(Telegraph-UK) Con Coughlin - It is a cardinal rule when dealing with Islamist terrorists to make it clear that only their total and unequivocal capitulation will bring hostilities to an end. Anything less gives them the impression that they may yet turn a situation, no matter how bleak, to their advantage. It is a policy that has worked extremely effectively in dealing with the likes of al-Qaeda and Islamic State. The Hamas fanatics responsible for carrying out the worst terrorist attack in Israel's history on Oct. 7 look set to suffer a similar fate - so long as the Israel Defense Forces are allowed to continue with their punishing offensive to wipe the movement off the face of the earth, which is the Israeli government's declared aim. Yet, far from conceding defeat, Hamas still believes it can ultimately survive the Gaza conflict. It is remarkable that those campaigning in support of Hamas fail to grasp the full extent of the movement's total commitment to resorting to acts of extreme violence to achieve its ends. The Palestinian convicts whose release Hamas is demanding from Israeli prisons are not political prisoners of conscience. Many of them are calculating killers similar to those who carried out the Oct. 7 attacks, who think nothing of murdering innocent women and children.
2024-03-01 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive