P. M. WILLIAMS

BIBLE PROPHECY AND THE LAST DAYS [24/05/13] & THE LAST DAYS – PART 6

1When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the LORD thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt... 3Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them; 4For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you. (Deu 20:1, 3-4)

A HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ISRAEL FROM 1948 – PRESENT – PART 3

Recap

We learnt last week of the Camp David Accords which were signed in September 1978 between Israel and Egypt securing peace between these two countries on the condition that the Sinai be returned to the Egyptians. Another part of the accords was a framework that was drawn up establishing a format for future negotiations regarding the transfer of Arab-Palestinian governance of the and Gaza Strip which Israel seized control of in the 1967 war. The Sinai was given back to Egypt in 1982, but negotiations to hand back the West Bank and Gaza did not occur until the 1990’s in the Oslo Accords.

We learnt that through much of the late 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, Yasser Arafat’s PLO terrorist organisation reined terror upon Israeli civilians operating out of the countries of surrounding nations including Jordan in the 60’s, Lebanon in the 70’s and early 80’s and finally Tunisia.

The – 1987-1993

In December 1987, due to growing unsettlement amongst Palestinian-Arab refugees living in the West Bank and Gaza, a Palestinian uprising began against the Israeli’s which lasted for six years. This uprising was known as the First Intifada (uprising) which saw many violent Palestinian-Arab clashes with the Israeli Defense Forces claiming the lives of over 1000 Arab- during the years 1987-1993. The PLO was the main instigators behind the uprising and its members continually perpetuated the violence that flowed through the streets of the West Bank, Gaza and East .

“The intifada was violent from the start. During the first four years of the uprising, more than 3,600 Molotov cocktail attacks, 100 hand grenade attacks and 600 assaults with guns or explosives were reported by the . The violence was directed at soldiers and civilians alike. During this period, 16 Israeli civilians and 11 soldiers were killed by Palestinians in the territories; more than 1,400 Israeli civilians and 1,700 Israeli soldiers were injured. Approximately 1,100 Palestinians were killed in clashes with Israeli troops.” - The First Intifada: History and Overview, Mitchell Bard, www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org

What is most shocking during these six years of violence is that the number of Arabs killed by PLO death squads for political reasons and for deemed as collaborating with Israel exceed the number of Arabs killed in clashes with Israeli Defense Forces!!

“Palestinians were stabbed, hacked with axes, shot, clubbed and burned with acid. The justifications offered for the killings varied. In some instances, being employed by Israel's Civil Administration in the West Bank and Gaza was reason enough; in others, contact with Jews warranted a death sentence. Accusations of "collaboration" with Israel were sometimes used as a pretext for acts of personal vengeance. Women deemed to have behaved "immorally" were also among the victims.” - The First Intifada: History and Overview, Mitchell Bard, www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org

Oslo 1 Accords – Declaration of Principles (DOP)

Following the Palestinian-Arab uprising in September of 1993, secret talks were held between the Israeli government and the PLO which took place in Oslo, Norway. This was the first time that the two sides had talked face to face and the agreements that came out of those negotiations were called the Oslo Accords. In the summer 1993, after much negotiating, the Israelis and Palestinian-Arabs reached an agreement on the partial autonomy (governance) of Gaza and the West Bank by the Palestinian-Arabs. On September 1993 the Oslo Accords were officially signed by at a public ceremony in Washington, D.C in the presence of the PLO chairman, Yasser Arafat, the Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and U.S President Bill Clinton. Signatories to the Accords included Israeli Foreign Minister and PLO official Mahmoud Abbas. The Accords set forth an agreement by which portions of the West Bank and Gaza that had been taken by Israel in the Six-Day War were to be handed back into the control of the Palestinian-Arabs in the form of a newly elected five-year interim Palestinian government called the Palestinian National Authority. It was agreed that Israel Defense Forces would vacate Gaza and the West Bank over a phased period. On the Palestinian-Arab side, the PLO on paper at least, renounced the use of violence and recognised Israel’s right to exist as a nation.

In 1995, Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish extremist who opposed the Oslo Accords. Shimon Peres took Rabin’s place as Prime Minister of Israel. Following the signing of the Oslo Accords, during the 5 years that followed, more Israelis were killed (256) than were killed in the 15 years prior to signing the peace treaty.

Israel – Jordan Peace Treaty

In an effort to normalise relations and resolve territorial disputes between Israel and Jordan, a peace treaty was negotiated and signed in 1994 following in the footsteps of the Egyptians over a decade and a half earlier. The general thrust of the declaration declared that Israel and Jordan have now formerly ended their state of enmity and are now entering into negotiations to achieve an "end to bloodshed and sorrow".

