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Source: https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5260612,00.html
Hamas Incites Violence to Hide Its Own Shortcomings
(Ynet News) Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Amos Yadlin and Ari Heistein - Hamas' decision to lead violent protests along Gaza's border with Israel seeks to confront Israel in the fight for global public opinion. The IDF has operated with exceptional professionalism. It has protected the integrity of Israel's border and avoided Israeli civilian and military casualties, minimized the number of Palestinian civilians killed to the extent possible, and prevented escalation to a broader conflict. The senior PA official who called the protest organizers frauds who send women, children and youths to their deaths is certainly right. Hamas seeking to make political gains by convincing hundreds to attack a border fence protected by armed guards is despicable. It is ironic that some of those in the international community who insist on the importance of the 1967 lines are now supporting those attempting to demolish that same line around Gaza while criticizing the Israelis for defending it. What is apparent is that the dispute is not about geographic delineation but about a fundamental opposition to Israel. If Israel had refrained from firing on those rushing its border, doing so would likely have led to many more deaths. Amos Yadlin, former head of IDF Military Intelligence, is director of the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University, where Ari Heistein is his special assistant.