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French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Sunday 5 Jan. 2016 that if USA President-elect Donald Trump moves the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem it would have "extremely serious consequences."Speaking as 70 countries gather in Paris to try to revive Israeli-Arab peace efforts, Ayrault told French TV he believed Trump would find it "impossible" to fulfill the pledge he made during his campaign to transfer the embassy. "When you are president of the United States, you cannot take such a stubborn and such a unilateral view on this issue. You have to try to create the conditions for peace," Ayrault said. PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas warned hours before the Paris summit that peace could be dealt a mortal blow if Trump, who has vowed unstinting support for Israel, moves the USA Embassy to Jerusalem. Doing so would reverse decades of USA policy that has until now maintained that the final status of Jerusalem. (INN) Equation of terrorism, settlements is morally twisted [Comment]

Dozens of countries sent their senior-most diplomats to the conference on Middle East peace held in Paris on Sunday, but the United Kingdom did not, ostensibly as a trust-building gesture to the incoming Trump administration. Prime Minister Theresa May sent neither her foreign minister, Boris Johnson, nor her envoy to France to the parlay. "We have particular reservations about an international conference intended to advance peace between the parties that does not involve them– indeed, which is taking place against the wishes of the Israelis– and which is taking place just days before the transition to a new American President when the USA will be the ultimate guarantor of any agreement," a Foreign Office statement read. While most countries in attendance signed on to a communique urging the two parties to recommit to a two-state solution, and to cease "unilateral steps" that entrench the conflict, London demurred, ultimately choosing not to back the document. There are risks," the UK government warned, "that this conference hardens positions at a time when we need to be encouraging the conditions for peace." (Jerusalem Post)Intercede that many additional nations will recognize that the "conditions for peace,” is indeed the point in terms of advancing any positive talks between Israel and the Palestinians. Among the many points that need be dealt with are Palestinian terrorism against Israel and the leaders and society that support it; Palestinian glorification of terrorists who have died in attacks against the Jewish state, Palestinian school text books that plant hatred for Israel, in the hearts of children, refusal to recognize the Jewish state and a host of other issues. Presently, there is not a glimmer of evidence or political hope that Palestinians aspire or intend to live side-by-side with Israel in peace. [Comment]

Some 70 countries on Sunday 15 Jan. 2017 reaffirmed that only a two-state solution could resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and warned they would not recognize any unilateral steps by either side that could prejudge negotiations. The final communique of a one-day international Middle East peace conference in Paris shied away from explicitly criticizing plans by president-elect Donald Trump to move the USA Embassy to Jerusalem, although diplomats said the wording sent a "subliminal" message. Trump has pledged to pursue more pro-Israeli policies and to move the USA Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, all but enshrining the city as Israel's capital, despite international objections. Countries including key European and Arab states as well as the permanent members of the UN Security Council were in Paris for the conference, that Israeli PM Netanyahu rejected as "futile." Neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians were represented. The final statement said interested parties would meet again before year-end. But Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting on Sunday that "this conference is among the last twitches of the world of yesterday. Tomorrow will look different and that tomorrow is very close." (J.Post) [Comment]

Israeli officials on Sunday, 15 Jan. 2017 credited the efforts of the National Security Council and the Foreign Ministry for a "significant weakening” of the text of the final joint declaration issued by the participants of a peace conference in Paris. The one-day summit came to a close on Sunday evening with a statement, backed by the 70 countries, calling on Israel and the Palestinians to restate their commitment to a peace settlement and to refrain from unilateral actions. The statement urged both sides to "officially restate their commitment to the two-state solution” and disassociate from voices that reject that goal. It also called for them not to take one-sided actions that could preclude fruitful talks. The Israeli officials were jubilant that "problematic passages” in a contentious recent UN Security Council resolution on the settlements were not included in the Paris document. Resolution 2334, passed on 23 December 2017 harshly condemned the settlement enterprise, declaring that it has "no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-state solution and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace.”

Furthermore, the Israeli officials expressed satisfaction over the fact that no further action against Israeli settlements is planned at the Security Council. USA Secretary of State John Kerry had promised as much to P M Netanyahu in a phone call from Paris earlier Sunday. The ostensible success, the officials concluded, was the "result of harsh reactions” voiced by Israel against Resolution 2334. In his call to Netanyahu from the Paris conference, Kerry promised to prevent any followup action to the resolution, either at the confab itself or at the UN Security Council. After a month of chilly ties between Washington and Jerusalem, Kerry updated Netanyahu about the steps he was taking to "soften” the text of the final communique. The prime minister told Kerry that the outgoing administration had already caused Israel damage last month by not vetoing Resolution 2334. No other resolution should be passed, Netanyahu said, either in New York or in Paris. As the multinational conference convened in Paris, Netanyahu again dismissed the French initiative, calling it a "pointless” endeavor that was inherently anti-Israel. (Times Of Israel) God has answered prayer and gratitude for His intervention is deeply felt by so many who have prayed and raised their voices against a further display of anti-Israel bias on the part of the nations at Sunday’s Paris Peace Summit. Please continue to intercede against any unforeseen UN or out-going Obama administration surprises that would harm Israel this month. [Comment]

: Israel on 11 Jan. 2017, announced new charges against the Gaza head of a major USA-based NGO accused of diverting millions of dollars in aid to Hamas. Mohammed al-Halabi, the Gaza director of Christian humanitarian charity World Vision, is alleged to have funneled aid money to the Islamist terrorist movement that runs the Gaza Strip. He was due to appear in court again in the city of Beersheva this week. On 11 Jan. 2017 a charge sheet was published with two additional charges, including "aiding and abetting the enemy in a time of war" and "passing information to the enemy." (Arutz-7) [Comment]

The USA Government Accountability Office (GAO) announced that it would begin its official investigation into the ties between UNRWA and terrorist organizations and incitement in official Palestinian Authority textbooks after President-elect Donald Trump takes office on 20 Jan. 2017. The GAO is the supreme audit institution of the USA government and provides auditing, evaluation, and investigative services for Congress. The investigation was requested by Senator James Risch (R-Idaho), the Chairman of the Senate Near East Subcommittee, following briefings on UNRWA's indiscretions to Congress by the Center for Near East Policy Research over the past few years. The USA provides approximately $400 million in finding to UNRWA each year, which amounts to one third of UNRWA's annual budget. The organization serves the Arab refugees of the 1948 War of Independence and their descendants, proving education, health care, employment, and other services. Repeated investigations by the Center for Near East Policy Research have shown that the textbooks used in UNRWA schools preach hatred of the State of Israel and the Jewish people. Investigations have also found that members of the Hamas terrorist organization are employed by UNRWA in various capacities, including as teachers. (Arutz-7) [Comment]

The widow of the terrorist who committed Sunday’s8 Jan. 2017, truck-ramming attack in Jerusalem, killing four Israeli soldiers and wounding another 15, will receive a lifetime monthly stipend as a reward for her husband’s "martyrdom for Allah,” a prominent research organization reported on 11 Jan. 2017. Fadi al-Qanbar’s widow, a resident of east Jerusalem, will receive a total of NIS 2,900 (approximately $760) each month, in accordance with Palestinian Authority law. All families of "martyrs” receive a base monthly payment of NIS 1,400 ($365). Widows of "martyrs” receive an additional NIS 400 ($104). NIS 200 ($52) is paid for each of their children; al-Qanbar has four. And Jerusalem residents, such as al-Qanbar, receive an extra NIS 300 ($78). In addition, within the next few months, al-Qanbar’s widow will receive a one-time grant of NIS 6,000 ($1,580).

In October 2016, USA Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Dan Coats (R-IN) and Roy Blunt (R-MO) introduced the Taylor Force Act - named after the American military veteran who was stabbed to death in Tel Aviv in March 2016 by a Palestinian terrorist - which would cut off funding to the PA if it continues its policy of dispensing monetary rewards for terrorism. In an editorial the following month, the Wall Street Journal called on the incoming Trump administration to "send a powerful message” and back the bill, stating: "The truth is these payments are blood-soaked gifts from a Palestinian leadership still devoted more to destroying Israel than to building a Palestinian state.” This week’s truck-ramming attack - for which al-Qanbar’s family will receive a monetary award - was the most serious of the latest acts of violence against Israelis in the Palestinian terror wave that began in September 2015. Commonly known as the "lone-wolf” or "knife” intifada, it has been characterized by stabbings, car-rammings, Molotov-cocktail throwing and arson. (Algemeiner) Pray that the shameful practice of rewarding the families of terrorists who undertake to wound and murder innocent Israelis will brought to a halt and that Western governments that fund - with taxpayers money - the Palestinian Authority will cease to do so. [Comment]

 Just three days before foreign ministers from 70 different countries are set to descend upon Paris for a conference aimed at solving the Israel-Palestinian conflict, PM Netanyahu said "there are more attempts to destroy any attempt at peace, and one of these attempts will be happening in Paris. It's a conference rigged by the Palestinians with French auspices to adopt additional anti-Israel stances. This pushes peace backwards," Netanyahu continued. The prime minister then said that "this conference is not going to obligate us. It's a relic of the past, it's a last gasp of the past before the future sets in." Meanwhile, French President Francois Hollande said that talks to discuss the Middle East peace process in Paris on Sunday 15 Jan. 2017 do not aim to replace bilateral negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. Israel is concerned that whatever text is passed during the conference will be then put to a vote at the UN Security Council during a meeting set to be held on the Middle East two days after the Paris conference. After the USA stated that they will veto any anti-Israel resolution, it seems the French will try and present a proposal worded in such a way that it will be signed by all of the members of the UN Security Council. (Ynet) Intercede that there will be no further treachery against Israel on the part of outgoing USA President Obama or his administration and that any text passed during the Paris Peace conference that is detrimental to the Jewish State will not be put to a vote at the 17 Jan. 2017, UN Security Council meeting. Obama cannot be trusted to refrain from one last parting shot at Israel for who is has made it obvious he has a great deal of contempt. [Comment]

USA Secretary of State John Kerry will attend a Middle East peace conference in Paris on Sunday 15 Jan. 2017 in a move likely to dismay an already angry Israel. Neither Israel nor the Palestinian leadership will attend the talks, and PM Benjamin Netanyahu has said the meeting will only widen the gaps between Israel and the Palestinians. Just weeks after the UN Security Council voted to condemn Israeli settlement building, the talks are meant to underline global support for a two-state peace deal. Washington abstained on the UN vote rather than casting its usual veto, and last month Kerry made a major speech laying out proposed parameters of a two-state solution. Netanyahu insists that outside powers cannot impose a settlement on Israel and the Palestinians and has called for direct talks between the parties.

Around 70 countries will gather for the conference and they are expected to throw their weight behind calls for a halt to settlement building and a negotiated peace. France has been planning to hold a conference for months, but Washington had refused until 10 Jan. 2017 to confirm that its top diplomat would attend. Diplomats have played down rumors the foreign envoys could draft a new UN resolution to codify plans for two states in international law. Sunday’s stop in Paris, at a conference chaired by President Francois Hollande, will come halfway through Kerry’s last foreign trip as secretary of state. (Times of Israel) Pray that global leaders, will understand there is absolutely zero chance Israel is going to comply with any plan for a future Palestinian state based on pre-1967 lines. It is a ludicrous objective, one which a long line of Israeli government and military leaders have considered to be "suicidal,” for the Jewish state.