The usual international suspects are bravely criticizing Israel again this week. The International Red Cross is condemning the “enormous humanitarian cost” of Israeli security measures in the West Bank and Gaza, and both the Red Cross and the World Bank are admonishing Israel to become more open to terrorism so as to ease Palestinian freedom of movement, which they say will help the Palestinian economy. It must be nice being able to lecture people about security policy when you don’t have to worry about your loved ones being shot, abducted, or blown up as a result of your recommendations.
The Red Cross statement reads in part: “So far, the balance between the legitimate Israeli security concerns and the right of the Palestinian people to live a normal life has not been struck.” How does the Red Cross know this? What are the metrics they’re employing? Exactly how many terror attacks should Israel be willing to endure so that the Palestinian people may “live a normal life”? Did the Red Cross, at the height of the Palestinian terror war against Israel, ever issue a statement criticizing the Palestinians for denying the right of the Israeli people to live a normal life? Or denouncing the “enormous humanitarian cost” of near-daily suicide bombings? Don’t be silly.
Confronted with this kind of moral dementia, it would be nice if the Israeli government could bestir itself to offer a reply: That Israel will be happy to reduce its security presence in the West Bank, just as soon as the Palestinian Authority shows any interest in preventing terror attacks against Israel. It might add that the international community’s concern for the welfare of the Palestinian people could be more usefully directed at the Palestinian people themselves, who have consistently maintained majority support for terrorism against Israel. What a strange world it would be if the Red Cross and the World Bank were lecturing the Palestinians on their culture of self-destruction, rather than lecturing Israelis on their reluctance to allow their own destruction.