Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Evening Update: No Signs Of Peace



All you have to do is look at the headlines:





Reports of an imminent ceasefire proved to have been overly optimistic Tuesday night, as Hillary Clinton arrived in Israel. Two more Israelis were killed on a day of heavy rocket fire that reached as far north as Rishon Lezion, with Jerusalem also targeted. Late into Tuesday night, Israel was hitting Hamas installations and other terror targets throughout Gaza. The Times of Israel is live-blogging developments. Refresh for the latest updates.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II phoned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this evening to discuss the conflict with Gaza, according to the Jordanian news agency Petra.
According to the report, Abdullah warned Netanyahu of the consequences of a further deterioration, saying a worsening of the fighting could threaten the security and the stability of entire region.

TV news tonight was full of the news of the Rishon Lezion rocket attack. Israel’s fourth-biggest city, just south of Tel Aviv, hit for the first time.
The rocket — said to be carrying 90 kilograms of explosives — penetrated through three floors of the building, causing immense damage, but no serious injuries, because all the residents were in their safe rooms.






Hamas terrorists operating out of the Gaza Strip fired two missiles at Jerusalem on Tuesday afternoon. Air raid sirens sounded throughout the capital as local residents rushed for bomb shelters.

Early reports were that both missiles landed south of Jerusalem, near two villages on the outskirts of Bethlehem. There were no reports of damage or injuries.
The air raid sirens were not a complete surprise to Jerusalemites this time around. The city had already been targeted by a missile from Gaza on Friday.

Israel responded to the attack on Jerusalem and a heavy barrage of missiles on southern Israel by launching a fresh wave of aerial strikes and artillery fire against terrorist targets in Gaza.

The attack on Jerusalem came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was meeting in the capital with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.


Having convinced the population of Gaza that it is winning the war, Hamas was the first to put forward ceasefire terms, which looked more like surrender terms for Israel. Hamas demanded that Israel halt all current and future missions to eliminate Hamas leaders, lift the limited blockade of Gaza, and open the borders between Gaza and Israel proper.

Naturally, Israel rejected those terms, and responded with its own: Hamas stops the rocket fire, and the war ends. Following a meeting with Germany's visiting foreign minister, Netanyahu said Israel "is seeking a diplomatic solution," but will continue to prepare for a ground invasion should Hamas remain intransigent.
Hamas and its allied terror groups refused to stop firing first.









The next three paragraphs are critical in understanding the current situation:

We used to have a lot more influence in Egypt, before we pushed out Hosni Mubarak, who had guaranteed the peace with Israel and at least fitfully patrolled the Sinai region to limit arms to Gaza.  Clinton and Barack Obama demanded his withdrawal in favor of immediate elections, which all but ensured that the Muslim Brotherhood — Hamas’ mother organization and the only group organized well enough to take advantage of that time frame — would take control of Egypt.  This crisis is due at least in part to the “smart power” fumbling of the so-called Arab Spring, and it’s not terribly likely that the same players who created the problem will have good answers on how to solve it now in Gaza.

Hamas, which is the Palestine branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, is theologically committed to the obliteration of Israel and believes, as a matter of faith, that Jews are Allah’s enemies. Its leaders have believed, since the group’s inception, that Jews are soft (“We love death and they love life,” a Hamas leader once told me, and it is a commonly expressed thought). Hamas also believes that eventually misery and fear will drive most Jews to leave Israel, which it views as a Muslim waqf, or endowment, not merely the rightful home of the Palestinian people.

Hamas’s decision to increase the tempo of rocket attacks at Israeli civilian targets — the cause of this latest round of violence, as President Barack Obama and most Western leaders have asserted — emerged not only from a desire on the part of the group to terrorize the Jewish state out of existence. It also emerged from a cold political calculation that the Arab Spring (or, in the eyes of Hamas, the Islamist Spring) means that the arc of history is bending toward them and away from the Palestinian Authority of Mahmoud Abbas and its more moderate Arab supporters. This analysis has encouraged Hamas to assert itself now as the main player in the Palestinian “resistance.”












11 comments:

hartdawg said...

