Israel Palestine – What will happen?
Israel’s thinking
Israel is a country that believes that security is achieved by armed might/military spending. It is second in the world on the amount spent on arms and armies as an amount per head of population, ahead of the USA. (1) Yet its population lives in fear and has been shocked and enraged by the action of the military wing of Hamas. Previously Israel believed it had the Palestinians under control and could keep them subdued.
Israeli anger is understandable, but the failure of its policy hasn’t changed its thinking. It is acting as if it thinks that more violence will bring it peace. Israel does not understand that at least part of its insecurity is caused by its violence. It has demonstrated that security is not achieved through military might.
Israel defies international law.
I have learned that Hamas provides civilian administration in Gaza, running hospitals, schools waste disposal etc. Israel’s true enemy is the military wing of Gaza yet it is targetting the entire population, whilst maintaining that it is doing everything possible to protect civilians.
Israel does not know what victory on their terms would look like, unless the entire destruction of the people of Gaza is their aim. That appears to be their aim.
Hamas’s thinking
My minimal research today – references below – show an organisation that has conflicting factions and many conflicting ideas. However it is evident there is a desperation for freedom from Israeli control and a desire to live securely in freedom. Violence by the military wing of Hamas seems to be aimed at indicating that Palestinians will not continue to tolerate Israeli control. Militarily Hamas is insignificant. It is unimaginable that Hamas could “conquer Israel” or destroy Israel. No-one believes that is a possibility. In recent years Hamas has said it would accept various proposals for peaceful coexistence with Israel. (2)
What will happen?
From the Israeli point of view they are traumatising the population of an entire region and daily increase the suffering. They seem unaware that this creates anger, and hatred against them which may be long lasting and which provokes violence. Their daily massacres etc make prospects for peace recede and bring shame on the people of Israel and those who support them.
Condemnation of Israeli action is growing around the world.
Israelis, like the rest of the world, can only live in peace and security by living in cooperative friendship with other people. That is outside the thinking of the present leadership.
Will Hamas negotiate?
Of course they will. That is one reason they have taken hostages. They want change. They want independence, freedom, respect, dignity. They are desperate for change. The Israelis need change too.
Footnote
I can understand the extreme anger on both sides but I repeat that I am against the terrorist actions of both sides.
The British Government
The British government should state that it does not support Israel in its ongoing murderous assault on the people of Gaza. We should not be part of the escalating problem. We may have some influence, but at the moment it is in the wrong direction.
(1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_with_highest_military_expenditure_per_capita
(2) From Encyclopedia Britanicca – A Hamas negotiating position
“In the years after the Aqṣā intifada, Hamas began to moderate its views toward the peace process. After more than a decade of rejecting the foundational principles of the PA, Hamas ran in the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections and subsequently participated in the PA, with indications that it would accept agreements between Israel and the PA. Since then, senior Hamas leaders have stated their willingness to support a two-state solution based on pre-1967 borders. In A Document of General Principles and Policies issued in 2017, the organization acknowledged “the establishment of a fully sovereign and independent Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital along the lines of the 4th of June 1967, with the return of the refugees and the displaced to their homes from which they were expelled” as a “formula of national consensus.” But Hamas continued to reject the legitimacy of Israel, and hard-liners within the organization remained strident in their rhetoric.”
“In May 2021 tensions in Jerusalem boiled over and led to the greatest escalation of violence since 2014. After clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters left hundreds injured, Hamas launched rockets into Jerusalem and southern and central Israel, prompting air strikes from Israel in response. After 11 days of fighting, Hamas and Israel reached a cease-fire.
In 2022, as Israel conducted incursions in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to target militants, Hamas refrained from escalating confrontations in and around the Gaza Strip.”
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hamas
There is more of this article, telling the complex story, at https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hamas/Conflict-with-Israel
The road to peace and security – the European solution
We have had wars and deadly enemies and great suffering in the past. How do we defend ourselves against these enemies today? We have treated each other as human beings, become friends and trading partners and both sides feel safe. Think of our wars with Spain, the Netherlands, France, Germany.
Our conflict with Russia? We were heading in the right direction for a number of years, trading with Russia, buying Russian gas, but unfortunately the leaders of NATO have systematically eroded Russian confidence in our friendship and we are all paying for their incompetence.
30 October 2023
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Protests in cities around the world condemn Israeli action as the outrages escalate. The demonstration in New York is shown here.
