Thursday, July 13, 2017

NETANYAHU MEETS WITH TRUMP ENVOY AMID REPORTED US PEACE PUSH.

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)

ZECHARIAH 12:1-5 King James Bible
1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
3 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.
4 In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.

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.

Netanyahu meets with Trump envoy amid reported US peace push-American ambassador David Friedman also takes part in meeting with PM, following sit-down with Palestinian officials Tuesday-By Raphael Ahren and Dov Lieber July 12, 2017, 1:47 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday met with US President Donald Trump’s peace envoy to the Middle East Jason Greenblatt, following reports earlier in the day that the US would soon announce a resumption of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.Also present at the meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office were US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and Israel’s Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer, the PMO said in a statement.Earlier Wednesday, the pan-Arabic Al-Hayat daily reported that the US intends to facilitate talks between Israel and the Palestinians, which Trump will “soon” be calling for.The daily quoted Greenblatt as telling a senior Palestinian official on Tuesday that Israel had agreed to “slow down” settlement construction during formal negotiations between Palestinians and Israel.Netanyahu’s office denied the report, saying, “There is no such commitment” to freeze settlement building.According to the report, the thorny final status issues will be negotiated separately from the “open negotiations” Trump is seeking. These include Jerusalem, refugees, settlements, borders, water and security.Agreement reached on any of these issues would be “immediately announced” in order to create a “positive atmosphere.”“If an agreement is reached on the border, it will be announced immediately, and if an agreement is reached on water, it will be announced as well,” the senior Palestinian official reportedly said.Greenblatt arrived in Jerusalem Sunday for what a senior White House official described as “an interim visit as talks continue about potential next steps. President Trump has made it clear that working toward achieving a lasting peace agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians is a top priority for him.”On Tuesday, Greenblatt, Friedman and US Consul General Donald Blum met in Jerusalem with a Palestinian team, which included chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, PA intelligence chief Majid Faraj and the head of the Palestinian Investment Fund, Mohammed Mustafa.Settlements have long been one of the thorniest issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with the Palestinians and much of the international community saying that their expansion threatens the territorial continuity of a future Palestinian state.In the past the Palestinians had insisted on a settlement freeze as a precondition for starting talks, though they have eased up on that demand since Trump entered office.In March, Israel agreed to self-imposed restrictions on new settlement construction in what was seen as a gesture to the Trump administration after months-long negotiations between the two sides failed to yield any formal understanding on the matter.The White House at the time said it “welcomed” the curb, also cautioning Israel against engaging in large-scale construction projects.As part of the restrictions, Jerusalem agreed not to construct any new settlements or illegal outposts, while also limiting new building to inside existing settlement boundaries. However, if legal, security or topographical limitations do not allow adherence to those guidelines, new homes will be built outside the current settlement boundaries but as close as possible to them.Netanyahu’s announcement in March of the new limitations, which he reportedly said were made in order to “be considerate of the [US] president’s requests,” came after the security cabinet voted unanimously to approve a new settlement for the evacuees of the illegal Amona outpost north of Ramallah. The planned settlement would be the first new settlement in the West Bank since the 1993 Oslo Accords.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Ahead of cabinet debate, Liberman defends plan to expand Palestinian city-Defense minister tells settlers fight over proposal to give Qalqilya more room is about dispute between ‘responsible’ right-wingers and ‘messianists’-By Judah Ari Gross and Jacob Magid July 12, 2017, 5:25 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

Touring a West Bank settlement, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman defended his proposal to allow Palestinians to expand the city of Qalqilya Wednesday, ahead of a cabinet meeting on the plan scheduled for that night.Qalqilya, which is surrounded on three sides by Israel’s security fence, is the West Bank’s most densely populated Palestinian city. Under Liberman’s plan, the Palestinian Authority would be allowed to double the size of the city by expanding into land that is currently under Israeli control, in a part of the West Bank known as Area C.The proposal was approved last year as part of Liberman’s policy of “carrots and sticks,” in which Palestinians would be rewarded for maintaining calm and swiftly punished for attacks and other disturbances to day-to-day life in the West Bank and Gaza.Amid recent pushback against the Qalqilya proposal by some members of the right-wing coalition government, the issue was brought back on the docket, with the possibility of having it overturned.During his tour of the West Bank settlement of Maale Shomron on Wednesday, Liberman described the ongoing fight over the plan as one aspect of a much larger ideological debate.“This is a dispute within the right wing, between a responsible and serious right wing and a messianic and populist right wing,” Liberman said, making a veiled reference to coalition rival Naftali Bennett, head of the Jewish Home party.“It starts with the question of if we want a Jewish state or a binational one, and goes to [the issue of] girls serving in the IDF,” he added. “Qalqilya is only an excuse.”The defense minister’s visit to Maale Shomron was organized by Samaria Regional Council Chairman Yossi Dagan, who vocally opposes the Qalqilya proposal.During the tour, Dagan called on Liberman to reconsider his support for the plan, which is set to be debated in the cabinet Wednesday evening, saying anyone who promotes these plans is advancing only the interests of Palestinians.Liberman also disputed Dagan’s claim that 14,000 Palestinian homes would be built under the Qalqilya plan, saying the number would in fact be closer to 6,000, which he said would be built over the next 18 years.The defense minister also told the settler leaders on the tour that the land was private Palestinian land.“We’re talking about 300-400 homes a year, that’s the whole story,” he said. “So I recommend that we really speak about the facts and be aware of the reality, and not just slogans.”Dagan, meanwhile, argued that the exact number of units wasn’t important.“Multiplying the terror city of Qalqilya endangers the residents of Judea and Samaria,” Dagan said, using the West Bank’s biblical name.Dagan’s designation of Qalqilya as a “terror city” was an odd one, as there have been no terror attacks carried out by residents of Qalqilya in the past two years, save possibly for one case in which an attack was attempted. However it was not clear if the assailant was from Qalqilya or had merely resided there temporarily.The defense minister disputed Dagan’s assertion that expanding the city threatened Israel’s security, saying his “carrots and sticks” policy was vetted by defense officials and “received full backing, from a security standpoint, by the chief of staff, the head of Military Intelligence, the head of the [Central] Command and the head of the West Bank Division.”Qalqiliya, which skirts the 1967 Green Line, was once a regular shopping destination for Israelis. Palestinians would cross into Israel freely for jobs, and some locals can still fondly recall leisurely riding their bikes to Israeli beaches on the Mediterranean. But all that changed after the second Palestinian uprising in 2000, when a campaign of suicide bombings in Israel prompted tougher security measures and eventually a barrier that cut the West Bank off with walls and sophisticated fences.It’s now a sleepy city that produces agriculture and not much else. It’s mostly known for housing a popular West Bank zoo, a menagerie decrepit by Western standards that is famous for the taxidermy of its deceased animals. Earlier this year, a caged bear bit off the arm of a Palestinian child who apparently tried to feed it.With the backing of the military, the Israeli cabinet approved the expansion plan last year. But once settlers — angry that their own housing construction permits had been limited under US pressure — got wind of it, they launched an angry campaign against Liberman and Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, who heads COGAT, the defense body for Palestinian civilian affairs. Settlers accused them of being soft on Palestinian violence and overstepping their authority.Settler leaders have derided the plan as a “reward for terror.” They also noted that Qalqiliya sits next to a major Israeli highway near the country’s narrowest point, just 15 kilometers (nine miles) from the Mediterranean Sea, and could prove a launching ground toward Israel’s heartland.Several cabinet ministers have since claimed they didn’t know what they voted for, and Netanyahu has said he couldn’t recall the details.Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon has insisted that the cabinet debated and voted for the plan. “Whoever says that he doesn’t remember is lying,” Kahlon said.The AP and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

LUKE 21:28-29
28 And when these things begin to come to pass,(ALL THE PROPHECY SIGNS FROM THE BIBLE) then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (RAPTURE) draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree,(ISRAEL) and all the trees;(ALL INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES)
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.(ISRAEL LITERALLY BECAME AND INDEPENDENT COUNTRY JUST BEFORE SUMMER IN MAY 14,1948.)

JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth (ATOMIC BOMB) before them;(RUSSIAN-ARAB-MUSLIM ARMIES AGAINST ISRAEL) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(ATOMIC BOMB AFFECT)

ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)

EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.

ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE

4 children bitten by poisonous scorpions in 2 days-Bedouin youngsters being treated at Beersheba hospital, 2 in serious condition-By Sue Surkes July 12, 2017, 4:45 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

Four children were treated for poisonous yellow scorpion stings in the southern Negev desert over Tuesday and Wednesday, two of them infants with serious injuries.All four are being treated at Soroka Hospital in Beersheba.On Tuesday, a 1-year old girl was brought in unconscious and in serious condition from a Bedouin encampment near the Negev city of Arad, while a 2-year old girl from Ramat Beka, south of Beersheba, was admitted, also in serious condition.On Wednesday, a 5-year-old boy came into the Arad clinic suffering from moderate injuries and a 4-year-old boy from the Bedouin city of Rahat was treated for light injuries.The Israeli yellow scorpion, also commonly known as the death-stalker, is a highly venomous species common in southern Israel.While its venom is not lethal for adults, it can be deadly for the young, elderly and infirm.The scorpion is drawn out into the open by the kind of high temperatures that have been scorching Israel over recent days.Israel is home to 21 species of scorpion, five of which are poisonous.

Spanish judges nullify 2 municipal BDS motions, declare them racist-Courts rule edicts violate constitution’s provisions against discrimination, say localities can’t make foreign policy decisions-By JTA July 12, 2017, 3:24 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

Spanish judges have scrapped motions favoring a boycott of Israel which were passed last year by the city councils of two municipalities.The rulings last week by separate tribunals in two of Spain’s autonomous regions bring to 20 the number of municipalities that, over the past three years, either reversed their motions of support for a boycott of Israel or had them nullified by the judiciary.In the northern region of Galicia, an administrative court in the regional capital of Santiago de Compostela last week reversed a motion passed on March 31 by the city council of Teo, a town of 18,000 residents, following a lawsuit filed by the pro-Israel ACOM group, ACOM said in a statement Tuesday.Separately, another administrative court in the eastern region of Valencia also last week scrapped a motion passed on March 26, 2016 by the local council of Catarroja, a suburb of the city of Valencia, which is Spain’s third-largest metropolis.As in previous rulings on petitions filed by ACOM or its affiliates — including rulings by two high courts — the administrative tribunals determined the motions passed in Teo and Catarroja were unconstitutional because they were discriminatory, and that they represented a breach of jurisdiction by municipalities unqualified to make foreign policy decisions.The Valencia court, in its verdict, reasoned that it nullified the motion declaring Catarroja an “Israel apartheid-free space,” as the original motion stated, because it “compromises the exercising of administrative discretion in the future, particularly pertaining to contracts” and that is “contravenes Article 14 of the Spanish Constitution by inciting and generating discrimination based on circumstances of birth, race, gender, religion opinion and any other personal or social circumstance,” as the ruling stated. Following the ruling, ACOM declared on its website both municipalities to be “anti-Semitism-free spaces.”Last month, the Superior Tribunal of Justice of Madrid affirmed a lower court ruling from January against a resolution last year endorsing the boycott by the city council of the Rivas Vaciamadrid suburb. The High Court said the council’s adherence to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel was “discriminatory.”The court also rejected explicitly the council’s argument that its boycott resolution was anchored in previous United Nations resolutions against Israel, ACOM wrote in a statement.In October, a Spanish High Court in the Asturias region declared a BDS resolution illegal and discriminatory in a lawsuit also filed by ACOM. The group had sued the Langreo City Council over its support for BDS.Over the past two years, pro-Israel activists have obtained dozens of rulings, legal opinions and injunctions against BDS in Spain. Some 50 Spanish municipalities have passed resolutions in recent years endorsing BDS — more than in any other European country.In neighboring France, promoting the BDS movement is illegal under legislation from 2003 that lists efforts to bring about the singling out of nations and their peoples as a form of hate crime. Similar legislation is being prepared in Britain, the government said last year.

