FOUR HARD FACTS ABOUT THE ISRAEL – HAMAS CONFLICT
In an increasingly polarized world it is important to understand that multiple seemingly conflicting truths can exist at the same time. Here are four hard facts that must be acknowledged by all parties.
1. The Hamas attack on Israel was absolutely terrible, and must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. Period. Let no-one say this essay is an apology for Hamas.
But there are also hard facts about Israel that must be confronted.
2. Israel has for decades, and especially in the last few years under Netanyahu, grossly abused the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank. Without question, that extensive and long-term abuse created conditions that helped lead to the Hamas attack. That does not at all excuse what Hamas did, but is crucial for understanding the context there.
3. The behavior of Israel in the weeks following the initial attack has been atrocious, nothing short of collective punishment, which is a war crime. Literally weeks of daily indiscriminate bombings have now killed over ten times as many civilians as the original Hamas attack. And whereas the Hamas attack was largely a suicide ground attack mission where the attackers directly risked their lives and would pay a price for their attack immediately, Israel has simply sat back and launched bomb after bomb at no risk to themselves. That behavior must also be condemned.
And finally, a hard fact for the rest of us to face.
4. The international community, including especially the United States as Israel’s prominent and extensive supporter, bear blame for not insisting long ago that Israel must reform its treatment of the Palestinians and grant them a legitimate, safe and independent homeland territory. The world has stood by for decades of abuse of the Palestinian people, and that must end.
It is only through honest recognition of all of those hard facts that a peaceful and sustainable end to this cycle of violence in the Middle East can be achieved.
P.S. Two bonus truths:
- Criticizing Hamas for their terrorism is not “islamophobia”, and
- Criticizing Israel’s atrocious behavior under Netanyahu is not “antisemitism”