Happy Thanksgiving

I wish all of my readers a blessed Thanksgiving 

My friend Greg wrote the article below:

Hi Family:  Happy Thanksgiving! 

I wanted to share with you some thoughts on this day in response to a video I watched about a lady in Ferguson Missouri who had her bakery business called “Natalie’s Cakes And More” severely damaged by protesters to the latest not guilty verdict.  I have included the link below if you are interested to view.  Here are several of the details as reported in this video that I believe is filled with astronomically pertinent principles that you may think on in order to solving the racial tensions we have in this country: 

1. Natalie, a black American worked really hard selling bakery goods at flea markets in order to pay for a storefront bakery in Ferguson MO.

2. Her motivation for doing so was so that she could provide for her family as a single parent of two children.

3. Before the verdict about that police officer, she begged protestors not to damage her business as this was her only means for living. 

4. She prayed to God for protection. She mentions God on a few occasions.

5. Her business was still damaged inside and out and she had already lost several weeks of business because of the fear on the streets.

6. She was interviewed by news channels after the damage which resulted in donations pouring in to her to help cover damages. 

7. She revealed an attitude of gratitude by probably at least 15 verbalizations of “thank you” to those who helped her. 

8. Then at the end of the conversation the interviewers in this video asked what she thought of the verdict to which she replied how she has honestly been so busy acting and thinking about her and her family’s livelihood that she has had no time to really contemplate the sensibility of the jury’s decision. 

9.She has recently engaged family members to help her to keep up with the hundreds of new orders for her bakery as a result of the exposure in this story! 

My reaction to this video on this Thanksgiving day was first how amazing it is that our Good God sometimes chooses to give us the deepest meanings and understandings of Himself as well as that of good qualities like being thankful in paradoxical ways.  From a human perspective, places like that of Ferguson Missouri, consideration of qualities of say thanksgiving not to mention the presence of a loving God seem so irrelevant and off topic.  The second reaction I had to the video I believe was an example of how it is the Holy Spirit’s job to remind us of principles in God’s Word.  As I watched this video, my mind turned to the word “gladness” which I thought I understood in context from the book of Ecc.  So I looked it up and the reference is Ecc 5:19-20  where Solomon says: “Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work-this is a gift of God.  He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.”

My wife and I have watched a couple of interviews with Pastors about the Ferguson verdict, who seem to be so engrained with a “I’m slighted” and “life’s unfair” mindset, a mindset like the Al Sharptons of this world. They are enraged by the verdict calling it “unjust” and from the facts, this sentiment has to be completely subjective and thus most likely generated by their selfish mentality. These men are not helping their cause and I can only conclude that issues of race and “I’m slighted” have trumped a gospel centered thankfulness to God for true freedom from sin and human equality.  I can also conclude that they are negligent to acknowledge that it is only God who can ultimately judge with accuracy.  This seems to be the case because a subjectivity of a human feeling has overtaken the facts that the adult male killed by that Ferguson police officer has already been proven guilty of consuming illegal drugs, robbing a convenience store (Watchman comment: and apparently had a juvenile arrest record) that day as well as punching and assaulting an officer.  And to top this, if prejudice is an issue in a country anyway, then the Christians looked down upon because, say the color of their skin, have a supreme opportunity in this weak state to cling two a powerful God who longs to defend them which can lead to monumental change.  I hate racial prejudice.  I also hate that there are some who go about stemming prejudice in the wrong way that cause more of the same!      

Going back to Ecclesiastes, where Solomon was displaying wise counsel and conclusion to the dilemmas in his life, Christ is the fulfillment of wisdom.  1Cor 1:24:  “...Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”  Where Solomon talks about God giving temporary physical provision, Christ brings eternal provision!  Solomon offers wisdom about how God also gives the ability to enjoy the earthly provision God supplies.  Jesus Christ offers ongoing joy as we reflect about His work on the Cross that brings us eternal life.  Where Solomon says that acknowledging God as provider of enjoyment lessens concern about the issues of the day, Jesus Christ offers eternal joy over eternal possessions that bring such true wisdom and sensibility that should be clearly seen in Christian leadership in response to Ferguson. Where Solomon began to put hope in houses and gardens he had built that ultimately caused him to say, “everything is meaningless,” Jesus Christ built for us a house that cannot be moved.  “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe for our ‘God is a consuming fire.”  Heb 12:28

