Is the Palestinian claim to statehood Biblical?

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dateline-israel-newBy Don Davis

ONE of the most volatile topics in the world today is the Israeli/Palestinian debacle.

We know what an Israeli is. But what exactly is a Palestinian?

The word ‘Palestine’ comes from ‘Philistines’ or ‘Land of the Philistines’. According to the Bible, the Philistine culture, which integrated with the Canaanites, was notorious for their worship of multiple deities and detestable rituals.

The Philistines are commonly associated with the Arabs, but this connection can be debated. Many scholars believe the Philistines were neither Hebrew nor Semitic in their origin. Ishmael, the son of Abraham’s Egyptian slave, is identified by Islamic tradition as the predecessor of the Arab peoples (also Edom and Moab), and surviving ancestors of the Philistines may have integrated into the Arab families.

Anyhow, when God had enough of the vile Philistine behavior, along with the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, when their wicked sins reached their peak (Deuteronomy 9:4-5), fulfilling His promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (also named Israel), God sent Moses and the Israelites (family tribes of the man named Israel) into Canaan with the command to utterly destroy the corrupt inhabitants, show no mercy and make no covenant with them (Deuteronomy 7:1-6).

God gave the Israelites explicit directions concerning the cities the Israelites would inherit, the cities God did not want the Israelites to inherit and what would happen if they did not obey His instructions (Deuteronomy 20:10-13, Deuteronomy 20:16-18, Exodus 23:23-24, Exodus 23:32-33, Exodus 34:11-16).

Except, the Israelites did not obey God and to make matters worse they eventually worshipped the same evil gods alongside the people they did not destroy.  In turn, God punished them for the purpose of drawing them back to Himself (as He does with everyone He loves), and ultimately many of the Israelites died, were killed or exiled to foreign lands.

Nonetheless, because conquering kings needed the land of Canaan to be cultivated and occupied, the exiled Israelites were replaced by peoples from the east. These cultures were supplanted mainly from the Assyrian, Persian and Ottoman (Turkish) empires to live among the remnant of the Jews.

After the fall of the Islamic Ottoman Empire, the Holy Land became part of the British Mandate of Palestine which included Transjordan (Jordan).

Later, in 1946 Transjordan (Jordan) applied for membership in the United Nations (UN) but was refused. There were suggestions (by the United States) in the General Assembly deliberations of Palestine, that it would be beneficial to integrate part of Transjordan’s territory into the future Jewish State.

Then, Israel declared independence to ensure a separate state. This was primarily because of the UN General Assembly decision to partition the Palestine Territory, the British decision to terminate the mandate in Palestine, and Britain earlier changing their position on Jewish immigration to Palestine.

Transjordan escaped intact from the partitioning and was soon renamed the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan with some reports claiming a 70 percent Palestinian population. (Today, the data is outdated and highly conflicting. However, estimates range from 30 to 50 percent Palestinian. Also, Jordan had selectively revoked Palestinian citizenships between in 2004 and 2008).

Meanwhile, subsequent to Israel’s statehood in 1948, the Jews in Israel graciously invited the Arabs to stay in their homes and be a part of Israel. But most of the Arabs rejected the invitation (including many Christian Arabs), and rejected Israel as a Jewish State. The majority of Arabs not only did not want a partition but also wanted all the territory of the reestablished State of Israel for themselves. As a result, the Arabs chose to leave their property and homes and settle in the surrounding Muslim Arabs countries (many Christian Arabs also chose to leave and live with the Muslims). Almost immediately after this, the neighboring Muslim Arabs countries attacked Israel to conquer the land and kill the Jews.

Although, it is important to point out that there were, and are, some Israeli Arab and non-Jewish residents among Muslim, Druze, Christian and other faiths, that love and support Israel. Yet, in many cases they must be careful not to express their support of Israel openly fearing reprisals from local Muslim extremists.

Unfortunately, the Israel/Arab issue was never resolved and the conflicts continue to this day.

Nowadays, except for the remnant of Jews that survived in Canaan as well as the present-day Jews in Israel, the overwhelming regional population is Muslim Arabs. Statistics maintain less than 4 percent of the former Mandate Palestine is Christian (Israel and Jordan).

