LaVrai – The Truth

Photo caption: A Palestinian boy wearing a fake explosive belt and holding a Koran takes part in demonstration in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Helweh in souhtern Lebanon on Jan. 2, 2009, in protest against Israel’s continuing bombardment of the Gaza Strip. (AFP/Getty Images) – Photos For Thought gallery

I learned two things today — one of them is true and the other a lie; the one that is true explains how the second is a lie.

1. The Truth:

Martha Samuel, an Egyptian Muslim who converted to Christianity five years ago, was arrested at Cairo airport on Wednesday as she, her husband and two sons (four and two years old) were leaving for Russia. Her name was on a list of people prohibited from leaving the country.

According to a story by the Assyrian International News Agency (AINA), the Egypt for Christ Ministry is reporting that Martha Samuel has been sexually assaulted by Egyptian police officers at El-Nozha police station as well as at the National Security office in Heliopolis.

AINA said Samuel has also been beaten and tortured in an attempt to force her to return to Islam. The police have promised to release her if she returns to Islam.

AINA said that Samuel (and her children, who are also under arrest), is to be transferred from the National Security office in Heliopolis to Al-Qanater prison after seeing the “renewal judge.”

AINA said the children are “deliberately” not being provided with food in order to pressure their mother to return to Islam. Fadl Thabet, Martha’s husband, has been taken to the National Security office in Alexandria (Somoha District). Read the rest of this entry »

Update (12/30/08 – 8:41PM ET): Apparently Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and people with decision-making powers in “key Arab states” are blaming Hamas for the current Israeli counter-attacks, reports Al Jazeera.

Indonesian protesters from Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia hold a demonstration against Israel in front of the U.S. embassy in Jakarta on Dec. 30, 2008. Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, condemned the massive Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip and said it would send cash and medical aid to Palestinian victims. (Adek Berry/APF/Getty Images)

“Explain to me what Hamas was thinking, how you were thinking that the Israelis would respond when you began firing hundreds of Qassam rockets into Israel?”

This is what the News Hour’s Gwen Ifill asked U.N. Palestinian Observer Riyad Mansour during last night’s program. Surprisingly, he didn’t answer the question — the first or second time Ms. Ifill asked him. He also dodged the question about Egypt opening up one of the six closed checkpoints on its border with Gaza. Mr. Mansour appeared to make everything Israel’s responsibility. Gaza’s other neighbor, Egypt, nor the Palestinian Authority should be doing anything but standing by, according to his responses. Hamas is undoubtedly the problem. They have been waging a war against Israel since Israelis withdrew from the region in 2005…forcibly removing any Jewish settlers that remained (Arabs can live in Israel, of course, but Jews cannot live in Gaza…that’s the impression anyway).

If Israel says they will only cease the assaults when Hamas stops firing rockets, why is no Arab nation/leader/politician in the region calling on Hamas to stop?

Please take note of  Mr. Mansour’s double standard when it comes to Palestinians defending themselves… yet Israel is not allowed to and any such act is apparently “criminal.” You can read a transcript or watch the video.

I agree that the fighting should stop and that talking should resume… but if Israel were to immediately stop any attacks, they would be a sitting duck for Hamas and “whoever” is providing them with all of those weapons and teaching them how to use them (I doubt it’s coming from the manual). Both parties need to be reasonable for any possibility of any kind of peace… but one group wants anything but… Hamas doesn’t acknowledge Israel’s right to exist as a state.

And Hamas apparently also thinks the death of innocent Palestinians is worth the cause:

Hamas issued a statement in Gaza City taking responsibility for the rockets. Leaders of Hamas say Israel has no right to exist and condemn Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as a stooge for conducting peace talks.

“As long as the air strikes and killing go on, our support will widen because people see Hamas resisting the occupation,” Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in a telephone interview in Gaza. “The number of fatalities is high but our people have been brutally killed before and we remain steadfast.” (Dec. 30, 2008 - Source)

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The Kuwaiti Times also notes that it is Hamas who broke the Egypt-brokered truce between the Palestinian militants and Hamas. The article also notes, as is already well known, Israel gave warning that they would retaliate if the rocket attacks didn’t stop. Hamas is still holding an Israeli soldier hostage — yeah, that helps peace negotiations:

Militants in Hamas-ruled Gaza pounded Israel with rocket and mortar fire yesterday, dimming the chances of a renewed ceasefire between the Jewish state and the Palestinian Islamist group. Gunmen had launched some 60 projectiles into Israel by early afternoon, the largest barrage since before an Egyptian-brokered truce went into effect in and around the besieged Palestinian territory in June. (Dec. 25, 2008 – Source)

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While Israeli officials speak temperately, making every effort to let Palestinian civilians know they are not targeting them and are sorry for any civilian casualties, Hamas militants, on the other hand, appear only interested in bloodshed. (This was about two days before Israel launched its counter-attack):

But Hamas — which said Wednesday’s rocket fire was in retaliation for the killing of three militants the day before — vowed to step up attacks if Israel responded with strikes against Gaza.

