The big news this week in the region continues to be the bitter infighting among the muslims. Of course people are killed on a daily basis in Syria, but that seemingly interests no one. There are 2 relatively new big outbreaks of conflict:
1) Iran. There are currently demonstrations throughout Iran against their crazy government. In the last week, over 20 people have been killed, including 2 policemen. Friday is always a big day for protests with the muslims, so we’ll see if this continues tomorrow and how intensely. Some people are predicting this could get HUGE and lead to a revolution. For now, we can pray.
2) Isis vs. Hamas in the Sinai. Isis in the northern Sinai Peninsula just declared war on Hamas in Gaza. In classic isis style, the declaration was accompanied by an execution on video. Good to see they haven’t let all the fame change them. isis can never have enough enemies, however, this could bring hamas and egypt closer together – not necessarily the greatest thing for Israel.
3) In Israel, Prime Minister Netanyahu continues to stall on any significant political legislation. However, despite this and some coalition jostling about Shabbat and the death penalty for terrorists, all seems stable. As I’ve pointed out continuously, no one in this current coalition wants it to end. Everyone is winning too much. (just like in Trump’s America!).
Endless criminal investigations against Netanyahu continue endlessly. Announcements are coming next week about building permits in Judea and Samaria. Alot of promises have been made over the past few months, and years. Remains to be seen if any of these will be realized next week or at any time in the near future.
Why not?
Here’s why not. President Trump doesn’t seem to like the “Palestinian Authority” very much. And his dislike, as it often does, seems to be growing by the Tweet. Now President Trump has publicly stated that he intends to cut funding to the terrorist entity for their continuous disrespect of the United States and their refusal to resume “peace” negotiations with Israel. In short, as has been the case since President Trump’s inauguration, PM Netanyahu is being as patient as possible – trying to allow the arabs enough time to dig holes (tunnels?) they can’t get out of. When that moment comes, or political pressure becomes too strong (more likely), there will be many, many options waiting to be unleashed – laws, building, and more building.
Wherever you are – try to stay warm, dry and safe. (unless you’re a syrian refugee, in which case none of those options are realistically possible. but like we said earlier, no one cares about that. what happens in syria…..whatever)