Peter Shokeir | [email protected]
There are few subjects more incendiary or complicated than the Israeli-Palestine conflict, and with emotions high right now, one must be careful when communicating about this issue.
However, we should not completely rely on so-called experts and leaders, not when they have failed time and time again to achieve peace.
I cannot say I am completely neutral on this subject.
When I arrived in Israel last year, I was pulled aside and questioned by airport security because my grandfather was Egyptian, an incident that did not give me sympathy to Zionism.
To be fair, I found the country itself to be charming, and if I may jest, chocolate rugelach more than affirms Israel鈥檚 right to exist.
And despite my bias, I can safely say the Hamas attack that killed over 1,400 people was revolting, and all it did was ensure a deadly response from Israel and a delegitimization of not just Hamas but the Palestinian cause.
The surprise attack was so inhuman that we risk getting caught up in a fervor and forgetting to consider the big picture or even ask basic questions.
For starters, how did Israeli intelligence fail so badly, especially given that the attack happened close to the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War?
If one ignores the conspiratorial explanations, it is probably safe to say that the legendary abilities of Mossad have been overstated.
The United States helped escalate tensions by moving its embassy to Jerusalem and attempting to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia without addressing the issue of the Palestinians.
Many commentators have also pointed out how Israel had historically bolstered Hamas to divide Palestinians and undermine the reputation of their cause.
Most importantly, we cannot forget that the Gaza Strip is essentially an open-air prison that has been subjected to a blockade for years, or how Israel continues to expand its settlements in the West Bank.
Apartheid is no recipe for a peaceful society.
The asymmetry in death tolls should also be noted, as roughly 6,400 Palestinians and 300 Israelis had been killed since 2008, not counting the recent violence, according to the United Nations.
This obviously does not take away from the horror of the Hamas attack, which was an inevitable result of the dehumanizing rhetoric that both sides have indulged in.
Take, for instance, the pro-Palestine crowd shouting, 鈥淕as the Jews!鈥�, or the disgusting meme that shows the Gaza Strip being turned into a parking lot.
This tribalism is so dangerous and overwhelming that even the Capulets and Montagues would have to give their heads a shake, and it should serve as a dire warning to those in Western countries who casually demonize their political opponents.
The fighting will rage on for months if not longer and undoubtedly result in more civilians deaths and leave Gaza in ruins.
It could even grow into a regional war between Israel and neighbouring Arab countries and cause the United States to get involved in yet another foreign quagmire.
As well, ostensibly free societies in Europe are now banning pro-Palestinian rallies, and the war hawks in Washington are calling for military action against Iran for allegedly supporting Hamas.
While one could argue if Israel should have been established, turning back the clock is not practical or humane, and the peoples of the region will need to find a way to co-exist.
That won鈥檛 be possible so long as the Palestinian situation remains unresolved, and given the poor leadership and the toxic atmosphere, this conflict is likely to remain a forever war.
