To Be or Not to Be - A Cease-Fire

IDF ground forces waiting to advance into Gaza

Rumblings are beginning to pressure Israel into accepting a cease-fire. Hamas appears to be trying through various parties to push for a cease-fire. At this stage, much depends on the US with Egypt playing an important role in drawing up a cease-fire agreement.

There is a problem for Israel to accept a cease-fire at this stage of Operation Protective Edge. In the past operations against Hamas in Gaza there were never any proper negotiations with Hamas and cease-fires were declared unilaterally by Israel only to be broken by Hamas after a short time. Hamas used the cease-fire to re-arm and provoke Israel into retaliation by firing rockets into Israel. This is the third operation against Hamas in Gaza within 6 years! Surely the Hamas aggression against innocent Israeli citizens between these operations by launching rockets deserves world condemnation which never came.

At the time of writing, the sounds of Israeli Air Force planes making their way to Gaza to carry out their sorties’ against Hamas are audible. This is interspersed with warning sirens warning people to go into bomb shelters. We are aware that our lives and routines are full of upheavals and stress. Israelis are well-disciplined by the home front to take shelter and not rely on the Iron Dome interceptors alone. It also brings home the message of the insensitivity of the evil Hamas regime to protect the Palestinian People in Gaza, apart from exposing them to the dangers to their lives, for propaganda purposes. If this is not evil cynicism to cheapening of Palestinian lives then what is?

Hamaswants a cease-fire desperately, but on their terms, which does not include cessation of hostilities against Israel or disarming. If Israel attacks Hamas bases surrounded by human shields is this an excuse for a cease-fire? Most of the launching of missiles on Israel comes from Hamas and Islamic Jihad bases protected by human shields. This Hamas cruel tactic has been verified by Israeli intelligence. It is the reason why the IDF warns the citizens of Gaza, who are living above basements of arms stores, to leave their homes before they attack. Hamas does not want their citizens to leave so that Israel could kill them. This evokes the sympathy of the world for Hamas against Israel. Naturally, the bleeding heart “human rights” activists” will refute this. They are charmed by Hamas lies that they filter out the truth to suit their naïve preconceptions.

We have no reason to believe that a premature, unilateral cease-fire will bring Hamas to its knees. It will give them legitimacy to re-arm and begin hostilities against Israel's citizens in the south after a year or two as had been the case in the past. This cannot be allowed to happen. However with much world pressure directed at Israel this scenario will occur within two years. History has a habit of repeating itself when the lessons learnt of past errors are not put into effect.

In my previous article I attacked the bleeding-hearted "human rights" activists who are prone to Hamas propaganda. They rather believe Hamas denials and lies, while attacking Israel.

The horrifying destruction of Gaza Palestinian homes and the killing of innocent people are due to Hamas. They are responsible for the massive human tragedy playing out in Gaza because of IDF activity. They ignored all warnings.

Hamas has done nothing for their people apart from increasing Palestinian suffering. The financial assistance they received were utilized for making bombs and bunkers for the elite in Hamas, while Palestinians were left exposed to the IDF retaliations as a result of Hamas missiles being fired into Israel. There were no programmes for infra-structure improvements, health services, or meaningful education apart from propaganda and poisoning the minds of small children, turning them into suicide bombers with intractable hatred for Israel and Jews.

The Egyptians have brokered a cease-fire. Israel has accepted it, but Hamas has not. Hamas is behaving as if they have won this war in Gaza. The cease-fire was to go into effect at 9.00 am on 15th July 2014. The deadline was 12 hours later. Operation Protective Edge has not ceased. The terms of cease-fire does not appeal to Hamas. They maintain that the fight for liberation of Palestinians from the “Israeli oppressor” must continue. According to them it is their right.

Hamas Terrorists

The cease-fire deal does limit Hamas up to a point. One would imagine that logically the terms of the cease-fire would include Hamas recognition of Israel's right to exist as well total disarmament of their terrorist groups. If these provisos are not included (which to date is not part of the cease-fire terms), the whole operation will be a failure and Hamas will re-arm and be ready for firing missiles into Israel within two to three years as was the case in the past.