Jesus Christ gently and confidently proclaims that all races of Jew and gentile are equal in His sight and will be unified for eternity after they confess, repent and be forgiven of all of moral sins, sins of self-righteous self-focus and propensity of  unbiblical human manufactured maneuvering that we like to call “gospel.”  And what do we all get?  We get God.  We get the God who made the universe who loves us all so much that He gave us his only Son!  And this is the foundation upon which we get to work hard in building a bakery in order to provide for our children (1Cor 4:12) while minding our business and leading a quiet life (1Thes 4:12) and we get to do this as well as proclaim Him and His gospel all for His glory  (Col 3:17) and this brings glad tidings of great joy! 

Happy Thanksgiving. 

http://video.foxnews.com/v/3911522493001/donations-pour-in-for-woman-whose-bakery-was-damaged/#sp=show-clips

Dabiq, Syria In Islamic Prophecy

The gruesome video released by the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) emphasizes that the beheading of Peter Kassig took place in the town of Dabiq, Syria. The town was chosen because of its significance in Islamic end-of-time prophecies about the time when the Mahdi and (the Islamic version of Isa) Jesus will bring victory over those who oppose sharia.

The Islamic State named its English-language magazine “Dabiq” for the same reason. The group is telling Muslims that it is fulfilling prophecy, enticing them to participate in one of the most important moments in world history.

A secondary message is that Islamic State supporters should not worry about the military superiority of their enemy or the terrorist group’s setbacks because they will soon be made victorious with help from the Mahdi, Islam’s messianic figure, and Jesus (when he joins Islam, which he will according to Islamic prophecy).

“Here we are, burying the first American Crusader in Dabiq, eagerly waiting for the remainder of your armies to arrive,” says one Islamic State speaker.

The video features an excerpt from a sermon by Abu Musab al-Zaraqawi, the leader of the Islamic State’s predecessor, Al-Qaeda in Iraq, until he was killed by a U.S. airstrike on June 7, 2006.

“The spark has been lit here in Iraq, and its heat will continue to intensify…until it burns the Crusader armies in Dabiq,” Zaraqawi preached.

Then, for a third time, another Islamic State member says to the West, “We are waiting for you in Dabiq.”

The statements are a reference to prophecies in the hadith, the collection of sayings and actions attributed to Mohammed, the Holy Prophet of Islam.

One collector of the hadith, Sahih Muslim, states, “The Last Hour would not come until the Romans would land at al-A’maq or in Dabiq.”

When the Islamic State refers to President Obama as the “dog of Rome” in the video, they are making the case that the U.S. is the modern equivalent of the Roman Empire and American military action in the Middle East is the actualization of this prophecy.

The Islamic State draws a parallel between its own actions and the details of the prophecy. The hadith states that Dabiq will be controlled by the “best” Islamic soldiers from Mecca, Saudi Arabia. They will capture “Romans” (i.e., Americans), which will lead to a foreign attack.

The Brookings Institute points out that the Islamic State immediately presented its capture of Dabiq in April as part of this prophecy. The group’s supporters distributed pictures on social media of the seized hilltop with the text of the prophecy.

The Islamic State’s beheadings of Peter Kassig and the other Americans are not only justifiable acts of jihad in their opinion. They are also acts designed to provoke an assault on them as prophesized. In their eyes, a U.S. military response is actually desirable, as it fulfills this prophecy.

The prophecy states that the Romans will arrive at Dabiq and tell all the Muslims to stand aside so that they can fight only those Muslims who took the captives. The Muslims will then unite against the Romans. The Islamic State is hoping that this will come to fruition.

When the battle begins, according to the prophecy, about one-third of the Muslim forces will flee (“whom Allah will never forgive”), one-third will die as “excellent martyrs” and the remaining one-third will win the battle and then conquer Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey).

If Islamic State supporters believe this prophecy is about them, then they will not be discouraged by the current U.S. military action, high death tolls and desertions. They will actually be encouraged by it because they believe it will ultimately bring victory.

