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)
ISRAEL SATAN COMES AGAINST
1 CHRONICLES 21:1
1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.
GENESIS 12:1-3
1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I (GOD) will shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee,(ISRAELIS) and curse (DESTROY) him that curseth thee:(DESTROY THEM) and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
ISAIAH 41:11
11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee (ISRAEL) shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing;(DESTROYED) and they that strive with thee shall perish.(ISRAEL HATERS WILL BE TOTALLY DESTROYED)
ISRAELS TROUBLE
JEREMIAH 30:7
7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble;(ISRAEL) but he shall be saved out of it.
DANIEL 12:1,4
1 And at that time shall Michael(ISRAELS WAR ANGEL) stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people:(ISRAEL) and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation(May 14,48) even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro,(WORLD TRAVEL,IMMIGRATION) and knowledge shall be increased.(COMPUTERS,CHIP IMPLANTS ETC)
Shin Bet: Hamas, Islamic Movement fueling current wave of terror-Security officials say Abbas is not inciting Palestinians to attack Israelis, PA actually cracking down on violence-By Times of Israel staff October 11, 2015, 8:55 pm 1
The current wave of violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories is being fueled by the Islamic Movement in Israel and Hamas, not by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Shin Bet officials told senior Israeli officials on Sunday.Contrary to proclamations by senior ministers, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Shin Bet officials said that Abbas has actually instructed Palestinian security officers to prevent attacks on Israelis.Nonetheless, the officials noted during a briefing on the latest developments in the security situation, senior Fatah party and PLO officials are still participating in the incitement against Israelis that has accompanied the mounting Palestinian violence.During the briefing, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, acting police chief Bentzi Sau and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat joined Shin Bet officials in updating ministers on steps being taken to quell the growing unrest.Most of the attacks, Israeli officials noted in the briefing, were by so-called “lone wolf” terrorists who weren’t affiliated with any Palestinian terrorist organizations.Much of the recent flare-up of violence has centered around Palestinian claims that Israel is seeking to change the decades-old status quo on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, a site holy to both Jews and Muslims. The site, which houses the al-Aqsa Mosque, is administered by the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf. Under rules set by Israel, Jews are allowed to visit but not to pray at the site. Israel has repeatedly denied that it is intending to make changes to the current rules, and says the accusations are incitement to violence.Netanyahu and other senior ministers have accused Abbas of inciting violence against Israelis. On Sunday, Education Minister Naftali Bennett accused Abbas of leading a campaign of incitement and said he is “not a partner [for peace].”Last week, Netanyahu charged that the terrorist attacks targeting Israelis “are all the result of wild and mendacious incitement by Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, several countries in the region and — no less, and frequently much more — the Islamic Movement in Israel” over the Temple Mount.The head of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement, Sheikh Raed Salah, also said last week that his organization intends to respond to what he called “continued Israeli escalation” against the Temple Mount.“We have a package of plans ready be unleashed immediately,” Salah said.Hamas, for its part, on Sunday warned Israel against “foolishness” after the Israeli Air Force struck the Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire at southern communities.Israel said it targeted two Hamas weapon-manufacturing facilities overnight Saturday after a rocket hit an open field and the other was intercepted by the Iron Dome missile system.The retaliatory airstrikes demolished a house in the northern area of Zeitoun, killing Nur Hassan, 30, and her two-year-old daughter Rahaf, Gaza medics said.
Four Israelis hurt in knife attack near Hadera-Israeli Arab attacker arrested; woman, 19, in serious condition with head, upper body wounds-By Times of Israel staff October 11, 2015, 7:41 pm 5
Four Israelis were wounded Sunday evening in a knife attack on Route 65 at the entrance to the kibbutz of Gan Shmuel, near the northern city of Hadera. One of the four, a 19-year-old woman, is in serious condition.The terrorist, a 20-year-old Israeli Arab from Umm al-Fahm, was arrested by police at the scene. He was also injured in the attack, the second on Israelis on Sunday.According to Army Radio, the attacker first ran over the 19-year-old woman, before getting out of the car and stabbing her and the three other victims.The woman was evacuated to Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Hadera, with stab wounds in her head and upper torso.Two other victims, a 14-year-old girl with moderate wounds and a 20-year-old man who was lightly hurt, both arrived at the hospital under their own steam. A 45-year-old man also sustained hand wounds in the attack.“When we arrived at the scene we saw, in the trench beside the highway, an unconscious 19-year-old woman with multiple wounds. We gave her lifesaving first-aid treatment including CPR, bandages and fluids and rushed her to the hospital,” Magen David Adom paramedics Khaled Mura’i and Yehuda Haim said. “A 45-year-old man received medical treatment at the site and was taken to the hospital as well.”Channel 2 said that security forces carried out searches of the area to ensure that the terrorist did not have any accomplices. Police closed the stretch of Route 65 where the attack took place shortly after the incident.According to Channel 10 television, security forces initially suspected a second terrorist may have fled the scene with a weapon belonging to one of the victims. Police later reported that no weapon was taken.A video taken at the scene and posted online claimed to show the vehicle of the attacker at the scene.Earlier in the day, a police officer was hurt when a Palestinian woman attempted to detonate an improvised car bomb near Jerusalem, and two Israelis were lightly hurt in separate rock-throwing attacks in the West Bank.
PM seeks to make Islamic Movement’s Northern Branch illegal-Rocket fired from northern Gaza lands inside Strip; four wounded in Gan Shmuel terror attack; Palestinians say 13-year-old killed by IDF fire at Ramallah protest-By Times of Israel staff October 11, 2015, 7:27 am 8
The Times of Israel is liveblogging Sunday’s events as they unfold. 21:22-Delta plane dropped parts on Ben Gurion tarmac last week-Channel 2 reports on a worrisome malfunction — technical and organizational — at Ben Gurion International Airport last Saturday.A Delta plane that took off for the United States close to midnight Saturday dropped parts of a wheel assembly and pieces from the plane’s braking system as it lifted off the runway, the network reports.A radar system at Ben Gurion, designed to warn of debris on the runway, triggered an alarm in the control tower, but for unknown reasons a controller in the tower concluded it was a false alarm.Ten planes took off from the debris-strewn runway over the next four to five hours, before daybreak revealed the scattered parts and led airport authorities to clear them off the runway.Israeli officials notified Delta, which arranged for heightened alert at the plane’s destination airport. The plane landed safely.According to the report, authorities do not know why the wheel assembly and braking system dropped parts. Israeli and American flight safety authorities are investigating both the damage to the plane and Ben Gurion Airport’s mishandling of the runway debris.
20:53-Rocket fired from northern Gaza lands inside Strip-A rocket is fired from northern Gaza toward the Israeli border town of Sderot, but fails to clear the border. It lands inside the coastal strip, according to security officials.There are no immediate reports of damage or casualties from the rocket’s fall.
20:52-Jerusalem schools to strike over security budget-The Parents Association in Jerusalem says it will lead a city-wide strike in Jerusalem starting Monday over concerns at a budget deficit for security guards, which leaves schools without security guards after 1:30 p.m., while many schools are still holding classes.The strike will include all high schools and elementary schools.
20:42-PM seeks to make Islamic Movement’s Northern Branch illegal-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders the state prosecution and security agencies to gather evidence and prepare the case for declaring the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement an illegal organization.The prime minister has charged that the group is engaged in incitement to violence and is partly responsible for the latest wave of violence.The order comes at the conclusion of a Sunday evening meeting of the security cabinet.
20:21-Saudi prince says Riyadh will stay in charge of hajj-Senior Saudi royal, Prince Turki al-Faisal, says the oversight and management of the annual Islamic hajj pilgrimage is “a matter of sovereignty” and “privilege” and will not be shared with other nations.The pilgrimage, which ended less than three weeks ago, was marred by a disaster just outside Mecca that killed more than 1,400 pilgrims when two crowds converged down a narrow street, according to an Associated Press count based on official statements from nations whose citizens died.Top Iranian officials have accused Saudi Arabia of mismanagement and are calling on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to manage the hajj.The prince spoke to The Associated Press in an interview Sunday during a visit to Abu Dhabi.— AP
THIS IS A DIFFERENT VIOLENCE LIKE I HAVE NOT HEARD ABOUT IN ISRAEL BEFORE. THE ARAB WOMEN ARE INVOLVED HEAVILY.AND THE ISRAELI WOMEN ARE ALSO DEFENDING THE ISRAELI CITIZENS AND POLICE WITHOUT ANY FRIGHT. ONCE THE WOMEN ON BOTH SIDES GET INVOLVED.YOU KNOW YOU GOT A LONG WAR ON YOUR HANDS.
