Friday, March 20, 2015

WITH OBAMA REFUSING NETANYAHUS 2-STATE CLAIME THAT HE RETRACTS.WE SHOULD SEE THE EUROPEAN UNION JUMP IN HERE AND TAKE OVER THE PEACE PROCESS-ELIMINATING AMERICA TO A LOOK ON ROLE IN THE PEACE PROCESS.

JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER. 1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)

UPDATE MAR 20,15-10:00AM
ISRAELI ACTUAL VOTE RESULTS-ELECTION RESULTS MAR 19,2015


LIKUD-30*
ZIONIST UNION-24
HADASH AND ARABS-13
YESH ATID-11*
KATANU-10*
HABAYIT HAYEHUDI-08*
SHAS-07*
UNITED TORAH JUDAISM-06*
YISRAEL BEITEINU-06*
MERETZ-05
YAHAD (HA'AM ITANU)-00

LIKUD TO WIN SEATS BY MY ALIGNMENT * =78 SEATS OF THE 120 IN THE KNESSETE

OTHER STORIES ISRAEL-EU-RUSSIA-VATICAN-CERN
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2015/03/obama-is-mad-bigtime-over-bibis-winhe.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2015/03/benjamin-netanyahu-cleans-house-in.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2015/03/obama-whitehouse-back-stabs-israel-and.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2015/03/2008-prophecy-benjamin-netanyahu-will.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2015/03/the-58-democrates-who-skipped-benjamin.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2015/03/israel-finds-coins-and-jewelty-in-under.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2015/03/european-union-get-that-army-together.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2015/03/four-fallacies-of-european-union-policy.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2015/03/cern-end-of-world-demons-unleashed-from.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2015/03/putin-is-ready-and-prepared-for-atomic.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2015/03/did-someone-off-putinor-just-another.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2015/02/russia-arab-muslims-lookout-bird.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2015/03/pope-does-not-plan-on-resigning-but.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2015/03/jesus-was-cloned-sinless-into-marys.html

Now the scriptures that a week in Israel history is 7 YEARS.

Heres the scripture 1 week = 7 yrs Genesis 29:27-28
27 Fulfil her week,(7 YEARS) and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week:(7 YRS) and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.

Isn"t this interesting it comes from the same Person whos name was changed to Israel,(JACOB) and Israel and Jerusalem is the places dealt with in Daniel 9:24-27.

DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks(62X7=434 YEARS+7X7=49 YEARS=TOTAL OF 69 WEEKS OR 483 YRS) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMAN LEADERS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.(THERE HAS TO BE 70 WEEKS OR 490 YRS TO FUFILL THE VISION AND PROPHECY OF DAN 9:24).(THE NEXT VERSE IS THAT 7 YR WEEK OR (70TH FINAL WEEK).
27 And he ( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant (PEACE TREATY) with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE ANIMAL SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

THIS IS IT.THIS WILL BE THE DROP OUT OR DELUDING OF THE USA IN THE PEACE PROCESS. AND THE EUROPEAN UNION WILL STEP IN AND FILL THE ROLE OF AMERICA.TO FULFIL THEIR ROLE IN BIBLE PROPHECY THAT SAYS THE EUROPEAN UNION WILL BE THE ONES THAT SIGN AND GUARENTEE ISRAELS SECURITY FOR PEACE.FOR THE 7 YEAR PEACE TREATY OR 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD OF REVELATION CHAPTERS 6-19.DANIEL 9:26-27 AND ISAIAH 28:19.NETANYAHU SAYS HE STILL WANTS A TWO STATE SOLUTION.BUT NOT THE WAY THEIR SECURITY IS NOW.BUT OBAMA DOES NOT BELIEVE BENJAMIN.AND WANTS TO TAKE THE 2-STATE SOLUTION TO THE UNITED NATIONS.AND LET THE USELESS UN FORCE A TWO STATE SOLUTION DOWN ISRAELS THROAT.THIS IS EXACTLY THE SITUATION WE NEED TO FULFIL PROPHECY.THAT SAYS THE EUROPEAN UNION WILL BE THE ONES THAT SIGN THE FINAL 7 YEAR GUARENTEED TREATY OF PEACE WITH ISRAEL-ARABS AND MANY.

EU diplomats unsure how to handle Netanyahu-Hebron, West Bank, in occupied Palestine: What then, if not a two-state solution? By Andrew Rettman-EUOBSERVER

BRUSSELS, 18. Mar, 19:33-EU diplomats are hoping Israel’s PM didn’t mean what he just said on the two-state solution. But if he did, they have few ideas how to change his mind.The EU foreign relations chief, Federica Mogherini, and British PM David Cameron were among the first to congratulate Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday (18 March) on winning a fourth term in office.It’s not the result the EU wanted. Netanyahu on Monday answered “correct” when asked by the NRG news agency if he rejects the idea of a Palestinian state. He indicated he will build more settlements and, on Tuesday, stirred racist feeling by referring to “Arab voters” being bussed to ballot stations “in droves” to vote against him.His victory saw an immediate backlash by Palestine.Saeb Erekat, its chief two-state negotiator, said EU and US impunity for Netanyahu’s past “settlements, racism, apartheid” helped him win and pledged to pursue Israel cases in the International Criminal Court in The Hague.Hamas, the militant group which rules Gaza, urged Erekat’s Palestine Authority (PA) to sever ties with Israel.The EU statements put a cheerful face on the situation, however.Cameron said only: “As one of Israel’s firmest friends, the UK looks forward to working with the new government”.Mogherini said: “The EU is committed to working with the incoming Israeli government on a mutually beneficial relationship as well as on the re-launch of the peace process … I’m confident that we can work together”.Her statement didn't use the phrase “two-state solution”. But her spokeswoman, Maja Kocijancic, told EUobserver: “The EU position hasn’t changed regarding the two-state solution [as the model for peace], and that's well known”.She added that, despite Netanyahu’s statements, “the new government has yet to define its position”.Campaign speeches aside, Israel's position will become clear in the next three to six weeks, when Netanyahu negotiates a government programme with his new coalition partners.One senior EU source told EUobserver member states are keen for him and for the Israeli public to quickly forget the NRG remarks.“We would hopefully see his comment as desperate last-minute electioneering”, the source said.He noted that if Netanyahu is serious it would amount to a “fundamental breach” of the “bedrock of our international community approach” to the crisis, and that “from [my country’s] perspective, that should trigger the EU to use the leverage it has on Israel, but the EU remains deeply divided on using that leverage”.The potential for full leverage, in terms of trade restrictions (the EU and Israel do €30bn a year of business together) and diplomatic isolation (support for EU and UN recognition of Palestinian statehood) is considerable.The realistic next step would be to publish a non-binding EU code for retail labels on settler imports.Other EU contacts say neither option is likely, not least because it wouldn’t make a difference unless the US also applies pressure, a development no one expects.“I think there’ll be more focus on a diplomatic push, not on small issues, like labelling of settler goods, which wouldn’t change the mind of a very confident PM who just received a strong mandate”, a second EU source said.He noted the EU might endorse a multilateral model, involving Arab countries, instead of the Israel-Palestine model, for future two-state negotiations.“This regional approach to re-engage the peace process hasn’t been clearly fleshed out yet, but there’s a need for a regional framework because the purely bilateral framework hasn’t worked … the majority of Israelis don’t see Abbas [the PA president] as a partner, so a regional framework could be one way to address this”.A third source, from an EU country which holds a UN Security Council veto, said Europe might gamble on the US abstaining on a new resolution.Referring to a joint British-French-German text, drafted in December but never put to a vote, which speaks of resumption of two-state talks with a two-year deadline for conclusion, the EU source said: “We’ve already sketched out a political horizon, which has been absent for some time, and which offers reassurance to the Palestinians and Israelis that there is some sense in going back to a process [two-state talks] which lacks credibility on both sides”.Whether Netanyahu will wait until his rhetoric blows over or whether he plans, in earnest, to pursue a one-state or other model, remains to be seen.But his comments in the small hours of Wednesday morning, as the vote-count sealed his victory, were already different to those of 48 hours before.“Real security, economy, and social welfare, which we are committed to, this is what's important to … everyone, Jews and non-Jews alike”, he said."All of you are important to me”.

Netanyahu comments put EU relations in doubt By Andrew Rettman-EUOBSERVER

BRUSSELS, 17. Mar, 09:26-Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has said that if he is re-elected there will be no Palestinian state, putting in doubt the future of EU-Israel relations.He made the announcement in a video clip for Israeli news agency NRG on Monday (16 March), on the eve of general elections on Tuesday.“I think that anyone who is going to establish a Palestinian state today and evacuate lands is giving attack grounds to radical Islam against the state of Israel … there is a real threat here that a left-wing government will join the international community and follow its orders”, he said.Asked explicitly if he rejects the two-state solution, he answered: “Correct”.He gave the interview in Har Homa, a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem, on the other side of Israel’s 1967 border. He added that he gave the green light to Har Homa’s construction in his previous time as PM in order to prevent Palestinian statehood."I thought we had to protect the southern gateway to Jerusalem by building here … there was huge objection, because this neighbourhood is in a location which prevents Palestinian [territorial] contiguity”.Netanyahu’s comments are an attempt to win right-wing votes to improve his position in post-election coalition building.His Likud party currently trails the centre-left Zionist Union, led by Isaac Herzog, by four points, meaning the Israeli president would appoint Herzog to launch coalition talks if the result stays the same.Herzog, also on Monday, took the opposite line on the Palestinian conflict, saying: “I promise: I will be a prime minister to everyone … for right and left, for settlers, Haredim, Druze, Arabs, Circassians; I will be prime minister for the center and for the periphery”. But the elections have been dominated by internal issues - such as housing, the economy, and the personalities of the leaders - indicating fatigue and lack of faith in the peace process.Meanwhile, other politicians on the right have come out with even more radical statements."Those against us, it cannot be helped, we must lift up an axe and behead them - otherwise we will not survive here”, Netanyahu’s foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, from the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party, said last week on the loyalty of Arab Israelis.If Netanyahu does retain power, his anti-Palestine comments pose fundamental questions for EU relations.For her part, EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini, also on Monday, named a senior EU official, Fernando Gentilini, the architect of the Kosovo-Serbia normalisation pact, as her new envoy for the Middle East Peace Process.She said his task is to “work towards the resumption of meaningful negotiations with the aim of achieving a comprehensive peace agreement based on a two-state solution”.In practice, EU diplomats are waiting for the US to restart talks in the final months of president Barack Obama’s second term in office.But the prevailing mood in Washington is that there’s no point if Netanyahu retains office, meaning the two-state idea would be put on hold for years to come.The new status quo could see the EU impose mini-sanctions, such as publishing a code on retail labels for settler goods.It could also see an increasing number of EU countries, including France, recognise the state of Palestine.But without US engagement, neither EU restrictive measures nor diplomatic recognitions would change facts on the ground.The two-state solution, in any case, involves moving, by force, more than 110,000 Israeli settlers from East Jerusalem and the West Bank.The number of settlers in sensitive places has grown by some 10,000 a year on Netanyahu’s watch.“I think what he said tonight [in the NRG clip] was stating the essence of his true policies - he was never a man of the two-state solution,” Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, told the New York Times.“I hope his statements tonight will be an eye-opener”, he added.

DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS-10 WORLD REGIONS/TRADE BLOCS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS-10 WORLD DIVISION WORLD GOVERNMENT) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(THE EU (EUROPEAN UNION) TAKES OVER IRAQ WHICH HAS SPLIT INTO 3-SUNNI-KURD-SHIA PARTS-AND THE REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE IS BROUGHT BACK TOGETHER-THE TWO LEGS OF DANIEL WESTERN LEG AND THE ISLAMIC LEG COMBINED AS 1)

LUKE 2:1-3
1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
2  (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3  And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

EU leaders set to appoint new council secretary general-By EUOBSERVER-Today, 09:48-MAR 19,15

EU leaders are Thursday to discuss who should replace Uwe Corsepius, a German, as secretary general of the Council. Danish EU ambassador Jeppe Tranholm-Mikkelsen is a likely candidate, reports Ritzau/DR. Corsepius returns to Berlin as EU affairs adviser to Chancellor Merkel when his term in Brussels finishes in June.

EU needs bold political initiatives,' says Greek PM-By EUOBSERVER-Today, 16:54-MAR 19,15

"The EU needs bold political initiatives that respect both democracy and the treaties in order to leave the crisis behind and to move towards growth," said Greek PM Tsipras in Brussels. A mini-meeting will be held later Thursday in the margins of the summit to try to solve the deadlock.

ISRAEL SATAN COMES AGAINST

1 CHRONICLES 21:1
1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.

ISRAELS TROUBLE

JEREMIAH 30:7
7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble;(ISRAEL) but he shall be saved out of it.

DANIEL 12:1,4
1 And at that time shall Michael(ISRAELS WAR ANGEL) stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people:(ISRAEL) and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation(May 14,48) even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro,(WORLD TRAVEL,IMMIGRATION) and knowledge shall be increased.(COMPUTERS,CHIP IMPLANTS ETC)

ISAIAH 41:11
11  Behold, all they that were incensed against thee (ISRAEL) shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing;(DESTROYED) and they that strive with thee shall perish.(ISRAEL HATERS WILL BE TOTALLY DESTROYED)

Obama administration rejects Netanyahu backtrack on two-states-Washington remains unimpressed by prime minister’s claim that he still supports peace process, calls comments about Arab vote ‘cynical tactic’-By Rebecca Shimoni Stoil March 19, 2015, 9:33 pm-the times of israel
WASHINGTON — Officials in Washington quickly made it clear that they were not buying into  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayhu’s about face on support for a two-state solution Thursday, repeating statements that they would re-evaluate their approach to the peace process.Netanyahu seemingly attempted to mend ties with Washington by walking back a pre-election promise not to support a Palestinian state, but spokespeople in the White House and State Department did not express any sentiments welcoming Netanyahu’s assurances that he continued to support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.“Prime Minister Netanyahu was the prime minister three days ago as well,” responded State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki to his Thursday assurances. “We believe he changed his position three days ago.”On Monday, the day before the elections, Netanyahu was asked by an interviewer from Israel’s NRG website about policy on the Palestinians and said: “Anyone who is going to establish a Palestinian state, anyone who is going to evacuate territories today, is simply giving a base for attacks to the radical Islam against Israel. This is the true reality that was created here in the last few years.” Asked in a follow-up if it was true that no Palestinian state would be established during his premiership if he were re-elected, he answered: “Indeed.”The comment was an about face from Netanyahu’s landmark 2009 Bar-Ilan University speech, in which he declared support for a two-state solution.The administration refrained from responding to the comments before the election, but roundly attacked them the next morning, following Netanyahu’s decisive victory.The tone in Washington remained unchanged Thursday, even after Netanyahu declared in an interview to MSNBC that “I never retracted my speech at Bar-Ilan University six years ago calling for a demilitarized Palestinian state that recognizes a Jewish state.”“What has changed is the reality,” he continued. “[Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas] the Palestinian leader refuses to recognize the Jewish state and has made a pact with Hamas that calls for the destruction of the Jewish state, and every territory that is vacated today in the Middle East is taken up by Islamist forces. We want that to change so that we can realize a vision of real, sustained peace. I don’t want a one-state solution. I want a sustainable, peaceful two-state solution, but for that, circumstances have to change.”Both the White House and State Department acknowledged reading the transcript of Netanyahu’s interview.Asked about Netanyahu’s apparent recant, Psaki insisted that “our preference is for a two-state solution negotiated between the parties. His comments three days ago brought into question his commitment to that.”Although she did not explain why the administration seemed to extend greater credibility to Netanyahu’s pre-election comments than to his Thursday interview, Psaki suggested that “if he [Netanyahu] had consistently stated that he remained in favor of a two state solution, we’d be having a different conversation.”White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest reiterated the same sentiments as Foggy Bottom, telling reporters that “after the comments, it’s pretty clear that Israel is no longer committed to [a two-state solution].”Earnest confirmed that President Barack Obama would call Netanyahu in the coming days.The fact that Secretary of State John Kerry – and not the president – called Netanyahu following his victory is seen as an indication both in Washington and Jerusalem of the US administration’s disappointment over Netanyahu’s victory.Earnest also laid into Netanyahu for a comment made during the election in which the prime minister pleaded with supporters to vote because Arab Israeli were “coming out in droves” to polling stations.“That cynical election day tactic was a pretty transparent effort to marginalize Arab-Israeli citizens and their right to participate in their democracy,” Earnest said.Netanyahu has claimed that he was protesting a so-called foreign-funded campaign to bus opposition voters to ballot boxes.Psaki said that the US intends to hold a number of conversations with Netanyahu in the coming weeks.On a policy level, Washington continued to signal that it was considering toning down its diplomatic support for Israel, both through bilateral relations and in the United Nations. With the stakes as high as the loss of a US veto at the Security Council, Netanyahu’s Thursday interview did nothing to change the warnings signaled by the administration.“We are currently reevaluating our approach but it doesn’t mean that we’ve made a decision regarding changing our position at the UN,” said Psaki, responding to reports that the US was considering lifting its veto on UN Security Council resolutions toward Palestinian statehood. She added that the US will not cease attempts to block resolutions that are seen as “unfair or biased,” but even qualified that comment by implying that the bar for such a definition could be lowered significantly. Earnest too noted that US decisions at the UN had been previously “based on a commitment to two-states,” but that now that Israel’s commitment to such an approach was missing, the US would “reevaluate our approach.”Netnayahu addressed that issue in a second TV interview, with Fox News, saying he hoped the US would not support Palestinian initiatives to unilaterally declare independence through the United Nations. “I hope that’s not true, and I think that President Obama has said time and time again, as I’ve said, that the only path to a peace agreement is an agreement, a negotiated agreement.“You can’t impose it,” he went on. “You can’t force the people of Israel — who’ve just elected me by a wide margin, to bring them peace and security, to secure the State of Israel — to accept terms that would endanger the very survival of the State of Israel. I don’t think that’s the direction of American policy. I hope it’s not.”Asked about Palestinian threats to cut security cooperation with Israel in light of the election results, Psaki did not strongly reject the idea, merely noting that the US believes that ongoing security cooperation yields benefits for the Palestinians as well as for Israel.

Abbas says two-state solution impossible with Netanyahu-In first comments since election, Abbas says Palestinians will continue statehood drive in international arena-By Times of Israel staff March 19, 2015, 5:41 pm 9

