Middle East Update

GPL MIDDLE EAST UPDATES FROM .. JUNE 14 NO 117

ISRAEL MUSEUM DISPLAYS ANCIENT BOOK OF ISAIAH: by Hillel Fendel
The oldest existing Book of the Bible, found in the Qumran Caves I 1947, is on display in the Israel’s Museum Shrine of the Book, through mid-August. For the first time in 40 years, in honor of Israel’s 60th anniversary, the Israel Museum has put ancient scrolls of most of the Book of Isaiah on display. Entitled, “It Will Come to Pass in the End of Days,” the exhibit features a 2.6-meter-long (8.5 feet) scroll of Chapters 1-28, and another 2.38-meter-long scroll of Chapters 44-66. The scrolls of the Book of Isaiah, assumed to have been written somewhere around 120 BCE (only a few hundred years after he lived), are the oldest existing Biblical book in the world. They pre-date by some 1,000 years the oldest scrolls of the Book of Isaiah that had been extant until then.

MORTAR ALERT SYSTEM TO BE INSTALLED IN GAZA BELT REGION—AND THE IRON DOME SYSTEM:: by Hana Levi Julian
Residents of Gaza Belt communities will soon have at least a few seconds’ warning of incoming mortar attacks launched by Palestinian Authority terrorists in Gaza. Defense Minister Ehud Barak has authorized the IDF to install a new mortar alert system in the area, adapted from the radar and warning system developed in Israel and already being used by the Israel Air Force. As well the “Iron Dome” (Kipa Barzel) anti-missile defense system was set to be tested Thursday June 12 , according to Defense Ministry officials, one day later than its originally-scheduled test date. The system, which is designed by Rafael Military Industries (Israel’s Weapons Development Authority) neutralizes short-range missiles such as the homemade Kassam rockets and short-range Iranian-made Katyusha missiles

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GOSPEL PUBLICITY LEAGUE REPORT No 468

JUNE 2008

BIBLE PROPHECY PROVES THE BIBLE TRUE (Part 3)
DEUTERONOMY, the 5 th book of the Pentateuch, not only rehearsed the history of Israel since Sinai and the statutes which concerned the people, but also forced Israel to confront the promises of blessings and cursings for obedience OR disobedience.

About 1,400 years before the manifestation of Israel’s Messiah, Israel’s God promised “to establish thee an holy people unto himself…..if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord they God.”. He not only promised them loads of blessings for obedience, but He also promised them a series of curses for disobedience to His simple commandments. You MUST read this list of judgments in Deut:28-15,68 and then learn from Israel’s history of disobedience, that all of the Fathers pronouncements came true.

Again Bible prophecy proves the Bible true!

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PRESENT DAY EVENTS AND THEIR MEANING FROM THE BIBLE
The Gospel Publicity League, P.O.Box 4129 Edgeworth NSW 2285 Australia

JUNE 2008 TO SEPTEMBER 2008 ISSUE No. 468

ISRAEL’S RESTORATION AT 60: HOW MUCH LONGER?

In normal circumstances, in 1948, it was not thought possible that Israel could survive 12 months. Only those of us who respected Bible prophecy knew that Israel’s revival as a nation was something special. But none of us expected to be contemplating an Israel, sixty years later, still in a state of trouble and uncertainty as it is today. The Bible promise was, and still is, that Jesus would return and rescue Israel out of dangers from her neighbours but it is taking far longer than we thought.

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GPL … MIDDLE EAST UPDATES FROM .. JUNE 7 …. NO 116

ROCKET BARRAGES SLAM Western Negev:
IDF kills Palestinian militant in Gaza
Scores of Kassam rockets and mortars launched by Palestinian terror militias pounded Israeli communities in the Western Negev on Friday June 6, as hopes for a truce with Hamas in Gaza floundered. In response to a mortar attack which killed and Israel, an air strike on Central Gaza killed a Hamas militiaman. IDF troops shot and killed a Palestinian Authority terrorist after identifying a group of gunmen in the area around the Judean city of Hevron Thursday afternoon.

NEW YORK CITY’S SALUTE TO ISRAEL PARADE: - Marissa Gross (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs)
The Salute to Israel Parade officially began in 1965 and today draws over 100,000 marchers. The presence of politicians has significantly increased since the parade’s founding, when only the Israeli ambassador and a few American politicians appeared. The parade is a barometer for the community and the attendance suggests American Jews’ sense of comfort and security in the U.S. The participants, the themes that are chosen, and the dynamics of the parade itself reflect how American Jews relate to Israel and to themselves.

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GPL … MIDDLE EAST UPDATES FROM .. JUNE 2 …. NO 115

HIZBULLAH RETURNS IDF BODY PARTS: ISRAEL FREES SPY: by Hana Levi Julian
Israel released convicted Hizbullah spy Nissim Nasser on Sunday morning June 1 - and in return, received a box allegedly containing body parts of Israeli soldiers. “We today are handing over some of the remains of a number of Israeli soldiers who were killed in the July war and who the Israeli army left in Lebanon,” said the Hizbullah spokesman, upon Nasser’s arrival.

