A Zoom meeting this week of the global leadership of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem was abruptly interrupted by the sounds of sirens as the international participants watched the Jerusalem-based participants run into their bomb shelters. Hamas forces in Gaza had fired seven long-range missiles aimed at Jerusalem on Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day) demonstrating their opposition to any Jewish claim to historic, biblical Jerusalem.
Since Sunday, some 1,000 missiles have been fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip. Six Israelis have died, including two Arab Israelis. In addition to endangering Jews and Arabs inside Israel, some 200 of the missiles fell inside Gaza causing casualties and injuries to the citizens there.
This attack on civilians in Israel is nothing short of war crimes, and the international community needs to insist the Hamas forces behind it stop. Israel has suffered missile attacks from Gaza for decades, and the time has come to bring this ongoing threat to an end. Hamas is also holding its own citizens hostage and endangering their lives with every missile fired.
The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem has issued a statement in support of Israel and is urging Christian leaders to pray that peace and calm be restored quickly and to stand in solidarity with Israel and against the terror attacks and rocket barrages coming out of Gaza.
The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem stands in solidarity with Israel in the face of the reckless Palestinian rioting, terror attacks, and rocket barrages over recent days, and condemns Palestinian leaders for intentionally enflaming Muslim passions during Ramadan to ignite a dangerous religious conflict over Jerusalem.
Through the courageous decisions of both Arab and Israeli leaders, the Middle East region has recently experienced significant and unprecedented momentum towards normalization and peace through the Abrahamic Accords. However, from the start both Fatah and Hamas have deliberately sought to undermine these developments and incited Palestinians towards the current escalation of violence and terror. Besides their efforts to disrupt this newfound dynamic of peace for the entire Middle East, their actions also are also meant to cover their own failures, such as the cancelling of Palestinian elections. Together with their backers in Iran and Turkey, they share full responsibility for this current escalation. By ratcheting up their attacks on Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day) in particular, Fatah and Hamas also viciously display that neither accepts any Jewish claim to historic, biblical Jerusalem. They instead have threatened to ignite a regional conflagration over the city, and thus we call upon world leaders to firmly stand against the inflammatory Palestinian rhetoric and actions.
The Middle East region has recently experienced a significant and unprecedented momentum toward normalization and peace through the Abrahamic Accords. However, from the start, both Fatah and Hamas have deliberately sought to undermine these developments and incited Palestinians towards the current escalation of violence and terror. Besides their efforts to disrupt this newfound dynamic of peace for the entire Middle East, their actions also are meant to cover for their own failures, such as the canceling of Palestinian elections. Together with their backers in Iran and Turkey, they share full responsibility for this current escalation.
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Dr. Susan Michael is USA director of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem and host of the Out of Zion podcast.
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