Egypt Holds Israel's Robe

As Israel continues to pound Gaza, sides have been chosen around the globe, many claiming that Israel's response to continued rocket attacks from Hamas has been "disproportionate". Egypt, however, is not among such critics. The countries leaders have been engaged in a war of words with Hamas and have explicitly condemned the terror group for their complicity in the civilian casualties.

In an interview with an Egyptian television channel, Muhammad Bassiouny, the head of the parliament's foreign affairs and defense committee had this to say:

"Where are the Hamas leaders now, when the residents of Gaza are getting killed? All of Hamas's leadership is in bunkers."

Strong words, to be sure. And Egypt is not the only ally - albeit in spirit mostly - of the Palestinians; an Iranian newspaper had this to say (from PoliGazette.com):

Hamas’ decision to hide its militants in hospitals and mosques would undoubtedly lead to more civilian casualties because Israel cannot be expected to refrain from attacking Hamas because its members are hiding behind a human shield: these deaths are the responsibility of Hamas not Israel.

While European and other sympathizers lament the plight of Gazans and lambaste Israel for genocide, among other things, there are Middle East countries who see the truth, and Hamas has done itself no favors. Still, Israel has its detractors out there, one such being this chap from Orato.com who dares to say, "The current attacks by Israel on Gaza are disproportionate and violent, an abuse of human rights and amount to genocide," and "Only a handful of Israelis have been killed and injured by Hamas rocket attacks".

Only a handful? Are the lives that comprise that handful somehow less significant than other lives? It is important to note that "only a handful" was not by design. While Hamas has been hiding in schools and mosques and residential areas, they have been busy firing rockets at indiscriminate targets. Even more notable is that their ranges has been increasing, and it's only a matter of time before they have the capability to inflict many more deaths than a handful. I suppose that's what it would take to make the fellow from Orato happy at last.

Considering the fact that Hamas' rockets are now reaching cities that they previously could not, perhaps he will get his wish. By Tuesday, rockets from Gaza were landing in Kiryat Malachi and Beersheba, with a high population. Thankfully, it appears that Egypt is willing to hold Israel's robe as they clean up the problem that is Hamas, and other groups and countries, through their silence, seem to be okay with it.

Perhaps we're heading back to sanity after all. One can only hope that 2009, after this nasty little mess, will be the year that the Middle East finally settles into a lasting peace.

Happy New Year.

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