The Jim Bakker Show

Israel urges citizens to leave Turkey due to upgraded travel advisory

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel urged its citizens visiting Turkey to leave “as soon as possible” in an upgraded travel advisory on Monday predicting possible follow-up attacks to the March 19 suicide bombing in Istanbul blamed on Islamic State.

Three Israeli tourists and an Iranian were killed in the Istanbul attack, which prompted the counter-terrorism bureau in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office to issue a generalized “level 3” warning against travel to Turkey.

A statement by the bureau raised this to “level 2” on Monday, signifying what it called a “high concrete threat” that Islamic State or similar groups would attack Turkish tourist attractions. It did not elaborate on what prompted the alert.

A senior diplomatic source said the advisory was intended only for Israeli tourists, not for dual-nationals living in Turkey, and that the update was issued in line with the latest information from the Turkish authorities.

President Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman, when asked at a briefing about the Israeli advisory, said the move had followed Turkey’s own warnings to its citizens. But he urged countries against playing into the militants’ hands, after a series of security alerts from foreign diplomatic missions in Turkey.

“One should refrain from moves that lead to the suspension of daily lives, in a way which would be welcomed by the terrorists,” presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said.

The Israeli statement said Israelis should avoid going to Turkey and, if already there, “depart as soon as possible”.

If a “level 1” alert were by issued by Israel, that would urge citizens to leave the country “forthwith”.

(Additional reporting by Nick Tattersall in Istanbul, Ercan Gurses in Ankara; Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Alison Williams)

Netanyahu hopes U.S. will reject U.N. resolution on Palestinian statehood

WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday he hoped the United States would continue to reject any move towards a U.N. Security Council resolution backing Palestinian statehood.

“A Security Council Resolution to pressure Israel would further harden Palestinian positions and thereby could actually kill the chances of peace for many, many years,” he told a meeting of the powerful American-Israel Public Affairs Committee lobbying group.

Netanyahu’s speech returned the conference focus to policy after a turn to partisan politics on Monday when Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump took to the stage and denounced President Barack Obama, a Democrat.

AIPAC’s leaders distanced the group from his remarks before Netanyahu’s speech on Tuesday.

Via satellite from Israel, Netanyahu also said he was ready to begin talks “immediately, without preconditions” for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but insisted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas did not back the idea.

“Peace won’t come through U.N. Security Council resolutions but through direct negotiations between the parties. The best formula for achieving peace remains two states for two peoples in which a demilitarized Palestinian state finally recognizes the Jewish state,” Netanyahu said.

France failed last year to get Washington on board to push for a Security Council resolution to set parameters for Israeli-Palestinian talks and set a final deadline for a deal.

Most of the remaining 2016 U.S. presidential candidates addressed AIPAC’s 18,000-strong convention this week.

The group’s leaders took the stage shortly before Netanyahu’s address to denounce the partisan comments by the Republican front-runner Trump.

Trump said Obama “may be the worst thing that ever happened to Israel,” to some applause from the AIPAC crowd. Netanyahu, who has close ties to U.S. Republicans, has had a strained relationship with Obama.

“We say, unequivocally, that we do not countenance ad hominem attacks and we take great offense against those that are levied against the president of the United States of America from our stage,” AIPAC President Lillian Pinkus said.

Thousands of AIPAC members are visiting Congress on Tuesday to speak to Republicans and Obama’s fellow Democrats, arguing for the continuation of billions of dollars in military aid for Israel and renewed sanctions against Iran.

In his speech to AIPAC on Sunday, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden took a somewhat tougher line than many U.S. politicians. He called on Netanyahu’s government to demonstrate its commitment to a two-state solution and said settlement expansion weakened prospects for peace.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Additional reporting by Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and James Dalgleish)

Biden says Israel settlements raise questions about commitment to peace

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Vice President Joe Biden called on Israel’s government on Sunday to demonstrate its commitment to a two-state solution to end the conflict with the Palestinians and said settlement expansion is weakening prospects for peace.

“Israel’s government’s steady and systematic process of expanding settlements, legalizing outposts, seizing land, is eroding in my view the prospect of a two-state solution,” Biden said in a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a leading pro-Israel lobbying group.

Biden said he did not agree with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government that expanded settlements would not interfere with any effort to settle the conflict.

