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it important to God?
And who did they sell the Land to? NOBODY! Nobody
has even been able to TAKE it from the Jews forecefully -
not even in 1967 when several much larger countries
tried to take Israel by force! So, unless the Muslims are
willing to buy the Land (which, as it happens, is not for
sale!) then NOBODY has a right to it except for "the
Jews"!
Leviticus 25: 23 The land shall not be sold for ever: for
the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with
me.
Let's add a couple of very important details that show exactly what YHWH told the
Israelites when He gave them the Land. Please pay close attention because it shows
that YHWH did not want any Gentiles in Israel - HIS LAND - at all!
Numbers 33: 50 ADONAI spoke to Moshe in the plains of Mo'av by the Yarden, across
from Yericho. He said 51 to tell the people of Isra'el, "When you cross the Yarden into
the land of Kena'an, 52 you are to expel all the people living in the land from in front of
you. Destroy all their stone figures, destroy all their metal statues and demolish all their
high places. 53 Drive out the inhabitants of the land, and live in it, for I have given the
land to you to possess. 54 You will inherit the land by lot according to your families.
You are to give more land to the larger families and less to the smaller ones. Wherever
the lot falls to any particular person, that will be his property. You will inherit according
to the tribes of your ancestors. 55 But if you don't drive out the inhabitants of the land
from in front of you, then those you allow to remain will become like thorns in your
eyes and stings in your sides - they will harass you in the land where you are living. 56
And in this event, I will do to you what I intended to do to them."
What strong statements! Here we can see that Israel is suffering BECAUSE they
allowed the Arabs and other settlers to remain in THEIR Land back in 1948 when Israel
was returned to them! The Jews are being harassed and killed still today because they
didn't obey YHWH to force ALL foreigners out of Israel....
Numbers 34: 1 ADONAI told Moshe 2 to give this order to the people of Isra'el:
"When you enter the land of Kena'an, it will become your land to pass on as an
inheritance, the land of Kena'an as defined by these borders. 3 "Your southern portion
will extend from the Tzin Desert close to the border of Edom. The eastern terminus of
your southern border is at the end of the Dead Sea. 4 From there your border turns,
goes south of the 'Akrabbim Ascent and passes on to Tzin. From there it goes south of
Kadesh-Barnea, on to Hatzar-Adar, and on to 'Atzmon. 5 Then the border turns and
goes from 'Atzmon to the Vadi of Egypt and along it to the Sea. 6 "Your western border
will be the Great Sea. 7 "Your northern border will be as follows: from the Great Sea
mark a line to Mount Hor, 8 and from Mount Hor mark a line to the entrance of Hamat.
The border goes out to Tz'dad. 9 Then the border goes to Zifron and finally to Hatzar-
'Einan; this is your northern border. 10 "For the eastern border mark your line from
Hatzar-'Enan to Sh'fam. 11 Then the border goes down from Sh'fam to Rivlah, on the
east side of 'Ayin, then down until it hits the slope east of Lake Kinneret. 12 From there
it goes down the Yarden River till it flows into the Dead Sea. These will be the borders
of your land." 13 Moshe gave this order to the people of Isra'el: "This is the land in
which you will receive inheritances by lot, which ADONAI has ordered to give to the
nine tribes and the half-tribe. 14 The tribe of the descendants of Re'uven have already
received their land for inheritance according to their clans, and so have the descendants
of Gad and the half-tribe of M'nasheh. 15 These two-and-a-half tribes have received
their inheritance on this side of the Yarden, across from Yericho and eastward, toward
the sunrise."
Archaeologists have confirmed Israel's settlement in Biblical times. The Bible teaches us
that YHWH (Yahweh) promised the land to the Jewish people as an "everlasting
possession" (Genesis 15:18). He also promised that he would never again remove them
from the land (Amos 9:15).
The Children of Israel took possession of the land about 2,000 years before the birth of
Islam. Every part of the land yields distinctly Judaic archaeological findings. The very
name "Judea" reflects the authenticity of its Jewish history. Arab villages still bear the
Hebrew names of Biblical sites. No other state has ever been sovereign over this
territory. Jordan, which illegally took over the so-called West Bank during Israel's War
of Independence, claimed sovereignty over this land. This was rejected by virtually all
nations, including even the Arab states, except for Great Britain and Pakistan. The last
recognized legal document attributing sovereignty over the "West Bank" was the
League of Nations Mandate - which mandated the land to the Jewish people.
Israel is the only free country in a region dominated by Arab monarchies, theocracies
and dictatorships. Since its founding in 1948, Israel has been the victim of a battle - a
battle not of "flesh and blood" but of principalities - a battle that can only be won when
Messiah Yeshua returns to begin His thousand year reign.
