*-- A strong Israel is a vital asset to the free world and America. To be a strong and dependable friend in a ‘rough neighborhood,’ Israel must have defensible borders and military prowess capable of addressing multiple challenges which can materialize suddenly in this unstable region.

The conflict between the [Muslims] Palestinians and Israelis is not the only adversary Israel faces. Historically, anti-Zionism has been the glue behind Arab nationalism. It has provided a convenient scapegoat for deflecting Arab states’ frustration over unsolved domestic problems, but it also stems from a deep innate intolerance that exists throughout the Muslim world to any non-Muslim presence. Israel has no alternative but to remain strong enough to fend off the combined capabilities of all Arab states – a reality that leaves little room for risk-taking or margin for error.

Israel’s multiple security challenges have been compounded by two ‘new’ players who at the close of 2005 have moved from the periphery to center stage. Both are extremist Islamist entities hell-bent to exterminate Israel: Al-Qaeda and Iran:

Al-Qaeda [and ISIS]. Al-Qaeda initially assigned Israel a “low priority” in its operations, but in October 2005, the head of IDF warned that “[Israel’s] prioritization for [Al-Qaeda] is increasing.” The second player whose prominence is growing is Iran. Iran aspires to compete for regional hegemony in the new Middle East power matrix after its arch-enemy Iraq was neutralized by the 2003 Iraq war. Iran has become an existential threat to the State of Israel.

There are signs of increasing cooperation between Al-Qaeda in Sinai with Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Palestinian Authority – encircling Israel with Islamist terrorist groups whose declared objective is to destroy Israel. Their operations, in turn, all involve a growing cooperation with Iran … In 1989 the Muslim Brotherhood controlled a third of the Jordanian parliament and in 1993 was the largest party in the parliament…

 “As long as [Israel’s] neighbors maintain that a state of war exists, it is the duty of the Israeli government – a duty which is clearly recognized in international law – to do what it sees fit to protect its inhabitants.”

In conclusion: Israel is limited in the kinds of risks it can take, given the geography and volatile nature of the Middle East. It must remain in control of control strategic areas of the West Bank, and needs to remain strong enough to deal with a coalition of the Islamic Arab states in a conventional war, should such a threat materialize.

• Israel, like America, lost much of its deterrent power and must demonstrate it cannot be attack with impunity.
• An arsenal of 12,000 missiles, rockets and mortars in the hands of the Islamic terrorist group in Lebanon, Hezbollah and similar weapons in the hands of Syria are a strategic threat to Israel’s security.
• The Islamic terror group in Gaza, Hamas and Palestinian suicide bombers also constitute a strategic threat to Israel. The components of Israel’s counter-terrorism doctrine – first and foremost, the security fence, are legitimate and effective.
• Iran has moved from ‘outer rim’ status to become major players in the Israel-Arab conflict.
• At the outset of 2006, the Israeli-Arab conflict is being ‘Islamicized.’ Israel is being surrounded by a coalition of Islamist forces that seek its extinction – Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank, Al-Qaeda in Sinai and Gaza, the Moslem Brotherhood in neighboring Egypt and Jordan, and Iran.

6-14-18, JerusalemPost -- Muslims in Gaza Israel aka "Palestinians" reported that an Israeli drone launched a missile at people near the border fence who were flying balloons with Molotov cocktails attached. Unconfirmed reports by Israeli media that Palestinians planned to launch 5,000 incendiary balloons and kites toward Israel from the Islamic terror group Hamas to mark the end of the end of the Muslim holiday Ramadan. Muslims in Gaza have been protesting along the border with Israel since March 30, 2018. The violent protesters have been throwing stones, burning kites, balloons and Molotov cocktails toward Israeli troops into Israeli territory, destroying more than 2,200 acres of forest, nature reserves and agricultural fields. On Thursday, 6-14-18 several fires broke out near Kibbutz Be’eri and in the Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council from incendiary kites flown from Gaza. More here

Iran & Islamic Terror Group Hezbollah Actively Supply the Gaza Islam Terror Group Hamas With Weapons
5-23-18, Newsmax -- Iran and its main proxy Hezbollah [in Lebanon] are actively supplying Hamas with weapons and talking on a near daily basis to coordinate terrorist operations against the Jewish state.

​5-16-18, Greenfield* -- Islamic teorrist group Hamas Prime Minister Yahya Sinwar vowed, "We will tear down the border and we will tear out their hearts from their bodies." The Great Hamas March of Return came with instructions to, “bring a knife, dagger, or handgun, if you have one, and to leave them under your clothes and not use them or show them, except if you identify one of the soldiers or settlers.”

However, the only hearts his terror thugs tore out were already bleeding with sympathy for Islamic terrorists and bile for the Israelis they were there to kill with those knives, daggers and guns.

The Hamas mob chanted, “Allahu Akbar” and the genocidal racist threat of, “Khaybar Khaybar, ya yahud," a reference to the primal Islamic massacre of the Jews. While IDF soldiers held back the invaders, the jets of the IAF targeted the snake’s head striking Hamas compounds and outposts. 

Hamas offered $100 to every rioter. During previous violent assaults back in April, the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist group had been offering $200 to anyone shot by Israelis, $500 for severe injuries and $3,000 to the dead. $100 a day may not seem like a lot, but the Israeli teen soldiers they’re trying to kill who earn only $13 a day [that's alot].

The Hamas supporting thugs are depicted as helpless, starving victims who can barely lift the firebombs they’re throwing at Israelis [..snip] The media used contrasting photos of the [US] embassy opening [in Jerusalem] and the "Pallywood" fake photos of Muslim protesters crying for the cameras and pretending to limp on crutches to smear Israel and America.

And as usual they missed the real story.

While Israelis and Americans were building something, Muslim terrorists were destroying everything they could get their hands on. While Rabbis and Pastors blessed, Imams cursed. Hamas Sheikh Iyad Abu Funun had sworn on the Koran that, "We will not leave a single Jew on our Islamic land."

That is what this is about. 

The dedication of the embassy is a leap of faith:

• Faith in building rather than destruction.
• Faith in life instead of death.
• Faith in the G-d who watches over Jerusalem,

Not the "Allah" for whom Gaza burns. 

More here from Danield Greenfield

February, 2017, ​Yahya Sinwar elected new leader of Islamic terror group, Hamas in Gaza Strip ... he's known as the founding member of the Hamas military wing. He was freed in a 2011 prisoner swap for Israel soldier Galad Shalit with Israel after more than 20 years in jail. More here from Aljajeera

Israel: 200 incendiary jihad kites from Gaza burn over 2,000 acres of crops and forests
6-5-18, Incendiary kite sparks major fire near Sapir College near the southern city of Sderot on Tuesday, 6-4-18. Heavy smoke covered the college building as firefighters were dispatched to the area and worked to prevent the fire from spreading to the nearby road and into the college. According to the defense minister, 600 such kites have been sent from the Islam terror controlled Gaza strip so far, while 400 have been intercepted by Israeli security forces using technological means.
4-21-18, Times of Israel - A warehouse in Israel’s south was set aflame Saturday after a kite equipped with a flaming rag that had been intentionally released by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip landed there. More here

​UN resolution condemning Israel for deaths in Gaza Blocked by USA
6-5-18, The UN again attempts to blame Israel for violent clashes on the Gaza-Israel border. Clearly the Islamic hordes of Hamas from the terror area of Gaza is the perpetrators of the violence and carnage ... Israel must protect her citizens and property.

The UN resolution states that the terror group is 'peaceful' - OUTRAGEOUS! “grave concern at the situation at the border.” And it reaffirmed “the right to peaceful protest” and expressed the council’s “sorrow at the loss of innocent Palestinian lives."

1 Kings 19:7-8, 18; Romans 11:4
                                                                                              
6-3-18, * -- Elijah was Israel’s greatest prophet appearing with Moses on the mount of transfiguration, during the personal ministry of of the Lord Jesus Christ. [Matthew 17:3; Mark 9:4]
 
When ancient Israel went deeply into apostasy against the Lord, during the reign of Ahab & Jezebel, the prophet Elijah became downhearted and discouraged. He was fearful for his life fleeing into the wilderness of Judah (1 Kings 19:3-4). He was so discouraged he asked God to allow him to die; but God had other plans. In 1 Kings 19:7-8 “the angel of the Lord told Elijah arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee. And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.”
 
When Elijah reached Mount Sinai, he took refuge in a cave. There, at the entrance to the cave, the Lord spoke to Elijah "What doest though here, Elijah?" (1 Kings 19:9, 13). And there Elijah laid his complaint before the Lord God, telling the Lord how the Jewish people had turned away from the Lord claiming that he was the only one left who was still serving the Lord. (1 Kings 19:14)
 
The Lord's answer to Elijah was to deflate Elijah's ego letting him know that there were still seven thousand of the Jewish people, who had not "bowed unto Baal," and "which has not kissed him." (1 Kings 19:18) 
 
Currently the fifty-first anniversary of the 1967 Six Day war [1] will be observed on June 5, 2018. Just as the Lord prophesied, in this repetition of "the days of Noah" [Luke 17:26-27]; sin, wickedness and apostasy are abounding in every area of modern life. Is this another possible date for the coming of our Lord to resurrect and rapture His Church and New Covenant believers out of this present evil world? I don't know; but if you don’t know the Lord Jesus as your Messiah call upon the Lord for salvation right now. (Galatians 1:3-4; Romans 10:8-13; John 3:36; 5:24)
 
*Excerpted and adapted full original email from Pastor F.M. Riley
Scripture of Seven Thousand: 1 Kings 20:15; 2 Kings 24:16; Revelation 11:13

[1] Why History Still Matters: The 1967 Six-Day Israel War
6-1-18, Times of Israel -- Fifty-one years ago this week, the Six-Day War broke out. ... after winning the war of self-defense... in June 1967, there was no state of Palestine; it didn’t exist and never had. Its creation, proposed by the UN in 1947, was rejected by the Arab world because it also meant the establishment of a Jewish state alongside. The West Bank and eastern Jerusalem were in Jordanian hands... Violating solemn agreements, Jordan denied Jews access to their holiest places in eastern Jerusalem and was permitted to keep control of Temple Mount and the abomination of the 'Dome of the Rock' and mosque. More here

​US to veto Palestinian ′protection′ resolution at UN

5-31-18, The UN draft resolution for protecting the Muslim terrorists in Gaza aka 'Palestinians' was put forward by Kuwait, who represents Islamic nations at the  biased anti-Israel pro Muslim/Palestinian UN Security Council. It was expected to go to a vote on Thursday [5-31-18] evening, but diplomats said it had been postponed following US Ambassador Nikki Haley's threat to veto it. She said: 

"It is a grossly one-sided approach that is morally bankrupt and would only serve to undermine ongoing efforts toward peace between the Israelis and Palestinians."

The final draft version urged the Security Council to consider "measures to guarantee the safety and protection" of Palestinian civilians after more than 120 of them were killed by Israeli fire since March 2018 violence and riots at the border fence.  It also requested a report from UN chief Antonio Guterres about the possibility of establishing an "international protection mechanism" to safeguard Palestinian life.

5-31-18, * -- On Sunday, May 27, 2018, Israel’s security forces detected an object attached to the border fence. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be bolt cutter similar to the ones used by the Palestinian rioters to breach the fence. During the removal process [by robot] the bolt cutter exploded. An Israeli Merkava IV tank fired on the militants killing three Palestinian Islamic Jihad [PIJ] operatives. Islamic Jihad swore vengeance beginning a near full-scale conflagration on a scale not seen since the summer of 2014.
 
Subsequently Israel came under intense indiscriminate rocket and mortar bombardment from Gaza. A kindergarten school was hit, fortunately, the children had not yet arrived. Over the course of 22 hours, Hamas and PIJ fired over 100 rockets and mortars, most were shot down by Israel’s anti-rocket defense system, Iron Dome.
 
The unprovoked attacks inevitably drew Israeli retaliatory strikes hitting appx 65 Hamas and PIJ positions. A U-shaped, two-kilometer long tunnel that extended into both Egypt and Israel and the Hamas naval armory containing advanced, unmanned submarine vessels, capable of maritime infiltration and carrying out maritime terror attacks were hit and destroyed.
 
Iran has its fingerprints all over this; Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders have readily and publicly acknowledged that they receive aid in the form of cash, training and weapons from Iran.

​Israel retaliates after Gaza rocket barrage
5-29-18, The world is already criticizing Israel for the powerful deluge of retaliation.

​JERUSALEM (JTA) — Paraguay opened its new embassy in Jerusalem, a week after the United States moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Paraguay's President Horacio Cartes was in Jerusalem on Monday for the official dedication of the embassy, located in the Technological Park of southern ...

5-16-18,  Only 48 hours after the historic opening of the United States' own diplomatic headquarters in Jerusalem, Guatemala opened theirs.  The ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Netanyahu, Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales, and Guatemala's First Lady. More here

Nation in Ezekiel 38:15, 39:2 coming against Israel from 'north parts' ... TURKEY! Revelation 13:2-3; Daniel 7:3-7
​***

Turkey Calls for Islamic Nations to Unite Against Israel!
5-16-18, Turkish Prime Minster Binali Yildirim this week called on Islamic nationst o unite as one against Israel during a speech to his ruling party in parliament. Turkey had already this week recalled its ambassadors in the U.S. and Israel in wake of the Embassy inauguration and subsequent protests, and it also expelled Israel’s ambassador from Turkey. Now Turkey seeks an even greater response with a collaborative effort from Islamic nations.In a speech in London on May 13, 2018 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also condemned the U.S before his announcement regarding the recall of Turkey's ambassadors. He stated that the U.S. had lost its role as mediator in the Middle East because of the Embassy move. In a speech broadcast on Turkish state television Erdogan also had fierce words for Israel; claiming being a “terrorist” entity that carried out a “genocide” in killing Palestinians during the May border protest clash. He said: “What Israel has done is genocide. I condemn this humanitarian drama, the genocide, from whichever side it comes, Israel or America.”

USA UN Ambassador Mrs Nikki Haley defends Israel after Gaza violence, walks out of meeting5-15-18, ABCNews-- At the emergency session of the United Nations Security Council UN Ambassador Nikki Haley denied the violence in Gaza on 5/14/18 had anything to do with the U.S. opening up its new embassy in Jerusalem. "Rather, the violence comes from those who reject the existence of the state of Israel in any location. The location of the embassy has no bearing on the specific boundaries of Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem, or the resolution of contested borders. ... It does not undermine the prospects for peace in any way." Haley placed the blame for the violence, in which at least 60 people were killed according to Gaza's health ministry, squarely on Hamas terrorists, backed by Iran. A vocal supporter of Israel, Haley walked out of the Security Council meeting in protest before the Palestinian representative addressed the chamber.
***

5-15-18, DailyMail -- With full knowledge of the violence Hamas was fomenting beyond their border, the IDF dropped pamphlets warning Palestinians to not approach the border fence and deadly force would be used if they did not heed the warning. It didn’t stop hundreds of Palestinians from lighting tires ablaze and charging the barricades. In response to the attacks, reportedly Israel killed 59 Palestinians to date. However, these revelations did not stop prominent activist and commentators from peddling lies that these protesters were unarmed. More here See 2 min video of Gaza Muslim rioters shoot down Israeli drone here

Ivanka Trump and Sec. Mnuchin Unveil Plaque At U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, Capitol of Israel
5-14-18, President Donald Trump delivered a video address at the ceremony opening the official United States embassy in Jerusalem.
***

​5-14-18, Clarion -- Today, the United States moved its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Israel’s capital city, Jerusalem. The move is significant – it marks a recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city by the U.S. and an end to the dispute of its status by the world’s foremost superpower.The move is also significant in the battle against radical Islam.

