The Jerusalem Post

Enough of the hypocrisy

- COMMENT • By AVIGDOR LIBERMAN

After the attacks of September 11, which shocked the entire world, the United States embarked on “Operation Enduring Freedom” with the aim of eliminatin­g the terrorist organizati­on al-Qaeda, which was responsibl­e for the murderous terrorist attack, and overthrowi­ng the Taliban regime.

No one in the world had any doubts about the need to enter Afghanista­n in order to achieve the goals of the operation.

The US received overwhelmi­ng support from the internatio­nal community, and NATO countries even sent forces to fight alongside the American army.

The blow Israel recently suffered is around 10 times greater than that of 9/11 in relative population terms.

On October 7, 2023, thousands of Hamas terrorists infiltrate­d Israeli territory, occupied kibbutzim and towns, and mercilessl­y massacred children and infants, women and men, adults and the elderly, only because they were Jews and Israelis, and kidnapped approximat­ely 200 civilians and soldiers, among them foreign citizens.

Until my last day, I will not forget the disturbing sights I saw when I visited the area of the slaughter, the cruel abuse they went through before they were murdered, which included the vicious rape of women, the hacking off of limbs, and the burning of bodies.

In the history of mankind, it can only be compared to the atrocities that the Nazis perpetrate­d against the Jews during the Holocaust.

The State of Israel declared war on Hamas with the goals being clear: “to bring about

the destructio­n of the military capabiliti­es of Hamas and Islamic Jihad and end their rule.”

Alongside the unequivoca­l support and sharp condemnati­ons from most Western countries for the murderous terrorist attack by Hamas, and the clear words of the US President: “If we were attacked, our response would be overwhelmi­ng and swift,” we hear other voices demanding that the State of Israel bring humanitari­an equipment into Gaza and restore their electricit­y and the water.

There is no country in the world more humane than the

State of Israel, which for years allowed Gazan workers into Israel, the same workers who we now know provided intelligen­ce to the killers of Hamas and participat­ed in the looting after the massacre.

Wrongly, in my opinion and against my advice, Israel provided electricit­y and water to the Gaza Strip and allowed the Qataris to bring in suitcases of cash, which instead of being invested in rehabilita­tion and benefiting the population, was transferre­d to and used for the strengthen­ing of Hamas.

I ask which country in the world would allow this?

The answer is unequivoca­l.

No country in the world would allow potential terrorists into its territory, transfer money to an entity controlled by a terrorist organizati­on, and supply it with electricit­y and water which it has used for its vicious crimes.

The voices in the internatio­nal community led by the UN demanding a return to normal service to Gaza, after the bloody and vicious pogrom, are hypocritic­al.

Unfortunat­ely, this is merely the regular pattern of behavior when it comes to the State of Israel and the struggle we are waging for our right to exist.

So, I have a proposal for the

UN, which seems to have endless time for the temporaril­y homeless and rushes to provide humanitari­an aid without formulatin­g mechanisms to ensure that it will not be appropriat­ed by the Hamas war machine as every previous attempt was.

They should be more focused on the city of Darna in Libya, a quarter of which was destroyed by the floods that hit the country on September 10, 2023, when more than 11,000 people were killed, with around 10,000 missing and about 40,000 who lost all their possession­s, a tragedy that has been completely forgotten and where people have reached the point of starvation.

At the same time, it is possible to provide humanitari­an aid to Sudan, where since April 2023, bloody battles have been fought between the Sudanese army and the RSF militia, claiming the lives of approximat­ely 3,000 people and displacing millions from their homes. According to a UN report, women and children were massacred and villages were completely destroyed.

From there, they can move to Syria, which since March 15, 2011, is in the midst of a bloody civil war, resulting in around 500,000 dead, over 7.6 million internally displaced, and 5.5 million refugees. I am certain that there is a lot of rehabilita­tion work there and many need vital humanitari­an aid.

There are countless more examples from around the world of population­s that need assistance, but I will limit myself to these three examples.

I want to say to the UN and the internatio­nal community in a way that is not ambiguous: Enough of your hypocrisy.

Before you make demands of the State of Israel, you should help the countries that really require it and not terrorist organizati­ons that slaughter innocent civilians, with the full support of the majority of the Gazan population, many of whom cheered on the massacre.

Your hypocrisy screams out, and it clearly does not stem from any real concern for the residents of Gaza.

If we are being charitable, this position is about economic and political interests and the fear of upsetting the 22 countries of the Arab League and the 57 member states of the Organisati­on of Islamic Cooperatio­n, whose countries have a total population of one and a half billion people and control 70% of the world’s energy sources.

If I am being less charitable, this is antisemiti­sm par excellence.

The State of Israel should not, under any circumstan­ces, allow the introducti­on of humanitari­an aid into the Gaza Strip until the representa­tives of the Internatio­nal Red Cross are allowed to visit and check on the condition of the abductees and provide them with humanitari­an aid.

This is the cause that the internatio­nal community should be fighting for with all its might.

 ?? (Janis Laizans/Reuters) ?? DEMONSTRAT­ORS IN Tel Aviv call for the return of loved ones who were taken as hostages into Gaza by Hamas terrorists.
(Janis Laizans/Reuters) DEMONSTRAT­ORS IN Tel Aviv call for the return of loved ones who were taken as hostages into Gaza by Hamas terrorists.

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