Hamas' Cynical Plan

Israel was not created in order to disappear – Israel will endure and flourish.  It is the child of hope and the home of the brave.  It can neither be broken by adversity nor demoralized by success.  It carries the shield of democracy and it honors the sword of freedom.

            President John F. Kennedy 

This past week, Permanent Observer of Palestine to the U.N. Riyad Mansour spoke of the recent troubles between his state and Israel.  He spoke of Israel breaking the recently agreed upon cease-fire and castigated the Jewish state for the massacre of Palestinians.  Interviewer Charlie Rose asked about the actions of Hamas, breaking the truce with thousands of rockets leading to the Israeli response.  Mr. Mansour, speaking with either shocking naïveté or willful obliviousness, said that Hamas does not represent the Abbas government and therefore, does not represent a violation of the cease-fire.  The U.N. Observer’s verbiage is characteristic of an unbalanced and cynical approach in the worsening climate of the Middle East. 

Since the Oslo Accord in 1993, Israel has been pushed into one agreement after another in which it sacrifices and Palestine does not.  Israel has ceded territory, has agreed to a needed two-state solution and nine years ago, it demolished a slew of Israeli settlements throughout Gaza and the West Bank to secure a possible peace.  It has entered into negotiations with the Abbas government who has shown, at times in the recent crisis, remarkable courage in speaking out against Hamas and those who support the terrorist group.  Yet, Hamas lies just outside the light of diplomacy and refuses to budge.  

Hamas has pursued a policy that calls for the destruction of Israel by inviting its fire and using ordinary Palestinians as shields.  Despite Mr. Mansour’s blithe understanding and acceptance of Hamas, the terrorist group has fired its many rockets out of homes, schools, mosques and areas that would ensure, in the retaliation, what Charles Krauthammer called the telegenic death of hundreds of innocent civilians.  The deaths of innocents televised are callously used as part of a public relations campaign that has won support throughout the world.  Morality does not matter, only the end result.  Hamas fires away at Israel while some throughout the world justify the means used.  I guess terrorism works.  

For all those who chastise and criticize Israel for its actions, it fails to offer an alternative.  Some have suggested at other times that Israel needs to negotiate.  To what end?  To lose more land or invite more rockets?  Other observers have correctly assessed that since Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank ended nearly a decade ago and Palestine has been able to pave its own path, vital economic and political institutions, needed infrastructure and stability has been absent.  Despite the fact that Israel gives the Palestinian state millions of dollars a year in aid and supplies, a periodically well-intentioned Mahmoud Abbas and the powerless Palestinian civilians have been in the grips of Hamas.  The terrorist organization has repeatedly sought to undermine any efforts of peace.  They want the destruction of Israel and if it can’t happen militarily, they will do so by cynically placing its own “constituents” in the line of fire to convince the world that Israel is in the wrong. 

Israel, to its credit, has failed to dove-tail into the culture of death and martyrdom that is being embraced in Gaza.  Israeli ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer, referring to the words of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has come out to say that Israel will not glorify the Jews responsible for the reaction to the death of three Israeli teenagers.  Those who killed that young Palestinian man will not be hailed as heroes, will not have public squares named after them and will not be taught to young Israeli children.  All of which has happened in Palestine.   

It is difficult to say how Palestine and the ordinary citizen will be able to take control again of its future and its faith.  Thankfully, if recent international news coverage holds true, there has been a more even-handed reporting of the recent violence with a hard look being cast upon Hamas.  Israel has little open to them in the way of options.  Hamas is counting on that and hoping that the old formula will work once more.  Perhaps, people are starting to see the position with which Israel has wrestled over the last couple of decades.  If Hamas can be shown for what it is, it might bring the region closer to peace.  Sadly, I don’t expect to see it any time soon.

The Showdown at the United Nations

There is movement in the United Nations to unilaterally grant statehood to Palestine without the territory accepting or respecting the right of Israel to exist. In a statement, former British prime minister, Tony Blair, stated that the process for statehood has been extremely slow, virtually non-existent lately and ultimately, not productive. Therefore, this is the best course of action. Mr. Blair has further encouraged Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, to present his application for statehood to the United Nations today. By all accounts, that will happen.

