Monday, May 14, 2018

AMERICA RECONIZES JERUSALEM AS ISRAELS UNDIVIDED CAPITAL FOREVER TODAY. WITH EMBASSY MOVE FROM TEL AVIV TO JERUSALEM.

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)

JOEL 3:2 (WW3 OCCURS WHEN JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED)
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people (ISRAEL) and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.(JERUSALEM)(WW3 STARTS BECAUSE JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED AND ISRAELIS UPROOTED FROM THEIR GOD GIVIN LAND BRINGS 3 DEAD BILLION IN WW3)

MICAH 4:1,6-13
1 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.
6  In that day, saith the LORD, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted;
7  And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.
8  And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.
9  Now why dost thou cry out aloud? is there no king in thee? is thy counsellor perished? for pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail.
10  Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the LORD shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.
11  Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion.
12  But they know not the thoughts of the LORD, neither understand they his counsel: for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor.
13  Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the LORD, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.

PSALMS 137:5-6
5  If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.(STROKE)
6  If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.

ISAIAH 31:5
5 As birds flying,(WAR PLANES WITH BOMBS) so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem;(WITH PLANES) defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it.(NUKE OR BOMB ISRAELS ENEMIES)

ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(disolved from atomic bomb) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(disolved from atomic bomb) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(disolved from atomic bomb)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)

ZECHARIAH 14:1-4 King James Bible
1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

LUKE 1:31-32
32  He (JESUS) shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:(IN JERUSALEM)
33  And he shall reign over the house of Jacob (ISRAEL ON EARTH) for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.(THATS RULING FOREVER FROM JERUSALEM JESUS DOES ON EARTH-NOT HEAVEN FOR YOU END OF THE WORLDERS)

ISAIAH 9:6-7
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:(JESUS 1ST COMING) and the government shall be upon his shoulder:(JESUS 2ND COMING AS RULING KING FROM JERUSALEM FOREVER AT THE END OF THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION) and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his (JESUS) government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David,( IN JERUSALEM) and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

‘You have made history’: Netanyahu hails Trump at Jerusalem embassy opening-'You can only build peace upon truth,' PM says at ceremony inaugurating new mission in capital; Rivlin thanks US counterpart for keeping promise-By Michael Bachner and TOI staff-MAY 14,18

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday praised Donald Trump for “making history by recognizing history” at a ceremony dedicating the new US embassy in Jerusalem, while President Reuven Rivlin thanked the US president for “keeping his promise.”“What a glorious day,” Netanyahu told the crowd at the new embassy building in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Arnona. “Remember this moment, this is history. President Trump, by recognizing history, you have made history.”“Today, the embassy of the most powerful country on earth, our friend and ally, the United States of America, opens in Jerusalem,” he exclaimed.Some 800 guests attended the embassy dedication. Representing the US at the opening were US Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan, Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, the president’s daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump, and Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt. US Ambassador David Friedman was presiding over the dedication ceremony.“We have no better friends in the world,” Netanyahu told the American guests.Addressing Kushner and Ivanka Trump, he said, “Your presence here today is a testament to the importance of this occasion,” and thanked them for their “pursuit of peace.”“In Jerusalem, King David established Jerusalem as a capital 3,000 years ago,” he continued. “King Solomon later built the Temple, and over 2,000 years later, we got to hear the sentence ‘The Temple Mount is in our hands.’ We are here in Jerusalem, and we are here to stay.“We are here to celebrate another historic moment in the history of this city,” he said, comparing the relocation of the embassy to the Balfour Declaration of 1917 and the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.“Thank you, President Trump, for making the bond between us stronger than ever,” Netanyahu said. “Ambassador Friedman, thanks for everything you do to bring our countries closer than ever. You are the first US ambassador to serve your country from Jerusalem, and that is an immense honor.“This is a good day for peace too. You can only build peace upon truth, and the truth is that Jerusalem has been the capital of Israel for 3,000 years,” he said. “May the opening of this embassy spread the truth far and wide.”President Rivlin spoke earlier at the ceremony. “’Our feet were standing, within your gates in the gates of Jerusalem,’ the capital of Israel,” he said, quoting from Psalm 122. “For three thousand years, the Jewish people kept their faith in Jerusalem. For three thousand years we prayed for Jerusalem, and since the establishment of the State of Israel 70 years ago, Jerusalem has been the capital of Israel.“The State of Israel’s commitment to Jerusalem is not only a commitment to the history of the Jewish people, but it is also a commitment to all residents of Jerusalem,” he continued. “Jerusalem is a microcosm of our ability, Jews and Arabs, to live together. The unity of Jerusalem is also seen in that all living in the city are equal.“As of this happy day, Jerusalem is also home to the embassy to Israel of the United States of America, thank God,” Rivlin said, thanking the US Congress and its members from both parties “for their love and support for Israel.”“In every US election, every presidential candidate has promised to move the American embassy to Jerusalem,” he added. “Finally, we have a leader who promised it and also kept his promise. And for this, we give thanks that we have arrived at this place at this time.“President Trump, the Israeli people thank you for keeping your word, for your courage, for your determination, and for your firm, unwavering stand alongside the State of Israel,” he concluded. “We hope and expect that other nations will follow your path and your leadership. We will continue to safeguard Jerusalem, as the city of peace, as a city home to all those of faith. A city of all its residents and citizens, of all religions and communities, who share together one city, which is so greatly loved.”Jerusalem’s status is perhaps the thorniest issue in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel considers the entire city its capital, while the Palestinians see its eastern neighborhoods as the capital of their future state.Trump announced on December 6, 2017, that he was recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and would move the embassy there from Tel Aviv.The development delighted the Israeli government, but angered Palestinians who want the eastern part of the city as the capital of a future Palestinian state.Most European countries have slammed Trump’s move as not in line with international consensus, preferring to wait on recognizing the city until the status of Jerusalem is finalized in talks with the Palestinians.Before and during the ceremony, deadly Hamas-spurred clashes raged between Palestinians and Israeli security forces on the Gaza Strip border.Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said dozens of Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire amid mass protests on the border in commemoration of the Palestinian Nakba Day, which marks the “catastrophe” of Israel’s founding 70 years ago. The Israeli military said Hamas was making repeated efforts to breach the border, which it was repelling.

Jubilation and resignation as US opens Jerusalem embassy-Palestinians in the eastern part of the capital were pessimistic; Jewish residents in the western side were more upbeat-By Michael Blum and Clothilde Mraffko-TOI-MAY 14,18

