Brothers, my heart's desire and my prayer to God
is for Israel, that they may be saved. Rom. 10:1
Breaking headlines direct from Israel
General Prayer Concerns
The following news items are posted here as considerations for prayer to help you as you pray for Israel.
IDF to stop checking pedestrians at Nablus checkpoint
Army expands easing of travel restrictions on Palestinian population in West Bank, stops checking individuals after adoption of similar policy for vehicles leads to significant drop in pedestrian traffic
Full story [Ynetnews.com]
'Obama' Think-Tank: Israel Should Cede Jerusalem Sovereignty
A think tank which is arguably the most influential in Washington is proposing an “interim” neutral administration to govern Jerusalem instead of Israel.
Full story [IsraelNN.com]
Prices go up today after VAT hike
The price of basic products under state supervision went up by one percent on Wednesday morning following the value added tax (VAT) hike to 16.5%.
Full story [Jerusalem Post]
UK deplores Israeli decision to allow new settler homes
British foreign secretary tells parliament, 'Settlements are illegal under international law and they are a major blockage to peace in the Middle East on the basis of a two-state solution'
Full story [Ynetnews.com]
Spain court drops Gaza probe into Israeli air raid
As recommended by prosecutors, top Spanish court shelves investigation targeting Israeli officials for alleged crimes against humanity over deadly 2002 air raid in Gaza, which killed senior Hamas member Salah Shehadeh
Full story [Ynetnews.com]
Washington: Weakened Ahmadinejad may seek military adventures
Two fundamental conceptions underpinning the Obama administration's Middle East policies have been swept away by the upheaval in Iran. DEBKAfile's Washington sources report that direct or even multilateral nuclear negotiations with Iran have vanished in the distance - for one, and the premise that progress on the Palestinian peace front is the key to a breakthrough with Iran is another.
Sunday, June 28, Washington observers familiar with White House thinking cited insiders as speculating that Binyamin Netanyahu's government is too weak to survive defying the US over the settlements. If it did, Netanyahu would fall and Ehud Barak take over.
Full story [DEBKAfile]
Syria again threatens war over Golan
Syrian officials reiterated their threat to forcefully take the Golan Heights from Israel unless an agreement between the two countries is reached soon.
Full story [Jerusalem Post]
UC Santa Barbara: OK to compare Israel to Nazi regime
University panel clears professor who sent his students email equating Israel's policy in Gaza to Holocaust
Full story [Ynetnews.com]
Netanyahu: PA Must Defeat Hamas in Gaza before We Negotiate
On Sunday evening at Bar Ilan University, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu delivered his long-awaited reply to U.S. President Barack Obama's historic Cairo speech. Netanyahu did say the words 'Palestinian state' which nationalists hoped he would not say. However, he also laid down stringent conditions for establishment of such a state, and -- arguably -- even for negotiations to take place.
[The text of the speech, as communicated by the Prime Minister's Office, follows the main story -ed]
Full story [IsraelNN.com]
Netanyahu's speech – more political than statesmanlike
Israel's prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu's speech at the Bar-Ilan University's Begin-Sadat Hall Sunday, June 14, failed to offer a new diplomatic beginning for approaching the intractable conflict with the Palestinians. He finally accepted the two-state solution promoted by US president Barak Obama under heavy pressure from Washington, but demanded that first the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state and accept that their state be demilitarized, be denied control of their air space and the right to sign military treaties. The Palestinians refugee problem must be settled outside Israel's boundaries and Jerusalem will remain the undivided capital of Israel with religious freedom for all faiths.
Full story [DEBKAfile]
PA: Netanyahu has buried peace process
Palestinian Authority officials in Ramallah expressed outrage and shock on Sunday over Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's call for the establishment of a demilitarized Palestinian state and his demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
Full story [Jerusalem Post]
Ban considering fining Israel for Gaza damage
UN chief says may charge Israel $11 million for damage done to its facilities during Gaza war, adds that it is 'critical' Israel freeze settlement activity. EU's Solana says he expects Netanyahu to endorse two-state solution
Full story [Ynetnews.com]
Begin: Palestinians only want one state
Likud minister rejects two-state solution on grounds Palestinians refuse to accept Israel as Jewish state
Full story [Ynetnews.com]
Mitchell: US won't turn its back on Palestinians
After meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, US special envoy says President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton 'made our policy clear - the only viable resolution to conflict is two-state solution'
Full story [Ynetnews.com]
Minister Yaalon rejects swift peace process
Creation of Palestinian state within two years may lead to establishment of Hamastan in West Bank, strategic affairs minister tells Washington audience; 'Let us begin to talk about building infrastructure for peace,' he says
Full story [Ynetnews.com]
IAEA: Iran amasses enough low-grade uranium for a single nuclear bomb
A report prepared by the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna estimates Iran has accumulated low-enriched uranium (1,339 kilos produced since November 2008 plus 839 kilos in stock) enough to convert into the quantity of high-enriched uranium needed for making a single nuclear bomb.
