RELATED THE WORLD PAYS FOR DIVIDING JERUSALEM
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2011/03/life.html
LONDON (Reuters) - The European Union will look at ways on Monday to press Israel
to ditch a plan to build settlements in a highly sensitive area of the
occupied West Bank, but hold off on tough action soon despite
international outrage over the decision.Some officials say
that options for robust steps against Israel are limited due to a lack
of unanimity in the 27-member EU and diplomatic protection of the Jewish
state by its cast-iron superpower ally the United States.The prospect of punitive EU measures would rise if
Israel continues to flout world opinion, but noises from Britain, France
and Germany do not point to strong action for now.Still, several options are open to the EU - one of
Israel's biggest trading partners - to pressure the Jewish state into
ditching the settlement plan that Palestinians protest would rob them of
territory crucial to their bid for a viable state and further dim
chances of reviving frozen peace negotiations.European foreign ministers, at a meeting in Brussels,
were to discuss how to respond to the latest settlement plan.British Foreign Secretary William Hague last week
distanced the prospect of sanctions, and instead spoke of negotiations
and formulating "incentives and disincentives" for peace talks.France too discounted sanctions and has lowered
expectations of tough measures, saying the onus must be on "persuasion"
and reminding Israel of "principles and condemnations"."There are ideas on the table, but let's see whether
the Israelis actually go ahead with construction and what happens in the
elections," said a French diplomatic source.
Israel is to hold parliamentary elections in January. Israeli officials said it could up to two years before any building begins in the designated zone east of Jerusalem.Britain, France and several other European countries summoned Israeli envoys last week to protest over the plan to build settlements in an area of the West Bank known as E1, and even Israel's staunch European ally Germany voiced criticism.Construction in E1 (East one) could divide the West Bank and make the creation of a contiguous Palestinian state - as envisaged by the internationally backed two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict - almost impossible.Settlement building on land Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war is considered illegal by most world powers.
However, on Thursday during a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Berlin, Germany too appeared to emphasize a hands-off approach to Israeli decision making."Israel decides for itself, it is a sovereign state. All we can do as a partner is give our opinion and our evaluation," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said after meeting Netanyahu.The right-wing Netanyahu has shrugged off world criticism and stressed Israel's right to defend its "vital interests".
EUROPE'S OPTIONS
Israel's umbilical alliance with the United States and differing views within the EU have militated against concrete international action over expanding settlement in the West Bank."European governments individually and collectively express their frustration with policies adopted by the Israeli government .... but so far that frustration has not coalesced into a determination to take action like for example economic sanctions," said Menzies Campbell, a prominent member of the British parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee."The reasons for this are complex. A desire not to offend the Americans..., the fact that in some countries at least there is lingering guilt the Holocaust was allowed to take place and also the difficulty of getting a unanimous view on issues of this kind from the 27 members of the EU," he added.Others see fewer obstacles to strong measures.Left-wing European lawmaker Daniel Cohn-Bendit said unanimity was not required for some measures."They can decide on qualified majority. They don't need unanimity," he said, adding that without a credible threat, Europe would in effect be telling Israel, "Do what you want."Chris Doyle, who heads Caabu, a think-tank on Arab-British relations, outlined a string of options open to EU countries.As well as economic sanctions, EU states could cease cooperation on academic research, impose restrictions on goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements and even impose visa restrictions on members of far-right Israeli groups, he said.
European countries could also individually bolster bilateral relations with the Palestinians, a move likely to anger Israel."The Israelis will not budge unless they really believe there's intent. They've heard it all before. It's the Europeans jumping up and down. So what?" he said."If there is political will to take the necessary action, then a whole load of options become available."
U.S. PRESSURE?
For its part, Israel appears even less likely than before to heed European protests over settlements, given that several European powers either voted yes or abstained in the November 29 U.N. General Assembly vote on a Palestinian diplomatic upgrade.The Palestinians won the vote, effectively securing U.N. backing for their bid for statehood, a move condemned by Israel and the United States as unilateral and hampering peace talks.
Israel's new settlements announcement came a day later.
"At this point the EU lost whatever credibility it had with this Israeli government," said Oded Eran, a former Israeli ambassador to the EU and now senior researcher at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies.
