In his Nov. 30 column, "Middle East ceasefire saves lives, generates hope, not dissent," Andy Granias makes many inaccurate and bias claims.
Within only 48 hours of the most recent Palestinian-Israeli cease-fire, two Qassam rockets were launched from Gaza. The rockets landed in Sderot, an Israeli town of about 20,000 people. As of Dec. 1, Palestinian militants had fired 14 rockets into Israel after the cease-fire became official on Nov. 26. In an attempt to uphold their end of the agreement, the Israeli government has not responded to the rocket attacks.
Mr. Granias described these attacks as having "zero consequence to Israeli life." In the weeks leading up to the so-called "cease-fire," two Israelis were killed from rocket attacks. In November, a Qassam rocket landed near an elementary school and a kindergarten in Sderot. Claiming that these attacks have "zero consequence" is an irrational and ludicrous claim. How can anyone logically argue that these attacks have no consequence when, in fact, innocent civilians have died as a result?
Additionally, Mr. Granias falsely alleges "Hamas …has not sponsored a single act of terror since it selection into power one year ago…." In June, Hamas-linked militants attacked an Israeli defense post, murdering two soldiers and capturing Gilad Shalit, a 20-year-old soldier. Shalit has not been seen since. During the same month, Hamas promised to destroy the city of Sderot, explaining "we have decided to turn Sderot into a ghost town. We won't stop firing the rockets until they all leave" (Israel National News). Recent IDF raids in the West Bank have turned up factories producing explosives that are disguised to look like children's toys.
These occurrences are nothing new to the Israelis. In September of 2005, Israel removed every soldier, military structure, and Israeli citizen from Gaza, thus completing their total disengagement plan and creating the first independent Palestinian territory in history. Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Charles Krauthammer's sums up the resulting response from the Palestinians:
"On the very day of Israel's final pullout, the Palestinians began firing rockets out of Gaza into Israeli towns on the other side of the border. And remember: those are attacks not on settlers but on civilians in Israel proper, the pre-1967 Israel that the international community recognizes as legitimately part of sovereign Israel. So in 2005 the Palestinians are given Gaza, free of any Jews. Do they begin building the state they say they want, constructing schools and roads and hospitals? No. They launch rockets at civilians and dig a 300-yard tunnel under the border to attack Israeli soldiers and bring back a hostage. And this time the terrorism is carried out by…Hamas — the group that was recently elected to lead the Palestinians (Time Magazine)."
Historical fact clearly shows who the true aggressors have been throughout this conflict and backs Israel's struggle for peace. In 1947, the U.N. voted to solve this conflict by creating both a Jewish and Palestinian state. The Jews accepted the offer while the Palestinians emphatically rejected it, joining with five other Arab armies to launch an attack on Israel with the intent to destroy the newly founded Jewish state.
Flash forward to the Camp David Summit of 2000 when Israel offered the Palestinians 100 percent of the Gaza Strip and the vast majority of the West Bank territories to develop their own independent state. Yasser Arafat flatly rejected this proposal and did not make a counteroffer. Then-President Bill Clinton placed the blame largely on Arafat for the negotiations falling apart. Do you see a cycle forming here?
The Israelis only demands that Hamas recognize Israel's right to exist, renounce violence and accept previous Israeli-Arab peace accords. Israel in turn promises to free prisoners (held because of their ties to terrorism), lift burdening security checkpoints, and release previously withheld funds that the Palestinians people desperately need, yet Hamas refuses.
Why does Hamas refuse? A direct translation of the Hamas charter explicitly spells out why, explaining that "Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it." How can Israel, or any country for that matter, be expected to make peace with a regime that openly calls for its destruction? Yet Israel continues to push for peace, while the Palestinians continue to launch rockets loaded with ball bearings in an effort to maximize the carnage inflicted upon innocents.
There are approximately 5.4 million Jews living in Israel, a country that is roughly the size of New Jersey. Over 100 million Arabs live in the countries that directly border it. I ask that Mr. Granias consider one simple statement regarding Israel's efforts towards peace: If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence. If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel.
Aaron Goodman
UW Madison Graduate Student
[email protected]