MIDDLE EAST - The United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia are reportedly pushing a peace plan that would create a Palestinian state. Many had assumed that President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel would make a peace agreement between the Palestinians and Israelis less likely, but it actually appears to be accelerating things.
For a long time Trump has referred to a comprehensive peace treaty in the Middle East as “the ultimate deal”, and he seems absolutely determined to get something done. The key was going to be getting the Saudis on his side, and this appears to have happened. Last month, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas made a trip to Riyadh, and what was said during his meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman has sent shockwaves throughout the Middle East.
According to the New York Times, the crown prince pushed for Abbas to accept a plan for peace that is much different than any plan that we have ever seen before… The New York Times is also reporting that President Abbas was warned that if he did not accept the terms of this new peace plan that he would be forced to resign…
According to Palestinian, Arab and European officials who have heard Mr Abbas’s version of the conversation, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman presented a plan that would be more tilted toward the Israelis than any ever embraced by the American government, one that presumably no Palestinian leader could ever accept.
The Palestinians would get a state of their own but only noncontiguous parts of the West Bank and only limited sovereignty over their own territory. The vast majority of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which most of the world considers illegal, would remain. The Palestinians would not be given East Jerusalem as their capital and there would be no right of return for Palestinian refugees and their descendants.
Adding to the shock for Palestinians, according to Palestinian officials from Fatah and Hamas, as well as a senior Lebanese official and several other people briefed on the matter, was the claim that Prince Mohammed had told Mr Abbas that if he would not accept the terms, he would be pressed to resign to make way for a replacement who would.
If the Saudis completely pulled their support from Abbas, it is hard to imagine a way that he would be able to stay in power. So if a threat was made, it would definitely have some power to it.
For some time now, we have been watching for a dramatic change in the status quo in the Middle East. It seems that change could be happening, right now.
America's decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital is bound to cause conflict. Following on from the announcement comes this “peace plan”!
This peace agreement is heavily slanted in Israel's favour, which will only lead to more problems with the Palestinians and their supporters. The apparent support from Saudi Arabia seems aimed at securing Israel’s backing for a possible war with Iran.
The Palestinians and Hezbollah are backed by Iran – who in turn is backed by Russia – against Israel and Saudi Arabia, backed by the USA. Hard to see a peaceful solution to this one.
The following warning in the Bible still stands:
“And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.” (Zechariah 12:3)
“Just what is an APOSTLE?”
Today we find the Church of God in a “wilderness of religious confusion!”
The confusion is not merely around the Church – within the religions of the world outside – but WITHIN the very heart of The True Church itself!
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