According to The Times, officials "from Britain, Spain and Gibraltar are meeting to sign a deal that is expected effectively to end the siege imposed on the disputed territory by General Franco [of Spain] almost four decades ago." As a result, border restrictions will be eased and thousands of Spanish employees who commute to the Rock of Gibraltar will find their working lives more pleasant than before.

However, more basic issues remain. As The Guardian stated, "The symbolic importance of Gibraltar and Spain coming to a first direct agreement will not be lost on Spanish conservatives who want sovereignty returned to Madrid . . . 300 years after it was handed to Britain in the Treaty of Utrecht [1713]."

Gibraltar has been a burr under the saddle between England and Spain ever since the British first captured the Rock in 1704. Historically Gibraltar, guarding the western end of the Mediterranean Sea, has been one of Britain's crucial strategic possessions and played a significant role in both world wars. If you would like to understand the prophetic importance of the gaining and loss of Britain's seagates, request or download our free booklet The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy. (Sources: The Times, The Guardian [both London ].)