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Originally Posted by KevinTheOmnivore
Everything you say here is true ABC, however, is this really in the best interest of Israel, or anybody...? How many more civilians will die b/c of this? How many apathetic to moderate leaning Palestinians will now become radicalized by this??? How does taking out the figure head of an umbrella organization, with all of its webs and splinters, make the Israeli people (and for that matter the Palestinian people) any safer....?
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Well it's like fighting the mafia. There's also the perogative that appeasment is a sign of weakness, viewed as success in the eyes of extremist Arabs that promotes their tactics. Handing over Gaza while Hamas was intact (and feuding with Arafat in Ramallah) would have been a disaster. This shows that nobody is untouchable. Look. there's a huge difference between the first Intifada, and the second...what happened in between? Peace negotiations with the PLO. It fueld the fire, it caused even more people to resort to violence. What positive has it done? It's no secret Israel has lost the popularity contest here. It doesn't matter if Sharon walks on the Temple Mount, or Israel blows up half of Gaza looking for Yassin, Israel's self defense or demonstration of strength isn't going to be popular. Still, why play to these "apathetic palestinians" when these are the same moderates who allowed Hamas to gain a chokehold on their society? How much more escalated can you get?