From the view of my Jerusalem balcony, it seems like Israel is at peace. But looking a little closer, you realize that is not the case. Developments on all three of Israel’s frontiers in recent days remind us of the low-level warfare that Arab forces are continuing to wage—and the hazards of making the concessions that Israel’s critics are always demanding.
In the south, the Israeli army uncovered yet another “terror tunnel” stretching from the Gaza city of Khan Younis into Israeli territory. Just because the tunnels are not in the headlines any more, doesn’t mean they’re not there. Israel has destroyed or sealed dozens of them over the years; but Hamas keeps building more.
Whenever I think about the tunnels, I am reminded of the incredible “ mea culpa” that former U.S. State Department peace processor Dennis Ross wrote about in the Washington Post a few years back. He recalled how when Hamas was in the early phase of tunnel-building, the Israelis began restricting the importation to Gaza of building materials that could be used for that purpose. So, the Obama administration sent Ross to the region--to pressure Israel.
Ross later wrote: "I argued with Israeli leaders and security officials, telling them they needed to allow more construction materials, including cement, into Gaza so that housing, schools and basic infrastructure could be built. They countered that Hamas would misuse it, and they were right.”
Assured by the Obama administration's insistence that the cement would not be used for military purposes, Israel allowed it to be imported. The result? Hamas built "a labyrinth of underground tunnels, bunkers, command posts and shelters for its leaders, fighters and rockets," Ross acknowledged. They built them with "an estimated 600,000 tons of cement," some of which was "diverted from construction materials allowed into Gaza." READ MORE
