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Israel Had No Choice to Stop the Terrorists at the Gaza Border
(NPR) Michael Oren interviewed by Ari Shapiro - Q: Do you believe that the Israeli military's response was appropriate and proportional? Oren: I think it was inescapable. I think we had no other choice. We had 40,000 people coming toward our border. On the other side of the border is our civilians. This is not a peaceful protest. According to the organizers, according to Hamas, the protest was designed to break through the border, to kill Israelis and destroy our country. Our soldiers had no other means to stop them other than using the means that they did use. And to the degree that people were killed, it's entirely on the shoulders of Hamas. Q: You say there was no other choice for the Israeli military. Oren: Rubber bullets have a very short range, and [tear] gas is very ineffective. There actually is no other effective method we know of defending the border. And the choice is paying a price in terms of tough interviews like this one or letting these terrorists come through the border and kill our civilians. And for us, that's a no-brainer....At the end of the day, it's not a choice. It's something we have to do. Michael Oren, a former Israeli ambassador to the U.S., is Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy.