Learn what will happen during the tribulation period from beginning to end
Your comments and questions are always welcome. To send comments and questions please click here to go to our main page. November 13, 2002 JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, trying to outflank Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on the right, vowed on Tuesday that if he were elected prime minister he would expel Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
The hawkish ex-premier, vying for leadership of the right-wing Likud for a January 28 election, told party members Arafat was "head of the murderers" behind a raid on a kibbutz that killed five Israelis, including a mother and her two sons.
A militant group linked to Arafat's Fatah movement claimed responsibility for the shooting attack in Kibbutz Metzer on Sunday night. The Palestinian president has condemned the attack.
"I as prime minister will expel Arafat," Netanyahu told a party convention in his most scathing attack on the Palestinian leader since being appointed last week after the collapse of Sharon's unity coalition.
Netanyahu had repeatedly called for Arafat's expulsion during two years of Israeli-Palestinian violence and said on Monday it was only a matter of time before his government was removed. But Sharon, who faces Netanyahu in a November 28 Likud primary, has promised President Bush not to oust or harm Arafat. END
Elections are officially set for January 28, 2003, but Benjamin Netanyahu is said to be trailing by double digits in a poll conducted by Channel 1 (Jerusalem Post). Of course, this could change in a day, especially if a major terror attack occurs between now and Election Day.
If Netanyahu wins the top job in Israel, this will be big news worldwide. It could also set off an international firestorm.
Scenario number one: Netanyahu wins elections and immediately orders expulsion of Yasser Arafat. In my opinion this could set the region on fire and a possible attack would likely follow. It is predicted that Israel will one day be attacked by the Arab world led by Russia (Ezekiel 38-39), this would be as good a time as any. With the U.S. locked in a war with Iraq and busy creating a new government in Afghanistan, they'll have little resources to come to Israel's aid.
Scenario number two: Netanyahu wins elections and immediately moves to expel Yasser Arafat. The Arab world violently protests to the international community. The U.N. orders Israel to back off or face the consequences, which could be as little as sanctions or as much as an attack. Both the U.N. and E.U. put pressure on the U.S. to reign in Netanyahu. The U.S. diplomatically orders him to cease and desist their attack on Arafat's compound. The situation is defused.
Of course, Netanyahu stating that if elected he would expel Arafat could be nothing more than a political hot button to get elected. I guess we'll have to wait and see what developes.
One thing is for sure; all eyes will be on the January elections. The winner could change the face of the Middle East and the direction of Israel.
Pastor Malone