Israel Cannot Succeed By Empowering Terrorists

"The Grey Man Dances" by George Grosz 1949, Grosz Collection

 

This is the first part in my Trilogy. The second is 'Pallywood Does Not Recognize Israel' and the third is 'The Palestinian-Spin-Of-The-Century' The World's Most Audacious Marketing Coup'

Keep it simple.

Hamas militants need the violent clashes to continue. It's what they do. It's their day job, paid for through myriad and seedy channels under the general auspice of 'Holy War', namely Jihad.

But we need to look closely. It took the militants months to tunnel from Gaza into Israel before launching Sunday's attack. Add time for planning and decision making and we're talking early 2006 when this whole thing was conceived. What happened?

Ariel Sharon had slipped into permanent coma; Kadima was set to win the elections; Ehud Olmert revealed his disengagement plan. Meanwhile, aid moneys were withheld and Fatah chief Mahmoud Abbas' dovish efforts needed to be derailed. We were told that Hamas was split between those who wanted to govern peacefully and the militants; something needed to be done to ensure the continuation of the 'Holy War'. Attacking military positions inside Israel and capturing a wounded IDF soldier is just the ticket.

Now add Fatah's trusted terror group, Aksa Martyrs Brigades' claim about their WMD capabilities and the militants from both Fatah and Hamas seem unstoppable on their way to have their prolonged bloodshed.

Hamas's extremist wing, based in Damascus, is desperate to sabotage the accord, which Mr. Abbas hopes will make possible a centrist Palestinian government that could attract international aid and resume peace negotiations with Israel. The raid has forced into the open Hamas's internal split. [...]

If the terrorist operation is thwarted through the efforts of Mr. Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, the way may be opened to a shift by the Palestinian government away from violence. The most likely alternative is a resumption of full-scale war between Israelis and Palestinians and the destruction of the Hamas administration.

Wait a moment. What Hamas administration? What split? Hamas is Hamas, a terrorist organization, period. It's purpose is the destruction of Israel; to them all Palestinian men are Jihadists, all boys future supplies for the course; women necessary to keep the cycle going. So, don't give me the old toffee about Hamas' charitable work and allegedly incorruptible track record.

Arafat's entire life was dedicated to keep the violence going. The West periodically mixed in their pet conspiracies, charging Israel at various stages that it equally wished the violence to continue. Poppycock.

This whole charade is built on logic best illustrated by this statement: "And since Hamas is bad, Abbas must be good."

Unfortunately, Abbas is a terrorist too.

Abbas has pocketed the money, arms and legitimacy that Olmert, the Bush administration and the EU have given him and proceeded to buck up his terrorist credentials. He appointed Mahmoud Damra, a top Fatah terrorist as the commander of his personal army Force 17. Damra is wanted by Israel for his direct involvement in the murders of scores of Israelis since 2001.

Abbas took the thousands of rifles and millions of rounds of ammunition the US gave him last month and had his security chief Muhammad Dahlan issue a joint call with Hamas for the murder of all Palestinians suspected of assisting Israel in its counter-terror operations.

He has been negotiating a blueprint for war - authored by jailed Fatah mass murderer Marwan Barghouti - with Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and has been touting the document as a peace plan.

And, his Fatah organization is as responsible for Sunday's strike against Israel as Hamas. The Popular Resistance Committees, a Fatah front group that also includes Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists claims to be holding Cpl. Shalit. Fatah has threatened to attack Israel with chemical and biological weapons and to renew shooting attacks on neighborhoods in southern Jerusalem if the IDF launches a major operation in Gaza.

But none of this can be acknowledged because acknowledging that Abbas is a terrorist would mean acknowledging that empowering him means empowering terrorists.

It all boils down to the simple realization, that Israel cannot succeed by empowering terrorists. Ahem...

But as long as the West and the MSM make excuses at every turn and fail to acknowledge the elephant in the room nothing will change.

Comments

[Kenny Pierce]

Mac,

In the interests of cheering you up, I'll recycle here one of my old blog posts:

Hatemonger's Quarterly Uncovers The True Conspiracy

Namely, the nefarious Gentile Lobby.

[Gang of One]

Mac Brachman,

I hate my liberal, "pro-peace" Reform rabbi, a true Jimmy Carter-style narcissist (I should have known from the pompous way he propounded cliches in the sermon he gave the first time I attended the synagogue).