Since its founding in 1948, Israel has had to fight five wars - all in self-defense - against
22 hostile Arab dictatorships, and has been repeatedly attacked by Palestinian
terrorists.
The land Israel is supposedly "occupying" (according to the Muslim terrorists who are
waging war against the "infidels" of this world) was captured in a war initiated by its
Arab neighbors. Like any victim of aggression, Israel has a moral right to control as
much land as is necessary to safeguard itself against attack. Only Israel has a moral
right to establish a government in that area in Israel on the grounds, not just of an
ethnic or religious heritage, but also of a secular, rational principle. Only a state based
on political and economic freedom has moral legitimacy.
As to the rightful owners of particular pieces of property, Israel's founders - like the
homesteaders in the American West - earned ownership to the land by developing it.
They arrived in a desolate, sparsely populated region and drained the swamps, irrigated
the desert, grew crops and built cities. They worked unclaimed land or purchased it
from the owners. They introduced industry, libraries, hospitals, art galleries, universities
- and the concept of individual rights. Those Arabs who abandoned their land in order
to join the military crusade against Israel forfeited all right to their property. And if
there are any peaceful Arabs who were forcibly evicted from their property, they may
press their claims in the courts of Israel, which, unlike the Arab autocracies, has an
independent, objective judiciary - a judiciary that recognizes the principle of property
rights.
A Brief History
The creation of the State of Israel in 1948 was preceded by more than 50 years
of efforts by Zionist leaders to establish a sovereign nation as a homeland for
Jews. The desire of Jews to return to what they consider their rightful homeland
was first expressed during the Babylonian exile and became a universal Jewish
theme after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 A.D. and the
dispersal that followed.
It was not until the founding of the Zionist movement by Theodore Herzl at the
end of the 19th century that practical steps were taken toward securing
international sanction for large-scale Jewish settlement in Palestine--then a part
of the Ottoman Empire.
The Balfour declaration in 1917 asserted the British Government's support for the
creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. This declaration was supported by a
number of other countries, including the United States, and became more
important following World War I, when the United Kingdom was assigned the
Palestine mandate by the League of Nations.
Jewish immigration grew slowly in the 1920s; it increased substantially in the
1930s, due to political turmoil in Europe and Nazi persecution, until restrictions
were imposed by the United Kingdom in 1939. After the end of World War II,
and the near-extermination of European Jewry by the Nazis, international
support for Jews seeking to settle in Palestine overcame British efforts to restrict
immigration.
In October 1956, Israel invaded the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula at the
same time that operations by French and British forces against Egypt were taking
place in the Suez Canal area. Israeli forces withdrew in March 1957, after the
United Nations established the UN Emergency Force (UNEF) in the Gaza Strip
and Sinai. In 1966-67, terrorist incidents and retaliatory acts across the armistice
demarcation lines increased.
In May 1967, after tension had developed between Syria and Israel, Egyptian
President Nasser moved armaments and about 80,000 troops into the Sinai and
ordered a withdrawal of UNEF troops from the armistice line and Sharm El
Sheikh. Nasser then closed the Strait of Tiran to Israeli ships, blockading the
Israeli port of Eilat at the northern end of the Gulf of Aqaba. On May 30, Jordan
and Egypt signed a mutual defense treaty.
In response to these events, Israeli forces struck targets in Egypt, Jordan, and
Syria on June 5. After 6 days of fighting, by the time all parties had accepted the
cease-fire called for by UN Security Council Resolutions 235 and 236, Israel
controlled the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights, and the
formerly Jordanian-controlled West Bank of the Jordan River, including East
Jerusalem. On November 22, 1967, the Security Council adopted Resolution 242,
the "land for peace" formula, which called for the establishment of a just and
lasting peace based on Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in 1967 in
return for the end of all states of belligerency, respect for the sovereignty of all
states in the area, and the right to live in peace within secure, recognized
boundaries.
In the 1969-70 war of attrition, Israeli planes made deep strikes into Egypt in
retaliation for repeated Egyptian shelling of Israeli positions along the Suez
Canal. In early 1969, fighting broke out between Egypt and Israel along the Suez
Canal. The United States helped end these hostilities in August 1970, but
subsequent U.S. efforts to negotiate an interim agreement to open the Suez
Canal and achieve disengagement of forces were unsuccessful.
The cease-fire did not end the sporadic clashes along the cease-fire lines nor did
it dissipate military tensions. The United States tried to help the parties reach
agreement on cease-fire stabilization and military disengagement. On March 5,
1974, Israeli forces withdrew from the canal, and Egypt assumed control. Syria
and Israel signed a disengagement agreement on May 31, 1974, and the UN
Disengagement and Observer Force (UNDOF) was established as a peacekeeping
force in the Golan.
