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Palestinian Authority Military Build-Up Poses Potential Threat to Israel
Similar to October 7 The Palestinian Authority’s (PA) build-up of a West Bank military force presents an unprecedented threat to millions of civilians living in central Israel, according to a report from Lieutenant Colonel Maurice Hirsch of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs.
The Oslo Accords permit the PA police force—specifically responsible for maintaining local public order and combating terrorist groups like Hamas—to be comprised of 12,000 persons with weapons limitations of 4,000 rifles, 4,000 pistols, 120 machine guns, and 15 armored vehicles, with increases only by mutual consent. However, the PA police force now has an estimated 70,000 personnel and tens of thousands of rifles, pistols, and dozens of armored vehicles. Many of those weapons are smuggled into the West Bank or manufactured in PA territory without mutual Israeli consent.
The PA police forces have morphed into military-grade soldiers; they are battle-trained, having even been gifted weapons by numerous Israeli governments in the past, including Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government just weeks before the devastating attacks of October 7. Besides receiving training and financial support from the United States and European Union, PA forces have also undergone full military training in countries who are hostile to Israel and who also train Hamas. For example, PA forces have been trained in Pakistan for armored warfare, artillery, shoulder-fired missiles, heavy machine guns, sniping, parachuting, and more.
Despite being ideologically similar to Hamas, PA President Mahmoud Abbas has gained international support by positioning Hamas as an enemy and used the “Wanted Terrorists Agreement” to integrate Fatah terrorists into the PA security force. Since then, the PA forces have grown over 500 percent larger than the Oslo Accords agreement—as well as 10 times larger than the number of terrorists who invaded Israel on October 7—and their weapons have multiplied beyond a critical point.
“Due to the nature, size, and capabilities of this force, a northward, westward, and southward invasion by this terror army will endanger millions of citizens. The scale of destruction and killing . . . could be significantly greater, even in comparison to the horrors of the October 7 massacre,” Hirsch warned. He recommended Israel take immediate action, such as halting all approvals of weapons sent to the PA.
Pray for wisdom for Israeli intelligence, military, and government leaders, especially those who deal with the details of the situation in the West Bank. Pray God frustrates evil plots and stops even the possibility of future terror attacks—especially one like October 7—due to the PA’s armed forces build-up in the West Bank. Pray for the international community to also recognize the risk of terrorism there, and for financial aid, weapons, and training to stop flowing to the PA.
Palestinian Authority Leader Aligns with New Hamas Leader
Last week, Palestinian Authority (PA) deputy chief Hussein al-Sheikh gave his congratulations to Khalil al-Hayya as the newly elected leader of Hamas and wished him success in his new position, according to a statement cited from the Palestinian Information Center.
This leader is not a new leaf for Hamas. Al-Hayya was the former deputy to jihadi Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, held close ties with Iran, and regularly met with the regime’s late supreme leader Ali Khamenei. One of the chief architects of the October 7 attacks, al-Hayya has mostly been in Qatar since then, although he has traveled to Egypt, Turkey, Syria, and Lebanon, and was the head of Hamas’ negotiating team in talks with the United States. In January 2025, al-Hayya called the October 7 massacre “a source of pride for our people . . . to be passed down from generation to generation.”
In response to al-Sheikh’s congratulations, al-Hayya told al-Sheikh his commitment continues for Palestinian “national principles” and “confronting current challenges” in the Gaza Strip, Judea and Samaria, and elsewhere.
This affinity between the PA and Hamas is not good news for Israel; the Israel Foreign Ministry office warns that the PA is acting “hand-in-hand” with Hamas terrorists.
As the PA and Hamas become more closely allied, please pray for their plans of violence to be thwarted and never succeed. Pray that God would protect the people of Israel from Hamas and any forces allies with it. Pray that those who work toward the destruction of God’s chosen people would be stopped and even repent.
Silent No More: Hostage Caged in Gaza Names Captor and Reveals Abuse
It became one of the most memorable images from the early months of the war: Rimon Buchshtab-Kirsht, one of nine women released during the fifth round of the first hostage deals in 2023, stepped out of a Hamas transport and confronted one of her captors in front of the cameras.
For over 1,000 days, Rimon avoided speaking publicly about her captivity. Last week, she told her story for the first time—about her abduction, the torture in Gaza, her husband Yagev Buchshtab, and the life they had hoped to reclaim. She calls it “taking a deliberate flashback to Gaza.”
Rimon was dragged and severely injured during her abduction, and violence remained constant. “One night, I woke to movement and realized they were about to beat Yagev because his snoring was keeping them awake. I grabbed a fork and stabbed the captor in the hand. It was Mustafa, the same man I later confronted during my release.”
Rimon and Yagev’s closeness became a point of contention for their captors. Ultimately, the couple ended up locked inside a cage in a tunnel beneath Khan Younis and subjected to severe abuse.
Then, after 53 days of captivity, Hamas captors unlocked the cage and took Rimon.
The farewell was devastating. “I told Yagev, ‘Baby, I love you,’ and he said, ‘I love you,’ and we kissed. I asked Yarden to watch over him . . . I told them to protect one another. I kept shouting back to him, ‘Baby, I love you.’”
Although many consider Rimon a hero for everything she endured, she doesn’t see it. “I do not feel like a hero at any stage. I mostly feel guilt and anxiety. I live with constant flashbacks, recurring panic attacks and triggers everywhere. I am constantly looking for escape routes and ways out, something I never did before. Whenever I am with someone I love, I am always planning how to protect them and how, this time, I might make the situation end differently.”
Pray for Rimon and the other hostages who still suffer so much. Pray for healing of heart, mind, and spirit, and for them to find the peace God offers through Yeshua (Jesus) who felt every pain, bore every grief, and carried every sorrow in Himself on the cross. Pray for the families and friends of the released hostages as they also deal with so much emotional and mental turmoil. May they also come to know the comfort and strength only the Prince of Peace can give.
How to Pray for Our Staff in Israel
We appreciate and depend on your support for our work in Israel. Here are some specific ways you can be praying for our staff there this week:
- Please pray for the well-being of our staff and their families. The trauma of years of war weighs on every Israeli, especially as Iran remains a threat. Pray for a just resolution to the regional tensions in the Middle East. Ask that God will comfort our dedicated workers in Israel and that this comfort will overflow to those around them (2 Corinthians 1:3–4).
- Please pray for our upcoming high holidays events in the fall. During Rosh Hashanah (the Feast of Trumpets) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), Jewish people often think more about prayer and repentance. Pray that God will use our staff boldly as they plan outreach during this holy season proclaiming Jesus the Messiah, our atonement (Romans 3:25).
- Our ministry of hosting traveling Israelis around the world—including places like New Zealand, India, and Japan—continues to bear fruit and expand. Part of what makes this ministry so effective is that many Israelis who hear the gospel for the first time in these far-away places continue those conversations with our Israeli staff upon their return. Please pray for clarity and boldness as our workers in Israel follow up with Israelis that our partners have hosted around the world.
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Doctors in the operating room. (Photo: Unsplash/Husien Bisky)