Gaza, Israel, Iran and the right of self-defense
by José Maria Aznar
 |
(friendsofisraelinitiative.org) The first duty of any government is to ensure the safety of its citizens. Unfortunately, that’s something that all Israeli leaders—left, center, and right—have had to learn very quickly since the birth of Israel until our days.
From my time in government I know that there is no more complex and painful decision that to send your men and women in uniform into harms way. Now that a limited ground offensive has been launched into Gaza in order to destroy the numerous tunnels built by Hamas terrorist to sneak into Israeli soil to carry out attacks, it is important to remember how restraint Israel has been. Unfortunately every war is about destruction and death, and mistakes happen. Even though no other army like the IDF takes so many precautions as to avoid unnecessary casualties. Also is morally imperative to remember that Israel doesn’t target innocent civilians, but combatants in plain clothes, unlike Hamas that fires indiscriminately against population centers. For example, if the UK was receiving proportionally the same amounts of rockets from Hamas into her soil, more than 40 million British citizens would be under their direct threat, as today is the 80·/. of Israel population.
Some believe that the indiscriminate rocket attacks from Gaza launched by Hamas terrorists against Israel’s population are the response to the brutal and heinous murder of Palestinian youth Mohamed Abu Khdeir. However, the truth is that Hamas rocket fire started well before, from the time that Israeli security forces began searching for three Israeli teens, Eyal Yifrach, Naftali Fraenkel and Gilad Shaer, kidnapped and murdered by Hamas militants near Hebron. Rocket fire from Gaza began on June 15 and the remains of poor Mohamed were found on July 2.
Hamas has never needed an excuse to attack Israel. It’s in its genes and proclaimed in its foundational charter. In fact, since 2007 when Hamas violently seized control of Gaza, Israel has been forced to respond to Hamas attacks on three occasions: in late 2008, when Ehud Olmert authorized Operation Cast Lead; in November 2012, with the Pillar of Defense air campaign; and now again, when current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered Operation Protective Edge.
Jerusalem is prompted to show restraint and moderation, but to my knowledge, no other nation has to cope with a neighboring terrorist land, nor must it lead everyday life and, by the way, just disregard the rockets flying overhead: Over seven thousand fired in recent years and one every minute and a half on the night of Tuesday, July 7.
In fact, Israel’s problem lies largely in the international community. At minimum, Hamas leaders know from their own experience that Israel fights with one hand tied behind its back: Israel cannot respond intensely because it would be accused of "disproportionality;" Israel cannot inflict neither much damage nor many enemy casualties because it would be accused of crimes against humanity; Israel cannot take too much time for its military response because nobody wants to see how horrible all wars are. Unfortunately, as General Sherman, who knew something about war, once said, “War is hell” – for everyone. We cannot, in any case, more than lament the suffering of innocent people.
Right now, the rate of rocket firing against Israel seems to respond to a deliberate Hamas strategy to prolong the conflict. These terrorist leaders know that the more images of dead Palestinians they send to the media, whether they are, or not, real or from Gaza, the more public opinion and many Western leaders will press Israel for a ceasefire. That’s why Hamas leaders don’t mind using their own people as human shields since more pain and blood will feed their propaganda machine.
To allow Hamas to play this game again, as many times before, would be wrong. If it’s not a mere mantra and we really believe that Israel has every right to defend itself, then let the leaders in Jerusalem do this time what they have to do. Moreover, let’s all learn from Hamas and its attitude. It’s clear that Israel is much stronger militarily; however, it has reduced deterrent capabilities. As I have indicated on other occasions, Israel has lately had to fight against Hamas every two years. All this is because Hamas truly believes it possesses an infallible weapon: The double standards applied to Israel.
I’m afraid this is something dangerously weighing on Gaza. The deadline to reach a new agreement regarding the Iranian nuclear program due on July 20 has been moved four months as an extension to continue with the negotiations was reached among the parties. Yet one thing is clear: The demand to make Iran comply with what the U.N. demanded in its different solutions —a total end to uranium enrichment—has already been waived! Go figure! What’s on the table now is basically how many centrifuges the Ayatollahs’ regime can keep. The U.S. administration is contented with Iran not having the A-bomb while Israel doesn’t want Iran to have the capability to build it. Those are two very different things.
If Hamas believes it can emerge victorious from this challenge to Israel, despite the expected military damage since Hamas’s actions don’t fall into the traditional logic of what deterrence means, it’s not unreasonable to think that Tehran may think similarly and act accordingly. And if there’s no reliable deterrent against a conventional enemy, it could only be worse to face one with nuclear capabilities.
