Today's Conflict: Ishmael and Israel
Today's conflict between Ishmael and Israel entails both a religious-political conflict and a secular-political conflict.
With regard to the religious-political conflict, Islam does not respect any other religious tradition, particularly the Jewish religious tradition because the Jewish religious tradition is its rival with respect to monotheism. This disrespect was true from its inception. In modern times, witness the Jews who left Moslem countries in the 1940's and 1950's, leaving everything they had behind because life in the Moslem country was so intolerable to them. Witness the 6th-Century Bamiyan Buddhas, the two largest statues of Buddha, that were blown up by the Taliban Moslems in Afghanistan in 2001. Witness the second century Buddha in north-west Pakistan that was damaged in 2007 by pro-Taliban militants. The Buddhas were offensive to the Moslems. Witness the Moslem silence about these atrocities.
In September 2006, Palestinian gunmen attacked and set fire to the Young Men's Christian Association headquarters in Qalqiliya, a large West Bank city controlled by Hamas. Local government sources identified the attackers as members of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror groups, saying the identities of the gunmen are "well known" to Qalqiliya's security forces, which are controlled by the Hamas government. But nothing was done to bring these gunmen to justice. In fact, they were even backed by the Moslem preachers who issued a petition.
We the preachers of the mosques and representatives of major families in Qalqiliya ask you to close the offices of the YMCA because the population of Qalqiliya doesn't need such offices, especially since there are not many Christians in our city.
Today, the Christian population in the Palestinian controlled areas has decreased from about 18% in 1948 to about 1.5% and the Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip are pressuring non-Muslims to either become Muslims or leave the area. They announced that Jews and Christians will not be allowed to live in a future Palestine unless they are prepared to accept Dhimmi status. This is Islam in its kindness. Those who do not leave will be subject to theft of property and land, beatings, torching of their homes and businesses, and threat of death, and finally being killed. This is Islam in practice, when it becomes the dominant force in a society.
The direct conflict is between the Palestinians and Israel and entails the very existence of Israel. The religious side of this conflict can be understood from the Hamas charter which allies itself with Islam.
The slogan of Hamas (article 8) is:
Its article 15 elaborates:
In article 11 the charter states the land of Israel and the territories constitute the land of Palestine:
Its article two states that Hamas is a wing of the Moslem Brotherhood movement. Among its purposes is the conversion to Islam. |
This is the goal of Hamas.
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With regard to today's secular conflict between Ishmael and Israel, witness the PLO charter. Article 2 states that all the land that was part of the British Mandate is Palestine and belongs to the Palestinian people. Article 7 states:
It is a national obligation to provide every Palestinian with a revolutionary Arab upbringing, and to instill in him a profound spiritual and material familiarity with his homeland and a readiness for armed struggle and for the sacrifice of his material possessions and his life, for the recovery of his homeland.
Article 15 speaks of liquidating the Zionist presence in Palestine. Article 20 declares Israel's existence is null and void:
The Balfour Declaration and the Mandate Instrument, and all their consequences, are hereby declared null and void. The claim of historical or spiritual links between the Jews and Palestine is neither in conformity with historical fact nor does it satisfy the requirements for statehood. Judaism is a revealed religion; it is not a separate nationality, nor are the Jews a single people with a separate identity; they are citizens of their respective countries.
Within the community of Ishmael, Iran and some of the Palestinian organizations qualify as the actors of The Ishmael wildman. Consider the following editorials in the Iranian daily newspaper Resalat.
The great war is ahead of us, (and will break out) perhaps tomorrow, or in another few days, or in a few months, or even in a few Years... Israel must collapse. (Resalat, October 19, 2006)
The second editorial was entitled Preparations for the Great War.
For the first time in the 60 years of its disgraceful life, the Zionist regime - the West's beloved in the Middle East - tasted the taste of defeat, and the citizens of this regime trembled at the menace of Hizbullah's missiles. The nation of Muslims must prepare for the great war, so as to completely wipe out the Zionist regime, and remove this cancerous growth. Like the Imam (Ayatollah) Khomeini said: 'Israel must collapse.' (Resalat, October 22, 2006)
On various occasions, the President of Iran, Ahmadinejad said,
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President Ahmadinejad speaking at the conference: World Without Zionism
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Among the Palestinian organizations that qualify as Ishmael wildman are the PLO, Hamas, and Fatah. All of them have played roles in terror attacks in Israel.
The PLO was founded in 1964 as a Palestinian nationalist umbrella organization dedicated to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. After the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, control devolved to the leadership of the various fedayeen militia groups, the most dominant of which was Yasser Arafat's Al-Fatah. US policy accepts that elements of the PLO have advocated, carried out, or accepted responsibility for acts of terrorism.
Fatah joined the PLO in 1968 and won the leadership role in 1969. The Fatah maintains several military and intelligence wings that have carried out terrorist attacks, including Force 17, the Hawari Special Operations Group, Tanzim and the Al Aqsa Marytrs Brigade. It has carried out numerous acts of international terrorism in Western Europe and the Middle East in the 1970s. In the last few years there is direct evidence that it has been responsible for terrorist attacks against Israeli and foreign civilians in Israel.
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Hamas is a radical Islamic fundamentalist organization which became active in the early stages of the intifada, operating primarily in the Gaza District but also in Judea and Samaria. Formed in late 1987 as an outgrowth of the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. Various Hamas elements have used both political and violent means, including terrorism, to pursue the goal of establishing an Islamic Palestinian state that would replace Israel. Hamas has conducted many terror attacks, including large-scale suicide bombings, against Israeli civilian and military targets. From Israel's disengagement from the Gaza Strip in mid-August 2005 until the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip 1,826 missiles were fired into Israeli territory from Gaza. Since the Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in mid-June 2007 through December 2007 428 missiles and 590 mortar bombs have been fired at Sderot and the western Negev (Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Ismail Haniyeh is a senior leader of Hamas and former Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority. He was dismissed by Palestinian President Abbas after the Hamas military takeover of the Gaza Strip, but he continues to function as Prime Minister for Hamas. He has stated and maintained the position that Hamas will never recognize the state of Israel and that Hamas will not renounce violence or accept existing peace agreements between Israel and the Palestinians. With Hamas, there is nothing that can be negotiated. Israel cannot be allowed to exist as a state. Hamas is dedicated to making all Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank into one Palestinian country governed by Hamas. |
Ismail Haniyeh
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Today, the Jihad Moslem says you will die for what I believe, even if it means that I and my people will die in the process. Thus is fulfilled the Torah's prophecy of Ishmael:
His hand would be against every man, and every man's hand against him. And over all his brothers he shall dwell. (Genesis 16:12.)