Marty Peretz says it right....

He eloquently speaks the truth....

I am not indifferent to the death of Palestinians, not at all. I am especially not indifferent to the death of Palestinians caused by Israeli fire. But I think I do know who is indifferent to the death of Palestinians, and especially ecstatic if they are killed by Israeli fire. And it is Palestinians themselves. OK, not your average Palestinian, to be sure (whoever he or she is). But the elected Palestinian leadership--which is, after all, Hamas and its extensive militia. And all the other armed gangs with portentous names and murderous strategies. Beyond this--dare I say?--many, many of their supporters.

The 18 killed in Gaza yesterday by a fatally awry Israeli artillery attack is nothing less than a great human tragedy. Israel has issued many statements of regret. But, in this atmosphere, such statements seem lame even though they are truthful. Those now dead were not targets, any more than victims of friendly fire are targets. Still, the incident came after days of punishing retaliation by Israel in Beit Hanun for absolutely non-stop rocket fire into Israel, rocket fire that has gone on for months and months and more months. Hamas has asserted that it has been honoring its own cease-fire. Frankly, this is crap. Who has been performing the rocketry? Perhaps Mahmoud Abbas.

When Palestinian weapons hit Israeli civilians it is Israeli civilians who are the designated victims. The Palestinians make no pretense on this matter. The Qassams they have been sending into Ashkelon and Sderot are not even aimed at military bases, and they are not balloons. The Palestinian authorities--and, make no mistake about this, that is what they are--have civilians in their sights. Ian Fisher, in a New York Times article, reported that even before the last Gaza incident, "Palestinians and the United Nations said the price was too high." What they meant, of course, was that the Palestinians themselves paid too high a price and the Israeli actions were to blame. Frankly, I don't understand what moral argument these people are asserting. Are they saying that retaliation has to be so calibrated as not to harm the initial aggressors?

One of the problems in Gaza is, as I have been saying for a very long time, that there is no real authority there, neither psychological nor practical. In any case, the effective rulers, such as they are, do not want a solution at all. They do not disguise this. So they have war instead. Have pity on the Palestinians. But aim your criticism at those who think killing Jews is a solution to the Palestinian problem. And at those who act on this belief.