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HURRICANE KATRINA

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WAS THERE A CONNECTION BETWEEN

KATRINA  & GUSH  KATIF?

(Gaza’s Jewish communities)

SEPT 05.  Was there a connection between the US hurricane, and the forced removal of 9,500 Jewish residents from Gaza?  Katrina struck just one week after the Gaza evacuation.

Some Jewish rabbis maintain that God has sent a judgment on the US because of President Bush’s pressure on Israel to give away God’s land in an attempt to create a Palestinian state.  Many pro-Israel Christians have expressed the same belief.

George W. Bush is the first US leader to publicly endorse a Palestinian state encompassing much of Israel’s biblical heartland.

The Gaza withdrawal was not merely backed by the US government; some Middle East analysts and senior Israeli politicians attribute the evacuation plan entirely to the pressure coming from the American establishment.

Mr Bush’s statement, immediately following the announcement of the Gaza evacuation, seems to confirm this: “I welcome the disengagement plan. These steps will mark real progress toward realizing the vision I set forth in June 2002 of two states living side by side in peace and security.”

It is significant that George Bush is being blamed for both the Gaza fiasco, and for the disaster that followed Katrina’s flood - the delayed rescue operation.

Gush Katif - the Jewish settlements in Gaza - was an important agricultural area, providing Israel with 70% of its produce. That agriculture has now been lost. The New Orleans ports exported much of the Midwest’s agricultural production; that facility also has been lost – and will be for a long time. The Gush Katif settlements were destroyed; the homes of New Orleans were destroyed.  

Most of the Jewish Gaza settlers were forcibly evacuated from their homes; most of the people of New Orleans were ordered to leave their flooded city.  Both events were great tragedies. Several protective levees in New Orleans were breached; and after the final pullout from Gaza, the “levees” along the 13km Gaza-Egypt border were also breached, allowing a flood of weapons into the territory.

The destruction of Gush Katif will allow Gaza to serve as a terrorist base for Hamas, Islamic Jihad and al-Qaida to bring more destruction and chaos in the region and to the world.

Ironically, many Moslems also regarded Katrina as a judgment on the United States, but for a different reason – because of what the US has done to Arab lands.

In many Arab camps there was great rejoicing on two counts: first, because the glorious Palestinian Intifada forced Israel to withdraw from Gaza; and secondly, because of God’s judgment falling on the Americans.

THE GREAT GAZA FIASCO

SEPT 05. The Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza in August was a tragedy, but the completion of the military pullout, on Sept 12, was followed by another disaster – the “levees” of Gaza were broken down. 

The Palestinian Authority and the Egyptian border police totally lost control, and stood by as tens of thousands of Palestinians indulged in a wild orgy of destruction, burning, looting and hurling themselves back and forth across the 13km Philadelphi Gaza-Egypt border unchecked.

Within two days about 20,000 Palestinians had flocked into Egyptian Sinai from the Gaza Strip, and 3,000 Palestinians had crossed into the Gaza Strip.  According to a DEBKAfile report, the Palestinian jubilation and spontaneity was exploited, if not generated, by the Hamas and Jihad Islami terrorist groups.

With the help of Egyptian troops, they used the tide of people to cover the illegal transfer from northern Sinai into the Gaza Strip of hundreds of terrorists with side-arms, Qassam missiles, long-range rockets, and anti-tank and ground-air missiles.

“Gaza is armed to the hilt,” said a senior security official. “The Palestinians have now moved an enormous quantity of weaponry, including anti-tank missiles, explosives, ammunition, rocket-propelled grenades and the like from Sinai into the Gaza Strip. They took complete advantage of the lack of any real security along the Egypt border.”

In the vacated areas of Gush Katif, Palestinian mobs wrecked utter destruction and the Palestinian Authority appeared powerless to save from vandals and looters even the greenhouses and the industrial center that would have provided 26,000 jobs for them.

All the painstakingly-negotiated agreements with Egypt, the Palestinians and the US for post-evacuation security, were trampled underfoot. The Israeli leaders were filled with dread because of these developments. The Israel Defence Dept, seemingly powerless, sat and watched from a distance. 

