You may view the 5 minute update this week via audio:
In this week’s 5 minute update, we focused on:
1) The current status of the Israel / PLO peace process
2) The current status of the situation with Iran
So far there have been 15 meetings between the Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams. Despite the ramped-up rate of talks, there has been no breakthrough. In any event, Israel released the second installment of 26 Palestinian prisoners this week as part of the agreement with the Palestinians to restart direct peace talks. Regarding the release of these prisoners, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “The decision to release Palestinian prisoners is one of the toughest decisions that I’ve taken as prime minister. I am certain that all the prime ministers who made this decision before me agonized over it as well due to the injustice of villains being released before they serve the full term of their sentences. My heart is with the bereaved families and it pains me. This decision is a necessity given the reality in which we live. We are forced to navigate an international arena that is complicated; it is not simple, it is complicated, it is full of challenges, and it requires us to take into consideration a number of factors for the good of the State of Israel.”
As a result, Israel is planning to advance four building projects in east Jerusalem as “compensation” for the release of these 26 Palestinian prisoners approving the construction of 1,500 additional housing units in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo.
Nabil Abu Rudeina, the spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas reacted harshly saying that the annoucement “destroys the peace process and sends the international community the message that Israel does not respect international law.” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also condemned the announcement saying that Israel building in East Jerusalem is ‘contrary to international law’ and “an obstacle to peace”. Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, says the EU “deplores” the Israeli plan and said that it is illegal and violates international law calling on Israel to stop construction even to accommodate “natural growth”. She said: “The EU deplores the recent settlement announcements. Any actions that could hamper or undermine the ongoing negotiations must be avoided. The EU has repeatedly stated that settlements are illegal under international law. It has also called on Israel to end all settlement activity, including natural growth, and to dismantle outposts erected since March 2001.” The Obama administration spokesperson Jen Psaki said, “We do not consider continued settlement activity or East Jerusalem construction to be steps that create a positive environment for the negotiations.”
Israeli officials said that US officials, including Secretary of State John Kerry, were aware of the settlement expansion plans before peace talks resumed in August by saying that the US and the Palestinians knew in advance that the release of convicted Palestinian terrorists would be accompanied by announcements of settlement construction plans. While the US and the Palestinians did not know about all the details of what new settlement plans would be announced, they knew of the intention to announce new plans, as well as the timing, the official said. According to an Israeli TV station, on July 19, the day that Israel approved US Secretary of State John Kerry’s framework for restarting Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, Netanyahu agreed with Kerry that every time the prisoners would be released, there would be an announcement of new settlement construction plans to make the bitter pill easier to swallow for some of his coalition partners.
PLO secretary-general Yasser Abed Rabbo said that the Palestinians reject an interim agreements. He also said that there would be no solution or peace with Israel without the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital on the pre-1967 lines. He described the Israeli position presented at the peace talks as “the worst in 20 years.” He also said that “Israel wants the Palestinian state’s borders to be determined by its security needs and this could undermine the chances of a sovereign Palestinian state.” PLO Executive Committee member Wasel Abu Yusef said that the peace talks have thus far failed to produce any result. He said the PA leadership was considering declaring the failure of the negotiations. Although the talks are being held in secret, the sparse information that has emerged so far does little to indicate that the ambitious goal of a peace deal by April, 2014, will be realized and instead paints a picture of wide gaps between the two sides.
Meanwhile, Israeli sources report that Palestinian negotiators submitted a document representing the Palestinian stances regarding talks on final status core issues. The document states that the Palestinians desire the Right of Return of the Palestinian refugees, in addition to water resources, borders, and land swap. Palestinian negotiators are demanding that Israel accepts granting a choice to the displaced Palestinian refugees. The refugees would be allowed to choose between “returning to Palestinian controlled areas, to leave the refugee camps abroad to live in a third state, to accept financial compensation or stay as citizens of the countries they live in. The Palestinians also demanded Israel to provide a safe passage linking between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and that the Palestinians have full control over borders, over parts of the Dead Sea, and over water resources. The Palestinians are also insisting any future Palestinian state be able to sign agreements with other states without Israeli intervention and releasing all Palestinian prisoners it holds. The Israeli source said that the Palestinians are demanding focusing direct Israeli-Palestinian talks on core issues, instead of pushing them until final-status talks, the way on and off negotiations have been held since the early 1990’s. The Palestinian document reiterates the Palestinian demand that the agreement should include all territories captured by Israel in 1967, including occupied East Jerusalem, and all related international resolutions. The source added that the Palestinians expressed willingness to conduct a land swap that would allow Israel to keep its large settlement blocks in the occupied West Bank, in exchange for granting the Palestinians areas in the Negev. The offer allegedly states that the land-swap should not exceed %1.9 of the West Bank and Jerusalem as the Palestinians claim that Israel’s large settlement blocs occupy only 1.2% of the West Bank. Finally, the Palestinians are demanding a clear time-frame that would secure a full Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories in no more than 3.5 years and a peace deal would be signed only six months after such cessation
Israel expressed acceptance of establishing a contiguous Palestinian State but insists on maintaining military presence along the Jordan River for an agreed upon time-frame. Israel will likely offer compensation to the Palestinians in order to keep its large settlement blocs in the West Bank and accepted a certain land swap. The unity of Jerusalem is important and Palestinians can not have a right of return into Israel in any final status agreement for a two-state solution, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told his cabinet that Israel needs to maintain the unity of Jerusalem and to cancel the Palestinian right of return. He further said: “Israel wants to reach a peace agreement with the Palestinians. In this agreement, we will insist on the vital interests of the State of Israel, first of all security, of course, and including our ability to continue defending our eastern border.” In addition, in any final-status agreement the Palestinians would need to renounce all national claims and recognize the State of Israel as the homeland for the Jewish people.
The UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process said that there is “no real prospect for peace” between Israelis and Palestinians unless the status of Jerusalem is resolved. “Without resolving Jerusalem, there will be no real peace solution. The [UN] secretary general believes that a way has to be found for Jerusalem to emerge as a capital for two states.”
Saudi Arabia is upset with US Foreign Policy as it relates to Syria, Iran and the Israel / Palestinian peace process. Michael Doran, a Brookings Institute Middle East scholar and former White House National Security Council official said: “I’ve never seen such a willingness on the part of the Saudis to publicly express their frustrations… it looks to the Saudis as if the US is throwing Sunni allies under the bus by trying to cut a deal with Iran and its allies.” Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah has reportedly shared his frustration with Jordan’s King Abdullah and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates. Abdullah reportedly told his fellow Sunni Arab guests that he is “convinced the US is unreliable.” In frustration, the Saudi’s may attempt to try to disrupt the Israel / Palestinian peace talks. According to a source close the Palestinian leadership, the Saudis told visiting Palestinian Authority senior officials during the Muslim Haj pilgrimage that the Saudis expect the Palestinians to distance themselves from the US in support of the Saudi rift with Washington.
Finally, US Secretary of State John Kerry will be traveling to the Middle East to have talks with Israel and the Palestinians regarding the peace process. Only two weeks after his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Rome, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Jerusalem and Ramallah next week, expected to address Iran’s nuclear program and the unproductive talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
An agreement to divide Jerusalem and establish a PLO state is a tribulation event.
The link to these articles are as follows:
1) Netanyahu: Prisoner release one of ‘toughest’ decisions as PM
2) Netanyahu to advance east Jerusalem construction as ‘compensation’ for prisoner release
3) Palestinian Authority: Netanyahu’s West Bank settlement construction announcement ‘destroys peace process’
4) EU condemns new Israel settlements plan
5) EU demands Israel stop settlement activity, ‘including natural growth’
6) US knew of settlement construction plans
7) Abbas said to soften stance on interim peace agreement
8.) Abbas denies considering interim peace agreement
9) Palestinian Negotiators Provide Document Of Stances Regarding Core Issues
10) Palestinians make stiff land demands for peace deal
11) PLO official: Israel’s position in negotiations worst since Oslo
12) Netanyahu rejects Palestinian right of return to Israel
13) UN envoy: Status of Jerusalem must be resolved
14) The world from here: Will the Saudis now derail Palestinian Israeli peace talks?
15) Kerry due in Mideast next week to discuss Iran, Israel-Palestinian talks
Israel has decided to increase the money allocated to its defense budget. Why was this decision made? According to DEBKA which is an Israeli news and intelligence website, Israel is working on the assumption that a US-Iranian agreement regarding Iran’s nuclear program is near its final stage and Obama plans to announce before Christmas that only a partial agreement has been made and that negotiations will continue. Obama will be cagey in public – partly because not all parts of the accord have been finalized, although the pace of US-Iranian negotiations have been accelerated, and partly to avoid coming clean on the full scope of the deal with Tehran.
The US-Iranian talks are being held at three levels:
1. American and Iranian diplomats and nuclear experts are discussing the technical aspects of the accord in Vienna. Some of these meetings – but not all – take place at International Atomic Energy Agency headquarters in the city.
2. Secretary of State John Kerry and Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman, who is the senior US negotiator, are handling the second level of direct negotiations opposite Foreign Minister Mohammed Zarif and his deputy Abbas Araqchi.
3. The third level deals with sanctions. It is run by officials of the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which oversees the sanctions regime, and senior staff from President Hassan Rouhani’s bureau. They are working to determine which sanctions will be lifted and at which stage of the negotiations.
The link to these articles is as follows:
1) Cabinet increases defense budget by NIS 2.75B
2) Braced for imminent nuclear accord with Iran, US pulls away from military option, IDF stays on the ready
From a Biblical prophetic perspective, the reason why the God of Israel would allow these events to happen is because it will result in the end of the exile of the house of Jacob and the reunification of the 12 tribes of Israel (Ephraim and Judah).
We will to be “watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem” and we will not rest until the God of Israel makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth (Isaiah 62).
Shalom in Yeshua the Messiah,
Eddie Chumney
Hebraic Heritage Ministries Int’l