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Two Roadblocks to a Unity Government

April 20, 2020 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

At present, the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) is still an interim government. However, the coronavirus crisis has now forced the two larger parties and their blocs to attempt to form an emergency unity government. Two main roadblocks are hindering the formation of a unity government. The Likud and Blue & White, continue to meet despite their disagreements.

The First Roadblock: DESTROYING OUR DEMOCRACY

One roadblock is Likud’s demand for legislation preventing the High Court of Justice to rule on Netanyahu’s right to serve as Prime Minister as he faces three charges of corruption.

Gantz, leader of Blue & White and currently Knesset speaker, wants legislation that would bar an MK under indictment from serving as Prime Minister (meaning Netanyahu.) This would change the ‘Basic Law’, which can only happen by winning a vote. At least 61 Knesset Members must vote for the change. ‘Basic Laws’ form the roots of democracy in Israel. Clause 18 stipulates that the Prime Minister may continue in office even if under indictment. The law also states that the Prime Minister can remain in office even if a district court convicts him of a crime carrying moral turpitude because the ruling can be appealed before the Supreme Court. He would only be removed from office if the Supreme Court rejects such an appeal and the ruling becomes final.

In most democracies, the accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond any reasonable doubt. If found guilty and convicted, the accused can still appeal. In the case of Israel’s Basic Laws, the decision by the administrative authority to try someone doesn’t make the elected official guilty. The lawmakers rightly believed that a public official (unelected judges, or Attorney General) should not be empowered with the authority to dismiss a Prime Minister. In a democratic country, the will of the people is the foundation of democracy. The Prime Minister is chosen by the public. An Attorney-General or a court cannot and should not intervene in the political arena and dismiss an elected official. This is what the Likud and Netanyahu are objecting to.

Israel needs to maintain its strength and stability during the storm that rages around us. Just before the current coronavirus crisis, Israel faced the possibility of a government coalition that would include the Joint Arab List with its anti-Jewish leaders. The Joint Arab List is made up of Israeli Arab factions whose leaders reject Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. Israel, being a democracy, allows ANY elected Israeli citizen to serve as a Knesset member (a member of the Parliament,) even when they openly support Palestinian terrorism and the Palestinian cause. Some of them publically object Israel’s right to self-determination and accuse an Israeli army general of war crimes against the Palestinians in the international court. Hence, it was surprising that the Blue & White party, which is made up of three Israeli army generals would admit those Arab leaders in their bloc. Many Israelis objected, and even within the bloc, there was an outrage, causing some members to leave the party.

Leader of Blue & White, Benny Gantz and another former IDF chief, Gabi Ashkenazi agreed to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s call to try to form a unity government with Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc. The Arab Joint List pulled out, thereby the disaster that would have endangered Israel’s identity as being the State of the Jews was avoided.

The Second Roadblock: ESTABLISHING BORDERS

Gantz announced very proudly that without him, Netanyahu cannot form a government. The thought that Netanyahu needs him, gave him the power to increase his demands, which were disproportional to the size of his bloc compared to the Likud. He may have had the interest of the nation in mind and the urgent need for unity at this crucial time, but he is taking advantage of the situation to try and force Netanyahu to give in to his demands.

Does Gantz understand the need at this time for clear, bold strategic actions to maintain Israel’s stability in the region? Israel must fortify the borders, making clear Israel’s intention to defend them. Our neighbors must know exactly where Israel’s red lines are and not to cross them.

Israel’s borders with Egypt and Lebanon are clear, and by annexing the Golan heights a few years back (and thanks to US recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights), the border with Syria is clear. These neighbors know where the line is located, but not so on the eastern border. The eastern border is problematic as well as Judea and Samaria.

Now we have the opportunity to apply national law (annexation) to the Jordan Valley and Northern Dead Sea region. This will prevent confusion and uncertainty. With the help of President Trump’s peace plan, Israel can expand its communities, and direct transportation, road infrastructures in the Valley to link the eastern area to the rest of the country.

