THE barbaric attack that occurred on October 7 in Israel was carried out by Hamas in the knowledge that Netanyahu’s government would over-react. History has demonstrated this to be a completely predictable outcome.
The leadership of Hamas clearly knew this would result in civilian casualties in Gaza but was prepared to accept that outcome, judging it to be a price worth paying for the publicity and the additional support it would create within the Palestinian population. The intermingling of military and civilian infrastructure in an area as densely populated as Gaza made civilian casualties inevitable.
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What their leadership did not predict was the magnitude of the Israeli response. They did not anticipate that Netanyahu would take the opportunity to unleash such overwhelming force, levelling vast swaths of the Gaza landscape and killing tens of thousands of innocent people in the process, in what will ultimately prove to be a futile attempt to totally eradicate Hamas as an organisation.
With hindsight, bearing in mind the fragility and composition of the current governing coalition in Israel, a stronger reaction than usual might have been foreseeable, but it’s difficult to comprehend exactly what long-term benefit Israel hopes to gain from the ferocity of its indiscriminate attack on Gaza’s infrastructure. There is no scenario in which this can possibly improve its security.
It should be clear by now, even to the most nationalistic of Israelis, that when one Palestinian resistance group is removed it is replaced by another more extreme version, and that popular support simply moves to the new group. This support only grows with the continuing eviction of residents from the occupied West Bank to appease Israel’s ultra-nationalist right wing. Although it has been given little publicity, these zealots have stated they believe God gave them all the land between the Jordan and the Mediterranean. Alternative wording to describe this area is available! They believe Palestinians should be evicted from Gaza as well as the West Bank.
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While it’s understandable that there was a desire to provide a secure home for Jews after the Second World War, and it is also understandable that the land chosen was their ancient home, as this was the express wish of Zionist activists, it should have been obvious that such a solution would not be acceptable to the people then occupying it. Ongoing conflict between the two communities was inevitable without a settlement that was considered equitable by both sides. Clearly, unsurprisingly, this was not achieved.
Try to imagine what would happen if someone decreed that Virginia or Queensland should be returned to the descendants of their original occupants. That the current inhabitants just have to find somewhere else to live and get over it.
Recognising that returning to 1945 and starting again isn’t an option, the international community needs to make a concerted effort to find some form of sustainable solution or this sad tale will continue on repeat until the two sides eventually destroy one another. This latest episode is demonstrating that neither is invincible, but is also entrenching further the animosity between them.
Cameron Crawford
Rothesay
NETANYAHU’S government is doing everything the Nazis did in the Second World War. He is suppressing news, his troops are shooting unarmed children, and he is, without doubt, invoking the decimation of a race. He has invaded a country with overwhelming force (supported by America and the UK) and shown no mercy in cutting down anyone who objects to his aims. In just the same way as the Nazis were prosecuted for war crimes and the eradication of a race of people, so should he.
Tony Kime
Kelso
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