Israel in the News May/Jun 2006

Hamas Launches Child Terror Site
ARUTZ-7—The Palestinian Authority’s ruling Hamas terror group has launched a Web site for children, using cartoons and children’s stories to preach the moral desirability of being a suicide terrorist.

The Hamas-run Al-Fateh.net glorifies shahada, martyrdom, and presents the deaths of terrorists attacking Israelis as a time of celebration, according to a report by the Palestinian Media Watch.

One of the stories quotes a mother saying that, when she heard her son had become a shahid (martyr), she bought dates, candies, and coffee to give out. An entire section of the site is called “Stories of the Shahids,” and a recently posted story honors a Hamas suicide terrorist who murdered 16 people when he blew himself up on a bus in Beersheva on August 31, 2004.

PA Creates Gaza Food Crisis
ARUTZ-7—Only one crossing re -mained open this spring between Israel and Gaza, yet the Palestinian Authority (PA) refused to accept goods transferred through it and complained that Israel was causing its people to starve.

Because of terrorism warnings, Israel closed the Karni Crossing into Gaza. As a replacement, and to enable basic foodstuffs to enter Gaza, Israel opened the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza, but the PA refused to cooperate.

“It is inconceivable that the PA would prefer to allow its people to suffer instead of taking up Israel’s offer to use alternative crossings into Gaza until the terror threats are lifted,” a security source was quoted as telling The Jerusalem Post. “This is clearly a political decision on their part.” Furthermore, the PA receives 50 percent of the fees charged for each truck entering Gaza through Karni, but not at other crossings.

Israel said that goods, such as flour and milk products, will be transferred directly to Egypt. If the PA leaders decide not to accept the goods, Israeli sources say, “That’s their problem.”

Netanyahu Says, ‘Stop Hamas’
ARUTZ-7—Benjamin Netanyahu told the recent Jerusalem Conference that Hamas’s takeover of the Palestinian Authority is part of Islam’s attempts to conquer the world.

Netanyahu said that Islam tried, upon its founding, to conquer Christian Europe, but failed and was pushed back to Northern Africa. Another attempt hundreds of years later was similarly repelled. “For the last few centuries,” Netanyahu continued, “we thought that religious wars were over; but suddenly, now, we see a third attempt by Islam. In 1979, two seminal events occurred, both of which continue to have a strong effect even now. One is the victory by Islamic mujaheedin in Afghanistan over Soviet forces, leading to the formation of al-Qaida, and then, shortly afterwards, the formation of the terrorist Islamic Republic of Iran.

“Since then, more recently, two more important events have happened. One is the formation of another fundamentalist Islamic republic, in Afghanistan, with the Taliban, leading to 9/11. If they had had nuclear weapons, New York and Washington would not be around anymore—and another event that occurred with Israel’s help: the formation of a Hamas regime in the Palestinian Authority.

“The Hamas entity is a daughter state of Iran, with the same policies, and talks openly of its goal of destroying Israel, using its code words of ‘Right of Return’ and ‘continued resistance’—namely, terrorism. Israel is their first stop on the road to world conquest.”

EU Aids PA
ARUTZ-7—The European Union (EU) has given another $78 million in aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA), funneling it through the United Nations, which will pass it on to pay the salaries of PA employees, many of whom are terrorists.

The latest EU donation was accompanied by a warning that continued funding would depend on the terror group’s decision to reconsider its stated aim of destroying the Jewish state. Meanwhile, British Foreign Minister Jack Straw said that the Palestinian people should not be punished for the way they chose to vote. And French President Jacques Chirac has urged the international community to continue funding the Hamas-led PA no matter what.

Ancient Jewish Town Unearthed
ARUTZ-7—An ancient Jewish town from the time of King Solomon has been uncovered beneath the Arab village of Kafr Kana, north of Nazareth, in the Galilee. The discovery, unearthed by Israel’s Antiquities Authority, also includes remnants of Jewish settlement during the Roman period.

Among the findings are underground tunnels excavated by Jews who defended the city against Roman legions during the Great Revolt of the year [A.D.] 66 C.E. During the excavations, a section of the city wall and remains of buildings were exposed. Archaeologists date the remains to the period of the United Kingdom of King Solomon and the Kingdom of Israel (following the split between Israel and Judah, from the 10th through 9th centuries B.C.E.[B.C.].

Following the town’s destruction, the area was abandoned until its ruins were reinhabited by Jewish settlers during the early Roman period (1st century C.E.). The identity of these residents as Galilean Jews is already known from previous excavations that were carried out at the site and from historic information that identifies the settlement as “Kana of the Galilee,” referred to in the New Testament.

A New Era in Israeli Politics
When Israelis went to the polls in March, they turned over a new leaf in the history of the country. Old alliances were discarded, and the face of the political landscape acquired a new look. A Kadima-led coalition best described as center-left took control of the state.

In view of the Iranians’ growing belligerence and the threat from the Hamas terrorist-controlled Palestinian Authority, many people wondered why Israelis would opt for leadership that is ready to cede more territory. In the words of Kadima winner, Ehud Olmert, Israelis should be ready to make more “painful concessions” in the quest for peace.

Some analysts believe Israelis voted as they did because of a sense of confidence that security could be maintained in spite of the opposition. Others are not so sure. Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum, wrote that in a state of war, there is no substitute for victory. Compromise and concessions, he wrote, lead only to exacerbating the struggle and encouraging the enemy that it can triumph in the end.

It is no secret that Israelis are sick and tired of war and bloodshed. The problem is that the opposition is not. Israel’s enemies dream of a radical, global, Islamist empire, with Israel the first casualty on the way to its creation.

If Israelis are, in fact, buoyed by confidence, let’s pray that their confidence is not misplaced.