There is nothing justifiable about murder. Horrifying, cold-blooded murder. The slaughter of innocent men and women in a rampage of blood and tears.
That is the situation that Hamas, classified by the American government as a foreign terrorist organization, has wrecked in Israel in the past few days. Based on the Palestinian state of Gaza, the conflict between Israel and Hamas is not new. According to CNBC’s article on the history of Hamas, the terror organization was formed in 1987. Hamas gained control of the Gaza Strip, around 140 square miles, in 2007. The territory notoriously packs two million people into this small area, making it one of the most densely populated areas in the world, according to a CBS article on the area. The Palestinian citizens of Gaza live in horrible conditions, enforced by Israel after Hamas refused to recognize Israel’s existence.
Tension built up to Oct. 7, when Hamas broke through the border wall and launched an aerial and ground attack on Israeli territory. In a horrifying, unprecedented situation, the two militaries have been engaged in combat and rocket strikes since that day. Significant casualties have been reported on both sides, as the Israeli “Iron Dome” missile defense system was overwhelmed by the amount of missiles fired. Israel has countered with air strikes on buildings in Gaza.
To be clear: Palestine is not the same thing as Hamas. Hamas is a terrorist group that controls the Gaza Strip. Palestinians are the people who live there or in the West Bank of the Jordan River. The situation is also not one-sided. Israel has enforced a terrible situation in Gaza with a controversial forced evacuation of Gaza City. The United Nations said the action was a violation of human rights as it is the largest city in the area. It’s unfair to think either side is entirely the correct one. To do that, people ignore the reality of the injustices committed by both sides.
This is the problem with the public’s view of the conflict. Just because a person cares about the citizens of Israel does not mean they can’t support and hope for the best in Gaza.
Looking at the war from the big picture is an easy job, but it is much more important to look personally at the Israeli citizens. I have some friends who live in Israel, and the situation is rather personal. The things they report are terrifying.
“I personally live near some places where citizens got kidnapped, raped, and killed… so we lock the house constantly and such…also we always hear planes in the sky, and sleep in the mamad (a bunker basically),” said Madelin Deagan, a 16-year-old who lives Be’er Sheba, a city in southern-central Israel. She attended Camp Harlam, a Jewish overnight camp in the Pocono Mountains, with me in the summer of 2022.
It is horrible that people have to live like this: constantly afraid that they may be attacked. No one deserves this.
Idan Parizer is a reserve tank soldier for the Israeli army who volunteered to fight when the attacks broke out and is also a former camp counselor of mine. His experience is similar to Deagan’s.
“What we saw shocked us: live on-air people calling the news channel that people were breaking into their houses, the news anchor helping police forces to arrive to the terrified families, videos of tanks on fire, people being kidnapped, we couldn’t believe it,” he said, also commenting that the roads on his drive to Gaza felt like a horror movie.
He was ordered to move north the next day to protect the country against potential Lebanese attacks. Parizer and his tank crew are currently training, carrying out security missions, and waiting for orders. He is stationed in Northern Israel because Hezbollah, another militant Islamic group located in Lebanon, has joined the fight against Israel.
The war is deeply personal for Parizer.
“As more days pass, I hear about more people that I knew [who are] dead: a girl I knew from the army, a guy that was in my class in middle school, a guy I met in Bolivia during my trip earlier this year; they were all murdered,” he said.
Parizer also comments that the spirits of Israelis are not broken and they are volunteering where they can, whether it be in the army or aiding those who have suffered at the hands of Hamas.
“The amount of love and support I saw in the last week after this tragedy is one of the most incredible things I have seen in my life,” he said.
He believes Israel will persevere and fight through the tragedy.
History and personal stories aside: there is nothing good that can come from this conflict. There is no positive impact of death—especially not for thousands of people. “A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths are a statistic,” is a famous quote from Joseph Stalin, the dictator who controlled communist Russia in the mid-1900s. We can not let this be true. The horrific stories from this conflict are real. Not fiction, not history, real life that is happening at this very moment. This war has already claimed over 1,000 lives. A thousand deaths means 1,000 lives destroyed, 1,000 funerals to be planned, and 1,000 people who will never come back. It is so terrifying to see what humans can do to one another.
