by Bassam Tawil • July 30, 2024 at 5:00 am - GATESTONE
What is insupportable is that Harris completely ignored that the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip are suffering because of a war initiated by Hamas. She could have done many Palestinians a favor had she called on Hamas to relinquish control over the Gaza Strip and stop using its people as human shields in its Jihad (holy war) against Israel.
Harris seems not to know or to have forgotten -- either is not excessively impressive -- that on October 6, 2023, there was a ceasefire in place between Israel and Hamas. Hamas broke it.
"Sometimes, on happier days, I like to comment on the remarkable similarities between Singapore and the Gaza Strip. Both are self-governing city-states located at key crossroads of world trade on the opposite ends of the Continent of Asia. Both combine density of population with a significant urban buildup and dramatic natural advantages, including a high-quality harbor. And yet, due to differences in civil culture and governance, Singapore has been built into the trade hub of East Asia. Gaza, as Saturday's (October 7, 2023) events have demonstrated to the world, has chosen another path: becoming a terrorist dystopia like the benighted lands formerly under ISIS (Islamic State)." — Bassam Eid, Palestinian human rights activist, Newsweek, October 9, 2023.
The October 7 massacres, if anything, demonstrate why the creation of a Palestinian state is actually a surefire way to perpetuate the Palestinian jihad against Israel, as well as instability and insecurity throughout the Middle East. China, Russia, North Korea and Iran are watching and taking note that unacceptable behavior goes blissfully unpunished.
Hamas.... did not spend millions of dollars to boost the Palestinian economy or give young Palestinians in the Gaza Strip employment prospects. Rather than constructing a medical facilities or educational institutions, Hamas opted to build hundreds of tunnels to smuggle weapons, attack Israel, and shelter its terrorists and leaders.
[I]f and when a Palestinian state is established, as Harris and the Biden administration insist, it will be controlled by the same murderers, rapists and terrorist jihadists.
This is the time to remind Harris that Hamas's charter views the Jihad as the way to take all of "Palestine" from the Jews and to destroy Israel. Harris sees a Palestinian state as the "only path" to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Palestinians, on the other hand, view the establishment of such a state as the first step towards eliminating Israel. The Hamas charter begins with a quotation attributed to Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan Al-Bana: "Israel will arise and continue to exist until Islam wipes it out, as it wiped out what went before."
Harris's remarks regarding a Palestinian state are seriously problematic: they send a message to the Palestinians and others that the US is happy to reward them for terrorism and the October 7 atrocities. Instead of talking about a Palestinian state, she should have told the Palestinians that they will never achieve a state as long as they back Hamas or vow to destroy a UN member state. Harris should also have warned the Palestinians that they will never be granted their own state unless they recognize Israel's right to exist as the ancestral home of the Jewish people, stop radicalizing their youth, and renounce violence and terrorism.
By advocating an end to the war in the Gaza Strip, Harris is asking that Israel, by allowing Hamas to remain in power, submit itself to unending jihadist attacks. What country would do that?
Demanding a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip is comparable to calling for an end to the US war on Al-Qaeda and ISIS. Unfortunately, destroying Hamas's military capabilities and removing it from power is the only realistic option. Failure to achieve those two goals will only embolden Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, Russia, Iran and other global aggressors waiting in the wings.
On July 26, US Vice President Kamala Harris stated that the "two-state solution is the only path" for Israel and the Palestinians.
Harris, who was speaking after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington, DC, also said she made clear her "serious concerns" about casualties in the Gaza Strip.
"It's time for this war to end," Harris added, referring to the hostilities that erupted on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Iran-backed Hamas terrorists and "ordinary" Palestinians invaded Israel.
They murdered, tortured and raped thousands of Israelis.
In addition, more than 250 Israelis, including toddlers, children, women and the elderly, were kidnapped to the Gaza Strip.
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