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Israel Cannot Stand on the Sidelines

[International Herald Tribune] David A. Harris - Just over a year ago, Israel withdrew unilaterally from Gaza. To be sure, a negotiated withdrawal would have been preferable to a unilateral decision, but absent a credible Palestinian partner, Israel chose to act alone rather than to wait. As a result, the Palestinian residents of Gaza were given self-rule for the first time in their history over the entire Strip. Thus, in the fall of 2005, Gazans had a unique opportunity to begin charting their own future. Instead of choosing the path of social and economic development, benefiting from generous international aid, they chose an arms buildup aimed at creating a launching pad for new waves of terror and violence against neighboring Israel, now separated by an internationally recognized border. Every day, under the Hamas leadership, rockets are fired from Gaza into southern Israel, a situation that no sovereign country would accept. Hamas seeks the destruction of Israel. It is the terror group's primary reason for existence. As Dr. Mahmud al-Zahar, a Hamas leader in Gaza, stated last year, "Neither the liberation of the Gaza Strip nor the liberation of the West Bank or even Jerusalem will suffice us. Hamas will pursue the armed struggle until the liberation of all our lands. We don't recognize the State of Israel or its right to hold onto one inch of Palestine." The writer is executive director of the American Jewish Committee.
2006-11-03 01:00:00
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