I do NOT think this'll escalate to the psalm 83 war. tho its close Jordan's not yet at the point of jumping in....a key piece of the puzzle. Until Jordan falls to the muslim brotherhood I'm leaning heavily towards this being another skirmish. tho Jordan is close its not quite there

ChristineInCleveland said...

Wait & see... This may go on for a lot longer than we expect, & Jordan may fall into place later down the line. Just sayin....

WVBORN56 said...

King Abdullah of Jordan may use this as an opportunity to save his skin just as we have speculated about what's his name in Syria...All this stuff can turn on a dime. This sure like the build up to Isaiah 17/Psalm 83 to me Hartdawg. Time will tell.

Anonymous said...

do you think ground invasion will cause the whole nation to hate Israel?

David said...

Yeah, I do. They pretty much all hate them now.

Mrs.C said...

Hi Brother Hart, :)
Psalm 83 has been in continuum over the centuries. Psalm 83 is an imprecatory Prayer, and Isaiah 17 is Gods Answer to that Prayer.

Jordan doesnt have to be taken over by the muslim brotherhood, in order for them to be a participant in the Isaiah 17 war, or for that war to start. We see from Gods Word, that Isaiah 17 begins with the destruction of Damascus. Next in Verse 2, it is Jordan that is taken down. As He tells us in Verse 1, there is already pure chaos occurring, as Israel is forced to destroy Damascus.

In this chaos, anything can happen including missiles flying everywhere. All it would take is one to hit Jordan, and they (after just witnessing Damascus become a glass parking lot) would retaliate. It wouldn’t matter who was in charge, anything can happen in the “fog of war”. But what we do know for sure from Gods Word, is that Jordan is drawn into this multiple fronted war that Israel will have to fight alone.
We also know from Verse 2, that God will restore a portion of Jordan to the Israelis. Even more amazing, is we know from Revelation 12, that in Jordan, God Himself will protect the Remnant Jewish Believers that have fled there during the middle of the Trib. In addition, we have the fulfillment of Gods Judgment to come on Jordan in Ezekiel 25:1-7. Other nations to be Judge by God Himself in correlation with Isaiah 17 are – Jordan, Gaza, Lebanon and Egypt. Unimaginable events are coming…horrific to say the least!
Israel will suffer “desolation”, and should the Lord tarry, we may be witnesses to all of this…

JD Siegel said...

Maybe some of you folks are just getting up to your morning coffee, there was a bus bombing in Tel Aviv at around 1 pm our time. 21 injured.

Waterer said...

Dear JD, Saw this in our early morning news. Your Ambassdor did a great job defending Israel to Soledad on CNN who kept trying to nail down a time for ground advancement. He was clear that divulging what Israel was hoping for was for Hamas to STOP shooting and that he was not about to divulge Israels timeline on AMerican television. He was truthful and clear with class.
We are praying for all of you caught up in a battle that is surely waging in the heavenlies too. I am especially praying for the innocents in both Israel and Gaza. The thousands who do not know their right hand from their left. My heart is with Israel in praying for the peace of Jerusalem and the fulfillment of the Davidic kingdom. May the Lord Bless you and keep You and Make His face to shine upon you and give you peace!
In His grace,
kr

Scott said...

Mrs C - I agree completely. Nice summary. And even now, Jordan's king is coming out with the most anti-Israeli rhetoric that I have ever seen from him.

WV - good point.

JD - getting ready to update that story. Things are happening so fast that new headlines are appearing as I do morning update!

Scott said...

Mrs C - I agree completely. Nice summary. And even now, Jordan's king is coming out with the most anti-Israeli rhetoric that I have ever seen from him.

WV - good point.

JD - getting ready to update that story. Things are happening so fast that new headlines are appearing as I do morning update!

JD Siegel said...

Waterer, I so agree. I really do have pity for the common people of Gaza. They are trapped, they are not allowed to leave Gaza, even to run to safety in the West Bank or Egypt. Hamas wants casualties. Its so evil! And Mashaal and Haniyeh don't even live there in Gaza. These men are so corrupt. The common Gazan people don't see a single dollar or euro of aid. It ALL goes into Hamasaks hands, and they themselves live oppulantly. The Gazan people have no voice. If they complain they are killed.