Palestinian terrorism results in multiple victims. We want to pray about two specific groups today, looking at this week as an example.
Firstly, Israel has had many challenges this week conducting counter-terrorism operations in Palestinian terror strongholds. And this week CUFI UK reported how Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) has been using children as soldiers on the frontline. According to international law, it is a war crime and human rights abuse to use children in armed conflict. Yet, the world largely ignores this abuse. Two Palestinian teens, who were members of PIJ, were killed during the IDF raid in Jenin in addition to five adult members. Another Palestinian teen was killed carrying a PIJ explosive in a separate incident. Our report shows that these young people were deeply involved in the PIJ’s activities and the PIJ viewed them no different to the adult terrorists in their organisation. PIJ’s deliberate placing of children in danger as well as indoctrinating hate towards Israel is a combination that must be acknowledged and addressed by human rights organisations. Shamefully, PIJ abuse these minors twice. Once in their integration into terror and secondly by using their deaths in propaganda to support their cause, which western media outlets sometimes report without even questioning.
Pray for Palestinian youth. Pray that human rights groups will call this out and bring it to the forefront of the world’s attention. Pray for a spiritual awakening among Palestinian children that will question the lies and deception of their forefathers. May they have strength and boldness not to conform to the evil ideology that is being impressed upon them, and may they have a softened heart towards peace and reconciliation with their neighbours.
The other victim group of Palestinian terror is of course their main targets – innocent Israelis. Also this week, two Palestinian terrorists opened fire killing four Israelis in the community of Eli in Samaria. Hamas claimed responsibility and cited Israel’s raids in Jenin as the reason for the attack. There is no moral equivalence between the two incidents. On Israel’s part, the raid in Jenin was counter-terrorism in which the IDF suffered a number of injured soldiers trying to arrest TERRORISTS. But the attack in Eli by two Hamas terrorists targeted innocent civilians. There is no comparison.
Pray for the families of the four Israelis that were murdered: They are Harel Masood, 21, of Yad Binyamin in southern Israel; Ofer Fairman, 64 (some reports say 60), of Eli; Elisha Anteman, 17 (some reports say 18), a 12th-grader attending a yeshivah seminary who lived in Eli’s Nevah neighborhood; and Nachman Shmuel Mordoff, 17, of the Jewish community of Ahiya. Pray also for four Israelis that were wounded in the attack.
This week PIJ and Hamas met Iranian leaders in the capital, Tehran. Iran funds PIJ fully and part-funds Hamas. This relationship is deepening and Iran’s influence in the Palestinian territories is increasing. Notice this tweet from the Iranian Supreme leader this week: “Gaza is the center of Resistance, but it is the West Bank that will bring the enemy to its knees. And good progress has been made in this region so far.” This is an admission by the top of the Iranian regime that it supports the uprising of Palestinian terrorism in not only Gaza, but also Judea and Samaria (the West Bank). Not only this, but they claim that progress is being made. The Iranian threat and influence in the Palestinian territories must be taken seriously. Therefore as we pray for Israel’s security, we must also pray that the schemes of Israel’s enemies will fail.
Psalm 83:2-4 says:
For behold, Your enemies make a tumult;
And those who hate You have lifted up their head.
They have taken crafty counsel against Your people,
And consulted together against Your sheltered ones.
They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation,
That the name of Israel may be remembered no more.”
This is the stated aim of the enemy of Israel. But the Psalmist’s trust in the God of Israel and His promises should fill us with confidence:
Verses 17-18
Let them be confounded and dismayed forever;
Yes, let them be put to shame and perish,
That they may know that You, whose name alone is the Lord,
Are the Most High over all the earth.
Thank you for praying with us today.
