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In Middle East Warfare the Best Defense is a Good Offense!

December 28, 2006

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

I could not agree more with the statement of Colonel Moshe Hagard in paragraphs four and five of the Arutz Sheva article which follows:

[Begin Quote] Col. (ret.) Moshe Hager, a deputy division head during Operation Defensive Shield in 2002, told Arutz-7, “The current policy is immoral – not because of any given Kassam attack, but because every minute, Gaza is becoming more and more like Lebanon, as the terrorists increase their military capabilities.

The Negev will soon be lost to us, at this rate.”

Hager’s recommendation is to “conquer all of Gaza, kill all the terrorists, install mayors whom we support, and realize that the Palestinian Authority has not fulfilled its Oslo commitments and that the Oslo Accords no longer exist… At the very least, the northern Gaza areas must be conquered in order to shorten the range of Kassam rockets.

In addition, the Philadelphi corridor in southern Gaza must also be conquered; it will be hard, but it’s absolutely imperative, in order to crumble the terrorist infrastructures, just like during Operation Defensive Shield.” [End Quote]

For those of you who might think this is not the best solution, please let me tell you that for almost 40 years I have steadfastly declared there is no solution to the Middle East problem, other that the Second Advent of their Messiah. Only God can bring a true peace to the Middle East. And I would remind you that, when dealing with Armageddon, God does tend to lean toward the concept of a Good Offense being the best Defense. His offensive weapons are his own creations that man cannot control.

He is Israel’ s defen

se, and he will use his weapons, the heavens and the earth, as the greatest offense against her enemies that the world has ever seen.

Isaiah 29:6 – Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.

Zechariah 14:1-5 – Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. [2] For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. [3] Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. [4] And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

[5] And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.

Revelation 16:16-21 – And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. [17] And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.

[18] And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. [19] And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. [20] And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. [21] And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

Luke 21:25-27 – And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; [26] Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

[27] And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

For an exposition of “this man” in Micah 5:5 & verses 6 through 9, take a look in our Prophecy Update Archives at whole numbered Update Numbers 66 through 69)

Micah 5:5-9 – And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men. [6] And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.

[7] And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the Lord, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men. [8] And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver. [9] Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall

be cut off.

Begin Arutz Sheva Article

Army Begs: Let Us Fire Back!

Wednesday, December 27, 2006 / 6 Tevet 5767

Arutz Sheva – IsraelNationalNews.com

The government’s restraint in the face of the rocket attacks is “immoral,” “ineffective,” and must end.

So say various IDF officers, as Olmert convenes an emergency security meeting this morning.

Defense Minister Amir Peretz said it last night, following the serious wounding of two boys in Sderot by a Kassam rocket, and increasing numbers of army officers are now saying it publicly as well: The policy of restraint must end.

Peretz told Olmert last night that Israel can no longer afford to restrain its fire. IDF forces are currently not permitted even to fire at a Kassam rocket launching cell, unless the soldiers’ lives are directly and immediately endangered.

Col. (ret.) Moshe Hager, a deputy division head during Operation Defensive Shield in 2002, told Arutz-7, “The current policy is immoral – not because of any given Kassam attack, but because every minute, Gaza is becoming more and more like Lebanon, as the terrorists increase their military capabilities. The Negev will soon be lost to us, at this rate.”

Hager’s recommendation is to “conquer all of Gaza, kill all the terrorists, install mayors whom we support, and realize that the Palestinian Authority has not fulfilled its Oslo commitments and that the Oslo Accords no longer exist… At the very least, the northern Gaza areas must be conquered in order to shorten the range of Kassam rockets. In addition, the Philadelphi corridor in southern Gaza must also be conquered; it will be hard, but it’s absolutely imperative, in order to crumble the terrorist infrastructures, just like during Operation Defensive Shield.”

An unnamed government source, quoted on Voice of Israel Radio, said that the security establishment would recommend putting an end to restraint and taking military action against the rocket launchers.

“The IDF’s inaction gives immunity to the rocket launching cells,” an unnamed army official told Ynet. “In the past, a terrorist who went out on a rocket launching mission thought seven times whether it was worth it and what were the chances that he would be hit. Now, he doesn’t have to think even twice.”

Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Yom Tov Samiyeh, a former IDF Southern Region Commander, told Army Radio today that if we don’t want to end up having to re-conquer all of Gaza – “and I don’t want to; who needs it?” – then we had better implement smaller-scale military measures to uproot the terrorist infrastructure

there.

