Livni urges giving up half the 'land of Israel'PDFPrintE-mail
Israel
Written by Chris Perver  
Monday, 16 February 2009 15:14
Kadima leader Tzipi Livni has told a convention of American Jewish leaders that the Israeli government must give up 'half of the land of Israel' if the state is to retain its Jewish identity. She also stated that the government must formulate a peace initiative that will be favourable to Israel as soon as possible before a less favourable one is adopted by the international community. Her comments come following a contested election, in which both Livni and Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu claimed victory. Both ministers, who appear to have opposing views of how the Middle East conflict should be resolved, are struggling to build a coalition government while isolating the opposition. Netanyahu has so far opposed further concessions being made to the Palestinian Authority following the disastrous results of the disengagement from Gaza. Livni's comments follow similar remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who recently stated that the notion of a 'greater Israel' was history, and that Israel would have to disengage from virtually all land captured in 1967 if they were to obtain peace with their enemies. At that time Tzipi Livni officially distanced herself from the remarks made by the beleaguered Prime Minister, but it seems that the former Israeli Foreign Minister has now changed her tune.

Quote: "She told a convention of American Jewish leaders, "we need to give up half of the Land of Israel," using a term that refers to biblical borders that include today's Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, repeating her well-known view that pulling out of Palestinian areas would be for the good of Israel, to maintain it as a Jewish state. Livni told the Conference of Presidents of Major American Organizations that Israel must take the initiative and come forward with its own peace plan to head off international programs. "Any plan put on the table will not be in our interest," she said.

No doubt Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will be rubbing his hands with glee on hearing this news. Of course from a purely human perspective, Israel does have a major problem on its hands. They can't annex Judea and Samaria or they will have to grant citizenship to the millions of Arabs that live in these territories. The Jewish state would soon be voted out of existence if that were to happen. And they can't pull out of these territories either or all of Israel will soon be in range of Hamas rockets. Israel needs a partner it can trust, who can govern Judea, Samaria and east Jerusalem effectively, without posing a threat to the security of Israel. But Israel has not found a partner for peace in the past sixty years, nor will they find one in the future. It is fallacy to assume that if Israel disengaged from all territory captured in the Six Day War, peace would automatically be the result. There was no peace in 1948, 1956 or 1967, why should there be peace now? The conflict in the Middle East has often been compared in the media to the conflict in Northern Ireland. Just as a measure of peace has now come to Northern Ireland, so it is hoped that peace could also be found in the Middle East. But there are many differences between these two conflicts which make that unlikely to happen. The conflict in Northern Ireland was perpetuated by criminal gangs who held political aspirations. While there was an element of religion involved, it was not religion itself that inspired the conflict. The main driving force behind the conflict in the Middle East is religion. The Qur'an states that resurrection will only come once Muslims make war against the Jews. Of course, just as there are many 'nominal Christians' who do not follow everything that the Bible teaches, there are many 'moderate Muslims' who do not follow everything that the Qur'an teaches. There are political differences too. The Irish Republican Army was not supported by the government in the Republic of Ireland, and a majority of those living on both sides of the divide opposed the violence. But the conflict in the Middle East is supported by the governments of many Islamic states that surround the nation of Israel. Now that the political aspirations of the IRA have been satisfied, the conflict in our country is supposed to have ended. But how can you satisfy the religious aspirations of millions of Muslims who are bent on the destruction of Israel at best and the genocide of all Jews at worst? World leaders, who have bought the lie that this conflict is all about land, will try their best to find peace in the Middle East. But it will fail. We are not told exactly how it comes about, but whether a peace agreement is achieved by Israel and the Arabs or whether one is imposed on the nation, the Bible makes it clear that Israel will withdraw from Judea, Samaria and east Jerusalem (Zechariah 12:2, Zechariah 14:2, Revelation 11:2). And this withdrawal will mark the beginning of the greatest period of persecution the nation has ever endured (Daniel 12:2).

But there is good news. Jesus Christ is coming back. The Middle East conflict, and indeed all conflicts, will be resolved in one act. This will be the war to end all wars. The God who spoke the worlds into being will slay His enemies by a word from His lips (Revelation 19:21). There will be no talk of disproportionate responses then, for the Bible states that in righteousness the Lord will judge and make war (Revelation 19:11). The question is, where will you stand on that day? Will you be found among righteous, to whom it will said, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world", Matthew 25:34? Or will you be found among the wicked, to whom it shall be said, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels", Matthew 25:41? If you want to know the Father, you need to get to know the Son (John 14:6). He gave His life for you upon the cross of Calvary, so you could be made righteous in God's sight. Turn away from your sins. Trust in Jesus Christ for salvation today.

Isaiah 53:10-11
Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

Source YNet News

Share