Monday, April 23, 2018

ROMANIAN PRESIDENT SLAMS PLAN TO MOVE EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM.

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)

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

Romanian president slams plan to move embassy in Israel to Jerusalem-Iohannis steps in after PM Dăncilă announces country could become first EU state to follow US and Guatemala in relocating embassy-By Raphael Ahren and AFP-TOI-APR 22,18

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis Friday sharply criticized plans announced by the head of the ruling party to move the country’s embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.Iohannis had “not been consulted or informed over this process,” his office said in a statement, adding that in his opinion the decision was “not based on firm, wide-ranging evaluations.”On Thursday evening the head of the ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD), Liviu Dragnea, told the Antena 3 TV channel: “The decision has been taken… procedures [for the move] have started.”Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă, a Social Democrat, on Wednesday proposed the move together with Dragnea, and while many members of the ruling party appear in favor of relocating the Embassy, the final say on the matter lies with Iohannis, a right-leaning independent. A government spokesman refused to comment on the issue when asked by AFP.Iohannis, who is from the center-right and has expressed numerous disagreements with the government, said he had the authority to “take decisions relating to Romania’s foreign policy” and underlined that Bucharest’s position on the Israeli-Palestinian question “had not changed.”“At this stage a transfer of the embassy would represent a violation of international law,” he said. “The government’s initiative could eventually represent, at the most, the beginning of a process of evaluation… which could only be finalised after the conclusion of peace talks.”In December US President Donald Trump sparked global controversy, and adoration in Israel, by announcing that the US would move its embassy to Jerusalem.Romania would be the first EU country to follow suit.Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely, who met with Dăncilă and other top Romanian officials in Bucharest last week to push for the Embassy relocation, seemed optimistic that Bucharest would follow through on the announcement.“I congratulate the speaker of the Romanian parliament on his announcement today to the media according to which Romania will commence the process of moving the Romanian embassy to Jerusalem,” she wrote on her Twitter account last Thursday. “This was the spirit of our meeting last week in Bucharest, and I hope to see the Romanian Embassy in Jerusalem soon.”Next week, Hotovely is due in the Czech Republic, which reportedly is considering to move the Embassy as well.Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office and the Foreign Ministry on Thursday evening did not comment on the announcement.Earlier on Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that at least six countries are “seriously” discussing with Israel relocating their embassies to Jerusalem.So far, the US and Guatemala are the only two countries that have formally announced such a move.“Recognizing reality is the way you build peace. You cannot build peace on a foundation of lies because it crashes on the rocks of reality. It’s important to establish those principles that will ultimately guide peace: that Israel has a capital, that the Jewish people have had a capital for 3,000 years and that it’s called Jerusalem – is uncontestable. It’s time to recognize that fact,” Netanyahu said at a reception for the diplomatic corps at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem.“I’ve decided that the first ten embassies to come here will get preferential treatment,” told the diplomats. “We’ll help you! All of you should do that.”Romania abstained on a United Nations General Assembly Resolution that condemned the US administration’s December 6 decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the Embassy to the city.The Romanian Foreign Ministry said the resolution — which was adopted with 128 “yes” votes, 9 “no” votes and 35 abstentions — “comes at a time when caution should be exercised.”In a press release, the ministry said it was “rather necessary, at this stage, to re-launch the direct dialogue in order to unlock the peace process. Consequently, Romania has voted to “abstain” within the UNGA.”At the time, Netanyahu called President Iohannis to thank him for the abstention.

