(Day 586) Swords of Iron – “Abraham Accords 2.0?”

Chaim begins by pointing out that this is the 77th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel, according to the Gregorian calendar. He says that we’re still living in a “reality show” that is derived in part from the ongoing reverberations of that day.

At the moment, there’s a lot going on in Israel’s neighborhood. US President Donald Trump is in the region and he just signed a massive economic deal with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. This includes a purchase of $142 billion worth of weapons, ammunition and military equipment. There was also the release of dual US-Israeli citizen Edan Alexander, and Chaim wonders if there was some strings attacked to this release. The government of Qatar also gifted President Trump a $400 million private aircraft, and there is a big question mark about what the payback will be for that.

Chaim wonders if all of this is the prelude to President Trump turning to Israel and demanding some things, possibly including a halt to the Operation Gideon’s Chariots offensive in the Gaza Strip.

However, Chaim says that there’s many potential upsides for Israel to a tightening of relations between Saudi Arabia and the United States. This is because, among other things, Saudi Arabia knows better than to accommodate the Moslem Brotherhood, Al Jazeera, etc. 

Chaim mentions that President Trump also met with Syria’s interim President, Abu Muhammed Al-Jolani, during his visit to Saudi Arabia. This is a very mixed bag, as Al-Jolani has a past with some of the most dangerous jihadist terror groups on the planet. But in the present, he is also offering to cooperate with Israel on regional issues including anti-terrorism, intelligence, etc. President Trump offered to lift some sanctions on Syria to give their economy a chance to recover from the long civil war, and this will allow Saudi Arabia to assist them as well, possibly offering a counterweight to Turkey and/or Iran.

However, Chaim also says that he doesn’t like the idea of having to give up the buffer zone that has been created between Damascus and the Israeli border, so we must keep an eye on this situation to see which way it goes.

Chaim also mentions the continuing operations against Hamas and the Houthis, to let them know that they will not be allowed to advance.

Chaim also talks about an event he participated in recently where grandchildren of Nazis met with grandchildren of Holocaust survivors to share experiences and heal. He says it gives him hope and reassurance that God is in control, and those who come against Jerusalem will not succeed.