Hungary to pull ‘anti-Semitic’ Soros campaign ahead of Netanyahu visit-Budapest government says billboards, criticized by Jewish community and philanthropist, have achieved their goal and are no longer necessary-By Stuart Winer and AFP July 12, 2017, 4:55 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

The Hungarian government said Wednesday it will end a billboard campaign against Jewish billionaire and philanthropist George Soros deemed “anti-Semitic,” three days before before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to visit the country.The posters show a large picture of the Hungarian-born Jewish emigre laughing, alongside the text: “Let’s not let Soros have the last laugh,” a reference to government claims that Soros wants to force Hungary to allow in migrants.Leaders of Hungary’s 100,000-strong Jewish community have said the campaign is provoking anti-Semitism.Since the posters appeared on billboards and at public spaces around the country last week, as well as on television, several incidents of anti-Semitic graffiti such as “Stinking Jew” and Stars of David daubed on them have been reported.On Tuesday, Soros released a rare statement saying he was “distressed by the current Hungarian regime’s use of anti-Semitic imagery as part of its deliberate disinformation campaign.”In a statement the government said that the anti-Soros campaign had reached its goals and was no longer necessary, according to Hungarian news outlets. The statement noted that a new law regulating the display of political posters in public places was due to come into effect on July 15.Hungarian television network ATV cited Wednesday a leading member of the Orban’s ruling Fidesz party as saying Netanyahu’s upcoming visit prompted the move as well as preparations for an international water polo tournament scheduled to start on Thursday.Netanyahu will meet with Hungarian Prime Minister is Viktor Orban in the capital Budapest in what will be the first visit by an Israeli prime minister since the end of communism in 1989.Israel’s ambassador to Hungary slammed the campaign over the weekend for “sowing hatred” and suggested it evokes memories of the Holocaust.However, on Sunday the Foreign Ministry clarified that while it condemns bigotry against Jews, it was not defending Soros, who it described as defaming Israel and undermining its right to defend itself.“Israel deplores any expression of anti-Semitism in any country and stands with Jewish communities everywhere in confronting this hatred,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said in the statement. “This was the sole purpose of the statement issued by Israel’s ambassador to Hungary.“In no way was the statement meant to delegitimize criticism of George Soros, who continuously undermines Israel’s democratically elected governments by funding organizations that defame the Jewish state and seek to deny it the right to defend itself,” Nahshon added.According to Israeli daily Haaretz, the walk-back came at the behest of Netanyahu.Orban and government officials say that Hungary has a policy of “zero tolerance” of anti-Semitism, and that the poster campaign is about increasing awareness of the “national security risk” posed by Soros.On Friday Orban accused Soros of being a “billionaire speculator” who wanted to use his wealth and civil groups that he supports to “settle a million migrants” in the European Union.Raphael Ahren contributed to this report.

Herzog to remain opposition leader in Gabbay’s stead-New Labor chief, sworn in Wednesday, is not a Knesset member and therefore needed a substitute to helm opposition in parliament-By Marissa Newman July 12, 2017, 2:40 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

Former Labor chairman Isaac Herzog on Wednesday announced he would remain the Knesset opposition leader, at the request of the new party leader Avi Gabbay.Gabbay, who is not a sitting Knesset member and therefore cannot assume the post, had appealed to Herzog to retain the role.“In light of the special situation, which is a rare one, in which you are the leader of the party and I am the leader of the opposition, I am responding to your request out of a real desire that you succeed,” said Herzog at Gabbay’s official swearing-in as party chief in Tel Aviv.Urging all party members to unify behind Gabbay and replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, Herzog pledged to “help you [Gabbay] in every way.”He said he had spoken to Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein and all opposition party leaders before his announcement.Gabbay thanked Herzog for staying on in the position, which he had offered to the sitting opposition leader despite Herzog’s endorsement of Amir Peretz in the second-round vote.Newcomer Gabbay, a former minister in the center-right Kulanu party, was elected Monday as the new chairman of the Labor Party, beating veteran lawmaker and former leader Amir Peretz in a dramatic turn of events for the long-embattled party.Herzog was dethroned from the party leadership a week earlier, receiving just 16 percent of the vote in the first round of the primary. He has served as opposition leader since 2013.At his official swearing-in on Wednesday, Gabbay said he was heartened by polls on Tuesday that saw the Labor-led Zionist Union faction bounding back into second place, behind Likud but ahead of centrist Yesh Atid.“We will go back to being the party where all Israelis feel at home,” said Gabbay of Israel’s oldest political party. “I already hear rumblings of this in the public. At the same time, we’re only at the beginning of our journey.”Since he is not a Knesset member, Gabbay will likely spend the better part of the next few years campaigning for elections, currently scheduled for 2019. He will not be permitted to address the Knesset plenum, but will be able to lead the weekly Zionist Union faction meeting, a regular route for political leaders to make headlines.On Tuesday, Gabbay celebrated his surprise victory as head of the largest opposition party by kicking off what he called a campaign to unseat Netanyahu and win 30 Knesset seats.“The State of Israel is headed to elections, we just don’t know the date,” he told activists and journalists in Tel Aviv. In a direct challenge to Netanyahu’s Likud, Gabbay said “we will replace him. We will bring in the 30 [Knesset] seats necessary to replace him.“The campaign to replace Netanyahu begins today.”A former minister in Netanyahu’s government, Gabbay quit in May 2016, after coalition talks brought the Yisrael Beytenu party into the government, with a dramatic tirade accusing the coalition of leading Israel on a path to destruction.That breakout moment for Gabbay, a relatively unknown minister who was not elected to Knesset but rather appointed as an external candidate by party leader Moshe Kahlon, was followed by his crossing the political aisle and joining the fight for the Labor leadership.The primaries came after Labor had plummeted over the past year in opinion polls, receiving a projected 10-12 seats (combined with the Hatnua party that makes up the Zionist Union faction), down from its current 24 seats.Gabbay’s leadership will likely determine whether the center-left party, plagued by internal divisions, is able to become the main challenger to Netanyahu’s Likud in the next elections, and, consequently, whether it could seize the premiership.Polls conducted on Tuesday saw the Zionist Union climb in the number of seats it’s projected to win, though neither saw the Gabbay-led party receiving the 30 seats he predicted.According to the Channel 2 poll, if elections were to be held today, Likud would win 25 seats, Zionist Union 20, Yesh Atid 18, Jewish Home 13, the Arab Joint List 13, Kulanu 8, United Torah Judaism 7, Yisrael Beytenu 6, Shas 5, and Meretz 5.A Channel 10 poll had Zionist Union doing even better. According to the station’s poll, Likud would win 29 seats, just one less than its current 30-seat showing. Zionist Union would win 24, matching its current showing. Yesh Atid would win 16, Jewish Home 14, the Arab Joint List 8, Yisrael Beytenu 7, Kulanu 6, United Torah Judaism 6, Shas 5 and Meretz 5.Surveys conducted just a week earlier indicated that a Labor party under Gabbay or Peretz’s leadership would receive no more than 15-18 seats in the 120-seat Knesset.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Turkish energy minister ‘to visit Israel for pipeline deal’-Yuval Steinitz says inking agreement during his Turkish counterpart’s trip this year could enable Jewish state to export gas to Europe-By AFP July 12, 2017, 3:39 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

ISTANBUL — Turkey’s Energy Minister Berat Albayrak is set to visit Israel by the end of this year to conclude an agreement for the building of a natural gas pipeline from the Jewish state to Turkey, the Israeli energy minister said on Wednesday.A visit by Albayrak, son-in-law of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and a key member of his inner circle, would be a significant diplomatic move by Ankara after a rapprochement deal last year between the two countries mended a long-standing rift.The crisis was triggered after Israel raided a Gaza-bound ship in 2010 sent by a Turkish charity which Israel considers to be a terrorist organization. Nine Turkish activists were left dead in the ensuing clashes. But the two countries normalized ties in June last year and rapidly begun discussing the gas pipeline project.Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said both countries decided to accelerate efforts to conclude by the end of this year an intergovernmental agreement that will enable the construction of a pipeline from Israel to Turkey.“Hopefully, Mr. Albayrak will pay a visit to Israel this year in 2017, which will help us accelerate and try to conclude this agreement,” the minister said at the World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul after meeting Albayrak.He added that no exact date had been fixed but it would take place in the coming months.Turkey, which largely depends on foreign supplies for its energy needs, is keen to diversify resources and has a close eye on Israel’s own developing resources.Israel is searching for energy partners to develop its Leviathan natural gas field in a bid to make it economically feasible.“We want to build a pipeline stretching from Israel to Turkey in order to able to export natural gas from Israel to Turkey,” Steinitz said, adding that the Israeli gas could be delivered to Europe and to the Balkans through Turkey.

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