Displaying items by tag: Middle East

Speaking on TV, Hezbollah’s secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah, said he recently discussed the ‘liberation’ of Jerusalem with Fatah leaders and other Palestinian factions. He added that Iran is directly providing financial aid and weapons to Palestinian groups independent of Hezbollah. He explained how these groups are prepared to put aside differences for a new ‘intifada’; they will unite in the event of a large-scale war to liberate Jerusalem, not just Galilee. When asked whether cooperation meant demonstrations, Nasrallah replied, ‘Within occupied Palestine it is about direct confrontation. We all know what intifada means.’ Hezbollah is a Lebanese-based terrorist organisation banned by many countries, including the Arab League, United States, France, and Israel - but not by the UK. It calls for Islamist revolution around the world, and its members have caused terror attacks for thirty years.

An Israeli thinktank has warned of several security threats this year. These could include war with Hezbollah or with Syria, supported by other Iranian proxies, or a war with both, with full-blown Iranian involvement. Iran continues to arm and finance proxies near Israel’s borders, and Tehran’s steps to build a military force in Syria may lead to an escalation on the northern front, given the Israeli government’s resolute stance. Noting the presence of Russian forces in Syria, the report said Moscow could be expected to maintain neutrality, but could impose limitations on Israel’s freedom of action. Another potential for a flare-up is in Gaza, where Hamas continues to build its strength. IS presence on Israel’s borders was the third challenge noted.

During Advent we sing ‘O come, O come, Emmanuel’ and prepare our hearts to celebrate the long-awaited arrival of our Saviour Jesus. We honour the most famous Jewish man who ever walked the earth: Yeshua, the Messiah. Yet His chosen people - His treasured possession - have not recognised Him. For them, Advent has not yet come. However 1.7 million Jewish people are now celebrating that the Messiah has come - and his name is Jesus! More Jews believe in Jesus today than in the past two thousand years combined. Despite a turbulent history with the Church that has left many Jews resistant to Christian evangelism, God is healing wounds of the past and creating new relationships of respect and communication between Christians and Jews. Thus avenues are opening that reflect Jesus’ love for the Jews and sharing of the Gospel more lovingly and effectively.

Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital has generated aggressive reactions. The PLO are seeking full UN membership again (they failed in 2011), and will no longer accept the USA participating in peace negotiations. Turkey called Israel a ‘terrorist state’. Pakistan’s prime minister said, ‘We hope the demonstrations of rage will not dissipate into passive acceptance of the status quo.’ Many onlookers believe that Hamas deliberately resorts to violence to pursue its ends. The violence is rarely spontaneous, is well organised, and used by leaders because violence achieves their goal. It works because policymakers abstain from making controversial decisions, fearing violent reactions. Meanwhile fighting continues in Jerusalem with ten dead, 2809 injured and 400 arrested. This week a 25-member Bahraini delegation held a five-day visit to Jerusalem, ‘sending a message of peace’, as Israeli military carried out air strikes on Hamas training compounds in the Gaza Strip after rocket attacks came out of Palestinian territory. See

In just one area of East Damascus over 500 Syrians are in urgent need of medical evacuation from an area which has been under siege since 2013. There are severe food shortages, with 11.9% of children suffering from acute malnutrition. On 20 December, in the western countryside of Damascus province, advances against the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda terrorists were being made and a number of key hilltops were captured. Pray for civilians still trapped in jihadist strongholds. Pray for those living in fear and desperation, where Syrian troops are unleashing machine gun fire from the hills above their towns, particularly Mazaraat Beit Jinn and Mughir al-Mir. Pray for jihadist fighters to be prevented from mobilising any coordinated counter-attack against army advances in key areas such as East and West Damascus.

Six weeks after blowing up a Palestinian jihad tunnel, the Israeli army demolished a second, 'substantial' attack tunnel that began at the southern Gaza Strip and finished 0.6 miles away in agriculture fields near Kibbutz Nirim in Israel. In the 10 December blast, no Palestinians were killed. The military is currently constructing underground barriers around the Gaza Strip that are meant to prevent future attack tunnels and discover ones already constructed. The military’s ‘toolbox’ for underground warfare is improving. Pray that future tunnels do not become death traps for the terrorists digging them. Hamas is responsible for everything that happens in Gaza, in the air, on land and underground. Meanwhile the Anglican archbishop in Jerusalem has called for tolerance, harmony and mutual respect for all, as sporadic fighting continues after President Trump decided to move America’s embassy there. See

As 2017 closes, Syrian warring parties are moving towards reconciliation - but America is not among them. IS is all but defeated: the Syrian army and its allies are closing in on the few remaining pockets occupied by other extremists. Donald Trump may have hinted at changes, but he’s treading the same path as Obama on Syria. Determined to oust Syria’s President Assad as a means to weaken Iran and re-establish American regional control, Barack Obama gambled on two pathways to this goal: 1) military strategy to snatch control over Syria from the regime; 2) UN/American mediation in Geneva to remove Assad. Washington lost its military venture when the Russian air force entered the battle; next it resuscitated a limp Geneva peace process for political settlement without Assad. It failed. But a fresh process is being established in Sochi, not Geneva, with Iranians, Russians and Turks carving out ceasefire zones and negotiating peace.

Leaders of over fifty countries condemned US president Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and called on the world to respond by recognising East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine at an Istanbul summit. They added, ‘We invite the Trump administration to reconsider its unlawful decision that might trigger chaos in the region, and to rescind its mistaken step’. Turkish President Erdogan also said, ‘It is out of the question for a biased US to mediate between Israel and Palestine; that period is over. We need to discuss who will be a mediator from now on.’ There have been riots and protests by Palestinians ever since Trump’s decision. On 14 December undercover police officers arrested rioters outside Ramallah. See

Before President Trump decided to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, he received last-minute pleas from many people, including the heads of Jerusalem churches and the Archbishop of Canterbury. Justin Welby wrote, ‘Mr President, we have been following, with concern, reports about the possibility of changing how the United States understands and deals with the status of Jerusalem. We are certain that such a step will yield increased hatred, conflict, violence and suffering in Jerusalem and the Holy Land, moving us farther from the goal of unity and deeper toward destructive division. We ask you to help us all walk towards more love and a definitive peace, which cannot be reached without Jerusalem being for all.’ For the full letter to President Trump, go to

In 1995 the US passed the ‘Jerusalem Embassy Act,’ which formally recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and called for their embassy to move there from Tel Aviv. With overwhelming support it passed the Senate by 93 to 5. President Trump has now implemented that decision. Israel’s intelligence services minister Yisrael Katz said, ‘The Palestinian reaction is a rejection of Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, just as Arabs did 70 years ago.’ He also said that this action will make it clear to Palestinians that they too must recognise Israel, which is necessary for the peace process. He said Israel would take economic steps to help the Palestinians, singling out the regional railroad project currently being proposed. Manuel Hassassian, Palestinian representative to Britain, warned, ‘Trump is effectively declaring war in the Middle East’. See also