Go West Bank, Young Man!
The astonishing developments in Israel continue. Today, it became clear that Benjamin Netanyahu has won a fifth term as prime minister of Israel, as he overcame a formidable challenge from General Benny Gantz.
This on the heels of President Trump recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and if that isn’t enough to send your head spinning, some details of his much-touted peace plan are emerging. We’ve heard reports ranging from a limited Palestinian state in Gaza, to the Jordanians and Saudis absorbing millions of Palestinians.
This last possibility is one I’ve long championed. There is plenty of wide open spaces for the Palestinians to continue shooting themselves in the foot, away from the industrious and successful Israelis.
And in the past two days, reports are that Netanyahu will fulfill a pledge made to his right-wing partners in the Knesset: annex the West Bank (Judea and Samaria). From a Times of Israel report:
“Netanyahu’s promise Saturday came a day after he told Channel 13 news that he had told US President Donald Trump he would not evacuate ‘a single person’ from any of the settlements, and amid reports that he believes Trump will back him on settlement annexation if the Palestinians reject the much-anticipated Trump Israeli-Palestinian peace plan.
“When asked if he knew the details of Trump’s ‘Deal of the Century,’ Netanyahu said he knew what he had told Trump to include in the agreement. ‘I know what I said: I said there can’t be the removal of even one settlement, and [that Israel insists on] our continued control of all the territory to the west of the Jordan,’ Netanyahu said.
“Asked in the interview, which was recorded on Wednesday, whether he had specified this to Trump personally, Netanyahu said he had set out the same positions to Trump and former US president Barack Obama.”
A delicious side story to all this is, Obama must be squirming mad that his attacks on Israel failed.
Whatever Netanyahu decides to do about the West Bank, we must admit that we are living in tumultuous times, and my how times change: from the fiendish Obama to the most heady days for Israel since the Six Day War.
However, prophetically, this all should tell us this: keep your eyes focused on what Scripture says, not the changing headlines. These are good days for Israel and her supporters, but everything—everything—is being shaped for that Ultimate Showdown prophesied in Scripture.
We know (just as we know on a smaller scale in the U.S.) that our enemies globally will never give up on their pressure schemes against Israel, vis a vis the Palestinians. International diplomats and politicians, no matter how mad their schemes are (Oslo, Wye, etc.), will never rest until they have Israel in the crosshairs.
So enjoy these moments. Enjoy these few days.
Something bigger is coming.