The destruction in Gaza is an important reminder for Palestinians to think twice about the kind of future they want for themselves and for their future generations.
As hamas appears never to be willing to lay down its arms, it appears Israel's only option for sustaining security for itself is to eliminate the hamas fighters who remain in Gaza.
Peace in Gaza cannot become a reality until that is completed.
So Jane, seriously, eliminate "hamas fighters," that's how many Gazans? I think it might be the entire population over 10yrs old and the destruction of Qatar, Turkey and the elimination of Abbas and PA leadership.
Well, there is no choice, Sam. With a totally brainwashed population that would rather die as martyrs than give up their toxic religious ideology, the cycle of war will never stop until the population is de-radicalized and de-militarized. It can be done--the UAE forced out their terrorist elements and forbids the teaching of hatred toward ANY group (not just Jews) and they prosecute violators vigorously. Only peaceful Imams are allowed to preach/teach in the UAE. Japan and Germany were disarmed and de-radicalized after WW2 (it took a lot of death of innocents to get that to happen, but far FAR more would have died if the war had continued). Do you have an alternative answer to stopping the evil Islamist ideology that has brought so much death and destruction around the world--far FAR more death than we have seen in Gaza? Was there an alternative to end WW2 other than the way it ended? Keep in mind, terrorist-Muslims have slaughtered MILLIONS of peaceful Muslims just in the past few decades (half a million in Syria, over a million in Iran, etc.). NOT eliminating Hamas (and other terror groups) will mean far FAR more deaths in the future throughout the Mideast and the world than eliminating Hamas now would cause.
Ah, on re-reading your original comment, and this current comment, I see what you meant to convey. (I first thought you meant it would be *too much killing* to try to eliminate Hamas).
Very thoughtful perspective - should be required reading both for involved in determining Gaza’s future , need commentators who mouth shallow platitudes and the uninformed and indeed ignorant student protesters.
Pie in the sky until an entire civilization built on hating jews goes through some sort of revaluation of their societal goals. It may have worked in Japan and Germany, but was their hate as deeply embedded and historical for the enemy as in this situation ?
Unfortunately, Israel could not complete the destruction of Hamas. The hostages still being held, the protests inside and outside Israel by the leftist NGOs, and the Peace Plan offered were some of the critical factors that forced the Israeli government to abort their mission. Yet, the current reality of Hamas refusing to disarm may be an opportunity to restart the mission to destroy Hamas and also their sponsors in Iran.
This is very accurate. I have seen this cycle repeat since the late 1960’s - yes, that is 60+ years! Always the same, repetitive pattern, wherever terrorism takes root - and none so firmly entrenched as in Gaza or Judea and Samaria. Why? Because Islam will not surrender! They will only stop when the last one of them is dead, or breathing their last breaths on some pile of building-rubble, sadly…
There will be no peace until the fundamental purpose of the Mandate is realised - Israel is for Jews and Trans Jordan is for arabs . Remove the Gazans - they need deradicalisation in Jordan before they can live anywhere . Finish the extermination of all terrorists . Reconfirm Israel’s sovereignty over Gaza , Judaea , Samaria , Golan and all of Jerusalem . Then totally destroy the Iranian mullahs and all their infrastructure . Sign the Abraham Accords ( and the Cyrus Accords ) and there is a chance for peace .
But Jordan tried that, in the late 1960’s-early 1970’s - and narrowly avoided a revolution, by expelling them! So they went to Egypt, only for the process to be repeated; and finally, they went to Lebanon - look at Lebanon now! The so-called “p@£3stinians” will never reform or change their ways, until Islam is totally destroyed and extinguished.
It is not fashionable to suggest wiping out 2 million Gazans and sundry other arab radicals , hence the suggestion that they are deradicalised in a country 80% comprised of south syrian arabs already . If they represent a security issue to the host country , then contain them in camps under military guard until the deradicalisation is complete . As with the germans after a similar post WWII exercise , the process will hopefully reverse the PLA / Fatah / Hamas treatment they had been subjected to and turn them into productive humans .
Jeremy, although I appreciate your reply, and suggestions, the stark facts are clear. Following the Shamima Begum saga, where she and two of her friends left the U.K. to go to join Daesh, and the lifestyle they chose, that vile young woman is now incarcerated in a segregated compound within a prison camp in Syria, whining and whingeing about her “human right” to return here. She shows no remorse or penitence - only a desire to perpetuate her chosen, sadistic ways, among us in the U.K. We know all too well what radical Islam intends, given half a chance.
And without wanting to insult you, or appear arrogant, I do not care one jot about what is “fashionable”. Islam is not a civilised way of life - it is harsh, mysogynistic, hateful,and barbaric. It does not believe in “peace” as we know it, it demands subjugation of non-Muslims and will only cease violence temporarily, in order to regroup and rearm - what they call a “hudna”. They do not respect our ways of life, be they in Gaza, Syria, or U.K….
“Imagine if on Oct 8 2023 the UN Security Council voted unanimously to condemn Hamas for war crimes, demanded the immediate return of all hostages, and ordered Qatar to extradite Hamas leadership to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, where they could have been tried for War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity, and Genocide.
Had that occurred, think of how many people in Gaza would be alive today.
Then ask yourself why that didn’t happen.”
Montana Tucker
Please attribute quotes - especially such insightful ones.
Few to zero rational actors on the Palestinian side. They could have asked themselves hard questions in 2000 before Arafat launched another deadly terror war. They had a plan for a contiguous state along side Israel with Israel capitulation on most issues. Islamic fanaticism drives this conflict: belief that the Muslims are superior and will not compromise with the rejected and detested Jews. Allah tells them so Allah needs muslims to murder on behalf of Allah. No wonder this intersects with anti police, anti Ice, anti white and antisemitic ideology. Old fashioned Euro-Christian antisemitism has been dredged up. It's all disguised in "progressive" language of humanism but it features the same old blood libel and 19th century origin racist antisemitism.
You assume that there are rational actors still surviving on the Palestinian side. Anyone with that mindset has been killed or exiled by Palestinian leadership.
It´s about time Palestinians be accountable for their decisions, bad and good, and the world stop treating them as eternal victims.. They are getting back all the results for hate and war they have been waging against Israel and the jewish people, for decades. First step to get a better future is to recognize Israel´s legitimacy, once and for all, forget return to the land and start changing their hearts and minds, in the mosques and schools.
Google offers the definition of a militant as someone who is "combative and aggressive in support of a political or social cause" and a terrorist as "an individual who uses violence, or the threat of violence, to intimidate a population or compel a government, often driven by political, religious, or ideological motives."
The phrase "militant actors" in the statement "Hamas functions . . . as part of a broader regional network of militant actors" and the phrase "entrenched militants in the statement "history shows that entrenched militant or authoritarian systems rarely dissolve on their own." endow Hamas and fellow travelers with a veneer of respectability. Their decades of frequent, random attacks on men, women, and children is proof positive they are nothing other than
terrorists.
"The dismantling of Hamas’ governing and military structure, if achieved, will leave a vacuum that must be filled by new administrative arrangements, sustained investment, and local leadership willing to prioritize stability and civic life over permanent confrontation."
Hamas, Hezbollah, the PA, Islamic Jihad — all funded by Iran, Qatar, and now increasingly Turkey — are not seeking "permanent confrontation."
How many times do these parties have to openly declare as well as put in writing through their constitutions their ultimate goals before anyone takes them seriously?
How many times must they repeat their intentions before Jews as well as non-Jews remove the wax from their ears and cataracts from their eyes and admit the real genocidal intent driving these terrorists and their sponsors is nothing less than the complete destruction of Israel and the annihilation of Jews not just in Israel but everywhere they hide, be it behind a rock or a tree ~ Sahih Bukhari 4:52:177; see also Sahih Bukhari 4:52:176; Sahih Muslim 41:6985 and Sahih al-Bakhhari 94. ?
