Haaretz reports: “An earthquake of the same magnitude as the one two weeks ago in Haiti or stronger is certain to strike Israel, Avi Shapira, chairman of the National Earthquake Preparedness Committee, said.

‘I just returned from Haiti,’ Shapira told a special Knesset committee that gathered in the wake of the Haiti disaster to discuss Israel’s readiness to deal with earthquakes. ‘What happened there will also happen here.’

Shapira warned that hospitals are not prepared for such a disaster and that, according to his estimates, most buildings constructed before 1980 would not withstand a quake.

Previous estimates held that 40 to 50 percent of residential buildings in Israel were not constructed in accordance with guidelines meant to prevent damage in case of an earthquake. However, Shapira said the actual number is closer to 20 percent.

‘The situation is not optimal,’ Shapira told the committee comprising members of the Foreign Affairs and Defense and Interior and Environment committees, adding that Israel is waking up to the threat of earthquakes.

Shapira also told the committee that while it is impossible to know when an earthquake would strike, Israel must take precautions to minimize potential damage.

Israel has been struck by minor quakes and tremors in recent years that have caused no casualties. The last major earthquake to strike the area was in 1927. It had a magnitude of more than 6 and killed 500 people…” (When Christ died for our sins at Calvary there was a gigantic earthquake – Matthew 27:51 – 54, when He rose from the dead a horrible quake shook the earth – Matthew 28:2. Thus when He returns to set up His kingdom the greatest earthquake, ever to occur, in all of history will happen in Jerusalem – Zechariah 14:4; Revelation 16 vs. 18 and 19:14, and 16.)

Haaretz reports: “Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared that Palestinians would not accept any alternative to Jerusalem as the capital of a future state, despite other proposals.

Abbas told Russian television that Jerusalem should not be divided and that there should be free passage for people of various faiths. The Palestinian leader added it must be made clear what belongs to the Palestinians and what belongs to Israel.

Abbas said that he could only recognize Israel as a Jewish state in the framework of a conclusive peace agreement that leads to the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Abbas also said that he could not agree to resume the stalled peace negotiations with Israel as long as construction in West Bank settlements and East Jerusalem continue. The peace process would collapse after the first meeting of such negotiations, said Abbas.

‘If Israel says in the meeting that it will not accept the 1967 borders and that it is not prepared to discuss Jerusalem and the refugee situation, what is there to talk about?’ Abbas said in the interview.

‘If I enter negotiations with them and the building in East Jerusalem continues, Israel will be saying that Jerusalem is theirs. So why would I agree to negotiate while building in East Jerusalem continues?’

Israel has already turned down two initiatives formulated by the Palestinians, Egypt and Jordan to re-launch talks, Abbas said. Those proposals would have Israel agree to freeze all settlement building for at least a short period and recognize international resolutions. Also, the negotiations would be renewed from the point where they left off during the Ehud Olmert administration…” (930 times our God states that Jerusalem belongs to the Jews, period. Sad that Barak Obama has promised Jerusalem to the Arabs. What audacity and rebellious unbelief. A divided Jerusalem brings World War III into existence – Joel 3:2.)

Haaretz reports: “The U.S. is concerned that the continued flow of arms to the Hezbollah militant organization could prompt a war between Israel and Lebanon, State Department official Jeff Feltman said in remarks published by the London-based Al-Hayat daily.

Feltman, who serves as Assistant Secretary of U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, told the daily that the U.S. had no evidence of any Israeli plan to attack its northern neighbor.

Nevertheless, Feltman said he was growing increasingly worried by reports describing the quantity and types of weapons being smuggled to the terrorist organization in clear violation of United Nations Resolution 1701, which put an end to the 2006 war.

The UN resolution clearly demanded a weapons-free south Lebanon, said Feltman, but the world had yet to see that put into play.

With regard to the possibility of a future peace deal between Lebanon and Israel, Feltman said that he believed Lebanon preferred to see a Palestinian-Israeli agreement reached first.

When asked about negotiations between Syria and Israel, Feltman said U.S. special Mideast envoy George Mitchell had passed on to Jerusalem a message from Damascus on the matter, but that progress was slow…” (In the final days preceding Christ’s return Israel will be hated by many of the nations of the world – Matthew 24:9; John 16:2; and Revelation 12:13. During the 7 year period of tribulation upon earth, Revelation 6 – 18 will become the ‘Time of Jacob’s Trouble’ – Jeremiah 30:7 and Jacob is today’s Israel – II Kings 17:34. This battle with Hezbollah could be a war fought before Armageddon – Revelation 16:16, instigated by Iran who sponsors Hezbollah and Hamas. It’s Ahmadinejad’s attempt to blot Israel’s existence and identity from off the map – Psalm 83:4. See also the next two articles.)

Haaretz reports: “Israeli security forces arrested two Hamas militants suspected of plotting attacks against civilian targets across Israel, it was revealed following the lifting of a gag order.

East Jerusalem residents Merad Namar and Merad Camal were detained in a raid at the Be’er Sheva Central Bus Station. The suspects, who both carry Israeli identification cards, were allegedly recruited by Hamas while residing respectively in Jordan and Dubai. Throughout the past few months, Namar and Camal allegedly held additional meetings with foreign agents in Saudi-Arabia, Jordan and Turkey.

Israeli intelligence collected information on the suspects upon their return to Israel, and learned of a number of targets apparently plotted for attack.

During a search of their belongings, police found a portable memory card with detailed plans for terror attacks in central Israeli targets including the bus stations in Be’er Sheva and Jerusalem, the Malkha Mall in Jerusalem, the hotel district along the Tel Aviv promenade and the Israel Defense Forces base in Tel Hashomer.

The suspects were allegedly supposed to receive explosives and other weapons from Hamas, to stash in a cave in the Sataf Forest near Jerusalem…”

Haaretz reports: “Syrian President Bashar Assad vowed to stand by Lebanon’s side against any Israeli ‘aggression,’ in an escalating war of words between Damascus and Jerusalem.

Assad’s remarks to Lebanon Parliament Speaker Nabieh Beri were the latest in a renewed round of threats and counter-threats…

Earlier Syrian Minister of Information Mohsen Bilal told a seminar near the Israeli border that Syria would ‘stand in the face of Israeli ambitions.’

Speaking just kilometers from the Golan Heights – a strategically important plateau at the intersection of Israel, Syria and Lebanon seized by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War – Bilal said the contentious area was at ‘the core’ of Syria’s interests and vowed it would return to Syria.

The Golan Heights ‘will not remain under occupation,’ he said.

Bilal reiterated Syria’s position that peace could be achieved only with the return of all territories Israel captured in 1967…”