It is assumed that Prime Minister Olmert is still trying to fulfill his promises to Palestinian Authority chairman Abu Mazen at their Saturday night meeting. Olmert promises to remove many security checkpoints throughout Judea and Samaria – though the army is reviewing the issue and this will not happen until next week at the earliest. Olmert also promised to free up $100 million in tax monies that Israel had been withholding.

The wounding of the two boys last night was the climax of a day of Kassam rockets against Israel. No fewer than eight rockets were fired, the most in one day since

the ceasefire took effect just over a month ago. Damage was caused, and one rocket landed dangerously close to a sensitive infrastructure in southern Ashkelon.

Noticeably differing in his approach is Yuval Diskin, the head of the General Security Service (Shabak). Diskin has recommended that Israel act diplomatically, not militarily. Just two days ago, Israel submitted a detailed complaint to the UN against the PA and its continued ceasefire violations.

Meanwhile, Shimon Peres continues to reach out to Israel’s deadliest enemies. In a speech in Spain last night, the Vice Prime Minister said he believes Hamas is an “important factor” in the Middle East peace process, and that the organization should play a role in it. Israel’s official position is to conduct no negotiations with Hamas as long as it continues not to recognize Israel’s right to exist and calls for its destruction.

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Middle East Diplomacy is nothing more than Ultimate Deceit!

December 27, 2006

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Genesis 3:7,8 – And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. [8] And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam

and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.

When both Adam and Eve sinned they initiated the first act of the art of diplomacy – They tried to cover up the truth with human diplomacy, and

then to hide the truth from the originator and keeper of truth.

Romans 3:4 – God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

Unfortunately, international diplomacy, as it is practiced today, has more of the Devil then God in it.

John 8:44 – Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Armageddon is where all of man’s diplomacy will culminate as the product of man’s wisdom in the not too distant future.

Revelation 16:16 – And he g athered them together into

a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

The Christ of truth will return to end Armageddon and begin a new era of peace for a thousand years, where all diplomacy will be based upon him and his truth. The son of Man is God’s Sun of Righteousness, who will judge mankind at Armageddon, then heal the mess that man’s diplomacy has made since Adam.

Luke 21:25-27 – And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; [26] Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. [27] And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

Malachi 4:1-3 – For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. [2] But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. [3] And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.

Jesus the King will establish diplomacy of truth for all mankind.

Zechariah 14:9 – And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.

This is what God’s diplomacy will establish from the mountain of his government in Israel among

the mountain governments of

the Millennial world.

Isaiah 2:1-5 – The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. [2] And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

[3] And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. [4] And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. [5] O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.

The three articles from YNet News, which follow, were extracted from the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. They are terrific articles, and the writers describe quite accurately the motivations of deceit behind the diplomatic negotiation currently under way in the Middle East. The smoke and mirrors of both international and local diplomacy have hidden or reflected any hope of a peace based on truth.

Syria Talks Would Legitimize Damascus Internationally

Dore Gold

According to Israel’s experience with Egypt, a stable agreement is ensured first and foremost by securing quiet between Israel and its neighbors as a precondition to substantive talks.

At the time, Cairo was not home to terror organizations’ headquarters, and terrorists did not cross the border in order to carry out attacks. Today, too, Israel must ensure that Syria first dismantles terror groups and training camps in its territory, thus proving both to Israel and the U.S. that it is serious in its desire to reach peace.

What does Israel have to lose should it engage in talks with Syria in order to test the seriousness of its intention

s? Photos from the negotiations would be used as a “kosher certificate” for Damascus in the eyes of the international community, at a time when Washington is making an effort to create a coalition that would press Syria to change its conduct towards Iraq, Lebanon, and the Palestinians.

The writer is Israel’s former UN ambassador and currently heads the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. (Ynet News)

Begin Article Number 2

Syria Hallucinations: Assad Won’t Be Disengaging from Iran or Hizballah

Zalman Shoval

As the chief of

the Mossad made clear, Syria is not looking for peace with Israel, but rather the preservation of a limited state of war that allows the Alawite minority in Damascus to justify its continued dictatorship.

Shiite Iran serves as an “insurance policy” for the Alawite regime against its internal and external enemies. Iran has replaced the Soviet Union, which played this role for Syria in the past.

Moreover, can anyone imagine that Syria would accept the demand to end its support for Hizballah when the organization is the main tool used to advance Syria’s plans in Lebanon?

