MIDEAST UPDATE:5.2.14

Hamas and PLO Shake Hands - Happy Birthday Israel - Chuck Missler - www.khouse.org

 

Sunday evening, sirens will sound as Israel's Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers begins at sundown. Israelis will take Monday to honor the many friends and family who have died since the nation's new birth. Monday evening, however, the mourning will turn into joy as celebrations begin for Israel's Independence Day. The State of Israel will celebrate its 66th birthday on Tuesday, May 6th (5 Iyyar on the Hebrew calendar) and Israelis will enjoy BBQ and steaks and the bright spring weather.

 

Israel has survived another year in a hostile world - and it is hostile. Even as holiday preparations are made, the PLO and Hamas have agreed to join forces, and Europe continues to sympathize with the terrorists that force Israel to maintain its tight security.

 

Sunday night, a one-minute siren will sound in communities across Israel. Vehicles will stop, and Israelis will rise to their feet to remember their fallen countrymen. Again the sirens will sound on Monday morning at 11:00am. Again everybody will stop what they were doing and stand in honor of the fallen for two minutes. Military ceremonies around the country will begin immediately after the sirens have quieted, and other ceremonies will be held to honor the Victims of Terror as well as foreign volunteers from around the world who came to fight on Israel's behalf during the War of Independence.

 

Israel's enemies have not gone away. The U.S. State Department has been pressuring Israel to make a peace deal with the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in the West Bank. The April 29th deadline for a peace agreement here, and there have been no breakthroughs. In fact, last Wednesday, the PLO announced a unity pact with Hamas, which the U.S. has listed as a terrorist organization. Since Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2006, Hamas-led Gaza has unapologetically shot multiple hundreds of rockets at its Jewish neighbors.

 

PLO President Mahmoud Abbas is months away from actually forming a government with Hamas, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a meeting of his security cabinet members to discuss how to handle the two Palestinian groups' efforts to reconcile.

 

An anonymous U.S. administration official told Reuters last week, "Any Palestinian government must unambiguously and explicitly commit to non-violence, recognition of the state of Israel, and acceptance of previous agreements and obligations between the parties." Hamas has consistently refused to agree to those terms. If Hamas continues on with the same attitude while forming a government with the PLO, the United States will be forced to halt aid to the Palestinians lest America support a terrorist organization.

 

PLO Deputy Secretary Yasser Abed Rabo told Palestinian radio it was too soon for the United States to talk about penalizing a hypothetical West Bank-Gaza government. "There's no need for the Americans to get ahead of themselves over this. What happened in Gaza in the last two days is just a first step which we welcome and want to reinforce," he said.

 

At the same time, Hamas has shown no signs of softening its position against Israel. Last week, Hamas spokesman Taher Nunu categorically denied that Hamas was ready to recognize the state of Israel. The organization has consistently made it clear that it seeks the destruction of the "Zionist entity."

 

Not a helpful attitude for peace negotiations.

 

The United Nations Security Council held an open debate on the Middle East on Tuesday, during which Israel's ambassador Ron Prosor spoke openly of the frustration of dealing with peace partners that don't really seem to want peace.

 

"While Israel makes tangible concessions to advance peace, the Palestinian leadership has let every window of opportunity fly out the window," Prosor said. "The Palestinians pledge dialogue while fermenting hatred. They promise tolerance while celebrating terrorists. And they make commitments almost as quickly as they break them...The Palestinians have made a career out of squeezing more and more compromises out of Israel, without granting a single tangible compromise of their own."

 

The U.S. State Department has long promoted a two-state solution, but Israeli peace talks with the PLO have constantly stale-mated. On Friday at a meeting of the Trilateral Commission, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made the controversial comment, "A two-state solution will be clearly underscored as the only real alternative. Because a unitary state winds up either being an apartheid state with second-class citizens - or it ends up being a state that destroys the capacity of Israel to be a Jewish state." Kerry was immediately lashed in the U.S. for his use of the word "apartheid." He quickly apologized while insisting, "I will not allow my commitment to Israel to be questioned by anyone..."

 

Israel has had a rough 66 years. It won its War of Independence in 1948 only to battle for its existence in 1967 and 1973. Ever since, its citizens have lived under the constant threat of terror. Every time they board a bus or go out for pizza, Israelis know there's a chance they might get blown to pieces. At one time, every one of Israel's near neighbors was its enemy. It faced hostile armies on all borders. Israel is now at peace with Jordan and maintains a relatively stable non-war with Syria and Egypt for the time being. It has serious enemies in the international community, but it also has some very strong friends. Even then, with God's help, Israel can take care of itself.

