THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF THE WAR?

27 January 2025

It has been several weeks since my last update, but it is not for the want of trying. As fast as I write, events overtake me. Facts on the ground are changing by the minute, as you will see if you read my earlier entries below. 

By now, the deal with Hamas has been agreed upon and its implementation begun. To date, 7 female hostages have been returned alive to Israel, hundreds of Palestinian terrorists, some with Israeli blood on their hands, have been released from Israeli prisons, and today, the Netzarim corridor has been opened to allow evacuated Gazans to return to the northern part of the Strip. This is just the beginning of the first phase of the deal. Already Hamas is pushing the boundaries and there is no surety the agreement will stand long enough for all the hostages to be returned to Israel. We are holding our collective breath. 

Is the deal a good thing? No, I believe it is a terrible deal, giving Hamas at least the illusion of victory, but it was necessary at this point. Israel as a state has a strong moral imperative to rescue every last Israeli citizen if at all possible. No one is expendable. There is an extremely strong sense that we are all family, and you never abandon family. 

Is the war with Hamas over? No, they live to fight another day. Already Hamas is celebrating 'victory', regrouping, recruiting and replacing their lost arms. They are promising more 'October 7's and we believe them. I do hope however, that we will be ready next time and will not ever again be caught off-guard. 

Did Hamas win? In a sense perhaps they did. Their plan to take hostages and hold them to ransom has worked, and as a result they are receiving thousands of their people back to fight another day. Hamas as an organization and fighting force is still here, and has the support of many, if not the majority of Gazans.  Their ideology lives on and their aspiration to destroy the Jewish State, from the River to the Sea, has perhaps even strengthened.  On the other hand, if you see the images of the destruction in Gaza, large swathes of which have been literally flattened, and count the cost to the people of Gaza, it is hard to see it as victory. Nevertheless for Hamas that doesn't matter. They care nothing for the people they rule over. 

What will happen in Gaza now? That is the million (or billions!) dollar question. Hamas still is in control it seems. The international community may have other plans for Gaza but for now it is Hamas out on the streets with the guns. 

Many here hoped that US President Donald Trump, now having been sworn in, would endorse an allied attack on Iran's nuclear sites, and bring down the ayatollah regime thus slaying the 'head of the octopus'. It seems however that he prefers the diplomatic course, negotiations and sanctions. I am not sure we have time for that. I don't think we should negotiate with pure evil. It hasn't worked in the past and it won't work now. 

Trump yesterday released the shipment to Israel of the bunker busting bombs needed for an attack on Iran. This shipment was blocked for many months by the Biden administration. Is this move by Trump merely a completion of a business deal (Israel had already paid for these armaments), or is it a 'green light' for Israel to attack the nuclear sites in Iran. Perhaps it is just a message to Iran and its proxies? 

In the north, the ceasefire is holding in the sense that there has been no rocket fire into Israel since the ceasefire began. Skirmishes however continue between IDF forces and Hezbollah operatives who are infiltrating into the 'forbidden zone' south of the Litani River attempting to repossess arms caches and re-establish positions. The withdrawal of IDF forces from southern Lebanon was supposed to be completed by today (26 January), but it has been announced that the deadline will be pushed back to the 18th of February, because the Lebanese Army has not successfully enforced the pullback of the Hezbollah fighters nor taken control of most of the villages along the Israeli border as required by the agreement. It seems to me unlikely that the Lebanese army will be able to fulfil its obligations, since it is poorly equipped compared to Hezbollah, and in any case is partially made up of Hezbollah operatives. 

Since the albeit shaky ceasefires have been initiated in Lebanon and Gaza, focus has to some degree shifted to Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), where the IDF and the Palestinian Authority are trying to stamp out the nests of Hamas, ISIS, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and other terrorists. Will these operations be able to prevent these terrorists from carrying out more October 7 -type attacks on Israel as they plan?

As you can see, there are many questions. For now the rockets and missiles are not flying overhead and there is an uneasy calm, but the situation is tense and the skirmishes on the ground, in both Lebanon and Gaza could easily escalate once more. 

We are all feeling weary of the war, violence and hatred, and I sense that the world as a whole has rather lost interest in the fate of Israel in this situation. If you belong to the LORD, please do not give up praying for Israel. It may seem very far away, but what happens here will affect the entire world, and you, and I, are here 'just for a time like this'. If we do not 'stand in the gap', who will?

It feels to us here in Israel that the entire world is rising up against this tiny land and the Jewish people as a whole. Today is International Holocaust Day, the commemoration of the liberation of Auschwitz 80 years ago, and once again expressions of blatant antisemitism have become socially acceptable in many countries, and in the media.  Will there be another Holocaust? Will you stand up against this tide of antisemitism or will you look the other way? We need to pray fervently and perhaps the LORD will relent. The prophet Amos said this,

I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, forgive! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!”
 So the Lord relented.
“This will not happen,” the Lord said.
This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: The Sovereign Lord was calling for judgment by fire; it dried up the great deep and devoured the land.  Then I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!” So the Lord relented.
Amos 7: 2-6

Is Micah's prophesy about to be fulfilled?

