Isa 62:6 I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence, 7 And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
On 21st of this month, as the BBC reports, Sir Keir Starmer made the announcement that His Majesty’s Government will recognise a palestinian state: He claimed: ‘That means a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable Palestinian state.’ The Prime Minister went on: ‘So today, to revive the hope of peace and a two state solution, I state clearly as Prime Minister of this great country that the United Kingdom formally recognises the state of Palestine.’
In a video statement on X, the Prime Minister said: “In the face of the growing horror in the Middle East we are acting to keep alive the possibility of peace and a two-state solution.”
Australia, Canada and Portugal also announced formal recognition, with France expected to follow. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warns the decisions would reward “Hamas’s monstrous terrorism”. The US has also voiced strong opposition to the move. This previous article will bless and encourage you (opens in a new tab):
US Recognition of Jerusalem marks Centenary (8/12/2017) →
Hamas are ‘brutal terrorists’
Sir Keir said: ‘Let’s be frank. Hamas is a brutal terror organisation. A call for a genuine two-state solution is the exact opposite of their hateful vision.’
But Hamas are nevertheless claiming the announcement as a victory, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a Palestinian state ‘will not happen’.
Mossab Hassan Yousef, who wrote ‘Son of Hamas’ about his own father’s leadership role in Hamas and about his time as a Shin Bet spy, also denounces ‘palestinianism’ in a Telegraph article and scorns the West’s futile efforts, saying no such country as ‘Palestine’ will ever exist.
Many of us will still see this action a deliberate affront to the state of Israel, taken to please what Sir Keir sees as his Muslim constituency, as evidenced by the pro-Hamas Islamo-left parades which have shamed London since the massacre of Jews mounted from Gaza on 7th October 2023.
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Blessing and Cursing
Nevertheless, the scripture is clear. Those who bless Israel will be blessed and those who curse Israel will be cursed. This is as true today as when the prophet Balaam saw it around 3,400 years ago:
Numb 24:8 God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows. 9 He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.
It follows that if the United Kingdom recognises a Palestinian State without Israeli acceptance, our elite, cut adrift from any moral compass, are cursing Israel and putting our whole nation under their curse. Watch our video on why ‘The Left’ have no moral compass:
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Practicalities
The practicalities are obvious. Where is this ‘Palestine?’ Who is its president?
And how can two states live side by side (‘safe and secure’) when one of them is pledged to destroy the other and drive its people into the sea? Sir Keir may well describe the ‘vision’ of Hamas as ‘hateful’, but can he not see it derives from their religion? The Muslim sacred texts, the Hadith, call for Muslims to kill Jews:
‘You (i.e. Muslims) will fight against the Jews and you will gain victory over them. The stones will (betray them) saying: “O, Abdullah (i.e. slave of Allah)! There is a Jew hiding behind me; so kill him”.’ (Sahih al-Bukhari 2926 Book 56, Hadith 139)
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The Balfour Declaration
In his book ‘Son of Hamas’ Mosab Hassan Yousef describes ‘palestinianism’ as a convenient tool for Muslims to attempt to destroy Israel. So what is the truth behind the ‘palestinians’ and what they describe as ‘occupied territories’?
The Imperial War Museum records that the Balfour Declaration was issued by British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour in 1917. It supported the establishment of a “Jewish national home in Palestine” while also aiming to protect the rights of the existing non-Jewish population. The statement was addressed to Lionel Walter Rothschild. It became part of the British Mandate for Palestine after the Ottoman Empire’s collapse. 1917 is spiritually a highly significant year, marked out in prophecy, in which General Allenby liberated Jerusalem, and whose centenary was marked by the United States moving their embassy, as our linked story reports.
Of course, at that very same time Colonel T E Lawrence (of Arabia) was under orders to promise the same land to the Arabs in his successful campaign to persuade them to fight with the British. Welcome to the world of British diplomacy.
The British were awarded a Mandate to administer ‘Palestine’, but a 1939 White Paper reversed the position of HMG, to favour the Arabs. But now the Second World War was brewing and before, during and in its aftermath, Jews flooded into the Holy Land, despite British opposition.
