And not to put too fine a point on it, but Canada's National Post, in an editorial entitled "Palestinian self-destruction," makes many of the same points, and more.
On Saturday, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned Israel for "excessive and disproportionate" use of force. We reject that censure of Israeli actions, as should leaders of all civilized nations. No nation on Earth would sit back passively as a neighbouring territory bombarded its cities with rockets.
It is true that the Palestinians have suffered the bulk of the casualties in the ensuing counterterrorism operations. But such arithmetic does not change the moral calculus: It is not Israel's fault that the Palestinians choose to keep reigniting a lopsided and unwinnable war. Moreover, so long as Palestinians maintain the inhumane and terroristic practise of launching their rockets from civilian areas, Israel is blameless -- under both the letter and spirit of international law -- for the fact that some civilians die alongside the jihadis who deploy among them.
The situation of the Palestinians is a gruesome tragedy. But insofar as post-occupation Gaza is concerned, it is entirely self-inflicted. When Hamas, or whoever else takes over Gaza in coming years, decides to stop using the Palestinian people as one collective suicide bomber, they will find a willing peace partner in Israel. Until then, the Palestinian blood that flows won't stain Israeli hands.
The National Post gets it. Please read - and link - the whole thing.