AFP — Reactions to the opening of a US Embassy in Jerusalem on Monday reflected the city’s ethnic and religious divide, with Israelis jubilant and Palestinians seemingly resigned.About a mile from the embassy building, the Palestinian neighborhood of Jabal Mukaber was peaceful, although it has seen violent confrontations between its inhabitants and Israeli security forces in the past.Moving the embassy from Tel Aviv “is not going to affect the lives of residents, but it will have a political impact because it will strengthen Israel and incite intolerance,” neighborhood leader Hussein Iwesiat told AFP.“The (Israeli) occupation will be encouraged to become more violent,” he said.For Palestinians, the order given by US President Donald Trump to break with decades of US policy, recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and move the embassy there is deeply provocative.In Jerusalem’s walled Old City, all was quiet on Monday and shops were open as usual, but there was frustration beneath the calm surface.“I feel insulted as an Arab, humiliated by everything that happens,” shop-worker Ali Jaber, 53, said.“But what can we do?”Sitting amid the colorful clothes in her shop in an Old City bazaar, 32-year-old Nihad Abu Sneineh said she does not believe that demonstrations are the answer.“If there is ever mass protest, the Israeli police will not be handing out gifts,” she said.“They will beat the demonstrators and put them in prison,” she added. “They even put children in prison.”Working in a shop across the alley, Hamed, 25, said that Israeli joy over the move could actually reflect anxiety.“When a house does not belong to you, you feel obliged to tell everyone that it’s really yours,” he said.-Embassy ‘strengthens security’-Just beyond the Old City walls in the commercial downtown of west Jerusalem, Israeli and US flags flutter in the breeze.Elisa Rake, a 31-year-old mother of two and a Parisian immigrant to Israel who has lived in the divided holy city for 12 years, has mixed feelings about Trump’s decision.“It’s a special day, but I would have preferred the embassy to be moved by a guy who is not a homophobic racist,” she said.But she does not fear violent protest as a consequence.“The presence of this embassy in Jerusalem can only strengthen security,” she said.Nearby, people said in the sunshine at cafe terraces or strolled between the shops.“I am skeptical about the future but American support for Israel is important,” said Yaakov Cohen, who immigrated to Israel from the United States 25 years ago.“If words have meaning, then actions have even more, so maybe it’s a historic day,” he said.Avraham Binyamin has been selling the kippot worn by observant Jews for 37 years.His merchandise, directed in part at Jewish tourists, includes items bearing the slogan “Trump, Make America Great Again” and portraits of the US president.“Some worship him, others hate him,” said Binyamin, 57.“Nobody’s indifferent — the same goes for his decision,” he added.A neighboring cold-drink seller looks up from the book of Psalms he is reading and points heavenward.“It is not Trump who decides,” he says. “It is only God.”

European countries blast US embassy move to Jerusalem-Turkey calls relocation 'legally null and void;' Ireland says it 'inflames a very tense situation'; Netherlands terms it 'unwise'-By Agencies and TOI staff-MAY 14,18

European foreign ministries on Monday slammed the US decision to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, saying it violates international law, is unwise and is likely to exacerbate tensions, shortly before the embassy’s dedication ceremony began in Jerusalem.Turkey’s foreign ministry called the action “null and void” and “illegitimate.”“We strongly condemn the decision… violating international law and all relevant UN resolutions,” it said in a statement. “We reiterate that this action is legally null and void. We emphasize that such a step which disregards the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people will not serve peace, security and stability in the region.“By insisting on this attitude, the US administration has damaged the basis for a solution of the most basic issue in the Middle East,” Ankara charged. “The US administration will be fully responsible for the repercussions of the said decision which runs the risk of eroding the parameters established during the peace process.”French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called Monday for all parties to “act responsibly to prevent a new flareup” in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as bloody clashes raged on the Israeli border with Gaza, with Palestinians engaging in a violent culmination of weeks of protests.“France calls again for Israeli authorities to act with caution and restraint in the use of force, which must be strictly proportional,” Le Drian said in a statement on the conflict’s bloodiest day in years.Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said that the move “is inflaming already a very tense situation, and the relationship between Israelis and Palestinians.”His Dutch counterpart, Stef Blok, said, “We don’t consider it a wise decision to move the embassy.”Their comments come after the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania blocked the full 28-nation European Union from publishing a statement condemning the US move.Earlier Monday, US President Donald Trump’s Mideast peace negotiator said the move was a “necessary condition” to a lasting peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.Jason Greenblatt wrote on Twitter that “the long-overdue step of moving our Embassy is not a departure from our strong commitment to facilitate a lasting peace deal.”In a series of tweets, Greenblatt said that the embassy move should not change Palestinian-US relations.“As the President stated in December, recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is simply a recognition of reality. Israel is a sovereign nation, and like every other sovereign nation, it has the right to determine its own capital,” Greenblatt wrote.“Thank you POTUS for your bold, courageous and historic decision!” he concluded.Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat blasted the Trump administration ahead of the embassy move, saying Trump had violated a promise to hold off on moving the embassy to give peace talks a chance and that his administration was “based on lies.”Erekat said the Trump administration has “become part of the problem, not part of the solution.” He indicated that Trump’s Mideast team was unqualified, saying “the world needs real leaders, and those [White House officials] are real estate dealers, not leaders.”He also called the embassy move a “hostile act against international law.”Delighting the Israeli government, but angering Palestinians who claim the eastern part of the city as the capital of a future Palestinian state, Trump announced on December 6, 2017, that he was recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and would move the US embassy to the city from Tel Aviv.Raphael Ahren contributed to this report.

PA blasts Hungary, Romania and Czechs for blocking EU censure of US embassy move-Palestinians accuse countries of violating international law, say their ties with Arab and Islamic worlds will suffer-TOI-MAY 13,18-By Alexander Fulbright

The Palestinian Authority’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday accused Hungary, Romania, and the Czech Republic of violating international law, after a report said the countries worked with Israel to block EU condemnation of the US’s embassy’s move to Jerusalem.In a statement carried by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, the PA said the countries’ stance was in opposition to European Union policy, United Nations resolutions, and the Geneva Convention. It said Budapest, Bucharest, and Prague would suffer consequences for their actions, in particular in their ties with the Arab and Islamic worlds.The PA also called on other countries not to follow the US in moving its embassy to the Israeli capital and said it would take legal action against any country that does so.The PA condemnation of Hungary, Romania, and the Czech Republic came after a Channel 10 report Friday said Israel teamed up with the three countries to block a resolution sought by France, which sought to present a unified European front against Washington’s move.According to the report, the draft resolution stated that Jerusalem should be the capital of two states — Israel and Palestine; that the status of Jerusalem should only be resolved as part of peace negotiations; and that EU nations will not follow the US in moving their missions to the holy city.The Czech Republic’s president has voiced support for moving the country’s embassy to Jerusalem, though the move is opposed by the prime minister. Romania’s prime minister has also spoken in favor of such a relocation, opposed by that country’s president.On Wednesday Hadashot TV news reported that European diplomats will skip a Foreign Ministry event next week, marking the opening of the American embassy which will operate at the site of a US consulate facility in the capital.Despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu inviting the entire foreign diplomatic corps to Sunday’s event, many European envoys, including those from the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, will boycott the ceremony, the report said.Senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat on Monday called on foreign dignitaries in Israel and around the world to stay away so as not to endorse what he called Washington’s “flagrant violations of international law.”“As Washington pursues a policy of encouragement of international anarchy and disregard for organizations and international law, we call upon all diplomatic corps, civil society organizations, and religious authorities to boycott the inauguration ceremony of the US embassy in Jerusalem, lest they lend legitimacy to an illegal decision and to continued Israeli policies of occupation, colonization, and annexation,” Erekat said.US President Donald Trump’s December 6 decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and to relocate the embassy there “is not only illegal but will also thwart the achievement of a just and lasting peace between two sovereign and democratic states on the 1967 borders, Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security,” Erekat’s statement went on.The Palestinians have adamantly rejected Trump’s policy on Jerusalem and have effectively avoided any contact with US officials since the decision.Sunday’s Foreign Ministry event will also mark Guatemala’s opening of its embassy in the city next week and will be attended by Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales. Guatemala announced weeks after Trump it would move its embassy to Jerusalem, making it the second country to do so.Paraguay on Wednesday confirmed it will also move its embassy to Jerusalem, after Nahshon said Monday that Paraguay President Horacio Cartes will travel to Israel later this month for the inauguration.Raphael Ahren and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

MIDEAST ON EDGE: Israel DEFIANT as US Embassy Opens Monday-MAY 12,18-SEAN HANNITY-FOX CHANEL

Israeli and US forces in the region are bracing for violence as both nations prepare for the grand opening of the new American embassy in Jerusalem; fulfilling years of empty promises and highlighting the close relationship between the two countries.US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan will be in attendance, as will President Trump’s daughter Ivanka alongside her husband and senior Trump advisor Jared Kushner.According to Yahoo News, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu views the “historic” decision to relocate the embassy from Tel Aviv as a catalyst for other nations to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel; a move vehemently opposed by the United Nations.“I must tell you that the bold decision by President Trump has prompted other countries, quite a few now, who are planning to move their embassy to Jerusalem as well,” Netanyahu said last month.The opening comes as tensions in the region reached an all-time high this week, after Israeli forces struck the Iranian military operating inside Syria; killing at least 23 fighters.The post MIDEAST ON EDGE: Israel DEFIANT as US Embassy Opens Monday appeared first on Sean Hannity.

