Tylzen said:
Quite frankly, the situation is the equivalent of a kid throwing rocks at a bee hive, and then blaming the bees for getting stung.
That is the best metaphor I have heard, explaining this conflict.
This is, in fact, a horrible metaphor (and it's actually a simile).
I've been watching the forums for the past couple months and have been reluctant to post. However, the misinformation in this thread is too great considering the unfortunate topic. It would seem people would be less accepting of the points portrayed in the media regarding the Israel/Palestine conflict after the horrible debacle leading up to the USA's invasion of Iraq. Unfortunately this is not true.
We've heard of what militants in Israel and Palestine are doing and neither side is defensible. However, what has been less heard about is:
a) the disproportion of Israel's offensive. Over 700 have been killed. Approximately 500 of that is civilians, and a third of those deaths are children. People have stated this is because Hamas hides behind civilians. This is no justification when civilians are killed at a ratio of 5:1, when known UN targets such as schools are bombed.
b) Israel's embargo on Gaza. This embargo was enacted shortly after Hamas came to power in Palestine. This is perhaps the grossest and ugliest reason why the above simile is horrible. People in Gaza (mostly non-militants) are not kids throwing rocks at bee hives. They are people deprived of all but the bare minimum to live. They are deprived access to food, water, shelter, and escape. The news stories of Israelis and Egyptians guarding the borders of Gaza and sniping, gunning, and shooting down civilians trying to get to food and shelter are horrifying.
c) the ever gradual encroachment of Israel on Palestinians. Ever since Israel was founded as a state following World War II, the powers of Israel have been slowly seizing land from Palestinians. These actions have been critically deemed illegal by the United Nations and widely criticized in the international community. People argue the Israelis will be peaceful when the governors of Palestine seek peace. It is absurd to think that the people who are being plundered must be peaceful to receive peace from the thieves and murderers.
d) the rockets of Hamas and their inabilities. The terrifying rockets so widely mentioned by detractors of Palestine are so crude, especially when compared to the might of Israel's aerial bombardment. These rockets are incapable of being aimed. The Palestinian militants fire these rockets away at Israel out of rage, anger, and believing they can do little else. They fire them at Israel hoping they do damage. They have done little. Since being unleashed earlier this decade these rockets have killed no more than 30 Israeli civilians. In the period leading up to Israel's invasion they had killed none in the preceding weeks. Why Israel suddenly decided to invade Gaza after nearly a decade of receiving rockets (and you should see just how ineffective some of these rockets are), and when no one had been killed after the ceasefire expired on Dec. 19th, is up for debate. It is interesting that Israel is approaching elections and the party responsible for invading Gaza was severely lagging in the polls. That party is now gaining ground with its opponents.
e) the involvement of the USA. To the tune of $3 billion dollars in aid each year, nearly all spent on military, Israel is aided and funded by the USA. It is illegal for weapons sold to Israel to be used in the manner in which they are. However, the Congress remains silent on the matter just as Barack Obama has.
It is frightening to see the overwhelming support for Israel, by the USA, the media, and this forum. Neither Israel nor Palestine is justified. But it is grossly inhumane to think that Israel has the right to self-defense it has exhibited. This is the truly ugly aspect of modern war. After the trenches were left in World War I, the horrors of war took to acts such as the abominable fire bombing of Dresden and atomic bombs on Japan. The role of civilian has gone from detractor of war to war's most popular body bag.
Self-defense allows for the right of the person who has been harmed to face his aggressor. War is completely at odds with this notion. If Person B harms Person A then Person A is only justified in retaliating against Person B. If Person A attacks or harms or kills Person C then Person A is morally indefensible. Unfortunately today, Person C is a sickening number of Palestinians.
The northern country, they hold the southern region. They had a minor war with Israel in 2006.