Gantz is concerned that this move will jeopardize the peace with Jordan. Therefore, he thinks Israel must first receive Jordan’s approval before applying its law to the border. But empowering Jordan with the right to define Israel’s border, will also empower the most extremist among the Jordanians and will contribute to Jordan’s instability. It is therefore in the best interest of Jordan and of maintaining the peace with Israel that the eastern border is clearly set. The same is true regarding the Palestinian Authority in Judea and Samaria.

There are more than 300,000 Israelis in Judea and Samaria who must be connected to Israel proper. Even the Health Ministry agrees that annexing Judea and Samaria will provide better care in the coronavirus crisis for all its citizens.

The PA authority in the territory also benefits from Israeli know-how and guidance in dealing with this crisis, thereby increasing the stability of the region. The more certainty and stability Israel conveys, the more the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria will agree to live in peace with Israel. By opposing the application of Israel’s sovereignty in these areas at this time, Gantz and his bloc uphold the left’s naive and false belief that the only way to peace is through appeasement.

The worst period of Palestinian terror occurred when Israel compromised the most, and failed to determine clear boundaries. We must not allow this to happen again.

Jordan Valley Annexation–Vital to Israel’s Security?

February 28, 2020 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

*Uzi Dayan pictured with Bella on the recent tour of the Judea and Samaria (which includes the Jordan Valley).*

The Jordan Valley is a long and narrow valley along the Jordan River. It forms a natural eastern border between Israel and Jordan. Israel considers it to be an important strategic region to protect the country’s eastern region.

Last Wednesday, I (Bella) joined about 300 women from the Likud Party on a trip to the Jordan Valley with Uzi Dayan, our tour guide. Maj. Gen. (reserve) Uzi Dayan was the former head of the IDF Central Command, IDF Deputy Chief of Staff and national security adviser to several Prime Ministers.

Our first stop was a place the Arabs call Qasr el-Yahud (“Castle of the Jews”). Jews believe this was the place at the Jordan River where the Israelites, led by Joshua son of Nun, crossed the river to enter the Promised Land following the Exodus from Egypt. They also believe it is the place the Prophet Elijah crossed the river in the opposite direction and was taken into heaven by ‘fiery chariots’, as witnessed by his disciple Elisha.

“It’s a very special place,” Maj. Gen. Uzi Dayan told us. “Maybe the most important historical event of Israel took place here.” Joshua 1:

“The Lord said to Joshua son of Nun: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.“

Dayan also believes this is the place Moses looked on from nearby Mount Nebo when he ended his role as leader of Israel and saw the people of Israel get ready to enter the Promised Land. Moses himself didn’t enter and died on the mountain on the other side of the Jordan River.

For Christians, this place is also significant as they believe that this was the spot in the Jordan River where John the Baptist baptized Yeshua (Jesus). Today it is a baptismal site. Until 2011, this baptismal site was a closed military zone, accessible only to groups with special permission after prior coordination with the IDF-Israel Defense Forces. Today, this area has a few churches belonging to different denominations, mainly Greek Orthodox, open to visitors who come to be baptized.

As we drove across the valley to a place commemorating Israeli soldiers who were killed in a battle protecting the valley, Dayan said that Israeli annexation of the Jordan valley is a ‘security buffer zone that is essential to Israel’. “Israeli security requires three things: fundamental strategic depth; room to wage war against the threat of conventional attacks from the outside, and room that allows for effective combat against terrorism. The minimal strategic depth and air space required is the 65 kilometers average width of Israel from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River. As for room to wage war, this is the Jordan Rift Valley which ranges between 6 and 14 km wide.”

As he spoke, the General pointed out the mountains on the valley’s western edge (which range from 900 to 1,400 meters edge high) that create a physical defensive barrier. There are only five mountain passageways through them. Even a limited IDF force deployed in the valley can defend Israel against an attack from the east.

The Jordan Valley is the eastern buffer zone that prevents the West Bank mountain region from becoming a terrorist entity. From the time Israel captured the Jordan Valley from Jordan in the Six-Day War in 1967, there have been no military invasions from Jordan into Israel. There now exists a peace treaty between Israel and Jordan.

According to provisions of the 1993 Oslo Accords, most of the Jordan Valley is part of Area C, where Israel maintains full civil and security control. However, this strategic region is not yet officially Israeli territory.

