Daniel 9:26-27 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Isaiah 28:14-19  Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.

The Beast working towards his coming confirmation of the False Seven (7) Year Peace Treaty with Israel and the MENA nations; Will Saudi follow suit and normalise relations with Israel?

Date of publication: 21 August, 2020 The New Arab Courtney Freer

While President Donald Trump revealed at a White House press conference last week that he expects Saudi Arabia to follow the UAE’s lead in normalising relations with Israel, the kingdom has not made any indication that this expectation is realistic. 

Indeed, Saudi officials had mostly stayed silent on the issue, until Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan made the kingdom’s first statement on the Emirati-Israeli deal last Wednesday. He stated that “peace must be achieved with the Palestinians” based on existing international agreements before normalisation with Israel takes place, and explaining Saudi Arabia’s continued commitment to achieving peace with Israel through the Arab Peace Initiative, which was drafted by Saudi Arabia in 2002.

This statement does not, at least directly, contradict the Emirati claim that its agreement with Israel can work alongside the Arab Peace Initiative, and there has been no official criticism of the plan itself on behalf of the Saudi leadership. Nonetheless, the Arab Peace Initiative requires full Israeli withdrawal from land taken in 1967, and the Saudi foreign minister further clarified his stance against “any Israeli unilateral measures to annex Palestinian land as undermining the two state solution.”

The Palestinian issue has been one on which Saudi King Salman and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) appear to differ. Indeed, MbS is known to be close with Jared Kushner, the architect of Trump’s Middle East peace plan. And after further discussion about Trump’s “Deal of the Century,” including an in-person meeting in DC between MbS and Kushner, King Salman issued a statement in February 2019 stating that his country “permanently stands by Palestine and its people’s right to an independent state with the occupied East Jerusalem as its capital.” 

Normalisation with Israel would certainly boost Saudi Arabia’s relations with the Trump administration, which indeed expects this step. Perhaps more surprisingly, normalisation would be equally welcomed by a potential Biden presidency. Indeed, Democratic candidate Joe Biden called the Emirati-Israeli agreement “a historic step to bridge the deep divides of the Middle East” and “a welcome, brave, and badly-needed act of statesmanship.”

Still, Saudi Arabia does not need to normalise relations with Israel in order to maintain warm relations with Trump: the president ignored objections from Congress to push through a new arms deal to Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and the UAE in May 2019 and is said to be pursuing a new arms deal with the kingdom. In addition, the White House has never held Saudi Arabia to account for human rights violations domestically or in Yemen that have been chronicled, including the killing of US resident and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul which the CIA attributed to an order from MbS. 

Still, normalisation could become more important for Saudi to maintain its ties with the US under a Biden administration. Indeed, the former vice president has said that, if elected, he would treat Saudi Arabia as a “pariah“. If normalisation could prevent a freezing out from Washington after a potential Trump departure, the Saudis may be likelier to consider it. 

In terms of regional calculations, Bahrain and Oman are said to be next to normalise ties with Israel, and the UAE has already set up a trade deal and direct flights notably having been granted the use of Saudi airspace. Bahrain could be seen as something of a test case, with reactions to that country’s announcement of normalisation perhaps helping to inform Saudi decision-making.

If it is met with outrage, the Saudis can change their messaging appropriately. And if not, they can move forward and continue to forge strong relations with the Americans, as the deal currently enjoys bipartisan support. Nonetheless, the impact of normalisation between Saudi Arabia – the home of Islam’s two holiest mosques – and Israel would have much farther reaching regional consequences than would Bahraini or Omani treaties. 

Indeed, Saudi domestic and regional calculations in normalising relations with Israel are arguably far more complicated than its calculations regarding the relationship with the US. Indeed, the Palestinian issue has been the regional rallying point for decades, and normalised relations between Israel and Wahhabi Saudi Arabia would undoubtedly evoke a major regional reaction, particularly if it is reached with current settlement activity. Notably, the Palestinian issue is one of the few issues on which public opinion still matters in the region and is relevant for every country in it, and so it is likely the Saudis will continue to be cautious.  

Meanwhile, Kuwait and Qatar remain unlikely to normalise, meaning that this issue will crosscut the GCC. Kuwait has been most outspoken in this regard, with government sources confirming that Kuwait “will be the last country to normalise with Israel” and with 39 of Kuwait’s 50 members of parliament having signed a statement against normalising ties with Israel.

Qatar has largely remained quiet, aside from the readout of a phone call on Thursday between Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thanim with PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat. Al-Thani notably “stressed the State of Qatar’s firm position in supporting the rights of the brotherly Palestinian people and adhering to international legitimacy and relevant Security Council Resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative as a basis for achieving a just and sustainable peace,” with a Palestinian state on 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital.

Despite Trump’s expectations, then, Saudi Arabia will likely continue to hedge a final decision regarding normalisation. While MbS himself may see the pragmatic benefits of a deal with Israel, he must also be careful to take into account the ability of the Palestinian cause to rally the Arab street, at least historically.

Dr Courtney Freer is a research fellow at LSE Middle East Centre.

In His Service,

Night Watchman

Paul Rolland

Night Watchman Ministries

Make Your Decision for Christ NOW!!!!!!! Time is Up!!!!!!!

Jesus Christ’s Offer of Salvation:

The ABCs of Salvation through Jesus Christ (the Lamb)

A. Admit/Acknowledge/Accept that you are sinner. Ask God’s forgiveness and repent of your sins.

. . . “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23).

. . . “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10).

. . . “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8).

B. Believe Jesus is Lord. Believe that Jesus Christ is who He claimed to be; that He was both fully God and fully man and that we are saved through His death, burial, and resurrection. Put your trust in Him as your only hope of salvation. Become a son or daughter of God by receiving Christ.

. . . “That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (John 3:15-17). For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13).

C. Call upon His name, Confess with your heart and with your lips that Jesus is your Lord and Savior.

. . . “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10).

. . . “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (John 1:8-10).

. . . “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. (John 2:2).

. . . “In this was manifested the love of god toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.” (1 John 4:9, 14-15).

. . . “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” (Romans 5:8-10).

. . . “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23).

. . . “Jesus saith unto them, I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6).

. . . “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.” (Romans 1:16).

. . . “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts: 4:12).

. . . “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth for there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 2:4-6).

. . . “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:9).

. . . “But as many as received him, to them gave the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” (John 1:12).

True Church / Bride of Christ Spared from God’s Wrath:

 Romans 5:8-10. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”

Romans 12:19. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 1:10. And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

1 Thessalonians 5:9. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

Romans 8:35. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Jeremiah 30:7. Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.

Revelation 3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.