Palestinians are pawns of Hamas

By Ze-ev Amzalem, Henderson

Sunday, Aug. 3, 2014 | 2:02 a.m.

In response to Brian Greenspun’s July 27 column “Seeing the facts in a world of death,” allow me to state that he is absolutely correct.

Hamas is a terrorist and a criminal organization seeking more prestige and more international approval in defending Gaza against “Israeli aggression.”

To put it crudely: Hamas’ actions are analogous to a neighbor punching another neighbor, then crying foul when being counterpunched.

As Greenspun stated: “The people of Gaza elected Hamas to govern them, which means they are responsible for the good and ill that Hamas does.”

Gazans must realize Hamas does not have their best interests at heart. They are nothing more than pawns ignited by the anti-Semitic game.

Gazans and others must also wake up and smell their leaders’ rot concerning negotiations for a Palestinian state.

In July 2000, President Bill Clinton invited Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak to a summit at Camp David. Israel presented a map that would have given the Palestinians 87 percent of the territory captured in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. Barak made several other concessions that would have brought the Palestinian total to 97 percent. Arafat refused.

Dennis Ross, assistant to George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton concerning Middle East negotiations, said: “He turned his back on it because he would have had to end the conflict with Israel. He evidently thought that to end the conflict was to end himself — his career as a resistance leader.”

A true humanitarian and nonviolent leadership is needed, but not hatred of Israelis or Palestinians.