Withdrawing isn’t enough if it means a blockade and turning Gaza into an open air prison camp.
The blockade was as a result of the barrage of rockets being launched, i.e., Israel left in 2005, and the blockade was placed in 2007, that means in that two year period Hamas was attacking Israel.
And yes, I know why they have the blockade in place. It’s complicated, and it’s the Palestinian people who sadly suffer. In their desperation, they elected Hamas.
The suffering people of the Gaza strip had the opportunity to change things around and they chose instead to elect Hamas, they are perpetuating their own suffering, i.e., were they expecting peace and prosperity by electing Hamas??? Moreover, does it not give lie to the idea that if Israel would just leave the occupied lands everything will just get better, well, no it won’t, **many Palestinians and those governing them don’t want a two-state solution. **
But the disproportionate killing by the Israeli army isn’t causing wounds to heal either. 80% of the deaths are civilian despite the fact that most rockets are intercepted and there are by comparison only two civilian deaths on the Israeli side. The Israeli army could have been way more restrained.
And that’s because Hamas deliberately launches its rockets in residential areas, please read my post about Hamas launching rockets in crowded city areas in Gaza as recorded by Indian reporters.
There needs to be a slow withdrawal coupled with iron clad agreements ratified by the international community. The Palestinians aren’t ready for that yet, as they are ruled by Hamas. But they probably wouldn’t have voted in Hamas had Israel struck the right tone.
Israel left the Gaza strip, what else did they need as evidence of their good faith (the blockade came after Hamas was elected and began launching rockets). Moreover, the International community if it was truly wanted peace should treat Hamas like the pariah that it is, and put pressure on them, not Israel, to disarm itself and get the heck out of GAZA.
But if you think the only reason why Israel is holding on to the occupied territories is because they fear what would happen if the Palestinians ruled it, you’re wrong. Zionists won’t give it up for religious reasons. They see it as the fulfillment of biblical prophecies, of God giving them their land back. That explain the illegal settlements. (You do believe they’re illegal, don’t you? The international community certainly does.)
Illegal or no, Palestinians will not be uprooted not even by the Zionists, i.e., not if Israel wishes to endure more conflict, which it does not.
Israeli forces destroy illegal West Bank settlement houses
The removal of Israel from the Gaza strip was a step in the right direction and attests to the fact that at least on Israel’s part their is hope for compromise, not so on the part of Hamas and those that rule Palestinians.
Here’s an excerpt: (though I would review the entire report for context)
“For many religious Israelis, the lightning victory of the 1967 war was proof of divine intervention. Jews could return to live in places mentioned in the Bible. Beginning in the mid-1970s, they began building Jewish settlements all over the West Bank. Today, more than a quarter-million Israelis live in the West Bank, not including East Jerusalem.”
Yes, a war that was forced on them by their enemies, and one which their enemies lost, therefore, by all accounts that land belongs to them according to International law.
P.S. Notice that most of the recent trouble that has been afflicting Israel is coming from the Gaza strip and not the West Bank.
I totally love what you wrote!
