Bombing Rocks Jerusalem, As New Wave of Violence Hits Israel

By Joel C. Rosenberg

Please pray for the people of Israel as they increasingly find themselves under attack from Radical Muslims and Israeli officials consider the possibility of a new war in Gaza. On Wednesday, a bomb went off in central Jerusalem. A 59 year old woman was killed in the attack, while 38 people were wounded, some severely. Most of the victims were young, between the ages of 15 and 30. This is the first bombing in Jerusalem since 2004. Meanwhile, Hamas terrorists in Gaza fired rockets and mortars at innocent civilians in southern Israel again on Wednesday. More than 50 rockets and mortars were fired at Israel on Saturday. Such attacks have been escalating in recent weeks and a new report indicates that since the end of the Israeli military’s Operation Cast Lead against Hamas in Gaza in January 2009, some 282 rockets and 193 mortar shells have been fired into Israel.

An Israeli pastor friend of The Joshua Fund just emailed us to say: “We heard the terrible explosion near Jerusalem Bus Station located just around a half-mile from our home. The first news from the field show that it was suitcase packed with explosives that exploded just outside the bus stop injuring at least 30 people….There is Jewish blood spilled on the streets of Jerusalem. The blood of the people the only guilty in to be born Jewish is again crying to the world in the hopeless efforts to be heard and understood. I was watching my son calling all the soldiers of his unit since all of them were on the way from Jerusalem Bus Station. Praise the Lord none of them was injured.”

The attacks come as Israelis celebrated the Biblical holiday of Purim when Esther and Mordechai prayed and fasted – and mobilized other believers to pray and fast – for the Lord to save the Jewish people from the evil plotted against them by the leaders of Persia, and the Lord answered those prayers.

Last week, Palestinian terrorists viciously murdered a Jewish Israeli father, mother and 3 of their 6 children while they slept in their home in the town of Itamar. Ynet News reported that “the names of the five family members murdered in the Itamar terror attack were: Udi Fogel, 36, Ruth Fogel, 35, and their children Yoav, 11, Elad, 4, and three-month-old Hadas. The three siblings who survived the attack are Tamar, 12, Roi, 8, and two-year-old Yishai. They are staying with their grandparents at this time. The funeral for the victims will be held Sunday in Jerusalem at 1:30 pm.”

Also last week, Israeli forces intercepted a Turkish ship illegally carrying Iranian arms to Gaza. “The Victoria was carrying containers holding some 50 tons of weapons destined for the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip,” reported the Israeli Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center. “The weapons were in three containers, concealed behind bales of cotton and sacks of lentils. There were 60 mm and 120 mm mortar shells, C-704 anti-ship missiles, and ammunition for Kalashnikov assault rifles. Most of the weapons, including the C-704 missiles, were manufactured in Iran.”

Israeli fighter jets have retaliated against Hamas targets in Gaza, bombing rocket launch pads, smuggling tunnels along the Egyptian border and other terrorist facilities. Tragically, some innocent Palestinian civilians were killed in these retaliatory raids. Some senior Israeli government officials and respected Israeli journalists say a new war could be coming between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. “Israeli Vice Premier Silvan Shalom said the Islamists may have opened a new front with Israel ‘to stop any possibility of dialogue among the Palestinians or to come to the intra-Palestinian negotiation in a far stronger position,’” reported the newspaper Haaretz. “Speaking on Israel Radio before Netanyahu’s remarks in parliament, Shalom said the government would have to consider a fresh offensive in Gaza. A similar prediction was made by Matan Vilnai, Israel’s homefront defense minister. ‘I say this despite the fact that I know such a thing would, of course, bring the region to a far more combustible situation.’”

• Please be praying for the God of Israel to have mercy on all those Jews and Arabs who are suffering right now and to draw them close to His heart
• Please pray for the Lord to comfort those Israelis and Palestinians wounded and traumatized by all these attacks, and to bring quick healing to their bodies and minds
• Please pray for the Lord to give wisdom to Israeli government leaders to know how best to handle the situation
• Please pray for the Lord to constrain Palestinian leaders to confront Hamas and persuade or force them to stop the attacks on Israel
• Please pray for those responsible for all of these attacks to be brought to justice
• Please pray for the Lord to bless and strengthen His Church in Israel, as it is the only true and lasting hope for peace and reconciliation between Jews and Arabs

“‘Comfort, O comfort My people,’ says your God. ‘Speak kindly to Jerusalem; and call out to her, that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity has been removed, that she has received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.’” – Isaiah 40:1-2

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”  – 2 Corinthians 1:2-4

Photo by Bemat Amangue, AP

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