In the end, the Palestinians win

"In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, Jewish terrorism intensified. It was to cause the Anglo-American Committee considerable anger. Two organizations were involved, the Irgun Zvai Leumi (Erzel), or 'National Military Organization', and the break away Stern Gang, the 'Fighter for the Freedom of Israel' (Lehi). Although their attacks were strongly and repeatedly condemned by the Jewish Agency, as well as by the vast majority of Jerusalem Jews, the bombings and killings were savage and relentless.

Hatred of the British had been inflamed among these two groups by the refusal of the British to allow survivors of the concentration camps into Palestine. The Jewish terrorist, who included two future Israeli Prime Ministers, Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir, believed that by 'blood and fire' they could drive the British out of the country and establish a Jewish State. Their most devastating attack was made on July 22, 1946, when members of the Irgun, disguised as Arabs, brought explosive charges in milk-churns into the hall outside the Regence Cafe in the basement of the King David Hotel. Above the cafe, the south wing of the hotel, five floors in all, was being used as the British administration headquarters. An anonymous woman telephoned the switchboard operator at the hotel to say that the hotel must be evacuated as there would be an explosion 'in a few minutes'. Her warning was ignored.

At 12:37 the explosives went off. Five floors and twenty-five rooms collapsed into rubble. Ninety-two people in the wing were killed. Britons, Arabs and Jews."

Jerusalem in the Twentieth Century by Martin Gilbert; John Wiley & Sons, Inc.: 1996: page 172.

Let me state that I do not favor Jews or Muslims. I think they are both insane.

What has happened though is that the Muslims have been able to convince some of their number to make the supreme sacrifice and willingly kill themselves as they kill Jews. It is an indication of the level of oppression that the Palestinians feel that they would be able to convince their people to willingly die for the cause of Palestine and what they consider justice.

The reality is that no matter what Israel does short of submitting to the demands for statehood by the Palestinians, they cannot stop the suicide bombings. The more they retaliate, the more bombers will kill themselves. There is no way the Jews can combat this form of terrorism. The only solution is to work out a peace.

Sharon not only destroyed the fragile peace when he visited the wailing wall in September 2000, he has continued to attack the Palestinians in a no win battle to end terrorism. What a laughable and horrible joke. The Palestinians have determined to sacrifice their own children to win a homeland. There can be no greater commitment than this. And it is one that the Jews are not willing to make.

The message has been sent that the Palestinians will do whatever it takes to gain a homeland in Palestine. But Sharon and the rest of the old hawks in Israel are not listening. And President Bush is unable to even understand the problem. 

The Bush solution is to widen the war into Iraq and take the emphasis off of Palestine (not to mention the deteriorating U S economy). But no matter what is done by Israel or the U S, in the end Palestine will be victorious and every single person that committed suicide to bring about a Palestinians homeland will become a revered martyr for centuries to come.

In the end, the Jews will lose this battle and when they do, the Christians in America will begin to withdraw their support for Israel because they will come to the conclusion that it is God's will that the Palestinians are to prevail. Without American support, Israel will once again be conquered and its people disbursed.

There are over two billion people in China and India who do not believe that the Jews are God's chosen people.  There are a billion Arabs that do not believe that the Jews are God's chosen people.  Half of the world's population, over three billion people, do not believe that the Jews are God's chosen people.

Fifteen million Jews are not going to be able to continue to harass a billion Muslims by their actions against the Palestinians.  This is the Twenty-First century and the fact that the Christian Messiah did not appear at the turn of the millennium has gone a long way toward breaking the hold that fundamentalist Christians have enjoyed for the last hundred years regarding God's plan for the earth.  If the Christians lose the faith, the Jews are doomed.

A whole generation of Christians are coming up without being forced fed an apocalyptic world view by the Christian community.  The "Left Behind" series of books by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins is the last gasp of the fundamentalist Christians and their apocalyptic world view.  When the last book is written and the Messiah has not yet appeared, Christianity will for the first time in its history begin to embrace tolerance and start moving toward the undeniable Buddhist teachings of Jesus.  And Israel will become just another nation.