The optimistic conclusion is that "Entire generations will now grow up walking past buildings reduced to concrete shells, neighborhoods scarred by repeated rounds of bombing, and infrastructure that must be rebuilt yet again. Those daily reminders inevitably force harder questions about the choices that produced them."
The ethno-religious dynamics driving their hostility is encapsulated in the '67 Khartoum Resolution's Three NOs: No Peace, No Recognition, and No Negotiations with Israel, while aiming to reclaim occupied Arab lands. Unless these motivating forces can be neutralized, the more realistic outcome will be future generations walking past the ruins thinking about Israel and Jews, "You did this to me."
"many Gazans will have to decide whether they want their children educated for endless martyrdom or for economic and civic life, whether schools exist to prepare students for opportunity or for sacrifice, and whether hospitals serve purely civilian purposes or function as dual-purpose command centers. Such questions are uncomfortable and politically charged . . ."
On the contrary, they have already already decided. "Free Palestine," "From the river to the sea," "Intifada Now," Globalize Jihad," and "Resistance by any means" may be catchy slogans for the Red-Green-AltR Axis campus campers, street mobs, academic fomenters, media crusaders, and increasingly "poleznyy durak" politicos to chant, but it is lived gospel for them.
I couldn't agree more as it seems almost impossible to create something more sustainable and civil from something so evil and never ending. But...the action to create something more sustainable has to start somewhere and sometime. What the author is proposing is a start and the start is to acknowledge what is happening on the ground and what Israel had to do to stop the insanity. As she stated about other countries that needed a do over is what she is proposing for the Gazans. You have to start somewhere or the war is never ending both for the Gazans and Israel. There is plenty of cash coming into that country to support it for a very long time. The push for Islamization is happening in Europe and Africa and as long as Hamas has the infrastructure for war they are not going anywhere until they are destroyed...and more people will die including the children. It's a very sad state of affairs.
As hamas appears never to be willing to lay down its arms, it appears Israel's only option for sustaining security for itself is to eliminate the hamas fighters who remain in Gaza.
Peace in Gaza cannot become a reality until that is completed.
So Jane, seriously, eliminate "hamas fighters," that's how many Gazans? I think it might be the entire population over 10yrs old and the destruction of Qatar, Turkey and the elimination of Abbas and PA leadership.
Sounds about right.
Pity Israel didn’t get to finish the job.
Well, there is no choice, Sam. With a totally brainwashed population that would rather die as martyrs than give up their toxic religious ideology, the cycle of war will never stop until the population is de-radicalized and de-militarized. It can be done--the UAE forced out their terrorist elements and forbids the teaching of hatred toward ANY group (not just Jews) and they prosecute violators vigorously. Only peaceful Imams are allowed to preach/teach in the UAE. Japan and Germany were disarmed and de-radicalized after WW2 (it took a lot of death of innocents to get that to happen, but far FAR more would have died if the war had continued). Do you have an alternative answer to stopping the evil Islamist ideology that has brought so much death and destruction around the world--far FAR more death than we have seen in Gaza? Was there an alternative to end WW2 other than the way it ended? Keep in mind, terrorist-Muslims have slaughtered MILLIONS of peaceful Muslims just in the past few decades (half a million in Syria, over a million in Iran, etc.). NOT eliminating Hamas (and other terror groups) will mean far FAR more deaths in the future throughout the Mideast and the world than eliminating Hamas now would cause.
I guess my question didn’t convey my thoughts . I agree with N Sharansky, “ kill your enemy.” All of them
Ah, on re-reading your original comment, and this current comment, I see what you meant to convey. (I first thought you meant it would be *too much killing* to try to eliminate Hamas).
Very thoughtful perspective - should be required reading both for involved in determining Gaza’s future , need commentators who mouth shallow platitudes and the uninformed and indeed ignorant student protesters.
Good column, but the word “needed” in the title should be changed to “needs”.
It has not yet been accomplished.
Pie in the sky until an entire civilization built on hating jews goes through some sort of revaluation of their societal goals. It may have worked in Japan and Germany, but was their hate as deeply embedded and historical for the enemy as in this situation ?
