Israel Contuinues in the
Forefront
(Signs of the Time - May 2006)
The small state of Israel is literally surrounded by their enemies. With Egypt to the south, Jordan to the East and Lebanon and Syria to the north, Israel is surrounded by countries that would like nothing more than to see her overrun. It wasn’t always this way as in the late 1990's, a long-term peace finally seemed within Israel’s reach. Israeli-Palestinian peace talks were under way, and most of Israel’s borders were secured by peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan. Now, after the bloodshed of the second Palestinian intifada and the rise of Islamic jihadist groups throughout the region, the picture seems more menacing than ever. As Israel separates itself unilaterally from the Palestinians in the absence of a full peace - and without the leadership of Ariel Sharon, the architect of separation -- it also worries about events well beyond its borders.
Iranian threat
While Israel is threatened by her immediate neighbors, the greatest single
recent threat to the nation of Israel has come not from a neighboring
nation but from Iran. The old nation of Persia has embarked on an ambitious
nuclear program, one that would enable them to eradicate Israel. As reported
in the New York Times on April 12, 2006: “Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who announced on Tuesday that Iran had produced low-grade
enriched uranium suitable for power stations, threatened last year to
‘wipe Israel off the map,’ provoking international condemnation.” Fortunately for Israel the Western nations have rallied against Iran and
their nuclear program (for the time being at least) by proclaiming that
sanctions may follow should Iran proceed to the next step. “Iran’s
latest move is a serious setback to efforts by the U.N. Security Council
to have Tehran halt its enrichment work. The development could now prompt
Western powers, who fear Iran is planning to build nuclear weapons, to
consider imposing sanctions against the Islamic Republic” (NY
Times, April 12, 06). To date, Iran has developed a Sharrab-3 missile
which can carry a nuclear warhead and can reach both Europe and Israel.
And within a year it is expected to be able to design, build and facilitate
a fully operational nuclear bomb.
Dealing with one enemy is a difficult chore, but dealing with several
enemies would be considered a challenge for any nation. Unfortunately
for Israel, this is the reality that they face everyday as a nation. The
Times continues: “Since the Hamas government took office a little
over a week ago, Israeli officials have been saying, there has been an
increase in the number of homemade rockets fired from the northern Gaza
Strip into Israel. But in Gaza it is clear that the rockets are being
launched not by Hamas but by militants from factions associated with the
once dominant Fatah organization — Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades and
the Abu Rish Brigade — as well as by the Popular Resistance Committees,
an amalgam of gunmen that does include some Hamas adherents and members
of Islamic Jihad.”
The surrounding nations
In Egyptian elections late last year, the Muslim Brotherhood, an illegal
organization linked to terrorist attacks, won five times as many legislative
seats as it did in 2000, not enough to enact laws but enough to show that
support for Islamists is rising. The trend Israelis fear might make it
easier for terrorists to gain access to Gaza and thus Israel.
With Jordan sharing the longest boarder with Israel, a constant potential
threat is always a door knock away. In November, 2005, suicide bombers
sent by al Qaeda in Iraq, blew up a hotel in Amman, Jordan’s capital
raising fear that turmoil in Iraq will spill over into a campaign to topple
King Abdullah, whose father long kept the Jordanian boarder from being
used for attacks on Israel.
With the withdrawal of Syria’s army from Lebanon in the spring of
2005, the ties between the Iranian-backed terrorist organization Hezbollah
have increased so that Israel’s northern boarder is now threatened
not merely by Hezbollah but also by their backers, the Iranians.
God has chosen Israel to be part of the Promised Land, but until the return
of our Lord Jesus Christ this small nation will continue to be in the
center of the signs of the times. May that day soon come when tranquility
and true peace will come to Israel.
George Rayner, Mississauga, Ontario
(Our heartfelt thanks to Bro. George for writing this column for the past
16 years.)