Israel’s military said it carried out a series of raids early Sunday morning targeting Hamas terrorists operating in the West Bank – biblical Judea and Samaria.
Five Palestinians were killed and two Israeli troops were seriously injured amid a pair of gun battles during the raids.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they were tracking the Hamas terrorists for weeks based on “accurate intelligence” that they were planning on “carrying out attacks against Israeli civilians.”
“This is a significant achievement, a night of a series of pre-emptive raids of the utmost importance that prevented — from our understanding — significant terror attacks. Such attacks could have been carried out in Jerusalem, Netanya, Tel Aviv, Afula or anywhere else,” IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi said on Sunday.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett applauded Israeli forces and said the terrorists were planning to carry out attacks “in real time.”
Hamas confirmed that four of the Palestinians killed during the raids were members of the Islamist group. Palestinian officials said a 16-year-old boy was among the dead, but it was not immediately clear if he was a Hamas member.
The two IDF soldiers who were injured during the raids were airlifted to a nearby hospital for treatment. Israeli forces suspect they may have been hit by friendly fire after a Palestinian gunman opened fire on them, Israeli media reported.
Hamas vowed to take revenge and called on supporters to take up arms “to avenge to the blood of the martyrs.”
“This crime calls on everyone who bears arms in the West Bank and Jerusalem to direct this weapon at the heart of the Israeli occupation and the Zionist soldiers,” said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum.
The Palestinian Authority (PA), which governs the semi-autonomous West Bank, condemned the raids and said Israel was “fully and directly responsible for this bloody morning and the crimes committed by the occupation forces.”
But Hamas criticized the PA, claiming that recent high-level meetings between PA and Israeli officials “encouraged” Israel to carry out the raids.
This was the deadliest violence between Israel and Palestinians in the West Bank in weeks. Tensions are also high in the region following an 11-day war between Israel and the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip in May.
HD Editor’s Note: Why Is This News Biblically Relevant?
According to the Times Of Israel, officials described the thwarted terror attack against the Jewish State as “reminiscent of the Second Intifada”:
The cell planned to conduct a sequence of kidnappings and murders across the country, defense officials told Channel 13 news. The group did not, however, have the capability to commit suicide bombings, the network said.
Officials estimated to Channel 12 that the cell had also been planning a major attack in Jerusalem, similar to those seen during the violent uprising in the early 2000s, without elaborating further.
The arrest operation began after the Shin Bet realized that the group was apparently set to carry out the attack imminently, the network said.
The operations against the cell in the West Bank will likely continue in the coming days, officials told the Kan public broadcaster. But still, the IDF believes it largely prevented the group’s attacks, according to military assessments.
The terrorist actions by the “Palestinian” people should be universally condemned. However, the chosen narrative surrounding Israel, which is espoused by most major media outlets, has been to demonize the Jewish State, claiming it has bullied and oppressed the Palestinian people.
Hamas and others have brazenly made their goals to “obliterate” Israel and eradicate the Jewish people abundantly clear.
This is rooted in the same antisemitic thinking that has throughout history lead to the persecution and extermination efforts against the Jewish people.
Hal Lindsey in his article, “What Is Hamas?” explained that “a surprising number” of companies and politicians side with the “Palestinians” over Israel.
“They almost always say they are standing with Palestinians, not Hamas,” Linsey stated. “But that’s like coming out against the United States in World War II, claiming you only support Germans, not Nazis.”
“The eradication of Israel is their goal,” he urged. “They don’t just want to win a military victory over Israel or carve out a Palestinian state. Hamas wants nothing less than the destruction of the Jewish people. Genocide is their aim and reason. How could you describe Hamas as anything but a terror group?”
In his article, Lindsey when into detail about how Hamas’ charter promotes stereotypes about the Jewish people, anti-semitic false accusations, the murder of Jews and is vehemently against peace with Israel stating “There is no solution for the Palestinian problem except by Jihad”
Given the fact that “Hamas stands for unending violence, war, and terror,” are those who stand in solidarity with the Palestinians really “for peace or for never-ending jihad?” Lindsey asked.
In Psalm 122:6, Christians are specifically urged to “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”
Christians must understand their Biblical responsibility toward God’s chosen people. It is incumbent upon Christians to love, pray for and stand up for the Jewish people, the state of Israel, and their eternal capital of Jerusalem. God has not forgotten His people, and neither should His servants.
