The current unrest in the Middle-East focuses on the civil struggle between the government of Israel and its Palestinian people who want to establish a separate Palestinian state. Most of the Arab and/or Islamic nations in the area are also involved. The United States, the U.N., the European Union, and even Russia are all trying to broker peace in the region.
The current wave of violence could die out and become one of many such cycles in the area, or it could lead to more serious war. The outcome of this war could be a most welcome peace agreement.
Such a peace agreement might be just another phase in the age-old struggle between these nations, or it could be the false peace mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 5:3. While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. (NIV)
When Israel finally is at peace, it will be the first time since they became a nation in 1948 that they have enjoyed such security. This could cause them to lower their guard, which would set the scene for yet another war, such as the one predicted in Ezekiel 38 and 39. (Many good Bible teachers think that war is more likely at the end of the Tribulation, but it does not correspond exactly to the Battle of Armageddon.) If it does come before the Tribulation, it will most likely correspond to the 2nd Seal of Revelation 6.
The dramatic end of this great war of the 2nd Seal could produce the treaty predicted in Daniel 9:27, which many prophecy scholars identify as the beginning of the seven-year Tribulation period.
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Dec. 30, 2002 - Intelligence sources indicate that it is possible that Iraq will respond to the initial air attack by the U.S. with deadly weapons of mass destruction, aimed at Israel. Biological and chemical warheads are undoubtedly available to them, and possibly some nuclear weapons.
"When he is certain his time has come," said one [U.S. military analyst], "he will launch his doomsday weapon. He wants to go down in history as the man who destroyed Israel."
Dec. 2, 2002 - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has ordered Mossad chief Meir Dagan to activate agents in Saudi Arabia and Yemen to find those responsible for last Thursday's terrorist attacks against Jewish people in Kenya. This type of order has not been issued since 1972.
The then prime minister, Golda Meir, ordered Mossad to kill the Palestinians involved in the murder of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics. All but one were eliminated over six years.
Nov. 28, 2002 - A suicide car-bombing destroyed a hotel frequented by Jewish people in Mombasa, Kenya. At the same time a missile launched in the same city almost struck an Israeli holiday jet. Eleven people were killed in the hotel bombing, including three suicide bombers.
Nov. 22, 2002 - Following yesterday's suicide bus bombing in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon dumped the "Bethlehem-Gaza First" plan and ordered "wide scale, extensive operations against the terrorist infrastructure" in the territories.
At daybreak Friday, IDF troops began operating in Bethlehem , reoccupying the West Bank city after a suicide bomber from the West Bank town blew up a bus in Jerusalem, killing 11 passengers and wounding dozens, including many school children.
Nov. 21, 2002 - A suicide bomber detonated a bomb on a bus full of high school students on their way to classes in Jerusalem's Kiryat Menachem neighborhood. Eleven people were killed, including a 14-year-old girl. Many of the wounded were teenagers.
In Bethlehem, the bomber was tentatively identified as Nael Azmi Abu Hilail, 23, a supporter of Islamic Jihad, though there was no claim of responsibility by the group.
Nov. 16, 2002 - Returning to their homes after Sabbath prayers at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in the West Bank city of Hebron, a group of Israelis were attacked by Palestinian gunmen. At least twelve of them were killed, and fifteen others were injured. Many of those killed were Israeli soldiers who were escorting the worshippers.
Oct. 22, 2002 - In a meeting of European foreign ministers, Israel's own Foreign Minister, Shimon Peres said that he is speaking officially when he says that Israel accepts the diplomatic vision of President George W. Bush of two states for two nations as the solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Oct. 3, 2002 - A report from the Washington-based Heritage Foundation indicates that a chemical warhead delivered by an Iraqi missile to Tel Aviv could kill tens of thousands of Israelis. Of the 400,000 population of the city, 50,000 might die if the missile is filled with botulinum, 43,000 deaths could result from a missile with VX nerve gas, and three thousand could die from a Sarin attack.
Israeli officials said authorities have prepared enough masks for everybody in the country.
Sept. 20, 2002 - Yasser Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah is under seige again by the military since the Israeli government decided unanimously to isolate him, rather than expell him. They are also planning to extradite a number of criminals who have taken refuge in Arafat's compound.
Sept. 19, 2002 - In Tel Aviv, a bomber killed himself and five other people on a bus traveling down Allenby Street. At least 49 other people were wounded.
The competing Palestinian religious fundamentalist groups Islamic Jihad and Hamas each took responsibility for the attack.
Bombings yesterday and today have broken a six-week relative calm in the area.
Sept. 6, 2002- A European Union proposal for Middle East peace has received warm but cautious consideration by Middle East countries. The plan, set forth by the Danish presidency, takes good aspects from other proposals which have been stalled for one reason or another, and aims for the creation of a Palestinian State by June 2005.
Crown Prince Abdullah is said by the Danish to have, "welcomed the plan and expressed satisfaction at the European Union's attempts to bring about new concrete progress in the Middle East peace process."
Israelis have also welcomed the plan but may not be comfortable with the rigid timetables, in case terrorism escalates.
Aug. 20, 2002 - According to Palestinian sources, legendary Palestinian militant leader Abu Nidal, head of the Fatah-Revolutionary Council, was found dead at his home in Baghdad, Iraq. He was shot three times in the head, but they claim it was suicide. Israeli Arab Affairs analyst Yossi Melman explains the impact of the terrorist's influence:
In the 1970s and 1980s Abu Nidal was considered something of a Bin Laden, a man of terror who had his hand in everything.
His organization was responsible for the death and wounding of hundreds of people in Europe and the Middle East in the 1970s and 1980s.
Aug. 19, 2002 - Israel and the Palestinians have reached a new agreement whereby Israel will withdraw forces gradually from the Gaza Strip and Bethlehem in exchange for Palestinian efforts to reduce terrorism. The timetable for withdrawal is not clear, and an increase in terrorism could keep it from happening. Hamas has said it will not honor the agreement.
"Hamas and the Palestinian people reject any agreement which aims at destroying our resistance and ending the intifada, which is what this agreement is aimed at," a spokesman told the AFP news agency.
Aug. 14, 2002 - At an estimated $1.3 billion, Yasser Arafat is worth more than Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com. Though Arafat is "isolated," he still maintains his position, and is still receiving the income from income from PA monopolies. Israeli commentators wonder why he doesn't use the wealth to help his impovrished people. That amount of money would provide 40,625 six-family dwellings.
It could feed 3 million Palestinians for an entire year, and leave $892 million to be spent on 1,000 mobile intensive care units ...
Aug. 13, 2002 - According to Israel' Defense Force sources, the policy of destroying the homes of terrorists and deporting them is working. Fatah leaders are saying that terrorist attacks inside Israel should be stopped.
[General Aharon ]Ze'evi said that the calls for an end to suicide attacks were coming from mid-level Fatah members in the street, and that they claimed that the attacks were harmful to the Palestinians.
So far, the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and Hamas are still encouraging attacks inside Israel as well as in the territories.
Aug. 6, 2002 - On Monday night, The United Nations General Assembly called for an immediate Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian towns and cities and an end to violence against civilians on both sides of the Middle East conflict. The resolution was drafted by the European Union and Palestinians, and was opposed by Israel and the United States.
Israeli Defence Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer held talks with Palestinian officials in which he reportedly raised the possibility of a phased Israeli withdrawal from areas where the Palestinian Authority took steps to quell attacks on Israeli targets.
Aug. 5, 2002 - Israel has imposed a total ban on travel in the northern part of the West Bank after another week-end of terror, and the death of 13 more Israelis
Nine people were killed in the Galilee region of northern Israel Sunday morning when a homicide bomber blew up a bus packed with commuters and soldiers.
Aug. 1, 2002 - A bomb exploded in Jerusalem's Hebrew University cafeteria on Wednesday. Seven people were killed, including five Americans, and more than 80 were wounded. It was not a suicide bombing.
Hamas said the attack was revenge for Israel's air raid last week on Gaza City that killed the organization's military chief, Salah Shehadeh, and 14 civilians, including nine children.
Israeli authorities vowed to respond within hours.
July 26, 2002 - An Israeli tank incursion into Gaza City destroyed three buildings where Kassam rockets were made. No Palestinian injuries were reported.
An IDF statement said "During the past few days, dozens of mortar shells and Qassam rockets were launched toward army posts and Israeli communities inside and outside the Gaza Strip."
July 25, 2002 - Representatives from many nations ciriticized Israel's attack in Gaza City, which killed a Hamas military chief, his aide and 15 civilians - including 11 children. Many called the attack unreasonable, unacceptable and unwarranted.
... Palestinian UN observer, Nasser al-Kidwa said Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his "lieutenants" should be tried for war crimes.
Israel's deputy ambassador, Aaron Jacob, expressed regret at the deaths . He said that if they had known the results beforhand that they would not have gone ahead with the strike. However, he said that the Palestinian Autority must share the blame.
... the action was precipitated by the failure of the Palestinian Authority to stop "one of the most prolific and brutal terrorists," Salah Shehada, the target of the attack.
July 24, 2002 - In a communication to the Israeli government, President Bush objected to yesterday's attack in Gaza as "heavy-handed."
When pressed later in the day on whether the president considered the Israeli air strike early Tuesday as self-defense against terrorism, [White House spokesman Ari] Fleischer replied:
"This is an instance in which the United States and Israel do not see eye to eye."
July 23, 2002 - Israel's #1 most-wanted terrorist, Salah Shehada, was killed by an attack on his house in the Gaza Strip early this morning. Shedada was the military chief of Hamas.
...military sources called one of the most significant strikes against the Palestinian terror infrastructure since the start of the intifada 20 months ago.
At least 14 people were killed, including Shehada's wife and three children. This fact has brought strong criticism from many sources. Israel expressed regret at the loss of the innocent lives.
"The IDF is sorry for any harm that befalls innocent people. Regretfully, this is what can happen when a terrorist uses civilians as a human shield and their homes for places of refuge," the statement said.
July 11, 2002 - Amnesty International has released a report entitled, "Without distinction: Attacks on civilians by Palestinian armed groups." In it, they condemn the Palestinian attacks on civilians, calling them "crimes against humanity," murder, and possibly even war crimes. The report says:
"Attacks on civilians are not permitted under any internationally recognized standard of law, whether they are committed in the context of a struggle against military occupation or any other context.
July 5, 2002 - According to Dr. Hillel Frisch, a senior researcher at Bar Ilan University's Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, Yasser Arafat's reign as head of the PLO and chairman might soon be coming to an end. He has lost much support from outsiders, and is now even losing loyalty from some of his trusted associates.
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