by Mark Armstrong
Amid the clamor and tumult of propaganda “news reporting” in the United States, deadly skirmishes that have once again arisen between Israel and so-called Palestinians in Gaza. Chances of a peace agreement are as slim as they’ve ever been between the factions. More so now than ever as both the Palestinian Authority (formerly PLO) and Hamas claim to represent the “Palestinians.” Peace cannot be negotiated with Israel when the Palestinians are at odds internally. They’ve sent delegations to Egypt for reconciliation, and signed a declaration that would have Hamas turning authority over to the PA, but that’s not happening either.
Meanwhile rockets and mortar shells have recently been fired into Israel with casualties. Thousands of Israelis had to take to bomb shelters for cover as volleys of dozens of rockets rained down. Israel responded with bombing raids taking out a factory constructing concrete walls for terrorist tunnels under the border wall in addition to hitting weapons stockpiles, a vehicle used to launch rockets and Hamas activists.
President Abbas appeared in a recent news conference to claim leadership. He angrily refused a demand by Israel that they stop providing payments to families of terrorists. For years they’ve erected shrines, named streets or squares after terrorists who’ve successfully killed or maimed Israelis, and according to Abbas, the more “moderate” of purported Palestinian leaders, they have no intention of changing that policy.
In fact, neither faction will so much as recognize Israel’s right to exist, as has been the case for fifty years and more. Much of the blame is attributed to Iran which has financed Hamas and supplied a never-ending stream of rockets into Gaza. The subject came up during a recent visit by Angela Merkel to Jerusalem where Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu made it clear that business with Iran is adding fuel to the fire.
Netanyahu says Abbas is “strangling Gaza,” preventing supplies from distribution and refusing to fix or upgrade the electricity grid. This is part of the attempt to force Hamas to cede power to the Palestinian Authority at a time when neither has any intention of making peace with Israel.
When this situation is reported in our news, we see piles of tires burning along the border fence in an attempt to obscure the view of the Israeli military so that some “protesters” might break through into Israel. It is apparent that many are young boys, some of whom get injured or killed trying to breach the barrier. News images show a shirtless Palestinian with a large flag in one hand, a sling-shot whirling in the other in an obviously staged photograph. You know that because there are several versions of the same photo, flames (from burning tires) in the background with the subject lit up against the night sky.
Germany, the EU and the United States all seem to realize that Jerusalem and environs are ground zero for peace on earth. All are involved, albeit on opposing sides.
There has been progress in recent years with other of the Arab nations such as Egypt, Jordan and the Gulf Kingdoms. They’ve moved to the sidelines (because of U.S. commitments to Israel and economic considerations) and decided that it was not in their best interest to remain in an endless state of war. But Iran is provocative as ever, and deeply involved in Syria, Lebanon and in Gaza. Europe seems to want to continue conducting business with Iran, even in the face of renewed U.S. sanctions.
Abbas of the Palestinian Authority (PA) is warning that isolating a “Palestinian State” (if, for the first and only time ever in human history there is to be such a thing) to Gaza will mean that Hamas will rule. Abbas is holding out for all of the West Bank and Gaza to comprise the non-existent “state” that his supposedly moderate PA would govern. As you must know, the West Bank is construed to include a swath of east Jerusalem including the Temple Mount. The threat is that either Abbas gets what he’s demanding, or Gaza will be ceded into the hands of the terrorists, which currently run most everything in the Gaza strip while digging tunnels, stockpiling munitions and launching hundreds of rockets into Israel.
For a mere couple of days, things seemed to have gone quiet. The news said that Qatar had shipped in 15 million in cash to Gaza, and overdue salaries were being paid. Benjamin Netanyahu made news recently, stating Abbas was “strangling” Gaza by withholding payments from civil servants. He made the statement in a press conference with Angela Merkel, apparently trying to impress upon her and the world the fact that money contributed to the “Palestinian cause” by Germany and the EU wasn’t reaching its intended destination. The $15 million in cash from Qatar meant that “civil servants” who’d gone without pay were getting relief. And then, immediately, came the next swarm of 200 missiles and rockets into Israel.
November 12, 2018: Another 200 rockets have been fired into Israel with substantial damage, thirteen wounded, some critically. Israel responded again, bombing some seventy Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets. On and on it goes. Bible prophecy indicates that at some point, armies will surround Jerusalem. That will presumably happen over the threat or the reality of a “humanitarian crisis,” and that’s where we are headed if the terrorists in Gaza persist in the never-ending rocket onslaught. There is a limit to the amount of damage and loss of life Israel will be willing to absorb while pursuing a tit for tat strategy. If at some point Israel determines to put a permanent stop to it, there will be an outcry the likes of which we can only imagine.