According to the prophecy, what follows this victory in Dabiq and Turkey is the appearance and final defeat of the Islamic version of the Antichrist, called the Dajjal, at the hands of (the Islamic) Jesus.

To most Westerners, it sounds fanciful to suggest that the Islamic State believes it is fulfilling this prophecy, but this type of thinking is common among Islamists.

Al-Qaeda and its affiliates often talk about eliminating or breaking "the cross." This is a reference to the same prophecies. They are talking about paving the way for the Mahdi and the Islamic Jesus to bring about final victory over their enemies. The terminology refers to an Islamic prophecy where Jesus will break a cross to disprove Christianity and absorb the religion into Islam.

The Muslim Brotherhood also believes in this. IslamWeb, a website with a fatwa bank that affirms the prophecies, salutes Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Sheikh Yousef al-Qaradawi as “one of the most eminent contemporary scholars who are recognized by their knowledge and efforts…”

Shiite Islamists also state they are fulfilling these prophecies. A documentary produced by the office of then-Iranian President Ahmadinejad made the case that he, along with Supreme Leader Khamenei and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, embodied specific characters foretold in Islamic prophecy. Much of the film aligns with the interpretations of Islamic prophecy by the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda.

Khamenei’s news outlets likewise report on current events through end-of-times lenses. A Lebanese reporter in an Arab publication wrote that Iranian intervention in Syria and the ongoing civil war there is seen by the Iranian regime and Hezbollah as setting the stage for the appearance of the Mahdi.

The U.S. and its allies must not avoid tackling the Islamic State out of concern that doing so will reinforce its prophetic claims. National security and human rights are at stake. Instead, the U.S. can turn the tables using the prophecy.

The validity of the Islamic State’s claims rest upon the capture of Dabiq, the arrival of U.S. ground forces, the uniting of Muslims behind the Islamic State and military victory over the U.S. and its allies in the area.

Therefore, we can invalidate the Islamic State’s claims by not sending in U.S. ground forces to the area, strengthening the Islamic State’s Muslim adversaries, forcing the group out of Dabiq and delivering them a decisive defeat. If this happens, the Islamic State’s proclamations of prophetic fulfillment will be discredited.

The fundamental problem of Islamists seeking to trigger these end-of-times events will remain. The Islamic State could be crushed, but others with similar believes will arise. This entire mindset of fulfilling prophecy through war needs to be challenged.

Videos of the Day 25 November 2014

What will happen on Earth after the rapture?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8TnJBxiSZg

Illuminati 2014 American Music Awards 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIbo40q4yYw

Anti-christ emerging on world scene 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiZeHUrkx9Q

Turkey embraces Hitler and paves the way for Ezekiel 38 war https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1dN7O48uNY

Your in luck if you have Irish ancestors 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJVCtCdWgA4

DOD downsizing, the real reason Hagel is resigning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUYGuFuOYEM

The Illuminati Plan for America, a coming out party
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8gl4Ki8uSo

Exploring the city of David 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTdKznTA9iY

The modern blasphemy of the Holy Spirit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRMyHUiqA0U

Mad Scientists Can Now Ruin Human DNA

A thermonuclear detonation, pictured above, looks a lot like a cell nucleus with the chromosomes unwound. Recollecting the fateful day when Robert Oppenheimer detonated the first nuclear bomb: “We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried. Most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Gita; Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and, to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and says, ‘Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.’ I suppose we all thought that, one way or another.”

Well, you may not have felt the tremors but a couple of weeks ago, our world changed and we entered a new nuclear era which may be even more frightening.  That’s because the genie of genetic engineering was loosed from the bottle with the invention of something NYU scientists call “The Telomerator”: http://www.the-scientist.com/articles.view/articleNo/41398/title/Circular-Chromosomes-Straightened/

Once upon a time, there was a kingdom of life called the Protists (largely represented by bacteria with circular DNA) which were distinct from Eukaryotic kingdoms like plants and animals because we have linear DNA that is capped by telomeres and kept safe in our nuclei. The telomeres and centromeres are the handles of the chromosomes and how the cellular machinery knows what to copy when it divides into two daughters.