The writer is a former Israeli ambassador to Washington. (Ynet News)

Begin Article Number 3

Prime Minister’s Office: No Negotiations with Syria as Long as It Supports Terror

Ronny Sofer (Ynet News)

“There will be no negotiations, as long as Syria continues to support terror and to be involved in the axis of evil,” a senior official in the Prime Minister’s Office clarified Tuesday.

“Syria in its deeds and in Assad’s deeds proves that it stands behind Damascus’ four crimes:

(1) Arms smuggling to Hizballah in Lebanon while violating UN Resolution 1701;

(2) Sheltering [Hamas leader] Khaled Mashaal and the terror organizations in the Syrian capital in a bid to thwart any move for peace and release [kidnapped IDF soldier] Gilad Shalit on the Palestinian route;

(3) Increasingly close connections with Tehran, which calls for Israel’s destruction;

(4) Active involvement in terror attacks carried out in Iraq against the Americans.”

“These acts prove that the Syrians are still deep inside the axis of evil and have not changed their ways. As long as they fail to change their deeds, we have no reason to start discussing the possibilities of negotiations,” a diplomatic source in the Prime Minister’s Office said.

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Strange Orders Coming out of Israeli and PA Head Sheds!

Are the Orders an Insane Gamble for Peace or just a Justification for Future planned violent Reoccupation of

the West Bank and Gaza Strip?

December 27, 2006

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Please read the Jerusalem Post article by Yaakov Katz, which follows our comments. There have been quite a number of strange orders given to the IDF since the ceasefire with Hizbollah.

I identify them as strange because they seem out of character with Israeli policies of the last forty years.

Strange Orders and Occurrences

1.

Palestine Authority leader Abbas keeps saying he is going to call for new elections, but he knows Fatah (His Party) cannot win them.

Hamas will win! It may be the only way Fatah can get money, weapons, and backing from Israel and the U.S., which I suspect is the reason he called for elections.

2. Israel has allowed some 65 Kassam rockets to be fired out of the Gaza Strip (Average of 2 a day) since the cease fire, and has taken no action.

They are being fired by the Islamic Jihad, but Fatah and Hamas have not made any effort to stop them, nor will they, except perhaps for one or two arrests where those arrested are quickly released.

3. Israel is opening numerous roadblocks in the Gaza Strip and West Bank to the Palestinians, increasing the risk of suicide bombers slipping through to blast the Israeli population, and allowing an increased flow of offensive weapons into the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

4. Israel is releasing Palestinian terrorists from their prisons without Hamas or Hizbollah releasing any of the kidnapped Israeli soldiers.

5. The ceasefire is being used by Hamas, Fatah, al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades, Islamic Jihad, and all the other terrorist entities, to train their forces, equipping them with more sophisticated weaponry, and bringing in Iranian and Syrian technicians to teach them how to use them. Both the Gaza Strip and West Bank are being flooded with anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles, the bulk of which will be used in a future Jihad.

If all this is a bold gamble for true peace, it will fall flat on its face, creating more problems than Israel currently faces.

On the other hand, Israel knows it will fall on its face, and can use it to advise the international community they did all they could to obtain peace, while the Palestinians did nothing, which will give them some degree of international justification when they reoccupy the Gaza Strip, and put more IDF troops in the West Bank.

I suspect Israel may be planning to let the terrorist groups get stocked up with all sorts of weaponry from Iran and Syria, and

then suddenly, before the terrorists are trained to correctly use it, violently rush in to destroy it and as many terrorists as possible, using the long months of ceasefire Kassam missile launches as justification for the reoccupation. I hope that is what Israel is planning!

I will say this, if Israel actually thinks the current orders, coming from the head shed since the ceasefire with Hizbollah, will create some sort of peace in Israel if continued, they are out of their minds! I am hoping all this restraint Israel is showing does not create a disaster for them, as it did for Europe when they kept showing restraint on stopping Hitler’s military rebuilding in violation of the treaty ending World War I.

Begin Jerusalem Post Article

Background: Just a matter of time before the next Attack

Yaakov Katz, THE JERUSALEM POST

December 26, 2006

OC Central Command Maj.-Gen. Yair Naveh’s objection to the removal of roadblocks in the West Bank is justified from a military perspective. The roadblocks prevent terrorism, Central Command sources explained on Monday. If they are not there, their work will go undone.

Defense officials warned Monday of the effect the policy of restraint would have in the face of continued Kassam rocket attacks.

