Egypt–Forfeit the North Sinai to Create a Palestinian State

Last updated on: July 4, 2016 at 11:48 am by Kermit Zarley

Egypt–Forfeit the North Sinai to Create a Palestinian State 2016-07-04T11:48:37-07:00 Kermit Zarley

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Thursday, a masked gunman representing an Islamic terrorist group in the North Sinai that is affiliated with ISIS walked up to 46-year old Rafael Moussa, a Coptic Orthodox Church priest, and shot him dead as he was standing near the Coptic St. George Church in El Arish, the capital city of North Sinai, which is part of the large Sinai Peninsula, a mostly wilderness that belongs to Egypt. An ISIS message was soon posted on the Internet describing Moussa as a “disbelieving combatant.”

For about the past three years, the Egyptian Army has been fighting this Islamic, ISIS-affiliated terrorist group in the North Sinai without success. This group has killed eight members of this St. George Church. That is why some of its members have relocated to Cairo.

Egypt is largely Muslim, with ten percent of its population consisting of Coptic Christians. The Coptic Church traces its roots to a Ethiopic eunuch official whom the New Testament book of Acts says was converted to faith in Jesus through the ministry of the evangelist Philip (Acts 8.26-39).

The North Sinai between the Gaza Strip and El Arish to the south along the Mediterranean coast and stretching eastward for several miles is becoming for Egypt like the Gaza Strip was for Israel for decades. For many years during that time, Israel’s celebrated General Dayan constantly said that the Gaza Strip was nothing but trouble and useless to Israel, so that the nation should have given it up to the Palestinians. Israel finally did that decades later, in 2005, and at the same time required eight Jewish settlements there to leave and relocate in Israel.

In my book, Palestine Is Coming: The Revival of Ancient Philistia, published in 1990, I say on the basis on my interpretations of certain biblical prophecies in the Jewish Bible (=Old Testament) that someday a Palestinian state will be created on the coastal plain with its northern border being some miles south of Tel Aviv and its southern border probably as far south as the city of El Arish. I also wrote that in order for this to happen, “Israel will someday release the Gaza Strip” (p. 196). That was 15 years before it happened. And I also wrote, “Egypt will relinquish its northeastern corner of the Sinai, between the Gaza Strip and the Wadi el Arish” (p. 203).

As the Gaza Strip was to Israel, I think this region of the North Sinai now is to Egypt. Thus, Egypt should make a deal with Palestinians, preferably involving Israel, in which Egypt forfeits this region of the North Sinai to the Palestinians. But I think in doing so, it should be a comprehensive settlement involving both Palestinian factions–the Palestinian Authority that controls Palestinians living in the West Bank and Hamas that governs the Gaza Strip. And it would be best for the entities/nations to partake that were be involved in the now dead peace process. The end result should be the creation of a Palestinian state with its center being Gaza. In my book, I call this the New Philistia proposal.

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Coptic Church

El Arish

ISIS

Previous Post

July 2, 2016

Why Does Paul Tell Women to Cover their Hair “Because of the Angels”?

Next Post

July 11, 2016 Why Get DNA from Cemetery of 200 Philistines?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Angels Billy Graham Blog Description Book Reviews Christian Living Christianity Christology Church History Current Events Deity of Christ? Disarmament Eschatology Evangelicalism Ezekiel 38-39 Film Reviews God Golf Gospel Harmonization Health History Holy Spirit Incarnation? Interview Islam Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Jesus Last Empire Literary Announcements Major Championship Winners Masters Monotheism My Books New Testament Old Testament Politics Primitive Weapons Ryder Cup Science Society of Biblical Literature The Bible The Restitution of Jesus Christ Trinitarianism Trinity? Uncategorized Unconditional Love? War on Terrorism

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was the first person raised from the dead by Jesus?

Select your answer to see how you score.

The Centurion's servant Widow's son Jairus' daughter Lazarus

Books by This Author Books by Kermit Zarley Blog

See All Titles »