July 2006

Press Statement
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
April 30, 2003

"...The following is a performance-based and goal-driven roadmap, with clear phases, timelines, target dates, and benchmarks aiming at progress through reciprocal steps by the two parties in the political, security, economic, humanitarian, and institution-building fields, under the auspices of the Quartet [the United States, European Union, United Nations, and Russia]. The destination is a final and comprehensive settlement of the Israel-Palestinian conflict by 2005, as presented in President Bush’s speech of 24 June, and welcomed by the EU, Russia and the UN in the 16 July and 17 September Quartet Ministerial statements..."
"Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." James 4:4

Elijah Statement
Message on the Internet
Nashville, Tennessee
April 30, 2003

"...The proposed "Roadmap for Peace" in the Middle East is a...
ROADMAP TO DISASTER! There will never be a Palestinian state!..."

"But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence."
1 Corinthians 1:27-29

Now that we have been told about President Bush's vision of two states living side-by-side in peace and security as articulated in his June 24 speech, the Roadmap foundation, we are fully aware that events have hurt rather than helped the plan evolve.

Even though the U.S. worked extensively with Russia, the United Nations, and the European Union (the Quartet) to design the Roadmap, and has worked with them to advance it, we have seen that events are not in conformity with the plan.

We remember when Secretary Powell traveled to the region to help restore dialogue between the Israelis and the Palestinians and advance the Roadmap process -- yet he is no longer a player in this grand attempt to bring stability to that region of the world.

This statement expresses an idealistic notion that motivated many people a few years ago: "The Roadmap represents a starting point toward achieving the vision of two states, a secure State of Israel and a viable, peaceful, democratic Palestine. It is a framework for progress towards lasting
peace and security in the Middle East..."
--President George W. Bush

Several hundred years ago, God had something to say about this subject: "Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle." Zechariah 14:1-3

To refresh our memories, this is what they were saying in the beginning: "The Roadmap for Peace, developed by the United States, in cooperation with Russia, the European Union, and the United Nations (the Quartet), was presented to Israel and the Palestinian Authority on April 30. The plan is
a performance-based, goal-driven plan, with clear phases, timelines, and
benchmarks. It involves reciprocal steps by the two parties in the political, security, economic, and humanitarian fields. The destination is a final and comprehensive settlement of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. The ongoing good-faith efforts by both Israelis and Palestinians are required to implement the Roadmap. The pace of progress will grow solely out of performance. The United States, other members of the Quartet, and regional Arab leaders will work to support and facilitate the process. They also will meet regularly to evaluate the parties’ performance in implementing the plan."

Strangely, and unexpectedly, Hamas got involved in the democratic elections and became a prominent part of the political scene. Even more strangely, Russia's Putin decided to open his arms to Hamas -- thereby transforming the "Quarter" into a Trio.

"For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain." 1 Corinthians 3:19&20

The grand plan started with... "...PHASE I: Ending Terror and Violence, Normalizing Palestinian Life, and Building Palestinian Institutions... Palestinian leadership issues unequivocal statement reiterating Israel’s right to exist in peace and security and calling for an immediate end to all acts
of violence against Israelis anywhere. Israeli leadership issues unequivocal statement affirming its commitment to the two-state vision of an independent, viable, sovereign Palestinian state living in peace and security with Israel, and calling for an immediate end to violence against Palestinians
anywhere... Palestinian institution-building includes drafting a constitution for Palestinian statehood and conducting free elections... Israel withdraws from Palestinian areas occupied since September 2000, as security progresses, freezes all settlement activity, and dismantles outposts. It takes measures to improve the Palestinian humanitarian situation..."

When we evaluate, what part of PHASE 1failed or succeeded?

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." Ephesians 6:12&13

What will Hamas and supporters be doing to help make the "PHASE II: Transition" a reality? Will an "independent Palestinian state" really be created with provisional borders and attributes of sovereignty.? Will the Palestinian leadership continue to act decisively against terror and to build
a practicing democracy based on tolerance and liberty?

Will there ever be an "international conference convened by the Quartet"
to support Palestinian economic recovery? Will "multilateral Middle East issues" be addressed -- including water, environment, economic development, refugees, and arms control issues?

When we evaluate things during the months following March, what part of PHASE 2 will we believe failed and what part succeeded?

"Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it."
Zechariah 12:2&3

It would be wonderful to think that "...PHASE III: Permanent Status Agreement and End of Israeli-Palestinian Conflict..." could actually happen according to the original plan.

If Palestinian reform could actually have been consolidated and its institutions stabilized while effective security performance was realistically sustained, Israeli-Palestinian negotiations might have brought about a permanent status agreement in 2005 -- yet it never happened!

There was even the hope of a second "international conference convened by the Quartet" which would have led to a final, permanent status resolution on borders, Jerusalem, refugees, and settlements. It would have made possible
a "comprehensive peace settlement between Israel and Lebanon and Israel and Syria" -- yet it never happened!

What will happen, according to the Word of God, is that the final stages of a "dividing line" will make everything very clear for those who lack vision.

"Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it." Jeremiah 30:7

COPIED from Jerusalem Newswire --
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Jerusalem Watchman
-- Stan Goodenough

God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn. The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved; He uttered His voice, the earth melted.

The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Psalm 46:5-7

Never, in the total 18 years I have lived in Israel, not even in the midst of the hellish Oslo War (“Second Intifada”) when buses were blowing up around us and tank fire at Bethlehem was shaking the walls of our apartment, have things looked as bleak and as desperate for this nation as they do today.

And from what is being expressed here in Israel – it is the sense of a great many Jews that their country is poised to enter the darkest stretch so far in the long dark night she has experienced since the brief light of hope flickered with her rebirth in 1948.

Thirteen years after Oslo flared, crashed and burned, setting the precedent for the “Road Map” and the “Two-State Vision” – all of which directly contributed to the explosive growth of Hamas – the nation of Israel is confronting a reality most its people desperately hoped would never materialize for them.

They are learning – though still too slowly – that it matters not how much they give, how sincere they are, and how many risks they are willing to take. In the heart of the Muslim Arab lies no fertile ground for peace.

The threats – looming and lingering for so long – are mushrooming now, coming on thick and fast. It seems there is nowhere to turn; nowhere for the Jews to go; no escape route; no way out.

Like a boa constrictor, the menace lies in concentric, crushing circles around this tiny little land. The further its coils extend, the greater the peril they pose.

INSIDE ISRAEL

The inner circle is right here in Israel, the threat coming from Israeli Jews themselves, and from Israeli Arabs.

Israel’s Jews are deeply and bitterly divided, even as millions around them pray for and plan their destruction. It’s a rerun of 1,936 years ago, when Rome’s cohorts stood massed at Jerusalem’s gates, and the Jews inside the city did their enemy’s work for them, fighting among themselves instead of standing together against the foe.

Ask any Jew the meaning of the phrase sinat chinam and he will tell you: It was this “baseless hatred” between Jews that led directly to the destruction of the Second Temple, the sacking of Jerusalem, the mass killing of hundreds of thousands of Jews, and the dispersion among the nations of those who remained.

Today, a quarter of a million Israelis – those living in the settlements in Judea and Samaria – have been effectively demonized by the overwhelmingly leftist Israeli and world press.

According to a recent survey carried out by the Rishon Letzion College of Management, Jews living inside Green Line Israel (inside the 1949 borders) hate the settlers almost as much as they hate the Palestinian Arabs. Some hate them even more.

It is a bizarre national reaction, fueled by fear and self-hatred, that sees Israelis holding the settlers responsible for the failure to arrive at peace; blaming them for the rampaging, terrorist-inflicted death and mayhem that unendingly plagues the nation.

Now, as the country heads for the March 28 general election, the division tears ugly and deep. Depressingly, the Kadima Party founded by the now comatose Ariel Sharon and run by acting-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert – a party stinking with corruption and cronyism – looks set to sweep the vote.
If Olmert wins, he is prepared to forcefully remove tens of thousands more Jews from their homes, and relinquish Israel’s heartland to the Arabs.

ENEMY WITHIN

Israel’s 1.5 million Arabs (97 percent of them Muslim) are aligning with Hamas, making thems a potent fifth column inside Green Line Israel. Their representatives in the Knesset (yes, Israeli Arabs have the vote and elected officials) regularly call for the dismantling of the Jewish state. They are planning meetings with Ismail Haniyeh – the Hamas leader recently appointed prime minister of the Palestinian Authority. They travel north to Lebanon and meet with Hizballah, and side by side with that terror group’s leaders commit themselves to facilitating Israel’s demise.

THE HAMAS AUTHORITY

The next circle is Hamas. After the world has for decades demanded that Israel accept the PLO as “the only true representative of the Palestinian people [sic]” those people dumped the PLO and chose for Hamas – the Islamist group specializing in massacring Jews on Egged buses and fanatically devoted to destroying Israel.

That uncompromising gang of murderers and their supporters – those “ordinary” Arabs US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice still insists really want to live in peace with Israel – lie 2.4 million thick in, among and all around Israel. From Gaza, their rockets fall daily into southern Israel, mostly missing their targets, but being improved and upgraded. It is only a matter of time before serious casualties are inflicted on the Negev’s Jews.

On a Shabbat two weeks ago, as my family and I enjoyed the peace and tranquility that (somehow) can still be enjoyed in Jerusalem on the God-ordained day of rest – the start of a “new chapter in Middle East history” was marked in Ramallah, a few miles to our north, and in Gaza,
a little way to the south-west.

There, Hamas took over the new “Palestinian Legislative Council,” in which it now holds 74 of 132 seats – a clear majority of its own.

And yesterday (March 2) Abbas announced his decision to shortly place the PA’s entire security apparatus under Hamas’ control.

Hamas is being feted by many nations, welcomed to Turkey, Iran, Moscow and South Africa, while world leaders from other lands line up to extend an invitation too. “Don’t treat them like terrorists,” urges the EU. And whatever you do don’t stop sending them millions of dollars in an effort to starve them off terrorism.

