"Once you have paid him the Dane-geld You never get rid of the Dane."

Spain, Ireland and Norway throw their support to Hamas by paying more Dane-geld.

In the middle of the stabbings, beheadings, bombings and other Islamic violence against western European countries, three of them — Spain, Ireland, and Norway — have tried to buy peace by announcing that they will pay the Dane-geld. All three countries have announced that effective Friday they will recognize the “Palestinian state.”

Their timing is superb – for Hamas and Iran. Coming as it does in the middle of the existential war between Israel and Hamas, which claims to represent the “Palestinian” people, what do you think of the chances that it will support the effort by these 8th- century terrorists to reconstitute their military and supposedly represent all of the “Palestinian” people. If you picked 100%, take a victory lap.

The timing of the announcement also builds on the recent announcement by the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court that he intends to indict Prime Minister Netanyahu

What “state”? Details are lacking.

I read a report of this appeasement early this morning in the European press. It provided no details. I checked articles by Reuters, National Public Radio, Al Jazeera, the New York Times, and the European press. None identified the “state” the appeasing countries were recognizing, either by reference to a map or otherwise. They provide scant other details. Just “Palestinian state.”

Who governs this new state? We don’t know. Can Hamas, as the last elected government of Gaza, be ruled out as its recognized government? What about Hamas’ rival, the Palestinian Authority, which purports to govern the West Bank? The two have already fought one war against each other after Hamas ousted the PA from Gaza after the only election ever held there in 2006. Those two bands of bandits are each vying for a place at the trough and are not going to live together happily ever after.

Many of the players pay lip service to a “two-state solution,” but without defining precisely what that is. It appears to be just a hope-and-a-dream that Israel and the Palestinians who have sworn to destroy her, can co-exist side-by-side as two separate states. There is no “Palestinian state” even though these three governments (and others) purport to recognize something that they hope will spring into existence sometime in the future.

Absurdities abound.

No one that I have seen has addressed the absurdity of supposedly recognizing the existence of a brand-new state that does not exist now, has never existed previously, and that cannot be defined, and without making any attempt to say where it is located, what its borders are, or who comprises the recognized government of that inchoate state.

The statements by the Norwegian government are typical and reveal the absurdity of recognizing something that does not exist, but without identifying it as such. Its Prime Minister, Gahr Støre said that Norway will “regard Palestine as an independent state with all the rights and obligations that entails." The Norwegian government added that since the now-defunct Oslo accords were signed in 1993, "the Palestinians have taken important steps towards a two-state solution." So, according to Norway, Palestine is “an independent state” although it does not yet exist. But despite its non-existence, the Palestinians supposedly “have taken important steps towards” creating it via “a two-state solution.” Translation: “Palestine is not yet a state, but we are working on it.” Alternate translation: “We love Palestinians, so please remember that and call off further attacks in our countries.”

Given the timing of the announcement and based upon the results, it appears that the most “important step” the Palestinians have taken toward achieving their goal was to launch their barbaric attack on Israeli civilians, employing rape and other criminal outrages as weapons of war, and then using their own civilians as a shield against Israeli counterattacks.

Cui bono?

The Palestinians’ series of war crimes is now being rewarded by ostensibly civilized Western European countries. There can be no serious doubt that by their appeasement, Norway, Ireland and Spain are empowering Hamas and its Iranian benefactors even more. Already the announcement has been met with joy and celebration in the Mideast. Who will get the credit for this breakthrough? Why, Hamas, of course. Their “martyrs” will be seen to have earned this.

And will the Western countries get the peace that they presumably want? Not a chance. They haven’t even bought the consolation of being eaten last. As Rudyard Kipling taught tried to teach us, “once you have paid him the Dane-geld, You never get rid of the Dane.”

I give the last word to Kipling.

Dane-Geld, A.D. 980-1016

IT IS always a temptation to an armed and agile nation
   To call upon a neighbour and to say: –
"We invaded you last night – we are quite prepared to fight,
   Unless you pay us cash to go away."

And that is called asking for Dane-geld,
   And the people who ask it explain
That you've only to pay 'em the Dane-geld
   And then  you'll get rid of the Dane!

It is always a temptation for a rich and lazy nation,
   To puff and look important and to say: –
"Though we know we should defeat you,  we have not the time to meet you.
   We will therefore pay you cash to go away."

And that is called paying the Dane-geld;
   But we've  proved it again and  again,
That if once you have paid him the Dane-geld
   You never get rid of the Dane.

It is wrong to put temptation in the path of any nation,
   For fear they should succumb and go astray;
So when you are requested to pay up or be molested,
   You will find it better policy to say: --

"We never pay any-one Dane-geld,
   No matter how trifling the cost;
For the end of that game is oppression and shame,
   And the nation that plays it is lost!"