Day  4 of the Ceasefire.

 

In You, O Lord, I put my trust;
Let me never be ashamed;
Deliver me in Your righteousness.
² Bow down Your ear to me,
Deliver me speedily;
Be my rock of refuge,
A fortress of defense to save me.

³ For You are my rock and my fortress;
Therefore, for Your name’s sake,
Lead me and guide me.
⁴ Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,
For You are my strength.
⁵ Into Your hand I commit my spirit;
You have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth

Psalm 31: 1-5 (NJKV)

When I pick up my Bible these days, its so like reading the latest news paper!

On Tuesday night of this week I opted to skip the city-wide prayer meeting that was being held here in Jerusalem to pray concerning  the current Israel-Hamas confrontation. It was Day 50 of  Operation Protective Edge, and rocket fire from Gaza was coming in fast and furious. Every two or three minutes the orange and blue popups were flashing onto my TV screen announcing yet another "Code Red" warning of incoming fire. Residents in the south were having to dive for cover every 10-15 minutes. It was quieter in the center but nevertheless residents of Ashdod, Asquelon, Beer Sheva and Tel Aviv and other central towns also were coming under periodic attack.

Just as rumors of an  imminent ceasefire were beginning to be heard, I watched in horror as mortar fire on Kibbutz Nikim, near the Gaza border, struck a team of men who were repairing an electrical transformer that had been struck by a rocket earlier in the day. Two of the team, kibbutz members,  were killed and several injured, bringing the toll of Israeli civilians killed during the Operation to 6.  Then the news came in - a ceasefire had been declared by both sides and the firing was to stop at 7PM. A steady salvo of rockets kept coming over Israel right up to, and even for a few minutes after, the 7PM deadline, but then all fell quiet. Was it a coincidence that just at that moment believers from all over Jerusalem were beginning their prayer meeting?

At first it was hard to believe that the rocket fire had stopped. I kept watching with bated breath as the minutes ticked by, one hour and the ceasefire was still holding, two hours and three. It was hard to know what to think. I kept having to remind myself to breathe!

Now 4 days have passed and the Ceasefire is holding. An uneasy calm has settled over the Land.  It is time to take stock. Who won this war? Did anyone?

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4565603,00.html

Of course, Hamas claims that it won. Minutes after the ceasefire, celebrations erupted on the streets of Gaza, proclaiming their victory over the 'Zionist Entity' (Israel). No one there was asking why Hamas had put the citizens of Gaza through 50 days of terror and bloodshed only to accept the identical terms proposed in the very first ceasefire suggested by Egypt and agreed to by Israel. Here is Ismail Haniyeh, the former Hamas Prime Minister of Gaza, giving the V sign of victory while standing in the ruins of his home.  Is this victory?  Or is this victory? See the article below for a video of an aerial view of  the ruins of the Gazan suburb of Saja'iyah? It looks like an earthquake hit it! There is hardly a building undamaged.  Is this victory?
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4565726,00.html

Hamas not only brought unimaginable suffering to  all Gazans, its attempts to wreak similar havoc on Israel were foiled over and over again.  During the 50 days of Operation Protective Edge  4564 rockets, mortars and missiles were fired at Israel, but only 224 of these struck built up areas, and  735 of the larger, longer range missiles were shot down by the Iron Dome System.  In spite of this heavy barrage of fire, 'only' 71 Israelis, including 64 soldiers, one soldier on leave, and 6 civilians were killed during the Operation, and 469 people wounded.

In contrast the Israeli forces  attacked  some 5,226 targets in Gaza, destroying 1,814 targets linked to rocket firing, 109 weapons depots, 85 weapon-making factories and  312 houses belonging to people who were involved in terrorism. The air force also carried out 840 strikes to support ground forces, and 192 attacks on Hamas military or training sites. 32 tunnels designed to carry out infiltrations and terror attacks in Israel, were also destroyed, and several attempted infiltrations blocked.  
http://www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/50-days-of-Israels-Gaza-operation-Protective-Edge-by-the-numbers-372574
It is difficult to know just how many Gazans were killed, given the inflated figures reported by Hamas *, but it seems likely that around 1000 Hamas operatives and a similar number of civilians were killed. (* for more on this see http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2014/08/12/hamas-lies-about-the-gaza-civilian-death-toll-and-the-media-bought-it )

We could ask, "What was it that caused Hamas to call for a ceasefire that they had previously rejected?" Could it be that they were in dire straights? Their operational abilities were being drastically eroded and several of their leaders killed. Perhaps their rocket supply was running low? One thing is sure however, that whatever the reason, they called for the current ceasefire because they believe it to be to their advantage, and for no other reason. They do not care about the plight of their civilian population. Only one thing is important for them, and that is the destruction of the Zionist Entity, Israel, and Islamic Jihad. They would only agree to a ceasefire if it served that end. They wanted time to regroup and rearm so that they can continue the fight. Already they are boasting of the 'next round' with Israel.  On Thursday evening, just 48 hours after declaring the Ceasefire, Khaled Mashal, the Hamas political chief who sat out the war in his perch in a hotel in Qatar, had this to say,"This is not the end. This was not the last campaign to liberate Palestine – it was an important stop on the road to victory." http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4565395,00.html

Remember what is written in the Hamas Covenant  about negotiation:

'[Peace]  initiatives,   and   so-called   peaceful   solutions   and

international conferences are in contradiction to the  principles  of

the Islamic Resistance Movement... Those conferences are no more than

a means to appoint the  infidels  as  arbitrators  in  the  lands  of

Islam... There is no solution for the Palestinian problem  except  by

Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are but a

waste of time, an exercise in futility.' (Article 13)

 In a war against such an ideology there is no military solution.  The question we should be asking is  not who won the war, but what will happen now.

The mood in Israel is not one of victory celebrations. We mourn for our dead and suffering, and for those of the people Gaza.  We do not trust Hamas and do not believe the Ceasefire will hold long-term. At the same time events taking place  in the wider region  around us are of great concern. Even as we were getting used to the idea that the rocket fire from Gaza had stopped, for now,  a number of rockets were fired over the northern border from Lebanon and Syria. Israeli farmers were told to stay out of their fields and sirens blared in some northern communities. An army officer was injured. On Thursday Al Qaida affiliated rebels captured the Syrian side of the border crossing at Quneitra in the Golan Heights. This is getting too close for comfort. ISIL is promising to take Iraq and Syria and then Jerusalem, while the Western world is only just waking up to the threat on its very doorstep - perhaps too late.

As happens here after every war we are also indulging in a great deal of self criticism and the casting of recriminations. At the beginning of Operation Protective Edge Israeli citizens, well-known for their normally divisive and argumentative natures, were uncharacteristically united behind the war effort. We saw for the first time a real opportunity to crush Hamas once and for all. The international community seemed to be, if not behind us exactly, at least not very vocal in its opposition. We definitely had the military might to do the job, and felt we occupied the moral high ground. At this point polls showed 89% support for Netanyahu and his leadership.  As casualties rose in Gaza, and the international press began once again to present its lopsided 'take' on events, world opinion began, as always, to swing away from Israel. Even the USA, our only reliable friend in the past,  began to waver. Our leaders consequently hesitated to order another ground incursion, which seemed to be essential if we were to strike a fatal blow to Hamas. And then, just as such an incursion seemed to be about to happen, suddenly the Ceasefire was declared.

Many Israelis were shocked that we agreed to it. It seemed like failure. All those long days of fighting, destruction and death, and what did we have to show for it? Hamas was still in power and still armed. Although Netanyhu has repeatedly stressed that we have dealt Hamas a terrible blow,  we all know it was far from a fatal one. At this point, polls are showing only 39% support for Netanyhu's leadership. It is my feeling that most Israelis feel bitter disappointment that once more 'we didn't finish the job'. There is a lot of anger and a sense of betrayal.

I think we were caught up with a high degree of optimism at the beginning and it was not really based on reality. We dreamed of a Hamas-free Gaza, and one day a Gaza rebuilt and friendly, or at least not aggressive, towards us.  We wanted to totally destroy Hamas politically and dismantle its military apparatus. A bit of a pipe dream I think. Now we are beginning to realize that this was not really possible without the resolve and support of the rest of the world. There are those still hoping for the disarmament of Hamas when talks to bring about a permanent ceasefire begin in about a month, but this dream seems to be rapidly fading. The best we can hope for is a few months, perhaps years, of quiet before Hamas rearms and regroups and starts the next round of hostilitiesZ.

So where does this leave us, we who believe in the God of Israel and pray for His will to be done on Earth as in Heaven? We need to remember that the bottom line is that He is in total control. It is He who raises up leaders and kings, and brings them down. If he has spared Hamas for now, there is a good reason. It is  all part of His plan. We may not understand the timing or the details, but it is sure that He will bring about the final redemption of the world through the Messiah King, Jesus, and he will vindicate Israel in the end. Indeed in the spiritual realm he has already done so. It just needs to work its way out in the physical world.  This calls for much patience and longsuffering, and may test our faith to its limits. Please pray for all us who stand here on the front line of this battle, both physically and spiritually . We who live in the Land of Israel, and love her, face many difficulties every day . We need your prayers. However pray fervently for those others in the Land who do not yet know their God and do not have His comfort in these dark days. Pray that they will turn to God, acknowledge his sovereignty and find salvation through his Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus), to the Jew first but also the Arab and all other Gentiles. Only when this occurs, and the Enemy Satan, manifesting in these days through the Spirit of Islam, is defeated, will the world know any peace.

I will finish with the prayer of  David, in Psalm 31 (NJKV), which seems so immediate and relevant to our situation today:

I am a reproach among all my enemies,
But especially among my neighbors,
And am repulsive to my acquaintances;
Those who see me outside flee from me.
¹² I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind;
I am like a broken vessel.
¹³ For I hear the slander of many;
Fear is on every side;
While they take counsel together against me,
They scheme to take away my life.