PROVERBS 21:19
19 It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.
PROVERBS 25:24
24 It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house.
Would-be car bomber is East Jerusalem woman — Shin Bet-Papers voicing support for terrorists found on 31-year-old Palestinian who had gas canister in her vehicle as she headed to the capital-By Raoul Wootliff and Times of Israel staff October 11, 2015, 5:08 pm 5
Israeli officials on Sunday identified the Palestinian woman who detonated explosives in a car near Jerusalem earlier the day as a 31-year-old resident of the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber.The security forces did not release the name of the woman, who the Shin Bet security service said was currently living in the West Bank city of Jericho. The Shin Bet said she had no previous convictions and had not been known to the Israeli authorities.The Shin Bet said in a statement that around 7 a.m. a traffic police officer noticed that the woman was driving in the public transportation lane while tailgating a police vehicle.Police said officers noticed a suspicious vehicle driven by a woman heading toward a checkpoint on the way to Jerusalem and signaled to her to stop. The woman then yelled “Allahu Akbar” (God is most great) and set off the explosive detonator in her car, a police statement said. A gas canister in her car did not explode, however.Handwritten slips of paper voicing support for “Palestinian martyrs” were found on her person, the Shin Bet said.The police officer who stopped the woman was lightly injured, while she was severely injured in the explosion. She was taken to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem’s Ein Kerem neighborhood for treatment. The car was bearing Israeli, rather than Palestinian, license plates, the Army Radio reported. Police found the gas canister in the vehicle and said that the woman had intended to carry out a bombing in Jerusalem.Initial reports pointed to a possible suicide bombing, saying that the woman had died in the attack. Police later said the woman exited her car just before the bomb went off, indicating that it may not have been a suicide bombing attempt.Paramedics from the Magen David Adom ambulance service arrived at the scene minutes after the incident.Aharon Adler, an MDA paramedic described the scene.“When we arrived, we were led to a man in his thirties who was fully conscious,” Adler said. “He was walking around, and suffering from burns to his upper body. We treated him and evacuated him to the hospital in light, stable condition.” Adler said it was initially difficult to approach the Palestinian bomber in her car.“When we could approach the car, we treated the driver, who was conscious, with burns all over her body, and evacuated her to the hospital in serious condition,” he said.On Saturday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a massive call-up of Border Police forces in an effort to quell the ongoing wave of unrest and violence in Israel and the West Bank that has seen a week of almost daily terror attacks against Israelis.On Saturday morning, a Palestinian teenager stabbed and wounded two ultra-Orthodox Jews, aged 62 and 65, just outside the Old City’s Damascus Gate in East Jerusalem. Police shot and killed the 16-year-old stabber, later identified as Ishak Badran of Kafr Aqab in East Jerusalem.Hours later, another East Jerusalem teenager was killed while carrying out a similar attack. Muhammad Said Muhammad, 19, from Shuafat, stabbed a Border Police officer in the neck, also outside the Old City’s Damascus Gate, before being shot dead by other officers.The wave of attacks started in Jerusalem last month over what Israel insists are unfounded Palestinian claims that Israel is expanding its presence at the Temple Mount and the al-Aqsa Mosque.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
3 Jewish women held over Jerusalem tear gas attack on Arab-Palestinian man attacked in Jaffa Road store in which he works; police vow ‘zero tolerance towards violence’-By Tamar Pileggi October 11, 2015, 8:32 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Three young Jewish women were detained for questioning by Jerusalem police on Sunday on suspicion of attacking a Palestinian man with tear gas.The alleged attack occurred at the Jaffa Road store in which the Arab man is employed, in a predominantly Jewish area of Jerusalem.Police were called to the scene, where they found the victim being cared for by a passerby inside the shop.The man gave police a description of the attackers, leading to the detention of three young women nearby. There was no indication as to whether the alleged attack had a nationalistic motive.“Police will display zero tolerance toward any instance of violence or attempt to breach the peace,” the Jerusalem district police said in a statement.The incident comes amid a recent surge in protests and terror attacks, after weeks of spiraling violence between Israelis and Palestinians. Two more terror attacks hit Jerusalem on Saturday — another in a string of stabbing attacks that have targeted Jewish Israelis since October 3, when a Palestinian terrorist killed two Israelis in the Old City of Jerusalem.With Palestinian terror attacks against Israelis occurring daily, Jewish extremists have staged protests and assaulted Arabs in various cities in recent weeks.Earlier Sunday, the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court remanded into custody five Israeli Jews who were arrested on suspicion of assaulting an Arab man last week in the coastal city of Netanya.On Friday, an Israeli teenager went on a stabbing spree in the southern city of Dimona, wounding three Palestinian men and a Bedouin Arab.On Thursday in Jerusalem, activists from the anti-Arab Lehava group, along with far-right fans of the Beitar Jerusalem soccer club, marched to the Old City, chanting slogans including “Death to the Arabs” and “Muhammad is dead.”Since the beginning of the month, at least two dozen Israelis have been injured in as many stabbing attacks by Palestinians.Last week, two Israeli men were stabbed to death in the Old City of Jerusalem and an Israeli couple was gunned down in the West Bank in front of their four children two days before that.The wave of attacks started in Jerusalem last month over what Israel says are unfounded rumors that Israel was expanding the Jewish presence at the Temple Mount and the al-Aqsa Mosque.
Palestinian incitement or deeper malaise? Depends which Israeli official you ask-While Prime Minister Netanyahu has pinned the current round of violence on hateful rhetoric, Israel’s security establishment paints a more complex picture By Elhanan Miller October 11, 2015, 5:54 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has highlighted “incitement” as the main cause for the surge in Palestinian terror and violence in Israel and the West Bank, senior Israeli security officials, intimately acquainted with the Palestinian scene, are painting a more complex picture, one that is sometimes outright contradictory to that of the prime minister.In numerous recent speeches, Netanyhau has singled out Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as a primary source of incitement. On Sunday, he accused Arab MK Hanin Zoabi of the same crime, as well as the Islamic Movement in Israel.But the Israeli security officials, who have been making their position clear to Israeli journalists in recent days, identify a host of reasons for the Palestinian violence — the perceived danger to the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem being only one of them, and perhaps just a symptom of a deeper malaise.A young Palestinian generation, which did not experience the terrible cost of the Second Intifada, they argue, has come of age with no hope for a better future. Nearly all the perpetrators of this week’s attacks against Jews are under 20 years old, and can barely remember the Second Intifada, which erupted in September 2000 and all but died down by 2004. This generation is alienated from the Palestinian Authority, which has been unable to realize any of the national Palestinian goals, including statehood and the release of prisoners, the officials said.Far from ordering violence, in his recent speech at the UN Abbas expressed a sense of desperation and frustration with Israel, which his public has picked up on. Some of Fatah’s regional leaders have understood the speech as allowing a freer hand in “popular resistance,” and describe Abbas’s loosening grip on his movement as he prepares for retirement.Not only does Abbas not wish for escalation of the violence, the officials said, he has carried out a series of measures to make sure such escalation does not occur: he has called hardliners within his movement, who have voiced inflammatory statements in recent days, to order; he has ordered official Palestinian media to tone down its rhetoric; he has arrested violent elements in the West Bank, including Hamas protesters in Tulkarem.Security coordination with Israel continues unabated, the officials stress, and Abbas has funneled millions of shekels to West Bank universities in order to prevent a strike that would leave hundreds of students on the street. Plainclothes Palestinian security personnel make sure that no live ammunition is fired from within Fatah-led demonstrations.The continuous tug of war between Fatah and Hamas must also not be forgotten in analyzing the current peak in violence, the officials argued. Hamas has long called for a popular uprising in the West Bank to challenge Abbas’s previous agenda of negotiations and current unilateral international moves against Israel. As of today, that call seems to be gaining ground.But the West Bank leadership refuses to let Hamas gain the upper hand. Not only does it continue to arrest and oppress Islamist operatives in the West Bank, but Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah on Sunday met with the governors of the northern and central Gaza Strip, promising to prioritize construction efforts following last year’s war with Israel. “Gaza is an inseparable part of the future Palestinian state,” Hamdallah was quoted by Ma’an news agency as saying, for those who doubted it.Whether the current surge in attacks lasts weeks or months, the Israeli officials seemed bleakly confident that if Israel does not offer Abbas significant “carrots” in the near future in the West Bank, further rounds of violence are just a matter of time.
Hamas warns Israel against ‘foolishness’ after deadly airstrike-Shots fired at Israeli civilian vehicle during work on fence previously breached by Palestinians; border protests resume-By AFP and Times of Israel staff October 11, 2015, 3:07 pm 13
The Islamist Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip warned Israel Sunday against “foolishness” after local sources said an airstrike by Israel overnight killed a pregnant Palestinian woman and her toddler.“This shows the occupation’s desire to escalate,” said Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for Hamas. “We warn the occupation against continuing this foolishness.”Israel said it targeted two Hamas weapon manufacturing facilities overnight Saturday, after Gaza terrorists fired two rockets at southern Israel, triggering air-raid sirens in many communities and sending residents scrambling for cover.One of the rockets hit an open field in southern Israel and the other was intercepted by the Iron Dome rocket defense system.Israel’s retaliatory airstrikes demolished a house in the northern area of Zeitun, killing Nur Hassan, 30, and her two-year-old daughter Rahaf, Gaza medics said, and trapping three others under the ruins.Earlier on Sunday, shots were fired from Gaza at a group of IDF soldiers and civilians engaged in repairing the border fence after it was breached by Palestinian protesters the day before.The IDF said that after the shooting, several bullet holes were found in a civilian vehicle. There was no one in the car at the time of the shooting and there were no injuries.Meanwhile Sunday, Palestinians resumed protests near the border fence with Israel in the northern Gaza Strip, with soldiers fired warning shots to prevent them from crossing into Israel.Seven Palestinians from the Gaza Strip were reported killed and 19 hurt on Friday and two more were killed Saturday, in clashes between the IDF and protesters near the border fence.Confrontations along the border with the coastal enclave came after a spate of Palestinian attacks on security forces and civilians across Israel and in the West Bank over the past few weeks.In all, 14 Palestinian stabbing attacks against Israeli civilians have occurred in the past week alone, and on Sunday morning police thwarted a suspected car bombing attempt as a Palestinian woman detonated a vehicle after she was stopped on an approach road to the capital. A policeman was lightly injured in the incident while the female bomber was severely injured.Much of the violence has centered around Palestinian claims that Israel is seeking to change the five-decade-old status quo on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, a site holy to both Jews and Muslims. The site, which houses the al-Aqsa Mosque, is administered by the Muslim Waqf. Under rules set by Israel, Jews are allowed to visit but not to pray at the site. Israel has repeatedly denied that it is intending to make changes to the current rules and says the accusations are incitement to violence.The escalation in violence in the past week has led to mounting fears that Palestinian unrest was spiraling toward a wider uprising, or third intifada.
Reports: Russian jets shot down in Turkey-By Barbara Boland (@bbatdc) • 10/10/15 2:22 PM-washington examiner
A Russian air force jet was shot down after it violated Turkey's airspace, according to unconfirmed reports. Witnesses say they saw a large explosion in Huraytan, northern Syria, as three fighter jets flew above.A journalist based in Turkey tweeted that three Turkish planes responded to "mysterious" lock-ons from MIG-29 jets, which are used by Putin's forces, according to the U.K. Express.Turkey's reported action comes after a Russian MIG-29 was escorted back to Syrian airspace by Turkish jets last week. Turkey's Prime Minister and President have repeatedly warned Russia to avoid Turkish airspace in its campaign in Syria.Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Wednesday there will be "no concessions if Russian fighter jets violate Turkey's airspace."Turkish officials have warned that Russia will be held "responsible for any undesired incident" that might occur. Turkey and Russia have yet to respond on the reported downing. Russia's bombing campaign in Syria has increased tensions in an already strained relationship with the West. The U.S. has accused Russia of bombing moderate Syrian rebels and propping up the murderous regime of Syrian President Bashar al Assad. Putin's intervention in the Ukraine in February 2014 caused the U.S. and the E.U. to respond with economic sanctions against Russia.
