Monday, August 31, 2009

Solana: Israel to Agree to Freeze Before UN Meets

Curt Here...

Javier Solana is back in the picture. Not that he ever left, but according to the article posted below Solana announced that Israel has all but agreed to US demands for a "building freeze" in Judea and Samaria. Solana who is on a Middle East tour said "I believe that a final deal will be in place by September 18Th or 19Th, before the United Nations meets."

I find it very interesting that President Barack Obama appears to be the front man on this push for peace and Javier Solana appears to be working behind the scenes. If you think about it, this arrangement works quite well as President Obama clearly is the more charismatic of the two and Javier Solana clearly is much more diplomatic. It appears as if they are working very well together in their clearly defined roles. Could these two have prophetic importance together? Not sure yet, but I am watching them.

This "building freeze" deal would be implemented for at least nine months as Israel and the Palestinians work on a comprehensive peace deal. If I am doing my math right, nine months from Sept 18Th is about the middle of June 2010. Which of course is the middle of the 7 year ENP agreement between Israel and the EU.

So, after the end of nine months what happens if Israel and the Palestinians do not agree to a comprehensive peace deal, or at least do not make significant progress towards this goal? Is this time frame a coincidence? Again I am not sure yet, but I am starting to wonder.

Stay tuned as the end of September is going to be quite interesting.

Curt

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Solana: Israel to Agree to Freeze Before UN Meets

At a press conference in Jerusalem Monday, EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana hinted that the government of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was prepared to accept American dictates to halt al building in Judea and Samaria – and in fact has already agreed to do so. The "building freeze," according to security sources, would be implemented for at least nine months. Reports last week said that an unofficial building freeze has been in place for some five months already.

Speaking to reporters, Solana said that Israeli and American officials were in Washington working out an arrangement. "The details they are working on are more technical than political," he said. "I believe that a final deal will be in place by September 18th or 19th, before the United Nations meets."

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/170334

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Barack Obama on Brink of Deal for Middle East Peace Talks

Curt Here...

A deal brokered by President Barack Obama to restart Middle East Peace talks appears close to being hammered out. According to the article posted below this deal will be announced by Obama at either the UN general assembly in New York sometime around September 23 or at the next G20 summit that will be held in Pittsburgh, Pa on the 24-25Th of September.

This deal will announce the resumption of peace talks with the hope that a final peace deal can be negotiated within 2 years. This proposed deal will include from Israel a nine to twelve month moratorium on settlement building that would exclude East Jerusalem.

My take on this proposed deal is that it appears to be more of the same. More talk of peace from both the Palestinians and the Israelis as well as many world leaders acting as if they are moving the process forward. However, if the ENP (The 7 year agreement that so many of us have been watching) has prophetic implications this proposed deal will not succeed, nor will it occur on the timeline that will be announced.

My guess is that this process will fail, like so many before it and when it does the world will say enough. The idea, as suggested by Javier Solana that a Palestinian State should be created by UN mandate and peace should be forced in the Middle East, I believe is still very much in play. When this latest round of peace negotiations fail, then the fireworks start.

I could be wrong of course, but this outcome in my mind seems much more likely than all sides finally agreeing to some sort of peace agreement.

Stay Tuned

Curt

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Barack Obama is close to brokering an Israeli-Palestinian deal that will allow him to announce a resumption of the long-stalled Middle East peace talks before the end of next month, according to US, Israeli, Palestinian and European officials.

Key to bringing Israel on board is a promise by the US to adopt a much tougher line with Iran over its alleged nuclear weapons programme. The US, along with Britain and France, is planning to push the United Nations security council to expand sanctions to include Iran's oil and gas industry, a move that could cripple its economy.

In return, the Israeli government will be expected to agree to a partial freeze on the construction of settlements in the Middle East. In the words of one official close to the negotiations: "The message is: Iran is an existential threat to Israel; settlements are not."