*See the orange area? That is the Jordan Valley. The yellow is the rest of Judea and Samaria: the Biblical Heartland of the Land of Israel.*

While the peace deal between Israel and Jordan minimizes the threat of attack today, there are still many reasons why Israel needs to control the Jordan Valley. The biggest challenge to Israel’s claim over the Jordan Valley is that the Palestinians also claim the territory as part of what they call the ‘West Bank,’ the same area Israelis identify as historic Judea and Samaria. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for applying Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley region and designates the valley a ‘defensive wall’ that, along with related territory, will ensure Israel’s safety with the permanent presence of the IDF.

As we visited the lower part of the Jordan Valley, General Dayan explained the strategic importance of the area. “From the topographical point of view, it’s the ideal region to defend ourselves. The distance to the Mediterranean is just 40 miles, and from north to south, the valley forms a natural border with Jordan, beyond which lies Iran and Iraq. The notion of Israel having defensible borders is based on the Jordan Valley being part of the state of Israel.”

One of 22 communities securing a Jewish presence in the valley is Moshav Na’ama, an agricultural village of 50 families founded in 1982. Today, their main crops are organic herbs, grapes and Medjool dates, all organic. I bought a box of delicious dates.

Like most all the Israeli communities in the Jordan Valley, almost all the workers in the fields and greenhouses at Na’ama are Arabs from surrounding towns and villages. According to Inon Rosenblum, owner of the Na’ama herb farm, “They prefer to work here. They earn twice as much as they could working in Jericho.”

Understanding Israel’s Elections

March 8, 2019 By Bella Davidov 1 Comment

Israelis will conduct elections for the 21^st Knesset
The election is scheduled for April 9, 2019.

There is a crisis in Israel concerning the upcoming elections.

Currently, (and for the past 10 years) Israel has had a government that is basically right wing, with Binyamin (Bibi) Netanyahu as Prime Minister and his Likud party in the majority of the coalition. Under his leadership, Israel has become a major world power; as a matter of fact, was just listed internationally in the 8^th place of world power nations. (Read about all of his domestic and international achievements here.)

One of the most important laws the Israeli government has passed recently was the State Law declaring that Israel is the nation of the Jewish people, and that while non-Jewish citizens have the same civil rights, they don’t have the Right of Return (only Jews have the right to instant citizenship). The Law of Return is the only aspect of the State Law where Jews and Arabs are not equal.

Bibi’s greatest concern for Israel is security. He insists that any peace negotiation with the Palestinians must include their accepting Israel as a Jewish state and that dismantling settlements will not be a part of a future peace deal. Many Israeli voters like his security-first approach to politics. Also, his fluency in English and decades of experience give him an international stature that no other Israeli politician can rival. He has won three consecutive elections. Elections are held every four years. Under certain circumstances, a Knesset (Israeli Parliament or Congress) may be dispersed before the end of a term and that determines the date of the next elections.

Over the last three years, however, there have been continual reports about police investigations against PM Netanyahu. The accusations are of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in three separate cases. Read more details in our website blog “Cases against Netanyahu”.

As of recent polls, Bibi exceeded everyone else in popularity, as he has for the last three elections. But with the looming legal battles, and other issues of dispute in the coalition, Bibi decided it was the right move to call for early elections. However, probably for political reasons, these accusations led to the threat of a recommendation for indictment, (pending a hearing) by the Attorney General. Bibi and the Likud party requested that indictment not become public until after the election, because he didn’t have time to refute the accusations. But the AG made it public a little over a week ago. Therefore, rather than having a fair trial in the court of law with a full defense, Bibi is being judged by the media and the public, and his popularity is declining. This is what brings us to the current crisis because if Bibi fails in the elections the opposition will succeed.

Who is the opposition and why is it so crucial in this election?

Two very popular men joined together in order to defeat Netanyahu. One of them is Yair Lapid who was a favorite in the previous election but was demoted because of constantly undermining Bibi while serving in his coalition as Minister of Finance. His party, Yesh Atid declined in the last elections and ended up in the opposition in the current government.

