Gaza conflict taking its toll on civilians
by Michelle A Vu
Posted: Sunday, January 4, 2009, 9:19 (GMT)
The ministry leader whose organisation works with persecuted churches warns that Israel’s plan might backfire if suffering Gaza citizens turn to Hamas under Israeli bombardment.
President Bush and his administration responded to the Gaza situation by blaming Hamas for instigating the violence by Israel. Bush has called the Hamas attacks an “act of terror” and said no ceasefire deal would be acceptable until the flow of smuggled weapons to terrorist groups is stopped.
“The United States is leading diplomatic efforts to achieve a meaningful ceasefire that is fully respected,” Bush said in his weekly radio address Saturday. “Another one-way ceasefire that leads to rocket attacks on Israel is not acceptable. And promises from Hamas will not suffice – there must be monitoring mechanisms in place to help ensure that smuggling of weapons to terrorist groups in Gaza comes to an end.”
Although Bush’s radio address was taped for broadcast Saturday, it was released a day early,marking the first time Bush himself had spoken about the worst Mideast violence in decades. Up until Friday, the White House spokesman had offered comments about the violence.
“There is no question that those (Gaza-launched rockets into Israel) are random acts of violence that are targeting Israeli civilians,” Moeller agreed. “Absolutely true. But it does not make it right, however, to retaliate with overwhelming firepower against Gaza citizens."
He added, “I agree that Israel is between a rock and a hard place with Gaza because Hamas, in particular, has vowed to use civilians as cover for its activities.”
Although this is a “despicable” act, it does not make it excusable for the other party to “act despicably” as well, Moeller said.
“That is why I really believe the only hope for peace in the Middle East is the Prince of Peace Jesus Christ and his followers evidencing a same opportunity to dialogue,” he said.
The Open Door USA president noted that the Gaza Baptist Church building was heavily damaged last weekend when an Israeli bomb was dropped on the main police station in Gaza City across the street. All the church’s windows were shattered as a result of the nearby bombing.
World Vision and other Christian groups have called for both sides to agree to a ceasefire.
“We utterly condemn Hamas’s rocket attacks on Israeli civilians,” said Allyn Dhynes, advocacy manager with World Vision in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza Strip. “At the same time, we cannot justify this overwhelming military action by the Israelis which is killing and injuring many innocent civilians.”
The World Council of Churches, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the International Justice and Peace of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the National Council of Churches USA are among the church bodies that have called for a ceasefire between Gaza and Israel.
Copyright © 2009 Christian Today. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The comments below are readers' personal opinions and are in no way intended to reflect the editorial opinion of Christian Today.
Added: Thursday, January 8, 2009, 22:39 (GMT)
Independent observers and journalists - Joel Rosenberg, Stan Goodenough, for instance - have reported on the Hamas strategy of forcing Palestinian civilians, women and children mostly, into building, like the US Hospital, putting rocket launchers on the roofs of them and firing them to attract Israeli jets to cause an attack! Then Hamas make political propaganda, promoting the victimhood of Palestinians and their current 'suffering', against Israel. And the Western press and govts are swallowing it whole.
Hamas is an Iranian-backed, Hezbollah-supported, anti-Semitic, terrorist group who staged both a coup, against the democratically approved Palestinian Authority, and held a forced a 'democratic' election to ratify its position, then caused the suffering of the Gazan Arabs, blaming Israel, to foment both hatred against Israel, and swell its own ranks. All of this, and more, is recorded fact, though a lot of it was via Israeli intelligence - and, therefore seen as suspect, as we are not allowed to know the raw data - and summarily discounted, or passed over, by the Western secular press (BBC, Sky News, CNN, printed media, ect), and we end up being given the Pro-Islamic Arabian victimhood, anti-Israeli (so-called 'bully-boys', using neo-Nazistic tactics), and not the true, unvarnished truth.
So here it is - Hamas is an Iranian-supported organisation, who uses its own people in a cynical way to destroy the reputation of Israel, and its supporters, and follow the Koranian edict to utterly destroy the Jews in any way possible!
Don't be fooled, check all the news sources, both Christian and secular, and then pray and ask God what His opinion is! Amen.
Chris Maguire, Ventnor, IOW, UK
Added: Tuesday, January 6, 2009, 7:38 (GMT)
Certain things are not in our control and rightfully so. "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father". Even sparrows. It behoves us to do what we can do, when we are/have been given the opportunity to do so, and have already been commissioned to do by our Lord, instead of lamenting at this late stage and only voice protest which is not the mandate given us by our Lord.
I appreciate that Christian aid agencies may have already gone into the Gaza strip and the West Bank. Yet, surely, there must be those, many more, who heard His voice, His call, as individuals, church and church groups, [sitting in the comfort and safety of our pews] so that our Lord will not have to, when we face Him, utter to us, "I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me."
...and more importantly, to share with those in the Gaza and the West Bank who are willing to receive, the Good News Story.
Let not their blood be on our hands as we have no excuse, when we hear
the ".. voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?"
and hopefully, your answer, "Here am I! Send me."
In spite of any danger, as "they ...conquered him [the devil] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death."
ong siong kai, Jakarta, Indonesia