Hamas does not accept the cease-fire and the operation continues. They do not care about the suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza, which is not surprising. Israel accepts the cease-fire.

Gaza after IDF bombings

Operation Protective Edge continues with more justification than ever before. What does the world expect Israel to do? Must Israel fold their arms, allow Hamas to fire rockets into Israel with the intention to kill innocent people because if they fire back they may hit innocent Palestinian human shields surrounding the Hamas weapon stores? That is the biggest moral question that remains unanswered.

It looks as if Hamas has given us all their answer: No cease-fire! To them it is no dilemma or moral question! The more innocent people - Israeli or Palestinian - that are killed, the happier they are. Israelis are protected by Iron Dome Interceptors and bomb shelters while Hamas are protected by human shields which turn into killing fields.

Meanwhile the missiles continue to fly into Israel while Israel Air Force planes retaliate by bombing human shield-protected weapon stores in Gaza. The moral dilemma that we have as Israelis is a tough one. The only way to solve that dilemma is for Hamas to accept a cease-fire and to disarm. The situation is intolerable for both sides. If only the Palestinians who oppose Hamas would re-group like the people of Tunisia and Egypt to plan overthrowing the evil Hamas regime. The demise of Hamas must come from the Palestinian people.

Palestinians of the Middle East, Arise!
You have nothing to lose but the chains of Hamas,
Who have shackled you from Freedom, Dignity, Peace and Coexistence with Israel
Inshallah!

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Operation Protective Edge

The war against Gaza continues without an end in sight at this stage. Hamas is well known for deceiving Israel and the Palestinians.  After weeks of hesitation on the part of PM Benjamin Netanyahu, he decided to order the IDF to attack Gaza and put an end to the firing of rockets into the south of Israel. Hamas was warned many times not to fire rockets into Israel, but they took no notice. Now they are paying the price. The problem is that many innocent Palestinians are also being killed as well as their homes being destroyed.

One cannot say that Hamas was not warned. They have been firing rockets sporadically into Israel for many years in order to harass the population in Israeli towns in the south as part of their program to destroy Israel.

All the operations against Gaza Operation Cast Lead (27/12/2008-19/01/2009), Operation Pillar of Defense (14-November 2012) as well as the latest operation - Operation Protective Edge, were provoked by Hamas. The previous operations came under international pressure and Israel declared unilateral cease-fires on condition that hostilities would cease. Hamas never kept their part of the deal, they re-armed, shooting missiles in the south and provoking Israel to react. When Israel reacted by retaliation, they demanded meetings of the UN Security Council to condemn Israel for its aggression.

The UN remained apathetic, despite Israel's complaints to that pathetic impotent body of croneys. Apart from a weak statement appealing to the parties to maintain calm, nothing was done, not even condemnation of Hamas and its terrorist allies for their aggression. This pathetic UN apathy gave Hamas and company legitimacy to re-arm and carry out their terrorist activity against Israel each time, unhindered. The only time that the UN condemned aggression was when Hamas complained and cried but was silent when rockets were fired into Israel. What country on earth would tolerate the firing of missiles into their territory for harming their citizens and integrity? Israel responded and then came the barrage of condemnation of Israel for retaliating by using unreasonable force whatever that means.

According to Israeli intelligence reports (these reports are accurate and not full of fantasies and drivel that come from Hamas sources), Hamas have arms cache’s in basements under hospitals, mosques, homes of Hamas leaders and homes of innocent citizens. The leadership of Hamas has gone underground like snakes, which they are, leaving their families unprotected to be human shields when the IDF attacks. This makes great, bloody photography for world consumption for gaining sympathy for their cause. Hamas has been proved in all the campaigns to show no mercy for human lives, including their own families - not to mention those who oppose them. Their torture methods, like breaking the knee-caps of fellow Palestinians, followed by beatings and stamping on the dying bodies, screaming "Allah Akhbar!" as they carry out the field justice that is Hamas protocol. They use children and women as human shields in the hope that they are caught up in the cross-fire by forcing them to live in homes built above missile stores. The "civilized" world and its hypocritical, double standard "human rights" activists with their "human rights" NGOs, exhibit empathy for the "freedom fighters" of Hamas with its bloody cruelty. Hamas is as pure as driven snow. They accuse Israel of war crimes and violence against the Palestinians. The use of human shields, torture, and basic human rights abuse committed by Hamas are legitimate means for Palestinians in Gaza to gain their freedom from "Israeli oppression" in their eyes. They do not view this as contraventions of the Geneva Convention.

