According to a report from Jerusalem published in the International Herald Tribune, "Hamas has now sent hundreds of its fighters, most of them to Iran. . . Israel is watching as Hamas, in control of Gaza, is building an army there on the model of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon—constructing positions and fortifications." Some of their longer-range rockets are being held in reserve for future action against Israel.

Almost simultaneously, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (standing beside Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas) called for a Palestinian state as an integral part of the solution to the overall conflict. She continues her periodic meetings with both Israeli and Palestinian leaders. The United States will host a Middle East conference in November designed to put the peace process back on track. It was reported by The Economist that "diplomacy has yet another fleeting chance."

But the realism of U.S. News and World Report editor-in-chief Mortimer Zuckerman must be taken seriously. He wrote, "A renewed push to find an Israeli-Palestinian solution faces some profound problems as the head of Iran reminded us last week [in his UN address]." Mr. Zuckerman pointed out that the Iranian president's purpose was "to undermine the legitimacy of the state of Israel." This farseeing editor reminded us about "the refusal of the Palestinians to this day to acknowledge the right of Israel to exist."

Yet the League of Nations in 1922 and the United Nations in 1948 supported a Jewish homeland. Winston Churchill stated that "the Jews are in Palestine by right, not sufferance."

Mr. Zuckerman noted the Palestinian use of religion to achieve their political purposes. He recalled that "it was Arafat who invoked the Islamic terms of jihad and shahada . . . It was Arafat who introduced children to radical Islamic thinking so that they could become terrorists and suicide bombers." He also observed that the Palestinians "wish to rule not just in the West Bank and Gaza, but in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa" ("Denial and Hope in the Mideast," Oct. 8, 2007).

Before the biblically prophesied peace finally comes to this troubled region, the future will prove far more crisis-prone than even the troublesome past. To truly comprehend both its historic and prophetic significance, request or download our free booklet The Middle East in Bible Prophecy. (Sources: The Times [London],USA Today, U.S. News and World Report, International Herald Tribune. )