Only blaming one side of the issue is dangerous and reveals prejudices. People resort to horrible antisemitism or Islamophobia to distort the truth of the matter, but this war is not because of the Jews or Muslims. This a conflict between two destructive governments in which citizens of both sides can and will die. We can only hope for peace.
Ize Galmai • Nov 3, 2023 at 4:42 pm
I think this was cover written well but most definitely cannot be called “unbiased”. Where’s the mentioning or the grave amounts of Palestinians who are constantly being killed daily? What about the people who have no connection to the Hamas and are now lying lifeless on the side of the road? Or the thousands of pregnant women having emergency C-Sections and the rising number of miscarriages, and the pre-born babies in hospitals with no electricity. Parents labeling their children with their names so they can be identified if they’re found dead, or a father going off to work and giving his family a hug, not knowing if it’ll be the last. These are civilians who are facing consequences that are so inhumane and wrong and its baffling that we are apart of a country that supports that.
Thomas Kauffman • Nov 3, 2023 at 11:37 am
My understanding of the issue is that Hamas, which purposely attacked many innocent Israeli people recently, is Palestine. They have no government other than Hamas, if they did they would have made some attempt to stop Hamas, but because of the lack of Palestinian anti-Hamas things being said but instead having a lot of pro Palestinian speech I am led to believe that there is a distinct belief that Palestine and Hamas are fully separate. Another thing I believe is that you can’t choose a “good and bad guy” based on how many innocents were killed, as soon as innocents are purposely killed that group is not the good guys. If you really need to discern which is “worse” you have to look at other factors like motives, intentions, and effects of the happenings. I am in agreement with the title of this article, which I admit was a little biased, but I might of seemed a little biased
too but that was because of the 8 other pro Palestine comments on here. I would be happy to disagree with pro Israel people too. In conclusion, i believe both Israel and Palestine are not good, neither are innocent martyrs, and either neither or both sides deserve U.S. support.
Danny Snyder • Nov 3, 2023 at 12:03 pm
The number of civilian deaths aren’t the main factor because Hamas uses their citizens as human shield. Common terrorist tactic, AKA a literal war crime. The official rules also exempt Israel from blame if citizens are killed in the crossfire when civilians are used as shields like they are now.
Also everyone has some bias in this since we’re all emotional teenagers. Example: I’m Jewish, so of course I’m biased towards Israel. I try to keep an open mind, but I’m still biased.
Abdullah Tanis • Nov 9, 2023 at 9:25 am
There are 2 Palestinian governments. Hamas in the besieged Gaza Strip, and the Palestinian Authority in the partially occupied West Bank. The Palestinian authority has lost most legitimacy among the people though, since they cooperate with Israel in terms of security and do nothing against illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
I’m not sure about Palestinian support tbh, given that hamas was voting in some 20 or so years ago, and the majority of Palestinians are below that or around that age from what I know. However, clowning on Palestinians for not condemning hamas as they are being invaded and almost indiscriminately bombed by Israel is pretty silly. The Israeli response only serves to make more Palestinians support hamas, as the already existing poverty and the very disproportionate Israeli response will breed radicalism, and with it, more support for a violent resistance
Another thing I believe is that you can’t choose a “good and bad guy” based on how many innocents were killed, as soon as innocents are purposely killed that group is not the good guys. If you really need to discern which is “worse” you have to look at other factors like motives, intentions, and effects of the happenings.
Looking at the motives, it’s clear both sides kinda suck, or at least, are irreconcilable. Hamas wants the next door ethnostate gone in favor of an Islamic state, and as peaceful attempts by the Palestinian authority haven’t worked, the seemingly obvious next step is violence. Israel is made to be a Jewish ethnostate, and the recent and current far right governments have had no intention of making a good peace. Sure, they offer peace deals, but they are completely one sided with terms that the other side explicitly rejects, such as the refusal of the right to return for the Palestinians and their descendants who were expelled by Zionist militias in 1948, and the refusal to grant a Palestinian state significant independence or East Jerusalem.
I agree with your last bit. Both sides suck and neither are worth support.
