Middle East Update

As we have pointed out in previous issues of our Omega Times
newspaper, our 17^th tour of the Middle East was cancelled this year
as a result of the uprising in that area.

We who are interested in Bible prophecy are reading every
little snippet of news that comes by our office. We are looking forward to a
very important event that will take place in the near future; that is the
signing of a seven year peace treaty between the Jews and the Arabs.

At this day of writing on the 14^th of December
when George Bush was appointed President of the United States it seems to point
out to us, that from now on things will begin to move very rapidly in the Middle
East area, particularly in the field of prophecy.

The Waikato Times, 24 October 2000, states that the political
scene is so shattered at the moment that even Ariel Sharon has been offered the
chance of a comeback.

"Ariel Sharon, Israel's leading hawk, could be on the
verge of a comeback which critics say would deal yet another blow to Middle East
peace hopes...

"Sharon represents an electorate centred on the (Jewish)
settlers, who are now calling for an all-out war."...

Sharon is accused by Palestinians of sparking the violence by
making a controversial visit to a holy site in Jerusalem last month which is
sacred both to Jews and Muslims....

Sharon, whose last Cabinet post was foreign minister in
Israel's previous government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,
said he regretted the current violence but denied any blame.

"The Temple Mount is ours. It was a case of Jews and
Israelis going to visit Judaism's holiest site. There was no provocation...

Barak lost his parliamentary majority in July when three
coalition partners bolted his government...

Sharon has championed Jewish settlement activity in the West
Bank and Gaza Strip and has said repeatedly that Israel should keep forever much
of the territories, captured in the 1967 Middle East War.

These territories include Arab East Jerusalem, which contains
the walled Old City and the Temple Mount.

Sharon has been one of the loudest critics of Barak as the
prime minister tries to reach an elusive peace deal with the Palestinians to end
52 years of conflict.

Former US Secretary of State James Baker called him "an
obstacle to peace" in his memoirs..." End Quote.

Not only is Sharon showing an interest in returning to
the scene of power, but his old boss Netanyahu has now been given the green
light to come back into politics again.

The stage is now set for a completely different leadership,
but at this stage it is too close for anybody to speak authoritatively on what
will take place.

We will sit back with the rest of the world and watch with
interest to see prophecy fulfilled day by day and Israel marches on towards a
peace treaty with the Arabs.