The other is Benny Gantz, 59-year-old former Israel Defense Forces’ Chief of Staff, who is a newcomer to politics. He entered the race forming his own Hosen Israel (Strength of Israel) party and immediately jumped in the polls, ahead of Lapid but still behind Netanyahu. Lapid and Ganz joined forces and formed a new party. Their joint new party is called Kahol Lavan (Blue and White), which are the symbolic colors of the state of Israel.

Their platform is unclear, but although claiming to be a centrist party they lean more to the left. One thing Gantz and Lapid declare clearly is that they plan to change the State Law. Their main goal is to replace Netanyahu and become PM of Israel on rotation basis. Gantz, who is in first place, serving as PM for the first 2 and a half years and Lapid serving for the rest of the term.

The electoral process in Israel is complicated and confusing for most of the public, but suffice it to say that the situation is crucial.

The reason the Blue and White party opposition is so crucial is that whichever party is elected has to form a coalition consisting of at least 61 MK (Knesset Members). Blue and White would have to include most of the left and far left wing small parties (the right wing parties support Netanyahu, all claiming that he remains innocent until and if proven otherwise). Blue and White would have to include the Arab parties, who have always been in the opposition, some of them have even been temporarily suspended from the government for siding with Israel’s enemies and calling Israeli soldiers terrorists. The one MK that is the most crucial to possibly being in the coalition is Tibi.

Who is Tibi and why is he crucial?

Arab MK Ahmed Tibi, a former adviser to Yasser Arafat, recently split from the Joint List Arab party in order to run separately as head of his Ta’al party.

Tibi is an anti-Zionist who supports Israel withdrawing to the pre-1967 borders and a two-state solution with an independent Palestinian state, including a Law of Return for Palestinian refugees and their descendants. He opposes the idea of Israel being a Jewish state and considers it racist. He opposes Israel having a Jewish national anthem and an Israeli flag. He takes the Palestinian side and has even praised the Palestinian Authority’s terrorists, referring to them as “martyrs” at a ceremony held on the “Palestinian Martyrs’ Day”.

Both Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz and co-chairman Yair Lapid have stated that they would amend the “National State Law,” something Tibi would love to see. “We want to topple the Right, we say it openly,” Tibi said. He stated his desire to one day become Israel’s prime minister, “and if not I then another Ahmed, Mohammed or Mahmoud,” Tibi said recently.

Herein lies the danger to Israel. The possibility that a man like Tibi and other anti-Israeli MKs would be in the coalition is what makes this election so crucial for those who love the Land and the People of Israel and believe in God’s promises..

The new Likud slogan is: “it’s Bibi or Tibi.”

I (Bella) am a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party and attended last Monday’s evening rally in support of Netanyahu. I witnessed thousands of loyal cheering Likud members shouting “Bibi, Bibi, we love you.” He explained the slogan: “it’s mathematical, simple addition that you learn in first grade: Lapid and Gantz can not reach the minimum 61 KM required for a coalition in the government without bringing in the Arab parties…so it’s Bibi or Tibi.”

The scriptures encourage us to pray for our leaders: “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority” 1 Tim. 2:1-2.

Dear Lord, teach us how to pray in this complex situation for the upcoming election. Raise Israeli leaders who are able to care for Your people, as You have promised to do when You regathered Your own people back to the land of Your promise (Jeremiah 23:3-4).

Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. ⁴I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord.”

You know the hearts of men; reveal the truth of all the cases against Netanyahu, if He is Your chosen one to lead Israel for such a time as this. We know you have promised the mountains of Israel, including Judea and Samaria to Your people Israel in Ezekiel 36. Israel needs a leader who can stand against the world and the left wing in Israel who want to divide Your Land. Help Israelis to choose the right leader. We pray for PM Netanyahu to open his heart to Your leading. We pray for Your justice and righteousness to prevail. We pray You will not allow the enemy from without and from within to win. You give Israel the victory. We acknowledge Your sovereignty in this election, in Israel, and in the world. In the Name of our Yeshua, and for Your Glory, Amen.

Israel: A Jewish State

August 29, 2018 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

God says that the Land of Israel is His land, and the city of Jerusalem is His dwelling place.

