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Pray for Israel......

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Posted by: billiefan2000

considering what is happening in Israel right now,we need to pray for the nation of Israel at this time.



Posted by: GODS Grace

Yes, Lord, We desire to obey Your commandment to pray for the peace of Jerusalem...
We do cry out on behalf of all of Your people (Christians, Jews, and Muslims). Some are being asked to leave their homes. Some are staying and will continue to be persecuted. I ask for protection on behalf of the people for this country... Your beloved Israel. Matt. 24:35 You are Jehovah are have not changed. I Kings 8:56a
"Blessed be the Lord, that hath given rest unto his Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all His promises,"
Romans 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? Deut. 33;27 Psalm 40:2 Psalm 46:1 Proverbs 18:10

In Jesus Name, Amen.



Posted by: wimmels2010

I was deeply touched today as I was watching on SKY news the evacuations taking place there. Dear God I pray for these people who lost their homes, that they will not despair, for You are their righteoussness. I pray that the Spirit of God will reveal to them the truth of Jesus Christ - to the Palestinians as well as the Jews , so that they will come to know Him and serve Him with all of their hearts, minds and bodies. BECAUSE: To know the truth is to know Jesus Christ. Grant these people peace oh Lord, a definite sanctuary and provision in these desperate times, in the precious name of Jesus I pray, amen



Posted by: FriendOfGod

O dear gracious God, I pray that you keep your hand over Israel. Watch over the land. Keep your people safe. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.



Posted by: MamaCat

Quote:
Originally Posted by GODS Grace
We do cry out on behalf of all of Your people (Christians, Jews, and Muslims).

Muslims are not God's people.



Posted by: FriendOfGod

O dear gracious God! Why must these people get kicked out! I don't care what Ariel Sharon says or the Oslo peace accords. It isn't right! They need homes! Please shelter these people O Lord! Come to their aid! Please don't foresake them Lord! Give them places to live O God! I plead with you ever so desperately in Jesus name I pray, Amen.



Posted by: GODS Grace

Quote:
Originally Posted by MamaCat
Muslims are not God's people.
Hello Mama Cat,

I'm not good at debating and we may agree to disagree.
Abraham seed is blessed. Go back and read the blessings God promised to Abraham's seed and to Ishmael's mother by God.

I agree that they do not recieve the blessings of eternal life through Christ as we do by faith in our Lord Jesus,... but God in no less loves them as much as He loves us.

Many Muslims in countries were the gospel has not been preached are having visitations from Jesus. Jesus is revealing himself to them... sometimes in dreams.
I pray that this harvest of souls continues. The muslim people our precious to God (NOT their FALSE DOCTRINES)

Blessings Mama Cat !!!...Grace

Mama Cat, I don't know if the term Muslim refers to a tridal group or a belief system? I will have to find out.



Posted by: MamaCat

I wasn't intending to debate anything, I was just pointing out that Muslim's are not God's people, i.e., in personal relationship with God as Christians are. They do not even serve the God of the Bible as Jews and Christians do.

Yes, Abraham's descendants are to be blessed, but only those who have been born again through Jesus Christ are truly God's people, His children. But Ishmael's descendants are Arabs, not Muslims, although most Arabs are Muslims.

Even the Jewish people, God's chosen people, must be born again to truely know God. They know ABOUT God and they follow the TRUE God [unlike Muslims who follow a demon 'god'], but they cannot know God personally apart from being born again. No one can. That was all I wanted to explain.

Because to the world, Christians, Jews and Muslims serve the same God. We have to keep the truth of the matter in focus and not fall into the trap of believing as the world believes, but stay with the Bible truth.

I pray all Muslims and all unbelievers will come to know Jesus Christ!

Blessings!



Posted by: GODS Grace

We live in a very liberal community. You should have heard the silents that fills our church when our pastor preached on everyone not being "God's children", But only those who do His will.It is sad that there are even people who call themselves Christians who do not know what God's Word says.

With Love In Christ, Grace
Thanks for clearifing; Muslims/Arabs/religon.