Ariel Sharon meanwhile, was in New York attending the UN summit, where he basked in the praises of world leaders for his courage in implementing the historic withdrawal.

ISRAEL FEARS UNFETTERED AL-QAIDA

INFILTRATION VIA RAFAH

SEPT 05. The collapse of the Gaza-Egyptian border in the three days since Israel withdrew from the Strip, which has allowed thousands of Palestinians to enter Sinai and numerous Egyptians to enter Gaza, is extremely worrisome to Jerusalem. Israel is fearful not only of massive arms smuggling into Gaza - and consequently to the West Bank -  but also of Al-Qaida operatives being able to enter Gaza freely.

The border collapse, caused by Egypt’s failure to maintain even minimal supervision over the crossing, is occurring at a time when Egypt is having trouble eliminating al-Qaida cells in the Sinai.

Until now al-Qaida operatives had failed to infiltrate Israel, but Jerusalem fears that now the organization will renew its efforts to send operatives from Sinai into Gaza, and after that to the West Bank. This will be hard to prevent without Egyptian and Jordanian cooperation.  – Ha’aretz / 15 Sept 05

SEPT 05.  As SOUTH GAZA borders Egypt, Israel, the US and the PA invited Cairo to participate in the “peace process” and help bring stability to the Gaza area.

An Egyptian military force, led by three Generals, arrived in Gaza city in July with the purpose of assuming command of the newly-formed Palestinian forces. 

The integration  of Egyptian troops with Palestinian police aims at restoring order and building a stable security force, and thus to prevent radicals taking over the territory. 

Egypt is also expected to play an intermediary role – containing clashes between the Palestinian Authority and groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

The stability of Gaza is as important to Egypt, as it is to Israel. Neither want to see a militant Islamist stronghold established on their doorstep. Egypt also has had attacks from fundamentalist forces.

Egypt has also accepted the responsibility for controlling the Gaza-Sinai border which will mean curbing the smuggling of weapons into Gaza. A 750-strong Egyptian military force has been deployed in the 13km strip known as the Philadelphi route.

Not all Palestinians are in favour of the Egyptian presence; Hamas and Islamic Jihad have both expressed opposition as they have their own agenda.

The danger is that Egypt will be drawn into conflict with these radical groups.

Already it is becoming evident that Israel’s confidence in Egypt’s role is not going to pay.

A warning to Israel today:

“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses and trust in chariots because they are many; and in horsemen because they are very strong. But they do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek YHWH!” (Isaiah 31:1)

PA:  “ISRAEL’S  DESTRUCTION IS  WITHIN  REACH”

SEPT 05.  Since the IDF began to withdraw from Gaza, the Palestinian Authority’s state-run television station has broadcast various programs conveying the message that Israel’s destruction is attainable.

Palestinian Media Watch has issued a report on the broadcasts, including translations and video clips.

One of the broadcasts was a rerun of a so-called “historical educational” program first aired in 2003. It reiterates the PA teaching that Israel has no right to exist because all of Israel is “Palestine.” It featured claims that Israel’s continued existence is, by its very nature, a threat to the entire Arab world, and it displayed a map of all of Israel, marked Palestine under the PLO flag.

One program on Sept 6, said: “The countries of our [Arab] homeland also have a heart ... If the heart is whole and healthy, then all the other parts are whole and healthy. The heart of the Arab homeland is Palestine. The homeland remains whole and healthy if Palestine is whole and healthy ... A stab in the heart is a deathblow.”

In another TV broadcast, an Arab academic expressed similar anticipation of Israel’s eventual destruction, describing the joy of the Gaza withdrawal as incomplete until Israel experiences total destruction. “Nothing compares to this joy, the oppressed overcomes the oppressor,” said Dr. Ismaeil Al-Fara, a lecturer at Al-Quds University, “but our happiness will be complete only with the return of all of our lands - the [West] Bank, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Jaffa, Haifa, Tzfat, and other stolen cities.”

