Comment by Ted Belman. Greenfield makes a strong case for retaking Gaza based on all the negatives from ending the blockade. But he totally ignores the negatives from retaking it, Not only will the world scream “bloody murder” but they problably will try to reverse our actions. Maybe we are better off with the blockade.
By Daniel Greenfield, Sultan Knish,
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The world’s implicit endorsement of Hamas territorial rights leaves Israel with only two choices, to allow Hamas to function as a country, or to reclaim the area and shut Hamas down for good.
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The arguments for reclaiming Gaza are straightforward enough.
The situation as it stands cannot be settled through any form of negotiation, as Hamas has made it clear that under no circumstances will it accept any form of permanent peace agreement, only temporary truces. The world is no longer demanding that Israel negotiate with terrorists, as it had in the past with the PLO. Instead it is demanding that Israel stop interfering with the terrorists. Not because this will bring peace through negotiations, but because they have accepted the national claims of Hamas, a genocidal Islamist terrorist organization. This is obviously an unsustainable and unacceptable demand.
Despite numerous attempts to find “moderates” willing to negotiate, Hamas remains dedicated to working together with Iran for the planned genocide of the Jews. Its charter contains the quote: “The Day of Judgment will not come about until Muslims fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Muslims, O Abdullah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him” as its raison d’etre. And as the world is no longer willing to back Israel’s passive approach to containing Hamas– then the country has no choice but to move to active suppression.
Since the attempts by Islamist regimes in Iran and Turkey to aid Hamas now have the approval of the world, further attempts to maintain the blockade are futile. The blockade of Gaza was based on the idea that Israel could isolate Hamas and thereby peacefully remove it from power. Instead Muslim regimes and left wing activists have instead once again isolated Israel. The mistake that Israel made once again was to imagine that reasonable behavior would produce cooperation. Instead once again the world rewards Islamic terrorists and punishes their victims.
Furthermore, Israel left Gaza, and forcibly ethnically cleansed Jewish towns and villages in the area, as part of an understanding with the US on the status of other Jewish towns and villages. The Obama administration has since then chosen to not only ignore that understanding, but to expand its definition of “settlements” to include Jews living in Jerusalem. The Obama administration has unilaterally revoked the understanding reached with Israel that was the basis for the Gaza Disengagement. As such Israel has every right to reverse its own disengagement.
By leaving Gaza alone and only monitoring its borders and coastlines, Israel displayed superhuman patience and tolerance for terrorists. But if the world refuses to back a naval blockade, then Israel has no choice but to take control of the ground. If the Obama administration refuses to accept the understanding on which Israel’s original withdrawal was based, then it is time to reverse that withdrawal. The ongoing imprisonment of Gilad Shalit, Hamas’ own atrocities against fellow Arabs and the presence of Al Queda in Gaza– are all additional factors that demand action.
The world’s implicit endorsement of Hamas territorial rights leaves Israel with only two choices, to allow Hamas to function as a country, or to reclaim the area and shut Hamas down for good. Since Hamas is not willing to negotiate a permanent peace agreement and remains dedicated to terrorism and war, the former option is completely unworkable. Especially with Iran, Syria and Turkey being all too eager to arm and use Hamas as a proxy to justify a war with Israel. The latter option then is the only one that remains on the table. Either Israel will retake Gaza now, or it will have to retake it as part of a regional war. Retaking it now will mean less bloodshed on both sides. And possibly avoid a regional conflict.
Right now Hamas is playing the Volksdeutsche to Iran’s Germany and Israel’s Czechoslovakia. Spurious claims of civil rights are being used to carve Israel up in preparation for a full invasion. And the likes of Ahmadinejad and Erdogan are competing over who will play Der Fuhrer and who will play Il Duce in this scenario. A full fledged Hamas state in Gaza will be an Iranian barracks and naval base inside Israel. And once Israel concedes on the sea, it will have to concede on the air too. Because the same “activists” who sail ships, will be able to rent planes too. And Israel will not be able to board those mid-air. It will have to choose between shooting them down and creating more “martyrs” and world outrage, or letting Iran ferry weapons through the air directly into its territory.
