Tunnels, Terror and Tenaciousness

 

Obama To The Rescue - Of Hamas -Caroline Glick

 

Israel has found tunnels with shafts rigged with bombs located directly under Israeli kindergartens. If the bombs had gone off, the buildings above would have been destroyed, taking the children down with them.  

 

Today the presence of sedatives and multiple sets of handcuffs for neutralizing hostages found in tunnel after tunnel indicate that Hamas intends to abduct several Israelis at once and spirit them back to Gaza. 

 

In an interview with Channel 2, Minister Naftali Bennett spoke of a mother at Kibbutz Netiv Ha'asara who told him that her children wake her in the middle of the night and tell her that they hear digging beneath their beds. As Bennett said, this state of affairs simply cannot continue. People cannot live in fear that there are terrorists burrowing beneath their homes, digging tunnels to murder or kidnap them.     

These tunnels must be found and destroyed not merely because they constitute a physical danger to thousands of Israelis. They must be located and destroyed, and Hamas's capacity to rebuild them must be eliminated because the very idea that they exist makes a normal life impossible for those immediately threatened. 

Due to their recognition of the threat Hamas and its allies pose to the survivability of their regimes, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have taken the unprecedented step of supporting Israel's efforts to defeat Hamas. They understand that a decisive Israeli blow against Hamas in Gaza will directly benefit them. Not only will Hamas be weakened, but its state sponsors and terrorist comrades will be weakened as well.    

Israel is making good progress. But it hasn't completed its missions. It needs several more days of hard fighting. Recognizing this, Israel's newfound Muslim allies have not been pushing for a cease-fire.  

In contrast, the Obama administration is insisting on concluding a cease-fire immediately.

As former ambassador to the US Michael Oren told the media, it is clear that neither Israel nor Egypt invited Kerry to come over. Their avoidance of Kerry signals clearly that the US's two most important allies in the Middle East do not trust US President Barack Obama's intentions.  

Last week Israeli officials alleged that the US was responsible for Hamas's rejection of the Egyptian cease-fire proposal. By attempting to coerce Egypt to accept Qatar and Turkey as its partners in mediation, Obama signaled to Hamas's leaders that they should hold out for a better deal.

Chances that Kerry will secure a cease-fire in the near future are small. In all likelihood, the government will be able to buy the time necessary to complete the mission in whole or large part. But the fact that the US has chosen at this juncture in the operation — with Israel enjoying unprecedented support from the most important Sunni states in the region — to side with Hamas and its state sponsors in their demand for an immediate cease-fire speaks volumes about the transformation of US foreign policy under Obama's leadership.

[Jewish World Review]

 

 

Abbas Backs Hamas Truce Demands in Gaza

- Nidal al-Mughrabi and Crispian Balmer
 

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) led by Mahmoud Abbas endorsed demands by Hamas for halting Gaza hostilities with Israel, formally supporting the core conditions set by Hamas.

(Reuters)

 

 

European Union: "Gaza Must Disarm"
- Yossi Lempkowicz 

The EU strongly condemned "the indiscriminate firing of rockets into Israel by Hamas and militant groups in the Gaza Strip, directly harming civilians. These are criminal and unjustifiable acts." The EU said "all terrorist groups in Gaza must disarm," and strongly condemned "calls on the civilian population of Gaza to provide themselves as human shields."
     

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said all ministers recognized "Israel's legitimate right to defend itself against any attacks," but that the Israeli military operation "must be proportionate and in line with international humanitarian law." 

(European Jewish Press)

 

 

The Road to a Cease-Fire Goes Through Cairo - Zvi Bar'el 
 

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri announced that he saw no reason to make any changes to his country's cease-fire proposal. Over the previous few days, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's advance team had tried to discuss alterations in the proposal's wording, but was met with an aggressive Egyptian refusal.

 

Cairo doesn't intend to give Hamas any discounts - at least not at this stage. For now, it seems Egyptian President Sissi isn't too upset over the prospect of Israel continuing its military operation in Gaza. 

(Ha'aretz)

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