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 July 4th, 2000 If you've been following world news then you've heard Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has acknowledged that he will declare a Palestinian state sometime this year. "Senior PLO officials on Monday said that the PLO's mini-parliament will back plans by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to declare a state this year. The 129-member Palestinian Central Council met in the Gaza strip for a second day to discuss preparations for the state which Arafat has vowed to declare in the West Bank and Gaza. Palestinian officials had said a date might be set for September 13, the target for an Israeli-Palestinian peace treaty." Tayeb Abdel-Rahim, a senior aide to Arafat, said the Palestinians would give talks a chance until Sept. 13, but would declare a state "by or before the end of the year."
"It could be on Sept. 13, or it could be on Nov. 15, the anniversary of the declaration of independence in 1988, but it is up to the PLO Executive Committee and the Palestinian leadership to decide," Abdel-Rahim told Reuters. Of course, Israel isn't taking this statement lightly. Here is an excerpt of their reaction to the Palestinian announcement. "Foreign Minister David Levy told Reuters on Tuesday that Israel needed to take seriously the Palestinian intention to declare a state unilaterally. "This teaches us that it is very doubtful that the Palestinians are with their faces toward peace," Levy said. "It is unfortunate that they are choosing this path." Beilin said Arafat had declared an independent state in 1988 that never became a reality. "They won't have a Palestinian state, they won't have passages to the world, they won't have an international status, they won't be able to cross from the West Bank to Gaza without us agreeing to it," Beilin said." Israel requires military control of the Golan Heights, Gaza and the West Bank in order to provide the strategic depth to defend itself against the overwhelming military force of its Arab enemies. Every military study in the last twenty five years concluded that Israel cannot be defended by conventional forces and weapons if it loses military control over these vital strategic territories. The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff 1992 study confirmed Israel could not give up the Golan, Gaza or the West Bank and expect to survive an Arab invasion. Without the West Bank territory Israel will be less than nine miles wide at its centre near Tel Aviv where almost eighty percent of its population lives. In a future conflict enemy armies could cut Israel in two by attacking from the PLO controlled high ground of Judea and Samaria (West Bank). The Jewish state could be overrun in a matter of days. (Grant Jeffrey) What The Near Future May Hold
Don't look for Israel to allow the PLO to declare an independent state. This would be disastrous for Israel's strategic health. I would keep my eyes open to the possibility of war in the Middle East by year's end. Russia could very well be involved. If a peace plan is established it will be an eleventh hour deal that I believe will split Jerusalem right down the middle. Pastor Malone