On Phony Claims of Blaming Israel

To the I/P-ers who repeatedly raise the false meme that any criticism of Israel during the Palestinian civil war is "blaming" Israel or "absolving" Hamas and Fatah of all responsibility:

I don’t know why I’m surprised anymore at this tactic, since it matches so many of the other debating tactics used in I/P.  When someone makes a reasonable or accurate criticism of Israel, what should you do?

1. Take hold of the criticism yourself,

2. Restate the criticism to accuse Israel of being responsible for all evil in the world,

3. Mock the critic for being so over the top.

4. Repeat as necessary.

It’s a silly tactic, and it only serves to distract from honest discussion.  So let’s drop it and focus on the real issues.  Fatah and Hamas are certainly not innocent in this civil war.  Both are incredibly brutal and almost certainly committing war crimes.  Additionally, they are undermining the Palestinian national project by fighting against each other.

However, Israel is not innocent either.  It, along with the US and Egypt to some extent, has worked obsessively to undermine the elected Palestinian government.  It has armed a rival party and certainly helped spark this brutal war.  It has made the economic conditions so atrocious in Gaza that chaos has erupted and street gangs and criminal elements have become major power centers.

What the Palestinians have done unintentionally (undermine the Palestinian national project through in-fighting), Israel has done intentionally.  Though it is often considered un-PC to say so, many here are happy to have Israel do so, and support Israel’s refusal to negotiate with the Palestinians until they are completely broken.  Many support Israel’s work to undermine the Palestinian national project.  This is the real issue when it comes to criticism of Israel:

Israel’s undermining of the Palestinian government is one more in a long string of strategic Israeli mistakes.

Israel has a long history of harming itself through overreaching.  In 1967, fearing pan-Arab nationalism, Israel decisively smashed the armies of its neighbors.  In doing so, however, it overreached and began an occupation that drains Israel militarily, economically and morally to this day.  In 1982, seeking to force a settlement on Palestinians by smashing the PLO, Israel bogged itself down in a useless and bloody war. At the same time changed the dynamic within Palestine itself.  Palestinians stopped waiting for the PLO to rescue them from the outside, and instead organized themselves within Palestine.  A few years later they launched the Intifada and permanently changed the character of the Occupation.

Today, we are seeing another mistake.  Israel and its allies are unwilling to negotiate with Hamas.  Worse, they overreach: trying to destroy Hamas completely by crushing Gaza economically (and militarily) and by arming its rival Fatah.  What is the result?  

Hamas will soon be stronger than ever.  The split in Gaza may soon be over and Hamas will have a unified land under its sole command.  Fatah will be delegitimized by defeat and its support for Israel.  Further, Hamas will know that Israel cannot break it by military invasion, economic boycott or by arming rebels within Palestine.  Hamas will emerge stronger, more confident, better armed (from captured weapons sent by Israel and Egypt), and more committed to violent resistance.  

The crime of Israel here is not that Israel is somehow responsible for the choices that Fatah or Hamas make.  The crime is that once again, through overreaching and lack of foresight, Israel has made its strategic situation worse and has given yet another boost to the war that has claimed and will claim so many Palestinian and Israeli lives.