By Steve Kramer
ALFE MENASHE, Israel — I began my previous article with the statement that “Operation Protective Edge appears to be winding down… .” So I’m not completely surprised that the three-day ceasefire was just one of several that Hamas has used to regroup without fear of Israeli interference.
The situation Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu must address is more dire now than it was when Israel began Operation Protective Edge in July. Hamas is adamant that it is winning this war, that it won’t back down, that it doesn’t care how many Gazans are killed, and that the rocket fire and attacks on Israel will continue until all Hamas demands are met.
If previously there was a reason to think that a slow, punishing operation would be enough to “calm” the situation, that reason is invalidated. Hamas is actually doing Israel (and even the West, although they won’t acknowledge it) a favor by sticking to its unbending goal of wiping out Israel, which the jihadists believe is America’s proxy in the Middle East. A measured, escalating operation against jihadists plays to Hamas’ strengths and Israel’s weaknesses.
Hamas knows that it is strengthened by increasing casualties and destruction of civilian, religious, and United Nations facilities. Despite the IDF’s meticulous efforts, there are unintended consequences, as occur in any war, from attacks on hidden Hamas fighters and military strongholds. Israel is weakened by evidence (often faked Pallywood) of Arab casualties, which the media incessantly uses to show the damage done to the “poor Palestinians.” Context is entirely lacking in most of the news reports. One could easily get the impression that Israel is attacking Gaza “from nowhere,” not as the inevitable consequence of Hamas’ continuing rocket attacks against Israeli citizens.
The fixation of journalists with damage and death in Gaza, and the downplaying of the conditions for Israels’ civilians, can be attributed to the liberal preference for the underdog, as well as the public’s craving for pictures and videos of mayhem. Another, downplayed cause for Israel’s bad press is the journalists’ fear for their lives, if they report anything negative about Hamas and its tactics. Proof of that is the outing of Hamas in several videos that journalists aired after they left Gaza, during the short-lived ceasefire. (haaretz.com)
President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry see the current impasse as an opportunity to push their feckless plan for “peace” between Israel and the Arabs. The solution, according to the Americans, is to embrace Mahmoud Abbas, the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and President of the State of Palestine, who is in the 9th year of his four-year term as president(!). Abbas, who received his PhD in Holocaust Denial at a Communist Russian university, was Yasser Arafat’s protege. In the latter part of his career Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, has donned a suit and is now accorded prestige and respect as a statesman.
Abbas, however, is the architect of the coalition between his political party, Fatah, and Hamas, which is still in effect. The Hamas charter unequivocally calls for the eradication of Israel and its replacement by a Muslim state, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. While Fatah has mistakenly gained the reputation as a moderate party, affiliating itself with an acknowledged terrorist entity such as Hamas destroys any credibility that it is interested in a peace alongside of Israel.
David Ignatius, the influential Washington Post opinion journalist, wrote on August 4: “Now it’s Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s turn to show that he has the vision and leadership to build a durable cease-fire that could empower Palestinian moderates and begin building a pathway from the hell on earth that is Gaza…
“The thrust of Kerry’s new plan is to leverage Hamas’s unity pact with Fatah and its pledge to transfer [political] authority in Gaza to the authority [Palestinian Authority]. As a first step, the Palestinian Authority and its U.S.-trained security service would assume responsibility for policing the Rafah crossing from Gaza into Egypt, as well as the passages into Israel…
“Kerry is now headed in the right direction — away from strengthening Hamas and toward empowering the moderates on whom hopes for a more stable and secure Gaza depend.” [bolding added]
This is all wrong! The PA has no moderates to speak of. It’s in league with Hamas and its goal is to usurp Israel. Abbas is not “a real partner” for Israel, as Ignatius mistakenly thinks, echoing what the chattering classes espouse as the “solution” to achieve “peace.”
What Abbas says in Arabic is not what he says in English. For example, “Abbas told his Israeli audience that the PA would accept a United Nations decision that Israel is a Jewish state. To Palestinians, he vowed that the PA [would] “not recognize [Israel as a Jewish state], we will reject this and it is our right to not recognize the Judaism of the state.” Similar duplicity is evident in his Arabic statements on Jerusalem, the right of return, etc. (memri.org)
Israel only loses by accepting phony ceasefires and pursuing drawn out campaigns against enemies such as Hamas or Hizbollah. It subjects itself to constant condemnation and denunciation from the media, encouraging people to characterize Israel as the aggressor, instead of a state which is defending itself from incessant, indiscriminate attacks. Israel’s soldiers and civilians favor a stronger, more decisive war against Hamas. The question is whether Israel’s government is as strong and determined as its people.
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Kramer is a freelance writer based in Alfe Menashe, Israel. He may be contacted via steve.kramer@sdjewishworld.com