From Bad to Worse
The last thing Israel wanted to do was get involved again in Gaza, much less in Lebanon, but Hamas and Hezbollah gave it no choice. Who can doubt the right--indeed, the duty--of a government to defend its citizens against random attacks? Who would doubt the U.S. response if rockets were raining from across the Mexican border into American cities, or if Canadian forces simultaneously killed and kidnapped Americans on U.S. soil? And who but Israel would be shipping foodstuffs, medicines, and chlorine containers for purifying drinking water to avoid a humanitarian crisis in Gaza? Could you imagine the allies sending foodstuffs and medicines to Germany during World War II? Perversely, the terrorist organizations are focusing terrorist acts on the very border crossings that are Gaza's lifelines. Why is Hamas doing this? To claim there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, as a way of forcing Israel to relinquish its efforts to find its abducted infantryman.
Israel has several objectives. First, it wants to reassert the power of its deterrence so that Hamas and Hezbollah know that terrorist violence will be met with ever more painful and far-reaching responses. Israel intends to make it crystal clear that kidnapping simply does not pay. Israeli intelligence has already detected 20 new kidnapping plots, with more undoubtedly to come. The Hamas government may wear suits and ties during the day but, in effect, wears black balaclavas at night. Dr. Jekyll may offer a cease-fire, but it is only a tactical pause for Mr. Hyde to rebuild for more war. The Hamas menace is not confined to Israel, for it is now welcoming other Islamic terrorist organizations, including al Qaeda and Hezbollah. The latter has already undermined the independence of the Lebanese government, and, indeed, is now a part of that government.
But what about Mahmoud Abbas, the pacific-sounding hope of the West? Yes, what of Mr. Abbas? Sadly, what we have witnessed is his utter failure to influence the Hamas government. He has failed to honor the pledge he gave Israeli officials to muster the forces for a house-to-house search for the abducted soldier. That he has folded to Hamas is evidenced by his agreement to a version of the so-called prisoners' document. It is not a basis for peace talks but a step toward war. It is a dramatic pullback from Fatah's previous position because it reopens the most vital questions about Israel's right to exist (which is explicitly rejected by the Hamas negotiators) and endorses terrorism and violence. It means that both Hamas and Fatah are equally committed to Israel's annihilation. Now that Fatah is seeking to outflank Hamas on the side of radicalism, it is no surprise that Israelis feel they do not have a partner for peace. Abbas's willingness to sign it should open the eyes of the world to the fact that he is no moderate and no potential peacemaker.
Code words. Soon Israel will also have to confront the political challenge of a modified version of this "prisoners' manifesto" signed by Hamas and Abbas. Again, it is not really about peace with Israel; it is about ending the civil war between the Palestinian factions. The language of the document is confrontational, not compromising. It does not call for an end to terrorism against the Israelis, only an end to violence among the Palestinians. It repudiates the framework for peace negotiated by years of effort, specifically U.N. Resolution 242. It demands all territory captured by Israel in the 1967 defensive war. And even if that were conceded, which it is not, the document does not indicate that the Palestinians would then withdraw their claims to Israel's pre-1967 territory.
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