IT’S TIME TO GET TOUGH WITH HAMAS

By Schmoel Yitzhak

Imagine, if you can, the White House response if several thousand rockets were fired over the 49th Parallel from Canada into the United States.

There is no way in the world that even the Appease-King, Barack Obama could tolerate such an assault on American citizenry and Uncle Sam’s sovereignty. 

No way.

But when it comes to Israel being the endless target of Gaza-based rocketry, these endless Arab-directed bombings inspire a shrug of indifference from the White House.

Certainly, if any children of John Kerry lived in cities such as Ashdod, Ashkelon or Sdorot and suffered rocket-inspired trauma, the Secretary of State would order a once-and-for-all invasion to wipe out the salvos.

For too many years Israel’s response has been muted to say the least. Rockets are fired by Hamas — or any one of its Gaza affiliates — and the IDF’s retaliation comes in the form of modified retaliation; so mild, in fact, that it never erases yet another blitz.

My urging would be a much more devastating response; not that this is anything new from this pillar of politics. 

Long ago, I urged Benjamin Netanyahu to dispatch a ten times — or more — heavier response to Gaza facilities of destruction than is sent into Israel.

Hamas leaders must once and for all realize that the punishment for any further Israel-directed rocketry will be a response that they would not want to happen a second time. 

One who understands my logic is Zvika Fogel, former chief of staff of the IDF Southern Command.

Writing in IsraelHayom, Fogel makes no bones about how strong the return blitz should be.

“Now is the time for us to take the initiative,” says Fogel, “and vanquish those who seek to harm us. We should not wait until their rockets exact casualties in our cities.”

No doubt the implementation of such a strategy would instantly be condemned by the likes of Obama and Kerry but the time also has come to ignore their complaints. 

Why?

Because their pro-Arab tilt is so out of whack with reality that it has become pointless to take the White House seriously.

On the one hand Obama gets terribly miffed when Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon describes Kerry as “messianic and obsessive” yet when Arab leaders rip Uncle Sam, the response from Pennsylvania Avenue is inaudible.

For example PLO Secretary-General Abed Rabbo has been scathing Kerry for weeks, charging that the Secretary of State is “appeasing” Israel. POL Executive Committee member Tayseer Khaled accused Kerry of trying to extort the Palestinians politically yet not a peep of protest is heard from Washington.

Writing for the Gatestone Institute, Khaled Abu Toameh, the Arab journalist with an objective bent, has the explanation. 

Toameh: “If Kerry really cares about the peace process, he needs to ask the Palestinian Authority and Arab governments to lower the tone and stop inciting against him and the U.S. 

“Unless, of course, those statements and protests do not offend him.”

Naturally, Kerry should be offended but he dare not say so because of his obsessive desire to favor the Arab cause at Israel’s expense.

Which explains why Kerry’s criticism should be ignored and Bibi should demolish Hamas’ ability to allow rocket attacks into the Jewish State.