But now many nations
    are gathered against you.
They say, “Let her be defiled,
    let our eyes gloat over Zion!”
12 But they do not know
    the thoughts of the Lord;
they do not understand his plan,
    that he has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
13 “Rise and thresh, Daughter Zion,
    for I will give you horns of iron;
I will give you hooves of bronze,
    and you will break to pieces many nations.”

Micah 4: 11-13

15 Jan 2025  9PM Israel time

It has just been officially announced that Israel and Hamas have both agreed to 3-stage plan to bring about the end of the war, and the release of the remaining Israeli hostages. The deal is expected to be officially signed in the coming hours. 

In the first stage, which will take six weeks to complete, 33 of the remaining 98 hostages will be returned to Israel. The process will begin this coming Sunday (the 19th), with the release of the first three hostages. The 33 hostages to be released include female civilians and soldiers, children, the elderly and the injured or ill.  We do not yet know the identities of those to be released nor whether they are alive or deceased. I cannot imagine the agony the waiting families must be experiencing. 

During this phase both sides will enter into a ceasefire, and Israel will start withdrawing towards the east, allowing Gazan civilians to return home and be rehabilitated in stages. Israel will also release thousands of Hamas terrorists from Israeli jails, some to Gaza, Judea and Samaria, and some to exile elsewhere.   

The other 65 Israeli hostages will be released only in the second and third stages, the details of which are still to be ironed out by the parties involved. 

Is this the beginning of the end of the war? Will both sides honor the agreements? Can it be ensured that Hamas will not regroup, rearm and again attack Israel? Who will govern Gaza?  

There are still so many questions to be answered, but perhaps there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Only God knows. 

As you can see, as fast as I write the situation changes.  Read what I wrote yesterday:

14 Jan 2025  Missile attacks from the Houthis

It is Day 466 of the war in Israel, and this morning at around 3AM we were yet again woken up by the missile alert sirens.  The ballistic missile was fired from Yemen by the Houthis, who claim to have hit the IDF Central Command in Tel Aviv. In reality the missile was shot down over Jerusalem and the shrapnel fell in the surrounding areas, one large fragment punching through the roof of a house in Mevo Beitar, which lies between Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh. No one was injured, except for around 11 people who sustained minor injuries while running for shelter, or who suffered anxiety attacks. 

https://static-cdn.toi-media.com/www/uploads/2025/01/AFP__20250114__36TP4MN__v1__HighRes__IsraelYemenPalestinianConflict-1024x640.jpg

A rocket fragment embedded in roof of house in Mevo Beitar near Jerusalem, January 14, 2025

 Earlier yesterday, another interception of a ballistic missile caused fragments to fall in the Afula - Beit Shean and Jordan Valley area. 

Since the ceasefire came into effect in Lebanon, and the fall of Assad's regime in Syria, there has been an increase in the number of attacks from the Houthis. Since the beginning of the war in October 2023, the Houthis have fired around 40 ballistic surface-to-surface missiles and 320 armed UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) at Israel. Most of these either fell short or were shot down before reaching Israel. One drone penetrated and killed a man in Tel Aviv but, apart from that, there have been no fatalities in these attacks (as far as I can remember). Even when the missiles are shot down there is a danger of falling debris, and as you can see some of this 'shrapnel' is very large indeed. 

Is a hostage deal imminent?

In spite of this latest missile attack this morning all the news is focusing on the hostage deal negotiations. The media is full of reports saying the 'deal is on' the 'deal is imminent', the 'deal is off' and so on. I cannot imagine what the families of the hostages are going through in this maelstrom of information,  misinformation and speculations, not to mention purely fake news. 

Israelis are divided about the wisdom of even a temporary  ceasefire at this juncture, and the release of thousands of Palestinian terrorist prisoners from Israeli jails. Some see it as tantamount to conceding defeat and rewarding Hamas for its aggression. Some Palestinians are already celebrating Hamas' victory over Israel, and Hamas is boasting of its plans for future invasions such as that which they carried out on October 7,2023. 

Other Israelis support the proposed deal in order to obtain the release of hostages 'at any price'. Although the exact terms of the deal have not been publicized, it seems that the first stage of the deal will secure the release of only 33 of the 98 hostages remaining in Gaza, and it is unclear how many of those 33 are still alive. It is also unclear when and if the other 65 hostage, dead and alive, will be released. The clock is ticking for the hostages, even for those who were young and healthy when captured, since they have been starved of food, light and fresh air, and kept in horrendous damp and unsanitary conditions far underground, and denied medical care. It is thought that around 50% have already died. 

Personally my heart is torn. On one hand I want to see all the hostages rescued but I fear the consequences of agreeing to  any deal which allows for the survival of Hamas and the release of terrorists, especially those with Israeli blood on their hands. Its a terrible choice. 

I cannot imagine the pressure on our PM Netanyahu today. As someone put it 'he needs Solomonic wisdom' to know what to do. Its a lose-lose situation, and the 'Palestinians' are already celebrating their 'victory'. May the LORD give Netanyahu divine wisdom and guidance! 

