JORDAN OPPOSES PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD BID AT UNITED NATIONS!
by Ryan Jones (Israel Today News)

To the surprise of many, Jordan will side with Israel, the US and European powers this September when the Palestinian Authority petitions the UN to recognize an independent Palestinian state.

United Arab Emirates newspaper al-Bayan reported on Wednesday that the Jordanian regime has decided to vote against a unilateral declaration of independence by the Palestinians.

“Jordan’s top national interests will be in danger if the Palestinian Authority declares statehood unilaterally – especially in everything related to the issue of refugees, water, Jerusalem, and the borders,” a senior Jordanian official told the newspaper.

Palestinian Arabs actually make up about 60 percent of Jordan’s own population, meaning the Bedouin-ruled kingdom would be leaned on heavily by a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria. There is even speculation that the Palestinian Arabs could eventually try to seize control of Jordan.

The decision by Jordan to oppose Palestinian statehood, at least via a unilateral declaration, is further evidence of the danger such a state will pose to the region, and the burden it will be on the international community.

ISRAEL WARNS ASSAD HE IS ON DEATH LIST IF HE ATTACKS ISRAEL!
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu (Arutz Sheva News)

A Kuwaiti newspaper reports that Israel has warned Syrian President Bashar Assad that if he will be targeted if he tries to start a war with Israel to take the glare off his brutal suppression of the uprising in his country.

The al-Jarida newspaper reported that the warning was sent through mediators in Turkey following intelligence reports of exceptional movements of Syrian troops and re-location of long-range missiles.

Israel last month said there was clear evidence that the Syrian regime paid residents to storm the Israeli border at the Golan Heights and engage the army, which killed approximately a dozen Syrian Arabs in clashes.

“It’s almost a cliché – this is what he [Assad] always does. He’s under pressure at home, so he deflects attention,” said Andrew Tabler, a Syria expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and quoted by the British business news site IBTimes.

He said that Assad tried the same tactic in the Second Lebanon War in 2006 “by rallying the people around resistance to Israel, and this time it’s with the Palestinian cause. This is not going to work.”

Despite mounting opposition to Assad, Syrians are united in their hatred for Israel and their demand for the Golan Heights, where approximately 50 percent of the population now is Jewish.

The protest movement in Syria has not subsided, but Assad also has not backed off from using brute force to gun down demonstrators, whom the government has labeled as “armed gangs.”

The regime allowed 200 protest leaders to meet in Damascus this week, but activists said that Syria has arrested more than 1,000 people in the last seven days, including 100 students at Damascus University following a large anti-government rally.

IBTimes noted that although the protest movement exacerbates Israel’s fear of Assad’s next moves, “it seems however unrealistic to think that Assad would attack Israel since he knows that is one thing the country’s western allies will not allow him to do.”

SINKING ECONOMY MAY OVERTHROW ASSAD OF SYRIA!
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu (Arutz Sheva News)

Syrian President Bashar Assad’s brutal suppression of the Arab Spring uprising cannot overcome a new obstacle to his remaining in power – a crumbling economy.

Hotels are empty, sanctions have cut exports, and the currency has dropped by 17 percent, undermining the comfort of the urban middle class that so far has not been a major force in the uprising that began nearly three months ago.

Assad warned in his recent televised speech of “the collapse of the Syrian economy.”

“We as businessmen want a solution, and we can’t wait forever,” Mohammed Zaion, a garment dealer told The New York Times. “The President should find a way out of this crisis, or he should leave it to others. We need a solution, whatever that solution might be.”

The uprising has crippled the $8 billion a year tourist industry as Europeans and Turks look elsewhere. The only inflow of tourists has come from Iranian Muslims visiting holy sites in Syria.

The official government news agency SANA has quoted economists claiming that the sanctions have had a limited impact and that the drop in exports to Europe actually may be a blessing in disguise because it forces Syria to look to China and Latin American to open up new markets.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem asserted earlier this month that Syria would forget that “Europe is on the map” and find markets to the east and south.

However, the time it takes for those markets to develop as the clock ticks away on the present tense. Syria’s state-run oil company has been forced to cut daily exports by 37 percent, according to a shipping schedule seen by Bloomberg News.

Canada’s Suncor Energy opened a new natural gas plant in Syria last year but now is worried about its image as it tries to uphold ”the company’s values,” the company told the Financial Times.

NETANYAHU TO ABBAS: “JUST SAY THE SIX WORDS”!
by Gil Ronen (Arutz Sheva News)

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu called on Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas to “just say six words – ‘I will accept the Jewish state” – in his address to the Jewish Agency Board of Governors Tuesday.

