Latest Prophecy Commentary
Olmert says Palestinian peace deal closer than ever; Syria asks France to help direct talks with Israel
PARIS – Israel and the Palestinians have never been as close to peace as they are now, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Sunday during a French-hosted regional conference.
"It seems to me that we have never been as close to the possibility of reaching an accord as we are today," Olmert told reporters standing alongside Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Referring to the peace talks with Syria, Olmert said that "while the talks are indirect at this time, we hope to make the negotiations direct in the near future. This avenue will not be pursued at the expense of the Palestinian one."
"We respect the Road Map and all other international treaties. We know that peace in the Middle East is the basis for world peace and unless achieved, world peace is at risk," he said. Ynetnews.com
According to the source, a high-level defense official in the Pentagon, the President has given Israel the go-ahead on an Iran strike if sanctions and other non-military means fail, reports JPost. The unconfirmed report acknowledged that the “amber light” came in spite of opposition among top brass in the U.S. armed forces, and despite American worries over the political and economic consequences that such an attack would carry.
"Amber means get on with your preparations, stand by for immediate attack and tell us when you're ready," said the official.
However, Israel will not be able to count on U.S. military support for the strike, according to the official. Despite hopes that Israel will carry out the onerous task of eliminating the Iranian nuclear threat, the official added that the Israeli Air Force would not be permitted to refuel at American air bases in Iraq. This contradicts recent reports indicating a willingness to allow Israel to use American bases as a staging area for the operation.
"It's really all down to the Israelis," said the official. "This administration will not attack Iran. This has already been decided. But the president is really preoccupied with the nuclear threat against Israel and I know he doesn't believe that anything but force will deter Iran."
However, the official added, "if there is no solid plan, the amber will never turn to green," noting that Israel has yet to offer Bush a convincing military proposal. IsraelNationalNews.com
Analysis
Don't look now or blink, news out of Paris is that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert, Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are in intense
talks regarding possible Middle East peace. Just so happens, Sarkozy
just took over the presidency for the European Union. He will represent
the EU until the end of 2008. Just a couple of weeks ago, while visiting
the Middle East, Sarkozy made it plain that he wanted to play a major role in
bringing peace to the Middle East. He promised he would do everything in
his power, including use military force if necessary, to bring and to uphold
peace in the region. Now Syrian President Assad is courting the newly
enlisted EU president to sponsor possible direct talks with Israel. This
is what Israeli Prime Minister Olmert had to say regarding the peace talks in
Paris:
"It seems to me that we have never been as close to the possibility of reaching an accord as we are today," Olmert told reporters standing alongside Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Referring to the peace talks with Syria, Olmert said that "while the talks are indirect at this time, we hope to make the negotiations direct in the near future. This avenue will not be pursued at the expense of the Palestinian one."
"We respect the Road Map and all other international treaties. We know that peace in the Middle East is the basis for world peace and unless achieved, world peace is at risk," he said. Ynetnews.com
It is both exciting and prophetic that the world would see Middle East peace as the basis for world peace. This is exactly how the Bible saw it in Zechariah 12:3. At this time, Jerusalem is a stumbling block to the world and peace.
I also find it interesting that while peace efforts with both Syria and Palestine (with Israel) are going on, at this perfect moment French President Nicholas Sarkozy's six-month EU rotating presidential term falls into place. And what makes it even more interesting is that all parties involved seem to be very comfortable with Mr. Sarkozy's new role as peacemaker. Is it possible that he could actually bring peace to the Middle East during his six month EU presidential term and later go on to become the first permanent EU president (sometime in 2009)? I find this to be a very real possibility. Whether that will turn out to be the Lord's plan is for us to see in the future.
Certainly this new summit of the Mediterranean Union which is co-chaired by Mr. Sarkozy and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is of particular prophetic interest since it encourages Mediterranean nations to work together and be at peace with one another. "He [Sarkozy] hailed the presence of leaders from Arab states, saying it was a "gesture of peace" by attending. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who will co-chair the organisation with Sarkozy, urged Israeli and Palestinian leaders to reach a final peace deal" DW-World.DE. Many world leaders are hailing this summit as the best news for Middle East peace. I have to agree, this Mediterranean Union may very well turn out to be the peace agreement with many that Daniel 9:27 is referring to.
In other news, Israel is on the verge of attacking Iran's nuclear installations and have received the so-called amber light from the Bush administration. This supposedly is Iran's final warning before light turns green. In a weak attempt to display a gesture of strength, over the last few days, Iran has been conducting ballistic missile military exercises to show off supposed new missile technology. But US military weapons experts quickly determine that the footage of the missiles they were distributing to news outlets were of old technology some date back to 1998.
Which leads us to the brink of another global catastrophe. Iran refuses to back down from their nuclear program in the face of world pressure and Israel is dead set on destroying their nuclear capabilities before they acquire the bomb...even if they have to go it alone which the US has made clear to them they would. The question is, which will come first peace or war? As I've said in the past, I believe peace will come first followed by a war that will be led by Russia. Certainly, it is possible that we could see Israel strike Iran's nuclear facilities first, but I doubt it will yield the massive response Iran has been taunting. There are still a lot of questions as to how powerful Iran's military really is. Israel has already proven that they can penetrate the Russian-made antiaircraft missile systems that guard both Syrian and Iranian military installations. It's possible that Iran may react in the same manner Syria did when their nuclear facility was destroyed back in 2007 electing to reserve the right to retaliate at a later time. Whether that is the direction the future takes is yet to be seen, but if there is an Israeli strike, I don't see an Iranian retaliation at near the magnitude described in Ezekiel 38 and 39...but that war is still yet future.
Keep your eyes open to what is going on in Paris and France President Nicolas Sarkozy. He could be a very pivotal player in the next phase Middle East peace.
The next 6 to 12 months, I believe, will reveal a tremendous amount about the future direction of Bible prophecy.
Are you ready to meet the Lord? If not, your time is running out!
Terry Malone
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