Archive for the ‘Netanyahu’ Category
March 4, 2012 Is war in Israel near?
Well the news and articles about Israel are getting louder for war against Israel.
On a very serious note that will affect this war is the election of Vladimir Putin as president of Russia. He will take power in mid May.
Another important news is the meeting Monday the 5th between Obama and Netanyahu at the White House. According to an article on the Miami Herald today the main topic of conversation is the pursue of Atomic weapons by Iran and the need to prevent this from happening.
In the daily news update of Friday March 2, Mr. Gary Stearman covers these subjects quite well and links them to the appropriate prophetic passages.
In the USA in anticipation and warning to the USA against taking a position of nonsupport to Israel the mainland has been struck with several Tornadoes whose destruction was vast and deadly.
Events are coalescing fast and furious and the hoof-beats of the four horses of the Apocalypse can be heard at the gate of time.
Nando
Nando
Jan 21, 2012 Forcing Peace on Israel = Sudden Destruction
Many books have been written linking the efforts of the quartet, to ram a forced peace to Israel and take away the land that God has given them as a fulfillment of His promises to the Patriarchs.
In this interview with Mr. David Brennan, the author of the book The Israel Omen II and I, and Mr. Gary Stearman of www.prophecyinthenews.com discuss this theme that should be aware to the Bible believing Christians of the world.
The role that Barack Hussein Obama plays in this conflict is devoted three chapters of his book. In my opinion the best events are yet to come.
Obama will in the future be forceful in bringing this 7 year covenant to fruition thus thrusting the world into the dreaded 7 year Tribulation.
Great destruction has followed the past attempts to enforce this false peace and by the patterns that have been brought out in the past we can surmise that America is in for very rough times ahead.
In the interview David expresses his opinion that if Obama is re-elected he will be the most anti Israel president ever elected. My opinion is that this man will bring about his plan before the election of this year, bringing the destruction that follows such a fact. In other words there will be no election this fall!!!!
Nando
Nando
Jan 19, 2012 Drill by USA and Israel was suspended by Netanyahu
The article below gives us an indication of the nearness that an armed conflict is from happening in the middle east with Iran.
Nando
http://www.debka.com/article/21656/
Joint US-Israel drill called off by Netanyahu, to Washington’s surprise
DEBKAfileExclusive Report January 17, 2012, 12:36 PM (GMT+02:00)
debkafile’s sources disclose exclusively that, contrary to recent reports published in Washington, Jerusalem – and this site too – it was Israel Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, not the Obama administration, who decided to call off the biggest ever joint US-Israeli military exercise Austere Challenge 12 scheduled for April 2012.
Washington was taken aback by the decision. It was perceived as a mark of Israel’s disapproval for the administration’s apparent hesitancy in going through with the only tough sanctions with any chance of working against Iran’s nuclear weapon program: penalizing its central bank and blocking payments for its petroleum exports.
This was the first time Israel had ever postponed a joint military exercise; it generated a seismic moment in relations between the US and Israel at a time when Iran has never been so close to producing a nuclear weapon.
This week, Netanyahu further orchestrated a series of uncharacteristically critical statements by senior ministers: Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon called the Obama administration “hesitant” (Jan. 15), after which Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman urged the Americans to “move from words to deeds” (Jan 16).
The underlying message was that the Israeli government felt free to attack Iran’s nuclear sites on its own if necessary and at a time of its choosing.
debkafile’s sources report that Netanyahu decided on this extreme course after careful consideration when he judged the Obama administration’s resolve to preempt a nuclear Iran to be flagging, as indicated by four omissions:
1. Washington has taken no action against Iran’s capture of the RQ-170 stealth drone on Dec. 4 more than a month after the event, and not even pressed President Obama’s demand of Dec. 12 for the drone’s return.
Tehran, for its part, continues to make hay from the event: This week, our Iranian sources report, the Islamic Republic circulated a new computer game called “Down the RQ-170.” Players assemble the drone from the components shown on their screens and then launch it for attacks on America.
2. Silence from Washington also greeted the start of 20-percent grade uranium enrichment at the underground Fordo facility near Qom when it was announced Jan. 9. Last November, Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned in two US TV interviews (Nov. 17 and 22) that as soon as the Fordo facility went on stream, Iran would start whisking the rest of its nuclear facilities into underground bunkers, out of reach and sight of US and Israeli surveillance.
Barak made it clear at the time that Israel could not live with this development; therefore, the Netanyahu government believes Israel’s credibility is now at stake.
3. Exactly three weeks ago, on Jan. 3 Lt. Gen. Ataollah Salehi, Iran’s Army chief, announced that the aircraft carrier USS Stennis and other “enemy ships” would henceforth be barred from entering the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz . Yet since then, no US carrier has put this threat to the test by attempting a crossing. Tehran has been left to crow.
4. Even after approving sanctions on Iran’s central bank and energy industry, the White House announced they would be introduced in stages in the course of the year. According to Israeli’s calculus, another six months free of stiff penalties will give Iran respite for bringing its nuclear weapon program to a dangerous and irreversible level.
Nando
Frank R Molver (17 Nov 2011) “Looks like Netanyahu is about to move on Iran”
Iran’s nuclear program is in this article that quotes Debka file’s article.
http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/nov2011/frankm1117-1.htm
Frank R Molver (17 Nov 2011)
“Looks like Netanyahu is about to move on Iran”
Israeli Prime Minister “is acting to stop” Iran’s nuclear armament
debkafile’s military sources report that this is the first statement of this nature the prime minister has ever delivered to Israel’s parliament. It was phrased notably in the present tense. “The authorized bodies” are thought to refer to the Israeli Defense Forces and its intelligence community.
Also worth noting is that Netanyahu sent a minister to read out his message. He himself absent from this key debate and so was the defense minister. For the first time too, there was no reference to sanctions which have figured hitherto in all Israeli official statements on the Iranian nuclear controversy.
The implication is that an operation against a nuclear Iran may be in the works. If so, a response from Tehran is to be expected shortly.
Nando
Sept 23, 2011 President Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu speeches at the UN video links
Today is a event changing day. The UN was the center of a great battle that has been an ongoing war from the eons past and that started with the two first humans in the garden of Eden. This battle between God and Satan has been waged by Satan through his human proxies and the culmination of the final battle is schedule to take place in the following seven years during the time known as the Apocalypse.
Today we saw the beginning of the fulfillment of the prophet Zecariah’s words
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Zechariah 12
New International Version (NIV)
Zechariah 12
Jerusalem’s Enemies to Be Destroyed
1A prophecy: The word of the LORD concerning Israel.
The LORD, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the human spirit within a person, declares: 2 “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. 3 On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves. 4 On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness,” declares the LORD. “I will keep a watchful eye over Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations. 5 Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the LORD Almighty is their God.’
6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume all the surrounding peoples right and left, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place.
7 “The LORD will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem’s inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD going before them. 9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.
Please watch both speeches and the amount of people that chose to be present to hear them. Also watch the members participation with applaud and standing ovations for the contents of the speeches.
This is a grave travesty of justice by all the nations that participated in the assembly.
Israel is not alone the God of the Universe is watching and keeping taps. The hour of judgment is around the corner and Israel and God will prevail.
Nando
Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu speech:
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/NetanyahuU
Nando
Palestinian President Abbas speech:
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/AbbasU
Nando
Sept 21, 2011 In defense of Israel what needs to be said
It is with great pleasure that I am posting this article that appeared in the Jerusalem post today.
Yes the world will probably will vote against God and Israel as all the nations gather themselves for the judgment that is coming. The nations that vote in favor of the Palestinians are placing themselves officially against the people chosen by God. the approach of the judgment of the Nations is at hand.
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=238959
Fundamentally Freund: An assault on Zionism
By MICHAEL FREUND
09/22/2011 00:01
It is time to draw a land in the sand. Every nation that raises its hand in favor of ‘Palestine’ is raising its hand against the land and the people of Israel.
Not since the United Nations debate denouncing Zionism as racism has Israel been in the dock as it is this week.
On November 10, 1975, then-Israeli ambassador Chaim Herzog ascended the podium in the lion’s den in New York to face a hostile world, much of which sought to deny the Jewish people’s right to our state.
Now, nearly 36 years later, the international community is on the verge of rejecting our right to our land.
Despite the passage of time, these two diplomatic assaults are very much linked. The slander that Zionism was a form of racial discrimination was nothing less than an attempt to label the Jewish people’s dream of settling the land as illegitimate.
The same holds true for this week’s proposal to confer statehood on the Palestinians of Judea and Samaria and eastern Jerusalem. By recognizing the Palestinian claim to these areas, the membership of the world body is necessarily rejecting the Jewish one.
This too is an effort to declare the Jewish presence in our ancient homeland unlawful and forbidden.
Indeed, when Herzog addressed the UN, he pointed out a central and fundamental truth, telling the representatives that, “the key to understanding Zionism is in its name. The easternmost of the two hills of ancient Jerusalem during the tenth century B.C.E. was called Zion.”
And now it is those very same hills in eastern Jerusalem that the world wishes to turn over to Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority.
If this is not an assault on Zionism, then what is?
ON THE ground, of course, the vote will change nothing. It will neither create a Palestinian state nor bring peace a moment closer.
But it will signify the triumph of fiction over fact and injustice over integrity, marking yet another low point in the sordid history of the UN.
As much as our anger and disappointment over this turn of events is entirely justified, we must nonetheless acknowledge the painful truth that it is our own folly which contributed mightily to the current predicament.
For what we are witnessing now is the wages of our own weakness, the price that is to be paid for our lack of belief in the justness of our cause.
The roots of this ruin can be found in the events of 18 years ago this month, when prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO chairman Yasser Arafat gathered on the White House Lawn to sign the Oslo Accords on September 13, 1993.
It was then that the Jewish state formally conferred legitimacy on Palestinian national aspirations at the expense of our own.
With its own hands, the Israeli government proceeded to create the Palestinian Authority, foster it and support it, and now, predictably enough, it has turned against us.
Instead of resolutely insisting on our own fundamental and inalienable right to all of Judea and Samaria, we repeatedly capitulated by turning territory over to Palestinian control and even conceding support for the “two-state solution.”
The fruits of our frailty are now evident as we face the prospect of an emboldened Palestinian entity with backing from nearly the entire planet.
But it is not too late to stand tall and affirm our red lines, rather than the Green Line, and I pray that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will do just that.
He should tell the world in no uncertain terms: the jig is up.
The Palestinians have buried the peace process once and for all, and Israel has learned a painful, yet obvious lesson from the past 18 years of fruitless concessions: we cannot and we will not yield any more territory.
That must be the essence of his message if we are to have a chance of forestalling further calamity.
But whatever the extent of our own culpability for the current state of affairs, that in no way gives the nations of the world the right to do as they please.
Each will bear responsibility before history, and before God, for how they choose to vote on this crucial issue.
Every nation that raises its hand in favor of “Palestine” is raising its hand against the land of Israel and the people of Israel.
Consider the irony: for 2,000 years, the nations of the world told the Jews to leave, to go back home where we belong. Now that we have done just that, they are telling us once again to move on and make room for someone else.
But this time, there is a difference. We have nowhere else to go. And we did not wait two millennia to get back our land only to turn it over to our foes.
So let us draw a line in the sand and send the UN a clear and unequivocal message: there will be no more retreats or withdrawals. The Jewish people have returned to the hills of Judea and the outskirts of Jerusalem. We are here to stay. Get used to it.
The writer is Chairman of Shavei Israel (www.shavei.org), a Jerusalem-based organization that assists lost tribes and hidden Jewish communities to return to the Jewish people.
Nando
Sept 21, 2011 The Train wreck at the UN this week with the Palestinians bid for Statehood
This week is heavy with politics of the middle east. The Palestinians have stated that they are going to submit a request to the UN secretary for Palestinian Statehood. The stakes can not be higher for Israel. Behind this push is a desire by the Islamic nations to completely wipe Israel of the map by forcing Israel to accept returning territory that they obtained when they were attacked by hostile Islamic nations with the intent of killing all the Jews living in Israel. By forcing borders that are indefensible with today’s armaments the resolution is tantamount to suicide in the part of Israel.
