Cease-fires will not bring an end to this war. While Hamas exists and serves as Iran’s proxy army, the Israelis have no choice but to fight them

I agree. Israel should fight and fight hard! I mean, really severely hurt the enemy. Any cease fire agreement by the Arabs is a joke. They have absolutely no intention of making peace with Israel. Israel is surrounded by a sea of hostile Arabs that want to see Israel annihilated and cast into the sea. This is the truth. Their goal is to take God’s land. That is their goal. That’s it. Okay. Simple. Don’t let any of these lying Palestinian apologists like Dian Buttu deceive you. That said, Arab beware! As you scheme to destroy Israel you have embraked upon mission impossible! God gave the land to Abraham, the first Jew, and to his descendant through Isaac and Jacob. You have no right to the land, and if you try to take it God will cut you to pieces.

DeathToMediaHacks on December 31, 2008 at 10:51 AM

Quoted from THE STUPIDEST PERSON IN THE WORLD.

Unbelievable.

fossten on December 31, 2008 at 7:54 PM

In DeathToMediaHacks’s world everything is Hamas propaganda. Nothing is what it is because everything is what it isn’t. And contrary-wise; what it is, it isn’t, and what it isn’t, it is. You see?

And please. If your solution is “the end of Hamas.” Then you actually are just as stupid as the extremists in Hamas. Because whether or not you like it, whether or not the U.S. recognizes them and whether or not it confuses the hell out of you, Hamas is the elected government of the people in that region. They chose them. So if the goal is the destruction of Hamas, then the goal is the destruction of the society as a whole. And I just don’t think that’s workable. We can spew “let em burn” rhetoric all we want. But in the real world, no one’s actually going to accept a genocide campaign or a campaign of overwhelming ferocity. We know that Isreal could unleash that.

So what then? You fight and fight and fight and every couple of years have a mini war and then again and again and again and again. At what point is continuing a never ending war worth not being the one to say “I’ll give in first”. It applies to both sides, but only because both sides refuse to do that.

DeathToMediaHacks on December 31, 2008 at 10:51 AM

Quoted from THE STUPIDEST PERSON IN THE WORLD.

Unbelievable.

Give in to what? Do you think Hamas is firing rockets into Israel because they want to trade silks with them? God you are a moron. So in your scenario, Israel should just self-immolate in order to achieve lasting peace for the rest of the Middle East.

Olmert was right to say no. But what his spokesman should have said, literally, goes something along the lines of this:

“I really don’t understand why we should stop. Hamas says they want to be martyrs, and we are merely being good neighbors in finding them and obliging them to move onwards. Now leave us the fuck alone. Thank you.”

Corsair on December 31, 2008 at 1:11 PM

I was there in late September, just before the New Year. The company I work for is Isralei-owned and based in Tel Aviv and I wind up going at least once a year to work there for a week or so. This last time I decided to take some time to sightsee. Jaffa and Jerusalem were incredible. Bethlehem, aside from the area around Nativity, not so much.

They’ve leaned towards the arab world since I can remember.

DeathToMediaHacks on December 31, 2008 at 10:51 AM

Why not? Hitler and the Nazis were democratically elected and we didn’t have a problem taking them out. As far as “workable” goes, it’s war. It is what it is.

Guardian on December 31, 2008 at 2:07 PM

Regrettably, we have Bush to thank for the fact that Hamas was democratically elected. Israel was forced by the US to allow them to run in the election.

Actually, the Nazis were democratically elected but not into power – they achieved that by creating the “crisis” around the burning of the Reichstag, and then more-or-less forcing Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor.

These examples point to a basic flaw of democracy – that the election process can be used (and abused) by groups with no interest in democracy at all to gain a toehold in the halls of power. Their existence of parties is, in a very real sense, a perversion of democracy. Yet the system seems to demand that their perversion be permitted.

Something very wrong there.

Because whether or not you like it, whether or not the U.S. recognizes them and whether or not it confuses the hell out of you, Hamas is the elected government of the people in that region. They chose them. So if the goal is the destruction of Hamas, then the goal is the destruction of the society as a whole. And I just don’t think that’s workable.

DeathToMediaHacks on December 31, 2008 at 10:51 AM

Why not? Hitler and the Nazis were democratically elected and we didn’t have a problem taking them out. As far as “workable” goes, it’s war. It is what it is.

Oh brother…a 48-hour cease fire…Just enough time for Hamas to regroup and re-arm it’s rockets.

JetBoy on December 31, 2008 at 10:47 AM

More likely for the surviving leaders to find better places to hide.

Israel’s rejection of this gives me hope that they actually mean it when they say they will keep it up until Hamas’ spine of support is broken. Faint hope, but hope nonetheless.

The most absurd aspect of this story is that Israel actually gave it consideration.

What on earth does France have to do with any of this in the first place?

America gives Israel about five billion reasons to listen to us per year. So, for good or ill, we have some say-so over Israel’s behavior. But Israel owes nothing to France. And are the French even pretending that they have any kind of control whatsoever over Hamas?

There is no rational reason for France to propose anything. Basically, they just unilaterally appointed themselves the world’s “experts” on the best way for contries to resist foreign aggression.

Arrogance, thy name is France.

No kidding. I was in the West Bank earlier this year (on the way to Bethlehem), and the place was an absolute dump.

crazy_legs on December 31, 2008 at 11:48 AM

When were you there? I was there at the end of January/ early February. Made it to Jerusalem just after they had their MMGW caused snowstorm. You think the way to Bethlehem is bad, you should have headed over to Bethany. There is a huge difference whenever you cross the wall around Jerusalem. Its like crossing from San Diego into Tijuana. Most of the West Bank is in dire need of a good bath. Jericho and the Dead sea areas are not bad. Also the quality of life for the Muslims living inside the Israeli operated parts is much higher than those that chose to move to the Palestinian controlled ares.

kingsjester on December 31, 2008 at 10:52 AM

HA HA HH!!

Follow me boys… look it’s two-seated outhouse!

group, have fled to Egypt already through the tunnels. Israel needs to install some seismic activity monitors along the Gaza border with Egypt so they can monitor new digging activity. Just a thought.

0321_GUY on December 31, 2008 at 12:23 PM

A bunker buster works better.

So France wanted a unilateral cease-fire to negotiate how Israel could surrender. Typical.

Do. not. back. down. Israel.

rbj on December 31, 2008 at 10:39 AM

Fox news needs to get some French surrender experts to give commentary on this situation.

But I do think Hamas will be mortally eroded because they sing and dance to a Shia tune in the Sunni world. The Sunnis wont miss the tools of the 12th Imam gumming up their purer, more reliable methods and rewards of Jihad. The silly Shia want to leapfrog life right into paradise and leave behind the world of chaos that they must create to stir the Hidden One. (yes, they are very dangerous nut bars indeed)

There will be many crocodile tears all around.

Everytime a peace or cease fire is forced on warring parties by the U.N/Int. Community, the hard lessons are never learned.

France cannot forced a cease fire on Israel. The only country that has the power to do that is the United States. What will probably happen is that Olmert et al will agree to a self-imposed cease fire as they have before and almost did again.

As for the enemies of freedom, those who are potential adversaries, they will be reminded that peace is the highest aspiration of the American people. We will negotiate for it, sacrifice for it; we will not surrender for it—now or ever.

–Ronald Reagan

amerpundit on December 31, 2008 at 11:10 AM

Thank you for bringing up a wonderful quote from Ronald Reagan. How could I have forgotten this? I have over looked some things lately. I will kick myself. The words in that quote is so true.