Wednesday, February 17, 2016

FRANCE FILLS IN ISRAEL ON PLAN FOR PEACE TALKS CONFAB.

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)

LAND FOR PEACE (THE FUTURE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH)

JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people(ISRAEL) and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.(UPROOTED ISRAELIS AND DIVIDED JERUSALEM)(THIS BRINGS ON WW3 BECAUSE JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED,WARNING TO ARABS-MUSLIMS AND THE WORLD).

THE WEEK OF DANIEL 9:27 WE KNOW ITS 7 YRS

Heres the scripture 1 week = 7 yrs Genesis 29:27-29
27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week:(7 YEARS) and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.
29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.

DANIEL 11:21-23
21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
23 And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.
24 He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time.

DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks(62X7=434 YEARS+7X7=49 YEARS=TOTAL OF 69 WEEKS OR 483 YRS) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMAN LEADERS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.(THERE HAS TO BE 70 WEEKS OR 490 YRS TO FUFILL THE VISION AND PROPHECY OF DAN 9:24).(THE NEXT VERSE IS THAT 7 YR WEEK OR (70TH FINAL WEEK).
27 And he ( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant (PEACE TREATY) with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE ANIMAL SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

JEREMIAH 6:14
14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

JEREMIAH 8:11
11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

1 THESSALONIANS 5:3
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

ISAIAH 33:8
8  The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant,(7 YR TREATY) he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man.(THE WORLD LEADER-WAR MONGER CALLS HIMSELF GOD)

JERUSALEM DIVIDED

GENESIS 25:20-26
20  And Isaac was forty years old (A BIBLE GENERATION NUMBER=1967 + 40=2007+) when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.
21  And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
22  And the children (2 NATIONS IN HER-ISRAEL-ARABS) struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD.
23  And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels;(ISRAEL AND THE ARABS) and the one people shall be stronger than the other people;(ISRAEL STRONGER THAN ARABS) and the elder shall serve the younger.(LITERALLY ISRAEL THE YOUNGER RULES (ISSAC)(JACOB-LATER NAME CHANGED TO ISRAEL) OVER THE OLDER ARABS (ISHMAEL)(ESAU)
24  And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
25  And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.(THE OLDER AN ARAB)
26  And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob:(THE YOUNGER-ISRAELI) and Isaac was threescore (60) years old when she bare them.(1967 + 60=2027)(COULD BE THE LAST GENERATION WHEN JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED AMOUNG THE 2 TWINS)(THE 2 TWINS WANT JERUSALEM-THE DIVISION OF JERUSALEM TODAY)(AND WHOS IN CONTROL OF JERUSALEM TODAY-THE YOUNGER ISSAC-JACOB-ISRAEL)(AND WHO WANTS JERUSALEM DIVIDED-THE OLDER,ESAU-ISHMAEL (THE ARABS)

ISAIAH 28:14-19 (THIS IS THE 7 YR TREATY COVENANT OF DANIEL 9:27)
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.

France fills in Israel on plan for peace talks confab-After Palestinians appear to reject future bilateral talks, Jerusalem tells Paris that direct negotiations are only way to reach two-state solution-By Raphael Ahren February 16, 2016, 12:17 pm-the times of israel

BERLIN — France on Tuesday formally presented Israel with its plan to convene a regional peace conference to advance the two-state solution.In a Jerusalem meeting with Foreign Ministry political director Alon Ushpiz, French Ambassador Patrick Maisonnaive updated the Israeli government on Paris’ plans, though no further details have been released.“Israel supports direct negotiations with the Palestinians but opposes any attempt to predetermine the outcome of negotiations,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Emmanuel Nahshon said in a statement.The French push for new negotiations was announced several weeks ago, but was harshly rejected by Jerusalem after then- foreign minister Laurent Fabius said the talks’ failure would precipitate French recognition of Palestine.Officials close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is currently in Germany, later said they supported talks, but not the ultimatum.Nahshon said the concept of direct talks, which had guided Jerusalem in the process of signing peace agreements with Jordan and Egypt, is supported by the international community.However, it is Ramallah that refuses to enter peace talks, he added, citing Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki who on Monday appeared to rule out any future bilateral talks.“We will never go back and sit again in a direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations,” Malki said during a visit in Japan.Palestinian officials have indicated they will only support multilateral negotiations.A senior official in Netanyahu’s entourage to Berlin said Monday night that Israel believes direct negotiations are the only way to solve the crisis, adding that the Palestinians know it too and are therefore refusing to sit down and talk.Netanyahu is in Berlin on Tuesday for a meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel and annual government-to-government consultations.The Foreign Ministry’s Ushpiz, in his meeting with the French ambassador, also emphasized what he called Palestinian “incitement to hate and violence” and called on the international community to fight this phenomenon.Fabius’s successor, Jean-Marc Ayrault, has apparently adopted the French initiative.

PA: Palestinians to ‘never’ again negotiate directly with Israel-Abbas’s FM warns IS may take over West Bank, says wave of Palestinian attacks is rooted in ‘humiliation, desperation’-By AFP and Times of Israel staff February 15, 2016, 2:09 pm

In a striking rejection of relentless international efforts to broker new talks, Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki said Monday that the Palestinians will “never” return to direct negotiations with Israel.Peace talks collapsed in April 2014 and since then, the situation has deteriorated, with the prospects of fresh dialogue appearing more remote than ever. But Malki said that one-on-one talks with Israel were out of the question.“We will never go back and sit again in a direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations,” Malki told a press conference. He is visiting Japan with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who was due to meet Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe later Monday.Malki stressed that a multilateral framework to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is needed and he praised an initiative discussed late last month by France to revive plans for an international conference to end the conflict.And he warned that without international involvement, a vacuum will be left that may end up being filled by the Islamic State jihadist group.“If Daesh take advantage of lack of any brokers… then of course, they might come and try to fill it,” he said, referring to Islamic State.“This is very dangerous,” he added.“If the Americans are giving up and the Europeans don’t have the courage to do anything and Arabs are really worried about their own problems, what do you expect? Extremists around might take over.”Malki said the new surge in violence has its roots in the Palestinians’ humiliation and desperation after decades of occupation.Five Palestinians, including three teenagers, were killed while carrying out attacks Sunday, the latest in a wave of Palestinian knife, gun and car-ramming attacks on Israelis that erupted at the beginning of October. Since then over 170 Palestinians and some 30 Israelis have been killed. The vast majority of the Palestinians died in the act of attacking or trying to attack Israelis; others died during clashes and demonstrations.Malki pointed to the ongoing Israeli control of the West Bank, which began in 1967, saying Palestinians born under it have seen nothing “but humiliation, soldiers’ check-points, deaths and killing.”“They are born without any hope for the future… that’s why sometimes they (teenage assailants) decide to sacrifice their lives even at the age of 15… for the better lives of the rest of the Palestinians,” Malki told a press conference.Malki added that the PA does not advocate violence and is trying to prevent it. “But the international community has to understand that there is a limit to everything,” he said.Some analysts say Palestinian frustration with Israeli settlement building in the West Bank, the complete lack of progress in peace efforts and their own fractured leadership have fed the unrest.Israel blames incitement by Palestinian leaders and media as a main cause of the violence. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Abbas of fomenting terrorism, in part with false allegations that Israel intends to change the status quo at the contested Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Merkel: Now’s not the time for major progress to Palestinian state-German leader’s position dovetails with that of visiting PM, who heaps scorn on ‘bizarre’ French peace proposal-By Raphael Ahren February 16, 2016, 6:22 pm-the times of israel

BERLIN — The current climate in the Middle East does not allow for major steps toward the creation of a Palestinian state, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said here Tuesday, calling instead for small steps to safeguard a future two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.“Now is certainly not the time to make really comprehensive progress, but you can achieve improvements in certain places,” she said at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.“The European Union, and Germany as a member state, is very concerned about seeing things realistically,” Merkel said. “We know the threat of terrorism that Israel has to endure. We believe, on the other hand, that we have to advance a process of peaceful coexistence, and this, according to our opinion, is ultimately built on a two-state solution.”Berlin is ready to help with any steps Israelis and Palestinians can take to advance the cause of peaceful coexistence, she said, “especially regarding questions of economic development.”Netanyahu, during a subsequent briefing for the traveling press, hailed Merkel’s statement, arguing that the world has slowly been coming to the same realization he had arrived at long ago. “When I said it a year ago, everyone came out and attacked me viciously,” he said. “Today we hear same things from the leaders of the world, not only from [US President Barack] Obama [who has stated he no longer believes Israeli-Palestinian peace can be achieved in the coming months] and Merkel. Even the leader of the opposition [in Israel, Isaac Herzog] understands it now.”There is need to take certain steps, however, to calm the situation on the ground, he told a handful of reporters who covered his one-day trip to the German capital. “It is in our interest to fight terror in the West Bank and also in the Gaza Strip, and one way of doing this is to stabilize an improve the situation for the population on the ground.”During the press conference, Netanyahu rejected a French initiative for a regional conference to discuss the stalled peace process, arguing that the move was doomed to failure and that bilateral negotiations to peace are the only path to Palestinian statehood.Earlier in the day, French Ambassador Patrick Maisonnaive met in Jerusalem with Foreign Ministry political director Alon Ushpiz to present Paris’s plan, first announced by then-foreign minister Laurent Fabius, to convene a regional peace conference. If the conference fails to lead to a significant advancement toward the two-state solution, France will unilaterally recognize Palestinian statehood, Fabius had threatened.Responding to a question by The Times of Israel, Netanyahu said he found the French proposal “bizarre.”“It says: We will hold an international conference but if you do not succeed we are already predetermining the result – we will recognize a Palestinian state,” he said.The initiative does not take into account several issues of crucial importance to Israel, Netanyahu lamented. “It does not matter. We will determine that there is a state, without any conditions regarding recognition, security or anything,” he said sarcastically.On a more serious note, he added: “Of course this ensures that this conference will fail because if the Palestinians know that their demand will be met a priori, and they do not need to do anything, then there is certainly an internal contradiction here, because they will not do anything. There is one way to advance peace – direct negotiations without preconditions between the sides. This is the true way, and I think that anyone who tries to deviate from it will not advance successful negotiations.”Netanyahu denied that the EU’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, had spoken with him about a planned report containing suggestions on how to jump-start the peace process.On Saturday, Mogherini wrote on her blog that she had discussed such a plan with Netanyahu and PA President Mahmoud Abbas, “who assured to me their willingness to engage in this new process.”Netanyahu said Jerusalem’s relations with the EU were improving, citing a recent conversation with Mogherini in which the two tried to mitigate the tension over Brussels’s decision to label West Bank goods.“The State of Israel has to be treated fairly. We are not the root cause of the problems of the Middle East. We are an important part of the solution,” he said. “If Israel weren’t there, the Middle East’s entire western part would be flooded by the forces of Islamist fanaticism. Together with this flood, many millions more [refugees] would come to Europe. Israel is Western civilization’s iron wall in the heart of the Middle East.”

Turkish official says Ankara, Jerusalem close to signing detente deal-Israel and Turkey near agreement on compensating Turkish victims of Mavi Marmara raid, AK party official says-By Times of Israel staff February 16, 2016, 3:59 am

Ankara and Jerusalem are close to reaching an agreement to compensate Turkish activists killed in a 2010 Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla, a ruling party official said Monday.The two former allies fell out after the 2010 Israeli naval raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla killed 10 Turkish citizens aboard the ship Mavi Marmara, exacerbating a freeze in relations between the two countries. Closed door talks in recent months have tried to reach a detente between Ankara and Jerusalem, however.“The point has been reached in the talks at which (an agreement) can be signed,” AK Party spokesman Omer Celik told Haber Turk TV. He didn’t comment on whether progress was reached on lifting Israel’s security blockade on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, another demand Turkey has made.A Foreign Ministry spokesman said he couldn’t comment.Last week Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said there was progress in reconciliation talks between Israel and Turkey after the negotiating team dispatched by Jerusalem returned home from Switzerland.The two sides met Wednesday in Geneva, as part of ongoing efforts to reach a détente between the once-close allies.According to the PM’s office, just a few issues remain unresolved, and they will be discussed in the next meeting, which will take place in the near future, Channel 10 TV reported.According to a high-ranking Israeli official quoted by Haaretz earlier in the week, the last two hurdles are Turkey’s demand that Israel end or ease its military blockade on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip — designed by Israel to prevent Hamas importing weaponry — and Israel’s demand that Turkey put an end to the Hamas presence in its capital.Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said Thursday that it seemed unlikely an agreement could be reached while Turkey insisted on hosting Palestinian terror group Hamas’s external offices.After being expelled from Gaza by Israel five years ago, senior Hamas official Salah Arouri set up offices in Ankara, and commenced gathering funds and planning terror attacks, including the abduction and murder of three Israeli teenagers in 2014.The Israeli team at the talks was led by Joseph Ciechanover, a former head of the Foreign Ministry appointed by Netanyahu. Ciechanover also represented Israel at the UN probe into the IDF raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla in 2010, which led to the deaths of 10 Turkish nationals and exacerbated a freeze between the two countries. The Turkish team was headed by Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioğlu, Haaretz said.The current talks continue attempts to re-normalize Jerusalem-Ankara relations after Netanyahu, prompted by US President Barack Obama at the end of his visit to the region in 2013, apologized for the flotilla deaths.“We strive for peace with all our neighbors, but it has to be mutual,” Netanyahu said Tuesday during a tour of the Arava in southern Israel.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who last month signaled his readiness to mend ties with Israel, on Tuesday hosted a delegation of US Jewish leaders at his official Ankara residence, including a Netanyahu confidant who had met with the prime minister in Jerusalem ahead of the Ankara trip.

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)

Nasrallah to Sunni states: How can you consider Israel an ally?-Hezbollah chief says Arab countries are free to view Iran as an enemy; asks ‘do you accept a friend occupying Sunni land in Palestine?’-By Marissa Newman February 16, 2016, 1:47 pm

21:18-Police apologize for arresting WaPo reporters-The Israel Police apologize for the detention of Washington Post bureau chief William Booth and a colleague.The police say in a statement that the incident has been investigated, and conclude that the “questioning was necessary in light of the information” police received, even though the tip-off turned out to be false.“If any of the detainees endured emotional distress, we are sorry for that,” a police spokesperson says.The police are instructed to allow journalists to work in sensitive and dangerous areas “with an emphasis on public safety and securing the journalists themselves, while respecting the important value of the freedom of the press,” a police statement says.20:36-Hezbollah not seeking war with Israel — Nasrallah-Nasrallah says Hezbollah does not want war with Israel, and certainly not in the near future, according to a Channel 2 translation.But he claims Hezbollah could defeat Israel in a war.And he is adamant that Israel knows it cannot quickly defeat Hezbollah and therefore doesn’t start a war.He quotes an unnamed Israeli official who ostensibly has said that were Hezbollah to hit one of the Haifa area’s ammonia facilities, it would have an impact like a nuclear bomb, causing tens of thousands of Israeli fatalities.He says, in remarks he addresses to Israel’s chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, that Israel’s air force can do what it wishes in Lebanon, “but I can hit the ammonia facilities.” He says he did not attempt to do this in the 2006 war.Nasrallah also accuses Israel of behind-the-scenes intervention in Syria. He warns the Saudis not to ally with Israel over Syria. And he says victory is close in Syria. “We won’t let Assad fall,” he vows.“Israel is coordinating with Saudi Arabia and Turkey,” he claims.20:14-Nasrallah to Arab states: How can you consider Israel an ally?-Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah slams Sunni Arab states for reportedly moving closer to Israel.“Do you accept a friend occupying Sunni land in Palestine? Can you become friends with an entity that has committed the most horrible massacres against the Sunni community?” says the leader of the Lebanese terror group, according to Naharnet. “You are free to consider Iran an enemy but how can you consider Israel a friend and an ally? This issue must be confronted in a serious manner.”“It is beneficial to monitor the Israeli media to realize that the Israeli rhetoric has become identical to the rhetoric reflected in some Arab media, especially in the Gulf and Saudi Arabia,” he says.Nasrallah’s comments came two days after Netanyahu said it was time for Israel to make its secret ties with Arab states public.19:45-South Africa water confab canceled over participation of Israeli envoy-A Johannesburg conference dealing with the water crisis in South Africa is canceled due to criticism concerning the inclusion of Israel’s ambassador to South Africa.The envoy, Arthur Lenk, was to be part of a panel at the conference scheduled for the end of February on “equitable and sustainable water management for poverty alleviation,” the Cape Times reports Tuesday. The conference was organized by the Mail and Guardian newspaper-“We are willing to share expertise to help South Africa with its drought problems,” says Michael Freeman, an Israeli Embassy spokesman. “We were looking forward to helping South Africa and any other country in the world that faces similar problems.”BDS South Africa in a statement welcomes the cancellation, as well as the pledge by some of the sponsors and organizers that any future event would not include the Israeli ambassador.The boycott movement also says it is pleased that “the rug has been pulled from the Israeli ambassador who will not be able to exploit our very serious water crises for his own cheap publicity and whitewashing of his regime. Israeli water technology is not unique or special; such technology is widely available through other more friendly countries.”— JTA-19:33-Iranian defense minister in Moscow to boost military ties-The Iranian defense minister is visiting Moscow for talks about closer military cooperation.Gen. Hossein Dehghan meets Tuesday with President Vladimir Putin and also holds talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu.Shoigu hails a “high level of mutual trust” between Moscow and Tehran and their readiness to coordinate policies.Russia and Iran both have backed Syrian President Bashar Assad throughout Syria’s civil war.Dehghan says in an interview with Russian state television that Tehran wants to expand military and technical ties with Russia.— AP-18:56-In first, Dutch jets bomb IS targets in Syria-Dutch F-16 fighter jets have bombed Islamic State targets for the first time in Syria since broadening its mission in the US-led air campaign, the Defense Ministry says on Tuesday.