LUKE 21:28-29
28 And when these things begin to come to pass,(ALL THE PROPHECY SIGNS FROM THE BIBLE) then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (RAPTURE) draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree,(ISRAEL) and all the trees;(ALL INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES)
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.(ISRAEL LITERALLY BECAME AND INDEPENDENT COUNTRY JUST BEFORE SUMMER IN MAY 14,1948.)

JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth (ATOMIC BOMB) before them;(RUSSIAN-ARAB-MUSLIM ARMIES AGAINST ISRAEL) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(ATOMIC BOMB AFFECT)

ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)

EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.

ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE

Israel to close key Gaza crossing while it repairs immense damage by rioters-IDF to shutter Kerem Shalom to repair gas lines and conveyor after Palestinian protesters sabotage infrastructure serving their own energy-starved enclave-By TOI staff-MAY 13,18

The Israeli military on Saturday announced the closure of the Kerem Shalom border crossing into the Gaza Strip, a day after Palestinian rioters trashed key infrastructure serving the only entry point of outside goods into the Hamas-run Strip, causing immense damage.The crossing will be closed while the damage is repaired, and will reopen in accordance with the security situation, officials said.The army said its recommendation to shutter the crossing, which ordinarily sees hundreds of cargo-bearing trucks pass into Gaza each day, was approved by Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman.Apart from humanitarian cases, the IDF said the Kerem Shalom crossing would remain closed until the “extensive damage” caused by the torched gas lines as well as a conveyor belt used to transfer goods into the Strip is repaired.The army estimated the damage to Kerem Shalom would cost $9 million to repair.Earlier on Saturday, Israeli officials toured the Kerem Shalom area and said they were “astonished by the devastation and destruction Palestinians left in their wake.”“They’re bringing a disaster upon themselves,” one unnamed official told the Ynet news site.Friday’s vandalism at the crossing was a repeat of a similar incident on May 4, when demonstrators broke into the Palestinian side of the crossing and damaged pipelines carrying gas and oil into Gaza, which already suffers from a significant energy shortage.“This is a cynical act that harms the welfare of Gaza residents and the humanitarian efforts carried out by Israel and many other countries,” the army said at the time.Around 15,000 Palestinians took part in protests along the Gaza Strip’s border with Israel on Friday, in the final weekly “March of Return” before next week’s Nakba Day events on May 14 and 15, when the violent demonstrations are expected to reach their peak.The IDF said violent protesters clashed with Israeli soldiers at five major points along the border. Troops were attacked with pipe bombs, grenades, rocks, and burning tires. Rioters also attempted to sabotage “security infrastructure,” the army said.Several flaming kites were flown over the fence by demonstrators, sparking blazes in Israeli territory. Israeli officials said Friday night the fires were under control.The Hamas-encouraged demonstrations are ostensibly aimed to protest the decade-long Israeli-Egyptian blockade, imposed after the terror group violently seized power in Gaza in 2007, and to assert Palestinian demands for millions to “return” to lost properties in what is now Israel.But Israel maintains that Hamas uses the protests as a cover for violent attacks at the border and attempts to breach into Israeli territory.On Friday, the IDF accused Hamas of orchestrating the damage to Kerem Shalom, saying the ruling terror group was “harming the wellbeing of Gaza residents and paralyzing their daily life.”“Israel along with many other countries are working to bring food, equipment, and fuel to the residents of the Gaza Strip, and Hamas is preventing them from entering, and are carrying out activities that endanger the operations of the border crossings,” the IDF said.According to the Hamas health ministry, around 50 Palestinians have been killed since protests and clashes began along the Gaza border on March 30 and hundreds of others have been wounded by gunfire. Israel says it only opens fire when necessary to stop infiltrations, damage to the fence, and attacks.Hamas acknowledged that five of its terrorists were among the fatalities after the first Friday demonstration, but has since refrained from acknowledging whether its men are among the dead. Israel has identified other fatalities as members of terrorist groups.On Thursday, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar said he hopes to see a mass breach of the Israeli border during next week’s protests timed to coincide with the US embassy’s move to Jerusalem.Israel has repeatedly expressed concern over the possibility of a mass breach of the Gaza fence, in which Palestinians would stream across with terrorists among them, wreaking havoc. Sinwar has vowed in the past that protesters would “breach the borders and pray at Al-Aqsa,” referring to the major Muslim shrine in Jerusalem.Hamas has said if the protests “don’t achieve their goals,” they will continue.

Israeli officials tour torched Gaza crossing, ‘astonished’ by destruction-After rioters burn Palestinian side of Kerem Shalom, a lifeline for the Strip, one official says 'They're bringing a disaster upon themselves'-By TOI staff-MAY 13,18

Military and administrative officials toured the Israeli side of the Kerem Shalom goods crossing with the Gaza Strip Saturday, a day after Palestinian rioters torched gas pipes serving the territory as well as a conveyor belt used to transfer goods into the Strip.The damage to the crossing is thought to be in the tens of millions of shekels.On unnamed official told the Ynet news site, “We were astonished by the devastation and destruction Palestinians left in their wake. They’re bringing a disaster upon themselves.”Kerem Shalom is the only goods crossing between Israel and Gaza, which already suffers from a severe energy shortage.Officials said the crossing may need to be closed down for several days while the damage is assessed and dealt with.Friday’s vandalism at the crossing was a repeat of a similar incident on May 4, when demonstrators broke into the Palestinian side of the crossing and damaged pipelines carrying gas and oil into Gaza.“This is a cynical act that harms the welfare of Gaza residents and the humanitarian efforts carried out by Israel and many other countries,” the army said at the time.Around 15,000 Palestinians took part in protests along the Gaza Strip’s border with Israel Friday, in the final weekly “March of Return” before next week’s Nakba Day events on May 14 and 15, when the violent demonstrations are expected to reach their peak.The Israeli army said violent protesters clashed with Israeli soldiers at five major points along the border. Troops were attacked with pipe bombs, grenades, rocks, and burning tires. Rioters also attempted to sabotage “security infrastructure,” the army said.Several flaming kites were flown over the fence by demonstrators, sparking blazes in Israeli territory. Israeli officials said the fires were under control.The army said it used live fire in several incidents against violent demonstrators.The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said a 40-year-old man was killed after being shot in the chest east of Khan Younis, in the south of the Strip. The ministry said 146 people were injured by live fire — at least eight seriously, another several dozen moderately, and several dozen lightly.Hamas’s leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar said Thursday he hopes to see hundreds of thousands of Palestinians breach the border fence from Gaza into Israel at next week’s protests to coincide with the US embassy’s move to Jerusalem.The Hamas-encouraged demonstrations are ostensibly aimed to protest the decade-long Israeli-Egyptian blockade, imposed after the terror group seized power in Gaza in 2007, and to assert Palestinian demands for millions to “return” to lost properties in what is now Israel.Israel says, however, that the terror group uses the protests as a cover for attacks at the border and attempts to breach it.According to the Hamas health ministry, around 50 Palestinians have been killed since protests and clashes began along the Gaza border on March 30 and hundreds of others have been wounded from gunfire. Israel says it only opens fire when necessary to stop infiltrations, damage to the fence, and attacks.Hamas acknowledged that five of its terrorists were among the fatalities after the first Friday demonstration, but has since refrained from acknowledging whether its men are among the dead. Israel has identified other fatalities as members of terrorist groups.An Islamist terror group which seeks to destroy Israel, Hamas violently took control of Gaza from Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah in 2007, two years after Israel withdrew its military and civilian presence from the Strip. Israel and Egypt maintain a security blockade of Gaza. Israel says this is vital to prevent Hamas — which has fought three rounds of conflict against Israel since seizing Gaza, firing thousands of rockets into Israel and digging dozens of attack tunnels under the border — from importing weaponry.The Israeli military has faced international and domestic criticism over its use of live fire, with the United Nations and European Union calling for an independent investigation rejected by Israel.Israel has repeatedly expressed concern over the possibility of a mass breach of the Gaza fence, in which Palestinians would stream across with terrorists among them, wreaking havoc. Sinwar has vowed in the past that protesters would “breach the borders and pray at Al-Aqsa,” referring to the major Muslim shrine in Jerusalem.Hamas has said if the protests “don’t achieve their goals,” they will continue.Agencies contributed to this report.

