T
TheAdvocate
Guest
Two wrongs don’t make a right. And I never once defended Hamas. My point is that there is blame on both sides. So let me make this clear:
Hamas is an organization which supports terrorism. I condemn this, and their actions. Their actions only set back their cause. They should instead engage in non-violent protests and civil disobedience to reach their aims. Gandhi-style, MLK-style.
Israel must slowly and carefully move out of the illegal settlements they’ve allowed on the West Bank. According to international law, these settlements constitute a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_law_and_Israeli_settlements. They ought to do it very slowly, even if it takes two decades, all with the help of the international community.
But Israel will not give these up because they see those lands as part of their biblical heritage. My point is, Israel is also to blame and they aren’t taking necessary steps from their side, either. Rightly or wrongly, when people are desperate they turn to violence. Extreme poverty, isolation, and discrimination leads to violence in any country, including our own.
Simply saying that Hamas needs to stop sending missiles to Israel and then peace will reign in the land! is an oversimplification. The actions of Hamas are wrong, but from their perspective, if they were simply ceases their hostile actions, then the war would end, but things would be just the way their were: Palestinians in poverty, the illegal settlements in place, and growing. This does not justify their violence, however, all I’m doing is declaring their point of view.
Just like in any relationship, there needs to be mutual understanding. Difficult as it may be for the Palestinians, they must learn to look at things from Israel’s point of view. Israel ought not look at things from the Hamas point of view, but certainly the Palestinian point of view. It’s sad that they chose Hamas for their own government, but hopefully that will change in the future.