“Dutch F-16s carried out around 10 missions over Iraq and eastern Syria,” the Hague-based ministry says in its weekly summary of operations on its website.It is the first time the summary has mentioned targets in Syria since the Dutch government late last month announced it was fanning out its current air support mission over Iraq into Syria, in the wake of US and French requests.The airstrikes were directed against “combat positions, military equipment and strategic aims of the IS terror organization,” the ministry says, without detailing when and where the attacks took place.— AFP-18:48-Soldier jailed for 9 months for abuse of Palestinian detainees-An IDF soldier is sentenced to nine months in prison and is demoted to the rank of private for abusing Palestinian detainees by subjecting them to electric shocks, Army Radio reports.The soldier, a member of the ultra-Orthodox Netzah Yehuda battalion, is also handed a six-month suspended sentence.18:41-Israeli cellphone firm now using own brand after Orange split-Israeli cellphone firm Partner announces on Tuesday it has begun operating under its own name after splitting with French company Orange following a major diplomatic dispute last year.Orange announced in June that it would retake control of its brand in Israel, agreeing to pay up to 90 million euros ($100 million) to do so. The brand had been licensed to Partner for use in Israel until 2025.Orange currently has research facilities in Israel but is not a mobile phone operator.Attempts by the French company to recover use of its Orange brand in Israel led to a major diplomatic row after the head of the company, Stephane Richard, made comments that were interpreted as a desire to boycott the country for political reasons.— AFP-18:32-Senior Egged officials to be grilled over fatal crash-Senior officials in the Egged bus company will be interrogated by police about the fatal bus crash on Route 1 on Sunday, Channel 2 reports.The bus driver in the deadly collision, in which six people were killed, crashed on the same route in 2013, also smashing into a truck and overturning the vehicle on the main Jerusalem-Tel Aviv artery.“We won’t tolerate accidents like this due to negligence,” police say. “The more we learn [about the incident], we see that the entire company bears responsibility.”18:10-3 Americans seized in Iraq are released-Three Americans who were kidnapped in the Iraqi capital Baghdad last month have been released, the State Department says Tuesday.“We sincerely appreciate the assistance provided by the government of Iraq, and its whole-of-government effort to bring about the safe release of these individuals,” deputy spokesman Mark Toner says in a statement.— AFP-17:54-Power and Ya’alon meet, discuss Israeli security-Power meets Ya’alon to discuss security cooperation along with the security challenges facing Israel.“Ambassador Power underscored the unprecedented level of intelligence and security cooperation between the two countries,” a statement from the State Department says.“Ambassador Power and Defense Minister Ya’alon discussed the situation in the West Bank, in Gaza, and regarding efforts to address shared security threats in the region, such as those posed by Hamas, Hezbollah, and ISIL. They agreed that the destabilizing effects of the civil war in Syria, including the millions of refugees displaced by the conflict, underscored the urgent need to find a political solution to the crisis. In addition, Ambassador Power and Defense Minister Ya’alon discussed ways Israel could play a role in UN peacekeeping efforts.”Also Tuesday, Power, Israel’s ambassador to the UN Danny Danon and US ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro were given a helicopter tour of Israel, while being briefed on threats to Israel’s security.17:43-Former UN chief Boutros Boutros-Ghali dies-Former UN secretary-general Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who led the world body from 1992 to 1996, has died, Venezuela’s ambassador and this month’s Security Council president announces Tuesday.“We have been informed that the former secretary-general Boutros Boutros Ghali has passed away,” Ambassador Rafael Ramirez tells the council.— AFP-17:42-In playful photo, Ya’alon pokes fun at nickname-In a photo posted to his Facebook page, Defense Minister Moshe “Bogie” Ya’alon poses next to a Boggi Milano men’s clothing store.“Who said kibbutzniks don’t have style? #Bogistyle,” he writes.17:21-Paris attack victims’ groups testify to lack of preparation-Groups representing the victims of the November 13 jihadist attacks in Paris have begun providing chilling testimony to parliamentary investigators, denouncing what they called “an atrocious lack of preparation” for an emergency in which 130 people lost their lives.“We have a thousand questions and we expect answers,” says Georges Salines, head of one of several victims’ associations represented Monday at the first of a series of hearings to be held over coming weeks.Salines, a doctor, says he learned of his daughter’s death at the Bataclan concert hall the day after the massacre there of 90 people at the hands of jihadist gunmen.Recounting how he had heard of the death only indirectly through Twitter, he denounces an “atrocious lack of preparation” in terms of information-sharing on the bloody night itself and over the following days.The commission of inquiry was set up at the request of the conservative opposition Republican party to look into the Socialist government’s efforts to counter the terror threat since the previous set of attacks to rock France — the assault in January 2015 that began with the killings at the Charlie Hebdo satirical weekly and ended with 17 dead over three days.— AFP-17:02-Germany will normalize ties with Iran after it recognizes Israel – Merkel-Even though Iran has agreed to a landmark deal curbing its nuclear activities, relations can only fully normalize when it recognizes the existence of Israel, German Chancellor Angela Merkel says Tuesday-Speaking alongside Netanyahu, Merkel tells reporters after a meeting of the two countries’ cabinets that she’s “made very clear” that “there cannot be a normal, friendly relationship with Iran so long as the existence of Israel is not recognized.”— AP-16:34-Egypt closes Gaza border after rare 3-day opening-Nearly 2,500 people left Gaza during a three-day humanitarian opening of the border with Egypt, a rare opportunity for Gazans to leave the blockaded enclave, authorities in the Palestinian territory say Tuesday.The Hamas-run interior ministry in Gaza says 2,439 people left the territory over the three days, while 1,122 entered and 334 were turned back by Egyptian authorities.The border was closed again on Tuesday, a ministry statement says, after “Egyptian authorities informed us of the shutting down of the Rafah crossing.”Egypt originally opened the border for humanitarian cases for two days from Saturday but that was extended for an extra day on Monday.Before Saturday, the crossing had been closed for 70 days, the ministry says.The United Nations has registered 30,000 Palestinians as “humanitarian cases” seeking to leave Gaza.— AFP-16:33-Danish search for migrant valuables brings in ‘nothing’-Denmark’s controversial law allowing police to search asylum seekers and confiscate their valuables to help pay for their accommodation has raised no money in its first 11 days, police say on Tuesday.The new rules, which allow for cash or items without “sentimental value” — hence no wedding rings — to be seized if they are worth more than 10,000 kroner (1,340 euros, $1,498), have brought in “nothing” since coming into force on February 5, a police spokesman tells AFP.Last week 230 people applied for asylum in Denmark, according to the Danish Immigration Service.“I don’t think it has ever been about raising money,” says Pernille Skipper, a spokeswoman for the left-wing Red Green Alliance party.Rather, the “symbolic” move was aimed at “scaring refugees into traveling to other European countries than Denmark,” she adds.— AFP-16:16-Foreign Press Association slams reporters’ arrests-The Foreign Press Association protests “in the strongest possible terms the detention today by Israeli border police of William Booth, the Washington Post’s Jerusalem bureau chief, and Sufian Taha, the paper’s West Bank correspondent.”In a harsh statement, the organization decries the “absurd” accusation against the two reporters, and offers a different account on how the incident unfolded.“Shortly after noon, the two were interviewing Palestinian and Jewish residents of Jerusalem at Damascus Gate, along with Washington Post correspondent Ruth Eglash. When Booth and Taha tried to interview some high-school students on the steps opposite the gate, police waved them away. They then retreated to interview the teenagers under a tree. Shortly after, border police waved the two journalists over and asked them for their IDs. They presented their Government Press Office cards as identification, but these were waved away and they were asked for official identity documents,” it says.“Although the journalists made it very clear that they were reporting a story for the Washington Post, police took them to a nearby police station, where they were held for about 40 minutes, then released. When they asked police why they had been held, police said they had suspected the journalists of ‘inciting’ Palestinians.“The FPA protests this absurd accusation against a respected international news outlet, as well as the detention, however brief, of an accredited foreign journalist and his Palestinian colleague.