What Happened At Megiddo and Now?

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                    

Today, Megiddo is an archaeological site in northern Israel, situated near the town of Afula, where visitors can explore the ruins of an ancient city that once held strategic importance due to its location on a hill overlooking the Jezreel Valley; it is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, often referred to as "Armageddon" in the Bible, and is primarily accessible through the nearby Kibbutz Megiddo. In 2022, it had a population of 867.

Megiddo was an ancient fortified town in Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.  People lived there from the 4th millennium BCE to 500 BCE.  It stood in a strategic position controling the pass which connected Egypt with Mesopotamia.  It was the site of thevictory of Pharaoh Thutmose III over the king of Kadesh.  It became the scene of many battles, including Deborah's victor over the Canaanites, Josiah's defeat by theEgyptians, encounters in the time of Tiglath Pileser, the Roman War, and theCrusades.                                                       

    This could be the IDF fighting the Hamas terrorists; and after October 7th, cansay for sure that Hamas was so terribly evil!                                    

The place was so noted as a battleground that the New Testament places theapocalyptic war between the forces of good and evil at Har (Mt) Megiddo (Armageddon).  It's just north of Samaria, again in the news with Israel fighting on 7fronts.                                                                

                                      29 min (19.2 km) via Route 60 from Afula

                                                       Jenin, Samaria

Jenin, a city of about 50,000 people in the northern West Bank, has been a center of resistance for generations, first to British rule and then to Israeli forces in the war following Israel's creation in 1948. It's still the scene of being home to terrorists.  

A Palestinian town, the biblical En Gannim in Josh. 19-21), in Roman times called Ginaea, with a small Jewish community inthe 17th century, was a center of Arab nationalist fanaticism in1930's, was part of Jordan from 1948-1967.  Population in1967 was 8,346 apart from 5,019 Arab refugees in the vicinity. 

                      Afula, just 29 minutes away from Jenin

Jan. 27, 2025 / JNS)

The Israel Defense Forces last week launched a significant counter-terrorism operation in Jenin, Samaria. Dubbed “Operation Iron Wall,” its aim is to dismantle the area’s growing terror infrastructure. According to IDF International Spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, the situation in Jenin has become critical over the past 15 months, contributing significantly to the ongoing wave of deadly violence  in Judea and Samaria and across Israel. During a briefing with journalists on Jan. 22, Shoshani reported that over 2,000 terror attacks and attempted attacks had been launched from Judea and Samaria since the Oct. 7, 2023 war began, resulting in 46 Israeli and foreign national casualties and over 1,200 injuries. Several high-profile attacks were linked to Jenin.  Located in the northern West Bank, the city of Jenin (pronounced like the girl’s name Janine) has become a tinder box that could lead to the next Israeli war. 

What started out as a territory, which belonged to the Israelite tribe of Issachar, and only 25 kilometers from Megiddo, the place which Biblical prophecy states will be the site of the last war to be fought (Armageddon), a battle is already taking place. In 1950, the city of Jenin was annexed by Jordan, with a refugee camp being founded by 1953. 

As a result of the Six-Day War, Jenin came back into Israeli hands but has been governed by the Palestinian National Authority, as a result of the 1996 Oslo Accords. Today, there are mixed reports as to how many refugees are in that camp, but some estimates place numbers as high as over 20,000 Palestinians. The city has been dubbed, “The Martyrs’ Capital,” and is home to such terror groups as, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Tanzim, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas. Many suicide bombers, as well as terrorists, have been sent from Jenin to wreak carnage on Israeli citizens, and that is the reason that Israeli Defense Forces must regularly go in to fight these organized attackers whose sole existence is for the purpose of coming against the Jewish state.

Pope Paul VI visited Israel in 1964 and was received by President Shazar at Megiddo.A communal settlement (KA) was founded nearby in 1949 by immigrants fromPoland.  The population there by 1990 was 387.  After Paul VI has been 2 other Popes.  Two popes succeeded Pope Paul VI: John Paul I and John Paul II. This period is known as the "Year of the Three Popes". Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI have visited Israel after Pope Paul VI in 1964.  

Resource: 

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

https://allisrael.com/why-the-city-of-jenin-could-lead-to-war