Politics

The Syrian War: What is it Really About?

December 31, 2018 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

The real issue in Syria is the fight between Sunni and Shi’a Muslims.

To understand the complications in the Middle East, we must understand the biggest conflict within the Muslim world: the big divide between Sunni and Shi’a Muslims.

The Sunni-Shi’a conflict started 1,400 years ago, after the death of Mohammed in 632 AD. The prophet died without appointing a successor, which led to an argument among his followers. The argument was about who would be the next leader, whether he should be directly related to Mohammed’s bloodline or not. The Sunni’s believe that the Prophets’ trusted friend and advisor, Abu Bakr was the first rightful leader of Muslims or “caliph”, while Shi’as believe that Mohammed’s cousin and son-in-law, Ali was chosen by Allah to continue the rule. Eventually, both held the title – Abu Bakr first until his death, and after him two other caliphs who were assassinated. Ali became the fourth ruler. After Ali, a massive split occurred over who should rule next and dominate Islam. While Sunni Muslims argued that it should be their interpretation of Islam which follows the Sunnah (ways of Mohammed), Shi’as argued that Ali was the rightful first caliph and only his descendants could claim to be the true leaders of Muslims.

Sunnah is the body of traditional, social, and legal custom and practice of the Islamic community, based on the verbally transmitted record of the teachings, deeds and sayings, silent permissions (or disapprovals) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (kind of Islamic oral law and Halacha, a path, a way, a manner of life). The Quran, the holy book of Islam, and the Sunnah make up the two primary sources of Islamic theology and law of the Islamic prophet that Muslims follow.

The tension is intensified by the Hadith, a narrative in which the prophet Muhammad said, “My Muslim community will be divided into seventy-three sects and all of them will be in the Hellfire except one.” Inevitably both Sunnis and Shias claim to be the one “pure” Islamic sect; hence a Sunni-Shi’a split creating two denominations up until today, wherein each has developed its own unique culture, doctrines, and schools of thought, with a range of moderate to extremist followers in both.

Sunnis are largely focused on the power of their God in the physical world, while Shi’as look more toward the rewards of the afterlife.

*The majority of Muslim people in the world are Sunni.*

The vast majority of the Muslims in the world are Sunni, amounting to as much as 85% of the religion’s adherents. They are spread all over the globe – from Morocco to Indonesia – and make up the dominant religion in North Africa and the Middle East. Only Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan and Bahrain have a Shi’a majority, although there are also significant Shi’a populations in Yemen, Lebanon, Kuwait, Syria, and Qatar.

The divide between the Sunni and Shi’a branches of Islam is both ancient and still highly consequential today.

The Kingdom of Bahrain, which is backed by Saudi has long been ruled by the Sunni House of Khalifa, even though there is a Shi’a majority in the population. Many of the insurgent groups in Iraq today– including the Islamic State terror group – are Sunnis.

The current civil war in Yemen has become a sectarian proxy war, with Iran backing the Shi’a Houthi rebels who overthrew the country’s Sunni-dominated government, while a Saudi-led coalition has since intervened to reinstall the Sunni leadership.

Syria, which has a Sunni-majority population, is ruled by President Bashar al-Assad and his family members of the Shi’a Alawite-sect. The fighting that began as an anti-government rebellion has taken on sectarian overtones. That has spilled over to Iraq, which is Shi’a-majority and has a predominantly Shi’a government but is increasingly troubled by Sunni rebels. And the region’s major powers have long pushed sectarian interests, with Shi’a-majority Iran on one side and Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia on the other.

Threat From the North

December 22, 2018 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

“I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies. (Psalm 18:3)

Soldier wiring a discovered Hezbollah tunnel for destruction.

Last week Israel discovered “terror tunnels” running from Lebanon directly into Israel by which Hezbollah intended to sneak in terrorists “under our noses”.

Thank God, Israel destroyed the tunnels before they became operational.

Tensions have remained high on the northern border since the last war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006 which lasted 35 days. It began when Hezbollah terrorists launched a raid into Israel, killing eight soldiers and kidnapping two others who also died.
Israel warned Hezbollah not to interfere with the tunnel demolition or face the Israeli Defense Force’s (IDF) massive military force.

Hezbollah, in turn, threatened to attack Israel with its vast rocket arsenal.
The first tunnel the IDF discovered started in a Lebanese civilian home and was at least 200m (650ft) long, running 40m inside Israel near the border town of Metulla. (At that time the area was declared a closed zone.) The second tunnel was discovered close to that area and two others were found shortly afterward.

In the opinion of an Israeli army colonel, the tunnels were part of a plan by Hezbollah to “conquer the Galilee” region of Israel in a future conflict.

Imagine; had Israel not discovered those tunnels, thousands of hate-filled terrorists would have emerged from them directly into northern Israel, storming the homes of unsuspecting Israelis. Men, women, and children would have been massacred and many taken hostage. Waiving flags victoriously, Hezbollah terrorists would yell “Allah Akbar” and “we have liberated the Galilee.” And should Israel respond, Hezbollah would fire thousands of long-range missiles into every part of Israel.

Soldier using equipment to search for tunnels.

Thank God for “Operation Northern Shield,” launched Dec. 4th whereby Israel foiled the plans of the enemy. Israeli intelligence collected data over a span of four years and the hi-technical engineering army unit developed ways and means to detect and destroy dozens of tunnels along the common border.

This impressive operation, in cooperation with high-ranking army commanders, intelligence units and members of the political echelon was planned out in secrecy for four years until the day of the operation in order to ensure the ability to catch the enemy by surprise. This is a miracle in itself.

Hezbollah, a Shi’a Islamist militant organization and political party based in Lebanon headed by Hassan Nasrallah, does not recognize Israel’s right to exist and has been accused of carrying out a string of bombings and plots against Jewish and Israeli targets around the world over decades. Israel has also reportedly carried out killings against Hezbollah figures.
Hezbollah has built up an extensive arsenal since the 2006 conflict, possibly possessing up to 150,000 rockets.

Israel has said it will not allow Hezbollah to obtain advanced missiles and frequently carries out airstrikes on arms being transferred to the organization through Syria.

Tension on the Lebanese Border

The situation is very delicate and can spark an eruption, if not treated carefully. Soldiers on both sides of the “Blue Line,” bordered with concertina wire separating them are within touching distance. The “Blue Line” is the demarcation between Lebanon and Israel set by the UN after the end of the 2006 war.

Lebanese soldiers rushed to the point of conflict on Monday after Israeli troops rolled out barbed wire along the border, protesting that the wire was placed on their side of the border.
The Israeli army said the wire was installed entirely in Israeli territory, in coordination with UN peacekeepers. Both Israeli and Lebanese soldiers are so close that even a small incident can cause an explosion. Israeli backup soldiers are on watch to make sure Hezbollah terrorists are not hiding anywhere close, trying to interrupt or sabotage Israeli efforts. It is a very volatile situation. An IDF statement said, “Operations along the border continue as planned, both on overt and covert levels.”

Proof to the World

On the diplomatic level, Israel succeeded in proving to the world the schemes of its enemy to the north – Hezbollah. Even CNN sent one of its own cameras down into the tunnel to document the plans of Hezbollah against Israel. On Tuesday, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit put out an English-language video aimed at the international community showing the danger Hezbollah presents not just to Israel but also to the citizens of Lebanon.

[Film from newscast, video will have English speaking in the middle]

UN Interim Forces in Lebanon, who were called to the site, confirmed that two of the tunnels cross the Blue Line. “These constitute violations of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701″ (by Hezbollah).

Israel has called on the international community to impose new sanctions on the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, the heavily armed mini-army with an arsenal of some 130,000 of rockets that can reach nearly every part of Israel.

PM Netanyahu, during a tour of the northern border, said: “we shall totally nullify the Hezbollah tunnel threat.” Israeli officials have indicated that the IDF may operate within Lebanese territory, if necessary, to destroy the tunnels.

Israel holds the Lebanese government responsible for the tunnels being dug inside its territory. Lebanese President Michel Aoun, a Hezbollah ally, said Tuesday that the United States assured him that Israel has “no aggressive intentions” with its Operation Northern Shield.

The IDF will construct an access to the first Hezbollah terror tunnel near Metula as a model. It will become a site for diplomats and foreign correspondents to visit and see with their own eyes (and cameras) what Israel has discovered. [Read More About Hezbollah]

Please pray for our leadership to have Godly wisdom and strength in facing of these issues. Please stand with us in faith on the promises and Word of God. We know that the God is Israeli’s protector. He never slumbers nor sleeps. Please pray with us for the people of Israel, asking God to open the eyes of the hearts of many as they are looking for help from men. May many realize that God is our Helper.

We love and appreciate you very much. We would love to hear from you – any comments, questions and/or prayer requests. Again we would like to thank you for your prayers and financial support. We pray for you too from Zion, for God to supply all your needs and bless you greatly.