We thought we were so clever using bacteria to make human gene products like Human Growth Hormone but now the tables have turned and a new chess piece has been introduced.  Prepare to be truly frightened because those mechanisms that separate our human chromosomes have no way of knowing where the DNA comes from.  Scientists can now make Anthrax or Bubonic Plague into a linear chromosome and introduce the 47th chromosome into a human (or any of the other eukaryotic species’ nuclei) and create new possibilities.

Why would anyone want to do that?  Ever heard a Bond nemesis or a Superhero villain monologue about their vision for a brave new world or their contempt for humanity and the status quo?

I’m sure the scientists thought it was cute to name this invention, which could also be a boon for curing previously incurable diseases, something memorable like “The Telomerator”.  Hopefully, they won’t someday be faced with the awful realization that the fictional scientist Miles Dyson (inventor of Skynet) faced when he was shown what resulted:

 

Sarah Connor: [narrating] Dyson listened while the Terminator laid it all down: Skynet, Judgment Day, the history of things to come. It’s not everyday you find out that you’re responsible for 3 billion deaths. He took it pretty well.

Miles Dyson: I feel like I’m gonna throw up.

So, could you identify the chromosome put there by the scientist being paid to do something to human evolution?  The bad news is, neither can your cellular machinery that is charged with eternally copying and transmitting all your other, God-given chromosomes.

Welcome to the future. Welcome to our brave new world which will soon truly have new people in it with designer chromosomes.  Ready to glow in the dark or photosynthesize?  Somewhere, someone is planning to make their evil mark on human evolution.

New World Order Robs Ukraine Of Its Gold Updated 22 Nov 2014

"Back in March, at a time when the IMF reported that Ukraine's official gold holdings as of the end of February, amounted to 42.3 tons or 8% of reserves. Under the previous 'hated' president, Ukraine gold's reserves had constantly increased hitting a record high just before the presidential coup. The coup was facilitated by the US State Department against former president Victor Yanukovich. Recently in an interview on Ukraine TV, none other than the head of the Ukraine Central Bank made the stunning admission that 'in the vaults of the central bank there is almost no gold left. There is a small amount of gold bullion left, but it's just 1% of reserves'."

Where did all this gold go? Some believe that the gold was stolen and shipped to the United States.

Wherever these gold reserves are now, the fact is that they are not in the Ukraine. The Ukrainian government cannot use these reserves to fight the Russian campaign of "threatened war" from outside the borders and real war from pro-Russian separatists.

Soon, Ukraine will fall to Russian control, as it slides into the grip of satanic kingdom #5 and the Eurasian Economic Union, headed by Russia.

The video below is a very interesting video about Ukraine, the Swiss vote to back their currency with gold and the imploding Japanese economy and other Bankster issues

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQyUBs4Sel8

Mahmoud Abbas Gets His Religious War

The terrorist attack this week in which four rabbis were murdered at prayer inside a synagogue in West Jerusalem is the latest installment in a violent spree that has left 10 Israelis dead over the past month alone, leading some to argue that what we’re witnessing is the bloody birth of a third Intifada.

It’s possible to argue otherwise. It’s possible to remember that a similar bubbling of violence erupted last fall, when two Israeli soldiers were killed in short succession and many pundits believed that a serious surge of Palestinian attacks was inevitable. Back then, it took no more than a few weeks for the hostilities to die down. This time, it’s different. The current spate of murders, it seems, may be the opening salvo in Mahmoud Abbas’ war—the Palestine leader’s attempt to re-define his legacy after a decade of public corruption and dissatisfaction, his failure to make peace with Israel, and the loss of Gaza to Hamas.

When it comes to Abbas’ culpability, current opinions in Israel seem mixed. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, alongside several other senior security officials, has clearly laid the blame on the Palestinian president, while the head of the Shin Bet, Yoram Cohen, hasargued that Abbas is only culpable inasmuch as his followers choose to interpret his speeches as an invitation to violence, but he bears no direct responsibility for the murders. It’s a discussion worth having—healthy democracies foster precisely this sort of dissent among its top officials—but even as we observe events unfold in real time we ought to look to history for clues as to their meaning.

