SHOCKER! - Obama now unsure Palestinians even want peace

US President Barack Obama has come to realize what many Middle East observers have long known: that perhaps the Palestinian Authority leadership does not want genuine peace and coexistence with Israel.

Obama expressed that concern during a White House meeting with Orthodox Jewish leaders on Tuesday, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Over the past three years, Obama has seen the Palestinian leadership consistently refuse to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while at the same time trying to blame the impasse on Israel's rejection of far-reaching preconditions.

Washington's response to this frustrating situation has been increased pressure on Israel to make gestures toward the Palestinians, in particular by curbing Jewish construction in Jerusalem and the rest of Judea and Samaria. The apparent hope was that the Palestinians would soften up, but it also resulted in Israel feeling as though the Obama Administration was far less friendly to Israel than previous American governments.

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Newt was RIGHT! - "Palestinian People" is a made-up designation

Newt Gingrich made a stunning declaration this week by declaring that the Palestinians are an "invented" people who want to destroy Israel. Historically speaking he is absolutely correct. Here is a video from the PPSIMMONS Youtube channel with an excerpt from the interview plus commentary. Following that you will find another video which examines the truth about the Israel/Palestine "conflict" in truthful, historical context.

One Israeli Jew Worth a THOUSAND Palestinian Terrorists

BBC

Gilad Shalit: Israel and Hamas agree prisoner swap deal Gilad Shalit has been held by Palestinian militants for the past five years Continue reading the main story
Related Stories
Q&A: Shalit capture
Who are the Mid-East prisoners?
Five years in captivity

Israel and Hamas have agreed a deal for the release of Sgt Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier held hostage by Palestinian militants for five years.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the deal had been reached after arduous talks, and that Sgt Shalit would be back with his family "within days".

Israel is likely to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange.

Sgt Shalit was captured in a cross-border raid in 2006, and repeated attempts to free him have failed.

But Mr Netanyahu said in a national TV address: "We have concluded arduous negotiations with Hamas to release Gilad Shalit. He will be coming home in the next few days."

'Window of opportunity'

The militant group Hamas, which runs Gaza, said in a statement that there were tens of thousands of people on the streets celebrating the deal.

Continue reading the main story
Analysis

Paul Danahar

BBC Middle East Bureau Editor

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It is hard to overstate how important the fate of Gilad Shalit is to Israel.

Almost every family in the country has a son or daughter serving in the military. Shalit's capture resonates with them all. He is probably the most recognisable figure in the country.

It is for that reason that the government is ready to swap him for - according to Hamas officials -1,000 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.

But after so many false dawns why now? The timing is important because Hamas has been on the back foot in recent months after Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas's attempt to get Palestinian membership at the UN gained huge support in the occupied territories.

This is their way of showing their more violent approach can also win results. What will be key politically for both sides is how many high-profile prisoners Israel has been ready to give up.

The group's leader Khaled Meshaal appeared on TV to hail the swap deal as a victory for the Palestinian people.

He promised to carry on working to free every Palestinian prisoner held in Israeli jails.

The BBC's Jon Donnison in Jerusalem says Sgt Shalit's family and the families of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails will not believe a deal has been done until their relatives are home.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz quoted an unnamed official in Mr Netanyahu's office as saying that "a brief window of opportunity has been opened" that could lead to Gilad Shalit's release.

The official added: "The window appeared following fears that collapsing Mid-East regimes and the rise of extremist forces would make Gilad Shalit's return impossible."

An Israeli source involved in the talks was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying that the deal called for 1,000 Palestinians prisoners to be freed in two stages.

The first involves the release of 450 for the soldier, with the remaining 550 to be freed later.

Some of the 5,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel have been convicted of serious crimes, but others are being held without charge.

Israel's Channel 2 TV reported that both sides had shown greater flexibility in recent talks.

Indirect talks over 25-year-old Sgt Shalit's release - being mediated by Egypt and Germany - had focused on prisoner exchanges.

In October 2009, Hamas released a video of the soldier calling on Mr Netanyahu to do everything to free him.

DAN 9:27 WATCH - Panetta Warns Israel Is Getting More Isolated, Says Negotiations With Palestinians Must Restart

FOX NEWS

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned Sunday that Israel is becoming increasingly isolated in the Middle East, and said Israeli leaders must restart negotiations with the Palestinians and work to restore relations with Egypt and Turkey.

In a blunt assessment made as he was traveling to Israel, Panetta said the ongoing upheaval in the Middle East makes it critical for the Israelis to find ways to communicate with other nations in the region in order to have stability.

"There's not much question in my mind that they maintain that (military) edge," Panetta told reporters traveling with him. "But the question you have to ask: Is it enough to maintain a military edge if you're isolating yourself in the diplomatic arena? Real security can only be achieved by both a strong diplomatic effort as well as a strong effort to project your military strength."

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak says Israel has a responsibility to try and ease tensions in the region and find a way to resume negotiations with the Palestinians.

Standing next to Barak, Panetta said now is the time for bold action by both the Israelis and Palestinians to move toward a negotiated two-state solution. He says there's no alternative to negotiations.

Panetta met Monday with Barak in Tel Aviv on the first leg of a Middle East trip that also includes meetings with Palestinian leaders, and a stop in Egypt to meet with top officials there.

Panetta is scheduled to meet this week with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, and then travel to a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels. His visit comes as Mideast negotiators push for a peace deal by the end of next year, amping up pressure for the resumption of long-stalled talks.

The Pentagon chief said Israel risks eroding its own security if it does not reach out to its neighbors.

"It's pretty clear that at this dramatic time in the Middle East, when there have been so many changes, that it is not a good situation for Israel to become increasingly isolated. And that's what's happening," he said.

Panetta said the most important thing now is for Israel and its neighbors "to try to develop better relationships so in the very least they can communicate with each other rather than taking these issues to the streets."

His visit comes at a particularly critical and fragile time.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has asked the U.N. Security Council to recognize an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, areas captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war. The United States opposed the U.N. bid, saying there is no substitute for direct peace negotiations. But with Israel continuing to build settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, Abbas says there is no point in talking.

Some 500,000 Jewish settlers now live in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005.

The United States, Britain, France and other council members are likely to try to hold up consideration of the application while they press for a resumption of long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, diplomats said.

Negotiators, known as the Quartet, are asking both the Israelis and the Palestinians to produce comprehensive proposals on territory and security within three months.

Israeli officials have welcomed parts of the proposal, but have also expressed concerns about the timetable for some discussions. They also have refused to endorse the 1967 prewar borders as a basis for the future Palestinian state -- something President Barack Obama has endorsed.

The Palestinians, meanwhile, have said they won't return to talks unless Israel freezes settlement building and accepts the pre-1967 war frontier as a baseline for talks.

The Quartet -- the U.S., European Union, United Nations and Russia -- is urging both sides to avoid "provocative actions." Just last week, Israel approved the construction of 1,100 new housing units in an area of Jerusalem built on land captured in 1967, a move that drew widespread international condemnation.

Panetta said he wants to stress to both sides that instead of setting conditions or pursuing other approaches, "the most important thing they can do is go to the negotiating table. That would be a tremendous signal to the world that both the Israelis and the Palestinians want to try to find a solution to these problems. I don't think they really lose anything by getting into negotiations."

Panetta is scheduled to meet with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

His visit to Israel comes six months after his predecessor, Robert Gates, traveled to the region to meet with Israeli leaders and make the first journey to the West Bank to talk with Fayyad.

The U.S. has said it would veto the Palestinians' U.N. request, despite the high political cost in the Arab world. However, Washington would not need to use its veto if the Palestinians fail to get the support of at least nine of 15 council members. Palestinian officials have said they believe they have eight yes votes, and are lobbying for more support.

World opinion swings back against Israel

Israel Today Magazine

Even when the Palestinian regime openly identifies itself as an impossible peace partner, it never takes long before the international community finds an excuse to again blame Israel for the lack of a peace agreement.

Earlier this week, the world was taken aback by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' brash unilateral push for statehood at the UN. For a brief moment, the world sided with Israel as it pleaded in vain for Abbas to return to the negotiating table.

But already on Thursday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton returned to the familiar rhetoric, suggesting that the construction of a few apartments in Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem is what's really blocking peace.

"We believe that this morning's announcement by the government of Israel approving the construction of housing units in east Jerusalem is counter-productive to our efforts to resume direct negotiations between the parties," Clinton told reporters. "We have long urged both sides to avoid any kind of action which could undermine trust, including, and perhaps most particularly, in Jerusalem, any action that could be viewed as provocative by either side."

EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton and British Foreign Secretary William Hague also condemned what they called "provocative settlement activity."

The three diplomats were referring to Israel's approval of the construction of 1,100 new apartments in the southern Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo, which is already home to tens of thousands of Jews. The Palestinians claim Gilo as part of their future state, as it lies on the side of Jerusalem that was illegally occupied by Jordan prior to 1967.

It is worth pointing out that while Clinton is quick to jump on Israel for building a few apartments, she has not been consistent in calling out the "kind of action which could undermine trust" when it comes to the Palestinians.

For instance, Palestinian police forces have been operating in eastern Jerusalem in violation of signed agreements for the past couple of years. The Palestinian Authority has also resumed political activity in Jerusalem, again in violation of signed agreements.

Israel: Palestinians leave little hope for peace

ISRAEL TODAY MAGAZINE

For Israelis, the unilateral motion by the Palestinian Authority to gain admittance to the UN as a sovereign nation epitomized the Palestinian approach to the peace process over the entirety of the past 15 years.

In short, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put it in numerous interviews while visiting the US this week, "the Palestinians want a state, but don't want to give us peace."

On top of seeking to achieve their political goals in the absence of an agreement with Israel, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' speech to the UN was, in most Israelis' eyes, an act of incitement.

Abbas' speech, during which he all but labeled Israel as illegitimate, "distorted the historical record and showed open hatred and hostility for the Jewish state," Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin told Japanese Ambassador Haruhisa Takeuchi on Monday.

Prior to his speech, Abbas' delegation handed out maps of "Palestine" to UN members. The maps erased Israel completely and replaced the entire Jewish state with a Palestinian one.

Rivlin concluded that Abbas' actions "leave little hope [for peace]."

Nevertheless, Netanyahu and Western leaders continue to urge Abbas to return to the negotiating table.

At the weekend, the Middle East Quartet - the US, EU, Russia and the UN - submitted a proposal for the immediate resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

The proposal calls on both sides to set aside their differences and return to the negotiating table without preconditions. The Quartet plan envisions a rapid series of meetings, including a summit in Moscow, concluding with a final status peace deal to be signed no later than December 2012.

Israeli officials responded favorably to the proposal, while the Palestinians rejected it outright.

Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riad Malki called the Quartet proposal "incomplete" because it failed to incorporate the Palestinians' preconditions - that Israel immediately halt all Jewish building in Judea and Samaria and agree to the pre-1967 armistice lines as the future border even before negotiations have begun.

The Palestinian side's intransigence was clear for all to see.

US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro told Army Radio on Tuesday that the Palestinian insistence on preconditions is not consistent with the terms of the peace process or American policy.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman said she spoke to Abbas by telephone "insisting" that he reopen peace talks with Israel based on the Quartet's proposal.

Israeli President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shimon Peres on Monday urged Abbas to "not waste time."

Netanyahu expressed in an interview with NBC's Meet the Press his concern that Abbas and the Palestinians are trying to "detour negotiations" in such a way as to make a genuine peace impossible to achieve.

"They're trying to get a state to continue the conflict with Israel rather than to end it," stated Netanyahu.

The UN Security Council is expected to vote on the Palestinian motion for statehood in the coming weeks, but there are rumors it may purposefully delay the issue. If it does come to a vote, the US has vowed to veto the motion.

Foreign Arabs clamor to join Mossad, IDF

ISRAEL TODAY MAGAZINE

Beneath the revitalized layer of exaggerated hatred for Israel spreading over the Middle East dwell thousands of Arabs who are willing to help and even love the Jewish state.

Thanks to the "Arab Spring" revolutions in surrounding nations, a growign number of Egyptians, Syrians, Jordanians, Iraqis, etc are realizing just how good and decent Israel is compared to their own totalitarian societies, despite the fact that many were raised from childhood to view Israelis as blood-thirsty monsters.

Acting on that realization, and desirous of fleeing new regimes that may actually be worse than the previous rulers, thousands of foreign Arabs have sent requests to Israeli government agencies requesting asylum, visas to visit and even offering to serve the Israeli army and Mossad.

Israel's Foreign Ministry told the Yediot Ahronot newspaper that it is receiving requests even from "members of Arab parliaments, members of political movements and other important political figures."

Many of the letters arriving demonstrate that those Arabs not content to simply be spoon-fed a diet of anti-Israel propaganda have come to understand the reality of the Jewish state.

"You are the only country [in the region] that respects personal freedom," wrote Dawoud, a computer technician from Iraq seeking political asylum in Israel.

"The people of Israel are the strongest and most cultured in the region," wrote another young man from Iran who wants to move to the Jewish state with his whole family.

Houmam from Iraq wrote in to ask for a loan for treatment for his sick father, noting that "I know you [Israelis] love to help others."

Many more wrote in simply wanting to do business with or travel to Israel, activities that are currently forbidden by their own governments.

Most of the requests are submitted via the Israeli Foreign Ministry's Arabic website, though others also write directly to the Mossad and IDF.

The phenomenon is yet further evidence that while it may be far from perfect, Israel is recognized even by many Arabs as the most decent nation in the region, and certainly not deserving of being singled out as some kind of pariah.

It is also reminiscent of the Arab immigration to the British Mandate area from 1922-1947 as a result of the prosperity being created by the growing Jewish community. British records show that during those years the Arab population in the area increased by 120 percent, far outpacing the community's rate of natural growth.

Jew arrested for praying on Temple Mount

ISRAEL TODAY MAGAZINE

A 76-year-old Jewish man was arrested and questioned for the crime of reciting a brief blessing over a bottle of water while touring Jerusalem's Temple Mount on Sunday.

Israel National News reports that Yosef Hacohen was part of a group of religious Jews visiting the most holy site in Judaism when he began to feel ill. Being religious, he wanted to say a quiet blessing before drinking his water in hopes that both the prayer and the refreshment would help him feel better.

The Muslim watchmen who were trailing the group were having none of it, and immediately complained to nearby Israeli police officers that a Jew had dared to pray atop the Temple Mount, which is today occupied by two mosques.

The officers arrested the elderly Hacohen and another group member who had helped him recite the blessing and took them both in for questioning.

The group leader, Rabbi Menachem Shouraki, said other Muslim guards had been taunting the Jewish visitors prior to Hacohen's arrest. He noted that the Muslims seemed more agitated and hostile than usual, and attributed it to this week's Palestinian statehood bid at the UN. Shouraki believe's Hacohen's arrest was the result of the Israeli authorities trying to appease the Muslims in order to avoid an outbreak of violence.

Jerusalem's Temple Mount remains one of the only places on earth where a Jew is legally forbidden to pray, simply because he is a Jew (Christians are also forbidden to pray there). What makes that fact all the more despicable is that the Temple Mount is Judaism's holiest site.

HAMAS says NO to Palestinian State - Would rather keep fighting

IMRA

Hamas concerned Palestinian state will not attack Israel

Abbas to soon launch ‘in-depth’ talks with Hamas

25-09-2011,09:37
http://www.qassam.ps/news-4944-Abbas_to_soon_launch_in_depth_talks_with_Hamas.html

Al Qassam website - De facto Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said he
would launch “in-depth talks” with Palestinian resistance group Hamas on
issues pertaining to the government and “Palestinian horizons”.

