Israel/Hamas

I’ve been reading with some interest the reaction of the world press and politicians to the latest Israel-Hamas brawl.  I find the general reaction, particularly by the Europeans, appalling at the least.

For full disclosure, for years I had been a huge supporter of the Palestinian movement; I believed they got a raw deal by the European powers after WWII; clearly they never agreed to give up their land for a political statement that the Europeans wanted to make.  For years the Palestinians had been treated shabbily, not only by the Jews, but also by their fellow Arabs and Muslims.  I had thought their rhetoric of driving the Jews into the sea and destroying Israel was just that, rhetoric.

Jimmy Carter, who at best had a spotty administration, did an exceptional job in his attempt to get Israel and Egypt, or in fact any Arabs, together in some sort of peace deal.  His famous Camp David accords were basically a land for peace deal which set the stage for Israel and Egypt to keep peace between them for a number of years.  While it was far from perfect, it did establish a framework that gave the chance to keep a shooting war in check for a number of years. 

Clinton tried to improve the situation by solving the difficult Palestinian question and gave it a solid effort; it was his best show in the foreign policy arena.  However, when the terrorist Arafat turned down the incredibly generous concessions Clinton squeezed from Ehud Barak by demanding Israel displace 200,000 more of its citizens (equivalent to the US relocating 8,000,000 of our citizens), I changed my mind.  It became clear there was no desire for peace from the Palestinian side; the only answer was the total destruction of Israel.  It was not rhetoric; it was their actual world view.

While Israel first supported the growth of Hamas as an offset to Arafat’s Palestine Liberation Organization’s Fatah group, it quickly became apparent Hamas had no interest in living in peace with Israel under any circumstances.  Analogous to Hezbollah, Iran also provides funding to Hamas; the total destruction of Israel is all that would satisfy them. 

The six month “truce” agreed to between Hamas and Israel was broken this week when Hamas began lobbing rockets into Israel; Israel responded by launching air raids on Hamas positions and leadership.  The body count to date is approximately 5 Israelis civilians and about 300 Gaza residents killed, the vast majority of whom are Hamas, but some civilian casualties also occurred.  A major difference between the Israelis and Hamas in their death struggle is that Hamas intentionally targets civilians, including children, while Israel tries hard to target only Hamas fighters.  But does the retaliation seem appropriately proportional?

The intelligentsia in Europe and the US MSM seems to believe the Israelis have over reacted.  The relative body count is proof in their world view that, “while Israel has the right to defend themselves, they really shouldn’t hurt so many innocent people.”  This is totally wrong.

While I can’t be certain of Hamas’ motives, it is likely that they started the rockets flying again in order to draw Israeli reaction so they could focus world, and Palestinian, opinion against the “evil” Israelis.  They have an election coming up and they want to make sure Fatah does not make a comeback and knock them out of power.  With the blood boiling, perhaps Hamas will retain its power in Gaza while Fatah remains a minority player.  Clearly the huge Israeli reaction could also be due to the ruling party in Israel wanting to ensure their public knows they are strong on national security as well.  The major opponent in the coming election will be Benjamin Netanyahu who is a strong proponent of force; Netanyahu is well known as being opposed to Israel’s leaving Gaza and turning control over to the Palestinians when Arafat’s Fatah assumed control.

Regardless of any (or perhaps no) possible ulterior motives by Israel’s ruling party, they must do what they need to in defense of their citizens.  Living with the daily threat of rocket attack by an elected terrorist organization that is bent on the destruction of their country is not a way to live.  The Israelis should make life sufficiently difficult for Hamas, which concomitantly includes the civilians in Gaza that support them, that they will come to their senses and realize that their goal of the destruction of 7,000,000 people is totally unacceptable.

Comments

[Jon M]

It takes a bit of chutzpah for a group of people, after an absence of some 2000 years, to return to a piece of land occupied by others and insist that they have a prior right to the place because some space alien, pretending to be God, told an ancestor 3000 years ago that they have a prior right to that land forever.

Anyone interested in buying swampland in Florida?

[Timo Kokko]

Jon M,
I think the real problem is that the West thought this was a good idea and set the mandate without any attempt to get agreement from the people that had lived there for generations. I think the Palestinians had a legitimate beef; I do not think it is legitimate enough to demand the death of 7,000,000 people though.

[Andrew Smith]

I'm sure both sides have done so many things to each other than they both believe that they have legitimate reasons to continue the fighting. Regardless of the legitimacy of their concerns, none of it should concern our government. The US has no business supporting either side and all our attempts to broker peace have done nothing but bring misery and further instability in the Middle East. Regardless of what we may think or if we believe we are helping them, the US is doing nothing but involving itself inappropriately in the affairs of other nations, further driving a wedge between them and making it harder to achieve peace. There is nothing to be gained and very much to lose by continuing this course. The wisest thing we could do is keep our mouths shut and let them resolve their problems by themselves, ending Israel's reliance on the United States once and for all.

[Timo Kokko]

Andrew,
I believe you are running into a case of theory vs reality. I agree that theoretically, the US should let Israel and the Palestinians resolve their own problems. However, in reality were this to be the case, Israel, with their 7,000,000 citizens would be wiped out by their Muslim neighbors. It is the US' military logistics support, along with the Israeli spirit and high level of training, that makes Israel such a formidable fighting force. Without US support, Israel could not withstand a serious attack. Condoning the loss of 7,000,000 people would be such an immoral act that it should not even be contemplated by anyone in the civilized world and certainly cannot be allowed by the US as long as we have the power to prevent it.

Until the Palestinians, Arabs, or Muslims, however you choose to define Israel's enemies, accept the basic right of Israel to live in peace, the US will have to support Israel. It makes no matter if it is theoretically wise to do so or not.

[Andrew Smith]

Interesting that my response was deleted. Ah well, it's not worth repeating again.