The author of this article is Chairman of the Friends of Israel Initiative and was Prime of Minister of Spain, 1996-2004. He and his organization are great friends of Israel Please go to their site and learn about the great support they give Israel. Ted Belman
Hamas has caused this conflict through its continued bombardment of the Israeli people.
José María Aznar, THE TIMES
19 November 2012
Self-defence is a right of people and nations that is enshrined in Article 51 of the UN Charter. The war we are witnessing right now over Gaza was not initiated by Israel but by Hamas, well before the killing of its military commander, the well-known terrorist, Ahmed al-Jaabari.
After a quiet period following Operation Cast Lead at the end of 2008, rocket ttacks from Gaza have been steadily reassumed with increasing ferocity: 150 rockets hit Israel in 2010; 680 last year; and more than 800 were launched this year before al-Jaabari’s death. Hamas was not sending flowers to schools and homes in southern Israel, but destruction and terror.
Hamas has indeed provoked the Israeli reaction because its leadership prefers r to peace despite the suffering violence bring to its people. It may have chosen to do so for reasons we can only speculate upon — to further undermine e authority of Mahmoud Abbas as the President of the Palestinian Authority; to increase its standing in the eyes of Sunni radicals at a time when Hamas has been expelled from Damascus; or to force a rapprochement with the Muslin Brotherhood now ruling in neighbouring Egypt. The reasons really don’t matter. The fact is that Hamas has once again taken the path of confrontation over peace.
No country has like Israel sustained the continuous bombardment of its people ear after year. No leader of any nation may rest quiet and passive before thousands of attacks against its citizens. The military activities we now see re just the logical counter-reaction against an unbearable situation. The ferocity reported by some is not coming from the Israeli forces which take great risks to avoid civilian casualties. This is precisely the opposite of the Palestinian rockets whose only targets are civilians — men, women and children.
The Friends of Israel Initiative stands by Israel and its right to self- defence. We deplore war but we understand that Israeli leaders have the legitimacy to act against Israel enemies. Make no mistake, Hamas is a terrorist organization whose goal is to put an end to the existence of the State of Israel and to impose a fanatical regime based upon religion. Hamas, by its nature, is the enemy of what we, democratic, open and tolerant people, are and believe in.
We want to see peace in the region, but we have to make a clear distinction between those who want to prevail through terror and those who defend themselves from terrorist attacks. We make a call that we should stand by Israel in such difficult moments.
José María Aznar is Chairman of the Friends of Israel Initiative and was Prime of Minister of Spain, 1996-2004
@ joan holdstock:
Their antisemitism is Christian-related and not Muslim-related.
@ steven l:
yes… Spain has a huge islamic population… this spokesman stands alone in Spain I’m afraid.
But Spain like many other EU countries is antisemitic.
Donald freyman Said:
That’s not new that’s the conflict between terrorism and cowardice and that’s a people that forgot the lesson of the Holocaust which is not to die like sheep.
That’s not ‘ceasefire’ that’s a suicide
@ Donald freyman:
@ yamit82:
There is a new geopolitical factor in the mideast which ensures Israel will accept a ceasefire. Do you notice since the focus is on Gaza, it is off Iran. makes one wonder, hmmm..
@ Laura:
morale clarity notwithstanding, Israel will accept a ceasefire.
@ yamit82<
Save your venom for the Israeli leadership. They are capitulating again, and again and again an……
Muslim Savages, Leftards, Jewish Traitors, and Hungarian Fascist Rally for Hamas in Toronto
EU: Israel has right to defense, but should stop operations
By JPOST.COM STAFF
LAST UPDATED: 11/19/2012 19:42
The Council of the European Union on Monday released a statement in which it both reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself and demanded an end to all hostilities between Israel and Gaza.
Expressing its “grave concern” over the situation, the EU called for an “urgent deescalation and cessation of hostilities” between the two sides. The Union said it “strongly condemns” Hamas rocket attacks on Israel, adding that there is “no justification for the deliberate targeting of innocent civilians.”
“Israel has the right to protect its population from these kinds of attacks,” it continued, urging Israel to “act proportionately and ensure the protection of civilians at all times.”
MUST WATCH!!!
Reporter Slams State Department For Silence On Israel
A spirited exchange between Associated Press reporter Matthew Lee and spokesperson Victoria Nuland marked the U.S. State Department’s daily briefing Monday on the continued violence between Israel and Hamas. Lee slammed Nuland for their silence on Israel in what the Administration has labeled “quiet diplomacy.” Lee concluded, “But you won’t stick up for your ally Israel when the Turks, another one of your allies, say that they’re engaged in terrorism in Gaza…” The exchange goes on for nearly three minutes, while Nuland is left defenseless against the charges of silence from the press pool.
State Dept Refuses to Say If Israeli Ground Assault Counts as Self-Defense
In a little-noticed exchange from the State Department on Friday, State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland openly refused to say whether an Israeli ground assault on Hamas forces in the Gaza Strip would fall under the Israeli right to self-defense. Here’s how the exchange went:
QUESTION: On de-escalating – you keep saying de-escalating. Now, specifically, did you ask the Israelis or did you request that Israel does not conduct a land invasion of Gaza, which it is preparing to do?
MS. NULAND: To reiterate, Israel has a right of self-defense. I am not going to get into our private messages with any of the parties that we’ve been speaking to —
QUESTION: So, would the —
MS. NULAND: — beyond saying that we are seeking a de-escalation, we are seeking a peaceful settlement of this.
QUESTION: So you would consider the land invasion of Gaza as part of Israel’s right to self-defense?
MS. NULAND: I am not going to speak about tactics or any of our messages privately to one side or the other. I’m also not going to speak about hypotheticals, Said.
QUESTION: But are you —
MS. NULAND: That was a good effort, though.
In the past, the State Department has refused to label Jerusalem Israel’s capital. Now they follow up that diplomatically egregious blunder with this asinine position. The State Department even refuses to say whether it has told Israel to de-escalate the violence, even as it calls for de-escalation over the Gaza violence. The Obama administration is leading from behind once again.
Israel sent 20 letters to U.N. on Hamas rockets in 2012, before responding militarily
It’s not enough -the word wide terrorist propaganda machine is in full motion across the world
More Rubbish from Britain the hotbed of Islamic Fascism and Ant-Semitism.
They are complaining they can’t kill enough Jews.
They don’t need a “balance of forces’ they just need to stop waging Jihad on Israel.
Just like the Israelis were suckered into leaving Gaza, one day the West will find out they have been suckered by Islamic terrorist deceits.
If they want to defend themselves they should get rid of their oppressors and the people who are killing them IE HAMAS.
José María Aznar is an outspoken supporter of Israel. Rare for an Elite European to be. He has said that if Israel falls, we ( the West ) all fall.
Here is a link to a speech by Mr Aznar in Spanish with English subtitles, to AIPAC:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9WmIDp9gRo
A breath of fresh air to read such moral clarity from a European.