Isreal's Invasion of Gaza

Israel’s invasion of Gaza has been generating denunciation after denunciation. The U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon used the term, “extreme concern and disappointment” to describe his reaction. Many nations agree with Palestinian President Mahmound Abbas condemnation of Israel’s invasion as “brutal aggression.”

I am not one who feels that any criticism of Israel is unjustified and who will defend Israel not matter what because to criticize “God’s chosen people” is a sin. Israel should be condemned for unjust actions and inappropriate actions. But the current invasion of Gaza is not one of them.

Day after day a dozen or more homemade mini rockets tipped with explosives have been fired into Israel from within Gaza. Initially the rockets reached only a short distance into Israel. Over time the number and range has increased, so much so that the rockets are landing miles within Israel, and do so with impunity.

The Palestinian governing authorities have done little to stop the launch of the rockets from its territory upon the heads of the citizens of another country. By allowing Hamas to launch the rockets with impunity and turning a blind eye to the matter, the Palestinian government and its police have demonstrated that they are not responsible leaders and that they should not be viewed by other nations as a responsible civil government.

The nations who condemn Israel for the current invasion are part of the problem. These nations have remained silent as the rockets were launched. They have not pressed privately and denounced the Palestinian government for is its irresponsible inaction. No nation would accept without action rockets fired into its country from a neighbor.

The authorities in Gaza would never be able to catch and prevent all launches but efforts to arrest, convict and imprison perpetrators would have dramatically cut the number of attacks. Such efforts would have sent a signaled to the world and nation that the Palestinian government was being responsible and working to help resolve the problem. Now that the invasion is underway, the Palestinians and their government portray themselves as innocent victims of Israeli aggression. The World’s responsible response should be universal, that Israel is acting responsibly to protect its own system and that the Palestinians are victims of their own folly of inaction.