Keep Your Enemies Close

Three news items bring to mind the adage, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”

In the first story Israel’s Homefront Command has estimated that Hezbollah could launch as many as 2,000 rockets a day if a conflict with Israel arose. Chief of Israel’s Homefront Command Major-General Uri Gordin said of the May conflict with the Palestinians, “Tel Aviv and Ashdod had the highest number of rocket attacks aimed at them in the history of Israel. We saw a pace of more than 400 rockets fired at Israel on a daily basis.” One security source remarked concerning a potential conflict with Hezbollah, “We are preparing for all options and scenarios, including military capabilities.”

In a second story an armed Palestinian woman was prevented from entering the Har Adar settlement, outside of Jerusalem, as border police disarmed her of the knife she carried without incident.

Finally, Hamas found four men guilty of collaborating with Israel. Two of the men were sentenced to death by hanging and the other two to fifteen years of hard labor. “The sentences came as a Palestinian Authority court in the West Bank city of Bethlehem sentenced a man to fifteen years in prison for attempting to sell land to Jewish Israelis.” No time frame was given for the executions and no Palestinian has been executed since 2005. Also, such executions whether by the PA or Hamas have typically been met with international condemnation.

These examples show the daily experience for Israelis, threats to both their safety and security. Which is why we urge people to follow the biblical inunction “to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, may they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls, Prosperity within your palaces” (Psalm 122:6-7).

(Source: Times of Israel)