(National Interest) Lawrence J. Haas - Critics of Israel have it backward. Those concerned about human rights and those seeking peace should be rooting for Israel's full-scale destruction of Hamas - however long it takes or bloody it becomes. It's the only path to more human rights and more peace for both Israelis and Palestinians. On human rights, Israelis deserve to live without fear of rocket attack, infiltration, and slaughter from across their border. Gaza's Palestinians also deserve peace as well as the prospect of a better life - both of which remain elusive because they live under Hamas. Hamas, the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood movement, seized control of Gaza from the Palestinian Authority in a violent coup in 2007 and has ruled it since with an iron fist. It allows no elections; permits no free press; arrests, beats, and tortures its critics; and murders those suspected of collaborating, or seeking peace, with Israel. Over the last 16 years, Hamas has instigated multiple wars with Israel by launching thousands of rockets or attacking the Jewish state in other ways. Nothing would reduce innocent deaths in Israel and Gaza more than Israel's total victory over Hamas. This would also send a strong signal to Iran, which has provided hundreds of millions of dollars as well as weapons and military training for the group since the 1990s. The writer is a senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council.
2023-11-03 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive