Palestine Problem

Church & Israel Forum

PALESTINE, THE PERENNIAL PROBLEM

Some problems cannot be solved. The persistent and thorny question of Palestine is just such a problem. For much of the twentieth century the earth’s finest political minds tackled this problem with no success. In fact, after all these efforts the situation has now grown much worse. The problem cannot be solved because most of the Arab nations will not allow it to be solved. They were quick to perceive its propaganda advantages. There are other reasons why it cannot be solved. The whole problem is based upon falsehood from the very outset. And last of all, it’s solving as generally understood is opposed to God, the Bible and God’s eternal plan. Just a quick look at the Bible will assure us that the land which is to comprise the future Palestinian State is the very same land given to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the Jewish people as an eternal possession. In Genesis 13:14-15 we read: "The LORD said to Abram...‘Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.’"

PALESTINE IN HISTORY AND MYTHOLOGY

     Palestine was a name given to the land of Judea around AD 135 after the unsuccessful ending of the Second Jewish Revolt against Rome. It was a name given in derision by the Romans, in an attempt to erase all Jewish connections to the country. So Palestine was never a name used in the Bible. No one in the Bible had ever heard of Palestine.
     After the second century the name was used generally to refer to the ancient land of Israel. One very surprising fact is that far into the twentieth century the Arabs vehemently denied being called Palestinians, while strangely, it was the Jews who were referred to by this title. In the early twentieth century, the Jewish English newspaper, The Jerusalem Post was called The Palestine Post, and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra was then called the Palestine Philharmonic Orchestra. According to researcher, Joan Peters, the one identity that was never considered prior to the war of 1967 was "Arab Palestinian."* Thus we can see that the Palestinian identity did an unbelievable flip-flop in the last quarter of the twentieth century.
     The Arabs, particularly under the leadership of Yasser Arafat, simply invented a history for themselves. They even tried to connect themselves to the ancient Philistines, thus claiming legal right to the land. Unfortunately, the Philistines were not natives of the Middle East, but a sea people with origins in the area of Greece. Many other myths were created to suit the Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO’s) political fancies. Unfortunately, most of these myths were believed by leaders and nations and are now enshrined as the unassailable "facts of history."

PALESTINE, NEVER INTENDED TO BE A STATE

     Today we hear many voices all over the world calling for the establishment of a Palestinian State. These voices ignore the uncomfortable fact that there never was a Palestinian State in all the annals of human history. There also was never a distinct Palestinian people.
     There is a great deal of evidence today that Palestinian leaders are not really interested in forming a state for the benefit of the so-called Palestinian people. On the contrary they seem only interested in forming a terrorist apparatus to destroy Israel. Of course, they are also interested in lining their pockets with huge amounts of cash while doing this. The PLO and other terrorist groups, including Hamas, have always maintained they will push Israel into the sea and take the whole land. This is clearly affirmed in the Palestinian National Covenant, also known as the Palestinian National Charter. Since June, 1974, the PLO has also operated under what is called the Phased Plan. This plan basically has two points. First, the PLO will create an "independent national authority" on whatever area they can get from Israel. Second, they will then mobilize to destroy whatever remains of Israel. All the current Peace Processes fit nicely with these publicly stated PLO goals. The PLO Charter and Phased Plan are still in effect today despite all the peace processes.
     One might wonder about the poor Palestinian people. What have they gained out of all the massive political and financial drive to found the Palestinian State? In 2002, some months before his death, Yasser Arafat, father of the Palestinian people, had already accumulated a personal fortune of $1.3 billion. Tal Muscal in the Jerusalem Post (8/14/02) mused that this amount could have built 40,625 six-family dwellings for Palestinians. In addition it could have fed 3 million Palestinians for an entire year with $892 million left to spend on 1,000 mobile intensive care units. There would still have been money left over to fund 10 hospitals for ten years as well as plenty for other social projects. Alas, it all went into Arafat’s pocket.
     Rather than receiving blessing from the proposed Palestinian State most Palestinians find their situation worse now than ever. Abu Kaled Tomeh reported that of the 1.5 million Palestinian refugees in Gaza, some 22 percent of the children were suffering from acute or chronic malnutrition, while unemployment was exceeding 50%. He reported that more than 60% of the population was living on less than $2 a day. (Jerusalem Post 12/12/03) All that sad news came before Hamas took over the Strip and the really bad times began. We must ask what happened to the billions of dollars the world community has pumped into Gaza and the West Bank over the many years?
     At the recent Donor’s Conference attended by 90 states, PA President, Mahmoud Abbas, came with the goal of collecting $5.8 billion for the PA. Daniel Pipes calculates that this would have amounted to a staggering $1,400 per year per capita, or about what an average Egyptian earns annually. (Jlm. Post 12/19/07) With great support from the US and even from Israel the ante was upped considerably and Abbas left with 7.4 billion in pledges (amounting to over $1800 per capita per year).

INHERITING A CULTURE OF HATRED AND DEATH

     The expert Ruth Wisse comments: "The Palestinians are the first people whose nationalism consists primarily of opposition to the Jewish People." (Jlm.Post, 1/28/2000) When Yasser Arafat was allowed to return to the land of Israel as a result of the Oslo Peace Accords it seemed that the hate level against Israel was elevated exponentially. Palestinian school books became filled with hate messages. Music videos spewed out hatred for Israel and love for martyrdom. The Friday and holiday sermons regularly urged martyrdom. Very young people were exhorted to become shahids or martyrs for the cause, volunteering to be suicide bombers. According to the Jerusalem Media and Communications Center, by 2002, 72% of Palestinians endorsed suicide bombings and killings of Israeli civilians. This figure contrasted with 24% in 1997.
     The insane and senseless urge for martyrdom was illustrated by Wafa Al-Bas, a 21-year-old Arab woman from Gaza. She was arrested at the Erez Crossing in June 2005 wearing a 20-pound (9 kg) bomb under her clothes. Her goal was to blow up the outpatient clinic at Be'er Sheva’s Soroka Hospital. It was at this very clinic where she had previously received regular treatments for serious burns on 45 percent of her body. These burns had resulted from a gas stove explosion in her home. (Arutz 7, 2/28/06).
     In 2002, a Palestinian terrorist bomber struck at Hebrew University killing nine students, five of them Americans. After that attack Arab students in that institution were seen in the hallways with big smiles on their faces. When the 9/11 attacks happened in the US, Palestinians celebrated wildly in the streets. One might ask how any nation can succeed when its heart is so filled with sadism and cruelty.
     Of course, many will say that once the new Palestinian government takes complete control all will be well. Early indications do not support such a conclusion. Just recently two young Jewish men were murdered at Nahal Telem. It turns out that their murderers both belonged to the PA and Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement. To make matters worse they were part of the PA security forces (Arutz 7 1/ 2/08). These innocent young Israeli men were murdered while on an outing by PA policemen.

MANY PALESTINIANS ARE GIVING UP ON THE IDEA ANYWAY

     Recently Ayman Abu Khalaf, a 40-year-old businessman, said he was seriously considering moving with his family to Jordan because of the growing state of anarchy in the PA territories. (Jlm. Post 2/04/07) Shireen Atiyeh, a thirty year old mother of three says: "Everyone here is disgusted by what's happening in the Gaza Strip." This worker in one of the PA ministries goes on: "We are telling the world that we don't deserve a state because we are murdering each other and destroying our universities, colleges, mosques and hospitals. Today I'm ashamed to say that I'm a Palestinian." (Jlm. Post, 2/4/07). It is of note that many Jerusalem Arabs are now rushing to obtain the Israeli citizenship they once spurned.
     Danny Rubinstein, political correspondent for the Haaretz newspaper writes: "The institutions of the PLO, which were to represent all groups among the Palestinian people, have become outdated and of little importance." Rubinstein notes that many top PA officials have given up and returned to their countries of origin. Among these are veterans like Nabil Shaath, Muhammad Dahlan and Hasan Asfor. He remarks how an estimated 50,000 residents have already fled the West Bank, with most going back to their homes and property in Amman. They had come originally to work in the PA offices. (Reported in Arutz 7, Nov. 8, 2007) Rubenstein notes that because of the failure of the PA experiment the surrounding Arab states are now rushing back into the political negotiations over the West Bank.
     All this causes us to wonder at the wisdom of the sudden surge in the world political arena to finally found a Palestinian State. Is it possible that the state will now be founded when no one in the Middle East really wants it anymore – not even the Palestinians themselves?

-Jim Gerrish

January, 2008
* Joan Peters, From Time Immemorial, The Origins of the Arab-Jewish Conflict Over Palestine (New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1984) pp. 139-140.