¹⁴ But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord;
I say, “You are my God.”
¹⁵ My times are in Your hand;
Deliver me from the hand of my enemies,
And from those who persecute me.
¹⁶ Make Your face shine upon Your servant;
Save me for Your mercies’ sake.
¹⁷ Do not let me be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon You;
Let the wicked be ashamed;
Let them be silent in the grave.
¹⁸ Let the lying lips be put to silence,
Which speak insolent things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.

¹⁹ Oh, how great is Your goodness,
Which You have laid up for those who fear You,
Which You have prepared for those who trust in You
In the presence of the sons of men!
²⁰ You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence
From the plots of man;
You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion
From the strife of tongues.

²¹ Blessed be the Lord,
For He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a strong city!
²² For I said in my haste,
“I am cut off from before Your eyes”;
Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications
When I cried out to You.

²³ Oh, love the Lord, all you His saints!
For the Lord preserves the faithful,
And fully repays the proud person.
²⁴ Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart,
All you who hope in the Lord.

Day 47 of Operation Protective Shield.


Psalm 27

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
² When the wicked came against me
To eat up my flesh,
My enemies and foes,
They stumbled and fell.
³ Though an army may encamp against me,
My heart shall not fear;
Though war may rise against me,
In this I will be confident.

It is a hot and sleepy Shabbat afternoon here in Jerusalem. In my neighborhood the only sound is the gentle cooing of doves and the occasional chirping of a bird.  As I look at the beautiful and deceptively peaceful view across the neighboring Arab villages and the distant, hazy hills of Jordan, it is hard to believe we are in the middle of a war.

                           http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/ForeignPolicy/Terrorism/Pages/Rise-in-rocket-fire-from-Gaza-3-Jul-2014.aspx

Just 50 km away, all is not so tranquil. As I write orange and blue pop-ups appear regularly on the TV as 'code red' sirens sound in Ashdod, Ashqelon and the towns and kibbutzim around the Gaza Strip, warning of incoming rocket fire.  Close to the Strip the sirens sound every 10-15 minutes, each one giving the residents only 10 to 15 seconds to find shelter. In the days since the collapse of the last ceasefire, we have had record numbers of rockets raining down- around 140 per day.  Little wonder that most of the towns down there are like ghost towns. Over 80% of the residents have fled to the north, and those few who remain must stay indoors, close to their 'safe rooms'. Businesses and factories lie idle and late summer crops are rotting in the fields. 

Last night the first Israeli child, Daniel Trergerman, aged just 4 1/2 was killed when a mortar hit his home. It was Friday night and the children were playing outdoors in a moment of quiet. The parents managed to get their two younger children into the shelter but Daniel just couldn't run fast enough. He died. Put yourself into his parent's shoes this morning. They had been up north in relative safety for some weeks, but had decided to return home to try and put their lives back into some semblance of normality. After two days of constant rocket fire they had begun to pack up to return to the north, but too late. Daniel is dead, another little life cut off way too soon.  Here is a facebook post about Daniel. Read the small print.

Its an impossible situation for the citizens of the south. And an even more impossible situation for the citizens of Gaza who are suffering even more. It cannot go on.  Our government is again and again telling us that we need more patience. They say that it will all end but not yet. But how long can people hang on?

The mood here is changing. People are losing patience with the slow process of negotiation and counter negotiation in the search for peace. We don't believe that Hamas will honor any negotiated deal even if agreement is reached. After all, they have broken every one of the 11 ceasefires that we have had so far, even though they themselves were the ones to call for the ceasefires . The cry is getting stronger for a quick and decisive incursion into Gaza to 'finish the job', that is to say to disarm and cripple Hamas to the extent they are no longer able to fire rockets into Israel.   There is a feeling now that this is our ONLY real option, in spite of the fact we all know that this would cause a great many casualties on both sides, and would probably isolate Israel  even more in the international community. At the beginning over 80% of Israelis were in support of Netanyahu's approach to the situation but only around 56% support it now, according to polls.  

Meanwhile the world's eyes have been distracted by the events in Iraq, as the ISIL (ISIS) forces continue their relentless march to take over Syria, Iraq and eventually the entire Islamic block. ISIL has killed thousands of innocent people, massacring whole villages, raping and selling women and children into slavery, crucifying, beheading and stoning others, yet the world paid little attention until one poor American journalist is brutally beheaded.  The Western world is suddenly shocked and appalled by their medieval barbarism, but we here in the Middle EAst are not at all shocked. We have been trying to warn the West of this threat for years. After all Hamas is but a branch of the same tree that has given birth to Al Quaida and ISIL. The same ideology, jihadist fundamentalist Islam, committed to world domination, drives them all. Its time for the Western world to open up its eyes. Their whole civilization is facing an existential threat and for the most part they are blissfully unaware.
http://libertyunyielding.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Iraq-ISIS-ISW-BBC-map.jpg

Amongst Christian and Messianic believers here in Israel there is a growing awareness that the battle lines are being drawn up for the great and final showdown between the spiritual forces of  evil and the forces of the living God of the Bible, the God of Israel. It is time for all of us to get off the fence and decide which side we are on. There is a desperate need for Christians everywhere to go back to the Bible, read it as it is written, and not to listen to the myriad voices of liberal humanism in the media and the pulpits of many churches. I challenge every Christian to read the Bible literally. Where the words say "Israel" read it as "Israel" and not the "Church" as replacement theology teaches. The place and role of Israel in God's plan for the redemption of the World has not been replaced by the Church. God's promises and plans for the people of Israel are not void. God will not abandon his people at this time, just as His word says over and over again. Israel will survive and her enemies will be destroyed. The nations will be judged by their stand at the end. Will your nation stand with Israel or against her? Will you stand with Israel or against her?

