You may view the 5 minute update this week via audio:
In this week’s 5 minute update, we focused on:
1) The current status of the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip
Following the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, an overwhelming majority of Palestinians believe Hamas defeated Israel in the recent Gaza war and support the continuation of rocket attacks if Israel does not remove the blockade on the Gaza. 79% of Palestinians questioned in Gaza and the West Bank said that Hamas had won the war against Israel while only 3% said Israel had won. 94% of respondents said they were satisfied with Hamas’s performance in confronting the Israeli Army. Asked whether they supported transferring Hamas’s model of armed resistance to the West Bank, 74% of respondents in Gaza and 70% in the West Bank answered in the affirmative. If elections were held today, former Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh would easily defeat Palestinian Authority President Mahmood Abbas with 61% of the popular vote versus 32%.
Meanwhile, in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had an approval rating of 82% among the Israeli public at the start of the Gaza war. By agreeing to a ceasefire with Hamas without militarily removing them from power, Netanyahu’s approval rating plummeted to 32%. Furthermore, 39% of the Isaeli public now considers, the leader of the Jewish Home party, Naphtali Bennett, as being the leader of the “right wing” in Israel. 28% consider Netanyahu as the leader of the “right wing”.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the ceasefire agreement “might have” presented an opportunity for a diplomatic breakthrough in the region although it was incumbent on the Palestinian Authority to “give Hamas a divorce” in order for that to become a reality. “Today there might be a new set of circumstances that enable us to act in a way that on the one hand we could advance our security interests and also launch a responsible diplomatic process on the basis of this new reality,” Netanyahu said. However, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas would “have to choose between peace with Israel and peace with Hamas,” meaning that he would need to dismantle the unity government in Ramallah that has Hamas’ official backing. “If he chooses the path of peace, and I think he understands today that he needs to choose that over Hamas, which not only calls for our destruction but also wishes to topple him,” Netanyahu said. “Hamas recently tried to remove Abbas from power in the West Bank and Israel prevented it from happening. Abbas needs to choose between peace with Israel or Hamas,” Netanyahu said. “It’s one of the two. I can only hope” that Abbas “gives Hamas a divorce,” Netanyahu said.
Israel Finance Finance Minister Yair Lapid commented to Israel’s ceasefire agreement with Hamas saying, “We cannot, and will not, allow a situation whereby this ceasefire is the beginning of the countdown to the next round of fire. Hamas knows the price they have paid and they know the price they will pay if they start firing again. Israel had major military achievements and have now moved to the diplomatic front. The ceasefire is only the beginning of the next stage of the operation — the diplomatic stage that must lead to the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip – the only measure (which will) achieve a long term quiet.” In order to achieve this goal, Lapid is promoting the idea of a regional summit on the Gaza which he said “should focus on one thing, ensuring that rehabilitation (of Gaza) takes place alongside demilitarization. Lapid further noted that European and American leaders backed the idea of demilitarization during the operation and “now we need to work with them, and with the Arab world, to make that a reality. We need a regional conference, with the Egyptians, the Saudi’s, the Gulf States and of course the representatives of the Quartet. On September 22, the donor countries are scheduled to meet in New York (and) will commit aid to rebuild and rehabilitate Gaza. Israel must act before that to avoid a conference where Gaza gets support and Israel gets nothing.” Finally, Lapid urged more power be given to the PA and said such a move could help facilitate the renewal of peace talks.
Israel Justice Minster Tzipi Livni and Israel’s chief negotiator in the peace process with the Palestinians said that Israel must either renew peace talks with the Palestinian Authority or brace for a diplomatic backlash from the international community. In this post-war reality, “either we resume negotiations with the Palestinians to reach a permanent agreement, winning the world’s support, or we will find ourselves isolated, talking about not wanting to talk to those who have an agreement with Hamas [a reference to the unity pact with the Palestinian Authority], while having an agreement with Hamas [Israel’s recent ceasefire deal negotiated in Cairo]” she said. Livni criticized PA President Mahmoud Abbas, saying he was difficult to negotiate with and took actions in the international sphere she did not agree with, like threatening to join the International Criminal Court in the Hague, but stressed that if the Israeli government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to engage him in talks, it would face “a diplomatic or legal intifada following this [military] operation.”
Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, said that he would not agree for Hamas to disarm. He said that Hamas’s arms were “sacred” and demanded that the calls for disarmament also apply to Israel. Haniyeh said that Hamas has “the right to have the necessary means to defend ourselves.” He charged that as long as Israel exists, so will fighting and the “resistance” against “the occupation.”
Israel Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that Israel should topple Hamas in the Gaza Strip and cause a more moderate leadership to be in power. In addition, he said that Israel should seek a sustainable solution to the conflict.
Israel Finance Minister, Yair Lapid, indicated that Israel Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will accept a request to hold a regional diplomatic conference of Israel and moderate Arab states in an effort to bring about Middle East peace. He said: “I discussed it with the prime minister and brought it up at the cabinet meeting and there was a general feeling that this is a good idea.” Lapid expressed confidence that holding a regional peace conference could provide the framework for a wider diplomatic horizon saying,. “I’m pushing forward the regional conference. We must and we will stay on the course this government was established with – that the two state solution is the only solution. I still think we can advance it.”
Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader, Khaled Mashaal, have agreed on a three-phase plan that would lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state. Mashaal said, “We want a full partnership with the Palestinian Authority, and in addition, we agree to the creation of a Palestinian state in the 1967 borders,” He urged the United Nations to draw up a “timetable” for the end of the “Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.” The PLO will submit an application to the UN Security Council on September 15 according to Palestinian official, Nabil Sha’ath.
The plan calls for giving the United States a period of four months to draw the borders of the Palestinian state and win Israel’s recognition for a PLO state. If the two sides agree on the plan, they would launch immediate negotiations with a defined timetable during which Israel would be requested to present a map showing its own borders. If the plan is rejected, the Palestinians, together with the Arab countries, would ask the United Nations Security Council to “evict Israel from the land of Palestine.” If this move also fails, the Palestinian leadership would resort to the third option, which is joining international treaties and conventions, including the International Criminal Court, in order to file “war crime” charges against Israel. Palestinian official, Nabil Sha’ath said, “Taking the case to the ICC is conditional upon the UN Security Council response to our request.”
ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said that Palestine was now eligible to join the Rome Statute and file war crimes charges against Israel. Initially, the Palestinian Authority sought to join the court in May 2009. After three years of research and analysis, the ICC Prosecutor’s Office determined in April 2012 that since Palestine was an “observer entity,” it could not sign on to the Rome Statute. Several months later, in November 2012, Palestine’s status was upgraded in the United Nations to “non-member observer state,” which gives it legitimacy to join the Rome Statute, Bensouda said. Fatah official Dr. Mohammed Ashtiya said that the move to indict Israel in the International Criminal Court is “ready.” He said, “We are telling the Israelis and the international community that we are very serious. [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas] is presenting his [plan for Palestinian statehood] to the international community and this time we will require a timetable for ending the occupation and not negotiations.” He said that the Palestinians have not set a deadline for action on the matter but believed there would be more clarity by November-December. Hamas has signed a pledge to back any Palestinian bid to join the International Criminal Court. Last month, Abbas said he would not make a move without the written consent of all Palestinian factions. Moussa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas leader said that “Hamas has signed the paper” of support Abbas had requested. A senior Palestinian official has said Abbas likely would wait for the findings of a UN-appointed commission of inquiry into possible Gaza war crimes – due by March – before turning to the court.
Turning to the International Criminal Court became an option for Abbas in 2012, after the UN General Assembly recognized “Palestine” in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, lands captured by Israel in 1967, as a non-member observer state. The upgrade to a state opened the door to requesting the court’s jurisdiction in Palestine.
Palestinian leader, Mahmoud al-Habash, shared some of the details of the plan. Israel and the Palestinians would be given three months to negotiate the borders of a future Palestinian state. “The initial stage of the talks will be regarding the drawing of borders,” he said. “During this time, settlement construction will cease and the fourth round of prisoner releases, to which Israel obligated itself in March of this year, will go forward.” The Palestinian official said the peace talks would be based on UN Security Council resolutions and UN General Assembly Resolution 194, which calls for a just solution to the Palestinian refugee issue. In the second stage of talks, the parties would focus on the remaining core issues, including the future status of refugees, control of Jerusalem, the settlements, security, and water. “If Israel doesn’t agree to the allotted time frame, the Palestinians will begin to undertake unilateral diplomatic and political steps in order to force Israel to capitulate to the peace process,” al-Habash said. These steps would include joining more international treaties and organizations, including the Rome Treaty, so that the Palestinians can file “war crime” charges against Israel at the International Criminal Court.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will seek Arab League approval of his plan to be presented to Arab League foreign ministers on September 7. “President Abbas wants Arab support so that in the future he can submit it for acceptance by the international community,” al-Habash said.
Israel Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon opposed a diplomatic process with the Palestinians that would include Israel pulling out of the West Bank, saying that such a withdrawal would lead to rockets and mortar shells being fired at Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport. When considering a diplomatic process, it must be remembered that every instance of the IDF withdrawing from territory led to a takeover by terrorist elements, Ya’alon said.
In any event, the United States has rejected Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s new political initiative for solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a PA official said. The plan was presented by Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat when he met with US Secretary of State John Kerry recently. The United States rejected Abbas’s initiative saying it was opposed to any unilateral move that could negatively impact the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Instead, Kerry has been talking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about restarting Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. However, Netanyahu did not agree to the proposal. Instead, Netanyahu insisted that Israel will not conduct peace talks with a Palestinian government backed by Hamas.
Finally, Israel chief peace negotiator, Tzipi Livni warned against the threats of Abbas saying that Abbas “will have to understand a Palestinian state will not be established in UN institutions. Whatever the Palestinian people can achieve, they can achieve in the negotiating room. We need a comprehensive diplomatic process,” she stated.
An agreement to divide Jerusalem and establish a PLO state is a tribulation event.
The link to these articles are as follows:
1) Support for Hamas skyrockets following war, poll shows
2) Poll: Bennett Outpaces Netanyahu as ‘Leader of the Right’
3) Gaza operation could present opening for diplomatic breakthrough, Netanyahu says
4) Lapid: Diplomacy, demilitarization of Gaza only way forward
5) Livni: Resume peace talks or brace for diplomatic intifada
6) Haniyeh rejects calls for Hamas disarmament
7) Liberman: Israel should topple Hamas, not reoccupy Gaza
8) Netanyahu hints he will agree to convene regional peace conference, Lapid says
9) Report: New UN Resolution Demands Talks Based on 1949 Lines
10) Report: Abbas, Hamas agree on plan for independent Palestinian state
11) Report: Hamas’ Mashaal agreed in Doha meeting with Abbas to Palestinian state within 1967 borders
12) Abbas, Mashaal seek UN timetable to ‘end Israeli occupation’
13) Abbas plan calls for Israeli pullout from West Bank within three years
14) Ya’alon: West Bank withdrawal will lead to rocket and mortar fire on Ben-Gurion Airport
15) US rejected Abbas’s peace plan, PA says
16) Kerry said trying to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks
17) Israel insists it will not deal with Hamas-backed PA government
18) PA to tell UN: Force Israel out of W. Bank, or we’ll seek war crimes charges in The Hague
19) Abbas threatens to turn to ICC if no talks on ’67 lines
20) PA ‘ready’ to take Israel to international court
21) Hamas backs International Criminal Court bid
22) PM dismisses claim he agreed to state on 1967 lines
23) Livni, Lapid dismiss Abbas plan
From a Biblical prophetic perspective, the reason why the God of Israel would allow these events to happen is because it will result in the end of the exile of the house of Jacob and the reunification of the 12 tribes of Israel (Ephraim and Judah).
We will to be “watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem” and we will not rest until the God of Israel makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth (Isaiah 62).
Shalom in Yeshua the Messiah,
Eddie Chumney
Hebraic Heritage Ministries Int’l