Unfortunately, Israel could not complete the destruction of Hamas. The hostages still being held, the protests inside and outside Israel by the leftist NGOs, and the Peace Plan offered were some of the critical factors that forced the Israeli government to abort their mission. Yet, the current reality of Hamas refusing to disarm may be an opportunity to restart the mission to destroy Hamas and also their sponsors in Iran.
This is very accurate. I have seen this cycle repeat since the late 1960’s - yes, that is 60+ years! Always the same, repetitive pattern, wherever terrorism takes root - and none so firmly entrenched as in Gaza or Judea and Samaria. Why? Because Islam will not surrender! They will only stop when the last one of them is dead, or breathing their last breaths on some pile of building-rubble, sadly…
There will be no peace until the fundamental purpose of the Mandate is realised - Israel is for Jews and Trans Jordan is for arabs . Remove the Gazans - they need deradicalisation in Jordan before they can live anywhere . Finish the extermination of all terrorists . Reconfirm Israel’s sovereignty over Gaza , Judaea , Samaria , Golan and all of Jerusalem . Then totally destroy the Iranian mullahs and all their infrastructure . Sign the Abraham Accords ( and the Cyrus Accords ) and there is a chance for peace .
But Jordan tried that, in the late 1960’s-early 1970’s - and narrowly avoided a revolution, by expelling them! So they went to Egypt, only for the process to be repeated; and finally, they went to Lebanon - look at Lebanon now! The so-called “p@£3stinians” will never reform or change their ways, until Islam is totally destroyed and extinguished.
It is not fashionable to suggest wiping out 2 million Gazans and sundry other arab radicals , hence the suggestion that they are deradicalised in a country 80% comprised of south syrian arabs already . If they represent a security issue to the host country , then contain them in camps under military guard until the deradicalisation is complete . As with the germans after a similar post WWII exercise , the process will hopefully reverse the PLA / Fatah / Hamas treatment they had been subjected to and turn them into productive humans .
Jeremy, although I appreciate your reply, and suggestions, the stark facts are clear. Following the Shamima Begum saga, where she and two of her friends left the U.K. to go to join Daesh, and the lifestyle they chose, that vile young woman is now incarcerated in a segregated compound within a prison camp in Syria, whining and whingeing about her “human right” to return here. She shows no remorse or penitence - only a desire to perpetuate her chosen, sadistic ways, among us in the U.K. We know all too well what radical Islam intends, given half a chance.
And without wanting to insult you, or appear arrogant, I do not care one jot about what is “fashionable”. Islam is not a civilised way of life - it is harsh, mysogynistic, hateful,and barbaric. It does not believe in “peace” as we know it, it demands subjugation of non-Muslims and will only cease violence temporarily, in order to regroup and rearm - what they call a “hudna”. They do not respect our ways of life, be they in Gaza, Syria, or U.K….
“Imagine if on Oct 8 2023 the UN Security Council voted unanimously to condemn Hamas for war crimes, demanded the immediate return of all hostages, and ordered Qatar to extradite Hamas leadership to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, where they could have been tried for War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity, and Genocide.
Had that occurred, think of how many people in Gaza would be alive today.
Then ask yourself why that didn’t happen.”
Montana Tucker
Please attribute quotes - especially such insightful ones.
Thank you. That's important. And it is an insightful quote.
Few to zero rational actors on the Palestinian side. They could have asked themselves hard questions in 2000 before Arafat launched another deadly terror war. They had a plan for a contiguous state along side Israel with Israel capitulation on most issues. Islamic fanaticism drives this conflict: belief that the Muslims are superior and will not compromise with the rejected and detested Jews. Allah tells them so Allah needs muslims to murder on behalf of Allah. No wonder this intersects with anti police, anti Ice, anti white and antisemitic ideology. Old fashioned Euro-Christian antisemitism has been dredged up. It's all disguised in "progressive" language of humanism but it features the same old blood libel and 19th century origin racist antisemitism.