“We note that it comes in the context of heavy-handed tactics – including violent attacks – deployed in recent months by border police against foreign journalists and their Palestinian co-workers covering the unrest in Jerusalem and the West Bank. We do not think it is coincidental that a baseless accusation of ‘incitement’ was made at a time when blanket accusations of bias are being leveled against the foreign press by Israeli officials and commentators. We furthermore urge Israeli police and other authorities to recognize their own government-issued GPO cards and allow those holding them to work without hindrance.”16:01-Merkel joins PM on tour of Holocaust exhibit-Merkel spontaneously decides to accompany Netanyahu as he visits a Yad Vashem Holocaust exhibition at a Berlin museum.MP Netanyahu besucht mit Bundeskanzlerin Merkel die Ausstellung "Kunst aus dem Holocaust" im DHM Berlin #Israel pic.twitter.com/ExbKdr13ej— Botschaft Israel (@IsraelinGermany) February 16, 2016-— Raphael Ahren-15:54-We must break free of prejudice, Peres tells Power-US ambassador to the UN Samantha Power meets with former president Shimon Peres.“Hope is not limited to one field or a place,” Peres tells Power. “The problem is that we are unable to break free of the habits, prejudices, and hatred of the past. Until we are able to break away from them, the many possibilities and courses of action are not open before us.”Power on Monday met with Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin.15:38-Foreign Ministry to press cops over Booth’s arrest-The Foreign Ministry says it will demand answers from police regarding the brief detention of The Washington Post’s Booth.“This is a regrettable incident, casting an unnecessary shadow over the work of an excellent journalist. The MFA will ask the Police for the necessary clarifications,” says spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon.— Raphael Ahren-15:30-PM says French peace initiative ‘mystifying’Netanyahu says the French peace initiative is “mystifying.”“It ensures, in advance, that the conference will fail,” says the prime minister.France has said that if a new round of peace talks failed to yield results, it would unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state.“There is [only] one way to advance peace: Direct negotiations without preconditions. Anyone who does otherwise will not advance successful negotiations,” Netanyahu says.Merkel reiterates her commitment to the two-state solution, but says “perhaps now is not the time for major steps, but for little improvements of the situation.”— Raphael Ahren-15:04-Government press office ‘regrets’ reporter’s arrest-The Government Press Office releases a statement apologizing for the “unfortunate misunderstanding” in which Washington Post reporter William Booth was detained.The Government Press Office regrets today’s incident at Damascus Gate in which a correspondent for the Washington Post was unnecessarily detained by the Border Police – probably the result of an unfortunate misunderstanding. Freedom of the press is a supreme value in the Israeli democracy. Israel is doing its utmost to enable the foreign press to work freely, without any pressure. We call upon the security forces and journalists to act with restraint and to avoid confrontations during these tense times. The GPO endeavors to prevent such incidents; we shall examine today’s events and draw the necessary conclusions.15:01-PM says Israel does not arrest journalists-Addressing the brief detention of Washington Post reporter William Booth, Netanyahu says: “We do not arrest journalists. The press in Israel is very energetic and free to say anything it wants.”— Raphael Ahren-14:49-In Berlin, Netanyahu defends MK suspension bill-At the press conference, Netanyahu defends the controversial MK suspension bill.“There are differences between anarchy and democracy,” he says.He says democracy has to defend itself.— Raphael Ahren-14:45-Merkel sympathizes with Israel over ‘eradicated borders’-In a joint press conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel says that shifting borders in Syria makes her sympathize with Israel.Chancellor Merkel says that geographic borders are being eradicated by Syria, Germany feels a bit what Israel goes through-— Raphael Ahren (@RaphaelAhren) February 16, 2016-Chancellor Merkel hosts @netanyahu + senior ministers in Berlin. In German this is called Regierungskonsultationen. pic.twitter.com/WAlTdpfl5w — Raphael Ahren (@RaphaelAhren) February 16, 2016-14:24-Kremlin denies Russian strikes on Syria hospitals-Russia is not bombing hospitals in northern Syria, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says Tuesday, calling such reports “unsubstantiated accusations.”“Once again, we categorically reject and do not accept such statements,” he says when asked whether Russian planes bombed hospitals in Syria, including one supported by Doctors Without Borders (MSF).“Especially since every time, those who make such statements are unable to prove in any way their unsubstantiated accusations.”The Kremlin spokesman adds that Moscow prefers to rely on “first-hand sources” of information, which he says in this case would be the Syrian government.Syria’s ambassador to Russia, Riad Haddad, on Monday accuses the United States of bombing the MSF hospital and said that “Russian warplanes had nothing to do with any of it.”Strikes on hospitals in Idlib and Azaz killed almost 50 civilians including children, according to the United Nations, with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon saying the raids violated international law and undermined efforts to end the five-year conflict.