CCC NEWS
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    Revival – by Daniel Forster

    Revival – by Daniel Forster

    Texas Resident Contracts Avian Flu After Contacting Infected Cows

    Texas Resident Contracts Avian Flu After Contacting Infected Cows

    Immigrants Given Third Gender Option on Naturalization Form

    Immigrants Given Third Gender Option on Naturalization Form

    Physicians Received Billions of Dollars from Pharmaceutical, Medical Industry

    Physicians Received Billions of Dollars from Pharmaceutical, Medical Industry

    The Challenge of Change – by Marilyn Ehle

    The Challenge of Change – by Marilyn Ehle

    5 Signs You Desperately Need a Break From Social Media

    5 Signs You Desperately Need a Break From Social Media

    God’s Relentless Pursuit – First15

    God’s Relentless Pursuit – First15

    Why Does a Good God Allow Evil Things to Happen?

    Why Does a Good God Allow Evil Things to Happen?

    Christian Leaders Slam Biden’s Easter Proclamation of ‘Transgender Day of Visibility’

    Christian Leaders Slam Biden’s Easter Proclamation of ‘Transgender Day of Visibility’

  • History
    Hymn-Enriched Resource Aids Children in Embracing Hymns

    Hymn-Enriched Resource Aids Children in Embracing Hymns

    Christian History: The Synod of Dort – A Momentous Protestant Debate

    Christian History: The Synod of Dort – A Momentous Protestant Debate

    ‘A Celestial Melody’ Echoed Through the Shadows of a Chinese Prison

    ‘A Celestial Melody’ Echoed Through the Shadows of a Chinese Prison

    Christian History: Juneteenth – The Answer to Centuries of Prayer

    Christian History: Juneteenth – The Answer to Centuries of Prayer

    Blind Musical Group Revitalizes Traditional Worship in Lebanon

    Blind Musical Group Revitalizes Traditional Worship in Lebanon

    The Ethiopian Church: A Hidden Inspiration for the Protestant Reformation | Christian History

    The Ethiopian Church: A Hidden Inspiration for the Protestant Reformation | Christian History

    John Calvin: Viewing Justice as a Worshipful Act | Insights from Christian History

    John Calvin: Viewing Justice as a Worshipful Act | Insights from Christian History

    Unveiling Lesser-Known Facts About C. S. Lewis: 10 Surprising Revelations | Christian History

    Unveiling Lesser-Known Facts About C. S. Lewis: 10 Surprising Revelations | Christian History

    Sign up for the Christianity Today Weekly Newsletter

  • Bible Studies
    10 Lesser-Known References to Jesus in the Old Testament

    10 Lesser-Known References to Jesus in the Old Testament

    World Evangelical Alliance head Thomas Schirrmacher resigns

    World Evangelical Alliance head Thomas Schirrmacher resigns

    Trailer of Bibles torched near Greg Locke’s church on Easter

    Trailer of Bibles torched near Greg Locke’s church on Easter

    Pastor shot at church says God told him ‘stop trying to die’

    Pastor shot at church says God told him ‘stop trying to die’

    Translators diminished women apostles in the Bible, pastor claims

    Translators diminished women apostles in the Bible, pastor claims

    Podcast: The Secret to Reaching the Next Generation (Kevin DeYoung)

    Podcast: The Secret to Reaching the Next Generation (Kevin DeYoung)

    Win the Next Generation with Love

    Win the Next Generation with Love

    Episode 36: J.S. Park – Sitting with the Dying

    Episode 36: J.S. Park – Sitting with the Dying

    Easter Sunday: 8 inspirational quotes about Jesus’ Resurrection

    Easter Sunday: 8 inspirational quotes about Jesus’ Resurrection

  • Music
    #homies #music #indierock #elderemo #indiepop #indiemusic #shorts #chamberpop

    #homies #music #indierock #elderemo #indiepop #indiemusic #shorts #chamberpop

    [Video] More – Aghogho » GospelHotspot

    [Video] More – Aghogho » GospelHotspot

    #Ichi #ndochokwadi #chiri #deep #Macheso #nema #Big #Gospel #Artists #deeper

    #Ichi #ndochokwadi #chiri #deep #Macheso #nema #Big #Gospel #Artists #deeper

    #Adharaney #leni #naku #nee #athmatho #shakthinichi #youtube #youtubeshorts #christianity #music #youtuber

    #Adharaney #leni #naku #nee #athmatho #shakthinichi #youtube #youtubeshorts #christianity #music #youtuber

    #TAMIL #CHRISTIAN #SONGS #EASTER #SONG #SPECIAL

    #TAMIL #CHRISTIAN #SONGS #EASTER #SONG #SPECIAL

    DCLM Daily Manna – Don’t Hold Back The Wages » GospelHotspot

    DCLM Daily Manna – Don’t Hold Back The Wages » GospelHotspot

    #Karen #gospel #song #Bible #Hel #Nay #Blut #MooOfficial #Music #Video

    #Karen #gospel #song #Bible #Hel #Nay #Blut #MooOfficial #Music #Video

    Seeds Of Destiny Devotional – The Inevitable Appointment

    Seeds Of Destiny Devotional – The Inevitable Appointment

    #Christian #lofi #music #Christian #Hip #Hop #Instrumental #Gospel #Worship #Music #Live #Bible #Study

    #Christian #lofi #music #Christian #Hip #Hop #Instrumental #Gospel #Worship #Music #Live #Bible #Study

  • FOUNDER & EDITOR
  • EDITOR’S BLOG
  • News
    Revival – by Daniel Forster

    Revival – by Daniel Forster

    Texas Resident Contracts Avian Flu After Contacting Infected Cows

    Texas Resident Contracts Avian Flu After Contacting Infected Cows

    Immigrants Given Third Gender Option on Naturalization Form

    Immigrants Given Third Gender Option on Naturalization Form

    Physicians Received Billions of Dollars from Pharmaceutical, Medical Industry

    Physicians Received Billions of Dollars from Pharmaceutical, Medical Industry

    The Challenge of Change – by Marilyn Ehle

    The Challenge of Change – by Marilyn Ehle

    5 Signs You Desperately Need a Break From Social Media

    5 Signs You Desperately Need a Break From Social Media

    God’s Relentless Pursuit – First15

    God’s Relentless Pursuit – First15

    Why Does a Good God Allow Evil Things to Happen?

    Why Does a Good God Allow Evil Things to Happen?

    Christian Leaders Slam Biden’s Easter Proclamation of ‘Transgender Day of Visibility’

    Christian Leaders Slam Biden’s Easter Proclamation of ‘Transgender Day of Visibility’

  • History
    Hymn-Enriched Resource Aids Children in Embracing Hymns

    Hymn-Enriched Resource Aids Children in Embracing Hymns

    Christian History: The Synod of Dort – A Momentous Protestant Debate

    Christian History: The Synod of Dort – A Momentous Protestant Debate

    ‘A Celestial Melody’ Echoed Through the Shadows of a Chinese Prison

    ‘A Celestial Melody’ Echoed Through the Shadows of a Chinese Prison

    Christian History: Juneteenth – The Answer to Centuries of Prayer

    Christian History: Juneteenth – The Answer to Centuries of Prayer

    Blind Musical Group Revitalizes Traditional Worship in Lebanon

    Blind Musical Group Revitalizes Traditional Worship in Lebanon

    The Ethiopian Church: A Hidden Inspiration for the Protestant Reformation | Christian History

    The Ethiopian Church: A Hidden Inspiration for the Protestant Reformation | Christian History

    John Calvin: Viewing Justice as a Worshipful Act | Insights from Christian History

    John Calvin: Viewing Justice as a Worshipful Act | Insights from Christian History

    Unveiling Lesser-Known Facts About C. S. Lewis: 10 Surprising Revelations | Christian History

    Unveiling Lesser-Known Facts About C. S. Lewis: 10 Surprising Revelations | Christian History

