Israel, Hamas, The UN, and The Christians...... What a Mess.

Today the United Nations is critical of Israel for the carnage-taking place in the Gaza Strip.

On July 15th Egypt proposed (and Israel agreed) to a cease-fire. If Hamas agreed to stop firing rockets (into Israel) than Israel would stop bombing the Gaza Strip.

Hamas said no way.

Why would Hamas say no way? Well because they are desperate. A cease fire does not fix their underlying problems. They are out of money and out of world support.

Hamas understands they cannot beat Israel militarily so the goal is to get sad pictures on the news. They want to gain world sympathy. Sympathy equals pressure on Israel to negotiate a deal.

Specifically Hamas wants all the border crossing to Israel and Egypt opened. It is easier to get weapons when the borders are open.

But the borders are closed for a reason. Suicide bombers blowing up buses (and pizzerias) is why there are border crossings in the first place. Who sent in the bombers? Hamas.

Once Hamas declined last weeks cease fire they were gambling with the lives of their people.

The reality is Israel doesn’t need to negotiate if they can eliminate the rockets on their own. But can they? So far…. not yet. There could be a long way to go though.

Everyone assumes Israel will leave Gaza in a few days, or weeks, or months. Maybe they won’t leave. Maybe they will stay. Hamas had a golden opportunity to not have Israeli troops in Gaza, but they blew it. Now the troops are back.

Hamas should learn the lesson I teach my kids. Learn to quit while you are ahead.

Hamas calculated that if they can keep the rockets flying (and keep the sad pictures on the news) it will get them to a better place. But every day that passes more buildings gets destroyed. More rockets get destroyed. More tunnels get destroyed. More people get killed. Does any of this really lead Hamas to a better place?

Hamas hides weapons in hospitals. If Israel doesn’t blow them up then Hamas wins. If Israel does blow them up (innocent people die) sad pictures go up on the news. Hamas still wins…..Or at least that is what they think.

Israel drops leaflets telling people to leave before the bombs come. Hamas orders them to stay. Then innocent people get blown up and Israel gets blamed. That makes Hamas very happy.

Doesn’t do much for the Palestinian people…… but Hamas doesn’t care about them. Not even a little. It is all about propaganda.

People look at Israel’s heavy-handed approach and get upset. They see Israel with their foot on the Palestinians throat and think “That is so mean….Get off their throat”. But if Israel steps off than Hamas jams a dagger into Israel’s forehead.

It is hard to be nice to people who are sworn to kill you.

In the West bank Fatah does not launch rockets. As a result the West Bank is not getting dismantled by the IDF. See how that works?

I think it is clear a nonviolent approach puts Palestinians in a better place.
Does it give them everything they want? No. Does it prevent Israel from building ill-advised settlements? No.

Israel needs to do their part too, and often they have failed. There is plenty of blame to go around in this never-ending struggle.
Nonetheless if you look at the two approaches I believe one is clearly better.

Meanwhile as the UN is busy being angry at Israel……. the Sunni extremists in Iraq are driving out all the Christians. Every last one of them. Where is the UN on that issue? The Christians would like to know.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/07/23/purged-by-isis-iraq-christians-appeal-to-world-for-help/

in Mosul under ISIS When the terror group ordered all to convert to Islam, pay a religious tax or face execution, many chose another option: flight.
Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, included 60,000 Christians in 2003. By last month, the number had dwindled to just 35,000. It now stands at zero, according to Ignatius Yousef Younan III, patriarch of the Syrian Catholic Church.

Habash, who roundly criticized the Obama administration and the United Nations, specifically, for what he called their "careless absence" in taking action against the militants, said such violent intolerance demanded action from the international community.

"Where is the conscience of the world? Where is the United Nations? Where is the American administration to protect peace and justice?" he asked. "Nobody has said a word."