would ask the Israeli government to help with evacuations, after a road bomb attack on a U.S. convoy killed 3 Americans.
In a statement seen by BosNewsLife the American Embassy in Tel Aviv confirmed that at least one "American vehicle was hit," in the blast, which it said "took place a little after 10:30" local time "north of Gaza City, between Gaza City and Erez."
"The United States Government therefore recommends that all U.S. citizens depart the area as expeditiously as possible, while avoiding the area of the attack," stressed the Embassy.
It added the U.S. was urging "the Israeli Government to facilitate the evacuation of any American citizen wishing to leave the Gaza Strip.
PRECAUTIONS
"We also urge all American citizens in the West Bank to take all available precautions against possible further attacks," the Embassy warned. The Palestinian Authority condemned the blast and expressed its condolences to the families of the victims.
It was not immediately clear what, if any, effect the latest violence would have on the Christian Feast of Tabernacles organized by the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, (ICEJ), a Christian Zionist organization, amid tight security.
Thousands of Christians from at least 70 nations are participating in the week-long Feast, aimed at expressing Christian compassion for Israel, organizers said.
TEMPLE MOUNT
The event has also been overshadowed by reports that Christians, including the ICEJ founder, Jan Willem van der Hoeven were expelled by Israeli police late Tuesday, October 14, from the Temple Mount for praying for Israel.
In addition a member of the Jerusalem city municipality council tried to prevent Christians from taking part in a march for Israel on Tuesday, October 14, the ICEJ News Service said in a report send to BosNewsLife.
Jerusalem Newspaper, a weekly paper, reported that Mina Fenton, wrote a letter to Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupoliansky urging him to ban the ICEJ from the march because, "they walk around with signs and banners that say, ‘In the steps of Jesus’."
FASTER MESSIAH
"It’s as if they’re here to really care for us and help us, but this caring is really to bring the Messiah faster, if he exists," added Fenton, who has been involved in actions against Christian organizations and missions, the Jerusalem Newspaper said.
"The municipality ultimately decided against Fenton’s recommendation and issued a statement saying, "Everyone is invited to participate in the march with no differentiation between gender, religion and nationality," the ICEJ News Service reported.
An estimated 4,000 Christians joined the march showing their support for Israel with national flag, banners and faces painted with their flag colours, according to estimates.
SEVERAL POLITICIANS
Among this year’s pilgrims are several politicians, including a black pastor and MP from South Africa and a Dutch member of the European Parliament.
"A high-level delegation of 35 Russian Orthodox Christians have also come to declare that they too have read their Bibles and it is not only Evangelical Christians who now love Israel," the ICEJ News Service said.
Father Joseph, a Russian Orthodox priest, decried the long anti- Semitic history of his church and country and described a growing movement within Orthodox circles that has a new positive attitude towards the reborn Jewish State.
PROPHET ISAIAH
"It is time for members of the Orthodox church to answer the call of God from the prophet Isaiah: Comfort ye, Comfort ye My people," said Father Joseph, who was expected to speak at the ICEJ Israeli Guest Night, late Wednesday, October 15.
Anti semitism is also a problem in countries such as Italy, suggested Italian pilgrim Giovanni Melchionda. He told the ICEJ News Service that parents of a 16-year-old boy in their congregation named their son Israel. Just the mere name apparently led to persecution from the boy’s schoolmates.
The Feast of Tabernacles began Saturday, October 11, in the Ein Gedi dessert with song and worship, and attended by the German pop group Next Generation?. It also included a dramatic rendering of Moses receiving the Ten Commandments.
THUNDER AND LIGHTNING
The spotlight shone on the mountain far behind the stage where Mount Sinai was depicted, witnesses said.
Speaker Juha Ketola from Finland said that “God appeared in thunder and lightning and wrote the Commandments.” “God said. ‘This is my character and you are to be my witnesses,’" the ICEJ News Service quoted Ketola as saying.