Jewish, Muslim groups raise temperature at contested shrine-Associated Press By KARIN LAUB and MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH-oct 11,15-yahoonews
JERUSALEM (AP) — Jewish and Muslim grassroots groups, self-declared defenders of their faiths, have played a key role in rising Israeli-Palestinian tensions, stepping up activities at a contested Jerusalem shrine at the heart of the current violence.Each side has accused the other of causing provocations, as religious activists become more organized.Israel pins much of the blame on a domestic fundamentalist group, the Islamic Movement, saying it whipped up Palestinian anger with claims that Israel is plotting to take over the Muslim-run site. Those claims, dismissed by Israel as incitement, reflect widespread Palestinian fears fueled by the doubling of Jewish visits to the shrine since 2010.Backed by senior Israeli politicians, activists have become more vocal in demanding Jewish prayer rights on the mount. Some call for the site's partition and the rebuilding of the biblical Jewish Temple that once stood there."As more and more Jews are going up, it is clear that this is bringing us closer to the immediate goal of prayer (rights), and afterward, the Temple," said Elishama Sandman, 19, who has led Jewish tours on the mount.Muslim activists have also beefed up their presence in recent years, with funding and logistical support from the Islamic Movement and Palestinian factions in the West Bank.Young Palestinians sporting headbands of different factions, including the militant Hamas, have clashed with Israeli police, throwing stones and firebombs from a mosque in the compound and drawing tear gas and stun grenades.Scores of older Muslims, many bused to the shrine by the Islamic Movement, spend hours on the mount each day, some disrupting visits of Jews with curses and chants of "God is Great."Israelis "got our land and now they want to get our holy places," said a 65-year-old Muslim man. He spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions from authorities after he yelled at Jewish visitors.Frictions have peaked during Jewish holidays, a busy time for Jewish visits. Since the Jewish New Year in mid-September, repeated clashes between Palestinians and police at the compound triggered deadly violence in other parts of Jerusalem, across Israel and in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.With religious passions unleashed, violence could rapidly escalate — as it did in 2000 after then-opposition leader Ariel Sharon visited the shrine in a demonstrative act that helped trigger the second Palestinian uprising.___WHY IS THE SHRINE SO IMPORTANT?-The 37-acre (15 hectare) holy site — the size of 21 soccer pitches — anchors competing religious and national identities of Jews and Muslims, Israelis and Palestinians.Known to Jews as the Temple Mount, it's the holiest site in Judaism. The devout believe that God's presence is most keenly felt here and revere it as the home of the biblical Jewish Temples. Believers say Jewish religious practice is only complete once the Temple has been rebuilt.Leading rabbis, citing religious purity laws, have banned entry to the compound since Israel captured it in 1967, along with the rest of east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. Israel's chief rabbis reaffirmed the ban in 2013, but several leading clerics from the religious Zionist stream linked to the settler movement had already given the go-ahead to ascend.Most Jews continue to worship exclusively at the adjacent Western Wall, a Temple remnant.For 1.6 billion Muslims, the hilltop is the third holiest site of their religion, marking the spot where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. The enclosure houses the gold-topped Dome of the Rock and the thousand-year-old Al-Aqsa Mosque. A prayer performed here is believed to be 500 times more powerful than one in an ordinary mosque.The compound is run by Islamic religious officials, while Jordan, which controlled the site before 1967, serves as guardian. After nearly half a century of living under Israeli occupation, many Palestinians feel the shrine is the only spot that remains truly theirs.___JEWISH ACTIVISTS-Israel reopened the compound to non-Muslim visitors in 2003, three years after Sharon's visi.Police say they coordinate the visits with the Waqf, or Muslim administration. The Waqf says it no longer has a decisive say in the matter.Initially, the number of Jewish visitors was relatively small — just under 5,800 in 2010. It has grown since to just under 11,000 last year, according to figures Jewish activists say they obtained from police and that are roughly in line with those provided by the Islamic Movement."People suddenly realize, yes, we have to go there (to the shrine)," said Yehuda Glick, a prominent Temple Mount campaigner who was shot and seriously wounded by a Palestinian last year. "All our activity is bringing the awareness of the Temple Mount."More grass-roots groups have sprung up.A year ago, Jerusalem tour guides began organizing courses for those taking groups around the mount. Since then, 30 have been trained, and one is present at the shrine every day, said Aviya Fraenkel, a founder of the ad hoc group."These are dreams that every child in kindergarten is familiar with, and it takes people a bit of time to say, 'Wait a moment, perhaps this is not just a dream, perhaps this can be reality'," said Fraenkel, 29.Under the "status quo," or post-1967 understandings between the Waqf and Israel, Jews are not allowed to pray in the compound. Religious Jews are escorted by police, who remove those who appear to be praying.Last week, police were seen escorting a teenage boy out of the compound. Jewish seminary student Meir Taler, 23, said the teen had been one of five people in his group.Taler and other activists said they don't want to cause trouble, framing their demands as a freedom of worship issue. "It's a lie to say that we are the ones who are not OK, that we are creating tensions," Taler said.Senior Israeli politicians, including members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Cabinet and Likud party, have taken up the cause, giving it wider attention in Israel's public discourse. Housing Minister Uri Ariel of the Jewish Home, Netanyahu's main coalition partner, has frequently entered the site.Netanyahu has tried to cool the atmosphere, saying repeatedly he does not intend to change the status quo. He also ordered Cabinet ministers and legislators to refrain from visits to the shrine.____MUSLIM ACTIVISTS-A branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, led by fundamentalist preacher Raed Salah, has made the mosque compound its banner issue. Salah has alleged in speeches and annual rallies under the heading "Al-Aqsa is in Danger" that Israel plans to expand its control there.Since 2001, the Islamic Movement has bused tens of thousands of supporters to the mosque compound every year to strengthen the Muslim presence. It also translates Hebrew-language commentary and news stories relating to the shrine into Arabic, and the translations are widely published in the Palestinian media.Several years ago, the movement helped form groups of male and female activists, known as "Morabitoun" — loosely translated as defenders of Islamic lands — who spend hours each weekday at the shrine and try to disrupt visits by Jews. Movement officials are evasive about financing, but one participant said those spending their days on the mount, including attending Islamic study circles, would get about $400 a month for expenses.On a recent morning, about 200 activists, most women, sat in small circles under pine trees across the compound. At one point, the shouts of "God is Great" could be heard. Muslim activists, some cursing, were shouting at about 30 religious Jews, alleging some had attempted to pray. Police rushed the Jews off the mount.Tensions rise on days when large numbers of Jewish groups are expected, including Jewish holidays. Police often ban younger Muslims from the shrine on such occasions, saying it's a way to reduce friction.Typically, several dozen young Palestinians spend the night inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque before the age restrictions kick in, and clash with police trying to sweep the compound the next day. Police have fired tear gas, stun grenades, rubber-coated steel pellets and some live rounds, while Palestinians have thrown stones, firebombs, firecrackers and metal chairs.Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has urged Palestinians to stick to "popular resistance," or marches and stone-throwing, arguing that armed attacks undermine Palestinian interests.However, he also suggested that Israel poses a threat to the mosque compound."We tell the Israeli government, 'Stay away from our holy places, the Islamic and Christian holy places'," he said last week. In previous comments, he blamed Israelis for clashes and said, using particularly harsh words, that "we will not let them desecrate (holy sites) with their filthy feet."___ CRACKDOWN-Netanyahu has accused Abbas and the Islamic Movement of inciting to violence. On Sunday, he discussed possible steps against the Islamic Movement, including outlawing it, with his Cabinet.Israeli authorities have banned Glick and Salah from the shrine, along with other activists from both sides. During periods of tension, police at times block busloads of Islamic Movement supporters from Jerusalem. Earlier this year, Israel outlawed three associations suspected of funding the Morabitoun and last month declared the group itself illegal.
Nato doubles Russia-deterrent, considers nuclear drills By Andrew Rettman-euobserver
BRUSSELS, 9. Oct, 09:29-Nato is doubling the size of its Russia-deterrent force, opening new facilities in eastern Europe, and may resume Cold War-era nuclear arms drills, defence ministers said in Brussels on Thursday (8 October).Jens Stoltenberg, the alliance's head, told press after the meeting: "This [deterrent] force will count up to 40,000 troops. That's twice as many troops as the current level".He said a "spearhead" portion of the force, which focuses on special operations, is ready to deploy anywhere on Nato territory "in as little as 48 hours".He noted that it will use two new facilities, to be set up in Hungary and Slovakia, on top of "small" bases being created in Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania.He also said the force, initially designed for eastern Europe, could be sent to Turkey if need be."We have seen increased turmoil, increased uncertainty, violence to the south of Nato borders in Turkey … we can be able to deploy forces [there] if needed".The British Nato ambassador, Sir Adam Thomson, told media the alliance is also considering resumption of drills on how to "transition up the escalatory ladder" from conventional to nuclear warfare.The UK's defence minister, Michael Fallon, noted: "We have to know how they fit together, nuclear and conventional".Britain also announced that it's posting 100 soldiers to the Baltic States as part of Nato troop "rotations" on its eastern flank, and 25 specialists to Ukraine to help train its military.Stoltenberg said the measures are due to "the aggressive actions of Russia which we have seen, for instance, in Ukraine, destabilising eastern Ukraine, annexing Crimea".Thomson noted the nuclear rehearsals, which had been suspended after the Cold War, are due to Russia's mix of nuclear and conventional forces in its military exercises.-Caspian salvo-The Nato decisions also come amid Russia's bombing campaign in Syria, which saw Russian jets briefly enter Turkish airspace three times last week.Ash Carter, the US defence chief, told press that Russia's salvo of cruise missiles, fired on Wednesday from the Caspian Sea, over Iran, into Syria, nearly hit a Nato drone."We have seen increasingly unprofessional activity on the part of Russian forces", he said."They have shot cruise missiles from a ship in the Caspian Sea without warning [Nato]. They have come within just a few miles of one of our unmanned aerial vehicles".US officials briefed press that some of the missile fell in Iran by mistake. But John Kirby, a State Department spokesman, when asked for an official comment, said "I can't confirm it".For their part, Russia and Iran denied the claim."All our cruise missiles hit their target", Igor Konashenkov, a Russian military spokesman, said. Iranian state media described the claim as "psychological operations by the US against Moscow".Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, also said that Nato's increasing presence in eastern Europe will prompt "reciprocate steps in order to restore the necessary parity".He added that the "alleged threat coming from Russia" is "the camouflage that Nato uses to cover up its plans to further expand toward our borders".-Same airspace-US secretary of state, John Kerry, also spoke by phone with his Russian counterpart on Thursday on creating new protocols to avoid an accidental clash in Syria, where US, French, and British jets are bombing Islamic State.Douglas Lute, the US envoy to Nato, said on Wednesday: "What is especially troubling is Russian air activities which are taking place in the same airspace as the coalition air artillery. That is why the military-to-military contact between Russia and the coalition is very important".He said Russia has deployed a "battalion"-sized force of several hundred soldiers in Syria, including rocket artillery, tanks, air-defence systems, attack helicopters, and 10 naval vessels in the Mediterranean.He said the deployment indicates Russia may launch a ground offensive against Syrian rebel and Islamist groups.The US defence chief, Ash, added: "I suspect in the coming days Russia will suffer casualties in Syria".