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said a two-state solution cannot be reached while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads the Israeli government, Thursday, in his first remarks since the Likud leader cruised to a fourth term in Tuesday voting.Netanyahu seemed to turn to the right during campaigning, putting the kibosh on a Palestinian state — though he later Thursday said he still backed “a sustainable, peaceful two-state solution” — and his win drew the anger of several Palestinian officials.“Netanyahu’s declarations against a two-state solution and the establishment of a Palestinian state, if they are correct, prove the Israeli government has no serious intention to reach a diplomatic solution,” Abbas was quoted as saying during a PLO cabinet meeting Thursday in Ramallah.The president was reacting to comments made by Netanyahu during an interview on Monday, in which he said that a Palestinian state would not be established on his watch should he be reelected, warning that any areas that came under Palestinian rule would subsequently become a Hamas stronghold.Asked directly whether no Palestinian state would be created under his leadership, the prime minister answered: “indeed.”While eyed warily by Palestinians and the international community, Netanyahu had been on record since 2009 as supporting a two-state solution. In a US TV interview later Thursday, however, the prime minister dialled back that comment: “I don’t want a one-state solution. I want a sustainable, peaceful two-state solution,” he told MSNBC. He said circumstances in the region have changed, but that “I haven’t changed my policy. I never retracted my speech in Bar-Ilan University calling for a demilitarized Palestinian state that recognizes a Jewish state.” Abbas, who before the election said he would treat whoever won the election as a peace partner, said the election results will not sway the Palestinian Authority from continuing diplomatic efforts to achieve international recognition, adding that Netanyahu’s eve-of-election comments were “worrying but nothing new.”He also blasted Yisrael Beytenu chairman Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, who recently said Israel must “decapitate” the heads of Arab Israeli citizens involved in terrorism, calling his remarks “racist.”Saeb Erekat, a senior Palestinian official and chief negotiator in deadlocked peace talks with Israel, told Palestinian radio on Wednesday that Netanyahu’s win was a barrier to peace. “It is now very clear that there is no Israeli partner,” he said.Erekat further stated that the Palestinians will intensify efforts to bring Israel to trial in the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Israeli news site Walla reported.Meanwhile, the Obama administration signaled on Wednesday that the US may ease its staunch opposition to the Palestinian UN Security Council bid to create a state. “There are policy ramifications for what he said,” one official told AP of Netanyahu’s campaign rhetoric rejecting the creation of a Palestinian state. “This is a position of record.”

UN warns of new conflict on Israel-Lebanon border-Security Council urges ‘maximum calm and restraint’ from both sides after January cross-border attack by Hezbollah-By AP March 19, 2015, 9:04 pmTHE TIMES OF ISRAEL

UNITED NATIONS — The UN Security Council warned Thursday that recent violence along Lebanon’s border with Israel and the presence of unauthorized weapons in a UN buffer zone pose a risk of a new conflict.The violence in late January killed two Israeli soldiers and a UN peacekeeper from Spain and sparked fears of yet another crippling war between the two neighboring countries. It was the deadliest escalation on the disputed border since the 2006 war between Lebanese Hezbollah militants and Israel.In a presidential statement approved by all 15 members, the council urged all parties to exercise “maximum calm and restraint and refrain from any action or rhetoric that could jeopardize the cessation of hostilities or destabilize the region.”The Security Council also expressed concern at other border violations including the presence of extremist groups in Lebanese territory. It condemned terrorist acts in Lebanon, including hostage-taking, by the Islamic State group and Jabhat al-Nusra.The council warned that “the deepening involvement of some Lebanese parties in the fighting in Syria” also poses a risk for Lebanon’s stability. It did not name Hezbollah, which sent fighters into Syria to support the government of President Bashar Assad. Council members criticized incursions, abductions and arms trafficking across the Lebanese-Syrian border and said continuing cross-border fire and shelling from Syria into Lebanon has killed and injured Lebanese civilians.On the political front, the Security Council urged Lebanese leaders to quickly end a 10-month stalemate over the election of a president.The standoff “has undermined Lebanon’s ability to address the security, economic and social challenges it faces and has jeopardized the normal functioning of Lebanese institutions,” it said.

US says deal would bar Iran nuclear bomb in ‘perpetuity’-Deputy secretary of state rejects the claim that Tehran could restart nuke program after 10 years, as lawmakers push back over involvement in deal-By AFP and AP March 19, 2015, 8:33 pm 1-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration insisted before skeptical lawmakers Thursday that any deal with Iran would ensure in “perpetuity” that it could not develop nuclear weapons.A comprehensive accord would also see “phased, proportionate” relief from tough sanctions that have severely constrained Iran’s economy, but such relief could be swiftly reversed should the Islamic republic violate any final deal, said Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken.Several members of Congress and other critics have warned that the ongoing negotiations between world powers and Tehran would lead to a deal that would sunset after 10 years.Once the deal ends, critics fear, the Islamic Republic could once again freely crank up its nuclear program and develop a bomb.“That is simply not true,” Blinken told a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.“To the contrary, Iran would be prohibited from developing a nuclear weapon in perpetuity -– and we would have a much greater ability to detect any effort by Iran to do so.”He said that while some constraints would be lifted after a “significant period,” others would last “indefinitely, including a stringent and intrusive monitoring and inspections regime” by the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency. And should Iran violate the agreement and begin a rush to a bomb, a process described as “breakout,” Blinken stressed that restrictions on centrifuges and uranium mills would prevent Iran from completing a nuclear bomb for at least a year.“That would provide us more than enough time to detect and act on any Iranian transgression,” he said.A report from the Associated Press Thursday claimed a draft agreement called for Iran to scale back to 6,000 centrifuges in exchange for immediate sanctions relief.However, US administration officials denied any draft paper was being passed around.Blinken’s testimony, less than two weeks before a deadline for the outlines of a major deal, came as Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and US Secretary of State John Kerry reported progress in their talks Thursday in Switzerland, but with much work remaining.Blinken said Iran would be indefinitely barred under the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty from developing or acquiring a nuclear weapon.Democrats and Republicans alike scoffed at the suggestion that such NPT restrictions would hold back Iran, with committee Chairman Ed Royce warning that Iranians “have been violating those commitments for years.”Adam Szubin, acting undersecretary of treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, said if a nuclear deal is struck with Iran, lawmakers should leave congressionally imposed sanctions in place for years.Royce, a Republican, said that sounded like part of a White House strategy to keep Congress out of the process for years. Lawmakers wary of Iran are pushing to weigh in on any prospective deal and impose new penalties on Tehran.The administration argues that congressional action now would scuttle the delicate international negotiations underway in Switzerland.“If we are able to secure a comprehensive understanding, we will structure the nuclear-related sanctions relief in a way that is phased, proportionate and reversible,” said Szubin. “We will need to see verified steps on Iran’s part before sanctions are lifted and we believe that powerful US legislative sanctions should not be terminated for years to come so that we continue to retain important leverage years into a deal.”He said if a deal is not reached, the administration would work with Congress to ratchet up sanctions pressure on Iran.Royce pushed back, saying Secretary of State John Kerry has said that any agreement would have to pass muster with Congress.“Yet that commitment has been muddied by the administration’s insistence in recent weeks that Congress will not play a role. And that’s not right,” Royce said. “Congress built the sanctions structure that brought Iran to the table and if the president moves to dismantle it, we will have a say.”Royce said it seems as if the Obama administration plans to push the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution to “basically bless” this agreement and relax sanctions. “But at the same time, you are pushing off Congress. Why push for UN action and not Congress?”Rep. Eliot Engel, the top Democrat on the committee, also defended Congress’ role if the US signs any agreement.“There really cannot be any marginalization of Congress. Congress really needs to play a very active and vital role in this whole process and any attempts to sidestep Congress will be resisted on both sides of the aisle,” Engel said.Blinken said the administration is not “pushing off” Congress.“Congress will have to exercise its authority to lift sanctions at the end of an agreement if Iran complies,” Blinken said. “And indeed, keeping that until the end — until we see that Iran is compiling, is the best way to sustain leverage.”Lawmakers also pointed to the need to include restrictions on Iran’s ballistic missile program in any nuclear deal, as reinforcement against the country using such a delivery system for an atomic bomb.“The critical question of the possible military dimension of Iran’s program… would have to be part of any agreement,” Blinken acknowledged.Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany are currently seeking an accord meant to ensure that Iran will not develop nuclear weapons under the guise of its civilian program — an aim it denies having.The deal is due to be finalized by July.