Prayer points:

• Continue to pray for God's supernatural protection on the people of Israel. We have seen many miracles during this war and it is amazing that to date only 4 Israeli citizens have died in spite of  the more than 4000 rockets and missiles fired from Gaza since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge. http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/ForeignPolicy/Terrorism/Pages/Rise-in-rocket-fire-from-Gaza-3-Jul-2014.aspx

• Continue to pray for our leaders who are under incredible pressure from every quarter, both within the country and internationally. May they make wise and righteous decisions and not allow themselves to be swayed by personal or political considerations or threats.

• Pray for the civilians of both Israel and Gaza, who are suffering daily physical danger, privation and economic tragedy.

• Pray for the  brave and selfless soldiers of Israel who are willing to suffer and sacrifice their lives minute by minute in order to protect us and allow us to more or less go about our lives as normal. Another 10,000 reservists were called up to supplement the 70,000 already called up, and the regular army. All these men and women have left behind mothers, fathers, siblings, wives and children, businesses and careers. Some have not been home for over 40 days, and are sitting out in the open with little or no  respite from the searing heat and dust of our late Summer.

• Pray for truthful, honest and unbiased reporting in the media. This issue is addressed very eloquently in this video by a Maori woman in New Zealand. http://www.israellycool.com/2014/08/10/a-maori-woman-stands-up-for-israel/

• Pray for church leaders and congregations that they will interpret Scripture according to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and not according to erroneous traditions and philosophies of men.

• Pray for your own nations and leaders that they will be found supporting the right side in this war.

• Pray for the enemies of Israel. They are the true victims in all this. They have been deceived by Satan into believing they are doing Good, destroying the infidel and winning the world for their false god, Allah. They will get a great shock when they meet the true God on Judgment Day. Pray that many will receive visions and revelations of the Truth, as some have already. Pray that they will be rescued from the Deceiver and the Father of Lies.

• Pray against the advance of the ISIL forces in Iraq and Syria,  and that the Western world will move to stop them before it is too late. Today it is Iraq and Syria, tomorrow Jerusalem and the next day, Europe. As someone in my congregation recently remarked "I am not afraid for Israel, but I fear greatly for Europe".

Psalm 27 (NJKV) from verse 11.

Teach me Your way, O Lord,
And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.
¹² Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries;
For false witnesses have risen against me,
And such as breathe out violence.
¹³ I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.

¹⁴ Wait on the Lord;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord!

DAY 34 OPERATION STRONG ROCK (PROTECTIVE EDGE)


Isaiah 5:20 New King James Version (NKJV)

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
           Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!   

 

 

 

 

We are now over 9 hours into the latest Ceasefire and our leaders and the leaders of Hamas are negotiating to try and resolve the mess we are in. 

 

 

 

I would like to urge all those who take seriously our LORD's command to "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem" (Psalm 122:6) to pray fervently for God's will to be done.  

 

 

 

Here in Israel there is a sense of deep disappointment that after 33 days of warfare we are pretty much back where we started it seems. In spite of all the destruction and loss of life, Hamas is still firing rockets and missiles into Israel, the threat of the underground tunnels remains, and the lives of Israeli citizens, especially those living in the south, and also those of the people of Gaza are still unbearable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Furthermore we feel  pain that, once again,  world opinion is turning against us, blaming Israel for all the deaths and destruction - calling good evil and evil good. It shows us that the old-fashioned anti-Semitism that bred Nazism is far from dead. 

 

 

 

 Since 2001 Hamas militants have fired around 15,000  rockets, mortars and missiles into Israel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_rocket_attacks_on_Israel#Casualties.2C_Fatalities_and_rockets_fired,) killing  31 people and injuring thousands. In the period between July 8 and August 6 this year, a total of around 3360 rockets were fired into Israel http://www.idfblog.com/blog/2014/08/05/operation-protective-edge-numbers/.  Although Israel has exhibited extreme restraint throughout the 13 years of this bombardment, the situation could not be allowed to escalate further, and it came to the point that we had no choice but to respond. What would your country have done if it had been your town or city being attacked?

 

 

 

The IDF is the most moral army on Earth and has gone to great lengths  to spare civilian lives, but yet we are told we should do more!  I want to ask our critics, "What more could we do? We warned people to flee with pamphlets, phone calls and texts. We fired warning shots. We held our fire when civilians were detected in the area. What other army in all of human history has done so? Yes, it is tragic that civilians have died, but when you consider scale of the bombing and shelling, the number of civilian deaths is extremely low, compared to other recent wars ( 20,000 in Afghanistan, 600,000  in Iraq, for example). It is also low considering the fact that Hamas deliberately uses its own population as human shields, and in this confrontation this has been proven over and over. Let us not forget also that civilian casualties are a tragic fact of war. It happens.

