Support Moderates, fight extremists
Dan Kliman
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The conflict in the Middle East is not about Jew versus Muslim or Israeli versus Arab. It is about moderates versus extremists. Enemies of peace both inside and outside the region want to sabotage peace, weaken moderates, and harm innocent civilians.

Terrorism and the Attempted Manufacturing of a Humanitarian Crisis

On April 9th, 2008, terrorists from Gaza entered Israel and destroyed a filling depot close to the Karni border terminal. This depot was how fuel is supplied to Gaza. As a result of the attack, Israel will be unable to resume fuel shipments to Gaza for several days. In addition, Palestinian Authority and Israeli Government sources confirm that Hamas steals roughly half of all fuel shipments into Gaza for their own uses, including terrorist activities.

At the same time, Palestinians working at a restaurant in Ramat Gan, Israel were caught attempting to poison diners.

It is clear that far from assuming the mantle of responsible leadership, Hamas and the terror groups it protects such as Islamic Jihad, Popular Resistance Committee, and Army of Islam are committed both to harming Palestinians and to murdering Israeli civilians.

The Myth of the Cease Fire Offer
Some groups persist in perpetuating the myth that Hamas is ready to offer a cease fire. This is a lie. Egypt has been trying to work with Hamas to convince them to stop the firing of rockets at Israeli civilians in Sderot, Ashkelon, Nahal Oz, and other nearby communities. Hamas refuses.

Hamas places numerous unfeasible conditions for a cease fire. These are
Israel not monitor its borders with Gaza and allow Hamas to import unlimited armaments to be used against Israeli civilians in the future.
Israel not conduct any military self defense against any terror group in Gaza, even groups not covered by the cease fire so that they may continue to kill Israeli civilians with impunity.
Israel stop all operations in the West Bank so that Hamas may perform a coup d’etat against the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank just as they did in Gaza. Stockpiles of arms have already been uncovered in the West Bank such as a recent stash found in Qalqilia. Once the West Bank is in Hamas’s hands, all of Israel’s population centers including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem will be within rocket range.
Violence and Terrorism Failed the Palestinians

In the West Bank and Gaza, extremists such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad work to harm Palestinians and Israelis alike. In the Bay Area, anti-Israel protestors carry signs declaring “There is no peace without justice” and yell terrorist chants. They have made clear that their vision of “justice” is either the destruction of Israel either militarily or demographically by flooding Israel with the descendants of Arabs that left Israel for any reason during Israel’s 1948 War of Independence.


Former terrorist Zakariya Zubeidi has a different view. Zubeidi is the former head of the Jenin Al-Aqsa Martyr’s brigade and is responsible for many murderous attacks against Israeli civilians. In October 2007 as a peace gesture to bolster the relatively moderate Palestinian President Mahboud Abbas, Israel granted Zubeidi and many others amnesty in exchange for abandoning terrorism.

Zubeidi now acknowledges that the campaign of terror was a mistake. A different a former terrorist came out and admitted that the campaign of terror was a complete failure. “We failed entirely in the intifada. We haven't seen any benefit or positive result from it. We achieved nothing. It's a crushing failure. We failed at the political level - we didn't succeed in translating the military actions into political achievements.”

Israel is Committed to Security for Israelis and Peace with Palestinians

As Zubeidi came to realize, Israel will not go away through terrorism and Israel will not allow itself to be demographically destroyed.

Due to terrorism Israel was forced to institute security measures that have made life more difficult for Palestinians. Counter-terrorism operations inevitably result in the occasional regrettable civilian death as the terrorists use civilians as human shields. A system of checkpoints and a security barrier to separate Israel from the West Bank are inconvenient but have reduced attacks against Israelis immensely.

Despite the ongoing terror, Israel has recommitted herself to the peace process and to improving life for Palestinians. Several checkpoints have been removed and procedures are being investigated to make the checkpoints less cumbersome. Israel is doubling the number of Israeli workers permits for Palestinians. Most importantly, Israel is continuing to hold out the promise of coexistence despite the ongoing atrocities.

Produced by San Francisco Voice for Israel
www.SFVoiceForIsrael.org
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