Posted by: wimmels2010

I believe Jesus paid the price for all humanity, not just the Christians and the Jews, but also for the Muslims. We must keep praying that the Middle-East be saved. I've also heard amazing testimonies of Muslims where God has revealed Himself to them in amazing ways and they got saved! should we exclude anyone from the Kingdom of God , are we superior to other races?! No of course not! we are all the same in the eyes of God, Jesus was a man in the flesh, yet He is the Word of God, God Himself (John 1: 14). Jesus was seen with the sinners, the outcasts, not with the scribes and pharisees (who were Jews) , because they could not accept the grace of GOd , because of their strict laws/ traditions:
"For your traditions has made the Word of God to none effect"
That does not mean that He didn't love them - He loves all humanity the same, but we must pray for open hearts and minds to accept and believe the Word as the Truth.



Posted by: MamaCat

You may have misunderstood or missed the point above.

Yes, Jesus died for everyone.
Yes, Jesus loves everyone.
Yes, Jesus wants all to accept His offer of salvation and whosoever will do that is welcome to do that.

But only those who have accepted that offer of salvation and been born again from above are considered children of God. And those children will come from every tribe, tongue, nation and group on earth!

All people are God's creation, but only Christians are His children.

Those who are predestined to come forth into His Kingdom will come in and when all are IN, the Door will be closed forever. My prayer is for the Kingdom to come on earth as in heaven and that all His children come home!

HALLELUJAH!

As to the Gaza pushout, you can be sure God is watching. It is a sure sign that things are quickly coming to a close.




Posted by: wimmels2010

thank you sister for clarifying that to me, I agree with what you are saying and I pray that God will teach us and give us the grace on how to approach people of other backgrounds. How to effectively preach the gospel through words or through silence.
I also pray for wisdom and for peace in Israel. Dear Jesus, thank you for your Hand on the Jews who are being evacuated (some forcefully) because they do not want to leave. I pray that Your plan will be revealed to them and that their spiritual eyes will open in Jesus precious Name, amen.



Posted by: eagle4him

Father You desire that none should perish but that all should have eternal life. I pray that Your desires be done.

I pray that You would comfort Your chosen people during their time of relocation and stress. I pray that You would continue to provide for them for You have never left them nor have You ever forsaken them.

I pray for salvations in the name of Jesus. I pray for the indwelling and outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Israel now in the name of Jesus.



Posted by: billiefan2000

pray for Ariel Sharon at this time. He is gravely ill after suffering a massive stroke.

also pray for Acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert who has taken over for Ariel Sharon (cause of his stroke



Posted by: Rmartel

Father I thank you that you are in control thru Jesus because I have Faith in what Jesus said 'FEAR NOT FOR I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD AND THE EVIL ONE' so please let others believe your Word is true and things are going exactly as planned and you know who you have Chosen(John 13:18)and for what task. Thank you Jesus



Posted by: FriendOfGod

Lord, I ask that only your will may be done concerning Ariel Sharon and your mighty land, Israel! In Jesus name I pray, Amen.



Posted by: prayyior

Lord, I pray for peace for Jerusalem! Lord, I ask you call your Children to pray for the many needs of this world....and for all leaders.

Father, Your Word says you have placed leaders in every Nation, according to your Will. Lord, let those leaders who do not know you, come to know you. Lord, give them Wisdom to call their nations to repentence and forgive this world for the evil we have done and for the evil we have aligned ourselves with. Protect your Children, Protect all of Israel, and their people and Call them to you. Lord, it is in Jesus name I pray. AMEN



Posted by: Sozoed

Quote:
Originally Posted by prayyior
Lord, I pray for peace for Jerusalem! Lord, I ask you call your Children to pray for the many needs of this world....and for all leaders.

