Jerusalem: A Burdensome Stone

If you take a step back and ponder the significance of the prophet Zechariah's writings approximately 2,500 years ago it is quite astonishing. 

Who, other than a prophet of God, could have predicted that a small, seeming insignificant city would have such vast importance in the modern world of 2014?

As previously stated, the entire peace plan will ultimately boil down to Jerusalem. The epicenter of the epicenter (Israel).


"I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling...On that day, when all the nations 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)


Meanwhile, ignoring the above, 'the nations' work feverishly to divide (aka 'move') Jerusalem. Amazing.



Fatah Official: We Demand Clarity On Jerusalem





US Secretary of State John Kerry has proposed designating “greater Jerusalem” as the capital of both Israel and the Palestinian state, a Fatah official reported on Sunday, claiming that Kerry is stuck in “a vicious circle” and will likely achieve no progress in his current visit to the region.

Azzam Al-Ahmad, a member of Fatah’s Central Committee and its representative to talks with Hamas, told the Jordanian daily Al-Ghad that Kerry was “elusive” when speaking of the exclusion of East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank.


“An ambiguous term such as ‘greater Jerusalem’ in [Kerry's] proposal could reach the Dead Sea, and could [equally] not include [the Palestinian village of] Abu Dis,” Al-Ahmad told the Jordanian daily. ”This [ambiguity] destroys all American efforts to reach a peace agreement.”

Palestinian sources have reported “extremely difficult” talks with Kerry over the weekend. According to a report by Agence France Presse, Kerry has exerted immense pressure on PA President Mahmoud Abbas to accept Israel as a Jewish state as part of a framework agreement, a demand Abbas continues to adamantly oppose.

The Palestinian source quoted Kerry as saying that the demand to recognize Israel as a Jewish state is not only an Israeli demand, but one shared by the American administration as well.

But Al-Ahmad said that Kerry’s ambiguity on Jerusalem and the settlements leave little chance for the Palestinian side to accept his offers.

And once again (same article) we see the push for security arrangements - road-paving towards the ultimate way to 'confirm the covenant':

With regards to the Jordan Valley, Al-Ahmad said the Palestinians rejected any Israeli presence under a final status agreement, but agreed to international forces patrolling the border, including, for example, a joint Jordanian-American contingent. He added that former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert had already agreed to forgo the Israeli military presence in the Jordan Valley during talks with Abbas. (Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists on an ongoing IDF presence to secure the eastern border.)

Palestinian officials continued to voice their opposition to provisional or framework agreements as an alternative to the original nine-month timetable agreed upon with the US, which ends in April.

On Saturday, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said that Kerry was not engaged in working on a “transitional agreement” but rather was discussing “all core issues.”

Al-Ahmad articulated the Palestinian position differently.

“The framework agreement is being used to blackmail the Palestinians and reshuffle the cards, or lengthen the negotiation period beyond nine months,” he said.

Kerry Praises 'Intensive Talks' To Return Sunday


After three days of lengthy meetings with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem and Ramallah, US Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Jordan and Saudi Arabia on Sunday to discuss his efforts to reach Israeli-Palestinian peace, as well as other regional issues.

Kerry said he would return to Jerusalem Sunday evening, and may stay for several days before flying back to Washington later in the week, he told reporters in Jerusalem on Sunday morning.


Any agreed framework would not be a signed document, but would address all core issues, including the borders between Israel and a future Palestine, security, Palestinian refugees, and conflicting claims to Jerusalem, the official said. The official also said if the parties agreed on a framework for negotiating a final peace deal, it might not be made public to avoid exposing the leaders to political pressures at home.

Jewish Home Knesset faction chair MK Ayelet Shaked said Sunday morning that her party would not remain in the coalition if the government adopts a framework agreement “based on the ’67 lines.”

“A government that accepts the ’67 lines is a government of national suicide,” she said.

Kerry reiterated long-standing Obama administration commitments to Israel’s security and Palestinian independence.

“The security of Israel is always paramount in my mind, in our mind. For 29 years, I had the privilege of serving in the United States Senate, and I’m proud to say I had a 100% voting record with respect to those issues concerning Israel. And I don’t intend to change that now. Israel’s security is critical and the United States’ relationship is ironclad.”

Kerry’s talks on Sunday with Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah are likely to also touch on the civil war in Syria, rising violence in Iraq, and Iran’s nuclear program. Kerry is reportedly to meet next week with Arab League representatives and discuss the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and other regional issues.






Netanyahu: Palestinian Incitement Spurs Mideast Conflict

Despite Kerry's seeming optimism upon latest round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, the prime minister and the defense minister indicate the Palestinian refusal to recognize Israel as Jewish state is deterring peace.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu reiterated Sunday his accusation that the root of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was the Palestinian Authorities' encouragement of incitement against Israel, and the Palestinian refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

At the weekly cabinet meeting Sunday, ministers discussed a periodic report said to measure the scope of Palestinian incitement.

"We are not foreigners in Jerusalem, we are not foreigners in Beit El, we are not foreigners in Hebron. I repeat that this is the root of the conflict as well as the root of incitement that does not recognize this basic fact" to have a Jewish state.

Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon echoed Netanyahu's statements, saying peace cannot be achieved until the PA stops its incitement against Israel and starts educating for peace instead.

"A basic element in Israeli education is the aspiration for peace. In the Palestinian Authority, that doesn't exist."

"A basic element in Israeli education is the aspiration for peace. In the Palestinian Authority, that doesn't exist."

"The first stage of the road map, that obligates the PA to stop the incitement and to educate for peace, did not happen. [Former prime minister] Yitzhak Rabin demanded in Oslo that the Palestinian treaty is also changed, and it hasn't been changed to this very day either," Ya'alon said.

The Palestinians' refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state "is the heart of the conflict," Ya'alon said. "It all starts with education - without education, no technology can help."

"The Palestinians receive money from states that donate to educational institutes in the PA, and still teach incitement and racism based on Adolf Hitler quotes. They claim there is no Jewish people," he added.