“Palestinian society is split now between those who actively are prepared to use force, violence, terror and war to wipe us out and those who refuse stand up to that first half,” he said. “That’s basically the division there. This remains the heart of the problem.”

Nevertheless, he added, “I understand that we will have to have a historic compromise which is very painful, so I stood before my people, the people of Israel, and I said numerous times that I will accept a Palestinian state. Now President Abbas must stand before his people and he has to say these six words, ‘I will accept the Jewish State.'”

“He has to say it. And I will repeat this over and over and over again because it is the attempt to fudge, it’s the attempt to fudge and evade and obscure this essential component of peace, the removal of this basic obstacle to peace, that is required, and this is what the international community must face up to.”

Regarding the demilitarization of the future “Palestinian state,” Netanyahu repeated the formulations he used in his speech to the joint session of Congress.

“We don’t want a repeat of what happened when we withdrew from Gaza or from South Lebanon. I believe that this will require for Israel to maintain a long-term military presence along the Jordan River. There will be arguments about sovereignty, about territory, but I think that… demilitarization and a long-term military presence along the Jordan River are essential to guaranteeing any peace. A peace you cannot defend will not hold. A peace you can defend will.”

Netanyahu said Israel would incorporate within its final borders “what are called the settlement blocs, these large, urban communities that are fairly dense and concentrated alongside Greater Tel Aviv and Greater Jerusalem, and other areas of critical, strategic and national importance…”

“We believe also that Jerusalem must remain united, under Israeli sovereignty. It’s the only time in its millennial history that it has assured the free and unfettered access of all three monotheistic religions to their holy places.”

OBAMA’S PLAN TO ISLAMICIZE AMERICA!
by Victor Mordechai (Israel Today News)

At a meeting of the David Allen Lewis “Eschatology Club” a year ago in Springfield, Missouri, where I was the featured speaker, I was told by the organizers that in the previous monthly meeting, Pastor Don Jones made a disturbing statement about President Barack Obama’s plan to Islamicize America.

Jones went to one of his orphanages in Haiti after the massive earthquake there and met with a senior UN official, who said Obama had told him that the US would be a Muslim country by 2016, or by the end of his second term in office.

While that may seem far-fetched, it is not beyond the realm of possibility. First, Obama’s biological father was a Muslim— which makes the President a Muslim. His stepfather was an Indonesian Muslim who raised Obama as a Muslim in a mosque and madrassa (Islamic religious school) in Indonesia until age 11. His halfbrothers in Kenya are Muslims.

My wife Rachel, who is a radio and TV monitor in the Arabic language for Israel Radio in Jerusalem, has picked up many broadcasts indicating that the Arabs see Obama as a Muslim. In one broadcast prior to the 2008 elections, the Saudis claimed that “we will have a Muslim in the White House.”

Another Saudi broadcast said: “Obama’s job is to terminate the Shiite threat [Iran] and the Jewish threat [Israel]. And if he cannot do this, he should pack his bags and go home.”

America has always been a Judeo- Christian nation, but demographically at least, this is no longer true. While there are more than 250 million Christians in the US, the 6 million Jews are now outnumbered by Muslims who total about 20 million (9 million Iranians who fled after the fall of the Shah, 7 million Arabs and at least 3 million black Muslims, with the remainder being from Somalia and the former Yugoslavia).

Numerically, the Jews are now no. 3 or 4 along with the Hindus in the US, whose population is about the same as the Jews. According to Obama’s Inauguration Day speech, America is a “Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu” country. Numerically, he is right. So much for Judeo-Christian America.

In the June edition of Israel Today, I wrote about the worsening conditions of the Christians in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. International investment in Egypt has all but dried up since the Revolution. What international (Christian) corporation will invest in a country which is killing and ethnically cleansing its Christians? So the Egyptian economy appears doomed to collapse, which would create fertile ground for a takeover by the radical Muslim Brotherhood.

This would leave 70 million Muslims in Egypt in dire poverty.

The same applies to other countries in the Middle East that could be taken over by Islamic militants. In the case of Syria, the ruling Muslim Alawite sect will probably share the same fate as the Christians. This could lead to a flood of Arab Muslims to greener pastures in the West.

The Bible says Egypt will be a desolation and Egyptians will flee to other countries because the nation will be uninhabitable for 40 years (Ezekiel 29). If the official Syrian newspaper Tishrin is correct in saying that 600,000 Palestinian refugees and Syrians will march on the Golan Heights to reclaim their land, then a war with Syria is inevitable, which means that Syria will be a desolation as well (Isaiah 17).

The result could be tens of millions of Muslims fleeing to the US and Europe. President Obama would welcome these “brethren” on humanitarian grounds, and in effect, America would become a Muslim country.

