The Daily Signal - Israel and Hamas Are at War Again. Here’s What US Should Do About It.

Episode Date: May 19, 2021

Israel and Hamas Palestinian militants are currently locked in their fourth mini-war since 2008.  More than 3,400 rockets have been fired between Israel and the neighboring Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of at least 10 Israelis and about 200 Palestinians.  “Hamas manipulated ongoing anti-Israeli riots and used that as a pretext to launch missiles at Jerusalem,” said Jim Phillips, a senior research fellow for Middle Eastern affairs at The Heritage Foundation.  “In Hamas's world, in order to defend Jerusalem, it had to fire missiles at Jerusalem. But this is part of its long-term strategy not only to destroy Israel, but to undermine any chance of peace between Israel and the Palestinian [National] Authority,” he said. Phillips joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss how the current conflict between Israel and Hamas began and how it likely will end. He also explains the action America should take and how Biden administration policies toward the Middle East differ from those of the Trump administration.  We also cover these stories:  House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., says he won't support legislation to establish a commission to look into the unrest that occurred Jan. 6 at the Capitol. McCarthy and 28 other House Republicans draft a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., asking her to end proxy voting. North Carolina sheriff's deputies were "justified" in the fatal shooting of Andrew Brown Jr., a North Carolina district attorney says. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the Daily Signal podcast for Wednesday, May 19th. I'm Rachel Del Judis. And I'm Doug Blair. On today's show, Virginia talks to Heritage Foundation's senior researcher Jim Phillips about the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel. Phillips breaks down how the conflict began and how it could be brought to an end. He also explains how the Biden administration should act to support Israel and encourage peace in the region. Don't forget.

If you're enjoying this podcast, please be sure to leave a review or a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and encourage others to subscribe. Now on to our top news. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy says he will not support legislation that would establish a commission similar to the 9-11 style commission that would look into the unrest that occurred January 6th at the Capitol. In a Tuesday statement via the Hill, McCarthy said, given the political misdirections that have marred this process, given the now duplicative and politically counterproductive nature of this effort, and given the Speaker's short-sided scope that does not examine interrelated forms of political violence in America, I cannot support this legislation, McCarthy said, in a statement

released Tuesday morning. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called out McCarthy for not being supportive of the legislation. I'm very pleased that we have a bipartisan bill to come to the floor, Pelosi told me in the capital per the hill, and it's disappointing but not surprising that the cowardice on the part of some of the Republican side not to want to find the truth. The Biden administration supports the legislation to create a January 6th commission. The Office of Management and Budget tweeted Tuesday. The administration supports HR 3233, a bill to establish a national commission to investigate the January 6th, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol complex. The attack on the capital on January 6th, 2021 was an unprecedented assault on a democracy, an effort to, and effort

to undo the will of the American people and threaten the peaceful transfer of power. 29 high-ranking House Republicans, including House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, House Republican with Steve Scalise, and House Republican Conference Chair, Elise Daphonic, drafted a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi asking her to end proxy voting. Proxy voting is a procedure where members on the House floor in Washington, D.C. are permitted to vote for their absent colleagues. The letter follows an announcement from Pelosi on Monday extending proxie. voting to at least July 3rd. In addition to asking the Speaker to rescind proxy voting, Republicans requested the ending of mask mandates,

virtual committee hearings and virtual committee votes, and extended voting times aimed at increasing social distancing. Ineffective remote procedures have hindered congressional operations for too long and should not continue for the duration of the 117th Congress, wrote the group. Congress's attending physician, Brian P. Monaghan, has advocated for COVID restrictions in the House, quote, until all members and all floor staff are fully vaccinated. The North Carolina District Attorney says North Carolina sheriff's deputies were justified in the fatal shooting of Andrew Brown Jr. 42-year-old Brown was shot while at the wheel of his car by sheriff's deputies on April 21st,

who were serving a warrant for Brown's arrest on felony drug charges. Here is what Pascoe Tank County Attorney Andrew Womble had to say about the incident via B&C News. Brown ignored the officer's commands and backed his car until he was blocked by the rear of his residence. Continue. Continue. Right there.

Brown then put the car in drive and turn the steering wheel left directly at law enforcement officers who had now surrounded his vehicle. Despite this tense situation and the aggressive driving by Mr. Brown, no law enforcement officer fired a shot

As Brown's car starts forward, Deputy Lunsford was now positioned directly in front of the vehicle, and all officers were shouting commands to stop. Brown ignored the commands and drove directly at Deputy Lunsford. Deputy Lunsford used his left hand to push off of the hood. It was at this moment that the first shot is fired. Brown's family has maintained that Brown was not in the wrong per NPR. The video I've seen last week is pretty much the same as what I've seen today, just a few more details. Brown's eldest son, Collick Fairby said.

But he wasn't in the wrong, Fairby said of his father. What's in the dark is going to come to light. He is going to get his justice because it wasn't right. Now stay tuned for Virginia's conversation with Heritage's Jim Phillips, as he explains what you need to know about the online. ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel. Virginia Allen here, I want to tell you all about one of my favorite podcasts. Heritage Explains is a weekly podcast that breaks down all the policy issues we hear about in the news at a 101 level.

Hosts Michelle Cordero and Tim Desher mix in news clips and music to tell a story, but also bring in heritage experts to help break down complex issues. Heritage Explains offers quick 10 to 50 minute explainers, that bring you up to speed in an entertaining way. You can find them on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcast. We even put the full episode on YouTube. I am joined by Jim Phillips Senior Research Fellow for Middle Eastern Affairs at the Heritage Foundation. Jim, thanks so much for coming on the show today. Well, thank you for inviting me. Hamas and Israel are in the middle of what is their fourth mini-war since 2008. Hamas is the

the Palestinian wing of the Muslim Brotherhood. Jim, could you just explain how this conflict began? Hamas, which is opposed to peace and seeks Israel's destruction, has orchestrated political violence inside Jerusalem, which essentially is Hamas staking a claim on that territory, which is a threat both to Israel and to the Palestinian authority that Hamas opposes. But Hamas manipulated ongoing anti-Israeli riots and used that as a pretext to launch missiles at Jerusalem. In Hamas' world, in order to defend Jerusalem and had to fire missiles at Jerusalem. But this is part of its long-term strategy not only to destroy Israel, but to undermine. any chance of peace between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

So at this point about how many rockets have we seen fired back and forth? I think at last count there was more than 3,400 rockets that have been indiscriminately fired at Israel. And really, that is a double war crime because Hamas hides among Palestinian civilians to launch rockets at Israeli civilians. Wow. So as I mentioned, this is this is the fourth mini-war that Hamas has had with Israel just in the past 13 years. Would you explain what the similarities and differences are between this conflict and the previous three conflicts? Well, there are many similarities in part because Hamas basically has the same strategy, which is to force Israel into taking action that we, will kill Palestinian civilians.

And in Hamas is, according to its revolutionary logic, the worse, the better. That is, the worst the situation it is, the better for Palestinian Islamist revolutionaries, such as Hamas and its allies in the Middle East. So each time Hamas has flung these rockets at the Israelis, it has suffered military defeat. but Hamas considers that an ideological and political victory because it advances its narrative of

Israeli aggression and it believes that that serves its long-term agenda. Well, sadly, we have seen a really tragic loss of life. The New York Times reports that at least 197 Palestinians have been killed and at least 10 Israelis. What are your thoughts on how both sides are handling? civilian casualties during this crisis? Well, I think Israel cares more about Palestinian civilian casualties than Hamas does. And in fact, Hamas seeks to drive the death toll up because it feels that that plays into

its propaganda narrative. And unfortunately, as long as Hamas has a chokehold on Gaza and can launch these type of rockets thoughtfully provided by Iran, then there can be no sustainable peace. And ultimately, what is Hamas really trying to accomplish here? I think it seeks to prop up its unpopular rule in Gaza. It also seeks to displace the secular Palestinian authority and turn the Israeli-Palestinian dispute from a political issue or a nationalist clash into a war of religions in which any compromise with Israel will be regarded as blasphemy. So Hamas in league with Iran and other Islamist extremists

seeks to make the Arab-Israeli conflict insoluble, essentially. And what about Israel? What does Israel want? I think Israel is concerned about its security and preserving its future against this kind of brutal Islamist terrorism. And Israel doesn't want to just end this most recent mini-war. As you mentioned, there were three previous ones since 2008, and Israel wants to make sure that when this mini-war ends, Hamas will be deterred from considering future rocket launches. And for that reason, it's continuing to go after Hamas leaders, weapons sites, and launching platforms inside Gaza. So then because of that, because Israel doesn't want to see another conflict, do you think we're going to actually see this drag out for quite some time? I think it is likely that it will take many more days, perhaps weeks, to nail down a ceasefire that would be acceptable to both sides.

