After drawing criticism for his justification of Palestinian terror last week, the UN secretary-general defended himself in an op-ed in the New York Times entitled “Don’t Shoot the Messenger.” In it he stated that “nothing excuses terrorism”—and then went on to blame Israel for the series of murderous attacks on its citizens and for the failure to reach a two-state solution. Ruthie Blum writes:

Given the total falsehood of [Ban’s] depiction of the situation—for example, by omitting Israel’s ‎withdrawal from more than 90 percent of the territory it obtained after the attempt of surrounding ‎Arab armies to obliterate it in the Six-Day War—it is no wonder that his proposed solutions to ‎the problem are so preposterous.‎ . . .

‎”Of course,” Ban [wrote], “a lasting agreement between Israel and Palestine will require ‎difficult compromises by leaders and peoples on both sides.”‎

Indeed, Israel has made endless “difficult compromises,” for decades. This has led to repeated ‎uprisings against the Israeli populace, such as the current spate of terrorism that surged in ‎September, thanks in large measure to incitement emanating from official PA institutions and ‎media outlets.‎ . . .

More ridiculous than his [arguments], though, is the title of the piece, taken from ‎his claim that Israel’s ire [over his previous remarks] is a form of “shooting the messenger.” It is a metaphor he clearly does ‎not know how to use properly, since he is a key source of the anti-Israel message—embraced by ‎anti-Semites the world over—not some serf paid to deliver it.‎

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.