A Brilliant Strategy

A Brilliant Strategy,

Back in the days of Joshua, and right after YHVH delivered Jericho into the hands of Israel, the commander of the army dispatched a small band of warriors to take the city of Ai.  However, the attempt failed dismally, leaving Joshua’s troops astonished at being defeated by this town's military, which chased them back to camp.  YHVH informed Joshua that something was amiss in the camp of Israel, and thus the utter failure they encountered at the hands of the enemy.  As we know, there was sin in the camp.  A family from Judah had stolen what belonged to YHVH. After rectifying the matter, Joshua devised a strategy to defeat the army of Ai.  He sent part of his military by night on a stealth mission to the opposite side of the city, there to set up an ambush. In the meantime, he and the rest of the company camped in front and in plain sight of the town.  In the morning, when the Canaanites saw Israel’s army, they, in complete confidence, left their enclave to fight against their adversary. Joshua feigned fleeing before this foolish army, and at one point signaled to his ambush commanders to attack Ai and burn it.  When Ai’s military turned and saw their homes on fire, they stopped pursuing Israel, but Joshua turned on them with full force and routed them.

You may wonder what this has to do with the current events in Israel. (I wrote this on Thursday, June 12th, today is Friday the 13th, and reality has changed. “Today,” we are at war with Iran.) One might think that the title I am using has to do with the present state of affairs, with Israel’s preemptive strike in Iran, but that is not what I had in mind.  We know that even though Israel will destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities, it will not change the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. 

This conflict began way before the establishment of the State of Israel, between two people groups, each claiming that the territory called Palestine (today Jordan, Israel, and Gaza) belongs to one or the other. However, the Jewish people did not insist on settling on the entire landmass; they made significant compromises and were willing to go even further, for the sake of peace. But with this said, Israel, of course, isn't willing to concede to every demand made by this group, which names itself "Palestinians". This is why there cannot be a two-state solution in the territory once called “Palestine” or in ancient times “Israel”.  Both groups lay claim to it! 

Let’s look at today’s demographics: In Jordan (Eastern Palestine), out of 12 million people, the Palestinians make up around 7 million. In Gaza, there are 2 million. In Israel, 2 million, while in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) 2.7 million. altogether 13.7 million people define themselves as Palestinians. There are no Jews in Jordan or Gaza.  In Israel, the population of Jews is around 7.2 million, including Judea and Samaria.  Together with Israel's Jewry, there are 16 million Jews in the world.

As mentioned, Israel and the Jewish people do not have a strategy to take over all of the territory in question.  As far as I know, there are no strategic plans or attempts to take over Jordan or Gaza. Judea and Samaria, and the Golan Heights are another matter. But do the Palestinians have a plan to take over the lands that Israel claims? If so, how are they going about it?  What is their strategy?

Here is my take on how our opponent is slowly and surely conquering all the land of what was once known as Palestine. Hamas and the Gazans on the western side of our border are openly attacking us and hoping that we will exhaust our military and our resources to fight them as long as they can hold out, and thus also uphold their cause in front of a highly sympathetic world.  On the east side (the West Bank), the approximately 2.7 million Arabs living there are working on planning ambush attacks on our homes in Judea and Samaria and inside Israel, while we are engaged in fighting on the western front.  Unlike Joshua, they also have a third column inside Israel (2 million). These are at a great advantage, as they are well mixed into the fabric of Israeli society. 27% are our doctors and nurses, 80% are pharmacists, others are employed by the government, 80% are builders, and many more are in various forms of services. How has this happened? Very simply, while the Jewish young men and women are training to fight and protect our borders, and giving up a good number of years for this service, the Arab Palestinians are exempt and free to attend universities and be trained in the vital services of the nation.  Their "fight" in this conflict consists of being nice, cordial, and helpful.  Our family doctor, for example, is Muslim and is one of the nicest people you would want to know, and there are many more that we deal with daily who are just like him.  Most of the Muslim Israeli citizens do not identify themselves as Israelis but as Palestinians first.

The Islamic agenda, which the Jihadists are carrying out, is to be at war with any non-Muslim entity and its territory, especially targeting Western civilization.  On the other hand, most Muslims do not consider themselves Islamic extremists. They 'merely' express and uphold higher moral values than other religions or societies.  Thus, this arm of Islam is more dangerous than the evil one.  The entire Muslim world (2 billion) sees Palestine as Islamic territory, one whose cause may be used as a platform for imposing Muslim morals and justice while applying it far and wide (not that the "Palestinians" themselves are particularly loved or cared for by the rest of the Islamic world). 

This conflict and the so-called struggle for Palestinian statehood, along with the Israeli one, is not at all the desired solution.  They may allow Israel to have an autonomous section, but if the Jews stake a claim on the land, only war is and will be the answer. The Arab world is also using the “nice-guy” approach to infiltrate Western (and other) countries, making this a method to accomplish their mission.  As the old saying goes: "If you can’t beat them, join them", but make sure to keep the language, religious customs, and laws intact—a brilliant strategy to accomplish an eighteen-hundred-year-old objective.