Peace Talks Dominate The News: More Baby Steps Towards Daniel 9:27

Just like everything else we see in the news today - the urgent push towards a Middle East peace plan is setting the stage for the ultimate peace plan that will be confirmed by the antichrist. That doesn't mean that this specific peace plan, whatever it is, will end up being the antichrist's final covenant, but the focus and the effort will quite possibly lay the groundwork for what is to come. 

Just taking a look at one day's worth of news reveals this massive effort that is underway:




U.S.-Sponsored Israel-Palestinian Interim Peace Talks Near Moment Of Decision

The formal Israeli-Palestinian meeting announced by the US State Department as scheduled for next Wednesday, Aug. 14 is but the outer shell of the secret hard-core negotiations bouncing back and forth for weeks between US Secretary of State John Kerry, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas

The real talks are approaching a climax on the fundamental issues of borders, Jerusalem, refugees and settlements. Every afternoon in past weeks, Kerry has called the Israeli prime minister and Palestinian leader on secure phone lines and taken the talks a step further. Any incoming calls from the two leaders are switched directly through to the Secretary of State, an unheard of procedure in his department.

The process has been reduced to straight haggling, Middle East bazaar style – except that the wares laid out for sale are Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees, security, international security forces and the borders that will separate Israel from a future Palestinian state.

Kerry’s motive in summoning American Jewish leaders to the White House was his belief that progress in the negotiations has brought the Israeli prime minister close to a crossroads. He will soon face a decision to reshuffle his cabinet and replace ministers who would oppose the terms of the interim accord shaping up with Palestinians. For this step, he would find the support of American Jewry helpful.

Netanyahu will soon need to present the leaders of the pro-settlement Israel Beteinu and Bayit Yehudi parties with the choice of backing him up all the way to the accord with the Palestinians to which the US Secretary is steering at speed, or quitting the government coalition. The same question will be put to Netanyahu’s own Likud party members.

Kerry To U.S. Jewish Leaders: Peace Is 'Strategic Imperative'

US Secretary of State John Kerry met with leaders of the American Jewish committee privately on Thursday night at the White House, making a case for support on his push for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

The meeting lasted 90 minutes and was dominated by Kerry, who gave a prepared speech to the group. The secretary's remarks were followed by a brief statement from National Security Advisor Susan Rice and twelve questions from the small crowd.

Kerry told the Jewish leaders that peace was a "strategic imperative" for both Israel and the Palestinians, and argued that the regional strategic environment has become favorable for a peace agreement because opponents of peace have weakened over the past two years.

He also expressed irritation with continued settlement building in the West Bank. The State Department today acknowledged that Washington had "made its concerns known" to the Israeli government.

Kerry also warned the group of "negative consequences" for Israel if the parties fail to succeed in clinching peace.

Asked about whether the Palestinians would ever be prepared to accept Israel as the Jewish state, Kerry declined to comment on details in the negotiating process.

Deputy FM: 'Netanyahu Wrong To Back Palestinian State'

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu errs in his support of a Palestinian state, and that misguided support is badly weakening his position within the Likud, Netanyahu’s own deputy foreign minister and Likud colleague Ze’ev Elkin told The Times of Israel.

In an interview at his office in the Foreign Ministry, where he serves as the deputy to acting foreign minister Netanyahu, Elkin said Netanyahu “is going against the flow of his own party. He’s paying a political price day after day, hour after hour, for his belief in a Palestinian state… It’s very hard for him in his party.”

Asked whether this meant Netanyahu would ultimately lose control of the Likud, Elkin said he didn’t know. Pressed, the deputy foreign minister said Netanyahu is “prepared to pay a political price for something he believes is right. I think he’s wrong. We have a real disagreement.

Iran's Khamenei: Peace Talks Will Force Palestinians To Relinquish Their Rights

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday spoke out against renewed peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, warning that such talks would force "the Palestinians to relinquish their rights," AFP reported.

Speaking in Tehran on the occasion of the Muslim holiday of Id al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, Khamenei stated that the US-led negotiations would be "detrimental" to the Palestinian cause.

Khamenei said Friday that the renewed peace talks would "encourage the aggressors to increase their aggression and suppress the rightful resistance of the Palestinians," according to AFP.

The Iranian leader called on the Muslim world to be active in supporting the Palestinian cause and condemning Israel.

"The Muslim world must not back down from its support for Palestine, and it should condemn the oppressive action of fierce Zionist wolves and their international supporters," AFP quoted him as saying.

Israel Will Not Sign Future Agreements With EU Along Terms Stipulated In Settlement Guidelines

Israel will not enter into any new agreements with the EU under the terms of the recently published settlement guidelines, diplomatic sources said Thursday following a meeting on the matter chaired by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

However, Netanyahu is to speak in the coming days with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton to seek a formula that would make it possible for Israel to begin negotiations with the EU on entrance into the lucrative 80 billion euro Horizon 2020 R&D program.

Israel has annexed east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, and Israeli law prohibits discriminating against Israeli companies or firms beyond the Green Line. It is legally problematic, therefore, for Israel to invest money in a program, and then, when it gets money back from that program, not to be able to invest it in institutions beyond the Green Line.

The guidelines were published last month, and are not to come into effect until January 1. However, the issue is pressing now because Israel and the EU are scheduled to begin talks on Horizon 2020 on Wednesday.

Horizon 2020 is the EU’s innovation flagship program meant to create jobs and fuel economic growth. Israel is the only non-EU country that has been asked to join as a full partner, and is expected to pay some 600 million euros over the next seven years to take part. This is considered a worthwhile investment, because for every euro Israel contributes, it is expected to get back 1.5 euros in research funds and other inbound investments.

The sources said that Israel would ask for further clarifications about the guidelines, but that an EU professional-technical team was expected to arrive Wednesday to begin negotiations. In the conversation with Ashton, Netanyahu is expected to say that if no agreement can be found, Israel will not be able to participate.

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