The New Roman Empire Making Renewed Effort For M.E. Peace

This is interesting to a prophecy watcher because we know that the coming antichrist will be the only person who finalizes ("confirms" per Daniel 9:27) the peace plan, and we know that he will ultimately come from the expanded version of the EU, also known as the "10 kings" phase of EU development.

Therefore, as a precursor to his final plan, we would expect to see the current EU making progress in terms of developing this plan, as "road-paving" towards that eventuality. This is exactly what we are seeing:

Diplomats: New European peace proposal

Britain, France and Germany want the United Nations and the European Union to propose the outlines of a final settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that would lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state, UN diplomats said.

The three European countries, all members of the UN Security Council, are pressing for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the European Union to propose a settlement text at a meeting in mid-April of the Quartet of Mideast mediators, the diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because talks are taking place in private. The quartet includes the UN, EU, US and Russia.

Based upon biblical prophecy, we have also been predicting that the role of the U.S. would diminish and the EU's role would increase. We also know that U.S. troops would never be allowed into and around Israel as "peace-keeping" forces, (which seems the only way to truly "confirm" a covenant). With the establishment of the EAS within the EU, we now have the perfect group to perform such duties.

Putting the job in the hands of the EU and the UN would sideline the United States, Israel's closest ally which has tried unsuccessfully for months to get face-to-face negotiations going, as well as Russia, an ally of the Palestinians.

The big question mark is whether the United States would allow the Europeans and UN to take the lead in trying to resolve the standoff, and that is likely to depend on whether the Israelis give a green light, the diplomats sai

The diplomats said the three European countries have delivered the message in key capitals –including Washington and Jerusalem – that if the parameters of a final settlement are endorsed, the Palestinians will return to the negotiating table.

In their joint statement of Feb. 18, Britain, France and Germany said their goal "remains an agreement on final status issues and the welcoming of Palestine as a full member of the United Nations by September 2011."

If direct negotiations don't resume and succeed, one diplomat said, the Palestinians are likely to demand UN recognition of a Palestinian state.

Everything seems to be moving along right on schedule. The U.S. is seemingly taking a back seat in these negotiations, and the EU is moving to the forefront. Exactly as predicted.

Soon, we will hear more and more about how, as part of this peace plan, EU troops can maintain border control

External Action Service: Shaping the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy

Also, we have a few other news updates from the Middle East:

Qassam strikes near southern Israel

Cross-border tensions between Israel and Gaza have been escalating recently, the latest being two Grad rockets and a Qassam fired at southern Israel from Gaza on Thursday. One of the rockets struck north of Ashdod and could be heard in Yavneh, some 25 kilometers from Tel Aviv.

Fayyad updates U.S. on plan for Palestinian statehood in 2011

Politicians Warn Against PA State

The upcoming UN General Assembly session in September, where many countries are poised to recognize a Palestinian state, does not bode well for Israel.

Even Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who, as Prime Minister in 1998, once offered Yasser Arafat close to 98% of Judea, Samaria and Gaza for such a state, is concerned. In a speech last week, Barak said he considers this scenario a “political tsunami” against Israel. He even said that this political development will carry a strong element of de-legitimizing the State of Israel.

PM Netanyahu weighs in on the possibility of a PA State:

Netanyahu himself made perhaps the clearest case against a Palestinian state, when he addressed the Likud Central Committee in May 2002

Such an entity, he said, “will demand all the powers of a state, such as controlling borders, bringing in weapons, control of airspace and the ability to knock down any Israeli plane that enters its area, the ability to sign peace treaties and military alliances with other countries.

"We will thus have created with our own hands a threat to our very existence,” Netanyahu continued

Even now, the Palestinians are removing all the restrictions to which they agreed in Oslo – they are smuggling in arms, polluting the water sources, building an army, making military deals with Iran and others, and more… But when we try to take action against this, the world opposes us – and not them...

The overall plan was actually disclosed by Yasser Arafat who made the intentions quite clear:

Netanyahu quoted Yasser Arafat: "Arafat said it best when talking to reporters the day he signed the Oslo Accords: 'Since we can't defeat Israel in war, we must do it in stages, we must take whatever area of Palestine we can get, establish sovereignty there, and then at the right time, we will have to convince the Arab nations to join us in dealing the final blow to Israel.'

Its part of the plan - a plan which includes the complete destruction of Israel. Unfortunately, "the nations" don't really care so much about Israel nor the threats to their existence, as we watch the world coming together against the Nation of Israel.

This is exactly what has been described to us through the prophets Zechariah (Zechariah 12) and Ezekiel (Ezekiel 37-38). We know what is coming - its just a matter of time.

God is going to place Israel in such a state that they will have to call upon God for His protection. Fortunately, God comes through for Israel, as He has so many times throughout history. And He will do so in a huge, dramatic fashion - just read the pages of Ezekiel 38-39 to see how this happens.