Top minister: Israel should eradicate any trace of Iranian entrenchment in Syria-Security cabinet member Yoav Galant says 'An opportunity has arisen to uproot Iran, and we'll take advantage of it'-By AFP and TOI staff    -MAY 13,18

Housing Minister Yoav Galant said Saturday Israel would seek to totally remove Iran’s military presence from Syria. “An opportunity has arisen for Israel to uproot Iran from Syria, and we’ll take advantage of this opportunity,” he said.Speaking at a cultural event in Tel Aviv suburb Givat Shmuel, the minister, a former army general and a member of the high-level security cabinet, said, “We need to strike while the iron is hot and eradicate any trace of Iranian entrenchment in Syria. We’ll put the Iranian genie back in its bottle.”Galant said Iran was “an imperialist terrorist nation…they’re spread out in Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon in an attempt to create an axis from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea…to surround us and create a war of attrition between ourselves and the Arabs.”But he said Iran was overreaching, creating difficulties for itself. “The Iranian economy is in a bad state, and there’s an internal debate in Iran. Many understand that the focus on exporting terrorism and developing nuclear weapons is using up the resources of tens of millions of residents who need to live.”Israeli officials told Hadashot TV news Friday night that the security cabinet believes Iran “has gotten the Israeli message, and won’t mess with us in the near future” — a day after Israel launched dozens of strikes on Iranian military sites in Syria in response to an Iranian missile barrage directed at northern Israel.Israeli leaders assess that the Israeli action has made it clear to Tehran that it does not possess the operational infrastructure it needs in Syria to successfully contend with IDF capabilities, the report said.The army has told ministers in the top forum that it thus believes the current round of hostilities to be over, though tensions in the north will persevere, and border incidents are still possible.At least 11 Iranians were among those killed in unprecedented Israeli strikes in Syria, a monitor said Saturday.“At least 27 pro-regime fighters were killed: six Syrian soldiers and 21 foreign fighters, including 11 Iranians,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.That updates the monitor’s initial death toll of 23, which did not specify the number of Iranians.“The new report is due to the death of wounded or missing persons whose deaths have been confirmed,” Abdel Rahman said.Speaking in the north of Israel earlier Friday, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman sent a message to Syrian President Bashar Assad, telling him to “throw” Iranian forces out of his country.Liberman visited the northern city of Katzrin to debrief residents following Israel’s largest air campaign in Syria in more than 40 years, in which it said it bombed over 50 Iranian targets.The sortie came after Iran fired 20 missiles toward Israel just after midnight on Thursday morning, the IDF said, forcing residents of the north into bomb shelters. Four of the missiles were knocked down by the Iron Dome air defense system and the rest fell short of Israeli territory, according to the military.Liberman also told Israelis they should not let the threat from Syria deter them from visiting the north. “You can come, you can return to the bed and breakfasts, to tour, to hike,” he said. “There are truly amazing views and among the most beautiful places, and there is no problem. We are back to normal.”He said that it was a mistake to think that Thursday morning’s attacks on the Iranian bases had completely solved the problem, but that the army was ready for anything and would continue to do whatever necessary to ensure Israel is secure.The defense minister welcomed Iran’s statement that it did not want an escalation between the two countries and stressed that Israel was also not looking for more confrontation with anyone.“We did not cross Iran’s borders,” he said. “They came here.”Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that Israel would be victorious in its “ongoing campaign” against Iran.“I have established a basic principle: Whoever strikes us, we are going to strike them,” Netanyahu said.Israel has long warned it will not accept Iran entrenching itself militarily in neighboring Syria, where the Islamic Republic backs Assad’s regime in the country’s seven-year civil war.The Jewish state has said said it also conducts operations in Syria to stop what it says are advanced arms deliveries to Iran-backed Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed terror group which is said to have 140,000 missiles and rockets aimed at Israel from Lebanon.A leading Iranian cleric said Friday that Tel Aviv and Haifa will be destroyed if Israel behaves “foolishly,” while also vowing Iran will ramp up missile development despite Western criticism. He spoke as thousands of Iranians marched in anti-Israel and anti-US protests nationwide.“We will expand our missile capabilities despite Western pressure [to curb it]… to let Israel know that if it acts foolishly, Tel Aviv and Haifa will be totally destroyed,” Reuters translated Ahmad Khatami as saying during Friday prayers at Tehran University, broadcast on Iranian state television.