Father, Your Word says you have placed leaders in every Nation, according to your Will. Lord, let those leaders who do not know you, come to know you. Lord, give them Wisdom to call their nations to repentence and forgive this world for the evil we have done and for the evil we have aligned ourselves with. Protect your Children, Protect all of Israel, and their people and Call them to you. Lord, it is in Jesus name I pray. AMEN
In agreement to this awesome prayer, and all those prayers listed here.
Lord, may we not delay the hour of Your coming by our unbelief and hardheartedness...Lord, You told us we could 'ask for the nations to come' and we are! We ask for the nation of Israel to COME IN to Your Kingdom, through faith in Your Son, Jesus Christ. We ask for the nation of the US, to come in, for Europe, the Middle East, and ALL the nations of the world to come...in Jesus' Name, Amen.



Posted by: pickone

Father, I ask for the peace of Jerusalem and ask that You will end the war and suffering of Israel. Let Israel keep the land you have given to them. In Jesus' Name I ask it....Amen.



Posted by: GODS Grace



FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU
Rocket hell to rain on Israel
Terror leader also demands Israel be relocated to U.S.


Posted: February 23, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern





By Aaron Klein
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com


Following is an exclusive interview with Abu Abir, spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees, an umbrella organization consisting of several Palestinian terror groups. The Committees is responsible for firing over 500 rockets at Jewish towns in and near the Gaza Strip the past five years.

Earlier this week, Israel thwarted a mortar attack against a Jerusalem neighborhood planned by the Committees. The terror group has warned it transferred missiles from Gaza to the West Bank – which borders Israel's major cities – and is preparing a rocket war against the Jewish state.

Arabic-English translation by Ali Waked.

WND: Israel this week revealed your terror group transferred rocket launchers and mortar shells to Bethlehem, which borders Jerusalem, and that your plan was to fire the mortars into the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo. Jerusalem has previously been the scene of suicide bombings and shooting attacks, but Palestinian rockets have never been fired at the city. Any projectile fired against Jerusalem would be a massive escalation in Palestinian terrorism and likely would have far-reaching economic consequences for the Jewish state. The Committees is known to have an extensive rocket network in certain West Bank villages. Is your group planning more rocket attacks against Jerusalem or other major Israeli cities bordering the West Bank?

ABU ABIR: I am not going to give you these details, but we are planning to be present all around the West Bank. Every Israeli target is a legitimate target. Wherever there is an Israeli soldier or settler they will find our rockets. Jerusalem, Ben Gurion International Airport, Tel Aviv and every Israeli point can be part of our goals. Whenever it is needed, rockets will be fired against every Israeli settlement, city or neighborhood. We know that Israeli central cities are more sensitive targets and they contain more sensitive targets, but we will not hesitate to fire rockets everywhere against the Zionist enemy.

WND: Israel has warned after its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip the Committees transferred its rockets to the West Bank. What stage is your group currently in with regard to its rocket transfer to the area? Do you have a network there capable of regularly firing at nearby Jewish neighborhoods?

ABU ABIR: We have succeeded with the help of Allah to start our plan to transfer rocket technology to the West Bank. I can tell you the rocket cell from our group that Israel recently arrested in Bethlehem was not the only one to act in the West Bank. The bases for rocket networks and technology are already installed in the West Bank, and their operational capacities should be ready in full in the next few months. Israelis should wait for a revolution very soon.

WND: There are different kinds of Palestinian rockets, some of which can travel farther than others. Talk a little about your rocket capabilities in the West Bank, and whether the rockets can reach the major Israeli cities bordering the area, like Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

ABU ABIR: We are speaking about Nasser rockets with medium distance that hold normal and not primitive explosives. As I told you, the enemy should wait to see our rockets in action. We have invested very much these last few months in improving our rockets and thanks to Allah their distance, accuracy and their hurting capacity has improved. We call on (Israel's Shin Bet Security chief Yuval) Diskin (who oversaw the arrest of our rocket network in Bethlehem announced this week) and tell him not to be so happy and proud. There is much more to come. The lives of Israeli citizens will turn to hell very soon.

WND: Senior terror leaders told WorldNetDaily last week now that Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced his administration will seek an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank, terrorism against Israel must be stepped up "to prove we are chasing out the Israelis like we did in Gaza." Will your group bombard West Bank Jewish communities with rockets to make it look like you're responsible for any Israeli withdrawal from the territory?

