by Kenneth Meshoe
Those who are
condemning Israel for the loss of innocent lives in Gaza should redirect
their condemnation to Hamas that is using women and children as human
shields. Israel should instead be getting moral support from
peace-loving citizens of the world.
Israel should also be
receiving help from democratic and free counties of the world as they
are trying to protect their people and territory from the onslaught of
Hamas that has vowed to wipe Israel from the face of the earth. The
skewed outpouring of sympathy toward an organization that does not value
the lives of either Palestinians or Jews fails all reasonable logic.
Why does the
international community not demand that Hamas accept Israel's right to
exist within safe and secure borders? Why does the international
community not help Israel destroy all the tunnels that Hamas has built
to smuggle weapons and terrorists into Israel? Would these same
countries that are condemning Israel for destroying these tunnels in
Gaza allow similar tunnels to be dug under their borders as free and
unrestricted passage for terrorists to smuggle weapons that would be
used to kill and maim innocent civilians? The appalling treatment and
condemnation of Israel by countries that claim to be democratic is
shocking, and is tantamount to justifying the aggression of those who
want to annihilate Israel.
Therefore, the
political organization in South Africa of which I am the president, the
African Christian Democratic Party, supports the right of Israel to
exist within safe and secure borders, and to enjoy the inalienable right
to self-defense. We reject attempts by some nations and international
organizations to question Israel's right to defend itself against
terrorist attacks, including rockets and missiles that continue to be
fired by Hamas into Israel.
The ACDP believes that
Israel has a moral obligation to protect all its citizens, particularly
the elderly, women and children, from danger and all forms of external
threats to their existence. We further believe that Israel's right to
self-defense is in accordance with commonly accepted principles of
international law.
War is a terrible thing
and the ACDP is grieved by the loss of life and terrible anguish
families on both sides of the conflict are facing at this time. We
regret the fact that some nations have chosen to condemn Israel only,
conveniently ignoring the fact that Israel responded with air raids only
after enduring a week of constant firing of rockets by Hamas into
Israel.
The ACDP has supported
calls by world leaders who have urged Hamas to accept a cease-fire and
stop firing rockets into Israel. We were delighted to hear reports that
even Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby urged Hamas to accept an Egyptian
proposal to end the fighting that it had turned down a few weeks ago.
We believe that the
ultimate solution to the Middle East crisis will be in a two-state
negotiated settlement; the State of Israel and a State of Palestine
living peacefully next to each other as sovereign states.
The ACDP calls on the
international community to pressure Hamas to accept Israel's right to
exist within safe and secure borders, and to do everything possible,
including acting impartially, deliberately and quickly to ensure lasting
peace in the Middle East.
Kenneth Meshoe is a
member of the South African parliament representing the African
Christian Democratic Party and a member of the board of the
International Christian Embassy Jerusalem.
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=9433
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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