This is not just an argument against Palestinian statehood for the sake of arguing. The Montevideo Conference of 1933 laid out quite clearly what constituted a state, such as a defined territory and a government – some of which the Palestinians do not meet. However, my biggest concern is for Israel.

In 1979, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat signed the Camp David Accords in part to help guarantee some type of security for Israel, who had been on constant guard and under frequent attack since their independence in 1948. Since that time, the Israeli state has fought constantly for their right to exist and the agreement in 1977 was the first step towards normalizing relations with an Arab neighbor who foresaw the fruitless and expensive road towards perpetual war. Since that historic agreement, Israel has dealt with a new, less defined enemy that will not be satisfied until the Jewish state is driven into the sea.

In the years following the Camp David Accords, Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) have entered into one agreement after another and ultimately, it has failed because of the PA's inability to control the individual and organized terrorists from launching frequent attacks upon their neighbor. Time after time, the guarantee of Israeli security has compelled the Palestinian government to back away from promises. Throughout it all, an influential U.S. and its allies have said that Israeli security must be guaranteed before a Palestinian state can be established. These latest moves would undermine all of that and put a weakened Israel once more under the threat of its Arab neighbors. In short, such a unilateral move is a prelude to war.

As I said, my concern lies with Israel. President Obama seems increasingly incapable of projecting an American presence on the situation, overturning decades of influence. Worse yet, Arab countries are talking more provocatively about their long-hated neighbor. It is only a matter of time before this situation grows untenable. Mr. Abbas’ application for statehood is not destined for quick passage. In the interim, let’s hope that other countries are intelligent enough to avoid the abyss.

Israel's Perplexing Problem

Israel is one of the more interesting and controversial countries in the world. Those who pay attention to the news seldom are neutral over Israel. However, Israel represents an exception to traditional American and world thinking. Traditionally, we favor the underdog, the country or person with everything against it. This makes the case of Israel even more intriguing. There seems to be a growing voice in world politics against the country that stands on its own, surrounded by countries that want to drive it into the sea. Seldom has such a country been characterized as the bully but the tiny country that stands at the precipice of destruction is seen by some as just that. The reason is an idea that no sane individual would agree with – terrorism is a justifiable tactic.

Every country in the world has the right to protect its borders but Israel does not. Constantly, organizations and activists attempt to violate Israeli waters and enter Palestine illegally at a time when Israel is constantly worried about missile attacks from the Gaza Strip. The Palestinians are getting their missiles some way and only Israel would be criticized for attempting to stop the attacks on their own citizens.

Every country has the right to protect the integrity and security of its country but Israel does not. The proposed boundaries by President Obama in recent months suggest boundaries that would be untenable but Palestinians and its international allies would appreciate such considerations. Not only would a Palestinian state be created, for the first time in history, but Israel would be so weakened and so vulnerable, it makes the possible elimination of the country easier.

Every country has the right to expect friendship from “friends” but Israel does not. The United States, Israel’s most ardent supporter since its creation in 1948, is no longer showing the type of backing that it traditionally has taken as its responsibility. It partly explains the unprecedented scolding by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu towards President Obama during a joint photo session during the Israeli leader’s last visit.

Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer made the point that whenever the past presidents attempted to get Israel to the peace tables, they did so by suggesting Israel must make steps towards peace. However, the results led to no steps towards peace by the Palestinians. To add insult to outrage, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is attempting to do an end run around American requirements for statehood by going directly to the United Nations. The deck is stacked against the Israelis. A recent political cartoon titled “World’s favorite sport” showed a circle of feet surrounding a soccer ball with the words Israel emblazoned across it.

Over the last couple of decades, the Palestinians have been making their case with terrorist attacks in the form of missiles and suicide bombers. The universal chorus has always ringed out that terrorism cannot be allowed to dictate policy for it engenders more terrorism. In the case of Israel and the suffering it has incurred at the hands of such tactics, others are turning a blind eye.

The traditional phrase uttered at the conclusion of a Passover Seder is, “Next year in Jerusalem.” As Israel continues to make concessions and the Palestinians continue to ally itself with the Hamas terrorist group and fire rockets into Israel, that aspiration may no longer be possible.