The EU in the Middle East: Update

This article (linked below) is very very interesting for several reasons.

First, to the article:

Former EU leaders challenge Ashton on Israel

A large group of former EU leaders and commissioners, including Catherine Ashton's predecessor Javier Solana, has urged the Union to take sanctions against Israel on settlements.

The group in a letter to EU capitals and the leaders of the EU institutions on 6 December seen by EUobserver says that Israel "like any other state" should be made to feel "the consequences" and face "a price tag" for breaking international law by building thousands of new Jewish homes on Palestinian land.

OK, we've already dissected that lie many times, and the comment above is full of the typical lies and distortions. But lets move on to the more interesting aspects:

It asks EU foreign ministers at a meeting in Brussels on 13 December to state as doctrine that the EU: "Will not recognize any changes to the June 1967 boundaries, and clarify that a Palestinian state should be in sovereign control over territory equivalent to 100 percent of the territory occupied in 1967, including its capital in East Jerusale

It also asks ministers to set an ultimatum of April 2011 for Israel to fall into line or see the Union seek an end to the existing US-led peace talks format in favour of a UN solution.

Did you catch that?

"... the union seek an end to the existing US-led peace talks format in favour of a UN solution"

So once again, we hear this drumbeat - the drumbeat for the UN to force Israel into accepting these borders and a "PA State", against their will, only now its coming from the EU.

More below:

On top of this, the bloc should: officially link its informal freeze on an upgrade in EU-Irsael diplomatic relations to a settlement freeze; block imports of products made in settlements but labelled as made in Israel; make Israel pay the lion's share of aid to Palestine; send a high-level delegation to East Jerusalem to back Palestinian claims; and reclassify EU support for Palestine as "nation building" instead of "institution building."

The letter warns in a note of urgency that "time is fast running out" because "Israel's continuation of settlement activity ... poses an existential threat to the prospects of establishing a sovereign, contiguous and viable Palestinian state."

Note that little comment: "establishing a sovereign contiguous Palestinian State". "Contiguous", in this context means to have a land mass which connects the West Bank with Gaza - which would effectively divide Israel - something expressly forbidden by God as described by the prophet Zechariah.

Now we see the crux of the matter, and its hard to believe they actually admitted to this:

Criticising existing EU policy, it adds that tough action is "a matter of fundamental credibility" for the bloc, which risks deterioration in its ties with Arab trade partners. "The EU needs to act more pro-actively in its relations with the US, Israel and others to promote the fulfillment of this objective," it says.

Ahhhh...As they say, always "follow the money". You have to love this quote: "risks deterioration in its ties with Arab trade partners". So they are willing to throw Israel under the bus in efforts to make their trade partners happy.

The letter is signed by 26 notables including 10 former leaders of European countries, 10 former ministers and several former EU commissioners.

It also represents the first time that the forerunner of EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton, Javier Solana, has come out of the wings to challenge the newcomer.

If you have any interest in reading about Mr Solana, I recommend the book "Recommendation 666", by Herb Peters. While I don't share the sentiment that Mr Solana is a candidate for antichrist, as the author implies, I do believe him to be pivotal in setting the stage for end times events.

A few more quotes:

The proposals read like a red rag to a bull as far as Israel is concerned.

Israel lobbied last year to stop the EU from saying that East Jerusalem, which Israel considers part of its "indivisible" capital, should be the centre of a new Palestinian state.

EU ministers are set to discuss the Middle East at their 13 December meeting, but the bloc is currently in wait-and-see mode on US efforts to try to resume peace talks which stalled in September.

December 13. That may be very interesting, and its just around the corner. We'll be watching that VERY closely.

Ms Ashton says the idea of 1967 borders is "commonly accepted" but does not mention the thorny issue of how to share East Jerusalem, indicating that its status as a future Palestinian capital is up for negotiation.

"The implementation of the [EU's previous] conclusions is proceeding on several fronts," Ms Ashton says. "The European Union will continue to be at the forefront of efforts to advance the peace process and engage with both the Palestinians and the Israelis to find a way to resolve the conflict."

Now, this last quote is particularly interesting and somewhat prophetic:

In a leaked US cable dating back to a pre-Ashton-period meeting between senior US diplomat Phil Gordon and EU counterparts in July 2009, Mr Gordon said: "There might be benefits in Washington focusing its efforts on getting a stop to settlement activity while the EU focused on efforts to build security in the PA-administered territories."

"While the EU focused on efforts to build security in the PA-administered territories".

Indeed. The antichrist, who will come from the revived or "new" Roman Empire, will "confirm" the covenant, and as mentioned so many times on this blog, I believe it is quite possible that "confirm" can only be done by sending "peace-keeping" forces into the region. Another way to state that, as seen above, is to "build security in PA-administered territories".

The EU just recently put a structure in place to accomplish this very goal, (EEAS), so this scenario is now in place, and only needs the orders from an EU leader.

We're getting closer and closer to the fulfillment of Daniel 9:27. So close, you can almost feel it.

For a Christian, that point has enormous implications. Its worth remembering the grand prize, as seen in 1 Thessalonians 4:

"For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

And we will be with the Lord forever.

Therefore encourage each other with these words."

Amen.


UPDATE: PA to cancel all security commitments to Israel

The Palestinian Authority will stop coordinating its security with Israel, in response to the US's official announcement that peace talks have failed, Al Quds al-Arabi reported on Friday.

So who would fill that void?

Stay tuned!