Reuven Brenner
Real Clear Markets, Dec. 18, 2023
“Five principles guide our approach for post-conflict Gaza: no forcible displacement, no reoccupation, no siege or blockade, no reduction in territory and no use of Gaza as a platform for terrorism.” Nice, but irrelevant.”
In her recent stop in Dubai, Vice President Kamala Harris outlined five principles for post-war Gaza, following emphases on Palestinian civilian casualties. True, she gave passing lip service to the terrorist attacks of October 7 that started the war and the casualties, though without emphasizing the difference: That civilian casualties on October 7 were by design, whereas in Gaza casualties to Israel’s actions were a consequence of the war – that Hamas could have avoided.
I must guess that the Vice President never read President Harry Truman’s letter of August 11, 1945, responding to Mr. Samuel Cavert, the General Secretary of the Federal Churches of Christ in America, reprinted below:
Replace “Israel” for the “United States” and “Hamas” (or Hezbollah, ISIS, or any other Islamist group) for “Japan” – and President Truman’s points stay as valid now as then, without changing one word. This letter may also help closing debates about “proportionality.”
One difference between the situation Truman faced then and Israel now is that Japan was a “state” with whom the United States could negotiate with and hold responsible and accountable for respecting treaties signed. “Gaza” is not a state, and Hamas is just one of a number of armed units operating within the territory. Although countries around the world have recognized “Palestine” as a “state” – on paper – it is not a state either. It does not have a government willing and able to disarm the many armed cells even in the West Bank, never mind disarming Hamas and other armed units. … [To read the full article, click here]