Welcome back, friends! I hope you are enjoying our journey together. If you’re just tuning in we’re touring through Israel’s past, present, and future and examining what Scripture has to say about Jesus’ Second Coming. Titus 2:13 serves as our theme verse, as we are anxiously “looking for the Blessed Hope,” the return of our Lord Jesus Christ! Take a look at previous posts to get a feel for where we’ve been and where we’re headed.
Today we begin a new week of study: The Palestinian Problem and Terrorism. In recent history, we have seen Israel and Palestine come and go to the negotiating table in search of peace. We have also seen the world turned upside down by terrorism, particularly since September 11, 2001. We’ll dig into these issues this week.
Let’s take a quick look at who the Palestinians are. “Palestine” was originally a secular term for the land of Israel, and the Jewish/Christian concept was abhorrent to Muslims and Arabs. During Islamic domination (AD 638-1918), neither “Palestine” nor “Palestinian” appear to have been used to define any group of Muslim or Arab people. In fact, in the 1940’s, Arab historian Professor Philip Hitti stated, “There is no such thing as Palestine in Arab history, absolutely not.”
Rivalry over the term did not occur until the British issued the Balfour Declaration in 1927, referencing Palestine as the place to establish a national homeland for the Jewish people. History indicates that the Roman emperor Hadrian officially named Israel “Palestine” as punishment for the Second Jewish Revolt in AD 135, as “Palestine” is thought to come from the same root word as “Philistine,” an ancient enemy of Israel. (More about that tomorrow.)
So, how did the term “Palestinians” begin to be associated with Arabs, as it is today? Good question! In 1963, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was formed. At that time, there were no references to Arab nationalist goals and “Palestine” does not appear in any foundational documents. These statements were voiced by Arab leaders:
“Jordan is Palestine and Palestine is Jordan.” – Jordan’s King Abdullah (1948), and King Hussein (1981)
“What you call Jordan is actually Palestine.” – Yasser Arafat
Thus, what was once a name given to the Jewish homeland as an insult to the Jews, and never defined any Arab group, was suddenly being claimed as Arab territory. “Palestinians” no longer referred to Jews, but to Arabs! Therefore, Arabs laid claim to parts of Israel (West Bank).
Yasser Arafat led the Arab Palestinian’s rise to power. Backed by Egypt, the Arab League created the PLO and the Palestine Liberation Army (PLA) in 1963, and they had three goals:
- Wage a terror campaign against Israel.
- Give Arab Palestinian “refugees” in Lebanon a voice.
- Incite the Arab world to war against Israel.
Arafat went on to establish the Palestinian Authority (PA) as the governing entity, and he set up a dictatorship under the party name of Fatah. They are funded by the Arab League, investments, private donations, illegal arms deals, fraud, drug trafficking, and other nations (including the US). They also spend millions sponsoring terrorism.
Despite all that, peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians have ensued many, many times, only to run aground. Israel seeks peace and national security, while the Palestinians seek more land inside Israel’s borders and control of Jerusalem.
In 1993, the Oslo Accords were signed by Israeli and Palestinian officials, establishing plans to discuss essential elements and conditions for a future Palestinian state. However, Israel’s Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated and Palestinian militant groups resumed suicide bombings and the peace process was in shambles.
In 2000, US President Bill Clinton convened the Camp David Summit between Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Barak generously offered the Palestinian leader 95% of the West Bank and the entire Gaza Strip, in return for ceding 69 Jewish settlements to Israel. That was not good enough for the “all-or-none” attitude of Arafat, and the peace talks fell apart.
Other attempts at peace have been made, including the recent talks negotiated by US Secretary of State, John Kerry. However, similar tones of Palestinian greed and refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state have once again doomed peace talks.
Throughout history, Israel has given up land for the promise of peace, and peace has never come. Each time more is given, more is wanted. The Palestinians want land that Israel can ill-afford to give up, and they refuse to acknowledge the existence of a Jewish state. The stated goal of the Arab Muslim world, as we saw last week, is to destroy Israel. But God’s promises to Israel still stand!
This week, we’ll look further at the Palestinian problem, and we’ll take a look at specific terrorists groups who work toward the goal of wiping Israel off the map. Also this week, I’m going to give you a very unique look into the life of an actual terrorist operative! You’ve got to stick around for that!
Blessings friends! I’ll see you tomorrow!
Looking for the Blessed Hope 