In many respects this question calls for a ditto underneath Hamas, with whom Hezbollah share an intense hatred of Israel and, as fellow terrorists, are committed to its destruction. But there is a much wider issue involved here, which has potential for mass destruction on an apocalyptic scale.
Highly Dangerous Alliances
Unlike Hamas, who attack from Gaza in the south where they have free reign as current rulers of the enclave, Hezbollah1 operate from territory in Lebanon on Israel's northern border where, again, they have more or less free reign, basically through intimidation of the local population.
Like Hamas, they are also digging tunnels into Israel for the purpose of launching attacks, for which the IDF is on constant alert. And as a proxy of Iran, the world's foremost sponsor of terrorism now working towards nuclear capability, Hezbollah is an extremely dangerous organisation with huge stockpiles of weapons specifically designed for use against the Jewish state.
Adding to this toxic mix is the shadowy role of Russia, moving into the region in a military capacity ostensibly geared to defeating Islamic State, but also aimed at propping up Syria's Assad regime. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin 'Bibi' Netanyahu has had several meetings with Moscow's Vladimir Putin in a bid to cement the diplomatic relations newly-created 25 years ago, but clearly also to mitigate further tension in the region.
According to the Jerusalem News Network, it remains doubtful whether Putin will accede to Bibi's repeated plea to withhold the S-300 missile system from Iran, or prevent Syria from transferring sophisticated weapons to Hezbollah.
Shaky Outlook
It all looks very shaky, especially in view of Ezekiel's vision of an end-time alliance of nations that will come against Israel (see Ezek 38-39). "Present-day headlines suggest many of these players [including Russia, Turkey, Iran and Libya] are coming together in ways that could eventually lead to a proactive invasion force against Israel", writes JNN's Barry Segal.2
The Syrian civil war, dreadful as it is with millions displaced and hundreds of thousands killed, nevertheless acts as a temporary diversion for Israel's enemies, though of course this is no consolation for those who are suffering. But when, and if, they sort out their differences, they will doubtless turn their guns on the Jewish state.
The massacre of 50 people in a Florida gay nightclub – the deadliest mass shooting in American history, for which Islamic State have claimed responsibility – followed close on the heels of the shooting in Tel Aviv that left four dead and five wounded at the hands of two Palestinian terrorists who now automatically qualify (or their families do) for monthly salaries from the Palestinian Authority as reward for their 'heroism'.
Underlying Motivation
The name of the organisation is less significant than the fact that they are all motivated by the same radical Muslim ethos. Both of the above atrocities appeared to be timed to coincide with Islam's 'holy month' of Ramadan, which makes nonsense of claims that Islam is a 'religion of peace', especially in view of comments from the BBC's head of religion and ethics, Aaqil Ahmed.
The first Muslim to hold this position at the BBC, Professor Ahmed stated: "The Islamic State are Muslims and their doctrine is Islamic. I hear so many people say ISIS has nothing to do with Islam. Of course it has. They are not preaching Judaism. It might be wrong, but what they are saying is an ideology based on some form of Islamic doctrine. They are Muslims. That is a fact and we have to get our head around some very uncomfortable things."3
And if a 'holy' feast provokes heightened violence against enemies rather than any attempt at peaceful co-existence, what does that tell us about the potential for 'peace partners' in the conflict?
As Israel Today editor Aviel Schneider put it, the fact that the majority of Muslims are peaceful is an irrelevance in light of the significant numbers of radicals among them – citing, for example, Germany's Nazi era. He says that of 1.7 billion followers of Islam, the number of radicals following a militant ideology is estimated at between 15 and 25 percent – that is, between 270 and 430 million!
We must learn the lessons of history, which show how irrelevant peaceful majorities are. They moan and condemn, but they do nothing. As long as the peaceful majority fails to take action against the radical minority, they will remain irrelevant.4
Don't Be Fooled
Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of a Hamas leader who worked as an Israeli spy and is now a Christian with a great love for Israel, told a conference hosted in New York last month by the Jerusalem Post: "We can fool ourselves, but there is an Islamic problem." Mentioning terrorist groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah, Boko Haram and ISIS, he added: "All of them are killing in the name of Allah." But, he added, this is a threat that needs to be faced with courage: the world needs to unify against the Islamic belief system, just as it did against Nazism. "When the President of the free world [Obama] stands and says 'Islam is a religion of peace', he creates a climate for more terrorism."5
Both President Obama and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton have refused to blame radical Islam for the latest atrocity in the U.S. But American Messianic Jew Dr Mike Evans comments: "The notion that Islam is a religion of peace is a dangerous and deadly fallacy. Islam was born of the sword and war and conquest and slaughter, and it has not changed."6
References
1 A Shi'a Islamist militant group as well as a political party represented in the Lebanese parliament, Hezbollah – literally 'Party of Allah' – was funded by Iran primarily to harass Israel, who had occupied a strip of south Lebanon following an invasion in 1982. They subsequently waged a guerilla campaign until Israel withdrew in 2000, fought Israel in the 2006 Lebanon War, and their military strength is now such that its paramilitary wing is considered more powerful than the Lebanese Army. Hezbollah receives military training, weapons and financial support from Iran, and political support from Syria. See Hezbollah page on Wikipedia.
2 Netanyahu in Moscow, Jerusalem News Network, 10 June, 2016.
3 Saltshakers, Steve Maltz, 10 June 2016.
4 Aviel Schneider, Israel Today, June 2016.
5 'Son of Hamas' tells Jerusalem Post conference: Islam is the problemJerusalem Post conference: Islam is the problem. Jerusalem Post, 22 May 2016.
6 Friends of Zion newsletter, 14 June 2016.