Ongoing fighting in the Gaza Strip

After 15 months of continual fighting, the IDF is still encountering pockets of resistance, discovering weapons caches, rocket launching sites and tunnels even in areas once deemed 'clear'. It is testimony to the massive preparations Hamas had made before their attack on October 7. It is also testimony to the massive amount of money they spent on military installations and equipment, rather than using it to improve the lives of the Gazan population. Over 300 km of concrete-lined tunnels have been discovered in a network under the Strip, which measures just  41 kilometres (25 miles) long, and from 6 to 12 km (3.7 to 7.5 mi) wide. (Just imagine how many homes, schools, hospitals etc. could have been built with that concrete, and how many water desalination plants and electricity stations and infrastructure could have been built with that money.)

With the fighting ongoing, soldiers of the IDF are still being killed. Just yesterday 5 were killed, and 10 injured, in the northern Gaza Strip, among them the son (aged 20) of one of my colleagues at All Israel News. His funeral is to take place in about an hour from now (at 2PM on 14/01). 

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has lost a total of 840 soldiers, including 55 in the current operation in the northern Strip which began in October 2024, according to the official figures of the IDF. 

Although the military apparatus of Hamas has been largely destroyed, it still has many fighters and much equipment and has made no secret of the fact they want to carry out more kidnappings and attacks in Israel. Lately, Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad have even resumed firing rockets, on an almost daily basis, from Gaza into the southern communities of Israel, even as the traumatised people there are returning to try and rebuild their homes and lives.

It seems too that, against all the odds, Hamas is managing to rearm, and there are reports of large numbers of men being recruited into their fighting ranks. Some reports suggest that roughly the same number of new recruits have been added to their number as the number of Hamas operatives killed by the IDF. 

Ceasefire in Lebanon

The ceasefire in Lebanon, which began on the 27 November, seems to be more or less holding. Apart from one anti-tank RPG there has been no cross-border rocket fire from Hezbollah. The IDF has however been continually acting against Hezbollah operatives entering the region south of the Litani River, which was forbidden by the ceasefire agreement. The IDF has discovered massive preparations in tunnels and 'civilian' houses for a planned attack on northern Israel in which some 5,300 Hezbollah operatives were to storm the border in 36 places and capture and take hostage the residents of a number of Israeli towns in the Galilee and Golan.

The big question is: Why didn't they do it?  Had they carried out this plan simultaneously with the Hamas attack we would have been in big trouble. May God be praised!

The 60 day ceasefire ends on the 26th of January and by that time the IDF is supposed to have withdrawn all its troops from Lebanon, and the Lebanese government army (LAF) taken control in the region vacated, and all Hezbollah forces withdrawn north of the Litani River. Although the IDF has withdrawn from some towns and villages, there is doubt that the LAF will be able to take control and expel all the Hezbollah forces in that time frame. It may be that the IDF will have to extend the deadline. The IDF is still encountering Hezbollah operatives south of the Litani River, and uncovering Hezbollah weapons caches and military positions. 

The Fall of the Assad Regime in Syria

Since the lightning fast fall of the Assad regime in Syria the situation remains extremely fluid. A de facto government has been established under the leadership of Ahmed al-Sharaa (also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani), the leader of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Al Sharaa is at pains to present himself and his organisation as being 'moderate' and as having no plans to threaten any other country. 

Thankfully our leadership is suspicious of this claim and is watching very carefully. Once things have quietened down, and the spotlight is turned off, Al Sharaa will most likely revert to type and introduce strict Sharia Law, persecute minority groups, and threaten Israel. We have seen this pattern in several instances elsewhere in the Middle East when terror groups take control. 

Israel has occupied the buffer zone between Syria and Israel, including the strategically important Syrian summit of Mt Hermon. The IAF has also been bombing and destroying Assad's heavy weapons, military equipment and arms caches so that these do not fall into the hands of HTS, ISIS or any other terror group.  The IDF is also destroying routes by which weapons were shipped through Syria from Iran to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Iraq

Iraq, seeing the writing on the wall, also announced soon after the fall of Assad that it would no longer fire missiles at Israel, and would not participate in the smuggling of weapons to Hezbollah. 

Iran

The fall of Assad's regime came as a serious blow to Iran which had already more or less lost its two main proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah. After Israel destroyed most of Iran's defense capability on the 26 October 2024, Iran has repeatedly threatened retaliation but, to date, nothing has eventuated. 

It seems to me a shame that Israel and its allies, especially the US and the UK which already have forces in the region, have not taken the opportunity to destroy Iran's nuclear sites, once and for all. Why has this not happened? I suspect there are two main reasons: one, that the Biden administration has withheld from Israel the bunker busting bombs needed to do the job, and two, that Biden does not want it to happen on 'his watch'. He wants to go down in history as the President who made peace, not war, in the Middle East. 

I fear the opportunity created by Israel's destruction of Iran's defensive systems may already have been partially lost by this delay in taking action. There are reports that since October, Iran has managed to restore at least some of its defense capability. 

