Middle East Update

GPL … MIDDLE EAST UPDATES FROM .. MAY 6…. NO 110

OLMERT SCANDAL WILL “SHAKE THE COUNTRY”: by Hillel Fendel
Staffers in the Attorney General’s office said on Monday May 5, according to Army Radio, that the findings in the latest Olmert scandal collected thus far will “shake the country when they are revealed.” The sources said that the media blackout on the details of the investigation against Olmert would be partially lifted by Tuesday, “in accordance with developments.” Olmert aide, Shula Zaken, one of the suspects in the case being investigated against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, was sent to house arrest until Friday.

DEFENCE MIN. BARAK’S ORDERS LEAVE IDF AT SECURITY ‘RED LINE’: by Hillel Fendel
Defense Minister Ehud Barak has given orders to remove three critical anti-terror checkpoints in Judea and Samaria, allowing terrorists to travel unhindered. The orders were given in compliance with demands by visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, who continually insists that Israel mollify Palestinian Authority by removing additional security checkpoints. The IDF generally objects to such gestures.

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GPL … MIDDLE EAST UPDATES FROM .. MAY 1…. NO 109

AZERBAIJAN TO ALLOW IRAN NUCLEAR EQUIPMENT THROUGH:
Azerbaijan announced on Wednesday April 30 that it will allow a shipment of Russian nuclear equipment stopped at the border in March to now proceed to its destination at the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran.

HISTORIC FIRST: IDF CHIEF AT HEAD OF MARCH TO AUSCHWITZ: by Ezra HaLevi.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi visited the Warsaw Ghetto and a Jewish cemetery in Poland ahead of Holocaust Remembrance Day, which began Wednesday night April 30. The top IDF commander visited the Jewish cemetery in Warsaw, Poland where the Jews who died in the Warsaw Ghetto were buried. Ashkenazi reportedly stood silent for a few moments and then said: “The answer to what we see here is us, the State of Israel, the IDF and victory.”

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GPL … MIDDLE EAST UPDATES FROM .. APRIL 27…. NO 108

TWO ISRAELIS SHOT DEAD AT FACTORY NEAR TULKARM:
An unexpected ‘lull’ in terrorism over the Passover holiday was broken on Friday morning April 25, when at least one and perhaps two Palestinian terrorists penetrated the security barrier at the industrial complex of Nitzane Shalom, near the West Bank town of Tulkarm, and shot dead two Israeli security guards at a factory.

HAMAS ATTACKS MORE GAZA CROSSINGS:
As part of its recent campaign to forcibly break the Israeli blockade on Gaza, Hamas targeted the Keren Shalom and Kissufim crossings at the southern end of the Strip in coordinated attacks on the eve of Passover last Saturday morning (19 April). In one of the most ambitious Palestinian terror operations ever launched, an armored personnel carrier burst out of an early morning fog bank and broke through the security fence at Keren Shalom, followed by two vehicles disguised as IDF jeeps and packed with 300 kilograms of explosives. IDF units were on the alert, however, and destroyed the pair of kamikaze jeeps as they approached their positions, while the APC was also disabled after it ran into a wall. Hamas mortar squads nearby also laid down volleys of shells in the area as some 13 injured IDF soldiers were evacuated for treatment.

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Celebrating forty years after the miraculous Israeli victory in the 1967 Six Day War, an analysis of the circumstances of that momentous event has recently been published by a panel of investigative journalists and historians. Its conclusion is that so many factors came together for Israel’s success that it is impossible to conclude that they were natural outcomes or the normal course of events.

“This is from God”.

Prior to June 1967, Israel’s borders were precarious, indefensible - at one point, south of Haifa, the width of Israel from the Mediterranean Sea to Jordan-controlled West Bank was less then ten miles. The war increased the size of Israel-controlled area by more than double. Most importantly, Jerusalem became a unified city and Israel’s capital. The Arabs recognise their disastrous defeat by constantly calling for “the return to pre-1967 borders” in any peace deal with Israel.

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GPL … MIDDLE EAST UPDATES FROM .. APRIL 19…. NO 107

ISRAEL IMPOSES PASSOVER CLOSURE ON PALESTINIAN AREAS:
Israel decided to clamp a full closure on the West Bank and Gaza during the week of Passover, which began Saturday evening April 19, due to on-going concerns over revenge attacks from Hizbullah for the recent death of Imad Mughniyeh.

IRAN USING GAZA FISHERMEN TO SMUGGLE WEAPONS:
Hizbullah assisting in sea-borne weapons tranfers
According to top Israeli Defense officials, Iran has increased its arms smuggling into Gaza by placing weapons in floatable containers in the waters off Gaza’s coast so Palestinian fisherman can bring them into the Strip.

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G.P.L. BULLETIN No 179

God’s dealings with Israel are spread over great periods of time. The Roman exile lasted 1878 years from AD70 to 1948. Their continuous restoration is taking another long period - 60 years so far, by comparison with their exile period a tiny amount. This restoration period will extend well into the time after the return of Jesus. For example, see Isaiah 63:1-6 where the returned Jesus takes steps to save Israel from her enemies, “I looked but there was no one to help; and I wondered that there was no one to uphold; therefore my own arm brought salvation”. A future Israel will not have American help or any other support and would be overcome, except that Jesus saves them and that will have been quite a long time from 1948.

