The Conundrum, Part 23

The IDF recommends retaking the Philadelphi Route to cut down on the smuggling of weapons into Gaza. Israel withdrew from the Route when it withdrew from the rest of Gaza. Since that time, dozens of smuggling tunnels have been discovered by Egypt and Israeli forces that have probed the area.

Israeli officials also say that they are not going to stop their overflights of Lebanon, despite the continuing threats from French forces stationed there under UNIFIL.

Gazan security forces blocked major intersections in Gaza City to protest the failure of Hamas to pay their salaries. And this comes a day after Hamas and Fatah exchanged yet more gunfire, resulting in one dead.

The Egyptian Foreign Minister blames Hizbullah for the Lebanon War. Nice to give in to reality. You know, when Hizbullah invades Israel, kills eight Israeli soldier and takes Goldwasser and Regev, that is an act of war. So is the launch of thousands of rockets in the 34 day war that ensued when Israel retaliated against Hizbullah in Lebanon.

11 rockets have been fired into Israel over the past three days. Has there been any UN resolutions on the matter condemning the Palestinians? Has Israel responded by bombing the snot out of Palestinians? No. This is the state of affairs where it simply blends into the background. I find this situation completely unacceptable.

Once again we're hearing reports that a deal is close on the release of Gilad Shalit. Sorry, but until he's actually released, I wont buy it. And any deal that includes the release of Palestinian prisoners, especially those with the blood of Israelis on their hands, is a bad one.

Carl in Jerusalem notes that Israeli and Saudi diplomats are discussing a plan that would call for the recognition of Israel's existence, not Israel's right to exist. I agree with Carl that it's not a real advance in the diplomatic situation since the Palestinians and others in the Middle East know that Israel exists. The problem is that these groups and countries refuse to permit Israel to continuing to exist. They deny Israel's right to exist. Simply look at the rhetoric coming from Ahmadinejad, Haniyeh, and the covenants of Fatah and Hamas to see that destruction of Israel is a central tenet. You cannot have peace between Israel and these groups until those groups recognize Israel's right to exist, and that simply isn't going to happen.

These groups' hatred of Israel runs so deep and is so pervasive that it encompasses genocidal intent.

Meanwhile, if you peruse the 'daily' briefings at UNIFIL, you might see comments about Israel, its redeployment, and other issues mentioning Israel, but one thing you will not see is any mention of disarmament of Hizbullah. That's a highly curious situation given that UNIFIL is required by UN SCR 1701 to disarm all militias operating, which includes Hizbullah. However, UNIFIL has gone out of its way to avoid doing anything that might even be construed as disarming Hizbullah.

UPDATE:
Jay Tea at Wizbang also notes the culture of death that the Palestinians continue to engage in. They turned greenhouses donated by American Jews to the Palestinians into zones where they could place their smuggling tunnels. And yet there are folks like at the Boston Globe who lament Israel's position on the matter. How about requiring the Palestinians to take responsibility for their own situation instead of finding the usual and tired excuses for the situation. The Palestinians have had representation for 13 years now. Since Oslo was signed and Arafat and Rabin had their handshake with President Clinton looking on. The Palestinian Authority became the Palestinian de-facto government and were responsible for the civil administrative control in Gaza and large parts of the West Bank. What did the PA do in that time? They used their time to conduct terror attacks against Israel, stockpile weapons, and prepare for a war.

Technorati: terrorism, nasrallah, fatah, Gilad, Shalit, Olmert, Eliyahu, Asheri, Ashri, Abbas, Regev, Goldwasser, PRC, Hamas, Gaza, palestinian, Israel, hizbullah, hezbullah, hezbollah, lebanon, syria.