15 Jan 2024

Stay Focused!

Israel is, by all accounts, entering a new phase in its war with Hamas. I’ve heard good and bad: Israel walked into a trap with this war; Israel is right on schedule.

One thing we know for sure; this is a complex and long-range war.

Before diving into the latest reports, I want to emphasize to all of us, including myself—stay focused. Don’t be distracted by negative news reports, or commentaries that cause you to fret. Our job is two-fold: pray fervently for Israel and keep our eyes locked on what Scripture tells us.

In this era especially, staying focused on what the text of Scripture actually says is much preferable to being pushed this way and that by a limitless number of online voices.

The most important thing we know is that Israel is here to stay.

Meditate on that and keep in the forefront of your thoughts.

Now, I noticed this week a photo of U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken meeting with Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority. Tellingly, the U.S. flag is missing while the (made up) Palestinian flag is behind Abbas! At the same time, Abbas is checking his watch. All this was by design of the terrorists. Passive aggressive letting the world’s superpower that we have no respect for you at all. Through all this, the Regime in Washington continues to funnel our tax dollars to the PA/PLO so that they can, among other things, give money to the “martyrs,” murderers of Jews and their families.

Disgusting.

As for the military situation, Israel has decided that the northern Gaza Strip is secure enough to simply maintain control, while intense fighting has shifted to the south. In particular, Khan Yunis is the nerve-center of Hamas activity and Israel is moving to dismantle it. Only yesterday, they announced they’ve found to date the biggest weapons facility yet unearthed.

Also, it is confirmed that Hamas arch villain Yahya Sinwar is literally using the hostages as human shields. This has prevented the IDF from killing him long ago. There are times when one feels that evil has degrees. Sinwar is on the higher end of the evil spectrum.

(Let’s not forget the threat from the north with Lebanon and Syria. To date, the IDF has killed about 200 Hezbollah terrorists, amid 620 terror attacks. At present, thousands of Israeli citizens had to leave their homes in the area.)

According to the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center:

“The penetration IDF forces into Khan Yunis continued. They clashed with a large number of terrorist squads that tried to attack them. A UAV launch site, weapons and valuable intelligence materials were located in terrorists’ houses. The fighters also located a tunnel shaft, a rocket launching position, and a combat compound which were situated near a school and a kindergarten (IDF spokesperson, January 10, 2024). During the operation in the Khirbat Khiza’a area, the fighters raided terrorist facilities, many of which were situated in schools, youth clubs and municipal buildings, locating a large number of tunnel shafts, tunnel routes and weapons.”

The IDF is using heavy mortar fire to take the fight to Hamas in the south.

As to the hostages—the only card Hamas has to play—according to the report:

“In response to the report in the Israeli media about a new proposal for a hostage deal, which included the removal of the Hamas leadership from Gaza, senior Hamas figure Osama Hamadan claimed that in principle there was no such initiative, the talk of the leadership’s leaving was ‘an illusion,’ and the idea of disarming the ‘resistance’ [terrorist organizations] was naive and did not reflect an understanding of the facts. He claimed the reports in the Israeli media were ‘fraudulent and disinformation’ designed to calm the angry Israeli public, especially the families of the hostages. He reiterated that Hamas would not accept any prisoner exchange initiative unless it was based on a complete end to the ‘aggression’ in the Gaza Strip. He added that there was currently no talk of any initiative and they adhered to their position, which they had presented to the mediators as the basis for any idea or initiative regarding an exchange deal.”

Even my dog understands that the minute the hostages are all released, Hamas ceases to exist. The terror group’s gameplan is to keep them indefinitely, so that international pressure causes Israel to finally agree to a ceasefire. No one knows what the outcome of this will be, but the terrible decisions facing Israel come down to either fully prosecuting the war, or following the recent American model of failing to secure full victory.

In the meantime, the Regime in Washington continues its evil pressure on the Jewish state.

As for me, I am meditating on the beauty and security of God’s word. Things have looked bleak before, just ahead of an astonishing victory.

My bet is on the Lord and His People.

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8 Jan 2024

The Rubber Is Meeting the Road

A couple very interesting columns appeared this week in the Jerusalem Post. One claims that Israel might be drawing-down its forces in Gaza, at least a substantial number that can go back to their homes and jobs, which will boost the economy. There is worry that the IDF and the cabinet intend to leave the job before Hamas is totally destroyed.

The other was written by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This is an extraordinary step in wartime, as the commander in chief pens an op-ed.

Netanyahu didn’t sound like Israel would stop short of its goal:

“Hamas, a key Iranian proxy, must be destroyed. The United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and many other countries support Israel’s intention to demolish the terror group. To achieve that goal, Hamas’s military capabilities must be dismantled, its political rule over Gaza must end, and the hostages must be released.

“Hamas’s leaders have vowed to repeat the October 7 massacre ‘again and again.’ That is why their destruction is the only proportional response to prevent the repeat of such horrific atrocities. Anything less guarantees more war and more bloodshed and contradicts the clear directive set by Israel’s war cabinet.”

It sounds like Netanyahu is sending someone a message, and it isn’t Hamas.

Reports are that the destruction to communities in southern Israel, the kibbutz system, was so complete that it will take years to rebuild and reinhabit them. That alone is stunning. It will take some time to learn just why Israel was so unprepared. This is one component of the most complex war Israel has ever fought.

Netanyahu then addressed whether the Palestinian Authority (PLO) can keep the calm post-Hamas:

“The expectation that the Palestinian Authority will demilitarize Gaza is a pipe dream.

“The PA currently funds and glorifies terrorism in Judea and Samaria and educates Palestinian children to seek the destruction of Israel. Not surprisingly, it has shown neither the capability nor the will to demilitarize Gaza. It failed to do so before Hamas booted it out of the territory in 2007, and it has failed to do so in the territories under its control today. For the foreseeable future, Israel will have to retain overriding security responsibility over Gaza.

“Third, Gaza will have to be deradicalized. Schools must teach children to cherish life rather than death, and imams must cease to preach the murder of Jews.

“Palestinian civil society needs to be transformed so that its people support fighting terrorism rather than funding it.”

I watched a documentary this week about the fall of Japan in 1945. The U.S. had to occupy the country for six years to demilitarize it. It is stunning how callous the military was in that country, even after the second atom bomb was dropped. What happened was, the population finally grew weary enough of the war that they had enough. The emperor called an end to hostilities and agreed to unconditional surrender.

I don’t think that situation exists in Arab society.

Here is the harsh truth: Of the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza, there can’t be more than a handful that are not homicidal maniacs, mentally destroyed from years of Jew-hatred. Images of small children dressed in Hamas “costumes,” complete with toy guns, is unnerving.

We have entered a new period of uncertainty. I don’t think anyone can predict the outcome of this war, though I personally do not believe the Israeli society will accept Hamas as a continued threat. The world is quickly forgetting the horror of October 7—because it wants to—but Israel will not.

This presents a unique test of wills. Israel’s existential focus up against an entire people driven mad by their hatred.

What we do know, from the Bible, is that Israel is here to stay.

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