Syrian army advances with help of Russian strikes; Putin reaches out to Saudis-Reuters By Vladimir Soldatkin and Suleiman Al-Khalidi-oct 11,15-yahoonews
SOCHI, Russia/AMMAN (Reuters) - Russian warplanes pounded Syrian rebels unaffiliated with Islamic State on Sunday, insurgents said, helping Moscow's ally Bashar al-Assad reclaim territory and dealing a fresh setback to the strategy of Washington and its allies.President Vladimir Putin - who has infuriated Assad's enemies in the United States, Europe, Turkey and the Arab world by bombing the rebels to protect him - reached out to one of the Syrian leader's fiercest opponents by meeting the powerful defense minister of Saudi Arabia.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group that monitors the 4-year-old conflict, said the Syrian military and its Lebanese Hezbollah militia allies had taken control of Tal Skik, a highland area in Idlib province, after fierce Russian bombing.That brings Syrian government forces closer to insurgent-held positions along the main highway that links Syria's principal cities. The area is held by a rebel alliance that excludes Islamic State fighters."The coming battles are going to be ferocious, the Russians are using scorched earth policy and they are hitting the targets very accurately but this is a battle of destiny," said Abu Hamed, the head of the military bureau of Jabhat Sham, an insurgent group that operates mainly in Hama province. The Syrian army made advances from the towns of Mourek and Atshan in Hama province using tanks, heavy artillery and new surface-to-surface missiles, he said.Russia said its planes had flown 64 sorties, striking 63 targets and destroying 53 fortified positions in the previous 24 hours. As in the past, it described all targets as belonging to Islamic State, although most of the areas it said it had struck are not held by that group.Syrian state television also reported that the government had captured Tal Skik with the help of Russian air strikes.BOMBING CAMPAIGN STEPPED UP-However, the advance came at a cost, with the Observatory and a Lebanese television station reporting that a senior Hezbollah commander had been killed fighting on the Syrian government side.In recent days, Russia has dramatically intensified its 10-day-old bombing campaign. Moscow says it is targeting the Islamic State militant group, but most of its strikes have hit other rebel factions fighting against Assad, some of which have the support of Gulf Arab powers, Turkey or the United States.The Russian bombing has been accompanied by a major advance by Syrian government forces, backed by thousands of Lebanese Hezbollah militiamen and hundreds of Iranian troops.Putin's meeting with Riyadh's Defence Minister Mohammed bin Salman, a son of the Saudi king and leading figure in its regional security policy, was the Kremlin's boldest move to reach out to Assad's foes since launching the strikes.After the meeting, which took place on the sidelines of a Formula One Grand Prix race in the Russian resort of Sochi, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow had sought to assuage Riyadh's concerns. Both sides shared the objective of preventing a "terrorist caliphate" from taking root in Syria, he said.Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Saudi Arabia, which along with other Arab states has joined a U.S.-led coalition bombing Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, was still demanding Assad's removal from power. He hoped talks with Russia would continue.Putin also met Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who holds a senior post in the armed forces of the United Arab Emirates, another rich Gulf state hostile to Assad.Turkey, a NATO member that has accused Russian aircraft of violating its air space during the bombing campaign, said Syrian jets and missile systems had harassed its fighter planes at the border on Saturday in the latest incident.Moscow said its officials had held a second video conference with counterparts from the United States to ensure safety as the former Cold War foes both fly combat missions in the same air space for the first time since World War Two.OBAMA POLICY UPENDED-The Russian intervention has upended the strategy of the U.S. administration of President Barack Obama, which has led a separate bombing campaign against Islamic State for a year but failed to establish strong ties with fighters on the ground.Washington and Moscow say they have the same enemy in Islamic State, the world's most violent jihadist group, which has set up a caliphate in much of eastern Syria and northern Iraq. But they have very different friends.Washington and its European and Middle Eastern allies say the Syrian president should step down in any peace deal, while Moscow says his government should be the centerpiece of international efforts to fight extremism.Washington has announced in recent days that it is abandoning a failed effort to train "moderate" rebel groups opposed to both Assad and Islamic State. Other rebels fighting against Assad are equipped and trained by Washington's Arab allies and range from secular nationalists to Islamist militants affiliated with al Qaeda.Moscow accuses Washington of effectively siding with other militants that are no different from Islamic State; Washington says the Russian campaign helps Islamic State by targeting its rivals.In recent days, Islamic State fighters have taken advantage of the Russian attacks on rival rebel groups to advance near Aleppo in the north of Syria, the Observatory and sources on the ground say. The Observatory said there was fighting on Sunday between Islamic State and other rebels in that area, although no change in positions since Saturday.In neighboring Iraq, the army said it had struck a convoy carrying Islamic State's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to a meeting of Islamic State figures. Local residents in the town of Karabla near the Syrian border said eight Islamic State leaders had been killed in an air strike, but Baghdadi did not appear to be one of them.(Additional reporting by Sylvia Westall in Beirut and Jack Stubbs in Moscow; Writing by Peter Graff; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
Belarus re-elects 'last dictator in Europe' for fifth term-Reuters By Andrei Makhovsky-oct 11,15-yahoonews
MINSK (Reuters) - Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko won a fifth term in office by a landslide on Sunday in an election that could see an easing of relations with the West and raise questions about his ties to Vladimir Putin's Russia.Lukashenko's re-election five years ago led to mass protests and the imprisonment of leading opposition figures, but support for his 20-year-old regime has risen since he cast himself as a guarantor of stability in the face of an economic crisis and a pro-Russian separatist conflict in neighboring Ukraine.The West has long ostracized Lukashenko's Belarus, described in 2005 by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as "Europe's last dictatorship", over its human rights record and clamp-down on political dissent. It has imposed economic sanctions on some Belarussian officials and companies.Nevertheless, his criticism of Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula last year, his hosting of Ukraine peace talks and his pardoning of the six opposition leaders in August suggest he is seeking to improve his image in the West, observers say."We have carried out everything the West wanted on the eve of the elections. If there is a desire in the West to improve our relations, nobody and nothing can prevent that," Lukashenko said as he cast his vote."The ball is now firmly in the West's court," he said.The central election commission said Lukashenko won 83.5 of the vote, slightly more than the 80 percent support registered in the 2010 elections, the head of the central election commission said in a briefing late on Sunday.Around 6.5 percent voted against all candidates on the ballot, according to the commission.TIES WITH RUSSIA-Relations with former Soviet master Moscow have shown some signs of strain. In September, President Vladimir Putin approved a plan to build an airbase in Belarus, but early this month Lukashenko said his country had no need for such a base, appearing to bow to public protests on the eve of the election.The European Union will lift its sanctions on Belarus, including those on Lukashenko, for four months after Sunday's vote, barring any last-minute crackdown, diplomatic sources said on Friday.Previous elections in Belarus were considered unfair by Western observers and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which is monitoring Sunday's vote, said in September the ballot represented a "pivotal moment" for Belarus to demonstrate a willingness to hold free and fair elections.The OSCE will present a report on their election monitoring on Monday, after which Brussels will release a formal statement, an EU spokesman said.The lifting of EU sanctions would be welcome to Belarus, whose economy has been battered this year by a slump in the currency of Russia, a key trading partner and source of remittances from migrant workers.None of the three candidates running against Lukashenko in Sunday's poll represent a serious challenge to his rule and opposition figures have called for a boycott of the election."Lukashenko and his system is a dead-end. There is no choice, but there is the choice not to be a sheep," said Anatoly Lebedko, a leading opposition figure at an anti-government rally on Saturday that attracted a crowd in the low hundreds.Some of those who voted on Sunday did not express much faith in the political process. "I voted because it is the duty of every citizen ... What good is there in this country? They spin their lies and we pretend that we believe them," 68-year-old pensioner Alexander said, declining to give his last name.While the president has been making some conciliatory gestures towards the opposition in recent months, it is unlikely the regime will become more welcoming of political dissent while Lukashenko remains in power.(Reporting by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)
France wants all travelling EU nationals fingerprinted By Nikolaj Nielsen-euobserver
BRUSSELS, 9. Oct, 18:10-French authorities are calling for EU-wide rules requiring travelling EU nationals to give their fingerprints and possibly also have their faces scanned.The proposal, which is part of a much larger digital dragnet known as the ‘smart borders’ package, was discussed at an EU interior ministers meeting in Luxembourg on Thursday (8 October).Smart borders is a two-tiered system of biometric scans of visiting non-EU nationals – the registered travellers programme (RTP) and the entry-exit system (EES).First proposed by the European Commission in 2013, it was temporarily shelved following concerns over its billion-euro price tag and law enforcement access.The Commission says the systems are needed to speed up travel times and detect people overstaying their visas.It is now set to come up with an updated proposal before the end of year following an ongoing study and pilot project launched in February.But an internal document dated 25 September from the French delegation in Brussels now wants to extend the same biometric system to cover member state citizens.“The French delegation suggests broadening the scope of the ‘smart borders’ package for all travellers, also including European nationals”, it states.It argues an expanded ‘smart borders’ is needed because of terrorist threats, migratory pressure, and greater passenger numbers.Several stabbings and a beheading in France, along with the more recent bungled Thalys attack in Brussels has unsettled authorities.In January, two French nationals also shot dead 11 people at the satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris.The internal document makes broad reference to the attacks.It says they are a “chilling reminder of the threats posed by certain European nationals or people with the right of free movement upon their return from terrorist areas.”Smart borders, along with the future roll out of the EU’s passenger name records (PNR), were key discussion points among interior ministers in Luxembourg on Thursday.The PNR bill also aims to collect the details of anyone flying into or out of the EU. Lawmakers behind it say it has built-in safeguards to protect data.But last year, the European Court of Justice struck down the EU’s data retention law. Judges said the directive was disproportionate because it allowed for the indiscriminate and mass collection of data from people not suspected of any crime.The French delegation paper, for its part, runs in tandem with the launch of a controversial international electronic communications surveillance law in France.Part of the law was adopted in July, but issues over international surveillance remained. French lawmakers are now set to adopt a second law later this month on international surveillance. Critics say the French surveillance law mimics covert spying operations conducted by the US National Security Agency (NSA) in the lead-up to Edward Snowden's revelations in 2013.It also gives French prime minister Manuel Valls new powers.He can now instruct French agents to conduct surveillance in broadly defined areas such as “major foreign policy interests” and to protect its “economic, industrial and scientific interests”.An oversight committee has been set up to make sure he does not abuse it. But it can only give non-binding recommendations.“Under this new law, almost all internet communications will be considered fair game by the French authorities, without any form of meaningful checks and balance", said Amnesty International.The Paris-based Internet campaign group La Quadrature Du Net says the law’s vague criteria are likely to “trigger mass data collection of logins and communications, without any regard to borders, or the target's nationality”.
Fired Polish priest says no 'gay lobby' in Vatican-AFP-oct 11,15-yahoonews
Rome (AFP) - A high-ranking Polish priest who was fired after coming out as gay before the Vatican's key synod on the family said on Sunday that there was no "gay lobby" in the Church.Krzysztof Charamsa told a private Italian television channel that he has "never met a gay lobby in the Vatican", referring to rumours of a network of homosexual priests."I met homosexual priests, often isolated like me... but no gay lobby," said Charamsa, adding that he also met gay priests who were "homophobes" and had "hatred for themselves and others"."But I also met several fantastic homosexuals who are some of the best ministers in the Church," he said in an interview due to be broadcast Sunday.Charamsa said he wrote a letter to Pope Francis asking him to convey his spirit of openness to bishops at the synod, where Church leaders discussed marriage and family teachings.The pontiff has in the past spoken about homosexuality and the "gay lobby".In 2013 he famously said "Who am I to judge?" when asked about homosexuals in the Church, and the rumoured network of gay Vatican leaders.Since 2005, the Church has forbidden the ordination of priests with homosexual tendencies. But this rule is applied in different ways, with many bishops turning a blind eye as long as priests remain celibate.Charamsa, who was fired from his post at the Vatican, says he has stayed faithful to his vow of celibacy because he has "never touched a woman".
ISRAEL SATAN COMES AGAINST
1 CHRONICLES 21:1
1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.
GENESIS 12:1-3
1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I (GOD) will shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee,(ISRAELIS) and curse (DESTROY) him that curseth thee:(DESTROY THEM) and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
ISAIAH 41:11
11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee (ISRAEL) shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing;(DESTROYED) and they that strive with thee shall perish.(ISRAEL HATERS WILL BE TOTALLY DESTROYED)
ISRAELS TROUBLE
JEREMIAH 30:7
7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble;(ISRAEL) but he shall be saved out of it.
DANIEL 12:1,4
1 And at that time shall Michael(ISRAELS WAR ANGEL) stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people:(ISRAEL) and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation(May 14,48) even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro,(WORLD TRAVEL,IMMIGRATION) and knowledge shall be increased.(COMPUTERS,CHIP IMPLANTS ETC)
Shin Bet: Hamas, Islamic Movement fueling current wave of terror-Security officials say Abbas is not inciting Palestinians to attack Israelis, PA actually cracking down on violence-By Times of Israel staff October 11, 2015, 8:55 pm 1
The current wave of violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories is being fueled by the Islamic Movement in Israel and Hamas, not by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Shin Bet officials told senior Israeli officials on Sunday.Contrary to proclamations by senior ministers, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Shin Bet officials said that Abbas has actually instructed Palestinian security officers to prevent attacks on Israelis.Nonetheless, the officials noted during a briefing on the latest developments in the security situation, senior Fatah party and PLO officials are still participating in the incitement against Israelis that has accompanied the mounting Palestinian violence.During the briefing, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, acting police chief Bentzi Sau and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat joined Shin Bet officials in updating ministers on steps being taken to quell the growing unrest.Most of the attacks, Israeli officials noted in the briefing, were by so-called “lone wolf” terrorists who weren’t affiliated with any Palestinian terrorist organizations.Much of the recent flare-up of violence has centered around Palestinian claims that Israel is seeking to change the decades-old status quo on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, a site holy to both Jews and Muslims. The site, which houses the al-Aqsa Mosque, is administered by the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf. Under rules set by Israel, Jews are allowed to visit but not to pray at the site. Israel has repeatedly denied that it is intending to make changes to the current rules, and says the accusations are incitement to violence.Netanyahu and other senior ministers have accused Abbas of inciting violence against Israelis. On Sunday, Education Minister Naftali Bennett accused Abbas of leading a campaign of incitement and said he is “not a partner [for peace].”Last week, Netanyahu charged that the terrorist attacks targeting Israelis “are all the result of wild and mendacious incitement by Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, several countries in the region and — no less, and frequently much more — the Islamic Movement in Israel” over the Temple Mount.The head of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement, Sheikh Raed Salah, also said last week that his organization intends to respond to what he called “continued Israeli escalation” against the Temple Mount.“We have a package of plans ready be unleashed immediately,” Salah said.Hamas, for its part, on Sunday warned Israel against “foolishness” after the Israeli Air Force struck the Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire at southern communities.Israel said it targeted two Hamas weapon-manufacturing facilities overnight Saturday after a rocket hit an open field and the other was intercepted by the Iron Dome missile system.The retaliatory airstrikes demolished a house in the northern area of Zeitoun, killing Nur Hassan, 30, and her two-year-old daughter Rahaf, Gaza medics said.
Four Israelis hurt in knife attack near Hadera-Israeli Arab attacker arrested; woman, 19, in serious condition with head, upper body wounds-By Times of Israel staff October 11, 2015, 7:41 pm 5
Four Israelis were wounded Sunday evening in a knife attack on Route 65 at the entrance to the kibbutz of Gan Shmuel, near the northern city of Hadera. One of the four, a 19-year-old woman, is in serious condition.The terrorist, a 20-year-old Israeli Arab from Umm al-Fahm, was arrested by police at the scene. He was also injured in the attack, the second on Israelis on Sunday.According to Army Radio, the attacker first ran over the 19-year-old woman, before getting out of the car and stabbing her and the three other victims.The woman was evacuated to Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Hadera, with stab wounds in her head and upper torso.Two other victims, a 14-year-old girl with moderate wounds and a 20-year-old man who was lightly hurt, both arrived at the hospital under their own steam. A 45-year-old man also sustained hand wounds in the attack.“When we arrived at the scene we saw, in the trench beside the highway, an unconscious 19-year-old woman with multiple wounds. We gave her lifesaving first-aid treatment including CPR, bandages and fluids and rushed her to the hospital,” Magen David Adom paramedics Khaled Mura’i and Yehuda Haim said. “A 45-year-old man received medical treatment at the site and was taken to the hospital as well.”Channel 2 said that security forces carried out searches of the area to ensure that the terrorist did not have any accomplices. Police closed the stretch of Route 65 where the attack took place shortly after the incident.According to Channel 10 television, security forces initially suspected a second terrorist may have fled the scene with a weapon belonging to one of the victims. Police later reported that no weapon was taken.A video taken at the scene and posted online claimed to show the vehicle of the attacker at the scene.Earlier in the day, a police officer was hurt when a Palestinian woman attempted to detonate an improvised car bomb near Jerusalem, and two Israelis were lightly hurt in separate rock-throwing attacks in the West Bank.
PM seeks to make Islamic Movement’s Northern Branch illegal-Rocket fired from northern Gaza lands inside Strip; four wounded in Gan Shmuel terror attack; Palestinians say 13-year-old killed by IDF fire at Ramallah protest-By Times of Israel staff October 11, 2015, 7:27 am 8
The Times of Israel is liveblogging Sunday’s events as they unfold. 21:22-Delta plane dropped parts on Ben Gurion tarmac last week-Channel 2 reports on a worrisome malfunction — technical and organizational — at Ben Gurion International Airport last Saturday.A Delta plane that took off for the United States close to midnight Saturday dropped parts of a wheel assembly and pieces from the plane’s braking system as it lifted off the runway, the network reports.A radar system at Ben Gurion, designed to warn of debris on the runway, triggered an alarm in the control tower, but for unknown reasons a controller in the tower concluded it was a false alarm.Ten planes took off from the debris-strewn runway over the next four to five hours, before daybreak revealed the scattered parts and led airport authorities to clear them off the runway.Israeli officials notified Delta, which arranged for heightened alert at the plane’s destination airport. The plane landed safely.According to the report, authorities do not know why the wheel assembly and braking system dropped parts. Israeli and American flight safety authorities are investigating both the damage to the plane and Ben Gurion Airport’s mishandling of the runway debris.
20:53-Rocket fired from northern Gaza lands inside Strip-A rocket is fired from northern Gaza toward the Israeli border town of Sderot, but fails to clear the border. It lands inside the coastal strip, according to security officials.There are no immediate reports of damage or casualties from the rocket’s fall.
20:52-Jerusalem schools to strike over security budget-The Parents Association in Jerusalem says it will lead a city-wide strike in Jerusalem starting Monday over concerns at a budget deficit for security guards, which leaves schools without security guards after 1:30 p.m., while many schools are still holding classes.The strike will include all high schools and elementary schools.
20:42-PM seeks to make Islamic Movement’s Northern Branch illegal-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders the state prosecution and security agencies to gather evidence and prepare the case for declaring the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement an illegal organization.The prime minister has charged that the group is engaged in incitement to violence and is partly responsible for the latest wave of violence.The order comes at the conclusion of a Sunday evening meeting of the security cabinet.
20:21-Saudi prince says Riyadh will stay in charge of hajj-Senior Saudi royal, Prince Turki al-Faisal, says the oversight and management of the annual Islamic hajj pilgrimage is “a matter of sovereignty” and “privilege” and will not be shared with other nations.The pilgrimage, which ended less than three weeks ago, was marred by a disaster just outside Mecca that killed more than 1,400 pilgrims when two crowds converged down a narrow street, according to an Associated Press count based on official statements from nations whose citizens died.Top Iranian officials have accused Saudi Arabia of mismanagement and are calling on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to manage the hajj.The prince spoke to The Associated Press in an interview Sunday during a visit to Abu Dhabi.— AP
THIS IS A DIFFERENT VIOLENCE LIKE I HAVE NOT HEARD ABOUT IN ISRAEL BEFORE. THE ARAB WOMEN ARE INVOLVED HEAVILY.AND THE ISRAELI WOMEN ARE ALSO DEFENDING THE ISRAELI CITIZENS AND POLICE WITHOUT ANY FRIGHT. ONCE THE WOMEN ON BOTH SIDES GET INVOLVED.YOU KNOW YOU GOT A LONG WAR ON YOUR HANDS.
PROVERBS 21:19
19 It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.
PROVERBS 25:24
24 It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house.
Would-be car bomber is East Jerusalem woman — Shin Bet-Papers voicing support for terrorists found on 31-year-old Palestinian who had gas canister in her vehicle as she headed to the capital-By Raoul Wootliff and Times of Israel staff October 11, 2015, 5:08 pm 5
Israeli officials on Sunday identified the Palestinian woman who detonated explosives in a car near Jerusalem earlier the day as a 31-year-old resident of the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber.The security forces did not release the name of the woman, who the Shin Bet security service said was currently living in the West Bank city of Jericho. The Shin Bet said she had no previous convictions and had not been known to the Israeli authorities.The Shin Bet said in a statement that around 7 a.m. a traffic police officer noticed that the woman was driving in the public transportation lane while tailgating a police vehicle.Police said officers noticed a suspicious vehicle driven by a woman heading toward a checkpoint on the way to Jerusalem and signaled to her to stop. The woman then yelled “Allahu Akbar” (God is most great) and set off the explosive detonator in her car, a police statement said. A gas canister in her car did not explode, however.Handwritten slips of paper voicing support for “Palestinian martyrs” were found on her person, the Shin Bet said.The police officer who stopped the woman was lightly injured, while she was severely injured in the explosion. She was taken to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem’s Ein Kerem neighborhood for treatment. The car was bearing Israeli, rather than Palestinian, license plates, the Army Radio reported. Police found the gas canister in the vehicle and said that the woman had intended to carry out a bombing in Jerusalem.Initial reports pointed to a possible suicide bombing, saying that the woman had died in the attack. Police later said the woman exited her car just before the bomb went off, indicating that it may not have been a suicide bombing attempt.Paramedics from the Magen David Adom ambulance service arrived at the scene minutes after the incident.Aharon Adler, an MDA paramedic described the scene.“When we arrived, we were led to a man in his thirties who was fully conscious,” Adler said. “He was walking around, and suffering from burns to his upper body. We treated him and evacuated him to the hospital in light, stable condition.” Adler said it was initially difficult to approach the Palestinian bomber in her car.“When we could approach the car, we treated the driver, who was conscious, with burns all over her body, and evacuated her to the hospital in serious condition,” he said.On Saturday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a massive call-up of Border Police forces in an effort to quell the ongoing wave of unrest and violence in Israel and the West Bank that has seen a week of almost daily terror attacks against Israelis.On Saturday morning, a Palestinian teenager stabbed and wounded two ultra-Orthodox Jews, aged 62 and 65, just outside the Old City’s Damascus Gate in East Jerusalem. Police shot and killed the 16-year-old stabber, later identified as Ishak Badran of Kafr Aqab in East Jerusalem.Hours later, another East Jerusalem teenager was killed while carrying out a similar attack. Muhammad Said Muhammad, 19, from Shuafat, stabbed a Border Police officer in the neck, also outside the Old City’s Damascus Gate, before being shot dead by other officers.The wave of attacks started in Jerusalem last month over what Israel insists are unfounded Palestinian claims that Israel is expanding its presence at the Temple Mount and the al-Aqsa Mosque.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
3 Jewish women held over Jerusalem tear gas attack on Arab-Palestinian man attacked in Jaffa Road store in which he works; police vow ‘zero tolerance towards violence’-By Tamar Pileggi October 11, 2015, 8:32 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Three young Jewish women were detained for questioning by Jerusalem police on Sunday on suspicion of attacking a Palestinian man with tear gas.The alleged attack occurred at the Jaffa Road store in which the Arab man is employed, in a predominantly Jewish area of Jerusalem.Police were called to the scene, where they found the victim being cared for by a passerby inside the shop.The man gave police a description of the attackers, leading to the detention of three young women nearby. There was no indication as to whether the alleged attack had a nationalistic motive.“Police will display zero tolerance toward any instance of violence or attempt to breach the peace,” the Jerusalem district police said in a statement.The incident comes amid a recent surge in protests and terror attacks, after weeks of spiraling violence between Israelis and Palestinians. Two more terror attacks hit Jerusalem on Saturday — another in a string of stabbing attacks that have targeted Jewish Israelis since October 3, when a Palestinian terrorist killed two Israelis in the Old City of Jerusalem.With Palestinian terror attacks against Israelis occurring daily, Jewish extremists have staged protests and assaulted Arabs in various cities in recent weeks.Earlier Sunday, the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court remanded into custody five Israeli Jews who were arrested on suspicion of assaulting an Arab man last week in the coastal city of Netanya.On Friday, an Israeli teenager went on a stabbing spree in the southern city of Dimona, wounding three Palestinian men and a Bedouin Arab.On Thursday in Jerusalem, activists from the anti-Arab Lehava group, along with far-right fans of the Beitar Jerusalem soccer club, marched to the Old City, chanting slogans including “Death to the Arabs” and “Muhammad is dead.”Since the beginning of the month, at least two dozen Israelis have been injured in as many stabbing attacks by Palestinians.Last week, two Israeli men were stabbed to death in the Old City of Jerusalem and an Israeli couple was gunned down in the West Bank in front of their four children two days before that.The wave of attacks started in Jerusalem last month over what Israel says are unfounded rumors that Israel was expanding the Jewish presence at the Temple Mount and the al-Aqsa Mosque.
Palestinian incitement or deeper malaise? Depends which Israeli official you ask-While Prime Minister Netanyahu has pinned the current round of violence on hateful rhetoric, Israel’s security establishment paints a more complex picture By Elhanan Miller October 11, 2015, 5:54 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has highlighted “incitement” as the main cause for the surge in Palestinian terror and violence in Israel and the West Bank, senior Israeli security officials, intimately acquainted with the Palestinian scene, are painting a more complex picture, one that is sometimes outright contradictory to that of the prime minister.In numerous recent speeches, Netanyhau has singled out Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as a primary source of incitement. On Sunday, he accused Arab MK Hanin Zoabi of the same crime, as well as the Islamic Movement in Israel.But the Israeli security officials, who have been making their position clear to Israeli journalists in recent days, identify a host of reasons for the Palestinian violence — the perceived danger to the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem being only one of them, and perhaps just a symptom of a deeper malaise.A young Palestinian generation, which did not experience the terrible cost of the Second Intifada, they argue, has come of age with no hope for a better future. Nearly all the perpetrators of this week’s attacks against Jews are under 20 years old, and can barely remember the Second Intifada, which erupted in September 2000 and all but died down by 2004. This generation is alienated from the Palestinian Authority, which has been unable to realize any of the national Palestinian goals, including statehood and the release of prisoners, the officials said.Far from ordering violence, in his recent speech at the UN Abbas expressed a sense of desperation and frustration with Israel, which his public has picked up on. Some of Fatah’s regional leaders have understood the speech as allowing a freer hand in “popular resistance,” and describe Abbas’s loosening grip on his movement as he prepares for retirement.Not only does Abbas not wish for escalation of the violence, the officials said, he has carried out a series of measures to make sure such escalation does not occur: he has called hardliners within his movement, who have voiced inflammatory statements in recent days, to order; he has ordered official Palestinian media to tone down its rhetoric; he has arrested violent elements in the West Bank, including Hamas protesters in Tulkarem.Security coordination with Israel continues unabated, the officials stress, and Abbas has funneled millions of shekels to West Bank universities in order to prevent a strike that would leave hundreds of students on the street. Plainclothes Palestinian security personnel make sure that no live ammunition is fired from within Fatah-led demonstrations.The continuous tug of war between Fatah and Hamas must also not be forgotten in analyzing the current peak in violence, the officials argued. Hamas has long called for a popular uprising in the West Bank to challenge Abbas’s previous agenda of negotiations and current unilateral international moves against Israel. As of today, that call seems to be gaining ground.But the West Bank leadership refuses to let Hamas gain the upper hand. Not only does it continue to arrest and oppress Islamist operatives in the West Bank, but Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah on Sunday met with the governors of the northern and central Gaza Strip, promising to prioritize construction efforts following last year’s war with Israel. “Gaza is an inseparable part of the future Palestinian state,” Hamdallah was quoted by Ma’an news agency as saying, for those who doubted it.Whether the current surge in attacks lasts weeks or months, the Israeli officials seemed bleakly confident that if Israel does not offer Abbas significant “carrots” in the near future in the West Bank, further rounds of violence are just a matter of time.
Hamas warns Israel against ‘foolishness’ after deadly airstrike-Shots fired at Israeli civilian vehicle during work on fence previously breached by Palestinians; border protests resume-By AFP and Times of Israel staff October 11, 2015, 3:07 pm 13
The Islamist Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip warned Israel Sunday against “foolishness” after local sources said an airstrike by Israel overnight killed a pregnant Palestinian woman and her toddler.“This shows the occupation’s desire to escalate,” said Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for Hamas. “We warn the occupation against continuing this foolishness.”Israel said it targeted two Hamas weapon manufacturing facilities overnight Saturday, after Gaza terrorists fired two rockets at southern Israel, triggering air-raid sirens in many communities and sending residents scrambling for cover.One of the rockets hit an open field in southern Israel and the other was intercepted by the Iron Dome rocket defense system.Israel’s retaliatory airstrikes demolished a house in the northern area of Zeitun, killing Nur Hassan, 30, and her two-year-old daughter Rahaf, Gaza medics said, and trapping three others under the ruins.Earlier on Sunday, shots were fired from Gaza at a group of IDF soldiers and civilians engaged in repairing the border fence after it was breached by Palestinian protesters the day before.The IDF said that after the shooting, several bullet holes were found in a civilian vehicle. There was no one in the car at the time of the shooting and there were no injuries.Meanwhile Sunday, Palestinians resumed protests near the border fence with Israel in the northern Gaza Strip, with soldiers fired warning shots to prevent them from crossing into Israel.Seven Palestinians from the Gaza Strip were reported killed and 19 hurt on Friday and two more were killed Saturday, in clashes between the IDF and protesters near the border fence.Confrontations along the border with the coastal enclave came after a spate of Palestinian attacks on security forces and civilians across Israel and in the West Bank over the past few weeks.In all, 14 Palestinian stabbing attacks against Israeli civilians have occurred in the past week alone, and on Sunday morning police thwarted a suspected car bombing attempt as a Palestinian woman detonated a vehicle after she was stopped on an approach road to the capital. A policeman was lightly injured in the incident while the female bomber was severely injured.Much of the violence has centered around Palestinian claims that Israel is seeking to change the five-decade-old status quo on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, a site holy to both Jews and Muslims. The site, which houses the al-Aqsa Mosque, is administered by the Muslim Waqf. Under rules set by Israel, Jews are allowed to visit but not to pray at the site. Israel has repeatedly denied that it is intending to make changes to the current rules and says the accusations are incitement to violence.The escalation in violence in the past week has led to mounting fears that Palestinian unrest was spiraling toward a wider uprising, or third intifada.
Reports: Russian jets shot down in Turkey-By Barbara Boland (@bbatdc) • 10/10/15 2:22 PM-washington examiner
A Russian air force jet was shot down after it violated Turkey's airspace, according to unconfirmed reports. Witnesses say they saw a large explosion in Huraytan, northern Syria, as three fighter jets flew above.A journalist based in Turkey tweeted that three Turkish planes responded to "mysterious" lock-ons from MIG-29 jets, which are used by Putin's forces, according to the U.K. Express.Turkey's reported action comes after a Russian MIG-29 was escorted back to Syrian airspace by Turkish jets last week. Turkey's Prime Minister and President have repeatedly warned Russia to avoid Turkish airspace in its campaign in Syria.Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Wednesday there will be "no concessions if Russian fighter jets violate Turkey's airspace."Turkish officials have warned that Russia will be held "responsible for any undesired incident" that might occur. Turkey and Russia have yet to respond on the reported downing. Russia's bombing campaign in Syria has increased tensions in an already strained relationship with the West. The U.S. has accused Russia of bombing moderate Syrian rebels and propping up the murderous regime of Syrian President Bashar al Assad. Putin's intervention in the Ukraine in February 2014 caused the U.S. and the E.U. to respond with economic sanctions against Russia.