The reporter, Frida Ghitis of the Miami Herald in today”s article writes a very good analysis of the people involved in these negotiations from a political standpoint. The article falls short in addressing the underlying reasons behind all these maneuvers and that is the spiritual battle that is being waged against the people of the Bible, both Jews and Christians by the rest of the non-believing Satan dominated world and more specifically Islamic believing Nations.
The prophecies of the Bible written thousands of years ago by the prophets under the inspiration of God foretold the world we are living today. For the student with knowledge of these prophecies the news are following a script that is both predictable and 100 % accurate.
Prime Minister Netanyahu would do well in studying these prophecies found in the old testament as well as the new testament. It would align his thoughts and actions with those of God for the protection of Israel.
If the goal of the Palestinians is the complete genocide of Israel what kind of negotiations or peace can be implemented that would negate this fact? Negotiations and guaranties in paper are worthless. The only protection that Israel can have is to revert back to the God of Israel for support and protection. An unbelieving Israel has to depend on military might and supposed allies (US & EU) to fill secure. These will only take them to destruction.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/09/20/2416811/on-middle-east-peace-heckuva-job.html
MIDDLE EAST PEACE
On Middle East peace: Heckuva job (not!)
BY FRIDA GHITIS
fjghitis@gmail.com
No matter what side of the conflict you favor, the drama surrounding a Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations is a saddening spectacle. Even the most passionate supporters of the idea recognize that the U.N. vote will not bring about a Palestinian state, nor will it bring an end to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
The chain of events that brought us to this moment required a series of uninspired, really, failed performances by the three principal players, the leaders of the United States, Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Heck of a job, guys!
Today, the three stand in most uncomfortable positions, with little control over what comes next. America has lost much of its ability to influence events throughout the region. Despite continuing efforts and entreaties, Washington’s word carries much less weight than it once did. The Palestinian Authority has almost accidentally built high expectations with practically no ability to deliver results. Lurking in the wings is its rival, the radical Hamas, governing more 1.5 million Palestinians, hoping the disappointment will help it pursue its ultimate goal of making the entire territory, including Israel, part of a rebuilt Islamic caliphate. And Israel, ever more isolated, is watching decades of painstakingly built relationships, the diplomatic armor of peace, crumble to pieces.
The surreal dimension of this exercise, the part that makes you rub your eyes to make sure it’s really happening, is that there is not much of a debate about whether a Palestinian state should exist. Israeli governments and most Israelis have for decades supported its creation. Palestinians don’t reciprocate. They don’t accept the existence of a Jewish state. But a Jewish state already exists. The question is how to establish one for Palestinians and how to put an end — forever — to the hostilities between the two sides. A vote at the U.N. is nothing but evidence that the real work to make this happen is failing.
I have written about the worldwide confluence of mediocre leadership. It’s hard to find a single leader today who is doing a truly creative, inspired, and successful job. This is one region where the leadership deficit is letting the walls collapse.
President Obama started out gushing with enthusiasm and optimism. He also arrived filled with unrealistic expectations about his power of persuasion. He would make the Arabs like America. And make Israelis obey it. Neither of those happened. He started by asking both sides to make conciliatory gestures. But Arab responded to his request to symbolically allow Israeli passenger planes to overfly their territory, with a quick “No way.” Ignoring the slight, Obama continued pressuring Israel.
In a preview of his well-intentioned but ineffective negotiating style, he made concessions without getting anything in return, leaning on its ally, Israel, without obtaining anything from Arabs. Israelis responded by recoiling, feeling they could no longer trust America. Washington lost influence in Israel without gaining any among Arabs.
If both sides had taken the requested steps, or been pressured simultaneously, it could have paid off. But Obama ignored the Arab slights and continued demanding Israel freeze settlement activity in the West Bank. Israel didn’t like it, but eventually agreed to a 10-month partial moratorium. Suddenly, it was not enough. By the time Obama realized he had accidentally created a new obstacle, it was too late. Abbas, shaking off responsibility for his refusal to negotiate, told Newsweek “It was Obama who suggested a full settlement freeze.” The Palestinian Authority leader would not sit down with Israelis unless they did what Obama said: no construction, not in the West Bank and not in East Jerusalem. He had never asked that before. And he was afraid to back down. Both sides were.
It’s too late to wonder what might have happened if this incident had been avoided. The gulf separating the two seems wider than it has in years.