 

Israel is the land of the Bible, and Jerusalem is the City of David, the city in which the Messiah will take His throne. As Israel celebrates another year of its existence, it also brings us one year closer to that day when the Son of David will begin his earthly rule, and the wolf will lay down in peace with the lamb. There will be plenty of false cries of "peace" before that day, followed by great turmoil. Still, that day will come, and the Messiah will reign, praise the Lord.

 

Happy Birthday, Israel.

Hamas remains committed to jihad against Israel - Herb Keinon, Khaled Abu Toameh - http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Khaled-Mashaal-Hamas-remains-committed-to-jihad-against-Israel-350937

 

Hamas is committed to holy war against Israel, its leader Khaled Mashaal affirmed on Wednesday, one week after it signed a reconciliation pact with Fatah.

 

"Our path is resistance and the rifle, and our choice is jihad," he said, in his first public comments since the deal with Fatah was announced.

 

Mashaal spoke by phone to hundreds of Palestinians who attended the funeral of Hamas terrorists Adel and Imad Awadallah.

 

Israel handed the bodies of the two brothers to the Palestinian Authority more that 16 years after IDF soldiers killed them outside Hebron.

 

Mashaal said that in wake of the failure of the peace talks with Israel, the Palestinians were in need of a unified political decision and a joint strategy that would lead to the "liberation of our lands and holy sites and the return of the Palestinian refugees to their homes."

 

The Hamas leader voiced optimism over the prospects of success for the unity agreement, which Fatah and Hamas signed in Gaza Strip on April 23.

 

He added that while Hamas was in favor of political and diplomatic action against Israel in the international arena, "there is no past or future without jihad and resistance. Jihad is our path."

 

Another Hamas leader, Mahmoud Zahar, said the unity pact with Fatah would not change his movement's position toward Israel.

 

The deal does not mean that Hamas would recognize Israel's right to exist or that Hamas activists in the Gaza Strip would have to report to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, Zahar said.

 

Zahar said that Abbas decided to strike the deal with Hamas after the US-sponsored peace talks failed to achieve progress. He claimed that Abbas was facing huge pressure from the Americans because of the unity accord with Hamas.

 

This was the reason Abbas was not in a rush to start consultations over the formation of a unity government, Zahar said. Abbas wants to guarantee continued American financial aid to the PA, he said.

 

A Fatah official in Ramallah responded to Zahar's remarks by saying that they do not help the case of unity and may even hinder its implementation.

 

A government official in Jerusalem responded to the remarks by saying that they "speak for themselves and expose the myth that Hamas has somehow changed or moderated its positions."

 

Hamas "remains an extremist jihadist organization committed to the destruction of Israel," the official said.

 

"It is clear that Palestinian leaders cannot come to Israel and say they want peace if they forge an alliance with these killers," he said, referring to Abbas.

 

Nevertheless, Israel's message to the international community is that if Abbas reneges on the pact with Hamas, or if it falls through, the direct talks that fell apart last week could be restarted.

 

However, he said, if the Palestinian unity accord is "consummated" and a Palestinian unity government backed by Hamas is established, "we will look at what the alternatives are."

 

The official said that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has initiated a "process of discussion to explore what the policy options are."

 

"Working discussions" have begun, and Netanyahu has called on cabinet ministers, as well as people from outside the government, to present their policy ideas, he said.

 

"We don't want a situation whereby because of Palestinian extremism, the only option is the status quo," the official said.

 

Hamas: Our Gaza forces won't take orders from Abbas - By Avi Issacharoff - http://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-official-abbas-wont-control-our-forces/

 

Mahmoud al-Zahar: Unity deal 'will not change Hamas at all', and there will be no recognition of Israel

 

A top Hamas official boasted that the organization's forces would not be bound to follow instructions from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and dismissed claims that a planned unity government would recognize Israel.

 

Mahmoud Al-Zahar said in an interview with the Egyptian newspaper Alyoum Sabaa on Tuesday that no militiamen in Gaza would be under Abbas's control after a planned interim technocrat government is installed. 

 

"The reconciliation deal won't change the current situation, and the new government's ministers are to have no authority over diplomacy since it is an interim government," he said. "The reconciliation deal will not change Hamas at all, and will not bring the organization to recognize Israel's right to exist."

 

Last week Abbas's Fatah party signed a reconciliation pact with Hamas in which the two factions agreed to form a unity government within five weeks, with general elections later in the year.

