Critics don’t ask what any other country would do if its civilians were slaughtered. They just expect Israel to take the punches

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Let’s stop pretending the Middle East is complicated.

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Israel wants to live. Its enemies want it gone. That’s been true since 1948, and it’s still true today. Every time Israel defends itself, people are quick to condemn. Every time it fights to exist, critics demand it explain itself. But ask yourself honestly: what would you do if your neighbours wanted to burn your house down?

From day one, Israel has been fighting for survival. The day it declared independence, five Arab armies attacked, not over borders or policy, but because they couldn’t accept a Jewish state. Israel won, barely. Then came 1967, the Six-Day War. Surrounded and threatened with annihilation, Israel struck first. It won again, then offered land for peace. The Arab world responded:”No peace, no recognition, no negotiations.”

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