“(Israel) should know that any decision to attack the Gaza Strip will open the gates of hell and we will make you regret your stupidity with tears of blood,” the group’s armed wing the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades said.

“Israel’s stupidity will push us to expand (operations) and put in our line of fire thousands of new Zionists to defend the Palestinian people.” (Dec. 24, 2008 - Source)

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And here is my favorite — a denial from Hamas about rocket fire into Israel — although the whole world knows this is what they have been doing and they have even claimed responsibility at one point:

“Announcing from time to time that rockets are still fired from Gaza at Israel, is just an untrue claim to justify keeping Gaza Strip border crossing points with Israel closed,” Hamas said in the statement sent to reporters. (Aug. 17, 2008 – Source)

In summary, I don’t approve of bloodshed, but war must happen. That is the world we live in (wars and rumors of wars). Israel, Hamas, the PLO, the United States, England, etc. — no one can broker true everlasting peace in the Middle East but Messiah Jesus of Nazareth. I believe Israel is justified in defending herself — it would seem ridiculous for the leaders to just sit by and do nothing while rockets are being lobbed at their people everyday — all hours of the day. And many would say, well, Hamas is allowed to do the same thing… and that is the web we weave.

Oh the irony! The irony! And the nerve. Christmas is, no doubt, a holiday celebrated all over the world… apparently even in repressive, oppressive backward Iran (directed at the government, not the people). Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (the beadie-eyed man who talks like Hitler) even went so far as to issue a Christmas message, in which he espoused on what Jesus would do. For some reason a British TV network decided they were going to air it as an “alternative” message to Queen Elizabeth’s. Would they have given Adolf Hitler air time to express his “alternative” message? You figure it out.

The irony, the fact that Iran just killed 10 people in slow, painful hangings on Christmas Eve (they do strangulation, too and it’s all public), is addressed near the end. Read the rest of this entry »

Photo caption: A Palestinian man shouts as he and others try to find their dead relatives among bodies of Palestinians laid out on the ground outside Shifa hospital on Dec. 27, 2008, in Gaza City, Gaza.

It pains me to see this death and carnage. But this is the way of man, no? I was once of the opinion that Israel perhaps should use restraint in dealing with the dozens of enemies who surround her, and the rest of the world usually voices the same opinion. Today, however, I don’t believe I can say the same thing after reading news reports about what has lead to this open onslaught.

The people of Gaza elected Hamas into government about three years ago and since then, as usual, there have been up-and-down truces between them and Israel. And, as usual, Hamas has taken it upon itself to send a steady barrage of rockets across the border toward Israel. During this most recent truce (which lasted 6 months I believe), Israel didn’t attack Hamas in Gaza with force; they used other means, such as tightening borders and shutting down power to the region. Dozens of people don’t die in Israel when Hamas militans fire their rockets, and that’s not the point even. The point is, the people of Israel are never at peace… and who can’t say that isn’t Hamas’ main goal.

Side note here: Hamas even managed to kill two little girls in their own region recently when they misfired a rocket in their hell-bent desire to continuously harass Israel (Reuters Video).

If another nation decided to lob rockets into U.S. borders continuously over a period of days… would America not be justified to defend itself by either lobbing back rockets or sending in ground troops? Would England, India, Egypt, China, Russia or any other nation under the sun not be required to attempt to end the attacks by whatever means they find neccessary?

Absolutely no man or woman has yet to broker a peace deal between these two peoples since conflicts started decades ago, when Israel took Gaza from Egypt. This fighting is hardly about religion or territory any more — the whole thing is being fueled by hate, deception and confusion — and I suppose fate. For the Holy Bible says Israel will not know peace until Messiah Jesus of Nazareth returns to earth. Someone will come along and pretend to broker peace — but that deal will be dashed to the ground and trampled upon.

No one here on this planet has any real power to solve Israel and her neighbors’ problems. All we apparently do is talk, talk, talk… as world leaders will undoubtedly do ad naseum as Israel’s defense attacks continue. I’ll keep praying, too, not so much for peace — I know that will come. I will be praying for mercy and grace from the LORD our GOD. I will ask the LORD to keep his people — both in Gaza and Israel — and to protect the defenseless — the women, children, elderly, etc.

Israeli officials have basically said they are just beginning, and don’t expect Hamas to humble itself any century soon. And do you know what will happen when the next truce comes around? — Hamas will resume sending rockets across Israel’s border. It is an undeniable fact that if Israel stopped defending it self and just sat quietly 365 days a year and absolutely no nation spoke on her behalf, every enemy around her would gladly go in and do what that demon Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been praying to the devil for for years — wipe Israel off the map. It has been Satan’s eternal goal to destroy the Woman’s seed and he won’t stop until Christ Jesus stops him. That too, is another fact.

Sources:

Massive Israeli Air Raids On Gaza – BBC News

Mideast Fighting: Background – Sky News

IDF Amasses Forces Near Gaza… – Jerusalem Post

Scores Dead In Israel Raid In Gaza – Al Jazeera English

Israeli Air Strikes In Gaza Kill More Than 200 – MSNBC