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The War in Israel is about Religion, not just the Land or Politics

The War in Israel is about Religion, not just the Land or Politics

By David W. Virtue, DD
www.virtueonline.org
January 13, 2024

I had an opportunity during the rain and snow to read the 1988 A Document of General Principles & Polices, the official Manifesto of Hamas. It is worth reading because the Western Media simply does not read and 'get' what is really behind the war in Israel.

Here are some choice morsels of information drawn from this Manifesto.

"Palestine is the cause of a people who have been let down by a world that fails to secure their rights and restore to them what has been usurped from them, a people whose land continues to suffer one of the worst types of occupation in this world.

"Palestine is a land that was seized by a racist, anti-human and colonial Zionist project that was founded on a false promise (the Balfour Declaration), on recognition of a usurping entity and on imposing a fait accompli by force.

"Palestine symbolizes the resistance that shall continue until liberation is accomplished, until the return is fulfilled and until a fully sovereign state is established with Jerusalem as its capital.

"The Islamic Resistance Movement "Hamas" is a Palestinian Islamic national liberation and resistance movement. Its goal is to liberate Palestine and confront the Zionist project. Its frame of reference is Islam, which determines its principles, objectives and means. Palestine, which extends from the River Jordan in the east to the Mediterranean in the west and from Ras Al-Naqurah in the north to Umm Al-Rashrash in the south, is an integral territorial unit. It is the land and the home of the Palestinian people.

"The establishment of "Israel" is entirely illegal and contravenes the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and goes against their will and the will of the Ummah; it is also in violation of human rights that are guaranteed by international conventions, foremost among them is the right to self-determination. There shall be no recognition of the legitimacy of the Zionist entity. Whatever has befallen the land of Palestine in terms of occupation, settlement building, Judaization or changes to its features or falsification of facts is illegitimate. Rights never lapse. Hamas believes that no part of the land of Palestine shall be compromised or conceded, irrespective of the causes, the circumstances and the pressures and no matter how long the occupation lasts. Hamas rejects any alternative to the full and complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea."

There you have it. It is clear and unambiguous. To Hamas there is no Israel, only Palestine, and they own the whole shebang. This is why there is a war. Hamas, in the name of Allah wants to "liberate" Palestine from Israel and totally destroy all its "occupiers" -- the Jews.

Few journalists have noted that, Hamas -- an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya (the Islamic Resistance Movement) -- means "zeal" in Arabic, and means "violence" and "wrongdoing" in Hebrew (Gen 6:11, Psalm 7:16, Eze 7:11, Hab 1:3). Few have sought to explain the theologically inspired aspects of the barbarism of 7 October, or its timing with Yom Kippur the holiest day in Judaism, or Netanyahu's "Amalek" framing of the invasion -- a biblical reference to a spirit of undying envy and hostility towards Israel by descendants of Esau -- those who forfeited their birthright to inherit the promised land, writes David Landrum of TheCritic.

Is it any wonder then that Hamas' atrocities have been excused and defended by angry mobs in Western cities, with useful idiots from the universities resounding to chants of "death to Israel" and "gas the Jews." Such chants would have been unthinkable a year ago, but anti-Semitic has reared its ugly head to dominate the American and world landscape with a viciousness not seen since the rise of Hitler.

But the world press is religiously and theologically illiterate and they do not see it as a religious conflict. Coverage of the war has been essentially one dimensional. What Western journalism seems unable to grasp is that the occupation of land -- the Caliphate -- is central to Muslim identity. They see it is all about politics, power, and the land, religion does not play a critical point in the discussion. It would appear the only thing holding back a full-scale attack by all the surrounding Arab nations is the knowledge that Israel has the nuclear option.

Let's look at the numbers. David Landrum writes that in the early 20th century, the numbers of Christians in the Middle-East were reduced greatly by the "unremembered" Armenian, Assyrian and Greek genocides. At that time, roughly 10 per cent of people living in the territory called Palestine were Christian, including about 25 per cent of Jerusalem. Today, through a combination of Islamist violence and Israeli discrimination, Christians comprise about one per cent of the population of the Palestinian Territories. This persecution continues to receive little media attention.

As of 2015, Palestinian Christians comprise approximately 1--2.5% of the population of the West Bank, and less than 1% in the Gaza Strip. These Christians are being directly threatened by Hamas terrorists. Where is the international outrage for this beleaguered group. Why isn't Israel stepping in to help them out?
Muslims comprise 85% of the population of the West Bank, when including Israeli settlers, and 99% of the population of the Gaza Strip. Hamas would happily destroy both Jews and Christians in their desire for a "pure" Islamic state.

Is it any wonder that Hamas is desperate to scupper the success of the Abraham Accords which fostered interfaith dialogue securing a series of agreements to normalize relations between Israel and several Arab states, especially Saudi Arabia. Nothing could be worse for Iran and its proxy Hamas. Attacking Israel on Yom Kippur a holy day for Jews, was perfectly timed.

In a 2014 essay in The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, the magazine's editor-in-chief, called the Hamas charter "a frank and open call for genocide, embedded in one of the most thoroughly antisemitic documents you'll read this side of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion."

As one thoughtful columnist observed; "The only language that can hope to do justice to Evil is theological. Perhaps all that can be said of Hamas and the worldwide gang of Islamists is that their crimes and plans are Satanic: absolutely and completely demonic." I am in total agreement.

END

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