Jewish, Muslim groups raise temperature at contested shrine-Associated Press By KARIN LAUB and MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH-oct 11,15-yahoonews
JERUSALEM (AP) — Jewish and Muslim grassroots groups, self-declared defenders of their faiths, have played a key role in rising Israeli-Palestinian tensions, stepping up activities at a contested Jerusalem shrine at the heart of the current violence.Each side has accused the other of causing provocations, as religious activists become more organized.Israel pins much of the blame on a domestic fundamentalist group, the Islamic Movement, saying it whipped up Palestinian anger with claims that Israel is plotting to take over the Muslim-run site. Those claims, dismissed by Israel as incitement, reflect widespread Palestinian fears fueled by the doubling of Jewish visits to the shrine since 2010.Backed by senior Israeli politicians, activists have become more vocal in demanding Jewish prayer rights on the mount. Some call for the site's partition and the rebuilding of the biblical Jewish Temple that once stood there."As more and more Jews are going up, it is clear that this is bringing us closer to the immediate goal of prayer (rights), and afterward, the Temple," said Elishama Sandman, 19, who has led Jewish tours on the mount.Muslim activists have also beefed up their presence in recent years, with funding and logistical support from the Islamic Movement and Palestinian factions in the West Bank.Young Palestinians sporting headbands of different factions, including the militant Hamas, have clashed with Israeli police, throwing stones and firebombs from a mosque in the compound and drawing tear gas and stun grenades.Scores of older Muslims, many bused to the shrine by the Islamic Movement, spend hours on the mount each day, some disrupting visits of Jews with curses and chants of "God is Great."Israelis "got our land and now they want to get our holy places," said a 65-year-old Muslim man. He spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions from authorities after he yelled at Jewish visitors.Frictions have peaked during Jewish holidays, a busy time for Jewish visits. Since the Jewish New Year in mid-September, repeated clashes between Palestinians and police at the compound triggered deadly violence in other parts of Jerusalem, across Israel and in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.With religious passions unleashed, violence could rapidly escalate — as it did in 2000 after then-opposition leader Ariel Sharon visited the shrine in a demonstrative act that helped trigger the second Palestinian uprising.___WHY IS THE SHRINE SO IMPORTANT?-The 37-acre (15 hectare) holy site — the size of 21 soccer pitches — anchors competing religious and national identities of Jews and Muslims, Israelis and Palestinians.Known to Jews as the Temple Mount, it's the holiest site in Judaism. The devout believe that God's presence is most keenly felt here and revere it as the home of the biblical Jewish Temples. Believers say Jewish religious practice is only complete once the Temple has been rebuilt.Leading rabbis, citing religious purity laws, have banned entry to the compound since Israel captured it in 1967, along with the rest of east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. Israel's chief rabbis reaffirmed the ban in 2013, but several leading clerics from the religious Zionist stream linked to the settler movement had already given the go-ahead to ascend.Most Jews continue to worship exclusively at the adjacent Western Wall, a Temple remnant.For 1.6 billion Muslims, the hilltop is the third holiest site of their religion, marking the spot where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. The enclosure houses the gold-topped Dome of the Rock and the thousand-year-old Al-Aqsa Mosque. A prayer performed here is believed to be 500 times more powerful than one in an ordinary mosque.The compound is run by Islamic religious officials, while Jordan, which controlled the site before 1967, serves as guardian. After nearly half a century of living under Israeli occupation, many Palestinians feel the shrine is the only spot that remains truly theirs.___JEWISH ACTIVISTS-Israel reopened the compound to non-Muslim visitors in 2003, three years after Sharon's visi.Police say they coordinate the visits with the Waqf, or Muslim administration. The Waqf says it no longer has a decisive say in the matter.Initially, the number of Jewish visitors was relatively small — just under 5,800 in 2010. It has grown since to just under 11,000 last year, according to figures Jewish activists say they obtained from police and that are roughly in line with those provided by the Islamic Movement."People suddenly realize, yes, we have to go there (to the shrine)," said Yehuda Glick, a prominent Temple Mount campaigner who was shot and seriously wounded by a Palestinian last year. "All our activity is bringing the awareness of the Temple Mount."More grass-roots groups have sprung up.A year ago, Jerusalem tour guides began organizing courses for those taking groups around the mount. Since then, 30 have been trained, and one is present at the shrine every day, said Aviya Fraenkel, a founder of the ad hoc group."These are dreams that every child in kindergarten is familiar with, and it takes people a bit of time to say, 'Wait a moment, perhaps this is not just a dream, perhaps this can be reality'," said Fraenkel, 29.Under the "status quo," or post-1967 understandings between the Waqf and Israel, Jews are not allowed to pray in the compound. Religious Jews are escorted by police, who remove those who appear to be praying.Last week, police were seen escorting a teenage boy out of the compound. Jewish seminary student Meir Taler, 23, said the teen had been one of five people in his group.Taler and other activists said they don't want to cause trouble, framing their demands as a freedom of worship issue. "It's a lie to say that we are the ones who are not OK, that we are creating tensions," Taler said.Senior Israeli politicians, including members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Cabinet and Likud party, have taken up the cause, giving it wider attention in Israel's public discourse. Housing Minister Uri Ariel of the Jewish Home, Netanyahu's main coalition partner, has frequently entered the site.Netanyahu has tried to cool the atmosphere, saying repeatedly he does not intend to change the status quo. He also ordered Cabinet ministers and legislators to refrain from visits to the shrine.____MUSLIM ACTIVISTS-A branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, led by fundamentalist preacher Raed Salah, has made the mosque compound its banner issue. Salah has alleged in speeches and annual rallies under the heading "Al-Aqsa is in Danger" that Israel plans to expand its control there.Since 2001, the Islamic Movement has bused tens of thousands of supporters to the mosque compound every year to strengthen the Muslim presence. It also translates Hebrew-language commentary and news stories relating to the shrine into Arabic, and the translations are widely published in the Palestinian media.Several years ago, the movement helped form groups of male and female activists, known as "Morabitoun" — loosely translated as defenders of Islamic lands — who spend hours each weekday at the shrine and try to disrupt visits by Jews. Movement officials are evasive about financing, but one participant said those spending their days on the mount, including attending Islamic study circles, would get about $400 a month for expenses.On a recent morning, about 200 activists, most women, sat in small circles under pine trees across the compound. At one point, the shouts of "God is Great" could be heard. Muslim activists, some cursing, were shouting at about 30 religious Jews, alleging some had attempted to pray. Police rushed the Jews off the mount.Tensions rise on days when large numbers of Jewish groups are expected, including Jewish holidays. Police often ban younger Muslims from the shrine on such occasions, saying it's a way to reduce friction.Typically, several dozen young Palestinians spend the night inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque before the age restrictions kick in, and clash with police trying to sweep the compound the next day. Police have fired tear gas, stun grenades, rubber-coated steel pellets and some live rounds, while Palestinians have thrown stones, firebombs, firecrackers and metal chairs.Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has urged Palestinians to stick to "popular resistance," or marches and stone-throwing, arguing that armed attacks undermine Palestinian interests.However, he also suggested that Israel poses a threat to the mosque compound."We tell the Israeli government, 'Stay away from our holy places, the Islamic and Christian holy places'," he said last week. In previous comments, he blamed Israelis for clashes and said, using particularly harsh words, that "we will not let them desecrate (holy sites) with their filthy feet."___ CRACKDOWN-Netanyahu has accused Abbas and the Islamic Movement of inciting to violence. On Sunday, he discussed possible steps against the Islamic Movement, including outlawing it, with his Cabinet.Israeli authorities have banned Glick and Salah from the shrine, along with other activists from both sides. During periods of tension, police at times block busloads of Islamic Movement supporters from Jerusalem. Earlier this year, Israel outlawed three associations suspected of funding the Morabitoun and last month declared the group itself illegal.
Nato doubles Russia-deterrent, considers nuclear drills By Andrew Rettman-euobserver
BRUSSELS, 9. Oct, 09:29-Nato is doubling the size of its Russia-deterrent force, opening new facilities in eastern Europe, and may resume Cold War-era nuclear arms drills, defence ministers said in Brussels on Thursday (8 October).Jens Stoltenberg, the alliance's head, told press after the meeting: "This [deterrent] force will count up to 40,000 troops. That's twice as many troops as the current level".He said a "spearhead" portion of the force, which focuses on special operations, is ready to deploy anywhere on Nato territory "in as little as 48 hours".He noted that it will use two new facilities, to be set up in Hungary and Slovakia, on top of "small" bases being created in Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania.He also said the force, initially designed for eastern Europe, could be sent to Turkey if need be."We have seen increased turmoil, increased uncertainty, violence to the south of Nato borders in Turkey … we can be able to deploy forces [there] if needed".The British Nato ambassador, Sir Adam Thomson, told media the alliance is also considering resumption of drills on how to "transition up the escalatory ladder" from conventional to nuclear warfare.The UK's defence minister, Michael Fallon, noted: "We have to know how they fit together, nuclear and conventional".Britain also announced that it's posting 100 soldiers to the Baltic States as part of Nato troop "rotations" on its eastern flank, and 25 specialists to Ukraine to help train its military.Stoltenberg said the measures are due to "the aggressive actions of Russia which we have seen, for instance, in Ukraine, destabilising eastern Ukraine, annexing Crimea".Thomson noted the nuclear rehearsals, which had been suspended after the Cold War, are due to Russia's mix of nuclear and conventional forces in its military exercises.-Caspian salvo-The Nato decisions also come amid Russia's bombing campaign in Syria, which saw Russian jets briefly enter Turkish airspace three times last week.Ash Carter, the US defence chief, told press that Russia's salvo of cruise missiles, fired on Wednesday from the Caspian Sea, over Iran, into Syria, nearly hit a Nato drone."We have seen increasingly unprofessional activity on the part of Russian forces", he said."They have shot cruise missiles from a ship in the Caspian Sea without warning [Nato]. They have come within just a few miles of one of our unmanned aerial vehicles".US officials briefed press that some of the missile fell in Iran by mistake. But John Kirby, a State Department spokesman, when asked for an official comment, said "I can't confirm it".For their part, Russia and Iran denied the claim."All our cruise missiles hit their target", Igor Konashenkov, a Russian military spokesman, said. Iranian state media described the claim as "psychological operations by the US against Moscow".Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, also said that Nato's increasing presence in eastern Europe will prompt "reciprocate steps in order to restore the necessary parity".He added that the "alleged threat coming from Russia" is "the camouflage that Nato uses to cover up its plans to further expand toward our borders".-Same airspace-US secretary of state, John Kerry, also spoke by phone with his Russian counterpart on Thursday on creating new protocols to avoid an accidental clash in Syria, where US, French, and British jets are bombing Islamic State.Douglas Lute, the US envoy to Nato, said on Wednesday: "What is especially troubling is Russian air activities which are taking place in the same airspace as the coalition air artillery. That is why the military-to-military contact between Russia and the coalition is very important".He said Russia has deployed a "battalion"-sized force of several hundred soldiers in Syria, including rocket artillery, tanks, air-defence systems, attack helicopters, and 10 naval vessels in the Mediterranean.He said the deployment indicates Russia may launch a ground offensive against Syrian rebel and Islamist groups.The US defence chief, Ash, added: "I suspect in the coming days Russia will suffer casualties in Syria".