Official dedication ceremony now, 5-14-18, 12:30 pm ET live on YouTube here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmtgrHm0iMc

​What Does the Bible Say About Jerusalem? - OpenBible.info
Bible verses about Jerusalem - Psalm 122:3-5
"Jerusalem"
Occurs 811 times in 764 verses in the Holy Bible
www.blueletterbible.org/search/search.cfm?Criteria=Jerusalem&t=KJV#s=s_primary_0_1
***
[Note: although the Islamic nations claim they have rights to the city of Jerusalem - their book [Koran] has zero to say about it. ]

Some devotees of Islam claim that Jerusalem is in the Koran 
:: Daniel Pipes -- They say "although it is true that the word 'Jerusalem' does not explicitly occur in the Qur'an ... but but ..."
***
More here Jedediah Bila 'American Media is a joke!'

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Moscow: Israel, Russia cooperation grows | Asia Times
www.atimes.com/article/netanyahu-in-moscow-israeli-russian-cooperation-takes-shape/
5-11-18 - The stated reason for PM Netanyahu visits to Moscow on May 9th was to celebrate VICTORY DAY and the end of WW2. It should be seen in the context of Netanyahu's herculean ... Finally, that the attacks focus on Iran and cause minimal damage to the Assad government in Syria.

Russia President Vladimir Putin gave Israel a free hand against Iran in Syria. But he may soon ...
https://www.haaretz.com › Israel News
5-10-18- Iran's 'first-ever' attack on Israel and Israel's most extensive Syria strike in ...

As tensions flare with Iran, Israel embraces Russia - Al-Monitor
https://www.al-monitor.com/.../tensions-flare-israel-iran-russia-netanyahu-putin.html
5-10-18,  Israel said it was retaliating for an Iranian rocket bombardment on the Golan Heights. ... Even before Netanyahu's visit, Israel was signaling to Russia that Israel has right to defend itself against attack. Putin apparently agreed and gave green light. 

Netanyahu sets off to Moscow as tensions skyrocket over Iran, Syria ...
https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-sets-off-to-moscow-as-tensions-skyrocket-o...
5-9-18, Israel's PM Netanyahu as vowed to keep Iran from gaining a foothold in Syria to launch attacks against Israel, lobbying Russia to lean on its allies in the Syrian ...

Middle East tensions at heart of Netanyahu's visit to Moscow | Russia ...
https://www.aljazeera.com/.../middle-east-tensions-heart-netanyahus-visit-moscow-180...
5-9-18, Benjamin Netanyahu has visited Russia to talk to Vladimir Putin about Israeli interventions in Syria and concerns about Iran. ... in Syria. It follows reports of an Israeli attack on an Iranian military facility near Damascus.

Following a massive RETALIATION airstrike on Iranian targets in Syria on Thursday, 5/10/18, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have released footage taken aboard a Spike NLOS cruise missile, which is seen hitting a Pantsir-S1 (NATO reporting name SA-22 Greyhound) air defense system. Aytech Bizhev, a former Russian Air Force Deputy Commander-in-Chief explained that there can be only two possible explanations for a successful strike against a Pantsir-S1: 

1. One is that it had already used up its ammunition reserve
2. It was simply turned off; it wasn't battle ready

Friday, May 11, 2018, Bill Wilson -- Israel is currently defending the Golan Heights from Iran's hostile bases in Syria by launching very precise missile strikes. The presence of [Islamic terror groups- Ed.] Turkey, Iran, alQaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic State [ISIS], Hezbollah, Hamas and other enemies of God and of Israel in the Syrian theater has many wondering about the Isaiah 17:1 prophecy about the destruction of Damascus. There is much speculation about whether we are now entering into the end time scenario written so much about by the prophets in the Bible. Certainly, the crucible of prophecy is being stirred and heated, but we must pay close attention to the actual words and context of the prophets to discern current events:
 
Isaiah, 17:1, "The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap."

Many point to this verse to speculate when and how Damascus will be destroyed. If we study the context of the prophecy, Isaiah 10:1-5 begins with prophesying judgment on Assyria and Ephraim (one of the tribes of Israel) for attacking Israel. Damascus is named as one of the Assyrian's vassals. Damascus also is included in end time judgment accounts of Egypt, Babylon, Moab, Assyria, Ethiopia, Tyre, Philistia and others. This demonstrates the near and the far of prophesy. Some of this was fulfilled historically; other parts of it are yet to be fulfilled.

Much conversation is taking place that perhaps this is the time Isaiah's prophecy will be fulfilled. Currently Damascus, after all, is hardly a city. After years of civil war and fighting it is maintaining a heartbeat that includes various Islamic terror groups of alQaeda, Hezbollah from Iran [& Lebanon-Ed.], Turkey, ISIS, the Assad government, Russian and American interests. The ingredients are there for the total destruction of Damascus and it may be devastated by this massive gathering of many forces, but it is not the total destruction prophesied by Isaiah. As with most prophecy, it often appears to be fulfilled, but in types and shadows, layers and signs before it's ultimate fulfillment.
 
The context of Isaiah 17:1 is judgment on nations that come against Israel, beginning in Isaiah 9:5 and continuing through Isaiah 24:23. The phrase "In/At that day" is mentioned no less than four times in Isaiah 17:1-14. This phrase is an indicator for the Day of the Lord, meaning when the Lord returns to judge the nations that came against Israel. Isaiah 17:7 says, "At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel." Isaiah 17:11 speaks that the harvest shall be a day of grief and of desperate sorrow.

Context is key.

​It's irresponsible to take just one verse and develop a scenario or doctrine around it. In Syria, we are seeing prophetic movement, but we will know when God fulfills the prophecy. It will be clear.

5-7-18, Israel -- ​JERUSALEM (Reuters) – On Monday, May 7, 2018 Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat hung the first road sign, in English, Hebrew and Arabic pointing to the US Embassy in Jerusalem. It'll be in the interim building and offices that was the US Consulate; they will be renovated after dedication on May 14, 2018. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo said: “By recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the seat of its government, we’re recognizing reality.”

U.S. Embassy road signs went up in Jerusalem on Monday, 5-7-18 ahead of next week’s opening of the US Embassy. In December 2017, the US President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. It is the fulfillment of the US law passed in 1995. More here

Jerusalem Embassy Act - Wikipedia - The United States Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 is a public law passed under Bill Clinton by the 104th Congress on October 23, 1995. Its purpose was to set aside funds for the relocation of the Embassy of the United States in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, by May 31, 1999. Three presidents Clinton, Bush#2, Obama all postponed enactment.

5-2-18, Gatestone Inst -- On May 4, 2018 the Muslim protest at the Gaza & Israel border is entering the sixth week and undoubtedly will continue to attract the attention of the international community and media.
 
Meanwhile, no one pays attention to what is happening on the Gaza Strip's other border with Egypt, which has been closed for most of the past 10 years. Currently, Muslims cannot leave the Gaza Strip without Egypt's permission. Endangering the lives of Israeli soldiers by Muslim protesters hurling rocks and petrol bombs apparently is acceptable. However, it’s a completely different thing if they were attacking Egyptian soldiers. The Egyptians would raze the entire Gaza Strip and probably bring down the Islamic terror group, Hamas regime.
 
The mayhem on the Israel border with Gaza is organized by Hamas and other so called Palestinians as part of their annual "Nakba Day" ("The Day of Catastrophe"), the term used by Muslims describing the creation of the Jewish State of Israel in 1948.
 
The Muslims annual "March of Return," as Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said a few days ago, marks the beginning of a new Palestinian intifada [war], or uprising, against Israel. Their protests are aimed at thwarting US President Donald Trump's yet-to-be-announced plan for peace in the Middle East. Their protest is also aimed at ending the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip since Hamas's violent takeover of the coastal enclave in the summer of 2007.
 
Despite the blockade, civilian and commercial border crossings have been open to some Palestinians and foreign nationals who enter and leave the Gaza Strip on an almost daily basis. It's been open except when Hamas and other armed groups carry out terror attacks against Israelis. Even then, Israel closes the border crossings only for a few hours or days. There is great concern in Israel that the terrorists in Gaza may smuggle weapons into the area from the Mediterranean Sea; therefore, Israel has a naval blockade along the Gaza Strip.
 
However, the Egyptian Rafah border crossing is the Gaza Strip's single opening to Egypt and the rest of the Arab world. That border crossing is where the real suffering of the Palestinians has been taking place.  The Egyptians often cite "security reasons" as the main cause for the closure. 

• No one is asking the Egyptians to absorb the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip and turn them into Egyptian citizens.
• No one is asking the Egyptians to provide the Palestinians with work and humanitarian and medical aid.
• No one is asking the Egyptians to compromise their security by opening the Rafah terminal. 

​Egyptians are not different from most of the Arab countries who have had bad experiences with the Palestinians:

1. Southern border of Egypt: Since 2009 with few exceptions the Rafah border has been closed. Cairo sees the Palestinians as "troublemakers" and "ungrateful" people, and simply do not want to help them. 
2. Eastern border Muslim nation of Jordan: In the early 1970s, Jordan drove the PLO out of the kingdom in a bloody offensive known by the Palestinians as "Black September." Thousands were killed or injured when the Jordanian army launched a massive military operation to stop the PLO from creating a state-within-a-state in Jordan.
3. Lebanon on Northern border: The Lebanese had a similar experience with the PLO when the organization was based in Beirut during the 1970s and early 1980s. There, too, the PLO tried to create a state-within-a-state and posed a serious threat to Lebanon's sovereignty.
4. In 1990 Kuwait: One of several Arab countries that generously gave the Palestinians millions of dollars in financial aid. However, when Kuwait fell into the hands of Iraq's Saddam Hussein, the Palestinians were the first to take to the streets to celebrate the invasion of Kuwait.

 
No Arab country wants to undergo the same experiences as Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Kuwait. Yet Egypt is sending Palestinians to knock on Israel's door and blame Israel for the "humanitarian" crisis in the Gaza Strip, while it is really Egypt that is responsible for its own blockade.
 
Arab and Egyptian hypocrisy achieves new heights as journalists from these "countries create a "fake news" echo chamber reporting on the "'March of Return" and use it to condemn Israel for sealing its border with the Gaza Strip.

When will the real blockade of the Gaza Strip, the Egyptian one, be called out and condemned in the mainstream media? ​More here

4-29-18, Arutz Sheva -- As part of his speaking tour in the US, the Crown Prince met with American Jewish leaders, including representatives of the American Jewish Committee and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
During the meetings, Bin Salman reportedly vented his frustrations with the PA’s leadership, telling American Jewish leaders that the PA, and PLO before it, had missed countless opportunities over the past four decades.
"Over the past 40 years, the Palestinian leadership has again and again missed opportunities and rejected all the proposals that were given to them," Bin Salman was quoted as saying.
The Crown Prince went on to say that the PA should accept whatever proposal the Trump administration makes for a Middle East peace plan – or “stop complaining”. [..snip]
Last month, Saudi Arabia permitted the first-ever flight to Israel to enter Saudi air space, the latest sign of the quiet thawing of relations between the Jewish state and the Saudi kingdom.

​More here

UPDATE: 4-30-18, Prime Minister Netanyahu met on Sunday, 4/29/18 with new US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the two had spoken about Iran. See 18 minute video here: [first 30 seconds are in Hebrew] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bmpgaig54-k
***
4-30-18, See screenshots of PM Netanyahu's video here
***

Today, Monday, 4/30/18 the Prime Minister said:

"Iran's leaders repeatedly deny ever pursuing nuclear weapons. Tonight I'm here to tell you one thing: Iran lied."
The Israeli leader spoke in English and showed pictures and videos purporting to be of historic secret Iranian nuclear facilities, as well as Iranian documents and plans to develop atomic weapons.

"After signing the nuclear deal in 2015, Iran intensified its efforts to hide its secret files. In 2017 Iran moved its nuclear weapons files to a highly secret location in Tehran."
Netanyahu referred to a secret Iranian nuclear project, codenamed "Amad", which he said had been shelved in 2003, but he said work in the field had continued.
​
"Even after the (2015) deal, Iran continued to preserve and expand its nuclear weapons knowledge for future use. Iran has always denied seeking nuclear weapons." Source

 Genesis 13:14-16; Numbers 23:10
 
4-20-18, * -- In the Jewish state of Israel, Yom Hazikaron, Heroes Remembrance Day, the day of remembrance for fallen soldiers and victims of terror begins. What is a memorial day in a country that has always known war and where remembrance means adding the toll of one year's dead and wounded to the scales of history? A country where sirens may pause but never stop, where each generation grows up knowing that they will have to fight, stand watch or run away. It is not so much the past that is remembered on this day, but the present and the future.
 
Yet each memorial day we count the dust [Genesis 13:16] that is a fraction of those who have fallen defending the land for thousands of years. Flesh wears out, blood falls to the earth where the red daisies grow, and bone turns to dust. The Creator vowed to Abraham [and his wife, Sarah, Genesis 17:19, 21] that his children would be as many as the dust of the earth and the stars of heaven. In their darkest days, there is mercy in the numberless count of the dust.
 
Some new countries are built to escape from the past, but there is no escaping it in these ancient hills of Israel. Israel Defense Forces [IDF] patrol over ground once contested by empires, tread over spearheads and the wheels of chariots buried deep in the earth. The Assyrians and the Babylonians came through here in all their glory. Greek and Roman soldiers and mercenaries pitted themselves against the handful of Judeans who came out of the Babylonian exile. The Ottoman and the Arab raged here, and Crusader battering rams and British Enfield rifles still echo in the quiet hills.
 
Can these bones live [Ezekiel 37:3,11-14], the Lord asks Ezekiel. And generations, after each slaughter, they come again, the descendants of the dead to reclaim the hills of their ancestors. Rising like the red flowers out of the soil; like the bones out of the earth. They come up as slaves out of Egypt and out of the captivity of empires, their tongues as numberless as the earth. Here they come again to set up kingdoms and nations. And there in shadows on the dust, a handful of men fight off a legion; swords, spears and rifles in hand they face down impossible odds. They fight and die, but they go on and live. [Ezekiel 37:9-14]
 
Some 3,000 years ago, Judge Jephthah and the King of Ammon were exchanging messages [Judges 11:14-28] not too different from those being passed around as diplomatic communiques today. The King of Ammon demanding land for peace and the Judge laying out the Israeli case for the land in a message that the enemy would hardly trouble to read before going to war.
 