“…I will enter into judgment against them (the nations)… for they scattered My people among the nations and divided up My land.” Joel 3:1-2

“For the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling place”
Psa. 132:13
“Blessed be the Lord out of Zion, Who dwells in Jerusalem!” Psa. 135: 21

God made an everlasting covenant with Abraham – to give him and his descendants the land of Canaan for an EVERLASTING possession and make them into a great nation

Abraham had a son from his wife’s Egyptian maid Hagar – Ishmael. In Gen. 17:18,19 Abraham pleaded with God:

“Please let Ishmael be the son you promised,” God said: “NO, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name ISAAC; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.”

Then God chose to continue the lineage with the younger of Isaac’s twins, JACOB. God changed Jacob’s man-given name to ISRAEL, which contains His name – El means God in Hebrew. God said to Jacob:

“And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, I also give to you, and I give this land to your descendants after you.“ Gen. 35:12

The nation of ISRAEL – the 12 children of Jacob/Israel became the 12 tribes of Israel who formed the Nation of Israel. God calls Israel His first-born (among nations). As a good father, God had to discipline His children in different ways but never stopped loving them. One of the punishments included being under foreign rule in their own land and expulsion from the land. The Jews went into exile twice, but God promised to gather them from all the nations where they were scattered and bring them back to the Land of Promise, the Land of Israel (formerly Canaan.)

Second Diaspora

In 70 AD, the Romans who occupied Judah destroyed the city of Jerusalem and the Jewish Holy Temple. Most of the Jews were taken into captivity and exiled. The Romans renamed the land Palestine, a name that remained through the different conquerors who came and went throughout the centuries, including the Christian crusaders and Muslim Arabs. All who lived in the land of Palestine were called Palestinians, both Jews, and Arabs.

God’s Promises and Prophecies Fulfilled

…” I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers.”
Jer. 16:14-15
…“I will bring my people Israel back from exile.” Amos 9:13

Israel: a Jewish State

Slowly the Jews began to come to Palestine as pioneers in the 19th century while it was under the Turkish Ottoman Empire for 400 years.

On November 17th, 1917, after winning WWI, United Kingdom of Britain Foreign Secretary and former Prime Minister, Arthur Balfour, made a formal declaration that a Jewish state should be established in Palestine.

On July 24th, 1922, Fifty-one member countries – the entire League of Nations (later to become the U.N.) – unanimously declared: “Whereas recognition has been given to the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine and to the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country.”

They appointed Britain as the Mandatory for Palestine, with the explicit goal of “placing the country under such political, administrative and economic conditions as will secure the establishment of the Jewish national home.”

Political rights to self-determination for Arabs were guaranteed by the same League of Nations in four other mandates – in Lebanon and Syria (The French Mandate), Iraq, and later Trans-Jordan [The British Mandate]. Palestine was actually the ancient land of Israel.

More Jews returned to Palestine, bought land and built Jewish settlements, Kibbutzim, farms, and cities. A transformation started to happen as land that had lain desolate for 19 centuries started to bloom. Prophecies were fulfilled.

Ezekiel 36:8-11, ‘But you, O mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon come home. I am concerned for you and will look on you with favor; you will be plowed and sown, and I will multiply the number of people upon you, even the whole house of Israel. The towns will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. I will increase the number of men and animals upon you, and they will be fruitful and become numerous. I will settle people on you as in the past and will make you prosper more than before.’

World War II – 1930’s and 40’s – From the very beginning, the Arabs used violence to oppose the establishment of a Jewish nation in Palestine, and the British caved in to this violence and abandoned their international obligation to facilitate the establishment of a Jewish national home. The British didn’t abide by the League of Nation’s mandate, forgetting their promises of a Jewish homeland, but refused entry to Palestine to many Jewish refugees after 6 million Jews were murdered by the Nazis in WWII. In response to the 1936-1939 Arab revolt, Britain issued the White Paper which limited Jewish immigration to 75,000 for 5 years and ruled that further immigration was to be determined by the Arab majority. Restrictions were put on the rights of Jews to buy land from Arabs.

