The following is by Omar Robert Hamilton, from the London Review of Books:
On 26 August a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was agreed,
bringing a fragile end to a war that killed 2150 Palestinians (mostly
civilians) and 73 Israelis (mostly soldiers). Since then Hamas has not fired a
single rocket, attacked an Israeli target, or done anything to break the terms
of the ceasefire. Israel has done the following:
1. Annexed another
1500 acres of West Bank land
2. Seized $56 million of PA tax revenue
3. Not lifted the illegal blockade (as required by the ceasefire)
4. Broken the ceasefire by firing at fishermen on four separate occasions
5. Detained six fishermen
6. Killed a 22-year-old, Issa al Qatari, a week before his wedding
7. Killed 16-year-old Mohammed Sinokrot with a rubber bullet to the head
8. Tortured a prisoner to the point of hospitalisation
9. Refused 13 members of the European Parliament entry into Gaza
10. Detained at least 127 people across the West Bank, including a seven-year-old boy in Hebron and two children, aged seven and eight, taken from the courtyard of their house in Silwad – and tear-gassed their mother
11. Continued to hold 33 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council in prison
12. Continued to hold 500 prisoners in administrative detention without charge or trial
13. Destroyed Bedouin homes in Khan al Ahmar, near Jerusalem, leaving 14 people homeless, and unveiled a plan to forcibly move thousands of Bedouin away from Jerusalem into two purpose-built townships
14. Destroyed a dairy factory in Hebron whose profits supported an orphanage
15. Destroyed a family home in Silwan, making five children homeless
16. Destroyed a house in Jerusalem where aid supplies en route to Gaza were being stored
17. Destroyed a well near Hebron
18. Set fire to an olive grove near Hebron
19. Raided a health centre and a nursery school in Nablus, causing extensive damage
20. Destroyed a swathe of farmland in Rafah by driving tanks over it
21. Ordered the dismantling of a small monument in Jerusalem to Mohamed Abu Khdeir, murdered in July by an Israeli lynch mob
22. Continued building a vast tunnel network under Jerusalem
23. Stormed the al Aqsa mosque compound with a group of far right settlers
24. Assisted hundreds of settlers in storming Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus
25. Prevented students from entering al Quds University, firing stun grenades and rubber bullets at those who tried to go in
26. Earned unknown millions on reconstruction materials for Gaza, where 100,000 people need their destroyed homes rebuilt. The total bill is estimated at $7.8 billion
OK what we know if that as Christians we're supposed to pray for Israel's salvation. I confess this is something I haven't done. Ever since Chuck Smith's September 1977 sermon about Israel exercising the 'Sampson Option" on choosing suicide in some ultimate nuclear holicaust I have thought Jews were too violent to be saved. But the Church now teaches these days that Israel has the annointing of God and he who blesses or curses Israel will have the same fate happen to himself. And this appears to occur in Zachariah 13 or something where it says "They will look on Him whom they pierced" and scripture goes on to make a big thing about every family mourning by itself in its own house. On that day God says "I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone to the nations. He who falls on the stone will be Broken, and if this stone falls on anybody it will crush him". There are a lot of popular "bits" sprinkled in Zacariah 9 through 13 that pastors love to put in Sermons. Getting "saved" would be such a natural result in Israel since Christian missionaries go there all the time, and the people must be saturated with their messages. Also they know "Church history" better than we do since Jerusalem and Israel are the homes of all of these Holy Places, and the legonds that go with them. Dr Levy is very current on all of these. Why Dr Levy is not a Christian now is beyond me. Sean Hannity, a Catholic, says "We are supposed to stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel in their war effort". Personally I don't think God cares what I do. But since "The Church" says to do as I have described in this paragraph, I have nothing to lose, since God doesn't pay attention to me anyway, so doing his will more completely will just prove it.
2. Seized $56 million of PA tax revenue
3. Not lifted the illegal blockade (as required by the ceasefire)
4. Broken the ceasefire by firing at fishermen on four separate occasions
5. Detained six fishermen
6. Killed a 22-year-old, Issa al Qatari, a week before his wedding
7. Killed 16-year-old Mohammed Sinokrot with a rubber bullet to the head
8. Tortured a prisoner to the point of hospitalisation
9. Refused 13 members of the European Parliament entry into Gaza
10. Detained at least 127 people across the West Bank, including a seven-year-old boy in Hebron and two children, aged seven and eight, taken from the courtyard of their house in Silwad – and tear-gassed their mother
11. Continued to hold 33 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council in prison
12. Continued to hold 500 prisoners in administrative detention without charge or trial
13. Destroyed Bedouin homes in Khan al Ahmar, near Jerusalem, leaving 14 people homeless, and unveiled a plan to forcibly move thousands of Bedouin away from Jerusalem into two purpose-built townships
14. Destroyed a dairy factory in Hebron whose profits supported an orphanage
15. Destroyed a family home in Silwan, making five children homeless
16. Destroyed a house in Jerusalem where aid supplies en route to Gaza were being stored
17. Destroyed a well near Hebron
18. Set fire to an olive grove near Hebron
19. Raided a health centre and a nursery school in Nablus, causing extensive damage
20. Destroyed a swathe of farmland in Rafah by driving tanks over it
21. Ordered the dismantling of a small monument in Jerusalem to Mohamed Abu Khdeir, murdered in July by an Israeli lynch mob
22. Continued building a vast tunnel network under Jerusalem
23. Stormed the al Aqsa mosque compound with a group of far right settlers
24. Assisted hundreds of settlers in storming Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus
25. Prevented students from entering al Quds University, firing stun grenades and rubber bullets at those who tried to go in
26. Earned unknown millions on reconstruction materials for Gaza, where 100,000 people need their destroyed homes rebuilt. The total bill is estimated at $7.8 billion
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