Over the years, Palestinian leaders (including Abbas) have rejected offer after offer for statehood from previous Israeli governments. The current one is less likely to make far-reaching concessions. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — not unlike Obama — is proud of his rhetorical prowess. But he has little to show in the way of diplomatic creativity or achievements; rather the opposite.
The PA’s Abbas has not shown a great deal of courage, either. Like other Arab leaders, he fears his people. Iran-backed Hamas, governing almost half of Palestinians, has derided Abbas’ U.N. statehood move. If negotiations restart, it would be with only a portion of the Palestinian side — a huge problem.
And Washington, still the most powerful player on Earth, is struggling to be more than an observer in a fast-changing Middle East.
It’s a sad moment and a dangerous one. Perhaps the hidden, talented peace-makers can now make their appearance.
Nando
Sept 15, 2011 The Palestinians will seek full UN membership next week
Next week is the start of the UN 66th session and already the news coming from the Palestinians is one of confrontation. The signs of the coming Tribulation are coalescing in full force and next week seems to be the week of decision.
PM Netanyahu of Israel will address the UN general assembly on September 23 prior to the Palestinians security council meeting.
Nando
Palestinians: We will seek full UN membership on September 23
Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki says Palestinians will submit request to Security Council next Friday, ending speculation over whether they would risk U.S. veto; Netanyahu plans to address General Assembly on same day.
By The Associated Press Tags: Palestinians UN Security Council Palestinian state
Nando
Sept 11, 2011 Israel under siege by the world. Impending judgment
When the middle east countries started revolting in what is known as the Arab Spring, the world hopped that freedom and democracy were finally taking hold in the region. One by one the countries started rebelling against their dictatorial governments and those living in the democracies of the world projected their hopes and aspirations for those people.
Those of us that know the prophecies of the Bible concerning the end times and the role of these nations and Israel new better. There will not be a rash of democracies and a Renaissance of economic and cultural wealth coming to the area.
For Egypt there will be utter devastation to the extent that for forty years the whole nation will be uninhabited Ezekiel 29). Syria will have the city of Damascus wiped out completely and it will remain uninhabited forever(Isaiah 17). A similar fate awaits all the Palestinians the Turks, the Iranians, and all the other Arab and Islamic Nations of the world that are plotting to eradicate Israel of the map.
Know this all you people sinful, rebellious a full of hate. The fire in your spirit will consume you as in your blindness you go against the God who made you and the Universe around you. He is sovereign and all powerful and with your believes and actions you have become His enemies and as sure as His Word is you will be utterly destroyed.
Your ears will not hear these words so your fate is sealed already and will become true as prophesied. The whole world has been blinded by Satan who is the enemy of all your souls but who beguiles you into thinking that he is your God and your friend and protector.
The news that are coming out of all these regions as the one below are giving testimony to these words above.
Israel you are the recipient of all the blessings and protections that will come to you in the coming years of strife, but you also have been blinded and your blindness and infidelity will bring you great pain and death. At the end of it all after more distress than the one you got at the Holocaust your eyes will see again.
Yours in Jesus Christ,
Nando
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44471596/ns/world_news-the_new_york_times/
NYT: Israel sensing wider siege beyond Cairo – World news – The New York Times – msnbc.com
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Latest developments in Arab world's unrestSep. 10, 2011 2:51 PM ET
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Israeli ambassador waiting for flight out of EgyptSep. 9, 2011 7:29 PM ET
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Palestinians rally ahead of statehood bid at UNSep. 9, 2011 10:49 AM ET
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Palestinians launch PR blitz for UN recognitionSep. 8, 2011 3:06 PM ET
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Israel isolated ahead of UN vote on PalestiniansSep. 7, 2011 3:05 PM ET
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CAIRO (AP) — Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday condemned the overnight attack on his country’s embassy in the Egyptian capital, saying the incident inflicted a “severe injury to the fabric of peace with Israel.”
The attack on the Nile-side embassy in Cairo forced all but one Israeli diplomat to leave the country and significantly added to the already growing tensions between the two Mideast neighbors, seven months after the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Israel’s closest Arab ally.
Egyptian authorities placed the police on a state of alert after the overnight violence during which angry protesters broke into the Israeli Embassy, tearing down a cement barrier around the high-rise building and trapping the six staff members inside for several hours. The protesters dumped Hebrew language documents out of the embassy’s windows.
An aide to Netanyahu said on Saturday that the Israeli leader denounced the attack as a “serious incident” and a “blatant violation of international norms.”
Netanyahu thanked Egyptian authorities for helping rescue the six Israeli employees trapped inside the embassy, according to the aide, who said he heard Netanyahu’s remarks. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to the press.
“The fact that the Egyptian authorities acted with determination and rescued our people should be noted and we extend them our thanks,” the aide cited Netanyahu as saying. “However, Egypt must not ignore the severe injury to the fabric of peace with Israel and such a blatant violation of international norms.”
A senior Egyptian Health Ministry official said three people died during the street clashes between the protesters and the police outside the embassy, and more than 1,000 people were hurt. A total of 19 protesters were arrested.
The Israeli ambassador, Yitzhak Levanon, his family and nearly all the staff and their dependents — some 80 people — were evacuated out of the country by military aircraft overnight, according to another Israeli official. Only the deputy ambassador was still in Egypt, added the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.
The street battles between thousands of protesters and riot police and army troops outside the Israeli embassy in Cairo’s neighborhood of Giza lasted into Saturday’s early morning hours.
The police and army troops fired tear gas and live ammunition into the air to try and disperse the crowd. Several cars, police vehicles and trees on the streets outside the embassy were set ablaze. The violence subsided by around 6 a.m.
Earlier on Friday, hundreds of protesters had torn down the embassy’s security wall with sledgehammers and their bare hands.
After nightfall, about 30 protesters stormed into the embassy and just before midnight, reached a room on one of the embassy’s lower floors at the top of the building and began dumping Hebrew-language documents from the windows, said an Egyptian security official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to talk to the media.
Since the February fall of Mubarak — who worked closely with the Israelis in his 29 years in power — ties have steadily worsened between the two countries.
Anger increased last month after Israeli forces responding to a cross-border Palestinian militant attack mistakenly killed five Egyptian police officers near the border. The militants, apparently from Gaza, had trekked across Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and sneaked into Israel, killing eight Israelis.
At the time, Cairo protesters demanded the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador and calls grew in Egypt for ending the historic 1979 peace treaty with Israel, a pact never supported by ordinary Egyptians.
Several large protests have taken place outside the Israeli embassy in recent weeks but without serious incidents.
Friday’s attack came as Egyptians held their first significant demonstrations in a month against the country’s military rulers, with thousands gathering in Cairo and other cities. Alongside those gatherings, a crowd massed outside the Israeli Embassy building.
Tensions quickly escalated, and for the second time in less than a month, protesters were able to get to the top of the building and pull down the Israeli flag, which they replaced it with the Egyptian flag.
Mustafa Sayid said he was among the group of protesters who broke into the embassy. He showed a reporter cell phone video footage he said he recorded inside of young men ransacking the room.
The group got into the building through a third-floor window and climbed the stairs to the embassy. They worked for hours to break through three doors to enter the embassy, said the 28-year-old man. They encountered three Israelis and beat one of them.
It was not until several hours later that Egyptian police and military forces firing tear gas moved in to try to disperse the protesters from around the embassy. By that time, the crowds of youths had swelled to several thousand. Protesters were cleared from inside the building but held their ground outside, lobbing firebombs at the forces and setting fire to several police vehicles.
The military moved about 20 tanks and troop transport trucks into the area. State radio reported that one person died of a heart attack.
In Washington, President Barack Obama assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. was acting “at all levels” to resolve the situation.
Obama expressed “great concern” about the situation, the White House said.
Israeli Defense Minster Ehud Barak said in a statement that he also spoke with his American counterpart, Leon Panetta, and appealed to him to do what he could to protect the embassy.
The demonstrations against Israel coincide with increasing discontent among Egyptians with the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which took control of the country when Mubarak was forced out on Feb. 11 after nearly three decades in power.
Several thousands massed Friday in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, as well as in the cities of Alexandria, Suez and elsewhere. Demonstrators in Cairo also converged on the state TV building, a central courthouse and the Interior Ministry, a hated symbol of abuses by police and security forces under Mubarak.
