PROPHECY UPDATE NEWSLETTER
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Pre-Millennium - Pre-Tribulation - PrePARED
(Featured Article at Bottom)
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IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER...
Israel's Enemies Align with Prophetic Battle Plan
Is The Middle East on the Verge of the Psalm 83 War?
Our World: Letting go of Abbas
Israel Watch: Jew-Hating Goes Global
Hosea and the Heart of God: A Profile in Communicativeness
Daily Jot: Are you a victim of soft tyranny?
Daily Devotion: Forget Something?
Featured Article:
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So much has happened...so fast. For a time, it looked as though the moderates would sweep to victory in the Middle East. Dictators were dead or deposed, Al-Qaeda was on the run, and Iran was under crippling sanctions for their nuclear program. Iran's top ally, the Syrian regime, was facing a growing rebellion-threatening to cut off Hezbollah from the needed weapons and supplies of their Iranian sponsors. Then, to cap it all off, a so-called "moderate" won the presidential election in Iran. It seemed the pieces were aligning for utopia. But that final nail falling into place for peace-new Iranian President Hassan Rouhani-has turned out instead to be the first domino to fall in an Iranian takeover of the Middle East. And instead of harmony, the stage is being set for the most terrifying battle described in biblical prophecy.
An Unholy Alliance
Ezekiel 38 and 39 discuss the War of Gog and Magog. The prophet Ezekiel is told that an array of nations will all come together in a massive assault on Israel from the north. While the identities of the nations attacking Israel are somewhat unclear, as times and countries have changed since Ezekiel's days, author Joel Rosenberg lists the nations he believes will be participating, based on historical analysis of the biblical names. Essentially, the league of villains looks something like a semi-circle of nations stretching from the north of Africa through Turkey in the Middle East and over to Iran, with Russia as the great ringleader of the group.
While Russia has long been influential in the Middle East, the other nations are only now beginning to really line up with the biblical prophecy. And the nation that seems to be the most responsible for that anti-Israel alliance is Iran. Thanks to a long-lasting political, economic and terror-driven plot, Iran is in place not only to take a leading role in the Middle East, but they also appear to be heading up the Middle East and African nations that will someday assail Israel in unison. While that's remarkable in and of itself, what really stands out about this is that just 18 months ago, it appeared the Iranian axis was falling apart. Yet now Iran is resurrecting its power and emerging stronger than ever.
A Deadly Resurrection
Not long ago, Iran was in deep trouble. Years of economic sanctions over their illegal nuclear program were taking their toll. An oil embargo by Europe and crippling oil and banking sanctions imposed by the US were shattering Iran's economy. The "Arab Spring" revolutions were driving out dictators and spreading democracy in their place, endangering long-time anti-Israel dictators in Libya and Syria. Eventually, Libya's Muammar Gaddafi was deposed and killed, while Syrian President Bashar Assad was losing control of his country to rebels backed by Saudi Arabia and the West. Turkey, which had been developing a relationship with Iran and Syria, abandoned both to support the Syrian rebels. Iran's friends were dwindling and on the run. But then a couple of crucial circumstances changed and Iran leapt to take advantage.
First, the war in Syria took an unexpected turn. Al-Qaeda bounced back in northern Iraq and spread into Syria. Taking advantage of chaos and desperate revolutionary fervor, Al-Qaeda affiliates and other Islamic terror groups took the lead in the Syrian revolution. Better armed and far more brutal than the West-supported rebels, the terrorists in Syria not only threatened Assad, they started outstripping the "moderate" rebels as well. That one turn of events-the re-emergence of Al-Qaeda in Syria-opened the door in Iran's favor for the host of changes that have occurred since then. First, it decreased the West's opposition to Assad. As much as the West disliked the brutal Assad, no one wanted to help a resurgent Al-Qaeda. As a result, the West was less inclined to bomb Syria after Assad used chemical weapons on his own people. And after an apparent "victory" for diplomacy saw Assad promise to surrender his chemical weapons, the West was also much more interested in putting an end to Middle East conflict in general, including their nuclear dispute with Iran.