This came in remarks by Abbas during his return trip from the UN General
Assembly after applying for full membership in the United Nations for the
Palestinians.

“We will hold in-depth talks with Hamas in the coming period not only to
address reconciliation but the in-depth talks will be around the general
horizons of the Palestinians’ action,” he said.

Meanwhile, Hamas’s refugees’ affairs department has criticized Abbas’s move
at the UN, saying it bolstered the Palestinians’ recognition of Israel as
never before.

The statement also predicts that Abbas would ask the Palestinians to refrain
from all armed resistance against Israel, because if recognized as a state
by the Palestinians, acts of armed resistance against Israel would be
classified as aggression from one state against another and could draw heavy
response from Israel and possibly result in a renewal of occupation.

The statement says that by conferring legitimacy to Israel and officially
recognizing it as a state with pre-1967 borders the right of the Palestinian
refugees ejected from beyond those borders to return is put at risk.

The statement also criticizes Abbas’s historic speech at the General
Assembly for not attaining guarantees from any country protecting the
fundamental rights of the Palestinians.

Palestinian chieftain: 'There will be no Palestinian state'

Israel Today

Despite all the hullabaloo over a Palestinian state, more and more Palestinians believe that it has no future, including the top Muslim leader in the large Judean city of Hebron.

"The world has no idea what goes on in the West Bank," said Sheikh Abu Khader Jabari. "Neither we nor Israel will profit from the recognition of a Palestinian State in the United Nations. [Palestinian President] Mahmoud Abbas climbed up the tree and now does not know how to climb down."

The mukhtar (village leader) from the biblical town of Hebron spoke to Israel Today at his home, saying both Israel and the Palestinians have made mistakes.

Obama's approval soars in Israel after UN speech

Israel Today

For the first time since he was elected three years ago, US President Barack Obama on Thursday was viewed by a broad cross-section of Israeli Jews as a friend of their nation.

The reason behind that shift (most Israelis had previously seen Obama as overtly pro-Muslim and pro-Palestinian) was Obama's speech to the UN General Assembly a day earlier in which he firmly rejected the Palestinians' unilateral statehood bid.

Obama was one of the first leaders to address the world body as the Palestinians officially kicked off their effort to gain international recognition for an independent Palestinian state.

The president was not impressed by the stunt, and stated in no uncertain terms that it would not bring peace.

"Genuine peace can only be realized between Israelis and Palestinians themselves," said Obama, reiterating his call for bilateral negotiations, which Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has been avoiding for the past two years.

"Peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the UN – if it were that easy, it would have been accomplished by now," Obama continued. "Peace depends upon compromise among peoples who must live together long after our speeches are over, and our votes have been counted."

While Obama did repeat his support for the Palestinians achieving an independent state, he spent far more time stressing America's commitment to Israel's security.

"We believe that any lasting peace must acknowledge the very real security concerns that Israel faces every single day," said Obama. "Let's be honest: Israel is surrounded by neighbors that have waged repeated wars against it."

Obama even acknowledged the hate-filled anti-Jewish indoctrination of young Arabs throughout the region:

"Israel's children come of age knowing that throughout the region, other children are taught to hate them."

Perhaps most importantly, Obama clearly identified the Land of Israel as the "historic homeland" of the Jewish people.

Israeli leaders insist that a cornerstone of any future peace agreement must be a public recognition by Palestinian leaders of Israel as the Jewish state. Abbas has vehemently rejected that condition, and Obama's remarks were seen as a rebuke of Abbas' position.

Palestinian officials were furious, and declared Obama's speech a "stab in the back" to Palestinian aspirations.

Demonstrating that they just don't grasp what Obama was trying to say, a Palestinian official told The Jerusalem Post that Abbas "can't understand why Obama has changed his position regarding a Palestinian state."

Of course, Obama has not changed his position. He still wants to see a Palestinian state birthed on the ancient Jewish lands of Judea and Samaria. But the brashness of the Palestinian stunt at the UN has forced leaders like Obama to take a step back and publically highlight Israel's own claims to the land. And Israel has so far leveraged that situation masterfully.

