The Patriot Post® · Border Battles

Large confrontations between Israeli Defense Forces and Palestinian rioters occurred over the weekend. Once again, most American media got the story completely wrong, including influential papers like The New York Times and The Washington Post. Progressive politicians like Bernie Sanders predictably took the wrong side. 

To read the media accounts, you would think that peaceful Palestinians, being held hostage in Gaza by Israeli border restrictions, gathered to hold picnics and nonviolent demonstrations demanding that their land be returned. That is fake news.

The reality is that Gaza is being held hostage by the terrorist organization Hamas, which trains children to be killers. Unbelievably, Hamas is competing for control with other terrorist groups like Al Qaeda and ISIS. 

In 2005, Israel gave up control of Gaza to the Palestinians, and Hamas promptly seized control. Did Israel get peace in return for this tremendous concession? No. It only got more terror, including three wars in six years.

Israel guards its border with Gaza because there have been repeated waves of terrorist attacks involving Palestinians from Gaza entering Israel armed with suicide vests and killing Israelis on buses, at schools, synagogues, restaurants, etc. A week does not go by without terrorists being captured trying to infiltrate Israel from Gaza. 

Hamas and other terrorist groups, including a sizable portion of the Gaza population, are not making claims on some additional land; they are claiming all of Israel.

In the last war with Hamas, Israel discovered multiple “terror tunnels,” dug from civilian areas in Gaza under the Israeli border and opening near schools and other areas in Israel. These tunnels have one purpose: to invade Israel in a sneak attack and inflict massive civilian casualties.

Israel restricts what can be shipped into Gaza because cement and other construction items are not always used for schools, hospitals, roads or homes. Instead, Hamas often uses these materials to build terror tunnels, bunkers and other military facilities.

It is in this context that Hamas and the Palestinian Authority announced that tens of thousands of Palestinians would gather at the border to march into Israel to “retake their land.” These demonstrations will supposedly culminate on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the modern state of Israel in May. 

Israeli intelligence had intercepted information alerting them that multiple terrorist cells planned to infiltrate the crowds, using them as human shields. For Hamas it is a win-win situation. 

Either they succeed in launching attacks against Israeli civilians and troops, or, if Israel stands firm and Palestinian civilians are harmed in the process, Hamas propagandists can allege Israeli war crimes. 

Of course, there is no shortage of leftist American politicians and reporters ready to take up the propaganda line and blame Israel. But that really isn’t surprising. These are the same forces who don’t want us to protect our border either.

A Caravan Is Coming

You may have heard the news that roughly 1,000 “migrants,” mostly from Honduras, are on a long march through Mexico to the United States. They are being led by an organization called “People Without Borders.” The name tells you everything you need to know, and it is wrong. Borders define nations and their people.

I suspect many well-meaning people in churches across the country Sunday were talking about this caravan. They may be confused and divided about the appropriate response to this situation. Many were likely told that they are 1,000 hurting people who need our compassion. 

What if it were 5,000? Or 10,000? What if it were one million? Or 150 million?

There are several billion people who could make a poverty or compassion claim to demand entry into America. Every year we legally admit one million immigrants. But 150 million people around the world want to come here, and we cannot let them all in.

It is not compassionate to allow more people into the country than we can assimilate. Nor is it compassionate to allow more people into the country than the American taxpayer can support. 

President Trump is calling out Congress for our lax immigration laws and weak border security policies. Good for him. In the days ahead, every politician should be forced to go on the record about what exactly they would do with this migrant caravan and whether they believe we should be a nation without borders.

Sessions’ Special Counsel

Many conservatives, including me, have been frustrated that Attorney General Jeff Sessions has not been more aggressive in confronting the “Deep State.” Some have demanded the appointment of a second special counsel to probe Obama-era abuses.

Late last week, Sessions responded to key congressional leaders by informing them that he has appointed John Huber, the U.S. attorney for Utah, to conduct an investigation of the Department of Justice in coordination with the ongoing work of the department’s inspector general. Moreover, Mr. Huber has been “on the job” for several months already.

Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, has been very critical of Robert Mueller’s witch hunt against President Trump. Turley argues that Sessions did exactly the right thing with Huber’s appointment. 

As The Washington Times noted, Huber “is a special counsel in every way but name.”