"I doubt there is a package, positive or negative, that can now convince Netanyahu to listen to European advice."Key to whether Europe toughens its rhetoric to get Israeli attention will be Washington, which has also criticized the E1 settlement plan, albeit less forcefully than Europe.Britain said it would on Monday repeat a plea for Washington to "take a decisive lead and push the peace process forward urgently" - diplomatic speak for more pressure on Israel.While experts do not expect a radical change of policy by U.S. President Barack Obama's administration, they have noticed a subtle shift in approach - one which could embolden the EU."A change you may be able to identify in the last few days is the Americans not investing diplomatic capital in calling everyone else off (over Israel)," said Daniel Levy, Middle East director at the European Council on Foreign Relations think-tank."It's very clear that no one is paying a price in their bilateral relations with America for taking a more assertive line," he added.Israel appears increasingly isolated: after Arab Spring popular uprisings that have empowered Islamists, it has fewer security partners in Arab leaders than it once did in the region, while the United States appears keen on pivoting towards Asia, not expending more political capital on the Middle East.Levy and other experts say public sympathy in Europe towards Israel is waning, a change that will become more difficult for elected officials to ignore over time.Only a handful of countries voted with Israel in rejecting the Palestinians' diplomatic upgrade at the United Nations."No nation can live in isolation .... I hope for Israel's sake that she doesn't take friends for granted or underestimates the importance of having friends in all corners," said John Baron, another member of the British parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee.(Additional reporting by John Irish in Paris, Alexandra Hudson in Berlin and Justyna Pawlak in Brussels; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
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 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.(TAKE OVER 3 WORLD REGIONS)
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 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.
JEREMIAH 6:14
14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
JEREMIAH 8:11
11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
1 THESSALONIANS 5:3
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
OSLO (Reuters) - The European Union received the Nobel Peace Prize on Monday, honored by the Norwegian committee which looked beyond Europe's current malaise to recognize its decades of stability and democracy after the horrors of two world wars.Fittingly for an
institution with no single leader, the EU sent three of its presidents
to the Oslo ceremony for the 2012 prize, which critics including former
Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu say is undeserved."Sixty years of peace. It's the first time that this has happened in the long history of Europe," Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council, told Reuters before the ceremony."The facts prove
that the European Union is a peacekeeping instrument of the first
order," said Van Rompuy, who will collect the prize along with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso
and Martin Schulz, the president of the European Parliament.Europe is
suffering feeble economic growth or outright recession, soaring
unemployment and a number of its member states are unable to pay their debts. It has been called the worst economic crisis since World War Two.The economic pain has provoked social unrest in a
number of member states, notably near-bankrupt Greece. However, the
Nobel committee focused on the EU's role in reconciling the disparate,
warring corners of the "old continent" - the overarching success being
to turn Germany and France from enemies into allies.German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President
Francois Hollande sat next to each during the ceremony, smiling and
talking quietly to each other on several occasions.From just six countries which agreed to pool their coal
and steel production in the 1950s to 27 member states today - and 28
once Croatia joins next year - the EU now stretches from Portugal to
Romania, Finland to Malta and sets rules and regulations that have a
bearing on more than 500 million people."The stabilizing part played by the EU has helped to
transform most of Europe from a continent of war to a continent of
peace," the Nobel committee said on October 12 when it announced the EU
had won, an unexpected decision."The division between East and West has to a large
extent been brought to an end; democracy has been strengthened; many
ethnically based national conflicts have been settled."Van Rompuy said the prize was due recognition of what
earlier generations had achieved in forging peace. "I was born after the
war, I was the first generation in Europe that could make his life
without war," Van Rompuy, 65, said in an interview.Commission President Barroso,
a former prime minister of Portugal who was part of the struggle to
turn his country into a democracy in 1974, echoed those sentiments."It's a recognition of what has been achieved over the
60 years and at the same time, it's also an encouragement for the
future," he told Reuters. "I think the message they give to us is that
what you have built is something very precious, something that we should
treasure, that we should keep."Despite the warm words of unity and sense of common
purpose, the EU and its major institutions were at odds after the
announcement was made because they couldn't decide who should accept the
award or who specifically was to be honored.In the end it was decided that the prize was for all
Europeans, to be picked up by the heads of the three main EU
institutions. Twenty EU leaders also chose to attend the ceremony, but
British Prime Minister David Cameron, whose relationship with Brussels
is tense, stayed away.