And here, I think it's important that the U.S. works with Egypt on a ceasefire and not with other. powers that have presented themselves as possible intermediaries here. I'm thinking of Turkey and Qatar, both of which support Hamas and would work for a ceasefire that strengthened Hamas rather than weakened it. Yeah, I want to get into a little bit more discussion on that ceasefire in just a moment. But I do want to mention you wrote in a recent Daily Signal piece that Iran and Palestinian extremists are the only winners in this current crisis. What do you mean by that? Well, I think the Palestinian people are the big losers. It's not generally known, but about 20% of Hamas rockets fall within Gaza. And they have killed the Israelis say at least 17 Palestinian

civilians. But that doesn't factor into Hamas's cost-benefit calculus, Because in its propagandistic view, it just blames those deaths on Israel. So, you know, I think this will be going on for a few more days at least. And what are your thoughts on how Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is handling the conflict? I think he's taken a strong stance in defense of Israeli security. And he's correct to keep an eye on the implications. of this round of fighting for the next round of fighting, because as long as Hamas's rule is preserved

in some kind of ceasefire, then there will be another round of fighting. President Biden and other Democrat leaders are calling for a ceasefire, but on Monday, Senator Rick Scott of Florida and 18 other Senate Republicans issued a resolution supporting Israel's right to defend itself against terrorist attacks. So, Jim, what are your thoughts on this? I mean, should America be calling for a ceasefire or defending Israel's right to protect itself? Or is it possible to do both?

I think it's possible to do both. And I think the administration is trying to walk that tightrope, which has angered many of the progressives within the Democratic coalition. but Secretary of State Blinken essentially has said, we support a ceasefire when the parties doing the fighting have indicated they're willing to accept a ceasefire. And so far, we haven't seen that from either side. So, you know, if you could sit down with President Biden and offer some wisdom, some advice on how he should move forward, what would you say to him? I would say realize that as long as Hamas has a stranglehold on Gaza, there is no chance of a sustainable peace. Also, that this crisis has illuminated the basic irrelevance of the Palestinian authority, which many have called for Israel to negotiate with.

It's very weak and distrusted by the Palestinian people. Part of the reason for the outbreak of violence was Palestinian frustration over the President Mahmoud Abbas's cancellation of Palestinian elections. So I would say that don't expect to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in one comprehensive agreement. That's impossible. Hamas must first be defeated and discredited. the U.S. should be working with its Arab allies to do just that because they also are threatened by Islamist extremism, opposed by the Muslim Brotherhood, just like Hamas threatens Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Representative Ayanna Presley, who's a Democrat, said, quote, we can't stand idly by when the United States government sends 3.8 billion of military aid to Israel that used to demolish Palestinian homes, imprison Palestinian children, and displace Palestinian families. Our government should not fund state violence in any form anywhere. Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar have also raised questions about the U.S. approach to the conflict. Are we seeing a shift on the left's approach to Israel and Palestine? I don't think we've really seen a shift because a leftist hostility to Israel has been there since the very beginning.

But I think it's more noticeable now, particularly inside the Democratic Party, because of the rise of so-called progressives who really are living in a dream palace when it comes to looking at the Middle East. And so, you know, I think that has always, that hostility has always been there among leftists, but we're hearing a lot more about it now because there's a lot more leftists in the Democratic Party. What are maybe some of the key differences that you're seeing between the Trump administration's approach to the Middle East and now the Biden administration's approach? Well, I think President Trump was very clear about who U.S. allies were. and they included, you know, Israel and Arab states that were willing to work with us to tamp down Islamist terrorism and violence. And this served to prevent Hamas and other extremists from hijacking Palestinian nationalism because there were counter pressures from other Arab states. But now I think the Biden administration is trying to preserve its neutrality in some respects on this issue.

And I think that will only serve to embolden Palestinian extremists. And what about on an international scale? Are we seeing any big policy changes towards Israel right now that we should pay attention to the approach that other nations are taking towards towards Israel? Well, I think many of our adversaries are weighing in with propaganda to oppose as defenders of Palestinians in order to not so much focus on the Palestinian audience, but other Arab and Muslim audiences. But I think the key arena to watch is going to be the UN Security Council, where China, Russia,

and others are going to push for a resolution that will once again state the UN's moral equivalence towards actions by Israel, a state, and a UN member defending itself against terrorism, and Hamas, a recognized terrorist group that threatens not only Israelis, but, Palestinians. Well, Jim, I know you can't predict the future, but how do you think that this conflict might end? And is it possible that it could end semi-peacefully? I think there could be a negotiated solution if Hamas and others of its ilk are defeated and discredited, But as long as it sits on top of the Palestinian hostages, the two million hostages that it has taken in Gaza or, you know, many hundreds of thousands of those, at least that don't support Hamas, as long as Hamas is there, there is no chance of peace. So those who support future Israeli-Palestinian peace should oppose Hamas.

Jim, we really appreciate your time today. Thank you so much for coming on the show. Thank you. And that'll do it for today's episode. Thanks for listening to The Daily Signal Podcast. You can find the Daily Signal podcast on Google Play, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and IHeart Radio. Please be sure to leave us a review and a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and encourage others to subscribe. Thanks again for listening, and we'll be back with you all tomorrow.

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