Author Says Israeli Withdrawal Would Play Into Hamas' Hands
by Chad Groening
June 9, 2006
(AgapePress) - - An expert on Islam says President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert continue to be misguided in thinking that the latest land giveaway plan is going to bring peace to Israel. In devising a road map for peace in the Middle East, the demands on the Palestinians were clearly defined by the U.S., the European Union, Russia, and the United Nations: recognize Israel, renounce terror, undertake to abide by past agreements, and accept the overall road map for peace. Absent an agreement from the Hamas-led Palestinian government -- which has not been forthcoming -- Olmert has indicated Israel will unilaterally withdraw from parts of the West Bank and set what he calls "defensible" boundaries, hoping the U.S., the European Union, and perhaps even Egypt and Jordan will back the move.
Bush and the Israeli leader recently discussed Olmert's strategy. Robert Spencer, a critic of Islam and observer of the Middle East situation, does not agree with Israel's plan to withdraw from the West Bank and give it to the Palestinian government. Such a plan, says the director of the group Jihad Watch, defies logic.
"It's patently absurd to think that the Palestinians are going to join into this process in good faith when they've just elected Hamas and when Hamas has been on record consistently, both before and after the election, saying that they were dedicated to the destruction of Israel," he says.
Spencer, author of the book The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam and the Crusades, points out that giving away Czechoslovakia did not stop Adolph Hitler's territorial ambitions leading up to World War II -- and giving away the West Bank, he says, will not dissuade Hamas.
"More territorial concessions are not going to bring peace," the author says emphatically. "They're not going to satisfy Hamas or the Palestinians in general, and they're only going to make it easier for the Palestinians to achieve their ultimate goal of the destruction of Israel."
Spencer says Bush and Olmert are "in denial" about what he describes as "very clear statements" coming from Palestinian leaders. He claims Hamas will view Israel's withdrawal from various territories as only a step toward that ultimate goal.
Chad Groening, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
