Watching over Zion" (The weekly News Report & Prayer Update)
Compiled by David Soakell Tel: 01642 469663
E-mail david@cfi.org.uk Website: www.cfi.org.uk
~ Thursday 27th October 2011 ~

(Please note: Due to the David Dolan UK Tour there will be no reports for the next two weeks. My next report will be out on 17th November 2011)

The Word: Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years… Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Yeshua and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Messiah for a thousand years. (Revelation 20: 1-4)

To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. No-one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame, but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse. Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Saviour, and my hope is in you all day long… See how my enemies have increased and how fiercely they hate me! Guard my life and rescue me; let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you. Redeem Israel, O God, from all their troubles. (Psalm 25: 1-5, 19-22)

• Pointers for prayer: As stated above, there will be no reports for the next two weeks, please do continue to uphold all those connected to the David Dolan tour in your prayers. Please pray against any spiritual attack, and pray for the Lord’s blessing and anointing throughout this time.

• As mentioned in earlier reports, the future months ahead in Israel are very uncertain. However following the ‘Arab Spring’ otherwise known as the ‘Islamic awakening’, one thing is for certain ~ the battle ahead could take its toll. In these ‘end days’, if we as Believers standing with Israel are not equipped, i.e. trusting in God's Word, and being covered by His arm of protection, we will surely fall. Israel too, needs to recognize their place in God. May this be our prayer as we continue to uphold the people of Israel before the Lord.

• As you read through this report, please bring each of these areas before the Lord in your intercession.

Middle East in Turmoil… what happens next? Massive confusion exists within the church about the “Millennium,” a unique thousand-year period depicted in the book of Revelation. Some teach this period is entirely symbolic, others say we’re in the Millennium now and that it began when Yeshua defeated Satan by His death, burial, and resurrection, though of course it’s been more than two thousand years since that happened, so that makes little sense. Most prophecy teachers contend that this apocalyptic period is still in the future, that it will immediately follow the return of the Messiah, as He governs all nations from Jerusalem. I’ll leave you to choose, however one should study the source - the Bible, especially chapter 20 in the book of Revelation and not just the hundreds of variations of explanations.

With this in mind, the David Dolan tour continues through the UK over the next two weeks in which we cover Dewsbury, Selby, Stockton on Tees, Gateshead, Dundee, Edinburgh, Penicuik and two dates in Belfast. Due to the tour there will be no Watching over Zion reports. My next report will be out on 17th November 2011.

As mentioned in my last report, David Dolan’s latest book - Millennium -The Lord Reigns covers his imagining of the Lord’s millennial reign from his future throne in Jerusalem. Dolan's futuristic novel is unique in many ways, especially due to the fact that he wrote it from his home in Jerusalem, where he has worked as a journalist for 31 years. For the past year, I have been organising David Dolan’s three week UK tour, which kicked off at the CFI annual conference in Eastbourne, and is currently working its way throughout northern England, before going to Scotland and Northern Ireland (please contact CFI for full details). On the tour David reviews the effects of the "Arab Spring" vis-a-vis Israel - particularly in regards to Egypt and Jordan; the diplomatic downturn with Turkey; the ongoing uprising against Assad in Syria; the threat of Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as Iran's continuing Nuclear programme, all amidst the economic crisis that is crippling the West and is now spreading to the rest of the world. If you can’t get to hear David Dolan on the tour, you can download his talks (or buy the CD’s) from our conference HERE. His latest book is also for sale, however if you are a resident outside of Europe, please purchase this product from David Dolan's website.

Turkey earthquake death toll rises As this report is being written, the death toll from the earthquake in eastern Turkey has risen to 432 people, officials said, as rescue teams raced to find survivors beneath the rubble. At least 1,352 others were injured in Sunday's disaster. On Tuesday, three generations of the same family - a two-week-old baby girl, her mother and grandmother - have been found alive by rescue workers. However, one wonders if more lives would have been saved had Turkey allowed the help they were offered. Since the quake rocked the eastern section of Turkey, a national volunteer group of Israelis were prepared and ready to help in the rescue operation. Officials with IsraAid – a fast Israeli Rescue and Search Team (FIRST) said on Monday that bilateral diplomatic strains should not get in the way of providing and accepting humanitarian assistance, and offered their help.

