On December 19 Hamas announced that it was cancelling it adherence to the ceasefire with Israel.
Hamas did not wince, nor worry what the nations of the world would say.
Hamas did not care what Israel thought.
Hamas did not engage in tortuous introspection about the losses it might take from Israeli hits, or the losses it might take at the UN or other diplomatic forums.
There is precious little that Israel can learn from Hamas; in fact, absolutely nothing, except this: Ones own interests, not what someone else thinks of ones own interests, should determine behavior.
Hamas interests, of course, are murder and mayhem. Israels interests are diametrically opposed: peace and humanity. How doubly ironic, therefore, that Israel should worry about what the US, the EU, the UN and countless other nations and bodies would think of an Israeli attack on the self-declared murderers of Hamas.
Hamas proudly struts its calamitous intentions and snubs its nose at civilization. Israel seems ashamed, somehow, of defending itself against Hamas, and worries overmuch about what others might think of her.
A nations confidence in the rightness of her cause and of her policies is no small thing, neither for her own performance nor for how others do, in fact, appraise her. It has been made clear, a thousand times clear, that Hamas desires not peace with Israel, only the destruction of Israel. The message has been delivered with missiles and with declarations. It is time for Israel to stop sweating what the US or others might think of the only action able to close Hamas down: military action. All other tactics have been tried elections, diplomacy, patience, unilateral withdrawal from and gift of land, delivery of fuel and other supplies to prevent humanitarian crises, turning a blind eye to tunnels and the arms smuggling they facilitate, arming Hamas opponents. All these tactics have failed. In Gaza, it is time for Israel to take care of business, without wincing over possible, negative public opinion.
