theTrumpet.com

Israel announced on Tuesday that the EU will send inspectors “with real powers” to monitor the Rafah border crossing between the Palestinian-controlled Gaza Strip and Egypt.

The European Union has hit pay dirt. After more than 10 years of struggling with America to gain control of the Middle East peace process, the EU and the Vatican are one step closer to realizing their Middle East ambitions.

The importance of Rafah border security for Israel cannot be understated. A protective hedge against its sworn enemies, it is the only exit out of the Gaza Strip that bypasses Israel. Even under Israeli control, it had a history of gun-running, arms dealing and terrorist smuggling. Israel knows it would be suicidal to abandon the border crossing altogether—particularly since the Palestinian Authority has increasingly come under the growing influence of Iran-supported Hamas.

But the pressure to pull back has increased from all sides of the bargaining table since Israel’s September withdrawal from Gaza. And Israel, delirious from its bleeding wound—the peace process—and in the interest of peace at any price, feels compelled to take its heel off the neck of this vital land gate.

The conundrum for Israel translates into pay dirt for Europe.

After intense diplomacy, ruffled feathers, and Palestinian belittling of Israel’s need for security, the Israeli cabinet approved an agreement between itself and Cairo to reopen the border crossing under European supervision.

After a meeting with Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini, Sharon stated, “Israel wanted the European representatives to have ‘real powers’ and not be limited to observer status” (EU Business, November 1).

Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom was quoted as saying, “Our objective is for the Europeans to have enforcement capabilities in the field, and not just a symbolic presence” (EUobserver, November 2). An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman, when asked if Israel wanted EU soldiers sent to Rafah, said that the need was for a “presence that would beef up security” (EU Business, op. cit.).

So it appears Europe has been given the mandate not just to observe proceedings at the border, but to exercise real power to enforce any agreement transferred from Israel, the Palestinians and Egypt.

For Israel, this is yet another turn in the wrong direction—into the expectant arms of Europe.

But for Europe, this is a sort of coup d’etat. It appears to have pulled the rug out from American influence in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process—perhaps once and for all. This is a watershed moment for both Israel and Europe. “Israel’s decision to allow European representatives at the crossing was an historic decision, which, for the first time ever, would see Europe taking on a significant role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict” (ibid.).

Although certain reports indicate European hesitation to get involved, it is just scuttlebutt. “Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini said that if the EU does not accept the mission, it would damage the bloc’s foreign-policy goals …” (EUobserver, op. cit.).

Indeed, European designs on the Middle East are not secret.

From the 1993 deal between the Vatican and Shimon Peres—where Pope John Paul ii received sovereignty of Jerusalem’s Old City from Israel and brokered a deal with Arafat (an accord that regularized relations between the Palestinian Authority and Roman Catholic churches)—to European efforts to weigh in on the politics of peace in the Middle East by buying influence through donations, and invitation to mediate between Israel and the Palestinians as distractions pile up on America—what we see here is a shift in power.

Yet as the Trumpet pointed out in 2001, Europe and the Vatican are not interested in making peace. In fact, they are counterfeit peacemakers. Their goal is to control the Middle East. This invitation by Israel plays into their hand.

This event signals that we are racing closer, at a clipped pace, to the precipice of global change—a change that is destined to profoundly affect all of our lives. The fall of the Berlin Wall signaled a change in direction for the world. The decimation of the Twin Towers and rise of Islamic radicals signaled yet another dangerous change of direction for this world. The London bombings also signaled the acceleration of dark and foreboding events overtaking the world.

Could this event actually cascade into something far worse for America, Britain and Israel? Could this seemingly little event really be this important? Read it for yourself in The Rising Beast and The King of the South. •