Pope Francis, Shimon Peres, Mahmoud Abbas June 8 Praying for Peace at Vatican

Article Source: uk.reuters.com

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet at the Vatican and pray for peace together at an unprecedented gathering on June 8, the Vatican said on Thursday.

In one of his boldest political gestures since his election in March, 2013, Pope Francis invited the two leaders to come to the Vatican and hold a joint prayer meeting with him during the pontiff's trip to the Holy Land last week.

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said the two had accepted that the meeting would take place on a Sunday afternoon. That morning the pope will be presiding at a Pentacost Sunday service in St Peter's Square.

The pope, who made the surprise invitation at the end of a Mass in Bethlehem last Saturday, told reporters on the plane returning to Rome that he was not getting directly involved in the stalled Mideast peace process, something he said would be "crazy on my part".

But he said he hoped the prayer meeting, which comes after flailing diplomatic efforts to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, would help create an atmosphere that would help the eventual resumption of talks.

"Courage is needed to do this and I am praying to the Lord very much so that these two leaders, these two governments, have the courage to move forward. This is the only path for peace," Francis said on the plane.

The pope said a rabbi and an Islamic official would be present, without giving details. The meeting is expected to take place in either the guest house where the pope lives in the Vatican or part of the modern complex used for papal general audiences.

When he made the invitation in Bethlehem, the pope said he was offering his "home" for the meeting.

The offer came just a month after U.S.-led peace talks collapsed amid bitter, mutual recrimination.

It was not clear, however, how the unusual prayer encounter could break decades of mutual mistrust.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the key Israeli decision-maker, will not be at the prayer meeting. Furthermore, Peres is due to leave office in July.

"We will work together, Jews, Christians and Muslims to bring an end to the conflicts," Peres said on Monday, speaking alongside the pope in Jerusalem.

Star Wars: Israel Produces "Laser Beam" Defense Tech

Story Source Virtual Jerusalem

The Associated Press reported Saturday that Israel has officially unveiled another cutting-edge defense system: a laser-based weapon against short-range missiles.

Dubbed the "Iron Beam," the system users fast-acting laser technology to shoot down incoming rockets at close range. 

"It's exactly like what you see in 'Star Wars,' " said Amit Zimmer, a spokesman for the Rafael Advanced Defense Systems company producing the beam, told the Associated Press. "You see the lasers go up so quickly, like a flash, and the target is finished."

The Iron Beam is designed to take down short-range missiles too fast to be targeted by Israel's wildly successful Iron Dome system, according to the Washington Times.

The technology was designed by 15 engineers over a five-year period, according to Zimmer, and is being pushed to the forefront of the next Singapore Air Show once the project is completed. 

Rafael Advanced Defense Systems is the same company working with the US to develop the David's Sling and Arrow 3 defense systems. 

Arrow 3 is designed to intercept ballistic missiles that have a longer range and higher altitude than those covered by Arrow 2. The system is another vital component of the multi-layered defense system designed to protect the State of Israel, which includes the Arrow systems, the Iron Dome, and David's Sling. Arrow 3 covers the longest range of the missiles. 

David's Sling, which Israeli television said is designed to intercept missiles fired from a distance of 50 to 250 kilometres (30 to 155 miles), is due to cover the gap between Israel's current short-range and long-range defense systems, the Iron Dome and Arrow 2; it will be operational sometime over the next year, according to the most recent reports. 

Zimmer could not confirm the exact range of Iron Beam, according to the Times. However, a military official revealed to Reuters in January that the system would be capable of super-heating warheads with a range of up to seven kilometers. 

Rumors of War:Hezbollah and Hamas rocket threat outpacing Israel's defensive capabilities, expert says

Article Source: Haaretz.com

The Iron Dome anti-missile system in Haifa deployed in January. – Photo: Rami Shlush

Brig. Gen. (res.) Meir Elran of Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies says that as many as 1,500 short- to mid-range rockets could be launched each day in a war that would last for a month.

The Israeli response to the rocket threat still lags behind progress being made byHezbollah, Hamas and other groups, according to a report published this week by Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies.

Brig. Gen. (res.) Meir Elran, head of the institute’s Homeland Security Program, told Haaretz that Israel hasn’t closed the gaps.

According to Elran, in a war that could last a month, as many as 1,500 short- to mid-range rockets might be launched at the north alone each day. And Israel would have to prepare for a war on two fronts – Lebanon and Gaza.

Elran says Israel has greatly improved preparedness in recent years both at Home Front Command and with its five Iron Dome anti-rocket batteries. But he says budgetary problems have slowed the acquisition process.

“Israel has still not made a system-wide decision to increase its investment in defensive measures, even at the expense of offensive capabilities. It still seeks to depend on American money. Israel will purchase a maximum of 10 batteries, when it needs double that number,” Elran said.

“If the IDF had invested even 5 percent of the resources in defense that it invested in offense, we would be in a different place today,” he added.

“It’s no secret that if war breaks out, the IDF will want to deploy the batteries near air force bases so planes can take off and land under rocket fire, and near national infrastructure. In the current state of affairs, we don’t have enough missile batteries to protect population centers.”

According to Elran, another weak point is the rate of Israel’s acquisition of protective kits against chemical attacks. “If the state thinks the threat is tangible, it should complete the protection of the whole population,” Elran said, referring to reports that only 60 percent of Israelis have kits. “If it doesn’t, that’s a sign it doesn’t believe that the threat is real.”

Elran added that the fact the government has not yet decided on a division of responsibilities on the home front shows “mistaken thinking by the Israeli leadership about the threat to the civilian population.”

On Wednesday, the Institute is holding its annual conference on the home front’s preparedness.

Home Front Minister Gilad Erdan, who will address the conference, has been fighting to expand his office’s responsibilities but has met opposition from Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was to decide on the issue, a decision that may be postponed.

Rumors of War: Saudis Aiming Missiles at Israel and Iran

Article Source Israelnationalnews.com

Chinese Ballistic Missiles  

Saudi Arabia is targeting both Israel and Iran with powerful ballistic missiles, new satellite photography shown by military experts to the BritishTelegraph suggests.

Images analyzed by experts at IHS Jane's Intelligence Review has revealed a previously undisclosed surface-to-surface missile base deep in the Saudi desert, with capabilities for hitting both countries, theTelegraph reported on Wednesday.

Analysts who examined the photos spotted two launch pads with markings pointing northwest towards Tel Aviv and northeast towards Tehran, according to the report.

The pads are designed for Saudi Arabia's arsenal of lorry-launched DF 3 missiles, which have a range of 1,500-2,500 miles and can carry a two-ton payload.

The base, believed to have been built within the last five years, gives an insight into Saudi strategic thinking at a time of heightened tensions in the Gulf.

While Saudi Arabia does not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel, it has long maintained discreet back channel communications as part of attempts to promote stability in the region.

The two countries also have a mutual enemy in Iran, though, which has long seen Saudi Arabia as a rival power in the Gulf. Experts fear that if Iran obtains a nuclear weapon, Saudi Arabia would seek to follow suit.

Analysts at IHS Jane's told the Telegraph that the kingdom is currently in the process of upgrading its missiles, although even the DF3, which dates back to the 1980s, is itself potentially big enough to carry a nuclear device.

The missile base, which is at al-Watah, around 125 miles southwest of the Saudi capital, Riyadh, was discovered during a project by IHS Jane's to update their assessment of Saudi Arabia's military capabilities.

It serves as both a training and launch facility, with the missiles stored in an underground silo built into a rocky hillside, according to the Telegraph. To the north of the facility are two circle-shaped launch pads, both with compass-style markings showing the precise direction that the launchers should fire in.

The Chinese-made missiles, which date back to the 1980s, are not remotely-guided and therefore have to be positioned in the direction of their target before firing.

"One appears to be aligned on a bearing of approximately 301 degrees and suggesting a potential Israeli target, and the other is oriented along an azimuth (bearing) of approximately 10 degrees, ostensibly situated to target Iranian locations," said the IHS Jane's article quoted by the Telegraph.

While the lorry-launched missiles can theoretically be fired from any location, the idea of having pre-planned directional markers is to ensure that they can be deployed in accurate fashion as quickly as possible, said Allison Puccioni, an image expert at IHS Jane's.

"There is a marked out spot for the launch truck to park in, which will facilitate an expedited launch," she told the Telegraph.

Robert Munks, deputy editor of IHS Jane's Intelligence Review, told the newspaper, “Our assessment suggests that this base is either partly or fully operational, with the launch pads pointing in the directions of Israel and Iran respectively. We cannot be certain that the missiles are pointed specifically at Tel Aviv and Tehran themselves, but if they were to be launched, you would expect them to be targeting major cities.

"We do not want to make too many inferences about the Saudi strategy, but clearly Saudi Arabia does not enjoy good relations with either Iran or Israel," he added.

Officials at the Saudi Embassy in London did not get back with a response when contacted by The Telegraph. The Israeli Embassy in London said. "We have no comment on this matter."

Israeli Minister: Time to Rebuild Jerusalem 3rd Temple

Source Article Israeltoday.co.il

Housing and Construction Minister Uri Ariel 

An Israeli cabinet minister last week publicly stated that perhaps the time has come to rebuild the biblical Temple on Jerusalem's Temple Mount.

Most Israelis has no aspirations of rebuilding the Temple. Even among those who would like to see the Temple restored, most do not believe Israel can undertake something so controversial absent a direct act of God.

But that didn't stop Housing and Construction Minister Uri Ariel (Jewish Home) from stating that "we need to build a real Temple on the Temple Mount."

Ariel was speaking at a press event in the Samarian community of Shilo, where archaeologists have uncovered remains of the biblical Tabernacle that was located there for hundreds of years before King David's conquest of Jerusalem.

Israel conducts Airstrikes inside Syria hitting Hezbollah

Turkey Says a ' New Order ' in the Middle East Must Include Palestinian State

Israel Prep for Next War with Hezbollah

Source Associated Press

Matthew 24:6 click here to read.

REVIVIM JUNCTION, Israel (AP) — On a dusty field in Israel's southern desert, the military is gearing up for the next battle against a familiar foe: Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.

As the Syrian civil war intensifies, military planners are growing increasingly jittery that the fighting could spill over into Israel, potentially dragging the Islamic militant group that is allied with President Bashar Assad into the fray. After battling Hezbollah to a stalemate in 2006, the Israeli military says it has learned key lessons and is prepared to inflict heavy damage on the group if fighting begins again.

The Israel-Lebanon border has remained largely quiet since that last war. But Hezbollah has since replenished its arsenal and has waged a shadow war with Israel around the world. The fall of the Syrian leader or alternatively an Israel strike against Hezbollah's other main patron, Iran, could spark another full-fledged war.

"There is an increase in tension because of Syria," a senior commander in the military's northern command said about a possible battle with Hezbollah. The commander, who traveled south to observe Thursday's exercise here, spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military protocol.

In 2006, weeks of Israeli air raids killed more than 1,000 people, including hundreds of Hezbollah fighters, and key infrastructure was destroyed. But the heavy onslaught failed to prevent Hezbollah from firing some 4,000 rockets into Israel, and the fighting ended in a U.N.-brokered truce.

While the truce has largely held, Israel says Hezbollah has systematically restocked its arsenal with tens of thousands of even more powerful rockets and missiles capable of striking virtually anywhere in the Jewish state. Israeli military officials frequently say it is only a matter of time before the next war erupts.

In the meantime, Israel and Hezbollah have fought a covert war outside the borders of their countries. In 2008, Hezbollah's top military commander Imad Mughniyeh was killed in a car bombing in the Syrian capital of Damascus, an attack widely thought to be the work of Israeli agents.

Hezbollah, for its part, is thought to be responsible for a bus bombing in a Bulgarian resort town last July that killed five Israeli tourists and their Bulgarian driver, as well as failed attempts to bomb Israeli diplomats in Thailand, India and Georgia.

Israeli military officials believe that Hezbollah, which is preoccupied with its own domestic problems and the precarious position of its Syrian ally, has no desire to reignite hostilities. But they say the Syrian civil war, as well as Israel's tensions with Iran, could easily upset the fragile balance.

As Assad's grip on power weakens, Israeli military planners fear that Syria, backed by Hezbollah, might try to open a new front in order to deflect attention. Israel also fears that sophisticated Syrian weapons, including a chemical arsenal, could be transferred to Hezbollah. Israel has all but confirmed it carried out an airstrike in Syria in January that destroyed a shipment of anti-aircraft missiles allegedly bound to Hezbollah.

Likewise, an Israeli attack on Iran would almost certainly draw a Hezbollah reprisal. Israel has repeatedly hinted it is prepared to attack Iran's nuclear installations if it determines that international sanctions and diplomacy have failed to curb the Iranian nuclear program. Israel and much of the West believe Iran is developing a nuclear weapon, a charge Iran denies.

Earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned of the potential link between Iran and Hezbollah.

"A nuclear-armed Iran would dramatically increase terrorism by giving terrorists a nuclear umbrella," he told members of the pro-Israel lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee, known as AIPAC. "That means that Iran's terror proxies like Hezbollah ... will be emboldened to attack America, Israel and others because they will be backed by a power with atomic weapons."

Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has warned that anyone who thinks Hezbollah is vulnerable because of Syria's civil war is mistaken. He also said the group has all the weapons it needs in case war breaks out with Israel, and it would not need to import them from allies Syria and Iran.

"The resistance will not be silent regarding any aggression against Lebanon," Nasrallah said last month.

Israel is also taking a fiercer tone, saying it will act with far less restraint than it did in 2006, when it took out electric grids, roads and city blocks during the month long war that was sparked by a deadly cross-border raid by Hezbollah. Military officials say entire villages that host Hezbollah's arsenal would be considered fair targets.

During Thursday's exercise, near the Revivim collective farm, scores of Israeli reservists in full battle gear participated in a drill meant to simulate Israel's capture of a strategic hill overlooking a southern Lebanese village.

In the drill, three tanks kicked up dust as they charged forward and fired live rounds. In front of them, groups of soldiers lay flat on the ground and opened fire with propped-up guns as other soldiers stormed up the hill. Their targets were small cutout cartoon heads meant to represent Hezbollah fighters.

On a nearby Israeli army base, reservists have also been practicing urban warfare recently on a set made to resemble an Arab village, complete with concrete homes, narrow alleyways and mosque minarets.

Military officials say that while Hezbollah has upgraded its capabilities, Israel has also made important offensive and defensive changes since 2006, when it came under heavy criticism for its lack of preparedness and perceived sloppy performance.

They say the military now possesses sophisticated real-time intelligence and upgraded drones. For any potential land operation, it has fortified its armored personnel vehicles, activated a new tank defense that can shoot down anti-tank rockets and recently deployed "Iron Dome," a defense system that shot down hundreds of rockets during a recent round of fighting against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

Despite its arsenal and political clout in Lebanon, Hezbollah's maneuvering space has been significantly reduced in recent years.

Hezbollah still suffers from the fallout of the 2006 war, which many in Lebanon accused Hezbollah of provoking by killing and kidnapping Israeli soldiers from the border area. Since then, the group has come under increasing pressure at home to disarm. Though Hezbollah has been accused of fighting alongside the military in Syria, the group has largely been cautious with regards to the Syria conflict, knowing that any action it takes could backfire.

In addition, the group's reputation has been tarnished because its leader has supported Arab Spring uprisings in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, but has backed the Assad regime in Syria.

Ahmadinejad Claims Iran is “Already a Nuclear State”

Source Jewish Voice International Ministries

In an interview with Egyptian media published yesterday, Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is making the first visit between leaders of the two nations since the Iranian revolution in 1979, declared that Iran is “already a nuclear state.” He vowed that Iran would resist those who want them to “go backward.” In addition, he spewed out a number of anti-Semitic remarks, including the claim that the “Zionists are taking over the places of wealth, money, and politics in deceiving the world.”

On the visit, Ahmadinejad offered financial help to the Egyptian government, which is struggling on the brink of economic collapse. Things have gotten so bad in Egypt that the government’s official advice to the people (according to a report in the Washington Post this week) is to “avoid overeating” and they announced they are cutting the food subsidy by 400 calories per person per day. The decline of tourism and foreign aid since the radical Muslim Brotherhood took power has taken a serious toll on the Egyptian economy.

And on Israel’s northern border, the fighting in the Syrian civil war this week has been reported to be the heaviest in months. The capital of city of Damascus, which has been heavily defended by government forces, has come under intense attack. The ongoing struggle places the fate of Syria’s chemical and biological weapons in doubt. The Israelis reportedly have struck at least two military targets in Syria and neighboring Lebanon, including what is believed to have been a chemical weapons research facility.

Palestine Leader Says Israel Cannot Keep “One Inch” of Land

Source Jewish Voice Ministry International

It received very little attention in the Western press, but as Jewish People across Israel and around the world began their celebration of Chanukah last weekend, Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal laid out the terms of the struggle for Israel’s survival in the clearest way possible. Appearing in Gaza at an event marking the 25th anniversary of the Hamas terrorist organization, Mashaal declared that the Palestinians will never recognize Israel’s right to exist.

