Are you ready for the deal of the century? Well, it’s coming, reportedly on the 1st of December, and if recent events in Gaza are any indication it will not fly with Palestinians. The Palestinian leader Abbas has seen the deal and wants no part of it. The Palestinians want adherence to the terms of the 1967 borders, including East Jerusalem. The US has said that like it or not, the deal is done. Such rhetoric will only serve to unite the Palestinians more strongly, further inflaming tensions. All of a sudden there seems to be a lot of interest in Gaza from the White House. If the deal is announced on December 1st as is purportedly planned, then it could be quite an explosive day. And in the midst of all this, Netanyahu is about to lose government due to his defense minister having just stepped down because of Netanyahu’s actions with regard to Gaza. Interesting times in old Palestine.
Once again we have the threat of war on the Gaza Strip, which has eased as of this writing. But that could change very quickly. Earlier in the year we had the ‘March of Return’ starting on March 30, in protest of the siege of Gaza which has been ongoing for the past 10 years. The siege is otherwise known as a blockade, instituted by Israel and then Egypt in response to Hamas taking power over the Strip in 2006. That blockade/siege, depending on one’s point of view, has devastated Gaza, isolating it from the wider world, has impoverished its population, left the majority of people without work, with very spotty electricity and widespread disruption of health services. We’ll have a look at the astrology in due course, but there is quite a bit under the surface with this latest violence. To start, we might wonder if this latest conflict is an attempt at distraction of some sort from a larger and emerging issue.
We can only give a thumbnail sketch here as to present conditions, but in future posts we will have a closer look at other factors as we parse out what is evolving with the Palestinian people. To begin, though, it has been revealed that an emergency task force was assembled by the Saudis in the wake of the Khashoggi killing (here and here) for the purpose of damage control. One of the suggestions that came from this task force was that Netanyahu should start a war in Gaza, which would serve to distract Trump from the ongoing investigation into Khashoggi’s murder. Coincidence or not, there was a sharp change in tone by Netanyahu toward Hamas after October 14, almost two weeks after the killing, saying there would be heavier blows to Hamas if they did not stop their more militant activities. And now, a month after that, we have this situation. The events of the past few days can also be seen as an effort to scuttle a deal that had just been reached between Israel and Qatar to allow money to flow into Gaza for aid and to pay the salaries of Hamas government workers. So, the plot thickens, and not all is what it seems.
In addition to the Qatari deal, there are also payments being made by the Saudis in the West bank, the aim by Israel and other regional Muslim powers being to split the Palestinians, one camp in Gaza, the other in the West Bank. The Palestinians in the West Bank would be further marginalized by the acquisition of more of their territory, so that in the end there would be only little pockets of Palestinians, with no rights and under continued repressive measures. The ‘Gaza camp’ is seen to be an outpost of the Muslim Brotherhood, with which Hamas is allied, even though it is a Sunni organization. As a result, the Saudis would be more than happy for Hamas to meet its demise. This was also the desire of Lieberman, hence his resignation when Netanyahu made peace with Hamas. Lieberman wanted war.
These points being made, Gaza is not really an independent entity. It is held by the EU to be under Israeli occupation because Israel controls the airspace over Gaza since the blockade, as well as its territorial waters and prohibits the movement of people to and from the territory. Gaza can hardly be said to be free and independent, that being the case. At the same time, Hamas is branded as a terrorist organization by Western nations and Israel, but not by the larger world. The origin of the troubles there can be traced directly to the creation of the state of Israel, but especially since the 1967 war when the Israelis seized and occupied the territory, thereafter building Jewish settlements there. Those were all dismantled as of September 2005 and the settlers evicted. With the outline we have here we on to the astrology of the recent troubles.