“Bibi (Netanyahu) thinks it can be accommodated, and I believe he believes it. I don’t,” Biden said.

Biden said the region instead seems to be moving toward a one-state solution, which he termed dangerous.

“There is no political will at this moment among Israelis or Palestinians to move forward with serious negotiations. And that’s incredibly disappointing,” Biden said.

Israel says it intends to keep large settlement blocs in any future peace agreement with the Palestinians. Palestinians, who seek to establish a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, say they fear Israeli settlement expansion will deny them a viable country.

Palestinians have cited Israeli settlement activity as one of the factors behind the collapse of U.S.-brokered peace talks in 2014, and a surge of violence over the past five months has dimmed hopes negotiations could be revived any time soon.

“We’ve stressed to both parties the need to take meaningful steps to demonstrate their commitment to a two-state solution that extends beyond mere words,” Biden said.

“There’s got to be a little ‘show-me.’ This cannot continue to erode,” he said.

Biden was cheered for criticizing what he called Palestinian actions at the United Nations to undermine Israel, and he said changes in the region, including the united fight against Islamic State militants, could help thaw relations between Israel and its neighbors.

Israel and the United States are also in talks on a generous military assistance agreement, he said.

“It will, without a doubt, be the most generous security assistance package in the history of the United States,” Biden said of a pact expected to be worth billions of dollars annually to the Jewish state, the largest recipient of such U.S. assistance.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Richard Pullin)

Israeli troops shoot dead a Palestinian wielding knife in West Bank

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian man who tried to stab them in the occupied West Bank on Friday, the military said.

“An assailant, armed with a knife, exited his vehicle and charged at the soldiers guarding the junction. Forces responded to the threat and shot the attacker, resulting in his death,” the military said in a statement.

Since October, Palestinian street attacks have killed 28 Israelis and two U.S. citizens. Israeli forces have killed at least 188 Palestinians, 127 of whom Israel says were assailants. Most others were shot dead during clashes and protests.

Palestinian leaders say attackers have acted out of desperation in the absence of movement towards creation of an independent state. Israel says they are being incited to violence by their leaders and on social media.

(Reporting by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

Two Palestinians shot dead after wounding Israeli soldier, military says

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Two Palestinians stabbed and wounded an Israeli soldier and were then shot and killed on Thursday outside a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, the military said.

Since October, Palestinian street attacks have killed 28 Israelis and two U.S. citizens. Israeli forces have killed at least 187 Palestinians, 126 of whom Israel says were assailants. Most others were shot dead during violent protests.

In an initial statement, the military said an Israeli woman was wounded in the attack at a road junction near the settlement of Ariel, and evacuated for medical treatment. It later identified her as a soldier.

“Forces at the scene responded to the attack and shot the assailants, resulting in their deaths,” the statement said.

The surge in violence has been partly fuelled by Palestinian frustration over the collapse of U.S.-sponsored peace talks in 2014, the growth of Jewish settlements on land they seek for a future state, and Islamist calls for the destruction of Israel.

(Writing by Jeffrey Heller; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

Joel Richardson Warns, “There is a Storm Brewing”

On our first exciting evening service for the prophetic conference here at Morningside, Joel Richardson began his message with one clear word on the prophetic.

“You don’t need to be a prophet to understand the big picture. For the finer details, yes you might need to be one, but in terms of understanding what’s unfolding right now all over the world, it is actually very simple. There is a storm brewing.”

Joel Richardson knows when a storm is coming. As the son of a fisherman, he grew up in an area plagued by hurricanes, Now he lives in the midwest where storms can come up quickly and produce destructive tornadoes. Joel explained that hurricanes begin as a tropical storm, far away, The storm is out there, swirling in the ocean. Then 2 , 3 or 4 days down the road you see the entire coast engulfed in this massive storm system and on alert. You can look on a map and see the hurricane swallowing half of the country.

According to Pastor Richardson, “If we want to understand the story of what is happening in our world right now we have to begin by understanding the basic story of the Bible, which is this: The God of Heaven and Earth has made a promise, He has made vows, He has actually made vows unto death, and these promises have to do with what is happening right now. These promises involve a very specific piece of real estate; a very specific spot on the map that is called the city of Jerusalem, in the nation of Israel. The nation of Israel is like a tropical storm right now, and the storm is beginning to brew and to swirl.”