November 1947: The United Nations resolved that the Jews were to have their homeland in part of Palestine, while the Arabs will have the other part. Jerusalem would be an international city. While the Jews accepted this proposal, the Arabs rejected it. The 5 neighboring Arab nations declared war and attacked the newly established Jewish state from all sides. With little weaponry and a small army, Israel miraculously won the war and gained territory that included much of the land allotted to the Arabs. The borders were set, excluding the Old City of Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria remained in Jordanian hands. They renamed Judea and Samaria the ‘West Bank’. Jews fled the Old City. All Jews were denied access to the Old City and the Western Wall. Many holy places were desecrated.

In 1948, the British left and on the 14th of May 1948 Israel gained its independence and became the State of Israel. Israel made the western half of the city Jerusalem its capital.

1967: 19 years later, Israel won the 6 Day War against 3 of its enemy neighbors, and recaptured and Old city of Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria. New west Jerusalem and Old east Jerusalem were united under Israeli sovereignty as prophesied in Ps. 122:3.

“The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel.” Psa. 147:2
“Jerusalem stands built up, a city that was joined together as one.” Psa. 122:3

Ez. 37:21-22; Ez. 37:21-22:

“Surely I will gather the children of Israel from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land… of Israel…they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again.“

God is faithful to His word and His promises. Israeli soldiers stood with amazement in front of the Western Wall for the first time in their lives. The Israeli commander exclaimed: “The Temple Mount in our hands.” And there was much excitement in the land. But the Arabs and many Gentile nations rejected the outcome of a war they started, and they have continued to come against the nation of Israel.

Until 1948, all who lived in Palestine, were called Palestinians, Jews and Arabs. After winning the war of Independence in 1948, Israel changed the name of Palestine back to the original God-given name of Israel. All Jews in Israel are now called Israelis, but the Arabs kept the name

*Palestinians cover all of Israel with their flag.*

Palestinians. Now they are teaching in their schools that all of the Land of Israel is occupied Palestine, and that one day it will belong to them.

*Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, and Muslims worldwide want to destroy Israel.*

*Israel is surrounded by Muslim enemy nations who still seek to destroy the Jewish nation.*

But . . .according to the word of God…

“The Lord has sworn: ‘For I will defend this city (Jerusalem) to save it for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.’” Isa. 37:35

Hamas

May 29, 2018 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

“The Peaceful Demonstration”

The world is in an uproar over the sixty Palestinians from Gaza who died on the border of Israel. Most of them, however, were Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists. The world protests the excessive use of force by Israel. “Hamas placed many women at the front in an effort to make it difficult for us to deal with terror targets. That’s the most significant level of violence we have seen since the start of the protests.” Said an Israeli army spokesman. Gaza’s terrorist rulers make no secret of their agenda. They are out to destroy Israel. Suicide bombers, rockets, and tunnels have failed. So now its mass marches on the border with their weapons of human shields.

One of their leaders said it very clearly: “We shall come and take down that (border) fence. With blood, with martyrs, with women, and with children. The Palestinian people shall liberate its land.”

”Hamas’ control of the events is evident in its ‎blatant incitement to violence, its calls on Gazans to arrive at the border, it has control over events taking place near the security fence. These acts prove that Hamas has abandoned all of its restraints and it is openly acting to intensify riots and violence on the border,” the Israeli army Spokesperson’s Unit said in a statement.

”The IDF is prepared for a variety of scenarios and is determined to defend Israel’s sovereignty and the Israeli public. We will not allow security infrastructure to be compromised and we will neutralize anyone seeking to undermine Israel’s security,” the statement said.

Who is Hamas

Hamas is a violent Islamist anti-Semitic terror group that seeks to destroy Israel. 7 countries have classified Hamas as a terrorist organization. Israel and “The Quartet on the Middle East” (US, Russia, UN, EU) imposed economic sanctions on Hamas and Gaza, including the cessation of foreign aid to the Palestinian government, and restrictions on movement, imposed by Israel. In order to lift these economic sanctions and movement restrictions, Hamas must: renounce violence against Israel, recognize Israel, and honor all previous agreements between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Following the Battle of Gaza in June 2007 in which Hamas violently took control of Gaza from Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah (and even killed some of them, driving the rest out of Gaza), two years after Israel withdrew its military and civilian presence from the Strip, both Israel and Egypt heavily tightened their respective border crossings, creating a “blockade”, including a naval blockade. So far Hamas has not abided by the conditions, and the blockade is still in place. Hamas declared continually that the land of Palestine (not recognizing Israel’s right to the land) is their land, and they will not stop fighting until they take the land back from “the occupiers” (the Jews).