We don’t really have a chart for the Gaza Strip. But if we had to erect one, it would be for the deadline when all Israeli settlers had to be off that territory by law, which was at midnight on 15 Aug 2005, as part of Israel’s unilateral disengagement plan. The plan was completed by 12 Sep 2005. There is, however, a chart for the State of Palestine, which encompasses the West Bank and Gaza Strip, erected for the declaration of Palestinian independence (chart). But since we are looking at Gaza, the proposed chart is below (bigger):
The chart gives Leo Sun, Sagittarius Moon and Taurus rising. Mars is in partile sextile with Uranus, showing that the people have great independence and a fighting spirit, coupled with the Leo Sun. They will not be cowed by the Israelis, nor have they been. This is reinforced by a trine between the Sun and Pluto, even though the Sun is in a wide opposition to Neptune, which weakens the resolve, or probably more precisely, the ability to fight back. The Sun is in the 4th house of infrastructure, which it rules, and with Neptune opposite, that speaks to the poor state of infrastructure and services within the region. In addition, Mercury is square to Mars, indicating the strident and combative tone of communications there, and with Mars in Taurus in the 12th house, which it rules, we see the militant nature of the secret enemies of the state, the secret incursions into Gaza by Israelis, as well as the destruction of its institutions on a regular basis by the Israeli army. Mercury rules the 5th and 2nd houses, and under the present situation, both children (5th) and finances (2nd) suffer under the Martian influence.
In terms of infrastructure, there is a quintile yod with Uranus at the apex, Jupiter and Saturn forming the base, and that setup points to the unreliability of things like electricity, and as a result, water supplies. It also points to damage to buildings, disruption of services, sudden changes of residence and in general strong emotional tensions. It is a very disquieting yod, but also points to having to make great efforts, and with the quintile emphasis, a strong creative impulse and hidden gifts brought out by the crises these people have to endure. In all, coupled with the Taurus ascendant, we could say that Gaza could be seen as a karmic clearing house, but also as a tremendous impetus toward soul growth for the people who have incarnated there, esoterically considered, and by reflex for Israelis who must interact with the Gazans, one way or another. The whole setup is one of strong testing, trials by fire, trials under fire, and describes a situation in which self-reliance for Gazans becomes an imperative rather than a luxury. And by self-reliance, I mean the collective of the people there and not simply individuals. Of interest are the tunnels that have been constructed under the Philadelphi Corridor, this indicated by the trine between the Sun (4th house, infrastructure) and Pluto (the underworld) in the 7th house (the people), Pluto ruling the underworld. We also have the use of kites as weapons, referring to the quintile yod, and speaking of inventiveness, with Uranus ruling ‘air forces’ and aerial technology in general.
However, if we use the preceding chart as a working chart for the region, certain factors immediately stand out, and are quite revealing. There is more here if we look under the surface (i.e., at the midpoints), which gives us the defining dynamics of the territory and the stresses under which it must work. In the chart we see a wide square between Mars and Saturn, and from past posts (starting here), we know where this is headed. At the midpoint we find none other than Pluto, which defines one of the more violent midpoint trees. From Ebertin (The Combination of Stellar Influences):
Brutality, the rage or fury of destruction. – The intervening of Higher Power, bodily injury or harm (murder, the death of a great many people).
Since July of 2017 there has been a solar arc of Uranus to that axis, which reads:
Extraordinary and unusual powers of resistance, the ability to give as well as to take under provocation, the inclination to apply brute force. – A test of nervous strength, intervention by Higher Power or by Providence, a sudden illness, a sudden accident, separation or case of death.
Every time this midpoint structure is activated we have the death of many Palestinians and the application of brute force by the Israelis. The charts for those events bear this out (here, here, here and here). The struggles on the Gaza Strip have been compared in many articles as one of David and Goliath proportions, but this time the Israelis are painted as the Goliath in the picture. The Israelis for their part don’t much like the comparison. We also find Mars at the midpoint of the ‘illness axis’ (Saturn/Neptune) in the Gaza chart, even though Saturn and Neptune are not in aspect, so it is a lesser emphasis, but which otherwise points to the poor conditions that exist there and the worsening health of its people.