Firstly, they said, it made Israel appear weak and incapable as Palestinian attacks continue without disruption.

All it would take, officials said, was for a Kassam rocket to kill someone in Sderot or for a suicide bomber to infiltrate into Israel via one route where a roadblock had been lifted.

The moment this happens, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will have no choice but to ditch the diplomatic overtures to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, send troops back into

the Gaza Strip and restore the roadblocks. The gestures are a gamble and the moment Olmert’s luck runs out is the moment the IDF will be back in action.

IDF soldiers thwart terror attacks at roadblocks in the West Bank every day. Some find pipe bombs on their way to roadside attacks and others arrest Palestinians carrying knives and guns. They also catch the occasional suicide bomber, although the IDF and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) do their utmost to thwart the major attacks while they are still in the planning stages.

If it was up to the military, the soldiers would remain at the roadblocks and Kassam cells about to launch rockets at the western Negev would come under immediate IDF fire. For several weeks, Defense Minister Amir Peretz has been calling on the prime minister to allow the IDF to take the offensive and strike back against the Kassam cells.

Olmert has rejected the request.

Diplomatic officials in Jerusalem claimed Monday that the IDF did not see the bigger picture.

“It is not just about the situation on the ground,” they explained. “But rather sometimes there is a need to take risks and chances to see if you can move forward with a diplomatic process.”
This might be true, but while Israel is making overtures and extending good-will gestures to Abbas, the Palestinians are not responding accordingly.

On the contrary, weapons smuggling is increasing and, according to deputy head of IDF Operations Brig.-Gen. Sammy Turgeman, Israel will soon find itself facing “new and unprecedented forces” in the Gaza Strip.

End Jerusalem Post Article

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the included information for research and educational purposes. For more detailed information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. You may use material originated by this site. However, if you wish to use any quoted copyrighted material from this site, which did not originate at this site, for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner from which we extracted it.

Guesstimate of Palestinian State Declaration by 2008 fits well with Guesstimate of War beginning at some Point in Time between 2008 and 2012!

December 26, 2006

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

All the factors favorable, for a guesstimate of a united Islamic Jihad attack against Israel at some point in time between 2008 and 2012, seem to be aligning to fulfill that estimate.

Begin Haaretz Article

Report: U.S. weighing plan for Palestinian State by end of 2007

By Haaretz Service

December 24, 2006

A prominent U.S. Jewish weekly has reported that the Bush administration is weighing a plan to declare an independent Palestinian state with temporary borders by the end of 2007, and has begun lobbying Congress to provide $100 million in aid to bolster Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

The New York-based Forward newspaper said that the concept for a Palestinian state with provisional borders is based on the second phase of the stalled road map peace plan.

“A diplomatic source, briefed by administration officials on the idea of a state with provisional borders, said this week that the most significant advantage the plan has is that it would allow President Bush to achieve his goal of a two-state solution within a reasonable time frame,” the Forward said

in a story released at the weekend.

“If implemented, such a plan also could help generate support for the United States among moderate Arab countries and possibly assist the American efforts to gain stability in Iraq.”

Congressional sources told the Forward that the administration is asking lawmakers to give the green light to providing up to $100 million in aid previously appropriated for the PA but never delivered because of the Hamas victory

in the January elections.

The proposal, which is said to be gaining support in Congress, earmarks the funds to Fatah-controlled Palestinian security forces, mainly to Abbas’ presidential guard.

The money is to be used for paying salaries and

for equipment, but it would not be used for the purchase of lethal weapons. “Weapons for the security forces are to be provided by Egypt and Saudi Arabia, according to sources familiar with the plan,” the Forward said.

End Haaretz Article

Syria and Hizbollah preparing for High Tech Conventional Grunt War!

December 26, 2005

http://www/tribulationperiod.com/

Begin Jerusalem Post Article

Exclusive: Syria builds ‘death trap’ villages along border in preparation for War

Yaakov Katz, THE JERUSALEM POST

December 21, 2006

Warning that Israel may face a “Syrian intifada,” a high-ranking officer in Northern Command has told The Jerusalem Post that villages recently built by Syria along the border are planned to be used as “death traps” for IDF troops in Hizbullah-

inspired attacks.

Since this summer’s war in Lebanon, Syria, the officer revealed, has invested large amounts of money in replicating Hizbullah military tactics, particularly in establishing additional commando units and fortifying its short- and long-range missile array.

The idea is to draw Israel into an asymmetric war, the officer said, like the warfare the IDF encounters in combat against the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as well as against Hizbullah in Lebanon.