Senior Likud MK appeals directly to Gazans in Arabic: ‘Quit terror’-Avi Dichter, former head of the Shin Bet internal security service, urges 'Alzheimer-suffering' Gazans to 'wake up' and see that violence will only lead them to 'catastrophe'-By Sue Surkes-APR 22,18-TOI

A senior member of the Likud party, who once headed the Shin Bet internal security service, on Friday took to Facebook to issue a direct appeal to the residents of the Gaza Strip to eschew violence and abandon leaders advocating terror against the Jewish state.Speaking in fluent Arabic, Avi Dichter — currently chairman of the Knesset’s Foreign and Affairs and Defense Committee — warned that the current clashes on the Gaza border with Israel, dubbed the March of Return, risked turning into another great Nakba — the Arabic word for catastrophe, used by Palestinians to describe Israel’s Independence and their displacement in 1948.“You won’t see any return, not through violence and not through chaos,” he warned.In 1947, the UN General Assembly offered to split the British Mandate of Palestine into two states — one Jewish, the other Palestinian, Dichter recalled. “You chose to wage war against Israel and that ended with you in Gaza,” he said.“I know you, Gaza residents. Your memory is like the memory of someone ill with Alzheimer’s disease. Wake up!!”His warning came as some 3,000 Palestinians protested along the Gaza border with Israel on Friday, burning tires and flying flaming kites across the frontier to try to set Israeli fields ablaze, witnesses and the army said. Soldiers responded with tear gas and live fire, killing two Palestinians, according to the Hamas run-health ministry.These were the 36th and 37th fatalities from the border demonstrations and clashes dubbed the March of Return, which took place for the fourth time Friday, according to the health ministry figures, which could not be verified by Israel.Hamas has acknowledged that several of those killed were its members, and Israel has identified other fatalities as members of terrorist groups.Dichter advised the Gazans to “learn from your brothers in Syria” of whom 600,000 had died, more than two million had been injured and over ten million had become refugees, half of them dispersed all over the world, during the ongoing Syrian civil war.“You’re dancing on a thin wire, be warned, ” he said, “In the end you’ll fall on your heads.“Terror won’t get you anywhere. On the contrary, it will pull you ever backwards, towards the sea.”Dichter contrasted Israel’s efforts to treat wounded Syrians with the way Syrian citizens were being butchered, “between Bashar Assad’s chemical slaughterhouses and Hezbollah’s terrorists, with Iranian support on one side, and the Russian army on the other.”He said: “The only state which opened its doors to Syrian wounded is the State of Israel. Thousands are being treated in hospitals in Safed and Nahariya [in Israel’s north] and in field hospitals on the Syrian border in the Golan Heights.“It’s exactly as you, the Gazans, have been getting treatment from 1967 until now in the hospitals of Israel.”The Syrians had given in under the pressure, he went on. “Tell me, residents of Gaza, where do you put yourselves? Do you want to continue sitting on the points of jihadist missiles and sleeping in Hamas tunnels?”

Unfair shake? Muslim woman who refused handshake denied French citizenship-Court of last appeal says refusal to shake hands with official and politician for religious reasons showed she was 'not assimilated' into French life-By AFP-TOI-APR 22,18

PARIS, France — France’s highest administrative court has upheld a decision to deny a French passport to an Algerian Muslim who refused to shake hands with officials during her citizenship ceremony, according to a ruling seen by AFP Thursday.The woman argued that her “religious beliefs” prevented her from shaking hands with a senior official presiding over the citizenship ceremony in the southeastern Isere region in June 2016, as well as with a local politician.The government said her behavior showed she was “not assimilated into the French community” — one of the reasons it can invoke under the civil code to oppose citizenship for the spouse of a French national.The woman, who has been married to a Frenchman since 2010, appealed the April 2017 decision, calling it an “abuse of power.”But the Council of State, the court of last appeal in such matters, ruled the government “had not improperly applied” the law.

MIGRATING BIRDS IN ISRAEL EATS HUMANS FLESH FOR COMING AGAINST ISRAEL-JERUSALEM

EZEKIEL 39:11-12,18
11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog (RUSSIA/ARAB/MUSLIMS) a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers (EAST OF THE DEAD SEA IN JORDAN VALLEY) on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog (RUSSIAN) and all his multitude:(ARAB/MUSLIM HORDE) and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog.(BURIEL SITE OF THE 300 MILLION,RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIMS)
12 And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.(OF ISRAEL)
16 And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.(OF THE ISRAEL-GOD HATERS)

EZEKIEL 39:17-21
17  And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.(OF RUSSIAN/ISLAMIC HORDES AGAINST ISRAEL)
18  Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
19  And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.
20  Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.
21  And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.
22  So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward.

