Israel pushes for Hamas's international legitimization. "Column One: Israel's darkest week," by Caroline Glick in the Jerusalem Post, June 19 (thanks to all who sent this in):
The Olmert-Livni-Barak-Yishai government's liquidation sale of Israel's strategic assets opened officially this week. Iran's proxies have pounced on the merchandise.The first asset sold was the security of southern Israel. The Olmert-Livni-Barak-Yishai government's "cease-fire" with Hamas transferred all power to determine the fate of the residents of southern Israel to Iran's Palestinian proxy.
Under the "agreement," Hamas will refrain from attacking Sderot, Ashkelon, Netivot and surrounding kibbutzim for as long as it serves its interests. Since temporarily halting its attacks on southern Israel is the only thing that Hamas has agreed to do, it will use the lull in fighting to build up its arsenal and its military infrastructures in Gaza. When it has built up its forces sufficiently, or when its Iranian overlords give it the order, Hamas will again attack southern Israel. And when it reengages, it can be assumed that it will do so with a vastly expanded missile range. So under the guise of the "cease-fire," Hamas will place hundreds of thousands more Israelis at its mercy.
The Olmert-Livni-Barak-Yishai government's agreement with Hamas does more than sell out the security of the South. The agreement also divests Israel of its former ability to isolate Hamas diplomatically. Fatah's renewal of negotiations toward reconciling with Hamas is a direct consequence of Israel's actions. As these talks unfold, it is clear to all concerned that they will not lead to any sort of power sharing agreement between the two parties. Hamas today holds all the power in Palestinian society. Israel's acceptance of Hamas's power over the safety of Israeli citizens only amplified this fact. Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas - who cannot even travel to Nablus without IDF protection - is not approaching Hamas as an equal, but as a supplicant.
Moreover, Israel's willingness to allow Gazans to enter Israel, and its acceptance of Hamas's control over the Rafah international terminal that separates Gaza from Egypt, constitutes de facto Israeli recognition of the Hamas regime in Gaza. And the direct consequence of Israel's diplomatic and strategic capitulation to Hamas is that no one in either the Arab world or the West today will agree to isolate or boycott Hamas.
But the Olmert-Livni-Barak-Yishai government apparently doesn't care. Israel's leaders actually don't want anyone to isolate or boycott Hamas anymore. The government's reported negotiations regarding the deployment of an all-Arab "peacekeeping" force in Gaza in a later phase of the "cease-fire" make clear that Israel is pushing for Hamas's international legitimization.
Read it all.
Someone posted an article a few days ago entitled Is Allah God? (Not the Daniel Pipes one) My machine crashed and I lost it. Could you please re-post?
Thanks,CGW
deployment of an all-Arab "peacekeeping" force in Gaza
well thats a oxymoron they would make sure that the muslim world would be able to attack at will enforcing the (sic)of islam and sharia {P
om the returning dhimmitihood of the jews
While I agree that the current government is far from ideal, and has given away too much, I am also certain that the Arabs will not respect any cease fire, and rockets will fly once again before too long. Someone said that the Arabs "never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity", and that's the only constant in the Middle East. The only effective response would be to unleash the IDF and tell them to "clean house" once and for all.
I can understand Westerners jumping through hoops to maintain their ignorance of Islam, but the Israelis? They are on the front lines and they are playing nice with an implacable enemy? Have they lost their minds?