And Hamas – regardless of the rightness or wrongness of the overall Palestinian cause – are sinning when they launch random rocket attacks on southern Israel. And now they have been paid with the death they have so richly and many times over earned, and may be paid even more:
Israeli warplanes rained more than 100 tons of bombs on security sites in Hamas-ruled Gaza Saturday and early Sunday, killing at least 230 people in one of the Mideast conflict’s bloodiest assaults in decades. The government said the open-ended campaign was aimed at stopping rocket attacks that have traumatized southern Israel.
Most of the casualties were security forces, but Palestinian officials said at least 15 civilians were among the dead. More than 400 people were also wounded.
The unprecedented assault sparked protests and condemnations throughout the Arab world, and many of Israel’s Western allies urged restraint, though the U.S. blamed Hamas for the fighting.
But there was no end in sight. The first round of strikes began around noon Saturday followed by successive waves of attacks that continued into the early hours Sunday.
Israel warned it might go after Hamas’ leaders, and militants kept pelting Israel with rockets – killing at least one Israeli and wounding six.
Hundreds of Israeli infantry and armored corps troops headed for the Gaza border in preparation for a possible ground invasion, military officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity under army guidelines.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said late Saturday that the goal was “to bring about a fundamental improvement in the security situation.” He added, “It could take some time.”
The number of civilian casualties is surprisingly low, considering how cowardly Hamas is about hiding behind the skirts of women and the playgrounds of children. Israel must have carefully researched just where the Hamas forces are and hit hard right where they needed to. Urging restraint upon Israel is probably not necessary – if this is like the rest of Israel’s military actions, it will stop just short of winning a complete victory. I hope it is otherwise this time – that Israel will keep at it until Hamas in Gaza is crippled and other forces – perhaps more inclined to deal with reality rather than Islamist fantasy – may arise with whom Israel could do business.
War is not policy – it is one of the tools a State may use to implement a policy. Israel has to figure out what, precisely, they want out of the Palestinians and then keep fighting and fighting and fighting – without let up for even a moment – until the Palestinians agree to give it. Until there is a white flag run up the pole in Gaza and the senior Palestinian leadership goes over to the Israelis to sign a public statement of surrender and acceptance of Israeli terms for peace, there will be no peace. Peace, in this case, cannot be negotiated but must be imposed. The problem with Israel is that it has been engaging in a peace process for 60 years – peace isn’t a process, it is a condition: you have it, or you don’t. Until Israel knuckles down to the fact that peace will only come with victory, there will be no peace – but Israel also has to decide what victory is, and then state that condition for the world to see, and then force the Palestinians to agree to it.
Anything else would work out to a useless effusion of blood on both sides – if one is to make war, then one takes on the moral responsibility of ensuring that the dead on both sides are honored in their sacrifice by a better situation being created at the end of hostilities. Killing out of a desire for revenge; engaging in battle merely to secure some temporary political advantage; making war for any other purpose than securing peace – these are horrors no human being should contemplate. I urge Israel to fight this war and fight it to a finish because that is the right thing to do, for the Israelis, for the Palestinians and for the whole world.
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