Thursday, August 16, 2007

The Middle East in Focus

This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:

"And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it." (Zechariah 12:3)

1. Netanyahu wins Likud primaries - Ynet News

Likud party Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu remained in control of the party after winning primary elections Tuesday night. (Please see bulletin on this, below.)

2. Senior U.S. official to visit Israel on military aid - Reuters

U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns will travel to Israel this week to discuss the proposed $30 billion, 10-year U.S. military aid package for the Jewish state, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday.

3. Arab official: Syrian general mulling war with Israel - Ynet News

In Damascus, it is forbidden to photograph him and diffuse pictures that can identify him. He has tight security around him at all times and avoids attending public events. General Asef Shawkat, the head of Syrian military intelligence, has good reasons to be in hiding.

4. Nasrallah warns of 'surprise' should another war erupt in Lebanon - Ynet

NewsThousands of Hizbullah's supporters gathered in Beirut Tuesday to mark the first anniversary of the organization's "victory" over Israel in the Second Lebanon War.

5. Hamas TV's Children's Show Star Says She Would Be Proud to Be a Martyr - Fox News

Saraa wants to be a doctor. If she can't, the young star of Hamas television's best-known children's show said, she would be proud to become a martyr. Saraa says little Jewish girls should be forced from their homes in Israel so that Palestinians can return to their land.

6. Bulletin: Likud Primary Ending With a Fight - ICEJ News

Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to handily win today's party primary over his main challenger Moshe Feiglin, but supporters of both candidates are turning the race into a real fight. . . literally. Fights were reported as Feiglin campaign observers were forcibly removed from one voting station minutes shortly after polls opened at 10:00 am on Tuesday. Meantime on the eve of the primary, Feiglin blasted Netanyahu for being unconnected to Judaism and even charged him with operating his campaign from an office in Tel Aviv loaned to him by the Messianic Jewish ministry Dugit, an accusation that proved false. The religiously observant Feiglin also insisted Netanyahu is so close to Evangelical Christians that he torpedoed anti-missionary legislation back in 1998. The Likud primary results are expected around midnight.