In the wake of the almost three week war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza it looks like for now the two sides are backing off from each other. After reading continuous accounts on Al Jazeera of the relentless Israeli attacks on Hamas and the resulting civilian casualties I am amazed that I see in their coverage no evidence of disgust at the Hamas practice of hiding their weapons and armaments in public schools and hospitals to create as much collateral damage as possible within their own community. Israeli commanders have stated that Hamas first placed themselves in those critical positions; then they launched their missiles into Israeli neighborhoods to provoke the predictable aftermath.
They are either stupid enough to believe they are safe because they are hiding in the schools, hospitals and other places full of civilians and children—or they are cunningly placing Israel in the position of having to take out innocent people in order to hit Hamas. It is quite crafty really. If Israel doesn’t target them it looks weak, which can be exploited by Hamas as a propaganda victory. If Israel targets Hamas in spite of where they are hiding, Hamas can simply let Al Jazeera broadcast all the bloody pictures and films of the dead Palestinian children and wait for the rest of the world to cry out for both sides to stop their conflict.
For the United States to think it can intervene and bring about peace in the Middle East is folly, really. Until Palestinians are willing to admit that Israel has a right to exist, and until Israel is willing to share its territory some how, some way with Palestine in such a way that both sides recognize the need to coexist—this conflict will have no end in sight. And this is not news. How they come up with this solution may not even be something that we in America can envision at this point. In fact it is entirely possible that the United States can only make matters worse over there no matter what we try. But until Israel and Palestine find a way to live together on what is Holy land to both of them this conflict will continue.
According to reports of this war, both sides are resorting to very crafty tactics against each other. Hamas has been trying to bait Israeli forces into entering buildings which have been set to blow up when entered, and Israel, being aware of this is simply blowing up the buildings without entering them at all. When the world cries outrage at either side for violating the rules of war they are forgetting the most basic axioms of warfare. And that is that war is basically the art of deception.
Nevertheless, it was Hamas who fired rockets into Israel which triggered this three week long Israeli attack. And it was Hamas who used their own citizens as sacrifices for this conflict without asking for them to volunteer as martyrs. By western standards this looks bloodthirsty and ruthless. But it was also coldly calculated to take advantage of Al Jazeera’s pre-disposition to slant their coverage in favor of anything that is anti-Israeli. Hamas may not realize it but they are becoming more and more like the western world that they hate. They are manipulating the press and using it to achieve their political goals. It doesn’t get any more western than that.
They are either stupid enough to believe they are safe because they are hiding in the schools, hospitals and other places full of civilians and children—or they are cunningly placing Israel in the position of having to take out innocent people in order to hit Hamas. It is quite crafty really. If Israel doesn’t target them it looks weak, which can be exploited by Hamas as a propaganda victory. If Israel targets Hamas in spite of where they are hiding, Hamas can simply let Al Jazeera broadcast all the bloody pictures and films of the dead Palestinian children and wait for the rest of the world to cry out for both sides to stop their conflict.
For the United States to think it can intervene and bring about peace in the Middle East is folly, really. Until Palestinians are willing to admit that Israel has a right to exist, and until Israel is willing to share its territory some how, some way with Palestine in such a way that both sides recognize the need to coexist—this conflict will have no end in sight. And this is not news. How they come up with this solution may not even be something that we in America can envision at this point. In fact it is entirely possible that the United States can only make matters worse over there no matter what we try. But until Israel and Palestine find a way to live together on what is Holy land to both of them this conflict will continue.
According to reports of this war, both sides are resorting to very crafty tactics against each other. Hamas has been trying to bait Israeli forces into entering buildings which have been set to blow up when entered, and Israel, being aware of this is simply blowing up the buildings without entering them at all. When the world cries outrage at either side for violating the rules of war they are forgetting the most basic axioms of warfare. And that is that war is basically the art of deception.
Nevertheless, it was Hamas who fired rockets into Israel which triggered this three week long Israeli attack. And it was Hamas who used their own citizens as sacrifices for this conflict without asking for them to volunteer as martyrs. By western standards this looks bloodthirsty and ruthless. But it was also coldly calculated to take advantage of Al Jazeera’s pre-disposition to slant their coverage in favor of anything that is anti-Israeli. Hamas may not realize it but they are becoming more and more like the western world that they hate. They are manipulating the press and using it to achieve their political goals. It doesn’t get any more western than that.
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