REVELATION 19:17-18
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;(AGAINST ALL NATIONS ARMIES THAT COME AGAINST JERUSALEM AND ISRAEL)
18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.

EZEKIEL 38:1-7
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:TOBOLSK)
4 And I (GOD) will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY) of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.(AFRICAN MUSLIMS,SUDAN,TUNESIA ETC)
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.

EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back,(RUSSIA-ARAB MUSLIM ISRAEL HATERS) and leave but the sixth part of thee,(5/6TH OR 300 MILLION DEAD RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIMS I BELIEVE) and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.

Israel threatens to kill Hamas leaders in response to Islamic Jihad video-Iran-backed group shows footage of IDF's head of Southern Command and top liaison to the Palestinians in crosshairs on Gaza border-By TOI staff-APR 22,18

A senior Israeli minister threatened to resume assassinations of Hamas leaders after the Iran-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group on Thursday released a video showing IDF soldiers and senior officers in the crosshairs of a sniper.“The threats by the PIJ Terror organization to shoot at IDF officers by snipers from Gaza, constitutes crossing a red line,” Transportation and Intelligence Minister Israel Katz tweeted. “Hamas must know that any attack on IDF commanders at the border to Gaza will immediately lead to a renewal of targeted killings of the Hamas leadership.”In the video, the sniper appears to train his sights on Israeli troops and officers at the Gaza border fence. Among those seen is Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, the Defense Ministry’s outgoing chief liaison to the Palestinians, as well as Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir.“You murder our people in cold blood and think you are protected when the scopes of our snipers have been set on your senior commanders,” the terror group wrote in Hebrew and Arabic at the end of the video.The video shows the sniper in a house in Gaza along with other Islamic Jihad members while observing the generals, who are seen alongside other IDF soldiers.Mordechai, the Defense Ministry’s outgoing Coordinator of the Government’s Activities in the Territories, has toured Israel’s border with the Strip during the last few weeks along with Zamir to coordinate a response to widespread Palestinian protests that have led to bloody clashes.He is defined by Israeli authorities as an individual under threat from Hamas, the terror organization that rules Gaza, and has had security forces guarding his house since the 2014 Gaza war.The edited footage was apparently filmed during the Friday demonstrations in recent weeks dubbed the “March of Return,” according to the Ynet news site.The encampments set up as part of the protests will be moved 50 meters closer to the border with Israel on the fourth protest slated for this Friday, the organizers of the mass demonstrations announced on Wednesday.The National Forum for the March of Return, one of several Palestinian groups behind the weekly demonstrations, said that the decision came to “affirm our right to return” — a reference to the Palestinian demand that Israel allow tens of thousands of refugees and their millions of descendants to “return” to homes and lands inside Israel which they left or were forced from during Israel’s 1948 Independence War.Egypt has reportedly been exerting pressure on Hamas and other Palestinian groups to halt the mass protests. The Egyptians, according to reports, have expressed fear that the demonstrations could spin out of control and ignite another war between Hamas and Israel.According to the Hamas-run health ministry in the Gaza Strip, 35 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire since the beginning of the marches three weeks ago. Hamas has acknowledged that several of those killed were its members, and Israel has identified other fatalities as members of terrorist groups.Last Friday, at least 10,000 Gazans took part in large-scale demonstrations, with the IDF saying some protesters hurled an explosive device and firebombs at Israeli troops deployed at the border, as well as making “several attempts” to damage the fence and cross over into Israeli territory. A week earlier, about 20,000 Palestinians took part in the demonstrations, and the week before an estimated 30,000.Ahmed Abu Rtaimeh, a member of the National Forum for the March of Return, said on Wednesday that the demonstrations would continue “with full force” in the coming weeks.He told the Hamas-affiliated Al Resalah news website that the March of Return had “imposed a new struggle reality that has vitalized the Palestinians and redefined the Palestinian cause as a cause of a people who want to return to their country.”Israeli governments have rejected the notion of a mass “right of return” for Palestinians into the borders of the state of Israel, arguing that an influx of millions of Palestinians would spell the end of the Jewish nation-state. Israel has called for Palestinian refugees to be absorbed into a future Palestinian state, just as Israel took in hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees fleeing Arab nations in the Middle East and North Africa.Michael Bachner and Khaled Abu Toameh contributed to this report.

