When analysts study the history of conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, a ratio of “Ten to One” begins to be cited in the articles ( Apocalyptic terrorists and terrible vengeance ) to give an idea of how Palestinian casualties compare to deaths in Israel. How does the possibility of “collective punishment” affect the military support of NATO nations to Israel?
Lana Bastašić, author of the novel Catch the Rabbit, in an Opinion piece in the Guardian, questions if the Israeli army “war on terror” amounts to collective punishment.
The Gaza Strip, already impoverished by occupation and an unlawful 16-year blockade, whose population is made up of 47% children is being carpet-bombed by the most powerful army in the Middle East with the help of the most powerful allies in the world. More than 4,600 Palestinians lie dead and many more face death in the absence of a ceasefire, because they can’t escape bombardment or lack access to water, food or electricity. The Israeli army claims that its offensive, now being stepped up is a “war on terror”; UN experts say it amounts to collective punishment. (Bastašić, 2023)
Stephen Kimber, in an article in the Halifax Examiner, explores the question of collective punishment of the population of Gaza.
As of Sunday morning (October 15), the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that 2,670 Gazans — one-quarter of them children — had been killed and 10,814 (including 4,000 women and children) injured in the bombings. At least 1,000 others are believed buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings.
In the first six days of this war, Israeli jets dropped 6,000 massive bombs on buildings and people in Gaza. For comparison, that’s “what the US was dropping in Afghanistan in a year,” according to a report in the Washington Post, but this bombing is happening“in a much smaller, much more densely populated area, where mistakes are going to be magnified.” (Kimber, 2019)
Kimber comments on the fear of Palestinians that those who left their homes would not be allowed back. This would be a repeat of the 1948 mass displacement of more than 700,000 Palestinians who were either expelled or fled their homes in present-day Israel and were never allowed to return. He presents the opinion of Seymour Hersh, the famous American investigative journalist, who has important contacts among key players in Europe and the Middle East, suggests that may, in fact, be Israel’s end game.
With the starved-out civilian population forced to leave, the Israeli operational plan calls for the Air Force to destroy the remaining structures in Gaza City and elsewhere in the north. Gaza City will be no more. Israel will then begin dropping American-made 5,000-pound bombs known as “bunker busters,” or JDAMs, in the flattened areas where Hamas fighters are known to live and manufacture their missiles and other weapons underground. (Kimber, 2019)
The editorial board of the Globe and Mail, October 11 2023, reminded that the history of the Middle East did not begin on Saturday. They advocate that Palestinians have a right to full self-government and the realization of that right, a Palestinian state alongside Israel, is a strategy to bring enduring peace to the region. Hamas does not want peace; it simply aims to destroy Israel.
Destroying Hamas is not only a legitimate aim for Israel, but an act of self-preservation. Still, as it moves against Hamas, Israel is accountable for its military actions. Stamping out Hamas does not justify any and all actions. But the standard for that accountability cannot be unique and impossibly high. Israel has the right to defend itself, even if the exercise of that right results in collateral civilian casualties.
Israel should proceed with caution and restraint, not to appease its unappeasable critics, but to avoid strengthening its enemies. What do Hamas, Iran and Hezbollah want? Bloody scenes of street fighting, civilian deaths in Gaza by the hundreds as a means of turning international opinion against Israel. (Globe Editorial: Canada Must Stand by Israel, 2023)
The end game “tune” that NATO countries need to impress upon “piper” Israel, through their provision of military resources and finances, contains at least four elements.
- Return of hostages to Israel
- Restoration of Palestinians to Gaza
- A new government in Gaza
- A new government in Israel
The military and financial resources being provided by NATO countries, especially the United States, offers these democracies a responsibility for Calling the Tune in the action Israel takes in strengthening security for the people of the region.
References
Bastašić, L. (2023, October 23). I grew up in Bosnia, amid fear and hatred of Muslims. Now I see Germany's mistakes over Gaza | Lana Bastašić. The Guardian. Retrieved October 23, 2023, from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/23/bosnia-muslims-germany-gaza-ethnic-cleansing-palestinian?
Globe editorial: Canada must stand by Israel. (2023, October 10). The Globe and Mail. Retrieved October 25, 2023, from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/editorials/article-canada-must-stand-by-israel/ ?
Kimber, S. (2019, March 9). The Israel-Palestine war: consider the boy in the rubble. Stephen Kimber. Retrieved October 25, 2023, from https://stephenkimber.com/the-israel-palestine-war-consider-the-boy-in-the-rubble/