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GPL … MIDDLE EAST UPDATES FROM APRIL 13…. NO 106

JEWISH REFUGEES LOSSES OUTWEIGH ARABS LOSSES: by Hillel Fendel
Research by international economist Sidney Zabludoff shows that the Jewish refugees of 1948 suffered more and have been helped less than their Arab counterparts. The number of Arabs displaced by the War of Independence in 1948 is estimated at 550,000, and another estimated 100,000 were displaced by the Six Day War in 1967. The number of Jews who were forced to move as a result of the Israeli-Arab conflict was between 850,000 and one million. It is further estimated that the Jews, most of whom lived in cities, lost $700 million in lost and stolen property - worth some $6 billion in today’s dollars. The Arabs of 1948 and 1967, on the other hand, lost an estimated total of $450 million, or $3.9 billion in today’s money.

KASSAM ROCKETS ATTACKS ON SDEROT: by Hana Levi Julian
P A terrorists launched a rocket attack on the western Negev city Sderot Saturday night April 12, after a rocket and mortar fire-filled Sabbath in southern Israel. Terrorists fired two rockets and seven mortar shells at Gaza Belt communities over the course of the Sabbath. Four of the mortar shells exploded in and around Kibbutz Nahal Oz, damaging a warehouse and several power lines. Three other shells and two Kassam rockets landed in open areas.

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GPL … MIDDLE EAST UPDATES FROM APRIL 9…. NO 105

CIVILIAN POPULATION JOINS NATIONWIDE HOME DRILL ON 3 RD DAY: by Hana Levi Julian
Israelis throughout the country were “alerted to a nationwide emergency” at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday morning April 8, when air raid sirens kicked off Day 3 of the five-day Home Front security drill to implement lessons learned in the 2006 Second Lebanon War. Tuesday marks the first day in which the civilian population joins the IDF and government workers in the exercise, which is continuing at local authorities, public institutions, IDF bases and police stations.

HAMAS STEPPING UP PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE AGAINST IS RAEL: by Gil Ronen
The leadership of the genocidal Islamic group Hamas has intensified its psychological warfare against Israel recently, the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA) has estimated, by threats against Israel designed to pressure the Israeli population to demand the Gov. cave in to Hamas demands.

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GPL MIDDLE EAST UPDATES FROM APRIL 4…. NO 104

JERUSALEM SHOULD STAY ENTIRELY UNDER ISRAELI CONTROL-U.S. NATIONAL SURVEY:
Results of a poll of 800 likely U.S. voters conducted on March 18-20, 2008: Should Jerusalem stay entirely under Israel’s control since Israel keeps all the Christian, Muslim and Jewish holy sites open and safe for all faiths? 63% support an Israeli Jerusalem, 20% support a divided Jerusalem. 84% of Americans view Iran as extreme. Hamas was seen as extreme by 72%. The Palestinian Authority was considered an extremist organization by 68%, while 64% saw Hizbullah as extreme.

HOUSE OF REPS. RECOGNISES JEWISH REFUGEES FROM ARAB LANDS:
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a nonbinding resolution Tuesday April 1 urging the U.S. government to ensure that the rights of Jewish refugees from Arab lands be recognized in any final peace deal between Israel and the Arabs. (JTA)

MUSLIMS BATTLE THE WEST AT UN OVER FREE SPEECH: - Eliane Engeler
Muslim and Western nations clashed at the UN on Tuesday April 1, after a measure backed by Islamic countries added monitoring religious prejudice to the duties of the UN investigator on freedom of opinion and expression, responsible for reporting on repressive governments’ restriction of free speech. The change sponsored by Egypt and Pakistan now requires him to also report acts that constitute “abuse of the right of freedom of expression.” The change was seen as a move against forms of expression that have offended Muslims, such as cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. The U.S., Canada and some European countries said the measure could curtail freedom of expression and help dictatorial regimes block dissenting views. “The resolution adopted attempts to legitimize the criminalization of expression,” said U.S. Ambassador Warren W. Tichenor. (AP)

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GPL MIDDLE EAST UPDATES FROM MARCH 30…. NO 103

HAMAS URGES ARAB SUMMIT TO JOIN ARMED STRUGGLE AGAINST ISRAEL:
Jordan joins boycotters of gathering in Damascus
Hamas on Friday March 28, urged the dwindling number of Arab leaders attending this weekend’s regional summit in Damascus to drop the 2002 Saudi peace initiative with Israel and support the Islamist terror militia’s armed campaign to destroy the Jewish state.

IDF KILLS HAMAS GUNMAN IN GAZA:
According to Palestinian reports, the IDF killed a Hamas member and injured another in Gaza on Friday morning March 28. The IDF stated that one of its units went through the Kissufim entrance but was still investigating the reports. Also in Gaza today, a Kassam rocket landed beside a pre-school center in the Western Negev, but no injuries were reported. Meantime, IDF troops arrested four Palestinian gunmen in the West Bank towns of Nablus, Ramallah, and Jenin overnight.

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