Why won't Israel meet Hamas half way?

Four years ago, the 2014 Gaza-Israel war called, 'Protective Edge', was in full swing. It had begun July 8, 2014. It ended August 26, 2014 (here, here). August 2nd was 24 days into that 49/50 day war. 

During that war, thousands of  news stories, articles and essays appeared around the world. Mostly, they condemned Israel. Mostly, they saw Hamas--the aggressor who started this war--as the war's victim. Many of these reports and essays were viciously anti-Israel. Few told the truth about what was happening in the war. The accounts mostly parroted what Hamas spokesmen said.

During this war, the Obama administration in the US busied itself trying to 'bring calm'. Many of us here in Israel considered these particular efforts to be unhelpful to Israel--perhaps even anti-Israel. Sometimes, these efforts appeared outrageously anti-Israel. 

At one point, some in Israel got the impression that the US didn't have a clue about what was going on here. It seemed blind and deaf to the hate aimed at Israel. At another point, the US seemed to be whining, 'look, we're trying to help. But Israel is stubborn. It won't even meet Hamas half-way'.

We couldn't believe how blatantly anti-Israel such complaints seemed.  But there wasn't much we could do. Few outside Israel cared. Most countries seemed to agree with the US complaint: why wouldn't Israel meet Hamas half way?

One American website, legalinsurrection, wrote often about the war. Its essays, thankfully, were a breathe of fresh air. They defended Israel's right to defend itself. 

One day, the website above ran a cartoon that, for many in Israel, captured the frustration we felt about both US President Barack Obama and his Secretary of State, John Kerry. Here's that cartoon:














                                                                          (here)

The cartoon went viral. It had struck a chord. It told a truth worth passing on.

Read more about this cartoon here. It's worth your time.