Details of the breakthrough deal will be hammered out tomorrow in London, where the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, is due to hold talks with the US special envoy, George Mitchell. Netanyahu met Gordon Brown today in Downing Street, where the two discussed both settlements and the Iranian nuclear programme.

Although the negotiations are being held in private, they have reached such an advanced stage that both France and Russia have approached the US offering to host a peace conference.

Obama has pencilled in the announcement of his breakthrough for either a meeting of world leaders at the UN general assembly in New York in the week beginning 23 September or the G20 summit in Pittsburgh on 24-25 September.

The president, who plans to make his announcement flanked by Netanyahu and the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas – plus the leaders of as many Arab states as he can muster – hopes that a final peace agreement can be negotiated within two years, a timetable viewed as unrealistic by Middle East analysts.

Obama had hoped to unveil his plans before the start of Ramadan last weekend but failed to complete the deal with the Israelis or the Arab states in time.

As well as a tougher US approach to Iran, which the Israelis see as their top priority, the deal would see Israel offering a temporary and partial moratorium on the expansion of settlements on the West Bank in return for moves by Arab states towards normalisation of relations. This would allow Obama to announce talks on the bigger Israeli-Palestinian issues – borders, the future of Jerusalem and the future of Palestinian refugees – with the US sitting in as a mediator.

After the meeting at No 10 today, Netanyahu said he was hopeful that a compromise would be reached to allow the peace process to restart while Israeli settlers could "continue living normal lives". Brown said he emerged from the talks more optimistic about Middle East peace. He also pledged that if there were no immediate progress on the Iranian nuclear impasse, further sanctions would be "a matter of priority".

Although Netanyahu told his cabinet before leaving Israel that the deal would not be sealed in London tomorrow, he and Mitchell are now down to the fine detail.

Israel is offering a nine- to 12-month moratorium on settlement building that would exclude East Jerusalem and most of the 2,400 homes that Israel says work has already begun on.

Ian Kelly, a US state department spokesman, on Monday reflected the increasing optimism within the Obama administration, saying "we're getting closer to laying this foundation" for the resumption of talks.

Another official closely involved in the discussions said: "It has been pretty hard going but we are getting there. We are closer to a deal with the Israelis than many think. The Arabs are more difficult to pin down."

If Iran does not respond to UN demands that it stop enriching uranium by time of the UN and G20 summits, the US, Britain and France are to lead a UN security council push to expand sanctions, expected to target Iran's dependence on imports of refined petroleum products and its reliance on foreign technology to develop its oil and gas industry.

For more click the link...http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/25/barack-obama-middle-east-peace

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Report: PA State by 2011 with Temple Mount under Islam

Curt Here...

According to the article posted below the Middle East peace plan that President Obama will unveil soon will create a Palestinian state by 2011 and transfer control of the Temple Mount to Arab-Muslim sovereignty. This is according to a Saudi newspaper called Al-Ukaz, and it is clear that the exact details of this peace proposal from President Obama will leak out over time from various sources. It is very hard to tell at this point what are trial balloons and what are actual items that will make the proposal.

Having said that, this article says this agreement would place an international presence (Sounds like military to me) in the Jordon Valley and include other parts of Judea. (where have I heard that name before? Oh Yea Mathew 24:15-16.) This "presence" would monitor this agreement, and enforce an ambitious timetable for completing the peace deal and implement the various items of agreement.

Hard to say how this all going to play out, but I still have a very hard time believing Israel will willingly agree to give up complete control of the Temple Mount. Maybe a compromise is in order? Bear with me here. The scriptures say there will be a period of time (42 months) when the outer court of the temple will be given over to the nations. Here is some scripture for you to review.

Revelation 11:1-2

1. Then there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, "Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it.
2. "Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months.

Could this be the agreement that allows the nations to obtain control of the outer court and at the same time allow Israel to begin worshiping and sacrificing on their newly constructed altar? Could it really go down this way?

Stay Tuned

Curt

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Obama Plan: Temple Mount Under Arab-Muslim Sovereignty

The Middle East peace plan that United States President Barack Obama will unveil soon involves the creation of a Palestinian Authority state by 2011 and the transfer of Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem [presumably including the Temple Mount – ed.] to Arab-Muslim sovereignty, Saudi newspaper Al-Ukaz has learned.