Mashaal said, “From the sea [Mediterranean] to the river [Jordan], from north to south, we will not give up any part of Palestine — it is our country, our right and our homeland.” Ominously he added, “We are all one,” speaking of Palestinians residing in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and inside Israel. There is no room for the Jewish state in the minds of most Palestinians.

Yet the United Nations recently voted overwhelmingly to recognize Palestine as a “non-member entity” (the same legal status accorded to the Vatican) and the world is pressuring Israel to negotiate a peace deal with the very people who publicly declare that Israel should cease to exist. If the situation were not so deadly serious it would be funny. How is Israel supposed to make peace with those who demand Israel be destroyed? It cannot happen.

Though the threat is very real, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is also real. He has promised to guard the Jewish People, and we have a responsibility to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. During the Chanukah celebration, I ask that you join with us in a special time of prayer—prayers that are so urgently needed right now.

Psalm 122:6

King James Version (KJV)

⁶ Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.

United Nation Recognized Palestine as a State

Source ynetnews.com


The Palestinian leadership is in a state of euphoria following its success in Thursday's United Nations General Assembly vote. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas congratulated the Palestinian people on Friday for their "victory in the UN."

Abbas thanked the Arab and Islamist states, which he said had always stood by the Palestinians and the Palestinian issue.

The Palestinian president promised to continue the national struggle, "until we wave the Palestinian flag over east Jerusalem."

According to Abbas, the UN resolution was a victory for peace, freedom and international law.

Shortly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the eight countries which voted with Israel against the Palestinian bid, Abbas thanked the 138 countries that voted in favor of upgrading the status of Palestine. Forty-one countries abstained in the General Assembly vote.

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad expressed his satisfaction with the diplomatic move as well, saying that "this achievement has greatly benefitted the efforts invested by the PA on all levels in order to prepare for the establishment of a state."

He noted that the international community must implement what the international law requires in order for the Palestinian people to obtain their rights, freedom and independence.

"The PA is in the final stage before becoming an independent state capable of providing services to its people."

Hamas counting on 'heroic resistance'

Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal told Reuters that the de facto recognition of a sovereign Palestinian state should be seen alongside Gaza's latest conflict with Israel as a single, bold strategy that could empower all Palestinians.

"I told Abu Mazen (Abbas) we want this move to be part of a national Palestinian strategy" that includes "the (armed) resistance which excelled in Gaza and gave an example of the ability of the Palestinian people to resist and steadfastly confront the occupier," a confident Mashaal said.


Mashaal, who will visit the Gaza Strip next week, said the short war which claimed 162 Palestinian lives and five Israelis was concluded on terms set by the Palestinian Islamist movement and ended its isolation, creating a new mood that could lead to reconciliation with Abbas' Fatah.

He compared Israel's mood of dejection with the jubilation of Palestinians in Gaza and across the West Bank led by Abbas, insisting that "for the first time a ceasefire was achieved on conditions set by Hamas, and in the presence of the Americans."

The Hamas prime minister in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, praised the "diplomatic victory," linking the Israeli operation in Gaza to Thursday's vote.

"What happened at the General Assembly is the height of the resistance and sacrifice of the Palestinians, and confirms the victory in Gaza. We must persist with the resistance and jihad."

Izzat Rishaq, a senior Hamas figure in exile, said he welcomed the UN vote as an achievement, but that Hamas counted on "heroic resistance" to create a Palestinian state – underlining the group's deep ideological rift with Abbas who opposes violence.

The Islamic Jihad chose to downplay the resolution. Several hours before the vote, when the results were already known, the organization's Secretary-General Ramadan Salah said his movement did not welcome the Abbas plan but would not lash out at it.

"What Palestine are we talking about? If we were talking about the whole Palestinian homeland from the river to the sea, we would naturally welcome it, but if we are talking about setting a ceiling for the Palestinian rights (the 1967 borders), then as we said sincerely to the PA and our bothers in Egypt – we don't welcome this plan but won't act against it."


Joel 3:2 says,"I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land."

