[Today's Prayer] Israeli Far-Right Minister Proposes Annexation of 82% of West Bank, Rocking the Middle East

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right figure, announced a plan to annex 82% of the West Bank and urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "make a historic decision." Arab countries have strongly opposed this plan, which seeks to fundamentally block the "two-state solution" that the international community has been calling for for decades.

According to a report in the Israeli media outlet The Times of Israel, Minister Smotrich proposed the annexation plan at a press conference on the 3rd (local time) and stated, "The time has come to completely eliminate the idea of ​​applying Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), dividing it into small states and establishing a terrorist state at its center."

He then revealed a map outlining his goal of "maximum territory and minimum Arab population," excluding six Palestinian cities—Ramallah, Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarem, Jericho, and Hebron—and proposed annexing the area to Israel. If the Palestinian West Bank cities were surrounded by Israeli territory like islands, it would be impossible to establish and maintain an independent Palestinian state.

Israel captured the West Bank, then Jordanian territory, in the 1967 Six-Day War. Since then, it has illegally occupied the West Bank, expanding "civilian settlements within the occupied territories," prohibited by international law. It is estimated that over 500,000 Israeli settlers currently reside in the area, in addition to millions of Palestinians.

(Omitted)

Prime Minister Netanyahu is scheduled to hold a cabinet meeting on the 4th to discuss the West Bank annexation plan.

(Omitted)

The Israeli government is considering annexing the West Bank as a countermeasure to Western countries, including France, the UK, and Australia, who are expected to declare recognition of Palestine as a state at the UN General Assembly in New York on the 23rd.

Arab states immediately protested. Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Jassim Mohammed Al-Budaiwi issued a statement, saying, "We condemn in the strongest terms the dangerous and dubious demands made by an Israeli minister aimed at intensifying settlement activities and annexing the West Bank."

(Omitted)

The Gulf Cooperation Council is a consultative body of Gulf states, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The UAE, in particular, warned, hinting at the possibility of abrogating the "Abraham Accords" promoted by President Trump.

(continued)

Source: Nate News

So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not give offense to Jews or Greeks or to the church of God, just as I also please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, so that they may be saved. (1 Corinthians 10:31-33)

We hear that Bezalel Smotrich, the far-right Israeli Finance Minister, has announced a plan to annex 82% of the West Bank, drawing opposition from Middle Eastern countries.

As Israel considers annexing the relatively moderate West Bank as a settlement after evacuating the Gaza Strip residents to other countries, ultimately preventing Palestine from becoming an independent state, we pray that the Lord will have mercy on the Palestinian souls who are at risk of losing their homes.

Despite the Abraham Accords, which sought political peace between Israel, Palestine, and Arab nations, the Palestinians are facing the imminent threat of expulsion, far from helping their livelihoods. May the global church send out those who will preach the gospel and bring the Kingdom of God to the poor souls of Palestinians.

May Arab churches also serve with the heart of Christ and consider the good of the Palestinian people. Grant heavenly wisdom to resolve this crisis, which involves not only the food and drink but also the very life and death of the Palestinian people, for the glory of God.

May the local churches in Israel and Palestine pray for the direction of their nation based on your Word, and may they reconcile, unite, and serve together the Palestinian refugees who have lost their homes.

May the Holy Spirit work and help the churches of Christ, who believe that the only way to please all people is through Jesus, so that true Shalom may come to Israel and Palestine.

So, may Israel and Palestine rise up as the last disciples who will see the final revival, seeking each other's benefit in Christ and moving forward each day toward the salvation of the nations!