Hamas Bears Responsibility for Deaths in Gaza
In his post, Middle East War & Mordor, Bruce suspected I’d have more thoughts on the analogy. He was right. Like many in Middle Earth as Sauron built up his forces in Mordor, all too many in the world today discount the growing strength of terrorist groups like Hamas.
Much of what I have to say about Israel’s efforts to stop Hamas from indiscriminately firing rockets into its sovereign territory has already been said–and better than I could say it.
As leaders around the world rush to condemn the Jewish State for its supposedly disproportionate response to Palestinian terror, I join others in asking, where were they when Hamas was firing those rockets at civilian targets? Did that story make the front pages of our daily newspapers or lead the evening news? Did nations put pressure on Hamas to stop firing? Did the UN Security Council meet in emergency session?
Charles Krauthammer said it best when he wrote:
Some geopolitical conflicts are morally complicated. The Israel-Gaza war is not. It possesses a moral clarity not only rare but excruciating.
. . . .
Hamas, which started this conflict with unrelenting rocket and mortar attacks on unarmed Israelis — 6,464 launched from Gaza in the past three years — deliberately places its weapons in and near the homes of its own people.
This has two purposes. First, counting on the moral scrupulousness of Israel, Hamas figures civilian proximity might help protect at least part of its arsenal. Second, knowing that Israelis have new precision weapons that may allow them to attack nonetheless, Hamas hopes that inevitable collateral damage — or, if it is really fortunate, an errant Israeli bomb — will kill large numbers of its own people for which, of course, the world will blame Israel.
In today’s Wall Street Journal, Natan Sharansky echoed Krauthammer:
Palestinian children are dying today not because of Israeli brutality, but because their own leaders have chosen to use their children as human shields, and their pain as a battering ram against Western sensibilities.
Of course, it is easy to blame Hamas. It is they, after all, who deliberately put their weapons caches in mosques, their rocket launchers in schoolyards, and their command centers in hospitals — all with the explicit goal of maximizing the tragedy of an Israeli response.
The world may blame Israel for bombing a school and killing civilians seeking shelter there, but Hamas bears the ultimate responsibility for their deaths as it stationed terrorists armed with rocket launchers at the UN facility.
And just as Hamas is responsible for those deaths so too is the terrorist outfit responsible for the current conflict. Israel should not accept a cease-fire until it receives an iron-clad guarantee that Hamas will respect Israel’s border and refrain from launching rockets or attacks across it.
Bret Stephens offers an interesting option for Israel should Hamas violate that cease-fire: “For every single rocket that falls randomly on Israeli soil, an Israeli missile will hit a carefully selected target in Gaza.” Sounds like a reasonable request to me.
21 Comments »
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If Hamas wanted peace, all they have to do is stop firing missiles into Israel.
Yes, it *is* that simple.
Comment by V the K — January 6, 2009 @ 7:00 pm - January 6, 2009
I prefer my option “For ever single rocket that falls randomly on Israel, we will level the town it came from.”
Comment by The_Livewire — January 6, 2009 @ 7:01 pm - January 6, 2009
Michelle Malkin has video of the school being used to attack Israelis from 2007, and updates about similar uses in 2009:
http://michellemalkin.com/2009/01/06/about-that-israeli-strike-on-the-un-school/
If the U.N. wants its buildings to not be military targets for Israel, all it has to do is stop letting its buildings be used as military targets by Hamas.
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — January 6, 2009 @ 7:32 pm - January 6, 2009
(i.e., stop letting its buildings be used for military strikes by Hamas)
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — January 6, 2009 @ 7:33 pm - January 6, 2009
I really love this argument as to the “disproportionate” response of Israel. So, let make it even. Let Israel send 6,464 rockets indiscrimately into Gaza, letting them fall wherever they may. Thus, the response will be proportionate.
Comment by John in Dublin Ca. — January 6, 2009 @ 8:01 pm - January 6, 2009
Spot on post. This was a long time coming for Hamas. I’ll not shed a tear.
Comment by Jamie — January 6, 2009 @ 8:14 pm - January 6, 2009
No word on Achikam – which is good news. On the other hand, Nitai Stern who was killed yesterday was a close friend of his.
his older brother will probably be called up with the reserves soon. He isn’t a combat soldier so will probably be guarding somewhere in order to relieve the combat soldiers to go to Gaza. Meanwhile the brother of a good friend of his was wounded.
Israel is a tiny country, there is no 6 degrees of separation, there is maybe half a degree.
I was at a pro Israeli rally today in Los Angeles, not very impressive – I find that demonstrations tend to be rather useless. But at this time when one is asked to go show support for Israel – I go.
