December 5th, 2023
In the wake of Hamas ’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel, most people, especially those on the Right, quickly recognized that Israel ’s battle to destroy Hamas was and is completely justified. Unfortunately, fewer seem to grasp that the destruction of Hamas, while necessary, is not sufficient for Israel’s security.
The fact is Hamas is just one part of a much larger threat that Israel has faced for years. Israel has had to also ward off attacks from the Palestine Liberation Army operating in Judea and Samaria, and other Palestinian terrorist groups such as Islamic Jihad, which recently announced it executed an innocent Israeli woman who had been held hostage for more than a month.
Israel must also contend with Iran and its terrorist proxy on Israel’s northern border, Hezbollah, which has repeatedly attacked Israel with missiles, drones, and artillery in recent weeks, and the Houthi rebels in Yemen firing long-range missiles at Israel and seizing civilian cargo ships in the Red Sea.
Perhaps most disturbingly, Israel is also threatened by the Palestinians who cheer on Hamas and support the total annihilation of the Jewish state. Hamas rules Gaza because it was freely chosen by Palestinians in democratic elections in 2006. One would hope that those same Palestinians would experience buyer’s remorse after the unthinkable slaughter of Oct. 7, when Hamas violated a ceasefire, launched a sneak attack, murdered 1,400 innocent Israeli children, women, and men, injured thousands, and kidnapped hundreds. But there are Palestinians who continue to support the terrorist organization even after it committed the worst act of terrorism since 9/11.
In fact, more than 75% of Palestinians have a favorable view of Hamas after the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, according to a survey by Arab World for Research and Development. And nearly all Palestinians, a shocking 98%, said the slaughter made them feel “prouder of their identity as Palestinians.”
Once we accept that the problem Israel and its allies face is not limited to Hamas, a number of conclusions immediately become clear for the United States.
First and foremost, we should expect Israel’s defensive war to be longer, costlier, and deadlier than other flare-ups in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in decades past, and America must be prepared to support its friend and ally until its victory. Israel is surrounded on all sides by terrorist organizations and nations that wish the Jewish nation didn’t exist, and maintaining Israel’s sovereignty has a bloody price tag.
Second, we must secure our own borders. It is not a coincidence that the same groups calling for Israel’s destruction also call for the U.S.’s. As FBI Director Christopher Wray recently stated, “We cannot discount the possibility that Hamas or another foreign terrorist organization may exploit the current conflict to conduct attacks here on our own soil,” adding that the FBI has “multiple ongoing investigations into individuals affiliated with that foreign terrorist organization.” America must maintain its own security as it seeks to uphold Israel’s.
Third, the U.S. should not provide a single penny of funding to any Palestinian organization. It should be obvious by now that even humanitarian funding will be diverted to feed Hamas’s bloodthirsty war machine. Funds intended to save innocent lives will instead be used to take innocent lives.
Finally, it’s time for the foreign policy blob in Washington to wake up from the pipe dream of a two-state solution. It was never going to work. In fact, a two-state solution is not only unrealistic, but it would be undesirable for anyone who wants a stable and peaceful Middle East. If the last six weeks have made anything clear, it is that it was a mistake to trust Hamas with the limited amount of sovereignty it had prior to Oct. 7.
Now more than ever, we must recognize what is at stake for Israel and the Jewish people and remain committed to standing by our ally as it defends its right to exist. And that means approaching this conflict with a clear-eyed, realistic view that too many seem to lack.
Read more at the WashingtonExaminer.com
