As Western voices clamour with increasing intensity for peace with Palestinians, sober analysis reveals the inordinate problems that need a solution. The greatest political problem is the continuing absence of a moderate Palestinian leader. The major problem for Israeli governments has been, and continues to be, the underlying Palestinian objective of destroying the State of Israel and of eliminating any Jewish presence in the entire land ‘from the River to the Sea’.
So far as Gaza is concerned, the problem appears to be deeply rooted in its population, which has demonstrated its widespread support for Hamas via elections. And at the root of this is Islamist ideology, which is widespread – especially in Gaza – and entails support from Islamic nations. Politicians in the West seem not to recognise the profound nature of this situation, being deeply committed to our democratic ideals and naively seeking to impose their framework willy-nilly. Our media, particularly the BBC, seem also to a part of this.
Kelvin Crombie has very recently emphasised the critical dimension overlooked by the media: “There is a spiritual conflict of the highest order over the land of Israel. The battle is over the accomplishment of the purposes of Almighty God for worldwide redemption and the attempts by God’s adversary to hinder and thwart the accomplishment of this grand plan.”1 What follows here is a dip into its manifestation in the ‘nitty-gritty’ of facts on the ground.
Politicians in the West seem not to recognise the profound nature of this situation ...
The spirit of revolution
What are the Palestinian realities that Israel continues to face? Let’s start with what is preached and taught. Here’s Sheikh Iyyad Abu Funan, preaching in a Gaza mosque on October 13th 2015, and broadcast via Al-Aqsa TV, a channel operated by Hamas and directed by Fathi Hamad, Interior Minister of Gaza: “I want to swear on the Quran that not a single Jew will remain on this land … we will not leave a single one of you, alive or dead, on this land. By Allah, we will dig up your bones from the graves and get them out of this country. …. We will not leave any trace of you on this land. … No Jew will remain on the land of Islam and the Muslims. This is my vow on behalf of the entire Palestinian people, and of the Arab and Islamic nation in its entirety, from East to West. If the enemies do not understand this, they are stupid…”2
Deep prejudice against the Jews is evidenced at the highest Palestinian level, and has been engrained for many years. For example, on Fatah's official TV channel, on August 10th 2011, following footage of Jews praying at the Western Wall, the scene shifts to the Dome of the Rock, then pans round to include the Western Wall, while the narrator says, “They know for certain that our roots are deeper than their roots. We, from the balcony of our home look out over holiness [referring to the Dome] and [zooming in on praying Jews] sin and filthiness.”3
There is a spiritual conflict of the highest order over the land of Israel.
A few weeks after Hamas’ assault on Israel, on October 26th, speaking on Al-Jazeera TV, (while living in luxury in Qatar!), Ismail Haniyeh, said, “The blood in the Gaza Strip, alongside the resistance and the Al-Qassam [Hamas military] will defeat the occupier, will defeat this enemy. As I said and will repeat every time, the blood of the children, women and elderly, I do not say that it shouts out to you, but rather, we need this blood so that it will ignite within us the spirit of revolution, so that it will arouse within us persistence, so that it will arouse within us defiance and advance.”4
Lying spirit
Moreover, the habit of deliberate lying is deeply ingrained. For example, during an interview on December 12th, 2023, with Mahmoud Al-Habbash on ‘W Radio Las Palmas’, the Spanish host asked, “A woman was arrested because she incited and encouraged her children to die as Martyrs in revenge for the Israeli aggression. Does this anger and this feeling of revenge concern you?” He replied, “No one [in Palestine] loves revenge. No one loves death. No one encourages death. There is no [Palestinian] father or mother who could encourage their children to die. On the contrary, we are a peace-loving people, a people that loves life, loves peace, and loves life. Our fathers and mothers educated us to love life, to love to give, and to love humanity.”5 Habbash is no political lightweight, serving as the Palestinian Authority’s Supreme Sharia Judge and Chairman of the Supreme Council for Shari'ah Justice. The reality behind his answer is deeply shocking.
PA TV ‘Palestine This Morning’, July 15 2023, screened scenes of children bringing notices to camera, declaring ‘I am Martyr Number 25’, ‘I am Martyr Number 28’, etc., followed by a declaration by Mirfat Al-Baitar, a member of the PA Summer Camp Instruction Board. She said, “We came to participate in launching the Summer Camps, named ‘Moons and not Numbers’, which are dedicated to the Martyrs’ bodies that are being held by the Israeli occupation, because he is the latest Martyr of medical neglect in the occupiers’ prisons, and his body is still being held by the occupiers.”6
Our fathers and mothers educated us to love life, to love to give, and to love humanity.
