Dorothy S. McClellan

CONFLICT BETWEEN THE WEST

HUMANE DEMOCRACIES AND BARBARISM

The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas fired dozens of rockets at targets in Israel early on Saturday, October 7, 2023, triggering warning sirens in several cities across the state of Israel, as Israel celebrated the religious holiday of Simhat Tora (Joy of the Torah).

When the terrorist group Hamas invaded the State of Israel, they had an explicit plan to kill or kidnap children, women, and the elderly. For anyone kidnapped and taken back to the Gaza Strip, the terrorists were promised $10,000 and an apartment.

The brutal attacks on Israel have violated the values shared by the entire civilized world:  freedom, peace, democracy and the protection of fundamental human rights.The Croatian state stands in solidarity with Israel, said Croatian Parliament Speaker Goran Jandroković, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel. This anniversary takes place under circumstances of inhuman and cruel crimes committed by Hamas against Israeli civilians, including the elderly, women, and children. Due to such a terrorist act and frightening circumstances, Croatia expresses strong solidarity with the Israeli people and the State of Israel.  With strong condemnation of Hamas crimes and support for Israel in the fight for freedom and survival, the Speaker of Parliament recalled the bloody path by which Croatia gained independence.The Croatian people, who fought hard and arduously for their own freedom, remember very well who their true friends were along the way, he said.Therefore, at a time when friendly Israel needs solidarity, help and support, Croatia will provide it clearly and unequivocally, he promised.

The University of Mostar (SUM) also offered full support to its academic partners in Israel and condemned the terrorist attack against the State of Israel and its citizens.  At the same time, the Croatian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, through their political representative Dragan Čović, gave support and stood with the Israeli people.

The U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for an "immediate, permanent and sustainable humanitarian ceasefire" in Gaza. But since the document did not condemn Hamas, there were 14 countries against it, including Croatia.

The document, drawn up under the sponsorship of Jordan and Arab countries, was put to a vote in an extraordinary session of the U.N. General Assembly to discuss the nearly three-week war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, which began after the Hamas terrorist group's brutal attack on Israeli civilians on October 7. The document condemns all crimes against Israeli and Palestinian civilians and calls for an "immediate, permanent and sustainable humanitarian ceasefire leading to the cessation of hostilities" and demands the "unhindered provision of essential goods and services" to Gaza.

A two-thirds majority was required to pass the resolution. However, since the document did not mention Hamas as a terrorist organization by name, nor did it condemn its crimes against Israeli civilians, the adoption was vehemently opposed by the United States, Israel, Croatia, Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and a few other countries.

In the end, 120 countries voted in favor, including France and Belgium, 14 against, and 45 abstained along with the UNITED KINGDOM.

Shame on you.  This is a dark day for the UN and humanity. This ridiculous resolution has the nerve to call for a truce. Its goal is for Israel to stop defending itself against Hamas so that it can set us on fire alive, Israel's U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan said. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the document gave legitimacy to Hamas' brutality.

Hamas has held children as young as 9 months and individuals over 80 hostage for more than a month.  The pause in the war between Israel and Hamas has brought freedom to several Israeli hostages held by Hamas terrorists, but also the freedom of over a hundred Palestinians who have been released from Israeli prisons. Israel handed over three convicted terrorists for one of its kidnap victims.  Three terrorists for one innocent civilian.

The exchange of detainees clearly illustrates a situation in which on the one hand, we have Israel where an entire nation is in trauma waiting for kidnap victims to return, caring for every life. On the other hand, we have terrorists who are often sent by their parents to kill, wound, or kidnap Jews. There is a visible cult of death that is Hamas, against which we have the culture of life that reigns in Israel. It is a conflict between Western humane and humanistic democracy, on the one hand, and barbarism on the other.

It seems that the pause in fighting will not last long, allegedly a maximum of ten days after which they could have a total escalation of the conflict and the resumption of Israeli military operations throughout the Gaza area.

The neutralization of Hamas cannot end in just half of Gaza. If Israel wants to completely neutralize Hamas, Israel must go all the way.  It must defeat Hamas.

Although at the beginning of the conflict, Hamas-backed Arab countries threatened to jump directly into the conflict and support terrorist actions, this did not happen. The question is why haven’t they?

Syria cannot because it is exhausted from its own civil war.  Jordan and Egypt have internal economic and political struggles, as well. Iran has determined that it would not be wise at this time to get involved because it would very likely risk losing its oil resources. This demonstrates that these Arab and Islamic regimes only use the Palestinians and that they actually have no regard for these people.  As for refugees, it is certain that over a million and a half people will be compressed into an area smaller than the city of Split.  There is no political will in the Arab world to help the Palestinians.  Instead, they are willing to wait and let Israel defeat Hamas.  Although Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Turkey are large nations territorially and by population, none of them have offered to accept even a single Palestinian into their countries.

It is good to note that today's inhabitants of Palestine are Sunnis, therefore they belong to the religious worldview of Saudi Arabia. Although it can be heard that Hamas is entirely financed by Iran, which is by religion contrary to being Shia, the real truth is that the financing comes from Hamas’ production facilities, which are mostly located in Saudi Arabia and Turkey.  Other private support funds come from Switzerland, Iran, and the U.S.

The Charter of Hamas, which was translated into English in 1988, clearly states that their enemy is not Israel but the Jewish people, that the goal is to destroy the Jews and their state, and that the only way to do this is through jihad. So here we see at work a political-religious cult of death that takes advantage of the misfortune of millions of people. The truth is that there are hundreds of thousands of Palestinians living in Gaza who are used by Hamas and other Islamist groups to achieve their goals, and who have been used in the past by other Arab actors in the Middle East to politically discredit Israel.

The day the terrorists brutally and sadistically attacked Jewish settlements, it should have been clear to everyone in the world who Hamas is and what radical Palestinian jihadists are. After Israel, on the basis of the right to self-defense, entered the Gaza Strip with the military to destroy the terrorist group Hamas, it was revealed that they were correct in saying that terrorists were located and hidden almost exclusively under civilian facilities such as hospitals, schools, kindergartens, mosques, and family residences. The Gaza Strip is intersected by hundreds of kilometers of tunnels used for the movement of terrorists and for weapons production.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, along with counterparts from Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia, and Malaysia said, We are here to make a clear statement that a pause is not enough. What is needed is a ceasefire.

Should Israel accept that?  Israel must do everything it can to make certain that Hamas will no longer return to power in Palestine at the end of the war. Therefore, a ceasefire should only be accepted if the Palestinian people and the countries that support it renounce the terrorist organization Hamas and accept the principles of Western democracy.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv today for talks with Israeli leaders. On the eve of the visit, visibly pleased, Blinken said the goal of the trip wasto extend the pause in fighting that is set to expire. This is a clear sign that a ceasefire is not being considered.  It is also a response to Hamas and all others who support terrorism that there will be no more manipulation, and that barbarism and cruelty should be punished.