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Originally Posted by Targan
We all know what is happening in Gaza. I think it is unreasonable. Others think it is reasonable. Nothing I say will change the way others feel about it. If you think killing women and children in the dozens if not hundreds is fine then so be it.
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The Israelis sent in ground forces today.
I've been doing a fair amount of reading on the Middle East lately (just finished Michael B. Oren's
Six Days of War and am currently working on Abraham Rabinovich's
The Yom Kippur War) and it is quite clear that both sides, Arabs and Israelis, can share the blame for what is going on in Gaza right now.
However, the fact of the matter is that the Arab regimes in the region (save Egypt and Jordan, a dictatorship and a non-constitutional monarchy, respectively) and factions within the Palestinian communities in Israel and abroad, refuse to even acknowledge the existence of Israel. In the not-so-distant past- and to this very day- Arab nations and Palestinian "freedom fighters" have made no secret of their desire to wipe the state of Israel off the map. And, only a fool would argue that such a feat would not result in a second Holocaust. That is the always in the back of every Israeli's mind and must therefore also be at the forefront of every Israeli general and policy maker's mind. I can't remember who said it (Moshe Dayan, Ben Gurion?) but the Arab states can afford to lose a war or two but Israel, if it should lose but one, will cease to exist.
I agree 100% that Israeli's current response seems disproportionate to the provocation. 400 Palestinians dead (at least a quarter of them civilians) for 3 dead Israeli civilians tells the story here. I will agree that, in many ways, Israeli control of the occupied territories resembles Apartheid. I am not pleased with how Israel comports itself with regards to a majority of Palestinians but I do believe that, as a sovereign state, Israel has a right (if not a responsibility) to defend itself against attack.
So, to the Palestinian apologists out there, how exactly do you think Israel should react to indescriminate rocket attacks on its civilian population centers?
To be fair, at least the Israelis make
some efforts to avoid civilian casualties. Hamas et al make NO efforts to do the same. In fact, they seem hell bent on doing just the opposite. And, they don't seem to opposed to hiding behind their own civilian supporters when push comes to shove. Every dead Palestinian child is a political and propaganda victory for them and they seem to go out of their way to make sure that such tragedies occur.
How would you deal with an enemy like that? You seem to advocate that the Israeli's should sit on their hands while continuing to eat some more Iranian-made rockets and/or reward such behavior with political concessions. Seriously?
Please do tell. I will offer my own solution as well.