It’s amazing—or probably not, having been analyzing media reports on Israel for years—that the media simply cannot come out and say that the attack by Hamas on the Kerem Shalom border crossing yesterday proves that Hamas is utterly uninterested in peace—or even a real truce—with Israel. But the AP can’t possibly say that, because publishing the truth would somehow indicate “bias”—or perhaps because by portraying Hamas as an unrepentent terrorist organization, it wouldn’t fit the narrative of Israel as aggressor and the Palestinians as victims whose only options are suicide bombings and “crude, homemade” rocket attacks on Israel. This, of course, is in spite of the fact that the jeeps and APC used in yesterday’s attacks are the ones captured by Hamas after they battled Fatah for control of Gaza. And yesterday’s attack is a good example of what will happen to the Russian armored vehicles that Mahmoud Abbas claims he needs in order to defeat Hamas. (If it weren’t for all the murders during last year’s internecine war and since, I’d be on the side of those who think the entire “war” was staged between leaders so that Hamas could carry on with terrorism while Abbas could try to win as many concessions out of Israel and the West as possible with clean hands.)
The AP insists on including the so-called peace talks with Jimmy Carter in every article about the attacks. For instance:
The bombing at the Kerem Shalom crossing was the fifth attack on Israelis at Gaza passages since last week, and came just hours before the start of the weeklong Jewish Passover holiday.
Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack, and one of its leaders, Sami Abu Zuhri, said the group would carry out more attacks on crossings to break the nearly yearlong blockade of the territory.
“These operations are the beginning of the explosions that Hamas has warned of,” said Abu Zuhri. “If the parties don’t intervene quickly to save Gaza and break the siege, what is coming will be greater.”
Pretty strong language, right? Hamas is pretty damned clear that they are not thinking of a truce at all. In fact, they state pretty emphatically that war is coming if Israel does not accede to Hamas demands. So what’s the next graf?
Despite the attacks, Hamas claims it’s ready to reach a truce with Israel on the Gaza border, and Egypt has tried to broker such a deal. Former President Jimmy Carter, in defiance of U.S. policy, has been meeting with Hamas leaders in recent days in the West Bank and Syria to hear the views of the group.
Someone at the AP apparently tried to slip in an explanation of these jaw-droppingly stupid “Hamas wants peace” claims.
Despite such attacks, Hamas has said it seeks a truce on the Gaza-Israel border, and Egypt has been trying to broker such a deal. Hamas’ motives for its ostensibly contradictory actions were not clear.
That link will break. This one may not. But that sentence disappeared quickly. Even the weasel-worded preface of “ostensibly”—as if anyone over the age of six can’t tell that sending out suicide bombers to kill and capture soldiers, threatening to invade a sovereign nation by breaking through that nation’s border fence, and trying to kill soldiers and civilians on a daily are all acts of war, not peace—was too strong for the AP’s editorial staff. No, you can’t state that Hamas doesn’t really want peace, in spite of their constant proof to the contrary. And you certainly can’t let the yokels who read your stories in the “World” section of their local newspapers know that Hamas is a terrorist group with a charter that calls for the end of Jews in Israel:
Our struggle against the Jews is very great and very serious. It needs all sincere efforts. It is a step that inevitably should be followed by other steps. The Movement is but one squadron that should be supported by more and more squadrons from this vast Arab and Islamic world, until the enemy is vanquished and Allah’s victory is realised.
You will note that the charter does not say “Israelis.” It says “Jews.”
This is the group that Jimmy Carter spoke to over the weekend. On the eve of Passover, Carter chose to talk to the enemies of Jews. The timing alone of this trip speaks volumes. The fact that Carter refuses to acknowledge what Hamas has stated openly, over and over again—that they will never truly seek peace with Israel—also speaks volumes about Carter.
Another act of silence speaks volumes about Carter, as well. He is being utterly dishonest about the results of his talks with Hamas. They have outright refused to stop firing rockets at Israeli civilians, and yet, Carter has not publicly acknowledged Hamas’ intransigence. It’s leaking out via sources.
In Damascus, former President Jimmy Carter met with senior Hamas leaders on Friday and Saturday, defying U.S. and Israeli warnings that doing so would grant the group legitimacy. Hamas officials said Gaza’s closure and a possible Israel-Hamas prisoner swap were discussed. They said the group did not respond to Carter’s request that it halt rocket fire on Israeli border towns or that it agree to talk to Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Eli Yishak about a prisoner exchange.
The lies are coming out again. We have yet another series of articles on how Hamas is ready to agree to a comprehensive truce. You know, the ones we’ve seen about fifteen times before. This time, though, they really mean it.
An aide to Mr Meshaal, speaking from the Hamas politburo’s base in the Syrian capital, Damascus, said he would tacitly approve a series of proposals aimed at a truce with Israel, put forward by former US president Jimmy Carter during two controversial meetings last week.
The moves stopped short of Hamas dropping its refusal to recognise Israel’s existence — which has in turn led successive Israeli governments to refuse to talk. However, Mr Meshaal was expected to announce significant progress on brokered negotiations about a prisoner exchange.
Hamas was also expected to drop its opposition to troubled peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority led by its President, Mahmoud Abbas, who runs the West Bank.
Yeah. We believe it this time, too. Because it’s come true so many times in the past.
Funny. If Carter had achieved what he set out to achieve, why has he held no press conferences bragging about the new state of peace in the Middle East? Why does he not have a beaming Khaled Meshaal standing beside him on the podium as they announce that Hamas is ready to negotiate in good faith with Israel? And where are the press releases stating that Hamas will cease firing rockets at Sderot children on their way to school in the morning?
Carter has achieved only one thing, and one thing only: He has legitimized Hamas in their eyes, in the eyes of the Arab and Muslim world, and has opened the door for others to say that they will now meet with the terrorists, because Jimmy Carter, ex-president of the United States, met with them.
I would say “Shame on Carter,” but it’s clear the man has lost all sense of shame. Time to hang it up and stay home, Jimmy.
I, for one, am stunned to learn that there’s a writer at the AP who knows what the word ‘ostensibly’ means: the asinine aren’t known for their vocabulary.