| Topic: | Re:Re:Pope calls for an immediate end to the barbarity in Palestine. | |
| Posted by: | Steven Rose | |
| Date/Time: | 24/07/25 13:33:00 |
| Hi Richard Thanks for your post. Among the critics of Israel on the Forum, you are the first person to have attempted to outline a way forward rather than post a litany of accusations against Israel on information supplied by the Hamas ‘Ministry of Health’. But let’s get a few things out of the way first. Your statistic of 60 000 dead may be correct but it is likely that almost half of this number were Hamas militants, including some of the psychopaths who carried out the massacre of October 7. Hamas do not at present constitute an existential threat to the State of Israel but they certainly constitute a threat to Israeli civilians living along the southern border, a thousand of whom were butchered on October 7. If a member of your family had been killed, I don’t think you would so easily downplay the threat posed by Hamas. And both Hamas and Hezbollah are armed by Iran, a nation of 90 million who are trying to obtain a nuclear weapon and who have openly called for the destruction of Israel. I regret to say that your statement that ‘the 7th October massacre was a very serious assault but it resulted less from Hamas’ military strength than unforgivable intelligence and a disgraceful lack of border security’ is an appalling example of victim shaming. You are in effect blaming the massacre on the military incompetence of the Israelis rather than on Hamas’ savagery. It’s a dreadful thing to say. I dare say you were just trying to make the point that the massacre was avoidable. I am not even sure that is true. No country, however well prepared, can entirely prevent attacks by a vicious and resourceful enemy. But let’s get to your outlined solution. You suggest that ‘Israel will just have to talk seriously to Hamas to reach some kind of agreement’. Well the Israelis are engaged in negotiations with Hamas in Quatar. The problem is that Hamas are only willing to return the hostages if Israel agrees to withdraw from Gaza, leaving Hamas in control of the territory once again. Do you think Israel should accept these terms? I don’t. And I am sure that, not just Netanyahu, but the overwhelming majority of Israelis would find Hamas’ terms unacceptable. Why would any nation agree to the continued presence on its border of a fanatical terrorist group who have vowed to repeat the massacre of civilians ‘again and again’? My solution is that Hamas should surrender, return the hostages and leave Gaza, which is more than some of the deserve, after which the Palestinians should be allowed to rebuild their lives under a moderate leadership. To be honest, I am not sure where that moderate leadership can be found right now. Mahmoud Abbas would probably agree to take over Gaza. He is prepared to coexist with Israel but he is old and deeply unpopular on the West Bank. |