An Israeli perspective on the action in Gaza
"I appreciate how it might have been better from a public perspective point-of-view to have waited, although I have my doubts. It seems no matter how clear-cut the case, no matter how Israel tries to act ethically, no matter that other areas in the region and the world have far more deaths and the like, the world condemns Israel and spends an inordinate amount of time on it.
"Be it because of oil, Jew-hatred, anti-this or that, it just seems to be the case. In any event, we could not wait. The people in the South had been living with missile fire for years, as I am sure you know. It kept increasing and increasing. People demand that their government protect them. Otherwise, they will lose hope and abandon the area. Then, once the tunnels were discovered, we had to act.
"The government and the people have a social contract: we will live there, build it up, but the government must take action to protect us. For years people in the South thought they heard digging, but were told it was their imagination. You can only imagine the stark fear when they discovered how close those tunnels were to them, how well-equipped they were, and how the plan was to kill and maim hundreds if not thousands of people on Rosh Hoshana (ie 25 September.)
"No government, propaganda considerations or not, could delay taking action and still hold the confidence of its people. As I am sure you know, Israelis across the political spectrum, in the high 80, low 90's percent, backed this war. That is unheard of in Israel and in most societies. So, while I appreciate your concerns, and I think they are valid, Israel had to act and could not delay."
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