Hamas knew the world would soon forget about the gruesome stories of terrorists raping Jewish women and killing babies as they prepared for the current conflict with Israel when they began by launching the legendary Oct. 7 murder, but rather they focused on Israel’s alleged war crimes as part of its effort to end the terrorist organization.
Which is upsetting given how Westerners perceive Hamas ‘ PR campaign.  ,
In an April 2 essay for The American Conservative titled,” The GOP’s Bibi- Support May Backfire”, Scott McConnell criticizes Republicans ‘ support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and praises Sen. Chuck Schumer’s subsequent criticism of the Hebrew state’s leader. McConnell’s content — which is just a proxy for all such arguments— unfortunately shows how many have come to accept the false view of Israel in public, and Netanyahu particularly, as bloodthirsty and murderous.  ,
McConnell attempts to show a contrast between the Palestinian Authority ( PA ) and Hamas, which controls the West Bank, while downplaying Israel’s hatred for Israel. He corrects that Hamas is a criminal organization, but he also sees the PA as a mild program that genuinely seeks peace but has allegedly been repeatedly harmed by Israel.  ,
According to him,” an accurate reading of the report shows that the blame does not [Palestinian leader Yasser ] Arafat and his successors entirely, contrary to Washington regular wisdom and Jewish advertising.”
What McConnell misses out on is that Arafat rejected a landmark peace agreement reached by then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak in 2000 that proposed establishing a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, giving the Palestinians control of Jerusalem, giving the improbable new Palestinian state control over Islamic holy sites, and granting Palestinian refugees$ 30 billion, according to the Jewish Virtual Library.  ,
Arafat rejected the generous agreement, which reportedly led to a shootout in the supposedly moderate Palestinians, as well as the establishment’s support for the Second Intifada, a destructive campaign that saw Palestinian terrorists cross the West Bank into Israel and carry out suicide bombings in Israeli public spaces. Tauss of Israelis and Palestinians were killed during the bloody campaign.
McConnell mentions a trip he took to the area where he met with PA officials who allegedly “recognized Israel’s strengths, admired its economic dynamism and freedoms, and were ready to make the best of the situation to improve the lives of their own people.” The PA is “formally and genuinely committed to non- violence”, he claims.  ,
Why, however, did PA President Mahmoud Abbas refuse to accept Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s peace offer in 2008, a deal comparable to what Barak had previously offered Arafat? Remember what he said to Abbas,” Remember what I said, there will be another Israeli prime minister who will offer you what I am now.” Do n’t miss this opportunity”. Yet Abbas, who had the chance to sign the deal and finally bring an end to the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, instead followed Arafat’s example and said “no” . ,
And what should we make of the fact that 85 % of Palestinians in the PA-controlled West Bank “voiced satisfaction with the role of Hamas in the]current ] war”? Where are all the moderates, and where is the supposed split between the bloodthirsty Hamas and the “peaceful, non- violent” PA?  ,
According to McConnell,” Israel is finding that you ca n’t kill ( sic ) tens of thousands of innocent civilians in the era of modern internet communications without being accused of genocide,” which “risks turning Israel into a kind of global pariah.”
McConnell ignores the fact that the Gaza Health Ministry, a group that consistently fudges the figures to make Israel appear to be the bad guy, is responsible for the frequently quoted statistic of 30, 000 Palestinian civilian deaths.  ,
A tragic result of almost every war, especially one that occurs in a dense urban setting like Gaza, which Hamas ‘ use of human shields has made worse. However, it is important to point out that Israel consistently reduces casualties in the military.  ,
It is difficult to see a viable course of action for Israel, according to McConnell, without a genuine political empowerment followed by a genuine statehood for the Palestinians. However, allowing the establishment of a Palestinian state as a result of the initial October 7 coup would be equivalent to allowing Germany to annex Belgium as a reward for the start of World War One.  ,
Consider the tragedy experienced by Israeli civilians, the enormous cost and effort put forth by Israel to extirpate Hamas, and the unwavering international pressure for a ceasefire. Then consider how much more severe all of those factors would be if Israel had to deal with a true sovereign state rather than just a terrorist organization.  ,
Palestinians have tragically shown a persuasion by rejecting Israeli peace offers and using violence to respond. Hamas is a death cult, and allowing even a small subset of the group to survive would make it susceptible to metastasis, clinging to life, and potentially provoking Hezbollah’s influence on other terrorist organizations in the area.  ,
Israel must end the terrorist organization, launch a relentless search for the remaining Hamas terrorists, and allow the critics to express their opinions.  ,
Elad Vaida is a writer living in Virginia.
