Now in the second week of a tremendous campaign against the terrorist group Hamas, Israeli military forces have cut Gaza in half. At the UN, the United States –with backing from President Bush –blocked a UN resolution that would have demanded a ceasefire on the part of Israel. President Bush has done well with the move.
The attempted –and subsequently failed –passage of the resolution brings to light several important points about the inadequacy of the UN and the failure to grasp the reality of the Israeli situation.
First, the UN continues to prescribe the wrong antidotes to the terrorist problems Israel constantly faces. It continues to demand cessions from Israel and peace on the part of Israel, not on the part of Muslim fanatics and terrorists. Israel’s President Shimon Peres recently wondered aloud how Israel could attempt any sort of truce if terrorists continued to fight them.
Second, what does the UN hope to gain by declaring a ceasefire? Peace, unfortunately, must sometimes come behind the barrel of a gun. Every peace agreement ever reached has been broken by Muslim terrorists, not by the Israelis. Decades of informal truces and peace agreements have led to nothing except extensions of hostilities. Israel has had enough. Let Israel cripple –or hopefully nearly obliterate –Hamas. It will be one less problem for Israel, and one less terrorist organization in the world.
Third, the move for a ceasefire by the UN betrays the rights of individual nations. Individual nations are, under international laws and natural rights of states, entitled to self-defense with or without international approval. The defensive conflict Israel has committed to is legal. Israel is seeking to protect its citizens and its integrity by eliminating –or dramatically subduing –a threat.
Fourth, the animosity many members of the UN display towards Israel –and the genuine lack of concern on the part of others –also betrays the principles of the UN to come to the aid of suffering nations. Israel has been the victim of relentless terrorist attacks and military offensives for more than sixty years, and not once has the UN committed to a full scale defense of Israel. Individual nations –such as the United States and England –have committed to the defense of Israel indirectly at least. Animosity from members of the UN should not be directed towards the suffering Israelis, but towards the aggressive terrorists and anti-Israel movements that are the result of widespread violence and innocent civilian deaths.
Fifth, the UN fails to recognize Hamas as a terrorist group committed to the destruction of Israel. The firing of rockets randomly into Israel hoping to strike home regardless as to whom or what is being hit, and the embedding of civilians into militant and terrorist enclaves to provide human shields reveals the stark immorality of Hamas.
Sixth, the UN does not recognize that Israel is one of the most committed countries to the War on Terror in addition to the United States, Great Britain, Australia, Poland, Japan, and recently many Eastern European members in addition to others throughout the world. Israel has been battling terrorism for decades, and has every right to stamp terrorists out.
Given the situation, the United States should volunteer, at the very least, financial support to Israel in its current operation. It should also volunteer air support if needed, although thus far it appears Israel has the situation well under control. The United States has already declared its diplomatic support in blocking a UN resolution demanding a ceasefire, and it should continue to diplomatically support Israel.
A final piece of information: As of today, Lebanese terrorists began launching rockets into Israel. Israel has already sustained more than 3,000 rocket attacks this past year alone from Hamas and terrorists in Gaza, and now Lebanese terrorists may be making their move. Lebanon has not been invaded and is not defending itself. It has launched an offensive against Israel, further proof that Israel is not the aggressor, nor is Israel the offender. Israel is indeed the lone defender in that area of the Middle East, and our truest friend there. Israel must be allowed to defend itself, and aid must be supplied if requested.