World News and Trends- New Gaza reality: a dangerous Islamic mini-state
Hamas Islamic hardliners now dominate the Gaza Strip after a short and bloody showdown with Fatah, the rival Palestinian faction.
Hamas Islamic hardliners now dominate the Gaza Strip after a short and bloody showdown with Fatah, the rival Palestinian faction. Recall that Israel voluntarily left Gaza in 2005 and the next day Palestinians burned down four synagogues in abandoned Jewish settlements. Both Hamas and Fatah celebrated these travesties. Yet since Hamas won Palestinian legislative elections in January 2006, more than 600 Palestinians have died in fierce internecine warfare between the two factions.
The Hamas victors have arrogantly proclaimed a new era of Islamic rule in Gaza, overturning Fatah's more secular rule. The future looks bleak for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who, now effectively exiled to the West Bank, was forced to dissolve the government and weakly call for new elections. Hamastan appears to be the new reality in Gaza, with Fatah in control in the West Bank.
How will America and Israel deal with this new development? The International Herald Tribune reported: "For two years, the United States tried to choke off Hamas, the militant Islamic group that has been ascendant in Gaza and the West Bank, while throwing limited aid and support to Fatah" (June 15, 2007). Since Washington has designated Hamas a terrorist organization with which it will not negotiate, American options appear severely limited.
How Israel will react is another matter. If Hamas continues its cross-border rocket and other attacks against Israeli settlements, military intervention seems almost certain—especially since the Israelis will no longer be constrained by concerns about undermining the authority of President Abbas. The Road Map to Peace has acquired more delaying detours than ever. (Sources: International Herald Tribune, Financial Times.)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: July - August 2007
Course Content
Jerold Aust
Jerold Aust has served in the ministry for 52 years, as a public speaker for 58 years, a published writer for 38 years, and is employed by UCG’s Media and Communications Services. He is a Senior Writer, interviewer, and editor for Beyond Today Magazine and has taught Speech Communication for UCG’s ministerial online program and the Book of Revelation for ABC.
Jerold holds a BA in theology from Ambassador College, Pasadena (1968), an MA in Communication from California State University, Fullerton (1995), a distance-learning Ph.D (2006), and a Famous Writers School diploma in non-fiction writing (1973). Additionally, he studied post-grad communication at University of Southern California (1995), radio, TV, voice-overs, and Public Relations at Fullerton College (1995-1996), and graduate communication at Wichita State University (1978). Jerold has taught communication at the University of South Alabama (7 years) and ABC (17 years). His published works include, Ronald Reagan’s Rhetoric: Metaphor as Persuasion and EZSpeakers: Public Speaking Made Easy in 7 Steps. Jerold's overarching goal is to share with humankind its incredible destiny!
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
