The Palestinian Authority delegation to the United Kingdom, which has been afforded Diplomatic Mission status in many countries of the European Union, has launched a new website as part of the latest drive towards international recognition of a Palestinian state. Despite the fact that the Palestinian delegation has not yet been afforded Full General Delegation status by the British government, the website's logo boldly proclaims that it is the 'Palestinian Embassy' of the UK. That may be forgiveable considering the approaching deadline set by the EU, the US, and the Palestinian Authority for the establishment of a Palestinian state of September of this year. Perhaps they are anticipating that the United Nations will indeed vote in favour of recognizing a Palestinian state, and that Palestine is effectively a state in all but name. And reading the welcome message, one could be forgiven for thinking that all the Palestinian Authority wants is for there to be two states, living side by side in peace and security. They nobly proclaim in their welcome message that they “advocate a peaceful Palestinian state with secure and internationally recognised borders encompassing the West Bank and Gaza with East Jerusalem as the Capital of Palestine. We believe that through international support, recognition and advocacy of a self-governing and viable Palestinian state we can help to facilitate peace in the region”. Noble aspirations indeed. And they say that ”in order to establish the foundations of the state-building process it is necessary for Israel to end its Occupation over the Palestinian Territories, and return to the borders of 1967”. That is what the international community wants. But something is missing from that statement which only really becomes noticeable when you view some of the other pages on the website. There is no recognition of Israel's right to exist. Of course the Palestinian leadership talk of 1967 borders because that is what the international community recognizes. But the establishment of a Palestinian state on these borders does not automatically imply Palestinian recognition of Israel's right to exist. They recognize Israel's existence, very much so, but not it's right to exist. There is a crucial difference. That is why a negotiated agreement is so important, and that is one of the reasons why the Palestinian Authority is so keen on achieving international recognition of a Palestinian state without making peace with the Jews. Have a look at this screenshot of the Discover Palestine page on the Palestine Embassy UK website. No prizes for guessing what is missing...

That's right. The state of Israel. Wiped off the map by the Palestinian Ambassador to the United Kingdom! The black, green and red colours of the Palestinian flag replace what should be the state of Israel. And if you roll the mouse over some of the regions which are in internationally recognized Israel, you will see Arab names appear. Clicking on Jaffa brings up this text...

Quote: “Jaffa, is a Palestinian Arab city, which lies in the West central of Palestine, on the Mediterranean Sea. Jaffa is military occupied by Israel since 1948, and is part of the unified city Tel Aviv-Yafo since 1950.

Unbelievable. The website not only infers that Israel stole Jaffa from the Palestinian Arabs in 1948, but says that it is located in the 'west of Palestine', and can thus be considered enemy occupied territory. The view, that all of the land from the Jordan river to the Mediterranean Sea is Palestinian Arab territory, is of course shared by both Hamas and Fatah. The Palestinian Liberation Organization did recognize Israel's right to exist, but its member parties Fatah and Hamas have not. I am very surprised that the Palestinian delegation in the UK would be so bold as to proclaim this blatant propaganda in the ears of their Western audience.

Of course there never has been a Palestinian national identity at any point in history, nor has the city of Jerusalem ever been the capital of any state other than of Israel. True, there is a region called Palestine, but there never was a country called Palestine. Following the Jewish revolt against the Roman Empire in 135AD, the Romans renamed the province of Judea, Syria-Palestina, after the name of the ancient enemies of the Israelites. It is thought that the Philistines were Phoenician or Cypriot in origin. The region of Palestine has been conquered many times since the fall of the Roman Empire, and the name Palestina or Palestine has stuck. But at no time has there ever been an ethnic Palestinian people or independent state. The city of Jerusalem as a Jewish city is mentioned over 700 times in the Bible. But the name is not found anywhere in the Qur'an. So Palestinian Arabs have no historic or religious claims to the land of Israel or the city of Jerusalem. So what is it that keeps this conflict going? Why do the Palestinian terrorist organizations demand that their state be established on Israeli soil? Why are they so adamant that the Jewish people have no right to the holy land?

Only when we go to the Bible, can we understand the roots of this conflict, and how it will be resolved. For this conflict did not start in 1947. It goes back much further than that, to Esau and Jacob, to Ishmael and Isaac, to Cain and Abel and as far back as the serpent and the promised Seed of the woman. For that is where our story begins. If we want to understand why the world is the way it is, we must go back to the beginning. It is Satan who has always sought to frustrate the plan of God throughout history, and this Middle East conflict is no different. When you understand that this conflict is really a spiritual battle, being waged between Christ and Satan, everything falls into place. In the beginning Satan sought to destroy God's creation by tempting man to sin against his Creator (Genesis 3:1). But a substitute was found and man's sin was covered (Genesis 3:21). As a result man would now enjoy a relationship with God as Redeemer, something he had never known before. After Eve received the promise of the Deliverer, who would crush the serpent's head (Genesis 3:15), Satan sought to have the righteous Abel killed (Genesis 4:8). But the godly line continued through Seth. When the promise of the deliverer came for a nation in bondage, Pharaoh had all the male children killed (Exodus 1:16). But Moses was preserved, and the nation through which God had chosen to bring blessing to mankind was freed from slavery (Genesis 22:18). When the promised Messiah was born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), Satan had all the male children in the town murdered (Matthew 2:16-18). But God preserved His Son. And although Satan sought to have Christ killed on many occasions, he failed in his plan to stop the Lord Jesus from going to the cross and bringing salvation to all mankind (Isaiah 53:6). Today Satan seeks to prevent Christ's return to this earth, where He is to set up His Millennial Kingdom. Satan knows very well God's promise that the Messiah is to reign from Jerusalem, Israel, as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He knows that if he cannot destroy Israel, he will at least try and take control of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, to try and stop God's promise from coming true. Praise God that Satan's plan will fail once again.

You can see from today's news just how close we may be to the time of Jacob's trouble. How closer must we be to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His people? Will you be counted among the righteous at His coming? Remember, salvation is not found in religion. Salvation is found in a person. And that person is none other than God's own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Trust in Him for salvation today.

John 1:12
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name

Source Palestinian Embassy UK, Discover Palestine