The more internationally isolated Iran perceives Israel is, the more daring Iran’s actions will be. That’s why, to bolster Israel’s deterrence—and thus, our own security—we should support Jerusalem in their fight against the terrorists who run Gaza. Only Israel can project sufficiently-powerful deterrence capabilities to impede Iran’s nuclear ambitions. A criticized, punished, and isolated Israel because it acts in self-defense is the best recipe for its enemies—who are also enemies to all of us—to feel stronger and to enflame their dreams. That’s something we cannot afford.
The liberal and not too liberal media,expends hundreds of hours and thousands of video footages of the children and women suffering the consequences of the Israel’s response, but they don’t say a single words about the aberration of the Hamas terrorists using them as shields.
Natanyahu said very clear: We used the misiles to protect our citizen, they use their citizens to protect themselves of our misiles.
Due to economic crisis and uncertain future in many countries the birth rate has been diminished dramatically. It doesn’t look is the case of the Palestinian people. They continue having sex in disregard of what could be the safety of their kids.
The UN with all its resources doesn’t publish what is the birth rate in that region. They don’t look neither that they are suffering a shortage of food and clothing as it is happening in Africa even though they are blockaded by the Israel Army.
The rest of the world is acting in a very illogical way in my opinion.
Publicado hoy en el ABC de España 07/23/2014 17.11h
En la duda, contra Occidente
En España, desde el ministro de Exteriores a la última becaria radiofónica, todos tienen el corazoncito prendado de Rusia
HERMANN TERTSCH
DOS conflictos tienen al mundo en vilo en estos momentos. Se disputan ambos con fiereza en todos los sentidos, el tiempo y la prioridad en los medios de comunicación del mundo. El derribo del avión de MH17 y el secuestro de los restos, todo indica que por milicianos separatistas de Ucrania controlados por Rusia, y la operación militar israelí en Gaza, con su creciente número de víctimas, compiten en crueldad, en gravedad y dramatismo. Y una vez más, la opinión hegemónica en los medios en España revela nuestra permanente anomalía. Mientras en todos los países europeos se producen todo tipo de opiniones, muchas vehementes, vuelve a ser evidente que en los medios españoles siempre tienen supremacía la postura objetivamente hostil a los intereses y criterios de una sociedad libre y abierta. Igual que en el debate nacional parece proliferar en amplios sectores el lema «en la duda contra España», en la política internacional es «en la duda contra Occidente». Resulta terrorífico comprobar además cómo al izquierdismo mediático se suma una infantilización del discurso y los conceptos que hace imposible una aproximación racional e informada a las tragedias de que hablamos. Nadie discute ya que Vladímir Putin rompió con todo intento de democratizar Rusia, que ha construido un régimen autocrático en el que disentir se paga con la ruina y marginación, cuando no la muerte. Nadie discute que ocupó y se anexionó una parte de un país vecino. Nadie discute que quería a Ucrania en Eurasia para convertirla en otra dictadura disfrazada. En Ucrania ha habido elecciones en mayo, celebradas con pulcritud y gran participación y con un presidente con mayoría absoluta salido en primera ronda. Pese a tanta intoxicación y diatriba sobre supuestos poderes neonazis en Ucrania, el voto a la extrema derecha no llegó al tres por ciento. Ahora se da el derribo del avión malasio por esos grupos de mafiosos locales y mercenarios, pero también oficiales regulares llegados de Rusia. Ha quedado demostrado que armas y soldados se suministran, organizan y dirigen desde Moscú. Ucrania se esfuerza por deshacerse de los vicios totalitarios y homologarse con Europa. Mientras Rusia bajo Putin vuelve a sus peores fueros imperialistas y totalitarios. Pues en España, desde el ministro de Exteriores a la última becaria radiofónica, todos parecen tener el corazoncito prendado de Rusia.
Sobre Gaza casi no hay palabras para describir la mugre judeófoba y antisemita que ha surgido en los medios. Quienes no se inmutaron con colegios enteros de niños árabes masacrados por Assad, a quienes importaban un carajo los niños asesinados por Milosevic, llaman genocidio a una operación que ningún ejército del mundo podría hacer con menos bajas. Una operación que Israel intentó desesperadamente evitar. Hamás, después de matar a los tres chicos judíos, no dejó un día de lanzar cohetes. Israel abandonó Gaza hace muchos años. Ahora es una inmensa base terrorista cubierta por escudos humanos. Mientras los jefes de Hamás viven en el Golfo. Israel aceptó el alto el fuego propuesto por Egipto. Para no entrar en Gaza. Hamás lo rechazó. Hace seis días solo. Pues nadie se acuerda en España. Hay infamia suficiente para hablar de genocidio y comparar la sobajas de esta operación, que hacen jóvenes soldados que se juegan y pierden la vida para evitar más bajas civiles, con los millones llevados a las cámaras de gas. Y después hablan de proporcionalidad. Israel es ya hoy la única nación occidental con voluntad, además de costumbre, de defenderse. Por eso existe esa democracia. Cuando nuestra democracia tenga enemigos como los suyos, los tiene ya casi, seguro que nosotros somos tan estupendos que lo solucionamos con una oportuna rendición ante el totalitarismo y la barbarie.