Although the earthquake has claimed well over 400 lives so far, Turkish authorities had refused Israeli help, saying that local forces are able to cope with the rescue and recovery operation. Following a previous earthquake in Turkey, an Israeli rescue team pulled a 10-year-old girl from the rubble after she had been trapped for nearly 100 hours. The Israelis rescued 11 other people alive and recovered 140 bodies. On Sunday Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan refused an Israeli offer of help following the devastating earthquake. "We're still waiting and we already have experience on the ground since we helped them during their earthquake," IsraAid- FIRST spokesman Shahar Zehavi told sources. "I don't believe that they're rejecting Israel's help because of political reasons, and that should not interfere in the rescue efforts. But I really don't know if they're able to manage by themselves," Shahar said. "If they decide they need us, we have a team of 40 people ready to leave at any moment. We're in touch with our counterparts in Turkey, so we'll be very quick to act."

Relations between Israel and Turkey have been frayed since Israeli soldiers raided the Gaza-bound Turkish vessel last year. After the incident, Turkey has gradually downgraded diplomatic and trade ties with Israel. Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said on Sunday that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan refused to accept Israel's help. Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay, in charge of the relief operation, said late Monday night that "from today there will be nothing our people lack". His announcement came after some survivors complained that not enough help was reaching them. "We shivered all night long, nobody provided us with any blankets or heaters, we don't even have a toilet," one woman staying in a tent, told reporters.

By late Tuesday night however, despite the deep freeze in relations between Jerusalem and Anarka, the IDF will now be flying equipment to Turkey to aid in rescue operations. According to the Ministry of Defence the decision came after a request from Turkish officials, which was subsequently approved by Defence Minister Ehud Barak.

Hussein, Bin Laden, Mubarak, Gaddafi… who and what next? As hundreds of Libyan’s continued to queue in a macabre way on Monday to view his body, the death of Muammar Gaddafi appeared to have removed a big problem for the country's transition rulers. Colonel Gaddafi was without doubt a cruel dictator who ordered appalling acts of murder. He built a system that ran on fear and brutality. However, as a large section of the world’s Politicians rejoiced over the “new Libya”, one has to wonder what will happen next in the continuing ‘Arab Spring’. What was strange about this whole situation was why the UK, US and France attacked the Libyan leader’s forces in the first place as they enforced a UN-mandated no-fly zone.

Back in March 2011, Prime Minister David Cameron said that launching a military action against Libya was "necessary, legal and right". Seven years earlier however in March 2004, Tony Blair stated that Libya's Muammar Gaddafi was willing to join Britain in the fight against terrorism. After shaking hands with Colonel Gaddafi at the start of the historic talks, the then British prime minister said there was real hope for a "new relationship". “People should not forget the past, they should move beyond it”, Tony Blair stated at the time.

So the question remaining is “why did NATO attack Libya”, and if attacking Libya was indeed "necessary, legal and right", why not do likewise with Syria… and what of Iran? While the Arab Spring revolution was locally driven in Tunisia and Egypt, the intervention in Libya by Nato has created a raging debate as to what exactly happened.

Mr Blair’s Tripoli visit in 2004 was criticised by some politicians and received a mixed response from relatives of the victims of the Lockerbie bombing. Asked if he had felt queasy about meeting Colonel Gaddafi, Mr Blair at the time stated: "It was strange given the history to come here and do this and of course I am conscious of the pain that people have suffered as a result of terrorist actions in the past. But the world is changing and we have got to do everything we possibly can to tackle the security threat that faces us." I wonder what Tony’s thoughts are today?

Back to 2011… and an argument has been advanced that Nato bombed its way into Libya because of its oil and did not care much about bringing democracy to the people. The fact that some of the rebels have had connections to al Qaeda fortifies this argument. The fact that Syria, which has little oil resources in comparison, presented a similar situation but attracted no bombing from Nato further reinforces that thinking. A lot depended on whether Nato would move in to assist in stabilising Libya and in creating an enabling environment for free and fair elections to take place, however it would appear that now Gaddafi is dead Nato will have no role to play.

Some commentators have advanced another argument to the effect that Gaddafi had to be stopped because he was about to achieve his long-stated desire for a politically united Africa which Europe apparently would not like to see happening any time soon. However all these questions remain unanswered, and many feel that Nato only went for the ‘relatively small fry’ while not holding leaders of other Islamic nations, like Syria and Iran, who have done dreadful things to their own people, accountable. Their presence in Libya, and the political message it sends, appears very confusing and could be a contributing factor to the climate of insecurity. One by one, the US and NATO have helped or were directly responsible for eliminating or replacing leaders within the Middle East. And even if they weren’t involved directly, they certainly welcomed the news. So Saddam Hussein, Bin Laden, Hosni Mubarak, and now Muammar Gaddafi… The next big question is… what of Iranian dictator Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?

