Five months into this new level of conflict between Israel and Hamas and we seem to face an inevitable catastrophe whatever Israel do.
First let me state that I hold the official government line that Israel as a democratic state has the right to defend itself.
Second, I am am at heart a pacifist. I consider all war a ridiculous and tragic symptom of human sin. But, I equally wonder for instance what Europe would be like today if we had simply surrendered to Hitler. If you get to the end of this you’ll see my remarks on the Crusades!
Israelis were viciously, mercilessly and savagely attacked by Hamas in the most brutal and inhumane way imaginable. There was no question that a military response was inevitable. This I believe was the intent of Hamas. They wanted to provoke what they knew would be all hell let loose! And that is what they got, albeit in a measured and carefully controlled manner. The IDF are perhaps the most modern, professional and moderate military in the world.
If HAMAS truly wanted peace they could have laid down their arms and returned the hostages within days, admitted their mistake and repented!!!! As if that was going to happen. Anyone who has studied Islam knows that there is at its core a justification of violence and a glorification of martyrdom.
I have been horrified at the response of a certain vocal minority across the developed world. Our streets have been filled with calls for the genocide of the Jews, “from the river to the sea“! I am of a generation that grew up in the disgrace and shadow of the holocaust. I never dreamt that I would see a day when Anti-Semitism (*) would openly rear its ugly head again. Frankly it sickens me.
Islam from its inception has hated both Jews and Christians. The Jews because of Isaac and Ishmael. The Christians because of Jesus, a blasphemer and liar, albeit bizarrely a revered “prophet” in the eyes of Moslems.
As we head through February the calls worldwide for a ceasefire have grown even among those countries that have supported Israel. But WHAT IS ISRAEL TO DO?
If the IDF withdraws now they will leave a “state”, that has had self-governance since 2005, with the inevitability of HAMAS retaining control, returning to their old tunnel-building and with no means or will(+) to rebuild the ruins. UNWRA has been discredited. The truth about the tunnels suggests that many countries will be reticent to fund “rebuilding“.
Israel withdrew all Jews from Gaza in 2005, effectively creating the much vaunted two state “solution”. But Hamas did not use that position positively.
I suggest that the only feasible conclusion for this is for Israel to reoccupy the Gaza Strip, re–unify it as part of Israel, and not rebuild it but BUILD it! Do what Hamas failed to do. Gaza could blossom as the rose just like much of the rest of Israel. There is certainly potential for tourism (note the small picture above of Gaza beach), amongst other things, once Hamas are gone and peace is restored. Imagine how much money would be saved by Israel if the Iron Dome was no longer needed. Gazan Arabs could live at peace “in Israel” just as the other 20% of Israeli Arabs do.
However, how can Israel build trust among the Arab inhabitants after the death and destruction that is being inflicted upon them? Perhaps the fairest comparison would be the rebuilding of Germany after WW2 having rid the country of Nazism. Few Germans objected to the mass slaughter by Allied bombing that seemed necessary to bring Hitler to his knees.
Not Israel’s border but Egypt’s border with Gaza
Are you not puzzled as to why other Moslem countries are reticent to help Gazans? Why is Eqypt reinforcing its fence? Why have they not opened their border to “refugees”? Is it the fear that thousands of Hamas fighters would pour in too? Oh and by the way, this nonsense about “refugees” in Gaza. The so-called camps are mostly blocks of flats, not encampments. Gazans have had 19 years to get over their refugee victim mentally, but it plays in their favour.
Tragically therefore I see no end to this war on terror, even if Israel have to fight alone while the rest of the western world fund the war against Russia. Hamas (ISIS, Taliban, Hezbollah – call them what you will) must be resisted and preferably deconstructed if the Middle East is to find peace. Spoiler alert – the Bible suggests that is unlikely till Messiah comes.
CRUSADES
Lastly a quick comment on the Crusades! Once Christianity became established as a “national” religion across European countries (A.D. 300 onwards) a military clash with Islam (A.D. 700) was inevitable if tragic. What were ‘we’ supposed to do in the face of Moslems rampaging and raping across Europe?
As we are still witnessing today, once politics, religion and the military get welded together, peace is unlikely to result. In the case of the Crusades, our “valiant” warriors were guilty of the most horrendous atrocities against both Moslem and ironically Jews (on the grounds that they killed Jesus!). Taking up arms is never a good solution, especially not for the soldiers and civilians that get in the way. Hamas and other Islamic entities clearly don’t believe that. So what is Israel to do?
(+) Hamas have clearly ‘wasted’ the billions of dollars given to them for development in buying weapons and building tunnels instead of investing in infrastructure, squirreling away vast sums so that their leaders can live in luxury anywhere but in Gaza!
(*) for the pedantic reader please note that I am aware that Arabs (at least some) are in fact Semites themselves, which raises interesting questions. I am also aware that 10 of the 12 original Hebrew tribes appear to have “vanished” and could therefore be among those that today we call Arabs. DNA tests could prove fascinating if not dynamite!