When people, like David Frum, justify Israeli settlements as 'simply buildings' that anyone can live regardless of nationality; they are dangerously close to committing cultural genocide.
There is a reason why Palestine exists. It is not about 'simply land. It is about a people and their practices.
The destruction of the Palestine culture is a genocide of those people. I realize that is an inflammatory word, but, it is the truth. The Palestinian territories are to preserve a people, a culture and a belief in the right all peoples have to exist. Israelis should embrace that, they know the pain of attempted extinction.
In embracing life, there is the issue of cessation of violence which accompanies it.
The unfortunate truth of Hamas within Palestine is the fact they have lived their lives with the purpose of erasing Israel from the map. That is a false sense of purpose. There is no erasing Israel form the map. Hamas has a goal that is genocidal. They endanger their own lands and their enjoyment by practicing genocidal ideology against Israel. Hamas should never be armed. There is no reason for it.
When Gaza seeks to increase their military strength there are all kinds of precautions instituted by Israel to prevent exactly what is occurring today and the reasons it is occurring. The conflict today could have been prevented. Easily prevented.
The people of Gaza suffer. There is no doubt about it, but, the reasons they suffer is directly linked to the violence. If the governing authority in Gaza were seeking the best outcomes for their people in regard to education, health, food sources and basically quality of life, none of the problems Gaza faces today would exist.
Sharon believed once Gaza 'belonged' to the Palestinians they would settle in and be productive. That is not what has occurred. Instead, it emboldened Hamas and made their demands to destroy Israel greater and more toxic.
To say Hamas is hapless in their attempt at sovereignty and governance is an understatement. It isn't as though the global community isn't supportive of their directives in having their own sovereignty, but, they have no ability to conduct themselves as responsible sovereigns of their nation. And worse than that Hamas has no desire to be responsible except for killing Israelis.
Sharon was not wrong, but, he was at a loss to have a viable partner in his peace efforts. There was no peace in the ambitions of the Palestinians when Sharon opened Gaza to them by removing settlers. There was no way of enforcing the peace. There was no authority to secure it. The authority manifesting out of the elections in Gaza don't have a definition of peace. So, while Sharon was desperate to achieve a peace; his efforts had no chance. There is nothing today different from those dynamics. Israel still has no viable partner in peace. The negotiations with Palestinians have proven to be untrustworthy.
Israel has to build a DMZ between Gaza and Israel. The idea is hideous when realizing the land involved, but, there is no other strategy to carry out. The IDF has to be able to enforce something. The only reasonable solution is a demilitarized zone, until the day comes when Gaza has a valid sovereign authority for peace. Who knows when that is going to happen?
A DMZ will actually save lives. Palestinian lives and Israeli lives.