Urgent Prayer Alert: Washington and Jerusalem at Odd over Iran Nuke Program

Source: Jewish Voices Ministries International

Just got this e-mail this morning from Jewish Voices Ministries International, making an appeal for urgent prayer in regards to USA President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

   

Tensions Between Washington and Jerusalem Break Into Open View

  

It is no secret that the relationship between U.S. President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has been strained. The two men reportedly do not trust each other, and the tension between their differing objectives has only increased the divide. The most central issue is the one posed by Iran’s nuclear program. The recent NIE (National Intelligence Estimate) report from Washington revealed that Iran is making much more rapid progress in their nuclear work than had previously been thought.

Each side faces a critical upcoming event. For Washington, that event is the November election. An outbreak of war in the Middle East would have serious economic impact on the entire world, and that in turn could greatly influence the outcome of the vote, and they are striving to prevent war prior to the election. For Jerusalem, that event is when Iran reaches the “zone of immunity”—the point at which conventional military action will not be able to prevent them from completing their nuclear work.

The latest reports are that Iran has now placed at least 5,000 centrifuges in the underground nuclear facility at Fordow. This site, constructed deep inside a mountain near the Iranian holy city of Qom, would be difficult if not impossible to destroy with anything short of a tactical nuclear attack or a ground invasion.

While both sides agree that a nuclear Iran is not acceptable, their assessment of the time remaining to solve the problem is very different. Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S., Michael Oren, said Israel’s clock is “ticking faster” than the one in America. It remains unclear whether Israel will take action before November, and if so, to what extent America will support them.

It is crucial that we continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and I encourage you today to do so from a position of faith. We do not know the future, but God does, and He is in control of everything that happens on the world stage.

Israel ex-spy warns against "messianic" war on Iran

Story Source Reuters







Former Israeli Spymaster Yuval Diskin Warns Against Attacking Iran

A former Israeli spymaster has branded the country's leaders unfit to tackle the Iranian nuclear program and "messianic" in the strongest criticism from a security veteran of threats to launch a pre-emptive war.

Other veterans have come out against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ehud Barak.

But the censure from Yuval Diskin, who retired as head of the Shin Bet domestic intelligence service last year, was especially strong and unusual in using the language of religious fervor that Israelis associate with Islamist foes.

"I have no faith in the prime minister, nor in the defence minister," Diskin said in remarks broadcast by Israeli media on Saturday. "I really don't have faith in a leadership that makes decisions out of messianic feelings."

The Prime Minister's Office and Defence Ministry had no immediate response to Diskin's remarks. But Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman rebuked Diskin and questioned his motives.

The catastrophic terms with which Netanyahu and Barak describe the prospect of a nuclear-armedIran have stirred concern in Israel and abroad of a possible strike against its uranium enrichment program. Iran says the project is entirely peaceful and has promised wide-ranging reprisals for any attack.

World powers, sharing Israeli suspicions Iran has a covert bomb-making plan, are trying to curb it through sanctions and negotiations. Those talks resume in Baghdad next month, but Barak on Thursday rated their chance of succeeding as low.

Although Israel has long threatened a pre-emptive strike if diplomacy fails, some experts believe that could be a bluff to keep up pressure on the Iranians, making it harder to interpret the swirl of comments from the security establishment.

In a commentary on Diskin's remarks, Amos Harel of the liberal newspaper Haaretz wrote that the temperature was rising ahead of the nuclear talks.

"Nothing has been determined in the Iranian story, and the spring is about to boil over into another summer of tension," he wrote.

FALSE IMPRESSION

Diskin spoke days after Israel's top military commander, Lieutenant-General Benny Gantz, told Haaretz he viewed Iran as "very rational" and unlikely to build a bomb, comments that apparently undermined the case for a strike.

The former Shin Bet chief was specifically damning of Netanyahu and Barak, who have often crafted strategy alone and whose rapport dates back four decades to when they served together in a top-secret commando unit.

"They're creating a false impression about the Iranian issue," Diskin told a private gathering on Friday, where the comments were recorded. "They're appealing to the stupid public, if you'll pardon me for the phrasing, and telling them that if Israel acts, there won't be an (Iranian) nuclear bomb."

Diskin said he was not necessarily opposed to an attack on Iran, though he cited experts who argue this risked backfiring by accelerating its nuclear program.

Netanyahu's former Mossad foreign intelligence director, Meir Dagan, last year also ridiculed the Israeli war option.

