[New York Daily News] Mortimer B. Zuckerman - Israel pulled out of Gaza more than a year ago, but instead of using their independence to build a Palestinian state, the Gaza Arabs have been killing each other, as well as trying to kill Israelis. Israel cannot be expected to stand aside as it did to its cost in southern Lebanon. Sooner rather than later, the Israelis will have to retake the Philadelphia Route along the Gaza-Egypt border before the Palestinians accumulate a stockpile of armaments to bloody Israel like Hizballah did this past summer. The long-run prospect is grim, because Hamas simply isn't interested in peace; in the latest survey, two-thirds of Gazans reject peace with Israel while almost as many believe in shelling Israeli cities. Middle East diplomats, so enamored of process, keep hoping the right dose of concessions will somehow result in mutually reinforcing perceptions of security. This is hopelessly naive. For now and the foreseeable future, the seat on the other side of the table across from Israel is occupied only by a death's-head.
2006-11-07 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive