AND ISRAELI/MIDEAST POLITICS
March 31, 2009
Steve Collins
It has been reported that a convoy of Iranian weaponry destined for Hamas forces in Gaza was attacked and destroyed somewhere in the nation of Sudan in January, 2009. The World Tribune website (see first link) reports that the Israelis carried out the attack with long-range UAVs having the wingspans of Boeing 737s. Among the weapons reportedly destroyed were Iranian Fajr rockets which could hit Tel Aviv and the Israeli nuclear reactor in Dimona if launched from Gaza. The Israelis would certainly have a very strong motive for attacking such a weapons convoy to stop these rockets from reaching Hamas.
On the other hand, an Israeli source (Debka.com) reports that it was actually the USAF which destroyed the Iranian weapons convoy. This report indicates a USAF AC-130 gunship from Djibouti destroyed the 17-truck convoy along with 39 “passengers.” An AC-130 gunship would be quite capable of doing this. The Debka source indicates that there was also an Egyptian connection to this event. If the USA destroyed this Iranian weapons shipment to Israel, it also had a strong motive for stopping Hamas from receiving these weapons. If Hamas had received and used these weapons against Tel Aviv and Dimona, the justified Israeli counterstrike could have been the next step in a wider Mideast War which would have drawn in the USA.
Since both the USA and the Israelis had a strong motive to stop this shipment, it is also possible that both may have been involved in the convoy’s destruction. We may never know for sure, but it does demonstrate that more is going on “behind the scenes” in the Mideast than the public is being told. This attack is reminiscent of the annihilation of a Syrian nuclear reactor some time ago by either US or Israeli air forces. Neither claimed the credit for the deed, although whoever did it was very thorough and effective. There are blogs about this attack and the technological questions the raid raised in the archives of this blog site.
While we are on the subject of the Israelis, the EU is putting heavy pressure on the incoming Netanyahu government to accept the “Two State Solution” mantra that has been the part of every “peace process” involving the Israelis and Palestinians. The EU pays no attention to the fact that Yassir Arafat was offered a Two State Solution years ago and he refused it. The fault for there being no Two State Solution lies with the Palestinian leadership, not the Israelis. Also, the Palestinians are now divided into a Hamas-led Gaza and a Fatah-controlled zone. Netanyahu has no real negotiating partner. However, the EU position takes no note of these important realities. The Obama administration is also pressuring the Israelis as Obama is taking a more pro-Muslim position. Obama and many of his top officials refused to even meet with the top Israeli general who was in Washington, DC recently (a recent blog at this site has information on this snub of the Israelis by Obama).
I’m reminded of a prophecy in Isaiah 9:21 that a time will come when both Ephraim and Manasseh both turn against Judah. Since Ephraim constitutes the modern British and Manasseh constitutes the modern USA, it would seem that this prophecy may be heading for fulfillment in our time. We’ll see. Zechariah 12: 3 indicates a time will come in the latter days when all nations will turn against Judah (the Israelis) and that would include Ephraim and Manasseh. However, Zechariah 12 and 14 make it clear that the Creator will not forsake Judah, and he will personally defend Judah and Jerusalem at the end of our age!
Finally, the last link below indicates that Mideast geopolitics may take a turn that will have major prophetic implications. The Vatican apparently wants authority over part of Jerusalem. According to the last link, that will be the message that Pope Benedict will be bringing to the Israelis when he visits the Holy Land in a few weeks. This is already stirring up a hornet’s nest of protest within the new Jewish Sanhedrin and among many Israelis. The Pope will be visiting when Benjamin Netanyahu, an Israeli hawk, is in office. The West, the EU and the Vatican would likely have preferred to be dealing with Prime Minister Olmert and/or President Shimon Peres (the “go to” guys whenever the West wanted exorbitant concessions from the Israelis). Netanyahu will drive a harder bargain when dealing with the Vatican than the “go to” guys ever would have. Netanyahu’s governing coalition would never survive yielding any sovereignty over Jerusalem to the Vatican, unless…..the Israelis received some sovereignty over the Temple Mount on which to build a Third Temple. That might satisfy the Israeli conservatives into yielding a portion of dusty east Jerusalem to the Palestinians for an “Al Quds” capital. Wouldn’t it be great to be a “mouse in the corner” when the secret deals are negotiated!
http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2009/af_sudan0257_03_30.asp
http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=1382
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/130669
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/SendMail.aspx?print=print&type=0&item=130676
