Netanyahu told a few US Congressmen today that were visiting in Israel that a new reconciliation agreement with Turkey is ‘very close’, and that he was optimistic about it:
HAARETZ – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a delegation of visiting U.S. congressmen on Monday that an agreement on reconciliation with Turkey is very close, said sources involved in the meeting. However, officials in Jerusalem are still waiting to set the decisive meeting between the two negotiating teams during which the remaining disagreements are meant to be closed.
Netanyahu was very optimistic about relations with Turkey, repeating his statements on the matter three times during the meeting with the congressmen, said the sources. Netanyahu noted that while relations will not return the level they were at a decade ago, normalization will help both nations in advancing a long list of shared regional interests.
The remaining differences between Israel and Turkey only involve the wording of the compromise concerning the Hamas military headquarters operating in Istanbul, which Israel is demanding to close down, said a senior Israeli official. The decisive meeting between the two negotiating teams was supposed to have been held a few weeks ago, but was postponed after the resignation of former Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and the appointment of a new prime minister in his stead. The next meeting is expected to be held next week in Europe.
Officials from Turkey and Israel are holding more meetings to normalize relations and two out of Ankara’s three conditions for reviving ties have been met, Turkish deputy prime minister Numan Kurtulmuş said on Monday. Israel has agreed to apologize for the deaths of Turkish citizens during the Gaza Flotilla in 2010, and is also willing to pay $20 million in compensation to the families of those killed and injured, he said.
Speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Kurtulmus said lifting Israel’s embargo on the Gaza Strip was important for normalization. A senior Israeli official said the two countries have reached understandings that will allow Turkey to play a part in the process of rehabilitating the Gaza Strip, as well as building infrastructure facilities there, such as power and desalinization plants.
That last paragraph makes me worry. Erdogan has always been adamant that the naval embargo by Israel of Gaza be lifted, and it would seem that he is getting at least some of what he wants here. While I don’t believe Israel will ever completely lift the embargo, allowing Turkey into Gaza is dangerous. After all, it was only last year that he said this about Jerusalem:
“Unfortunately we the Muslims lost our aim to head towards Jerusalem. The water of our eyes froze making us blind, and our hearts that was destined to beat for Jerusalem is now instead conditioned for rivalry being in a state of war with each other.”
This is very ominous in light of the fact that Erdogan is now working hard to unite the Muslim world into a Caliphate. And this complaint he had last year, that the Muslim world is focused on rivalries and war, is the same complaint he’s been making this year. And this complaint is why he’s created the Islamic Interpol under the helm of the OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation).
And Israel is okay with letting Erdogan into Gaza, especially with his close ties to Hamas? Maybe Netanyahu should heed this Arabic proverb: “If the camel gets his nose in the tent, his body will soon follow.”
And this is only Gaza. Erdogan is already working hard to bolster his influence in Jerusalem itself! The Al-Monitor has recently written an article talking in detail about the ‘war’ between Turkey and Jordan for influence in Jordan, and they say that Turkey is winning! They even point out that Turkey has already begun allowing its citizens to travel to Jerusalem as part of their ‘Umrah’ to Mecca:
Turkey has been working on promoting its ties with Jerusalem for some time. Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) issued a decision in April 2015 to include Al-Aqsa Mosque into the Umrah religious pilgrimage. Turkish citizens will stay three days in Jerusalem, four days in Medina and seven days in Mecca.
Former Palestinian Minister of Jerusalem Khaled Abu Arafa told Al-Monitor, “Jordan and Turkey’s competition in Jerusalem is no secret, yet they made sure to keep it muffled so as not to sour their relations. It is clear that Ankara has an agenda … aimed at increasing its influence in Jerusalem, to encourage its citizens to intensify their visits to Al-Aqsa Mosque and to provide scholarships to large numbers of Jerusalemites to complete their studies in Turkey.”
Erdogan is very interested in uniting the Muslim world and Gaza and the Palestinian cause is obviously a big part of it.
Now with respect to Bible Prophecy and the much awaited ‘peace’ agreement that everyone is waiting for between Israel and the Antichrist, I really don’t think that this is it. Heck we aren’t even sure who the Antichrist is at this point.
And to be honest I’m not even sure there will be a peace agreement. Many say that Daniel 9:27 is talking about Israel. Here’s what it says:
And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”
This “covenant with many” is always interpreted to mean a covenant with Israel. But why does ‘many’ have to mean Israel? Yes, there are many people in Israel, but there are many people everywhere. I know, I know, you’ll tell me about Hermeneutics or something.
We’ve gotten so much wrong with respect to Bible Prophecy in the past, that these days I try not to ignore common sense. What is it that we know that the Antichrist will do in the end? He will lead a league of nations into Jerusalem to conquer it. Just read Ezekiel 38, 39.
So here’s the common sense: Daniel 9:27 is not talking about Israel. The ‘covenant with many’ is referring to the Antichrist forming a league of Muslim nations, otherwise known as an Islamic caliphate.
Oh that’s crazy you say? Then look up the word for ‘covenant’ and you’ll find that it also means ‘league’.
There are more reasons than this for why I believe this, but I don’t want to spend the time here discussing it in detail as this isn’t a prophecy article. But I did want to mention that just in case you might be thinking of this.