Why the Latest Attack on Israel is Problematic- and not just for Israel
Social media is notorious for spreading messages to the everyday man about things that are decidedly anything but ‘everyday’- a prime example being the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Every time Israel drops a bomb on Palestinian territory, social media is abuzz with cries to support the Palestinian cause for liberation- and with good cause. Why the Israeli people think that Palestinians are disposable after the Jews went through the WW2 experience baffles me every single day.
Now, with Hamas unlawfully attacking Israel, the issue has come up once more- and this time, it is problematic for everyone in the region.
I say Hamas has unlawfully attacked Israel but this in no way means that Palestine does not have the right to defend itself. It absolutely does. But Hamas is not Palestine. Hamas is an organisation that is only very remotely related to the cause of Palestinian liberation. The Palestinian people are not responsible for the attack on Israel- Hamas is. Hamas is supported by various other non-Palestinian agents, including Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, and also happens to be a terror group.
Hamas has come to attack Israel at a very unique moment. The US and Saudi Arabia were so close to negotiating a peace deal that would allow for a solution to the Israel-Palestine problem, create and enhance trade and economic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, potentially create the path for Saudi Arabia to pursue uranium enrichment and then firmly establish itself as the regional hegemon, backed by a security agreement with the US. If this sounds like a dream, it might as well be, for the short term, anyway.
Why has Hamas come to attack Israel now? How did Hamas conveniently manage to garner enough military might to attack Israel at such a crucial geopolitical moment? Does it not seem curious that none of the intelligence agencies in Israel or America could get a whiff of what Hamas was up to? Is it likely that they kept it under wraps because a strong Hamas seems too good to be true?
Social media and world leaders have either come to glorify Israel as the victim or dub Palestine as the violent bad guy. The truth is that after all of this dies down, Israel will be backed by the US still and will emerge strong and Hamas, under the pretense of fighting for Palestine, will no longer be relevant in Palestinian liberation. Palestinians have been too oppressed for too long to realise that Hamas is not the saviour they think they are. Political motives towards the attack rather than Palestinian liberation are very much on the cards.
This attack slows down any negotiation that could have happened between Saudi Arabia and Israel and between the region and the US. It slows down regional stability. There is not a lot to gain from this endeavour. In fact, one could argue that the status quo prior to the invasion would have been in the interest of both Israel and Hamas- for Israel to divert attention away from its own domestic disturbances caused by its right-wing government, and for Hamas to be able to look somewhat relevant, whilst receiving aid from its multiple sources.
What is happening now is not Palestine defending itself. It is geopolitics mocking the oppressed, making human shields out of civilians, and should not be celebrated by anyone. Hosts of people have been killed and terrified and no one is innocent.