Of course there was a Palestinian rally right next to us. Our bullhorn didn’t work -theirs did. The usual drivel – Israel shouldn’t bomb children, stop the occupation (what occupation? Gaza has been Judenrein since 2005).
As much as I dislike my mayor – Villaregosa – he has a stronger moral compass than our President elect. He has angered the arab and anti Israeli crowd by saying the what Israel is doing is legitimate self defense.
Obama suddenly remembers that he isn’t president yet, so can’t speak. Interesting how he could comment on Mumbai, on all our financial problems, but on this one issue – he can’t say anything.
It’s gonna be a hard 4 years.
Comment by Leah — January 6, 2009 @ 10:22 pm - January 6, 2009
First order of business for the new Democrat Senate: a pork-stuffed bill that cuts off domestic energy production. Change you can believe in!
Comment by V the K — January 7, 2009 @ 10:19 am - January 7, 2009
I think of the horror of Hamas using their own children as shields and cover, and yes weapons to fight their dirty wars, as a close friend’s son a Marine goes off to war to put his body between the enemy and US Citizens.
Tell me who is the more just here.
Israel has every right to put a stop these scum.
Comment by Libertygal — January 7, 2009 @ 10:34 am - January 7, 2009
Now Bolton is peddling a three-state solution. Ahem…just why was there so much opposition to partitioning Iraq? The general arguments he’s making are easily applicable (and to some degree untenable) in both cases.
For another view of Gaza, here are some comments from Pat Buchanan.
Comment by Ignatius — January 7, 2009 @ 10:45 am - January 7, 2009
Rebuttal to Ignatius has been filtered.
Comment by V the K — January 7, 2009 @ 11:05 am - January 7, 2009
You mean besides citing Pat Buchannan. V the K?
citing Pat Buchannan on Israel is like citing me for Marital advice.
Comment by The Livewire — January 7, 2009 @ 1:16 pm - January 7, 2009
I think I made my opinion of Pat Buchanan very clear. (My refutation was based on the silliness of comparing the Bolton Plan to the Biden Plan.)
Comment by V the K — January 7, 2009 @ 2:27 pm - January 7, 2009
Livewire, are you saying you hate marriage?
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — January 7, 2009 @ 2:27 pm - January 7, 2009
No, ILC, just saying that mine have both failed, so I am not an expert.
Kind of like Pat and anything but National Socialist propoganda.
Comment by The Livewire — January 7, 2009 @ 2:40 pm - January 7, 2009
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Pingback by Weblog Awards 2008 « Blog Entry « Dr. Melissa Clouthier — January 7, 2009 @ 3:47 pm - January 7, 2009
Actually, Pat Buchanan lecturing on Israel is like Bill Clinton lecturing on abstinence.
Any more comparisons out there?
Regards,
Peter H.
Comment by Peter Hughes — January 7, 2009 @ 4:17 pm - January 7, 2009
Why is the libs hearts bleed for the victims in Gaza when they have never shed a tear for the innocent victims of Hamas´rockets that killed Israeli´s? Why does the MSM show only the civilian victims in Gaza and Israel is an after thought, if at all? Israel should go all the way. They are fierce fighters as they have shown in the Yom Kippur War. If the only way they can have any peace is to exterminate Hamas, they should go for it! It will serve as a warning to Ahadjinedad and Iran, ¨don´t tread on me.¨
Comment by Roberto — January 7, 2009 @ 5:14 pm - January 7, 2009
Because they’re the same “patriotic” a-holes who couldn’t give a shit about Americans killed by terrorists, but they get their panties in a bunch if you look at Club Gitmo detainees cross-wise. If you look, they probably have at least one copy of that book of poetry, by the folks at Club Gitmo, at home.
Comment by ThatGayConservative — January 8, 2009 @ 1:10 am - January 8, 2009
“Why is the libs hearts bleed for the victims in Gaza when they have never shed a tear for the innocent victims of Hamas´rockets that killed Israeli´s? ”
Lie based on ignorance and bias.
“Because they’re the same “patriotic†a-holes who couldn’t give a shit about Americans killed by terrorists, ”
Lie based on ignorance and bias.
If the above lies are acceptable then I am justified to say that conservatives do not value human life period. They claim the pro-life title when what they really mean is it’s ok to kill only those they want dead. It looks so noble to “defend the unborn” but 1) it means defend the unborn in the US and 2) once that child is born he/she can be killed without hesitation if he/she is born in the wrong place or to the wrong parents.
Comment by a different Dave — January 11, 2009 @ 2:07 pm - January 11, 2009
#20 – Again, Bildo is trying the moral equivocation argument without success.
Hey dude, if the above statements are “lie(s) based on ignorance and bias,” then prove it.
Regards,
Peter H.
Comment by Peter Hughes — January 12, 2009 @ 4:49 pm - January 12, 2009