 

 

What of the privations and suffering of the people of Gaza? It was Israel who called for several ceasefires in order to send supplies and aid to the citizens of Gaza. How many  other armies  have fed and supplied the citizens of their enemy countries? The first ceasefire called was to enable Israeli technicians to go in and repair electric cables severed by Hamas rockets, so that the people would have electricity. In the period between  July 8 to August 5 the IDF transferred 1,856 trucks carrying 40,550 tons of supplies into Gaza. Every humanitarian ceasefire we called was broken by Hamas. What did Hamas do to help its own citizens?

 

In spite of all this, the world is shouting that Israel has committed terrible war crimes and is to blame for bringing this tragedy on the innocent people of Gaza. We could ask,"How innocent are the people of Gaza?" There is the saying " people get the government they deserve".   In 2005, Israel withdrew its soldiers from Gaza and  all Israeli settlers evacuated the area. The Palestinian Authority called an election the following year, and Hamas,  won a majority of seats in parliament. By 2007 Hamas had totally taken over the Gaza Strip by violently ousting its rival Fatah. Of course one cannot blame the little children who have been killed and injured, but to blame Israel for something the Gazans have essentially brought upon themselves is twisted in the extreme.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 It defies belief that so many can be so blind and so deceived. The Western media is largely to blame, but the truth is plain to see for anyone who wants to see it and is willing to search just a little. Here are some useful and reliable websites:    

 

 

 The Jerusalem Post   

The Official IDF Blog 

 

Ynetnews

Israel Today

 

How to pray today?

 

So how can Christians pray into this situation? Here are some suggestions:

• Pray for those individuals and nations who are believing the Lie and the slander against Israel, because they are essentially calling down a curse on their own heads:
  ² I will make you a great nation;
  I will bless you
  And make your name great;
  And you shall be a blessing.
  ³ I will bless those who bless you,
  And I will curse him who curses you;
  And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Genesis 12:2-3 New King James Version (NKJV)

 

 

 

 

As one of the women in my congregation remarked," I am not worried for Israel, but I am worried sick for Europe, the UK and USA."

 

The Bible teaches that God will judge the nations on the basis of their actions towards Israel :

 

 For behold, in those days and at that time,

When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem,

     I will also gather all nations,

And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;

And I will enter into judgment with them there

On account of My people,

My heritage Israel,

Whom they have scattered among the nations;

They have also divided up My land…

 

 

 

Joel 3: 1-3, 12-21.

• Pray for protection over Jerusalem and the whole people of Israel, both here in the Land and abroad.  We have seen many amazing miracles of protection here. May we not neglect to give fervent thanks that God has watched over us - our spiritual 'Iron Dome'.

 

• Pray for our leaders that they will have great wisdom, divine inspiration, patience and courage during the current negotiations.

 

• Pray that God will take away the veil that covers the eyes and minds of the leaders of Hamas, that they might see what evil they have done to us and to their own people, repent and be saved. Pray that God will supernaturally reveal himself in Yeshua (Jesus) to them.

 

• Pray for the people of Israel that they will continue to draw near to their God, cry out to Him, give thanks to Him and also have the blinding veil removed and find salvation.

Finally, I just want to say a big THANK YOU  to all you who are praying to the God of Israel at this time. Your prayers matter and they are making a difference. You are front-line soldiers in the spiritual battle. Stand firm, don't stop praying and watch your back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DAY 29 OPERATION PROTECTIVE EDGE

I woke today to the sound of an exploding missile just minutes before the 72 hour truce agreed upon by both Hamas and Israel began at 8:00 AM.  It was one of many rockets fired at Israel from Gaza in the last half hour before the truce began. If Hamas wanted to score a definitive victory at the last minute it was disappointed. Some damage occurred to buildings from falling shrapnel but there were no injuries. One rocket hit a home in Bethlehem just 3 km from here. That is  no doubt what I heard. We are now about four hours into the truce and so far all has been quiet. We are all holding our breath to see if this truce will hold.

TISHA B'AV

There is a lot of tension in Jerusalem today. It is Tisha B'Av which is a date with dark significance for Jews everywhere. Tradition has it that it was on this date that the First and Second Temples were destroyed. Tisha B'Av (the 9th of the Hebrew month of Av) is a solemn  day of fasting .

"Tisha B'Av is the culmination of a three week period of increasing mourning, beginning with the fast of the 17th of Tammuz, which commemorates the first breach in the walls of Jerusalem, before the First Temple was destroyed. During this three week period, weddings and other parties are not permitted, and people refrain from cutting their hair. From the first to the ninth of Av, it is customary to refrain from eating meat or drinking wine (except on the Shabbat) and from wearing new clothing. 
 