The soldier is not so sacred as he once was. The journalist and the judge have taken his place. The borders have shrunk. The old victories have been exchanged for diplomatic defeats. From the old strongholds come missiles and rockets. And children hide in bomb shelters waiting for the worst to pass. This is the doing of the journalist and the judge. The man who serves is still sacred, but the temple of duty is desecrated more and more each year. Among the leftists draft dodging, once a black mark of shame, has become a mark of pride. Some are afraid, but some are filled with hate. They have found their Inner Cain [Genesis 4:8] and go now to slay their brothers with words.
 
How shall I curse whom G-d has not cursed, asks Balaam [Numbers 23:8]. But the King of Moab [1] is determined to have his curses anyway. And today it is to the UN that they come for curses. The Arab lands boil with blood, but resolution after resolution are issued damning the only democratic nation in the Middle East … Israel.
 
Were those men who fought and died for Judea and Samaria [now called ‘West bank], for the Golan and Jerusalem, for every square inch of land when the armies of Arab dictators came to push them into the sea, heroes or villains? Were Nasser, Hussein, Saddam, Arafat, Gaddafi, Assad and the House of Saud the real heroes all along? The Arab overwhelming majority of 360 million pitted against Israel’s tiny minority of 6 million.

King Solomon said, “All go to one place, all that lives is of the dust, and all returns to the dust. There is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his works.” Ecclesiastes 3:20-22
 
Again we celebrate Israel’s memorial day that precedes the day of independence. We rejoice in those who sleep in the dust have died to protect. The skyscrapers and the orchards, the sheep ranches and the highways, the schools and the synagogues. For they who drained the swamps and built the roads, who held guard over the air and built the cities, may not have lived to see their works; but we rejoice in their works for them.
 
A new generation rises to watch over their dust and tend the works that they have built. Until the day when He that counts the dust of Jacob shall count them all, and the land shall stir, and in the words of Daniel, they that sleep in dust shall arise, and then rejoice with us. Daniel 12:2-3; Ezekiel 37:14

​ Air Force Flyover Marks Israel's 70th Yom Ha'atzmaut
Apr 19, 2018 -- F-35 warplanes circled across Israel's sky crossing paths with transport planes, helicopter gunships, foreign air force fighter jets, police choppers and modern civilian aircrafts as a part of Israel's 70 Independence Day celebrations' flyover. The Israeli Navy also held a special flotilla ...
 
[1] Modern day Moab: The land that was called Moab is part of Jordan, east of the Dead Sea.
 
*Excerpted and adapted from Daniel Greenfield who is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center full original article here: http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/2018/04/who-can-count-dust-of-jacob.html

4-19-18, Ben Cohen -- Amid all the diplomatic maneuverings in the months that led up to the creation of the State of Israel 70 years ago, none are more curious than those undertaken by the Soviet Union.
 
It’s fair to say that Soviet support was a necessary condition for the emergence of an independent Jewish state in what was then British Mandate Palestine. As WW2 came to an end the Zionist leadership certainly understood this; both Chaim Weizmann and David Ben-Gurion courting Soviet foreign ministry. Until the middle of 1947, the Soviets remained firm opponents of partitioning the country into Jewish and Arab states.
 
The principal reason behind this brief flash of Soviet support for Israel was geopolitical. The USSR had come to the end of the war without a coherent policy towards the Arab world, but with a basic distrust of the pan-Arab pretensions of the newly-formed Arab League… [snip]
 
Then Israel became firmly in the camp of the United States and the Soviet Union as the principle backer of Arab rejectionizm. Israel’s embassy in Moscow had been shuttered for more than 20 years [it reopened in 1991]. Israel’s present-day relations with Russia are complicated by many of the same issues that prevailed during the Cold War—foremost, its continued investment in Syria.
 
Russia continues in the sphere of international politics. Seventy years after Israel’s creation, Russia remains the world power that is closest to the Jewish state’s most implacable enemies, providing them with diplomatic and military sustenance—and keeping those old memories alive.
 
*Excerpted - Ben Cohen writes a weekly column for JNS on Jewish affairs and Middle Eastern politics. His writings have been published in Commentary, the New York Post, Haaretz, The Wall Street Journal and many other publications.  More here: ​More here

In 1991 Israel Reopens Moscow Embassy - latimes
10-25-1991, MOSCOW — After twenty-four years, in 1991, Israel renewed diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union. It was severed during the 1967 Middle East War, formally reopening its embassy in Moscow. Ambassador-designate Arye Levin unveiled a bronze plaque with the words "Embassy of the State of Israel" in Hebrew and Russian at the entrance of the mission across the Moscow River from Red Square. He said: "We took this down 24 years and four months ago. Now we are returning it to its proper place."

