The following articles are compiled by:

Rick Allinson

Rick@WatchmenWatching.com

 

 

 

Myriads at Western Wall Praying Against Annapolis Concessions
Source: Arutz

 

27 November 2007 – An estimated 25,000 people took part in a mass prayer service at the Western Wall against the Israeli government's positions at the Annapolis summit. The prayer service was followed by a massive protest, co-sponsored by the Council of Jewish Communities of Judea and Samaria (Yesha), near the Prime Minister's residence.  The protest is entitled, "It Will Blow Up in Our Face." At the time of the Western Wall prayer vigil, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was meeting in Washington with U.S. President George Bush in preparation for the Annapolis summit on Tuesday

The front line of religious-Zionist rabbis, led by Former Chief Rabbi of Israel Mordechai Eliyahu, called for the public to attend the Western Wall prayers.  MK Uri Ariel (National Union party), among those who initiated the prayer service, said, "It is critical for us to offer prayer to our Father in Heaven when the Prime Minister wants to sell our national homeland.  We are here [at the Wall] to say that we trust in G-d, and that Olmert has no mandate to give up Jerusalem."

Another organizer, Rafi Atiyah, told Arutz-7's Chizky Ezra, "The feeling of despair that has overtaken some of the public has not escaped the eyes of the rabbis who called for the prayer service.  But while this feeling can lead to a dead end and to a sense of helplessness, it can also be an opening for a new type of genuine and mature turn to G-d; to a taking of responsibility from a new, pure angle. It could be that out of this tiredness, we will come to the realization that it's not we who control the situation.  We sometimes think that if we act, protest, settle the Land, teach, and do all sorts of things, that everything will be OK. 

"But today, we are coming to the Western Wall with humility, awe, and serene faith.  We return the ball that has been repressed in our hearts for the past two-plus years, and that is threatening to choke us, to our Father in Heaven. We plead with Him that He will show us the way, and that we can be partners with Him in our Redemption.  We want to work with Him, to sanctify His Name."  

 

Four quick points on Israel-Palestinian joint statement  
Source: Haaretz
 

27 November 2007 – Starting tomorrow, a new political reality will make life more difficult both for Olmert and for Abbas.

 

Timing: Promising to conclude the peace negotiations within a year is the headline of this document. It is a challenge that should not be taken lightly.

Both sides remember that deadlines are not sacred in the Middle East, and were rarely met in similar occasions. Nevertheless, they will try to meet this goal, paying Bush for his vision (the Palestinians) and support (Israelis).

The timing is important for Israel specifically for another reason: This will be the year in which Bush will make his most important decision concerning Israel - whether to prevent Iran, by all means necessary, from getting a nuclear bomb.

Mechanism: We don't know exactly how the American judge will evaluate the way both sides fulfill their commitments as specified in the road map. This technical arrangement is the most important practical outcome of the document. If the Americans are hasty, motivated by the desire to see the process come to completion while Bush is still in office, Israel might regret this deal.

Core issues: They were not specified, but the core issues of Jerusalem, refugees and borders are back on the table and with them, the ability of the political opposition to the peace process to raise hell.

Remember: Some Israeli parties threatened to leave the coalition if Jerusalem is mentioned in the document. It was not - that's an achievement for Olmert, but that will be short-lived. Starting tomorrow, a new political reality will make life more difficult both for Olmert and for Abbas. Whether they can maintain their coalitions through a year of "core issue" negotiations is yet to be seen.   

 

Israel and Palestinians commit to 2008 peace treaty
Source: Reuters
 

27 November 2007 – With handshakes, leaders of the United States, Israel and the Palestinians agreed on Tuesday to launch immediate talks to secure a peace treaty by the end of 2008 that would create a Palestinian state.

President George W. Bush announced the deal at the opening of a 44-nation Middle East peace conference, with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas standing at his side.

"We're off to a strong start," Bush told delegates to the day-long conference, which included 14 Arab states -- among them Syria and Saudi Arabia -- as well as major powers Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany.

The U.S.-backed peace effort is the most intense in the seven years since the collapse of negotiations and the outbreak of Middle East violence in the twilight of Bill Clinton's presidency.

The sides must overcome deep skepticism everywhere. A treaty has eluded past U.S. leaders despite decades of trying.

Political weakness at home could hamper the leaders' ability to maneuver. Unpopular wars in Iraq and Lebanon have hurt the standing of Bush and Olmert. Abbas in June lost control of the Gaza Strip to Hamas Islamists.

In need of a boost to his legacy before leaving office in January 2009, Bush arranged for a handshake between the two leaders next to the podium where he announced the agreement to start talks immediately.

All smiles, the three leaders drew rounds of applause as they spoke to representatives gathered around a U-shaped table in a majestic hall at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, 32 miles from Washington, D.C.

The accord emerged from lengthy, last-minute talks on a joint document meant to chart the course for negotiating the toughest "final status" issues of the conflict -- Jerusalem, borders, security and the fate of Palestinian refugees.

Bush said Israel and the Palestinians would try to reach an agreement on a treaty and statehood by the end of 2008. Their representatives would hold a first session in the Middle East on December 12 and Abbas and Olmert would meet every other week.  

 

Comments: Not a whole lot of surprises in Annapolis today but even so, the Middle East peace meeting is getting lots of attention in the news. Israel and Palestinians have set a one year deadline to reach a final peace agreement and hurdle the final status issues with Jerusalem at the top of that list. Biblically speaking, it almost seems like that one year deadline is a grace period and the final warning bell if this false peace is to transpire on their time.

 

25,000 Jews were at the Western Wall today praying against the Annapolis summit because they know what is at stake in the final status issues. The main issue is Jerusalem. Remember, In Daniel Ch 9, Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people (the Jews) and upon thy holy city (Jerusalem). It is all about the Jews and Jerusalem and that core issue (Jerusalem) will be on the table starting tomorrow until a deal is reached.

 

God’s time piece is also Jerusalem and at the cities centre is a time bomb waiting to go off. That time bomb is the Temple Mount sitting on the table and once that goes off, God’s clock will start ticking to finish the transgression and to make an end of sins…

Is 2008 the year of a peace treaty?

 

Da 9:24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

 

Eze 20:34 And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out.

 35 And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face.

 36 Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD.

 37 And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant:

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Keep watching (Matt 24:42)!

 

Until next time,

Shalom!

 

 

Watchmen Watching HOME PAGE

Millennium Weekend Ministries Home Page