According to the report published Sunday in Al-Ukaz, the Obama plan also includes the following elements:


Some parts of eastern Jerusalem [presumably Neveh Yaakov, Pisgat Ze'ev and the like - ed.] would be transferred to Israeli control.

There would be an international presence in the Jordan Valley and other parts of Judea and Samaria.

The Palestinian Authority terror organizations would be disbanded and turn into political parties.

The large settlement blocs in Judea and Samaria would not be dismantled.
The fate of smaller Jewish settlement areas would be decided in a three-month-long negotiation period.


A reporter for the Saudi newspaper received the information from Hassan Harisha, the Second Deputy Speaker of the Palestinian Authority Parliament. Harisha told him that the U.S. has handed over a draft of the peace proposal to the PA and other Arabs for their perusal.

The plan also calls for Judea and Samaria to be demilitarized and for its airspace to remain under Israel control. Israeli-Palestinian Authority security coordination would be strengthened, and the Palestinian Authority state would not be allowed to strike military treaties with other countries in the region...

...."As the U.N. General Assembly meets in late September, Obama aims to announce the opening of a new negotiating process between Israelis and Palestinians, along with 'confidence-building' steps by Israel, the Palestinian Authority and a number of Arab governments," the columnist wrote. Obama "will probably lay out at least a partial vision of the two-state settlement that all sides now say they support, and the course that negotiations should take. More significantly, he intends to set an ambitious timetable for completing the peace deal -- something that will please Arabs but may irritate Israel."

For the rest click the link..
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/133050

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Calm Before the Storm?

Curt Here...

According to the article posted below all signals seem to indicate that the US will present a new Middle East peace plan to the UN Security Council within weeks. This plan also appears that it will include some sort of time frame for implementation.

It goes on to state how important it is for Israel to coordinate this plan with the US prior to the presentation to the UN. Since the US seems to no longer have Israel's back unconditionally, it is very important to Israel that what is presented to the UN is something Israel can live with. My guess is that Israel will not like the plan that is presented, nor agree to it, and it will be very interesting to see how the International community responds to this reality.

In the meantime there all kinds of catastrophic financial rumors floating around for later this fall. From a major stock market crash to the death of the Dollar and just about everything in between. There are no articles that I will post on this blog as I am not interested in scaring everyone for no good reason (I am also not a financial expert), but if you are looking and feel led, these articles are not hard to find.

There has also been many large earthquakes around the world in the last couple of weeks and the debate over health care here in the US has been very testy. The Jews are building the sacrificial altar and the border between Israel and Lebanon has been tense to say the least.

Right now though, from a prophetic perspective we appear to be in a little bit of a lull. That is the reason I have not felt led to update this blog recently. Having said all of that I have a feeling that in a few weeks there is going to be plenty to talk about. So we watch and wait together as the storm approaches.

Stay Tuned

Curt

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Israel must prepare for U.S. peace initiative

All signals indicate that within weeks, the United States will present a political initiative that may, for the first time in many years, include a plan for a Palestinian-Israeli agreement - or at least some American mediation proposals on the conflict's core issues. A responsible government must prepare well for this development. It could turn out to be an important opportunity for Israel, but it could also contain many serious risks.

Israeli governments have always recognized the supreme importance of coordinating positions with the United States. After Anwar Sadat visited Jerusalem, Menachem Begin dictated an autonomy plan to his secretary, but before presenting it to the government or the public he flew to Washington and showed it to then-president Jimmy Carter. Begin's plan, which he coordinated with Carter, was the basis for the Camp David Accords.

The presentation of an American plan, even an outline, that has not been coordinated with Israel and does not correspond to its vital interests would be catastrophic. Such a plan would quickly become a UN Security Council resolution that would pass unanimously and put Israel in an intolerable position. It's true that such a scenario is not without a precedent, but 2009 is not 1969 (the Rogers Plan) or 1982 (the Reagan Plan). If no other choice is left, Israel would fight a plan it could not live with, but everything must be done to avoid getting into such a situation in the first place.

