A stream of European leaders converged in Israel Monday to push for a truce in the violence-plagued Gaza Strip while U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, from America, continued making phone calls to numerous foreign leaders in pursuit of a cease-fire agreement.
Despite their efforts, however, one former member of the Hamas organization says there will never be lasting peace between Israel and Hamas, though a temporary cease-fire agreement will likely be arranged.
"There is no chance. Is there any chance for fire to co-exist with the water?" asked Mosab Hassan Yousef, the highly-publicized son of Hamas founding member Sheik Hassan Yousef, in an interview with Fox News.
Yousef, who converted to Christianity and moved to Southern California just last year, said the issue is not about Israel or Hamas, but about their ideologies.
“He (Yousef) says because of Hamas’ ideology, because of its extreme Islamic ideology, there is no chance that Hamas will ever genuinely seek a lasting cease-fire,” said Fox’s Jonathan Hunt, who interviewed Yousef a number of times over the past year for the Fox News special “Escape from Hamas.”
The Fox documentary, which aired this past Saturday, Sunday and Monday, revealed Yousef’s extraordinary story of faith, courage, violence, betrayal and conversion, and came as Israel extended its continuous strikes against Hamas in the Gaza Strip past a week.
In the special, Yousef said the Islamic organization betrays the Palestinian cause, tortures its own members and will never honor any ceasefire with Israel.
“The problem is not Hamas, the problem is not people. The root of the problem is Islam itself as an idea, as an idea,” he says.
Since the latest violence in Gaza broke out, many have blamed Hamas for instigating the deadly onslaught by launching dozens of rockets into Israeli territory for more than a week following the expiration of a six-month truce. Israel, too, has been strongly rebuked by leaders around the world for its “all-out war” response, which has led to the deaths of more than 500 Palestinians, some 200 of which were civilians.
Despite criticisms, however, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the offensive would continue until Israel achieved "peace and tranquility" for residents of southern Israel who continued to be bombarded by Palestinian rocket and mortar fire.
Furthermore, Israeli military spokeswoman Maj. Avital Leibovich, argued that Hamas was to blame for civilian casualties because the Islamic militant group “chose cynically to use those civilians as human shields.”
"Civilians will probably continue to get killed, unfortunately, because Hamas put them in the first lines of fire," she said.
On Monday, there were tentative signs that the current phase of fighting may be nearing an end and that international cease-fire efforts were also gaining momentum.
According to reports, Israel has three main demands: an end to Palestinian attacks, international supervision of any truce, and a halt to Hamas rearming. Hamas meanwhile demands an end to Israeli attacks and the opening of border crossings to vital cargo.
Since bilateral arrangements between Hamas and Israel have been unstable, experts say a new cease-fire will likely involve international monitors — an idea raised by President Bush over the weekend.
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Yes, that is sad. Prayerful for her family and friends.
One of the sad story is the death of our 15 year old sister Christine Turks from the shelling. That was devastating for her families and friend in Gaza
Thank you my friends, we went there for the Bethlehem Christmas service on the 20th and just got back.
We are praying for peace and so that Lord opens all our hearts and minds to stop all violence.
I just hope that the IDF can complete their job in the timeframe and delete Hamas for good
Forgivensinner, I will probably get over it.
Sorry, folks I misunderstood. Our friend arit is not in Gaza.
johnzon, you've lost any respect I may have had for you!
Forgivensinner
<<He's there! He's living it!>>
Sooo, your point is??
Whoa, johnzon.
He's there! He's living it!
Thank you arit for the education.
aritonang
<<please you do not know what you are writing about>>
Right back at you my friend
oh my, johnzon, my friend. please you do not know what you are writing about. please slow down.
This has got nothing to do with religion. This is REAL ESTATE war.
The ones that are making this jihad and holy war are HAMAS in Gaza strip, Hezballah in Lebanon.
and more importantly HIZBUT TAHRIR which is worldwide and looking for global caliphate. They absolutely refuse to acknowledge the right for the state of Israel to exist, persecute Christians worldwide and use violence wherever they go.
Hizbut Tahrir are recruiting jihadist from all Muslim communities around the world to join their Hamas fellow terrorist in Gaza via Sinai dessert through Rafah.
They are also pressuring Hezballah to attack from the north and open the 2nd theathre of war for the Israilis
Daniel Paul
<<Islam is a religion of hate and self-centeredness.>>
But, it was the Christians of Europe that were in large part responsible for the extermination of the European Jews in the last century. Martin Luther's own anti-Semitic writings (see reference below) and centuries of anti-semitism among European Christians made the Holocaust possible.
The Arabs of the ME have to pay the price for what the Christians of Europe did to the Jews. The Jewish people should have been given a country carved out of Europe rather than the ME.
http://www.humanitas-international.org/showcase/chronography/documents/luther-jews.htm
"the only possible for a Muslim to have a love toward a Jew or a Christian was to leave the teachings of the Koran."
So, straight from the horses mouth, Islam is a religion of hate and self-centeredness.
I think it's high time that we acknowledged that Hamas and its many other variations are the modern-day Skinheads. Violence is their calling card and their currency. There is no compromise; there is only submit or die.
You can say that "it's just the militants, not all of Islam," yet look at the news and the country-wide support that Hamas' cause is getting from middle eastern countries; it communicates an entirely different message.
To me, this is just a symptom of a more basic problem: Hamas and all of Islam are crying out to know Jesus Christ, son of God and savior of the world. Lord, let it be.