Muslim cleric defends Israel

Sheikh Prof. Abdul Hadi Palazzi

The Middle East situation is an enigma. It seems that every
time somebody tries to bring peace, something happens which causes a major
catastrophe. In fact, every time we go to that land taking our annual tour, it
seems that a major crisis blows up just as we are about to board the plane.

As was noted by our friend, George Anderson, in our April
issue of this newspaper, the good cop Barak failed and now bad cop Sharon is in,
it is quite clear that he will also fail.

Following the Hegelian Dialectic, the world government people
who are in charge of world affairs, could possibly bring from this Thesis and
Antithesis situation, a Synthesis in the form of a biblical Peace Treaty. The
one we are looking for of course, according to the prophet Daniel 9:27, will be
for a period of seven years and will be broken after three and a half years.

At this particular time, the person who confirms the Treaty
will be known as Antichrist and will thus be revealed to those of us who are
watching for certain things to take place in that area.

The Daniel 9 passage, in verse 27, clearly points out to us,
a number of specific details regarding this Peace Treaty.

"And he shall confirm the convenant with many for one week:
and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to
cease..."

The "he" there refers to the great world leader,
Antichrist, who is about to arise. The Peace Treaty will be settled at a certain
time in the future between the Jews and the Arabs. The Jews making up the "many"
mentioned in this particular verse. The words one week refer to a heptad or a
period of seven years in Jewish thinking and therefore the "midst of the week"
would be after a period of three and a half years. All assistance to Israel will
be off and a period called the Great Tribulation starts.

Now in the midst of all this negotiating that is going on, a
highly fascinating article was sent to me entitled, Italian Muslim Cleric:

"As the violence between Israel and Arab guerrilla factions
continues to escalate in the Mideast, a noted Italian Muslim leader and regional
expert has begun a campaign to educate Jews, Arabs and the rest of the world
about key facts regarding the historic animosity in the region.

Specifically, he told WorldNetDaily (WND) in an interview
last week, Israel not only has a right to exist as a nation in the region, but
such a right is even described in the Koran, the Muslim holy book describing the
origins of Islam much like the Bible describes the origins and manifestations of
Christianity.

Sheikh Prof. Abdul Hadi Palazzi, secretary general of the
Italian Muslim Association and Muslim co-chair of the Islam-Israel Fellowship of
the Root and Branch Association -– which promotes the study and practice of
universal Jewish teachings -– said much of what is known and written about Jews
and so-called Palestinians is myth.

And, he said, a Jewish homeland is even described in the
Koran, though little is said about it in the press or in Jewish-Arab
discussions.

'And thereafter We said to the Children of Israel: "Dwell
securely in the Promised Land. And when the last warning will come to pass, we
will gather you together in a mingled crowd,' the Koran says in 17;104, The
Night Journey.

Palazzi, a Muslim cleric, told WND that one of the most
common misconceptions in the current Arab-Israeli conflict is that in reality, 'there
is no such thing as a "Palestinian."

There never was. It is a PR fiction, a Madison Avenue
fantasy,' he said.

Also, 'There is no "Intifada, 'El Aksa or otherwise.
There is a Philistine Authority Pogrom, both against Jews and Arabs, by Arafat
and his thugs. The main victims are the resident Arabs themselves. There is
actually one reference in the Qur'an (Koran) to the Palestinian People ... and
that is the Philistines,' he said.

Furthermore, the Koran confirms God's convenantal
relationship with the Torah, land and people of Israel, he explained.

Palazzi has called for Israel's continued sovereignty over
Jerusalem, and in recent speeches in Jerusalem, he has noted that the city's
holiness in Islam was derived from two sources: It is the city of the
pre-Islamic biblical prophets also revered by Islam (King David and King
Solomon), and it is the site of the Dome of the Rock, from which Mohammed
ascended to Heaven (the Night Journey).

But as long as 'traditional' methods of resolving the
current Israeli-Arab conflict are followed, Palazzi told WND he sees no end in
sight to the current cycles of violence.

'As long as the Israeli government does not learn the sad
lesson of the Oslo trap, does not realize its error in surrendering to a "Palestinian
Authority" in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, as long as it goes on negotiating with
the PLO and does not take local pro-Israeli Arab leaders in due consideration, I
see no solution at hand, except an increase in mischief,' Palazzi said....

On the issue of a lasting peace in the Mideast, Palazzi
said one could never be achieved as long as Palestinian Authority leader Yasser
Arafat was involved.

'An agreement can be reached between peace-loving Jews and
Muslims, between Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs, on condition that the state of
Israel does not take PLO leadership as a counterpart for negotiations anymore,....
And patiently wait for the time when local Arabs will not bear PLO's tyranny
and corruption anymore,' he told WND.

In the meantime, Israel should unilaterally declare that any
further peace negotiations with Arafat or any of his factions are effectively
over and, in fact, should call for the 'PLO's self-dissolution.'

Then, Israeli leaders should 'open a discussion which those
local Arab leaders who were not involved in' Arafat's regime in any way,
Palazzi said.

The Italian Muslim cleric said he didn't necessarily see a
wider regional conflict between Israel and other Arab nations on the horizon,
mostly because Arab leaders are certain they cannot defeat the Jewish state
militarily -– at least at this point....

'... none of them have either the courage or the will to be
involved in a war which they know will be a sure defeat,' he said....

Palazzi, 40, was born in Italy to a Moslem mother whose
grandfather immigrated from Aleppo and an Italian father who converted to Islam...."
(emphasis added).

The biblical record agrees with that, and therefore this
would probably be one of the wisest statements that we have ever read, coming
from the lips of a person of his stature.

God makes it very clear to His people the children of Israel,
in Ezekiel 36:24, that the land of Israel does belong to them:

"For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you
out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land." (emphasis
added).

Let us pray that God will move the hearts of those honourable
people, both Jew and Arab in that land, to come to an agreement excluding the
PLO and its wicked leader, Yasser Arafat.