The following articles are compiled by:

Rick Allinson

Rick@WatchmenWatching.com

 

 

 

Christian Split in Lebanon Raises Specter of Civil War
Source: NYTimes  

05 October 2007 – With the Islamist group Hezbollah having brought Lebanese politics to a standstill, the country’s once-dominant Christian community feels under siege and has begun re-establishing militias, training in the hills and stockpiling weapons.

Many Lebanese say another civil war — like the 15-year one that started in 1975 — is imminent and that the most dangerous flash points are within the divided Christian community.

Christian youth are signing up for militant factions in the greatest numbers since the end of the civil war, spray painting nationalist symbols on walls and tattooing them on their skin, and proclaiming their willingness to fight in a new civil war — in particular, against fellow Christians.

…

The struggle is over who gets to be the next president, a post reserved for a Christian under Lebanon’s Constitution, and which must be filled by the end of November. But the larger question — one that is prompting rival Christian factions to threaten war — is whether Lebanese Christians must accept their minority status and get along with the Muslim majority (the choice of the popular Gen. Michel Aoun) or whether Christians should insist on special privileges no matter what their share of the population (the position of veteran civil war factions like the Phalange and the Lebanese Forces).

…

On the other side of the Christian divide, followers of General Aoun and Suleiman Franjieh — two Christian groups allied with Hezbollah and considered pro-Syrian — have stepped up their “youth summer camp” programs, a combination of hiking and political indoctrination. They have joined Hezbollah’s marches and occupation of downtown Beirut, and, according to the government, have engaged in militia training in Hezbollah camps.  

Comments:  Lebanon is once again on the verge of civil war and November is looking to be the critical flash point in time. In the last civil war, it is estimated that more than 100,000 people were killed, and another 100,000 handicapped by injuries. Approximately 900,000 people, representing one-fifth of the pre-war population, were displaced from their homes. The country made progress toward rebuilding its political institutions and regaining its national sovereignty after the end of the war, establishing a political system that gives Muslims a greater voice in the political process but that may not be good enough since the Muslims are now the majority.

 The guns have fallen silent from the last conflict but emotions have yet to reconcile and hatreds have yet to be removed. All it would take to kick start another civil war in Lebanon is a well placed car bomb or something similar. Keep an eye on… who will be the next president will be in November? The wrong president could have disastrous consequences.

Note: Christian groups allied with Hezbollah and who is pro Syrian should tell us something about their theology.  

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PA team says pre-summit document to anchor final settlement
Source: Haaretz  

07 October2007 – The joint document Israel and the Palestinians are negotiating will be the basis for the final settlement between the two sides, Ahmed Qureia, head of the Palestinian team, said yesterday in an interview.

Speaking to the Arab and Palestinian media, Qureia said that unless the document is ready by the scheduled date of the summit in Annapolis, Maryland, the Palestinians will have to reconsider whether they will attend. The summit is expected to take place in late November.

Qureia, who has served as prime minister of the Palestinian Authority in the past under Yasser Arafat, added that it is necessary to agree on a timetable for talks before the summit.

The chief Palestinian negotiator estimates that five to six months will be necessary to complete final negotiations, if they are done "seriously."

Qureia stressed that the basic points of an agreement are clear to both sides and that the task now is to formulate these in a clear document that leaves no ambiguities.

"If the document is drafted with ambiguities, it is not necessary. Every discussion must include the Gaza Strip and Jerusalem," he said, referring to the future status of Gaza and the possibility that Israel may try to delay negotiations over the future of Jerusalem.  

 

Comments:  Update; once this document comes out in November, (unless they don’t make it to the table in November), it does look like a document of some sort will be unveiled and then it should give us a good indication of what has been agreed on. Here is the interesting part; today, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert informed cabinet ministers Sunday that he has the authority to reach a joint declaration with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas without the approval of the Knesset, which begins its winter session on Monday. So whatever is agreed in this document it looks like Olmert is going to go at it alone and decide what Israel’s best interests are without approval. Olmert may be preparing to give significant parts of Israel away and right now there is no one that can stop the initial process. November looks like it is going to be an interesting month.

 

There is one scripture that comes to mind with this situation Israel is now in.

 

 

Isa 28:14 ¶ Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.

 15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:  

 

 

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Keep watching (Matt 24:42)!

 

Until next time,

Shalom!

 

 

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