The Bible Prophecy Channel: January 2014

Sunday 26 January 2014

Palestinian leader turns to Putin for Palestinian state, dumps US and Israel as peace partners

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report 24-Jan-1

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) launched his “diplomatic intifada” against Israel and exit from the Kerry peace initiative Thursday, Jan. 23, from Moscow. His meetings with President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev marked his breakaway from the US-led peace process with Israel, four months before it was due to expire, and signaled his bid for Russian backing for a Palestinian state.

The Palestinian leader’s defection caught both Secretary of State John Kerry and Prime Minister Binyamin unprepared – and surprised their intelligence agencies. Putin and Abbas almost certainly planned in advance to drop their bombshell on the day both Kerry and Netanyahu were otherwise engaged at two international events in Switzerland, Geneva 2 on Syria and the World Economic Forum.

For the Russian leader it was a chance to show the international community and the Obama administration that he was several steps ahead of the game on the three hottest Middle East issues – Iran’s nuclear program, the Syrian civil conflict and the Palestinian bid for statehood.

The first intimation that something big was up came from an ITAR-TASS agency report Thursday that Abbas and Medvedev were due to sign an intergovernmental agreement for a $1 billion natural gas project in the Gaza section of the Mediterranean Sea. Russia's natural gas giant Gazprom hoped to produce 30 billion cubic metres of natural gas at the site.

The report added that Russia's Technopromexport engineering firm was also considering a small oil development project near the West Bank city of Ramallah, hub of the Palestinian Authority government headed by Abbas.

The Palestinian leader began his conversation with Putin by calling Russia a "great power" that deserved to play a more prominent role in the volatile Middle East region.

Clearly taken aback by the news coming in fast from Moscow, Israeli official sources said Thursday night they could not understand how the Russians and Palestinians came to an agreement on Mediterranean waters off the shores of Gaza, when the rights were already owned by British Gas.

It did not occur to them that the deal Russia proposed to sign with the Palestinians was designed to be an extension of the Russian-Syrian oil exploration contract signed on Dec. 27 in Moscow.

This move confronts Israel with two troubling concerns:

1. Russian interests could potentially encircle Israel’s offshore Mediterranean gas and oil sites and Russian pipelines may block Israel’s export facilities.

2. Under international law, the Palestinian Authority is not recognized as an independent state and is therefore not empowered to establish Special Economic Zones in the Mediterranean as closed areas for prospecting for oil or gas. This was one of the topics placed on the agenda of the peace talks led by John Kerry.

However, Moscow has high-handedly circumvented this obstruction by taking charge of the offshore exploration opposite Gaza, thereby proffering its Palestinian partner to the deal implicitl Russian recognition of its status as an independent national entity authorized to sign international contracts. This could be the precedent for a process of creeping Palestinian statehood without engaging Israel in negotiation.

Moscow has already proved it can get away with busting international sanctions by concluding a $1.5 bn contract with Tehran for the purchase of half a million barrels of Iranian oil a day, without incurring a word of complaint from Washington.

Two weeks later, Putin and Abbas have acted together to wreck a painstaking US diplomatic initiative actively partnered by Israel for a negotiated peace accord with the Palestinians. They have left John Kerry and Binyamin Netanyahu holding an empty shell.

Nabil Shaath, a Palestinian Fatah veteran, could not have put the situation more bluntly when he said Thursday night that it was time to "end the American monopoly on peacemaking, after Washington had proved incapable of imposing agreements on Israel."

Russian tactics for Syria and Iran had proved effective, he said, and there was no reason why Moscow could not perform the same function on the Israeli-Palestinian track.

The Palestinians have clearly opted to follow the examples of other Middle East leaders, ranging from Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to Syria’s Bashar Assad, Saudi King Abdullah and Egyptian strongman Abdel-Fatteh El-Sisi, in making tracks, overtly or covertly, to Moscow. They are opening the door for Russia to fill the void left by American disengagement from region under the Obama administration.

Palestinian Territories: Gazprom May Develop Gas On Mediterranean Shelf

:Palestinian Territories: Gazprom May Develop Gas On Mediterranean Shelf

Stratfor 23-Jan-14

Russia's Gazprom may develop gas deposits on the Mediterranean shelf of the Gaza Strip, Tass reported Jan. 23. The revelation emerged from materials released prior to a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The gas volume of the potential arrangement totals some 30 billion cubic meters, and the project's value is estimated at $1 billion.

