A Brief Historical Perspective
Britain, with Arab assistance, captured Palestine from the Turks at the end of World War One, promising independence to the Arab states. Britain also supported the Zionist objective of an eventual homeland for the Jewish peoples. This dichotomy saw Britain maintain control of Palestine, whilst regulating gradual Jewish immigration. After the holocaust of the Second World War and the then insurgent Jewish refugee problem into Palestine, Britain withdrew from the territory. The former Palestinian State was subdivided. Israel simultaneously attained independent statehood at precisely 4pm, on the 14th of May 1948. This monumental moment at Tel Aviv (as Prime Minister Ben Gurion slammed his gavel on the table and at one the audience rose and broke into the Zionist national anthem) represented the Jews reclaiming home turf after two thousand years. Israeli dominance in the region since, coupled with several border wars has led to the Palestinians now being the more 'dispossessed' and homeless.

A Chart that Works
The first establishment for prediction is an accurate working national chart and the 4pm May 14 1948 Israel horoscope works well in light of historical events. On October 29 1956 as both the progressed Sun and Moon squared aggressive progressing Mars, Israel invaded Egypt in reprisal to terrorist activities and attacks on their land. Next the Six-Day War with Egypt of June 1967 was aptly depicted by the progressed Midheaven joining the explosive power planet Pluto. By the time of the Munich Olympic massacre (4.30 am September 5 1972) when eleven Israeli athletes were killed during a daylong siege the progressed Midheaven had reached sacrificial Saturn.

Further investigation shows that at 9.40 p.m. on November 4 1995 when Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was suddenly assassinated as he left a peace rally in Tel Aviv, the progressing Moon was squaring the natal Midheaven as the sudden surprise planet of astrology, Uranus, came to directly oppose it. The Midheaven, or zenith of the chart, represents the aims of a nation and the ruling party. Even when PLO leader Yassar Arafat was first granted an audience before the United Nations on November 13 1974 there was a New Moon in the cathartic sign of Scorpio aligned to peace planet Venus. But perhaps it was no coincidence that this New Moon exactly opposed the Israeli birth Sun. That merely mirrored what the rest of the world knew, that the PLO and Israel were and still are diametrically opposed on almost every issue.

The Current Situation
At the beginning of October 2000 there was a dynamic T-square in the skies between the aggressive Mars, the righteousness of Jupiter and the purgative Pluto. It touched the Israeli chart immediately following a Mars return and the astrological spark that signaled the current outbreak of violence between Israel and Palestine that has led to many lives being lost since.

Jupiter and Pluto together relate to religious uprisings and strivings for power whilst Mars is the competitive match that usually ignites up most situations. Under such auspices the elongated drive for a peaceful settlement to the Palestinian land dispute escalated into border war. The outbreak followed the then opposition leader Ariel Sharon visiting the Temple Mount to press Israeli rights of sovereignty. If Sharon's plan was to unseat incumbent PM Ehud Barak it was a political masterstroke. However it also completely derailed the peace process.

Israel's Leaders
Whereas Barak was willing to make concessions which no doubt distressed his countrymen, the hard-liner Sharon was no stranger to conflict. He was an active commander in the 1967 Six-Day War with Egypt and eventually appointed defence minister in 1981. He was forced to resign three years later after an investigation found him unfit for the position following the massacre of some 2000 Palestinians in refugee camps outside Beirut. The landslide victory of Sharon on February 6 was a vote for no compromise. It was the day that the malefic Saturn and Mars came to the Israeli birth Sun.

Sharon was born at 7 30 am in Kafr Malal, Palestine on the 27th of February 1928. He is living proof that not all Pisces are softies. His exalted Capricorn Mars in the career house of his horoscope is indicative of his successful military career. The Israeli national chart has inflexible Saturn and hard-line Pluto together in the leadership sector and not suprisingly they are governed by former military commanders. The effect that any leader has on his/her country can be displayed by a comparative overlay of the two birth charts.

In my previous article I wrote how Barak would tend to destabilize Israel and himself be frustrated by the priestly caste and elders. Ariel Sharon, whose Moon falls over the Israeli Sun has a much closer connection with the people and their dreams. His Neptune on the countries Mars shows that he can be an inspirational warrior, but additionally warns of unrealistic expectations. That he is actively fighting for 'the homeland' is instrumental as his Mars touches the very foundation of the Israel horoscope. Sharon was born into a family with deeply held Zionist beliefs.