There is some expectation here that after Donald Trump is inaugurated as U.S. President on January 21st things will change. Although Trump has made it clear that he wants to deal with Iran through sanctions and diplomacy, with Iran only days or weeks away from producing a nuclear bomb, there is no time for those solutions. The question is, will Trump support and cooperate with Israel to destroy Iran's potential to build a nuclear arsenal? 

Turkey

Turkey's dictatorial President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has made no secret of his desire to reestablish the Turkish Empire. Turkey backed, armed and financed the HTS, and is reportedly amassing its army along the Turkish-Syrian border. Here in Israel, we are watching developments very carefully. 

Egypt

In 1979 Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty. The treaty stipulated very specifically what military resources Egypt was permitted to locate in the Sinai. These stipulations were relaxed in recent years to help Egypt counter the ISIS presence there. However more recently, Egypt has massively expanded and strengthened its military presence in the Sinai, far beyond what is permitted, and this with aid and arms provided by the USA. One must ask why? 

ISHMA'EL AND JACOB, BROTHERS IN THE LORD

It seems like wherever I go these days people are talking about the prophecy in Isaiah 19 which speaks of the future highway comprising Egypt, Israel and Assyria, and the acceptance of the God of Israel by the people dwelling along that highway.

"In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will serve with the Assyrians. In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing in the midst of the land, whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”

Isaiah 19: 23-25 

 

Below is a map of the region showing the Assyrian Empire of the time of Isaiah, and it comprises modern day Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, eastern Turkey, Iraq and part of Iran, in other words, the whole arc of the Fertile Crescent.
 

 

https://visualunit.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/assyria_empire.png
 

 

Most of the people in this region today are Muslim and are sworn enemies of Israel, so how can this prophecy ever come to pass? It seems impossible but there are many today who believe that it is already beginning to be fulfilled.  

 

On the one hand we are seeing the  Islamic world rising up with seemingly more arrogance and power than ever, with the promulgation of the philosophy of Jihad (world domination), and its expression in the form of infiltration, terrorism and  military conquest affecting the whole world.  However at the same time, cracks are appearing in the world of Islam.  Everywhere in the Middle East we are seeing civil unrest, wars between different streams of Islam, and Muslims brutally killing Muslims. We are now really seeing the true face of the Lie of Islam. This is causing many Muslim people to begin to question their beliefs.  We are hearing reports of many Muslims abandoning Islam, and in their search for a better way they are encountering Yeshua (Jesus), often directly in the form of dreams or visions, but also through the witness of those faithful believers, both locals and others, who are hard at work in the Muslim world bringing them the gospel. These workers are encountering a deep hunger for Bibles and for the truth of the gospel, such as has never been seen before. It is just a tiny stream so far, but it is gathering strength. We need to support these workers and the new believers however we can, and pray for them without ceasing. May the strongholds of Satan be brought down and our brothers, the descendants of Ishmael and Esau, be saved.

For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
³ The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.

⁴ “Lift up your eyes all around, and see:
They all gather together, they come to you;
Your sons shall come from afar,
And your daughters shall be nursed at your side.
⁵ Then you shall see and become radiant,
And your heart shall swell with joy;
Because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you.
⁶ The multitude of camels shall cover your land,
The dromedaries of Midian and Ephah;
All those from Sheba shall come;
They shall bring gold and incense,
And they shall proclaim the praises of the Lord.
⁷ All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together to you,
The rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you;
They shall ascend with acceptance on My altar,
And I will glorify the house of My glory

Isaiah 60 : 2-7

 

 

This wave of spiritual awakening is not just happening in the Muslim world. Lately in conversation with friends here in Israel we have remarked amongst ourselves how things have changed in Israel over the last 20-30 years. When I first came to Israel over 30 years ago the name of Yeshua was anathema to the average Israeli. Yeshua was considered almost synonymous with Hitler, and Christianity with Nazism. Any Jew who became a believer in Yeshua was considered a betrayer of their own people. He or she would usually be ostracized by his family, sometimes to the extent of being disinherited and mourned as dead. We believers numbered only about 200 and we were fearful that if we spoke too loudly about Yeshua we would be expelled from the Land. Consequently we were often timid and circumspect.   Now however there is a much greater openness amongst Israelis, and more and more we hear influential people recognizing that Yeshua was a great Jew, and expressing curiosity about him. Now there are an estimated 15,000 Messianic believers in Israel and about 100 congregations, at least one in most major towns. Consequently most people seem to know about the existence of Messianic Jews in Israel, many have met and know Messianic Jews, and the media has from time to time even run positive articles and reports about us. It may even be that Messianic Judaism is beginning to be recognized as a legitimate stream of Judaism. A lively and on-fire second generation of young believers now exists and are moving into leadership amongst us.  These are young people who, born here,  have been through the Israeli education system, served in the army (often with distinction) and are now raising up families, fully integrated into Israeli society and its workforce, and speaking unaccented Hebrew as their mother tongue. No one can deny their right to be here. No one can deny their 'Jewishness'. They are endowed with much greater boldness than we of my generation had, and they are speaking loudly, eloquently and with great enthusiasm about their relationship with Yeshua. They are also more united in their vision and the expression of their faith. They cannot help but be heard more and more. This gives me great hope. The Isaiah 19 prophecy no longer seems far fetched.

