Stating the obvious

Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005. Hamas, sworn to Israel’s destruction, pledged to dishonor any agreements between Israel and the PLO, a corollary of its own Charter: over 6,000 rockets against Israeli civilians exploded the past 3 years. Gaza is densely populated, but Israel in hundreds of sorties has killed 700 only, 80% terrorists. Civilian death is tragic. But Israel seeks to avoid it. Hamas kills and maims willy nilly. No country can ignore systematic terror. Hamas exploits the innocent. It knows how explosive to world perception is civilian casuality. Cleary, Hamas here causes it. It is fanatically indifferent to Palestinian life. Israel must try to stop terror. That end measures proportionality. Eye for an eye-like formulae are for fools. No negotiating with Hamas, there is only its containment, its weakening, and, would that it be, its elimination. Women and children are of its nihilistic arsenal.