Israel Defies John Kerry: We WILL Destroy the Terrorists Attacking Us

Israel Defies John Kerry: We WILL Destroy the Terrorists Attacking Us

The only thing worse than losing lives in warfare is rendering those sacrifices valueless by ending the war without achieving the results necessary to sustain a lasting peace afterwards. That’s a lesson that seems lost on the Obama administration, as they have demonstrated in Iraq, Afghanistan, and now, Israel.
Israel has been bombarding numerous Hamas-controlled sites in Gaza in an attempt to eradicate the terrorist group’s ability to launch rocket strikes–often at civilian targets–deep within Israeli territory. The always-present regional tension erupted into violence recently when Hamas kidnapped and murdered three Israeli teenagers–one of whom held dual citizenship in the United States.
Responding to Secretary of State John Kerry’s bid to work with both Israel and Hamas to negotiate a truce, Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon said that a cease-fire prior to negating the ability of Hamas to recommence rocket attacks at any time would be “a mistake.”

From WND:

Danon cautioned against a cease-fire at this time
Stated Danon: “I think it will be a mistake to stop now the fight. Because we will be in the hands of the Hamas until they decide when the next conflict will be. I think we have to take a major operation in order to uproot the missile ability of Hamas.”
“I think we need to look for the long run and for the long run we need to take a major, deep operation and you cannot take any shortcuts,” Danon added. “The shortcuts will be costly for us.”

Kerry’s expression of concern for civilian casualties, escalating violence, and general instability in the middle east is wholly appropriate, of course. That’s precisely why his call for a negotiated cease-fire at this time is completely misguided.
A truce today would leave Hamas with the personnel and materiel it would need to restart the violence at a time of its choosing, again threatening an unknown number of civilian casualties and collateral damage. Leaving intact Hamas’s ability to commit future attacks will not stabilize the region; just the opposite is true.
Israel is right to stand against the radical Islamist terrorists of Hamas, and the United States should stand firmly with her.