Meanwhile, Iran helped itself politically. Rouhani, one of the candidates allowed by the regime to run for Iran's presidential election, made an effort to portray himself as a moderate. It's a sham that Israel tried to expose, but the West didn't listen. Rouhani spoke in warm tones, smiled plenty, and even re-established Iranian conversation with the Americans. With the war-weary West open to compromise, Rouhani helped establish a nuclear deal that has saved Iran's economy while only partially freezing their nuclear program. The Israel Project has cited news report after news report showing that the Iranian nuclear deal has not led to a full halt of Iran's nuclear and missile programs, while also demonstrating that Iran's economy has bounced back, thanks to the deal.
Suddenly, the tables have turned. Assad is doing better in Syria as the rebels have turned on each other. Iran's economic troubles are disappearing as nation after nation tries to take advantage of the relaxing sanctions on Iran which came about as part of the nuclear deal. And years of developing friendships-either through coercion or cooperation-have seen Iran build a friendship with Iraq. Together with their friends in Lebanon and Syria, Iran has a sizable arc of influence stretching from the north to the east of Israel. Iran is now leading a group of nations against the West and Israel, and their force is growing in power and prestige. According to Joel Rosenberg, some of the main villains in the War of Gog and Magog are Libya, Sudan, Iran and Turkey. While Sudan has long been associated with the Muslim extremists in Iran-and Libya's instability may be setting them up to rejoin that faction-Turkey has been a critical holdout. A crucial ally of the US, and even friendly to Israel, Turkey just didn't fit the biblical model. But now, that's changing. Perhaps forever.
The Hate Triangle
A common tool in the plots of films and books, a love triangle, typically involves two guys competing for the same girl. Unstable and uncertain, the girl flitters between the two guys as they vie for her affection. In the Middle East today, something similar is taking place-but considering its sinister direction, let's call it a "hate triangle." The girl, in this situation, is the nation of Turkey. After falling out of love with the West, Turkey looked to be heading towards Iran and other Muslim extremists. But then Syria changed everything and Turkey courted anti-Assad rebels. Now, Syria is changing things again, and Israel is in more trouble than ever.
Turkey's relationship with Syria, and therefore Iran, was shattered by the brutal Assad regime crackdown on Syrian protesters. Turkey's leadership, realizing that the Arab Spring was sweeping the region, chose to back the rebels in Syria in an effort to lead a new Middle East. It was a dangerous and risky move, but it seemed to be working at first. In Egypt, Turkey's ideological allies-the Muslim Brotherhood-took the lead after the revolution there. And with help from Saudi Arabia and the West, the rebels in Syria were winning as well. Turkey was a major regional player and appeared to be the new face of the post-dictatorship Arab world.
But the Muslim Brotherhood experiment in Egypt imploded last summer and Turkey lost a key ally. Then, sizable protests in Turkey and a devastating political corruption scandal have shaken the Turkish leadership. As it turns out, rather than lead the Middle East, Turkey's leadership is fighting to keep its own country. In the meantime, Turkey's friends in Syria are on the decline. The "moderate" rebellion is struggling and Turkey is losing on every side. To make matters even worse, analysis from Al-Monitor has pointed out that Turkey faces a new and terrifying enemy in Syria: Al-Qaeda.
The Al-Qaeda affiliates ended up being based in northern Syria, not far from the Turkish border. With a long history of battling terrorists, Turkey is understandably concerned by this turn of events. They've seen how Al-Qaeda took over Afghanistan and then made inroads into neighboring Pakistan. The last thing Turkey wants is a new terror war with Al-Qaeda affiliates in Syria. So after backing the rebels and fighting Assad, Turkey has found itself facing some of the same enemies of Assad. And as the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
All these factors together have set the stage for Turkey to re-establish ties with Iran. After multiple conversations between the two nations' diplomatic teams, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Iran in late January. Not surprisingly, the Iranian media highlighted the fight against terrorism-Read: mutual Al-Qaeda enemies in Syria-as the new arena for Turkey-Iran cooperation. The Fars News Agency quoted Erdogan as saying, "We will widen our cooperation shoulder-to-shoulder with Iran in combating terrorist groups." Similarly, Iranian President Rouhani said of his nation and Turkey, "We share common views about crucial regional issues, including [the] campaign against terrorism and extremism."
As a result, it's even possible that the issue that shook the Iranian-Turkish relationship, the Syrian civil war, could end up being a link between them. Hinting at this, Rouhani said in January that "Iran-Turkey cooperation on other regional issues, especially those related to neighbors' security which are among the two countries' common concerns, should develop as well."