Welcome to the party. If I may be so bold: get yourself to another synagogue, something a little more butch than Reform. Reform Jews are basically pagans with Hebrew names. It sounds to me like you are ready to enter into more serious and traditional Judaism. I don't say you need to plunge head-first into being Shomer Shabbos and kosher overnight, but I get the distinct impression that you are unhappy with Reform Judaism's lack of meaning. In any case, get away from this so-called Rabbi, as it sounds to me as if he is more concerned with being PC than with being a Torah Jew.

[Alexandra]

Alexander,

I think you missed the point of my post.
Israpundit:

An excellent post from the blog “All Things Beautiful” from Alexandra von Maltzan, who hits the nail on the head. Too many, btw, think the attack in which the 2 Israeli soldiers were killed and the one now kidnapped, is what the Palestinian propaganda says it is: retrbitution for the civilian deaths in Gazathat killed the 2 Israeli soldiers. She and many others have put the lie to rest with the simple observation that the tunnels were started months prior to the IDF attacks and/or the fakery of the “beach blast”.

And Shrinkrapped:

Alexandra, at All Things Beautiful, understands that there is no other end point for the Palestinians except victory or defeat.

Hamas militants need the violent clashes to continue. It's what they do. It's their day job, paid for through myriad and seedy channels under the general auspice of 'Holy War', namely Jihad.

They have no choice but to escalate. All that remains is to see what provocation (more kidnappings, poison gas attacks, a nuclear weapon) will it take before the Israelis respond with real war.[emphasis mine]

When I write a post dealing with this so called in my opinion non-existent "good solution" of yours in a no-win situation, I shall send you an e-mail and let you know. For the moment, and as intended, my post deals with the above. I am really not being "facetious" and "no offense intended". (send me an e-mail with your correct address)

[George Berryman]

I know it is hard for you guys to imagine, but not all PA members are Jihadist fanatics.

Yeah I'd guess that the four or five non-Jihadi fanatics (maybe they're too old?) really have things ruined for them by the other three and a half million jihadists in the region.

[mac Brachman]

I felt very angry and helpless this morning when I read Fisher's (apparently sympathetic) article about the "anger" of the Gaza Palestinians toward Israel and their desire for "revenge." Then I read my e-mail with the latest post from Daniel Pipes summarizing the Pew charitable trusts' polls on Muslim attitudes worldwide. Muslims hate Jews and blame them for everything (largely the failures of their own societies). Then I came home and dug through the mail pile to find the latest issue of the NY Review of Books (which I increasingly consider a Judenrat publication: blaming the Jews and Israel for Muslim aggression, lies and calumny, and the general rise in world anti-Semitism; I use the word Judenrat as a term of dishonor for Jews who collaborated with the Nazis and sent their Jewish brethren to be murdered in the hopes that they themselves, the Judenrat, would be spared, at least a little longer). In the NYRB (whose loathsome co-editor, Barbara Epstein, was eulogized in the MSM press following her recent death; she as much as anyone has made intellectual anti-Semitism and kneejerk Israel hatred once again respectable) I saw Pipes's answer to the despicable liar "journalist" Michael Massing, who recently published a sympathetic article about the Mearsheimer/Walt calumny about a "Jewish conspiracy" "dictating" U.S. Middle East policy in the NYRB. Of course Massing was allowed to reply, concluding his letter (in which he pointed out something Pipes has never kept secret, that he guides Campus Watch to monitor one-sided presentations of pro-PLO and anti-Israel views in academia) by bemoaning the lack of a "countervailing force" to counter Jewish and pro-Israel views in the U.S. govt., etc. I don't know what planet he is on; the NYT and much of the rest of the MSM routinely cast Israel in the most negative light possible (e.g., once again, Fisher's article tapping the Gazans' "anger"), but further, countervailing what? In 1939, Mr. Massing undoubtedly would have called for "fairer" media coverage of the Nazis and more balanced presentation of our views of them. I continued to feel angry, helpless, and depressed until I checked this blog this evening; it has helped, somewhat. Also listening to Bob Dylan's "Neighborhood Bully," which I have on iTunes, about a dozen times.

If Israel succeeds in destroying the Hamas government, what good will it do? The world will just use it as another pretext for attacking Israel. Jews can't win, as my grandfather the Latvian immigrant said. I hate my liberal, "pro-peace" Reform rabbi, a true Jimmy Carter-style narcissist (I should have known from the pompous way he propounded cliches in the sermon he gave the first time I attended the synagogue). He toured the Middle East back in the 1990s and shook Arafat's hand and knew it was just a matter of time until there was peace between Arabs and Jews. Since his self-important ego was stroked, it must be true. When I would quote Pipes or MEMRI or other sources to him, he dismissed them as "one-sided" (although MEMRI routinely publishes speeches by Arab and Muslim reformists). Which side did he want me to listen to? The Salafist websites??

Sincerely frustrated, depressed, angry, and still resolved to live and die as a Jew, no matter what the bastards say,

Mac Brachman
mbrachman@comcast.net
evanston, il

[Hawkeye]

Good Lord, What a development! The Israeli's cannot relent before this threat. If they do, then they've given Hamas & Co. a green light to repeat this threat whenever they must have some concession. And if Israel calls this bluff, as it surely must, then the Jihadi must use the weapons or lose all credibility. If a poison gas attack kills any number of Israeli civilians, then all bets are off. The potential for unlimited violence exists. The Jews, just for their very survival, will have to spare no effort to root out Hamas, Hezbollah, Al-Aksa, and anyone else that might have both intent and access to the WMDs.

[abi]

I don't see this as a black/white situation, but often that's the impression I get from the media and some blogs.

Not all Palestinians are militants and fanatic suicide bombers, and not all Israelis are moderates who simply want to live peacefully in that portion of what used to be called Palestine that the UN carved out for it almost 60 years ago.

A commenter asked what Israel's options are. For starters, they need to respect pre-1967 borders. And as an incentive, the US should cut of the billions of dollars in aid to Israel until it does, just as it has cut off aid to the Palestinian Authority.

But we all know that isn't going to happen. The violence and hatred will continue to feed off of itself and spiral upward.

Both sides are to blame. Not just one side.

[Stefan]

Israel really has no “good” option in dealing with Palestinian terrorism. The idea to withdraw in order to remove the settlers as an issue has given them a bit of a stronger moral ground than if they had continually expanded the settlements, but those that in that rabidly support either Hamas or the PLO (or both) don’t really care what the hell Israel does but rather that they simply “are”. This is an un-winnable situation to be in. I do see the strategic benefit of playing Abbas against Hamas but that is only for the purpose of deflating the latter not because of any significant hope for the return of the former. The fence would have been a good solution if security could be maintained but since nothing more than simple low-tech rockets make that unworkable Israel has every right to protect its citizens. I fully understand the military action but I am afraid it won’t do much good in the larger scheme of things either. It is a very, very ugly situation. There is very little light at the end of any tunnel....but there is nothing but hollow blackness coming from the tunnels used by Palestinian militants.

[Alexander]

Nice post. Good analysis, but, no offense intended, information anyone who follows the situation is keenly aware of. Short on solutions for the Israelis.

What I'd lke to see from anyone reading is a detailed, accross the board analysis of what all their options (realistic and unrealistic) are - from surrendering and leaving Palestine in boats and barges to mass deportation and exile of all Palestinian Arabs from the West Bank and Gaza. Include please the likely consequences of said action, and any constraints that might be placed one the state by whomever. I'm not being snide or facetious, just curious.

[abi]

Actually there are two elephants in the room. Israel doesn't act like a country that wants peace. A country that wants peace doesn't build "settlements" outside of its territory. It doesn't lob missles into civilian neighborhoods. It doesn't raze the homes of families of suspected militants. It doesn't ignore inconvenient UN resolutions.

There is plenty of blame on both sides.

[Michael van der Galien]

Alexandra,

one of the worst mistakes many Westerners make, is to think that if 'we' just leave 'them' alone, 'they' will not attacks us.
Thus, they reason, if Israel does not use violence in response to Palestinian violence, these people reason, that Israel will have lasting peace.

But that, is a major mistake as Michael Rove explains in his book Celsius 7/7, from which a part was published today in the Times of London: there goal, the goal of The Muslim Brotherhood, the goal of every Muslim terrorist organization, is to convert the entire world to Islam. If not voluntarily, then by force.

[Alexandra]

You are pro-PLO according to your name.

That in itself may split us down two avenues. Perhaps you should read one of my links above, which may send your heart rate right up into a spin. Medication first would be advisable.

However, one thing we can agree on, Sharon and Olmert would have plotted their vision for Isreal's future some time ago, certainly prior to last year's controversial evacuation of Jewish settlers, and certainly in anticipation of Hamas coming to power. A masterful strategist, Sharon's fingerprints are all over every move Olmert makes, and there you and I agree. Both men are painfully aware of the West's obsession with the 'Occupied Territories' and its bias towards the Palestinian cause (irrespective of Hamas' declared genocidal goals), and as a result, the need for Israel to constantly battle for good-will amongst its supposed allies. They knew, that nothing was likely to shore up more international good-will and support then the complete withdrawal from the rump West Bank and Gaza, and that a declaration to follow up with a further evacuation from the 'Occupied Territories' will firmly put the spotlight on the Palestinians. So there you are certainly not alone.

