(Telegraph-UK) Col. (ret.) Richard Kemp - Since Hamas's murderous invasion of Israel along the Gaza border on Oct. 7, terrorist aggression in the West Bank has also increased as Hamas and Fatah terrorists are being pressed forward by Iranian funds and arms as well as encouragement by the Palestinian Authority. The BBC, which has displayed repeated hostility towards Israel, has been questioning whether it was necessary for Jerusalem to defend itself against West Bank terrorism, rather than first questioning why they had to do so. Israel has been attacked from Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, and has responded in each case, both defensively and offensively, with tactical brilliance. Yet it has been condemned repeatedly for doing so, in the media, in international bodies, and in Western capitals. The traditional response among political leaders and diplomats always begins with "Israel has the right to defend itself but...." The sort of restraint demanded has never been asked of any other country under attack. In response to attacks by Russia on Ukraine, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: "The UK utterly condemns Russia's cowardly missile and drone attacks on civilian infrastructure across Ukraine today. These assaults are in flagrant violation of international law and those responsible must be brought to justice." The day before, responding to Hizbullah missile and drone attacks on Israel, he wrote: "Further escalation in the Middle East must be avoided at all costs." Israel is winning its multi-front war but it is far from clear that its so-called allies in the West want it to do so. Israeli progress in the Gaza war could have been achieved more quickly, and probably with less bloodshed, had the Biden administration not done its best to slow things down. The political warfare campaign to delegitimize Israel has been so successful that many leaders are afraid to stand up against it, despite knowing that Israel's enemies are our enemies too. The writer, a former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, was chairman of the UK's national crisis management committee, COBRA.
2024-09-01 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive