ISRAELI AIR FORCE flies over Lebanese-Syrian border –
first time in 3 months
The Israeli Air Force made several passes over the Lebanese-
Syrian border on Sunday, Dec. 16, for the first time since the
crisis with Moscow erupted in September, military sources
report. The flights passed over northern and central Lebanon,
although in the past Israeli jets stayed close to the south.
IRAN, TURKEY, RUSSIA THREATEN ISRAEL IN EASTERN
MEDITERRANEAN
The fifth Cypriot-Greek-Israeli summit will take place in Beersheba
on December 20. While much of Israel’s attention is focused on
Iran’s proxies on the country’s northern and southern borders,
this high-level trilateral meeting is a noteworthy strategic event.
UN APPEALS to the WORLD to FUND the PA's "Pay for
Slay" policy
the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
ffairs (UNOCHA) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) issued a
joint statement in which they launched a US$350 million appeal
to "address critical humanitarian needs of Palestinians." In the
appeal, they called "upon the international donors' community
to help us in securing the requested funds for 2019 in order to
maintain the humanitarian interventions."
RUSSIA, IRAN and TURKEY agree on Syria constitutional
body, call for talks
The foreign ministers of Russia, Iran and Turkey said on
Tuesday that a new Syrian Constitutional Committee should
convene early next year, kicking off a viable political peace
process. In a joint statement read out by Russian Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov after the trio met UN Special Envoy
Staffan de Mistura, they said that the work of the new body
"should be governed by a sense of compromise and
constructive engagement."
TURKEY AIMING to HEAD a GLOBAL ISLAMIC UNION
Governed by Sharia
Turkey's Strategic Research Center for Defenders of Justice is
planning to organize an "International Islamic Union Congress"
every year until 2023, to address the "Islamic confederal state"
it aims to establish across the Muslim world.
IRAN ARRESTS OVER 100 CHRISTIANS
Over the past week, Iranian authorities have arrested more than
100 Christians as part of the government’s fresh crackdown on
those who have left the Islamic faith and embraced Jesus. Reports
indicate that many of the 114 detained were converts from Islam
to Christianity and were thus accused of “proselytising.”
CHINA CLOSES MEGACHURCHES
Ahead of Christmas, Chinese authorities have continued their
ongoing crackdown on underground Protestant churches, which
do not belong to the government-sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic
Movement and are illegal under Communist rule. The activity has
spurred further concern by US officials and American Christians.
JAPAN to BUY MORE U.S.-MADE STEALTH JETS, radar to
counter China, Russia
Japan will accelerate spending on advanced stealth fighters,
long-range missiles and other equipment over the next five
years to support U.S. forces facing China’s military in the
Western Pacific, two new government defense papers said.
UN APPEALS to the WORLD to FUND the PA's "Pay for
Slay" policy
the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (UNOCHA) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) issued a
joint statement in which they launched a US$350 million appeal
to "address critical humanitarian needs of Palestinians." In the
appeal, they called "upon the international donors' community to
help us in securing the requested funds for 2019 in order to
maintain the humanitarian interventions."
HALEY: TRUMP’s PEACE PLAN
The outgoing US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley,
on Tuesday called on Israelis and Palestinians to back a US peace
plan to be unveiled in early 2019, saying it was far more “thoughtful”
and creative than any that have come before. Without revealing
details of the plan, drawn up by US President Donald Trump’s
son-in-law Jared Kushner, Haley said it was far longer than past
proposals and included elements that would have previously been
“unthinkable.”
first time in 3 months
The Israeli Air Force made several passes over the Lebanese-
Syrian border on Sunday, Dec. 16, for the first time since the
crisis with Moscow erupted in September, military sources
report. The flights passed over northern and central Lebanon,
although in the past Israeli jets stayed close to the south.
IRAN, TURKEY, RUSSIA THREATEN ISRAEL IN EASTERN
MEDITERRANEAN
The fifth Cypriot-Greek-Israeli summit will take place in Beersheba
on December 20. While much of Israel’s attention is focused on
Iran’s proxies on the country’s northern and southern borders,
this high-level trilateral meeting is a noteworthy strategic event.
UN APPEALS to the WORLD to FUND the PA's "Pay for
Slay" policy
the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
ffairs (UNOCHA) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) issued a
joint statement in which they launched a US$350 million appeal
to "address critical humanitarian needs of Palestinians." In the
appeal, they called "upon the international donors' community
to help us in securing the requested funds for 2019 in order to
maintain the humanitarian interventions."
RUSSIA, IRAN and TURKEY agree on Syria constitutional
body, call for talks
The foreign ministers of Russia, Iran and Turkey said on
Tuesday that a new Syrian Constitutional Committee should
convene early next year, kicking off a viable political peace
process. In a joint statement read out by Russian Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov after the trio met UN Special Envoy
Staffan de Mistura, they said that the work of the new body
"should be governed by a sense of compromise and
constructive engagement."
TURKEY AIMING to HEAD a GLOBAL ISLAMIC UNION
Governed by Sharia
Turkey's Strategic Research Center for Defenders of Justice is
planning to organize an "International Islamic Union Congress"
every year until 2023, to address the "Islamic confederal state"
it aims to establish across the Muslim world.
IRAN ARRESTS OVER 100 CHRISTIANS
Over the past week, Iranian authorities have arrested more than
100 Christians as part of the government’s fresh crackdown on
those who have left the Islamic faith and embraced Jesus. Reports
indicate that many of the 114 detained were converts from Islam
to Christianity and were thus accused of “proselytising.”
CHINA CLOSES MEGACHURCHES
Ahead of Christmas, Chinese authorities have continued their
ongoing crackdown on underground Protestant churches, which
do not belong to the government-sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic
Movement and are illegal under Communist rule. The activity has
spurred further concern by US officials and American Christians.
JAPAN to BUY MORE U.S.-MADE STEALTH JETS, radar to
counter China, Russia
Japan will accelerate spending on advanced stealth fighters,
long-range missiles and other equipment over the next five
years to support U.S. forces facing China’s military in the
Western Pacific, two new government defense papers said.
UN APPEALS to the WORLD to FUND the PA's "Pay for
Slay" policy
the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (UNOCHA) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) issued a
joint statement in which they launched a US$350 million appeal
to "address critical humanitarian needs of Palestinians." In the
appeal, they called "upon the international donors' community to
help us in securing the requested funds for 2019 in order to
maintain the humanitarian interventions."
HALEY: TRUMP’s PEACE PLAN
The outgoing US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley,
on Tuesday called on Israelis and Palestinians to back a US peace
plan to be unveiled in early 2019, saying it was far more “thoughtful”
and creative than any that have come before. Without revealing
details of the plan, drawn up by US President Donald Trump’s
son-in-law Jared Kushner, Haley said it was far longer than past
proposals and included elements that would have previously been
“unthinkable.”