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Letter: Outrageous claim on Israel, Palestinians

For the Monitor

Monday, December 10, 2012

Re “Correction, Hamas is the aggressor” (Monitor Opinion page, Nov. 26):

Hamas in Arabic means “zeal.” As its late spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin said, it’s an acronym for the Islamic Resistance Movement. Rabbi Robin Nafshi’s outrageous claim that the government of Ariel Sharon, who presided over the massacre of 3,500 Palestinians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps, wanted Gazans to exercise actual “control over their own destiny” is nonsense.

Sharon’s senior advisor Dov Weissglas, the architect of Israel’s duplicitous “disengagement” from Gaza, admitted that his plan was a ploy designed to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state. Israel’s 2005 military redeployment maintained its stranglehold over Gaza.

When Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh came into office in March 2006 Hamas had already both unilaterally and together with Israel observed a cease-fire for over a year. Nafshi’s statement that as soon as Hamas assumed the reins of government it “immediately began its daily rocket attacks on Israel” is untrue. Israel later broke the truce as it’s frequently done, like the incursion which took the life of 12-year-old Abu Ahmed Dagah, sparking the latest bloodletting. The Israeli army enters Gaza with impunity. It is unquestionably the aggressor causing immense devastation.

Palestinians have no defense against Israel’s sophisticated killing machine which it unleashes against civilians as the Goldstone Report proved.

Nafshi remains silent as Israel announces ever more illegal settlement construction on Palestinian land, destroying all hope for a just and lasting peace.

JOHN S. HANCOCK

Concord

ItsaRepublic wrote:
12/12/2012

No Hamas and the Palestinians are the aggresor, firing rockets into Israel. You seldom hear a word from Israel about "driving" Palestinians "into the sea". The Palestinians are responsible for their own situation, sorry, no apologies needed for the anti-social behavior of Hamas and their constituents.
FearlessLdr wrote:
11/12/2012

To ascertain the REAL objectives of Hamas, all one need do is to read their charter and review the recent speeches given by Hamas leaders on their parties 25th anniversary. In their own charter Hamas proclaims that all efforts toward peace are "vain and useless endeavours (Hamas Charter, Article XIII). In a recent speech Khaled Meshal vowed that Israelwill bewiped out through military action. See: www.nytimes.com/2012/12/09/world/middleeast/khaled-meshal-hamas-leader-delivers-defiant-speech-on-anniversary-celebration.html?_r=0. How do you negotiate with people who have vowed to wipe you off the map?
callerzxcv wrote:
10/12/2012

Granted people of Palestine it had a hard time of it. However if they really want peace how about not firing missiles into Israel? How about not allowing themselves to and their children to be used as human shields? Believe me I do not paint Israelis as all righteous do-gooders by any means. However, they have made some gestures toward peace with Palestine. The government of Palestine cannot rightfully say they want peace while simultaneously providing wink and nod to hostile aggressor forces within their borders waging war on a neighbor and using the Palestinians citizens as human shields.
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