Thursday, May 23, 2024

Peace At Any Cost?


Peace at any cost for Israel… that’s a no

Bishop Jerry L. Bowers


Since Israel declared her statehood in 1948, she has fought several wars with her neighbors. The war of 1948 ended with a negotiated peace establishing a Green Line that marked Israel’s borders with her neighbors. It was called a “Green Line” because a map was marked with a green marker showing Israel’s borders. At that time, the area called “West Bank” (Judia/Samaria) along with East Jerusalem, was placed under the administration of Jordan. The Gaza strip was placed under the administrative control of Egypt. 

The next war between Israel and her Arab neighbors was the 1967 war when Israel was attacked by Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. It was a costly Six-Day War. It is estimated that 2,000 civilians died and 10,000 Arabs were killed in this war. There were no warnings of where Israel would attack like what is being done today in Gaza to protect civilians. It was assumed Israel had a right to protect herself. At the end of this war, another negotiated peace changed the borders of Israel so that the West Bank (Judea/Samaria) territories along with East Jerusalem came back to Israel which included the Temple Mount. This is the price of war. Land is often lost when nations are defeated. 

In 1973, on the high holy day of Yom Kippur (October 6), Israel was again attacked by Egypt and Syria. The attack was launched on Israeli forces in the Sinai and in the Golan Heights. This war lasted for 18 days. The United States and the Soviet Union (Russia) called for an end to the fighting and a return to the 1967 ceasefire lines. At the end of the war, the Security Council adopted resolution 340, which called for a ceasefire with all forces returning to their October 22 positions and with UN observers, and peacekeepers, to monitor the ceasefire. Israel accepted the resolution. These agreements meant that Israel retained the West Bank territories (Judea/Samaria), East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. 

Past Peace Agreements

Past peace agreements to end wars have always addressed Israel’s need to protect its borders and the security of its people. Lands conquered during war remained in her possession for these reasons. These peace agreements were between nations and Israel. They were not made with terrorist organizations like what is now being proposed. 

The current efforts for a negotiated peace to the war in Gaza are different than Israel’s past wars in that, this is a war against terrorist organizations, not with nations

A Two-State Solution agreement with terrorists that puts terrorists in charge of Gaza, or a Palestinian State, is not a Peace Agreement. Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (Fatah) have a charter that agrees with the Muslim Brotherhood, of which they are members, which calls for the complete destruction of the Jewish state. This is the reason these terrorist organizations refuse to recognize the Jewish state. 

It has been suggested that a revitalized Palestinian Authority organization could administer Gaza and a Palestinian state. This is a non-starter. 

The Palestinian Authority is still committed to the destruction of the Jewish state as members of the Muslim Brotherhood. They have also stated that Hamas would always be a part of their government. When they declare “From the river to the sea,” they are not advocating for a Two-State solution. They are advocating for the removal of the Jewish state so that from “the river Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea” there will only be an Arab state without Israel. This is a slogan calling for the genocide of the Jewish people. 

Peace at any price!

There cannot be peace at any cost in the Israel war with Hamas. The cost would be the eventual removal of the Jewish state. It would be rewarding the terrorists for their attack on October 7, 2023, on the Jewish state. It would also be empowering evil. 


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