    Sign up for the Christianity Today Weekly Newsletter

  • Bible Studies
    10 Lesser-Known References to Jesus in the Old Testament

    10 Lesser-Known References to Jesus in the Old Testament

    World Evangelical Alliance head Thomas Schirrmacher resigns

    World Evangelical Alliance head Thomas Schirrmacher resigns

    Trailer of Bibles torched near Greg Locke’s church on Easter

    Trailer of Bibles torched near Greg Locke’s church on Easter

    Pastor shot at church says God told him ‘stop trying to die’

    Pastor shot at church says God told him ‘stop trying to die’

    Translators diminished women apostles in the Bible, pastor claims

    Translators diminished women apostles in the Bible, pastor claims

    Podcast: The Secret to Reaching the Next Generation (Kevin DeYoung)

    Podcast: The Secret to Reaching the Next Generation (Kevin DeYoung)

    Win the Next Generation with Love

    Win the Next Generation with Love

    Episode 36: J.S. Park – Sitting with the Dying

    Episode 36: J.S. Park – Sitting with the Dying

    Easter Sunday: 8 inspirational quotes about Jesus’ Resurrection

    Easter Sunday: 8 inspirational quotes about Jesus’ Resurrection

  • Music
    #homies #music #indierock #elderemo #indiepop #indiemusic #shorts #chamberpop

    #homies #music #indierock #elderemo #indiepop #indiemusic #shorts #chamberpop

    [Video] More – Aghogho » GospelHotspot

    [Video] More – Aghogho » GospelHotspot

    #Ichi #ndochokwadi #chiri #deep #Macheso #nema #Big #Gospel #Artists #deeper

    #Ichi #ndochokwadi #chiri #deep #Macheso #nema #Big #Gospel #Artists #deeper

    #Adharaney #leni #naku #nee #athmatho #shakthinichi #youtube #youtubeshorts #christianity #music #youtuber

    #Adharaney #leni #naku #nee #athmatho #shakthinichi #youtube #youtubeshorts #christianity #music #youtuber

    #TAMIL #CHRISTIAN #SONGS #EASTER #SONG #SPECIAL

    #TAMIL #CHRISTIAN #SONGS #EASTER #SONG #SPECIAL

    DCLM Daily Manna – Don’t Hold Back The Wages » GospelHotspot

    DCLM Daily Manna – Don’t Hold Back The Wages » GospelHotspot

    #Karen #gospel #song #Bible #Hel #Nay #Blut #MooOfficial #Music #Video

    #Karen #gospel #song #Bible #Hel #Nay #Blut #MooOfficial #Music #Video

    Seeds Of Destiny Devotional – The Inevitable Appointment

    Seeds Of Destiny Devotional – The Inevitable Appointment

    #Christian #lofi #music #Christian #Hip #Hop #Instrumental #Gospel #Worship #Music #Live #Bible #Study

    #Christian #lofi #music #Christian #Hip #Hop #Instrumental #Gospel #Worship #Music #Live #Bible #Study

  • FOUNDER & EDITOR
  • EDITOR’S BLOG
No Result
View All Result
CCC NEWS
No Result
View All Result
Home CCC News

The Potency of Hamas: Investigating the Toxicity

Benjamin Gaini by Benjamin Gaini
October 16, 2023
in CCC News
The Potency of Hamas: Investigating the Toxicity
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


This article is published pseudonymously for the author’s safety.

Israel has suffered a 9/11-scale attack by the Islamic Resistance Movement, commonly known as Hamas, which has devastated Jews and Palestinians alike. No words can describe the sadness and horror. But we must not allow this terrible event to cloud our vision or to push us into vengeance against civilians.

To even ask if I, a Palestinian Christian and Israeli citizen, condemn this violence is insulting. Of course I condemn it, and I also want to share with fellow Christians my view of how we can cut terrorism off at the root—thinking not only of the immediate military response by Israel but also of longer-term questions about justice, security, and God-given dignity for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

This month’s brutal attack against Israeli civilians came 16 years to the day after a Palestinian Bible Society worker in Gaza named Rami Ayyad was kidnapped and murdered because Islamist radicals believed he was doing missionary work. Despite public demands that Hamas leadership in Gaza find the criminals, no one was held accountable for his death.

Rami’s murder remains officially unsolved to this day, and some Palestinian Christians moved out of Gaza as a result of that violence. It appears that the abduction and killing were done by a radical faction, and Hamas’s leaders were not willing to confront them or hold them responsible.

A decade and a half later, we find ourselves in another cycle of violence—a fiercer and more complicated one this time. The Hamas onslaught is atrocity on an unprecedented scale, and Israel’s response must account for around 150 Israeli hostages in Gaza and a second war front in the north of Israel, where Israeli forces are already fighting the Lebanese (Iran-backed and Hamas-linked) Hezbollah.

When I started writing this article, fighting was mainly in the southern part of the country, around Gaza. In the evening, I was to take a break and travel to a special prayer meeting for evangelical churches farther north. Suddenly, a siren blew, signaling Hezbollah drone infiltration. I made some calls, and we immediately shifted the meeting to a virtual one. About 50 Christians participated, shouting for God to stop the bloodshed. Later, we were informed the siren was a false alarm.

After the volume of the initial disaster was revealed, I sent messages of encouragement and condolences to a number of Jewish friends, both Messianic and others. One response drew my attention. A Messianic friend wrote to me that he suspects the Israeli response will be extremely tough, as the Hamas attack has raised Jewish memories of the Holocaust.

That historic trauma and the new horror of the Hamas carnage mean Israel will follow through on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s promise to “turn all the places that Hamas hides in and operates from into rubble”—which, because of the small size of Gaza, means the whole territory will be in ruins and a huge number of innocent civilians will be killed.

I understand Israel’s need for retaliation and the voices calling to crush the Hamas regime. But I pray that innocent people will not be hurt, and I worry that this response will not address the roots of the problem in Gaza—and could even prove counterproductive, prolonging the cycle of violence and hatred. It is almost impossible to talk prudently amid so much bloodshed. Nevertheless, I will try.

As I look into the future, to a time after the present violence is over, I wonder how we can make it inconceivable for human beings to behave in such brutal fashion like Hamas did, driven by a fanatical religious agenda.

Some Christians believe this violence is built into Islam. I don’t agree. Why do religious Muslims in Malaysia or Tunisia, for example, not act this way? No, something is different here. The poisonous plant of Hamas has been able to take root in our soil because of conditions fostered by a flawed approach to Palestinians from the Israeli government.

Historically, some Israeli leaders have even been willing to strengthen Hamas as a counter to the secular and comparatively moderate Fatah. Former Israeli officials have toldThe New York Times and The Wall Street Journal that they were directed to help Hamas be a “counterweight” to Fatah. Haaretz has reported that in 2019, Netanyahu told members of his party that “bolstering Hamas” would help prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state by “isolat[ing] the Palestinians in Gaza from the Palestinians in the West Bank.”

Many Palestinians want a state because the situation of Gaza was dire even before this war began. Gaza is densely populated and very poor. Half the population lives in poverty, and many are unemployed.

Gaza is under “complete siege” right now, but it has been blockaded for the last 16 years. The United Nations reports that 95 percent of Gazans don’t even have clean water, and most have unreliable electricity service too. This is the situation for the more than 2 million residents of Gaza. They have no statehood and no prospect of change. Gazan Palestinians live without the basic dignity to which all human beings are entitled as children of God.

The situation of Palestinians in the West Bank, led by President Mahmoud Abbas from Fatah, is not much better than that of Gaza. There, the Israeli government has increasingly restricted Palestinian movement and expanded Israeli settlements in disputed territories. Some settlers are violent extremists, too, with more than 700 settler attacks against Palestinian civilians reported in this year alone.

Palestinians’ sense that nothing will change has only increased as Netanyahu has come close to reaching a US-facilitated deal to normalize Israel’s diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia—the much-desired jewel in the crown of the Abraham Accords. The deal was intended to “isolate and suppress the Palestinian issue,” with Netanyahu previously writing that the “road to peace” in the Middle East would “bypass” Palestinians, who would not be allowed to “veto” the deal. By this, Netanyahu hoped to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict without getting even close to the minimum the Palestinians have asked.