 

 Meanwhile what else is happening in our 'patch'?  The so-called Intifada of Knives seems to have quite suddenly dropped off.  The last two weeks have seen , as far as I am aware, only one  attack, which resulted in an Israeli woman being lightly wounded, and the Palestinian teenage girl  attacker arrested.  There have been no attacks in Jerusalem, or surrounding areas. Is the 'Intifada' over, or has it just paused to lull us into a false sense of security - the lull before the storm? Time will tell of course but with Hamas in Gaza calling for a massive wave of terror during Passover, only two weeks away now, we need to keep our guard up. Today the Israeli Counter Terrorism unit is calling all Israelis to leave Turkey immediately as there is 'a high-level and concrete threat of an ISIS terror attack in the country"  http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4789077,00.html.  Passover is a major vacation period for Israelis and many families travel abroad, especially to Turkey and to Eastern Europe to take advantage of the cheaper accommodation there.  ISIS and other terror organizations see this as an opportunity to attack Israelis as these countries do not have the tight security we enjoy here in Israel.

During the  Pesach holiday, which is also one of the main vacation periods for Israelis, some 1.1 million travelers are expected to pass through Ben Gurion Airport. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4792309,00.html

A week has passed since I began writing and still the calm persists. On Thursday (14 April) an axe-wielding terrorist charged a group of soldiers in the Gush Etzion region and was shot to death, and in Jerusalem two teenagers were arrested carrying knives, and confessed their intention to carry out an attack (http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4791790,00.html ). Apart from that, this week too has been quiet. Last Sunday the Shin Bet (Israel's equivalent of the American CIA), in a brief to the government, noted that there has been  "a significant and noticeable drop in the number of terrorist attacks committed by Palestinian terror elements, including significant attacks", which they attributed  to "the extensive thwarting efforts by Israel, the effective thwarting of attacked (sic) planned by Hamas - which significantly increased its efforts to execute attacks, including kidnappings and suicide bombings, effective deterrence efforts to prevent additional attacks and very strong actions taken against Palestinian incitement".

In the six months since the beginning of the "Intifada of Knives" (as it has been dubbed)  "Palestinian terrorists have committed some 270 attacks and attempted attacks that were defined as "significant" - most of them shootings, stabbings and vehicular attacks. Twenty-nine Israelis and four foreign nationals were killed in the attacks, while some 250 additional Israelis were wounded".  In March this year however there were 20 significant attacks compared to 78 in October, and in April there have only been 3 such attacks, so far.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4789511,00.html

It appears that the Palestinian population in general, and even the potential attackers themselves,  have come to realize that this so-called intifada is not achieving anything, and even perhaps doing more harm to their cause than good. If this is so, we might expect to see a new tactic arise. Hamas which rules the Gaza strip and has a degree of support in the West Bank is calling for a return to planned, mass-terror attacks such as suicide bombings and kidnappings.  So far their attempts to execute such attacks have been successfully preempted by our intelligence and security forces which have arrested several cells  in the act of preparing attacks.  I do not however get the feeling that a return to this sort of terrorism is supported by the majority of the Palestinian population in the territories, who long for stability and a decent standard of living.

I suspect too that the sidelining of the Palestinian -Israeli struggle by the larger events in the Middle East  means too that Palestinians are not feeling the support of the greater Muslim world. Today the results of a survey carried out by the Asda'a Burson-Marsteller Institute was published.  Based on face-to-face interviews with 3,500 young Arab adults, between the ages of 18-24, from 16 Arab countries, the survey concluded that
"The Israeli-Palestinian conflict seems to be just the seventh most pressing issue for millennials in the region, after the rise of ISIS, terrorism, unemployment, political instability, the cost of living, and the absence of strong political leadership in the Arab world. "
Of those surveyed, only 13% said that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict worried them. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4791552,00.html


This coming Friday evening is Passover Eve.  Police in Jerusalem are beefing up their presence around the Temple Mount and the Western Wall area as tensions increase leading up to the holiday. Thousands of Jews will be visiting the Wall compound over the 7 day holiday and there has been a significant increase in incitement in the Palestinian social media. On the Palestinian website, Sawt al-Watan, for example, Arab MK (Member of Parliament), Jamal Zahalka, called Palestinians to stop "in any way possible" Jews from going on to the Temple Mount, claiming that more and more Jews are going on to the Temple Mount every day. He went on to say that "During the al-Aqsa intifada, we sacrificed 4,000 martyrs( note this gross exaggeration!) for the al-Aqsa mosque, and the continuation of Jewish entry into the complex is what causes the current intifada ....The continuation of the intifada is depended (sic) on the decision of (Palestinian) organisations—if they will take up the popular fight or leave it to young people and individuals." http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4792046,00.html

Jordan plans to install security cameras on the Temple Mount in the near future in an attempt to defuse the lies and incitement. Posters went up this week on the Mount calling for Muslim worshippers to destroy these cameras. Why do they want to destroy the cameras? They do not want the truth to be revealed - that their reports of Israeli actions on the Mount are grossly inaccurate and exaggerated.