As of now, Egypt does not want Gaza. Fatah is not prepared to retake Gaza. Hamas is absolutely unwilling to negotiate a permanent peace agreement. The only thing left for Israel to do is retake Gaza, drive out Hamas and reassert control over the area. This will lead to short term violence, but long term peace. As opposed to the current scenario adopted by the Obama administration which leads to both short term violence and long term catastrophe.
The blockade of Gaza has failed. Not because of Israel, but because the world could not make the right choice between a democratic country and a genocidal terrorist group that is second cousins with Al Queda. The blockade was Israel’s concession to terrorism, a passive enforcement of its borders and interdiction of arms smuggling. The passive response is dead now. It’s time to retake Gaza or face the consequences.
In effect, the world has backed itself into a corner; nowhere to go once its rage has reached a crescendo. As Laura and Yamit have said, Israel may as well take the gloves off and settle things once and for all. Once “the world” realizes that finally there’s no hope of getting rid of an openly ruthless Israel via its terrorist friends (because they’re all dead), “the world” will simply shut its collective mouth.
How Israel Can Go on Offense in the PR War
By Robert M. Goldberg on 6.7.10 @ 6:08AM
While the world was condemning Israel for the deaths of 9 terrorists on board one of several ships poised to violate the legal blockade of Gaza — established to reduce the shipment of missiles, weapons and military construction materials from Iran in preparation for another effort to wipe Israel off the map — Hamas’s security forces were raiding several non-governmental organizations in the Gaza Strip and seizing their equipment. According to the Jerusalem Post,
Not so we can return to being resolute in our own defense and national interests, and by kicking butt.
But everything to gain
We are on the same page.
The world already does scream bloody murder regardless of how passive Israel behaves. There is nothing that Israel can do which will end the international vitriol against it. There is nothing to lose in terms of worldwide public opinion, that battle is lost. Therefore Israel needs to take the gloves off and ruthlessly defend its interests.
For now, probably so. However, if Israel does nothing, the Islamofascists will probably find a way to lose more territory on their own. Plans should be in place to retake Gaza in event of a war or military actions against Israel. The politics of it all won’t matter as much during a serious conflict. If Israel is to take back Gaza and annex the West Bank, all the Israelis must do is be patient, their enemies will give them the opportunity in the not so distant future whether they wish for it or not.
June 6, 2010
Setting Turkey against Iran: another stupidity
Hard pressed to explain their treacherous decision to deport the Marmara activists who attempted to kill Jews, the Israeli ministers concocted a story that Obama had asked them to do so.
Obama, allegedly, wants Turkey to score all the available wins against Israel so it can vote for sanctions against Iran. Turkey remains the only UNSC member to refuse even watered-own sanctions.
Gazans don’t need the sea to get weapons. The hundreds if not thousands of tunnels along the Rafah border (Egypt and Gaza) are enough to get what ever they want and in the quantities they can absorb. Even our sea blockade is not hermetic. We don’t know how much slips through. When we occupied Gaza we built up superior intelligence and the settlers were the fig leaf Israel justified for our military being there in order to protect them. No settlers no justification for the IDF to be there is the Governments illogical reasoning. So They removed the IDF, left the tunnels intact for the most part, placed no real pressure on Egypt to stop the flow from the Egyptian side.
Sort of like illegal Mexicans swamping America. That flow is easily stopped with only minor expense by punishing Mexico with sanctions and American employers with stiff penalties including stiff prison terms for hiring illegals.. No political guts in America and no political guts or brains here in Israel.
There is only one tried and true way of military controlling territory. Adequate boots on the ground and ruthlessness against any who oppose that occupation. Israel should have been the one to threaten Egypt with a break in relations and possible loss of American aid as a consequence.
reoccupation of Gaza coupled with depopulation policies is the only way to secure Israel from Iranian surrogates in Gaza.
Israel will have to tell the world to go fuck themselves and mean it.
With the likes of BB and Barak, that would only be my wishful fantasy one of many I admit to.
Tehillim – Psalms – Chapter 2
All good points, but Belman is right: the world would “scream bloody murder.” But to hell with what the world thinks. Israel already deals with enough SCUM on a daily basis; why take on the onerous task of policing Gaza on the ground too? The blockade is the best option under current circumstances.