You assume that there are rational actors still surviving on the Palestinian side. Anyone with that mindset has been killed or exiled by Palestinian leadership.
As Lucas says in The Nowhere Man, "You keep sending them, I'll keep killing them."
It´s about time Palestinians be accountable for their decisions, bad and good, and the world stop treating them as eternal victims.. They are getting back all the results for hate and war they have been waging against Israel and the jewish people, for decades. First step to get a better future is to recognize Israel´s legitimacy, once and for all, forget return to the land and start changing their hearts and minds, in the mosques and schools.
Crystal Nacht Holocaust denial.
To think they need a 🧠
Google offers the definition of a militant as someone who is "combative and aggressive in support of a political or social cause" and a terrorist as "an individual who uses violence, or the threat of violence, to intimidate a population or compel a government, often driven by political, religious, or ideological motives."
The phrase "militant actors" in the statement "Hamas functions . . . as part of a broader regional network of militant actors" and the phrase "entrenched militants in the statement "history shows that entrenched militant or authoritarian systems rarely dissolve on their own." endow Hamas and fellow travelers with a veneer of respectability. Their decades of frequent, random attacks on men, women, and children is proof positive they are nothing other than
terrorists.
"The dismantling of Hamas’ governing and military structure, if achieved, will leave a vacuum that must be filled by new administrative arrangements, sustained investment, and local leadership willing to prioritize stability and civic life over permanent confrontation."
Hamas, Hezbollah, the PA, Islamic Jihad — all funded by Iran, Qatar, and now increasingly Turkey — are not seeking "permanent confrontation."
How many times do these parties have to openly declare as well as put in writing through their constitutions their ultimate goals before anyone takes them seriously?
How many times must they repeat their intentions before Jews as well as non-Jews remove the wax from their ears and cataracts from their eyes and admit the real genocidal intent driving these terrorists and their sponsors is nothing less than the complete destruction of Israel and the annihilation of Jews not just in Israel but everywhere they hide, be it behind a rock or a tree ~ Sahih Bukhari 4:52:177; see also Sahih Bukhari 4:52:176; Sahih Muslim 41:6985 and Sahih al-Bakhhari 94. ?
The optimistic conclusion is that "Entire generations will now grow up walking past buildings reduced to concrete shells, neighborhoods scarred by repeated rounds of bombing, and infrastructure that must be rebuilt yet again. Those daily reminders inevitably force harder questions about the choices that produced them."
The ethno-religious dynamics driving their hostility is encapsulated in the '67 Khartoum Resolution's Three NOs: No Peace, No Recognition, and No Negotiations with Israel, while aiming to reclaim occupied Arab lands. Unless these motivating forces can be neutralized, the more realistic outcome will be future generations walking past the ruins thinking about Israel and Jews, "You did this to me."
"many Gazans will have to decide whether they want their children educated for endless martyrdom or for economic and civic life, whether schools exist to prepare students for opportunity or for sacrifice, and whether hospitals serve purely civilian purposes or function as dual-purpose command centers. Such questions are uncomfortable and politically charged . . ."
On the contrary, they have already already decided. "Free Palestine," "From the river to the sea," "Intifada Now," Globalize Jihad," and "Resistance by any means" may be catchy slogans for the Red-Green-AltR Axis campus campers, street mobs, academic fomenters, media crusaders, and increasingly "poleznyy durak" politicos to chant, but it is lived gospel for them.
I couldn't agree more as it seems almost impossible to create something more sustainable and civil from something so evil and never ending. But...the action to create something more sustainable has to start somewhere and sometime. What the author is proposing is a start and the start is to acknowledge what is happening on the ground and what Israel had to do to stop the insanity. As she stated about other countries that needed a do over is what she is proposing for the Gazans. You have to start somewhere or the war is never ending both for the Gazans and Israel. There is plenty of cash coming into that country to support it for a very long time. The push for Islamization is happening in Europe and Africa and as long as Hamas has the infrastructure for war they are not going anywhere until they are destroyed...and more people will die including the children. It's a very sad state of affairs.