The twisted Muslim “mind”
By Dr. Arieh Eldad an M.D. at Hadassah Hospital in Israel
I was instrumental in establishing the “Israeli National Skin Bank”, which is the largest in the world. The National Skin Bank stores skin for every day needs as well as for war time or mass casualty situations.
This skin bank is hosted at the Hadassah Ein Kerem University hospital in Jerusalem where I was the Chairman of plastic surgery.
This is how I was asked to supply skin for an Arab woman from Gaza , who was hospitalized in Soroka Hospital in Beersheva, after her family burned her. Usually, such atrocities happen among Arab families when the women are suspected of having an affair. We supplied all the needed Homo-grafts for her treatment. She was successfully treated by my friend and colleague, Prof. Lior Rosenberg and discharged to return to Gaza .
She was invited for regular follow-up visits to the outpatient clinic in Beersheva.
One day she was caught at a border crossing wearing a suicide belt. She meant to explode herself in the outpatient clinic o the hospital wherethey saved her life. It seems that her family promised her that if she did that, they would forgive her.
This is only one example of the war between Jews and Muslims in the Land of Israel . It is not a territorial conflict. This is a civilization conflict, or rather a war between civilization & barbarism.
Bibi (Netanyahu) gets it, Obama does not. I have never written before asking everyone to please forward onwards so that as many as possible can understand radical Islam and what awaits the world if it is not stopped.
Estimado Carlos:
Formidable tu articulo sobre los palestinos israelies y Hamas….Lo estamos reenviando a todos, no solo al Grupo de la UCP sino a todos. Has esclarecido la situacion de manera clara y precisa como es tu costumbre.
Te felicito
Recuerda que estas permanentemente invitado a nuestras reuniones el primer sabado de cada mes a las 12M en el Rest. Pacos, Bird Road y 88 Ave..
Abrazos.
Jorge J Gaston
Estimado Carlos:
Formidable tu articulo sobre los palestinos israelies y Hamas….Lo estamos reenviando a todos, no solo al Grupo de la UCP sino a todos. Has esclarecido la situacion de manera clara y precisa como es tu costumbre.
Te felicito
Recuerda que estas permanentemente invitado a nuestras reuniones el primer sabado de cada mes a las 12M en el Rest. Pacos, Bird Road y 88 Ave..
Abrazos.
Jorge J Gaston
El foco de las críticas a la defensa de Israel no es precisamente “la defensa”, sino la estratégia o táctica implementada la cual es la causa principal de la muerte de niños inocentes.
Quieren erradicar el terrorismo. Yaa?,¿y que va a pasar con esos niños palestinos que sobrevivan a “la defensa de Israel”? La historia cuenta que crecerán con odio, rencor hacia el vecino enemigo. Querrán vengar a sus padres, familiares, hermanos muertos por “la defensa de Israel”. ¿No creen que será así?
Tomemos de ejemplo el pueblo exiliado de CUBA. Ellos viven en EEUU, odiando a Fidel Castro y a todos aquellos que apoyan su dictadura. Entre comodidades y walfare, viven esperando y deseando que muera el lider comunista ASAP para ver a Cuba libre. A pesar de que muchos de estos cuba-americanos no han sufrido ni un tercio de lo que estos niños palestinos sufren a diario. Entonces imaginen lo que se cosechará de esta guerra.
On another topic, ¿”War is hell, for everyone”??? Dear illustrated readers and writers, this is the biggest fat enourmous lie I’ve ever read in my short existence. The thruth is for many, WAR is just a very LUCRATIVE business. And I am not reinventing the wheel right here, or bring some breaking news, no no. It is been known for years, and millions of books of history have been written about how companies fill in their pockets big time selling weapons that at the end will take the lives of many poor innocent people, in this case palestinian CHILDREN. These children are the focus of many of us complainting against these war. We ALL should be supporting them, and not a rich country as ISRAEL, this country already the great support of the richest military country in the world,USA.
I firmly state, Israel military force should change its defense strategy and go for a field battle, and avoid the so wrongly called “casualties of war”.
Espero publiquen mi libre opinión.