Destroying Israel continues to be a desired and attainable goal candidly presented in Palestinian Authority discourse and education, said the PMW report. “The intensity of this hate message has increased on PA TV since Israel left Gush Katif in Gaza, as religious, political and educational leaders have encouraged Palestinians to perceive the events there as a first step towards Israel’s destruction.”  - Arutz Sheva /14 Sept 05

HAMAS:  “ISRAEL WILL BE DEFEATED ONE DAY”

tc "HAMAS\:  “ISRAEL  WILL  BE DEFEATED  ONE  DAY”"SEPT 05. Gaza-based Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Zahar told an Israeli Arab newspaper that the Jewish state’s ability to withstand the Muslim onslaught against it would one day fail, and that all “Palestine” would be “liberated” from Zionist control. “Israel’s power is not eternal, and neither is our weakness,” Zahar said in an interview with Nazareth’s Kul el-Arab.

He went on to say that his group still considers Israeli Arabs to be “Palestinians,” and urged them to continue participating in the “struggle” against their Jewish countrymen. Israeli Arabs are regularly implicated in “Palestinian” terrorist plots against Israeli Jews.

As proof that victory was on the horizon, Zahar pointed to Israel’s retreat from the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria following nearly five years of unrelenting Islamic terrorism. - www.jnewswire.com /Sept 05

AL-QAIDA CALLS FOR VOLUNTEERS TO FIGHT

SEPT 17. In statements running all day over its web-sites, internet, radio and e-mail, al-Qaida told followers: “Now is your chance. Hurry up and make your way to the Philadelphi route crossing from Sinai.”

Contrary to Palestinian claims that the Gazan-Egyptian border is finally closed after six days of uncontrolled mass traffic, DEBKAfile reports thousands continue to stream both ways, together with a steady flow of terrorists and arms from Sinai. – Debkafile / 17 Sept 05

  AYATOLLAH KHAMENEI CALLS  FOR

IRAN'S Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hailed the Palestinian militants for “expelling the Zionist regime from Gaza,” and urged them to continue their jihad against Israel. “The only way to fight the Zionist enemy is to strengthen and increase the resistance,” he said.

“The Israeli withdrawal from Gaza was a great victory of jihadist groups over the enemy and supporters of the Zionist regime. It showed the desperation and the inability of the occupier regime of Quds (Jerusalem),” Khamenei said. “The failure of the United States in Lebanon and Iraq, and its political confrontation with Iran” were all signs of “the enemy’s front losing strength.”

Iran’s official policy calls for the annihilation of the Jewish state. The country’s clerical rulers have been strongly opposed to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ attempts to reach a comprehensive peace settlement with Israel. -  Iran Focus /4 Sep 05

PROPHECIES CONCERNING

THE GAZA STRIP – ANCIENT PHILISTIA

WHILE the Philistinians and Persians are rejoicing over Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, Yahweh the Almighty addresses the people of Philistia  – the Gaza Strip, Ashkelon, Ashdod, and Ekron, and the Kerethites  (the occupants of the south coast of the Philistine country who had roots in Crete) - and warns them of coming judgment. At least six prophets have prophesied destruction for the inhabitants of the Philistia.

The Prophet ISAIAH

“Do not rejoice, O Philistia, all of you, because the rod that struck you is broken; for from a serpent’s root will come forth a viper, and its fruit will be a fiery flying serpent. The firstborn of the poor will eat, and the needy will lie down in safety. But I will destroy your roots with famine, and it will wipe out your survivors.

