Sorry, But There Can't Be
'Peace In The Middle East'
By LARRY ELDER
Posted 07/24/2014 06:06 PM ET
Secretary of State John Kerry is the latest to think the power
of his personal diplomacy can bring "peace to the Middle East."
But, once again, when one side publicly calls for the
destruction of the other, what is there to discuss?
Hamas, designated a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S.,
has governed the Palestinian territory of Gaza since they
defeated rival Fatah, the group that governs the West Bank.
Hamas, along with Hezbollah, Palestine Islamic Jihad, the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command
, Iraqi militant Shiite groups and other terror organizations,
is funded in part by Iran, whose leaders routinely call for the
destruction of the "fictitious" state of Israel.
Hamas' covenant calls for the destruction of Israel. The
preamble reads: "Israel will exist and will continue to exist
until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others
before it."
Article 3 describes the duty of all Muslims: "Fear Allah
and raise the banner of Jihad in the face of the oppressors."
Article 7 states: "The day of judgment will not come
about until Muslims fight Jews and kill them. Then, the Jews
will hide behind rocks and trees, and the rocks and trees will
cry out: 'O Muslim, there is a Jew hiding behind me; come and
kill him.'"
Article 11 clarifies their belief that "the land of
Palestine is an Islamic waif (holy possession) consecrated for
future Muslim generations until judgment day. No one can
renounce it or any part, or abandon it or any part of it."
Article 13 flatly states: "Palestine is an Islamic land.
... Since this is the case, the liberation of Palestine is an
individual duty for every Muslim wherever he may be."
It also says, "There is no solution for the Palestinian problem
except by jihad."
Goal: Destroy Israel
Any doubt about how committed Hamas is to Israel's destruction?
In 2006, a mother of six sons successfully ran for parliament in
Gaza under the Hamas party, billed as the "mother of the
struggle."
Three of Mariam Farahat's sons died in the so-called intifada,
or resistance against Israel. How pained is she over the loss
of her sons?
A Hamas recruitment video features Farahat showing her 17-year-
old son how to kill Israelis and telling him not to come back.
Mission accomplished. In 2002, that son murdered five Jewish students.
Another son was killed when the Israeli air force blew up his
vehicle, which was carrying Qassam rockets. Farahat celebrated
his death: "I am so proud. I wish I had more sons to offer."
How far Israel is willing to go for peace was demonstrated in
2000. During the waning months of the Clinton administration,
the president sought to finally achieve "peace in the Middle
East."
The prime minister of Israel, Ehud Barak, was perhaps the most
dovish PM in the history of Israel.
Bill Clinton, through his envoy Dennis Ross, pushed the two
sides into what even cynical observers called a crucial
breakthrough.
Barak offered the following: Israel would withdraw completely
from Gaza, surrender almost all of the West Bank and give the
Palestinians most of Arab East Jerusalem, which would be their
new capital.
Concessions Forever
Israel agreed to dismantle Jewish settlements to achieve those
objectives and would let a certain number of Palestinians
"return" to Israel, with additional compensation for
Palestinians not allowed to return.
In exchange, Yasser Arafat, the head of the Palestine Liberation
Organization, had to do one thing � renounce violence against
Israel and accept its right to exist as a Jewish state.
Arafat walked away and thus began the second intifada, a burst
of violence that left over 1,000 Israelis dead by 2005.
The late Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir famously said,
"Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children
more than they hate us." How deep is the hate?
In 1986, Nizar al-Hindawi, a Jordanian, and his pregnant Irish-
Catholic girlfriend made arrangements for marriage. They
discussed plans for an immediate flight from London's Heathrow
Airport to Tel Aviv, Israel, followed by a trip to Jordan for
the marriage ceremony and a honeymoon.
But Hindawi booked a separate flight for his pregnant fiancee,
explaining to her that � oops! � his employer had already paid
for him to travel to Israel on a later flight. He bought her a
ticket to Israel on El Al, giving her a wheeled suitcase to
use.
An alert Heathrow Airport El Al screening agent, suspicious of
an unmarried, visibly pregnant Irish woman traveling alone to
Israel for a vacation during Passover, ordered her luggage
searched.
Security discovered a false bottom in the suitcase � clearly
unknown to the pregnant girl � underneath which lay 3-1/2
pounds of the same type of plastic explosive later used to blow
up a Pan Am plane over Lockerbie, Scotland.
Prime Minister Meir also said this: "When peace comes we will
perhaps in time be able to forgive the Arabs for killing our
sons, but it will be harder for us to forgive them for having
forced us to kill their sons."
