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Israel Needs to Protect Its Borders by Whatever Means Necessary

(New York Times) Shmuel Rosner - It is customary to adopt an apologetic tone when scores of people have been killed, as they were last week in Gaza. But I will declare coldly: Israel had a clear objective when it was shooting, sometimes to kill, well-organized "demonstrators" near the border. Israel was determined to prevent these people from crossing the fence separating Israel from Gaza. Guarding the border was more important than avoiding killing, and guarding the border is what Israel did successfully. They marched against Israel because they dislike Israel, and because they cannot march against anyone else. They marched to Israel because if they marched against Hamas, a regime whose actions and policies make Gaza suffer, their government would have killed scores of them without much hesitation. Gaza must be isolated until its leaders are replaced or until they realize that their war against Israel hurts the population they rule more than it hurts Israel. People in Gaza suffer more than they should - not because of Israel, but because of Hamas. The people of Gaza deserve sympathy, but expecting Israel to solve their problem will only lead them to delay what they must do for themselves. Denying Hamas any achievement is the only way to ultimately persuade the Palestinians to abandon the futile battle for things they cannot get ("return," control of Jerusalem, the elimination of Israel). If Hamas is rewarded for organizing violent events, the result will be more demonstrations - and therefore more bloodshed, mostly Palestinian. The writer is a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute.
2018-05-22 00:00:00
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