For the salvation of Israel and the nations,
In His love,
Simcha and Bella Davidov, Ashdod, Israel

Terror Strikes Israel

November 26, 2018 By Bella Davidov 1 Comment

*Direct Gaza rocket hit into an Ashkelon apartment.*

When Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, Israelis left their homes, greenhouses, and farms intact. Immediately, the Palestinians entered and destroyed everything. And as soon as Hamas took control by force in 2007, they spent all international monies donated to them on rockets, ammunition and building tunnels.

Hamas terrorizes Israel by firing thousands of rockets indiscriminately into southern Israeli cities and villages. They even use their own citizens as human shields and store rockets near or even inside hospitals, mosques, and schools. They fire rockets from residential areas and civilian facilities and dig tunnels from beneath homes and civilian institutions.

Despite the terror attacks, and for humanitarian considerations, Israel continues to supply electricity and water to the Palestinian people. Thousands of truckloads of supplies of meat, vegetables, canned food, milk products medical and school supplies and more from Israel have crossed into Gaza for consumption and use by the citizens.

Hamas could have decided to improve the economy and offer Palestinians a better life. Instead, it has focused only on attacking Israel and maintaining its goal of “return” to Palestine (the entire land of Israel) and the destruction of the Jewish state.

Hamas concentrated on building tunnels: Tunnels to Egypt brought consumer goods, fuel and, of course, weaponry; tunnels into Israel were to kidnap or kill Israelis and infiltrate Israeli territory. However, Egypt has closed the tunnels, and Israel has developed high-tech capabilities to detect and destroy them.

In the last eight months, Hamas has mobilized thousands of Gazan civilians on the border fences along with its own armed men; carrying grenades, guns, and other weapons. The goal is obviously to enter Israel, in order to kill and destroy as much as possible. With Israeli soldiers defending the border, all are pushed back, except for a few who are caught and arrested. Several who cut through the wire fence were shot, killed or wounded. Despite all this, every Friday, after their prayers, Hamas calls its citizens to storm the border fence by the thousands. Unfortunately, they were able to destroy Israeli border fields, trees, and livestock with fire.

If only Hamas would stop using its citizens in their fight against Israel; if only they understood that their dream of destroying Israel and taking over the land is a fantasy that will never come true. If only they would concentrate on economic recovery rather than building tunnels and amassing Iranian rockets and missiles. If only they would cooperate with Fatah and put away their arms. If only they would recognize Israel’s right to the land. Then there would be peace and quiet.

Should Israel topple Hamas and then leave? There is a real risk that either an ISIS affiliate or Islamic Jihad would take over. Both are much more militant than Hamas, and things would get worse. War with Hamas, who uses its own people as human shields, would cause many civilian casualties, including women and children. The ensuing global anti-Israel outcry would seriously hinder present Israeli diplomatic efforts for support against Iran. This would obviously be most sorrowful, especially in light of Israel’s new relations with Sunni moderate Arab nations, such as Saudi Arabia and the Gulf nations, who oppose Iran.

For these reasons, Netanyahu agreed to the cease-fire, hoping that the Egyptians will help Israel achieve quiet at least for a bit longer.

Israel: The State of the Jewish People

August 31, 2018 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

“For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace,
and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness go forth as brightness, and her salvation (Yeshua) as a torch that burns.” Isaiah 62:1

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. Of course Abraham had many descendants, starting with his two sons: Ishmael and Isaac, but God chose the “Son of Promise” through which to pass on His covenant with Abraham. The promise went through Isaac and then Jacob whose name God changed to Israel – thus Nation of Israel.

God chose the Land of Israel to be His land, and the city of Jerusalem to be be 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” Psalm 132:13

“Blessed be the Lord out of Zion, Who dwells in Jerusalem!” Psalm 135: 21

The League of Nations recognizes Israel is the historic Land of the Jewish people

In 1920, after winning WWI, the allies met in San Remo, Italy to divide the land that had been occupied by the Turkish Ottoman Empire for 400 years. Until then there were no bordered countries or states. But as Britain and France were given Mandate over the Middle East nation states were created.
On July 24th, 1922, the League of Nations accepted the San Remo Treaty, thus recognizing “the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine”* as “the grounds for reconstituting their national home in the country.” Britain was appointed 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.”

When the United Nations succeeded the League of Nations, it likewise adopted the San Remo Treaty as binding international law.

In the changing world of the Middle East, and the rest of the world, the Israeli government found it necessary at this time to make it a law that would establish once and for all the fact that Israel is the eternal state of the Jewish people. So now, ninety-six years later, to avoid confusion in the future and to make sure that Israel never gives in to opposition or denial of this right by the Arab world or parts of the West, the Knesset (the Israeli Parliament) passed the “Nation-State Law.

