Let's take a look at the situation in Gaza and Israel and consider the various justifications in defense of Israel's actions:
1. Israel is a democracy
Democracies respect human rights and international law.
Being a democracy does not grant a state the right to bomb its neighbours.
Israel's democratic status is not applicable to the Palestinians under its control.
2. IDF operations limit civilian casualties
The IDF minimises civilian deaths by warning civilians of impending bombings and advising civilians of safe areas where they can find refuge.
Despite these warnings, the high civilian death toll and the indiscriminate nature of the bombings, indicate a failure to protect non-combatants.
Further, so-called safe areas are bombed and out-of-play areas like hospitals and schools and mosques are bombed.
3. Israel is acting in self-defence
While self-defence is legitimate, the disproportionate response and the indiscriminate bombing exceed the bounds of lawful self-defence, constituting war crimes.
4. The objective is to eliminte the cause: Hamas
Yet, despite prolonged military efforts, Hamas is still intact. The strategy is ineffective and risks enhancing Hamas's standing among Palestinians.
5. Israel is combating terrorism
The justification that the bombings are necessary to combat terrorism is false.
Israel's violence, far from defeating terrorism, risks instead fostering resentment and the desire for revenge, nourishing a breeding ground for still more terrorism, and perpetuating and deepening the historic cycle of violence.
6. Israel is liberating the Palestinian people from Hamas control
This is a cynical argument. Hamas was voted into office in 2006.
It is callous mockery to claim liberation through the killing of the very people supposedly being liberated.
7. Civilian casualties are inevitable in any war
There is a distinction between legitimate wartime casualties and the unlawful killing of civilians, which constitutes a war crime.
The ratio of civilian to combattant deaths is higher than in WW2 and considerably higher than in Ukraine.
8. Crticism of Israeli actions is nothing more than anti-semitism
Labelling criticisms of Israel's policies as antisemitic is intended to stifle legitimate debate and distract from what is really going on ie from Israel's true nefarious intentions.
The main point to see is how focusing on 7 October ignores the history of Israel's enduring and provocative intention to seize the land of Palestinians and clear it of Palestinians, under the ideology of Zionism and the justification of legitimate self-defence, security and a sahe homeland for the Jewish people.
What we need is a nuanced understanding of the conflict that considers the historical pre-7-October context and contemporary post 7-October events. These complexities, rather than excuses for violence through simplified narratives or invalid justifications.
Links
https://youtu.be/l4D-ya7CWvM?si=A9t0gJ3MfsdX6-3e
https://youtu.be/Dgyh8NX7pZU?si=Mr4fnUNy0cFYoYN4
https://youtu.be/r4ss3ptSlDw?si=t6WP_ZDt6pYz-Qaz
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