Unlike traditional wars, which are fought by standing armies with clearly delineated lines of command, surges of terror come into being in more amorphous ways. The first Intifada, for example, caught the PLO’s senior leadership off guard but nonetheless soon became a mighty instrument of violence. To call this recent spate of murders “a leaderless revolt,” as somechronically inept publications have, is to miss the nature of the dangerous and duplicitous game Palestinian leaders have been playing for at least two decades now.

Credit the late Yasser Arafat for this two-handed tactic: Fan the flames of popular rage on the one hand, and on the other position yourself as the sole guarantor of calm and quiet, the lesser of all available evils, and the last, best hope for peace. This is what Abbas is doing now:vowing that he doesn’t want another Intifada while presiding over a torrent of incitement designed to keep passions at just the boiling point. One recent rant, broadcast 19 times in three days recently on the state-controlled PA TV station, serves as a good introduction to the Rais’ general mindset: In it, Abbas calls for religious conflict in the Al-Aqsa mosque and urges his followers to prevent the Jews, “in any way whatsoever,” from entering the sacred space. This is not just a hothead’s attempt at playing hardball: By saying that he wished to prevent the Jews from “contaminating” the Temple Mount, Abbas, the author of a Holocaust-denying doctoral dissertation, is purposefully using the language of ancient religious hatreds to spark new ones.

Here, too, Abbas is nothing more than a mediocre student of Arafat’s playbook: The second Intifada was launched when Arafat, using Ariel Sharon’s visit to the Temple Mount as an excuse, unleashed a torrent of religious frenzy centered on the Temple Mount, sounding much like Abbas sounds now.

It worked well enough the first time around, but that was before ISIS and the war in Syria and the rest of the crest of instability and intolerance and killing that has washed over almost every Arab nation. Now it’s no longer enough to speak of peace while fanning violence. The bad old tricks no longer apply.

But Abbas may have his way still: As he continues to shout about the need to defend the holy site—his Minister of Religious Affairs Mahmoud al-Habbash, recently called on all governments to help defend Jerusalem and protect its Christian-Muslim identity from the Jewish usurpers—more and more Israelis are asking themselves why they should continue to put up with the Waqf, the Islamic trust that has controlled Al Aqsa since the 10th century and that Israel restored to power after its triumph in the 1967 war. The claim that Jews alone should be denied access to the sacred spot is deeply upsetting, and when it is presented with the shrill notes of religious warfare it is likely that even moderate Israelis will soon demand that prayer arrangements on the Temple Mount be changed. That, most likely, would lead to an all-out explosion of violence, a third Intifada grander and bloodier than any before.

Which, as all available clues suggest, is precisely what Abbas wants; his Fatah movement could hardly have been more clear than it was this morning, posting praise for the perpetrators of the synagogue massacre on its Facebook page.

Still, Abbas may be bitterly disappointed. The genocidal beheaders and their cohorts have lowered the tolerance for religious killing, and once Abbas unleashes hell, he may find himself, unlike Arafat, the first victim of his own war.

The Leaders of Hamas and Fatah Are Totally Corrupt

Moshe Elad wrote the article below he is a lecturer at Western Galilee College and at Galil International Management School, specializes in Palestinian issues and terrorism.

The idea that hardline Hamas political leaders like Mousa Abu Marzook, pictured above, and Khaled Meshal, pictured below,  who order violence in the name of jihad are also canny businessmen who have assembled financial empires that would be the envy of pinstriped businessmen in London, Paris, or New York may strike most readers as unfamiliar, or perhaps as a form of science fiction or propaganda. But in the Middle East, otherworldly religious or political rhetoric and earthly profits do not necessarily contradict each other. In fact, they often go hand in hand.

Nor is the combination of political and military roles with business empires unique to Hamas, or to other Islamist organizations. When I started my job as the Israeli Military Governor of Tyre district during the first Lebanese war and asked to meet with the local police chief, I was told, “He is available only during the morning hours. In the afternoons he takes care of his businesses.” “Businesses?” I wondered. “Yes,” said my informant, “he has a supermarket chain.”

During my two years in Lebanon I learned that almost every local office-holder and officer, whether in the public sector, police, or army, owned a private business. The police commander in question, for example, recommended that citizens who approach the police for help should purchase food from his private stores. Because Western values such as conflict of interests, transparency, and public efficiency are less recognized and less respected in this part of the world, most political leaders in the Middle East see public office as a route to making a fortune, and most of their constituents accept this behavior—with the hope of sharing in even a small part of the leader’s wealth.

