Former Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren slammed the American government Monday morning, commenting the Obama administration is relating to Hamas terrorists as a legitimate organization.
Oren told Army Radio in an interview that Israel does not have to have international backing, however. “We see the first signs of weakness on the side of Hamas,” he said. “We need to clarify once and for all that our priority is to return security to the citizens of Israel however in whatever way is necessary.”
Casting Hamas in the light of a de facto legitimate entity is a very dangerous thing to do. It creates the erroneous impression in the eyes of the world that this terrorist organization is a sovereign body with whom one should negotiate. But it’s not. This is a proxy group of terrorists, like mercenaries, acting for Iran and other Arab nations, carrying out attacks on Israeli civilians like a bunch of Middle Eastern land pirates. Hamas was behind the last two intifadas and is working hard to ignite the third one, already well on its way to massive violence inside pre-1967 Israel.
Why would U.S. President Barack Obama have any interest in legitimizing their image, already burnished brightly by Turkey, Qatar and Iran? Could it have something to do with Obama’s possible affinity for the Muslim Brotherhood?
Obama’s first speech in the Middle East upon taking office was launched from Cairo — but in a slap at the leader of the host nation, he invited guests were from the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, which made it impossible for President Hosni Mubarak to attend the event. The address itself, in fact, subtly called for Mubarak’s overthrow and a regional revolution. That indeed followed, along with total chaos.
Obama was deeply disturbed when subsequently former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi – backed by the Muslim Brotherhood – was deposed by Egypt’s current president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. He had the grassroots support of millions of citizens who were sick of radical Islamic rule over Egypt and the seizure of their parliament by the Muslim Brotherhood.
But Obama showed his pique by continuing — illegally — to withhold the shipment of Apache attack helicopters long promised to America’s non-NATO ally to fight Islamist terrorism in the Sinai Peninsula. That, even after sending Secretary of State John Kerry a few months ago to make his grand statement in Cairo, announcing the delivery of the helicopters, “soon, very soon.”
Meanwhile, in Turkey, Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas supporter Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan likewise was not happy with events in Egypt. Erdogan has long been a fierce critic of his country’s former ally, Israel, over its dealings with Hamas.
This week Erdogan’s government allegedly has decided to support another effort by the terrorist-linked IHH organization to send a flotilla to again violate Israel’s maritime borders and breach her blockade of Gaza – even during wartime. Is it true? The Jewish Press has been unable to obtain any direct confirmation of the report.
But a plethora of media reports indicate the IHH intends to send a convoy to Gaza with “humanitarian aid” for Gaza residents. But Gaza residents are receiving plenty of supplies via the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and other international aid organizations, whose deliveries regularly travel into the region overland via the Erez Crossing.
In 2010, the Mavi Marmara ship sent by the IHH organization ignored instructions from the Israeli navy and refused to change course and head for Ashdod port. When Israeli commandos boarded to redirect the ship, they were attacked by armed terror activists wielding iron bars, knives and other weapons; several nearly died and more were badly injured.