The stern tone of Obama's address is believed to have blunted the Palestinian effort, and on Thursday a senior aide to Abbas announced that while the Palestinian leader would still request UN membership from the Security Council on Friday, he would not demand an immediate decision.

The White House on Wednesday confirmed that Obama told Abbas it doesn't matter how long he gives the Security Council to consider Palestinian statehood, because the US will veto the motion.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has had a rocky relationship with Obama, personally thanked the American before the two men met behind closed doors.

Netanyahu hinted that Obama had altered his previous position that seemed to suggest Israel alone was to blame for the lack of peace, and now recognized that it was Palestinian rejection of Israel's legitimate conditions that most hindered a final status agreement.

Back in Israel, Defense Minister Ehud Barack and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman labeled Obama's UN speech as the words of a true friend and ally.

While most Israelis were appreciative of Obama's speech and the opportunity it afforded Israel to highlight its position, there was still skepticism as to his motives.

The issue of Israel is expected to play an even larger role in next year's presidential election that it did in 2008. Aware of that fact, Obama's media advisers contacted supportive Jewish leaders in the US and urged them to get their communities to watch the president's UN speech. That according to Israel's Yediot Ahronot newspaper.

"The advisers, all Jewish themselves, asked the supporters to 'spread the word' that Obama will give a pro-Israel speech which reflects his own genuine positions and implored them to pay close attention to the president's UN address," reported the newspaper.

There is also the matter of the Christian vote. Already, the Republican Party presidential frontrunners - Rick Perry, Michelle Bachman and Mitt Romney - have been emphasizing their pro-Israel credentials, and Obama may be feeling pressure to one-up them.

Whatever Obama's motivation, Israel appears determined to use the opportunity to correct numerous misconceptions surrounding the Israeli-Arab conflict.

SIXTH TRUMPET WATCH! Palestinians prepare to submit UN statehood bid

Yahoo News

Nearly two decades after embarking on historic peace talks with Israel, Palestinians prepared to sidestep that troubled route on Friday to seek U.N. recognition of an independent state — hoping to leverage this dramatic move on the world stage to realize their dream of an independent homeland.

Earlier in the week, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rebuffed an intense, U.S.-led effort to sway him from the statehood bid, saying he would submit the application to U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon as planned. A top aide, Mohammed Ishtayeh, said Thursday that Abbas asked Ban and the Council's Lebanese president this month to process the application without delay.

"We're going without any hesitation and continuing despite all the pressures," Abbas told members of the Palestinian diaspora at a hotel in New York on Thursday night. "We seek to achieve our right and we want our independent state."

To be sure, Abbas' appeal to the U.N. to recognize Palestinian independence in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip would not deliver any immediate changes on the ground: Israel would remain an occupying force in those first two territories and continue to severely restrict access to Gaza, ruled by Palestinian Hamas militants.

Beyond that, Security Council action on the membership request could take weeks or months.

The strategy also put the Palestinians in direct confrontation with the U.S., which has threatened to veto their membership bid in the U.N. Security Council, reasoning, like Israel, that statehood can only be achieved through direct negotiations between the parties to the long and bloody conflict.

Also hanging heavy in the air was the threat of renewed violence over frustrated Palestinian aspirations — perhaps not immediate, because Abbas has vowed to prevent unrest, but possibly down the road if negotiations continue to stall.

Yet by seeking approval at a world forum overwhelmingly sympathetic to their quest, Palestinians hope to make it harder for Israel to resist already heavy global pressure to negotiate the borders of a future Palestine based on lines Israel held before capturing the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza in 1967.

In recent weeks, international mediators have been furiously trying to piece together a formula that would let the Palestinians abandon their plan to ask the Security Council for full U.N. membership, and instead make do with the more modest goal of asking a sympathetic General Assembly to elevate their status from permanent observer to nonmember observer state. The other part of that formula would include the resumption of negotiations in short order.

The U.S. and Israel have been pressuring council members to either vote against the plan or abstain when it comes up for a vote. The vote would require the support of nine of the council's 15 members to pass, but even if the Palestinians could line up that backing, a U.S. veto is assured.

