I ABHOR violence. In an age of almost universal access to an immense resource of knowledge and wisdom, it is ridiculous that people have to kill each other to resolve disputes. More correctly, it is ridiculous that leaders have to get some people to kill some other people in order to achieve their political aims.
The violent attack on Israeli civilians at a music festival did not happen in isolation. Apply pressure to anything or anybody hard enough and for long enough and there will be a reaction. Physics tells us that pressure generates heat. History tells us it generates violence. In both cases the result can be explosive.
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As a direct result of the state of Israel squeezing Palestinians into ever smaller enclaves for decades, today the Gaza Strip is one of the most densely populated areas of the world: there are more than 5,500 people per square kilometre, in contrast to the UK average of 270 (Scotland 70). Of the roughly two million inhabitants, in an area the size of the Isle of Jura, more than 65% (1.3 million) live below the poverty line, according to the UN, with 63% of people in Gaza deemed “food insecure” by the World Food Programme.
That pressure does not absolve Hamas in any way for their actions, but neither does it cast the state of Israel as an innocent victim. Yes, its citizens killed by Hamas are innocent victims, but so too are the residents of Gaza who are being, and will be, killed by the Israeli Defence Force in the coming days and weeks. Revenge is not the answer.
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We will all need to beware of unbalanced media coverage, outrageous claims by both sides and the power of language in the days that follow. Remember also that the first casualty of a war is the truth. Violence begets violence and the abused become abusers. The world must not stand by and watch this carnage destroying the lives of the innocent on both sides of the fence.
Blame Hamas or blame Netanyahu, it doesn’t matter. Just stop it, and act like there’s a solution that doesn’t involve killing and maiming.
Willie Sinclair
Kirriemuir
I AM horrified and saddened by the tragic loss of life in South Israel and the resulting retaliatory action in Gaza. The grief and loss of life is heartbreaking.
I am also depressed by the predictable response of the international community, which has continually turned a blind eye to the subjugation, intimidation and violence perpetrated by the state of Israel on the Palestinian people for more than 70 years.
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Two million people are confined on a strip of land the size of Arran, denied basic human rights, access to proper medical services and normal relations with other people and countries. Their land border is controlled by Israeli soldiers, their waterfront by Israeli gunboats. And their towns are bombed with distressing frequency by Israeli drones and war planes with impunity. This is the background against which these awful events have taken place.
I am no apologist for Hamas, but I am an unapologetic supporter of the Palestinian people who are close to my heart. History tells us that statements – by both Tories and Labour – that “Israel has the right to defend itself” actually means they will look the other way while Israeli jets bomb the hell out of Palestinians, who quite literally have nowhere to run. I long to hear politicians respond in a thoughtful, even-handed way, with serious proposals of how progress might be made.
Anne Bryce
Kirkcudbright
SNP spokesman on foreign affairs Brenda O’Hara MP has “[joined] with the international community in condemning the actions of Hamas” this weekend. Can I ask why he was not so prominent in making a response to the invasion of Gaza and military aggression on the occupied West Bank perpetrated by Israel in recent months and further back? Why do we not hear outright condemnation of Israeli reprisal attacks on Palestinian civilians in Gaza and elsewhere that amount to collective punishment, a war crime that should surely be prosecuted as such?
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Are we so afraid of being called antisemitic that we and our politicians must avoid condemning Israel for its aggression and side with them when their victims lash out against them?
I stand with Palestine.
Ni Holmes
St Andrews
HOW much longer is the rich, powerful, Western world going to allow Israel to carry on with its genocide of the Palestinians? Cutting off electricity, water and food from the besieged residents of Gaza is against the UN policy on human rights. It is only just over 100 years since the founding of Save The Children by Eglantine Jebb.
Enough is enough. Stop the right-wing Israeli government trying to wipe out a people by cutting them off from the services they need for life. I am NOT anti-Semitic, I am pro-justice.
Margaret Forbes
Blanefield
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