July 30, 2014

Israel Has Tunnel Vision, Condemns Gaza To Death

 The tunnels in Gaza are a sign of life, not terror.

You can't cage people in and expect them to die. Life has a way of springing up against impossible obstacles if the will is there to live. The tunnels in Gaza are a manifestation of this basic principle. 

Israel closed down Gaza's border route in partnership with Egypt and prohibited it from trading with the world. So out of economic necessity, and also for military reasons, they painstakingly constructed these tunnels that we're now seeing on television. They need these tunnels to breathe. That they serve a dual-purpose is beside the point.

If Israel did not impose a siege on Gaza then they wouldn't have turned to them for their economic self-preservation. As they say, necessity is the mother of invention. 

There is over forty percent unemployment in Gaza, and the construction of tunnels provided jobs for young people, many of whom had no affiliation with Hamas or any ideological motivation to dig these tunnels. They were not well-paying jobs, but it's better than being broke.

What did the leaders of Israel expect would happen when they imposed a siege on Gaza? That they would roll over and scream mercy? If they wanted to get rid of Hamas, which they don't because having a demonized enemy around is too useful, then opening Gaza's borders and expanding its economy would be the logical move.

The radical message of Islamists is empowered when people are hopeless and without an economic future. To paraphrase a famous saying, if you want to prevent a revolt then it is better if the people are fat and happy rather than skinny and angry. A political figure in England recently said something to this effect but I can't find the quote. Just look at America as a case in point. Also, this is the reason why Washington has imposed heavy sanctions on Iran in recent years. They want to provoke a revolt. But why Israel is pursuing this strategy in Gaza doesn't make any sense.

It's hard not to be a fan of the idea of Israel. Every people deserves a homeland, especially one that has been historically persecuted and demonized throughout the centuries. The cause of Israel is a good cause. But there are limits to Israel's territorial ambitions. The sad fact is that there are presently no visionary leaders in the Israeli political establishment who desire peace and co-existence with Palestinians. The leaders of Israel want to kill the Palestinian people's will to live because that is the only way they will triumph over them and take their land and resources. But that strategy hasn't worked, and will never work.