One of the most pressing international news stories is the world reaction to the Israeli effort to halt a convoy of ships bringing aid to Hamas, the Iranian-supported terrorist organization which controls Gaza. No doubt, there was humanitarian aid on the ships in that convoy, but since Hamas has attacked Israel with thousands of rocket attacks in the past and wants to destroy Israel, the Israelis had every right to be concerned that there were also weapons and military equipment hidden on the ships in that convoy.
The entire effort to inspect the ships went wrong very quickly. I’ve seen video clips on the news channels of Israeli troops rappelling onto the deck of one of the ships and the Hamas-sympathizers quickly began to try and beat them to death with clubs. Seven Israelis were injured (one very seriously) according to news reports while nine activists were killed when the Israelis opened fire to defend themselves. The global media (always anti-Israeli) is having a field day making the Israelis the villain in this matter. Since many of the Hamas-sympathizers were Turks, a lasting rupture in the already-frayed Turkish-Israeli relationship appears likely. What are some of the salient facts about this matter, and what might be some of the geopolitical ramifications in light of biblical prophecy?
One fact overlooked in this story is that the blockade of Gaza is a joint Israeli-Egyptian operation (as the first link below notes). Egypt doesn’t trust Hamas any more than do the Israelis because Hamas is a proxy for Iran’s Shiite imperialist designs and Hamas also is allied to the Muslim Brotherhood, which seeks to overthrow the Egyptian government and replace it with a radical Islamic government. The fact that a Moslem nation, Egypt, is also blockading Gaza will get lost in the global media’s anti-Israel frenzy. It is also clear that the violence was begun by Hamas-sympathizers, not the Israelis. If the crews on the flotilla had allowed the Israelis to inspect the cargoes to be sure no weaponry for Hamas was on board, there would have been no deaths or injuries. Indeed, some Israelis were armed with paint-ball guns so they hardly intended any massacre of anyone. Also, the Israelis offered the ships a chance to dock at an Israeli port, and offload humanitarian supplies for shipment to Gaza with Israeli permission. The Gaza-sympathizers refused this good offer, because they likely wanted an international incident.
Stratfor, in the second link, argues persuasively that Hamas wanted some violence and deaths in order to give the anti-Israeli world media a chance to demonize the Israelis. Stratfor effectively makes the case that Hamas is now using the same tactics used by the Israelis after World War Two to turn the global media against the British who were not allowing Jews into the British Mandate region then known as Palestine. Perhaps a good way out of future such incidents for the Israelis would be to offer to have humanitarian aid loaded on ships in Cyprus under joint international/Israeli/Fatah supervision to be sure that Hamas is not receiving any weaponry. Such inspected ships could be accompanied to Gaza by a joint international/Israeli escort (to be sure no other ship or submarine transfers military cargo to these ships after they sail).
I see three things worth commenting on from a biblical point of view. The first is that if world opinion turns universally hostile toward the Israelis, the Israelis will then no longer have any reason to hope that global “sanctions” will successfully prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and firing them at Israeli cities. If the Israelis lose all hope in an effective sanctions program, they have no more reason to wait in launching a military strike at Iran’s nuclear facilities to ensure Israeli survival. If the world hates them anyway, why not just act to insure national survival? Zechariah 12:2-3 promises that God will preserve the modern Israeli nation “(Judah”) and Jerusalem in the latter days even if “all the people of the world be gathered together against it.” The Israelis will survive. They have God’s promise to that effect.
Secondly, while the Israeli-Turkish relationship seems headed for an open breach, I do not see official, behind-the-scenes attitudes of the Sunni Arab governments being affected much by this incident. The blockade of Gaza was a joint Egyptian-Israeli operation anyway, and the Sunni Arab governments know very well that Hamas is supplied and backed by Iran—which wants to overthrow the Sunni Arab governments. I expect their media to join the anti-Israeli chorus, but their strategic interests are unaffected by this naval incident. The Israelis and the Sunni Arab nations are all increasingly-threatened by Iran, and this is relentlessly pushing the Israelis and Sunni Arab nations into becoming allies whether they seek it or not.
Finally, because Iran (the Hamas backer) is a member of the Ezekiel 38 Gog-Magog alliance which includes Russia and China, I see the fine hand of Russia and China behind such incidents as the recent maritime confrontation. Russia, China and Iran are all prophesied to attack the USA, the NATO European nations, the Israelis and their global allies in a gigantic world war at the end of this age (the fact that the USA, and its NATO allies are the modern house of “Israel”—described in Ezekiel 38 as the target of the Gog-Magog attack—is easily understood if you have read my books or reviewed the free articles and audio messages on the ten tribes of Israel available at this website). The West largely is clueless about this danger because they abandoned the Bible long ago. However, such a war is certain as the Creator has guaranteed in Ezekiel 38:4 and 10 that it will happen even if he has to intervene make it happen! When preparing for a major war, one wise strategy is to use the “divide and conquer” approach to weaken your intended targets. This maritime incident involving the Israelis and Hamas sympathizers is “dividing” the USA from the Israelis and it is “dividing” the Europeans from the Israelis. This immensely pleases the war-planners in Moscow and Beijing. In fact, this event is unfolding so favorably for the interests of Russia, China and Iran that one wonders if it was planned. The KGB grandmaster, Vladimir Putin, would be smart enough, I believe, to plan such an event to implement a “divide and conquer” strategy. Putin is also uniquely favored to have as his opponent in the White House a newbie US President who apparently came to his office with no discernable foreign affairs, military or geopolitical experience. Indeed, President Obama apparently is so lacking in confidence in his own abilities that he was reportedly unable to speak to elementary school children without a teleprompter. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu may be the only strong leader anywhere in the western alliance right now who grasps the geopolitical situation… but no one is listening to him.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2010-05-31-flotilla-israel_N.htm?csp=34
http://tiny.cc/ecp7q
