JERUSALEM: A Burdensome Stone

"I AM GOING TO MAKE JERUSALEM A CUP THAT SENDS ALL THE SURROUNDING PEOPLE REELING"

"ON THAT DAY, WHEN ALL THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH ARE GATHERED AGAINST HER, I WILL MAKE JERUSALEM AN IMMOVABLE ROCK FOR ALL THE NATIONS. ALL WHO TRY TO MOVE IT WILL INJURE THEMSELVES"

Zechariah 12:2-3

First, the facts over this most recent "crisis" regarding Jerusalem.

Building on site of East Jerusalem hotel corresponds with Israeli law

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Bureau issued a statement Monday saying that the Israeli government was not involved in the demolition of the contentious Shepherd Hotel in East Jerusalem, adding that the building of apartments on the site corresponded with Israeli law.

Bulldozers began razing parts of the Shepherd Hotel in East Jerusalem on Sunday, with the aim of creating apartments for Jewish families, a move that drew international condemnation.

The hotel, located in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, was purchased 25 years ago by settler patron and American Jewish businessman Irving Moskowitz. When conferred 18 months ago, authorization for the conversion of the hotel caused a political storm.

Now comes Netanyahu's most audacious statement (sarcasm warranted):

"It cannot be expected from the State of Israel to forbid Jews from purchasing private property in Jerusalem. There is no democratic country in the world that would impose such a ban on Jews and it cannot be expected that Israel will be the one to do so."

"Just as Jerusalem's Arab citizens are allowed to buy or rent assets in Jerusalem's neighborhoods that have a Jewish majority, Jews are allowed to rent property in a Jerusalem neighborhood with an Arab majority."

But not in bizarro world:

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned the construction on Sunday, saying Israel's move to proceed with an East Jerusalem settlement project by razing a derelict hotel undermined the peace effort.

And right on cue:

Egypt and Jordan joined Clinton's condemnation on Monday, with Egypt's foreign ministry issuing a statement saying that establishing an Israeli settlement at the hotel's site may bring about renewed violence in the Palestinian Authority's territories. Jordan's foreign ministry said the move may destabilize the region.

Now comes the predicted, knee-jerk response:

EU diplomats say East Jerusalem should be treated as Palestinian capital

East Jerusalem should be treated as the capital of the Palestinian state, according to a report compiled by the heads of European diplomatic missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah. The report includes several other unprecedented recommendations to the European Union regarding its attitude toward East Jerusalem.

The report, which was completed last month, was sent to the EU's main foreign policy body, the Political and Security Committee in Brussels. It was apparently not released at the time due to the sensitivity of its content.

The diplomats' report also discusses the possibility of preventing "violent settlers in East Jerusalem" from being granted entry into EU countries. In the area of commerce, it recommends encouraging a boycott of Israeli products from East Jerusalem.

But that isn't all:

EU's Ashton raps Israel for demolishing East Jerusalem Hotel

Settlement building on occupied Palestinian territory is illegal, the European Union reminded Israel on Sunday, after a historic hotel in East Jerusalem was partly demolished to make way for a Jewish apartment complex.

Ashton reiterated that "the EU does not recognize" the annexation of East Jerusalem by Israel, and also expressed concern for recent violence in the West Bank, amid escalating Israeli-Palestinian tension.

And, in the ultimate display of irony (lets not forget that Fatah has been launching missiles into Israeli civilian areas with several injuries and one death reported over the last week alone):

"We see this matter as extremely dangerous," said Hatem Abdel Qader, the Palestinian official who oversees Jerusalem affairs for President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement.

Of course, the U.S. won't be left out of this feeding frenzy:

U.S. criticizes Israel over Jerusalem settlement

"What is happening today is part of the political program of the Israeli government to preempt any solution on Jerusalem," Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said in a statement.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in Abu Dhabi on a tour of U.S. Gulf Arab allies, said: "This disturbing development undermines peace efforts to achieve the two-state solution. In particular, this move contradicts the logic of a reasonable and necessary agreement between the parties on the status of Jerusalem."

If that isn't enough, we also have this:

EU diplomats step up opposition to east Jerusalem building

The European Union stepped up its opposition to Jewish building in east Jerusalem on Monday.

In an internal document sent to 25 EU Consuls General in Jerusalem, the EU said: "Israel has left Palestinian neighbourhoods ever more isolated" and "by legal and practical means, is actively pursuing its [illegal] annexation by systematically undermining the Palestinian presence in the city," London-based The Independent reported.

And lastly, note the following statement, coming from this EU document - it appears to be taken straight from biblical prophecy:

The document followed the demolition of the Shepherd Hotel in east Jerusalem on Sunday.

"If current trends are not stopped as a matter of urgency, the prospect of east Jerusalem as the future capital of a Palestinian state becomes increasingly unlikely and unworkable," the document continued. "This, in turn, seriously endangers the chances of a sustainable peace on the basis of two states, with Jerusalem as their future capital," the Independent reported.

So the entire peace plan will now hinge on the construction of 20 homes in Jerusalem? Really?

Well, it is Jerusalem.

It is hard to imagine any other scenario in the world, in which the construction of 20 homes could abort a decades long quest for a peaceful solution in a region such as the Middle East. Its bizarre.

As strange and surreal as this situation is regarding Jerusalem, it makes the prophetic scriptures come alive.

Just consider the fact that Zechariah wrote these prophetic words approximately 2,500 years ago - at a time in which Jerusalem had been completely destroyed and seemed hopeless to exist ever again - yet this relatively small, seemingly insignificant city is now the the center of the entire peace process, and has the attention of the entire world.

This one tiny example of the accuracy and predictability of biblical prophecy confirms what the apostle Peter stated:

"And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place..." (2 Peter 1:19)

Indeed.