ESCALATION: Violence Increasing in Israel

Things are deteriorating rapidly in the Middle East:

"Israel Under Massive Attack"

At least 10 explosions rocked the south from the western Negev to an area between the port cities of Ashkelon and Ashdod. A major electricity generating station and oil and gas pipelines are located in Ashkelon. Ashdod is home to dozens of oil refineries.

Israeli Air Force bombed targets in Gaza Wednesday, killing at least one terrorist after a massive missile and mortar barrage on southern Israel Wednesday morning.

The IDF aerial attack came hours before Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at his official residence in Jerusalem.

This comes in the face of (once again) failing "peace talks":

The PA reportedly has so far rejected American proposals for a compromise and has rejected Prime MInister Netanyahu's demand to recognize that Israel is a Jewish state..

"War on Peace: Rocket Attack Near Ashdod"

Terrorists in Hamas-controlled Gaza escalated rocket fire Wednesday morning and fired what apparently was a Grad missile that flew over Ashkelon and exploded near Ashdod

A Kassam rocket and at least three more mortars exploded in the Eshkol region south of Ashkelon in the second round of attacks in several hours, bringing to 10 the total number of rocket and mortar fire

The attacks have brought back the era of trauma and anger that reigned over southern Israel two years ago, shortly before Israel launched the Operation Cast Lead campaign against the terrorist infrastructure in Hamas-controlled Gaza.

Several southern Israel leaders called on the government to allow the IDF to return to Gaza and silence the terrorists. However, the attacks apparently are timed to coincide with the Palestinian Authority-Israeli talks for the creation of a new country on the land of Judea, Samaria and Gaza to be headed by the PA, led by Hamas' rival Fatah party.

To make matters even worse, we see the following:

"IDF confirms Gaza militants fired phosphorous bombs at Israel"

Two of the nine mortar shells fired from the Gaza Strip at southern Israel on Tuesday were actually phosphorous bombs, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed.

Militants in the coastal territory also fired two Qassam rockets into Israel, yielding an Israel Air Force strike in response that led to the death of one Palestinian working in a smuggling tunnel on the border with Egypt.

There was also a fear of renewed violence across the border in Jordan, with the U.S. embassy in the country warning of a high chance of terror attacks in the Red Sea city of Aqaba over the coming 48 hours.

That last quote is detailed in the following article:

"US Issues Travel Warning to Aqaba"

In a strong and unusual warning, the US Embassy in Amman, Jordan warned on Wednesday against travel to Aqaba, citing “credible information” that has been received about a possible imminent threat in the region.

Aqaba, located in the south of Jordan, is its only seaport. It is a major tourist attraction in Jordan due to its beach resorts and luxury hotels. Tourists typically go to Aqaba to take part in watersport activities such as windsurfing and scuba diving.

The US Embassy warned US citizens to avoid the downtown and port areas of the city of Aqaba, and recommended that all non-official and personal travel to Aqaba be deferred for at least 48 hours. No details about the nature of the imminent threat in the area were given.

All of the above articles could be summarized below:

"No Deal"

A mortar attack by Palestinian militants and airstrikes by Israel formed the grim backdrop as Mideast leaders ended their latest round of peace talks Wednesday, still divided on major issues. There was no word on when they would meet again.

Militants opposed to any deal with Israel have threatened to derail the negotiations, and the Israeli military said eight mortars and one rocket hit Israel Wednesday -- the highest daily total since March 2009

Israeli warplanes responded by bombing a smuggling tunnel along the Gaza-Egypt border, the military said. Hamas officials said one person was killed and four wounded.

Based on everything we have seen over the past several weeks, it would seem that the focus of the so-called "peace talks" would be around the issue of terrorist related violence and how to curb it, as this increasing violence is targeted at ending the peace talks.

But that isn't the case. In a scenario which is both bizarre and surreal, the focus shifts to Israel instead:

But the most immediate obstacle is the approaching expiration of a 10-month Israeli government curb on construction of housing in areas that the Palestinians expect will form the bulk of their sovereign state.

Huh? No concerns about increasing, daily rocket attacks into Israel?

The stated "crisis" is not about missiles being launched into Israeli civilian regions. Nope. The "crisis" is defined below:

But the leaders face a looming crisis with the expiration this month of Israel's partial moratorium on West Bank settlement construction, and it was not clear when they would reconvene.

But the most immediate obstacle is the approaching expiration of a 10-month Israeli government curb on construction of housing in areas that the Palestinians expect will form the bulk of their sovereign state.

Achieving at least a tacit understanding on West Bank settlements that allows the peace talks to continue is crucial for the Obama administration, which has made an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians a foreign policy priority.

So the crisis isn't the daily rocket attacks, but the crisis is that Israel hasn't given up enough land.

Have I somehow entered a parallel universe? A universe in which everything is upside-down? Where wrong is right and right is wrong? A universe in which NOTHING makes ANY sense? Apparently so. It gets even better:

Mitchell made no mention of the mortar shells fired into Israel by Palestinian militants in Gaza or of Israel's retaliatory air strike on Gaza -- violence that erupted just as the leaders were sitting down for a second day of talks. Clinton and the two leaders had met on Tuesday in Egypt to begin their first substantive negotiations in nearly two years.

Nope. Nothing to see here. What is the problem? So missiles enter Israeli civilian regions every day - forcing parents to fear simple acts such as taking their children to school every morning - or simply running errands in the afternoon - under the constant threat of having a face-to-face meeting with an explosion from an incoming missile. No problem. The problem is that Israel hasn't given away (more) land. OK. I get it -after all we are living in the bizarro-parallel universe.

The sad thing is - if only these "leaders" would read the Bible. They would understand that the "peace deal" will only come with the antichrist when he confirms the covenant of Daniel 9:27. Until then, these efforts will be a complete waste of time.

Meanwhile, we continue to live in bizarro land. And it will continue to be more and more bizarre as the Tribulation approaches.