Diskin went a step further by saying that Netanyahu and Barak were not up to the job of opening an unprecedented front with Iran and, potentially, with its allies on Israel's borders.

Netanyahu is a second-term premier with solid public approval ratings and a broad conservative coalition. Barak, a former prime minister, is Israel's most decorated soldier.

"I have seen them up close," Diskin said. "They are not messiahs, the two of them, and they are not people who I personally, at least, trust to be able to lead Israel into an event on such a scale, and to extricate it."

Foreign Minister Lieberman said questions such as how and if to tackle Iran "are not made by the prime minister and defence minister. They are usually made in the security cabinet or cabinet."

Lieberman suggested to Israel's Channel Two television that Diskin might be angry at being passed over for the job as head of the Mossad.

Prince of Persia: Iran President the 21st Century Haman

The current President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, believes his presi­dency is for the purpose of the apocalypse.  He believes that if he is able to destroy of the nation of Israel through nu­clear holocaust and bring about war, chaos, and bloodshed in the world, it will usher in the hidden 12th Imam, otherwise known as the Islamic messiah.  President Ahmadinejad has claimed the uprisings/riots in Egypt, North Africa, and around the Middle East is the work of the 12th Imam  .

Principalities and Prince of Persia

Principalities control the main beliefs of the people in a region or territory. In other words, the people of a particular region or terri­tory are under the authority of that specific demonic principality. Demonic principalities have long existed in Iran (ancient Persia).  Daniel 10:13 speaks about how the prince of Persia held up Daniel’s response to his prayer for 21days.  This same principality is at work today in Iran.  We have to remember that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world and against spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:12). One can liken it to a puppeteer pull­ing the strings of a puppet. The nation of Iran may look like its being controlled by President Ahmadinejad (fleshly leader), but in actuality Iran is ruled and controlled by the demonic principality of the prince of Persia.  Ahmadinejad is the puppet and the prince of Persia is the puppeteer pulling the strings.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Hatred of Israel

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has an intense hatred for the nation of Israel.  He has stated on record that the World War II holo­caust of the Jews never happened.  Also, in June 2006 he stated that he wanted Israel wiped off the map.  It is not a new thing in Persian history that a leader has intense hatred for Jews. The book of Esther tells us the story of Haman the Agagite, the Prime Minister of Per­sia.  He devised a sinister plan to destroy all the Jews in the Persian empire at that time (Esther 3:6).  The same spirit that drove Haman to destroy the Jews in Persia has been passed down through the centuries...from Antiochus Ephiphanes’s plot in the second century B.C., to Adolph Hitler’s plot in Europe’s Nazi Germany during World War II.

Nazi/Islamic/Iranian Connection

Ironically it is no surprise Ahmadinejad personifies the Persian version of Hitler.  Iran had close ties with Nazi Germany before and during World War II.  Iran was allied with Nazi Germany and was a supplier of oil to Nazi forces in Austria and Czechoslovakia.  During this period in Tehran it was common to see placards in the market­place that declared, “In heaven Allah is your master, and on Earth it is Adolf Hitler (source, source).” Tehran was used as a Nazi base in the Middle East during World War II. Nazi-Germany had a strong base of Arab-Muslims throughout the Middle East including the Palestinian Lib­eration Organization whose famous leader was Yasser Arafat, and Ba’ath Party the political party of the former Iraqi President Sad­dam Hussein.  Also the Muslim Brotherhood had connection with Hitler run Nazi-Germany.

Is Ahmadinejad Under the Influence of Demon/Jinn?

Ahmadinejad claims to hear voices that drive him to take jihad on Israel, the United States, and the western world.  He is determined to acquire and use nuclear weapons. This man is not afraid of the United Na­tion sanction.  His belief is that he is on mission from Allah, and his goal is to see the rise of the Islamic messiah.  In his world all Jews and Christians are infidels and must be put to death.

Some of the Iranian clerics claim that some of President Ahmadinejad associates are into black magic, and the summoning of genie's(demons/jinns). Ahmadinejad and some of the members of his cabinet consult with one of the most powerful sorcereres in Iran, Seyed Sadigh, to summons his jinn and to lead and direct government officials to give direction(source).

The spirit of the prince of Persia is strong in Iran. The same spirit that once possessed Haman is now leading it’s new host body Mah­moud Ahmadinejad with the goal of destroying the nation of Israel.