As the most recent wave of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which erupted Dec. 27 with Israeli airstrikes in response to Hamas-sanctioned rocket attacks, continues to escalate with an estimated 1,000 Palestinians dead, members of the Boston University community have expressed conflicting opinions regarding whether Israel’s actions are justified.
School of Management junior Lana Osher said she is among those who think Israel is justified in its attacks on Hamas, the Palestinian political group that many Western governments consider a terrorist organization. She said she supports Israel because Hamas violated a six-month ceasefire agreement by launching rockets into Israel before the settlement expired on Dec. 19.
Hamas officials said it called off the truce after Israel violated the agreement with its economic blockade on the Gaza Strip, according to the Associated Press.
Osher, a StandWithUs Emerson Fellow, said she thinks Hamas agressors aim specifically at civilian locations, such as schools, mosques and houses. StandWithUs is a pro-Israel activist group.
‘[Israel is] fighting a war with people who don’t play by the rules of the game,’ she said. ‘It’s very scary knowing that they’re fighting in a war right now with people who do not respect life.’
College of Arts and Sciences senior Oren Adaki, who spent winter break in Israel, said generally, Israelis think the country is justified in its operations in Gaza, but many are troubled by the civilian casualties in Gaza, whose health ministry official, Dr. Moaiya Hassanain, estimated that about one half of the casualties are civilians, including 300 children, according to the Associated Press. A total of 13 Israelis have been killed.
‘Almost all Israelis that I have spoken to convey a sadness for the children who are unfortunately affected by the fighting,’ he said.’
SMG junior Noura Alkhaled said she is among those who think Israel’s actions are ‘completely unjustifiable in terms of the scale of destruction to infrastructure, massacring civilians and targeting children.’
‘What’s happening in Gaza is an attempt to eradicate the existence and culture of a people by making their living conditions completely unbearable in hopes that it will drive them out, and make room for greater Israeli occupation of the land,’ she said.
Alkhaled said Israel is forcing Palestinian civilians to live in substandard conditions.
‘They have been lacking basic necessities, like food, water and medicine, as well as having limited access to basic services like running water and electricity,’ she said.
The U.N. was forced to hold off on aid after coming under Israeli fire, but announced Friday that it would ‘resume aid’ after the Israeli Ministry of Defense said it would improve its protection of aid workers, according to the Associated Press.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay called for investigations into possible Israeli war crimes on Friday, according to the Associated Press. Nine Israeli human rights groups have also called for an investigation into possible war crimes claiming that the tens thousands of Gaza civilians don’t have anywhere to take refuge, according to The New York Times.
CAS senior Faris Azar said he disagrees with the way that Israel is retaliating against Hamas, but he is also opposed to the initial rockets fired by Hamas against Israel.
‘I think the Palestinians deserve to have their own state, and I believe Israel deserves to have their own state as well,’ Azar said. ‘This’ isn’t an attack on Hamas. It’s an attack on all the Palestinians.’
BU international relations professor Charles Dunbar said though each side has ‘ample justification’ for its reactions, Israel needs to draw Hamas into the peace process in order to end the conflict, a task that will be ‘very difficult for either parties.’
Regardless of the challenges, Dunbar said both sides need to find a way to end the conflict as soon as possible.
‘The longer it goes on, the more bitter the recriminations are going to be,’ he said.
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Neither side of this situation is justified in their actions. In my opinion neither side is taking into the account the civilian causalities. Israel is wrong in encouraging this type of action as are the Hammas, both sides are being stubborn in that they will not seek peace for the Gaza strip. Many of conflicting emotional reactions to this situation, but if all looked at what caused this division they would see that this is just something that is going to have to dealt with through tolerance and much understanding. Some of the individuals feel this is based on religious beliefs, others feel this is based on political beliefs. In some small way this is also due to greed in that much of the oil wells are located in these two regions, and money can cause some to be unwilling to work with others as has been done for many years now through peaceful discussions and mediation from the United Nations. As the death toll rises, many of these deaths are senseless and unnecessary taking of innocent lives, not to mention a great deal of the deaths are women and children who have had nothing to do with any of the political problems these two countries face. The cultures of each country should be considered when these peace keeping negotiations take place. Blind rage is not the way to handle this and many other conflicts these two countries face daily. There needs to be an end to this senseless killing of women, children, and elderly who have asked for nothing more than to life their lives in peace and a normal interaction with each other. Political aspects and individuals of this war need to stop all further actions and behave like people not animals fighting over money and food. This is just my opinion as you can tell, many won’t agree with me on this. But knowing how anger can cloud ones judgment it is vital that all parties settle down and set the proper example for the people they represent in their respective countries. I agree with Charles Dunbar when he said “both sides need to find a way to end the conflict as soon as possible”.