Joel 3:1-14

4-16-18, Joseph Puder* --  With all the glory attached to Israel's seventieth anniversary, there are also sets of precedents that require caution and good judgment. The number 70 has meaningful commutations in Jewish tradition.  It recalls the 70-year Babylonian Exile that led to the start of the Second Jewish Commonwealth in 530 BC.  The return to the Land of Israel occurred through the Charter given by the Persian Emperor Cyrus the Great, allowing Jews who wished to return to “Jerusalem that is in Judah” and build a “House for the God of Heaven” to do so.  Some have compared the US President Trump to king Cyrus. Similarly, in 1948 the former US President Harry Truman was told he would become another King Cyrus for Jews everywhere.

In appx 520 BC King Zerubbabel, a descendent of King David, led the first wave of returnees to Jerusalem.  The second wave come with the Scribe Ezra (book of Ezra in the third portion of the Hebrew Bible called Ketuvim).  The third stage of mass return to the land occurred with Nehemiah, a high official in the Persian Empire administration. 

Arabs settled in the Land of Israel following the deportation of the Jews (most but not all) by the Romans in the aftermath of the Jewish rebellion, which ended in the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD. 

The name Palestine had nothing to do with Arab-Palestinians of today.  It was named after the Philistines, people related to the Greeks who originally invaded the coastal cities of Israel from the Aegean Sea. By the time the First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC, no traces were left of the Philistines. 

Under the Arab conquerors and the Ottoman Turkish rule (1516-1918), and especially during the British Mandate (1918-1948), many Arabs from neighboring states settled in the so called Palestine, propelled by industry and jobs created by Jewish pioneers. [..snip]

In recent decades, Israel as a nation has become largely conservative. Under PM Netanyahu, Israel turned away from its socialist past and adopted capitalism; that, coupled with incentivizing risk-taking, created innovation and prosperity not seen before. The current unemployment rate in Israel (April 2018) is 3.8%.  Israel has a far higher employment rate than the average European Union or even the U.S., at 64%.  Israel’s innovations in bio-technology, agriculture, medicine, to name but a few sectors, are incredible.  Israeli companies are second only to the U.S. in trading on the U.S. stock markets.

Israel, in 2018, is a stronger state militarily as well in relation to its regional enemies.  Moreover, the threat that Iran poses to the Middle East region as a whole, has brought the Gulf Arabs and Saudi Arabia in particular, to recognize Israel as an “ally” of sorts.  Iran is seen by them as an existential threat, and it is likewise for Israel.  Egypt’s economic weakness has impacted on its potential threat to Israel.  Cairo, much like Riyadh, views Iran and its agent Hezbollah as a greater threat than Israel.  Israel’s military is now larger in manpower, better equipped than ever before, and still highly motivated.  ​*Excerpted full original message here

Joel 3:1 KJV
The Lord Judges the Nations
1"For behold, in those days and at that time,When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations And bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there On behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; And they have divided up My land.… New American Standard Bible
See Parallel verses here

Genesis 17:19-21

4-3-18, * -- The Bible’s first act of violence was between two brothers; Cain murdered Abel because Abel did what was pleasing to God and Cain did not. Genesis 4:8; 1 John 3:12

The generations of bitter warfare between the Jews and the Muslims stems from Abraham and Sarah who had the covenant son, Isaac (Gen 17:19-21). Abraham and the Egyptian maid, Hagar had son, Ishmael who is recognized as the father of Islam. When Ishmael was about 13, Sarah saw Ishmael mocking Isaac; she told Abraham to cast out Hagar and Ishmael. Abraham loved his oldest son, Ishmael and was grieved, but God told him to listen to Sarah (Genesis 21:12-13). Abraham obeyed the Lord. (Genesis 21:14) God protected Hagar and Ishmael (Genesis 17:20). There is no indication that Ishmael ever turned from Abraham’s teachings, but his sons did, intermarrying with the godless and forgetting the God of their father, Abraham. The resulting Muslims aka Edom do not honor the God of their fathers; they honor a god (Allah) of war (fortresses). Daniel 11:37-38

Muslims teach that it was Ishmael who received Isaac’s blessing; explaining the everlasting contempt and struggle between Israel and the Islamic nations. Obadiah 1:18

Currently Israel is preparing for her 70th Independence Day celebration and the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem. The Palestinian’s [group of Muslims from other Arab nations who have invaded Israel claiming it as their own*] have said the opening of the embassy is a declaration of war. 

If there was a sudden Palestinian attack on the Jewish people of Samaria and Judea it is speculated that those that are able to escape, would flee to the mountains of Petra in Jordan (Matthew 24:16). However, God will destroy the Islamic [aka Arab] enemies. God said he would take revenge on Edom by the hands of His people Israel – the military might of the Israel Defense Forces [IDF] and her allies. Obadiah 1:9; Ezekiel 25:13-14

The United States President Trump isn’t exactly what most Christians would label a role model for Christianity or Judaism, but neither was Nebuchadnezzar or many others God used throughout history; but nonetheless God used them. The Apostle Paul was one of the fiercest persecutors of Christians becoming God’s greatest disciple.

As Christians, we see prophecy unfolding before our very eyes and know the Lord Jesus Christ’s return is imminent. God said Israel is the apple of His eye. Every time these nations attack or provoke Israel, they are essentially poking God in the eye (Zechariah 2:8-9). Lift up your heads, your redemption draweth nigh! Luke 21:28