On Thursday Hamas offered a six month cease fire to Israel. Yesterday, Israel rejected that offer saying that the offer did not “appear serious.”
Not serious? How could they possible come to that conclusion? Could it have had anything to do with Khaled Mashaal, the Damascus-based Hamas leader saying,
“It is (the cease fire) a tactic in conducting the struggle … It is normal for any resistance … to sometimes escalate, other times retreat a bit. … Hamas is known for that. In there was a cease-fire and then the operations were resumed.”
or maybe it was this reassuring comment that gave the Israeli’s pause:
“We are ready to cooperate seriously from a place of power,” he said. “If Israel does not accept, then we welcome confrontation,” Mashaal said in the interview from Doha, Qatar.
Wow, those Israeli’s are pretty sharp. I’ve never had the pleasure, but I’ve been told that their airport security folks can just look at you and know whether you’re up to no good. They must have needed every one of them to poor over these comments to cipher out Hamas’ real intent.
As a parting shot, the same Hamas leader warned,
“If the blockade is not to be lifted from Gaza, then the Gaza Strip will explode.”
I don’t normally hold populations responsible for their thuggish governments. In most cases they had nothing to do with the thugs being in power. However, as Jimmy Carter pointed out last week, the Palestinian people, fully aware of who they were and what they stood for, elected Hamas into power. Until the Palestinian people awaken to the fact and change having a ruling party with a goal of exterminating another soverign country, they may get our sympathy but should not get anyone’s assistance.
