The irony is Israel is the only Western-style democracy in the Middle East, with a respect for human life lacking in many Arab countries
David Cameron is pressing even harder than President Obama more for Israel to cede land to the Fatah-Hamas government in the Palestinian Authority, which governs the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank.
Cameron, who recently withdrew his patronage from the Zionist Jewish National Fund charity, has been taking an increasingly hostile line with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But Number Ten’s stance in dismantling Israeli settlements is not only futile – since Mr Netanyahu is right to argue that it would make Israel’s borders almost indefensible – but a boon to terrorists.
The Fatah-Hamas government in Gaza is dedicated to the destruction of Israel. Palestinians see East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state, which would deprive Jews of the right to worship at their holiest shrines. Yet in the 1995, the US tacitly recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
The Palestinians have not only refused to countenance any plan to share Jerusalem, but, though the left-leaning and pro-Arab British media declines to report anti-Israeli remarks made by the terrorist supporting Fatah-Hamas leadership, it is quite clear in dispatches from Gaza that the Palestinian authority has one goal: the total destruction of Israel.
One Hamas minister told Palestinian television that the ‘Jews are the most despicable and contemptible nation to crawl on the face of the earth… Allah will kill the Jews.’ Hamas MP and influential cleric Yunis Al-Assal added, ’The Jews were brought to Palestine for “the Great Massacre” … The Palestinians will have the honour of annihilating this evil gang.’
The sad irony is that Israel is the only Western-style democracy in the Middle East, with an essential respect for human life lacking in many Arab countries. Here is a statement made by Netanyahu that was NOT reported by the British media. ‘Of the 300 million Arabs in the Middle East and North Africa, only Israel’s Arab citizens enjoy real democratic rights… Think about that. Of those 300 million Arabs, less than one-half of one percent are truly free, and they are all citizens of Israel. This startling fact reveals a basic truth; Israel is not what is wrong with the Middle East. Israel is what is right about the Middle East..’
One doesn’t not have to be a Zionist to see there is more than a grain of truth in this. The West needs a strong Israel more than ever. When are we going to come to our senses? Yet, the United Kingdom, is becoming increasingly ant-Semitic. West Dunbartonshire council in Scotland, has taken the startling decision to ban all books produced and printed in Israel from its libraries, and has called for neighbouring councils to follow suit.
Given that West Dunbartonshire has no Arab population to appease, this is frightening. With the growing terrorist backlash following the killing of Osama Bin Laden, the West needs a strong Israel more than ever. When will we come to our senses, or will anti-Semitism soon become ‘acceptable dinner party conversation’ in London salons? Have we already reached that point? I shall have more to say on this subject next week.