So after years of violently opposing Iran and its allies, it now looks as though Turkey is ready to be friends again. Al-Monitor ran a report highlighting that despite their differences, the Turkish-Iranian relationship was never severed. But with Syria no longer a point of disagreement between them, Iran and Turkey are ready for much greater cooperation economically. During his January visit, Erdogan noted that Iran's natural gas resources were much needed by Turkey. The Fars News Agency quoted Erdogan as saying, "Given the fact that Turkey's industries are making progress on a daily basis and rapidly, we direly need energy products, especially Iran's natural gas, and we should take joint win-win steps." In addition, the nations are creating a joint political, economic and cultural committee with the goal of deepening relations in all those fields. Fars reported that Erdogan said he wants that Iranian-Turkish committee to increase cooperation to the point it is "as if the two countries' ministers worked and cooperated in a single cabinet."
"Win-win steps" and a "single cabinet" sound like a potentially robust Iranian-Turkish relationship. It's one of the last major links needed to set up Ezekiel's Gog and Magog prophecy, and it's one of the last pieces needed to surround Israel from the north. With Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey and Iran all working together, Israel has no friends for miles to the north. And if Russia works with them as well, Israel would easily face its most terrifying array of opponents in history.
A Prelude to Drama
The realignment of Turkey to Iran, coupled with Iran's resurrection, should have Israel concerned. Turkey and Iran have two of the largest militaries in the entire region and represent roughly 150 million people just by themselves. Coupled with key allies across the Middle East and Africa, a Turkish-Iranian alliance would put Israel in an almost helpless situation. Of course, that's looking at it from a merely human perspective. Ezekiel reminds us that the King of the Universe is not only predicting the War of Gog and Magog, He's going to win it as well. When all seems lost, He will rescue His people Israel. But in the years prior to that dramatic battle, the dominoes must fall into place to set things up. Right now, they're falling in rapid succession, and one can only wonder what the West will do in response. After all, Israel's hope is assured by the Bible, but that of America and Europe is not. Will they see the collapsing dominoes and take precautions? Or will they remain naïve and be taken in the Iranian flood?
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"...For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; And those who hate You have lifted up their head. They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, And consulted together against Your sheltered ones. They have said, "Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, That the name of Israel may be remembered no more. For they have consulted together with one consent; They form a confederacy against You: The tents of Edom [Palestinians & Southern Jordanians] and the Ishmaelites [Saudis]; Moab [Palestinians & Central Jordanians] and the Hagrites [Egyptians]; Gebal [Hezbollah & Northern Lebanese], Ammon [Palestinians & Northern Jordanians], and Amalek [Arabs of the Sinai Area]; Philistia [Hamas of the Gaza Strip] with the inhabitants of Tyre [Hezbollah & Southern Lebanese]; Assyria [Syrians & Northern Iraqi's] also has joined with them..." Psalm 83:2-8
An update on some very recent headlines below - note every single confederacy group of Psalm 83 is identified (and highlighted below) as currently being in a state of war or readiness for war, and all have a prior stated mission (overt or covert) of cutting off Israel...not much of a stretch to have them now all come together and consult with one consent to destroy Israel.
...the following is the headline which prompted this commentary
"Is the Middle East on verge of a regional war?"
News coming from the capitals of the Middle East indicate that a regional war is nigh: military drills in Saudi Arabia under the pretext of fighting terrorism, others between Egypt and the UAE, and a third between Jordan and Turkey...the Israeli navy is deployed along the Gazan coasts and intensifies its presence in the Mediterranean...Hezbollah fighters are deployed on the Syrian borders in anticipation of Israeli surprises in the Golan Heights...Hezbollah has a comprehensive plan in coordination with the Syrian army to confront armed takfiris in the Golan Heights, allegedly protected by Israel...the region is heading to military escalation on more than one front and everyone is worried about what is yet to unfold.
"Sisi: If Needed, We'll Amend Peace Treaty with Israel
Former Egyptian army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is favored to win the upcoming presidential election, said that if necessary he would amend the peace treaty with Israel...Sisi also said that if Israel won't recognize the "state of Palestine," with its capital in Jerusalem, he will never visit Israel.
"Jordan redeploys military along border with Syria"
The Jordanian military is redeploying its forces along the Hashemite Kingdom's lengthy border with Syria in light of the deteriorating security situation on the frontier.
...and most of these confederacy groups are proxies of Iran
"Israeli defense official: Iran can break out to nuclear weapons 'very quickly'"
Head of political-military affairs at Defense Ministry, Amos Gilad, warns of storm clouds "on the horizon," says Israel has not been able to stop build up of Lebanon's Hezbollah rocket arsenal...Iran can break out to nuclear weapons "very quickly," and Israel must maintain operational readiness for any threat that may arise...Gilad said that should Palestinian Authority security forces take exclusive control of West Bank, there would be a "very high feasibility" of rockets and shelling raining down on greater Tel Aviv.
"Jerusalem imam urges Muslims to invade Israel"
http://www.wnd.com/2014/05/jerusalem-imam-urges-muslims-to-invade-israel/
An imam at the Al Aqsa Mosque atop Jerusalem's Temple Mount has publicly urged the armies of the Arab world to invade Israel thus fulfill the great Muslim longing of destroying the hated "Zionist entity."
"Syria death toll rises dramatically in past two months"
The death toll in the Syrian conflict passed 160,000 in the past two months...An increase of 10,000 deaths since April was noted.
"Iraq: Jihadis Vow to 'Conquer Jerusalem From You, Oh Jews!'
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/180841#.U3y4T9zck9V
Foreign jihadists in Iraq threatening to "conquer Jerusalem" has once again highlighted the dangers posed to Israel from Islamist extremists fighting in Syria's civil war...Focusing specifically on Israel, he vowed: "We shall conquer Jerusalem from you, oh Jews!"
"Al-Qaeda now frontline threat to Israel"
Al-Qaeda's affiliates and al-Qaedism are gradually, inexorably, surrounding Israel. Safe havens and bases are sprouting up north and south of Israel like never before in the history of the global jihad...al-Qaedism is the Iraqi branch of al-Qaeda and gave birth to a Syrian branch, Jabhat al-Nusra, Jabhat al-Nusra has also created a Lebanese franchise, the Abdullah Azzam Brigades...In the south, al-Qaedism is growing in Egypt...The Israeli intelligence community would be especially alarmed if al-Qaeda could develop an infrastructure in Jordan. Then the noose would be complete...Israeli intelligence sources claim that they together command the loyalty of 40,000 fighters.
...and pouring gas on the fire (and continuing on a end-time path of establishing a world-wide religion of Chrislam)
"Pope Will Recognize Palestine And Calls For The End of Israel's Occupation"
Palestinian Authority (PA) and Arab Christian sources are already celebrating Pope Francis's visit to Israel starting next Sunday, saying his choice to begin the trip directly in PA-held Bethlehem is meant to "recognize Palestine" and "oppose the [Israeli] occupation."..."This visit will help us in supporting our struggle to end the longest occupation in history," said Ziyyad Bandak, Abbas's adviser.
Israel's complete defeat of this inner circle of surrounding Arab nations and populations of Palestinians, Syrians, Saudi Arabians, Egyptians, Lebanese, Jordanians and Iraqi al-Qaeda will result in Israel's borders being greatly enlarged (see map http://watchmansview.com/New_Israel_Borders.html), their prosperity will be increased through possession of new resources, and their world-wide stature greatly enhanced.
"No longer will the people of Israel have malicious neighbors who are painful briers and sharp thorns. Then they will know that I am the Sovereign LORD. This is what the Sovereign LORD says: When I gather the people of Israel from the nations where they have been scattered, I will show myself holy among them in the sight of the nations. Then they will live in their own land, which I gave to my servant Jacob. They will live there in safety and will build houses and plant vineyards; they will live in safety when I inflict punishment on all their neighbors who maligned them. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God." Ezekiel 28:24-26
This is very likely the event that causes Israel to "dwell securely" and take down their walls and gates (Ezekiel 38:11) fulfilling this prophecy prior to the War of Gog and Magog.
In addition to Psalm 83 (or in support of), as further prophetic evidence of this impending Regional War, there are many unfulfilled wars prophesied for this region in the Bible:
Edom [Palestinians & Southern Jordanians] - Ezekiel 25:14, Jeremiah 49:10, and Obadiah 1:18,
Ammon [Palestinians & Northern Jordanians] - Jeremiah 49:2, Zephaniah 2:9, Isaiah 11:14,
Moab [Palestinians & Central Jordanians] - Zephaniah 2:9, Isaiah 11:14,
Philistia [Hamas of the Gaza Strip] - Ezekiel 25:15-17, Isaiah 11:14,
Saudi Arabia - Ezekiel 25:13
Egypt - Isaiah 19:16-18
This imminent Middle East War will be a very major and devastating war, and very well could breakout during the midst of the four blood moon triad (see significance of this here http://watchmansview.com/Blood_Red_Moons.html ). The Arab confederacy of Psalm 83 will be defeated and destroyed by the IDF to fulfill the purpose of the Lord God Almighty "That they may know that You, whose name alone is the Lord, Are the Most High over all the earth." Psalm 83:18
Some verses that point to a Middle East War that is fast approaching:
"But the days are coming, "declares the LORD," when I will sound the battle cry against Rabbah of the Ammonites [Ammon, Jordan]; it will become a mound of ruins, and its surrounding villages will be set on fire. Then Israel will drive out those who drove her out," says the LORD." Jeremiah 49:2
"Turn and flee, hide in deep caves, you who live in Dedan [Saudi Arabia], for I will bring disaster on Esau at the time I punish him [Southern Jordan]." Jeremiah 49:8
"Like a lion [confederacy of Esau] coming up from Jordan's thickets to a rich pastureland [Israel], I will chase Edom from its land in an instant. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? Who is like me and who can challenge me? And what shepherd can stand against me?" Jeremiah 49:19
"Now when these these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near." Luke 21:28
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What makes PLO chief and Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas tick?
In 2008, when Abbas rejected then prime minister Ehud Olmert's expansive offer of Palestinian statehood, he did so for the same reason that Yasser Arafat rejected then prime minister Ehud Barak's expansive offer of Palestinian statehood at Camp David in 2000.
In both cases, the PLO chiefs believed that if they waited, they could get everything they demanded from Israel - and more - without giving anything away.
As Abbas and Arafat both saw it, eventually either the Israeli Left would successfully erode Israel's national will to exist, or the Europeans and the US would join forces to coerce Israel into giving up the store. Or both. So there was no reason for the PLO to give up anything.
To get everything in exchange for nothing all they had to do was continuously escalate the PLO's political warfare against the legitimacy against Israel internationally, and escalate its subversion of Israeli society through political intrigue and terrorism.
Back then, Abbas and Arafat looked forward to the day when they could frame Israel's unconditional surrender and nail it to their wall.
But things have changed.
The rise of the revolutionary forces in the Islamic world since December 2010 has transformed the political landscape.
The Syrian civil war, the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, the resurgence of al-Qaida franchises, the US's abandonment of its traditional Arab allies in favor of the Muslim Brotherhood and President Barack Obama's aspiration to reach a meeting of the minds with the Iranian regime have completely upended the political calculus of all regional actors, including the PLO and Abbas.
As Palestinian affairs expert Reuven Berko wrote in an article published by the Investigative Project on Terrorism last week, if in the past Abbas wouldn't make a deal with Israel because he could get more by saying no, today Abbas cannot make a deal with Israel.
Any deal he concludes will lead to his overthrow.
Noting that Abbas was recently threatened by al-Qaida chief Ayman Zawahiri who called him, "a traitor who is selling Palestine," Berko explained, "The threats, veiled or not, by radical Islamists...
and a quick look at Arab-Muslim world, especially Syria, have made it clear to the Palestinians what the future has in store for them, and it now appears that in the meantime, they prefer the status quo to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state."
As Berko sees it, Abbas's primary problem is the residents of the UN refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and beyond. Israel's unwillingness to accept a so-called "right of return," which would enable millions of foreign Arabs residing in terrorist-controlled UN-run refugee camps to immigrate to a postpeace agreement Israel means that in an era of peace, they will move to the newly created state of Palestine.
Berko rightly notes that these immigrants will not regard Abbas as their savior. To the contrary.