The Bible is clear that God himself has given Israel the land:
Deut 3:18 And I commanded you at that time, saying, The LORD your God hath given you this land to possess it: ye shall pass over armed before your brethren the children of Israel, all that are meet for the war.
1948 War and its aftermath
In 1948, the Zionist forces went to war and by the end of 1949, says IWM, ‘Palestine had been wiped off the the map. Israel controlled 60% of the proposed Arab state, with the remainder controlled by Jordan and Egypt. 700,000 Palestinian Arabs either fled or were expelled from their homes, an event remembered as “the Nakba” or “catastrophe”. In the following years, 260,000 Jewish people emigrated from neighbouring Arab states, some by choice and others by force. Around 150,000 Palestinian Arabs remained in Israel.’
But in April 1950, TransJordan invaded and seized Samaria and Judea on the West Bank of the Jordan river. The annexation was widely considered as illegal and void by most of the international community, including the Arab League. However, the United Kingdom, Iraq, and The United States recognised this extension of Jordanian sovereignty. Jordan flooded the area with those with a claim to having been expelled in 1948.
Six-Day War of 1967 and up to 2024
Israel recaptured the ‘West Bank’ during the Six-Day War of 1967, and in 1988 Jordan renounced its claim to the territory. Nevertheless, Israel was still described as an ‘occupier’ of the land, despite the scripture:
Josh 1:13 Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, The LORD your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land.
On 19th July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest legal body of the United Nations (UN), ruled that ‘the Palestinian territories constitute one political unit’. It decided ‘that Israel’s occupation since 1967, and the subsequent creation of Israeli settlements and exploitation of natural resources, are illegal under international law’. Naturally, the court also ruled that Israel should pay full reparations to the Palestinian people and accused Israel of ‘Racial Discrimination.’
The court’s opinion was backed by the European Union but criticized by the United States. On 18th September 2024, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for the end, within a year, to Israel’s ‘unlawful presence’ in ‘the West Bank and Gaza.’ This was despite the massacre on 7th October 2023 when Hamas swarmed out of Gaza to murder 1,200 Jews and capture 250 hostages, some of whom are being held to this day.
African nations and US object to ICC
It is worth noting that this week, as Al Jazeera reports, ‘Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, three nations in West Africa run by military governments after coups in recent years, have announced their exit from the International Criminal Court (ICC), referring to it as “neocolonial repression” and accusing the judicial body of selective justice.’
The ICC is separate from both the UN and the ICJ, but similar charges of ‘selective justice’ can easily be made against both international courts. The BBC reports that the United States has also expressed a lack of confidence in the ICC: ‘US President Donald Trump has announced sanctions against the court, which he accuses of “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel”.’
It is worth pointing out that nowhere does the Bible endorse or even mention any ‘international’ court, unless it is the righteous court of heaven. As one would expect, these international courts cannot stop attacking Israel. On the matter of judgement in general, the Bible says:
Deut 1:17 Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God’s:
The Lord Jesus reinforced the point:
John 7:24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
On the ground in Gaza
Meanwhile, on the ground in Gaza City, as Colonel Richard Kemp reports in the Telegraph, ‘Hamas are being smashed’.
‘In the past couple of days they have killed dozens of Hamas terrorists, seized and destroyed munitions dumps and located and attacked numerous tunnel shafts. From ground and air, military facilities including fighting positions, command centres and observation posts located in civilian buildings, including tower blocks, have been struck and destroyed.’
Colonel Kemp concludes: ‘So, at Hamas’s moment of maximum stress, Starmer rides to their rescue with his formal recognition of a non-existent Palestinian state, a move that their leaders characterise as “victory”. Hamas are obviously not interested in Starmer’s two-state solution, any more than their fellow jihadists in the PLO and Palestinian Authority are: they want only the annihilation of the Jewish State. But Starmer’s recognition is nevertheless important for them, an indication that even at this stage there is still hope for international pressure to stop the Israeli offensive. According to senior Hamas terrorist Ghazi Hamad, recognition of a Palestinian state “is one of the fruits of October 7”.’
