Shalom from the Jezreel Valley! I have had a wonderful week filled with interviews—including discussions with Tony Perkins, CBN, and Pastor Barry Stagner.
On Monday, I sat down with Dr. Einat Wilf, who is a very strong advocate of Israel in the political and academic realm. As the Jerusalem rain came down in the background, we discussed our love for our nation, but we did so from disparate points of view both politically and spiritually. While a great thinker, Dr. Wilf has no place for God in her philosophy. She views Zionism as a secular movement, which I strongly disagree with. Removing God from of the story of the Jews’ return to their ancestral homeland is like a child going to the cupboard, removing a package of crackers, then feeling proud that they were able to feed themselves. It is a woefully limited perspective with no vision of the bigger picture. Still, just as a father will continue to provide for that child whether or not the little one acknowledges his part, God will progress in His plans to bring His people home without our help and without us acknowledging His part. That is why the Bible says that first He will bring them back, and then He will pour His spirit on them. I look forward to the coming release of this video, because often Christians can find themselves in an echo chamber, forgetting that most of the world has a very different foundation from which they build their worldview. This interview will be most enlightening.
Sadly for Hamas, they didn’t enjoy as good of a week as I did. In fact, theirs started out very poorly. Eighty thousand Muslims journeyed to the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. They were there for the first Friday prayers of Ramadan. The worshippers came, they prayed, then they went home. Hamas was crushed. They were desperately hoping for riots or protests or some sort of violence to break out – anything that they could point to that would show how the evil Israelis were determined to keep Muslims from worshipping at their holy mosque. Instead, it all went off without a hitch. Sorry Hamas. Better luck next Ramadan.
Hezbollah, Hamas, and Other Militias
A major criticism of the IDF has been the number of civilian casualties in Gaza and in the north in Lebanon and Syria. What these critics are failing to realize – or, more likely, failing to admit to – is the immoral human shield philosophy of Hamas and Hezbollah. The whole reason the IDF is in civilian neighborhoods and hospitals and humanitarian areas is because that is where the terrorists have placed their soldiers, their weapons and armament storehouses, their rocket and bomb making factories, and their military headquarters. When the IDF goes in, it does all it can to protect innocent lives. That is the opposite of the terrorists who hope for high civilian casualty numbers. For them, the public relations boost from a picture of a dead baby more than makes up for the loss of the child’s life.
At the end of January, Newsweek published an opinion piece called “Israel Implemented More Measures to Prevent Civilian Casualties Than Any Other Nation in History”. The title says it all. And this isn’t just some biased rant by an Israeli sympathizer. Its author is John Spencer, chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute (MWI) at West Point and codirector of MWI’s Urban Warfare Project. In his article, Spencer wrote, “To be clear, I am outraged by the civilian casualties in Gaza. But it’s crucial to direct that outrage at the right target. And that target is Hamas.” Both Hamas and Hezbollah know they have no conventional weapons that can defeat the Israeli military. So, they will resort to their one ordnance powerful enough to bring them victory – public opinion.
Five senior leaders of pro-Iranian militias were eliminated in a targeted airstrike by the IDF in eastern Syria. One was a senior commander of Hezbollah. Last week also saw two attacks on Hezbollah weapons depots in the same area north of Damascus just two days apart. Meanwhile, in Lebanon, IDF airstrikes continue on Hezbollah sites.
Hamas
Once the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had cleared Gaza City of Hamas, they directed their efforts south. As the battle raged in Khan Yunis, the terrorists sensed an opportunity. Quietly, they began sneaking back into Gaza City, reestablishing a secret base at Shifa Hospital. What they didn’t realize was that they were being watched. Once Hamas was settled in, the IDF sprung their trap. Military and Shin Bet forces surrounded the hospital and moved in. What they found inside was a lot of terrorists and a massive amount of weapons and armaments. Thus far, at least 90 Hamas members have been killed and 350 suspects have been arrested. Fa’ak Mabhouh, the head of the internal security operations department for the terrorist organization, was among the dead. This surprise attack was a major disappointment for Hamas.
In the West Bank, the battle continues to rage against Hamas. Yesterday, in Jenin, a car carrying three terrorists was destroyed in a surgical airstrike. In Tulkarm, more than 50 military jeeps, three bulldozers, and three Caterpillar D9 armored bulldozers entered the city for an operation. There were also reports of an aerial attack on the city’s militants. It is essential for the IDF to quell the terrorist tide building in the West Bank.
A growing number of Gazans are turning their backs on Hamas due to the terrorists’ penchant for stealing aid. A week ago, armed Palestinians began shooting at civilians who were waiting for a delivery of humanitarian relief. The armed gunmen continued to shoot at innocent men, women, and children after the aid trucks had arrived at the Kuwaiti roundabout in Gaza City. Dozens were killed and at least 150 were injured. Some of the dead had been run over by the aid trucks. More recently, a huge amount of humanitarian aid flour was discovered in a warehouse that had been recently bombed by the IDF. It is no wonder that cries of “May God protect you, Netanyahu” and “May God protect the Jewish people” were heard among those who had discovered the flour.
Israel
While Hamas has experienced major disappointments at home, they’re encouraged by what they are seeing overseas. The Canadian government announced Tuesday that it will halt future arms exports to Israel. While disappointing, it is not surprising. With Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in charge, it was not a matter of “if” but “when”. The sentiments of much of Western Europe are trending strongly in the same direction as Canada.
Of greatest concern is the intentional drift of the United States from Israel, led by the woke liberal left. Last week, in a speech highly critical of Israel’s handling of the war, US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he better straighten up his act. Otherwise, “the United States will have no choice but to play a more active role in shaping Israeli policy by using our leverage to change the present course.” He also included in his speech a call for early elections in Israel. This prompted Netanyahu to remind the senator that Israeli elections fall under the purview of the Israeli people, adding, “We’re not a banana republic.”
But it is not just Schumer who is trying to insert the United States into critical Israeli decision-making. Both President Joe Biden and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan made it clear that the IDF going into Rafah would be a big mistake. Biden even went so far as to call it a “red line” before backtracking and saying, “So there is no red line…”, and then adding, “But there’s red lines….” Um, thanks for the clarification. Netanyahu responded by assuring the US administration and the Israeli people that Israel will be going into Rafah. He added, “You know, I have a red line. You know what the red line is? That October 7 doesn’t happen again. Never happens again.”
Yemen
Early Monday morning, an explosion was heard in an open area near Eilat in the south of Israel. The cause of that explosion was a cruise missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The Israeli Air Force tracked the missile the whole way and, once it was determined that it was bound for open space, chose not to waste a rocket to shoot it down. Still, this marked the first time that a projectile fired by the Houthis has reached Israeli territory.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) issued a press release Monday telling of a successful engagement against the Houthis in which seven anti-ship missiles, three UAVs, and three weapons storage containers were destroyed. These weapons posed an immediate threat to both merchant and navy ships.
Russia
Vladimir Putin won reelection to the Russian presidency on Monday with 87% of the vote. This was a surprise to absolutely no one. His closest opponent, Nikolay Kharitonov, who received 4%, was last seen walking through the Duma headquarters, mumbling, “Why did I insist on the tenth-floor balcony apartment?”
Not all is rosy for President Putin. Saturday saw drone hits on two oil refineries, one in Krasnodar region and one in Samara oblast. These refinery strikes are happening more and more often, and the Russian military has yet to figure out an answer to stopping them. The next day, explosive drones hit Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow forcing it to suspend operations for a time.