ABU ABIR: Any withdrawal will be accompanied by rockets, shootings and other resistance attacks. We want to prove to the world that the Israelis do not understand any language other than the language of force. ... I think that in any case we will increase our rocket shootings in the West Bank and against other Israeli targets because we believe that the same way our rockets and guns had obliged Israel to withdraw from Gaza, they will also oblige them to withdraw from the other parts of Palestine, and we are speaking about all Palestine.

WND: So you are saying your group will use rockets to drive the Jews from the entire state of Israel? Because sometimes Palestinian leaders talk about creating a state in Gaza, the West Bank and eastern sections of Jerusalem.

ABU ABIR: We are fighting for the liberation of Palestine. All of Palestine. There is no place for a Jewish state, for Israel on our land. We will continue shooting and fighting the Israelis until they leave Palestine. We will not leave anything of the Jews behind, not even their graves and their bones.

I supposed there might be some in the Western world, like in America and Europe, who will not like what I am saying. I tell them if you don't like what I say I don't care, and if you feel mercy and sorrow toward the Israelis take them out of our lands and give them a state on your lands. If you are so committed to an Israeli state then why don't you help the Jews to build their state in the United States or elsewhere in the West. As for us, we will continue to fight until we succeed to chase out the Jews, and here I believe that our rockets and other resistance operations will play an important role as they have done in getting them out of the Gaza Strip.

WND: Does Hamas' recent election to power influence your group's plans to attack? Will the Popular Resistance Committees halt attacks if asked to by Hamas? = contentVersion;if ( Playable ) { document.write(''); document.write(' '); document.write(' '); document.write(' '); document.write(' ');} else { document.write('[img]' + image + '[/img]');}//-->

ABU ABIR: Hamas will never ask us to stop the resistance. Hamas was elected, and we support Hamas because of its view regarding the resistance. Hamas and us are coordinated and agree that the West Bank territories are occupied and that we have the full right to lead resistance operations against the Israeli enemy.

Therefore, I don't see any problem with the Hamas because (Hamas leader) Khaled Meshaal himself said that Hamas will never recognize Israel and that the resistance will continue until the liberation of Palestine.

WND: Israel has threatened massive retaliation against any rocket launched from the West Bank. Aren't you afraid your rockets will bring devastation to the Palestinian people? ABU ABIR: We are not afraid. I tell Diskin and the Israeli leaders that their threats have no effect, and just because this time Diskin's guys succeeded to put their hands on our brothers, there are many cells waiting for their instructions and for the accomplishments of the transfer of the technology of rockets and the war we will launch that will oblige Israel to withdraw from everything like they have done in Gaza. The same way we won in Gaza we will win this time also with the help of Allah.


Daddy,
I agree with these prayers for Israel and America.



Posted by: GODS Grace

Precious Father and Ruler over All,

I thank you that you are Isreals and Americas a refuge and strength, and a very present help in time of trouble. You are their Shephard and they do not lack anything. Even though they may walk through the valley of the shadow of death, They shall fear no evil, BECAUSE Your ROD and STAFF comforts them. You have prepared a table for them in the presence of their enemies. Their hopes are in YOU, and they will not be put to shame. You are their light and their salvation; whom shall they fear, and You are the strength of their life; of whom shall they be afraid?
In times of trouble You shall hide them in Your pavilion: in the secret of Your tabernacle You shall hide them; You shall set them up upon a rock, And now shall thier head be lifted up above their enemies round about them:therefore they will offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; They will sing, yes, They will sing praises unto the Lord!!! Thank You for Jesus shed Blood!!!



Posted by: youngijp

Sent: Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Subject: Israel Update

The Jerusalem Messianic Center: An Oasis of Messiah's Peace in the Midst of Turmoil


Ever since the Jerusalem Messianic Center opened its doors last year, I have continually rejoiced at the many uses our staff has found for it. But I must confess, I hadn't thought that it would be a safe haven for those displaced by war. But that is precisely what it has become in the past few days.

Rachel, our "Outreach Israel" group coordinator, has been in Israel all summer. Fortunately, her second group of short-term missionaries had already departed when the latest trouble broke out. But now she and her Chosen People Ministries colleagues in Israel are meeting another set of challenges.
She writes,
Mitch,

I wanted to let you know that I got a call from a good friend named Bill who works with Operation Mobilization in Tiberias. When the trouble started, they were told to move their team out of Haifa. But don't worry, they were also told, nothing will happen in Tiberias. Not long after, Tiberias was bombed.

Operation Mobilization decided that the team could not be in the North any longer and Bill called to see if they could come to the Messianic Center. Four hours later, twelve tired and frazzled short-term ministry workers came to the Center. I was thrilled (as a fellow team leader) to be able to clean and prepare a place for them, knowing that here they would find peace and some stability. How great to be able to have such a place that can be a help to others during these troubled times in the Land!

It's a tense situation, but the country is still functioning. Here at the Center, we can minister to those who are hurting right now. We have people who have fled here from the North and others who need fellowship. We are meeting needs at the Center and extending God's comfort.

What we plan to do is to have a Friday night dinner and ask unbelievers we have met in the midst of all of this to come and celebrate with us.

We've spent lots of time in prayer. We know that there are many believers who are in bomb shelters. People are bracing for more days of intense activities. We want to help them and pray for them. Every believer is affected. Many are serving in the army and they are in harm's way. Everyone is.

I'm not ready to leave yet. There is too much work left to be done -- too many opportunities to be a light and an encouragement to those who are finding their way to the Center. It is truly an oasis for Messiah in the midst of turmoil.


Please pray for the peace of Jerusalem as Israel faces the prospect of war, and forward this e-mail to friends who will pray.

Thank you!

Dr. Mitch Glaser
Chosen People Ministries
http : //www . chosenpeople . com

PS: Even though there is currently conflict, we know that God has a glorious plan for Israel....

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Key Middle East players meet at the UN
July 20, 2006

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and the EU's Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana gathered at the UN headquarters in New York City to discuss the very volatile situation in the Middle East.

The goal of the talks at the UN according to Deputy UN Secretary General Mark Brown is to try and get everybody on the same page and to see to what extent there is a common international position.

Jimmy's Prophetic Prospective on the News

A gathering of the key Middle East players that does not include a Jewish representative from Israel is a page out of Bible prophecy for the Last Days. Earlier, British PM Tony Blair and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan had called for a peace keeping force to be sent to the Middle East to help restore calm to Israel's Northern border.

The Israeli government rejected that idea at this time. Now, the Secretary General, Kofi Annan, has pulled together the US and the EU leadership to discuss what to do next. Conspicuously absent from this meeting is any representative from the UN member state that has come under attack from a terrorist organization that is bent on the destruction of the entire state; that state of course is Israel.

Jesus Christ, during His Olivet Discourse some 2,000 years ago in Jerusalem, said that this would happen when He said, as recorded in Luke 21:24, that Jerusalem and the Jewish state would be trodden down by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. The definition of that phrase, "The times of the Gentiles", is any time in history when Gentiles, all that are not Jews, will rule over Jerusalem and the Jewish people. At the UN, Gentile world leaders meet to determine what should happen as the Jewish Israeli Defense Force fights to defend its nation and the very existence of its people.


The prophecy of Jesus Christ will be fulfilled when Messiah, Jesus Christ, returns to Jerusalem. Bible prophecy will be fulfilled.
http : //jimmydeyoung . gospelcom . net/pp/news/index . html

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Posted by: Rachel R

Lord, we know that your coming is near.

We ask that you bring peace to Jerusalem and guard all those who are in the right.

Please remove the enemies of your people and bring your Kingdom to earth.

In Jesus' Name, Amen.



Posted by: JeriRose12

Lord God, we know that time is short. Your return is soon. We ask that You would save every person possible, that as few as possible would go into a Christless eternity. Every Arab who does not know You as Lord and Savior -- may the gospel of Jesus Christ in simplicity and clairty reach that one. May every single person in the middle East hear the Gospel explained to them in the plainest of terms. I pray that this blessed Gospel shall reach every tongue, tribe and nation..... so that You may returen for Your bride and take us home to our wedding feast. I ask and pray these things, in Jesus Name, amen.

~JeriRose~
Finidng YOU in 2006 (The Year Of The Double Portion!)


Maranatha!!!



Posted by: youngijp

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"He has given to our country a Faith which has become the hope of all peoples in an anguished world. So we pray to Him now for the vision to see our way clearly -- to see the way that leads to a better life for ourselves and for all our fellow men -- to the achievement of His will, to peace on earth."
-- Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945], 32nd President of US 1933-1945, 4th Inaugural Address 01/20/1945



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http : //www.aclj . org/ACLJToday . aspx
Thu, July 20, 2006
American Center for Law and Justice

ACLJ's Legal Analysis to the Israeli Response to Hamas and Hezbollah Attacks


QUESTION: Are Israel's ongoing military activities in Gaza and Lebanon lawful under international law?

SHORT ANSWER: Yes.

DISCUSSION: It is a fundamental principle of international law that a nation may engage in legitimate self-defense. That principle is enshrined in Article 51 of the United Nations Charter and is also recognized as part of customary international law.

Israel's current military activities are aimed against Hamas and Hezbollah, two radical Islamic terrorist groups, the former in Gaza and the West Bank and the latter in Lebanon, in response to their unprovoked attacks on Israel and its citizens and armed forces.


Hamas Actions

On June 25, 2006, armed Hamas militants tunneled under the border between Gaza and Israel, attacked an Israeli Defense Force (IDF) outpost, killed two Israeli soldiers, and kidnapped a third Israeli soldier. Hamas militants have also been launching rockets into Israel from Gaza during the last few days. During the same period, another Gaza-based terrorist group, the Palestinian Resistance Committee, entered Israel and kidnapped and murdered an 18-year-old Israeli civilian.

Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Zahhar has publicly stated that Palestinians desire every square inch of Israel: "Palestine means Palestine in its entirety—from the (Mediterranean) Sea to the (Jordan) River, from Ras Al-Naqura to Rafah. We cannot give up a single inch of it. Therefore, we will not recognize the Israeli enemy’s [right] to a single inch." In the run-up to the recent Palestinian elections, Hamas spokesman, Mushir Al-Masri, stated, "Hamas will continue to wield its weapons and to [claim] its right to resist. Resistance will [continue to] be a strategic option until the last piece of Palestinian land is liberated . . . ."

Moreover,

if an enemy has settled on Muslim soil, no Muslim may recognize this settlement. Normalization implies Muslim acceptance of the enemy's aggression and of the occupation. Normalization constitutes support for the oppressing infidel, [and] supporting infidels is forbidden by Islam. Moreover, it constitutes collaboration in the heresy of the infidel. . . . It is the religious duty of every Muslim to help his brother expel enemies from his land, and never to normalize relations with enemies, since normalizing relations with an oppressor means deserting the dispossessed people in need. . . . We expect the Al-Azhar Sheikh to issue a *fatwa calling to mobilize armies that will drive the Jews from the rest of our beloved Palestinian land, instead of defending the enemy's borders after coordinating with him and receiving his permission.
(*fatwa -- a ruling on a point of Islamic law that is given by a recognized authority)

Hezbollah Actions

On July 12, 2006, members of Hezbollah's military wing in Lebanon attacked IDF positions and the northern Israeli village of Shelomi with rockets and mortar fire. Hezbollah militants also attacked two IDF vehicles patrolling along the Lebanese border, killing eight Israeli soldiers, wounding six, and kidnapping two more. Since Hezbollah's attack on July 12, at least 29 Israelis have been killed, including 15 civilians. Hezbollah has fired over 720 rockets into Israel since the beginning of the conflict, forcing hundreds of thousands of Israelis to take cover in bomb shelters. Moreover, in 2004, "Hezbollah subsidized nearly 70 percent of Palestinian terrorist attacks and offered old-guard Fatah and Hamas militants as much as $100,000 to deliver suicide bombers into Israel."

Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah has consistently called for the destruction of Israel. In a speech on February 18, 2006, Nasrallah stated, "Israel is our enemy. This is an aggressive, illegal, and illegitimate entity, which has no future in our land. Its destiny is manifested in our motto: 'Death to Israel.'" Additionally, in a 1997 interview with the German magazine, Der Spiegel, Nasrallah stated:
There will be no peace or reconciliation as long as Palestine is occupied by the Zionist enemy . . . . [T]here will be no peace with an entity that brings Jews from all over the world to Palestine and robs the land and homeland of the Palestinians. Palestine belongs to the Palestinians, not to the Jews. Only our weapons and martyrs will bring peace to the region.

* * * * *

Each of the attacks by Hamas and Hezbollah militants on Israel and its people constitutes an act of war sufficient to justify Israel's military response to defend itself and its citizens. Hence, Israel's resort to military force in self-defense is lawful under international law.

QUESTION: Are Israel's ongoing military activities proportionate responses to Hamas' and Hezbollah's armed activities?

SHORT ANSWER: Yes.

DISCUSSION: Many critics of Israel are condemning Israel's response to the armed attacks by Hamas and Hezbollah as being "disproportionate." Proportionate responses are, indeed, required under international law, but the term is often incorrectly understood as requiring a sort of titfortat (retaliation) response. For example, some view proportionality in a strictly mathematical sense, i.e., that a three-rocket attack from Hezbollah aimed at Israel may be answered only by the military equivalent in return. That is, of course, absurd and not what is required under the law of armed conflict (LOAC).

The LOAC requires a balancing between military necessity and proportionality. "Military necessity" requires that the military refrain from attacking targets that are not necessary for the achievement of the military mission. This means, in effect, that "only facilities, equipment, and forces that confer a military advantage on the enemy may be targeted." Among the targets commonly considered as meeting military necessity are an enemy's headquarters, the enemy chain of command, supply and munitions dumps, weapons-making facilities, anti-aircraft sites, marshaling points, supply routes, and the like.

"Proportionality," on the other hand, "'forbids the infliction of suffering, injury or destruction not actually necessary for the accomplishment of legitimate military purposes.'" It does not mean that overwhelming force may not be used, since application of overwhelming force may, in fact, result in a quicker end to hostilities with a concomitant reduction in loss of life and civilian suffering.

Although one of the key purposes of the LOAC is to mitigate the evil effects of war on civilians, both Hamas and Hezbollah intentionally place their headquarters, weapons caches, bomb-making factories, etc.—legitimate targets all—in the midst of civilian neighborhoods, near homes, hospitals, schools, religious shrines, and the like, in an attempt to discourage Israeli forces from attacking for fear of injuring and killing innocent civilians. Yet, by placing their forces in civilian neighborhoods, it is the terrorists (and the government officials who tolerate and/or support their presence there) who put civilians at risk. Hence, by making a conscious decision to place legitimate military targets in civilian neighborhoods, the terrorists remove many of the protections such neighborhoods would otherwise enjoy. So long as Israel takes every effort to avoid collateral damage when attacking legitimate military targets in civilian areas, it has met its responsibilities with respect to proportionality.

* * * * *

Thus, Israel's use of precision guided munitions against legitimate military targets in areas where its forces might expect to find scores of civilians is a clear indication that Israel is attempting to meet its international obligations under the LOAC. Moreover, Israel's attack on various types of infrastructure, if tied to interdicting (prohibit) military re-supply of Hamas and Hezbollah, or to some other legitimate military-related purpose, constitutes a legitimate use of force.

Copyright©2006, ACLJ

dictionary . reference . com


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http://www.annointed.net/Community/...ad.php?p=214597
Conflicts between Israel and Lebanon!

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