2000 Camp David Summit

From July 11-24, 2000, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and PA Chairman Yasser Arafat met at the presidential retreat Camp David, seeking negotiate a final peace settlement and finalise what took place at the same location over two decades prior. This peace summit however turned out to be a failure and the events of what actually took place is somewhat of a contentious issue with both sides laying the blame on the other. The key word for the 2000 Camp David Summit is ‘final settlement’. This proved too much for the Palestinians who at every point refused what was being offered by the Israeli-American side and at no point putting anything forward themselves by means of a fair concession. Clinton was quoted as saying…”A summit's purpose is to have discussions that are based on sincere intentions and you, the Palestinians, did not come to this summit with sincere intentions”. At this point he got up and left the room.

The Palestinian negotiators took the approach that it was all or nothing. They wanted full Palestinian sovereignty (not authority) over the entire West Bank and the Gaza strip. This was something that Israel could not afford due to the security threat that would be posed to its territory. Central to the negotiations was the city of Jerusalem. The Palestinians demanded complete sovereignty over East Jerusalem. At the end of the 1948 War of Independence, Jerusalem was divided with Israel taking possession of the West side and Jordan taking possession of the East. However during the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel’s Defense Force after coming under attack by Jordanian Forces captured East Jerusalem and in 1980 declared Jerusalem as the “complete and united” capital of Israel. It is worth noting that the holiest site for Jews and the third holiest site for the Muslims is the Temple Mount where the Dome of the Rock is situated in East Jerusalem and the spot where it is believed both Temples were once situated. Barak instructed his delegates to treat the dispute as "the central issue that will decide the destiny of the negotiations" whereas Arafat admonished his delegation to "not budge on this one thing: the Haram (the Temple Mount) is more precious to me than everything else." Simply put, Arafat wanted a full return to the 1967 borders and Israel could not afford to allow that to happen for the security of the nation.

The – 2000 – 2005

Following the failed 2000 Camp David Summit, fierce riots broke out in late September of 2000 and another Palestinian-Arab uprising began, known as the Second Intifada. This violence was to last a further 5 years!! The violence of this second uprising was worse than the first claiming the lives of over 3000 Arab- Palestinians and around 1000 Israelis. It is strongly believed that it was Yasser Arafat himself who ordered as well as Fatah, to launch military operations against Israel. , the son of Hamas founder Sheik Hassan Yousef who gave his life to Christ in 2000, claimed that…

“Arafat had grown extraordinarily wealthy as the international symbol of victimhood. He wasn't about to surrender that status and take on the responsibility of actually building a functioning society" - Son of Hamas, Mosab Hassan Yousef

Yasser Arafat’s personal wealth in 2002 was estimated to be $1.3 billion dollars, whilst the people he claimed to represent live for the most part in poverty!!

Many Western media outlets stated that the Second Intifada (uprising) was as a direct result of Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon visiting the Temple Mount on September 28. However, this has since been rebutted and in the words of Palestinian Communications Minister, Imad Al-Faluji

“Whoever thinks that the Intifada broke out because of the despised Sharon’s visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque is wrong…This Intifada was planned in advance, ever since President Arafat’s return from the Camp David negotiations, where he turned the table upside down on President Clinton.” - Palestinian Communications Minister Imad Al-Faluji, honestreporting.com

In 2002, in response to wave after wave of suicide bomb attacks from the West Bank launched Operation Defensive Shield, in which the then Prime Minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon began constructing a barrier around the West Bank.

In November 2004 Yasser Arafat, the Chairman of the PLO, leader of the Fatah party and President of the Palestinian National Authority, died in Paris. Many believe that it was his death that brought an end to the violent Palestinian-Arab uprising which formerly ended in February 2005. In early January 2005 following Arafat’s death, Palestinian presidential elections were held in Gaza and the West Bank to elect someone to replace him. On the 9 January Mahmoud Abbas was elected to be the new President of the Palestinian National Authority. Abbas has since being elected to office shown the face of peace to the West and to Israel seeking to take diplomatic means rather than violence to negotiate with Israel. Upon his election to office he called for an end to the violence of the Second Intifada. Due to his seemingly diplomatic approach, many Arab-Palestinians lost support for him and in the Palestinian elections of 2006 Hamas won the support of the Palestinian-Arab people and as a result won the election giving them a decisive majority in the Palestinian Parliament.

Israel’s Enemies

Hamas

Hamas was founded in 1987 during the First intifada as an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood (the largest and most influential Arab Islamic movement, founded in 1928). Hamas is categorised by Israel and the West as a terrorist organization responsible for the deaths of many Israelis since its formation in 1987. In 2006 Hamas won the approval of the Palestinian people by winning the first ever Palestinian elections. Hamas leaders rejected all peace agreement signed with Israel, refused their right to exist and refused to abandon its terror. Despite their landslide victory, violence soon broke out between Fatah and Hamas after Palestinian National Security Forces fired on a Hamas rally in the West Bank. This soon turned into a full military conflict between the two sides. In June 2007, Hamas seized control of Gaza and removed Fatah officials. Many hundreds of Arab-Palestinians lost their lives in these clashes.

