Israel’s actions are not as brutal as they seem

The newspapers are criticising Israel regarding Gaza. To love and support the Jewish state may seem like defending the indefensible, but much truth is left out in the media reports.

With images shown on our TV screens every night of Palestinian children being killed or injured, is it any wonder people are appalled by what they see?

Israel, however, does not target civilian casualties in its campaigns to rout Hamas terrorists and those responsible for firing rockets into Israeli towns. Hamas, on the other hand, considers any Jew or Israeli a legitimate target and seeks to kill as many as possible. The observation that Israel is being disproportionate in its use of force, due to the higher death toll among the Palestinians, hides the fact that Hamas wants to obliterate far more than the 60 Israelis who have died thus far. Its charter calls for the destruction of Israel as a nation.

The Jews have lived in their Promised Land for 3,000 years and the biblical story of the Exodus shows that God gave this small piece of land to the Twelve Tribes of Israel, whereas the sons of Ishmael settled in the vast territory surrounding the Land of Canaan. Was God being unfair? With anti-Semitism raising its ugly head in countries like France and Hungary, surely the land of the Hebrew Bible would seem the natural place for refuge and safety? [Some] Arabs, however, say no and that the Jews are not entitled to any territory, but prefer to expand Muslim-dominated states that treat both Christians and Jews as second-class citizens or dhimmis. Jihad, or holy war, has been viewed as an acceptable way to achieve that aspiration.

If we look at the historical and biblical ramifications we must understand why Israel takes a tough stand in a tough neighbourhood. Every rocket lobbed by Hamas is a threat to Israel’s existence by teaching its children to hate the Jews and to take up arms in their “struggle” to murder innocent Israelis. This is the legacy of Hamas, a very different outlook to that of the state of Israel, which is a democratic country.

Whatever your views on the current conflict, be aware of Hamas’s tactics of using their women and children as “human shields”: this makes the job of the Israeli Defence Forces extremely difficult, and their arsenals, bought with money from humanitarian aid, are hidden in schools and hospitals, which explains why Israel has to target these places at all.

Colin Nevin

Chef, Hilton Tel-Aviv, Israel 1991-2002.

45c Rathgill Park

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