Due to the urgent matter that Israel is facing at the moment, and the fact that the media around the world chooses to minimize the reports about the situation that Israel faces today, as well as the fact that the eyes of many around the world today are focused more on the World Cup, I decided to take a break from my regular weekly devotional to write about Operation: Bring Back Our Brothers.

On Thursday, June 12^th, 2014, Eyal Yifrach (19 years old), Gil-Ad Shaer and Naftali Frenkel (both 16 years old) were kidnapped at the junction of the Settlement of Alon Shevot while trying to get back to their homes for the Shabbat.

As of today (Tuesday morning), 100 hours later, no organization or group has taken any responsibility for the abduction. The overall hypothesis is that Hamas (a Terror Organization) operatives are responsible, although it is not confirmed yet by any source, and may have been without the knowledge of its leadership.

Within hours of the incident, the IDF started a large-scale operation to find our boys in an operation called “Bring Back Our Brothers”.  So far, over 200 members of Hamas and others within the areas of Judea and Samaria, have been taken in for questioning.  Roadblocks are all over and the tension is on the rise.  On top of that, more rockets from Gaza were shot at the Southern cities, in efforts to divert the attention.  Also, there was a planned attack, which was prevented today on one of the settlements in Judea and Samaria.

The reality is that since the reunion of Hamas and the PLO couple of weeks ago, a reunion which was supported by most countries around the world, we have seen an escalation of violent acts here in Israel.  The PLO is leading the Palestinian people in Judea and Samaria while Hamas is in control in Gaza. Hamas called and continues to call on the destruction of Israel, while the PLO and its leader Mahmoud Abbas is supposedly Israel’s peace partner.

In large, the world has chosen to ignore the situation; some countries condemned the act, however nothing major was stated with regard to this situation.  I personally believe that one of the main reasons for the US support of the Israeli operation is the fact that one of the boys is an American citizen.

The Israeli Prime Minister, Minister of Defense, and Israel Chief of Staff, are all very determined to do whatever it takes to bring the boys back home and take care of those responsible in this evil act. The IDF is working very hard, going from home to home searching for the boys.  One of the main challenges is that about 5 hours passed from the time that the authorities realized that the boys were kidnapped, which gave time to those who did it to hide them. Today there are many underground tunnels built all over, which make the search much harder.

The reality is very difficult and I believe that it requires our prayers. Please join me as we pray together for:

1. The boys to be found and returned home alive and well.

2. God’s comfort for the boys’ families.

3. Wisdom for the Israeli leaders.

4. Wisdom and protection for the IDF.

5. God’s protection for all of the Palestinian people who are caught in the middle and have nothing to do with the situation.

6. Salvation of Israel’s enemies.

7. The world to wake up to the reality of the situation in Israel, especially regarding this new dangerous Palestinian governing body.

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May our God bless us all,

Moran