GAZA: And Nobody Saw it Coming??!

By Jan Markell

www.olivetreeviews.org

The ghost of Yaser Arafat lives on as his successor, Mahmoud Abbas, is simply Arafat in a $1,000 suit. The stripes on a leopard don't change easily. In the Islamic world, they hardly ever do. But to Abbas' credit back in January 2006, while under extreme U.S. pressure to have "free Palestinian elections," Abbas earnestly sought to delay them sensing Hamas would come to power as they did.  So the brutal reign of Hamas began, duly elected. The White House and State Department insisted on the elections, sure that the "curative powers of democracy" would solve many issues. Rice later stated, "Nobody saw it coming," meaning the win by Hamas.

The Israelis pulled one of the most foolish geo-political acts of the 21st century by pulling all Israelis out of Gaza two years ago. History should have taught them that whenever they pull out of any area, even Lebanon in 2000, it will then get infested with barbarians.

So radicals are now in charge of Gaza, a 140-square-mile strip of land on the Mediterranean Sea along Israel's western border that is packed with more than 1.2 million people, most of them desperately poor and some trying to flee to Israel.  Hamas came out on top for now. Hamastan will become "terror central" in the Middle East, all because Israel acted with good but foolish intent in the fall of 2005.

So now both Israel and America are squarely behind Abbas' Fatah organization. Abbas' Fatah funds the al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade, a terror outfit that has spilled as much blood as Hamas has.  Nonetheless, when Olmert meets with the President this week, the topic will be shoring up Abbas and Fatah, talk about giving up more land, and peace at any price--elusive peace only attainable from the Prince of Peace.

As Christian commentator Jack Kinsella states, "The entire scenario is the result of the global adoption of the simplistic and moronic notion that there is a difference between a 'moderate' terrorist and an 'extremist' terrorist."

The U.S. is backing Abbas with aid and military assistance. Israel's government will do everything possible to preserve that regime as well.  Clearly, Israel's worst enemies are her own leaders who, as secular humanists, believe in the basic goodness of man if treated fairly.

Over the years billions of dollars of aid have been donated to the Palestinian Authority and much of it has been your tax dollars and mine.  In 2006, the Palestinians collected more Western aid per capita than any other people on earth. Most of it was stolen by the leadership and put away in private banks in Europe. Arafat set that tone and Abbas has followed suit.

How will things change? Fatah still is a criminal gang, and it inevitably acts like one. They are not religious fanatics such as Hamas but both outfits are brutal terrorist organizations. Abbas earned his doctorate on the fact that the Holocaust was a myth.

Joel Rosenberg says, "It's too early to say for certain, but even at this early stage two things are clear: 1) Iran's efforts to surround Israel and prepare to 'wipe Israel off the map' have just been significantly advanced and thus the prospect for a full-blown war in the Middle East this summer or fall now seems more likely; and 2) U.S. politicians had better think twice about a precipitous withdrawal of American military forces in Iraq before the Iraqis are ready unless they want a repeat of the nightmare in Gaza."

(NOTE: We now carry new products by Joel and others here http://www.olivetreeviews.org/catalog.shtml#others  This includes his new DVD "Epicenter.")

Here is the bottom line: The State Department is trying to cast Abbas in the role of "peacemaker" simply because his party is seeking an easier way to destroy Israel, not because Abbas has suddenly rejected the PLO Charter, which still calls for Israel's destruction. Despite promises to amend this Charter, it has not yet happened.

Middle East expert and author Brigitte Gabriel says, "It starts with the Zionist enemy who is occupying the Holy Land, and the violence and the hatred spread dangerously, like fire, in the psyche. They consume everything around them, and the first thing they consume is the light of reason. Thus, we observed, and gave our blessing to, the conflagration of violence and hatred and its expansion is the fraternal violence we see today."

Make no mistake. We are essentially re-visiting the ominous days of 1938. It took everything that the freedom-loving people of the world could muster to vanguish evil then. This time we may not be so fortunate. This time the forces of evil will have nuclear capability.

Sanity and common sense have run amok in the "epicenter" of the earth.  Perhaps that is why the world is always picking up the pieces, not enjoying peace. And it is the "everlasting hatred" outlined in the Bible, playing out in perfect time in the "end of days."

Parting thought: Will the media pick up on the fact that Palestinians are now finding Israel a haven of safety? Likely not. It's still big, bad Israel.

Say with the Psalmist, "I trust in you, O Lord. Our times are in Your Hands" (Ps. 31:14). 

Hear my interview with Dr. David Reagan at my "radio archives" here http://www.olivetreeviews.org/radio/mp3/ All programming is posted late Monday.

By Jan Markell Click here for bio and archived articles