During the morning of Oct. 7, 2023, a day that was supposed to be filled with music, laughter, and love was interrupted by Hamas, a European Union (EU) and U.S. designated terrorist organization, who opened fire on innocent civilians at the Supernova Sukkot Gathering music festival. This was the catalyst for the latest chapter in the long line of battles and wars between Israel and Palestine.
Fast forward five months and Israel and Palestine are still fighting with most of the public backing Palestine and citing Israel as the aggressor in this complicated subject. However, Israel should not be as heavily criticized by the media and the public as they have, instead Hamas should be universally condemned as Israel is not the enemy, Palestinian civilians are not the enemy, Hamas and its entities are the enemy.
Hamas has consistently put its military before its citizens, as the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has published multiple photos and reports of Hamas using hospitals and schools as missile launching docks. This decision by Hamas puts Palestinian citizens directly in the crossfire of constant missile launches from both Hamas and Israel. This also leads to the destruction of multiple housing and public health buildings as Israel is forced to destroy the launching docks in order to save its own citizens.
Many criticize Israel for bombing these launching docks saying that it leads to mass civilian casualty and displacement. However, Israel uses multiple policies to limit civilian casualties including the “Knock on Roof” policy. The Knock on Roof policy used by Israel is a communication system where the Israel Defense Force publicly announces on social media, drop fliers into Gaza, and tell over loudspeakers that they are going to bomb a building and evacuate the premises. Israel is one of the only countries to do this, directly jeopardizing some military operations just to save lives.
Israel has also been under major scrutiny from the public for not reaching a permanent ceasefire with Hamas in order to end the war. This is because Hamas has not moved from its original position on the ceasefire. According to The Times of Israel, Hamas told mediators it is sticking to its original position on the ceasefire and the details involved.
This rejected ceasefire by Hamas would release 100 Israeli civilian hostages in return for a permanent ceasefire. While this may seem fair to the naked eye, Hamas has routinely broken ceasefires before including the ceasefire that was in place on October 7, when they attacked the Supernova music festival.
So, what is the solution to this complicated problem? Personally, I believe Israel should absolve Palestine, but not permanently and not for the reasons most think. While this may seem like a violation of sovereignty for Palestine, it’s far from it. Most of Palestinian workers have to travel to Israel to work and go through various checkpoints just to provide for their family. If Palestine becomes part of Israel these checkpoints could be reduced, allowing for smooth transit to work and allowing for Palestinians to work more and earn more money.
Israel should also give Palestine a predetermined number of seats in Israel’s Parliament, allowing Palestine to have a voice in decision making of the country.
Finally, Israel can provide education to the younger generation of Palestinians teaching them that Israel is not an enemy but a friend. This would eventually lead to a new generation that wouldn’t harbor hostility towards Israel and would be developed economically and politically to function as a sustainable and thriving country.
While Israel is not perfect, they are far from the enemy in this war as Hamas is directly hurting Israeli and Palestinians citizens and must be eradicated in order for this war to come to an end.
