|
Trending Topics
|
Source: http://www.suntimes.com/news/huntley/30368312-452/israel-simply-is-not-equally-at-fault.html
Israel Simply Is Not Equally at Fault
(Chicago Sun-Times) Steve Huntley - Western donor nations that have given so much money to Palestinian causes are expressing hesitancy about funding the reconstruction of Gaza because they fear another war may be not that far off. These nations ponied up huge sums for rebuilding after Hamas terrorism from Gaza provoked Israeli military operations in 2009 and 2012. This year Hamas launched another conflict by kidnapping and murdering three Israeli teens and firing rockets and mortars into Israel. The 50-day war that Hamas caused claimed more than 2,000 Palestinian lives, many of them cruelly and illegally wasted as human shields by Hamas. An attitude prevalent in many European capitals is that Israel is the obstacle to peace. The EU threatens to impose sanctions against Israel unless Prime Minister Netanyahu makes progress toward a two-state solution and stops construction in the disputed territories of the West Bank, the Times of Israel reports. What about the responsibility of the Palestinians to at last help accomplish peace? The actual obstacle to peace remains the hostility to Israel of the Arab world, including from the Palestinians. Hamas remains committed to unending war against the Jewish state and still has an arsenal of thousands of rockets and mortars in Gaza. Getting those weapons out of the Strip and imposing measures to prevent future rearming would be the best guarantee against another Gaza conflict. Again, no Palestinian attacks, no Israeli reprisal.