A Spiral of Violence
(Signs of the Time - September 2002)
In March, the UN passed a resolution that calls for the “withdrawal of Israeli forces from occupied territories and the acknowledgment of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every state in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force.” A strikingly similar resolution was passed by the UN Security Council in 1948, 1973, 1974 and 1979. This month’s article will look at the deteriorating situation in Israel and the futile attempts by world governing bodies at achieving peace.
Attempts at peace
United Nations resolution 337,
dated August 15, 1973, called on all parties to stop fighting and start
negotiations “aimed at establishing a just and durable peace in the
Middle East.” Six years later, the Security Council tried again and
passed a resolution with the objective of, “achieving a comprehensive,
just and lasting peace in the Middle East.” In March, the Security
Council passed resolution 1397 which, “Affirms a vision of a region where
two states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side within secure and
recognized borders.”
In addition to the UN resolutions are two reports from American diplomats: The Tenet report by CIA Director George Tenet and the Mitchell report by George Mitchell, former majority leader of the United States senate. Both reports set forth the same recommendations to achieve peace. They both call on the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to act swiftly and decisively to halt the violence. Once this is completed, the parties should then rebuild confidence and resume negotiations. “What we are asking is not easy. Palestinians and Israelis — not just their leaders, but two publics at large — have lost confidence in one another. We are asking political leaders to do, for the sake of their people, the politically difficult: to lead without knowing how many will follow.”
Both reports were very insistent that both parties should make a concerted effort at eliminating illegal weapons, thus reducing violence. The reports stated that every legal framework was to be put in place to criminalize, in conformity with the prior agreements, any importation, manufacturing or unlicensed sale, acquisition or possession of firearms, ammunition or weapons.
Where are we today?
The New York Times, August
9, 2002, reported remarks made by Israeli Prime Minster Ariel Sharon:
“Between us and our goal, stands the Palestinian Authority’s gang of murder,
terror and corruption. This gang does not seek peace with Israel, just as
it is not interested in alleviating the dire agonies the Palestinians
endure. We can’t hold talks with the gang of terrorists that is the
Palestinian Authority. Rooting them out is the only way to reach peace.”
Violence spirals upward
Citing again from the Times, the militant Palestinian Islamist group
Hamas said that it will target Israeli leaders in response to the Jewish
state’s tactic of killing senior Palestinian militants behind attacks on
Israelis. “Usama Hamdan, who heads Hamas in Lebanon, said Israel’s
killing in recent weeks of two senior Hamas figures -- one in an air strike
that left 14 others dead -- meant Hamas’s military actions should expand
beyond suicide bombings in public places.”
While we may not know “the day nor the hour” of our Lord’s return, we can see events in Israel building to a climax. We pray his return may be very soon that peace might truly come to the land of promise.
George Rayner