Richardson explained that the scriptures teach that eventually the storm that begins around Jerusalem, the rage of Satan against the fulfillment of God’s promises, will pull every nation on earth into its destructive power.

“The storm is already beginning, we are already starting to feel the winds of this storm. This is a storm that eventually will affect everyone on this earth. This will be an economic storm, it will be a storm that will affect nature with natural disasters, it will be a military storm, there will be very real wars. Beyond that it is a theological storm, an ideological storm. This storm will involve deception and this is one of the first things that we need to be made aware of.”

Joel stressed that before we feel the winds of decimation we will, even in the church, feel the winds of deception. He warned against the danger of believing in replacement theology. A theology that states in effect, that the church has superseded Israel; that God has transferred his plans and purposes from Israel to the church. When in fact, God made these promises to Jerusalem over and over in His Word. Israel is his Jewel and it in the city of Jerusalem that Jesus will have His throne.

Listening to Joel speak is always compelling.The biblical knowledge on Israel and on her enemies are an incredible gift to understanding God’s plans. Joel describes Jesus as sitting on the right hand of God, now, interceding for us. He is waiting…His heart is burning. He wants to come back more than WE want him to come back. And it is almost time.

In closing, Joel Richardson tells us all to keep our eyes on the Middle East and be wary of the winds that we feel from there.

“It is right in front of us, the battle… the storm. Watch Israel. Watch Jerusalem.”

There is a storm brewing.

Our Prophetic Week DVD is now available containing every taping of the Jim Bakker Show with all of our amazing guests, as well as Morningside’s inspirational evening services including Joel Richardson during Prophetic week 2016.

Germany, France criticize Israel for seizing West Bank land

BERLIN/PARIS (Reuters) – Germany and France on Wednesday criticized Israel’s decision to appropriate large tracts of land in the occupied West Bank, saying the move violated international law and contradicted a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israeli Army Radio said on Tuesday the land was near the Dead Sea and the Palestinian city of Jericho.

Israel says it intends to keep large settlement blocs in any future peace agreement with the Palestinians. Palestinians, who seek to establish a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, fear Israeli settlement expansion will deny them a viable country.

“This decision sends a wrong signal at the wrong time,” the German Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“Especially in the current tense situation, both parties in the Middle East conflict are called on to take steps for a de-escalation and to find ways that lead to an urgently needed resumption of peace negotiations,” it said.

In Paris, Foreign Ministry spokesman Romain Nadal said France was “extremely concerned” by the Israeli decision.

“Settlements constitute a violation of international law and contradict commitments made by Israeli authorities in favor of a two-state solution,” the spokesman said.

Germany, which has forged close relations with Israel in the decades since the Holocaust, has repeatedly criticized Israel for its settlement plans.

“All people in Israel and Palestine have a right to live in peace and security. Only a clear political perspective for a sustainable two-state solution can guarantee this in the long term,” the ministry said.

Paris is lobbying for an international peace conference before May that would outline incentives and give guarantees for Israelis and Palestinians to resume face-to-face talks before August and try to end the decades-long conflict.

Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat on Tuesday called on the international community to press Israel to stop land confiscations. Most countries view Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as illegal and an obstacle to peace.

Israel’s Peace Now movement, which tracks and opposes Israeli settlement in territory captured in the 1967 war, said the reported seizure of 579 acres represented the largest land confiscation in the West Bank in recent years.

(Reporting By John Irish in Paris and Michael Nienaber in Berlin; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

Israel seizes large tracts of land in occupied West Bank, Army Radio says

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel has appropriated large tracts of land in the occupied West Bank near the Dead Sea and the Palestinian city of Jericho, Israeli Army Radio said on Tuesday.

Israel’s Peace Now movement, which tracks and opposes Israeli settlement in territory captured in a 1967 war, said the reported seizure of 579 acres represented the largest land confiscation in the West Bank in recent years.

The group said plans for expanding nearby Jewish settlements and building tourism and other commercial facilities in the area were already on Israel’s drawing board.

Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat, in a statement, called on the international community to press Israel to stop land confiscations. Most countries view Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as illegal and an obstacle to peace.

The U.S. State Department criticized the land seizure, saying ongoing expropriations and settlement expansions were “fundamentally undermining the prospects for a two-state solution.”

