Israel's Political Shake-Up

by Gary Kah

Earlier this year, a number of Israel's Knesset members who realized that their Prime Minister was preparing to sign over a large part of Israel that is critical for their nation's defense, began pushing for investigations into some of his personal dealings. Their goal: to get him removed from office before he could sign the agreements. They have succeeded - kind of.

On July 30th, Ehud Olmert announced he would be stepping down as Israel's Prime Minister in September. This decision came amidst allegations of personal corruption leveled by police.1 On September 7th, Israel's police recommended that PM Olmert be indicted in a string of corruption cases. He had been under investigation on charges of receiving bribes, breach of public trust, and money laundering. There is a good chance Olmert could be convicted of money laundering, a crime that carries a maximum 10-year jail sentence.2

According to INN, Israeli police are now going after Olmert's corrupt associates:

Police investigators from the National Fraud Unit recommended…that the Attorney General indict attorney Uri Messer and former Olmert bureau chief Shula Zaken… Police provided the state prosecution with a detailed account of how the prime minister's former law partner Messer managed the funds given to Olmert by US businessman and philanthropist Moshe Talansky, most of which came in cash-stuffed envelopes.3

Could it be that the U.S. was trying to pay off Olmert to secure his signature on the upcoming peace treaty? While Olmert is now out of the picture (at least for a while), the bad news for Israel is that President Shimon Peres is still firmly entrenched in power and is planning to move forward with the accord. He has been Israel's chief political mastermind when it comes to foreign affairs and is a staunch globalist. Unless the Knesset can figure out a way to offset his influence - possibly by installing a new trustworthy, loyal-to-Israel prime minister - the peace deal could still become a reality this year.

According to WorldNetDaily, the Bush Administration is determined to plow through an agreement before George W. leaves office in January. Here are some of the details:

The information comes as Jacob Walles, the U.S. consul-general, stated in an interview with a major Palestinian newspaper yesterday [9/10/08] that Israel and the PA agreed to negotiate Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley area leading to the Dead Sea...
...Israeli and Palestinian sources intimately familiar with the current talks tell WND Jerusalem is being negotiated, with Palestinian officials claiming the talks are in advance stages.
...The sources also said the U.S. recently floated a plan to divide Jerusalem…
...One U.S. plan for Jerusalem obtained by WND was divided into timed phases and, among other things, called for Israel eventually to consider forfeiting parts of the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site...
...After five years, if both sides keep specific commitments called for in a larger principal agreement, according to the U.S. plan, the PA would be given full sovereignty over agreed-upon eastern Jerusalem neighborhoods and discussions would be held regarding an arrangement for the Temple Mount. The plan doesn't specify which parts of the Temple Mount could be forfeited to the Palestinians or whether an international force may be involved...
...According to top diplomatic sources, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who visited the region last month, pressed Israel to sign a document by the end of the year that would include Jerusalem by offering the Palestinians a state in Israel's capital city as well as in the West Bank and Gaza Strip...
...Rice, the sources said, has asked Israeli leaders to bend to what the U.S. refers to as a "compromise position," concluding an Israeli-Palestinian agreement by the end of the year that guarantees sections of Jerusalem to the Palestinians. But Israel would not be required to withdraw from Jerusalem for a period of one to five years.4

The Bush Administration is working to ensure that "any agreements reached by the Israelis and the Palestinian Authority, and spelled out in a joint document, will be recognized by the next U.S. administration and binding for Israel and the PA."5

I believe God will not smile favorably on President Bush or our country for its role in negotiating away Israel. The United States should have never involved itself in the Jew-Arab dispute, especially over the dividing of Jerusalem. When will our leaders finally realize they are playing with fire? Or, will they?




  1. NBC Nightly News, July 30, 2008.
  2. Fox News, September 7, 2007.
  3. Jerusalem-On-The-Line, Prayer Letter, September 9, 2008.
  4. WorldNetDaily, Aaron Klein, U.S. to 'Guarantee' Palestinian State, Letter meant to bind Israel, PA, next administration in Washington, [http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=75048], September 11, 2008.
  5. Ibid.