Religious Understanding is Needed

As negotiations about Phase Two of the ceasefire and hostage release agreement start in earnest, Israel’s Prime Minister yesterday confirmed that his conditions are for the Hamas terror group to disarm and leave the Gaza Strip, and the Palestinian Authority to be banned from managing the area.

One reason for banning the Palestinian Authority is their long track record in sponsoring terrorism.

The Rescuers Without Borders group reported on Monday that Palestinian terrorists targeted Israeli Jews in Judea and Samaria at least 6,343 times in 2024, resulting in 27 Israelis being killed and more than 300 others wounded.

Many people are putting their hope in President Trump’s plan for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. But others say there are major obstacles to that, including Qatar’s powerful propaganda networks (notably Al-Jazeera) and their ongoing alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood.

Even so, some Arab leaders are calling for Hamas to step down from controlling Gaza, as the interests of the Palestinian people should be a higher priority than the interests of the terrorist group.

Within this context of many different views within extremely difficult negotiations, Rabbi Daniel Rowe writes that,

‘We can’t solve the Mideast conflict with secular solutions alone, there has to be religious understanding as well.
When Western media celebrates each new ceasefire between Israel and Hamas,
they fundamentally misunderstand what’s actually happening.’

In his article, he recalls that the virulently anti-Jewish Haj Amin al-Husseini was installed as Grand Mufti of Jerusalem against local Palestinian preferences, and that there are other views about the correct Islamic perspective on a Jewish presence in the region.

Our booklet ‘A Nation Called by God’ provides an overview of the history that has led to the current situation in and around Israel.