The restrictions on Tisha B'Av are similar to those on Yom Kippur: to refrain from eating and drinking (even water); washing, bathing, shaving or wearing cosmetics; wearing leather shoes; engaging in sexual relations; and studying Torah. Work in the ordinary sense of the word [rather than the Shabbat sense] is also restricted. People who are ill need not fast on this day. Many of the traditional mourning practices are observed: people refrain from smiles, laughter and idle conversation, and sit on low stools. 
 
In synagogues, the book of Lamentations is read and mourning prayers are recited. The ark (cabinet where the Torah is kept) is draped in black."

http://www.jewfaq.org/holidayd.htm

Apart from the destruction of the Temples, Jews have suffered other tragedies on this solemn day during the course of history, including the Roman massacre of 100,000 Jews at Betar in 132 AD, and .the expulsion of Jews from England in 1290 and from Spain in 1492.  Little wonder then that this solemn day is regarded as the saddest day in the Jewish calendar, and one destined for tragedy.

It is therefore also no wonder that Jerusalem is tense today, especially in view of the fact that yesterday there were two terror attacks in here.One was  carried out by a man in a huge mechanical digger, which first killed a pedestrian and then overturned a bus. Interestingly enough it happened to be a bus on the route that goes to the settlement of Betar Illit.  Fortunately the bus had no passengers at the time, and the driver escaped with only minor injuries.  A short time later a gunman fired at and seriously injured a soldier in the road tunnel that leads up to the Mt Scopus campus of the Hebrew University.

Also adding to the tension are the ongoing riots that have occurred every day in Jerusalem, and in other parts of the country,  since the abduction  and murder of the three Israeli boys, and the consequent murder of a Palestinian boy around 6 weeks ago.


THE PULLOUT FROM GAZA

Yesterday I woke up with a sense of  deep disappointment.  About 24 hours earlier our troops had begun to pull out of Gaza, but the rockets were still coming in at about the same rate as they had before this operation had begun (around 100 per day).  We had all thought that this time we had an opportunity to deal  a decisive blow and destroy the military power of Hamas once and for all, stop the rockets, and furthermore bring about a regime change  in Gaza that would actually make life better there. So, why were we stopping now? What had been achieved? Had  our 67 wonderful soldiers died for nothing? Had all our 80,000 reservists left their families,  jobs and businesses to fight for nothing?  Had all the destruction and loss of life been for nothing?

Then I sat down to pray and I was reading in Psalm 18. It is a long psalm with much in it, but what struck me were the final verses 45-50:

The foreigners fade away,  (in Hebrew: The foreigners are killed)
And come frightened from their hideouts.

⁴⁶ The Lord lives!
Blessed be my Rock!
Let the God of my salvation be exalted.
⁴⁷ It is God who avenges me,
And subdues the peoples under me;
⁴⁸ He delivers me from  (Hebrew: the survivors of ) my enemies.
You also lift me up above those who rise against me;
You have delivered me from the violent man.  (Hebrew: Hamas)
⁴⁹ Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the Gentiles,
And sing praises to Your name.

⁵⁰ Great deliverance He gives to His king,
And shows mercy to His anointed,
To David and his descendants forevermore

(NKJV) with my translation in brackets.

The word here translated 'rock' is the Hebrew word  צור ( 'tsur' ), which can be translated as 'rock' but specifically 'flint rock', a very hard kind of rock, or as 'fortress' or 'cliff'. It is the kind of rock outcrop or cliff that one might take refuge in.  The current operation is called Operation Protective Edge in English but in Hebrew it is      צור איתן  ( tsur eitan) which literally means 'strong flint rock'.  The LORD is our strong flint rock, our fortress and our protector.

In verse 48 the Hebrew says He delivers me from the survivors of my enemies, and the words translated here as 'violent man' is in Hebrew 'hamas' (see my previous post).

I took much encouragement from these verses. We may be pulling out of Gaza but God has not pulled out. He will finish the job. He will deliver us from the survivors of our enemies as they emerge from their tunnels and underground bunkers.  There is always victory in the LORD.

I can now see that the pullout from Gaza was a wise and shrewd move by our leaders. They have stressed that it is not the end of Operation Protective Edge. The ground forces have left Gaza but they remain ready at the border in case they are needed once more. Now intensive negotiations are in progress and Israel has made it clear it will settle for nothing less than the disarmament of Hamas. We are looking to God first, but also to the international community for support in this. We have made an opportunity for the world to do this, now it is up to the nations to take advantage of it.  We need to be delivered from this threat but even more so, the people of Gaza need help desperately.  I have never heard so much prayer going up here on behalf of the people of Gaza as I have lately. We cry for every lost child and we cry for the people who have suffered terribly under the regime of Hamas since they came in to power.

Israel could have continued the ground offensive and wiped out Hamas' military capability. However at what cost? To do this we would have had to occupy Gaza and  there would also have been massive loss of life, on both sides, and an even more  massive degree of destruction in Gaza. No one wants that. The best solution would be that Hamas submit to demilitarization and a new regime is set up in Gaza. The next three days are pivotal. If this does not happen, or at least the framework for making it happen established,  and if firing resumes on Israel, we will have no choice but to resume operations in Gaza. It is inconceivable that our citizens would have to continue to live under the constant rain of rockets and missiles coming out of Gaza. What country in the world would tolerate that?