"The Palestinian leadership knows that if their demand for Palestinian control of the Jordan Valley crossings were accepted, the operative result would be floods of people seeking entrance into 'liberated Palestine.' They know that among them would be operatives of all the Palestinian terrorist organizations, to say nothing of the armed jihadists currently active in the Arab-Muslim world, especially in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, who would stream in 'to liberate all Palestine.' "The new Palestinian state would have no grounds to refuse entrance to the 'jihad heroes,' or to close its borders to all those attracted by the prosperity in Judea and Samaria, or to those who hoped to enter Israel or to those who intended use 'Palestine' as a convenient base from which to attack Israel."
The new immigrants would overwhelm Abbas and his comrades, making the Hamas ouster of Fatah forces from Gaza in 2007 look like a walk in the park.
Berko limited his discussion to a scenario in which these foreign Arabs are confined to "Palestine." But if Israel were to agree to his demand that they move into its sovereign territory, Abbas's future would be no different. If Israel were to publicly renounce its right to exist, cancel the Declaration of Independence and adopt the PLO Charter as its new constitution, Abbas would be no better off than if he conceded Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state, compromised on the so-called "right of return," and accepted the settlements.
In both cases, he would end up like Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
It is because he knows this that he will do anything to prevent a peace deal with Israel.
Some Israelis are pleased with Abbas's stand. As they see it, his position enables Israel and the Palestinians to operate under the status quo more or less unchallenged for the foreseeable future.
There are two problems with this view. First, neither the Americans nor the Israeli Left are willing to let the peace process go. US Secretary of State John Kerry's decision to devote two hours to yet another meeting with Abbas last week, despite Abbas's unity deal with Hamas and Islamic Jihad shows that Kerry is constitutionally incapable of disengaging.
Likewise, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni's wildcat diplomacy, which involved an unauthorized meeting with Abbas in London last week, demonstrates that like the Americans, Israel's Left cannot relent. Livni and her comrades have no issue other than the Palestinian one.
Their political survival is tied to the peace process.
The second problem is Abbas. Whereas he needs to prevent a settlement to keep the jihadists at bay, he needs to escalate the conflict to keep the local Palestinians at bay and maintain the support of the Europeans and the American Left.
Only by scapegoating and criminalizing Israel worldwide can Abbas maintain his relevance to the international Left. And only by enabling and glorifying terrorism and actively inciting for the destruction of Israel can Abbas maintain what is left of his credibility among the Palestinians - five and a half years after his term of office legally ended.
The two-state model is his life preserver.
The policy paradigm is based entirely on the false claim that the cause of all the region's ills is the absence of a Palestinian state. That state, it is believed, would exist save for Israel's land greed.
Those who uphold Abbas and the status quo ignore the consequences of Abbas's own imperatives. In the international arena, preserving the status quo requires Israel to maintain its allegiance to the two-state paradigm's inherent and malicious slander of the Jewish state. This allegiance in turn makes it impossible for Israel to defend itself effectively against the Palestinian-led campaign to deny its right to exist.
In its internal affairs, maintaining faith in the two-state model and in Abbas as a legitimate and moderate Palestinian leader makes it almost impossible for Israel to take effective measures to defend against the Palestinian terror infrastructure. That infrastructure relies on the Palestinian security forces, which Abbas, our purported peace partner, controls. Israel cannot discredit its "peace partner," without disowning the phony peace process and rejecting the two-state paradigm. Consequently, it cannot to take the necessary measures - like demanding that the US military stop training the Palestinian security forces - to effectively protect its citizens.
The time has come for Israel to show Abbas the door. It would be best if we can do it quietly - offering him the opportunity to relocate to somewhere warm and retain all the loot he and his cronies have siphoned off for their personal use.
Once Abbas is gone, Israel will have to choose between applying its laws to parts of Judea and Samaria and offering the Palestinians outside those areas a limited form of autonomy, or applying its laws to the entire region, conferring permanent residency status on the Palestinians and offering them the right to apply for Israeli citizenship.
Alarmists argue that without Abbas, Israel will go broke having to finance the Palestinian budget. But this is ridiculous.
Once you subtract the hundreds of millions of dollars that go missing every year, and you take into account that Israel managed to govern the areas for 24 years, you realize that this is just one more empty threat - like the demographic threat - made by people who have no political existence without the façade of a peace process.
Abbas is not an asset. He is a liability. It is time to move past him.
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