Why Israel Must Vanquish Hamas As Per The NY Times

The New York Times in an article on Friday, July 25, 2014, titled, "Spectators to War, West Bank Residents Hail the Hamas Fight Against Israel" clearly demonstrates why Israel must unequivocally vanquish Hamas.  This may not have been the intention of the NY Times, when it ran this article.  But, that, nevertheless, is what Isabel Kirshner's article  makes crystal clear.

The article was written in the  "Al Amari Refugee Camp."  So, what is it with these "refugee" camps that they should be found operating not for years, but for generations.  Jews, expelled from Arab nations in equal or greater numbers, found support and sustenance among their fellow Jews.  The treatment of Palestinian "refugees" can only be explained by Arab desire to lock Palestinians into an  eternal struggle against Israel, regardless to how such camps beggared their  fellow Arabs. But, let's get on to the article.

Cited is a Maher al-Naden, a street cleaner, who describes himself as "just one of the people."   He claims to belong to no political faction.  This man has become so angry with Israel that he's decided to stop drinking Tapuzina, an Israeli orange flavored soft drink.  He is quoted as saying, "I give my children to Hamas."

Hamas, in the words of the article, "is being hailed in the West Bank as the champion of armed resistance.  And, that Abbas is being "excoriated for having failed to achieve a Palestinian state after 20 years of intermittent Israeli-Palestinian talks."

Mr. Muhammad Abu Leila, a grocery store proprietor, is reported as saying that the people do not wait for Mr. Abbas's permission to demonstrate.  That while there may be various factions among the Palestinians, there is no division (as regards Israel).

Jafar al-Najajirah, a 26-year old engineer is quoted as saying, "Even among ordinary people like myself, the camp of resistance now has the upper hand."

Really?  And, why would he say that?  Could it be that the assault (referred to as "resistance") by Hamas with it's thousands or rockets on major Israeli cities, and by means of its many tunnels into Israel, has given Hamas an upper hand?  Is it that having driven Israeli citizens into bomb shelters several times a day has given Hamas an upper hand?  Is it because, with their rockets, Hamas succeeded in cowing foreign airlines into suspending flights to Israel, even if only for a period of days?  Is it because they see Europeans, by and large, protecting the back of Hamas in its assault on Israel in a conflict where they believe Hamas has the upper hand?   To all of the above, I would say, yes -- definitely, yes.

Supporters of Fatah might not much care for Hamas, and vise versa, but all would like to see Israel destroyed.  If that's true why wasn't there the same kind of "resistance" to Israel from the West Bank that there was in Gaza?  I would argue that it was because they didn't have the means to launch that kind of offensive.  But for the "man in the street," Hamas is believed to have gained the upper hand in its offensive against Israel.  The West Bank Palestinians want to join in this campaign to destroy Israel.  West Bank streets have long been renamed for terrorists.  West Bank children have been taught in Palestinian schools that Israel is a vile and ruthless enemy deserving to be put to death.  Speeches by Fatah leaders (in Arabic) and by Muslim imams say much the same thing.  People subjected to such propaganda over their life time would delight in seeing Hamas gain the upper hand and seeing them destroy Israel.

Although the West Bank Palestinians haven't had the means to do what Hamas has done, in their  minds they see the possibility of that changing.  Will Hamas succeed?  Only Israel can keep that from even coming close to happening.  And, as per usual, they've got to do it pretty much by themselves.  Most Americans understand Israel's position.  But, regrettably, the administration of Pres. Obama seems not to.

The only way to build a proper relationship with the Palestinians is to demonstrate that their concept of "resistance" is one built on anti-Israel propaganda.  How does one convince Palestinians that the many noncombatant Palestinian casualties are the result of them having been used by Hamas as  human shields?  What can you say to a people who mourn not for the scores of children who died digging underground tunnels and storage facilities for keeping Hamas rockets and other weapons safe from Israeli fighter planes?  I don't have the answer to any of those questions.  But, what the NY Times article does show me is that Hamas must derive absolutely no benefit whatsoever from its attack on Israel.  Palestinians must be shown that so called "resistance" will only bring the people of Gaza more death and destruction.