While Israel
is being chastised by many in the international community for their defensive
war against Hamas terrorists, there is an unusual deafening silence emanating
from the Arab world. This silence can be
construed as a major defeat for Hamas in particular and for Turkey
and Qatar in
general.
In years past, every time Hamas had attacked Israel ,
the Arab world had always publicly backed Hamas and denounced Israel . Fast forward to 2014…Jordan ,
Saudi Arabia ,
the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt
have given tacit support to Israel ’s
military campaign against Hamas.
Unfortunately, Turkey ’s
current Islamist government led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the
Qatari’s still support Hamas in their terrorist activities.
This tacit approval given to Israel
by Arab countries has to be on the minds of the Hezbollah terrorist leadership
as well. In 2006, much of the Arab world
considered Hezbollah a legitimate resistance movement, but things have changed
dramatically over the last 8 years. Iran ’s
support of Hezbollah and Hezbollah’s military support of Syrian President Assad
has created a backlash from the Arab world.
It has been reported that Hezbollah had considered joining the fight
against Israel
in an effort to take some of the heat off of Hamas, but I think that is
unlikely at this point.
In past conflicts between Israel
and Hamas, Arab leaders would always pressure the American president to
persuade Israel
to stop their military activities.
Today, we have an American president and Secretary of State demanding that
Israel halt their
military advance, while Arab leaders stay silent on the sidelines. In an odd twist, Egyptian President Sisi has
become more of an ally to Israel
than Barack Obama has been.
The following is an English translation of the Hebrew
account of the talk given in the report:
Barack Obama: I demand that Israel
agrees to an immediate, unilateral ceasefire and halt all offensive activities,
in particular airstrikes.
Benjamin Netanyahu: And what will Israel
receive in exchange for a ceasefire?
BO: I believe that Hamas will cease its rocket fire — silence
will be met with silence.
BN: Hamas broke all five previous ceasefires. It’s a
terrorist organization dedicated to the destruction of Israel .
BO: I repeat and expect Israel
to stop all its military activities unilaterally. The pictures of destruction
in Gaza distance the world from Israel ’s
position.
BN: Kerry’s proposal was completely unrealistic and gives
Hamas military and diplomatic advantages.
BO: Within a week of the end of Israel ’s
military activities, Qatar
and Turkey will
begin negotiations with Hamas based on the 2012 understandings, including Israel ’s
commitment to removing the siege restrictions on Gaza .
BN: Qatar
and Turkey are
the biggest supporters of Hamas. It’s impossible to rely on them to be fair
mediators.
BO: I trust Qatar
and Turkey . Israel
is not in the position that it can choose its mediators.
BN: I protest because Hamas can continue to launch rockets
and use tunnels for terror attacks –
BO: (interrupting Netanyahu) The ball’s in Israel ’s
court, and it must end all its military activities.
Many leaders in the Arab world see Hamas as a destructive
force in an already hostile region and their tacit support for Israel ’s
military campaign is a victory. It may
be a quiet victory, but it’s a victory nonetheless. Do I think the Muslim sheiks and kings of the
Middle East will join hands with the Israelis and sing Kumbaya? Absolutely not, but the behind the scenes
support of Arab leaders can change the equation on any future conflicts between
Israel and
Hamas or even Israel
and Hezbollah. If we can just get Barack
Obama and John Kerry on board, then Hamas might realize the folly of their continued
missile attacks on Israeli citizens.
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