A poster calling for the destruction of the cameras
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4792046,00.html

 

Photo: AFP http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4792309,00.html

 Please pray for the peace of Jerusalem over these important holidays.  I went walking in the Botanical Garden of Mt Scopus campus of the Hebrew University today. It was so lovely and peaceful there. Everywhere I went on campus I heard Arabic being spoken. It was a reminder of how Arabs and Jews coexist in peace to a remarkable extent even in this troubled city.  Of the total population of around 800,000 in Jerusalem 20% (1 in 5 people) are Arabs. Arabs and Jews shop together and work together. We eat at the same restaurants and make barbecues in the same parks. Most of the time we not only coexist but we like and respect each other, even though there is currently a high level of distrust and tension. I believe we can live together, and in the Middle East, we must live together and we must find a way to do so.  I believe that only in Yeshua can we find the common ground, the forgiveness and compassion to do so.  Any other 'solution' is temporary and ultimately doomed to failure.

I WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY AND PEACEFUL PASSOVER





THE TREASURY OF SNOW

20 February 2015
 

God thunders marvelously with His voice;
He does great things which we cannot comprehend.
For He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth’...

Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God...

then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

... Have you entered the treasury of snow...

 

Job 37: 5-6,14, 38:1,22



The Temple Mount in the snow today (20 Feb 2015)

Here in Jerusalem today, and indeed in much of the country, we awoke this morning to a white world. As I write the thunder is rolling around the hills, and flashes of lightning are illuminating the heavy snow that is falling.  We have about 30 cm on the ground in Jerusalem, and all the city has ground to a stop. Most roads are impassable, buses and trains are not running, schools are closed and very few shops are open. A hush has fallen as we contemplate the majesty of God, his power and our puny impotence in the face of a snow storm. There is an air of celebration and wonder. Who cannot be moved by the beauty of snow? The whole city is like a scene from a Christmas card. Here are some photos:

 

My cat investigates that cold stuff on the balcony



The view from my balcony

In the yard of our building



 

My street this morning

In the passage quoted above it mentions the 'treasury of snow'. Why a treasury? How is snow a treasure? If you live in the US you might not be seeing snow as a blessing right now, but here in Israel every drop of precipitation, be it snow, or rain or even dew, is seen as a blessing and a gift from the Lord. Snow is especially precious as it melts slowly feeding water into the soil and refilling the underground aquifers. This year we have had plentiful rain and snow with most parts of the country exceeding the annual average rainfall already. Coming after last year in which we had less than 1/3 the annual average here in Jerusalem, we are rejoicing in every drop of rain or snow.

 

Snow is mentioned many times in the Bible and clearly it is an image that was familiar to the people during the Biblical period. Snow is a reminder of the power and bounty of God's provision, and also that every word He has spoken will certainly come to pass.







For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

 

Isaiah 55: 10-11

 

Last night as I was watching a news report about the snow, one of the commentators said that we are all glad of the snow as it allows us to escape from thinking about all the threats that so concern us, at least for a little while. I think there was some truth in what he said.

 

A temporary escape is sometimes healthy and necessary, but the continued denial of reality can be dangerous. I just heard President Obama say, " The notion that we are at war with Islam is an ugly lie". What a shocking statement. I am sure if you asked the Islamic State fighters they would have no hesitation in saying that they are at war with the West in the name of Islam, and Iran has repeatedly and openly stated that it intends first to destroy the 'little Satan' (Israel) and then the 'big Satan' the USA and the Western World, and again all in the name of Islam.  It seems to me that Obama is taking political correctness to a dangerous level in an effort to appease the Islamic world. One must ask why? Although it is true that not all of the Islamic world nor that all Muslims support the actions of the Islamic State or Iran, and many oppose them, nevertheless the actions of the Islamic State and Iran are based on the Koranic injunction for Jihad, that is, the conquest of the world for Islam and in the name of Allah.

 

Just this last week we saw 21 Egyptian citizens being beheaded in Libya by Islamic State fighters, simply because they were Christians who refused to denounce their faith. If this is not a religious war, what is? 

 

http://i0.wp.com/the-american-journal.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/ISIS_Butcher_Coptic_Christians_Libya.png?resize=940%2C474
 

The Islamic State released a video entitled "A Message Signed in Blood to the Nation of the Cross" and then showed the beheading of these men, some of whom were seen mouthing the words "Lord Jesus Christ" moments before they were murdered.

 http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/02/21/coptic_church_recognizes_martyrdom_of_21_coptic_christians_/1124824

 

I would challenge Obama to look in the faces of the wives and children of these Coptic Christian martyrs, and say this is not a religious war.

Although I normally steer clear of getting involved in politics, it seems irresponsible at this point in time to not speak out against the policies of the Obama administration, which is exhibiting what, from our perspective, seems at best incredibly naïve, or at worst, knowing complicity with the sworn enemies of Israel, the USA and the Western World.

