israel and the PA from taking unilateral moves to achieve goals.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu explained that Israel had to make it clear to Abbas that he cannot change the rules only for himself.

The Oslo and Roadmap agreements commit the PA to try to achieve status of statehood through negotiations with Israel. Abbas has set pre-conditions on direct talks for two years and this year turned to the United Nations for recognition.

The formal request is due to be discussed this month by the United Nations Security Council, but he went ahead and succeeded in winning recognition in the UNESCO agency.

Aita called the moves a "miscalculated Israeli adventure."