[Letters]Israel’s mission impossible

The saying goes, “if you want a job done right, do it yourself.” Ever since I have been following the Israeli-Arab conflict I have noticed a pattern - Israel defends herself and the outcries of, “disproportionate” and, “this won’t bring peace” emerge. Everyone apparently knows better and therefore I hereby formally invite anyone brave enough to come and do a better job.

So who will volunteer for this mission impossible, and show Israel how to fight Islamic terrorists without killing too many terrorists, or adding civilian casualties to the death toll? Of course, the volunteer will have to take into account that the civilian casualties are inevitable given the nature of Islamic terrorists to hide among civilians in order to increase victims.

Perhaps the United Nations could do better. Then again, would a bureaucracy that hasn’t even managed to define terrorism be able to fight it better than Israel, which probably has the most experience of any country in fighting Islamic terrorism?

I seriously wonder what all those who are sure they know better than Israel think that Israel should do in response to terrorism. Clearly doing nothing is not an option - for years Israel has suffered rocket attacks and done very little in response, and all that has done is increase the number of rocket launches and embolden the terrorists to upgrade their weaponry. And that old favorite cliche, “end the occupation,” is obviously a no-brainer since ending the occupation in Gaza has only increased Palestinian violence. And there is no indication from the Palestinians themselves that the end of occupation would spell the end of conflict or the end of terror.

So, perhaps Israel should try a more proportionate response. I can only imagine the global congratulatory cries of “what a proportionate response” when Israel launches a suicide bomber into a Palestinian cafe in response to a similar attack from the Palestinians.

Or there is another alternative. Israel could build a physical barrier to stop Palestinian terrorists reaching Israeli civilian populations. What a brilliant idea - nobody dies from a mere wall and terror is reduced or even stopped. I imagine the world would be chomping at the bit to embrace an effective, nonviolent measure in preference to death and destruction. But I imagined wrong - the world rushed to condemn the anti-terrorist barrier, ignoring the statistics proving it to be effective in eliminating terror. Yes, it was inconvenient to Palestinian farmers but just imagine the inconvenience of being blown up while riding a bus.

Clearly the international community must have a better solution to the problem - presumably the infamous Road Map. The only problem with this is that it requires the Palestinians to fight terrorism. Some lip service was paid by Yasser Arafat, but times have changed. Perhaps someone ought to remind the international community that the Palestinians elected Hamas. After all the years the international community dedicated to trying to get them a state, the Palestinians thanked the world by voting for an Islamic terrorist group that flatly rejects a peaceful solution in its covenant. The international excuse for this was “fighting poverty or corruption” or “that they didn’t want Fatah” - never admitting that the Palestinian people selected Hamas to represent them. The only conclusion that can be drawn is that the international community thinks that the Palestinians are too stupid to realize what they voted for.

So what would I suggest the world do? Well, as a mere “Joe the Plumber” of the Israeli-Arab conflict, I suggest recalling that there is a global war on terror, and that Israel is on the front lines of this battle, fighting alone. Zero tolerance for terrorism against Israel would be a good start. If the Palestinians have enough money to buy rockets they have enough money to buy their own food - they don’t need your money, too. In these times when money is more of an issue than ever before I am sure there are people far more deserving of the world’s attention - people who didn’t vote for Islamic terrorists. What a powerful message that would send to the terrorists and for others who might contemplate terror in order to get attention for their cause seeing how well terror has served the Palestinians.

As for promoting the two-state solution, drop the subject. The Palestinians have yet to demonstrate that they are worthy of their own state and the responsibilities that entails. The international community has given the Palestinians no motive to fight terrorism - indicating that they can have their cake and eat it too, and then visit the dessert cart. The time has surely come for the onus to be put on the Palestinians.

Though I am hesitant to suggest it, knowing that the majority will shrink in horror at the very idea, how about supporting Israel in its efforts to fight Islamic terror?

Michelle Moshelian, Israel