Canada, Israel update free trade deal

Canadian Jewish News 21-Jan-14

As part of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s four-day trip to Israel, Canada and Israel have signed a memorandum of understanding that will update the 1997 Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement (CIFTA) and advance trade between the two countries in such key areas as commerce, innovation, energy, security, international aid and development, and human rights.

Harper and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu witnessed the signing this morning (Jan. 21) in Jerusalem. It was carried out by Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird and his Israeli counterpart, Avigdor Liberman.

A second memorandum of understanding, signed by the presidents of Halifax’s Dalhousie University and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, promises future research collaboration in the field of oil and gas development.

The CIFTA memorandum is a follow-up to Harper’s landmark Knesset speech the previous day – the first by a Canadian prime minister in Israel’s history. In it, he said “the elimination of tariffs on industrial products and some foodstuffs has led to a doubling in the value of trade between our countries.” Total bilateral merchandise trade between Canada and Israel was valued at $1.41 billion in 2012.

Calling the CIFTA memorandum “a testament of the goodwill between our two nations,” Harper said it “lays out a strategic direction for stronger future relations between our two countries in commerce, innovation, energy, security, international aid and development, and the promotion of human rights globally.”

During his Knesset speech, Harper mentioned the benefits Canada has already reaped from its partnership, including military reconnaissance technology, which he said has saved many Canadian lives in Afghanistan. In the areas of science and technology, as well, Harper mentioned that Canada has seen key benefits from the partnership so far.

CIFTA, which Harper called “very successful,” has been amended twice since it came into effect on Jan. 1, 1997, and now includes most manufactured and agricultural goods, with the exception of poultry, dairy and eggs. Canada was motivated to implement CIFTA in light of the significant benefits enjoyed by U.S. importers following the signing of the U.S.-Israel Free Trade Agreement in 1985.

The memorandum of understanding between the two universities heralds future collaboration in the area of offshore oil exploration. In 2011, Dalhousie vice-president Martha Crago visited Israel to explore possibilities of mutually beneficial research projects.

Following the discovery of significant shale oil deposits near Jerusalem, Canada and Israel signed an agreement in 2012 to collaborate in oil research.

Oil exploration has been going on for years off Israel’s coasts, but the results have often been disappointing, with “dry holes” offering little reward. However, recent breakthroughs show that Israel’s southwest coast could yield as much as 1.7 billion barrels of oil, offering Israel long-sought-after energy independence.

Trade deficit narrows

Globes 20-Jan-14

Israel's trade deficit fell by 21.7% in dollar terms in 2013 and by 73% in shekel terms, compared with 2012.

The proportion of Israeli exports to Asia rose to 21% of total exports in 2013, almost equal to the 22% of exports to the US, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported today. The proportion of Israeli exports to the US fell from 28% of all exports in 2010 to 22% in 2013. The figures do not include diamond exports.

The US is still the largest destination of Israeli exports, by country, accounting for $10.2 billion of exports. Exports to the UK totaled $3.4 billion and exports to China totaled $2.56 billion.

Against the backdrop of boycott threats of Israeli goods in Europe, the fact is that one third of Israeli exports go there (32% to the EU and another 1% to EFTA countries). The largest export destinations in the EU were the UK and the Netherlands ($2.1 billion).

The EU is also the largest source of imports, accounting for 34% of imports, compared with 12% from the US, and 20% from Asia.

The figures show that the government's policy of diversifying Israel's trading partners to reduce its dependence on the EU and the US is working: 25% of exports went to "the rest of the world" (not the EU, US, and Asia). The HHI concentration index for 2013 shows little concentration in either exports or imports by country.

Israel's trade deficit fell by 21.7% in dollar terms in 2013 and by 73% in shekel terms, compared with 2012; the trade deficit fell by NIS 20 billion. Most of the drop was due to a reduction in imports.

Another figure shows the problem of the strong shekel. Exports in shekel terms were 2% lower in 2013 than in 2012, but were 5% lower in dollar terms. The Central Bureau of Statistics says that the average shekel-dollar exchange rate was 6.8% in 2013 than in 2012, after it was 7.2% lower in 2012 compared with 2011. The average shekel-euro exchange rate was 3.3% higher in 2013 than in 2012.

The U.S. and Christian Persecution

National Review Online 18-Jan-14

Prominent indicators confirm that the U.S. is the chief facilitator of the persecution of Christians around the world today.

