Of course that will not be as easy to do in Israel. Israeli soldiers fight hard. And Israel’s military might is far greater than Iraq’s. But make no mistake about it. If Israel is bombarded by rocket attacks now – if there is a land for peace deal, it will make what Hamas and Hezbollah are doing now look like child play.
Israel must therefore do whatever it feels necessary in order to protect itself. A peace deal that gives up the West Bank for example could be suicidal. At the very least it will end up spilling a lot of Jewish blood.
What I cannot understand is why good and decent people do not understand that. The United States still wants Israel to make peace with the Palestinians via a 2 state solution – where the West Bank will become Palestine. This is foolhardy. Even if Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is sincere about wanting both sides living in peace and security, there is no way that fundamentalists will allow it. They will stop at nothing to achieve Sharia law in the Middle East. Destroying Israel will continue to be the first item on that agenda.
Religious fanatics have no respect for politicians, like Abbas that get in their way. Anyone hindering their goals will be treated like an obstacle to be overcome by any means necessary – including assassination.
Even in the event that the fundamentalist leaders of Hamas (who have formed a unity government with Abbas’s Fatah faction) somehow agree to a peace treaty, it should be seen for what it is – a tactic towards the ultimate destruction of Israel. I don’t think there can be any doubt about that. So much as I believe in a 2 state solution in theory, it is not possible as long as Islamic fundamentalism continues to spread. And as we can plainly see, it is marching on to victory in Iraq right now.
Whenever one believes that God is in their corner – as do these fanatics, nothing will stop them. They die – and kill – for their cause with pride. I wish I could say that these people are an insignificant minority that will die out eventually. But I think it is evident that the opposite is true. They may be a small minority compared to the whole of Islam. But they are far from insignificant. And they are growing. They are going to fight for their beliefs. Many will die proudly while trying – only to be replaced by even more fundamentalists willing to do the same.
I find it sadly humorous to see government leaders refer to various Islamic terrorist groups by name – as though Al Qaida or some other group is the enemy. The enemy is not Al Qaida. They are just a part of the larger group of Islamic Fundamentalists that all have the same goal. If It was Al Qaida Yesterday, it is Boko Haram today. What difference does it make what an ad hoc or even organized terrorist group calls itself? They are all united by that one goal. If one falls another two will arise to take its place under a different name.
The enemy is Fundamentalist Islam, pure and simple. I thought that the world – especially the United States – would have learned that lesson after 9/11. But they didn’t. And they still don’t. It seems that no matter how much evidence there is to support the intransigence and extremist measures that they successfully and increasingly employ, the world seems to continue to be blind to it.
Visit Emes Ve-Emunah . / Harry Maryles