In the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the situation is quite similar to the one I found in Lebanon. The race to obtain powerful positions in the Palestinian Authority began in 1994, with the implementation of the Oslo Accords. The government that emerged from that process looks more or less like that of most Arab regimes: It is centralized and corrupt, it lacks effectiveness, bribery plays a very important role in society, and nepotism is prevalent, with just few families or relatives benefiting from state monopolies on basic services and commodities.

The Palestinian Liberation Organization runs the PA through its main political party, Fatah, flag above, with a generous budget donated by the international community. Between 1995 and 2005 the PA, which had a population of 4 million people, has received $8 billion for building its industrial infrastructure to create jobs, improve its people’s lives, and establish public institutions. Unfortunately, none of those projects shows evidence of having been implemented. Most of the funds went to private pockets, and the rest helped PA leaders to recruit more militia members. Monopolies of oil, gas, food, cigarettes, and cell phones have been granted to the prime minister’s family and to a few government ministers and local security officers. Those who were deprived of their chance to feed at the public trough have not remained quiet. A year ago, Mohammad Dahlan who used to be a senior security Fatah officer in Gaza, filed an international lawsuit against President Abu-Mazen, claiming Abbas has stolen over $1 billion from the Palestinian budget.

Hamas, their flag is pictured above, the Palestinian Islamic fundamentalist movement, which was established toward the end of 1987, did not share in the international largesse granted to the PA. The resistance movement promoted the liberation of Palestine by force and at the same time joined the global jihad, as other Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated organizations did. As a result, Hamas has developed its own fundraising mechanisms, mainly based on donations and contributions of Muslim believers and pilgrims from countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar. Hamas’ vicious terrorist attacks that took place in the mid 1990s helped the organization gain more credit as the Palestinians’ chief defender and protector and surely enhanced its revenues, which mainly came in the form of direct cash contributions. The legitimate channel for receiving these funds was the Zakat box which exists in every single Waqf (sacred property) office in the West Bank and Gaza. The PA was not allowed to touch or interfere in these Islamic institutions except by using force.

By June 2007 after Hamas took over the GS through a violent coup, more significant amounts of money began to arrive from the same Islamic countries, reflecting the donors’ desire that Gaza should be run according to Islamic Shari’a law. A huge fundraising campaign was also launched in Western countries, mainly the United States and Europe, which raised hundreds of millions of dollars, which passed through the hands of Dr. Mousa Abu Marzook, the chair of the Hamas political bureau chair at that time. According to a Texas Federal court record from 2003, Abu Marzook was convicted of illegal funds transfer to every single district in the West Bank, from Jenin in the north to Hebron in the south. Beginning in the 1990s and during every fiscal year, he has transferred millions of dollars, claiming that these funds were for welfare and relief projects, while in fact they have been used to compensate suicide bombers’ families and to rehabilitate wounded and invalid terrorists. As a result of these large, repeated cash transfers, over many years, Abu Marzook also came to personally control large assets and investments, which according to my research total over $2 billion.

Hamas current chair Khaled Meshal began to control the movement’s funds right after the arrest of Abu Marzook in the United States in 1995. During the two years that Abu Marzook was behind barbed wire, Meshal was appointed as Hamas’ chair of political bureau, a position that put him in sole control of Hamas’ treasury. Until the release of Abu Marzook from prison in 1997, Meshal personally reached out to as many Arab and Muslim leaders as possible in order to enhance the organization’s budget.

During his time in Damascus, where he spent 13 years (1999 to 2012), Meshal established new funding channels, which have led to his accumulation of a fortune on a par with that of Abu Marzook. Most of Meshal’s capital has been invested in Egyptian and Gulf states banks, and some of them are involved in real-estate projects. Meshal owns Fadil, a real-estate firm located in Doha, Qatar, which recently built four residential towers, a 20-story mall and other sites, all of which are registered in the names of members of his family.