According to the recently released 2014 World Watch List, which ranks the 50 nations where Christians are most persecuted, Syria is the third worst nation in the world in which to be Christian, Iraq is fourth, Afghanistan fifth, and Libya 13th. All four countries receive the strongest designation, "extreme persecution" (other designations are "severe," "moderate," and "sparse" persecution).

Aside from being so closely and harshly ranked, these four nations have something else in common: heavy U.S. involvement. Three—Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya—were "liberated" thanks to U.S. forces, while in the fourth, Syria, the U.S. is actively sponsoring "freedom fighters" against the regime, many of whom would be better labeled "terrorists."

The Syrian situation alone indicts U.S. foreign policy. According to Reuters:

Open Doors, a non-denominational group supporting persecuted Christians worldwide, said on Wednesday it had documented 2,123 "martyr" killings, compared with 1,201 in 2012. There were 1,213 such deaths in Syria alone last year, it said. "This is a very minimal count based on what has been reported in the media and we can confirm," said Frans Veerman, head of research for Open Doors. Estimates by other Christian groups put the annual figure as high as 8,000.

While most Americans are shielded from the true nature of the war by the U.S. media's reluctance to report on it, Arabic media, websites, and activists daily report and document atrocity after atrocity—beheadings and bombed churches, Christians slaughtered for refusing to convert to Islam, and countless abducted for ransom or rape—at the hands of those whom the U.S. supports.

It's enough to point out that "the largest massacre of Christians in Syria," to quote a top religious leader, was left wholly unreported by any major U.S. news network.

At any rate, the statistics speak for themselves: Syria, which used to be religiously tolerant, is now, in the context of the United States' trying to bring "democracy" to it, the third worst country in the world in terms of "extreme persecution" of Christians.

The Blaze reports that Dr. David Curry, president of Open Doors,

charged that the Obama administration has essentially declined to make the protection of religious minorities a priority . . . "There are many instances where the vacuum of leadership and spokesmanship has created a real problem," said the human rights leader. "I would say that every significant data point on this year's '2014 Watch List' is worse—and I think a factor in it is a lack of leadership from Western governments including . . . the U.S. in terms of religious freedom."

But it's worse than that. Far from taking any action or providing leadership—or simply ceasing to support the terrorists responsible—the Obama administration recently tried to go to war with Syria on behalf of the "freedom fighters," amazingly, in the name of "human rights" (Apparently the unsubstantiated rumor that Assad massacred people is enough for the U.S. to go to war, but the ongoing and well-documented massacres of Christians and other civilians at the hands of the opposition is not enough for the U.S. to stop supporting them.)

What's worse, even the most misinformed mainstream-media-watching American today knows that the so-called "Arab Spring," which was hailed to justify U.S. support for "rebels" of all stripes—in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood (which months ago destroyed some 80 churches); in Libya, al-Qaeda, which has turned Benghazi into a terror zone; and now the "freedom fighters" in Syria—is not what it was touted to be.

In other words, at this point, whenever the U.S. intervenes in an Islamic nation, Islamists come to power. This is well demonstrated by the other three nations to which the U.S. brought "democracy" and where Christian minorities suffer "extreme persecution":

Afghanistan: The supposedly "moderate" Karzai government installed by the U.S. upholds many of the draconian laws enforced by the Taliban—including the apostasy law, fiercely persecuting those who seek to convert to Christianity—and, in 2011, under U.S. auspices, it destroyed Afghanistan's last Christian church.

Iraq: After the U.S. toppled Saddam Hussein, Christian minorities were savagely attacked and slaughtered, and dozens of their churches were bombed (see here for graphic images). Christians have been terrorized into near-extinction, with well over half of them fleeing Iraq.

Libya: Ever since U.S.-backed, al-Qaeda-linked terrorists overthrew Qaddafi, Christians—including Americans—have indeed suffered extreme persecution. Churches have been bombed; Christians have been tortured and killed (including for refusing to convert); and nuns have been threatened.

Surely a common theme emerges here: Where the U.S. works to oust secular autocrats, the quality of life for Christians and other minorities takes a major nosedive. Under Saddam, Qaddafi, and Assad, Christians and their churches were largely protected.

Moreover, while George W. Bush was responsible for Afghanistan and Iraq, the argument can be made that, back then (2001 and 2003), this pattern of Islamic radicalization that erupts once autocrats are gone was less well known than it is today. There weren't many precedents.

Conversely, the Obama administration has had both Afghanistan and Iraq to learn from—and yet still it supports Islamists and jihadis. But by now, what happens once they assume power—religious persecution, terror, oppression—is no longer a secret.