I was just convicted and given a three-year jail sentence in Switzerland for helping defeat a plan to build minarets at the nation’s mosques by a 57 percent majority.

But the Muslims in Switzerland are already returning with a new minaret initiative. They are tenacious in their plans to Islamicize Switzerland and Europe. Why not the US?

WHO CALLED THE “PALESTINIANS” – TRASH?
(Jerusalem Post)

The mufti of Lebanon, Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani, was quoted this week as saying that Palestinians are no longer welcome in his country. He also condemned Palestinians as “trash,” and said that he’s not afraid of their weapons.

Sheikh Qabbani’s remarks were made during a meeting he held in his office in Beirut with a Palestinian delegation, representing refugees and various Palestinian factions in Lebanon. The furious mufti later kicked the Palestinian representatives out of his office.

More than 400,000 Palestinians live in Lebanon, most of them in extremely harsh conditions in refugee camps.

The meeting was called to discuss Palestinian “assaults” on state-owned and Islamic Wakf lands in Lebanon.

“We’ve hosted you and no longer want you,” the mufti told stunned members of the Palestinian delegation. Accusing Palestinians of “usurping” Wakf lands to build houses, Qabbani told his visitors: “I will defend Wakf lands – even if that costs me all what I have.”

Attempts by the Palestinian representatives to muzzle the mufti further enraged the top religious official, who at one point shouted at them: “You are trash. You [Palestinians] will never be victorious. Nor will your cause. I’m no longer afraid of your weapons.”

NETANYAHU ORDERS NAVY TO INTERDICT FLOTILLA!
by Gavriel Queenann (Arutz Sheva News)

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu ordered Israel’s defense establishment Monday to interdict the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla 2, Voice of Israel radio reported.

Netanahyu gave the order during a meeting of his Security Cabinet dedicated to preparations Israel was taking in advance of the new flotilla expected to set sail for Gaza this week. The Cabinet voted in favor of a Navy plan to prevent the upcoming flotilla from arriving in Gaza and granted the IDF authority to prevent the ships’ arrival by any means necessary.

Earlier Monday, Israel and Egypt agreed to the arrangement whereby ships taking part in the flotilla could opt to unload cargo at El-Arish. Ships that instead try to force their way to Gaza, however, will be boarded, searched, and have their passengers arrested.

Israel’s Navy has been gearing up to stop the flotilla, which says it plans to run the blockade of the Gaza Strip.

“We expect the flotilla to set sail later in the week,” IDF sources said. “We are preparing for various scenarios, from no violence to extreme violence.”

The Navy says it plans to stop the flotilla far from Gaza, after issuing a warning that the territory is under a sea blockade. “If the ships continue sailing after being warned, then we will have the right to stop them even if they did not yet enter Gaza’s territorial waters,” a navy official explained.

The IDF released a video statement explaining its reasons for insisting all ships headed to Gaza be searched.

Predictions are that violence will be minimal after Turkey’s IHH organization – behind the infamous Mavi Marmara last year – withdrew from the initiative, but a Jordanian vessel carrying members of assorted Islamist groups has opted to stand in as the Arab world’s representative in this year’s flotilla.

During the 2010 Gaza flotilla self-described peace activists aboard the Mavi Marmara attempted to lynch members of Israel’s Shayatet-13, or naval commando, who boarded the ship in accordance with international maritme law. Other members of the unit were forced to open fire to rescue their imperilled comrades killing 9.

According to organizers, a number of the vessels – including The Audacity of Hope, which will fly the U.S. flag – are to set sail from Greece on Monday or Tuesday to rendezvous in the Mediterranean Sea with vessels from France and Ireland.

On Sunday, however, Greek officials blocked some of the ships from setting sail to Gaza. Organizers said that they had retained lawyers to fight the stop-order with the aim of allowing the vessels to leave harbor on schedule.
Vessels from Italy, Spain and Canada are also participating in the flotilla.

PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY PRESENTS FOUR CONDITIONS TO QUARTET FOR RESUMED TALKS!

Saeb Erekat says conditions include negotiations based on ’67 lines, EU support for Palestinian reconciliation, statehood bid, Ma’an reports.

Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat said that the PA has given the Quartet its four official demands for restarting peace negotiations, which could preempt its bid to seek a declaration of statehood in the United Nations this September.

Among the demands is a complete halt to West Bank settlement activity, something that Israel has refused to do since a ten-month settlement freeze that expired late last year, Palestinian news agency Ma’an reported on Saturday.

