Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity

Betsy's Page blogged Abba Eban was so right when he said that in 1973 and they have not changed at all. What they have turned Gaza into since the Israeli pullout demonstrates this so clearly as Charles Krauthammer points out.

Before the eyes of the whole world, Israel left Gaza. Every Jew, every soldier, every military installation, every remnant of Israeli occupation was uprooted and taken away. How do the Palestinians respond? What have they done with Gaza, the first Palestinian territory in history to be independent, something neither the Ottomans nor the British nor the Egyptians nor the Jordanians, all of whom ruled Palestinians before the Israelis, ever permitted? On the very day of Israel's final pullout, the Palestinians began firing rockets out of Gaza into Israeli towns on the other side of the border. And remember: those are attacks not on settlers but on civilians in Israel proper, the pre-1967 Israel that the international community recognizes as legitimately part of sovereign Israel, a member state of the U.N. A thousand rockets have fallen since.

Remember this is what the Palestinians have claimed they wanted - control of their own territory and Israeli withdrawl. No Israeli settlers to complain about and their own government. They could have used that opportunity to have governed themselves and proven how they could help their own people.

Unfortunately they are focused on 6th century warfare, and not 21st century civilization.

But that would have meant taking advantage of the opportunity rather than missing that opportunity. And the Palestinians don't do that.

So in 2005 the Palestinians are given Gaza, free of any Jews. Do they begin building the state they say they want, constructing schools and roads and hospitals? No. They launch rockets at civilians and dig a 300-yard tunnel under the border to attack Israeli soldiers and bring back a hostage.

Why are they neglecting their own people in order to carry out this neverending warfare against Israelis?

To them, their own people do not matter. What matters is their hatred of the Jews.

Dr. Krauthammer nails it. Their goal wasn't to drive the Israelis out of the Palestinian territories, but has always been to destroy Israel proper and drive all the Jews out of the Middle East.

The logic for those continued attacks is to be found in the so-called phase plan adopted in 1974 by the Palestine National Council in Cairo. Realizing that they would never be able to destroy Israel in one fell swoop, the Palestinians adopted a graduated plan to wipe out Israel. First, accept any territory given to them in any part of historic Palestine. Then, use that sanctuary to wage war until Israel is destroyed.

That is why they can't be bothered trying to provide the services that any responsible government should reply for their suffering citizens - the goal of destroying Israel trumps everything else.