We will now have to see, whether in light of Hamas' crude rejection, the West will finally recognize that the so called struggle for liberation was nothing but a smokescreen, that their true goal is nothing less than the removal of every last Jew from so-called Arab land. You are surely not denying that?

But OK, let us assume that you are right about Abbas, one must recognize that he does not quite run the PA. The Hamas Charter is damning, are you familiar with it? How does one overcome that?
Something to note

[our] demands should focus on internal, ideological, and organizational transformation. They should be directed not only towards Hamas, but, first anforemost, towards its parent organization, the Muslim Brotherhood. (Indeed, these demands should be applicable to secular nationalist movements as well.)

Framing these demands as universally applied international standards will garner the support of the E.U. and the U.N.

In order to encourage the Brotherhood and its branches to take the first steps in adapting themselves to international political standards, political recognition should be granted only when the following conditions are met by Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, and included in their official political platforms with which they go to elections:

1. Endorsement of politics to the exclusion of violence and the use of force. Hamas needs to transform itself from an armed resistance movement into an unarmed political party. The same holds true for Fatah, which was supposed to undergo this transformation in the Oslo process, but has not done so, to this day. Once Fatah takes such a step, the pressure on Hamas and other factions to do the same will gain momentum; in the event that Hamas does not comply, it will be denied international recognition.

2. Endorsement of the full package of democratic values. This demand is long overdue. It will reverse the erosion of the notion of democracy, which, in recent years, has been reduced to mean only free elections.

This full package of democratic values should include: equality of all before the law regardless of religion, ethnicity, or gender; and the official endorsement in the organizations' political platforms of all constitutional freedoms, embodied in internationally-accepted conventions, such as the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights, the U.N. Charter, relevant E.U. conventions, and other accepted international standards.

Are you perhaps living in that part of the world?

[PLO-Pro]

I'm not buying.

Much closer to the truth is this: Abbas is trying his best to bring about change and a Palestinian state. Sharon recognized that and Olmert just follows the predetermined path.

I know it is hard for you guys to imagine, but not all PA members are Jihadist fanatics.

[Michael van der Galien]

Amen Alexandra! Very good post. The idea that the 'political wing' of Hamas is more moderate than the 'military wing' is ludacris. There is no moderate Hamas.
Those 'politicians' are murderers, people who dedicated their lives to the destruction of Israel.

The way the Western MSM is reporting about all of this is greatly disturbing. I heard a commentator at CNN International say, almost admiring, that what these 3 terrorist organizations did (kidnap that soldier) was a "bold move".
Bold? Since when do we discribe terrorist attacks like "bold", if I may ask?
It's only small - and maybe seemingly insignificant - example, but it's a sign of the way the MSM reports about this.

We should also not forget that Israel is accepting an incredibly lot from the Palestinians. Could you imagine what the US would do if Mexicans were launching dozens of rockets on a daily basis against American civilians? Or what the Germans would do if the Dutch would do such a thing constantly?
I do and it ain't nice.

The problem with this entire affaire is, the terrorist organizations currently ruling Palestine may release the soldier this time, but they have already stated that they plan more kidnappings like this in the future.

As I see it, Israel has no other option but to act very aggressively.

[North by Northwest]

Er, thanks Bob, but I would take out the inverted commas out of "Hamas' extremist wing" though, as I never said it. I said "As long as anti-Israel extremism is viewed as merely a reaction to Israeli policies...", which kinda encompasses quite a few others.

[Mr Bob]

Well Said NxN. I did have to laugh when you said "Hamas's extremist wing". Its like saying Move-on.org's liberal wing, but I got the point and I agree. As long as the MSM and their liberal friends (who are coming out of the closet as anti-semites these days) keep making excuses for blind spiritual hatred, there wil be no progress.

[North by Northwest]

This is the problem isn't it. As long as the widespread belief persists that Hamas is popular because of the existence of Jewish settlments, the separation barrier, restrictions on Palestinian movements to name the main alleged culprits, the world remains ignorant to the truth. Matthew Levitt confirms in his book "HAMAS - Politics, Charity, and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad" Alexandra's important message that Hamas is not split or unclear about its genocidal intentions.

As long as anti-Israel extremism is viewed as merely a reaction to Israeli policies, we will fail to deal with this age-old threat appropriately, because we refuse to admit its true nature.