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"Israel's air strikes in Gaza end any faint hopes that President-elect Barack Obama will take office with a clear path toward Middle East peace laid out before him," wrote Ben Smith and Harry Sigel in The Politico newspaper on Sunday. Anyone who had any "hopes," no matter how "faint," that there would be some type of peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians anytime soon should relocate to the Republic of Delusionstan.
As Israel pounds Hamas terrorists in Gaza, the reality of the already crystal clear current predicament has become even clearer. It is impossible to create a peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians when an organization that is ideologically committed to not only the destruction of Israel, but the destruction of Jews generally (read Hamas's charter), wields power. No amount of conferences, meetings, symposiums, talks, forums, seminars or tea parties will change that reality.
While "distinguished" members of the international community hurl invectives at Israeli actions to root out terror in Gaza, it is worthwhile to remind people of a few crucial facts.
1) Gaza is not occupied by Israel. The Israeli government uprooted its own citizens from the Gaza Strip in 2005 and gave the Palestinian Arabs of Gaza a chance to prove that they could properly govern themselves. So far the results have not been very impressive (see number 2).
2) Given the opportunity to choose their own government, the Palestinians overwhelmingly elected Hamas, a recognized terrorist organization. Whether this is because the majority of Palestinians are ideologically supportive of Hamas or because the ruling Fatah Party was rife with corruption, the fact remains the same: Palestinians chose the government they have.
3) Hamas terrorists broke a ceasefire and resumed their barrage of indiscriminate Qassam rocket attacks against innocent Israeli men, women and children. No state can accept such a state of affairs.
You don't have a heart if you do not feel pain for each and every innocent Palestinian Arab who has suffered in Gaza. You don't have a brain if you fail to understand that those responsible for the suffering are the Palestinian Arabs themselves.
[This post has been adapted from my North Star Column Hamas Proves Hope for a ‘Peace Agreement’ is Delusion]
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Comments
12.31.08
I struggle with this.
I understand on some level but hearing Tzipi Livni say these deaths are on Hamas I want to say clearly the deaths are on Israel because technically Israel killed these people.
A murderer even when insane or provoked is still a murderer.
The devil made me do it, is not a defense.
Hamas needs violence to punctuate the oppression of the Palestinians. Hamas counts on Israel to provide it. Israel does - at the expense in this case of some children and college students. Hamas needs Muslim martyrs, Israel is giving those martyrs to them. Hamas needs violence to affirm the oppression of the Palestinians and relies on Israel to provide it. A few rockets into Israel and Israel obliges.
Israel deserves security. These bloodbaths will not bring it
01.09.09
To those who struggle with the morality of Israeli's defending themselves, picture this: you and your neighbor live on opposite sides of the street, in some inaccessible region that has no law. Your neighbor, once in a while, throws rocks at you, hurting your kids. You ask him to stop it. He refuses. There are no police and no one to help you. Your neighbor refuses to talk to you or negotiate with you, vaguely threatening to push you into the lake behind you. You are completely out of options.
Next time he's ready to launch a rock at you, you pick up a rock in retaliation. At that point, he shoves his own kids in front as a shield. You don't throw the rock, but you tell him, "I let you go this time, but next time you try this tactic again, I WILL throw my rock. If your kids are hurt, then it is your own responsibility. I did not start this, you did. You have been warned." He continues to throw more rocks. What would you do? Assume that you have exhausted all "diplomatic" options.
I know what I'd do: I'd launch all the rocks I can without the slightest hesitation until he surrenders or is incapacitated, regardless of whether his kids are in the way or not. It would be a terrible thing to do, and I would not like to do so, and I would not be happy about it. But I would not lose any sleep about the morality of my action.
This, in its essence, stripped of rhetoric and posturing, is the situation in the middle east.
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