Life After Gaza

[barb162]

9/5/05
By Mortimer B. Zuckerman
Life After Gaza

The mutual anguish of Jewish families in Gaza and the Israeli military forcing their removal from their long-cherished homes was intensely moving to witness, even as it was an inspiring demonstration of democracy and the rule of law. Nearly 10,000 Israeli citizens from two dozen thriving towns and agricultural villages in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank now have to start their lives all over again.


Their prime minister, Ariel Sharon, shares the anguish and deserves the congratulations he has received for his bold but risky attempt to change the political dynamic of the region. But will it? The response of the Palestinians to a heroic act of statesmanship is contemptible. Not only have their leaders been demanding more, but they have endorsed the baldfaced lie of the extremist Hamas group that "the blood of our martyrs" drove the Israelis out of the Gaza settlements.

The implication is that more bloodshed will produce more Israeli concessions. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, has said all the right things in English for a western audience, but what is he doing to counter the notion that terrorism pays? Not a thing. On the contrary. He asserted that the credit of the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank goes to the Palestinians who were killed, wounded, and are present during the struggle--the credit for the retreat, he said, goes to the martyrs.

This is not just false. It is an incitement to more violence and terrorism. Most Israelis expect that Gaza, after a period of diplomatic quiet, will once again be a base for terrorism aimed not to adjust borders but to drive Israel from its biblical lands into the sea. Indeed, the idea of a Palestinian state living in peace with Israel is not credible to anyone who experiences the demonic nature of the hatred or reviews the threats continuously promulgated by the Palestinian leaders in every forum--mosques, schools, radio, newspapers, television, the Internet--everywhere.


(3pp)

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/opinion/articles/050905/5edit.htm

[Andromeda]

1. Not too much is going to change...

until you change the the culture of hate.

[barb162]

2. Thousands of Hamas militants stage armed Gaza march

Thousands of Hamas militants stage armed Gaza march
18 Sep 2005 15:37:20 GMT

Source: Reuters


By Nidal al-Mughrabi

GAZA, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Thousands of armed Hamas militants marched through Gaza City on Sunday, defying efforts to remove unauthorised weapons from the streets just days after the Palestinian president vowed not to tolerate armed chaos.

About 10,000 members of the Islamic faction, cheered by tens of thousands, carried assault rifles, rockets and anti-tank missiles as they paraded in the group's largest armed show of force in the territory in years.

snip
Hamas spokesman Mushir al-Masri called the demonstration a message to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon "that thousands of Qassam men will remain and not disband", using the name of Hamas's military wing.

Masri said Hamas would continue to aim its weapons at Israel "until the liberation of all of Palestine", alluding to both Israel and the occupied West Bank where Israel has vowed to keep large Jewish settlement blocs.
snip

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L18440608.htm

Seems as if Hamas and other militants are just getting stronger