Last Wednesday, a 14-year-old Palestinian boy carried out a stabbing attack at a Jerusalem light rail station. Yesterday, just one week later, the Palestinians sacrificed another of their children when a 17-year-old youth stabbed two more Israelis, wounding them outside the Jaffa Gate of Old Jerusalem. As former Prime Minister Golda Meir was famous for saying, “We will only have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us.” Apparently, they have not reached that point yet. Earlier in the week on Monday, the Israeli military raided the refugee camp in Jenin, arresting three members of Hamas in an attempt to curb the growing terrorist violence in the country. Eritrean Asylum Seekers Riot in Tel Aviv A huge number of the 18,000 Eritrean asylum seekers took to the streets of Tel Aviv on Saturday, destroying cars and smashing store windows. The protests soon turned violent after the African refugees broke through a police barricade and began clashing with security forces. At least 170 were injured, including several dozen Israeli police. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his administration was considering deporting 1000 of those who took part in the violent riots. This immediately set the UN’s hair on fire, as well as that of the media who are looking for any reason to criticize the prime minister. Maybe the UN would prefer that Netanyahu sat down these asylum seekers who attacked and beat dozens of Israel’s security forces, explained to them why this is bad manners when you are guests in a foreign country, and asked them to please not do it again. I mean, why not? It’s worked everywhere else the UN has gone, right? Israel to Expand Stealth Fighter Fleet The Defense Ministry of Israel has officially requested that the US sell them 25 F-35I fighter jets. The $3 billion deal will add to the Israeli Air Force’s existing fleet of the stealth fighters, which will reach 50 by 2024. Delivery of the new planes will begin in 2027 and will eventually bring the number of IAF F-35I jets to 75. Diplomatic Arm of Israel Continues to Reach Out In a first of its kind event, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen traveled to the Kingdom of Bahrain on Monday to officially open Israel’s embassy in Manama. This is the first time that a foreign minister has made the journey to an Abraham Accords country. The next day, Papua New Guinea became the fifth nation to open its embassy in Jerusalem, following the leads of the US, Kosovo, Guatemala, and Honduras. Earlier, during the weekend, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in Cyprus to meet with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The three nations looked to deepen their friendship, discussing topics such as energy, security, and hi-tech. Demonstrations Grow Against Bashar al-Assad Tensions continue to rise in Syria as anger grows from within the nation as well as from outside. Protestors in Southern Syria gathered to call for the removal of Bashar al-Assad. The spiraling economy is a major contributing factor. However, the rebel movement is also contributing to the intensifying heat. In Druze districts, the government is pulling out, leaving the people of the area to destroy all the symbols of the retreating forces. Syrian War Heats Back Up In the Deir ez-Zor area of eastern Syria, the battle is engaged. US jets blew up two military vehicles on Saturday. The trucks were carrying explosives bound for rebel militias. Russian warplanes, meanwhile, attacked dozens of military operatives of the Turkish-backed Syrian rebels who have been fighting against the Assad-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The sparks between the Arabs and the Kurds of the area have also fanned into flames. Why is this area so important? Deir ez-Zor is the corridor through which most of Iran’s weapons are smuggled into Syria. Beginning in Iran, then traveling through Iraq and into Syria, convoys of trucks are sent with weapons and drone parts. Most of the weapons are then funneled to Iran’s proxy militias in Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq. The drone parts are assembled, then sent up north for the Russians to use in Ukraine. This corridor is so important to Iran that they have tasked Hezbollah’s clandestine Unit 127 with the care and control of the route, and the oversight of the drone assembly and shipping. Zelenskyy Replaces Ukraine’s Defense Minister On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that he intended to remove his Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov. He then named the man’s replacement. Before Zelenskyy could carry out his intent, Reznikov resigned. During his tenure, the Ministry of Defense gained a reputation for graft, chaos, and disorder. Rustem Umerov was chosen to take Reznikov’s place. Kim Jong Un to Visit Russia for Arms Talks There is talk of a meeting in Vladivostok next month during which Vladimir Putin would discuss a weapons-for-technology deal with Kim Jong Un. Russia would receive from North Korea artillery shells and anti-tank missiles. In return, the hermit kingdom would gain advanced technology for satellites and nuclear-powered submarines. The US and other western countries immediately expressed their displeasure at the possibility of this exchange. Russia and Saudi Arabia Extend Cuts in Oil Production Moscow and Riyadh issued a joint decision to extend their voluntary oil production cuts through the end of the year. The realization that $1.3 million barrels of oil per day would remain out of the market sent crude prices skyrocketing. White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan promised that President Biden would employ “everything within his toolkit” to ease the pain to the American consumer. Unfortunately, the last time anyone looked in Biden’s toolkit, it only held a small flathead screwdriver, three orphan sockets, and a roll of Pep-O-Mint Life Savers. Wild Weather around the World It has been a wild weather week. The last seven days have seen severe floods in Guadalajara, Mexico; Samsun, Turkey; Las Vegas, Nevada; Colombo, Sri Lanka; Madrid, Spain; Taitung County, Taiwan; Tsarevo, Bulgaria; Volos, Greece; Fujian, China; Ezine and Istanbul, Turkey, and many other smaller places. Severe hailstorms have pelted many cities, including Valpaços, Portugal, and Kakheti, Georgia. We’ve seen tornados in Colombia, typhoons in Hong Kong, and hurricanes in the Caribbean. As we pan out to look at man-made disasters, there are wars in Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. New warnings are beginning about a virus resurgence. Poor, developing countries have been denied access to loans for not promoting the LGBTQ agenda, while others have been sanctioned for not pushing ridiculous measures to try to reduce the earth’s temperatures. But while others see disaster and chaos, those of us who understand Bible prophecy recognize what’s going on. These are birth pangs. Lord Jesus, come quickly! It only grows as God allows it too — they are marching to the Father’s orders and they are blind to see it in their own greed and self importance.
