The terrorists who sponsored the Gaza-bound “humanitarian” mission earlier this week got exactly what they were aiming for: a lethal retaliation from Israel’s navy, followed by a tidal wave of international outrage against Israel. It doesn’t matter that 50 passengers on board the Mavi Marmara were linked to terror groups, or that the “peace activists” attacked Israeli commandos with metal rods, broken bottles, knives and stun grenades, or that three of the Turks killed by Israeli commandos actually wanted to die as martyrs, or that investigators discovered bulletproof vests, night vision goggles and gas masks on board the ship.

All that matters is that Israel, once again, is the bad guy.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy was “profoundly shocked” by the Israeli “military option.” Britain’s new prime minister, David Cameron, said the way Israel responded to the attack was “completely unacceptable.” At the United Nations, the Security Council met for an emergency session to hurriedly pass a resolution condemning Israel’s “use of force” and demanding an investigation. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Israel was responsible for a “massacre.” Iran called for Benjamin Netanyahu to stand trial for his crimes. And Turkey, once regarded as Israel’s closest ally in the Middle East, condemned Israel’s action and rebuked the United States for not immediately joining the chorus of condemnation.

Yet, if Washington’s criticism against Israel seemed muted at first, it got louder as the week wore on. For one, the U.S. refused to veto the UN resolution. Then, according to a report in the New York Times on Thursday, an official close to the Obama administration said Israel needed to employ a new approach on Gaza, calling the current blockade “untenable.”

The Gaza embargo, keep in mind, has never prevented humanitarian aid from reaching Palestinians—only weapons from falling into the hands of the genocidal government that controls Gaza. That’s why Israel demanded the “freedom flotilla” to dock at an Israeli port—so that shipments could be offloaded, inspected, and then delivered to the people of Gaza.

But by demanding that the blockade be lifted, the international community is basically saying Israel has no right to inspect shipments intended to re-supply Hamas—an untenable arrangement from Israel’s perspective, if ever there was one. Just last week, Fatah head Mahmoud Abbas admitted on Egyptian television that unity between Hamas and Fatah is impossible because Iran has “hijacked” the Palestinian people.

By their own admission, Iran has hijacked the Palestinian people and yet Israel is somehow expected to clear the way for ships headed to Gaza.

It gets worse.

Last week, at the United Nations, a U.S. delegation broke a long-standing U.S.-Israeli agreement by voting to endorse a UN resolution calling on Israel to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (npt). Since 1969, Israel had agreed not to publicly reveal its nuclear weapons capabilities as long as the United States promised not to pressure Israel to join the npt. As recently as May 2009, the Washington Times notes, President Obama assured Prime Minister Netanyahu that the agreement was still in place.

But now, as of last week, it is Israel—not Iran—that heads the list of existential threats in the Middle East. Now, it is Israel, the only free democracy in the Middle East, that is singled out as dangerous—not the number-one state sponsor of terror that openly threatens to annihilate the Jewish state. And now, it is Israel that must disarm—not the regime in Tehran, which already has enough uranium for two nuclear bombs.

Iran wasn’t even mentioned in the npt resolution.

According to the Washington Post, the Iranian delegation was so surprised by America’s endorsement of the UN resolution that it asked for the session to be postponed by four hours so that its diplomats could consult with their government in Tehran.

These mind-boggling developments, as journalist Yossi Halevi noted in the Wall Street Journal, have many Israelis wondering: “Has the world lost its mind?” In fact, we are living in a world gone mad—one in which there is “a growing sense of empowerment among jihadists, and a growing sense of desperation among Israelis.”

This growing sense of empowerment among the jihadists, as we have written before, will result in the emergence of Iran as the preeminent regional power in the Middle East—the biblically-prophesied “king of the south” that will soon clash with the German-led European Union (Daniel 11:40).

At the same time, the Bible also foretold the “growing sense of desperation among Israelis”—and it tells us what this will lead to. This latest PR disaster for Israel comes atop a string of defeats and setbacks that have left it increasingly isolated in the international community: the Gaza war, housing developments in Jerusalem, failed diplomacy with Turkey, a warming Iran-Egypt relationship, a strengthened Hamas and Hezbollah.

The flotilla incident has served to further isolate the Jewish state from its erstwhile ally, America. The Obama administration reportedly even told Prime Minister Netanyahu to return home early from his North American trip instead of visiting Washington as planned, because the Obama administration didn’t want him to use the White House as a stage to present Israel’s side of the story. So much for a visit that was intended to help mend the fractured relationship between the two leaders.

The growing desperation of the Jews as they lose their few allies; the peace process that continues to sap their strength; the severed alliance with the U.S. are all prophesied—as is the country Israel will turn to in its desperation. Moreover, as our booklet Jerusalem in Prophecy details, these developments are all leading up to the fulfillment of the greatest prophecy of all.