(Deification in Christ) — “Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu…that Jewish terror carried out by violent settlers…[is] doing ‘indescribable damage’ to Israel in a letter published by Channel 12 News…” Times of Israel, Aug. 22, 2024 [bolding mine].
There is a U.N. summit on a two-State solution for Israel and Palestine rescheduled for July 28 and 29 according to the Guardian. The original summit that was co-sponsored by Saudi Arabia and France was postponed due to Israel bombing Iran in June. The U.S. and Israel continually try to stop delegations of powerful nations from participating in these summits, especially G7 nations. They use multiple levers of pressure to prevent support for a two-State solution.
More questionable levers of pressure include Israel’s repeated threats to expand illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank if more countries recognize the state of Palestine. Apart from America’s pressures by its State Department, it’s hard to understand why the G7 nations would tolerate such threats by Israel to violate international law and Geneva Conventions. How is Israel not trying to hold the G7 nations hostage through such threats of violence to innocent Palestinians who have nothing to do with Hamas? As a distinct territory, the West Bank has nothing to do with Hamas. Holding others hostage is never an acceptable policy.
Today’s standard argument by Israel against recognizing the state of Palestine is the half-truth claim that it would reward the terrorism of Hamas on October 7. The argument relies on the ignorance of Americans and lack of information shared with Americans that, long before October 7, 2023, over a hundred and thirty nations already recognized the state of Palestine. By the end of 2024 about 146 nations recognized the state of Palestine. This included Western European countries like Ireland, Norway, and Spain putting their names behind the recognition. Catholics should at least be aware that the Vatican recently commemorated the 10th anniversary of its recognition of the state of Palestine.
What is particularly hypocritical of the half-truths by Israel – that recognition of Palestine would reward Hamas for terrorism – is another poorly known fact: the West Bank has never been under the control of Hamas and is separate from Gaza. In accord with public testimony from current and former Israeli heads of State, illegal Jewish settlers regularly murder West Bank Palestinians, burn their homes and Christian churches, and burn their farmlands and orchards in order to steal their land and eventually annex it as part of Israel. Some Israeli heads of state have no problem condemning and calling what these illegal Jewish settlers do by name: “terrorism.” Yes, this terrorism incites retaliation from Palestinians.
READ: Holy Land bishops urge Christians worldwide to help defend faithful from Israeli settler attacks
While still head of Shin Bet (internal security for Israel), just one year ago on August 22, Ronen Bar was accurately summarized as warning that “Jewish terror carried out by violent settlers and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s actions on Temple Mount are doing ‘indescribable damage’ to Israel[‘s reputation].” His letter described the settler activity as “terrorism.”
More poignantly, and a month before Bar’s statements, former Prime Minister of Israel Ehud Olmert openly warned Netanyahu that he deserved to be arrested for crimes happening in the West Bank: “Here crimes are committed on a daily basis, not by soldiers and not against soldiers, but by rioters who are Israeli citizens, Arab haters, with the clear intention of expelling them from their homes and the villages where they have lived all their lives.” In other words, “As prime minister, you know about all these events. If you choose to ignore them too, you won’t be able to deny you heard the warning of the head of the Central Command and other senior IDF commanders.” Is last year’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu by the ICC really a surprise?
Days ago, after such violence was openly admitted for over a year by Israeli leaders, the Vatican warned against on-going violence by Jewish settlers against Palestinian Christians in the West Bank:
Yesterday, a group of Jewish settlers set fires near the Byzantine Christian cemetery and at the Church of Al-Khader (St. George), dating back to the 5th century and one of the oldest and most venerated places of worship for Christians in Palestine. These arson attacks follow a series of violent acts against the town’s Christian residents, which have been escalating in recent weeks. The settlers have also damaged olive groves – Taibeh’s primary source of income – and are preventing farmers from accessing and working their land.
The hypocrisy of half-truths claiming that a two-State solution only rewards Hamas must end. It is blatantly misleading propaganda at the service of expansionist “religious” Zionists (also called “theological” Zionists) who oppose what began with the Oslo Accords. A two-State solution no more rewards terrorism by Hamas than the failure of a two-State solution rewards terrorism by Jewish settlers. Hamas and illegal Jewish settlements are what a two-State solution brings to an end.
The two-State solution brings the G7 into the rest of the family of the 147 nations on earth who seek peace and justice for humans in every land and who seek the preservation of international law and order. By removing sanctions against the illegal Israeli settler movements six months ago, Trump mistakenly re-enabled settler lawlessness. Was he just poorly informed or ideologically blinded? The two-State solution (backed by the Vatican and most nations) can restore peace and justice. The Church is the true Israel of God (cf. Gal 6:16) but wishes peace for the political state of Israel [founded in 1948] and peace for all the poorly treated, oppressed and displaced Palestinians which include Christians. Come Lord Jesus! Enlighten the nations.
READ: Priests in the last fully Christian town in the West Bank beg for help amid siege
Reprinted with permission from Deification in Christ.