Friday, December 26, 2008

ISRAEL MUST DEFEND ITS CITIZENS

Amos Oz

The systematic bombing of the citizens in Israel’s towns and cities is a war crime and a crime against humanity. The State of Israel must defend its citizens. It is obvious to everyone that the Israeli government does not wish to enter Gaza; the government would rather continue the ceasefire that Hamas violated and finally revoked. But the suffering of the citizens surrounding Gaza cannot go on. The reluctance to enter Gaza stems not from indecisiveness but from well knowing that Hamas is actually eager to cause Israel to embark on a military operation: If dozens or even hundreds of Palestinian civilians, women and children are killed in an Israeli action, radicalism would gain strength in Gaza, Abu Mazen’s rule in the West Bank might collapse, and Hamas extremists could replace him.



The Arab world will rally together around the atrocious sights that Al-Jazeera will air from Gaza, and the world court of public opinion will rush to accuse Israel of war crimes. This is the same court of public opinion that remains unmoved by the systematic bombing of population centers in Israel.

Massive pressure will be exerted on Israel to restrain itself. No such pressure will be placed on Hamas because there is no one to pressure them, and there is almost nothing left with which to pressure them. Israel is a country; Hamas is a gang.



What remains for us to do? The best thing for Israel is to achieve a total ceasefire in exchange for alleviating the blockade of Gaza. If Hamas insists on refusing the ceasefire and continues bombing Israeli citizens, we must take care lest the military action play into Hamas’ hands. Hamas’ calculation is simple, cynical and evil: If innocent Israelis are killed – good. If innocent Palestinians are killed – even better. Israel must act wisely against this stance, and not out of the heat of the moment.



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הודעה זו נשלחה ממערכת אוטומטית, אין להשיב עליה.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why was terrorism a legitimate weapon used by Jews to found their state before 1948, but not legitimate for the Palestinians to repel an occupatiion? I am no supporter of Hamas, but until Israel unilaterally returns to the UN agreed pre-1967 border then it can not claim self defence. Once back to those boarders then they would have ever right to defend themselves.

GS Don Morris, Ph.D./Chana Givon said...

Dan,
Two major errors with your thesis: terrorism was not used by Israel before 1948 but then if you knew your history you would know this. The "1967" borders are not borders at all-again make sure of your "facts" before making ignorant statements.