Gaza horrors
In the nine months since Hamas attacked Israel, protests have increased. But both sides of the protests risk inadvertently lending support to genocidal acts.
Nine months have passed since that dark day when Hamas launched its surprise attack on Israel from its stronghold in Gaza. Since then, we have witnessed much suffering on the part of Palestinian civilians at the hands of the Israeli military.
My wife and I regularly watch the PBS Newshour, which has thoroughly covered the ongoing war without neglecting the plight of Israeli hostages still held by Hamas. Viewers can feel the anguish of families told by Israeli authorities to leave their homes for a supposed safe haven, only to be put in harm’s way once again. Where are we supposed to go? is the refrain we hear from frightened Palestinians caught up in the tragedy.
University protests
Gaza is a small stretch of land inhabited by some 2 million Palestinian Arabs, according to the Central Intelligence Agency’s statistics. Its population is disproportionately young and growing at an annual rate of 2%. It is almost entirely Sunni Muslim, with a tiny Christian population. The current war has uprooted and displaced huge numbers, with many now threatened with famine and lack of basic necessities.
Israel’s war against Hamas has sparked protests around the world, especially on university campuses, as students have set up tent encampments to indicate their disapproval of their governments’ support for Israel. In so doing, they are replicating an earlier generation of student activists pushing for their institutions to boycott South Africa’s apartheid regime.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has thus far ignored such criticisms, although he himself had already succeeded in dividing Israeli public opinion in the months leading up to the Hamas attack. Israel appears to be severely botching its response under incompetent and uncompassionate leadership. Small wonder so many are protesting.
And yet . . .
Despite the carnage, Hamas is scoring a global propaganda victory, even if it loses control of Gaza. Hamas has embedded its operatives among the civilian population, deliberately exposing them to harm, contravening the laws of war. Israel is fighting an organization aiming at nothing less than genocide. So committed is Hamas to this overriding goal that it is willing to sacrifice ordinary Palestinians to bring it about. Hamas, despite its claims to be defending Palestinians, in reality cares nothing for their suffering.
Nevertheless, Palestinian support for Hamas appears to have grown since last October’s raid. Yet Hamas has no interest in either a two-state or a one-state solution to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Even if Netanyahu is removed from the scene and replaced by a more conciliatory government, Hamas will not abandon its goal of ridding the world of Israel. Those protesting Israeli conduct of the war need to keep this in mind lest they inadvertently lend support to a genocidal terrorist group.