Therefore, in order to mislead western individuals away from the ongoing Arab ploy to remove the Jews (and Christians) from Israel, some of the Arabs refer to themselves as ‘Palestinian’. The ‘Palestinian’ public relations gimmick is used to fudge the real people (Arabs) and the reason (removal of the Jews) behind the anti-Israel rhetoric. It is designed to fool western nations into pressuring Israel to give Arabs land which they (Arabs) could not take in war after Mandate Palestine.  | Also read: Why does Israel always get the bad press? |

More to the point, the term ‘Palestinian’ is much more politically acceptable and protest-worthy than the term ‘Muslim Arabs’ who live in the region spreading anarchy, creating terrorists cells, killing Jews and westerners in order to permanently inhabit the Holy Land.

Interestingly enough, prior to the reestablishing of Israel as the Jewish State, Jews were also called Palestinian because they were from or lived in the Palestine region. But the Jews, unlike several Muslim extremist groups, aren’t running around the world in terror groups killing Christians.

Furthermore, unless a person is working to undermine the State of Israel, Christians, Jews and Muslims have freedom to worship and have access to religious sites under the Israeli leadership. That is not the case under Islamic rule; neither under the Muslim Arab so-called ‘Palestinian Authority’ who persecutes Arab Christians (for not providing enough martyrs for the Intifadas) and permits extensive desecration of Holy Sites.

Besides, I question if it were not for a small percent of the beleaguered Christian Arabs caught in the middle of this so-called ‘Palestinian’ fiasco, would Christians be debating against the Jews and Israel?

I also find it peculiar that Israel is condemned for the treatment of some Christian Arabs (however in specific cases it is a legal or a security issue), but hardly anything is reported about the continual persecution of Christians under Hamas and the so-called ‘Palestinian Authority’.

Consequently, if Christians feel a God-given quest to address a political subject, they first and foremost need to fully understand the facts before they give advice, protest, write or debate political issues.

Take into account that God chose Abraham’s son, Isaac (Genesis 26:3, Genesis 17:19-21), not Ishmael or the Philistines. Jesus Christ’s lineage is from Isaac’s grandson, Judah (Matthew 1:1-2), not from Ishmael or the Philistines. God is going to reestablish His covenant with Israel and Judah (Jeremiah 31:31-34, Ezekiel 39:25-29), not with Ishmael (Arabs) or the Philistines.

Moreover, prophesy does not indicate Israel being split (other than the nations of Judah and Israel in Ezekiel 35:10 and 42 months of the Gentiles treading on the Holy City in Revelation 11:2). However, prophesy does foretell of punishment and destruction for anti-Israel conduct (Ezekiel 35:12-15, Ezekiel 36:5, Ezekiel 38:18, Ezekiel 39:3-6, Revelation 20:9).

God does not change, nor is He answerable to angels, principalities, man, and woman, the world or world leaders because He is the Creator. Neither is God politically correct, rather He is Holy and we cannot perceive, understand or predict what He is going to do unless it is revealed to us by His divine power.

In addition, since Jesus Christ is our ‘earthly’ example of how to live, pray, speak, behave, eat and worship we need to heed this and follow His pattern. And, as difficult as it seems to us, Jesus did not concern Himself with governmental politics, only with His relationship to God.

Judge for yourselves (and remember Jesus Christ will judge us). Support God’s chosen people and the land that is fighting for its very existence, and which will be firmly reestablished in the Lord (Jeremiah 31:31, Ezekiel 39:25 & 29).  | Also read: The unavoidable accountability of Christians concerning Israel |

Or, support the wicked individuals (and people who associate with those depraved groups) who consistently try to destroy the Jews, Israel, Christianity, western civilization and the rest of the mankind.

Read more columns by the writer

Don Davis has over 20 years experience in analytic research particularly regarding Israeli, Middle Eastern culture, behavior and historical patterns. Don is based in Israel, from where he monitors and evaluates worldwide information on finance, technologies, industries, and the military/political environment for a US consulting company. 

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