EU urges Israel, Palestinians back to negotiating table

Erekat: Negotiations will restart If PM accepts 1967 lines

Netanyahu: Abbas must say he accepts ‘the Jewish state’

The other demands were that pre-1967 lines with mutually agreed land swaps be the basis for negotiations, European Union support for Palestinian reconciliation efforts, EU support for a declaration of Palestinian statehood in the UN, and an EU acknowledgment that a declaration of statehood does not contradict peace talks, according to the report.

In early June, Erekat said that the Palestinians were ready to restart peace negotiations if based around the principles US President Barack Obama laid out in his State Department address on the Middle East, the Washington Post reported.

According to the report, Erekat, who met at the beginning of the month with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and other senior White House officials, said that if Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu accepted Obama’s platform of a return to pre-1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, then he would have a partner for negotiations.

He also said that according to what the Prime Minister said at the US Congress during his Washington visit, “he’s not a partner for peace.”

Netanyahu had rejected Obama’s 1967-lines formulation, saying that any borders based on the pre-Six Day War lines would be “indefensible.”

MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD CREATES SUPER-COALITION!
by Gavriel Queenann

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood has created a coalition of 17 parties, including liberal and secular groups, to form a common platform ahead of legislative elections, Egyprian state media said Wednesday.

The new political alliance, including the Brotherood’s Freedom and Justice Party, the liberal Wafd party, the left-leaning Tagammu, and the newly formed Salafi (Muslim Fundamentalist) Noor party, say they joined forces to “channel their efforts… into building a state of law based on citizenship, equality and sovereignty of the people.”

In a statement, the parties outlined their common principles including “freedom of belief and worship”, freedom of expression and a free media, the independence of the judiciary, and “an economic system based on social justice.”

The members also reportedly discussed the idea of a unified list in the coming legislative polls, but disparate sectarian goals and worldviews between the party’s may render such a move unrealistic.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, Egypt’s interim junta which took power following President Hosni Mubarak’s ouster on February 11, has scheduled parliamentary elections for September.

A September election is expected to boost Islamic factions, particularly the highly organized Muslim Brotherhood which was banned by Mubarak, but gained broad support through decades of charity work and community projects.

Some groups have called to delay elections so a constitution be drafted beforehand, while others are pushing for early polls to see the army out of power as soon as possible. Prime Minister Essam Sharaf has hinted at a possible election delay, saying it would give new parties more time to organize.

Early elections are also thought to favor the agenda of the Muslim Brotherhood whose senior leaders have said they will impose Sharia Law in Egypt if they come to power – a task that could become complicated depending on what Egypt’s proposed constitution were to say.

Egypt’s interim-junta, however, says parliamentary poll will be held on schedule in September, followed by a new constitution and then a presidential vote.

Israel regards the Muslim Brotherhood coming to power in Egypt as undesirable.

Shortly after Mubarak’s ouster A Muslim Brotherhood leader told an Arab language newspaper that Egyptians “should prepare for war against Israel.”

POLL: AMERICAN VOTERS ARE PRO-ISRAEL! (Arutz Sheva News)

The Israel Project checking American attitudes toward the Middle East finds that 56% of voters define themselves as “Israel supporters,” compared to 10% “Palestinian supporters.”

Data from a national survey of 800 registered American voters conducted June 5-7 by Public Opinion Strategies has been released as The Israel Project: American Attitudes toward the Middle East.

Israel supporters outnumber self-described Palestinian supporters by a 5.6-to-1 ratio.

51% – less than those who said they support Israel – say they have warm feelings towards Israel, while 16% said they feel warmly towards the Palestinians. Towards Hamas and Fatah, 3% said they had warm feelings, 7% towards Iran, and 31% towards Egypt.

64% agreed that the conflict between Israel and the PA is about “ideology and religion,” and not about land; 27% felt the opposite.

Only 25% support a unilateral Palestinian Authority declaration of a state, while 57% oppose. If the UN General Assembly supports the PA in this matter, then the numbers change somewhat: 34% say a UN General Assembly vote to recognize a PA state will make an agreement with Israel more likely, while 50% said the opposite.

Not Supportive on Refugees

No matter how supportive of Israel they are, however, Americans do not appear to understand Israel’s fear of an Arab takeover of the Jewish state from within. Asked if they agree with Israel’s position that Arab refugees should live only in an Arab state, only 27% said they agreed – while 61% said they did not.

55% object to the Fatah-Hamas agreement because Hamas is backed by Iran and the agreement gives Hamas a bigger role among Palestinians. 28% are happy with the Fatah-Hamas agreement; 24% said Israel should work with the new Fatah-Hamas government, while 63% said Israel should not do so until Hamas is willing to recognize Israel and renounce violence.