DI columnist, others too often rely on inaccurate information when discussing Israeli-Hamas conflict

Recently, many claims have been made about the Israel-Hamas conflict. Unfortunately, much of the discussion has been centered on biased or factually untrue information. We want to attempt to balance the conversation. Although this is a direct response to Sarah Fischer’s recent column, “Gaza conflict deeply rooted in myriad of issues,” it is not a personal attack on the author of the piece. These are the issues we feel needed the most attention. We invite respectful dialogue and hope this piece serves to steady the discussion.

Fischer questions why “Israel won’t let Palestine become its own sovereign state.” The truth is that because the Palestinians have begun seeking statehood with the founding of the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1964, there have been numerous attempts to resolve the conflict. Israel has repeatedly engaged in negotiations to establish a Palestinian state.

With the Oslo Accords in 1993, Israel helped establish the Palestinian Authority as a semi-autonomous government for the Palestinians. According to the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in 2000, Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered a deal to the Palestinian people which satisfied nearly all their requests — a deal which was summarily rejected by their leader, Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat.

In fact, in 2005, Israel withdrew completely from the Gaza Strip, with no demands in return. This disengagement involved removing the over 8,000 Israeli settlers and all Israeli troops from the territory. In response, Hamas launched a terror campaign against Israel.

In 2008, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a 10-month freeze on the building of settlements in the West Bank to encourage the Palestinians to resume negotiations. This effort was in vain.

Clearly, Israel has made many attempts to resolve the issue and help the Palestinian people achieve statehood through diplomatic negotiations.

Fischer also writes that “The conflict in Gaza stretches back decades, with the current conflict appearing to originate in 2006.”

The conflict in Gaza stretches most directly back to 2005, when Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Gaza Strip, leaving millions of dollars’ worth of infrastructure intact. This included buildings, greenhouses, utilities, and more. In 2006, the Gazans elected Hamas (which has been classed as a terrorist organization and whose charter calls for the destruction of Israel) to power. Since then, Hamas has launched thousands of rockets at Israeli towns, with the intention of killing civilians.

She also writes “Israel views Hamas as terrorists and detests the Palestinians,” but it’s not just Israel that views Hamas as terrorists. The US, EU, Japan, Canada, Australia, and more also recognize Hamas as terrorists. In fact, the Hamas charter itself says, “Israel will exist … until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.”

Furthermore, to say that Israel “detests the Palestinians” is simply false. The Israel Defense Forces do everything they can to save Palestinian civilian life, while terrorists intentionally hide among civilians, using them as human shields. The IDF drops leaflets warning civilians to avoid Hamas terrorists and leaves personal phone messages with the same information.

It treats Palestinians in Israeli hospitals, carries in humanitarian aid even as Israeli citizens are being attacked and cancels targeted strikes if there are visible civilians in the area. All of these efforts are made by the Israel Defense Forces, while Hamas fires missiles at Israeli civilians at random.

Israel’s blockade on Gaza is not in place to restrict trade, unlike what Fischer wrote. It is in place to prevent the smuggling of weapons — not to prevent the import of aid. On Nov. 18 alone, in the midst of the recent violence, roughly 100 trucks containing medical and humanitarian supplies entered Gaza.

Iran supplies Gaza with rockets (such as the Fajr-5) that are targeted at Israeli civilians. Israel spends millions of dollars providing food, supplies and electricity to the residents of Gaza, while Hamas spends millions of dollars smuggling in weapons and ensuring the continued suffering of their own people.

We are pro-peace. Of course, every country makes mistakes, and Israel is not immune to errors. However, the state has clearly shown a willingness to negotiate anytime and anywhere if it has a true partner for peace. If what we are all striving for is justice for Palestinian and Israeli people, we must start with the truth.

Elaad Applebaum, sophomore in LAS

Elana Weiner-Kaplow, sophomore in FAA