Palestinian PM Vows To Avoid Civil War
May 23 11:32 AM US/Eastern
GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Tuesday urged rival forces from his Hamas militant group and President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement to show restraint and...

West Bank, Iran In Focus For Olmert-Bush Talks
May 23 10:12 AM US/Eastern
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was set to hold talks at the Pentagon and the White House on Tuesday, seeking during his first visit to Washington to coordinate...

Nuclear Crises In Focus At Asia Talks
May 23 9:01 AM US/Eastern
DOHA (Reuters) - Efforts to block Iran and North Korea's nuclear programs will be in the spotlight when ministers and officials from 28 Asian and Middle Eastern countries begin talks in...

China Defends Nuclear Cooperation With Iran
China on Tuesday defended its nuclear cooperation with Iran following a British Broadcasting Corp. report that traced Tehran's newly announced ability to enrich uranium to Chinese assistance.

Moderate 6.1 Quake Strikes Eastern Indonesia
HONG KONG — A magnitude 6.1 earthquake rattled parts of eastern Indonesia early Tuesday, the Hong Kong Observatory said Tuesday.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The epicenter was in the Banda Sea about 120 miles southwest of Ambon, the capital of Maluku province, the observatory said. The quake was recorded at 4 a.m. local time.

DEBKAfile Reports: Bush Is Expected To Offer The Mighty BIG-BLU Bunker Buster Bomb To Israel And Gulf States, Including Saudi Arabia
The intention is to arm US allies with a deterrent against Iran by sharing with them the means for striking the Islamic Republic’s underground nuclear installations.

This Massive Ordnance Penetrator – MOP – known as BIG-BLU (picture) - weighs in at 13,600 kilos and can destroy 25% of its targets in bunkers buried beneath 60 meters of reinforced concrete, a depth greater than any other bomb of its type.

Haniyeh: Withdraw To 1967 Borders And "Peace Will Prevail"
"If Israel withdraws to the 1967 borders, peace will prevail and we will implement a ceasefire for many years," Palestinian PM Ismail Haniyeh said.

Israel's Olmert Says Iran Just Months From Know-How To Build Nuke
Olmert said the key issue regarding Iran was not when it builds a nuclear bomb, but rather when it acquires the knowledge they need to manufacture such arms.

Comments
"Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh restated his demand that Israel withdraw to boundaries it has already rejected, offering in return a long-term ceasefire that falls well short of a formal peace treaty. In a rare interview with an Israeli newspaper, published Tuesday in Haaretz daily, Haniyeh, who heads a government formed by the Islamic militant group Hamas, said Israel must leave all of Judea, Samaria, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, areas it captured in the 1967 Middle East War.

"If Israel withdraws to the 1967 borders, peace will prevail and we will implement a ceasefire for many years," he told Haaretz. "Our government is prepared to maintain a long-term cease-fire with Israel."  http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Politics/8529.htm

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh recent statement that "If Israel withdraws to the 1967 borders, peace will prevail and we will implement a ceasefire for many years" made me step back a bit.  

For years I have felt the direction of the future Israeli peace accord would likely go through E.U. membership and the seven-year ENPI plan (Article# 390: ENPI Seven Year Plan), and it still may.  

I have also been baffled over what good could possibly come from Hamas taking over the reins in Palestine.  Like most, I thought it would serve only to delay the rapture of the church and the coming of the Lord.  My feeling, the sooner they were voted out or run out of town the better!  But recently, I have had a change of heart.  

I have a feeling that Hamas' recent surge onto the world political stage is not only of God but possibly Israel's long awaited peace partner.  Granted, this is only a theory of mine but it make a lot of sense.

Here's my point.  It was only a few short years ago that Israel said they would never give back any land they acquired from the 1967 six-day war.  As we know, in 2005, they evacuated Gaza and turned it over to the Palestinians, and before the year is out, they maybe turning over the West Bank.  But what I really consider shocking is that Israel may agree to share Jerusalem and allow the Palestinians to declare it as their capital when they declare statehood.  I knew it was coming someday, but it may come to pass as soon as the end of 2006.  

But even with all that, Prime Minister Haniyeh isn't satisfied.  He also wants Israel to return to the 1967 borders and he doesn't look to be budging from that condition anytime soon.  

With that said...what really got my attention was when Haniyeh said if Israel would return to their 1967 borders "Our government is prepared to maintain a long-term cease-fire with Israel...for many years". 

This was a shocking statement and immediately brought this question to my mind.  Could it be that the seven-year peace agreement that the antichrist will bring to the table will include a seven-year ceasefire?  I've always wonder why and how a seven-year peace agreement could play into today's world political climate.  This, in all likelihood, could be the answer.  Could it coincide with the seven-year budget term of the E.U.?  That's certainly a possibility as well.

After a series of events that Israel said they would never do or allow I see the very real possibility that they may one day return back to their pre-1967 borders in the name of peace.

Of course, this is nothing more than speculation, but I would definitely hide this away in the back of my mind.

Are you ready to meet the Lord?  If not your time is running out!

Pastor Malone