Over the past two years, Syria has built a number of villages along the border with Israel, some inhabited and some not.

At first, the IDF was not sure of their purpose. But now, following the war, the officer said, it was understood.

“Syria drew motivation from Hizbullah’s surprise success this summer,” the high-ranking officer said. “They now want to copy that type of guerrilla warfare.”

While for years it was assumed that Israel had a major edge against Syria’s military with regard to a conventional war – tank versus tank, jet versus jet – in an urban setting, the Syrian military would be able, the officer said, to wreak havoc against IDF infantry and armored units like Hizbullah did.

According to the officer, Syria has drawn three major lessons from the war and has begun to implement them. The first is that rockets – 4,000 struck northern Israel during the 33-days of fighting – can paralyze the home front.

The second is that antitank missiles can penetrate the Merkava tank and force infantry units to abandon armored personnel carriers and trek into enemy territory by foot.

And the third is that in villages and cities the Israeli Air Force’s abilities are limited and IDF ground forces can be defeated.

During the war, the IDF fell into several deadly ambushes in southern Lebanese villages; one in Bint Jbail killed eight soldiers from Battalion 51 of the Golani Brigade.

The Syrian military, the officer said, was conducting urban warfare exercises in preparation for the possibility of a war with Israel. The IDF has also dramatically increased its training regiments and has, at all times, between two-to-three brigades training in the Golan Heights.

Lacking clear intelligence regarding Syrian intelligence, the officer said that the Northern Command’s “working assumption” was that there was a possibility of war and there was a need to prepare accordingly.

While defense officials have crisscrossed in recent weeks concerning the sincerity of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s offer of peace, the top officer said that, according to “all the signs,” Syria was preparing for war with Israel. The Syrian military has beefed-up forces along the Golan Heights and Israel

has done the same. In the Hermon, for instance, the IDF has doubled the number of troops.

“The feeling is unfortunately that another round is needed before we will be able to engage in a dialogue or peace talks with Syria,” the officer said. “It is like with the Egyptians. The war in 1973 was what made it partially possible for [Egyptian president Anwar] Sadat to come to Israel.”

Syria, the officer said, has since the war ended, transferred truckloads of weapons and missiles to Hizbullah. Due to the convoys, Hizbullah, he said, was almost back at its full strength where it was before the war with Israel.

End Jerusalem Post Article

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Middle East Justice – Do Not

Do unto Us as We Do unto You!

‘Opinionated Justice’ is how they say you should treat them – Not how you say they should treat you!

December 26, 2006

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

I am very much afraid God’s practice of justice to man is quite different from man’ s ju

stice to man. In the Middle East all the different factions keep crying out for justice but, in the end, what they classify as being justice completely ignores what their foe is seeking to receive from them as justice.

God is nothing like that – He is just, and the justifier of those that believe in Jesus. He is not concerned about you giving him justice, only in you being justified by him in believing on his Son.

Romans 3:25-31 – Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; [26] To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

[27] Where is boasting then

? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.

[28] Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

Until Jesus returns all the many factions among mankind will continue to cry out for justice based on what they consider justice by their self- centered motivations.

If Jesus had received justice from mankind he would have been acquitted. But he was denied justice that we might be able to receive God’s justification by grace through faith in him.

The following article by David Parsons in the Jerusalem Post mentions some of the Middle East’s different ideas about ‘justice.’

Begin Jerusalem Article

A Christmas wish for ‘Justice’

David Parsons, THE JERUSALEM POST

December 24, 2006

The passing of each Christmas season gives the small but highly symbolic Palestinian Christian community a brief moment to highlight the difficult yoke of life in modern Bethlehem. Some use it to decry the lawless acts of radical Islamic neighbors, others the restrictive shadow of the Israeli security fence.

At a recent holiday reception for the Christian communities of the Holy Land hosted by Israel’s Minister of Tourism Isaac Herzog, Lutheran Bishop of Jerusalem Munib Younan used his moment to offer a special Christmas wish for “peace and justice, for without justice there cannot be peace.”

Such appeals for “justice” have become a familiar refrain from Palestinian voices – Muslim and Christian.

For their part, Palestinian Christian clerics often construct their calls for “justice” in biblical terms, with a particular attachment to the words of the Hebrew prophet Micah.

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)

One influential Arab priest, Rev. Naim Ateek of the Sabeel Center for Palestinian Liberation Theology, has even written a book on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict entitled Justice, and Only Justice.
But what exactly do they mean by “justice”?

FOR MANY Palestinian Muslims, it means Israel taking responsibility for and completely reversing the nakba (“disaster”) they suffered in the 1948 War of Independence, from which emerged a solidified Jewish state on “sacred” Palestinian land and a festering Palestinian refugee problem. Though Arabs launched that war, they now want Israel to “unscramble their eggs.”

When Palestinian Christians cry “justice,” many may have in mind the lifting of the IDF closures and checkpoints that are intended to provide security, but nonetheless significantly hinder their daily lives. Some might be thinking of going back to their old homes, like the seven Christian villages evacuated by Jewish forces along the frontier with Lebanon in the 1948 fighting. Several Jewish communities sit there today, presenting Israel with a tough moral dilemma.

More broadly, “justice” to many Palestinian Christians would encompass a one-state solution to the conflict, whereby all the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea becomes one bi-national, democratic state in which every Jew and Arab gets one vote – “one state for two peoples and three religions.”

Many Palestinian Christians have trouble accepting a sovereign Jewish state for theological reasons, but they also do not want to live in an authoritarian or Islamic state. Thus they would prefer one democratic nation with a slight Arab majority but enough Jews to ensure minority rights are protected, including their own.

To that end, some Palestinian Christian leaders and their allies abroad have championed the Durban strategy of drawing apartheid comparisons to delegitimize Israel. This has spawned the twin campaigns of divestment from Israel and dismantlement of the “apartheid wall.” Former US president Jimmy Carter has joined this effort in his new book Israel: Peace not Apartheid, while South Africa’s celebrated Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu hopes to do his part by visiting Gaza soon under UN auspices.

Still, at the heart of the Palestinian Christians’ cry for “justice” is a struggle over their concept of God. Believing that the Church has “replaced” Israel as His redemptive agent in the world, many have trouble accepting Zionism as the handiwork of a God of mercy, as revealed in the New Testament. Is God just, they ask, to bring the Jews back in a manner that has caused such loss and dispossession for fellow humans equally loved in His sight?

In addressing this question in biblical terms, we must first distinguish between moral uprightness as an individual duty versus on a collective, or national scale. Micah 6:8, for instance, speaks primarily of individual conduct – my obligation to act justly with my fellow human, for which I alone will be judged one day.

As for collective justice, the Bible teaches that God is sovereign over the nations and deals with them based on questions of righteousness and justice as He defines them – not in human terms (Jeremiah 18:5-10; Isaiah 40:12-24).

Secondly, God gave Israel as a “light to the nations” to demonstrate the blessings of obedience and consequences of disobedience.

Obedience meant the right to live in the land promised to Abraham as an “everlasting possession” (Genesis 17:8), while disobedience – refusal to “hear His voice” – meant exile among the nations (Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28).

Isaiah describes Israel as a “vineyard” planted by God that He then uprooted because “He looked for justice, but behold, oppression; for righteousness, but behold, a cry for help.” (Isaiah 5:1-7)

THUS DID a righteous God deal severely with His own people down through the centuries. In fact, Israel has actually received from His hand “double” for all her sins (Isaiah 40:1-3; Jeremiah 16:18). Th is means that if anyone has a legitimate cry for justice, it

is the Jews, who have suffered far more than any other people in history.

Yet with regard to Israel’s sufferings, the Apostle Paul asks in Romans 3:1-8 the same tough questions being posed by pro-Palestinian Christians today:

“But if our [Israel’s] unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say

? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He

? (I am speaking in human terms.) May it never be! For otherwise how will God judge the world?”

In other words, if God ever did anything to the Israelites that they did not deserve, then He has no right to judge the rest of the world.

In His mercy, this same God also promised a “time of favor” upon Israel (Psalm 102:13), in which “He who scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him as a shepherd does his flock.” (Jeremiah 31:10)

This promised Jewish restoration is affirmed in the New Testament (Luke 21:24; Acts 3:21; Romans 15:8).

Though the modern-day Inga

thering may make some Christians uncomfortable from a humanistic sense, it is actually the ultimate justice of God to recover this people who suffered for the sake of the nations and to redeem them back in the land.

This does not mean that everything Israel does is right or that her moral shortcomings can be overlooked. She does need to act justly – but in His sight and not necessarily at the bar of nations that have always treated her unfairly, if not cruelly.

The writer is media director of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (www.icej.org).

End Jerusalem Post Article

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