The blame for Gaza

There are a lot of diplomatic I-toldyou-so’s rocketing into Washington from around the world right now. Critics of President Donald Trump’s move of the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem are in high dudgeon. As they warned, the Palestinians reacted violently to the move.

According to the New York Times, “loudspeakers on minarets urged Palestinians to rush the fence bordering Israel, where they were met by army snipers.” The Washington Post reports that “organizers urged demonstrators to burst through the fence, telling them Israeli soldiers were fleeing their positions, even as they were reinforcing them.”

Which suggests that Hamas, the terrorist group that rules Gaza, incited protesters to dash toward Israeli military positions, likely knowing that many would be killed. Hamas leaders had to know that the carnage would ignite an international backlash against Israel and the U.S.

If Palestinian leaders want to know who is responsible for the deaths Monday, they should glance in the mirror.

Leaders of the Palestinians have a choice: They can keep sending their young people to their deaths.

Or they can turn from violent confrontation to constructive negotiation. They can resume their path toward a Palestinian state.

Even as we write that sentence— expressing the hope for a two-state solution that we’ve repeated over and over—it seems more far-fetched than ever. The reality on the ground is that nothing will change until Palestinian leaders stop inciting violence and start telling their people the truth: Palestinians can have a state. But not until they accept that the Israel they loathe is in the neighborhood to stay.