Gaza spent $6M in the past 24 hours on rockets fired at Israeli civilians. They spent $100M on military in the past few years (rockets, tunnels, etc). When people talk about poverty in Gaza, but fail to mention facts like this, something's fundamentally wrong with the equation.
Yes, Gaza is poor. Average income is $1,800 (though it does have these beautiful farms, beaches, and boulevards). But it makes no sense to spend $100M on military terrorism - especially when it is all to attack Israeli civilians, none of it for defense.
So why do they do it?
So why do they do it?
Don't be fooled - this conflict can't be reduced to material things such as land and resources. Hamas and Islamic Jihad are driven by religious fanaticism and genocidal antiSemitism, calling for the death of all Jews -not just Israelis- over the well-being of their own children.
Land, or political autonomy will not pacify Hamas or Islamic Jihad. They want the death of all Jews. How do I know? Because they say it, publicly, over and over. It is in Hamas' very constitution:
fas.org/irp/world/para…
fas.org/irp/world/para…
“The Islamic Resistance Movement aspires to the realization of Allah’s promise, no matter how long that should take. The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him salvation, has said:..."
fas.org/irp/world/para…
fas.org/irp/world/para…
‘The day of judgment will not come until Muslims fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jews will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say ‘O Muslims, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.”
As @JeffreyGoldberg has written in @TheAtlantic "This is a frank and open call for genocide, embedded in one of the most thoroughly anti-Semitic documents" since the 'Elders of Zion.' To really understand Hamas and Islamic Jihad, read this article.
theatlantic.com/international/…
theatlantic.com/international/…
Hamas adopted classic Euro-fascism, which Islamists absorbed collaborating with Nazis during World War II. They believe in a global Jewish conspiracy responsible for all wars and revolutions, Nazism, and Communism, and all failures of the Muslim world. (see above)
They are not fighting for liberation - they are fighting for annihilation.
"There is no solution to the Palestinian problem except by Jihad...Israel, by virtue of its being Jewish and of having a Jewish population, defies Islam and the Muslims."
fas.org/irp/world/para…
"There is no solution to the Palestinian problem except by Jihad...Israel, by virtue of its being Jewish and of having a Jewish population, defies Islam and the Muslims."
fas.org/irp/world/para…
So you can talk all day about what might be a more productive political strategy from Israel or America vis-a-vis Gaza. But unless the above facts are internalized and tackled nothing will change.