Full story [DEBKAfile]
More undeclared uranium discovered in Syria
International Atomic Energy Agency finds traces of processed uranium at second site in Syria, leading to fears of covert nuclear activity
Full story [Ynetnews.com]
MI: Iran could have bomb by year's end
Head of the research division of Military Intelligence tells Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that Islamic republic could have enough fissile material for its first nuclear weapon by end of 2009. 'Iran's speed is extremely troubling,' he adds
Full story [Ynetnews.com]
Roadside explosive uncovered near Galilee community 2 months ago
Explosive charge found by jogger at entrance to Avtalion believed to be planted by Israeli Arabs
Full story [Ynetnews.com]
Obama promises Arabs Jerusalem will be theirs
Official: President said Palestinian state with holy city capital 'in American interest'
JERUSALEM – President Obama and his administration told Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during a meeting last week the U.S. foresees the creation of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, according to a top PA official speaking to WND.
Full story [WorldNetDaily]
Amnesty blames Israel for collapse of truce with Hamas
In its 2009 annual report, formally released on Thursday, Amnesty International places sole blame on Israel for the breakdown in the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas that led to Operation Cast Lead.
Full story [Jerusalem Post]
Israel fears Hezbollah might smuggle missiles into Lebanon
The defense establishment is concerned that Hezbollah will try to smuggle advanced anti-aircraft missiles into Lebanon in the near future - yet another reason for the rising tension on the Israel-Lebanon border. Israel has made it clear in past statements that it will consider such a development as crossing a red line, which might necessitate preventative measures.
Full story [HAARETZ.com]
PM: Jerusalem will always be ours
State ceremony marking Jerusalem Day sees Netanyahu, President Peres vow capital will never again be divided. Abbas aide: Israeli occupation of east Jerusalem illegal
Full story [Ynetnews.com]
Israel has no adequate interceptor for Iran's new long-range missile
DEBKAfile's military sources report that Israel, the US and Europe were taken aback by Iran's successful launch Wednesday, May 20, of a two-stage, solid-fueled 2,000-kilometer range missile, but most of all by the accuracy of its aim in destroying its target, as proudly claimed by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Full story [DEBKAfile]
NGO Monitor: EU-funded groups promote Palestinian positions on Jerusalem
Jerusalem-based organization says B'tselem, Ir Amim 'ignoring ancient Jewish presence in Old City's Jewish Quarter,' using their resources 'to promote overtly anti-Israel agenda'
Full story [Ynetnews.com]
Israelis warned of Internet terrorism
The Prime Minister’s Office on Tuesday issued a statement warning Israelis to beware of terrorist activity on popular online social networking sites such as Facebook.
Full story [israeltoday]
40% of Israeli Arabs: Holocaust never happened
Disturbing poll results: Shocking percentage of local Arabs are Shoah deniers, less than half recognize Israel's right to exist as Jewish democratic state; survey shows significant deterioration in Arab attitudes in past six years
Full story [Ynetnews.com]
PA still seeks Israel's demise, US-trained army could attack Jewish state
A top Palestinian Authority official admits the "two-state solution" is really just a means of bringing about Israel's collapse, and the American general training up the new PA army reveals those troops could turn on Israel.
Full story [israeltoday]
Netanyahu vows not to withdraw from Golan
Ahead of next week's meeting with US President Obama in Washington, prime minister makes declaration of intent during Likud ministers' meeting as to future Israel-Syria peace talks
Full story [Ynetnews.com]
Terror victims group turns tables on Israel's detractors
Israel's Almagor Terror Victims Association is working to turn the tables on Spain's National Court, after the latter decided on Monday to move forward with a war crimes investigation into the 2002 Israeli air force strike that killed leading Hamas terrorist Salah Shehadeh and 14 other people in Gaza.
Full story [israeltoday]
Gingrich tells 'Post': Obama is endangering Israel
Former US House Speaker Newt Gingrich on Sunday blasted the Obama administration for setting itself on a collision course with Israel and endangering the Jewish state.
Full story [Jerusalem Post]
Yishai vows to settle Jews in east Jerusalem
Interior minister tells Jews who purchased property in Silwan village that they have right to land because 'City of David is bedrock of our existence'; PA official retaliates: 'Israeli gov't is gov't of settlers'
Full story [Ynetnews.com]
Belarus fronts Russian Iskander-M surface missile sale to Iran, Syria
DEBKAfile's Moscow sources disclose that the Russian, Iranian and Damascus governments have cooked up a scheme to get around Vladimir Putin's undertaking as president to refrain from selling Iran and Syria advanced Iskander-M cruise missiles: The transaction will go through Belarus.
Full story [DEBKAfile]
Opinion: Rules of game changing
Israelis officials can’t keep up with dramatic changes in America’s Mideastern policy
Full story [Ynetnews.com]
New Ambassador to U.S. Favors Razing Jewish Yesha Communities
The Netanyahu government's choice for U.S. Ambassador is Dr. Michael Oren, who favors Israel withdrawing unilaterally from most of Judea and Samaria and razing most settlements. Speaking to the conservative JINSA institute earlier this year, Oren said he expected the Obama administration to use pressure on Israel to get Jerusalem to agree to establishing a Palestinian state. If Israel does not go along it will "be pushed into a corner," he said.
Full story [IsraelNN.com]
Abbas won't recognize Israel as a Jewish state
Palestinian President delivers harsh speech in Ramallah in which he says Israel can define itself as a Jewish state, ' but I don't accept it and I say so publicly.' Abbas also says talks cannot be resumed without Israeli settlement freeze
Full story [Ynetnews.com]
Saudi plan is death trap for Israel, warns Lieberman
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said in remarks carried by the Israeli media on Wednesday that the US-backed Saudi peace initiative is a death trap for the Jewish state.
Full story [israeltoday]
Israel's Air & Missile Forces Could Wipe out Iran's Nuclear Sites
The detailed report compiled by the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) in Washington last month, complete with graphs and diagrams, has been reprinted in thousands of copies in Tehran. It is compulsory reading for its intelligence and Revolutionary Guards personnel because the Study on a Possible Israeli Strike on Iran's Nuclear Development Facilities concludes that the Jewish state has all the resources necessary for a successful strike.
Full story [DEBKAfile]
Independent Norwegian poll: Palestinian majority opposes two states
Amid the ping-pong between Washington and Jerusalem over the validity of a Palestinian state established alongside Israel as the end-product of peace negotiations, the Norwegian Fafo institute which sponsored the 1993 Oslo Framework accords decided to find out how the Palestinians felt about this solution. Its main discovery was that a majority, 53 percent, of Palestinians (like Israelis), is against two states.
Full story [DEBKAfile]
Abbas: No Mideast peace without Jerusalem as Palestinian capital
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Saturday called Jerusalem "the key for peace" and said justice and peace would not come to the Middle East without "an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital."
Full story [HAARETZ.com]
Obama about to betray Israel, says former intel official
A former top US intelligence official warns that the Obama Administration is about to break America's long ties of friendship with Israel, and maybe even take steps toward the dissolution of the Jewish state.
Full story [israeltoday]
New Israel killer drone can take out Iran's S-300 anti-air missile
The Israeli air industries first unveiled its new Harop "loiter drone" for taking out ground-to-air missiles at the annual Aero-India 2009 air show which closed recently at Bangalore.
The Iranian media were first to disclose that this sophisticated Israeli drone is capable of targeting the Russian radar-equipped S-300 anti-air missile before it enters attack mode.
Full story [DEBKAfile]
'Syria building chemical weapons plant'
Syria has been conducting extensive construction work on a chemical weapons facility in the country's northwest, satellite images obtained by the defense analyst group Jane's reveal.
Full story [Jerusalem Post]
Syria poised to transfer Iranian mobile SA-8 anti-air missiles to Lebanese Hizballah
Israel's government changeover catches its armed forces on high war alert on two fronts – its southern border with the Gaza Strip and its northern borders with Lebanon and Syria, DEBKA-Net-Weekly reported Feb. 6. Iran is deeply involved in both. The northern borders may be the more flammable, our military sources report, after Israel warned Damascus, through US, Egyptian and Turkish channels, that its delivery of scores of SA-8-9K33 Osa mobile anti-air missile systems to Hizballah in Lebanon would cross a red line.
Full story [DEBKAfile]
Iran's first spy satellite launch Tuesday signifies nuclear-capable rocket in hand
The launch of Omid (Hope), Iran's first home-made satellite into orbit early Tuesday, Feb. 3, is a breakthrough demonstrating the Islamic Republic has managed to develop long-range, three-stage ballistic rockets capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
Full story [DEBKAfile]
Hamas fires first Iranian shore-to-ship C-802 missile from Gaza
DEBKAfile's military sources reveal a formidable addition to Hamas' arsenal: The missile fired from Gaza out to the Mediterranean last week was not a Qassam as reported but a C-802, the Iranian shore-to-ship Nur C-802 missile, which is based on the Chinese "Silkworm."
