Israel and Palestine have been fighting over land for generations, is there “any good guy” in this current conflict?
Since the Oct 7 attack on Israel by the group known as Hamas (a Palestinian-based militant group), who has killed between 1,200 and 1,400 Israeli people, according to Al-Jazeera. In response, Israel has been nonstop attacking Palestine in order to rid the Gaza Strip of the Hamas threat.
According to CBS, Hamas initially attacked Israel because of recent violence in Jerusalem as well as Israel’s foreign policy against Palestine.
I think what Hamas did to the people in Israel on Oct. 7 was a crime against humanity, but the innocent people of Palestine who have not supported Hamas should not have to pay Israel with their lives in this ugly conflict.
During these last few weeks, the Palestinian death toll has been increasing, with civilians being bombed in hospitals schools and their homes. Over 70 percent of the population in Gaza has been displaced and approximately 15,000 people have been killed, according to AlJazeera.com.
Additionally, the United States has been in full support of Israel. In a recent White House conference John Kirby on Oct 27, the Pentagon press secretary, had said the U.S. will not call for a cease-fire because the only people a cease-fire will benefit is Hamas. Israel was established in 1948, following the end of World War II. Since then, the U.S. has become one of Israel’s closest allies.
According to AlJazeera.com, Israel has cut off necessary supplies such as food, water and fuel —essential to keeping hospitals and water stations operating. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suspended Heritage Minister Amiachi Eliyahu after Eliyahu suggested dropping a nuclear bomb on the Gaza Strip, according to the Associated Press. I don’t think the United States should continue to support Israel in its vendetta to eliminate the Hamas threat when it has put countless lives in danger as well as the lives already taken.
Both Hamas and Israel are potentially in violation of the laws of war written and agreed upon in the Geneva Convention in 1949. These laws were written after WWII to ensure the safety of civilian life. The laws state that civilians are to be protected from inhumane treatment or attack without discrimination based on race, religion, sex, faith, or wealth. Hamas initiated an attack on Oct. 7, killing Israeli civilians marking the deadliest day in Israel’s history. Israel has responded by killing close to 10 times as many Palestinian civilians.
The Israel-Palestinian conflict is not a battle for good or evil but a war against humanity civilians in the Gaza Strip are being bombed in schools, hospitals, and their homes. Israel has dropped over 40,000 tons of explosives on the Gaza Strip, killing 15,000, of which 6,150 are children according to AlJazeera.com. According to the BBC, Qatar mediated a four-day cease-fire on Nov. 24 for a prisoner exchange. The only thing I can hope is that the countries of the world keep calling for a cease-fire so that there is no more unnecessary loss of human life.
