Israel Provokes Renewed Fighting and Threatens Its Own National Security

 For the Palestinians, Hamas may well be an unsavory group, but it is seen as their only means of defending themselves from the Israeli government’s thorough neglect of their interests.  Although the Israeli government may have subdued criticism of its recent overly-aggressive military campaign against Hamas, thanks in part to Hamas breaking initial seize-fire agreements with renewed rocket attacks, and weakened support for Hamas, its latest appropriation of nearly 1,000 acres of Palestinian farmland in West Bank completely undermines claims that the Jewish state seeks peace.  Feeling emboldened by its latest victory, the Israeli government apparently feels it has the right to treat the Palestinian People as it pleases, but this latest move is thoroughly deserving of criticism.   

What Israel’s move does is undermine any trust the Palestinians and the rest of the Muslim world might have in Israel as a partner for Middle Eastern stability while it clearly provokes a fight with Hamas.  In the words of Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas feels "alone in the field" due to a lack of support from the Muslim world.  Israel's latest move will not only undermine the Palestinian Authority's effort to reassert its influence over the Gaza Strip and help revive support for Hamas among Palestinians, it will resonate well with jihadists looking to target Israel.  Israel might have the military might to treat the Palestinians as it pleases, but it does not have enough military might to fight off the rest of the Muslim world.  Quite frankly, Israel is making itself an even more attractive target for extremists while it also becoming a destabilizing force in a globalizing Muslim world, thus it is making itself a threat to its neighbors and itself.