884 HOUSING UNITS TO BE BUILT IN JERUSALEM: RICE UNHAPPY: by Gil Ronen
Construction and Housing Minister Ze’ev Boim is scheduled to announce Sunday the publication of new tenders for construction in greater Jerusalem, in advance of the 41st Jerusalem Day, which will be celebrated Monday. The tenders have already been approved by the government. They include 121 housing units at Har Homa in southern Jerusalem and 763 units in five different parts of Pisgat Ze’ev, the city’s northern neighborhood. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is in Amman, Jordan, called for the building to cease. In a joint press conference with PA-Fatah head Mahmoud Abbas, she said: “We continue to support the American position that the construction in the settlements must stop. Their enlargement, which does not conform with the Road Map obligations, must be halted.”

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GPL … MIDDLE EAST UPDATES FROM .. MAY 27…. NO 114

ISRAEL ECONOMY LEAPS, DOLLAR PLUNGES: by Hillel Fendel
Israel’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by an annualized 5.4% in the first quarter, as the dollar continues to fall against the shekel, which is now an internationally recognized currency. The Central Bureau of Statistics further reported this week that business product rose by 6.1% in the first quarter of this year. Meanwhile, as of this week, the Israeli shekel has become legal tender internationally, now that Israel has been made an official member of the international CLS (continuous linked settlement) clearing system. Israeli shekels can now be used in trading on markets overseas, banks the world over can convert shekels into other currencies, and Israeli companies and firms can settle payments in shekels either by check or bank transfer to their customers’ overseas accounts.

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GPL … MIDDLE EAST UPDATES FROM .. MAY 21…. NO 113

GOVERNMENT MINISTER: ISRAEL IS NEGOTIATING WITH HAMAS: by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz
Israel is holding direct negotiations with Hamas, despite a government policy prohibiting such talks, Vice Prime Minister Chaim Ramon said Monday May 19. Ramon expressed frustration at the government’s contacts with Hamas and said he hoped that the decision to eliminate the terrorist entity would soon be made. Opposition Likud leader Netanyahu cited five reasons that Mr Olmert should step down, including failures in the Second Lebanon War, ongoing rocket attacks on Israel, failures in the economy and education and a lack of faith by the public in the government institutions. He added that several ongoing criminal probes against the Prime Minister are additional reasons for Olmert to resign. Netanyahu also called on the Shas Party to leave the government.

SOLDIERS KILL SUICIDE BOMBER AT SAMARIA CHECKPOINT: by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz
Alert IDF soldiers at a Samaria checkpoint on Monday night May 19 shot and killed a 20-year-old Arab man who had explosives strapped to his body. Nineteen-year-old Corporal Michal Ya’akov is credited with raising the initial alarm. At around 8:00 pm, she ordered the Palestinian Authority resident to pass through the metal detector at the checkpoint, which sounded a beep signaling that a further search was necessary. She told him to raise his shirt, exposing several explosive devices strapped to his body in a bomb vest. The man refused orders to lie down and began to lower his arms, apparently to set off the bombs. A commander at the checkpoint then shot and killed the terrorist before he could take any further action.

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GPL … MIDDLE EAST UPDATES FROM .. MAY 15…. NO 112

GRAD ROCKET WOUNDS SCORES IN ASHKELON MALL:
‘Bush visit will not prevent Israeli response’
Just as visiting US President George W. Bush gathered with top Israeli leaders in Jerusalem on Wednesday May 7 to pay tribute on the nation’s 60th Anniversary, a medium-range Grad rocket, launched from the former Gaza Jewish fishing village of Dugit, slammed into a crowded shopping mall in Ashkelon, wounding 15 people and burying dozens under piles of rubble. As opposed to the Kassam, whose warhead contains 16 pounds of explosives, the Iranian Grad’s warhead contains 44 pounds of explosives, which enabled it to penetrate the mall’s thick walls and cement ceiling.

OLMERT MAY FACE SECOND BRIBERY CASE:
Ties to two more US businessmen being probed
Former Israeli chief criminal investigator Commander Moshe Mizrahi has revealed that new evidence obtained by police will implicate Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in a second bribery case besides the recently uncovered Talansky affair.

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GPL … MIDDLE EAST UPDATES FROM .. MAY 11…. NO 111

PM OLMERT SUSPECTED OF ACCEPTING CASH BRIBES: by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is under police investigation for accepting cash bribes from wealthy cronies, including a well-known American businessman. The details of the suspicions against the Prime Minister were released Thursday night May 8 when a Tel Aviv District Court partially lifted a gag order on details of the case.

BARAK AIDES: OLMERT’S EXIT IS A MATTER OF TIME-THEN WHAT? : by Hana Levi Julian
Cabinet ministers and coalition partners are hurrying to get their ducks in line as the storm clouds gather in the latest investigation against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.. “Barak has little doubt that Olmert is on his way out, but the question is: Elections now, or later?” the source told Reuters. If Labor, the second largest party in the coalition, pulls out of the government and forces new elections, Likud Party chairman Binyamin Netanyahu is likely to lead his party to a victory. Such a scenario would likely mean a nationalist/religious coalition, leaving Labor out of the government.

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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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