‘He’ was Nasser Abu Hmeidi, a commander of the Al-Aqsa Brigades, responsible for the assassination of 7 Israelis, on 4 occasions in different locations inside Israel between 2000 and 2002. Serving 7 life sentences, he was diagnosed with lung cancer in August 2021 and died in December 2022. (The term ‘moons’ indicates admiration of Palestinian ‘martyrs’ – as in “They are the moons, the stars, the elites’”. Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub, Facebook page, July 23, 2023).7 His death was purely due to natural causes.
Summer camps
Hamas spokesman Abd Al-Latif Al-Qanou said on 12th July 2023 that the summer camps were an important component of building up a younger generation that appreciates the status of Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque and is deeply committed to the national principles and the right of return and liberation. According to him, “the name ‘Shield of Jerusalem’… emphasizes the centrality of the issue of Jerusalem, which must remain in the mind of the younger generation, and [stresses] that we must prepare to liberate Jerusalem from the filthy usurping occupiers.”8
As far back as 2001, The Guardian’s correspondent, Kevin Toolis, rhetorically asked, “How can anyone become a suicide bomber? How can you hate an enemy so much you would gladly die killing them?” He then outlines how Two young men, Osama and Nabil, had walked into Jerusalem's crowded Ben Yehuda pedestrian shopping mall and, in the midst of the bright lights and chatting teenagers, pulled the detonators. Nails and shrapnel, mixed in with the explosives, mutilated anyone within 20 feet of these two exploding human bombs. Eleven Israelis were killed and 37 injured. There was little of the bombers left to pick up. In search of answers, he went to Nabil's village with a Channel 4 News team. “The villagers were insistent that Nabil and Osama were not suicide bombers but shaheed - blessed martyrs - who now lived with the prophets in paradise. They were heroes whose 'martyrdom poster' is now plastered over the village's walls and the sports club where both young men had spent spare hours playing football or practising karate.”9 That’s how!
The fundamental battle is a spiritual one, with the very real forces of evil contesting God’s prophesied purposes for His ancient people.
Cult of death
According to Toolis, “The cult of death began in Gaza. In its streets Hamas militants shroud themselves in the white robes of the paradise-to-come, and strap dummy explosives to their waists to symbolise their willingness to sacrifice their lives. The city's wall are shrines to suicide bombers and the death toll they have inflicted on the Israeli occupiers. Many of the city's mosques are plastered with the 'martyrdom' posters extolling the deeds of suicide bombers. No details are hidden. Even the Sbarro attack, where most of the victims were young children, is celebrated with news photos of the aftermath.” Together with the racist military summer camps and the invective of the imams, these constitute nothing less than brainwashing of generations.
The absence of a single moderate notable Palestinian politician is striking. The nation of Israel is in a cleft stick, its politicians and its citizens sickened by successive betrayals of trust. The fundamental battle is a spiritual one, with the very real forces of evil contesting God’s prophesied purposes for His ancient people.
We should pray for Israel’s decision-makers as they ponder post-war plans and deal with international pressures. More than ever, we need to “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem”, to pray for the triumph of truth over lies, to pray for the advance of the Gospel in Jew and Palestinian alike, as we await the return of the Lord Jesus, the Prince of Peace Himself.
Watch and Pray!
ENDNOTES:
1. Crombie, K. (2023) ‘The foundational reasons behind the conflict in the land of (Eretz) Israel’, Olive Press Research Paper No 54, CMJ UK
2. Hamas Cleric and TV Host Abu Funun: We Will Not Leave a Single Jew, Dead or Alive, on Our Land | MEMRI 13 Oct 2015; re-accessed 10 Jan 2024
3. PA hypocrisy: No defaming religion (unless it's Judaism) | PMW Analysis (palwatch.org) (YouTube item) 24 Sept 2012; re-accessed 12 Jan 2024
4. Hamas leader: “We need the blood of the children, women, and elderly” | PMW Analysis (palwatch.org) 11 Dec 2023; accessed 09 Jan 2023
5. Abbas’ advisor to foreign media: No Palestinian “encourages their children to die. We are a people that loves life, loves peace” | PMW Translations (palwatch.org)
6. Children taught to see themselves as Martyrs in PA summer camps | PMW Translations (palwatch.org) 15 Jul 2023; accessed 05 Jan 2024
7. Dead terrorists are “moons, stars, the elite” - senior Fatah official sums up message of PA summer camps | PMW Translations (palwatch.org) 23 Jul 2023; re-accessed 12 Jan 2024
8. Hamas Summer Camps For Children And Teens In Gaza Strip Provide Weapons And Military Training In Order To Raise 'Generation That Will Liberate Palestine, MEMRI July 17,2023
9.. Where suicide is a cult | Palestinian territories | The Guardian 16 Dec 2001; accessed 10 Jan 2024