John WorldPeace
August 4, 2002

Violence erupts in Mideast

By Shlomi Afriat
Reuters

MOUNT MERON, Israel (Aug. 4) - A Palestinian suicide bomber killed at least nine people and wounded dozens when an explosion and fireball ripped through a packed bus in northern Israel on Sunday.

Hours later, a Palestinian teenager opened fire on an Israeli truck in East Jerusalem. The gunman and two other people were killed in the attack and the ensuing shootout with police.

Israel suspended talks due this week with Palestinians on security and easing hardships in West Bank cities under curfew, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said.

The powerful blast on a Galilee country road tore through the bus crowded with civilians and soldiers.

''I went to the door to get off and just then there was an explosion. I felt a ball of fire in the face and parts of people flew by,'' Boaz Altshuler, who was wounded, told Israeli TV.

In a statement issued in Gaza, the militant group Hamas said it had carried out the bombing in further revenge for an Israeli air raid on July 22 that killed its military commander Salah Shehada, his deputy and 13 other Palestinians, including nine children.

Thousands of Palestinians marched in Gaza in support of Hamas. ''This is the second response and those ahead will be tougher,'' a Hamas activist said through a megaphone.

''We congratulate the new commander of the brigades and we promise him our blood and souls will be cheaper for him.''

The Palestinian Authority condemned the bus attack, but said in a statement Israel's policy of ''mass detentions, repressive measures and home demolitions'' was responsible for violence.

The bombing flew in the face of increased military action in the West Bank which Israel said was to deter future attacks.

NINE HOMES RAZED

Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer met aides to consider a response to the attacks, Israeli Army Radio said.

Israeli army spokeswoman Brigadier General Ruth Yaron declined to give details about future action but told Reuters:
''We will have again to go on a much tighter closure in some of the cities. We'll continue the same kind of fighting and pursuit after the terrorists as in the last few weeks.''

Israel on Sunday razed nine homes of relatives of Palestinian bombers and gunmen. President Yasser Arafat has called for international intervention to stop demolitions.

In the attack on the bus, traveling between the Mediterranean port of Haifa and the northern city of Safed, nine people were killed by the bomber, who also died, police said.

Three soldiers were among the dead, the army said. Israeli television said two Filipino women were killed and published their names and photographs. Embassy officials could not be reached. More than 50 people were wounded, hospitals said.

''I am distressed to hear about the latest suicide bombers in Israel,'' President Bush told reporters in Maine. ''There are a few killers who want to stop the peace process that we have started. We must not let them.''

''I call upon all nations to do everything they can to stop these terrorist killers,'' Bush said.

Raanan Gissin, a spokesman for Sharon, said meetings with the Palestinians were off for now.

Outside the Damascus Gate to East Jerusalem's Old City, police exchanged fire with a 19-year-old Palestinian who shot dead an Israeli in a truck. The gunman and a Palestinian passerby were killed, police said.

Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military group linked to Arafat's Fatah faction, claimed responsibility for the attack, the al-Manar television station reported in Beirut.

HAMAS 'MARTYR' BLEW UP BUS

In Gaza, Israeli soldiers killed an armed Palestinian as he tried to infiltrate a Jewish settlement, the army said.

The Hamas statement said a ''martyr'' blew up the bus, but it would not release his name so Israel could not punish relatives.

Sunday's attack came four days after a Hamas bomb at Jerusalem's Hebrew University killed seven people, including five Americans.

U.S. senators urged the U.S. administration to choke off funding to Hamas from Arab states, including Saudi Arabia.

''We ought to be doing everything we can to cut the flow of support to Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups,'' Democrat Senator Joseph Lieberman said in Washington.

Senator Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Republican, told CNN's ''Late Edition'' program: ''And I believe that the Saudis continue to support Hamas. Others do as well, but we ought to get the Saudis to stop that kind of financial aid.''

In the West Bank, the Israeli army searched for explosives, suspected bombers and their handlers in the Old City of Nablus. It said three soldiers were wounded by an explosive device on Sunday. Yaron said Israeli forces found a bomb laboratory.

At least 1,479 Palestinians and 583 Israelis have been killed since a Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation began in September 2000 after peace talks froze.

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