Coordinating positions with the United States is the most urgent task for the government and the prime minister. This can be achieved if the government presents realistic and reasonable positions that can be defended. The most vital issue at this point is that of borders, which includes the settlement issue as well. It's hard to believe that it would be possible to achieve an agreement on Jerusalem or the Palestinian refugees at the earliest stage. Some observers talk about a Palestinian state with temporary borders. Israel's interest lies in a Palestinian state with temporary characteristics of sovereignty, but with permanent borders. Agreeing to permanent borders will force the Palestinians to cross the psychological Rubicon once and for all, and would give Israel borders recognized and accepted by the entire world. Such an agreement would end talk of occupation and attempts to delegitimize Israel.

For more click the link...
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1107744.html

Friday, August 7, 2009

US Will Set Timetable for Peace

Curt Here...

According to the article posted below the US administration will demand that Israel and the Palestinians address the issue of borders as a first step in the the Middle East peace process. This will be part of a new Middle East peace plan that the US will present to the UN General Assembly in September.

The US is planning on setting a timetable of a year and a half for the boarder negotiations to be completed with the hope that the rest of the major issues will be resolved later.

This is an interesting development and I am not really sure how this going to play out but, here are a couple of my observations. First off, I suspect that Israel will have a very hard time agreeing to give up any part of the city of Jerusalem. Prime Minister Netanyahu has repeatedly stated that all of Jerusalem will remain in control of the Nation of Israel. The Palestinians in past negotiations have demanded that part of Jerusalem should be the capital of a future State of Palestine. Why would this impasse suddenly change?

Second, I don't think it is a coincidence that the US is going to present this plan to the UN General Assembly. This of course takes us back to a previous blog entry (http://the70thweek.blogspot.com/2009/07/eus-solana-calls-for-un-to-recognise.html ) where Javier Solana stated that "After a fixed deadline, a U.N. Security Council resolution should proclaim the adoption of the two-state solution." This could be the fixed deadline that Javier Solana wanted (not sure yet about the year and half timeframe?). By the US using the UN as the place to present this plan, it later allows for the UN (by UN mandate) to force a two state solution on the nation of Israel after it refuses to comply with this "new" US peace proposal.

In my mind, Israel is getting set up.

Stay Tuned.

Curt

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PA officials: U.S. wants borders to top peace talks

BETHLEHEM - The U.S. administration will demand that Israel and the Palestinians address the issue of borders as the first step in the Middle East peace plan, senior Palestinian officials said Thursday.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Wednesday that Washington will present its new plan for a comprehensive Middle East peace soon.

The Americans will also outline proposals for an Israeli peace with Syria and Lebanon, the Palestinian officials said Thursday. The American plan will not specify step-by-step actions for an Israeli-Palestinian solution, but will address final status issues - borders, Jerusalem and refugees.

The Americans will set a timetable of about a year and a half for the negotiations and demand the sides first solve the border issue, under the belief that this will lead to solutions for other issues, such as the settlements and water. After that the sides will discuss the other fundamental issues - Jerusalem and the refugees.

The negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians probably will be conducted in the presence of American officials, the sources said. The American administration is likely to present its plan before or during the UN General Assembly set for September.

Saeb Erekat, head of the PLO's negotiating team, denied knowledge of the plan.

Erekat said that George Mitchell, the special White House envoy to the Middle East, said in recent meetings that the administration needs several more rounds of talks to draft a peace plan.

Mitchell is supposed to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again within the next two weeks.

During this period the Americans hope to reach understandings about the settlements, which would enable talks to resume.

PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas is refusing to resume talks before Israel halts construction in the settlements. However, once Washington reaches understandings with Israel to suspend construction, Abbas would not be able to maintain his refusal, the Palestinian officials said.

For more click the link...http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1105907.html