NOW DEFUNCT :(

Friday, January 8, 2010

Are We Still Going to Say Israel's Suffering More?

After this story, we better not.

So some Hamas people fired mortar rounds along the border of Gaza and Israel. I'm obviously not going to condone their use of violence, but I think given the circumstances it is understandable. You kick me out of my house and stick me in a ghetto (gasp!) and I'm probably not going to be happy. Add to that that you want to make it so my six hour school day takes a seventeen hour round trip because of all the checkpoints... or tell me I can't take my dying loved one to the hospital today... I think people don't understand the severity of the situation in Gaza and the West Bank.

Also, from the story above,

Gaza militants have fired more than 280 rockets or mortars at Israel since the end of a devastating offensive against the territory on January 18, according to the Israeli military.

Palestinian groups and human right organisations say about about 1,400 Palestinians died during the offensive. Thirteen Israelis also died in the fighting.


And that's over a thousand Palestinians for every Israeli killed. Can that be justified?

2 comments:

Abe Bird said...

So some Israeli planes fired missiles rounds along the border of Gaza and Israel. I'm obviously not going to condone their use of violence, but I think given the circumstances it is understandable. You fire rockets on their houses and stick to them although they said goodbye and left you alone in Gaza, but you still chase them into their places. Gaza is NOT a ghetto but a camp of Islamic terror groups. The Arabs have to choose whether they chase the peace or are they going to battle. (gasp!) And I'm probably not going to be happy too.

There are no checkpoints in Gaza. Don't mix reality with your dreams. Any way most of the west bank checkpoints had been closed. You want to be a good student, so don't be a terrorist!
Your hospitals are in your hand. No one prevent you to come there. But don't expect to come to the hospitals in Israel, your enemy which you fire on his own hospitals that you wish to come and hospitalize in. You're hypocrite.

If you want to live in peace don't explode yourself on the others!

Kirsten Schultz said...

The Palestinian people were forced out of their homeland by the British and others who granted Israel their "independence" - how can this have happened without consulting the people who were living there at the time.

You say that the Arabs have to choose whether they chase peace or do battle - the same can be said for the Israelis. They are building a wall around a city and encroaching on the territorial lands of the Palestinians. This is not a fence and is not justified. It has not halted mortar attacks. It has simply made life worse for the 38,000 people living in Qalqilyah, a city completely encircled by the wall.

Students don't have the ability to simply say they are not terrorists and be free from the searches. Palestinian hospitals often cannot meet the needs of patients because the "country" has barely any revenue coming in. It can hardly be called a country because of the separation of territories and lack of recognition from other countries.

Israelis are not leaving Gaza completely alone. Yes they pulled out for the most part, but there are still security forces there. Checkpoints are still being operated. Can you really provide proof that they are not or are you just in denial? Please see the following quote from the Washington Post:

"The checkpoint, located east of Gaza City, where the strip meets Israel, is regarded as the single greatest barrier between Gaza and the world markets that might bring prosperity to this economically ravaged territory. The Israeli army will continue to operate the checkpoint even after the Jewish settlers and their military protectors are gone, a fact that has muted Palestinian celebrations over the withdrawal."

The Palestinians are desperate people without a real home or an identity. All that was stripped from them when Great Britain took over after the Ottoman Empire fell and subsequently gave the land to the Jewish people. Many were forced from homes where their families had lived for hundreds of years and put into ghettos (yes, they are ghettos). Some have been tortured for no good reason - detained and killed without trial (see human rights organization books and writings).

I don't know about you, but if these things were happening to me, I would do whatever it took to get back my independence, my dignity, and some sense of worth. I would try to make the future better for my children. Unfortunately, there are some who see violence as the only way to accomplish these things.