Imagine living in a city or town where at any minute in any hour on any day rockets and mortar bombs are being launched into your very own neighborhood. The offenders- a terror organization that is on record for saying you and your country has no right to exist and dream of the day that you were wiped off the map. This is the life of those living in Southern Israel, within range of the rockets and mortar bombs Hamas launches by the dozens. Hamas, terror organization disguised as a political faction that used force to take control of the Gaza Strip from the Palestinian Authority, is currently engaged in a military conflict with the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) whose stated objective is to wipe out Hamas.


Show me more ....



Imagine living in a city or town where at any minute in any hour on any day rockets and mortar bombs are being launched into your very own neighborhood. The offenders- a terror organization that is on record for saying you and your country has no right to exist and dream of the day that you were wiped off the map. This is the life of those living in Southern Israel, within range of the rockets and mortar bombs Hamas launches by the dozens. Hamas, terror organization disguised as a political faction that used force to take control of the Gaza Strip from the Palestinian Authority, is currently engaged in a military conflict with the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) whose stated objective is to wipe out Hamas.

For those not too familiar with the back-story between Israel and the Gaza Strip- a brief history: The Gaza Strip is a small piece of land about twice the size of Washington, DC and home to 1.5 million people, mostly Arab. As a result of the Six Day War of 1967 Israel took occupation of the Gaza Strip, previously under Egypt's control. During Israel's occupation, a total of 21 settlement blocs were created which covered 20% of total Gaza territory. 

Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization reached an agreement in 1994 under the Oslo Accords where Israel would withdraw from parts of Gaza and a phased transfer of authority to the newly minted Palestine Authority would occur. Israel would maintain control of the Jewish settlements created. Israel wouldn't completely withdraw from the Gaza Strip until the summer of 2005, when all settlers left the territory (either by choice or force) and the IDF removed all military bases. On September 12, 2005, the Israeli government declared an official end to any and all military rule in the Gaza Strip, thus ending its occupation.

In January of 2006 the Palestinian Parliamentary Elections saw the rise to power of the Hamas organization that won 74 out of 132 seats in Parliament. Hamas has a history of violence, refuses to recognize Israel, and wishes that Israel did not exist. Refusal to renounce this radical ideology led major nations, including the United States and the countries that comprise the European Union, to cut direct aid to the Palestinian Government. This economic and political isolation led to disorder in the Palestinian Government between the Hamas and the opposition ruling party, Fatah, leading to an on-again off-again civil war. By June 2007, Hamas effectively had complete control over the Gaza strip, forcing President Mahmous Abbas to declare a state of emergency, dissolve the unity government, and form a new government without Hamas. This new government was based in the West Bank area of the Palestinian Territory and was recognized by the international world as the sole legitimate Palestinian government. The Hamas maintained control of the Gaza strip and continue to face international, diplomatic, and economic isolation. As a result of hundreds of rockets and mortar bombs  being fired into cities and towns close to Israel's southern border from the Gaza Strip, Israel declared the area hostile territory and created a Gaza embargo, blocking practically any goods (food, electricity, fuel, medicine, etc.) from crossing the Israel-Gaza border. Under a six-month truce agreement negotiated by Egypt between Israel and Hamas, Israel would lift the blockade in return for a halt to to rocket fire by Hamas. The truce was always fragile and during that time rockets continued to be sent into the southern part of Israel. 

Prior to the current conflict, Israel warned Hamas on more than one occasion to halt the rocket attacks or else they would respond. "We are bigger and stronger," they said. Hamas failed to listen. In the meantime, the people living in those cities and towns within range of Hamas rockets and mortar bombs live in constant fear. So Israel made the decision to protect its citizens and go after Hamas. 

Good for them! Now don't get me wrong; I hate war. I don't think I know anyone that likes war. However in this situation, Israel was not left with much of a choice. It was either let the rockets and bombs continue to be launched by Hamas militants or take action to stop or, at the very least, limit the number of attacks. The government chose the latter. It wasn't the most desired action, but after extending the hand of peace time after time and getting nothing in return, the IDF was left with little alternative.

Today marks the seventh day of Israeli airstrikes with a possible ground assault on the way. Media reports that Israeli casualties stand at 4 while Palestinian casualties are roughly 400, mostly Hamas militants with about 100 civilians. Daily pictures and videos coming out of Gaza show the destruction, the blood, the children, and undoubtedly invoke sympathy. I don't want to come off as someone who is unsympathetic to their plight because I'm not. The fact is that there are no winners, only plenty of losers in this conflict. The biggest losers are the innocent people of the Gaza Strip- a densely populated region with 1.5 million people essentially clumped together, 50% unemployment rate, and isolated from the rest of the world. However, the question I ask myself is would any of this had occurred if Hams had simply stopped the rocket attacks. The answer is no. Thus, while my heart goes out to the people living in the Gaza strip, the blame rests on Hamas for continuing to launch those rockets and Israel has every right to use their arsenal to defend itself. I compare it to picking a fight with someone who has a gun when all you have is a pocketknife. It's a dumb move and you should expect a lot of damage and destruction. However, the IDF has taken steps to limit civilian casualties such as firing warning shots and calling, warning civilians when attacks are coming. And just today, they allowed women and children in Gaza to escape through Israel and board waiting buses to Jordan and other cooperating nations.

One might ask how Hamas even came to be democratically elected to power in Palestine. However, for all the evil that Hamas possesses, I can't hold it against the people of the Gaza Strip for electing its members to Parliament. The Palestinian Authority had been dogged by charges of mismanagement and corruption and saw Hamas as an alternative that took care of many social needs such as school and hospital construction, and funded orphanages, mosques, clinics, soup kitchens, and sports leagues. They took care of the people, and the people rewarded them with elected positions in government. However the good that they accomplish does not compensate in any way for the evil they represent.

At the end of the day, war is no good for anyone. Israel should find and destroy Hamas' weapon supply, do everything it can to limit civilian casualties but accept that some civilian life will be loss, work with international humanitarian organizations to prevent a food and health crisis, and (hopefully) cripple Hamas into a cease-fire that will ultimately lead to a longer term truce agreement that will require the reinstallation of a Fatah-Hamas coalition government. Is that likely? One can hope...

Thoughts?