Sunday, June 20, 2010

Another Storm Coming

The American Thinker has another article describing the dire situation Israel is facing:

"Israel's Crisis At Sea -- Another Storm Coming"

The Israeli government has stepped up its efforts to warn international activists not to board ships sailing from Iran or Lebanon, claiming it will endanger their lives, as Israel's navy forces plan to stop the ships in international waters before they reach Gaza.

This guerrilla war at sea is a ploy to use "humanitarian" terrorism as a way of changing the political climate in the Middle East, influencing public opinion by trapping Israel in a diplomatic quagmire. It distracts from major issues such as stopping Iran's nuclear capabilities and trying to weaken Iran's goal of regional hegemony.

The current axis of state-sponsored terrorism (Iran-Syria-Lebanon-Gaza) that has been a major concern for Israel has now expanded to include Turkey.

Turkey is currently in a strategic partnership with Iran, intent on strengthening Iran's proxy, Hamas. Turkey would like to overshadow Egypt's mediation efforts to reconcile Fatah and Hamas in order to unite Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. If these two groups unite, they will be a political force to contend with, and they will put greater pressure on the international community to lift the Gaza blockade. The leverage Israel has over Hamas would evaporate, and the possible release of Israel's POW, Gilad Shalit, would diminish.

With the recent opening of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza, which now allows Hamas militants to cross freely back and forth, it's expected that there will be an increase in terror coordination between Hamas and its parent organization, the Moslem Brotherhood. This could cause greater instability within the Egyptian government. A weakening of Egypt's moderates could pave the way for increased terrorist infiltration into Israel through the porous Sinai border.


So that sets the stage. Hamas, who is sworn to destroy Israel, now seems to have found a way to receive infusions of money and arms, all under the premise of "humanitarian aid". What a brilliant plan. And world leaders follow blindly:

Meanwhile, members of the Obama administration have recently hinted at future dialogue with Hamas, and Hamas has hinted at back-channel discussions already taking place with the U.S. European and Russian diplomats have been talking to Hamas, and the perception is that while nothing has changed in terms of the Hamas doctrine towards Israel, the international community has changed in that there is more willingness to negotiate directly with the terrorist organization.

Hamas wants its Islamic allies to have free access to Gaza's sea port in order to help arm its government with long-range Iranian missiles and other weapons. The kinds of arms that can be brought in by sea are much greater than those that can be smuggled in by land. Egypt is building an underground wall with plans to close the tunnels. This means less opportunity for Hamas to receive weapons by land, and it makes the opening of the Gaza sea port an important strategic goal for them.

Hamas will continue to use humanitarian aid organizations to try to break the Gaza blockade, while the international community debates how much pressure to put on Israel to lift the blockade and open the sea port. There is some acknowledgment on the part of western diplomats that they are playing into the hands of Hamas.


If that isn't bad enough, now we see the EU emerging as a "Key Player". That is interesting, because ultimately, a key figure (otherwise known as the antichrist) will emerge and "confirm" a peace plan between Israel and her surrounding enemies. I have always felt that the word "confirm" has to do with sending peace-keeping forces into Israel to maintain the peace deal that is brokered. Therefore, anytime the EU (where the antichrist will come from) becomes involved in peace-keeping activities, particularly by use of troops in the region - I become interested. See this:



The European Union Emerges as a Key Player

The EU has been debating what to do about the flotilla crisis. Activists from at least twelve European nations were on the recent flotilla, so parliament members have a vested interest in calming tensions. Europe could now play a pivotal role in the Middle East in trying to ease the blockade by calling for EU monitors to be stationed at Israeli and Egyptian border crossings into Gaza.

The EU has also talked about a plan to use European monitoring forces at sea in an effort to investigate cargo ships before they come into the area of the Gaza sea port. Israel is opposed to this effort, claiming that international naval monitoring forces did not prevent the smuggling of arms to Hizbullah after the Second Lebanon War. So why should Israel now trust the effectiveness of such forces to inspect cargo ships in Cyprus or anywhere else before reaching Gaza?


The vice continues to tighten around Israel and the "international community" continues to pressure Israel into creating conditions favorable to their enemies. Hezbollah, in the north is already armed to the teeth - with a continual flow of arms coming via Syria, Iran and Russia. Now Hamas wants more weapons - in addition to the missiles that they already have. All for the purpose of destroying Israel.

Fortunately, God has a different plan. A plan that will be revealed at God's perfect time. God is in complete control over this situation and it is unfolding exactly according to plan. We - the Church are not to have a spirit of fear. We are told that when these things "begin to take place", "stand up and lift your heads because your redemption is drawing near".

Our fate is different from the rest of the world. We'll be going home soon. Very soon.

Maranatha!

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