Taking military advice offered by France is like receiving investment advice from Barney Frank: Either you’re suicidal or belong in the nuthouse. Hey, France? We’ll give you a call when Israel needs tips on how to execute a flawless unconditional surrender.
Luckily, wiser heads ended up prevailing in Jerusalem.
The Security Cabinet on Wednesday rejected a French proposal for a 48-hour suspension of the IDF offensive against Hamas to allow Paris the opportunity to mediate a cease-fire.
“We didn’t initiate the Gaza operation in order to end it while Israeli towns are still under fire, as they were before the operation,” Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said deliberations that lasted the better part of the day. “Israel has shown restraint for years; she gave the truce a chance; we told ourselves ‘let’s try it,’ but Hamas violated the truce.”
Earlier, Olmert’s spokesman Mark Regev said that “Giving Hamas a respite just to regroup, rearm is a mistake. The pressure on the Hamas military machine must continue.”
What did France feel would be accomplished through a unilateral 48-hour halt to operations? Hamas isn’t willing to stop its attacks until its conditions are met, including the opening of all crossings in Gaza. Even when the terrorist group agrees to a ceasefire it doesn’t stand by it. The only thing that would be achieved would be giving Hamas the opportunity to take a breather, rearm, and prepare for more strikes against Israel. Israel has nothing to gain from that and a whole lot to lose.
by Stephan Tawney on Wed, Dec 31, 2008