This is the land in which heinous Islamist ideological movements have been able to grow. In this environment of hatred, racism, and violence, Hamas has exploited young people with false promises. With no horizon of hope, Hamas’s adherents in Palestine sank into darkness and helped Hamas victimize Israelis too.

But it does not have to be this way. As Christians, we believe in the power of redemption. With real hope for the future of this land, these hateful movements will wither. For a lasting peace, we must respect the image of God in Israelis and Palestinians alike.

Is it too much to ask that we don’t see this as a zero-sum game? Shouldn’t both Israelis and Palestinians live in the dignity God intended for us? Our aim should be not only safety but also flourishing—together, not at each other’s expense.

Tamir Khouri is the pseudonym of a Palestinian Christian and Israeli citizen from the Galilee region in Israel.





Source link

Previous Post

Christ Commands in this Violent World

Next Post

Armenia’s Challenges in Assisting 100,000 Artsakh Refugees Amid War

Next Post
Armenia’s Challenges in Assisting 100,000 Artsakh Refugees Amid War

Armenia's Challenges in Assisting 100,000 Artsakh Refugees Amid War

Stay Connected test

  • 23.9k Followers
  • 99 Subscribers
  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest

A Young Christian’s Guide in Today’s World

January 16, 2024
Shannon Harris’s Dissatisfaction as a Purity Culture Stagehand

Shannon Harris’s Dissatisfaction as a Purity Culture Stagehand

September 28, 2023
Parenting Children with Godly Guidelines

Parenting Children with Godly Guidelines

January 20, 2024
Zach Williams on his Prodigal Journey: Jesus Saved Me from Drugs & Alcohol

Zach Williams on his Prodigal Journey: Jesus Saved Me from Drugs & Alcohol

February 8, 2024

Hello world!

0

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild gameplay on the Nintendo Switch

0

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun Review

0

Hands on: Samsung Galaxy A5 2017 review

0
#homies #music #indierock #elderemo #indiepop #indiemusic #shorts #chamberpop

#homies #music #indierock #elderemo #indiepop #indiemusic #shorts #chamberpop

April 2, 2024
Revival – by Daniel Forster

Revival – by Daniel Forster

April 2, 2024
10 Lesser-Known References to Jesus in the Old Testament

10 Lesser-Known References to Jesus in the Old Testament

April 2, 2024
[Video] More – Aghogho » GospelHotspot

[Video] More – Aghogho » GospelHotspot

April 2, 2024

Recent News

#homies #music #indierock #elderemo #indiepop #indiemusic #shorts #chamberpop

#homies #music #indierock #elderemo #indiepop #indiemusic #shorts #chamberpop

April 2, 2024
Revival – by Daniel Forster

Revival – by Daniel Forster

April 2, 2024
10 Lesser-Known References to Jesus in the Old Testament

10 Lesser-Known References to Jesus in the Old Testament

April 2, 2024
[Video] More – Aghogho » GospelHotspot

[Video] More – Aghogho » GospelHotspot

April 2, 2024
CCC NEWS

We bring you the global gospel news

Follow Us

Browse by Category

  • Blog
  • CCC Bible Studies
  • CCC History
  • CCC News
  • EDITOR'S BLOG
  • Music

Recent News

#homies #music #indierock #elderemo #indiepop #indiemusic #shorts #chamberpop

#homies #music #indierock #elderemo #indiepop #indiemusic #shorts #chamberpop

April 2, 2024
Revival – by Daniel Forster

Revival – by Daniel Forster

April 2, 2024
  • News
  • History
  • Bible Studies
  • Music
  • FOUNDER & EDITOR
  • EDITOR’S BLOG

© 2023 Christ Centered Creations.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • History
  • Bible Studies
  • Music
  • FOUNDER & EDITOR
  • EDITOR’S BLOG

© 2023 Christ Centered Creations.