Further U.S. efforts resulted in an interim agreement between Egypt and Israel
in September 1975, which provided for another Israeli withdrawal in the Sinai, a
limitation of forces, and three observation stations staffed by U.S. civilians in a
UN-maintained buffer zone between Egyptian and Israeli forces.
In September 1978, U.S. President Jimmy Carter invited President Sadat and
Prime Minister Begin to meet with him at Camp David, where they agreed on a
framework for peace between Israel and Egypt and a comprehensive peace in
the Middle East. It set out broad principles to guide negotiations between Israel
and the Arab states. It also established guidelines for a West Bank-Gaza
transitional regime of full autonomy for the Palestinians residing in the occupied
territories and for a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.
The treaty was signed on March 26, 1979, by Begin and Sadat, with President
Carter signing as witness. Under the treaty, Israel returned the Sinai to Egypt in
April 1982. In 1989, the Governments of Israel and Egypt concluded an
agreement that resolved the status of Taba, a resort area on the Gulf of Aqaba.
In the years following the 1948 war, Israel's border with Lebanon was quiet,
compared to its borders with other neighbors. After the expulsion of the
Palestinian fedayeen (fighters) from Jordan in 1970--and their influx into
southern Lebanon, however, hostilities on Israel's northern border increased. In
March 1978, after a series of clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian
guerrillas in Lebanon, Israeli forces crossed into Lebanon. After passage of
Security Council Resolution 425, calling for Israeli withdrawal and the creation of
the UN Interim Force in Lebanon peace-keeping force (UNIFIL), Israel withdrew
its troops.
In July 1981, after additional fighting between Israel and the Palestinians in
Lebanon, President Reagan's special envoy, Philip C. Habib, helped secure a
cease-fire between the parties. However, in June 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon
to fight the forces of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
In August 1982, the PLO withdrew its forces from Lebanon. With U.S. assistance,
Israel and Lebanon reached an accord in May 1983 that set the stage to
withdraw Israeli forces from Lebanon. The instruments of ratification were never
exchanged, however, and in March 1984, under pressure from Syria, Lebanon
canceled the agreement. In June 1985, Israel withdrew most of its troops from
Lebanon, leaving a small residual Israeli force and an Israeli-supported militia in
southern Lebanon in a "security zone," which Israel considers a necessary buffer
against attacks on its northern territory.
When allied coalition forces moved to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait in January
1991, Iraq launched a series of missile attacks against Israel. Despite the
provocation, Israel refrained from entering the Gulf war directly, accepting U.S.
assistance to deflect continued Iraqi missile attacks.
The coalition's victory in the Gulf war opened new possibilities for regional peace,
and in October 1991, the Presidents of the United States and the Soviet Union
jointly convened an historic meeting in Madrid of Israeli, Lebanese, Jordanian,
Syrian, and Palestinian leaders which became the foundation for ongoing
bilateral and multilateral negotiations designed to bring lasting peace and
economic development to the region.
On September 13, 1993, Israel and the PLO signed a Declaration of Principles
(DOP) on the South Lawn of the White House. The declaration was a major
conceptual breakthrough achieved under the Madrid framework. It established
an ambitious set of objectives relating to a transfer of authority from Israel to an
interim Palestinian authority. The DOP established May 1999 as the date by
which a permanent status agreement for the West Bank and Gaza Strip would
take effect. Israel and the PLO subsequently signed the Gaza-Jericho Agreement
on May 4, 1994, and the Agreement on Preparatory Transfer of Powers and
Responsibilities on August 29, 1994, which began the process of transferring
authority from Israel to the Palestinians.
Prime Minister Rabin and PLO Chairman Arafat signed the historic Israeli-
Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip on
September 28, 1995, in Washington. The agreement, witnessed by the President
on behalf of the United States and by Russia, Egypt, Norway, and the European
Union, incorporates and supersedes the previous agreements and marked the
conclusion of the first stage of negotiations between Israel and the PLO.
The U.S. continued working intensively with the parties to reach agreement on
the basis of U.S. ideas. After a 9-day session at the Wye River Conference Center
in Maryland, agreement was reached on October 23, 1998. The Wye agreement
is based on the principle of reciprocity and meets the essential requirements of
both the parties, including unprecedented security measures on the part of the
Palestinians and the further redeployment of Israeli troops in the West Bank. The
agreement also permits the launching of the permanent status negotiations as
the May 4, 1999 expiration of the period of the Interim Agreement.
Source for the above history: U.S. State Department Background Notes 1998
http://www.therefinersfire.org/whose_land.htm