Full story [DEBKAfile]
Ya'alon: No More Retreats; Arabs Never Accepted Our Existence
Lt.-Gen. (res.) Moshe "Bogey" Ya'alon, who is eighth on Likud's Knesset list, opened the first session of the three-day Jerusalem Conference with a Zionist speech of the old-fashioned, hard-hitting kind, that outlined a new strategy for Israel: no more retreats.
Full story [IsraelNN.com]
Iranian experts devise special containers for clandestine delivery of arms to Gaza
Rainfall under half of yearly average
Far too little rain has fallen so far this year and the chances of making up the deficit this winter are less than 20%, Water Authority head Prof. Uri Shani told the cabinet Sunday morning. He and National Infrastructures Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer updated the cabinet as to all aspects of water resources and how they were faring amidst the crisis.
Full story [Jerusalem Post]
Poverty report: 36% of Israeli needy live in hunger
LATET aid organization's Alternative Poverty Report reveals deterioration in problem with quarter of Israelis fearing poverty, one in five contemplating suicide. LATET sources say situation expected to worsen in 2009
Full story [Ynetnews.com]
Report: Iran to supply Lebanon with 'defensive weaponry'
During visit to Tehran, President Suleiman informed Islamic Republic plans to help boost Lebanese army's defense capabilities, help it in its 'fight against terror'
Full story [Ynetnews.com]
PA Official Claims Temple Mount is Not Jewish
Top PA officials continue to deny Israel's connection to Judaism's most sacred spot in the world - the Temple Mount.
The latest to do so is Ahmed Qurei, known also as Abu Ala, who has led and continues to lead Palestinian Authority negotiations with Israel. In a small media briefing this past Wednesday, Qurei said, "Israeli occupation authorities are trying to find a so-called Jewish historical connection between Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, but all these attempts will fail. The [Temple Mount] is 100 percent Muslim."
Full story [IsraelNN.com]
Report: Obama voiced support for Palestinians' right to Jerusalem
Lebanese newspaper says Democratic presidential hopeful told Abbas, Fayyad he would support their right to stable sovereign state
Full story [Ynetnews.com]
Warning: Israel may face power shortage
Israel Electric chairman says unless government steps up, agrees to fund costs of company's emergency contingency plan, future demand may exceed supply to point of lengthy blackouts
Full story [Ynetnews.com]
Seized documents show Hamas funding Israeli Arabs
Documents seized during Israeli army raids on Hamas offices and Islamic charities linked to the terror group over the past year show that Hamas has been taking in so much money from abroad that it is now funding Israeli Arab Islamic groups.
Full story [israeltoday]
"Hizballah Brigades of Palestine" - new Gaza-West Bank terror group
Local undercover officers of the Iranian-sponsored Hizballah established and funded this "new" Palestinian terrorist organization for "operations" under their orders, DEBKAfile's counter-terror sources report. It described itself in a statement issued Saturday, Oct. 4, as a "Sunni jihad group which has nothing to do with politics", and whose members are "former members of Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jhad and leftist parties." Their goals are to "carry out Jihad for the sake of Allah and resist enemies of Islam."
Full story [DEBKAfile]
Report: Syria has restarted nuclear weapons program
Following last year's Israeli bombing of a suspected Syrian nuclear facility, Damascus has reportedly restarted its nuclear weapons program, but is now following the Iranian model of housing the program at numerous different locations.
Full story [israeltoday]
Iran's al Qods, Hizballah secretly integrate rocket and commando units
DEBKAfile's military and intelligence sources disclose that an Iranian Revolutionary Guards delegation last week signed a secret accord with Hizballah leaders for the integration and operational merger of their missile-rocket and commando units.
Full story [DEBKAfile]
Opinion: Dialogue to nowhere
Elyakim Haetzni's meeting with Arab students convinces him conflict can't be resolved
Full story [Ynetnews.com]
Opinion: Wrong approach to peace
US, Israel ignore leading scholar's insights about Muslim attitude to peace deals
Full story [Ynetnews.com]
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Pray
We do not know what God has in store for Israel in the short term. We can only pray that it will be for the eventual salvation of the Jewish people.
So continue to pray for Israel, for the Jewish people and for the peace of Jerusalem and may God bless you as you lift up His nation and people before Him.
Lift up the cause of the Messianic believers in Israel and pray that the Lord would grant them more freedom to express their faith in Messiah.
Would you like to be kept informed of the prayer needs of Israel, the Body of Messiah in Israel and the Jewish people? Then perhaps you would consider subscribing to the Intercessors prayer letter.