US Pressuring Israel to Release Palestinian Terrorists from Prison in “Goodwill Gesture”

Members of the Israeli Knesset are reacting with dismay to the pressure from the United States to release a number of Palestinian terrorists convicted of attacking and in some cases killing Jewish People as a “goodwill gesture” to promote the resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians. Secretary of State John Kerry followed the recent visit by President Obama to Israel with a round of diplomacy aimed at restarting the stalled peace process.

Among those the U.S. listed for release are the terrorists who killed Rachel Weiss and her three children, Ephraim, Netanel and Raphael, in 1993 by burning them to death, as well as soldier David Delarosa, who tried to save them. Knesset Member Orit Struk said, “The demand is shocking … not just because of the danger that these terrorists will return to terrorist activity once they are released, but the release of terrorists is an energizing shot of encouragement to terror and terrorists.”

At a time when Israel is facing increasing threats on every hand, it is especially discouraging to the Jewish People to find themselves under pressure from their friends to make even further concessions in the name of a peace that few on the other side seem to want. If there was a genuine willingness for peace, a deal could have been reached. Instead, Palestinian leadership continues to insist on preconditions before talks can even begin—talks that include concessions from Israel that would favor them … again.

The nation of Israel has been pushed to the limit trying to prevent attacks and prepare for potential threats. Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldiers are mobilizing northern Israel to deal with the threat of chemical and biological weapons falling into the hands of terrorists. Israeli troops are on high alert along the border with Egypt to prevent suicide bombers from infiltrating the country. Israeli missile defense teams are deployed to face the threat of massive air attacks.

Honor for a Murderous Terrorist

Honor for a Murderous Terrorist According to a report in the Times of Israel, the French city of St. Denis yesterday hosted a ceremony to honor a number of Palestinian terrorists. The event was organized by the “National Collective for Just and Viable Peace between Palestinians and Israelis,” a group known by its French acronym, CNPJDPI. Among those being honored was Allam Kaabi, of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Kaabi was instrumental in planning and carrying out the 2001 assassination of Israel’s tourism minister, Rehavam Ze’evi. Kaabi was released as part of the prisoner exchange that freed captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. Kaabi and the other speakers were described as “recently released prisoners” in the promotional material for the event. The fact that such an event could even be held in a Western country that is nominally a friend of Israel is shocking—and a revelation of just how alone the Jewish state is in the world today. Those who honor and celebrate terrorist murderers are really little more than accomplices after the fact. And there is no doubt that men like Allam Kaabi will strike again if they get the chance. This week we received a shocking reminder here in America of what the Jewish People in Israel and around the world live with on a daily basis—the knowledge that death could strike suddenly and without warning at any moment. There is a very real, life-and-death struggle going on around the world between those who wish to kill everyone who does not conform to their view of the world and those who wish to be left in peace.

Next week Israel celebrates the 65^th anniversary of the miraculous rebirth of the Jewish state in 1948. There is no question that this unprecedented event was the direct fulfillment of the prophecies of Scripture. Yet on the very day that Israel announced independence there were attacks from all sides. Military forces from the surrounding Arab nations invaded in an attempt to destroy Israel before it could be established.

The survival of the tiny Jewish state was another miracle—it cannot be explained solely in the military arena. It was impossible … yet it happened. But of course you know that was not the only desperate struggle for survival that Israel faced. There were major wars in 1956, 1967, 1973 and 1982. And there have been terrorist attacks, raids, missiles, bombings and more throughout the years.

Today as Israel prepares for a milestone birthday, the Jewish state is still a nation on the brink. The old threats of war have been taken to another level by the Iranian nuclear program.  Mushroom clouds over Israeli cities represent the greatest threat of mass murder of the Jewish People since the Holocaust. And these fears are in addition to the knowledge that thousands of chemical and biological weapons next door in Syria could easily slip through the fingers of a crumbling regime into the hands of terrorists.

So while this is a day for celebration and thanksgiving, it is also a day for solemn prayers for God’s deliverance and continued protection. The threat that Israel faces today is not the threat of a massive invasion of numerically superior forces, but a sudden strike with weapons capable of killing hundreds of thousands in a single attack. The Jewish People need the defense of the God of Abraham more than ever right now.

12 TRIBES OF ISRAEL