DiscussMormonism.com

Is anyone here following the happenings in the Middle East?

May 21, 2009 17:22

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday insisted that all of Jerusalem will always remain under Israeli sovereignty.

Speaking at a Jerusalem Day ceremony marking 42 years since the city's reunification in the Six-Day war, Netanyahu did not refer to Palestinian demands to declare east Jerusalem the capital of the state they want to establish."United Jerusalem is Israel's capital. Jerusalem was always ours and will always be ours. It will never again be partitioned and divided," he said.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite? ... 2FShowFull

Anybody here thinking about this sort of thing and what it might mean in terms of the whole "end of the world" thing?

Tin foil hat responses (or accusations) welcome.


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This war is unfortunately cyclical. When it heats up, people think the end is near. When it's cooled down, no one thinks about it.

My personal opinion is that the Palestinians through their actions and rhetoric have forfeited any right to the land and are completely to blame for the current situation. At the same time, Israel has bent overbackwards for peace with them.

Therefore, I believe it morally right if Israel wants to expell the Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip and establish what's called "Greater Israel" (would require a regional war). I don't think they have to go that far, but a two state solution is not workable imho.

We need to stop intervening in that war to stop it. It will never end until one side destroys the other to the extent they become tired of it. That is the only way to end a nonnegotiable conflict such as this.

They should strike Iran with or without US help when the opportunity arises. Personally, I would help them. Of course I would've also directed a month long nation-wide "thunder run" into Iran from Iraq to take care of business there when we had the opportunity.

Thanks for the response, bc. I figured this post wouldn't go anywhere but on to second page obscurity.

Yes, the situation in the Middle East does seem cyclical. Though with the potential global financial apocalypse, the situation seems a little more plausible than what I thought possible in the 90s.

bcspace wrote:We need to stop intervening in that war to stop it. It will never end until one side destroys the other to the extent they become tired of it. That is the only way to end a nonnegotiable conflict such as this.

This is interesting in light of Ezekiel 38/39.

What I find compelling is that there is an Israel to be invaded as specified in that passage, and the idea that "this generation shall not pass away" before all this is fulfilled, is interesting to me. I mean, does that mean that the people that were born in 1948 will live to see the end, or those born in 1967? Or were they all smoking peyote?

There are some obstacles, of course. Primarily, there are a lot of US troops in Iraq standing between Iran and Israel. And what about Syria? Syria isn't listed as among the attackers in Ezekiel.

At any rate, watching the peace process play out this early within the Obama administration, and the stance he is taking towards Israel, has grabbed my attention, as it seems to mark a significant shift in US-Israeli policy - one which appears to have Israel standing alone.

Which is yet another item of interest to me, in light of prophecy.

This is somewhat intriguing:

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340 ... 99,00.html

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attempted to convey a calming message to Israel's neighboring countries during Sunday's cabinet meeting, saying that "this is a routine drill, which was planned several months ago and is held every year in order to coordinate between civil and military systems."

The "Turning Point 3" exercise will begin on May 31 and will last five days. The drill will be operated by the Defense Ministry with the assistance of the National Emergency Authority. It is aimed at training the Israeli home front, from the government level down to the plain citizen level, and will simulate a comprehensive regional war.

According to the scenario, the war will involve Hamas, Hizbullah and Syria. Palestinians will carry out terror attacks, and Israel's Arabs will riot in masses.

The Political-Security Cabinet will practice the various scenarios, while the Israel Defense Forces will mobilize forces in accordance with the occurrences. The proposed scenario simulates an escalation lasting three months, reaching its peak with an overall attack on Israel."

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"On Tuesday, an air raid siren will be sounded across the country, roads will be blocked and citizens and school students will practice entering bomb shelters."

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Reminds me of the days of our youth when we would huddle beneath our desks at school.

Apparently this exercise has been held in the past, as "Turning Point 1" and etc, but this is the first time it has been held at this scale, with this level of civilian involvement.

Should be interesting to observe the regional reactions.

I believe Obama is leading the Middle East to war again by cutting off requested miltary aid to Israel so far. The Arabs will now be encouraged to try again and we'll have another Yom Kippur attack.

bcspace wrote:I believe Obama is leading the Middle East to war again by cutting off requested miltary aid to Israel so far. The Arabs will now be encouraged to try again and we'll have another Yom Kippur attack.

This sure has my attention right now.

This weekend is Shavuot - the 62nd Shavuot since the re-establishment of Israel as a nation, as it turns out.

The Israelis seem to agree with your assessment - their civil defense exercise "Turning Point 3" begins on the 31st and takes into account just such a scenario.

It bears watching, at any rate.

This is somewhat interesting:

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/05/29 ... 8093.shtml

This excerpt highlights the next big day, I think, in terms of gauging what sort of progress is being made and perhaps a portend of things to come:

"Mr. Obama is scheduled to give a speech in Cairo on June 4, during which he will likely promote a peace plan backed by 57 nations that would see almost the entire Muslim world recognize Israel in return for comprehensive peace."

I've been wondering about Syria's role in all of this, and in this article we're told that overtures are being made towards Damascus by Washington.

Eschatalogically speaking, there are some who say that a destruction of Damascus is supposed to precede the Gog/Magog war. Outside of Damascus by some 60 miles, the Syrians have stockpiles of sarin gas - it isn't hard to imagine a scenario in which the Israelis pre-emptively strike those stockpiles.

But, one day at a time. I figure the beginning of Turning Point 3 will be eventful enough for the weekend's worries.