“We strongly oppose any steps that accelerate settlement expansion, which raises serious questions about Israel’s long-term intentions,” State Department spokesman John Kirby told a news briefing.

Asked about Army Radio’s report of the land confiscation, Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon’s office said in an email to Reuters: “We are not relating to the issue.”

Photos of a de facto Israeli confiscation notice – a Hebrew map and accompanying documents titled “A declaration of government property” – were tweeted, however, by the Palestine Liberation Organization on Tuesday.

Dated March 10, it listed 2,342 dunams, or 579 acres, and carried the signature of an official identified on the map as Israel’s “supervisor of government property and abandoned property in Judea and Samaria”, Hebrew terms for the West Bank.

Such an appropriation would be the largest since August 2014, and larger than the 380-acre area that Israel first said in January it planned to designate as government property near the Dead Sea. News of those plans drew international condemnation at the time.

Since October, Palestinian street attacks have killed 28 Israelis and two U.S. citizens. Israeli forces have killed at least 184 Palestinians, 124 of whom Israel says were assailants. Most others were shot dead during violent protests.

(Additional reporting by Ori Lewis and Ali Sawafta, Writing by Jeffrey Heller, Editing by Hugh Lawson and Chizu Nomiyama)

Three Palestinians shot dead after attack on Israelis in West Bank

KIRYAT ARBA, West Bank (Reuters) – Three Palestinians carried out back-to-back gun and car-ramming attacks on Israelis near a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank on Monday and were shot dead by the army, it said.

Two of the Palestinians, armed with a handgun and an improvised machine-pistol, were killed after opening fire at civilians and soldiers who were waiting at a bus stop outside Kiryat Arba settlement, the army said. One soldier was wounded.

Minutes later, the third Palestinian rammed a car into an military vehicle at the scene and was shot, the army said. Two soldiers were hurt in the second incident, the army said, adding that two knives were found on the motorist’s body.

The surge in violence has been partly fueled by Palestinian frustration over the collapse of U.S.-sponsored peace talks in 2014, the growth of Jewish settlements on land they seek for a future state, and Islamist calls for the destruction of Israel.

(Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Michael Perry)

U.S. looking for way to move forward on Israel, Palestinian peace

PARIS (Reuters) – The United States is looking for a way to break the deadlock between Israel and the Palestinians, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday, acknowledging that by itself it could not find a solution.

Having twice failed to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace, the Obama administration is discussing ways to help preserve the prospect of an increasingly threatened two-state solution, U.S. officials have told Reuters.

At the same time, France is seeking support for an initiative to relaunch talks between the two sides this summer and prevent what one French diplomat has called the risk of a “powder keg” exploding.

Last year France failed to get the United States on board for a U.N. Security Council resolution to set parameters for talks between the two sides and a deadline for a deal. Since then, the stance of former foreign minister Laurent Fabius, to recognize a Palestinian state automatically if the new initiative fails, has been toned down.

“Obviously we’re all looking for a way forward. The United States and myself remain deeply committed to a two state solution. It is absolutely essential,” Kerry said when asked whether the U.S. was ready to cooperate with Paris’ efforts.

“There’s not any one country or one person who can resolve this. This is going to require the global community, it will require international support,” he said speaking alongside European foreign ministers in Paris.

A former ambassador to Washington, Pierre Vimont, is heading France’s diplomatic push and will be in Israel, the Palestinian territories and the United States this week to discuss the French initiative.

With U.S. efforts to broker a two-state solution in tatters since in April 2014 and Washington focused on this year’s election, Paris is lobbying countries to commit to a conference before May that would outline incentives and give guarantees for Israelis and Palestinians, seeking face-to-face talks before August.

“The conflict is getting worse and the status quo cannot continue,” France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said.

U.S. officials have no expectation peace talks will resume before the end of U.S. President Barack Obama’s term in January 2017 and have played down the odds of any quick decision on how the White House might help preserve a two-state solution.

“We’re talking about any number of different ways to try to change the situation on the ground in an effort to try to generate some confidence,” Kerry said. “So we are listening carefully to the French proposal.

“At the moment it’s a difficult one, because of the violence that has been taking place, and there are not many people in Israel or in the region itself right now that believe in the possibilities of peace because of those levels of violence.”

(Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)

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