11 Iranians among dead in Israel’s strikes in Syria, monitor says-Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says Thursday's air campaign following Iranian missile barrage killed at least 27 pro-regime fighters -- 6 Syrians, 21 foreigners-By AFP and TOI staff-MAY 13,18
At least 11 Iranians were among those killed in unprecedented Israeli strikes in Syria Thursday, a monitor said Saturday.“At least 27 pro-regime fighters were killed: six Syrian soldiers and 21 foreign fighters, including 11 Iranians,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.That updates the monitor’s initial death toll of 23, which did not specify the number of Iranians.“The new report is due to the death of wounded or missing persons whose deaths have been confirmed,” Abdel Rahman said.Israeli officials told Hadashot TV news Friday night that the security cabinet believes Iran “has gotten the Israeli message, and won’t mess with us in the near future,” — a day after Israel launched dozens of strikes on Iranian military sites in Syria in response to an Iranian missile barrage directed at northern Israel.Israeli leaders assess that the Israeli action has made it clear to Tehran that it does not possess the operational infrastructure it needs in Syria to successfully contend with IDF capabilities, the report said.The army has told ministers in the top forum that it thus believes the current round of hostilities to be over, though tensions in the north will persevere, and border incidents are still possible.Speaking in the north of Israel earlier Friday, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman sent a message to Syrian President Bashar Assad, telling him to “throw” Iranian forces out of his country.Liberman visited the northern city of Katzrin to debrief residents following Israel’s largest air campaign in Syria in more than 40 years, in which it said it bombed over 50 Iranian targets.The sortie came after Iran fired 20 missiles toward Israel just after midnight on Thursday morning, the IDF said, forcing residents of the north into bomb shelters. Four of the missiles were knocked down by the Iron Dome air defense system and the rest fell short of Israeli territory, according to the military.The army also published pictures Friday of what it said was an Iranian Quds Force compound in al-Kisweh, south of Damascus, and an “Iranian logistics compound” 10 kilometers northwest of the capital.Liberman urged Syria to expel the Revolutionary Guard’s al-Quds Force, which Israel blamed for the missile attacks early Thursday morning.“I want to use this opportunity to give Assad a message,” he said. “Throw out the Iranians, throw out Qassem Soleimani and the Quds force. They don’t help you, they only harm you, and their presence causes only problems and damage.”Liberman also told Israelis they should not let the threat from Syria deter them from visiting the north. “You can come, you can return to the bed and breakfasts, to tour, to hike,” he said. “There are truly amazing views and among the most beautiful places, and there is no problem. We are back to normal.”He said that it was a mistake to think that Thursday morning’s attacks on the Iranian bases had completely solved the problem, but that the army was ready for anything and would continue to do whatever necessary to ensure Israel is secure.The defense minister welcomed Iran’s statement that it did not want an escalation between the two countries and stressed that Israel was also not looking for more confrontation with anyone.“We did not cross Iran’s borders,” he said. “They came here.”Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that Israel would be victorious in its “ongoing campaign” against Iran.“I have established a basic principle: Whoever strikes us, we are going to strike them,” Netanyahu said.Israel has long warned it will not accept Iran entrenching itself militarily in neighboring Syria, where the Islamic Republic backs Assad’s regime in the country’s seven-year civil war.The Jewish state has said said it also conducts operations in Syria to stop what it says are advanced arms deliveries to Iran-backed Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed terror group which is said to have 140,000 missiles and rockets aimed at Israel from Lebanon.A leading Iranian cleric said Friday that Tel Aviv and Haifa will be destroyed if Israel behaves “foolishly,” while also vowing Iran will ramp up missile development despite Western criticism. He spoke as thousands of Iranians marched in anti-Israel and anti-US protests nationwide.“We will expand our missile capabilities despite Western pressure (to curb it)… to let Israel know that if it acts foolishly, Tel Aviv and Haifa will be totally destroyed,” Reuters translated Ahmad Khatami as saying during Friday prayers at Tehran University, broadcast on Iranian state television.

Medical NGO: Israel must allow wounded protesters to leave Gaza for treatment-Local head of Physicians for Human Rights says 'even in times of war and conflict, and certainly when dealing with unarmed demonstrators, we must retain our humanity'-By TOI staff-MAY 13,18

A doctors’ rights group has called on Israeli leaders to reverse the policy of preventing Gazans injured during border protests from leaving the territory for treatment.Physicians for Human Rights – Israel (PHRI) said it had appealed to Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman and IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot to allow wounded individuals whose limbs were at risk to travel to Israel and the West Bank for treatment, Haaretz reported Saturday.Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says 24 Palestinians have had limbs amputated due to the inadequacy of the Strip’s medical facilities, and Israel’s refusal or delay in approving transfer to hospitals outside Gaza.The group said the notion that “participation in a demonstration should serve as a consideration in preventing access to medical treatment is morally and ethically wrong.”PHRI President Dr. Rapahel Walden, who is deputy director of the Sheba Medical Center and the son-in-law and former personal physician of late president Shimon Peres, said: “Even in times of war and conflict, and certainly when dealing with unarmed demonstrators, we must retain our humanity.“Medical ethics and the policies of Israel’s rescue and health organizations obligate us to provide treatment to the wounded, regardless of their actions before they were injured.”In April the High Court ruled in one case that a Palestinian who was wounded in border clashes and had his right leg amputated must be permitted to travel to the West Bank for treatment to save his other leg. The state had argued that while the man fulfilled the medical criteria required to get approval, he was denied entry, because his injuries “stemmed directly from [his] participation in the riots.”PHRI said many other cases were still being refused on similar grounds.Palestinians in Gaza have engaged in violent clashes with Israeli troops at the border every Friday since March 30, in protests that have seen around 50 fatalities — according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.Around 15,000 Palestinians took part in the most recent rally Friday. The Israeli army said violent protesters clashed with soldiers at five major points along the border. Troops were attacked with pipe bombs, grenades, rocks and burning tires. Rioters also attempted to sabotage “security infrastructure,” the army said.Several flaming kites were flown over the fence by demonstrators, sparking blazes in Israeli territory. Israeli officials said the fires were under control.The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said a 40-year-old man was killed after being shot in the chest east of Khan Younis, in the south of the Strip. The ministry said 146 people were injured by live fire — at least eight seriously, and another several dozen moderately and several dozen lightly.Rioters also set fire to gas pipes serving the territory as well as a conveyor belt used to transfer goods into the Strip, the Israeli military said. The IDF said dozens of protesters sabotaged infrastructure on the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom goods crossing.Israel says it opens fire when necessary to stop damage to the border fence, infiltrations, and attempted attacks. It alleges that Hamas, whose leaders have said the demonstrations are ultimately aimed at erasing the border and liberating Palestine, is seeking to use the protests as cover to carry out violence.Hamas’s leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar said Thursday he hopes to see hundreds of thousands of Palestinians breach the border fence from Gaza into Israel at next week’s protests to coincide with the US embassy’s move to Jerusalem.The Israeli military has faced international and domestic criticism over its use of live fire, with the United Nations and European Union calling for an independent investigation rejected by Israel.Israel has repeatedly expressed concern over the possibility of a mass breach of the Gaza fence, in which Palestinians would stream across with terrorists among them, wreaking havoc. Sinwar has vowed in the past that protesters would “breach the borders and pray at Al-Aqsa,” referring to the major Muslim shrine in Jerusalem.

Israel using small remote-controlled airplanes to combat Gaza’s ‘attack kites’-Army sends tiny aircraft with knives on their wings to cut the strings of the airborne incendiary devices-By TOI staff-MAY 13,18

Israel is employing small remote-controlled airplanes to battle the phenomenon of incendiary kites in the Gaza Strip, Hadashot news reported Friday night.The military is using the planes, armed with cutting knives on their wings, to cut the kites’ wires, thus preventing them from carrying their payload of firebombs over the border and sparking fires in Israel.According to the report on Friday the tiny aircraft’s operators managed to down seven kites flown towards Israel.For the past several weeks, Gazans have been regularly flying kites outfitted with containers of burning fuel, often including charcoal and bags of sugar to ensure a long, slow burn.The kite tactic was introduced as part of the weekly “March of Return” demonstrations at the border fence, which began on March 30 and are due to continue through mid-May.The kites have regularly sparked fires in Israeli fields, and the army has struggled to thwart the new weapon.

White House slams Iran for ‘reckless actions’ against Israel, Saudi Arabia-US calls on 'responsible nations to bring pressure on Iran to change this dangerous behavior'-By AFP-TOI-MAY 13,18

WASHINGTON — The White House on Friday slammed Iran for its “reckless actions” that it warned pose a “severe threat” to stability in Middle East.The statement came after Iranian forces in Syria were accused by Israel of launching some 20 missiles at Israel, prompting Israeli strikes against positions held by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) inside Syria.The White House said that Iran “pours resources into exporting destabilizing influence throughout the Middle East, even as the Iranian people are victims of a struggling economy.”“Already this week, the IRGC has fired rockets at Israeli citizens, and Iran’s proxies in Yemen have launched a ballistic missile at Riyadh.“These actions are further proof that the Iranian regime’s reckless actions pose a severe threat to regional peace and security.“It is time for responsible nations to bring pressure on Iran to change this dangerous behavior.”Iran is backing the Shiite Huthi rebels in Yemen’s civil war. The Huthis are battling a Saudi-led coalition that supports Yemen’s government.

