Exercising restraint

Saturday, July 22, 2006

For the people, including world leaders, urging Israel to "show restraint", I have a question: what do they propose Israel should do? Hunker down, fortify their shelters, and continue to endure an interminable rain of rocket attacks? Of course not. But what are the alternatives?

"Israel should negotiate a ceasefire." With whom? Even if terrorist leaders would make such an agreement, it would amount to the same interminable rain of rocket attacks, only each attack might then be condemned by a terrorist leader, as he professes his inability to control the activities of independent "militants". More likely the attacks would not even be condemned, but argued as "legitimate resistance". (This is not a biased flight of fancy, but a fair description of the actions of Hamas after Israel unilaterally vacated Gaza. Those attacks that were condemned were not condemned because it was wrong for the terrorists to fire rockets randomly into civilian populations, but because the leaders thought it undermined their political posturing.)

"UN peacekeepers could monitor a ceasefire." Pardon me for saying so, but Israel has more reason to trust Hezbollah leader Nasrallah. Never mind that the UN relief agency UNRWA has overseen the establishment of hate camps where young Palestinians are groomed for martyrdom, but just look at the record of the UN "peacekeepers". Stationed in the Sinai to enforce an Israel-Egyptian peace, they quickly departed in 1973 at Egypt's request. Egypt, having marshaled its forces there, was ready to attack and the "peacekeepers" were quick to oblige. In October 2000, UNIFIL "peacekeepers" stationed on the Lebanon border videotaped, but for nine months denied any knowledge of, Hezbollah's abduction of an Israeli soldier. And Israel should rely on these peacekeepers?

"But the civilians are suffering!" True, and the Israeli army routinely puts its soldiers at great risk because of it, and with more concern for civilian casualties than any fighting force in history. But should Lebanon's civilians be of greater concern to Israel's army than its own civilians? Where has been the condemnation of the terrorists, the concern for civilians, during the long months that Israel has suffered bombardment from Gaza? Is anyone, other than Israel, concerned about the suffering of civilians when they are only Israeli civilians? The world, in condemning the suffering of civilians, should be condemning Hezbollah for the terrorist practice of basing its operations amid the civilian population of Lebanon.

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