(Jerusalem Post) Editorial - Representatives from the U.S., the UN, the Arab League and the EU convened in Cairo to discuss the reconstruction of Gaza. But success depends on a radical change in the Palestinian mindset. Only when they take responsibility for their actions and stop playing the victim will there be hope for a brighter future. Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah is mixing up cause and effect when he blames his people's poor condition on occupation or on the blockade of Gaza. The measures Israel and Egypt are forced to use in self-defense are all reactions to Palestinian violence. As long as Gaza is ruled by a terrorist organization that insists on building its military capabilities to continue its attacks on the "Zionist entity" and as long as Hamas collaborates with Islamist terrorists operating in Sinai, Israel and Egypt will maintain a blockade designed to prevent or slow Hamas' militarization. Palestinians would have had a state decades ago if they had renounced violence and focused on improving their lives. Random suicide bombings, rocket fire directed at civilians and other forms of violence adopted by Palestinians over the decades are not a protest against poverty and unemployment. They are a cause of it. As long as Palestinians continue to justify violence as a legitimate means of political action they will live in poverty.
2014-10-17 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive