Hamas is the cause of Gaza’s woes, not Israel

There is an agglomeration of myths that prevail when it comes to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Passionate observers through the years have bought into a plethora of falsehoods. The first of these being that the obstacle to peace has always been Israel. The second being that the Palestinian cause is one of heroic revanchism. The third being that the Israelis are uniquely depraved and that Palestinians are, in all circumstances, their victims. Finally, there’s the argument that any disparity in the death count makes Israel the antagonist.

One feels terrible upon hearing about unnecessary deaths, but the fault doesn’t lie with Israel. It lies with Hamas, the terrorist organization whose vocation is to provoke conflict and slaughter innocents at every opportunity.

The premise of the anti-Israel obsession is proved fictitious upon consulting facts, and fatuous if one understands the nature of war. There are a victor and a loser, a force of good and a force of evil. Moreover, we should be wishful that the loser is the malevolent party. Thankfully, when it comes to Israel and Hamas, this is always so.

For this is what would happen if Hamas were ever victorious: Upon victory, Hamas would promptly commence genocide. Images reminiscent of the macabre scenes Allied forces stumbled upon in the last days of World War Two would then circulate as Hamas celebrated the achievement of their objective: the demolition of the Jewish state and the liquidation of Jewry in the area.

The ugliness of Hamas’ Islamist conception of the world and the Jewish presence within it isn’t some obscure detail. The organization isn’t exactly timorous in outlining their desire to realize the Muhammadan glory of “obliterating Israel,” as well as declaring that to confront the “Jews’ usurpation,” jihad is the “individual duty of every Moslem.”

To mould their grotesque fantasies into reality, launching rockets into Israel with hopes of retaliation is routine. Leaders have justified using terror tunnels and suicide bombings as a “more effective tool in drawing attention to the Palestinians.”

They have also admitted to deliberately putting their citizens in harm’s way to force Israel to take actions that elicit international scorn. None of this, obviously, is conducive to establishing a lasting peace.

Anti-Israel monomaniacs have continually fallen for Hamas’ subterfuge. According to these useful idiots, the real problems in Gaza aren’t a consequence of mismanagement by a theocratic Hamas government, but the Israelis trying to defend and protect their people. Much of the conversation consists of cacophony about the “occupation,” and the brutish “Israeli blockade.”

But, again, who bears responsibility?

The general anti-Israel narrative verges on delusion. Israel withdrew from Gaza and dismantled settlements in 2005, which only allowed for Hamas’ ascension and consequent warfare and terrorism. The rage against the “blockade” is rife with incomprehension of Hamas’ nature.

After all, Hamas enjoys absolute control over the Gaza Strip, and, therefore, has full control over the allocation of resources, or lack thereof. It has seized tons of food, mishandled relief funds, and often withholds materials from Palestinians that are then used to build tunnels and weaponry. All the while Israelis have cared for injured Palestinians in hospitals and provided humanitarian aid whenever possible, permitting that the border can be secured.

Decrying Israel for refusing to assist a cause seeking its destruction is entirely slanderous. Since, alas, Hamas leadershave admitted to using resources for weaponry instead of helping their people.

Which bespeaks that Israel’s detractors approach the subject from a place of stupendous ignorance or are inexcusably arguing in bad faith. The on-going events in the Gaza Strip make the true victimizers of Palestinians too conspicuous to deny.

Within the last week, Hamas has brutally cracked down on protestors objecting to longstanding corruption and economic incompetence that has resulted in a high cost of living and unemployment.

One demonstrator, Amin Abed, claims: “ We simply want to live in dignity. We just ask Hamas to ease the economic hardships and tax burdens.” Such predicaments prove that the people under Hamas’ dominion are only pawns in its grand stratagem against Israel as officials continue to live in luxury.

In response to the protests, Hamas has arrested journalists, beaten demonstrators, and opened fire on protestors while they chanted: “We want to live.”

People who regularly scold Israel for its exertions of force have been taciturn. As of this writing, there hasn’t been much comment from people like Jeremy Corbyn, who has called Hamas his “friends” and advocated for an imposition of a British arms embargo on Israel, one of Britain’s most important allies.

Reports of these maelstroms are euphonious to those prone to overt optimism. Some have speculated if these uprisings indicate that a special kind of energyhas reached Gaza. Thus, a legitimately democratic state may be incipient.

However, I wouldn’t be so sure. Causing despondency is the reminder that an electoral votethat took place over ten years ago facilitates Hamas’ stranglehold on Gaza. There’s still a question if this discontent shows that support for Hamas’ broader mission is waning and reconciliation with the idea of a Jewish state is in prospect. If not, this will be just another episode in the cycle of victimization by the malefactors they, unfortunately, chose to lead them.