Humanitarian Crisis

Although Israel has tolerated many months of rocket attacks from Gaza on its cities, the international outcry from the United Nations as well as worldwide media has focused almost entirely on the Palestinian plight in Gaza, which they assume to be a result of Israel’s actions. The international media portrays the residents of the Gaza strip as poverty-stricken, malnourished and scared. They claim that there is a humanitarian crisis going on in Gaza. All of these things are true, but they are the result of the actions of the Hamas leadership.

Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Gaza Strip to the pre-1967 lines in 2005. It uprooted thousands of Israeli settlers from their homes. It dismantled all military infrastructure in the Strip. Israel has no physical presence there. It makes no territorial claims there.

Despite the terror onslaught, Israel continues to supply electricity and water to the Palestinian people, and these plants are sometimes hit by the rockets fired by Hamas from within the Gaza Strip, cutting power to thousands. Since the beginning of 2013, over 20,000 truckloads of supplies from Israel have crossed into Gaza for consumption and use by the citizens. These supplies include meat, vegetables, canned foods, milk products, medical supplies, fuel, water, medical equipment, livestock and pet food, school supplies, and cosmetic products. The Palestinian Authority accused Hamas of stealing thousands of liters of fuel from local Gazan companies and then telling the media that there is a fuel shortage. Fatah members also claim that Hamas is lying about the fuel shortage “crisis” for propagandistic reasons.

Israel says the blockade is vital to prevent Hamas from importing weaponry and other means of materials for attacking Israel. Even so, Hamas was able to smuggle weapons into Gaza through tunnels.

Weapons and Rockets and Blockade

Having attempted to terrorize Israel into capitulation with its strategic onslaught of suicide bombers in the Second Intifada, Hamas has, since grabbing hold of Gaza, continued its efforts to terrorize Israel by firing thousands upon thousands of rockets indiscriminately across the border. Hamas has cynically and relentlessly exploited Gazans — a large number of whom have supported it in elections — by storing its rockets near or even inside mosques and schools, firing rockets from residential areas, and digging tunnels from beneath homes and civilian institutions. It has subverted all materials that can be utilized for the manufacture of weaponry, necessitating a stringent Israeli security blockade whose main victims are ordinary Gazans.

Human Shields

With the Iron Dome Israel invented, and high-tech capability to detect and destroy tunnels Hamas dug in order to infiltrate Israel to kill and kidnap soldiers, Hamas has no other means to attack but to use their people as human shields, willing to “pay any price” necessary to carry out their plans of destruction.

Hamas has gone to great lengths to bring more people to the “fence protests.” Israeli Defense officials said Hamas was offering Palestinian families in the Gaza Strip $100 if all family members took part in the protests. The terror group also offered Gazans transportation to the fence area and to the different points of friction.

Organizing and encouraging mass demonstrations at the border in the so-called “March of Return” to face off against Israeli troops, while branding the campaign non-violent, is merely the latest iteration of Hamas’s cynical use of Gazans as the human shields for its aggression.

Demographic Warfare

Palestinians are the only refugees who kept their status as such for generations. Their demand of a “right of return” to Israel for tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees and their millions of descendants is nothing less than a call for the destruction of Israel by demographic means. No Israeli government could accept this demand since it would spell the end of Israel as a Jewish-majority state.

On April 6, the Hamas political leader, Yahya Sinwar, stated: ‘We will take down the border [with Israel] and we will tear their hearts from their bodies.’ On Facebook, Hamas posted maps for their operatives showing the quickest routes from the border with Israel to Israelis’ homes, schools, and day-care centers near the border. Israel Defense Forces had precise intelligence that the violent riots were masking a plan of mass infiltration into Israel in order to carry out a massacre against Israeli civilians. Hamas called it a ‘peaceful protest,’ and much of the world simply fell for it.

Hamas’s Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar setting out the ultimate goal to Gazans at the border on Friday, “The March of Return will continue… until we remove this transient border.” The protests “mark the beginning of a new phase in the Palestinian national struggle on the road to liberation and ‘return’… Our people can’t give up one inch of the land of Palestine.”