— AFP-14:18-Belgium arrests 10 linked to IS network-Belgian police on Tuesday arrest ten people in the Brussels area who are allegedly part of a network recruiting people to fight with the Islamic State group in Syria, prosecutors say.The ten are arrested during raids in several areas of the Belgian capital, including the Molenbeek quarter where several of the key suspects in the November Paris attacks lived.The federal prosecutor’s office says however that the arrests were not linked to the Paris bomb and gun attacks, claimed by IS, which left 130 people dead and hundreds injured.“The raids were carried out as part of an investigation into a recruitment network linked to Islamic State. The investigation helped determine that several people had traveled to Syria to join Islamic State,” it says.— AFP-14:16-German FM condemns ‘despicable terror’ in Israel-Germany’s foreign minister says the situation in the Palestinian territories isn’t sustainable in the long term.In an op-ed published ahead of a German-Israeli cabinet meeting Tuesday, Frank-Walter Steinmeier condemns the near-daily street attacks by Palestinians that have killed 27 Israelis in the past fice months as “despicable terror.”In the article for daily Bild, Steinmeier stresses Germany’s view that only serious negotiations aimed at a fair, two-state solution can offer hope of peace for Israel and the Palestinians.— AP-14:09-Italy releases classified documents- on Nazi war crimes-The Italian government releases thousands of previously classified documents related to fascist and Nazi war crimes committed in Italy during World War II.The documents are declassified from a parliamentary commission that had investigated the concealment of files related to these crimes. Specifically, the commission had dealt with what was dubbed the “cabinet of shame” – a wooden cabinet discovered in 1994 in a storeroom of the military prosecutor’s headquarters in which 695 files on war crimes had been hidden for decades.The documents concern specifics of crimes ranging from anti-Jewish persecution to massacres of civilians that in total had resulted in 15,000 deaths.On Tuesday, the historical archives of the Chamber of Deputies put an index of some 13,000 pages of material on its website. The documents include declassified material from the investigating commission as well original documents that had been hidden in the “cabinet of shame.” Users can consult the online index and request digital copies of specific documents.Renzo Gattegna, the president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities calls the move a “historic breakthrough.” Opening the “cabinet of shame” to the public, he says, “fills a serious gap and announces the start of a new season of awareness about the crimes and responsibilities of fascism and Nazism in Italy.”— JTA-14:02-Auschwitz museum app corrects ‘Polish death camps’-The Auschwitz museum on Tuesday launches a multi-lingual computer application that writers can use to avoid referring to Nazi German death camps as being “Polish.”Warsaw routinely requests corrections when global media or politicians describe as “Polish” former death camps like Auschwitz set up by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II.The move comes after Poland’s new right-wing government proposed jail terms of up to five years for anyone who refers to Nazi death camps as Polish.Even if used as a geographical indicator, Poles insist the term can give the impression that they bore some responsibility for the Holocaust.Dubbed “Remember,” the application is intended “to help avoid the use of the term ‘Polish concentration camps’ or ‘Polish death camps’ in 16 languages,” according to a statement issued by the Auschwitz state museum in Oswiecim, southern Poland on Tuesday.— AFP-13:54-Washington Post reporter briefly detained in Jerusalem-Washington Post Jerusalem bureau chief William Booth is briefly detained by police in Jerusalem on accusations of “incitement.” The incident takes place at Damascus Gate, outside of the Old City. Booth’s colleague Ruth Marks Eglash says he is “harassed” by cops.@washingtonpost #Jerusalem bureau chief @BoothWilliam is harassed, accused of incitement by #Israeli border police pic.twitter.com/iCcqVEzDRh — Ruth Marks Eglash (@reglash) February 16, 2016-Booth and his cameraman were interviewing locals near the Damascus Gate next to the Old City of Jerusalem. An Arab woman told him that she could get some of the bystanders to demonstrate against the police if he paid them, police spokesperson Asi Aharoni tells The Times of Israel.Someone who saw the scene unfolding contacted nearby Border Police officers. The officers approached Booth and his photographer and asked that they come with them, Aharoni says.They were taken to a nearby police station to be briefly questioned and have already been released, the spokesperson says.— Judah Ari Gross contributed.

ALLTIME