Jews from Israel point of views: Hamas is a cruel and cynical enemy. But what have we become? Is it not a cynical act to bomb Hamas members’ family homes that don’t constitute a “ticking bomb” threat – that is to say, don’t pose an immediate threat to soldiers or civilians – with the knowledge that there are innocent family members who will be harmed inside? Does the fact that a family didn’t heed our telephone request to leave a building grant us the right to sentence them to death? When we choose to do so, are we not functioning as executioners who have lost respect for human life? When we choose to act this way, can we really continue to boast the claim that we do everything in our power to avoid civilian casualties? The answer to the last question, to my dismay, is no. I wrote that Hamas controls Gaza, but Hamas isn’t alone. Israel also continues to control Gaza. Israel controls the daily entry and exit of goods from the Gaza Strip; prevents access to Gaza from the air and the sea, limiting the fishing area for Palestinians; Israel even controls the population registry in the region. According to the UN, approximately 1,800 people were killed in the Gaza Strip these past few weeks, around 250 of whom were minors. Most of the dead did not take part in hostilities against Israel. Can we as Israelis earnestly shrug off our responsibility to the residents of the Gaza Strip? I believe that we cannot shake off this responsibility.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 04:16:29 +0000