Twelve Too Many
On May 14, the Gaza protests hit fever pitch as the United States opened its new embassy compound in Jeruslaem. Israeli security forces killed 62 people during a Palestinian attempt to storm the fences. A Hamas spokesperson confirmed later that 50 of those victims were members of Hamas, which is internationally recognized as a terrorist organization.
[su_pullquote]To put it mildly, responses to the clashes were polarizing.[/su_pullquote]To put it mildly, responses to the clashes were polarizing. Pro-Palestine activists declared on Twitter that the clashes were murder, not a security measure. Most of these hot takes were tweeted before Hamas released its statement, but many of these advocates either didn’t amend their statements or only corrected them once their followers pressured them to do so.
The pro-Israel movement, on the other hand, explained that the deaths were tragic, but necessary given Israel’s precarious security situation in the region. In the eyes of Israel and its defenders, the 12 extra casualties were collateral damage in the ongoing fight for her protection.
But that still leaves 12 victims who weren’t Hamas members. Those are 12 individuals forgotten by both sides. They weren’t potential terrorists trying to breach the fence to inflict harm on Israel, just civilians protesting for basic necessities. [su_pullquote]Either die facing down an Israeli gun, starve to death from a blockade, or be executed by Hamas for holding a different opinion.[/su_pullquote]But in the process of defending their country from potential terrorists, Israeli security forces gunned down innocent people, who leave behind family and friends who are also stuck in Gaza with an untenable situation: either die facing down an Israeli gun, starve to death from a blockade, or be executed by Hamas for holding a different opinion.
But it’s not just protestors and militants dying in the name of security. On June 2, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian medic named Razan al-Najjar while he tended to wounded protestors. Once again responses were mixed: a UN Security Council resolution condemning the “excessive, disproportionate, and indiscriminate force” used by Israel against the Palestinians was vetoed by the U.S. for being “one-sided.” While the U.S. has criticized the UN for anti-Israel bias in the past, this resolution doesn’t seem out of place. After all, an internationally-recognized norm in conflict zones is the safety of medical staff, and the careless death of a medic embarrasses Israel and sets a precedent for Hamas reprisals against Israeli medics.
Israel may be a Jewish state, but it was founded on the belief that all people have the right to life and liberty, regardless of race, color, class, or creed. The government’s failure to address whether the presence in Gaza is military or police in nature leads to problems like these, because while policing is supposed to protect the community and ensure the people’s safety, a military occupation is meant to permanently end threats regardless of the cost to the community. Israel has the right to defend itself, but it does not have the right to be blasé about civilian casualties. Putting aside the fact that Israel and Egypt imposed the blockade and thus should have been prepared for protests, this specific episode was just the latest in months of border protests, and thus Israel should have been doubly prepared to respond to both civilian and Hamas infiltrators. The 12 victims protested because they were seeking their basic human needs, and instead found death and indifference.
When people become indifferent to these tragedies with statements like “This has been happening forever,” that’s a sign that this needs to be a tipping point. Too many people have died in the conflict between Israel and Palestinian-Arabs, and whether we count from 1947, 1967, 2005, or today, the death toll is this: too many. At the end of the day, we have two problems that need a resolution: Israel must show compassion and allow necessities like food, water, and medicine to arrive and alleviate tensions with the civilians of Gaza, but Hamas must also stop encouraging conflict and violence against Israelis.
[su_pullquote align=”right”]Once you stop firing on civilians, they tend to be less aggressive.[/su_pullquote]Hamas is not free of blame: the rocket attacks and terror campaigns against Israel’s citizens can’t go unresolved, but killing protestors is not the way to fight Hamas. Israel has to win the hearts-and-minds campaign to make sure Hamas doesn’t have the opportunity to use protests against Israel. Going forward it must be mindful of how civilians are used to shield those terrorists. While it’s unfair that Israel is forced to be the compassionate and pragmatic party in a situation where the deck is stacked against it, the very pillars of Israeli society are built on compassion for the downtrodden and oppressed, and policy should reflect those underpinnings. Israel must be the bigger person in this situation not only because it is the right thing to do, but because such actions create goodwill in Palestinians and Arab neighbors alike, paving the way for a less contentious future. Once you stop firing on civilians, they tend to be less aggressive.
Arjun Joshi ‘21 studies in the College of Arts & Sciences. He can be reached at arjunjoshi@wustl.edu.