Tuesday’s Alligator column voiced misconceptions regarding the situation between the Palestinian Authority and Israel. The real problem is not Israel, but Hamas.
Hamas is a foreign terrorist organization that has hijacked the education of Palestinian children, indoctrinating them to hate Jews, Israel and America. Hamas is responsible for terror attacks and suicide bombings, which killed hundreds of Israeli civilians. Because Hamas effectively controls the PA, it is difficult to believe its denial of responsibility for the murder of three Israeli teenagers — Naftali Frankel, Eyal Yifrach and Gilad Shaar. They were murdered for no other reason than simply being Israeli. Israel does not inflict "collective punishment” on Palestinians. To the contrary, Israel humanely selects military targets and drops leaflets in the surrounding area to warn nearby civilian residents. Hamas cowardly hides behind Palestinian civilians by storing missiles in homes, then brings the conflict to its own citizens’ doorsteps by launching rockets from civilian areas. Worse, Hamas further endangers its own people by telling them to ignore Israel’s warnings. Israel has demonstrated concern for Palestinian lives, but it cannot be expected to ignore the hundreds of rockets that Hamas has fired from Gaza without destroying its capability to do so. By warning the PA of an impending strike, Israel demonstrates that it does value life — including the same lives of those who rejoice in the streets when Hamas murders Israeli civilians.
For perspective, imagine rockets raining down on your tiny country, only 8,000 square miles. Florida alone is eight times Israel’s size, and the barrage of hundreds of rockets would have killed more Israelis if not for the Iron Dome, which destroys missiles en route. However, some rockets have still destroyed homes, properties and innocent lives. On July 15, Hamas rejected an Egypt-sponsored ceasefire shortly after Israel had accepted, then resumed firing missiles into Israel, killing a civilian. Hamas’ goal is not peace but to kill innocent Israelis. Despite this, Israel has kept the border crossing open, allowing Palestinians to enter Israel and delivering truckloads of Israeli food and supplies into Gaza. The border was closed on July 15 — by Hamas, not Israel. Israel continues to supply water and electricity to the PA, although service to 70,000 Palestinians was temporarily interrupted after a Hamas rocket struck the same Israeli electric facility that services the PA.
The column inaccurately characterized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statements. He has not called for violence toward Palestinian civilians: Rather, he advocates for Israelis’ safety, which includes eliminating terrorists. Israel is not bound to extend due process, a protection that exists during criminal trials, to terrorists who continue to kill civilians. Similarly, when a criminal attempts to kill a policeman or bystander, police frequently shoot the criminal in self-defense. By doing so, they do not violate that criminal's right to due process but protect innocent life. Israel eliminates terrorists; Hamas kills civilians. Peace cannot occur unless Hamas ceases to fire rockets on Israeli civilians, stops converting homes into weapon caches and restrains from murdering more innocent Israelis.
[Margaret A. Beck is a UF law student. A version of this guest column ran on page 7 on 7/17/2014 under the headline "Guest voice: Israel should not be criticized for defending itself]
