Middle East Unrest

The ancient seers forwarned of prophetic wars that would be centered in the Middle East as various Arab nations rise up, join forces and attempt to obliterate Israel [the Jewish nation] off the face of the earth and replace it with another Arab nation (which many scholars believe will be Palestine). But this is only the beginning. The Bible also refers to the war of Gog/Magog, which will see a Russian led alliance of Muslim nations from North Africa, the Middle East and  Central Asia come against the Jewish nation. The ancient prophets warned that there would be a series of battles and wars during the End Times and will escalate into a 'Final Battle' known as "Armageddon". This will be ultimate battle during the End Times as all nations around the world get involved in the bloodiest and most horrific war  that   will occur during mankind's existence. The prophets warnings about these wars can be found in Psalms 83, Isaiah 17, and Obadiah 1. The war of Gog and Magog can be found in Ezekiel 38 and Revelation 20.

 

The Arab Spring

 

The Arab Spring, a term given to the Arab Revolution, is a recent revolutionary wave of demonstrations, protests and wars that are presently occurring in the Arab world  and began on December 18, 2010. To date, rulers have been forced from power in the countries of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen. Many skirmishes and civil uprisings have erupted in Bahrain and Syria; major protests are occurring in Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco and Sudan. Then there are minor uprisings beginning in the countries of Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti and the Western Sahara. The clashes at the borders of Israel began in May, 2011 and is on the brink of escalating into a full-fledged war as of November 18, 2012.

 

Salam Fayyad

In September, 2012 a wave of social  protests  swept Palestinian Authority, demanding lower consumer prices and the resignation of the Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. The protests have shared techniques of mostly civil resistance in sustained campaigns involving strikes, demonstrations, marches, and rallies, as well as the effective use of social media to organize, communicate, and raise awareness in the face of state attempts at repression and Internet censorship. Many Arab Spring demonstrations have met violent responses from authorities,as well as from pro-government militias and counter-demonstrators. These attacks have been answered with violence from protestors in some cases. A  major slogan of the demonstrators in the Arab world has been Ash-shaʻb yurīd isqāṭ an-niẓām ("the people want to bring down the regime"). Some observers have drawn comparisons between the Arab Spring movements and the pro-democratic, anti-Communist Revolutions of 1989 (also known as the Autumn of Nations) that swept through Eastern Europe and the Communist world, in terms of their scale and significance. Others, however, have pointed out that there are several key differences between the movements, such as the desired outcomes and the organizational role of internet technology in the Arab revolutions.

 

 



For more information about the Arab Spring, please visit the following websites:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Spring

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2011/mar/22/middle-east-protest-interactive-timeline

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/8340794/Middle-East-protests-timeline-of-unrest-in-Egypt-Tunisia-Libya-and-elsewhere.html

 

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/01/201112515334871490.html

http://www.matterofprinciple.net/2011/12/myth-of-israels-right-to-land.html

 

Israel's Right to Exist

The "right to exist" is said to be an attribute of all nations and Israel is no different in defending that right. The 19th century French philosopher Ernest Renan (1823-1892) said in his essay, "a state has the right to exist when individuals are willings to sacrifice their own interests for the community it represents." While Israel holds fast to such a testimonial, the right to exist is an attribute of states rather than of peoples and it is not recognized in international law... hence the modern uprisings in the Middle East. 
 

Benjamin Netanyahu

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu upholds his country's primary principles considered essential to any civilized government, including the maintenance of a democratic regime and the protection of human rights. But justifying such a principle, however, is only a small part of protecting the future of Israel. Relying on the claim of historical ownership is not acceptable where the sanctity of Muslim lands are concerned. The universal moral approach has not worked either. While the legal and territorial status of Israel has been disputed in the region and within the international community since its statehood in 1948, the small independent country has not backed down from its "right to exist". During the 1950's and 1960's the majority of Arab leaders did not acknowledge Israel's right to exist on Palestinian land and claimed the country never acquired legal standing, as UN regulations required. It wasn't until after the Six Day War (June 5-10, 1967) that the recognition of Israel's statehood started to be acknowledged [at least by a select few, such as Egypt and Jordan]. In September 1967, the Arab leaders agreed "the occupied lands are Arab lands and that the burden of regaining these lands falls on all the Arab States" and they therefore adopted a hardline "three no's" position in the Khartoum Resolution: no peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel, and no negotiations with Israel. Only Egypt and Jordan disputed this [during that time era]. Today, the uprisings in Egypt and Jordan seem to be reverting to the original questioning of true ownership, which is contributing to the current conflicts.
 

In 2009, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert demanded the Palestinian Authority's acceptance of Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state, which the Palestinian Authority rejected. The Knesset gave initial approval in May 2009 to a bill criminalising the public denial of Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state, with a penalty of up to a year in prison.

 

   Netanyahu, together with Mahmoud Abbas,
Hillary Clinton and George J. Mitchell at the start
of the direct talks on 2 September 2010.

In September, 2010, Netanyahu agree to enter direct talks, mediated by the Obama administration, with the Palestinians for the first time in a long while. The purpose of these direct talks was to forge a two-state solution for the Jewish people and the Palestinian people. The end results of the direct talks was the Israeli government approving new construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.  While the direct talks were intended to bring an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the initative was not instituted, nor a solution found.

 

By May, 2012, Benjamin Netanyahu officially recognized [for the first time] the right for Palestinians to be allowed their own statehood; though as before, the Prime Minister declared it would have to be demilitarized. Currently the Netanyahu Administration continues to fight for its right to exist as a nation and be acknowledged as such.

 

For more information about Israel's Right to Exist, please visit:

 

http://www.aish.com/h/iid/48891682.html

 

http://israeldocumented.blogspot.com/

 

http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/viewSubCategory.asp?id=38  

 

http://www.pre-trib.org/data/pdf/Fruchtenbaum-Israel'sRightToThePr.pdf

 

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57551535/obama-israel-has-right-to-defend-itself/

 

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"A prophecy against Damascus: “See, Damascus will no longer be a city but will become a heap of ruins. The cities of Aroer will be deserted and left to flocks, which will lie down, with no one to make them afraid. The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim, and royal power from Damascus; the remnant of Aram will be like the glory of the Israelites,” declares the Lord Almighty."

 

Isaiah 17: 1-3