Salina Chauhan • Nov 3, 2023 at 9:02 am
This article is very biased. Are we going to forget that Israel has broken 28 international laws that could lead to war everywhere? And how could this be a war if the State of Palestine has no land army, or an air force or a navy. The Palestinian Security Services do not dispose over heavy weapons and advanced military equipment like tanks. So how are the people is Palestine supposed to defend themselves while they are being bombed and shot at? This article also brings up Oct 7. But failed to address the fact that Israel had broken the ‘cease fire’ and attacked Palestine to get a reaction out of Hamas on Nov 4 2008. When America was in a euphoria over the first ever black president, Israel took that as a moment to fire. And when Hamas attacked, Israel once again put on the victim act. Since October 28 2023, Israel has killed more than 8,850 Palestinians. 3500 are children. Not to mention the 50,000 pregnant women still in Gaza, 5,000 of which were ,expected to give birth by the end of the month of October. “Israel let them leave” no they didn’t. Israel bombed the bridge that they told the Palestinians to leave using. They have bombed schools and have threatened to bomb hospitals that they haven’t already bombed. They bombed a refugee camp. You can’t say it’s war or a conflict when one side has absolutely no military or defense and the other side has an integrated organization encompassing sea, air, and land forces. The IDF (The Israel Defense Forces) consists of a small corps of career officers, active duty conscripts, and reservists.
Aliyah Hussein • Nov 3, 2023 at 8:49 am
Everyone watch Bassem’s interview with Piers it will enlighten you God willing.
Free Palestine and Ukraine
Prabina Chuwan • Nov 3, 2023 at 8:31 am
How are you going to title the article there is no correct side, when you don’t mention the 8,8500 Palestinians have died. 3,500 of which were children. There is no reason to harm children in which they has nothing to do with this conflict! You say there is no right side but Israel continusiosly dehumanize palestians. Not to mention the fact that this is genocide. Palestine is still a developing country and they don’t have much money for a strong army so how is this considered a war? Why is it always important to talk about people we lost but when it comes to children and women in the Middle East there is no recognition? The people who follow Judism have been trying to find a promise land and saw how hard it was to get to that but now they are trying to kick people out of their homes at gun point may I mention just to get a sliver of land. I say you should read of both sides of the story before writing an article and calling it “unbiased.”
Danny Snyder • Nov 3, 2023 at 8:06 am
Israel has forced the Palestinians out of their home out of desperation for a place to call home, and have done everything in their power to keep that home once they claimed it. The Palestinians have fought back with terrorism, doing horrible things and dying for their cause in desperation for their home back. Neither side has the right to do what it has done, but neither side has an option not to do what it has done. Neither side is willing to coexist in one state, and neither will agree to two separate states. Israel wants the Palestinians to take their lot in life and calm down, and Palestine wants all the Israelis dead. Neither side is willing to make peace, and the only solution is the complete destruction of one side. The situation is a bad one, and even if you support one side, know that you accept that victory means millions of people either dying or being forced into persecution.
Salina Chauhan • Nov 3, 2023 at 9:13 am
“Israel has forced the Palestinians out of their home out of desperation for a place to call home” this is Ukraine vs Russia all over again. And people stood with Ukraine as Russia tried to steal their home and Ukraine fought back. But when it is the Middle East you guys turn blind eyed.
Jonathan Salas • Nov 3, 2023 at 10:16 am
The difference between Russia and Ukraine from Israel and Palestine is that the conflict for Israel and Palestine goes back thousands of years. Many nations have fought with Israel for the land they occupy, whether you believe Palestine has the right to be there alongside Israel, or Israel has the right to be there alone, or Palestine alone. Russia has no place in Ukraine. Ukraine is its own country and the war over it started recently because Putin wants more power. The Soviet Union owned Ukraine which is why Putin decided to try and take it back under false claims that technically Ukraine belongs to Russia. That’s the difference is that they have no claims to Russia. Israel has claims to the land it’s in and rightfully so does Palestine. I personally believe that Israel or Palestine should both occupy the lands they have in harmony. Yet the issue comes down to national identity and what the U.N. decided to do, which was to put Israel in occupied lands so they would have a national identity after the events of World War II. Since the lands of Gaza Strip and Jerusalem was considered the Holy Lands in Judaism. They completely ignored the Muslim claims to Jerusalem. Yes Israel did force the Palestinians out of their homes out of desperation for a place to call home like Danny said, but they did this because the U.N. approved of it. The U.N. still does similar things like this in the modern day. Refugees from the Sudan Civil War forced some Kenyans out of their homes for refugee camps. Of course they didn’t take the whole land of Kenya and gifted it to the refugees because people learn from their mistakes. The U.N. pretty much escalated a thousand year conflict into more violence, but that doesn’t mean the U.N. is to fully blame, no one should be blamed for this. Both sides are at fault, neither one can truly justify their actions, neither one should be defended either.
