In the news...

There were a couple interesting news stories percolating today, both of which could have future ramifications:

"Palestinian kills 4 Israelis on eve of peace talks"

Palestinian gunmen opened fire Tuesday on an Israeli car in the West Bank and killed four passengers on the eve of a new round of Mideast peace talks in Washington. The Islamic militant group Hamas claimed responsibility.

Assailants firing from a passing car riddled the vehicle with bullets as it traveled near Hebron — a volatile city that has been a flash point of violence in the past. Some 500 ultranationalist Jewish settlers live in heavily fortified enclaves in the city amid more than 100,000 Palestinians.

One of the victims was pregnant, said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld. Israel's national rescue service said the victims were two men and two women, and Israeli media said everyone in the car was killed.

About 3,000 people joined a rally in Gaza to celebrate the attack. Hamas military wing spokesman Abu Obeida was among them and told The Associated Press: "The Qassam Brigades announces its full responsibility for the heroic operation in Hebron."

This typifies the violence that always ensues during the process of peace talks and this is only the beginning of the inevitable cycle of violence:

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak promised a tough response to an attack he said was aimed at sabotaging the talks.

"Israel will not allow terrorists to raise their heads and will exact a price from the murderers and those who send them," he said in a statement.

There is widespread opposition to the resumption of the peace talks among Palestinians. Hamas opposes any contact with Israel and has harshly criticized Abbas for agreeing to resume the negotiations.

Opposition to resuming talks is also coming from within the Palestine Liberation Organization, an umbrella group headed by Abbas. Some Fatah activists threaten to try to depose him if he makes concessions, and several hard-line PLO groups plan a demonstration in the West Bank administrative capital of Ramallah on Wednesday to protest resumption of negotiations.

Within hours we see the following Israeli response:

"Barak vows to 'extract price' for deadly West Bank shooting attack"

Defense Minister Ehud Barak vowed on Tuesday that Israel would "exact a price" from those who shot dead four Israeli civilians in the West Bank.

Settler leaders and rightist Knesset members earlier Tuesday condemned the shooting attack, with some calling for Netanyahu to freeze peace talks with the Palestinians and focus instead on the security of Israel's citizens.

"Now it is clear that the most violent periods take place when there is a political process," said MK Uri Ariel (National Union). "Netanyahu must freeze talks and focus on ensuring peace for Israel's citizens."

Tzviki Bar Hai, the regional council head in Kiryat Arba, said the incident "provides food for thought about the will of our neighbors to co-exist. Every time we start talking, they respond with war."

MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union) said that the attack raises concern about whether Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinian security services can control militants in the West Bank.

Past experience indicates that the violence will continue throughout any process of attempted peace. I believe that part of the process of confirming the covenant of Daniel 9, will be the delegation of peace keeping troops into the region in order to keep the peace. Nothing else has ever worked. In that potential scenario, the antichrist would be directly or indirectly in charge of such troops. But that is just some speculation at this point.

In other news, there are more and more stories coming out about these massive solar storms predicted for 2012. It is getting hard to ignore. Here is one such article:

"Massive solar storm to hit Earth in 2012"

Astronomers are predicting that a massive solar storm, much bigger in potential than the one that caused spectacular light shows on Earth earlier this month, is to strike our planet in 2012 with a force of 100 million hydrogen bombs.

Several US media outlets have reported that NASA was warning the massive flare this month was just a precursor to a massive solar storm building that had the potential to wipe out the entire planet's power grid.

Similar storms back in 1859 and 1921 caused worldwide chaos, wiping out telegraph wires on a massive scale. The 2012 storm has the potential to be even more disruptive.

"The general consensus among general astronomers (and certainly solar astronomers) is that this coming Solar maximum (2012 but possibly later into 2013) will be the most violent in 100 years," News.com.au quoted astronomy lecturer and columnist Dave Reneke as saying.

"A bold statement and one taken seriously by those it will affect most, namely airline companies, communications companies and anyone working with modern GPS systems.

The reason for the concern comes as the sun enters a phase known as Solar Cycle 24.

Most experts agree, although those who put the date of Solar Max in 2012 are getting the most press.

"We know it is coming but we don't know how bad it is going to be," Fisher told Reneke.

"Systems will just not work. The flares change the magnetic field on the Earth and it's rapid, just like a lightning bolt. That's the solar effect," he added.

The findings are published in the most recent issue of Australasian Science.

This is interesting because it sounds like the kind of catastrophic event which will occur during the Tribulation. Food for thought anyway.