Friday, June 30, 2006

Israeli tit-for-tat

Palestinian terrorists capture a young Israeli teenager Gilad Shalit and Israel lets them have it. 80 Hamas officials arrested including 8 cabinet ministers, warplanes buzz the 'summer palace' of the Syrian President Bashir Assad (the sonic booms must have put the fear of God into this supporter of factions like Hamas and Hezbollah) and dozens of air raids by Israel on the Gaza strip. What can Hamas say? 'All this and we only kidnapped one young Israeli and murdered a few. It 'aint fair'. It is you know, and very effective.

The Israeli's have met an ugly show of force by Hamas with a controlled though strong counter-punch designed to destroy Hamas. Hamas has nowhere to go and its naive Palestinian supporters will bear the costs.

If Hamas releases the young boy they are revealled for the terrorist supporters Israel has always described them as. But what is their alternative? To murder him as they did to the 18 year old Eliyahu Asheri. Then what happens to the Hamas politicians Israel has arrested? And what happens to Hamas' already tattered international image?

Further threats from Hamas - we will escalate? So what? How are they holding themselves back now? The Israeli response is appropriate.

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