Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu received a phone call from President Obama yesterday and from the White House read out of the call it couldn’t have been pleasant.
President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke again today by phone about the situation in Gaza. The President underscored the United States’ strong condemnation of Hamas’ rocket and tunnel attacks against Israel and reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself. The President also reiterated the United States’ serious and growing concern about the rising number of Palestinian civilian deaths and the loss of Israeli lives, as well as the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Building on Secretary Kerry’s efforts, the President made clear the strategic imperative of instituting an immediate, unconditional humanitarian ceasefire that ends hostilities now and leads to a permanent cessation of hostilities based on the November 2012 ceasefire agreement. The President reaffirmed the United States’ support for Egypt’s initiative, as well as regional and international coordination to end hostilities. The President underscored the enduring importance of ensuring Israel’s security, protecting civilians, alleviating Gaza’s humanitarian crisis, and enacting a sustainable ceasefire that both allows Palestinians in Gaza to lead normal lives and addresses Gaza’s long-term development and economic needs, while strengthening the Palestinian Authority. The President stressed the U.S. view that, ultimately, any lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must ensure the disarmament of terrorist groups and the demilitarization of Gaza.
The civilian deaths are horrible Israel acknowledges that. Why won’t President Obama acknowledge that Hamas is using it citizens as human shields? Why wont he acknowledge that many of those “civilian” casualties are actually 16 and 17 year old boys used by Hamas as warriors either to attack Israel or to guard the tunnels. Israel has accepted five cease-fires, why wont Obama acknowledge that Hamas has refused or broken each and every one.
What exactly would Obama have Israel do just drop its weapons in the light of being attacked? Say shoot rockets all you want, we are not going to try to destroy your weapons. Should Israel reduce the “embargo?” She already allows food, medicine and other staples into Gaza. Should she allow construction goods such as concrete into the area knowing that the concrete they have allowed in so far was used to build a network of underground tunnels, a virtual underground city made from concrete allowed in for “humanitarian” purposes? Should Egypt allow Hamas to once again use the tunnels in the Sinai to “import rockets?”
Yes the civilian casualties are horrible. And no one feels worse about it than Israel. But why wont Obama acknowledge that the civilian causalities are part of the Hamas strategy. And every time he talks about the casualties without mentioning the use of human shields he is encouraging that strategy to continue.
This President who has led from behind and has capitulated to terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan, who in his efforts have placed the desire to have a treaty above all else has conceded the security needs of the United States to Iran and to Russia, expects Israel to do the same.
Except Israel does not have the same margin of error as the United States. The U.S can withstand eight years of of appeasement, allowing terrorism to suckle at the teat of of Obama’s lack of resolve. Israel cannot withstand eight minutes of appeasement. And nothing that Obama can say or do will change that.
Why can’t Barack Obama acknowledge the truth that so many Israeli leaders have pointed out:
“If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence. If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel’”
President Obama’s message to Netanyahu yesterday was nothing short of telling Israel to shut up and die.
Cross posted at The Lid.