World media like the BBC and the increasingly Arabized CNN are well-practiced in the art of sanitizing terrorists. As they did with arch-Jew-killer Yasser Arafat, they are pushing the line that the Hamas is really pragmatic and reasonable. The blood that soaks them? Well, that’s Jewish blood – cheap stuff, expendable.

THE NORTH

In Lebanon, directly across Israel’s northern border, Hizballah is waiting for war. The Iranian-sponsored group represents Lebanon’s largest community – the Shi’ites. Its leadership daily hurls vitriolic volleys at Israel and has, since the IDF’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon, deployed over 12,000 missiles against the Jewish state. These rockets are able to reach deep into the Galilee and as far south as Haifa; some carry non-conventional warheads.

North-east of Israel sits Syria, a major supporter of the Hizballah. After recently withdrawing from Lebanon, its influence into that country is increasing once more. Syria is Israel’s most implacable foe. Concerning its despotic leadership the American Foreign Policy Council’s Missile Defense Briefing Report No. 197 (February 22, 2006) states:

The regime of Bashar al-Assad in Damascus is continuing to make substantial progress on its missile capabilities, courtesy of the DPRK. Geostrategy-Direct (week of February 20) reports that over the past three years, North Korean assistance has helped to substantially enhance Syria’s existing arsenal of Scud-D medium-range missiles. According to the intelligence newsletter, Syria’s upgraded Scuds now boast a range of some 700 kilometers, as well as a separating warhead capable of carrying chemical or biological payloads.

For months Syria has been squirming under the international spotlight on its involvement in the February 2005 assassination of Lebanese President Rafic Hariri. Instead of opening up, Assad is off to Tehran next week to meet with Iran’s Hitler-like Ahmadinejad. Cooperative strategies will certainly be the order of the day.

ISLAMISTAN

There, in the unstable and arrogant Ayatollah-run Iran, lies the outer coil
of this malevolent snake. In the vanguard of the global jihad, the devoted servants of Allah who rule over what was once Persia push on toward the realization of their avowed purpose: to destroy the Little Satan (Israel) and engage the Great Satan (America) as they take the world for their god.

Iran’s president flips the birdie at the West, trashing the Holocaust as a myth, openly calling for Israel to be wiped off the map, and actively working towards the achievement of that goal, undaunted by – in fact basking in – the agitation of the world.

Already in Iran’s arsenal: long range North Korean Shihab-3 and other missiles, and plenty of WMD warheads to tip them with; also the ultimate Muslim motivator: conviction in the inevitability of victory, and the wholehearted readiness – the desire actually – of untold numbers to sacrifice themselves as shaheeds in this holy war.

Meanwhile anti-Semitism is ascendant around the world; new cases being reported every day. In France a Jew is abducted by kidnappers who demand a ransom from his family – everyone knows that Jews are rich. When they are unable to pay he is found naked, tied to a tree, with burns and other injuries all over his body. Soon he dies.

In a rash of copycat incidents, anti-Semites armed with long knives have been targeting synagogues in Russia.

This coming Sunday we will learn whether a “Palestinian”-made movie glorifying suicide bombers who kill Israeli Jews has been chosen to win an Academy Award.

DARK AND DESPERATE

All told, the mortal danger towering over Israel today far exceeds what was stacked against Europe’s Jews as they unsuspectingly entered the 1930s, en route to Auschwitz.

The spiraling trend of the past decades carries the warning that it will not be much longer before the world, with the exception – perhaps – of the United States – finally concludes that Israel as a small and soon-to-be-truncated country is a nuisance and a consistently destabilizing threat. She will simply have to go - her Jews offered a choice between being second-class dhimmi citizens in a Muslim Arab state, and resettling somewhere else.

This suggested “solution” has already been proposed. It spells a third Diaspora from which Israel will revive, return and resurrect no more.

Surely the hour is desperate, and exceedingly dark. After its millennia-long effort to destroy the Jewish people, the spirit of Amalek appears poised to win.

AND YET, DAWN LIES AT THE DOOR

As desperate and hopeless as things seem to be, for those who believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – the only God – there is every reason to hope.

We do not know when this night will fade to grey in the earliest light of day. But this we do know: It always gets darkest just before the dawn.

And at dawn, God is going to move.

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord. More than those who watch for the morning – yes, more than those who watch for the morning. (Psalm 130:5-6)

For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning. (Psalm 30:5)

And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; (2 Peter 1:19-20)

Friends of Israel, lovers of Israel’s God: Watch, pray, and hold fast to this hope. Ever true to His Word, which He watches over to perform, God is going to act. And when He does, soon, it will be in such a way that the nation of Israel, and the nations of the world, will doubt no more that He, Israel’s God, is LORD.

NOTE from Tennessee Elijah: When reading this article, I was made to believe that God inspired Stan to put current reality into perspective for people who are not aware of what is happening. We are in great need of this kind of common sense, and this kind of Spiritual sense at a time in history when good and evil are often portrayed inaccurately by the media. Now as the days draw closer to the final confrontation, I know the power of God will be demonstrated in an indisputable manner. Israel will not perish during coming storms. We are now waiting for God to express Himself! This article brought tears to the eyes of our Master as well as to mine.