The Islamic Resistance Movement believes the land of Israel belongs to Islam, and that its Jewish occupiers should be killed. Its 1998 founding document establishes the group as “the spearhead and the avant-garde” in a global conflict with Zionism. It reads, “[Peace] initiatives, the so-called peaceful solutions, and the international conferences to resolve the Palestinian problem are all contrary to the beliefs of the Islamic Resistance Movement. For renouncing any part of Palestine means renouncing part of the religion. … There is no solution to the Palestinian problem except by jihad.”

Thanks to democratic elections in the Palestinian territories on January 25, this terrorist organization controls 74 of the 132 seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council. It will fill the offices of Palestinian government, determine official policy, and write and pass legislation.

How are the Israelis, who have lost hundreds of their citizens to suicide bombings perpetrated by Hamas, to respond?

In a letter I sent to a group of Trumpet subscribers in the final days of 2005, I wrote, “You need to watch Jerusalem as never before. We are going to see one half of that city fall very soon. It could happen this year—2006!” I also recorded a Key of David television episode on the same subject, which aired on January 6. Here is what I said in that program: “Now it appears that the Hamas terrorists—who are really supported by Iran—are about to get control of the Palestinians ….” Within just a few weeks, Hamas had done just that.

In that program, I spoke of the pressure being applied to Israel to give up half of Jerusalem. “[Hamas leaders] know what the Israelis are saying, and what the Europeans are saying, and what the United Nations is saying, and they’re going to come in, in a very short while, and take it by force. Of course, they’ll be supported by Iran. But it’s going to be taken by force.”

These statements in both the letter and the Key of David program center around a prophecy in Zechariah 14 about the fall of half of Jerusalem to Arab control.

In the Key of David program I also discussed the possibility, based on the conflict Zechariah describes between the Palestinians and the Israeli government, that Benjamin Netanyahu’s conservative Likud party could bounce back and win the Israeli elections scheduled for March 28. Again, I recorded that program at the end of December last year.

In the weeks since then, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who was enormously popular with Israelis and who was preparing to make more unilateral concessions to the Arabs, has been removed from the scene by a massive stroke. And now, terrorism has become the foundational platform in Palestinian politics.

These two events will make the conservative position look more attractive for Israelis. Whether or not they elect Netanyahu, it is almost certain the new government will act with more caution toward the Hamas-dominated Palestinian government. That is going to bring the crisis to a head much more quickly.

Iran has a passion to seize control of Jerusalem—and now it has Israel surrounded. The Jewish nation is being besieged.

Iran has surrounded and infiltrated Israel. Now the city of Jerusalem is on the verge of destruction. These events only give more urgency to Zechariah’s prophecy! I said in December that half of Jerusalem could fall this year. These events make that catastrophe even more likely!

Just how weak are the Jews becoming? A poll published by Yedioth Ahronoth on Dec. 16, 2005, showed that 49 percent—nearly half—of Israelis would support giving up parts of Arab East Jerusalem—the largely Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem—in a peace deal with the Palestinians.

The Jews are going to lose more than just “parts” of East Jerusalem. They want to make a peace deal even though not one of their previous peace deals has been honored by the Palestinians!

Now—that was their thinking before the Hamas election. Perhaps it is changing now.

A Dec. 13, 2005, Jerusalem Newswire article by Ryan Jones said this: “… Ehud Olmert, the [current acting prime minister of Israel] and a man known for releasing ‘trial balloons’ regarding future policy, has on more than one occasion stated Israel would eventually have to relinquish the dream of an eternally united Jerusalem under Jewish sovereignty” (emphasis ours throughout). At a conference January 24—after the Hamas victory—this man said his country needs to re-form its borders “to ensure a Jewish majority,” which shows that he still favors pulling out of areas populated mostly by Palestinians. So he is a leader who might be pushed into handing over Arab East Jerusalem.

But given the Hamas victory and the blatant danger to Israel that poses, will Israelis choose such a leader—one whom they may perceive as weak enough to give in to Palestinian demands? It seems unlikely, but we will see. It is possible that, should someone like Olmert come to power, the Palestinians could get East Jerusalem, minus the Temple Mount, without a fight—though even that appears unlikely. But Zechariah’s prophecy certainly implies that there will be an impasse over the Temple Mount—which the Palestinians “resolve” by taking East Jerusalem by force. That is why I believe the conservatives could regain control in Israel. They have a stronger will to fight for the land they believe belongs to the Jews.

However it happens, half of Jerusalem is going to be lost! I believe this will include the Temple Mount.

You can see why that crisis would bring at least three powers into war, which includes millions of people around the world. It would involve many nations. That is why this event will be such a strong, explosive link leading all the way to Christ’s Second Coming! Do you realize how close we are to this emotional and violent explosion in Jerusalem? We are about to see the worst suffering this world has ever experienced.

It is shockingly near. The trigger event—half of Jerusalem falling—could happen this year!