For the record, I think it’s a bad thing to do. Periodically there’s a bit in the news about some guy (usually drunk) who hops the fence at the zoo to taunt the bears or who think it’s cool to mess with the chained up doberman. In either case the results are the same – the drunk gets his face handed to him on a bloody claw.
Could it be that Hamas is learning that lesson? Aggie at Bloodthirsty Liberal links to a Ha’aretz piece that suggests Israel is playing the part of the doberman:
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Sunday rejected an offer by a Russian envoy to contact Hamas via Russia in order to reach a cease-fire with the Palestinian militant group in Gaza.
“We are serious in our intention to harm Hamas and we have no intention to [legitimize them] and pass messages on to them. We have nothing to discuss with Hamas,” Livni told Alexander Saltanov, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s special envoy to the Middle East.
The things that amazes me is not the ferocity of Israel’s attack into Gaza, but that Israel has shown such restraint up to this point. Hamas lobs missiles into the cities of southern Israel and the world is stunned that Israel gets mad?
January 8th, 2009 21:28 pm
I have mixed feelings about the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. When Abraham chose to father Ishmael, he sort of shot Isaac’s descendants in the foot. And, God promised to care for Ishmael’s descendants, too. HOWEVER, I agree that Israel most certainly has a right to defend itself, and has indeed shown much restraint. I can’t get out of my mind the pictures of Israeli architecture within missile’s reach of the Gaza strip; literal tents of thick steel protect elementary schools so the kids won’t die. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6977346.stm That just don’t seem right…
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