Tunisian politician calls for normalization with Israel-Mounir Batour, head of Tunisia Liberal Party, spars on air with MP who tore up Israeli flag, says 'enmity toward Israel, love of Palestinian cause are not Tunisia's real problems'-By TOI staff-MAY 13,18

A Tunisian political activist has called for normalization with Israel, saying it was “in Tunisia’s best interests.”Mounir Batour, head of the Tunisia Liberal Party — which does not hold seats in parliament — spoke on Tunisna TV on April 19, debating an MP who tore up an Israeli flag during a session of parliament.Batour said MP Ammar Amroussia’s actions were an empty gesture. “How was Israel affected by the tearing up of its flag? It was a meaningless gesture with no impact. He took an A4 sheet of paper and tore it up. It was nothing but a show.“The State of Israel exists, it is a member in the United Nations and in all the international organizations, and its flag flies everywhere. So whether or not you tear it up is immaterial to Israel.”He said his party called for “peace” and “normal economic relations with all countries.“We believe that enmity toward Israel and love of the Palestinian cause are not Tunisia’s real problems today. Tunisia’s problems are social and economic,” he said.Amroussia accused Batour and his party of being a fifth column in Tunisian society. “You are fighting as part of the enemy armies,” he shot.“We are calling for peace,” Batour answered.“You are calling for surrender,” Amroussia retorted.Host Walid Zribi also suggested that normalization of ties with Israel could constitute treason, an assertion Batour disputed.The two guests also argued about how to refer to Israel, with Amroussia insisting on calling the Jewish state “the Zionist entity” and Batour saying he would call it Israel.Batour criticized Amroussia for singling out Israel while ignoring other conflicts.“How come you do not cut ties with Iran, which has been occupying three United Arab Emirates islands since 1971? … Why don’t you boycott Turkey, which occupies the Sanjak of Alexandretta? The Sanjak of Alexandretta is larger than Palestine… Why don’t you boycott Egypt, which occupies Hala’ib of Sudan? Why don’t you boycott Spain… which occupies Ceuta and Melilla, along with 21 Moroccan islands?”Tunisia last week held its first free municipal elections since its 2011 revolution that sparked the Arab Spring uprisings.The Islamist movement Ennahdha came first in several of the country’s main cities including Tunis, but fell short of winning outright majorities.Nationwide, independent lists won 2,367 seats, just shy of a third of the total.Ennahdha took 2,135 seats and the Nidaa Tounes party of President Beji Caid Essebsi clinched 1,595.The election on Sunday was touted as another milestone on the road to democracy in the North African country, which has been praised for its transition from decades of dictatorship.AFP contributed to this report.

NFL star Antonio Brown’s mansion has a synagogue in it-'I got a lot of Jewish friends, and a synagogue is where you bless up,' says Steelers WR, who also has a ritual hand washing station at home-By Gabe Friedman-TOI-MAY 13,18

JTA — Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown owns an enormous mansion in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Inside, along with the dozen bedrooms and private movie theater, sits an in-home synagogue.Brown isn’t Jewish, but he showed off the house (more accurately, one of his multiple houses) and impressive sneaker collection in an interview with Complex magazine on Monday.“I got a lot of Jewish friends, and a synagogue is where you bless up,” he said when asked about it.He may have Jewish friends who frequent the synagogue, but the house was originally built by Yizhak and Liat Toledano. Brown bought the property from Yizhak, an Israeli-born real estate developer, in 2016.The house also contains a station for ritual hand washing, or netilat yadaim, connected to a dining room, and three kitchens, which according to The Times of Israel were kept kosher under the Toledanos’ ownership.Brown, who has been one of the league’s best receivers over the past half decade, might not have been improvising when he said he has many Jewish friends. He has shown affinity for Jews before, notably wishing Jews a happy Rosh Hashanah on Twitter in 2012.Happy New Year to all my Jewish friends ! #Cueupu— Antonio Brown (@AB84) September 16, 2012 (#Cueupu is a reference to a motivational motto that he calls his slogan: “Chest up. Eyes up. Prayed up.”) He was a contestant on “Dancing With the Stars” in 2016 right after he bought the house, and was asked about the synagogue. His interviewer said that he should dance the hora with his partner on TV.“That’d be dope!” he laughed. “I like that, you got good vision!”

U.S. fighter jets intercept Russian bombers in international airspace off Alaska-[Reuters]-YAHOONEWS-May 13, 2018

(Reuters) - Two U.S. fighter jets intercepted two Russian bombers in international airspace off the coast of Alaska on Friday.The Russian TU-95 "Bear" bombers flew into a so-called Air Defense Identification Zone located about 200 miles off Alaska's west coast, at about 10 a.m. EST (1400 GMT), North American Aerospace Defense Command spokesman Canadian Army Major Andrew Hennessy said in a statement to CNN.Two Alaska-based NORAD F-22 fighter jets intercepted and visually identified the Russian bombers until they left the identification zone and the Russian aircraft never entered U.S. airspace, CNN reported, citing the statement.Russian bombers TU-95 and TU-142 were escorted by two F-22 fighter jets in international airspace for 40 minutes, the RIA news agency cited the Russian Defence Ministry as saying on Saturday.The U.S. fighter jets did not get closer then 100 meters to the Russian bombers, the Russian military was quoted as saying.(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien; editional reporting be Denis Pinchuk in Moscow; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Alexander Smith)

Monitor: 42 killed by Israeli strikes in Syria this week-[Associated Press]-YAHOONEWS-May 13, 2018

BEIRUT (AP) — A wave of Israeli strikes on suspected military positions in Syria this week killed 42 people, including at least 19 Iranians, a Syria war monitor reported Saturday.The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the death toll from attacks early Thursday has risen from 23 to 27, including at least 11 Iranians and six Syrian soldiers, including three officers.In total, 42 people, including 19 Iranians, were killed over two days of strikes — from Tuesday to Thursday — according to the Observatory.The escalation between Israel and Iran has raised fears the region may be sliding into an unprecedented direct confrontation between the two archenemies.Israel's defense minister called on Syria's President Bashar Assad on Friday to clear his country of Iranian forces based there — warning that their presence will only bring more trouble to the already war-ravaged country.Avigdor Lieberman's comments were followed by threats from an Iranian cleric that Tel Aviv or Haifa would be in danger if Israel did "anything foolish."Israel had said its strikes on Thursday were in response to a barrage of Iranian rockets on its positions in the occupied Golan Heights, the most serious military confrontation between the two bitter enemies to date. It said it hit targets near the capital, in southern and central Syria, targeting weapons storage, logistics sites and intelligence centers used by elite Iranian forces in Syria. It also said it destroyed several Syrian air-defense systems after coming under heavy fire and that none of its warplanes were hit.Syrian state-run media had said that Israel struck a military outpost near the capital Damascus late Tuesday, adding that its air defenses intercepted and destroyed two of the incoming missiles. The Observatory said at least 15 were killed in the strike, eight of them Iranians, including a member of the Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards.Israel had previously warned that Iran has been deploying its allied militias in the area.Iran says Israel's repeated attacks are based on "fabricated" reasons.Separately, the Syrian state-run al-Ikhariya TV and the Observatory said airstrikes Saturday hit civilians in an Islamic State-controlled village in the northern Hassakeh province. The Observatory said eight members of the same family, including three children and five women, were killed.Al-Ikhbariya put the death toll from the strikes at nine, including four children. State-run TV said they were carried out by the U.S-led coalition, which is operating in the area against IS.An airstrike in the same area earlier this month killed at least 23 civilians. The coalition at the time said it was not aware of airstrikes by its warplanes in the area.

North Korea to dismantle nuclear test site later this month-[Associated Press]-Kim Tong-Hyung, Associated Press-YAHOONEWS-May 13, 2018

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- North Korea said Saturday that it will dismantle its nuclear test site between May 23 and 25, in a dramatic event that would set up leader Kim Jong Un's summit with President Donald Trump next month.In a statement carried by state media, North Korea's Foreign Ministry said that all of the tunnels at the country's northeastern testing ground will be destroyed by explosion, and that observation and research facilities and ground-based guard units will also be removed.Kim had already revealed plans to shut down the test site by the end of May during his summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in last month. Analysts say that while the closure of the site is important, it doesn't represent a material step toward full denuclearization."A ceremony for dismantling the nuclear test ground is now scheduled between May 23 and 25," depending on weather conditions, the Foreign Ministry's statement said.It said the North will invite journalists from the United States, South Korea, China, Russia and Britain to witness the dismantling process.The journalists will be provided with a charter flight from Beijing to the North Korean coastal city of Wonsan, from where they will travel by train to the test site, the statement said.The ministry said the North will continue to "promote close contacts and dialogue with the neighboring countries and the international society so as to safeguard peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and over the globe."Following the Moon-Kim summit, Moon's office said Kim was willing to disclose the process to international experts, but the North's statement Saturday didn't include any mention about allowing experts on the site.South Korea had no immediate response to the statement.The North's announcement comes days after Washington announced that the historic summit between Kim and Trump will be held June 12 in Singapore.Seoul, which shuttled between Washington and Pyongyang to set up the Trump-Kim meeting, has said Kim has genuine interest in dealing away his nuclear weapons in return for economic benefits. However, there are lingering doubts about whether Kim would ever agree to fully relinquish the weapons he likely views as his only guarantee of survival.During their summit at a border truce village, Moon and Kim vaguely promised to work toward the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula, but made no references to verification or timetables.North Korea for decades has been pushing a concept of "denuclearization" that bears no resemblance to the American definition. The North has been vowing to pursue nuclear development unless Washington removes its 28,500 troops from South Korea and the nuclear umbrella defending South Korea and Japan.Some experts believe Kim may try to drag out the process to wait out the Trump administration or seek a deal in which he gives away his intercontinental ballistic missiles but retains some of his shorter-range arsenal in return for a reduced U.S. military presence in the South. This could satisfy Trump but undermine the alliance between Washington and Seoul.Kim declared his nuclear force as complete in December, following North Korea's most powerful nuclear test to date in September and three flight tests of ICBMs designed to reach the U.S. mainland.North Korea announced at a ruling party meeting last month that it was suspending all tests of nuclear devices and ICBMs, as well as the plan to close the nuclear testing ground.Kim said during the meeting that the nuclear test site's mission had come "to an end" because the North had completed the process of developing nuclear-capable intermediate-range missiles, ICBMs and other strike means.The North also said for the first time at the meeting that it had been conducting "subcritical" nuclear tests. These refer to experiments involving a subcritical mass of nuclear materials that allow scientists to examine the performance and safety of weapons without triggering a nuclear chain reaction and explosion.North Korea's reference to such activity is designed to communicate that even without underground testing, the country intends to maintain its nuclear arsenal and be a "responsible" steward of those weapons at the same time, said Andrea Berger, a senior analyst at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies.Still, the closure of the underground testing site could be a useful precedent for Washington and Seoul as they proceed with the nuclear negotiations with Pyongyang, analysts say."Now that North Korea has accepted in principle that agreements should be verified, U.S. negotiators should hold them to this standard for any subsequent agreement," said Adam Mount, a senior defense analyst at the Federation of American Scientists. "It will make it more difficult for Kim Jong Un to deny inspections now that he has placed them on the table."North Korea has invited the outside world to witness the dismantling of its nuclear facilities before. In June 2008, international broadcasters were allowed to air the demolishing of a cooling tower at the Nyongbyon reactor site, a year after the North reached an agreement with the U.S. and four other nations to disable its nuclear facilities in return for an aid package worth about $400 million.But in September 2008, the North declared that it would resume reprocessing plutonium, complaining that Washington wasn't fulfilling its promise to remove the country from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.The administration of George W. Bush removed North Korea from the list in October 2008 after the country agreed to continue disabling its nuclear plant. However, a final attempt by Bush to complete an agreement to fully dismantle North Korea's nuclear weapons program collapsed that December when the North refused to accept U.S.-proposed verification methods.The North went on to conduct its second nuclear test in May 2009.

END OF THE WORLD CONSPIRACIES-DATE SETTERS.

MATTHEW 23:15
15  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

2 TIMOTHY 4:3-4
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

ISAIAH 8:12
12  Say ye not, A confederacy,(CONSPIRACY) to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy;(CONSPIRACY THEORY) neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.

MATTHEW 24:36
36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man,(ONLY BY THE SIGNS-WE KNOW THE RAPTURE CAN HAPPEN ANY SECOND NOW-NOT BY DATE SETTING) no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

JEREMIAH 17:9
9  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

MATTHEW 24:7
11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH IN NOAHS DAY(BECAUSE OF SIN,VIOLENCE AND GODLESS PEOPLE)

GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

HOSEA 4:1-3
1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.

DEUTORONOMY 28:22-24
22  The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.
23  And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
24  The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.

Hawaii braces for worse lava flows from erupting volcano-[Reuters]-By Terray Sylvester-YAHOONEWS-May 13, 2018

PAHOA, Hawaii (Reuters) - More destructive lava flows could soon hit Hawaii’s Big Island as the Kilauea volcano erupts, posing a greater threat than oozing magma that has so far destroyed dozens of homes and forced thousands to evacuate, scientists said.As a lava lake at Kilauea's summit drains inside the volcano, magma is running underground. It could burst to the surface as large, fast-moving and intensely hot lava flows and produce higher levels of toxic gases, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientist-in-charge Tina Neal said."What will take a turn for the worse in terms of hazard is if hotter, fresher magma makes it to the surface, and that could be what is coming," Neal told a conference call on Friday. "Once a new batch of hotter, gassier magma makes it to the surface we might see larger, higher eruption rates."Fifteen large cracks or fissures have opened on the eastern flank of Kilauea since the volcano erupted eight days ago. The volcanic vents have oozed relatively cool, sluggish magma left over from a similar event in 1955. Fresher magma could now emerge behind it.In addition, Kilauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes, threatens to begin a series of explosive eruptions within days or weeks that could form huge clouds of volcanic smog, or vog, and hurl boulders as big as small cars.Geologists expect new lava outbreaks in or around the hard-hit Leilani Estates area in the southeastern Puna district, about 20 miles (32 km) south of Hilo, where 27 homes have been destroyed and all 1,900 residents have been evacuated.Local residents got a text message alert at 11 a.m. on Friday warning them they could have little or no time to evacuate in the event of future eruptions.“We are telling people to plan for the worst. They should have a Plan A, a Plan B and a Plan C," said Roann Okomura, a county official who is helping run one of the shelters set up for evacuees."I GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE"-Ron Peters, 59, knew it was time to leave his home in the Opihikao community, 2.6 miles from Leilani Estates, when fruit trees and other vegetation began to die in the rotten-egg-smelling clouds of sulfur-dioxide gas."When you start seeing ferns go brown overnight, it's like, 'Wow, I gotta get out of here,'" said Peters, sitting at a Red Cross evacuation center at a sports center in nearby Pahoa.His wife refused to leave and stayed to care for their dogs and chickens.He went back for her on Thursday, fearing she and the animals would be dead. One of the dogs was having trouble moving but his wife was still alive. He set his chickens free."The gas fumes were just too much," he said, sitting at a baseball diamond with his dogs tied beside him.While locals contend with lava and gas on the ground, explosions at Kilauea's summit some 25 miles (40 km) to the west were dusting communities with ash that irritated eyes and breathing.South of Leilani Estates, in the Kalapana-Seaview neighborhood, residents are on high alert as the air quality is low and there are very few ways out of the area if an evacuation is ordered."There are some pretty level-headed, balanced people here who are trying to lead normal lives. But we also don’t want to be stupid," said Cindy Hartman, 68, who lives in the Kalapana-Seaview neighborhood.Volcanic smog may be blowing hundreds of miles from Kilauea, with people on the streets of state capital Honolulu, around 210 miles (340 km) northwest on the island of Oahu, complaining it was "very voggy" on Friday.(Reporting by Terray Sylvester in Pahoa; additional reporting by Karin Stanton; writing by Andrew Hay in New Mexico; editing by Bill Tarrant and Cynthia Osterman)

Hawaii residents shaken by tremors, brace for new lava outbreaks-[Reuters]-By Karin Stanton-YAHOONEWS-May 12, 2018

PAHOA, Hawaii (Reuters) - Dozens of tremors rattled residents on Hawaii's Big Island on Friday as molten rock from Kilauea volcano flowed under an area where homes have already been destroyed by fiery lava geysers.Fifteen large cracks or fissures have opened on the eastern flank of Kilauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes, destroying dozens of houses and other structures and forcing around 2,000 people to evacuate their homes.New outbreaks of lava were expected in or around the hard-hit Leilani Estates area in the southeastern Puna district, about 20 miles (32 km) south of Hilo, the Hawaii Volcano Observatory and local authorities said.Steaming cracks in the ground, the first sign a fissure may be opening, closed roads in areas to the northeast and southwest of Leilani Estates where scientists believe the next lava geysers may appear."I've been feeling earthquakes. Lots and lots of tremors," said Cindy Conda, whose house lies just east of Leilani Estates where 27 homes have been torched by lava in the last eight days and whose residents have all been evacuated.At a meeting on Thursday night, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientist Steve Brantley told residents that magma created by a 1955 eruption was being forced to the surface by Kilauea."He said 'That lava's underneath your house,'" said Conda. "Really it's worrying; we've been doing a lot of praying."Volcanic activity has broken water lines, knocked out power and forced some schools to close in the village of Pahoa, which is only a few miles from the fissures.Toxic, orange clouds of sulfur dioxide gas have hampered utility repair work, but water supplies have been restored to many homes, said Keith Okamoto, manager and chief engineer at Hawaii County Department of Water Supply.While locals contend with lava and gas on the ground, explosions at Kilauea's summit, some 25 miles (40 km) to the west are dusting downwind communities with ash that is an irritant to eyes and breathing.The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park around the summit was closed to visitors on Thursday, given risks of the first explosive eruptions in nearly a century, which could launch refrigerator-sized "ballistic blocks" over half a mile (0.8 km) and send ash columns tens of thousands of feet into the atmosphere.Residents of Kona on the west of the island have complained of volcanic smog, or vog, from the large amounts of sulfur dioxide and other pollutants spewing from Kilauea. Further afield, people said it was "very voggy" on the streets of state capital Honolulu, around 210 miles (340 km) northwest of Kilauea on the island of Oahu.(Reporting by Karin Stanton; additional reporting by Terray Sylvester in Pahoa; writing by Andrew Hay in New Mexico; editing by Bill Tarrant and Jonathan Oatis)

DISEASES

REVELATION 6:7-8
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).

WHO chief heads to DR Congo over latest Ebola outbreak-[AFP]-YAHOONEWS-May 13, 2018

Mbandaka (DR Congo) (AFP) - The head of the World Health Organization was due in DR Congo on Saturday to aid preparations for "all scenarios" in combatting the latest Ebola outbreak."WHO director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is on his way to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to assess the needs of the response first-hand. We are preparing for all scenarios," the UN health agency said in a statement.The outbreak in the region northest of Kinshasa near the border with the Republic of Congo has so far killed 18 people around the town of Bikoro in Equateur province, according to the WHO.WHO's head of emergency response Peter Salama said Friday getting aid to the affected area was "extremely challenging" given its remoteness and lack of infrastructure."We know the number of suspected, probable and confirmed cases is significant. We are very concerned and we are planning for all scenarios, including the worst case scenario," he said.DRC health ministry Ebola responders have been dispatched to the affected area with a joint WHO and UNICEF team following."We are about to go to Bikoro after this stop at (regional capital) Mbandaka where we began the deployment of mobile labs to start analyses" of suspect cases," Eugene Kabambi, leading the WHO communications team in DR Congo, told AFP Saturday, adding his team hoped to obtain results swiftly.He said Health Minister Oly Ilunga had alerted local people to the ongoing risk.The WHO has made $1 million (842,000 euros) available to stop the virus spreading, judging that risk was "high," a representative of the UN's humanitarian affairs agency OCHA told reporters Friday.DR Congo has endured nine known outbreaks of Ebola since 1976, when the deady viral disease was first identified in then Zaire by a Belgian-led team.

Golden State Killer charged with four more murders-[Reuters]-YAHOONEWS-May 12, 2018

(Reuters) - A retired police officer, who investigators believe is the "Golden State Killer," was charged on Thursday with four more counts of murder in Santa Barbara, California.Joseph DeAngelo, 72, who was once a police officer in the California towns of Exeter and Auburn, was charged last month in Sacramento with eight murders during a crime spree in the 1970s and '80s.Over the past 16 days since the Sacramento charges were filed, the Santa Barbara county district attorney's office has been working with the county sheriff's office, gathering evidence and conducting interviews, said Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley."As a result of this process, I have decided to file four counts of first degree murder with special circumstances against Joseph James DeAngelo," she told a news conference.Diane Howard, from the Sacramento County Public Defender's Office and who is DeAngelo's attorney on the Sacramento charges, was not immediately available for comment.Each of the four counts carries multiple allegations and each count carries the potential for a sentence of life without possibility of parole or the death sentence, she said.DeAngelo, who has two adult children, was arrested on April 24 at his home in a Sacramento suburb.He is suspected in a dozen killings as well as 45 rapes and more than 120 burglaries in 10 California counties in a decade-long crime spree considered one of the worst in the state's history.He is scheduled to appear in court in Sacramento on Monday. He has not yet entered a plea to any of the charges against him.Investigators finally cracked the Sacramento case, which has long haunted victims’ families and law enforcement, by comparing crime scene DNA to genetic information on commercial genealogy websites that consumers use to explore their ancestry.Detectives followed the family trees of close matches, seeking people who might be the killer. The process produced a promising lead a week ago, when the DNA of a relative pointed to DeAngelo based on his age and the fact that he lived near where the attacks occurred.DeAngelo was identified as a suspect about two months after the case gained renewed attention in the book, “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark,” by journalist Michelle McNamara, who died in 2016 and was married to the actor Patton Oswalt.(Reporting by Reuters televison; writing by Bill Tarrant; Editing by Diane Craft)