PM Benjamin Netanyahu on 30 May 2017 said that any future peace agreement reached with the Palestinians must include an Israeli military presence in Judea & Samaria, and offered insight on security concerns the government may have following a prospective deal. Netanyahu said that "In any peace agreement we [Israel] will have to maintain military control of all the territory west of the Jordan River. This is the truth and I will continue saying this truth." Netanyahu indicated that an Israeli military withdrawal from all areas of Judea & Samaria would create a vacuum prone to takeover by extremists, who could pose a threat to Israeli security. (J. Post) Should anyone think it far-fetched reasoning for Israel to be concerned about creating a vacuum for Islamists by surrendered territory for a false peace agreement: In 2005, Israel uprooted every soldier and Jew living in the Gaza Strip hoping it would encourage peace. Instead, Hamas, a terrorist organization that calls for genocide of all Jews, quickly came to power in that area, has launched tens of thousands of rockets and missiles at Israeli civilians and provoked three wars against the Jewish state since 2008. [Comment]

The Palestinian Authority has paid out $1.12 billion over the past four years to terrorists and their families, Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser, former director general of the Ministry of Strategic Affairs, told Knesset members on 29 May 2017. He added that PA claims that the payments are social welfare benefits are false. The Palestinians' own budgetary documents "clearly state that these are salaries and not welfare payments. The Palestinians are trying to depict themselves as supporting peace while they are still paying the families of terrorists," he said. "Assurance of a cash prize for acts of terror is encouragement to terrorism, and is against international law." Dore Gold, a former Foreign Ministry director-general, said, "The idea that a body such as the Palestinian Authority pays money as compensation to families who lost their sons as they were engaged in terror is unacceptable and contradicts common sense. Former USA Secretary of State Colin Powell called it 'providing an incentive to terrorism.'" (Times of Israel) Please continue to intercede that the despicable practice of paying salaries to jailed terrorists and their families - thanks to foreign aid money provided by USA and other taxpayers - will be exposed again and again and brought to a complete end. [Comment]

 

1. The Iron Dome Rocket Defence System

2. The Trophy Active Tank Defence System

3. The EyeBall Bot

4. The Elbit Skylark

USA President Donald Trump may have left Israel, but his special envoy to the Middle East Jason Greenblatt will be returning to the region on Thurs. 25 May 2017 in an attempt to promote Trump's peace policies. The USA ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley will also be paying a three-day visit to Israel at the beginning of June 2017 with her Israeli counterpart Danny Danon. Haley, who has championed Israel's cause from her first day at the UN, will meet with President Rivlin and the Prime Minister and will take a helicopter trip over Israel. She will also visit the Old City, the Western Wall and Yad Vashem. She is also expected to visit the Palestinian Authority. (Arutz-7) [Comment]

Israel was not the only country in the Middle East happy to see Barack Obama out of the White House. President Donald Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia last weekend served as a very public slap in the face of his predecessor. And it was the Saudis, not Trump, who delivered the blow. Saudi newspapers Okaz and Al-Madina noted that there was a lot of frustration with Obama's defeatist policies regarding Iran, and that Saudi Arabia sees Trump as heralding a new era of strength in the face of such enemies. Al-Sharq al-Awsat, a Saudi-owned newspaper published in London, went a step further, publishing a caricature of a wreath being laid at a tombstone reading "Obama's Policies." In the days leading up to his trip, a number of regional officials, like the Foreign Minister of Bahrain, said that Trump understands the Middle East far better than Obama could ever hope to. (Israel Today) [Comment]

Jerusalem Day began Tues. evening, 23 May, 2017 with the official ceremony marked at the Western Wall, attended by officials that included President Reuven Rivlin, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot and Jerusalem Affairs Minister Ze’ev Elkin. Rivlin called Jerusalem the "heart of the State of Israel” and described the Western Wall as the heart of the city. "We gave our all for Jerusalem because we knew that on Jerusalem we must insist,” Rivlin said. "We will always insist on Jerusalem. There never has been, there never will be any other reality. Here, in these stones, beats the heart of the Jewish people. Jerusalem is the heart of the State of Israel and the Kotel is the heart of Jerusalem.”

Rivlin said he clearly remembered the moment he heard confirmation of the liberation of Jerusalem’s Old City while serving as a reserve intelligence officer in the Jerusalem Brigade. "When I heard over the two-way radio the voices of my fellow soldiers, we could hardly believe it: ‘The Temple Mount is in our hands!’ I can never forget this,” the president said. "We all felt the history – and the future – of Israel, of the Jewish people, rested on our shoulders. And with that, a great joy filled us all, across the city, across the world. We had returned home – to Jerusalem, to Yerushalayim.” A ceremony was held earlier in the day at Ammunition Hill to honor the soldiers who fought in the battles for Jerusalem. During the ceremony medals were awarded to some 1,800 commanders and veterans of the Six Day War, as well as to the families who lost loved ones to the war. More than 180 Israeli soldiers fell along the Jerusalem front over the course of three days of fighting against Jordanian troops, in what was considered one of the fiercest and bloodiest battles of the war. (J.Post) "Then you will know that I, the Lord your God, dwell in Zion, my holy hill. Jerusalem will be holy; never again will foreigners invade her,” Joel 3:17 [Comment]

 After their meeting in Jerusalem on Mon. 22 May 2017, Israeli PM Netanyahu thanked USA President Donald Trump for his "reassertion of American leadership in the Middle East.” Netanyahu said in remarks before the two leaders, joined by their wives, sat down for dinner, "I look forward to working closely with you to confront the dangers we face together in this violent and volatile Middle East. I believe that together we can roll back Iran’s march of aggression and terror in this region and we can thwart Iran’s unbridled ambition to become a nuclear weapons state.” Furthermore, Netanyahu praised Trump for his deep commitment to Israel’s security, its well-being and its future. "I have no doubt that as we work together, the alliance between our countries will grow ever stronger,” he said. Trump responded, "We have so many opportunities in front of us. But we must seize them together. We must take advantage of the situation and there are many, many things that can happen that would never have been able to happen before.” Regarding a potential Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, Trump stated, "I have a feeling we’re going to get there eventually, I hope.” (Algemeiner) [Comment]

The Trump administration declared this week, the President is in "Jerusalem, Israel," for a series of meetings with Israeli officials, a proclamation that breaks with years of American policy refraining from stating that the city of Jerusalem is part of Israel. Senior Trump administration officials had ignited a wave of controversy over the past several weeks when discussing Jerusalem, with some top officials refusing to say that the ancient city is part of Israel. Decades of USA policy has refrained from formally labeling Jerusalem as part of Israel due to concerns this could negatively impact the Middle East peace process, in which Palestinian leaders have staked a claim to the city as their future capital. Ahead of a joint press conference with Israeli PM Netanyahu, the White House, on its official website, provided a live stream of the event. Prior to its start, the White House included a frame stating, "President Trump gives remarks with Prime Minister Netanyahu." The location provided was "Jerusalem, Israel." The statement appears to be part of an effort to normalize this language, which is widely backed by USA lawmakers and senior officials in the administration, sources said. (Wash. Free Beacon) [Comment]

Speaking at celebrations on Sunday 21 May 2017, marking 50 years since the reunification of Jerusalem, PM Benjamin Netanyahu said, "Fifty years ago, we didn't occupy, we liberated. By the heroism of our warriors and the love of our people, Jerusalem was liberated. Jerusalem was and always will be the capital of Israel. The Temple Mount and the Western Wall will always remain under Israeli sovereignty." The event included an audiovisual show projected on the walls of the Old City and the Tower of David. (Ha'aretz) "I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them," says the Lord your God.” Amos 9:15 [Comment]

 Jerusalem Day is an Israeli national holiday commemorating the reunification of Jerusalem and the establishment of Israeli control over the Old City in the aftermath of the June 1967 Six-Day War. On Wed. 24 May 2017, Israel will celebrate 50 years of Jerusalem's reunification. During the week of 21 May to 25 May 2017, the Jerusalem Municipality is offering a wide variety of attractions and shows for the benefit of residents and visitors. The event "Jerusalem Celebrates 50", which includes a breathtaking audio-visual display shown on the Old City walls and a variety of performances, will take place across the city. Mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat said, "50 years have passed since Jerusalem has been united, and this year we will celebrate this with a wide variety of events, allowing more and more people to connect with Jerusalem and take part in the festivities. I invite all the residents and visitors to come join the celebrations in honor of the reunification of our nation’s capital." (Janglo) "Rejoice with those who rejoice,” Rom. 12:15 [Comment]