The violence between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas terror group continues to escalate. Well over 1000 rockets have been launched from the Gaza strip into Israel since Monday. This means over 600 rockets were fired since our article yesterday, (image via AP).
Rockets And Destruction
Israel says the militants have fired more than 1,050 rockets since Monday, with 200 of them falling short and landing inside Gaza, injuring many of their own, while the vast majority of the rest have been shot down by the Iron Dome defence system.
DailyMail (visit for photos)
This has always been the case with the Palestinians. Their arsenal is on par with a backyard hobbyist.
Nevertheless, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin is blaming Iran.
The president says that Israel is clear that the Gaza terror groups are backed by Iran and that “we are also looking north, to Iran’s northern proxy in our area – Hezbollah.”
Times Of Israel
If Hamas was truly backed by Iran, and Hamas cannot steer their own rockets toward Israel.
How much of a danger is Iran to Israel?
Nevertheless, Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu said,
“We eliminated senior Hamas commanders and this is just the beginning,” Netanyahu says. “We will inflict blows on them that they couldn’t even dream of.”
Times Of Israel
Israel has killed at least six Hamas commanders. Hamas vowed to continue the fight.
“Our martyred leaders are the fuel for our project of liberating our land,” says Hamas political bureau member Mousa Doudin.
Times Of Israel
Egypt is currently trying to negotiate a cease fire.
Reports currently indicate at least 53 Palestinians have been killed with hundreds injured. Five Israelis have been killed with 200 injuries.
Israel has continually attacked what appear to be civilian buildings, including this 13 story residential tower.
The United Nations has chimed in,
“We’re escalating towards a full scale war,” Tor Wennesland, the United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said in a tweet. “Stop the fire immediately.”
Riots In Lod
Last night, riots ensued in Lod, Israel which is a town that is “mixed” between Arabs and Jews. Some of the video footage was reminiscent of the riots we saw in the United States last year. Israeli flags were removed and replaced with Palestinian flags as cars and businesses burned to the ground.
It was reported the riots spread to other cities, but coverage has been illusive.
The Cause Of The Conflict
As we discussed yesterday,
The tensions began a month ago in Jerusalem, where heavy-handed police tactics during Ramadan and the threatened eviction of dozens of Muslim neighbourhoods ignited protests and clashes with police. On Monday, a riot on Temple Mount left hundreds of Palestinians wounded before Hamas started launching rockets.
DailyMail
Summary: Israel started the drama, Hamas responded with rocket fire, and Israel retaliated. That is where we are.
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On another note, Negotiations to oust Netanyahu stall amid Jerusalem crisis. We mentioned this would most likely happen yesterday.
Some Background
Before 1948, the land of Palestine which is called Israel today belonged to the Palestinians. Due to a British mandate, United Nations involved, and a lot of underhanded backroom agreements which we will not go into here, Israel was created.
The Jews then came to the land, and settled alongside the Arabs who had been there for arguably thousands of years. Contrary to popular belief, the Jews are not native to the land, and the Jews are not God’s chosen people.
The Arabs in the Middle East know this very well. That is one of the reasons why there is strife in the land. Then we have the Holy City of Jerusalem which is important to all three major faiths; Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.
Israel Population
Today, the land of Israel consists of about 8.7 million people. It is interesting to note, when you factor in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, there are now equal numbers of Arabs and Jews in the region. Roughly 6.5 million Arabs and 6.5 million Jews.
What does this mean for the state of Israel, which they claim is a Jewish State?
Claiming to be a state for one race by definition means Israel is an apartheid state. Imagine if the United States was called the Caucasian State.
How well would that go over?
So we have to put these things in context, and learn a little background to truly understand the events of our time.
The Term Jew
Today, the term Jew is thrown around pretty loosely. These days some people will claim to be Jewish as they changed their faith to that of the Jews which is study of the Talmud and/or Old Testament Books. Primarily, however, the term Jew attempts to identify a race of people with genealogical roots to the ancient Israelites, which is incorrect.
Christians commonly lump all of the ancient Israelite tribes into the single tribe of Judah. This causes great Biblical errors which then incorrectly shapes our worldview. Christians have no duty or obligation to support the nation of Israel. In fact, the United States already provides the Jews with over $4 billion in aid each and every year.
As with any conflict in the world, the United States should not be involved. If our elected officials followed the Constitution and Bill of Rights focusing more solely on our own matters, we would be immensely blessed. We would keep our tax dollars here at home for our own nation in need.
No War Is Just
While the United States will side with Israel, Christians should remain neutral. No one wins in a war, families are destroyed along with their communities. It is extremely disturbing to watch the video carnage of what is transpiring in Israel and Gaza right now.
World leaders will need to rally to bring calm to the land, though there will never be true and lasting peace until our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ returns. These wars and skirmishes are just another reason why we will one day be presented with a New World Order.