This latter possibility is explored in some depth in an opinion article in the Jerusalem Post which raises the question thus:

Why does US President Barack Hussein Obama so desperately want a deal with Iran? Why is he so fixated on a grand bargain with the Islamic Republic, the world’s biggest killer of Americans? What explains the president’s passion to embrace the radical mullahs of Tehran, despite the fact that all America’s traditional allies in the region are calling for him to check Iran’s advances? Why the deferential approach that seeks Iran’s partnership, instead of its isolation? The question becomes even sharper when you consider the fact that Iran is patently not seeking integration in the Middle East or reconciliation with the West, but rather obviously domination of the region and apocalyptic victory over the West."  http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Know-comment-What-explains-Obamas-zeal-for-a-deal-with-Iran-391602

It well worth taking the time to read this whole article. It comes to the conclusion that Obama's excessive political correctness does not come so much from the recognition that the USA has overstepped its moral prerogative in interfering in world affairs, particularly in the Middle East, as has been suggested by some commentators, but rather that " Obama’s fervor for Iran lies somewhere much more fundamental: In a deep-seated ideological belief that Islam has a rightful leadership place in the world". In other words, it puts forward the suggestion that Obama is, deep in his heart,  in agreement with the Islamic goal of Jihad. I don't know if this is so, but it would explain his otherwise inexplicable stance, and also his deep anger with the upcoming speech of Netanyahu to the Congress on the 3rd of March.

 

Against the background of Obama's policies in the Middle East, and particularly those regarding a deal with Iran, which are seen in Israel as endangering our very existence, I feel that Netanyahu's speech is crucial and essential at this juncture. The reality of the situation in the Middle East must be exposed or we all stand at terrible risk, not just Israel but the entire Western World. Netanyahu put it this way:

"I am going to the United States not because I seek a confrontation with the President, but because I must fulfill my obligation to speak up on a matter that affects the very survival of my country,” http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/26028/Default.aspx?article=popular_posts

Please lift up Netanyahu as he prepares his speech as it may be one of the most pivotal speeches in all human history. Pray that he will speak truth, and only truth, and that his words will be guided by the LORD God.

 

Please also pray for the outcome of our elections, just over 3 weeks away, that the Lord will overrule, and the right man or woman, will be raised up as our Prime Minister and the right people sit in the Knesset. I think most Israelis are fed up with all the political mudslinging and corruption in our government, and long for leaders of moral  integrity and who have the best interests of the Israeli people foremost in their hearts. However only God knows who is for the best, and we need to cry out for his mercy and favor in the elections, as in all other things.

Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
For wisdom and might are His.
 And He changes the times and the seasons;
He removes kings and raises up kings;

Daniel 2: 20-21 

 

THE SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS



Sunrise from my balcony this week

“For behold, the day is coming,
Burning like an oven,
And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble.
And the day which is coming shall burn them up,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“That will leave them neither root nor branch.
² But to you who fear My name
The Sun of Righteousness shall arise
With healing in His wings;
And you shall go out
And grow fat like stall-fed calves.
³ You shall trample the wicked,
For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet
On the day that I do this,”
Says the Lord of hosts

 

Malachi 4: 1-3

The balcony of my apartment faces southeast directly towards Basra, once the capital of Edom, and from whence will come Yeshua on the Day He judges the enemies of Israel (Isaiah 63:1). I have always felt it significant that the Lord has placed me here, watching and praying for the coming of the Lord. I do not know when that will be, but the signs are that it could be soon, very soon.

The tide of darkness around us is gathering strength. The enemies of Israel are preparing a monstrous arsenal of weapons for the coming war and boasting of Israel's imminent destruction. To the east the forces of the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) this week reached a new level of depravity and barbarism when they released on the social media footage of the burning to death of the captured Jordanian pilot, Moaz al-Kasasbeh

Moaz al-Kassasbeh in the cage in which he was burned to death

As if that wasn't monstrous enough, they then executed by firing squad two Imams, and beheaded in public four Syrian civilians who dared to condemn the immolation of the Jordanian pilot. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2940990/ISIS-beheads-four-Syrians-took-Facebook-condemn-burning-Jordanian-pilot-death-two-Muslim-clerics-criticised-murder-shot-firing-squad.html

To the south, the "State of Sinai", a jihadist group linked to the Islamic State and previously named Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis, targeted 10 Egyptian military installations in three different cities, El Arish, Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid, at the same time, leaving more than  35 military personnel dead and 70 others wounded.
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2015/02/04/violence-escalates-in-sinai-as-isis-linked-group-attacks-kill-dozens/

 http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/02/egypt-sinai-wilaya-attacks-army.html##ixzz3QxBdXqfT

Meanwhile also in the south, Hamas is preparing for the next round of aggression against Israel. Last week some  10,000 youngsters, aged 15 -21,  graduated from a week-long military camp run by the al Kassam Brigade, the Gaza based military wing of Hamas. These youths underwent intensive military training, including the use of sniper rifles, simulated tunnel attacks, physical combat training and naval commando operations. The minds of the next generation have already been poisoned with hatred and violence.


http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4619982,00.html

In the north, Iran backed Hezbollah forces in Lebanon are busy amassing rockets and missiles, including long-range missiles capable of hitting any target in Israel. Last week two Israeli soldiers, Captain Yohai Kalangel and Sergeant Dor Nini, were killed and 7 injured when Hezbollah fired a rocket at their unarmoured vehicle on Mt Dov in the Golan. This attack was in revenge for an earlier attack, attributed to Israel, on a convoy bringing missiles from Iran to Hezbollah killing 12, including Jihad Mughniyeh, Hezbollah's commander of the Syrian Golan sector and the son of master terrorist Imad Mughniyeh, Imad Mughniyeh Mohammed Issa, the head of Hezbollah's operation in Syria and Iraq, along with five other Hezbollah fighters and six Iranian military personnel - including Iranian General Mohammed Ali Allah Dadi of Iran's Revolutionary Guard (see my previous blog page). 

The commander of Iran's Basij force, Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Reza Naqdi, has been quoted as saying that Israel should await a crushing response from Iran and that "they [the Zionists] should remain fully alerted until complete annihilation of the Zionist regime.”
This week an Iranian website, Shia Online, this week published an article calling for the assassination of the sons of Benyamin Netanyahu, Yair and Avner, and also the sons of former Prime Ministers, Ehud Olmert and Ariel Sharon.

http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iranian-website-threatens-top-Israeli-officials-posts-family-pic-of-PM-389204
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2931549/Iran-encourages-terror-groups-assassinate-children-Benjamin-Netanyahu-following-Israeli-airstrike-killed-key-Hezbollah-leaders.html


On the stage of the world's press Israel is more and more being scapegoated as the cause of the turmoil in the Middle East. Israel is being blamed for everything from the 9/11 attacks in the USA, the recent attacks in Paris and even the Ebola outbreak in Africa!   Iran's Press TV reported the  Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, in a meeting this Monday with Jordan’s new ambassador to Tehran, Abdullah Sulaiman Abdullah Abu Romman, saying  that the Israeli “occupation” of Palestinian territories is the root cause of problems in the Middle East.http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iranian-website-threatens-top-Israeli-officials-posts-family-pic-of-PM-389204.  This Lie is gaining strength everywhere and hardly a day passes where it is not expressed in the Press somewhere.  Sadly even in the Church worldwide many are buying into this Lie.  

The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is a local and relatively minor component of the wider unrest in the Middle East. Historically the conflict with Israel is not based so much on the geo-political  Palestinian issue but on a much deeper clash between Islam and the Judeo/Christian world view.

Although some Muslim clerics, notably Sheikh Muhammad Al-Hussaini, claim that the Koran legitimizes Israel's rights to the Holy Land, the mainstream Islamic view is that it rightly belongs to the Muslim Waqf, an inalienable religious endowment,  and therefore no non-Muslim can be permitted to buy or otherwise usurp that land from the hegemony of Islam. That is the crux of the issue. According to Islam, the purchase of land by Jews from Muslims is anathema. The very existence of the Jewish State is anathema. The Muslim world as a whole does not really care about the plight, tragic as it is, of the Palestinian people themselves.  One could ask why the Palestinian refugees of 1948, and their descendants, are still living in refugee camps in spite of the billions of dollars of aid that has been donated to better their lives. It suits the cause of Jihad to use the Palestinians cynically as a publicity tool and a justification for attacking Israel.

Apart from that, much of the current turmoil is being generated within the different factions of Islam itself, especially between the so-called moderate mainstream and the radical, fundamentalist jihadis. In addition there remains the age-old violent enmity between the Sunni and the Shiite streams of Islam. One could also argue that the so-called Arab Spring, the overthrow by popular uprisings of the regimes set up after WWII , such as that which occurred in Egypt, is the result of misrule and corruption by the leaders of those countries and the consequent poverty of a large discontented underclass - nothing to do with Israel at all.

The Middle East is an incredibly complex region with a long history of violence and warfare going back far into history, and beyond. To try and blame Israel for the current violence is simplistic and not based on any historical or current reality, much less a Biblical perspective. It is rather a resurgence of the type of anti-Semitism that lead to World War II and the Holocaust. Many of the Nazi leaders fled to the Middle East after the fall of the Third Reich and their influence can be seen in much of the rhetoric coming out of the Muslim world. Even the cartoons are adapted from typical Nazi propaganda.

We, who are followers of Yeshua, need to have His perspective on events. To get that we need to study the Bible and ask Him to interpret it to us through the Holy Spirit. We need to be lovers of the Truth and actively pursue Truth. We need to test everything we are taught by man (including every word I write in my blogs), or read or hear, to see if it is truly of the Truth and measure it up against Scripture, for if we do not love the Truth, we may be caught up in the Lie. Yeshua himself spoke of a falling away in the end times, because 'they believed the lie':

Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you,  not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.  Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,   who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?  

 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time.   For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.   The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,  and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.   And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,   that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

    2 Thessalonians 2: 1- 12