April 29, 2024

    Yesterday, I had a discussion with my friend and wife concerning the October 7 massacre, rape, and kidnapping of Jewish residents near the Gaza border. The Israeli responses to find the hostages and free them, and eliminate any future attack against Israeli citizens is still ongoing with now concentration of attention at the Gazan city of Rafah. The millions of Gazan civilians, non combatants, women, children, elderly, infirm, and family members have had to move from various parts of Gaza with some warning and direction from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) while the IDF bombed, bulldozed, and attempted to root out the estimated 40,000 Hamas fighters and free the hostages. The controversies concerning this strategy in part relate to the injury of non combatant Palestinian Gazan people, the destruction of healthcare and hospital facilities and injury of health care and refugee personnel, and the reported dire starvation issues these civilians face. 

    The Netanyahu government is under severe criticism since the horrific attack on Jewish citizens occurred in part due to lax security, IDF and Israeli government acquiescing to allowing billions of dollars provided by outside governments to be used for Hamas weapons, hundreds of miles of fortified tunnels, missiles, etc. Hamas is a group of terrorists known for their hatred and stated intention to end the existence of Israel as a nation and a Jewish state. 2007 Hamas defeated Fatah in an election and took over Gaza (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Hamas). 1.9 million civilians live among the 40,000 Hamas militants. These militants have controlled this area and rule with an iron fist. The civilians do not have any rights, these is no free speech, corruption of Hamas officials is significant, and the economy has been shattered due to these and other factors. Many Gazan citizens crossed the border into Israel before October to work and bring money back to Gaza for food and basic necessities. Periodic bouts of missile attacks from Gazan and ISIS Hamas militants were launched on Israeli civilians with variable results but the Israeli defenses improved to mitigate these attacks. Counter attacks occurred with Israeli rocket attacks and military operations. 

    The current situation in Gaza is very troubled with civilians now congregated in an area called Rafah where also IDF believe Hamas fighters are hidden among the civilians and in the tunnel system. IDF air and ground assaults have resulted in  "To date, more than 31,184 Palestinians have been killed and 72,889 injured, according to the local health authorities. As of 12 March, 247 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza with 1,475 injured since the start of the ground operation, Israeli army data shows" (https://turkiye.un.org/en/263401-gaza-number-children-killed-higher-four-years-world-conflict). "The October 7 attacks on Israel killed 1,139 people, including 764 civilians and 373 Israeli security personnel. A further 248 persons were taken hostage during the initial attack on Israel to the Gaza Strip .

A further 469 Palestinians (including 94 children^[25]) have been killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem by the Israel military and settlers.^[1] Casualties have also occurred in other parts of Israel, as well as in southern Lebanon, and Syria (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_Israel%E2%80%93Hamas_war).  Though the civilian life in Gaza has severely suffered due to these issues some recent survey data reveals some interesting attitudes of Gazan civilian residents. 

    According to a recent Stanford Report "The Arab Barometer’s eighth and latest survey of Palestinians was conducted in person and is a representative survey of 1,189 Palestinians ages 18 and older living in the West Bank and Gaza.

According to the latest survey, a majority of Palestinians (51%) supported a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders, with slightly more support seen among residents of Gaza than among West Bank Palestinians. A quarter of respondents also said they supported “armed resistance” as a preferred solution to Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

The results also revealed a very low level of support among Palestinians for institutions, whether it be the Palestinian Authority or Hamas. “The Palestinians don’t feel that any of their leaders are really legitimate in this sense,” said Robbins...About 75% of people living in Gaza said they face food insecurity – nearly a 25% increase from the Arab Barometer’s 2021 survey, Jamal noted.

Among other notable findings, the survey found:

• About 23% of respondents said they have a great deal or quite a lot of trust in Hamas; 52% had no trust at all in Hamas.
• Nearly 80% believed the economic situation in Gaza and the West Bank is bad or very bad.
• 68% said food availability is a problem to a great or medium extent.
• A majority – 56% – believed the country’s economic situation will be somewhat worse or much worse in the coming years.
• Most felt that the country’s economic situation is the most important challenge, followed by instability and corruption.
• Most Palestinians said their freedom of speech is guaranteed to either a limited or no extent at all.

