Dear Friends of Israel

Now that Osama bin Laden has finally been found and brought to justice, ten years after the attack on the World Trade Center, most of the world breathed a sigh of relief and satisfaction. The Arab and Muslim world has held back in this respect. The only ones to condemn the U.S. action immediately were representatives of Hamas in Gaza. Their Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyeh, praised bin Laden as an Islamic warrior and condemned the U.S. policy of killing and repression. Another Hamas spokesman denounced the killing of bin Laden as a crime and state-sponsored terrorism.

When the two Hamas men made those declarations, they probably didn't consider that their statements wouldn't exactly be seen positively throughout the world - especially not in the USA. However, they did show their true colors once again.

In contrast, a spokesman of Salim Fayyad, the prime minister of the Fatah, said that the death of Bin Laden benefits the cause of peace worldwide.

Despite these contrasting positions, the two rival Palestinian factions, Hamas in Gaza and the Fatah in the West Bank, hope to reconcile their differences and reach an agreement on forming a unified government. Attempts have been made to convince the world that Hamas has changed, but their recent comments about bin Laden show that the opposite is true, and are cause for grave concern.

Perhaps this attempt by the Palestinians to reconcile with Hamas, will (once again) spare Israel from the international recognition of a Palestinian state by the UN General Assembly in September. Moreover, any future Palestinian government that is prepared to accept Al-Qaeda ideology should not expect too much sympathy from the United Nations, especially not from the USA , which has veto power in the UN.

Even so, whether or not there is agreement among the Palestinians, the Palestinian problem will remain at the center of world politics. Jordan's King Abdullah II stated that the death of Bin Laden actually furthers a solution to the Palestinian problem, because that was the motive and the driving force behind the actions of Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden stated that the attack on the World Trade Center took place because America supports Israel. King Abdullah was trying to express in his statement that, if a solution to the Palestinian problem is found, it will turn off the fuel valve for extreme Islamic organizations like Al Qaeda. However, the Palestinian problem is likely to remain the number one issue on the agenda of the United Nations, until a solution is found for this alleged source of all problems in the Middle East.

Moreover, the fact that bin Laden was not found for such a long time gave rise to wild speculation and conspiracy theories. There were theories that Osama bin Laden never even existed, but was an invention of the U.S., and the attack on the World Trade Center was staged by the Americans themselves, with help of course from Israel, so they'd have a reason to attack Islam and Islamic countries. Unfortunately, such conspiracy aren't only accepted by Arabs, but are increasingly reaching receptive ears in other parts of the world, because they seem to provide a logical explanation for the sheer unbelievable. Although these conspiracy theories came to an end when bin Laden was found and killed, cautionary voices are warning that the ideology of Al-Qaida is not dead.

For those of us who know God's warnings through the prophets, it's clear that this conflict with radical Islam is not ended, and will only be ended by the return of the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ.

Bound to each other in the hope of his return, I greet you with "Shalom."

Yours truly,

Fredi Winkler