Hamas Is Making Friends Again

Well, many predicted it... one of the leaders of the terrorist group Hamas is calling the Gaza pullout a military victory.

"Senior Hamas commander Mohammed Deif, who masterminded the deaths of dozens of Israelis in suicide bombings, also urged the destruction of the Jewish state. It was the latest call for continued violence by Hamas officials as the group refocuses its armed struggle on the West Bank, where most of Israel's 246,000 settlers live."

Lovely. Those darn Israelis finally pulled out of Gaza, so clearly, they have no right to exist.

"'We did not achieve the liberation of the Gaza Strip without this holy war and this steadfastness,' he said, adding that attacks should continue until Israel is eradicated."

I'm starting to think my father is correct when he says that the Palestinian terrorist groups only understand force. When they are backed into a corner, they will relent and listen, but any diplomatic concession is interpreted as a "go for the jugular" moment. For years I argued with him on this point, but perhaps he was right all along.

UPDATE: The fine folks at CenterFeud have a take on this very issue; here is an excerpt, which in turn is quoting Mark Steyn:

"Any honest visitor to the Palestinian Authority is struck by the complete absence of any enthusiasm for nation-building --– compared with comparable pre-independence trips to, say, Slovenia, Slovakia, or East Timor. Invited to choose between nation-building or Jew-killing, the Palestinians prioritise Jew-killing --– every time."

Why does this fact so often get overlooked?