Nearly half of Palestinians had very unfavorable view of the U.S., which is largely unchanged since 2021." (https://news.stanford.edu/report/2023/12/05/palestinians-views-oct-7/)    

    The war against Hamas in Gaza has ignited a media frenzy of support for the Israeli terrorist counter attack. The hostage taking, the rape, mutilation, murder, and kidnapping of civilians residents was carried out with horrific violence similar to the history of the holocaust. Prior to this attack the Netanyahu government was attempting to hobble their high court from ruling against them leading to mass protesting in support of this court and against the present government. Netanyahu leads a coalition of some very extreme right wing coalition members who advocate the subjugation of the West Bank Palestinian territory under Jewish settler domination. The IDF is in part responsible for security in the West Bank since the Palestinian Authority though recognizing the legitimacy for the State of Israel is very much weakened under its current leadership, weakened by Israeli government withholding funds for its administration, and unable to prevent the Jewish settlers attacking Palestinian residents of villages nearby Jewish West Bank settlements. News reports surface periodically of IDF troops and West Bank Settlement residents shooting, injuring, and killing civilians. To me these reports read like a lawless dangerous environment. These reports are subject to the usual scrutiny that they deserve since false reporting now seems the prevalent in our present time. 

    In our U.S.A. our college campuses have become another focus of concern since civilian casualties in Gaza have ignited groups to protest. Students and some faculty point out that the present Israeli government is supporting such right wing policies in the West Bank settlements and pursuing a war against Hamas that is severely compromising the civilian non combatants of Gaza. Some of the protesting university students and faculty point out that their university endowment fund is invested in weapons companies associated with Israel and they want the university to divest. On these campuses protest use the West Bank problems of IDF and settler attacks, the lawlessness there as evidence for colonial subjugation of a superior power over a very weakened group disenfranchising them and discriminating against them. The arguments for their side are powerful but the reality of the situation in then Middle East is more complex than these issues. Unfortunately, these protests have included some small groups with anti semitic loud sometimes disruptive and violent actions mixed in with these protesting groups.      

    Iran under the Shia Ayatollah is bent on the destruction of Israel and may be near to having nuclear weapons. Iraq continues to be a somewhat failed state with corruption and some very right wing muslims influences unfriendly to Israel. Syria is a very conflicted area with Russian troops and influence, an Assad monarchy regime that has a long history of domination of Syria and Lebanon, Saudi Arabia a wealthy monarchy now influenced by a prince accused of murdering a U.S. citizen Saudi born newsman yet he is reported to be attempting to overcome the extreme restrictions on everyday life of the Sunni clerical influences and modernize the country into other industries such as artificial intelligence. Yemen and the Houthis are attacking the Red Sea and Suez canal and continue armed conflict with Saudi Arabia. Iran also is in covert war with Saudi Arabia. Egypt has a truce treaty with Israel which is strained with the current Gaza conflict. So far the Gaza residents are being prevented from escaping into Egypt. The Egyptian government is under a strong rule with a history of rebellion for more freedom and countered by more domination by the Muslim Brotherhood which now is considered a terrorist group in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. 

    Lebanon remains a threat to Israel also since some more Muslim radical groups some associated with Iran periodically lob missiles and other destructive weapons onto Israel.  Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain also considered part of the Middle East do have significant influence economically but do no appear to be a threat to Israel. 

    Our U.S.A. a superpower is a weapons supplier to Israel and Ukraine. Civilians harmed by IDF attacks in Gaza generate campus demonstrations and some problems for Biden's presidency. The United Nations is reported to be considering lodging charges of genocide on Netanyahu and others so U.S.A. support of continued weapons supply may be altered. Biden is reported to be attempting to stop civilian casualties in Gaza.

    So I've laid some of my understanding of the issues involved. What can be a solution? If Gaza were no longer dominated and subjugated by Hamas some pundit such as Thomas Friedman have suggested that Saudi Arabia with a coalition of partners would invest many billions of dollars into Gaza to make it like a Qatar if maybe a reconstituted more efficient and modern Palestinian authority would take control. He thinks Israel should take a risk in pursuing a two state solution of Gaza and the West bank as one state and Israel as another. As I think about it I have many misgivings but the goal is what I support. Netanyahu would never support such a solution since then his coalition falls apart since this coalition is made up of right wing parties wedded to the idea that Judea and Samaria have been given to the Jewish people as described in the books of Moses of the old testament. To these religious groups a two state solution is anathema. Just to round out how some U.S.A. citizens may lobby our government and support Israel monetarily  there is the Evangelical groups that believe the present conflicts in Israel presage the end of times and the coming of the Messiah! 

    Now dear reader I leave it to you to puzzle over. The political forces, military groups, nations etc. seem aligned with opposing solutions which currently are seen in our fake news investigations, on line X, TikTok, Facebook, and other media sources as well as in our more thoroughly researched investigations into these matters.  I have more faith in the latter holding the day!

Leonard