One more question on the issue of Jewish settlements. If that is the Palestinians’ true reason for opposing Israel, then why was the Palestine Liberation Organization – by its very name a proposed replacement for Israel – formed in May 1964, more than three years before Israel took control of those lands? Could it be because the Palestinians’ agenda is not, and never was, about Jewish settlements, but rather about their obsession – with most of the Muslim and Arab world’s active acquiescence – over wanting to liquidate Israel?
On another heated issue, sympathy for Gazans must be put in its proper context. While no civilized human being enjoys seeing innocents suffer, it must be accepted that the voters in Gaza willingly chose mass murderers to run their lives by electing Hamas terrorists as their leaders. As long as Hamas rules Gaza, my administration will not help a population culpable in the spreading of terror.
It is high time for terrorists like Hamas, Hizbullah and their ilk to be put out of business. This means that Iranian, Syrian and Saudi funding, training and overall support for such groups must cease.
For peace to become a reality in this troubled region, speaking the truth and administering justice based on those truths must be practiced without compromise or hesitation.