Since the horrific series of attacks on Israel by the Palestinian Islamist terror group Hamas earlier this month, the world has been strangely divided on the conflict. The initial outpouring of moral support for the Jewish state quickly dried up, and was replaced by discussing moral ambiguities, ‘whataboutisms’, and even a fair bit of victim blaming as well.
Nothing demonstrates this conundrum better than the EU’s response to the most recent escalation of the conflict: in the immediate wake of the attack, EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi proclaimed that there would be an immediate suspension of humanitarian aid payments to Palestine by the Union, which was contradicted in a few days by President of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen, who announced the EU is in fact tripling their aid to Palestine.
The Israel Defence Forces’ ferocious counterattacks also did a lot to muddy the waters, especially because a hospital in Gaza has been hit by a rocket since—however, the Israeli military and both the Israeli and American intelligence agencies have proven practically beyond doubts that it was in fact a malfunctioning Palestinian rocket that broke up mid-flight that caused the impact.
Political commentator and Newsmax columnist Bryen E. Leib appeared on the American cable channel, trying to clear up some of the recently stirred-up ethical confusion over the Middle Eastern conflict.
As he pointed out, the Israeli Defence Forces make great efforts to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza, such as dropping warning leaflets an hour before bombing raids—something no other military does.
These efforts, however, are hindered by Hamas itself, which has always had a tendency to ‘use their own citizens as human shields,’ as Mr Leib put it. He also stated that
‘Hamas is putting their own people in harm’s way...while their leaders are in Doha, Qatar, living a lavish life right now’.
As for the overall outlook and possible consequences of the Israel-Palestine conflict, the Florida-based conservative commentator had this to say:
‘When we look at the situation, though…now is the time to eradicate and eliminate Hamas. And it’s not just good for the future of the Jewish people and the Jewish homeland, it’s good for all mankind. Radical Islam, vis a vis Hamas and Hezbollah, must not succeed. And if they do, it’s not just Israel that’s going to continue to be in the crosshairs, it’s also the United States of America and the world at large.’
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