Read, Pray, write
READ: Gen 12:3; Numb 24:5-9; Ezra 7:27; Psalm 122:6, 135:21; Isa 62; Jer 31:35-37; Lam 5:15; Joel 3:19; Zech 12:2,3; Luke 17:11, 24:27; 1Cor 1:22-24.
PRAY: For true peace in the Holy Land. Pray for the opposition to pledge to reverse this recognition. Pray for the Israel Defence Force as they fight to remove Hamas from Gaza. Pray for our leaders to see the spiritual dimension and to honour the King of kings.
WRITE: To your MP at House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA or email him/her using the www.parliament.uk link below. Ask your MP to agree with you that recognising a state of ‘Palestine’ is nonsensical, counter-productive and does not recognise the reality of Muslim hatred for Jewish people and for the Jewish state. Ask your MP to ask HM Government to stand with Israel.
Use this UK Parliament link to email your MP →
Previous articles
US Recognition of Jerusalem marks Centenary (8/12/2017) →
Israel, Hamas and a ‘Palestinian State (12/06/2024) →
Prayer for Israel (12/10/2023) →
Meaning of Hamas; and a Prophetic Link (28/11/2023) →
United Nations comes against Jerusalem (21/12/2017) →
Recognise Palestine State says Lords (2/5/2017) →
Baroness Warsi resigns over Gaza (5/8/2014) →
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A brilliant piece Stephen. To add another scripture from Joel Joel 3.2 …”They have divided my land”. Often mentioned by Bible commentator Derek Prince. One of the major charges God has against 20th century actions by Gentiles affecting the chosen people.
The Balfour declaration statement of intent and via 1920 San Remo Resolution legally binding.
A momentous decision signed of on by Winston Churchill March 17th (St Patrick’s Day) 1921 to formally close off any possibility of Jewish immigration to Transjordan. The road started upon where mandate never to go into effect. Effectively at the stroke of a pen up to 80% of potential Jewish homeland severed. A region that ultimately could be argued was at the very least 27,000 sq miles. Almost 9 months later Dec 6th 1921 Winston Churchill key signatory to Anglo Irish treaty. Irish “free” state 27,000 sq miles. In 1980 the first EEC country to advocate “2 state” solution? Republic of Ireland.
Thanks. Fascinating addition about Churchill.
“Nevertheless, the scripture is clear.” No clearer, I believe, than that it commands physical circumcision to all Christian males. Sinai is dead (Jhn.19:30). What was stronger than heaven and earth, and which is what God’s son came not to destroy, but came to fulfil (Mt.5:17-8), was Sinai, annulled when he began Golgotha.
The State of Israel is a good ally for the West, and politically a bulwark against Islam. Spiritual Israel, messiah’s community, should be the spiritual bulwark against Islam, against Judaism, and against any other sub-par religion, and indeed should be his spiritual advance. But the earth is Yahweh’s, and what he gave under Sinai he gave as a loan, with warning that it might become as sick of ethnic Israel out as it had with the Canaanites, and vomit Sinai-Israel out. Post-Sinai all bets are off, and that land is as secular and sacred as any other plot on earth. That dispensationalists championed ethnic Jews going back to ancient lands, and got their way, is neither here nor there.
“‘The Left’ have no moral compass.” I demur. There are some on the ‘Left’, and the ‘Right’ (anachronous words?), who have an objective moral compass: I think of Paul Embery and Peter Hitchens. It is dark subjectivism which obfuscates man’s moral compass, and can lead to either no moral compass (moral void), or more often purely personal ones, such as Hitler had, where we choose our branch from the moral tree, cut it off, and carve it into an idol.
Thanks, Steve H, for that.
We see our Lord’s sacrifice as fulfilling the temple sacrifices, but neither annulling the covenant nor Balaam’s prophecy.
See my Nanosermon: ‘Covenant and Law‘
The promise in Jeremiah’s prophecy is clear:
Jer 31:35 Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name:
Jer 31:36 If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.