Seven months after the popular uprising that drove Mubarak from power, Egyptians are still pressing for a list of changes, including more transparent trials of former regime figures accused of corruption and a clear timetable for parliamentary elections.
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Hadid reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press Writer Aya Batrawy in Cairo contributed to this report.
Turkey and Israel:
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// ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stepped up his belligerent rhetoric against Israel, saying Turkish warships will escort future aid boats leaving its territory for Gaza to prevent a repeat of last year’s deadly Israeli raid on an aid flotilla.
Erdogan’s comments to Al-Jazeera television Thursday were the first time Turkey has said its navy will use force to protect ships attempting to break Israel’s blockade of the coastal Palestinian territory. Turkey had already announced it would increase navy patrols in the eastern Mediterranean in response to Israel’s refusal to apologize for the raid.
Dan Meridor, the Israeli Cabinet minister in charge of intelligence, called Erdogan’s threat “grave and serious.”
“Turkey, which declares that Israel is not above international law, must understand that it isn’t either,” he said Friday.
Eight Turks and a Turkish-American were killed aboard the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara – part of an international flotilla trying to break the blockade, which Israel says it imposed in 2007 to keep militants from bringing weapons into Gaza.
Turkey and Israel have enjoyed close relations that gave Israel a strong defense ally and allowed Turkey to purchase Israeli high-tech military equipment.
But relations declined steadily after 2008 over Israel’s war in Gaza, with Erdogan repeatedly attacking Israel for the deaths of Palestinians. Erdogan, whose party has roots in Turkey’s Islamic movement, has also adopted a more hardline approach toward Israel after a strong election victory in July gave him a third consecutive term in office.
The rift with Israel comes as Turkey’s yearslong bid to join the European Union has all but faltered and the country has forged closer ties with the Arab and Muslim world.
The NATO-member country rejects, however, claims that it is shifting away from the West. Despite the breakdown in relations with Israel, Turkey has recently agreed to host a NATO missile defense system aimed at countering ballistic missile threats from neighboring Iran.
Turkey, which is enjoying growing popularity in the broader Muslim world, also insists it cannot turn a blind eye to Israel’s actions.
“At the moment, there is no doubt that the Turkish military ships’ primary duty is to protect (Turkish) ships,” Turkey’s state-run Anatolia quoted Erdogan as telling Al-Jazeera. “We will be making humanitarian aid. This aid will no longer be subjected to any kind of attack as the Mavi Marmara was.”
Israel, for its part, said it would not escalate the rhetoric.
“I do not think it would be correct to get into verbal saber rattling with him now,” Meridor told Army Radio. “I think that our silence is the best answer, and I hope this will pass.”
“I think anyone who is listening can make their own mind up about him and the direction he has chosen,” Meridor said Friday.
A statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said: “Our policy was and remains to prevent a deterioration of relations with Turkey and ease the tensions between the countries.”
Turkey’s opposition also criticized Erdogan’s comments on Friday. Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party, said Turkey’s Red Crescent was already sending aid to Gaza without breaching the blockade. He called on Erdogan to “justify” in Parliament the threats to send warships to escort aid ships.
A United Nations report into the 2010 Israeli raid, released last week, described the blockade of Gaza as legitimate. It said violent activists on board the Mavi Marmara had attacked raiding Israeli naval commandos, but also accused Israel of using disproportionate force against the activists.
Turkey has rejected the report’s findings, saying Israel had no right to raid the ship in international waters and saying Turkey would never recognize the blockade’s legitimacy. It is insisting on an Israeli apology as well as compensation for the deaths as a precondition for normalization of a relationship once seen as a cornerstone of regional stability.
Last week, the Turkish government slapped a series of sanctions on Israel – once a top military trading partner – that included expelling senior Israeli diplomats and suspending all military deals. It has also vowed to back the Palestinian bid for recognition of their statehood at the United Nations.
Israel has expressed regret for the loss of lives aboard the flotilla but refused to apologize, saying its forces acted in self-defense. It has also said it was time for the two countries to restore their former close ties.
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Matti Friedman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
Yours in Christ
Nando
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