We Will Pay a Terrible Price for Supporting Hamas - Leo McKinstry (Daily Express-UK)

• British Labour leader Ed Miliband called Israel's incursion into Gaza "wrong and unjustifiable." Former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown described Israel's approach as "very foolish" and "disproportionate." But all this populist anti-Israeli posturing is dangerous. It shows not the slightest grasp of the reality of Islamist aggression in the Middle East and the depth of the challenge that Israel faces.
• In practice, denouncing the Jewish state means siding with the malevolent, murderous forces of jihadism, a stance that not only represents a complete inversion of morality but a suicidal disdain for the interests of Western civilization.
• Israel is fighting a real war against a fanatical enemy - the Hamas terror network, dedicated to the destruction of the Jewish state. The present conflict was started by Hamas firing rockets at Israeli civilians. Britain would not tolerate an aerial assault without striking back, so why should Israel?
• In this context the parrot cry for negotiations is fatuous. Hamas, an offshoot of the infamous Muslim Brotherhood, is not interested in a peace settlement, only in the annihilation of Israel and the Jewish people. So on what aspect of anti-Semitic genocide is Israel supposed to negotiate with Hamas?
• Israel has to break Hamas' ability to wage war. Only by defeating terrorists can peace be achieved. Rather than carping from the sidelines, Western politicians should support that goal. Israel is a bulwark of civilization against Islamism. Ultimately we will pay a terrible price if we betray this heroic nation.