Those "human rights" activists, who live far away from the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, and whose lives are boring in Europe and further afield, are not endangered by it. They come here to preach morality to Israel while supporting the terrorist organization, Hamas and Islamic Jihad who they view as Palestinian freedom fighters against the Israeli Occupation. These Hamas “freedom fighters” are anti-democratic, against basic human rights and carry out field justice in the cruelest way. Hamas desire to destroy Israel and their hate for the Jewish People is well documented in the Hamas Charter of 1988. They believe in ethnic-cleansing Israel as well as genocide. The Hamas ideology is no different from Nazi ideology of the 1930's and 1940's. A more appropriate term to describe Hamas is to refer to them as Hamas-Nazis

Israel's Prime Minister is right in attacking Hamas militarily to stop Hamas missile launching and subjecting us to running into bomb shelters every time a siren is heard as volleys of missiles make their way into Israel.

Israel has the Iron Dome interceptor system, which has saved many lives. Imagine what would happen in Israel without this system? The scenario would have been horrendous with the loss of thousands of lives. Hamas supporters in the UN Security Council, with its impotent Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, are an absolute laugh if it would not be tragic!

Israel has one motive in this campaign. It is a simple motive that every country has and that is to protect its citizens from missile launches. Why are eye brows raised against Israel for doing what it should be doing? Why are no eye brows being raised against Hamas for firing rockets into Israel sporadically for years?

While Hamas refuses to negotiate and does not cease their rocket launching into Israel, the latter has every right to use force to weaken Hamas and bring them to their knees. The behaviour of “human rights” activists is deplorable! They condemn Israel for defending itself but do not deplore the use of human shields by Hamas. Is it possible that "human rights" activists hate Jews? They seem to be very selective as to what human rights are. We were taught that human rights are the basic rights to which we are all entitled. This includes democracy, freedom of religion, justice and equality including the right to live in personal security and dignity. This is not part of the Hamas Charter. Hamas is supported by anti-Israel, double-standard "human rights" activists.

We all know how much the Palestinian People of Gaza are suffering. The blame for the deaths of innocent Palestinians in Gaza must be laid at the door of Hamas! They caused it by their fantasies of grandeur, aggression against Israel in their desire to destroy it. Hamas never built bomb shelters for the Palestinians, nor did they discipline them in drill for an emergency. Hamas built bunkers for their PM Ismael Haniyah and his bunch of rogues so that, Inshallah; they would be protected from tragic situations they had created for their people. They will survive as they, the snakes of Palestine, are shivering and shaking in their bunkers. When they show their satanic faces after the war, they will see the results of their fantasies and follies. Meanwhile their "great Hamas leader", Khaled Mashal, sits comfortably in Qatar whining and dining.

One must bear in mind that the occupation is not responsible for Hamas aggression; it is Israel's establishment since 1948 and their non-recognition of Israel’s right to exist. The occupation occurred because of a war of survival in 1967. I have written about this at length as well as my opposition to the occupation in many previous articles on this blog.

 

If there is no responsible Palestinian leadership not scared of Hamas, who can negotiate with Israel about territory exchange for an independent Palestinian State then the status quo of occupation remains the only option for the present. A Hamas-ruled Palestine is far worse. The PA is weak and their deal with Hamas proves that unfortunately.

Hamas has done nothing to improve the lives of the Palestinians in Gaza. They have prolonged the poverty and misery of the Palestinians as well as instilling hatred because in this way they know that they can remain in power.

Related articles

• How Hamas Uses Human Shields
• Israel warns of north Gaza strikes
• No Support for Cease-Fire Seen Among Israel's Leaders or Palestinian Militants - New York Times
• PA Official Admits: Israel Follows International Law, We Don't
• Hamas Continues to Use Human Shields to Launch Attacks