Friendly Enemies

It’s fascinating noting the efforts Israel’s historical enemies are taking to fight terrorism in and around Israel. I’m talking about Russia and Egypt. This past week those operations came to light, particularly in the fight against ISIS, which has regrouped since the rogue regime in Washington took power two years ago.

In the Sinai, Egyptian troops engaged with ISIS terrorists near the Rafah Beach section, killing a total of four terrorists on October 5 and October 14. On the 16^th, a joint operation between Egyptian army and the Sinai Tribal Union killed two more ISIS demons, one of whom was wearing explosives.

A day later, in Syria, an imam from the village of Al-Hajna was shot and killed by rival terrorists. There has been an intense amount of terror activity in Syria, particularly near Damascus, in the last two weeks. Several days ago, an IED crippled a bus carrying Syrian soldiers, 19 of whom were killed. 

According to the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center:

“General Oleg Egorov, deputy head of the Russian Coordination Center in Syria, announced that about 100 ISIS operatives had been killed in Russian airstrikes on October 16, 2022, against a training camp and a command post of ISIS in northwestern Syria. According to General Egorov, the airstrikes destroyed a command post, ammunition depots, weapons, the headquarters in the camp, as well as 15 vehicles equipped with machine guns (TASS, October 17, 2022). So far, the report has not been confirmed by any local source. 

“That same day, airstrikes were also carried out against positions of the Suqur al-Sham faction, which is affiliated with the rebel organizations, north of the village of Qataa, northwest of Aleppo. Three faction operatives were killed and nine others were wounded (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, October 17, 2022). According to local sources, Russian fighter jets carried out the attack after forces of HTS, the leading organization among the rebels in the Idlib region, had entered the Afrin region, about 40 km northwest of Aleppo.”

Just after this, Russian fighter jets attacked a cluster of terrorists at Jassem, killing 20 of them. Of those, four had been involved in the bus attack.

All this activity shows clearly that the scourge of terror doesn’t impact only Israel in the region, and that other governments are committed to rooting-out terrorism, if only because it impedes and impacts their own interests. It does serve to bolster Israel’s security, though.

She isn’t fighting alone.

Jim1fletcher@yahoo.com

The Doctor is…Out

A story this week from Israel illustrates just how difficult the nation’s fight against terrorism really is.

Therityre are several cockroach terror groups in the area, chief among them Hamas and the Palestinian Authority/PLO. Under them though are a variety of splinter groups such as Islamic Jihad and the especially stupidly named Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade (because there are so many infidels storming the mosque to destroy it).

A few days ago, a Palestinian doctor was killed in a firefight with IDF troops in the terror snake bed of Jenin. For years, the Palestinian city has been a refuge for the worst killers in Israel.

Dr. Abdallah Abu al Teen, employed by the Palestinian Health Ministry, was shot from long range by…anyone’s guess. Whether it was the IDF or friendly fire, no one knows at this time. It is being investigated.

According to the Jerusalem Post:

“Shortly after his death, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades terror group claimed Abu Teen as a commander in the group and the Secretary of the Fatah Movement of Jenin Province, Atta Abu Armila, told the Palestinian Quds news agency that al Teen was killed while ‘fighting side by side with the resistance.’

“The IDF said that during the operation, explosives were thrown and Palestinian gunmen opened heavy fire toward the forces who returned “accurate shots toward armed men identified in the area.”

Ah, so. Notice that this claim doesn’t come from Israeli sources, but the Palestinians themselves. A murky report so far, but it is instructive that the “good” doctor was fighting alongside the “resistance.” This is a strong indication that every strata of Arab society has been indoctrinated and subjected to the worst propaganda, in order to incite hate against Jews. Abu Teen would have been a young teenager when the Oslo Accords were signed decades ago and no doubt he was fed a steady diet of hate by Arafat’s PA/PLO.

A Hamas operative was also arrested during the exchange in Jenin, showing the coordination between Palestinian terror groups. They were armed with M-16 rifles.

Hamas issued an insane statement:

“We affirm that the policy of criminality and trespassing on the blood of our people, pursued by the occupation, will not bring its alleged security to its entity, nor will it achieve stability or survival for its settlers on our land.”

This is the same lunatic rhetoric that has been coming from Palestinian leadership for many decades. This kind of talk was going on in Egypt under Nasser, in Syria under the Assads, and even (especially?) Jordan. In my view, King Abdullah of Jordan is no friend of peace, and the rhetoric aimed at Israel has been allowed to fester for a long time. Think of the string of useless secretaries of state trotted out by the Americans, that tolerated the hate.

“The clashes come amid rising tensions in the West Bank and east Jerusalem in recent weeks, including a series of shooting attacks carried out against Israelis in the West Bank.

“Hundreds of reserve Border Police officers were deployed to Jerusalem and its perimeter on Friday after they were called up to help with the tensions.

“’The reserve companies that were deployed this morning and other companies that are on standby reinforce the increased activity that the Border Police units carry out in the centers of disturbances and riots,’ said Border Police chief Deputy Commissioner Amir Cohen. ‘The soldiers of the Border Police will continue to act with a heavy hand and use all advanced means against those who violate public order.’”

So very tragic that Israel is burdened with this violence. I’m afraid it will remain so until the Great Physician returns. Let us look forward to that day, when we pray that redemption will take place. Let us pray that no more Palestinian doctors participate in terror.

Pray especially for the Palestinian youth, that they will no longer be swayed by the propaganda, but they will respond to the calls to repentance from Gospel-proclaiming groups in the region.

Jim1fletcher@yahoo.com