Hamas Declares Victory

Hamas said it won the war and forced Israel to retreat because it couldn't wipe out Hamas. 

It agree to a three-day ceasefire that was supposed to end this installment of the on-going Israel-Gaza wars but when Israel refused to surrender to its demands, the terrorist group let the pause expire and resumed firing rockets and mortars into Israel.  Naturally, the renewed violence was all Israel's fault, a Hamas spokesman said, because the Zionists wouldn't meet Hamas's conditions.  

During the three day pause – and there may be another one coming up this week – Hamas leaders poked their heads out of their bunkers — for their own exclusive use, ordinary folks were banned — to declare another glorious victory as Israeli tanks pulled out. Victory for them is defined by a single world:  breathing.  Israel failed to destroy them, so they won. 

They know they can't afford many such victories but are counting on a gullible population of human shields to cheer for them and show up the next time they're needed. And a gullible international community fretting over lopsided casualty tolls because it is willing to ignore which side protects its civilian population and which hides behind them.

What have Hamas and its allies achieved?  They seemed to have won a lot of sympathy around the world, judging by demonstrations protesting the civilian casualty toll, which captured documents reveal was an integral part of their battle plan. They also tapped into a well of anti-Semitism in Europe and took glee in its gushers.  

Full of bravado as they left others to clean up their mess, Hamas leaders went to Cairo for ceasefire talks with a totally unrealistic wish list of demands, which include opening an airport and harbor, opening borders with Egypt and Israel, ending restrictions on travel, and end to the occupation and generous international reconstruction aid.

They also want cement to rebuild, and if this time is anything like the last the cement will be poured, hundreds of tons of it, into building tunnels under the Israeli border to infiltrate terrorists. 

The Hamas political leadership sat out the war safely in their hotel rooms and apartments hundreds of miles away as they let others do the fighting and dying on their behalf.  

One senior Hamas official said the group would not "even listen" to any Israeli demands because the Jews lost the war.  "Israel accepted the truce and withdrawal of its occupation forces from Gaza because they reached a dead-end," he said.

Another militant leader was quoted in the same article rejecting any talk of disarmament or prohibition on rebuilding tunnels and missiles.  "Discussing it is not even acceptable," said Islamic Jihad's Ziyad Nakhala.  Palestine is "under occupation, which gives us the right to use all legitimate means of resistance," the Islamist terrorist said.

And they wonder why they're called terrorists.

About the Author
Douglas M. Bloomfield is a syndicated columnist, Washington lobbyist and consultant. He spent nine years as the legislative director and chief lobbyist for AIPAC.
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