Cherub Nicholls

Would Palestinian Statehood give Israel Peace and Security: Gaza's Legacy?

It has been stated time and again that those who fail to remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Accordingly, the current geopolitical realities in the Middle East have drawn attention to the perennial conflict involving multiple Arab factions and Israel. The Middle East is certainly a place of choice for consideration of lessons learnt in reference to conflicts. The recent deadly attack by a terrorist in Jerusalem has resulted in the deaths of eight religious students at a Jewish Seminary (on Thursday March 6, 2008). This is one example of the extent the terrorists are prepared to take matters into their own hands, while at the same time the international community maintains the mantra "peace and security" among Jews and Arabs.

The reports on the group behind the killing are mixed with claims and counter claims as to the true identity of those actually responsible. Although the Israeli Army and other agencies are in the process of identifying those responsible for this terrible act against the young men, a CNN report captioned on its website a day later, noted "Sources: Israel attack linked to Hezbollah," CNN claims that a militant from Gaza who is a member of Hamas acted on the orders of Hezbollah, another terrorist organisation based in Lebanon.¹ However, two days later on Saturday March 8 the Jerusalem Post published information on the killer. A 25 year-old man who resided in east Jerusalem and worked among the Jews as a driver, transporting students was identified.

According to the Jerusalem Post the gunman's name was Ala Abu Dhaim, a Palestinian who was preparing for marriage. "He is not known to the security forces," Jerusalem Police Chief Cmdr. Aharon Franco told Channel 2. "He was a normal man... who was going to wed soon." ²

Gaza: The Stronghold of Strife

Gaza is first mentioned in the Holy Bible in the first book, Genesis, and also in a number of other Old Testament Books as well as in the Book of Acts in the New Testament. In the Book of Judges there are two accounts of signifance concerning Gaza. The Chapter one story tells of the conquest of Gaza by the tribe of Judah. And the second account in Chapter 16 details the legacy of Samson in the tales of his relationships with a harlot from Gaza, and, Delilah who betrayed him to the Philistines.³ Additionally, information from antiquity, according to the Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia submits, "In ancient times, Gaza was the residence of the Egyptian governor of the region, then known as Canaan. In the 13^th century BC, it was conquered by the Philistines, a Greek people, from whom the name Palestine originated."⁴ After the Siege of Tyre in 332 BC, Alexander the Great besieged Gaza, the last city to resist his conquest. Gaza, led by a eunuch named Batis and defended by Arab mercenaries, withstood the siege for two months, until it was overcome by storm. The defenders, most local elements, fought to death, and the women and children were taken captive. The city was resettled by neighboring Bedouins.⁵ In 6 AD, it was placed under direct Roman rule. There was a prospering Jewish presence in Gaza until the Roman ruler Gavinius expelled them in 61 AD as part of the First Jewish-Roman War leading to the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus. Hadrian visited the city in the year 130 AD. Around 250 AD Christianity started to spread.⁶ And Gaza was captured by 'Amr ibn al-'As a Muslim in 637 AD. Believed to be the site where Muhammad's great grandfather was buried, the city became an important Islamic center. The arrival and domination of the Abbasids started with the end of the Umayyads around 750 AD. Gaza became a centre for the art of writing in the Islamic world.⁷

Albeit Gaza was conqured and reconquered time and again therefore, the events of the 20^thCentury involving Gaza were not new in the human experience. After Israel declared independence in 1948, Egypt captured Gaza in the 'Arab War of Independence'(whereas Jordan captured parts of Jerusalem) then in the 1967 war, Israel recaptured Gaza from the Egyptians (and East Jerusalem from Jordan) but after years of international pressure and terrorists attacks against the Jewish people, the Israeli Government removed all Isrealis from Gaza and handed over the entire area to the Palestinians in 2005. So why is Gaza still at war with Israel?

The Charter to Destroy Israel

The website http://www.mideastweb.org/hamas.htm, contains Hamas' charter which promises that Israel will be obliterated by Islam, through Jihad (religious war). The terrorists believe that all of the State of Israel belongs to the Islamic people and consequently Gaza is insufficient for Islam's pride. Therefore, Hamas and others in Gaza have launched over 2,000 homemade Qassam rockets on Israel in the past year alone.

Peace: What Peace?

Hamas further reiterates in their charter that Moslems will join together to fight against Israel, after which none would remain. The group brazenly declares that the day of judgement will be delayed until the Moslem coalition has fully destroyed the Jewish people.

How then does the West suppose that there can be a two state solution to this conflict? According to the international community's road-map for peace there will be the creation of a Palestinian State alongside the State of Israel, living in peace with Israel. It is clear that the Palestinian charter seeks evil against Israel instead of peace. Therefore, the policy of appeasement will never work. As long as there remains a single Jew in the Region, the Arabs would devise plans for their annihilation. It is time Western Governments acknowledge this fact.

What Does the Holy Bible say…?

Psalm 83

A song. A psalm of Asaph.

¹ O God, do not keep silent;
be not quiet, O God, be not still.
² See how your enemies are astir,
how your foes rear their heads.
³ With cunning they conspire against your people;
they plot against those you cherish.
⁴ "Come," they say, "let us destroy them as a nation,
that the name of Israel be remembered no more."
⁵ With one mind they plot together;
they form an alliance against you-
⁶ the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
of Moab and the Hagrites,
⁷ Gebal, Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia, with the people of Tyre.
⁸ Even Assyria has joined them
to lend strength to the descendants of Lot.
Selah
⁹ Do to them as you did to Midian,
as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,
¹⁰ who perished at Endor
and became like refuse on the ground.
¹¹ Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
¹² who said, "Let us take possession
of the pasturelands of God."
¹³ Make them like tumbleweed, O my God,
like chaff before the wind.
¹⁴ As fire consumes the forest
or a flame sets the mountains ablaze,
¹⁵ so pursue them with your tempest
and terrify them with your storm.
¹⁶ Cover their faces with shame
so that men will seek your name, O LORD.
¹⁷ May they ever be ashamed and dismayed;
may they perish in disgrace.
¹⁸ Let them know that you, whose name is the LORD –
that you alone are the Most High over all the earth.⁸

Crucially, there are no guarantees of peace between the two peoples; even if Israel should withdraw from more territory today; to her enemies, Israel's moves would still be insufficient. Gaza, stands out as a reminder that withdrawal does not guarantee peace and security.

Cherub A. Nicholls

Sunday March 9, 2008

Sources:

¹ CNN, Sources: Israel attack linked to Hezbollah. Friday March 7, 2008, http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/03/07/mideast/index.html

² Jerusalem Post: Police arrest eight in connection with Mercaz Harav attack. Saturday March 8, 2008, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1204546431562&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

3. Bible Resources .Org, Judges 1:18, Judges 16 (Whole Chapter), http://bibleresources.bible.com/keywordsearchresults.php?multiplemethod=all&numpageresults=25&select=searchBible&keyword=gaza&version=45.

· New International Version (NIV)

4.-7 Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopeia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza, via google.

8. Bible Resources.Org. Pslams 83:1-18. http://bibleresources.bible.com/passagesearchresults.php?passage1=psalm+83&passage2=&passage3=&passage4=&passage5=&version1=31&version2=0&version3=0&version4=0&version5=0&Submit.x=0&Submit.y=0.

· New International Version (NIV)

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