Incidentally, those who care little for the fate of Christians or other minorities in the Islamic world would do well to remember a simple truism: Wherever anti-Christian elements come to power, anti-American forces come to power. The two are synonymous.

Put differently, Muslim persecution of Christians is the litmus test of how radical an Islamic society has become. In all those Muslim nations that the U.S. has interfered in—Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Egypt (till the Egyptians revolted, to the chastisement of the U.S.), and now Syria—the increase of religious intolerance is a reflection of the empowerment of forces hostile to Western civilization.

I am often asked, "How can we help persecuted Christians?" At this point, one must respond: "How about starting with getting the U.S. government to stop being the chief facilitator of Christian persecution?" Altruism aside, it would be in the interests of all who value freedom, religious or otherwise—and especially their descendants.

Israel-Khazakhstan Ink Cooperation Accord

Defense News 20-Jan-14

Defense ministers from Israel and Khazakhstan inked a security cooperation accord Jan. 20 formalizing military and defense industrial ties between the two nations.

The bilateral agreement, signed in Tel Aviv by Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon and his Kazakh counterpart, Adilbek Dzhaksbekov, provides a general “umbrella” for cultivating defense trade and future cooperation between the two governments, an Israeli defense official here said.

Since Israel and Kazakhstan established diplomatic ties in 1992, the two countries have signed multiple cooperation accords involving telecommunications, science and technology, and other dual-use sectors.

The Jan. 20 accord formalizes more than a decade of Israeli arms sales to the largely Sunni Muslim, Central Asian republic. Corruption charges stemming from the 2004 sale of Israeli artillery systems forced Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarabayev, in June 2009, to sack the nation’s defense minister and other senior government officials.

Soltam Systems, the Israeli prime contractor at the time, has since been acquired by Elbit Systems and executives and agents implicated in the Kazakh scandal are no longer representing the company, industry sources here said.

“We appreciate Khazakhstan, a country with a desire to strengthen cooperation with us,” said Ya’alon.

Ya’alon did not publicly address specific areas for expanded cooperation, but Israeli government and industry officials cited unmanned systems, border security, command-and-control capabilities and satellite communications as leading sectors of interest to Astana.

This week’s visit marks Dzhaksbekov’s first trip to Israel. The Kazakh defense minister and members of his delegation will spend the next two days meeting with senior executives of leading Israeli defense firms and program officials.

“Israel is known worldwide for its capabilities,” Dzhaksbekov said. “I hope this visit will mark a milestone for strengthened defense cooperation between our countries.”

Jordan Ready To Host US To Train Iraqi Troops On Its Territory

Agence France-Presse 19-Jan-14

Jordan is ready to host a US training program for Iraqi troops to help counter a resurgence of al-Qaida-linked militants in its neighbor, a minister said in remarks published Sunday.

His comments come as Iraqi forces are locked in battles with anti-government militants who have gained ground in Anbar province west of Baghdad amid a spike in violence across the country.

“Jordan welcomes positively the US request to train Iraqi forces on its territory,” Information Minister Mohammed Momani said, in statement carried in the government newspaper Al-Rai.

“This project is part of permanent cooperation between Jordan, Iraq and the United States to fight against terrorism in the region.”

On Friday a US defense official told AFP that Washington was waiting for an agreement with Jordan or another country to go ahead with the training program.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has asked the United States to help the army fight against Islamist extremists, blamed for a spiral of deadly attacks in recent months.

And on Saturday the White House said that Vice President Joe Biden had spoken to Maliki to discuss Washington’s support for Iraq’s fight against jihadists.

“The two leaders agreed on the importance of the Iraqi government’s continued outreach to local and tribal leaders in Anbar province,” the White House said.

Maliki said in an interview published Thursday in The Washington Post that he specifically needed US “counter-terrorism” training.

Asked if US trainers would come to Iraq, the prime minister said: “Yes, bringing Americans to Iraq, or Iraqi soldiers could go to Jordan and train.”

The US defense official said Washington was preparing to ship “several thousand” M-16 and M-4 assault rifles as well as ammunition to Iraq, after having already provided missiles to Maliki’s government.

The training was “likely” to go ahead because both Baghdad and Washington support the idea, he added.

But US officials have said no US troops would be redeployed in Iraq.

The United States led an invasion of Iraq in 2003, toppling Saddam Hussein. American troops withdrew from the country in 2011 after failing to reach a deal with Baghdad providing legal safeguards for US forces.