By Micah Halpern
Column:
The kidnapping and brutal murder of three teenage boys in Israel by
Hamas terrorists has been a devastating experience for Israel and for
many Jews around the world. Talk of the boys, well wishes and prayers,
worry and concern united all Israelis across the often divisive
political, religious, economic and ideological spectrum that is Israel.
The mothers of the boys became symbols of strength in the face of
unspeakable adversity. Now that the mutilated bodies of three teenage
boys have been found, a new chapter emerges.
As devastating as it was, however, the kidnapping has allowed Israel a
great advantage in the battle with Hamas. Israel can now take actions,
almost without limitations, against Hamas, the enemy that publicly and
vociferously swears to destroy them - the people and the state. And
Israel will try to destroy Hamas.
Kidnapping civilians, especially school children, is way beyond the
pale. It is a violation that can be viewed in only one way -- it is an
act of terror.
It is not surprising, therefore, that the Western world did not
question Israel's activities against Hamas in their crusade to find the
boys. They understood that Israel was taking advantage of the situation
and slowly rooting out the infrastructure of Hamas and they understood
why.
Israel is not traditionally the recipient of world support for their
activities and actions in the region in general and, more specifically,
against the Palestinian Authority. And remember, only weeks before the
kidnapping the PA and Hamas signed an agreement to form a unity
government. So why were things different this time around?
Primarily, because kidnapping boys is taboo. Following that, because
despite the veneer of harmony and unity, Hamas is still and always will
be a radical Islamic group. Western leaders are seeing and feeling the
encroaching dangers of radical Islam in more and more ways and they are
powerless to confront it. They see it most strongly in al Qaeda, in Iraq
and in Syria. And so far Israel, which bears the brunt of the danger,
has exercised great restraint. Even now, in their concerted effort to
hunt down and destroy Hamas, they have kept the violence down and even
their arrests have been extremely specific and targeted.
It will take time, but everyone responsible for the murders will be
found. The process must be slow in order to be methodical. It is an
intelligence operation. Israel is getting at Hamas and its
organizational structure not just in and around Hebron, where the bodies
were found, but in Bethlehem and Ramallah, as well.
Israel has seized hundreds if not thousands of computers from Hamas.
And in those computers resides the infrastructure of the organization.
The unity government brought Hamas out into the open in the West Bank.
And that meant that they dropped their guard concerning the secrecy of
their organization. It is all in their computers. And now those hard
drives and contacts are being used to track down senior and less senior
members of the terrorist organization. The web of groups is being
dismantled.
And with that will come the continued capture and arrest of
Hamas members.
In response, Hamas has once again pledged 'to rain down hell on
Israel,' according to their spokesman Sami Abu Zurhi. But the Israeli
government is not the only government that Hamas wants to bring down and
destroy.
Hamas has an objective. Hamas has already set its machinery in
motion to topple its new unity partner, the PA, and conquer the hearts
and minds of the youth of the West Bank. They want to take over the
West Bank and oust the Palestinian Authority.
Israel is not destroying Hamas to support Abbas. Not at all ...
although that is a byproduct of Israel's actions. They are striking
down Hamas to better secure Israel. Abbas has known all along that
Hamas was behind the kidnappings, but publicly, he was asking for proof.
TV stations within the Palestinian Authority did not cover the news
that the boys' were bodies were discovered. Palestinians watched that
on Al Jazeera.
The vision Hamas has of one day usurping control of the West Bank
from Fatah and the Palestinian Authority slips further and further away
with every passing day as they continue to be squeezed by Israel.
Israel will stop only when their objective has been achieved.
Micah@MicahHalpern.com
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