The case for Israel’s actions is self-defense. They were responding to shelling from Hamas. The best rebuttal I’ve seen to this argument comes from David Reiff in a letter to Crunchy Con:
I think you quite dramatically misstate one of the essential elements of what led up to this renewal of hostilities: the continuing Israeli blockade of Gaza throughout the truce period. I really don’t see you can on the one hand regret the support given to Hamas by the population of Gaza while at the same time ignoring one of the essential reasons for that support.
have you ever been to Gaza? I have. It is poor, but richer than many places, including Haiti in our backyard. But what makes it remarkable is its hopelessness. And in that context, believing that anything is better than the status quo may not be a sensible conclusion, but surely it is an understandable one. If Israel was not going to loosen the restrictions on access and ingress in a period of relative calm, when was she going to do so? After a final settlement? You might as well say after the Second Coming!…
None of this exculpates Hamas. They should not have abrogated the truce. But even if one leaves the question of the proportionality of the Israeli response to one side … there is the question of Israel’s right to maintain the effective sealing of Gaza ad infinitum.
To which Crunchy responds:
All the same…what choice did the Israelis have when confronted by a fanatical regime in Gaza, one dedicated to their extermination? Should Israel not have laid siege to Gaza, would Hamas have imported better and stronger missiles, and put Israel in greater danger than it is today?
The full exchange is fascinating.
UPDATE: Juan Cole, a liberal foreign policy expert, explains the interaction between the blockade and the rockets in a fascinating post charting the history of the current conflict:
Hamas pursued the tactic of sending small home-made missiles against nearby Israeli towns, mainly Sderot, emulating what Hizbullah had been doing to the Israeli colony in the occupied Shebaa Farms in 2005-2006. Israel responded primarily by squeezing the Gaza public, denying it enough food, fuel, electricity and services to function healthily, in hopes that it could be made to turn against Hamas. This punishment of the civilian population (half of which consists of children and some large proportion of which does not anyway support Hamas) is illegal in international law, and failed in its purpose. Hamas became ever more entrenched.
posted January 5, 2009 at 3:02 pm
We are constantly being told that Hams should be talked to, that they will negotiate, and we respond by saying that they are a genocidal group toward Jews. But what does that mean? Where is it written? Everyone should read the Hamas charter, or at least the excerpts that follow . It clearly explains the lunacy of the people with whom the world wants Israel to deal with.
ARTICLE 13 (excerpt)
There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors. The Palestinian people know better than to consent to having their future, rights and fate toyed with.
ARTICLE 22 (excerpt)
.
For a long time, the enemies have been planning, skillfully and with precision, for the achievement of what they have attained. They took into consideration the causes affecting the current of events. They strived to amass great and substantive material wealth which they devoted to the realization of their dream. With their money, they took control of the world media, news agencies, the press, publishing houses, broadcasting stations, and others. With their money they stirred revolutions in various parts of the world with the purpose of achieving their interests and reaping the fruit therein. They were behind the French Revolution, the Communist revolution and most of the revolutions we heard and hear about, here and there. With their money they formed secret societies, such as Freemasons, Rotary Clubs, the Lions and others in different parts of the world for the purpose of sabotaging societies and achieving Zionist interests. With their money they were able to control imperialistic countries and instigate them to colonize many countries in order to enable them to exploit their resources and spread corruption there. You may speak as much as you want about regional and world wars. They were behind World War I, when they were able to destroy the Islamic Caliphate, making financial gains and controlling resources. They obtained the Balfour Declaration, formed the League of Nations through which they could rule the world. They were behind World War II, through which they made huge financial gains by trading in armaments, and paved the way for the establishment of their state. It was they who instigated the replacement of the League of Nations with the United Nations and the Security Council to enable them to rule the world through them. There is no war going on anywhere, without having their finger in it.
ARTICLE 28 (excerpt) The Zionist invasion is a vicious invasion. It does not refrain from resorting to all methods, using all evil and contemptible ways to achieve its end. It relies greatly in its infiltration and espionage operations on the secret organizations it gave rise to, such as the Freemasons, The Rotary and Lions clubs, and other sabotage groups. All these organizations, whether secret or open, work in the interest of Zionism and according to its instructions. They aim at undermining societies, destroying values, corrupting consciences, deteriorating character and annihilating Islam. It is behind the drug trade and alcoholism in all its kinds so as to facilitate its control and expansion.
posted January 5, 2009 at 5:46 pm
Hamas started shelling Israel before the blockade began. The rockets started firing on Sederot right after the Israeli withdraw from Gaza when Fatah was still in power.
posted January 5, 2009 at 8:44 pm
If you want to understand the Middle East conflicts read the Juan Cole article Steve links to right by his UPDATE. It’s extremely enlightening.
posted January 6, 2009 at 10:40 am
Isn;t this more of a family feud dating back to Abraham , Sara,and Hagar?
posted January 6, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Well the side of the family we support (literally) has gained most of the land, most of the power and it has gained them and us a whole lot of hatred. We need to take our money and military support and come home.
posted January 6, 2009 at 3:03 pm
Why is the fact that Hamas fired over 2,000 rockets starting from the year 2000 not mentioned? I would assume that this is an important detail considering those rockets killed about 400 Israelis and injured thousands more. The blockade happened when Hamas finally took over and Fatah lost – a natural response, no? What am I missing
posted January 7, 2009 at 11:14 pm
Golda Meir said it best decades ago: “Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us.”