Noisy Protests Against Israel – OpEd

Ever since Hamas launched war against Israel and in the process killing hundreds of innocent citizens of Israel by catching the Israel government by surprise, many pledged supporters of Hamas and the Palestinian cause have vociferously supported the action of Hamas.

Hamas has openly declared that their object was to destroy Israel as a country and wipe it out from the world map and in the process forcing back the Jews to the earlier days when they were stateless. Israel has responded to the Hamas attack, as it was left with no alternative but to fight for its survival as a nation. 

What is to be noted here is that Hamas and its supporters want to destroy Israel once and for all, while Israel has been wanting to reach an amicable settlement with its neighbors and with a give and take policy, without sacrificing Israel’s territorial integrity. Recent near successful efforts of Israel in reaching out to nearby countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia , Qatar and UAE, clearly highlight the fact that it wanted peace on its border and not war and tension. Obviously, Israel would have accepted the legitimacy of Palestinian state, if such a climate of peace that it wanted could have been achieved. It should be seen that the goal of Hamas and its supporters and that of Israel are different and miles apart.

In such situation, it is necessary to recognise that the group of people who launched this violent war and adopted violent means to achieve their ends should be considered as terrorists. In the inevitable event of the region or the country trying to protect itself from the terrorist attacks, the public support and sympathy should be in favour of those who defend themselves rather than those who offend by initiating a war or offensive methods.

The stand taken by Government of India is the most principled one in the present ongoing circumstances. The Indian Government expressed its support to Israel, as it was a victim of war and violence and not the initiator of the conflict. At the same time, the Government of India extended sympathy and support for the people living in the Hamas region, who suffer due to counter attack by Israel. Obviously, the people living in Gaza would have voted for peace rather than war like conditions and they seem to be forced to suffer, much against their choice,

Those vast amount of people who are supporting the action of Hamas and condemning Israel are not living in Gaza, but elsewhere in the world, who cry for its destruction and organise demonstration and protests.

Finally, it should be noted that while the supporters of Hamas make lot of noise and sound and fury, there are large number of silent people who understand the plight of Israel which has also lost valuable citizens and they recognise that it has no alternative other than to fight back if it is to survive as a nation.

In such scenario, the resolution adopted by the UN, which appears to virtually blame Israel and leaves the action of Hamas without any particular observations, appears to be one sided and unfair.

Finally, it will not be out of the place to mention that the war against terrorism should not be viewed from a religious point of view, as terrorism is a double edged sword and it is in everybody’s interest to stop such terrorist acts once and for all in the world.