The nations of Iraq and Iran figure prominently in the Middle East Conflict. Iran is depicted in Bible prophecy in the prophecies of Ezekiel. Persia is the ancient and Biblical name for the present State of Iran. Iran, today is home to a brand of fundamentalist Islam that is working feverishly to undermine the Middle East Peace Process, and to exterminate the State of Israel from the Middle East region. The Iranian Revolution under Ayatollah Komeini in 1979 established an Islamic Theocracy in the State. Iran also exports its version of Dar Al-Islam (house of Islam-Islamic Empire) throughout the Middle East. It is heavily involved in fortifying the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Lebanon, Syria, and the Palestinian West Bank terrorist organizations with weapons, finances, and other material to wage war against Israel.

supported the Iraqi side in a calculated “dual containment” policy. Iraq is ruled by the Baathist Party Dictator Saddam Hussein. Iraqi leadership has had its own designs on becoming the vanguard of the Arabic Empire, and thus has contended with its neighbors for supremacy, and also eyed them with suspicion. Iraq's ambitions were curtailed by the defeat in the Persian Gulf War. But since the 1990 war, Iraq has developed a mutual alliance with the anti-West powers in the region. (Syria, Iran, numerous terrorist organizations) Iraq is conspicuously absent from the list of allies mentioned as being banded together with Gog, Magog, Meshech, and Tubal that will assault Israel in the Last Days. Many theories abound as to why Iraq is left out, but in watching the trend of events in the Middle East, it may that Iraq will be extracted from the Middle East equation as a consequence of the current War on Terrorism.

The Palestinian Refugee Problem

    Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, was established by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 302 to carry out direct relief and works programs for the Palestinian refugees. The Agency began operations on 1 May 1950. In the absence of a solution to the Palestine refugee problem, the UN General Assembly has repeatedly renewed UNRWA's mandate to maintain the refugee camps.     The (UNWRA) United Nations Works and Refugee Relief Agency map depicted below shows the locations of the many Palestinian Refugee Camps that are located around Israel. A close observation of the camp localities reveals to even a casual observer that all of the Palestinian refugee Camps are located outside the UN recognized boundaries of pre-1967 Israel. The controversial Palestinian refugee camps are fixated in the countries of Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. While there are 17 camps located in the West Bank, and another 8 located in the Gaza Strip, one often gets the perception from media reports that Israel is forcing Palestinians to live in these inhumane poverty riddled camps of desperation and despair. Many people around the world have assumed that Israel incarcerates the Palestinians in reservation-like areas. But the truth of the matter is that Israel operates no camps, and has permitted the assimilation of many law abiding Palestinians into the Israeli society. The truth is that the Arab countries that border Israel (and began the 48,56,67, and 73 wars) have denied the Palestinian refugees from those wars to become citizens of their countries, and will not allow the natural assimilation of Palestinians into their national society. In fact the United Nations maintains and finances the Palestinian Refugee Camps. The vast majority of UN funding for these camps comes primarily from Europe and the USA. Most of the Arab world not only refuses to allow the displaced Palestinians to live freely in their countries, and enjoy a decent living standard, but also doesn't even contribute to the UN provision and maintenance of the refugee camps that are located in their countries.