At first blush, the world seems universally outraged over Israel’s strike against Hamas leaders in Qatar – with Washington expressing unhappiness, Western leaders threatening retaliation, Arab nations convening in Doha, and the UN’s Human Rights Commission holding an “urgent debate.”
But looks may be deceiving.
In fact, people all over the world must surely be applauding the Jewish state. After all, Israel’s action furthers the various causes they promote with such gusto.
Here are some of those who must be applauding:
Those who want to hold states responsible for the terrorists they support – Most Americans seemed to agree when, after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush said he would hold the Taliban responsible for harboring al-Qaeda in Afghanistan – and, more generally, hold other governments that “support or shelter” terrorists responsible for any resulting terrorist activity.
Ten years later, the nation came together in spontaneous public celebrations, including outside the White House, when U.S. forces killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin-Laden in Pakistan – without informing Islamabad beforehand.
Well, Qatar has provided financial support to Hamas and allowed the group’s leaders to reside within its borders. So, those around the world who supported the United States after 9/11, and who admired Washington’s moxie in killing bin Laden, must be supporting Israel’s effort to hunt down those who perpetrated the barbaric slaughter of 1,200 Israelis on October 7, 2023.
Those who want to “free Palestine” – Hamas has ruled the Gaza Strip with an iron fist since 2007, when it ousted the Palestinian Authority in a bloody coup. Since then, it has brutalized innocent Gazans and purposely put them in harm’s way when Israeli responds to its terrorist attacks in hopes of giving Israel a public relations black eye as civilian deaths mount.
In Lebanon, Israel has decapitated the leadership of Hezbollah, giving the Lebanese people a long-sought opportunity to disarm the terrorist group and reduce its political, military, and financial stranglehold on the country.
So, surely those who want to “free Palestine” support Israel’s continued defanging of Hamas, which could give Gazans the same opportunity to build a brighter future as the Lebanese people now have.
Those who want to disarm Hamas – Everyone of note seems to agree that “Hamas should disarm” (on its own) or that “Hamas should be disarmed” (by some outside force). Even the 22-member Arab League joined the European Union and 17 other nations in late July in calling for Hamas to “disarm and relinquish power in the Gaza Strip.”
Hamas won’t voluntarily give up its arms, of course, and no nation other than Israel is stepping up to disarm it. So, those who support the goal of disarming Hamas surely understand that decapitating its leaders – who have vowed to mount more October 7-like attacks to destroy Israel – is a key step down that road.
Those who oppose Iran and the terrorist groups in its “axis of resistance” – The Middle East is safer and more secure because, since the October 7 attacks, Israel has severely damaged Iran’s nuclear sites (with U.S. help), exposed the Islamic Republic as a paper tiger in direct military exchanges between the two, killed Hezbollah’s leaders and many of its operatives, and severely weakened Hamas.
Iran and its axis were further weakened by the toppling of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, which has denied Tehran the gateway through which it transported weapons to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
Those who recognize the challenges that Iran presents – with its nuclear and ballistic missiles programs, terror sponsorship, hegemonic ambitions, and efforts to destabilize regional governments – surely understand that destroying Hamas will further weaken Iran and, in turn, nourish the cause of long-term regional peace.
Those who recognize the downsides of appeasement – NATO, which has supported Ukraine rather than appease Vladimir Putin after Russia’s 2022 invasion, now plans to “move troops and fighter jets eastwards” in response to Putin’s new efforts to test Western resolve.
In recent days, Poland and Romania reported that Russia drones have violated the airspace of these NATO member nations. Russia, in turn, has said that it’s “at war with NATO,” and this week it “put on a display of firepower” as part of “major military exercises” in Belarus, a close ally.
Western leaders are clearly worried that Putin has set his sights on Eastern European nations that once were part of the Soviet empire, so they surely recognize that Israel is right to keep the pressure on Iran and its proxies (including Hamas) – rather than encourage further aggression by appeasing them.
All told, in other words, the world is assuredly supporting Israel as it targets Hamas’ leaders. That is, if governments, regional institutions, and individual leaders mean what they say about comparable situations elsewhere.