|
Rocket Attacks Guarantee Palestinians No Peace
by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700
Copyright
July 8, 2014
All Rights Reserved.
When 78-year-old Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority
Presdient Mahmoud Abbas merged with Gaza-based Hamas June 4, it was the
beginning of the end for any hopes of Mideast peace, let alone an independent
Palestinian state. Since Hamas
seized Gaza in a coup June 7, 2007, Palestinians have been divided between Gaza
and the West Bank. Abbas’s decision
to join Hamas was a de facto declaration of war on Israel, already calling off
the latest round of U.S.-brokered peace talks.
Since announcing June 13, 2013 a new push for Mideast peace, Kerry
visited Ramallah and Tel Aviv 14 times, all to have his efforts come to naught
when 64-year-old Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu broke off
peace talks April 24. When Hamas
rockets began to fly from Gaza June 15, it signaled the beginning of what looks
like a new intifada or Palestinian uprising against Israel.
Israeli ire escalated when three teens were abducted from the West Bank
June 12, eventually found in a shallow grave June 30. Netanyahu pulled out all the stops
in the West Bank, arresting hundreds of Palestinians feverishly trying to find
the teens. When they were found killed execution-style, Netanyahu put his foot down responding to
Gaza’s rocket attacks. Since the
middle of June Palestinian militants fired hundreds of rockets into Israel,
prompting Netanyahu to begin bombing Gaza, calling up some 40,000 reservists for
a possible ground offensive.
Israeli authorities urged Israeli citizens to remain inside before Israeli
Defense Forces can neutralize rocket fire from Gaza. “We are preparing for a battle
against Hamas which will not end within a few days,” said Israeli Defense
Minister Moshe Yaalon, warning Hamas that Israel means business clearing out
Gaza’s missile arsenal.
Firing missiles indiscriminately at Israel signals new desperation on the
part of Palestinians to once again cater to a restive population’s need for war. Only by going to war periodically
against Israel can Palestinians justify the sordid living conditions in the West
Bank and especially Gaza. “We will
not tolerate missiles being fired at Israel towns and we are prepared to extend
operation with all means at our disposal in order to keep hitting Hamas,” said
Yaalon, reassuring Israelis that Netanyahu intends to stop the missile strikes. Bombing select targets in the Gaza
Strip, Israeli hopes to stop the rocket fire, keeping Israel’s Iron Dome missile
defense system busy. While
President Barack Obama calls on all sides to show restraint, he’d got bigger
fish to fry deciding how to stop a growing Islamic insurgency led by Islam’s new
maniac Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi engulfing Iraq, Syria and parts of Jordan.
If the U.S. knew how to take care of business like Israel does with Hamas
or Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Mideast wouldn’t currently face a new Bin Laden
threatening to upend Iraq, Syria, Jordan and beyond. Obama ordered 300 U.S. advisors to
Iraq June 19, doubling the number again July 2.
Obama faces the first real foreign policy test of his over five-year
presidency, realizing that containing al-Baghdadi is his problem—not the past
administration. If he lets
al-Baghdadi run roughshod over the Middle East, the Democratic Party will have
hell to pay for generations.
Despite running on an anti-War platform, Obama can’t ignore al-Baghadai’s march
of terror, destroying historic ancient sites, following the Taliban’s lead in
Afghanistan. What’s happening between Palestinians and Israelis is more predictable than Yellowstone’s
Old Faithful but not al-Baghdadi’s new reign of terror.
Hitting Gaza with rockets can only be tolerated for so long before
collateral damage forces Israel into a ground offensive. Finding hidden rocket stockpiles and
mobile launchers hasn’t been easy for Israel in the past. When Hamas imbeds military hardware
in civilian living spaces, it’s difficult for any land army to root it out. When the new offensive begin between
Israel and Palestinians, it’s just a matter of time before Israel’s blamed for
inflicting too much collateral damage.
For the world press, it’s not about who caused the problems, it’s about
the death toll and casualty count.
Killing eight civilians among 14 total dead, Palestinian media’s already blame
Israel for collateral damage. “The
IDF [Israeli Defense Forces] must be ready to go all the way. Al options are on the table,
including a ground invasion,” warning Hamas that they’re rapidly approaching the
point of no return.
Calling up some 40,000 reservists, Netanyahu means business clearing Gaza
of rocket stockpiles and launchers.
With all the tunnels and boatlifts to Gaza from Iran, Hezbollah and other arms’
suppliers, cleaning out terrorist nests has been long overdue for Israel. While Abbas sits idly by making no
public remarks about Hamas’s rocket fire into Israel, it’s become more obvious
that he backs the attacks. After
senior commander Mohammad Shaaban was killed in yesterday’s Gaza bombing, Hamas
vowed revenge, a dicey game against Israel, usually leaving Palestinians at the
short end of the stick. Firing more
rockets at Israel practically guarantees that the IDF will be forced re-occupy
the Gaza Strip. Gaza’s Hamas leader
51-year-old leader Ismail Haniyeh knows what happens to Hamas with more rocket
attacks. No matter what the
casualties, he knows Israel will eventually be forced to back down.
|