In line with the previously accepted League’s resolution, the “Nation-State Law” acknowledges the land of Israel as “the historical homeland of the Jewish people, in which the State of Israel was established.” Furthermore, it defines this state as “the national home of the Jewish people, in which it fulfills its natural, cultural, religious and historical right to self-determination”.

The law states that Israel is the historical homeland of the Jewish people, that the unified city of Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, that Hebrew is the official language of this state and that Hatikvah (the hope of 2000 years) is its national anthem.

Simply stated, the Nation-State Law legally defines Israel as the national state of the Jewish people in the land of Israel.

Not surprisingly, the law has triggered a wave of protest and opposition from the Israeli left and the Arab-Israeli community. As a democracy, the Knesset has representatives of all parties, including representatives of the Arab citizens. Some of the Arab representatives often express anti-Semitic and anti-Israel sentiments and announcements that in the name of democracy are allowed to be heard. They claim that Palestinian terrorists are “freedom fighters” against Israel’s “occupation”, and in that way justify their terror actions. They also talk openly about turning Israel from a Jewish state into a stated for all its citizens, where Palestinians also have the “right of return.”

Admittedly, the law is a Zionist legislation. Some may claim it is racist or discriminatory, but in actuality does not contradict any value of democracy and equality. This law is not against minority civil rights. It is for Jewish national right. It supports the Jewish people and the minorities living among them.

The law demonstrates its respect for “those who are not Jewish” and recognizes their right to “observe their days of rest on their Sabbath and their holidays.” It also recognizes the “special status of the Arabic language” and even stipulates that while Hebrew is the only official language of Israel, “this clause does not harm the status given to the Arabic language before this law came into effect.” The principle of equality already exists in the civil law.

Civil rights to all citizens of Israel

In response to Israel’s Nation-State law, the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee and the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) named July 19th an official day of protest against “Israeli apartheid”. They protested that the bill is racist, discriminates against minorities. Besides the Arabs, Israelis that represent the far Left and their media join them, because they ideologically oppose the concept of a Zionist state which this law endorses.

On the surface, it may look like a legitimate protest against discrimination, but most Israelis realize that it shows their unwillingness to accept the existence of a Jewish state. The Israeli national anthem, “Hatikvah,” offends them; so various Israeli university departments do not observe it.

Despite all the challenges and threats, Israel is still the safest place to live in this entire region, for Druze, Arab and Circassian – Christians, Muslims, and Jews. Israel’s Arabs enjoy lives of freedom and democracy in the Jewish state. As a matter of fact, there is not even one clause that denies the rights of minorities which were initially incorporated in Israel’s Declaration of Independence. These rights were reaffirmed in the Basic Law of “Human Dignity and Liberty”, passed in 1992, whose stipulated purpose was “to protect human dignity and liberty, in order to establish in a Basic Law the values of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.”

Civil equality, yes – collective national rights for the Palestinians – no. They can go and seek that among their brothers in Arab countries that have an abundance of land and resources.

The Arab world refuses to accept the existence of a Jewish state, and the idea of Jewish nationality is unacceptable to most Arabs, including the leaders of the Israeli-Arab public, politicians and those in the Arab Higher Monitoring Committee in Israel.

Only Jews have the right to return to the Land of Israel

The only word that does not appear in the State Law, democratically passed in the Knesset majority, is national “equality”.

Only Jews have the privilege to the Law of Return because Israel is the state of the Jewish people, who were taken out of their homeland into exile, were persecuted by the nations and faced annihilation there. Now they have the right to come back to their home: Israel.

That is what is really bothering the Supreme Arab Monitoring Committee and the Knesset members from the Joint Arab List. They are disappointed that the Arabs will not be able to use Demography as their last resort of eradicating Israel, after trying time and again to use military means.

The Law of Return does not apply to the Palestinians, who now are demanding their own version of it in the form of right of return for Palestinians and family reunification. They are the only refugees who kept refugee status by inheritance.

The Nation-State law is a legitimate method of self-defense for Israel against a demographic flood that might turn Israel into another Arab state. For more on this subject, please go to our blog.

Please stand with us at this time of spiritual warfare as Israel is facing international and domestic criticism over this new state law. Pray for our leadership to have Godly wisdom and strength in devising strategies against attacks. Please stand with us in faith on the promises and Word of God.

For the salvation of Israel and the nations,
In His love,
Simcha and Bella Davidov, Ashdod, Israel

*Palestine was the name given to the land of Judah by the conquering Romans after destroying Jerusalem in 70 AD and taking the majority of the Jews into exile. That name remained throughout subsequent occupations by different conquerors.

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.
‎

”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.