Israel can't negotiate with foes like Hamas
This is in response to Shafic Budron of the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee's letter condemning Israel. He and his committee show their agenda of opposing the mere existence of Israel as the Jewish state by nowhere criticizing any actions of Hamas.
In 2005, Israel withdrew every soldier and civilian from Gaza. Instead of the Palestinians using this opportunity to build a future state they used their resources to build up arms to fire over 6,000 rockets and mortars into Israel. During the so-called six month cease fire they fired about another 400 rockets and mortars and in the week after they declared the truce over almost another 400. Over 800,000 Israelis live in constant fear of a rocket landing on them.
Budron talks about war crimes. Under the Geneva Conventions intentionally and directly targeting civilians is a war crime. Hamas is aiming at schools and apartment buildings. It is also a war crime to hide your weapons in civilian buildings using the civilians as human shields and launch military attacks from these same areas. Luis Moreno-Orampo, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court states that international law permits "attacks against military objectives, even when it is known that some civilian deaths or injuries will occur."
Israel has actually made thousands of phone calls to civilians warning them to flee. Civilian casualties are the sole responsibility of Hamas. If Budron is counting on sympathy from President Obama he should think again. Last summer, Obama visited the Israeli town of Sderot and stated "if someone was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I would do everything to stop that and would expect Israel to do the same thing."
Hamas calls for the destruction of Israel and killing all its Jews along with the imposition of an Islamic Sharia ruled state over the entire area. How can you negotiate with a party who can only be satisfied with the elimination of all the Jews. Do we negotiate with al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden?
Steven Peck
Riverwoods