0.2 EURO CENTS EACH
Four young Europeans, including a 12-year-old Spanish girl and a 21-year-old woman from Poland, also attended the ceremony after winning competitions, and 20 EU heads of state and government flew in for the high-profile occasion.The prize money of 930,000 euros ($1.25 million) will be given to projects that help children struggling in war zones, with the recipients to be announced next week. The EU has said it will match the prize money, so that a total of 2 million euros will be given to the selected aid projects.That decision went some way to silence critics on Twitter and other social media sites who initially joked that if the award was for all Europeans then they should all share the prize money - which would equal about 0.2 euro cents each.Commentators on social media haven't been the only critics of the award going to the EU, which for the past three years has been a virtual byword for disorder and indecision because of its failure to get on top of a sovereign debt crisis.Tutu, a churchman who fought the apartheid system in his native South Africa, said last week that the EU did not deserve the award. On Sunday around 1,000 members of left-wing and human-rights groups marched through the streets of Oslo in protest, saying the EU was not a rightful beneficiary under the terms Alfred Nobel laid down in his will in 1895."Alfred Nobel said that the prize should be given to those who worked for disarmament," said Elsa-Britt Enger, 70, a representative of Grandmothers for Peace. "The EU doesn't do that. It is one of the biggest weapons producers in the world."
For many people inside and outside of Europe, it is hard to get beyond the sense of the EU as an organization stumbling from one crisis to another while meddling in member states' sovereignty. Countries such as Britain, which joined in 1973, now find themselves wondering if it was the right decision.In their acceptance speech on Monday, Van Rompuy and Barroso will be hoping to overturn those impressions by invoking the despair and misery produced by World War Two and emphasizing what Europe and its institutions have done in the decades since to prevent trading partners going to war with each other.
"(This prize) is not only rewarding past achievements, it is also an encouragement to go further and to work further on deepening the European Union," Van Rompuy said. "The answer is more Europe and more integration."(Writing by Luke Baker; Editing by Peter Graff and David Stamp)
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2011/03/life.html
EU mulling how to dissuade Israel from settlement expansion
By Mohammed Abbas | Reuters – 1 hr 13 mins ago DEC 10,12Israel is to hold parliamentary elections in January. Israeli officials said it could up to two years before any building begins in the designated zone east of Jerusalem.Britain, France and several other European countries summoned Israeli envoys last week to protest over the plan to build settlements in an area of the West Bank known as E1, and even Israel's staunch European ally Germany voiced criticism.Construction in E1 (East one) could divide the West Bank and make the creation of a contiguous Palestinian state - as envisaged by the internationally backed two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict - almost impossible.Settlement building on land Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war is considered illegal by most world powers.
However, on Thursday during a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Berlin, Germany too appeared to emphasize a hands-off approach to Israeli decision making."Israel decides for itself, it is a sovereign state. All we can do as a partner is give our opinion and our evaluation," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said after meeting Netanyahu.The right-wing Netanyahu has shrugged off world criticism and stressed Israel's right to defend its "vital interests".
EUROPE'S OPTIONS
Israel's umbilical alliance with the United States and differing views within the EU have militated against concrete international action over expanding settlement in the West Bank."European governments individually and collectively express their frustration with policies adopted by the Israeli government .... but so far that frustration has not coalesced into a determination to take action like for example economic sanctions," said Menzies Campbell, a prominent member of the British parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee."The reasons for this are complex. A desire not to offend the Americans..., the fact that in some countries at least there is lingering guilt the Holocaust was allowed to take place and also the difficulty of getting a unanimous view on issues of this kind from the 27 members of the EU," he added.Others see fewer obstacles to strong measures.Left-wing European lawmaker Daniel Cohn-Bendit said unanimity was not required for some measures."They can decide on qualified majority. They don't need unanimity," he said, adding that without a credible threat, Europe would in effect be telling Israel, "Do what you want."Chris Doyle, who heads Caabu, a think-tank on Arab-British relations, outlined a string of options open to EU countries.As well as economic sanctions, EU states could cease cooperation on academic research, impose restrictions on goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements and even impose visa restrictions on members of far-right Israeli groups, he said.
European countries could also individually bolster bilateral relations with the Palestinians, a move likely to anger Israel."The Israelis will not budge unless they really believe there's intent. They've heard it all before. It's the Europeans jumping up and down. So what?" he said."If there is political will to take the necessary action, then a whole load of options become available."
U.S. PRESSURE?
For its part, Israel appears even less likely than before to heed European protests over settlements, given that several European powers either voted yes or abstained in the November 29 U.N. General Assembly vote on a Palestinian diplomatic upgrade.The Palestinians won the vote, effectively securing U.N. backing for their bid for statehood, a move condemned by Israel and the United States as unilateral and hampering peace talks.
Israel's new settlements announcement came a day later.
"At this point the EU lost whatever credibility it had with this Israeli government," said Oded Eran, a former Israeli ambassador to the EU and now senior researcher at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies.
"I doubt there is a package, positive or negative, that can now convince Netanyahu to listen to European advice."Key to whether Europe toughens its rhetoric to get Israeli attention will be Washington, which has also criticized the E1 settlement plan, albeit less forcefully than Europe.Britain said it would on Monday repeat a plea for Washington to "take a decisive lead and push the peace process forward urgently" - diplomatic speak for more pressure on Israel.While experts do not expect a radical change of policy by U.S. President Barack Obama's administration, they have noticed a subtle shift in approach - one which could embolden the EU."A change you may be able to identify in the last few days is the Americans not investing diplomatic capital in calling everyone else off (over Israel)," said Daniel Levy, Middle East director at the European Council on Foreign Relations think-tank."It's very clear that no one is paying a price in their bilateral relations with America for taking a more assertive line," he added.Israel appears increasingly isolated: after Arab Spring popular uprisings that have empowered Islamists, it has fewer security partners in Arab leaders than it once did in the region, while the United States appears keen on pivoting towards Asia, not expending more political capital on the Middle East.Levy and other experts say public sympathy in Europe towards Israel is waning, a change that will become more difficult for elected officials to ignore over time.Only a handful of countries voted with Israel in rejecting the Palestinians' diplomatic upgrade at the United Nations."No nation can live in isolation .... I hope for Israel's sake that she doesn't take friends for granted or underestimates the importance of having friends in all corners," said John Baron, another member of the British parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee.(Additional reporting by John Irish in Paris, Alexandra Hudson in Berlin and Justyna Pawlak in Brussels; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
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 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.(TAKE OVER 3 WORLD REGIONS)
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 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.
JEREMIAH 6:14
14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
JEREMIAH 8:11
11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
1 THESSALONIANS 5:3
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
Nobel award recognizes Europe as "continent of peace"
By Luke Baker and Balazs Koranyi | Reuters – 1 hr 55 mins ago DEC 10,120.2 EURO CENTS EACH
Four young Europeans, including a 12-year-old Spanish girl and a 21-year-old woman from Poland, also attended the ceremony after winning competitions, and 20 EU heads of state and government flew in for the high-profile occasion.The prize money of 930,000 euros ($1.25 million) will be given to projects that help children struggling in war zones, with the recipients to be announced next week. The EU has said it will match the prize money, so that a total of 2 million euros will be given to the selected aid projects.That decision went some way to silence critics on Twitter and other social media sites who initially joked that if the award was for all Europeans then they should all share the prize money - which would equal about 0.2 euro cents each.Commentators on social media haven't been the only critics of the award going to the EU, which for the past three years has been a virtual byword for disorder and indecision because of its failure to get on top of a sovereign debt crisis.Tutu, a churchman who fought the apartheid system in his native South Africa, said last week that the EU did not deserve the award. On Sunday around 1,000 members of left-wing and human-rights groups marched through the streets of Oslo in protest, saying the EU was not a rightful beneficiary under the terms Alfred Nobel laid down in his will in 1895."Alfred Nobel said that the prize should be given to those who worked for disarmament," said Elsa-Britt Enger, 70, a representative of Grandmothers for Peace. "The EU doesn't do that. It is one of the biggest weapons producers in the world."
For many people inside and outside of Europe, it is hard to get beyond the sense of the EU as an organization stumbling from one crisis to another while meddling in member states' sovereignty. Countries such as Britain, which joined in 1973, now find themselves wondering if it was the right decision.In their acceptance speech on Monday, Van Rompuy and Barroso will be hoping to overturn those impressions by invoking the despair and misery produced by World War Two and emphasizing what Europe and its institutions have done in the decades since to prevent trading partners going to war with each other.
"(This prize) is not only rewarding past achievements, it is also an encouragement to go further and to work further on deepening the European Union," Van Rompuy said. "The answer is more Europe and more integration."(Writing by Luke Baker; Editing by Peter Graff and David Stamp)