Another way to become rich in the Gaza strip after the 2007 coup—a method used mainly by Hamas field commanders (Ez A-din al Qassam Brigades) ,logo above, —was smuggling, which was accomplished through a network of tunnels built to evade Israeli and Egyptian border controls. Hamas PM Ismail Haniyeh and his ministers in Gaza took advantage of this economic tool and began to forcefully control it, exactly like the Mafia. From this time on, each Hamas district’s commander has profited from the networks in his own sector as though they were his own property, maintaining full control over goods and merchandise crossing through the district’s tunnels. Food products, meat and poultry, cement and concrete, furniture, oil, gasoline, and medical items were all subject to large taxes. A smuggled car’s tax, for example, was $1,000 plus 25 percent of its value while 100 to 200 cars were smuggled daily. The “importer” had to pay 75 shekels (around $20) for each ton of cement (400 tons a day), 120 shekels for each ton (2,000 pounds) of wood (500 tons a day), 2 shekels for each smuggled liter (2.64 gallons) of diesel fuel (6,000 liters a day), and 0.75 shekels for each liter of gas (6,000 liters a day). On the Egyptian side of the tunnel, the man responsible for the “project” was Khirat el-Shater, a prominent leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, who helped finance the establishment of the joint ventures and was a full partner for revenues.

Raed al Atar, a prominent Hamas leader from Rafah, pictured above, has made tens of millions of dollars from this smuggling project. Al Atar has a special centralized way to control the flow of merchandise and funds through “his” tunnels, while taking care of every single item.

Palestinian economists estimate that the number of Palestinians who earned more than $1 million from the tunnels’ economy ranges from 1,000 to 1,200 individuals. However, the number of Gaza inhabitants who may be identified as “millionaires,” is about half that. We should remember also that almost $1 billion in cash has been smuggled through the tunnels annually, a part of which was deducted and paid to the district‘s commander as a sort of “income tax.” One more source of illegal income was the properties of former Gush Katif (former Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip), whose lands were sold to Palestinian real-estate agencies and some directly to builders who were waiting to start new housing projects. The funds received by the buyers went into the private pockets of Hamas’ leaders.

Another income source in Gaza is Islamic fundraising. Hamas’ leaders have received huge amounts of donations and contributions from Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and from other Gulf States. These funds were donated in favor of the Muqawama, the Islamic resistance, whose aims are twofold: one, against Israel as a political enemy and the second, against the Shia Islam states as a religious enemy. Generally, the transfer of funds from Arab countries, unlike from European or U.S. donors, are hard to follow: Funds not designated for specific projects, and that came under the title of “general purposes,” were most likely confiscated by Hamas’ leaders.

From information that was released lately, Qatar has transferred in February 2013 to “Gaza Strip inhabitants” $250 million, most of which has not arrived to the region. Later, after Mohammad Morsi’s fall in Egypt, by July 2013 Qatar has transferred another amount of $350 million and later on another $100 million donation was received. In these cases, the money was received by Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. Originally a refugee from Al Shati refugee camp near Gaza, Haniyah today is worth at least $4 million—and some portion of the funds he received have been used to buy land and houses which are registered in the names of his family members. Other Hamas ministers and government officials have also received or have stolen money from the “public treasury” and built fancy houses or large businesses inside and outside Gaza.

Given the fact that much this information is visible to every resident of Gaza, who know exactly where and how the leaders of Hamas live, it is fair to ask why the public remains silent and indifferent. Pictures released during Protective Edge showed the contrast between luxurious the life led by Meshal and Abu Marzook and the lives of the impoverished people of Gaza. Yet it is very rare that a Palestinian leader is ever attacked from “inside the house”: According to Palestinian tradition, the leader suffers enough from the Israeli occupier, and therefore everyone should support the leader, resist, fight back, and move away from criticizing him, no matter what he does or doesn’t do. As a result, polls showed that over 60 percent of Gaza residents denounced corruption, but only a few of them were ready to take action. Another reason why public criticism may be rare is that the consequences can be severe: During Protective Edge, 20 people were shot in public in Gaza after summary trials in which they were accused of being “collaborators with the enemy.” Needless to say, the precise nature of their “collaboration” was murky. Gazans who did demonstrate against the Hamas leadership were also beaten, shot, and in some cases, executed. Corruption in the Palestinian territories still prevails.