This issue looks at Hamas in the West Bank, possible US military aid to Israel, the Syrian rebel-al Qaeda connection, the newly launched Noah’s Ark replica, more State Department stalling on Benghazi, the Night of Prayer in Cairo, Egypt’s torture chamber, and the results of the Obama-Morsi connection.

OUR ISRAELI CONNECTION

News from the Israel Project
Thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank flocked on Friday to a Hamas rally in Hebron, the first such rally that Hamas’s rival Fatah faction, which controls the West Bank, had permitted in years. Waving Hamas banners and carrying fake missiles on their shoulders, the demonstrators subsequently marched toward an Israeli checkpoint and attacked Israeli soldiers with rocks. Hamas’s growing strength in the West Bank raises the specter that the Iran-backed terror group may be able to supplant Fatah rule in the territory, essentially replicating its violent 2007 expulsion of Fatah from the Gaza Strip. The possibility will deeply complicate diplomacy aimed at urging Jerusalem to cede territory to a Fatah-led West Bank government.

Pentagon officials are pressing Congress to enhance military sales to Israel in the form of an additional $647 million package which would include 6,900 tail kits used to transform free-fall bombs into precise satellite-guided weapons and thousands of 900kg bunker buster bombs. The tail kits would supplement an Israeli arsenal already built with an emphasis on minimizing damage to non-combatants in the densely packed urban environments used for military purposes by groups such as the Iran-backed terror organization Hamas.

The New York Times conveys broad and increasing concerns over the infiltration of Syrian rebel forces by Al Qaeda-linked elements, as the U.S. State Department prepares on Tuesday to issue a statement declaring that the Jabhat al-Nusra front which recently seized a military base  in northern Syria is a front group for Al Qaeda in Iraq. The statement lays the ground work for designating Jabhat al-Nusra as a terrorist entity. The group’s recent military successes highlight the degree to which U.S. and allied options are constrained in approaching the Syrian conflict, which threatens to escalate from being a proxy war between regional Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds mostly confined within Syria’s border, and into a full-blown regional conflict.

IT’S NEWS TO ME

Dutchman’s “Noah’s Ark” Launched
Breaking Christian News reports: For 20 years, Christian ship builder Johan Huibers of the

Peter Dejong/AP

Netherlands has been building a full-size replica of Noah’s Ark. As reported by the Associated Press, the end result was a 427-ft. long, 95-ft. wide and 75-ft. tall, fully operational ship. On December 10, the ship was officially opened to the public with permission to receive 3,000 visitors per day. The report quoted the Dutchman as saying he hopes his ark gets people to thinking that there is a purpose to being on Earth. “I want to make people question that so that they go looking for answers,” said Huibers, and ultimately find salvation and eternal life. As to where he may take the ark in the future, Huibers is reportedly considering sailing it across the Atlantic.

State Dept. Hiding Benghazi Survivors
TeaParty.org reports: Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R- UT) told Breitbart News on Wednesday that he has been “thwarted” by the State Department from seeing any Americans who survived the deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi. Many people forget that there were Americans who survived the Benghazi attack, some of whom were badly injured. Read more.

Night of Prayer in Cairo
Sat 7 reports: A year ago, an unprecedented Night of Prayer drew 70,000 Christians from all streams of the Egyptian Church to pray for their nation. The entire event was broadcast live by SAT-7 and watched by millions around the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe. Tonight, December 13, 2012, thousands of believers from across Egypt’s churches are gathering again. It is a pivotal moment in Egyptian politics. In just two days [Saturday], Egyptians will vote in a referendum on the recently written draft of a possible new constitution. Read more.

Torture Chamber Still in Use
The Blaze reports: A chilling report recently published an Egyptian newspaper reveals that the torture chambers once utilized by the Hosni Mubarak regime to tamp down protesters are being put to the same, if not greater use, by the country’s new, self-proclaimed dictator, Mohammed Morsi. Go inside the Muslim Brotherhood’s Torture Chamber HERE.

Washington DC’s American-Egyptians’ March against Tyranny
Cynthia Farahat reports: Today hundreds of American-Egyptians from all religions and ethnicities marched from the White House to the Egyptian embassy in protest against Mohammed Morsi’s tyrannical theocratic dictatorial constitution, and President Obama’s administration support, funding, and now according to the Washington Times, arming Islamists with “more battle tanks and jet fighters” from the United States, which will be used by the Muslim Brotherhood religious and autocratic tyranny to subvert millions of protestors representing the vast majority of Egyptians. Read more.

Morsi to Get American Fighter Jets
Jay Sekulow reports: On Sunday, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood President declared martial law while he pushes through a new constitution based on Shariah law. Today, news reports say the Obama Administration is set to send them 20 American-made F-16 fighter jets that cost U.S. taxpayers $200 million. American servicemen are expected to train the Egyptians on how to use our weapons. Another Shariah dictatorship on Israel’s border – armed with American weapons – cannot be allowed to happen. The ACLJ is demanding that all aid to Egypt be cut off until Congress can certify that it is in the interest of U.S. and Israeli national security. Sign our Petition to Stop Funding Egypt and Defend Israel today.

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