Danny Snyder • Nov 3, 2023 at 10:26 am
For one thing, I’m neutral in the Russia-Ukraine conflict since Ukraine has the right to defend themselves and Russia has good reasons to invade. The main difference is that Russia instigated this fight, and Ukraine is defending themselves. Hamas, however, attacked Israel, and then acted like they didn’t expect Israel to stomp their small nation into the ground. They knew how Israel would react, and they attacked anyway. They knew the consequences, and they’re facing them.
Abdullah Tanis • Nov 9, 2023 at 10:02 am
I’m sure the 4000 dead Palestinian children deserved the consequences of Israeli bombings, and the 1 million civilians deserved to be kicked out of their homes while most of them saw it destroyed by Israel, if that help you sleep better at night
Abdullah Tanis • Nov 9, 2023 at 10:16 am
Israel has forced the Palestinians out of their home out of desperation for a place to call home, and have done everything in their power to keep that home once they claimed it.
What a great defense. They were desperate, so they stole land, massacred some 70,000 Palestinians, and kicked more out for their ethnostate.
The Palestinians have fought back with terrorism, doing horrible things and dying for their cause in desperation for their home back.
Israel’s existence was acquired by terrorism, but when Palestinians, the people who had their land taken by zionists, who are under an Israeli apartheid, who in the Gaza Strip are completely blockaded and in massive poverty, attack Israel, it’s always somehow unjustifiable terrorism. The attacks didn’t happen in a vacuum, the sides clearly aren’t equal.
Neither side has the right to do what it has done, but neither side has an option not to do what it has done. Neither side is willing to coexist in one state, and neither will agree to two separate states. Israel wants the Palestinians to take their lot in life and calm down, and Palestine wants all the Israelis dead.
My god, I’ve never seen someone less able to hide their bias. Why should the Palestinians accept that they have to give their land to people who stole it? And “their lot in life?” Are you kidding me? Israel has refused to grant the right to return to the descendants of Palestinians they expelled in their quest for their safe haven, refuses to give the Palestinians the 1967 borders which are the only reasonable ones, and the ones that were seeked by the Arab Peace Initiative, the one Israel refused to recognize because it would require them to withdraw to said borders. Israel has refused any reasonable peace deals, yet still cries when the Palestinians get violent over the constant mistreatment and lack of accountability for Israeli soldiers who kill Palestinian civilians.
Neither side is willing to make peace, and the only solution is the complete destruction of one side.
The burden of reconciliation is on Israel, as the occupying force. It’s their duty to end the blockade on Gaza, get rid of the settlements in the West Bank, and make a fair compromise towards peace, because with the end of mistreatment, occupation, apartheid and not having their economy choked by the Israeli blockade, there would be no reason for violent resistance when there is a non violent path towards peace. With this, groups like Hamas would inevitably lose support.
I think I’ll support the Palestinians who are being killed and having their land stolen over the people doing it any day. Try looking at the situation more objectively next time, because it’s clear you aren’t.
Salaar Faiz • Nov 2, 2023 at 10:16 pm
I don’t really get how you can title it that there is no correct side, and then proceed to make an article that has no mention of the thousands of palestinians that have died or the fact that they do not have any access to food,water, or power. But this article seems to fully go over the israeli side of the conflict. If you want to make an unbiased article, it should be best to cover both sides
Rana Qundes • Nov 2, 2023 at 7:10 pm
I respect your opinion. Though Palestine has done some regrettable things, I think it is clear that this is not an equal war. Israel is bombing the millions of innocent families in Palestine, while having their electricity, water, air conditioning, and temporarily food shut off. Meanwhile Israeli soldiers are joyfully receiving free meals from Mcdonald’s. I don’t believe it’s fair, in the slightest.