Future Prospects Unveiled
In order to step into the future possibles and probables we need to examine the major planetary cycles occurring over the next two years. The Jupiter/Pluto opposition will come together again for the last time in May 2001. What follows is a close Saturn/Pluto opposition from August until May 2002. Saturn is the planet of the elders. It represents time and tradition, suppression and control. In contrast to the Jupiter/Pluto opposition, which relevantly described uprising and a desire for power, the new combination is a more harshly realistic follow on.

The father of cosmobiology Rheinhold Ebertin likened Saturn/Pluto to 'tenacity and toughness, but also severity and martyrdom - the ability to make the highest demands and a fanatical adherence to principles once adopted'.
Israel was formed under a Saturn/Pluto conjunction as was India and Pakistan. All had an immediate fight on their hands to establish territorial boundaries. The last opposition of the two planets occurred between April 1965 and February 1966. It coincided with a dramatic escalation of the Vietnam War, (including the Australian commitment), plus India and Pakistan also went to war over Kashmir. The positive event at the conclusion of the cycle was the first meeting between the Pope and Archbishop of Canterbury healing a 400-year rift in the Christian Church.

At the more recent conjunction of the two planets in late 1982 the world witnessed the first visit of a Pope to England as both leaders prayed together at the tomb of Saint Thomas a Becket. It also saw Israeli troops drive the PLO out of Beirut and the subsequent revenge slaughter of Palestinian refugees. On the heels of what has already transpired this isn't a promising outlook for peace. The likelihood of the whole situation developing into a virtual trench warfare mentality is strong. The most positive spin would be that the control of Saturn may impede the visible uprisings somewhat but the likelihood is that it would only drive them underground. International pressure for peace may lead to some control.

Notwithstanding, subversive terrorism would tend to replace open warfare under such international pressure for each side to back off.

The second half of 2001 is highly significant as Israel experiences a progressed New Moon occurring in the sign of Cancer. The New Moon suggests a finishing up of old conditions and the promise of new beginnings. Occurring in the maternal sign of Cancer it throws attention on personal security, the home and the emotive issues associated with establishing boundaries. Their only previous New Moon was in April of 1972, the year of the Munich disaster, but this is of far greater national significance.

From April 2001 until the end of August Uranus squares the Israeli birth Sun, which implies that rebellious factors, and unpredictable events will dog country and/or the leadership position. As the Palestinian Sun is directly opposite they will each experience similar tensions. This could escalate around July 2001. Peace will be a difficult objective as the transiting Uranus moves to oppose Israel's Mars from April to August in 2002 and is supported by the Israeli progressed Mars squaring Uranus again in the early months of 2002. Sudden violence is usually the result of this combination, a willingness to act precipitously, to act first and asks questions later.

Yasser Arafat's chart may give some further clues. He was born at 2 p.m. in Cairo, Egypt on the 27th of August 1928 - the same year as Sharon. Arafat was drawn into the vortex of violence last October as the uprising influence of Jupiter and Pluto opposed joined his Mars. The coming Saturn/Pluto cycle upon the same Mars emphasizes the real necessity to fight for ones existence, brutality and violence. At best it implies restraints, and a redressing of the excesses of the former cycle. Patience, control and order are needed in this time of hard work and restructuring. The fight will need to be organised and prepared rather then uncontrolled skirmishes. Also he will experience this period (August 2001 until May 2002) as a Saturn opposition which is often an end of the road aspect. Arafat may have gone as far as he can go and there is the very real possibility that someone new is being prepared to lead the Palestinian cause in this new milennium.

The Final Word
In summary the prospects for peace are grim. They will have to be championed by the people rather than the leaders. There may well be uprisings against the violence from the grass roots. The one positive factor was the coincidence of the Saturn/Pluto factor with the reciprocal meetings of the heads of the Catholic and Anglican churches and reunification of the opposing sides of Christianity for the first time since Henry the Eighth. That may seem momentous but the monumental task of this peace process is the peaceful co-existence of two races that have set their face against each other virtually since the days of Abraham's sons Isaac and Ishmael.

Toward the end of 2002 and the first half of the following year when restrictive Saturn comes to oppose the Israel Jupiter and likewise Jupiter joins itself to Saturn should see the next significant step in the implementation of a more peaceful accord.

In passing let me add that the careful measurements of astrology do not always lead to interpretive certainty. A case in point is the Kingdom of Egypt timed to begin at an official ceremony from 10am on March 15 1922. This chart works like a charm for Egypt's 20th century history. It also looked as if they would be caught up in the events of October 2000 with even President Mubarak's progressed chart showed progressing Mars coming over his Sun. Somehow nothing momentous happened. Egypt, the historical nemesis of Israel, kept strangely uninvolved, almost as if they could put time on hold. We certainly hope the coiled spring stays that way.