EU's Ashton calls for Quartet talks

There is an interesting prophecy from the book of Zechariah which refers to 4 horns that scatter the peoples of Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.  Most interpretations of this prophecy say that the 4 horns represented the 4 major empires that ruled over Israel/Judah;  Those being Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and the Roman Empire.  As the Prophet Zechariah lived after the time of the Babylonian Empire, some have said that Babylon is dropped from the list and replaced by the revived Roman Empire of the last days.

Yet another recent interpretation of this prophecy says that the 4 horns, while still representing the 4 major empires of the past which ruled over the Jewish nation, may also represent 4 major world empires that exist today.  Coincidentally, we now have 4 major political powers pressuring Israel to further divide the lands God gave the Jewish people as an eternal inheritance.  Those 4 powers are America, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union.

Then I looked up--and there before me were four horns! I asked the angel who was speaking to me, "What are these?" He answered me, "These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem." Zechariah 1:18-19 NIV

From the articles:

The EU foreign policy chief called on Thursday for the Quartet of Middle East mediators to meet early next month to help Israel and the Palestinians overcome the deadlock in peace talks. With negotiations in limbo for the past three months, the European Union's Catherine Ashton said the EU, Russia, the United States and United Nations should schedule a high-level meeting to revive the peace process and put it back on track.

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Progress in Middle East peace talks is urgently needed because there is "no alternative" to a negotiated deal, the EU foreign policy chief said as she prepared to visit the region Wednesday. The European Union has grown increasingly critical of the lack of progress in the talks between Israel and the Palestinians but has so far lacked the leverage to bring the two sides to talks. "Urgent progress is now needed towards a lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace, and the EU will continue to support all efforts towards that goal," Catherine Ashton said in a statement issued overnight. "There is no alternative to a negotiated solution."

EU's Ashton calls for Quartet talks

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4010110,00.html

EU pushes Mideast talks, says 'no alternative' to negotiated deal

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/eu-pushes-mideast-talks-says-no-alternative-to-negotiated-deal-1.335324