Operation “Cast Lead” In Gaza

By – Position of the Israeli Labor Party

As the military operation in Gaza continues, and ground forces have entered into the strip, we feel that we must share some of our thoughts and considerations with you.

Operation Cast Lead is a just campaign. It is just because in the summer of 2005 Israel retreated from Gaza completely, it withdrew all its forces, destroyed all the settlements, up to the last synagogue and cemetery. Just, because the cease-fire which had been painfully achieved between Israel and the Hamas, was unilaterally terminated by the Hamas on December 19, despite the stated willingness of Israel to extend it and the efforts of Egypt to negotiate an extension. Israel’s blockade was a response to continued Hamas firing of missiles at Israeli communities and other infractions, and the use of the cease-fire for building up its arsenal of longer range and more sophisticated missiles, the impact of which is now being felt in even wider areas of Israel.

It is just and justified because for three solid years the State of Israel and its citizens in the south of the country bit their lips and acted with restraint. Since Israel’s disengagement from Gaza, over 6000 missiles have been fired at Israeli towns and cities. It is just and justified, because no country in the world can accept for an extended period of time a situation in which its citizens are forsaken and its sovereignty violated. Just, because there is no chance for peace in the Middle East if the extremists are given the possibility to dictate the rules of the game, and if Israel is viewed as an easy prey, not reacting when constantly aggressed.

But this is also a tragic campaign. Tragic because it causes untold suffering to hundreds of thousand of innocent citizens on both sides of the border, it causes deaths of hundreds and injures thousands. Nine hundred thousand Israeli citizens are currently in shelters, children cannot continue to go to school, all civil activities have been put on hold.

The tragedy of this operation is deeper, in the political sense : it derives from the fact that the Palestinians did not take advantage of the historic opportunity given to them in 2005 to build their future, at a time when they had a chance to achieve self-government . Regrettably, the need of Hamas and other extremist organizations to destroy Israel is still stronger than its need to build Palestine,

These are difficult days for us in the Labour Party. For yeas we have been at the forefront of the struggle for peace with our Palestinian neighbors. We still believe in a just and honorable peace with our partners in the Palestinian Authority, and will continue our efforts to conclude a peace agreement leading to the creation of a Palestinian State. But this cannot happen as long as our population is subjected daily to heavy shelling and acts of war. And this is precisely the aim the extremists in the Palestinian camp.

It is our hope that this operation, aimed at seriously reducing the military capacities of the Hamas, will end up in a stable, extended cease-fire. The assistance of the international community will be needed, not only to bring about such a cease-fire, but to help guarantee that it is maintained, and that a renewed build-up of the military arsenal is seriously avoided.

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