I nearly escaped a terrorist attack that sent 20 soldiers to the hospital in Jerusalem in 2008 when I purchased a candy bar at the last moment. I was in Israel during "Cast Lead", Israel's 2008 incursion into Gaza. I also know someone whose pregnant wife was killed when a Hamas terrorist bombed a Jerusalem family restaurant that I had earlier attended.
The article states that Israeli initiated a blockade of Gaza when Hamas won the election and that building materials and people are unable to enter or leave Gaza as a result. This is an incorrect statement because Israel does not surround Gaza, rather its border to the West is with Egypt which also closed their border, the Rafah Junction. In fact, the current President of Egypt, Sisi really hates Hamas (Hamas is the Gaza branch of The Muslim Brotherhood). The Muslim Brotherhood and other forms of militant Islam are threats of stability to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and other Arab countries. Both Egypt and Saudi Arabia were very supportive of Israel attacking Gaza in the recent conflict.
President Sisi worked very hard to close the illegal tunnels between Gaza and Egypt.
The cause of the suffering in Gaza is that Hamas shoots missiles into Israel. Those missiles and other war goods and concrete for making tunnels into Israel were smuggled through underground tunnels between Egypt and Gaza. Thus, the key to the safety of Gazan civilians is the closing of those tunnels and the demilitarization of Gaza/Hamas. Since Hamas took over Gaza in 2006, they have been shooting missiles into Israel, yet neither the US or other members of the International Community had until recently worked with Egypt to close those tunnels.
We all feel terrible that innocent civilians in Gaza are being killed (just as innocent civilians in Germany and Japan were killed in WW II). Ultimately, the people who elected Hamas (just as those Germans who decided to follow Hitler) are ultimately responsible for the deaths of their fellow civilians.
> In fact, the current President of Egypt, Sisi really hates Hamas (Hamas is the Gaza branch of The Muslim Brotherhood). The Muslim Brotherhood and other forms of militant Islam are threats of stability to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and other Arab countries.
It needs to be said (and I'm Israeli) that technically, Egypt had a revolution which led to democratic elections, which put the Muslim Brotherhood in power, which led to a military coup, which gave us General Sisi.
The Muslim Brotherhood government proved to be unpopular with the citizens of Egypt. That government opened up the tunnels to Gaza allowing for more arms and concrete which in the end, simply made things worse for the citizens of Gaza as Israel had to defend itself against these weapons.
You're right, the tunnels can't exist, for the sake of Israel's security. You're also right when you say that Sisi (a tyrant) hates Hamas and he worked to close the tunnels.
What you fail to mention is that Egypt eliminated over 1,300 illegal tunnels along their border without killing a single civilian. Israel on the other hand, murdered over 1,500 civilians in the process of dismantling the illegal tunnels on their border. This was no accident, it was calculated murder on the part of the Israeli government.
The Egyptians flooded the tunnels with sewage on the Egyptian side. The tunnels, unlike the ones from Gaza into Israel are not used to kill civilians, nor is Hamas shooting missiles into Egypt.
You might be interested in the words of British Colonel Kemp, who was in charge of all British forces in Afghanistan:
"Kemp pointed out that, during the operation, there was approximately one civilian casualty for ever terrorist killed by the IDF, whereas the average in the world is four civilians for every combatant, and that, when taking into consideration Hamas’s use of human shields, this shows how careful the IDF is.
“No army in the world acts with as much discretion and great care as the IDF in order to minimize damage. The US and the UK are careful, but not as much as Israel,” he told the committee."
http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Former-British-co...
The article states that Israeli initiated a blockade of Gaza when Hamas won the election and that building materials and people are unable to enter or leave Gaza as a result. This is an incorrect statement because Israel does not surround Gaza, rather its border to the West is with Egypt which also closed their border, the Rafah Junction. In fact, the current President of Egypt, Sisi really hates Hamas (Hamas is the Gaza branch of The Muslim Brotherhood). The Muslim Brotherhood and other forms of militant Islam are threats of stability to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and other Arab countries. Both Egypt and Saudi Arabia were very supportive of Israel attacking Gaza in the recent conflict. President Sisi worked very hard to close the illegal tunnels between Gaza and Egypt.
The cause of the suffering in Gaza is that Hamas shoots missiles into Israel. Those missiles and other war goods and concrete for making tunnels into Israel were smuggled through underground tunnels between Egypt and Gaza. Thus, the key to the safety of Gazan civilians is the closing of those tunnels and the demilitarization of Gaza/Hamas. Since Hamas took over Gaza in 2006, they have been shooting missiles into Israel, yet neither the US or other members of the International Community had until recently worked with Egypt to close those tunnels.
We all feel terrible that innocent civilians in Gaza are being killed (just as innocent civilians in Germany and Japan were killed in WW II). Ultimately, the people who elected Hamas (just as those Germans who decided to follow Hitler) are ultimately responsible for the deaths of their fellow civilians.