On the face of it, this should be an easy one. After all,
Hamas who control the Gaza strip have been bombarding Israel with rockets and
missiles for a long time. Hundreds of rockets emanating from Gaza have been making
life miserable for the residents of many southern Israeli towns.
On the pragmatic level, the question should be asked what is
achieved by such wars? Will they bring down Hamas or will they convert it to recognise Israel’s
right to exist? Going by past experience, this will not happen.
This, however, assumes that the Israeli regime wants a
two-state solution. If – despite its rhetoric - its purpose is to prevent the
establishment of a Palestinian state and to continue with its colonisation of
the West Bank, then such attacks on Gaza make sense. To that end, the Israeli
government has systematically weakened the moderate leader Mahmoud Abbas and
thereby proven to the Palestinians that moderation does not get them anywhere.
The result is the strengthening of the alternative body - Hamas.
The misery of its own population shot at from Gaza is the
price Israel seems to be willing to pay in order to entrench in the West Bank.
Israel may have the legal and even moral right of
self-defence vis-à-vis the Hamas – However, as this seems to be part of a
bigger picture, the morality of Israel’s war in Gaza is questionable.
