The EU, the US and Israel: Deception vs. the Truth

Most of the pressure being applied to Israel in terms of their giving up more land, and more concessions in the so-called "peace process" is coming from the US and the EU. Over the past few days there have been a lot of public complaints regarding Israeli building in East Jerusalem, and as usual, these complaints are based on lies and distortions.

Netanyahu, Obama squabble over Jewish apartments

Tensions between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the administration of US President Barack Obama appear to be ratcheting up again this week as Washington leads international criticism of plans to build some new apartments in a Jewish neighborhood in Jerusalem.

On Monday, Israeli planning authorities approved the construction of 1,300 new apartments in the Jerusalem neighborhoods of Har Homa and Ramot, where tens of thousands of Jews already live.

The Palestinian Authority predictably decried the approval, and demanded the international community respond. Obama did not hesitate to answer that call, telling a press conference in Jakarta, Indonesia that “this kind of activity is never helpful when it comes to peace negotiations.”

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton also added her voice saying that Europe was “extremely concerned” about the new Jewish homes, and insisting that “the decision should be reversed.”

More on the EU and their response below. Lets see how PM Netanyahu responded to the U.S. administration:

Netanyahu blasted Israel’s critics for making a mountain out of a molehill, for grossly exaggerating the issue.

“You are talking about a handful of apartments that really don’t affect the map at all contrary to impressions that might be perceived from certain news reports. So it’s a minor issue that might be turned to a major issue,” Netanyahu said in an interview with Fox News.

Netanyahu’s office responded by issuing a statement reminding the US and Europe that “Jerusalem is not a settlement; Jerusalem is the capital of the State of Israel.”

The Prime Minister’s Office reiterated that “Israel has never accepted upon itself restrictions of any kind on construction in Jerusalem… Israel sees no connection between the diplomatic process and planning and building policy in Jerusalem, which has not changed in 40 years.”

And of course, this situation gives yet another opportunity to call for the following (again):

As evidence that the new US and European position is harmful, Palestinian leaders played off the criticism by Obama and Ashton by demanding that the international community immediately recognize a unilateral Palestinian declaration of independence.

“Israeli unilateralism is a call for immediate international recognition of the Palestinian state,” chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Reuters.

The American Thinker weighs in with a typically interesting commentary on this situation:

Obama, State Dept., EU, media concoct phony tempest in a Jerusalem teacup

Haaretz and other Israeli left-wing media concocted an anti-Israel gotacha piece a few days ago when they discovered that authorities were soliciting public comments on previously announced plans for construction of some 1,300 housing units in Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem.

Planning for this additional housing has been public knowledge for a long time and it may take several more years before any construction actually gets under way.

But this didn't matter to correspondents of the New York Times and the Washington Post, which saw an opening to portray Israel as hampering efforts to resume direct negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. And, predictably, President Obama, the State Department and the European Union also let fly with condemnations of Israel -- without even first checking with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu for some clarification.

Now for some hard F-A-C-T-S (as contrasted with highly inaccurate rhetoric):

What is utterly ludicrous about this concocted tempest in a Jerusalem teacup is that the bulk of the new apartment units are to go up in Har Homa, a Jewish neighborhood of some 12,000 residents in southeast Jerusalem.

The entire existing Harm Homa neighborhood was built on Jewish-owned land and plans for additional housing units also are confined to this part of Har Homa. None of this appeared in media reports or in the criticism leveled by Obama, the State Department and the European Union.

Nor did they bother to point out that, under any realistic scenario for a two-state solution, even with a division of Jerusalem, Har Homa will remain on the Israeli side

With typical historical amnesia, these Israel-bashers also failed to point out that, during Israel's War of Independence, Jordanian forces attempting to eliminate the Jewish state used Har Homa as a vantage point from which to fire on the Old City of Jerusalem and other neighborhoods of the city.

So never mind that Har Homa has been on Jewish owned land from well before Jordan illegally occupied it in 1948, in clear violation of the 1947 UN two-state partition plan.

All that history is brushed aside. What matters to the Times and the Post -- as well as to Obama, the State Department and the Europeans -- is their own brand of historical revisionism that ignores all Jewish ties and claims to Jerusalem for several thousands of years before the Six-Day War of 1967.

But when there is an opportunity to bash Israel, the "international community" and the MSM reflexly embellish, confuse, distort and often outright lie - in order to make their case portraying Israel as the enemy to peace.

And this effort typically completely ignores facts that we find in the following article:

Palestinians: Peace process should erase Israel

Isn't it interesting that information like this goes completely ignored, while ginned up, false accusations against Israeli building projects receive so much attention?

The Palestinians have conducted another public opinion poll that shows the same results as those before it, that most Palestinians support the peace process, but only if it ultimately results in Israel’s eradication.

Conducted by Arab World for Research and Development, the poll again showed that a large majority of Palestinians (66.5 percent) support peace negotiations, and an even larger number (73.8 percent) even want direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian leadership to resume.

As usual, that is where left-wing Israeli and international media outlets stopped reporting.

The next quote deserves its own headline and bolded and always always remembered:

The rest of the poll reveals that while most Palestinians are in favor of a diplomatic process with Israel, like their leaders, they view it as a strategy for defeating the Jewish state in the absence of a viable military option.

Asked if the Palestinians should compromise on red-line issues like the demand to flood Israel with millions of so-called “Palestinian refugee,” control of Jerusalem or final borders, an overwhelming 85.2 percent said there should be no compromises for peace.

Its worth repeating again:

"MOST PALESTINIANS...LIKE THEIR LEADERS, THEY VIEW IT AS A STRATEGY FOR DEFEATING THE JEWISH STATE IN THE ABSENCE OF A VIABLE MILITARY OPTION"

This isn't the opinion of an author or a group of authors writing on Israel's behalf - its POLLING DATA giving the information. There is more:

Over 83 percent said that replacing Israel with a Palestinian Arab state from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea is either “desirable” or “essential.”

The feelings of the Palestinian general public and the fact that they are evidence the Palestinian leadership has not educated its people for peace will, of course, be ignored by international peace brokers like the US and European Union.

Of course these facts and data will be completely ignored by the media and politicians alike.

But lets not fool ourselves. The end game, at least through the eyes of "Palestinians" is not peace, but the destruction of Israel, and the so-called "peace talks" are simply a convenient manner in which to accomplish this goal.

Perhaps more ominous in this whole situation, is the covert pressure which is coming from the EU, and as usual, we are highly interested in the role of the new Roman Empire in this process:

Report: EU leaders pushing U.S. away from Israel 'and closer to the Arabs'

U.S. policy toward Israel has been increasingly influenced by the hostility of the European Union, a report said.

A report by a leading analyst said the EU has become the most influential lobby in the United States regarding Israel. Steven Rosen, a director at the Middle East Forum, said EU leaders were pushing Washington away from Israel and toward the Arab world.

"European leaders are the most effective external force urging the U.S. government to move away from Israel and closer to the Arabs," the report, titled "The Arab Lobby: The European Component," said

Rosen, a former senior lobbyist with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, said Arab countries have used Europe to pressure Washington to weaken the U.S. relationship with Israel.

The Arabs consider Europe to be the soft underbelly of the U.S. alliance with Israel and the best way to drive a wedge between the two historic allies."

The EU states were said to have been pressing Washington to engage with Hamas and Hizbullah, force Israeli concessions to the PA and oppose Jewish construction in the West Bank and most of Jerusalem.

The report said the EU has been working intensively behind the scenes to pressure Israel to establish a Palestinian state in the West Bank.

Very interesting indeed, and exactly what we would expect from the new Roman Empire as we approach the Tribulation.

It seems that all of the chips are falling into place at this late hour in prophecy watching. The Roman Empire is not only alive and well, but it is making forceful inroads into the Middle East. They are choosing sides, and it is obvious that the side they have chosen is not in alignment with Israel, but with Israel's enemies. The same enemies who want to use the "peace process" as part of the overall plan to destroy Israel.

God is watching and He will take definitive action when the time is right. He will allow this to continue for a period of time, but when those who wish for Israel's destruction finally launch their massive invasion, God will intervene and He will do so in a very big way.

How can we be so sure? Because it is a direct declaration from God, as recorded by the prophet Ezekiel:

"It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the sovereign Lord. This is the day I have spoken of." (Ezekiel 39:8).