‘Difference between IS and Hamas is tactics’

Col. Richard Kemp, the former commander of British troops in Afghanistan who has been outspoken in his support of Israel’s military tactics, writes an article today in the British paper The Jewish Chronicle arguing that the West does not recognize Hamas’s true nature.

“Few seem able to comprehend that the very extremist ethos that drives the barbarians who are subjugating ever-expanding swathes of Iraq and Syria, and who threaten Jordan and Lebanon, also drives Hamas,” he writes. “The difference is not in the depth of religious fanaticism or the extent of bloodlust, it is only in current tactics.

“Consequently, the same political leaders, commentators and human rights groups that demand something must be done to curb the horrific excesses of the Islamic State are fostering its equivalent in Gaza. What Western governments cannot see, many governments in the Middle East can. Countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan understand that Hamas and all it stands for is a threat not just to Israel but also to them.”

“As Hamas continues to break ceasefire after ceasefire by launching rockets at Israel’s civilian population, the Israeli government will continue to respond with military force. It has no alternative — to defend its people and its territory is every government’s inalienable obligation. When civilians die as a result, world leaders should hold to account Hamas, the group that caused and willed these deaths, rather than instinctively pile ill-judged pressure on Israel.”