The latest escalation in tensions (chart) occurred when a covert Israeli unit infiltrated Gaza, having gone to the home of a local Qassam commander, during which time a firefight ensued, leaving 7 Palestinians and one Israeli officer dead. Since then there were tit for tat strikes. The raid was ordered by Lieberman, hoping to provoke a wider conflict. It was a big mistake on the part of Lieberman and was played very craftily by Netanyahu. At the time, Mars was transiting square the proposed Gaza horizon and Ceres was opposing transiting Uranus on the Vertex axis. The Israeli incursion was a failed raid, but it quickly escalated to the point where a new war could have broken out. Astrologically, it looks more like a flash than a war, but we will see. The Israelis are currently massing troops on the border. The directed Mars is also moving off the square to the Gaza Sun, which had come into effect in September of last year. It was an exact direction on 30 August this year.
There were also surprises for Israel in this latest episode too, however, and not very pleasant ones at that. It turns out that Hamas has new capabilities. The artillery-fired rockets of the Gazans now have longer range and over 400 were fired at Israel, which can now reach Tel Aviv, and with only 100 being intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome defenses. They also have more of them than in the past. Only two of the launch sites for those missiles were destroyed, reflecting that the units are mobile and well concealed. No faction claimed responsibility for the missiles as would have been seen in the past. Instead, it appears that the overall command of military factions in Gaza has become integrated under a central command. For the moment the parties have returned to the ceasefire agreed upon previously.
Israel finds itself in a progressively weakening situation. They are largely deterred now from launching another war against Gaza. The threat against Tel Aviv and Israeli civilians is too large. The only way to completely neutralize the threat in short order would be a large-scale ground invasion, which most nations would roundly condemn. The situation in Gaza since March has brought worldwide condemnation of Israeli tactics. Gazans are united. The resistance is quite alive. The siege has failed for the large part, as witnessed by the acquisition of the new weapons and larger number of missiles. The plan for Greater Israel is dead. The Syrian war is lost to them, especially since the Russian S-300 systems have been installed there, and they now face a future wherein the Syrians will eventually try to reclaim the Golan Heights. There have been no Israeli air strikes on Syria since the deployment of the Russian systems, and the Israelis used to strike with impunity.
If Israel were in a strong position, they would not be seeking to normalize relations with their Arab neighbors. This is a recent development and is uncharacteristic for Israelis. Their image is sinking among diaspora Jews. Their lobbying in Washington and London has been exposed. The cost of waging wars is too high and their budget is in trouble. It costs a lot of money to wage war. And now their new-found thawing ties with the Saudis have been put into question with the Khashoggi incident.
However, their thawing ties with Arab states are also a sign of something else, which we shall have to address another time. The Palestinian plight is turning a corner, but it still faces a sharp uphill battle. And to top it all off, Israel now faces the prospect of political upheaval early in the next year, signaled by the resignation of Lieberman. Netanyahu has only a slim majority and any further resignations/defections would bring down his government. The Likud Party has been losing seats in recent elections. The situation for Israelis and for the Trump administration is looking increasingly grim for their wider plans in the Middle East, and for Trump’s deal of the century.
Does all this tension show in the Israeli chart? Indeed it does. I have used Campion’s Israel chart in the past but have had to review it in light of recent events and now use the 4:15 PM chart, as outlined on astro.com. The clincher for me regarding that chart was the assassination of Rabin in 1994, when transiting Uranus was square the 4:15 chart horizon and applying to the IC. It was a clear indicator, not shown in the other charts. And as it turns out, transiting Uranus has been squaring the Israeli meridian axis off and on for most of this year. It makes its direct station within a minute of exactitude square to the meridian on 7 Jan 19. It was essentially within orb of that square on the day Lieberman resigned. So, if this chart proves itself further, we will see political upheaval in Israel from now through the first quarter of next year, and more than likely new elections. Netanyahu, although a cagey politician, is not likely to survive politically. He won’t be able to escape the submarine scandal. The chart for the recent Gaza troubles is below (bigger):
If/when Netanyahu goes it will likely spell big changes for Middle East policy in Washington. It will be a setback for the plans of the Trump administration, for the so-called deal of the century, for initiatives against Iran and so forth. Palestinians, for their part, will no doubt celebrate, as will their supporters. So, we wait and see, but if the current trends continue the future is not very bright for the Zionists and hawks in Israel. More on that in a future post. Watch this space.
Featured pic from Times of Israel