LOSS OF CIVILIAN LIFE

Israel is being severely criticized for causing a large number of civilian deaths in Gaza. Today the UN released their official figures:
1777 dead in total
1242 of these were civilians, and 393 children and 208 women.
This is awful and we cry for every civilian killed or injured. However these numbers need to be put into perspective. As military operations go, this is a very low number considering that the IDF attacked and destroyed over 3000 targets in Gaza, most of them in heavily populated areas.  No other army in history has ever gone to such great pains to avoid civilian deaths, warning them in advance to flee by dropping leaflets, phoning and texting the inhabitants of areas about to be attacked. We have on numerous occasions held fire and refrained from attacking targets because civilians were seen in the area. The USA and others have been telling us to take more care to avoid civilian casualties. My answer to them is "What more would you have us do?"

Much has been made of schools that were attacked causing many of the civilian deaths. The international media has been quick to accept Palestinian and UN claims that it was Israeli fire that was responsible, before any investigations of the incidents were made. While it is possible that stray fire from IDF forces caused the deaths, it is not IDF policy to attack such places and we have absolutely no interest in doing so.  It must also be noted that Hamas  frequently uses schools, hospitals, homes and other civilian sites to launch attacks on Israel.  This was unequivocably demonstrated when a journalist reporting from right outside Shifa Hospital in Gaza was startled by the firing of a rocket nearby. You can see the video on this link http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=869_1407000336&comments=1.

What is more Hamas threatened to wreck revenge on civilians who fled their homes when warned of imminent attacks on them.  It is part of their propaganda policy to ensure that the maximum number of civilians are killed. They know that this is Israelis weak underbelly. They can cripple us by turning the World powers against us. For more go to http://www.idfblog.com/blog/2014/07/27/hamas-uses-palestinian-houses-as-military-compounds/
http://www.idfblog.com/blog/2014/07/28/hamas-uses-hospitals-ambulances-military-purposes/



On the other side of the coin Israel has sustained surprisingly few  civilian casualties  (3) in spite of the constant rain of rocket fire and several attempted terror incursions over the last month. Why is this? The answer lies partly in the Iron Dome antimissile system which has proved to be around 90% efficient in shooting down the long range grad missiles fired at cities in the center of the country. However what of the other 10% and the thousands of shorter range rockets and mortars fired at the settlements closer to the Gazan borders. Why have they caused so little damage and  loss of life? One answer is that many of  the civilian population have fled to the north and the remaining are  basically living in their bomb shelters. This still does not account for the fact that most of the rockets are falling in open areas even though they are aimed at  towns and cities. 

I believe that we can thank God for his supernatural protection. In my previous post I mentioned a  supposed interview in which a  Hamas commander said that “We do aim [our rockets], but their God changes their path in mid-air,”  ' after they have been fired. Although the interview was probably a hoax, I believe there is truth in the claim. Here is another quote from a more reliable source, the Commander of the Iron Dome Battery in Tel Aviv,  as it was reported in the Hebrew media here and translated.
"A missile was fired from Gaza. Iron Dome precisely calculated [its trajectory]. We know where these missiles are going to land down to a radius of 200 meters. This particular missile was going to hit either the Azrieli Towers, the Kirya (Israel’s equivalent of the Pentagon) or [a central Tel Aviv railway station]. Hundreds could have died.

"We fired the first [interceptor]. It missed. Second [interceptor]. It missed. This is very rare. I was in shock. At this point we had just four seconds until the missile lands. We had already notified emergency services to converge on the target location and had warned of a mass-casualty incident.

"Suddenly, Iron Dome (which calculates wind speeds, among other things) shows a major wind coming from the east, a strong wind that…sends the missile into the sea. We were all stunned. I stood up and shouted, ‘There is a God!’
“I witnessed this miracle with my own eyes. It was not told or reported to me. I saw the hand of God send that missile into the sea.”
http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/24811/Default.aspx?hp=popular_posts

TUNNEL THREAT
 Imagine your children playing in your backyard and suddenly a hole opens up in the ground and heavily armed men emerge, capture your children and then yourselves and your neighbours,  and you are all  taken  back through that tunnel into an underground room in Gaza where you are held captive for months, even years.

This is the scenario that plays out in the minds of the residents of the settlements and towns around the Gaza Strip as a result of the discovery of tens of tunnels passing from Gaza to Israeli territory. And not just the settlements close by face this threat. Yesterday a number of motorbikes were found in a tunnel. Apparently there were plans for an attack further into the interior of the country by motorbike mounted terrorists dressed as Israeli soldiers.

Over the past three weeks or so the IDF has been busy finding and destroying those tunnels. To date around 31 tunnels from Gaza to Israel have been located and destroyed.  Several  terror infiltrations via these tunnels have also been foiled by the IDF.

The Jerusalem Post reported on this phenomenon as follows:
 Hamas has spent five years preparing this strategic threat; the IDF wrecked 31 tunnels in two weeks. By Sunday, all of the tunnels the IDF knew about, or discovered during the offensive, will be destroyed. A few tunnels that Israel doesn't know about may remain intact.

Many of the underground passages were designed to send heavily armed murder squads into Israeli villages for killing sprees, and attack army positions from behind. They were filled with weapons, explosives, and equipment, enabling terrorists dressed in civilian clothing to disappear into a shaft in Gaza, and emerge in Israel, disguised as IDF soldiers and fully equipped to carry out a mass casualty attack. The IDF has discovered motorcycles in some of the tunnels, which were earmarked by Hamas for rapid raids into Israel and subsequent retreats back into Gaza.
http://www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/The-IDF-destroys-Hamass-flagship-terrorism-project-369809

According to the IDF blog the building of 31 tunnels alone would have cost around 93 million US dollars, enough to have  built  2666 homes, 217 mosques, 186 schools and 589 medical clinics. And this is only a fraction of the amount of money Hamas has spent in the last 5 years in building underground tunnels, not only  into Israel, but also a network throughout the whole of the Gaza strip, underground bunkers. They have also amassed huge stockpiles of  arms and munitions.  At the beginning of the operation it was estimated that they had around 9,000 rockets and missiles. (They have fired about 3000 at Israel and another approximately 3000 have been destroyed by the IDF, leaving an estimated 3000 still in their hands)


http://www.idfblog.com/blog/2014/07/26/price-hamas-underground-terror-network/

The Gaza strip has received around 25 x more per capita for reconstruction than Europe received after World War II (this figure takes into account the change in  monetary value) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJdQ7Bx0av4

 In recent years Gaza has received enough financial aid to rebuild it into a magnificent coastal resort and trade center, create jobs, and build all the schools and hospitals and homes it could possibly need.  Instead people are still living in ruins, public services and the economy are in a terrible state and there is around 40% unemployment.  So where did all the money go? Here is the answer. All that aid has gone either into the private bank accounts and  the luxury homes of Hamas' leaders, or into the construction of tunnels and the amassing of arms all intended solely for the destruction of Israel. Here is the true humanitarian crime.

Of course Israel is blamed for the poverty and the destruction of the Gazan economy. It is our blockade that is causing this, they say.   But why must we maintain the blockade? If Hamas succeeded in doing all this with the blockade in place, imagine what they would have done if they had been able to freely bring in military and building  supplies? Israel's blockade has not stopped the supply of humanitarian aid. Even during the current confrontation we have from time to time  called a ceasefire and opened the border to allow trucks through bringing aid. During the first ceasefire 100 truckloads were allowed through, and yesterday alone 250 truckloads entered the Strip. Much of the aid we have offered civilians in Gaza has either been blocked by Hamas or stolen by them to feed and keep their operatives. A  well equipped field hospital set up to treat injured Gazan citizens has seen little use. http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-gaza-conflict-2014/.premium-1.608949.  Throughout the offensive Israel has continued to trade with Gaza and when Hamas rocket fire downed a power line supplying electricity from Israel to parts of the Strip, it was Israel that called a ceasefire so that its technicians could go in and fix it. 
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-gaza-conflict-2014/.premium-1.608949
http://www.haaretz.com/business/.premium-1.608670

A THIRD INTIFADA?
There is currently much speculation about whether or not a third Intifada (Uprising) is imminent. In spite of the fact that there has been a increase in terrorist incidents and rioting all over the country in recent weeks, there is little sign of it escalating into a third intifada. During the current confrontation Hamas has repeatedly called for an Intifada  but nothing has really come of it. It is my assessment that the Arabs of the West Bank and East Jerusalem have little desire for another Intifada. They have too much to lose. Life is better in these communities now than it has ever been. They just want to build their state and get on with life.  It is only a minority group of young, disillusioned, angry young men who are participating in the rioting. 

HEZBOLLAH
Hamas has also been calling for the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon to attack Israel from the north. Apart from a handful of rockets being fired into Northern Israel, Hezbollah have not launched an attack. Why? One has to understand that all Muslims are not alike.  Hezbollah and Hamas have the same enemy (the State of Israel) and the same desire to destroy us, but that is about as far as it goes. It is important to understand that Hezbollah is a Shiite Muslim group and Hamas is Sunni. Shiites and Sunnis are sworn enemies and regard each other as heretics that Allah desires to be annihilated. Hezbollah does not want Hamas in power in Gaza. They would be quite happy for Israel to destroy the Hamas regime there.

http://www-tc.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/files/2008/07/wa_img_karbala_interactive_map.jpg

PRAY FOR THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM AND THE WHOLE WORLD

I will finish this post with a plea that you do not forget to pray for the situation here. It is far from over and it is far from a local conflict. What happens here in the next three days and the weeks to come will be pivotal, not only for Israel and the Gaza Strip, but for the whole world. Do not forget that the most basic goal of fundamentalist Islam is world domination by any means. Your country could be the next front line of this conflict.