[New Republic] Bernard-Henri Levy - No government in the world would tolerate having thousands of shells falling on its cities year after year. The most remarkable thing in the affair, the true surprise, is not Israel's "brutality"; it is its restraint. The fact that Hamas' Kassam and, now, its Grad missiles have caused so few deaths does not prove that they are inoffensive, but that the Israelis protect themselves, that they live burrowed under shelter: a nightmarish existence, with the sound of sirens and explosions. The fact that the Israeli shells create so many victims does not mean that Israel is engaging in a deliberate "massacre," but that the leaders of Gaza have chosen to expose their populations, relying on the old tactic of the "human shield." The Palestinians' worst enemies are the extremist leaders who have never wanted peace, have never wanted a state and never conceived of one for their people other than as an instrument and as a hostage.
2009-01-11 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive