ISRAELI OFFICIALS CHEER ‘WEAKENED’ PARIS PEACE SUMMIT:

Israeli officials on Sunday, 15 Jan. 2017 credited the efforts of the National Security Council and the Foreign Ministry for a "significant weakening” of the text of the final joint declaration issued by the participants of a peace conference in Paris. The one-day summit came to a close on Sunday evening with a statement, backed by the 70 countries, calling on Israel and the Palestinians to restate their commitment to a peace settlement and to refrain from unilateral actions. The statement urged both sides to "officially restate their commitment to the two-state solution” and disassociate from voices that reject that goal. It also called for them not to take one-sided actions that could preclude fruitful talks. The Israeli officials were jubilant that "problematic passages” in a contentious recent UN Security Council resolution on the settlements were not included in the Paris document. Resolution 2334, passed on 23 December 2017 harshly condemned the settlement enterprise, declaring that it has "no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-state solution and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace.”

Furthermore, the Israeli officials expressed satisfaction over the fact that no further action against Israeli settlements is planned at the Security Council. USA Secretary of State John Kerry had promised as much to P M Netanyahu in a phone call from Paris earlier Sunday. The ostensible success, the officials concluded, was the "result of harsh reactions” voiced by Israel against Resolution 2334. In his call to Netanyahu from the Paris conference, Kerry promised to prevent any followup action to the resolution, either at the confab itself or at the UN Security Council. After a month of chilly ties between Washington and Jerusalem, Kerry updated Netanyahu about the steps he was taking to "soften” the text of the final communique. The prime minister told Kerry that the outgoing administration had already caused Israel damage last month by not vetoing Resolution 2334. No other resolution should be passed, Netanyahu said, either in New York or in Paris. As the multinational conference convened in Paris, Netanyahu again dismissed the French initiative, calling it a "pointless” endeavor that was inherently anti-Israel. (Times Of Israel) God has answered prayer and gratitude for His intervention is deeply felt by so many who have prayed and raised their voices against a further display of anti-Israel bias on the part of the nations at Sunday’s Paris Peace Summit. Please continue to intercede against any unforeseen UN or out-going Obama administration surprises that would harm Israel this month.