With Libya, as usual the focus is/was entirely on the individual, on the tangible - the now dead Gaddafi - whom all the blame can be heaped upon, while the existentialist ‘elephant in the room’ - the main problem - the spirit of the age behind all these uprisings, is never acknowledged. “So what” if another dictator has been eliminated… will it make any real difference? And as for those who naively cry "democracy!" (even as those who butchered Gaddafi were crying "Allahu Akbar!"); others warn of a worst scenario could soon be upon us. Many do indeed interpret events in Libya by portraying the Arab uprisings as positive signs of democracy… but is it? Take out the despotic leader, and what are you left with?

According to one report in the Mail On-line this week, Islamic Sharia law will be the ‘basic source’ of legislation in ‘free’ Libya, its new leader has proclaimed. The report stated that Mustafa Abdul-Jalil’s vision has come as a shock to some of the millions of citizens still celebrating their liberty from decades of tyranny. The chairman of the National Transitional Council declared that a future parliament would have an ‘Islamist tint’ and any existing laws contradicting the teachings of Islam would be ‘nullified’. Under the new regime, men will even be permitted to take up to four wives, he suggested. The sudden lurch by a country seen as very moderate towards Islamic extremism will alarm many in the West who supported the ousting of Colonel Gaddafi. It could also prove deeply embarrassing to David Cameron as he ordered the £1 billion mission to back the rebels despite advice from all sides urging caution. Yesterday ordinary Libyans expressed their surprise at the turn of events. SOURCE

Meanwhile, the bodies of 53 Gaddafi loyalists have been found at a hotel in the Libyan city of Sirte after apparently being executed, a human rights group says. Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the victims - some of whom had their hands bound - died about a week ago. It is the latest accusation of atrocities in Libya committed by both sides during the eight-month conflict. Libya's new rulers have denied any involvement in abuses and have urged Libyans to forego reprisal attacks.

I’ll try to kill Jews again An unsuccessful suicide bomber released from prison as part of the deal to free Gilad Shalit has vowed to fulfil a childhood ambition by "sacrificing" her life for the Palestinian cause. Wafa al-Bis was released from prison last week when she was one of 1,027 jailed terrorists freed by Israel in exchange for Shalit. But this female terrorist has said she intends to again try her hand at being a suicide bomber. Wafa al-Bis was arrested in 2005 when soldiers at a border crossing between Gaza and southern Israel found a 22-pound bomb sowed into her underwear. I remember reporting on this back in 2005 and felt sick in the pit of my stomach at her plans in which she had intended to use a permit for medical treatment in Israel to gain entry and blow up the hospital. Instead, she tried to kill the soldiers who stopped her, but the bomb's detonator malfunctioned.

After six years in jail, and despite being freed by Israel, she has no regrets and will try to kill again. "As long as there is going to be occupation over all of Palestine [i.e. a Palestinian state in just Judea, Samaria and Gaza won't be enough], martyrs will be there to resist and to fight, and I will be among the first of the strugglers," Bis told the Daily Telegraph. "This is an honourable thing and I would be a suicide bomber three times over if I could," Wafa al-Bis stated. For full story CLICK HERE

Meanwhile, according to the Al Qassam website in Gaza, the leader of Al Qassam Brigades Hamas' military wing Ahmed Al Jabari said last Saturday that Hamas will continue to abduct Israeli soldiers. In an interview with a Hamas-affiliated media outlet he stated: "We will continue to abduct Israeli soldiers and officers as long as there are Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails." Jabari, who played a key role in the Shalit prisoner swap, stressed that "Ezzedee al Qassam Brigades have taken it upon themselves to empty Israeli jails of all prisoners regardless of their political positions or their ideology." The Hamas official described the day of the prisoner exchange, which saw 477 Palestinian prisoners go free, as the happiest day of his life.

David Soakell
(CFI Church Liaison Officer (UK)
& Writer & Producer of the CFI News Report & Prayer Update)

Tweet me @David_at_CFI
Sources: Unless otherwise stated: Personal sources throughout Israel along with The Jerusalem Post,
BBC News, CFI Jerusalem, Arutz-7 News, Israeli Embassy London & Israel National Radio