The War in Gaza; bloody, tragic but sadly inevitable

I have urged myself to write this, having been subject to comment after comment at my COLLEGE about Israel, its actions and how they can ‘possibly’ be justifiable. I hope I can, rather than attack, educate those who have been tragically miss- informed by the blatant DISPROPORTIONATE bias of the British Press.

Over the last 8 and a half years over 7,500 rockets and mortar shells have landed on Israeli civilian population centres. True, only 20 odd have died, but each and every rocket fired is sent over the border with the intention of creating as much human and infrastructural damage as possible. People may not know that the damage caused by these rockets has reached into the millions of dollars. Over the last 6 and a half years not ONE UN statement, resolution, Security Council meeting or condemnation of these indiscriminate and criminal acts has been registered. All the while, Israel has continued to exhaust the diplomatic process, while the rest of the world has remained ignorant of the fear that 850,000 Israelis have had to live with in the past half a decade or so. The pinnacle of Israel's diplomatic efforts for peace came in 2005 (I know, I was there, I saw the heart break) when Israel pulled out of Gaza with the intention of providing the Palestinian people, for the first time in their short history, with the chance to run a state of their own. One year later they elected a terrorist organisation to power, whose soul aim calls for the destruction of Israel and, quote, 'the removal of every Jew from Palestine'. Israel looked on in horror as the world continued to ignore and the rockets kept coming. THEN, and only THEN, after a year of further and more frequent rocket barrages, when HAMAS took over the Gaza strip in a military coo-the only language they seem to understand-did Israel decide to economically blockade the terroritory. That was the only way they could reach Hamas without being directly responsible for the loss of civilian life in Gaza. Yet, only then, out of nothing, did the world suddenly awake to the horrors in the region, internationally condemning Israel for imposing a 'humanitarian crisis' on the Palestinian people. They just can't win can they? If they go into the territory to stop it then 'occupier!!!'...If they respond by fulfilling the moral obligations to their citizens in self defence then it’s...'disproportionate!!!'...If they economically try to protect themselves and weaken Hamas then...'Humanitarian abuser!'

Hamas are a terrorist organisation and recognised as such by the US, the UN, the UK, the EU, Russia and every other sovereign nation. Yet, all of these countries do NOT negotiate with Al-Qaeda; do NOT grant terrorists legitimacy by negotiating with them AT ALL. Yet they are so blinded by their hatred of Israel they say that they must negotiate with a group that specifically calls for their destruction!! What is there to negotiate? 'We will compromise with you, so long as you abolish yourself'...’?? Until Hamas withdraw such aims, like the PLO did (hense recent israeli dioalogue with them) there is clearly no room for diplomacy/dialogue/negotiations.

Israel has been left with NO option but to exercise its legitimate, sovereign and unquestionable right to self-defence, so as to at least reduce the threat posed to their citizens. I agree with many...I don't think it will work, you can't bomb an ideology out of a people, but operation Cast Lead is justified and legitimate and NOT disproportionate. This is NOT ABOUT PROPORTIONALITY OR COMPARBILITY. This is about ousting a terrorist organisation that oppress their own people, oppress Israeli citizens and aim for the destruction of the Jewish State.