Hamas Ends Truce in Gaza

On Thursday, one day before the official end of the six-month cease-fire arranged by Egypt, Hamas announced it did not intend to renew the cease-fire agreement. The reason was that the Israelis had not kept their part of the cease-fire and had actually had the nerve to actually respond to rocket and mortar fire out of Gaza by targeting the rocket launchers. The fact that Hamas had not prevented the continuation of rocket and mortar fire was not to be seen as breaking the cease-fire, as Islamic Jihad had taken credit for all the attacks even when using Hamas weapons and personnel. The feeling was that Israel should have been happy that the number of rockets and mortar fire had been reduced to less than twelve on any day and less than fifty a week. After all, has Israel not yet realized that a cease-fire with Hamas, and most other Palestinian terror groups, only applies to Israeli responses to attacks, not to the attacks themselves. These attacks are the only way the unfortunate and oppressed Palestinians have of expressing themselves. The world must understand and allow these expressions and try to alleviate the root causes behind the Palestinian attacks, namely any Jew living anywhere in the Middle East.

With the truce officially terminated, we can await the increase in rocket and mortar attacks on Sederot, Ashkelon and the rest of the southwestern Negev communities. Once again, Israel will be pressured to show restraint by not responding to these attacks and simply absorbing the damages and casualties. There will be further demands for Israel to make territorial concessions to appease the Palestinian anger and further the cause to establish a Palestinian state. These concessions will be interpreted as weakness and rewards for their terrorist behavior that will simply encourage further strikes. Thus will continue the so-called “cycle of violence” which is blamed every time immediately after Israel responds to these attacks. The fact that Israel does not respond to any number of attacks on their citizens is never noted, nor is Israel credited with having shown restraint. But as soon as Israel does finally respond, the world immediately condemns Israel for all the violence as Israeli violence simply justifies all the terrorist attacks upon them. I can pretty much promise everyone that within a week or two Israel will be blamed for the ending of the cease-fire and Israel is therefore now responsible for each and every terror attack to come. When will this insane cycle of all violence being blamed on Israel and the Palestinians and the terror groups operating within their territories will be found guiltless and acting with the only methods available to them. Will the world ever awaken or will it once again be the Jews and Israel who are responsible for all the ills in the world. As Tevye said in Fiddler on the Roof, “I know we are the chosen people, but can’t you just for once choose somebody else?”

Beyond the Cusp