“After the re-ignition of the Fatah-Hamas conflict on June 10, Hamas militants seized several Fatah members and threw one of them, Mohammed Sweirki, an officer in the elite Palestinian Presidential Guard, off the top of the tallest building in Gaza, a 15-story apartment building. In retaliation, Fatah militants attacked and killed the imam of the city's Great Mosque, Mohammed al-Rifati. They also opened fire on the home of Prime Minister Ismail Haniya. Just before midnight, a Hamas militant was thrown off a 12-story building….On June 13, Hamas seized the headquarters of the Fatah- controlled National Security Forces in northern Gaza. Gunmen fought for control of high-rise buildings serving as sniper positions and Hamas said it had bulldozed a Fatah outpost controlling Gaza's main north-south road. Also on that day, an explosion wrecked the Khan Younis headquarters of the Fatah-linked Preventive Security Service, killing five people.” - Gaza War, Wikipedia

The above quote serves to show the violence and hatred that exists even between Hamas and Fatah. Efforts to unify the Palestinian government have proven a failure and as a result Hamas now govern Gaza and the Palestinian National Authority the West Bank!!

In 2005, all Jewish settlers were evacuated from Gaza under Israeli official orders, with some being removed forcibly by Israeli Defence Forces having their homes demolished. This was seen as an attempt by Sharon to help ease the rocket attacks coming daily from Gaza and to make peace with Hamas. However, these rocket attacks only intensified after Israeli’s withdrew!!

In December 2008, Israel moved into Gaza in an offensive to stop rocket fire into its country. The conflict lasted for three weeks. The attack began with Israel conducting airstrikes simultaneously striking 100 pre- planned Hamas targets within a span of 220 seconds. Approximately 140 members of Hamas were killed including the head of the Hamas police force. Thirty minutes later, a second wave of 60 jets struck a further 60 targets. On the first day of airstrikes, over 200 Hamas militants were killed with more than 700 injured, making it the largest one day death toll of Arab-Palestinians in 60 years of Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In early January Israel then began a ground invasion into Gaza in an effort to root out Hamas militants. One of Hamas’ military tactics is to build its bases in civilian populated areas from which it launches rocket attacks against Israeli villages and towns. It then retreats into the densely populated civilian areas in order to use children and women as human shields.

As late as 2012, Israel launched another military operation in Gaza, following over 100 hundred rockets being fired out of Gaza and into Israel in the space of 24-hours. The operation lasted only 8 days in which the IDF struck over 1500 militant sites!!

Iran – Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

In 2005 Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was officially elected president of Iran. Upon his appointment, his rhetoric became more aggressive and confrontational towards Israel. Iran actively funds and supports the military efforts of Hezbollah in South Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza by supplying them with aid, military hardware and troops (Iranian Revolutionary guards). Currently Iran is developing its nuclear program for which there is only one likely target…Israel. Israel cannot and will not allow this to happen. The current prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu has made his view clear; Israel will attack Iran before Iran attacks Israel!!

Hezbollah

Hezbollah, known as the party of God is a militant Shia political and military terrorist organisation that has as its mandate the destruction of Israel. Hezbollah has strong support and backing from Iran and Syria and is based in the South of Lebanon from which it conducts terrorist attacks against Israel. Hezbollah has become quite literally a state within a state in Lebanon, a bit like how the PLO was in the 1970’s in Lebanon. In 1982 Israel invaded Lebanon in a bid to root out the PLO, which it successfully did. In PLO’s place arose Hezbollah!! In 2006 following a wave of rocket attacks by Hezbollah from the South of Lebanon, Israel launched a 34 day military offensive against them in which it sought unsuccessfully to root them out.

Conclusion

Brethren as we have seen, wars have continued to plague the young state of Israel. Israel has fought and won seven recognised wars including a host of armed conflicts against Palestinian terrorist organisations since its founding in 1948, sixty five years ago; that a war a decade!! Despite many attempts at peace, peace does NOT exist for Israel in which it is surrounded by Arab nations bent on its destruction. We are certainly living in interesting times as surrounding nations are all electing fundamental Islamic governments with Egypt being the latest, in its appointment of Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood as President. The Bible is clear, there shall not come peace until the Antichrist shall come, in which he shall make a peace treaty for seven years with the Jews breaking it in the midst of it after 3½ years. The events that follow this shall be the subject of a future teaching. Brethren we are witnessing things that the Bible clearly predicts will occur prior to Jesus Christ’s Second Advent. Let us then ensure that we are abiding in His will, walking in love and keeping our garments from being soiled in this evil generation!!