The decisive battle for Jerusalem continues. According to the current peace settlement, negotiations over the final status of Jerusalem are deferred to 1996 for fear that the emotionally charged issue will curtail any progress toward peace.
The land issue
During May, the world witnessed the emotions aroused by the city and saw the peace talks halt as the Israeli government attempted to expropriate 82 acres in the northern part of Jerusalem (Beit Hanina) and 20 acres in the southern part (Beit Safafa). World reaction was swift. Within nine days, the issue escalated from a local uprising to the United Nations Security Council and the Arab League.
The Jewish rationale
On May 13, 1995, the Israeli government announced that it would be expropriating the land. At the time of the announcement, 21% of the land belonged to Jews, 45% to Arabs with ownership of the balance being in dispute.
The Absorption Minister, Yair Tsaban, noted that the land expropriation was a normal event. Since 1967, one-third of Fast Jerusalem had been expropriated and utilized for settlement by Jews returning to the land. This expropriation was no different; the land was to be used by the ministry to resettle Jews.
Unfortunately for Mr. Tsaban, a portion of the land expropriated in May belonged to Dr. Mohammed Jadallah, an Arab living in the southern part of Jerusalem. Rather than allow the transaction to proceed quietly, Dr. Jadallah decided to create a grass roots protest to fight the expropriation. “Dr. Jadallah began to fight back the only way he could. Jadallah organized protests, wrote letters, coordinated media campaigns and contacted foreign embassies, all with the hope that the land could remain within his family” (Toronto Star, May 13, 1995).
UN involvement
Within days, the matter was before the United Nations Security Council. On May 18, 1995, the Council voted on a resolution condemning Israeli seizures of Arab-owned land in Jerusalem. Of the five permanent members of the Security Council, the United States vetoed the motion thus affording Israel the option of proceeding without international intervention.
Almost immediately after the Security Council vote, the Arab nations called for an emergency Arab summit for May 27.
Arab threat delays action
The threat of the Arab summit combined with political realignments within Israel’s coalition government, forced an emergency debate on the expropriation matter.
An international magazine postulated the predicament faced by Israel’s government: “Government analysts were predicting that if the Arab leaders managed to convene their summit, they would not merely let off the usual rhetorical steam but for once would act accordingly; they might suspend some or all dealings with Israel. Feisal Husseini, the Palestinians’ top man there and a minister in Mr. Arafat’s Palestinian National Authority, declared on Israeli television that the confiscations could trigger a new uprising” (Economist, May 27, 1995).
On May 22, facing a motion of non-confidence, the government announced: “The confiscation of the land expropriation would be frozen indefinitely.”
It is interesting to note that the land expropriation was merely “frozen.” The issue is evidently not over and will no doubt be revived likely contributing to the on-going conflicts over the holy city.
Hostility over Jerusalem a certainty
Through Zechariah, God has revealed that war will be raged over Jerusalem. “I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south” (Zech. 14:2-4 NW).
Despite the current pullback by the Israeli government on this one issue, conflict will continue to ebb and flow building to the climax that will certainly come. Even the world inadvertently speaks in Bible terms: “Despite the continuing controversy, Housing Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer remains defiant. ‘The problem isn’t lands. The battle for Jerusalem has begun, and don’t let anyone try and fool you, Jerusalem is ours, we will do in it what we want, and we will rule it as we see fit. Whoever will lose patience and show weakness first on this matter will lose.’ Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert put it even more bluntly: ‘A national policy of maintaining a strong (Jewish) presence in the city must be maintained” (Toronto Star, May 13, 1995).
Let us continue to pray that the time to the fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy will be short. For “On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name” (Zech. 14:9).
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One