Syrian army advances with help of Russian strikes; Putin reaches out to Saudis-Reuters By Vladimir Soldatkin and Suleiman Al-Khalidi-oct 11,15-yahoonews
SOCHI, Russia/AMMAN (Reuters) - Russian warplanes pounded Syrian rebels unaffiliated with Islamic State on Sunday, insurgents said, helping Moscow's ally Bashar al-Assad reclaim territory and dealing a fresh setback to the strategy of Washington and its allies.President Vladimir Putin - who has infuriated Assad's enemies in the United States, Europe, Turkey and the Arab world by bombing the rebels to protect him - reached out to one of the Syrian leader's fiercest opponents by meeting the powerful defense minister of Saudi Arabia.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group that monitors the 4-year-old conflict, said the Syrian military and its Lebanese Hezbollah militia allies had taken control of Tal Skik, a highland area in Idlib province, after fierce Russian bombing.That brings Syrian government forces closer to insurgent-held positions along the main highway that links Syria's principal cities. The area is held by a rebel alliance that excludes Islamic State fighters."The coming battles are going to be ferocious, the Russians are using scorched earth policy and they are hitting the targets very accurately but this is a battle of destiny," said Abu Hamed, the head of the military bureau of Jabhat Sham, an insurgent group that operates mainly in Hama province. The Syrian army made advances from the towns of Mourek and Atshan in Hama province using tanks, heavy artillery and new surface-to-surface missiles, he said.Russia said its planes had flown 64 sorties, striking 63 targets and destroying 53 fortified positions in the previous 24 hours. As in the past, it described all targets as belonging to Islamic State, although most of the areas it said it had struck are not held by that group.Syrian state television also reported that the government had captured Tal Skik with the help of Russian air strikes.BOMBING CAMPAIGN STEPPED UP-However, the advance came at a cost, with the Observatory and a Lebanese television station reporting that a senior Hezbollah commander had been killed fighting on the Syrian government side.In recent days, Russia has dramatically intensified its 10-day-old bombing campaign. Moscow says it is targeting the Islamic State militant group, but most of its strikes have hit other rebel factions fighting against Assad, some of which have the support of Gulf Arab powers, Turkey or the United States.The Russian bombing has been accompanied by a major advance by Syrian government forces, backed by thousands of Lebanese Hezbollah militiamen and hundreds of Iranian troops.Putin's meeting with Riyadh's Defence Minister Mohammed bin Salman, a son of the Saudi king and leading figure in its regional security policy, was the Kremlin's boldest move to reach out to Assad's foes since launching the strikes.After the meeting, which took place on the sidelines of a Formula One Grand Prix race in the Russian resort of Sochi, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow had sought to assuage Riyadh's concerns. Both sides shared the objective of preventing a "terrorist caliphate" from taking root in Syria, he said.Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Saudi Arabia, which along with other Arab states has joined a U.S.-led coalition bombing Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, was still demanding Assad's removal from power. He hoped talks with Russia would continue.Putin also met Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who holds a senior post in the armed forces of the United Arab Emirates, another rich Gulf state hostile to Assad.Turkey, a NATO member that has accused Russian aircraft of violating its air space during the bombing campaign, said Syrian jets and missile systems had harassed its fighter planes at the border on Saturday in the latest incident.Moscow said its officials had held a second video conference with counterparts from the United States to ensure safety as the former Cold War foes both fly combat missions in the same air space for the first time since World War Two.OBAMA POLICY UPENDED-The Russian intervention has upended the strategy of the U.S. administration of President Barack Obama, which has led a separate bombing campaign against Islamic State for a year but failed to establish strong ties with fighters on the ground.Washington and Moscow say they have the same enemy in Islamic State, the world's most violent jihadist group, which has set up a caliphate in much of eastern Syria and northern Iraq. But they have very different friends.Washington and its European and Middle Eastern allies say the Syrian president should step down in any peace deal, while Moscow says his government should be the centerpiece of international efforts to fight extremism.Washington has announced in recent days that it is abandoning a failed effort to train "moderate" rebel groups opposed to both Assad and Islamic State. Other rebels fighting against Assad are equipped and trained by Washington's Arab allies and range from secular nationalists to Islamist militants affiliated with al Qaeda.Moscow accuses Washington of effectively siding with other militants that are no different from Islamic State; Washington says the Russian campaign helps Islamic State by targeting its rivals.In recent days, Islamic State fighters have taken advantage of the Russian attacks on rival rebel groups to advance near Aleppo in the north of Syria, the Observatory and sources on the ground say. The Observatory said there was fighting on Sunday between Islamic State and other rebels in that area, although no change in positions since Saturday.In neighboring Iraq, the army said it had struck a convoy carrying Islamic State's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to a meeting of Islamic State figures. Local residents in the town of Karabla near the Syrian border said eight Islamic State leaders had been killed in an air strike, but Baghdadi did not appear to be one of them.(Additional reporting by Sylvia Westall in Beirut and Jack Stubbs in Moscow; Writing by Peter Graff; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
Belarus re-elects 'last dictator in Europe' for fifth term-Reuters By Andrei Makhovsky-oct 11,15-yahoonews
MINSK (Reuters) - Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko won a fifth term in office by a landslide on Sunday in an election that could see an easing of relations with the West and raise questions about his ties to Vladimir Putin's Russia.Lukashenko's re-election five years ago led to mass protests and the imprisonment of leading opposition figures, but support for his 20-year-old regime has risen since he cast himself as a guarantor of stability in the face of an economic crisis and a pro-Russian separatist conflict in neighboring Ukraine.The West has long ostracized Lukashenko's Belarus, described in 2005 by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as "Europe's last dictatorship", over its human rights record and clamp-down on political dissent. It has imposed economic sanctions on some Belarussian officials and companies.Nevertheless, his criticism of Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula last year, his hosting of Ukraine peace talks and his pardoning of the six opposition leaders in August suggest he is seeking to improve his image in the West, observers say."We have carried out everything the West wanted on the eve of the elections. If there is a desire in the West to improve our relations, nobody and nothing can prevent that," Lukashenko said as he cast his vote."The ball is now firmly in the West's court," he said.The central election commission said Lukashenko won 83.5 of the vote, slightly more than the 80 percent support registered in the 2010 elections, the head of the central election commission said in a briefing late on Sunday.Around 6.5 percent voted against all candidates on the ballot, according to the commission.TIES WITH RUSSIA-Relations with former Soviet master Moscow have shown some signs of strain. In September, President Vladimir Putin approved a plan to build an airbase in Belarus, but early this month Lukashenko said his country had no need for such a base, appearing to bow to public protests on the eve of the election.The European Union will lift its sanctions on Belarus, including those on Lukashenko, for four months after Sunday's vote, barring any last-minute crackdown, diplomatic sources said on Friday.Previous elections in Belarus were considered unfair by Western observers and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which is monitoring Sunday's vote, said in September the ballot represented a "pivotal moment" for Belarus to demonstrate a willingness to hold free and fair elections.The OSCE will present a report on their election monitoring on Monday, after which Brussels will release a formal statement, an EU spokesman said.The lifting of EU sanctions would be welcome to Belarus, whose economy has been battered this year by a slump in the currency of Russia, a key trading partner and source of remittances from migrant workers.None of the three candidates running against Lukashenko in Sunday's poll represent a serious challenge to his rule and opposition figures have called for a boycott of the election."Lukashenko and his system is a dead-end. There is no choice, but there is the choice not to be a sheep," said Anatoly Lebedko, a leading opposition figure at an anti-government rally on Saturday that attracted a crowd in the low hundreds.Some of those who voted on Sunday did not express much faith in the political process. "I voted because it is the duty of every citizen ... What good is there in this country? They spin their lies and we pretend that we believe them," 68-year-old pensioner Alexander said, declining to give his last name.While the president has been making some conciliatory gestures towards the opposition in recent months, it is unlikely the regime will become more welcoming of political dissent while Lukashenko remains in power.(Reporting by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)
France wants all travelling EU nationals fingerprinted By Nikolaj Nielsen-euobserver
BRUSSELS, 9. Oct, 18:10-French authorities are calling for EU-wide rules requiring travelling EU nationals to give their fingerprints and possibly also have their faces scanned.The proposal, which is part of a much larger digital dragnet known as the ‘smart borders’ package, was discussed at an EU interior ministers meeting in Luxembourg on Thursday (8 October).Smart borders is a two-tiered system of biometric scans of visiting non-EU nationals – the registered travellers programme (RTP) and the entry-exit system (EES).First proposed by the European Commission in 2013, it was temporarily shelved following concerns over its billion-euro price tag and law enforcement access.The Commission says the systems are needed to speed up travel times and detect people overstaying their visas.It is now set to come up with an updated proposal before the end of year following an ongoing study and pilot project launched in February.But an internal document dated 25 September from the French delegation in Brussels now wants to extend the same biometric system to cover member state citizens.“The French delegation suggests broadening the scope of the ‘smart borders’ package for all travellers, also including European nationals”, it states.It argues an expanded ‘smart borders’ is needed because of terrorist threats, migratory pressure, and greater passenger numbers.Several stabbings and a beheading in France, along with the more recent bungled Thalys attack in Brussels has unsettled authorities.In January, two French nationals also shot dead 11 people at the satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris.The internal document makes broad reference to the attacks.It says they are a “chilling reminder of the threats posed by certain European nationals or people with the right of free movement upon their return from terrorist areas.”Smart borders, along with the future roll out of the EU’s passenger name records (PNR), were key discussion points among interior ministers in Luxembourg on Thursday.The PNR bill also aims to collect the details of anyone flying into or out of the EU. Lawmakers behind it say it has built-in safeguards to protect data.But last year, the European Court of Justice struck down the EU’s data retention law. Judges said the directive was disproportionate because it allowed for the indiscriminate and mass collection of data from people not suspected of any crime.The French delegation paper, for its part, runs in tandem with the launch of a controversial international electronic communications surveillance law in France.Part of the law was adopted in July, but issues over international surveillance remained. French lawmakers are now set to adopt a second law later this month on international surveillance. Critics say the French surveillance law mimics covert spying operations conducted by the US National Security Agency (NSA) in the lead-up to Edward Snowden's revelations in 2013.It also gives French prime minister Manuel Valls new powers.He can now instruct French agents to conduct surveillance in broadly defined areas such as “major foreign policy interests” and to protect its “economic, industrial and scientific interests”.An oversight committee has been set up to make sure he does not abuse it. But it can only give non-binding recommendations.“Under this new law, almost all internet communications will be considered fair game by the French authorities, without any form of meaningful checks and balance", said Amnesty International.The Paris-based Internet campaign group La Quadrature Du Net says the law’s vague criteria are likely to “trigger mass data collection of logins and communications, without any regard to borders, or the target's nationality”.
Fired Polish priest says no 'gay lobby' in Vatican-AFP-oct 11,15-yahoonews
Rome (AFP) - A high-ranking Polish priest who was fired after coming out as gay before the Vatican's key synod on the family said on Sunday that there was no "gay lobby" in the Church.Krzysztof Charamsa told a private Italian television channel that he has "never met a gay lobby in the Vatican", referring to rumours of a network of homosexual priests."I met homosexual priests, often isolated like me... but no gay lobby," said Charamsa, adding that he also met gay priests who were "homophobes" and had "hatred for themselves and others"."But I also met several fantastic homosexuals who are some of the best ministers in the Church," he said in an interview due to be broadcast Sunday.Charamsa said he wrote a letter to Pope Francis asking him to convey his spirit of openness to bishops at the synod, where Church leaders discussed marriage and family teachings.The pontiff has in the past spoken about homosexuality and the "gay lobby".In 2013 he famously said "Who am I to judge?" when asked about homosexuals in the Church, and the rumoured network of gay Vatican leaders.Since 2005, the Church has forbidden the ordination of priests with homosexual tendencies. But this rule is applied in different ways, with many bishops turning a blind eye as long as priests remain celibate.Charamsa, who was fired from his post at the Vatican, says he has stayed faithful to his vow of celibacy because he has "never touched a woman".
