The Difference in Core Values Between Israel & Hamas

Much was made of Israel's military action in the Gaza Strip late last year. A lot of the news centered on the civilian suffering and casualties caused by the engagement.

A new report by the group Human Rights Watch, and discussed here by Richard Cohen, sheds additional light on the topic:

Some residents of Gaza were taken from their homes and shot in the legs or feet. Some were brutally beaten and some were simply murdered, sometimes after hideous torture.

If you are expecting — based on everything that has happened — that the awful Israelis did this, guess again. It was Hamas, the authentic and genuine government of Gaza. Well, no one's perfect.

The information about the shootings is taken from a report issued Monday by Human Rights Watch and available on its Web site. It says that "Hamas security forces or masked gunmen believed to be with Hamas" executed 18 people, most of whom were accused of collaborating with Israel, sparing the expense and bother of a trial.

Others were shot, maimed or beaten, not for allegedly collaborating with the enemy — or, as is invariably the case, having a house or woman that a snitch covets — but for belonging to the opposition political party, Fatah.

No doubt the Human Rights Watch report will be ignored or dismissed in the greater cause of demonizing Israel. This has been the trend of late. No doubt, too, some will excuse Hamas' criminality as the inevitable result of Israeli actions — the Officer Krupke School of Behavior made famous by the singing gang members of "West Side Story."

But as much as some would like to criticize Israel — and I have done so myself — they still have a minimal obligation to acknowledge the difference in core values between it and its enemies.

Human Rights Watch is to be commended. It does not have one standard for Israel and another for Hamas, Hezbollah or the other despotic regimes of the Arab world.

That is more than can be said, though, for critics who vilify Israel, romanticize Hamas and clearly have never had the inexpressible pleasure of living in a place where a chance remark can get your legs riddled with lead. Say what you will, but that place could never be Israel.

"the whole conflict could be avoided if the Palestinians said one small thing"

Daniel Finkelstein in the UK TimesOnline:

The poverty and the death and the despair among the Palestinians in Gaza moves me to tears. How can it not? Who can see pictures of children in a war zone or a slum street and not be angry and bewildered and driven to protest? And what is so appalling is that it is so unnecessary. For there can be peace and prosperity at the smallest of prices. The Palestinians need only say that they will allow Israel to exist in peace. They need only say this tiny thing, and mean it, and there is pretty much nothing they cannot have.

I wonder, is this true?

What's Up With Gaza?

Gaza is an area in the southwest corner of Israel. It is about 25 miles long and 6 miles wide. It has a southern border with Egypt, a western border with the Mediterranean Sea, and all other borders are with Israel itself.

Egypt governed the Gaza strip from 1948-1967, with Israel taking control from 1967 until 1994. During this time Israel created settlements within the Gaza strip. 1994 began a period of phased transfer of governmental control of Gaza from Israel to the Palestinian Authority. The leader of the PA during this time was Yasser Arafat, who also controlled, through the PA, the West Bank (another, separate Palestinian controlled territory in the northern part of Israel).

In September 2005 Israel removed all military installations and civilian settlers from Gaza, giving full governmental control to the Palestinian Authority. However, Israel maintains complete control of airspace, sea ports, and all border crossings.

In January 2006 the PA held elections, and a group called Hamas won. They were viewed as a terrorist organization and refused to recognize Israel or renounce violence. As a result, the United States and the European Union ended monetary aid to the government. The economy of Gaza suffered greatly during this time.

One year later, in January of 2007, fighting broke out between Hamas and Fatah, the political party they defeated in the previous year's elections. Fatah had been the ruling party, being led by the now deceased Yasser Arafat. An intense civil war between the two Palestinian groups lasted for about 6 months, with Hamas winning and taking over complete control of Gaza. However, the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank refused to recognize Hamas, and most of the international community followed suit. Hamas now controlled all of the Gaza Strip, but was completely isolated except for support from Syria and Iran, with the latter providing substantial monetary and military aid.

Throughout this time, thousands of rockets and mortars have been fired from Gaza over the walls and into Israeli civilian areas. During just the first six months of 2008 there were 2,660 projectiles fired. Israel often responded with air strikes and incursions into Gaza to attack Hamas installations, resulting in militant and civilian deaths.

On June 19 a six-month peace agreement was signed, and rocket fire was cut to 65 for the next 4 months. Then in November, Israeli security forces caught a Hamas man tunneling under the wall. A small battle ensued and 5 Hamas members were killed. Consequently, rocket fired picked up, with 237 firings from November through December 10. The peace agreement ended on December 19 with no renewal, Hamas complaining that the borders were still closed and Israel unhappy with the continued rocket fire.

In late December, Hamas continued and increased its shelling of Israel while Israel remained steadfast in keeping the borders closed. On December 24th 87 rockets and mortars were fired from Gaza. The next day the Israeli Prime Minister went on an Arabic station in an effort to convince civilians to apply pressure to Hamas leadership to stop the shelling. On the 26th Israel opened 5 border crossings and allowed humanitarian supplies into Gaza. About a dozen rockets were fired that day from Gaza into Israel.

On December 27th, Israel began its attack.