“Wail, O gate; cry, O city! Melt away, O Philistia, all of you; for a cloud of smoke comes from the north, and there is no one missing from his ranks. What will one answer the messengers of the nation? That YHWH has founded Zion, and the afflicted of His people will find refuge in it.”        (Isaiah 14:29-32)

The Prophet EZEKIEL

 “‘Because the Philistines have acted in revenge and have taken vengeance with malice in their hearts to destroy with unending enmity,’ therefore thus says YHWH, the Sovereign Master, ‘Look! I will stretch out My Hand against the Philistines, even cut off the Kerethites and destroy the remnant of the seacoast. I will execute great vengeance on them with furious rebukes; and they will know that I am YHWH when I lay My vengeance upon them’.”   (Ezekiel 25:15-17)

The Prophet ZEPHANIAH

“For Gaza will be abandoned, and Ashkelon will be a desolation. Ashdod will be driven out at noon, and Ekron will be uprooted. Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast; the nation of the Kerethites. The word of YHWH is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines; and I will destroy you so that there will be no inhabitant left. So the seacoast will be pastures, with shelters and cisterns for shepherds and folds for flocks. And the coast will be for the remnant of the House of Judah. They will feed their flocks there. They will lie down at evening in the houses of Ashkelon; for YHWH their God will visit and care for them and bring back their captives and restore their fortunes.”       (Zephaniah 2:4-7)

The Prophet AMOS

“Thus says YHWH, ‘For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four I will not revoke its punishment, because they have deported an entire captivity – population - to deliver it up to Edom.  So I will send fire upon the wall of Gaza and it will consume her citadels.  I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and the one who holds the sceptre from Ashkelon; I will also turn My Hand against Ekron, and the remnant of the Philistines will perish,’ says the Sovereign Master, YHWH.”   (Amos 1:6-8)

The Prophet JEREMIAH

“The word of YHWH that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh attacked Gaza. YHWH says: ‘Look, waters are going to rise from the north and become an overflowing flood. They will overflow the land and all that is in it - the city and those who live in it. Then men will cry out, and all the inhabitants of the land will wail, because of the noise of the galloping hooves of his stallions, the rushing of his chariots, and the rumbling of his wheels. The fathers will not look back for their children, for their hands are so feeble, because of the day that is coming to destroy all the Philistines - to cut off from Tyre and Sidon, every ally and helper that is left.’

“For YHWH is going to destroy the Philistines - the remnant of the island of Caphtor (Crete, the original home of the Philistines). Baldness has come upon Gaza. Ashkelon has been cut off with the remnant of their valley. How long will you gash yourselves? ‘Ah, Sword of YHWH, How long will it be till you are quiet? Get back into your sheath; rest and be still! But how can it be quiet? For YHWH has given it an order against Ashkelon and against the seacoast - there He has assigned it’.”  (Jeremiah 47:1-7)

The Prophet ZECHARIAH

“Ashkelon will see it and be afraid. Gaza too with writhe in great pain; Ekron also, for her expectation has dried up. Moreover, the king will perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon will not be inhabited. A mixed race will settle in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. And I will remove his blood from his mouth and his detestable things from between his teeth. Then those that remain will be a remnant for our God, and be like a leading clan in Judah, and Ekron will be like a Jebusite.” (Zechariah 9:5-7)

PRAY THAT MANY PALESTINIANS WILL CALL

SEPT 05.  WITH THE Gaza withdrawal behind us, the big issue in the region is quickly becoming Hamas’ participation in the upcoming Palestinian Authority legislative elections.

Israel has come out strongly against the PA’s plan to include Hamas candidates in January’s parliament elections (2006): ‘We will never agree that this armed terrorist organization will participate in the elections. We will make every effort not to help them in their elections,’ PM Sharon recently stated.

You wouldn’t know it from news media coverage, but this Israeli position on Hamas is, in fact, neither recent, nor specifically Israel’s position at all - Hamas was rejected for a government role in the very foundational documents of the Palestinian Authority.

The Palestinian Authority was established in 1994, following the Oslo Accords between Israel and the PLO. Oslo Interim Agreement, Annex 2, Article III (1995) outlines eligibility for PA elected office:

The nomination of any candidates, parties or coalitions will be refused, and such nomination or registration once made will be canceled, if such candidates, parties or coalitions:

(1) commit or advocate racism; or

(2) pursue the implementation of their aims by unlawful or non-democratic means.

Hamas clearly falls under both categories - its official charter (calling for jihad against all Israelis, and for universal conversion to Islam) is as racist as they come, and its terrorist means are certainly ‘unlawful and non-democratic.’

On Sept. 18, a Hamas leader announced that the group “will not rest and will not abandon the path of jihad and martyrdom as long as one inch of our land remains in the hands of the Jews ... We are celebrating our victory in Gaza and now we are headed toward Jerusalem, Nablus, Akko, Haifa, the Galilee, and all of Palestine.”

Yet media outlets have, across the board, presented the objection to Hamas in PA elections as a mere ‘Israeli demand’, with no reference to the legal barrier the Oslo Accord places before Hamas’ nomination to the PA.

* On Sept. 4, HonestReporting found the Associated Press finally began acknowledging the PA’s obligation to disarm Hamas under the roadmap agreement. But in the same breath, AP began framing the Hamas/PA elections issue as a unilateral Israeli demand.

* Other media outlets have since taken AP’s lead. Recent articles from the New York Times (9/16), AFP (9/19), Los Angeles Times (9/18), Reuters (9/18) and Washington Post (9/16) all failed to acknowledge the fact that Hamas is ineligible for PA legislative elections under the PA’s own foundational rules. The journalist pack has taken the established principle of Hamas’ ineligibility and shunted it aside, associating it merely with current Israeli policy.

There is the legal problem with Hamas holding public office. Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom stated it in practical terms: “There is no place - nor can there ever be - in a democratic society for political parties which bear arms, for political parties engaged in terrorism and intimidation. No democratic regime can survive if it lets terrorism and politics proceed side by side.”

Look now for this issue to grow in importance. - HonestReporting / 19 Sept 05

SEPT 05. Beyond the 10 nations that have already declared nuclear arms, there are more than 40 countries with peaceful nuclear programs that could make weapons.  Mohamed El Baradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, suggested last year that it was time to tighten world policing of nuclear activities and to stop relying on information volunteered by countries. - 22 Sept 04

“Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war! Rouse the warriors! Let all the men of war draw near. Let them come up to attack! Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears. Let the weak say, ‘I am strong!’” (Joel 3:9-10)

IF YOU COULD TELEPHONE TO HEAVEN,

and ask how to be saved,

you would receive the same answer the Bible gives.

God Has No Different Answer!

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.”

(Acts 16:31)

“For by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God - not as a result of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

“God commends His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us … For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life ... For God made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; in order that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him ... The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”  (Romans 5:8;  John 3:16;   2 Corinthians 5:21;  Isaiah 53:6)

Our good works and efforts will never save us!

“By the works of the Law no person will be justified in His (God’s) sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.” (Romans 3:20)

It’s “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us.”       (Titus 3:5)

Every one of us is unclean because of our sin.

We need forgiveness, cleansing, and eternal life that God gives.

“For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like filthy rags.”   (Isaiah 64:6)

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in the Messiah, Y’shua our Master.”  (Romans 6:23)

We need the One who alone can save us!

It was because man could not save himself by any means that God sent His only begotten Son to die as a substitute for sinners. If man could have achieved righteousness in some other way, then obviously the Saviour need not have died.

When the Lord Jesus died on Calvary and rose again on the third day. He finished the work necessary to reconcile us to God. Now all that He requires is that we should acknowledge our need of Him and receive Him as our Lord and Saviour.

“To all who received Him, to those who believe in His Name, Y’shua, He gave the right to become children of God; children born, not of blood (of natural descent), nor of the will of the flesh (human decision), nor of the will of man (a natural father), but of God.”  (John 1:12-13)

To “receive Him” means believe and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for your salvation.

 “He who believes (trusts) in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” (John 3:36)

To summarize; man is a sinner and cannot reach Heaven by his good works, good character, personal effort, or merit of any kind. His only hope of salvation rests upon the finished work of Christ upon Calvary’s cross. So, when the sinner believes and trusts in the Saviour, his sins are forgiven, he receives the gift of eternal life, he is saved, and he is bound for the Promised Land - Heaven. God gives him the assurance that he is “in Christ,” is a child of God, and has eternal life.

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