The resumption of talks seems an elusive goal, with both sides digging in to positions that have tripped up negotiations for years. Israel insists that negotiations go ahead without any preconditions. But Palestinians say they will not return to the bargaining table without assurances that Israel would halt settlement building and drop its opposition to basing negotiations on the borders it held before capturing the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza in 1967.

Israel has warned that the Palestinian appeal to the U.N. will have a disastrous effect on negotiations, which have been the cornerstone of international Mideast policy for the past two decades. Netanyahu, who is to address the General Assembly later Friday, shortly after Abbas makes his own address, opposes negotiations based on 1967 lines, saying a return to those frontiers would expose Israel's heartland to rocket fire from the West Bank.

He also fears that if that principle becomes the baseline for negotiations, then Palestinians won't settle for anything less, despite previous understandings between the Palesitnians and previous Israeli governments to swap land where settlement blocs stand for Israeli territory.

Talks for all intents and purposes broke down nearly three years ago after Israel went to war in the Gaza Strip and prepared to hold national elections that ultimately propelled Netanyahu to power for a second time. A last round was launched a year ago, with the ambitious aim of producing a framework accord for a peace deal, but broke down just three weeks later after an Israeli settlement construction slowdown expired.

Palestinians say they turned to the U.N. in desperation over 18 failed years of peace talks. But Israelis say the Palestinians are to blame for their own predicament and accuse them of going to the United Nations precisely to avoid talks.

Hatch: Defund UN if it votes for Palestinian state

Washington Examiner

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, introduced the Solidarity with Israel Act today, a bill that would defund the United Nations if that body votes to recognize Palestine as a state.

“This vote undermines Israel’s security, and should the United Nations change Palestine’s current status, this legislation would prevent valuable American resources from funding the United Nations," Hatch said. "Make no mistake, there will be consequences associated with efforts to undermine the security of America’s friends and allies."

The United States will veto any vote by the UN Security Council that recognizes Palestine as a state, but Hatch's bill would pull funding if the General Assembly voted to classify Palestine as an "observer state," which the United States cannot interdict.

Palestinian Statehood COULD be fulfillment of BIBLE PROPHECY

On September 23rd Mahmoud Abbas will formally request statehood recognition from the United Nations in an address which will fall on the same day Benjamin Netanyahu will also address the UN on the very same topic voicing concerns against such a recognition.

All the world is concerned right now with a small spit of land in the Middle East just as the Bible says. Israel is in the news every day and all they want to do is live their lives promoting a secular society and continue leading the world in scientific and medical innovations while defending themselves against hostile neighbors who see it as their mandate from "god" to wipe the Israelis off the map.

But Israel has both a history and a future. Israel will not be wiped out. The Hitlers of this generation like the Iranian President et al will go down in defeat. However, the Bible prophesies a peace treaty which will last seven years (a week of years). This prophecy is found in Daniel 9:27.

And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Daniel 9:27

So there appears to be quite a lot going on here. The implication is that a deal will be struck, probably concerning Israel's right to exist, and the deal will be broken midway through, after 3 1/2 years, and during the first half of that seven year deal a third temple will (supposedly) be built in which the Antichrist will proclaim himself to be God. Sacrifices will resume and he will stop that as well, perhaps at the request of the various animal rights groups.

There is evidence for a third temple rebuild. John is told to measure a temple but leave out part of it because it will be over run by the "Gentiles" for 3 1/2 years.

Revelation 11:1 ¶And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
3 ¶And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

(article continues below video)

So all eyes are on Israel this week. What will they decide? Will the US postpone the vote for statehood for seven years but "confirm" a seven year peace deal? Here are a few things to look for coming out of the UN meetings: obviously it must be a very precise seven year timeline. There must be a temple mount sharing agreement and there must be a deal to rebuild Solomon's temple but not including the outer court. This is where the Mosque will continue to stand and which is already there today. Look for these things very precisely. This prophecy is given in great detail. Stay tuned.