 

Activists in the Hamas military wing Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades will continue to operate independent of the unity government under Abbas, as will the armed elements of the Hamas security forces, Zahar clarified.

 

The official, who was involved in the reconciliation talks between Fatah and Hamas, also repudiated Abbas's statements that the new government would recognize Israel. In his opinion, Abbas's announcements that the new government will recognize Israel and uphold previous agreements are "worthless" and the reconciliation will not change anything since the new government's ministers will be drawn from academics who have no diplomatic authority.

 

Zahar stressed that Hamas will continue to be responsible for its own forces despite the reconciliation deal and regardless of who eventually wins the general elections planned for later in the year.

 

He added that the organization was looking forward to putting together a national unity government, but noted that Abbas needed to overcome the objections of the US and Israel.

 

Zahar suggested that Abbas decided to try reconciliation with Hamas since the negotiations with Israel under American auspices did not produce results.

 

The move, he said, aimed to buy time for Abbas and to put pressure on Israel, though the Palestinian Authority leader is now worried about threats from Washington to freeze financial aid.

 

Since the unity deal was signed last week, US officials have made it clear that Washington expects the interim Palestinian government to recognize Israel, reject violence, and honor previous agreements - or risk losing financial aid from the US.

Israel Watch: Cast a Giant Shadow - Jim Fletcher - http://www.raptureready.com/rap15.html

 

 Persecution of Jews has always been with us, sadly. The 2,000-year exile saw Jew hatred spike, all over the world, and the Church was front-and-center in much of that anti-Semitic rage. If you ever wonder why some Jews are a bit hesitant to your offers of friendship-if you are Christian-I invite you to read about the pogroms, the Inquisitions, the Holocaust.

 

 You'll understand, then.

 

 Anti-Semitism is a spiritual sickness that will be with us to the End of the Age, yet we are in a unique moment in history, in which the Jews once again have a sovereign homeland with which to defend themselves. If you are a Jew being persecuted in Paris, or Peoria, or Peking...immigrate to Israel. There, the state will fiercely defend you and yours.

 

 It is the build-up of Jewish defenses, beginning with the Israel Defense Forces, that has enabled Jews all over the world to be safe in their own country. That we are witnesses to this miracle is a source of great comfort for those of us who believe the Lord of History guides all things.

 

 I recently watched the film, "Cast a Giant Shadow," the story of American Army Colonel Mickey Marcus, a Jew, who agreed to help the fledgling IDF gather itself during the War of Independence in 1948-49. It was Jewish innovation that brought Israel's army to the point of a self-sustaining fighting force, capable of not only repelling invaders, but of extending a long reach around the world, wherever Jews are threatened.

 

 Recently, when asked about the capabilities of the Israel Air Force, Major General Amir Eshel said, "Our air force is wherever we want it to be."

 

That confidence is not only sustaining the country in difficult times-Israel has fought terror since its inception-but will in the future.

 

 In Zechariah 12:6, we read:

 

"On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume all the surrounding peoples right and left, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place."

 

The IDF will be dispatched by its Supreme Commander to destroy those invading forces that threaten the people.

 

 In the June, '67 Six-Day War, Israel lost 777 soldiers. Think about that. Seven being the number of perfection-the number of the Divine. No detail is too small, or is insignificant.

 

 Yitzhak Rabin, in his memoirs, describes his thoughts during that momentous time:

 

"Before 5 June I repeatedly warned that if we opted for war we must know that it would be a difficult undertaking. The fact that our successes exceeded all expectations did not in any way disprove that prediction. A number of infantry and armored assaults-in the Sinai as well as on the Golan Heights-were particularly difficult, and our men fought with determination and great valor.

 

"Motta Gur's paratroopers carried on a stubborn and bloody battle for East Jerusalem at a terrible toll in lives on both sides. In those heady days of euphoria after the war, while the mass media around the world were active creating legends, I wanted to keep things in their proper perspective."

 

Today, the IDF has 176,000 active personnel, but millions in reserve. So strong is the Israeli economy that it spends around 7 percent of its GDP on defense. The capabilities of the army, navy, and air force are breathtaking, on a scope not seen anywhere else in the world.

 

 The IDF casts a giant shadow, but stands itself in the shadow of the One who will fight for the people, very soon.

 

 We have a front-row seat, even as we live through very difficult times. Let us encourage each other in light of the fact that Israel lives, and will go on living.

 

 Thus saith the Lord.