The US Embassy

Israel’s Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman posted on Twitter on Monday, June 14, “Few are the moments in a nation’s life like the one when the world’s greatest power recognizes our sovereignty on our capital, Jerusalem.
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”We are ready to counter Hamas’ threats to disrupt our celebrations. I advise the residents of Gaza: Do not be fooled by [Hamas military leader Yahya] Sinwar, who sends your children to sacrifice their lives for nothing. We will defend the [Israeli] people with all the means at our disposal. We will not allow anyone to breach the border.”

Since the day before, the IDF has been dropping warning leaflets into Gaza, urging residents to stay away from the security fence and stressing that any attempt to breach the border will be met with force.

“The Israel Defense Forces had precise intelligence that the violent riots were masking a plan of mass infiltration into Israel in order to carry out a massacre against Israeli civilians. Hamas called it a ‘peaceful protest,’ and much of the world simply fell for it,” Several dozens to several hundred, depending on the week, tried to damage and break through the security fence. A few succeeded, but were quickly turned back by Israeli troops. Some weeks have also seen direct armed clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians armed with guns or explosives.

In response, the Israeli military used tear gas, rubber bullets and live rounds, which the army says were fired in accordance with its rules of engagement and always with the approval of a commander. In the past eight weeks, thousands of Palestinians have been wounded by live ammunition and over 100 have been killed, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.

International Outrage

The deaths of over 60 Palestinians during last week’s violent protests were met with international outrage and calls for an independent investigation of events. The UN’s Human Rights Council on Friday ordered a probe, and a resolution prepared by Kuwait for the UN Security Council urges the deployment of an international force to protect Gazans. Hamas has subsequently admitted that 50 of the dead were members of the terror group. Three others were Islamic Jihad members.

Former Grand Mufti of Lebanon Video — *Former Grand Mufti of Lebanon – Watch Video*

Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani, former Grand Mufti of Lebanon, urged Muslims from the pulpit on May 16 to wage a jihad, to liberate Palestine from the foreign Israeli occupation. He decreed: “This is in accordance with the Islamic legal decree that Palestine and Jerusalem constitute Arab land throughout history, in the present, and in the future. The Al Aksa Mosque is the third holiest place, after Mecca and Medina. I reiterate therefore this religious legal law that Palestine is historical Islamic Arab land. It was occupied by the Zionist Jews of the Balfour Declaration, who immigrated to Israel from all countries of the world on May 14, 1948. The liberation of Palestine is an Islamic duty of the Palestinian people and the countries of the Arabs and the Muslims. They are forbidden to surrender, to reconcile, to make peace treaties, and to concede to a piece of Arab Palestinian land to the foreign Jewish occupation.

Mahmoud Al-Zahar, a co-founder of Hamas - Video — *Mahmoud Al-Zahar, a co-founder of Hamas, Turkey – Watch Video*

On May 13, Mahmoud Al-Zahar, a co-founder of Hamas, said in an interview with Al Jazeera: ‘When we talk about ‘peaceful resistance,’ we are deceiving the public”.

“A senior Hamas leader, Salah Bardawil, said in a May 16 interview with a Palestinian TV station: ‘In the last round of confrontations, if 62 people were martyred, 50 of them were Hamas,’” the general wrote.

There are daily attempts by Gaza to infiltrate to Israel, and shoot at Israeli border soldiers. IDF fighter jets and tanks attacked Hamas targets in a training camp in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, following earlier attempts to plant an explosive device on the fence and gunfire at soldiers. The IDF also killed the three terrorists who tried to plant the explosive in the Rafah area. Hamas placed many women at the front in an effort to make it difficult for us to deal with terror targets. That’s the most significant level of violence we have seen since the start of the protests.”

And that is what is happening on the ground in Gaza. …

As Bible believers, followers of Messiah Yeshua/Jesus, we understand that the battle is not against flesh and blood but against powers of darkness (Eph 6:12). We are called to pray and intercede according to God’s will and share the truth. Remembering that Israel can be looked at as the prophetic clock showing us the times we are living at according to the Bible.