Iranian general warns all Israel air bases ‘within reach,’ no escape but the sea-In menacing speech, Hossein Salami says US and UK won't save Israel; Netanyahu: We hear the threats, the IDF and security forces are ready-By TOI staff-APR 22,18

The vice commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned Israel Friday that its airbases are “within reach” and Iran’s “hands are on the trigger and missiles are ready,” in apparent reaction to Israel’s publication on Tuesday of a map showing five Tehran-controlled bases in Syria, and boasted that Israel will have nowhere to go but the sea.“Israel: Don’t trust in your airbases; they’re within reach,” Hossein Salami wrote on Twitter, also making similar comments in a fiery speech.Israel, said Hossein Salami, was living “in the dragon’s mouth.” Both northern and western Israel were “in the range of our missiles,” he threatened, in a speech given in Tehran.“Wherever you are in the occupied land, you’ll be under fire from us, from east and west. You became arrogant. If there’s a war, the result will be your complete elimination,” he said.“Your soldiers and civilians will flee, and you won’t survive. And you’ll have nowhere to run, except to fall into the sea.”Earlier on Twitter he warned Israel should not rely on outside help.“Don’t have hope in US and UK; when they arrive, you’re not there… Smallest goal will be your existence. You can’t bear. When you escape, you’ll have no way but to the sea.”#Iran's #IRGC vice-commander warns #Israel: Don't trust in your airbases; they're within reach. Don't have hope in #US & #UK; when they arrive, you're not there…Smallest goal will be your https://t.co/azci9gxyTB can't bear. When you escape, you'll have no way but to the sea. pic.twitter.com/Xyqa0qLmiC— Abas Aslani (@AbasAslani) April 20, 2018-#Iran's #IRGC vice-commander Salami warns enemies: Hands are on the trigger & missiles are ready & will be launched at any moment that enemy has a sinister plot… North & west of #Israel are at the intersection of fire; you will not escape. You live in the dragon's mouth. pic.twitter.com/wwKdXfZMrk— Abas Aslani (@AbasAslani) April 20, 2018-Iranian officials have been making increasingly bellicose remarks following an April 9 strike on the T-4 air base, near Palmyra in central Syria, which killed at least seven members of the IRGC, including the head of its drone program, Col. Mehdi Dehghan.Iran, Syria, Russia and some US officials have all said explicitly that Israel was responsible for the strike.Israeli officials refuse to comment on the matter, though The New York Times quoted an Israeli military official as acknowledging that the Jewish state was behind the attack.Amid the escalating rhetoric, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made several threats against Iran in recent days.On Friday, he told a festive post-Independence Day cabinet meeting, “We hear the threats from Iran. The IDF and the security forces are ready for any development. We will fight whoever tries to harm us. We will not shy away from the price and we will exact a price from those who want to hurt us. The IDF is ready for the job and the people will stand strong.”On Tuesday, ahead of Israel’s Independence Day and in an apparent effort at deterrence, Israeli media was provided by the IDF with a map showing five Iranian-controlled bases in Syria, which would apparently constitute potential targets for an Israeli response should Iran carry out any kind of attack.On Monday, a spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry said the country’s retaliation against Israel will come “sooner or later” and that Jerusalem will “regret its misdeeds.”Israel’s defense establishment — the country’s various intelligence services and the military — believes an Iranian revenge attack would likely be carried out by the IRGC’s air force, with surface-to-surface missiles or armed drones, The Times of Israel has learned.That would be a departure from previous clashes between Israel and Iran, in which Tehran’s reprisals were carried out through proxies, like the Hezbollah terrorist group, rather than by its own Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Russia’s ‘moral obligation’ not to sell air defense to Syria is over — Lavrov-Russian foreign minister blames US attack on Syria for changing rules. Ex-head of Israeli military intelligence: 'If Syria gets the S-300 system, Israel will blow it up'-By Sue Surkes-APR 22,18-TOI

The US attack on Syria has absolved Russia of its “moral obligation” to hold back on supplying an advanced air defense system to Syria, the Russian foreign minister said Friday.His remarks came a day after a former head of Israeli military intelligence said that if Syria obtained the advanced S-300 system, Israeli would probably blow it up.Sergey Lavrov claimed that the Russians had made their red lines clear to the Americans before the attack by the US, UK and France a week ago.That attack was launched in response to a suspected gas attack mounted on April 7 on Douma, near Damascus, in which more than 40 people were reported killed. Western powers blame the attack on Syrian President Bashar Assad.It targeted a scientific research facility near Damascus, a chemical weapons storage facility west of the city of Homs, and a third location near Homs that contained both a command post and a chemical weapons equipment storage facility, the US military said.Lavrov, who delivered a similar message to the BBC on Tuesday, was quoted Friday by the Russian news agency RIA Novosti as saying that the Russians had undertaken not to supply anti-aircraft missile systems to the Syrians some ten years ago but that moral obligation was no longer valid.On a more conciliatory note, he said he was “convinced” that the US and Russian presidents would not allow a military confrontation between the two countries.He revealed that US President Donald Trump had last month invited his counterpart Vladimir Putin to visit the US during a telephone call between the two. The invitation was issued before the attack on Syria.On Thursday, former military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin told the Bloomberg news service that the S-300 system would be deployed at some point, and that, “if I know the air force well, we have already made proper plans to deal with this threat. After you remove the threat, which is basically what will be done, we’re back to square one.”The Russian-made S-300 system is one of the most advanced of its kind in the world, offering long-range protection against both airplanes and missiles. The system has been supplied by Moscow to Tehran, and deployed by the Russian army in Syria, and Israeli officials have expressed concerns that selling it to Damascus could weaken Israel’s regional air supremacy.It was in response to Israeli pleas that Putin froze a contract to supply the missiles to Syria, Bloomberg reported, although he said at the time that Moscow would “think how we should act in the future” in the event of a US attack.Last Monday, Israel allegedly struck the T-4 air base in central Syria where Iran has reportedly been building a fully functional air base of its own and where it has centered its attack drone operations. The base was reportedly protected by surface-to-air missile defense systems.

Palestinians say four Gazans killed by IDF during border protest-Some 3,000 gather at border clashing with IDF soldiers, sending burning kites over fence to try and set Israeli fields alight-By TOI staff and Agencies-APR 22,18

Some 3,000 Palestinians protested along the Gaza border with Israel on Friday, burning tires and flying flaming kites across the frontier to set Israeli fields ablaze, witnesses and the army said. Soldiers responded with tear gas and live fire, killing four Palestinians, including a 15-year-old, according to the Hamas run-health ministry.Ahmad Abu Aqel, 25, was shot east of Jabaliya in northern Gaza, health ministry spokesman, Ashraf al-Qudra, said. It also said a 24-year-old and 29-year-old and a 15-year-old boy were killed, but did not provide details on their identity.Israel’s army said it was looking into the incidents.In all the Gaza ministry said that some 445 people were injured, including 96 from live fire.These brought to 39 the number of fatalities from the border demonstrations and clashes dubbed the March of Return, which took place for the fourth time Friday, according to the health ministry figures. The numbers could not be verified by Israel.Hamas has acknowledged that several of those killed were its members, and Israel has identified other fatalities as members of terrorist groups.Huge black plumes of smoke from the blazing tires engulfed the area, as Israeli troops fired tear gas and live bullets, witnesses said.Hundreds were clashing with Israeli forces, an AFP correspondent said.Thousands of Gazans were gathered at various locations along the border in the enclave, calling for tends of thousands of Palestinian refugees and their millions of descendants to be able to “return” to their former lands in what is now Israel, some burning tires or flying kites with flaming rags dangling from their tails.The kites are part of a new tactic aimed at setting fields on the Israeli side on fire. Most kites were stitched together in the colors of the Palestinian flag. One white kite bore the Nazi swastika.Israel and Egypt maintain a security blockade of the Hamas-ruled strip, which Israel says is needed to prevent Hamas importing weaponry. An Islamist terror group which seeks to destroy Israel, Hamas says the weekly protests are ultimately aimed at erasing the border and liberating Palestine.Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman toured the Gaza area, meeting with the troops.“Thanks to the IDF’s activity, week by week there is a drop in the number of participants in the riots,” he said, praising the soldiers.The IDF estimated that 3,000 people were taking part, significantly smaller than the 10,000 at last Friday’s demonstration. In the two weeks before, there were an estimated 20,000 and 30,000 protesters, respectively.“Since the morning there have been violent riots at five sites along the border in which about 3,000 people are taking part,” the IDF said. “They are trying to approach the security barrier, burning tires next to it and trying to send over kites that have burning items attached.”“Several kites crossed into Israel and were extinguished as needed. IDF troops are responding with riot dispersal means and live fire in accordance with the rules of engagement,” the army said.Earlier, Israeli military aircraft dropped leaflets near the Gaza border warning Palestinians to keep away from the fence separating the coastal enclave from Israel, the IDF said.That followed reports Wednesday that despite Egyptian pressure on Hamas and other Palestinian groups to halt the mass protests, organizers said they would move protest camps 50 meters closer to the border.The National Forum for the March of Return, one of several Palestinian groups behind the weekly demonstrations, said that the decision came to “affirm our right to return” — a reference to the Palestinian demand that Israel allow tens of thousands of refugees and their millions of descendants to return to their former homes inside Israel. Such a demand would mean the end of Israel as a majority Jewish state.The protests in Gaza are expected to continue until mid-May, around the time the US is set to inaugurate its new embassy in Jerusalem.Mid-May will also mark the anniversary of what Palestinians call the Nakba, or catastrophe, which saw hundreds of thousands of Palestinians flee their homes during Israel’s 1948 War of Independence.According to the United Nations, some 1.3 million of Gaza’s 1.9 million residents are refugees or their descendants.At previous peace talks, the Palestinians have always demanded, along with sovereignty in the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem and the Old City, a “right of return” to Israel for Palestinian refugees who left or were forced out of Israel when it was established. The Palestinians demand this right not only for those of the hundreds of thousands of refugees who are still alive — a figure estimated in the low tens of thousands — but also for their descendants, who number in the millions.No Israeli government would ever be likely to accept this demand, since it would spell the end of Israel as a Jewish-majority state. Israel’s position is that Palestinian refugees and their descendants would become citizens of a Palestinian state at the culmination of the peace process, just as Jews who fled or were forced out of Middle Eastern countries by hostile governments became citizens of Israel..Khaled Abu Toameh contributed to this report.

Palestinians fly swastika kite with petrol bomb across Gaza border into Israel-Hamas terrorists are showing their true colors, Israeli army says; April 20 was Hitler's birthday-By TOI staff and Judah Ari Gross    -APR 22,18

Palestinians at the Gaza border flew a kite marked with a swastika and carrying a petrol bomb into Israel on Friday.The Israeli army posted photographs of the kite in the air and on the ground inside Israel. An IDF spokesman, Jonathan Conricus, wrote: “Moments ago, terrorist Hamas sent a Molotov cocktail over the Gaza border into Israel. They flew it with their true colors.”April 20 was Nazi leader Adolf Hitler’s birthday.Friday marked the fourth weekend in succession that thousands of Palestinians have demonstrated at the border, in mass protests encouraged by the Gaza Strip’s Hamas rulers. Originally declared as non-violent “March of Return” protests, the demonstrations are being encouraged by Hamas, which seeks to destroy Israel, and whose leaders say the goal of the protests is to erase the border and liberate Palestine.Moments ago, terrorist #Hamas sent a Molotov cocktail over the Gaza border into Israel.They flew it with their true colors. pic.twitter.com/LOexWD76lf— Jonathan Conricus (@LTCJonathan) April 20, 2018-The Israeli army says it has faced “terror” at the fence during the weekly protests, including a shooting incident, numerous efforts to breach the fence, stone- and bomb-throwing. In recent days, Gazans have flown kites carrying petrol bombs across the border, and these have caused fires several times in Israeli fields close to the border.On Tuesday, one such kite started a fire in a grassy grove outside Kibbutz Be’eri, an Israeli community located some seven kilometers (4.3 miles) east of Gaza’s Bureij refugee camp. It took four teams of firefighters to bring the blaze under control, a spokesman for the local fire department said. The Kan news broadcaster reported that the fire had spread over almost 100 dunams (25 acres).Gazans filmed the kite crossing the border and starting the blaze, in a video shared on social media.The kites seem to be the latest phase in the ongoing clashes on the Gaza border, as Palestinians have rioted and protested along the security fence almost daily since March 30.Fridays have been by far the most active days, with over 40,000 people taking part in the first protest, nearly 30,000 taking part in the second and approximately 10,000 participating in the third and most recent, according to the IDF’s figures. As of late afternoon, Friday’s fourth protests involved some 3,000 people.These violent demonstrations have often included the burning of tires and Israeli flags.As this month also marks the beginning of Israel’s dry season, an IDF spokesperson on Friday said the military was prepared for the possibility that fires might break out and had therefore coordinated with local fire departments and put firefighting planes on standby.However, when asked earlier this week specifically about the low-tech threat posed by kites carrying incendiary devices, the army offered scant details about its ability to combat the threat. “The IDF is prepared and ready for various scenarios during the riots organized along the Gaza fence,” the army said in a statement.On Monday, the local Eshkol regional council issued a stark warning to residents, telling them to be on alert for these airborne arson attacks.“In the last 24 hours, there have been several cases of kites flying with Molotov cocktails from the Strip to our territory,” the council said in a statement. “The public is asked to be alert and to report on any unusual incident of fires in the area.”Last month, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) organized a “Kites of Hope” festival for over 1,000 Gazan schoolchildren from Khan Younis.The National Forum for the March of Return, one of several Palestinian groups behind the weekly demonstrations, moved its protest tents closer to the border ahead of Friday’s protests, in order, it said, to “affirm our right to return” — a reference to the Palestinian demand that Israel allow tens of thousands of refugees and their millions of descendants to return to their former homes inside Israel. Such a demand would mean the end of Israel as a majority Jewish state.The protests in Gaza are expected to continue until mid-May, around the time the US is set to inaugurate its new embassy in Jerusalem.Mid-May will also mark the anniversary of what Palestinians call the Nakba, or catastrophe, which saw hundreds of thousands of Palestinians flee their homes during Israel’s 1948 War of Independence.According to the United Nations, some 1.3 million of Gaza’s 1.9 million residents are refugees or their descendants.At previous peace talks, the Palestinians have always demanded, along with sovereignty in the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem and the Old City, a “right of return” to Israel for Palestinian refugees who left or were forced out of Israel when it was established. The Palestinians demand this right not only for those of the hundreds of thousands of refugees who are still alive — a figure estimated in the low tens of thousands — but also for their descendants, who number in the millions.No Israeli government would ever be likely to accept this demand, since it would spell the end of Israel as a Jewish-majority state. Israel’s position is that Palestinian refugees and their descendants would become citizens of a Palestinian state at the culmination of the peace process, just as Jews who fled or were forced out of Middle Eastern countries by hostile governments became citizens of Israel.

Democrats sue Trump, Russia for alleged collusion-TOI-APR 22,18

NEW YORK — The Democratic National Committee sues US President Donald Trump’s campaign, his son, his son-in-law, the Russian Federation and WikiLeaks, saying they conspired to help Trump win the 2016 presidential election.The DNC files the lawsuit Friday in federal court in Manhattan. It seeks unspecified damages and an order to prevent further interference with DNC computer systems.The lawsuit says Trump and his associates had relationships with Russia that enabled creation of a Trump-Russia conspiracy.The DNC says Russia “mounted a brazen attack on American democracy” beginning with a cyberattack on its computers.It says the hack penetrated DNC computers and phone systems and extracted tens of thousands of documents and emails.Trump has said repeatedly there was no collusion between his campaign and Russia.— AP.

Democrats sue Trumps, Kushner and Russians over election hacking-Lawsuit says they conspired to help Trump win the 2016 presidential election by breaking into DNC computers and stealing tens of thousands of emails and documents-By Larry Neumeister-TOI-APR 22,18

NEW YORK (AP) — The Democratic National Committee on Friday sued President Donald Trump’s campaign, Trump’s son, his son-in-law, the Russian Federation and WikiLeaks, saying they conspired to help Trump win the 2016 presidential election by breaking into DNC computers and stealing tens of thousands of emails and documents.The lawsuit in Manhattan federal court sought unspecified damages and an order to prevent further interference with DNC computer systems.“During the 2016 presidential campaign, Russia launched an all-out assault on our democracy, and it found a willing and active partner in Donald Trump’s campaign,” DNC Chairman Tom Perez said in a statement. He called it an “act of unprecedented treachery.”The lawsuit said Trump and his associates had existing relationships with Russia and Russian oligarchs that enabled creation of a Trump-Russia conspiracy.Trump has said repeatedly that there was no collusion between his campaign and Russia.The lawsuit alleges the “brazen attack on American democracy” began with a cyberattack on DNC computers and phone systems, allowing the extraction of tens of thousands of documents and emails. It said the assault enabled Russia to advance its own interests and support Trump.The lawsuit accuses Donald Trump Jr. of secretly communicating with WikiLeaks, saying the president’s son was offered a password to an anti-Trump lawsuit in one exchange. The lawsuit blames the president too, saying he praised the illegal dissemination of DNC documents throughout fall 2016, making it a central theme of his speeches and rallies.The lawsuit said Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, was part of the conspiracy as a senior adviser and key decision-makers in the campaign. It said he began in June 2016 to control all campaign data-driven efforts, beginning with establishment of a 100-person “data hub” in San Antonio, Texas, and by hiring Cambridge Analytica, the social media and analytics firm.The lawsuit said the conspiracy “inflicted profound damage upon the DNC,” costing it donations and preventing it from communicating the party’s values and vision to voters and sowing discord inside the Democratic party.“The conspiracy constituted an act of previously unimaginable treachery: the campaign of the presidential nominee of a major party in league with a hostile foreign power to bolster its own chance to win the presidency,” the lawsuit said. “And, in carrying out this effort, defendants’ conspiracy to disseminate documents stolen from the DNC in violation of the laws of the United States as well as the laws of the state of Virginia and the District of Columbia. Under the laws of this nation, Russia and its co-conspirators must answer for these actions.”

Cabinet approves restoration of heritage sites for Independence Day-TOI-APR 22,18

The cabinet approves funding for the restoration of seven heritage sites in honor of Israel’s 70th Independence Day in a special cabinet meeting held at Independence Hall in Tel Aviv.NIS 11 million ($3.1 million) will be set aside for the sites, which include founding prime minister David Ben-Gurion’s home in Tel Aviv.“We are holding this festive Cabinet meeting today in the context of the marvelous celebrations for the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel,” says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the meeting.“Several months ago we decided to restore and refurbish this building. It is fitting that the restored Independence Hall be a main heritage site in our country and so it will be,” he adds.

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