Only the hardest heart can witness the grief in Gaza over the loss of loved ones and be unmoved. On the other hand, how is it possible to blame Israel for seeking to protect its people from constant harassment by terrorists?
Back in 2005 Israel gave up the Gaza strip. It was obvious to us that this gift to the Palestinians would result in war. Since 2005 Hamas has shot into Israel 9300 missiles. The people of southern Israel have had frequent visits to the bunkers seeking protection. Rather noisome, rather niggling.
I have never heard of a nation with such restraint! How many missiles would the United States tolerate from Canada before we said, “That’s enough!” What if the international community told the US to be patient with Canada, show restraint and have a peace agreement even though we had to absorb rockets every day?
My image of the situation is that of a little guy picking on a big guy. The little guy pokes the big guy repeatedly with a sharp stick, slaps the big guy repetitively and keeps shouting, “I’m going to kill you!” The big guy stands day and night and night and day being patient with the harassment. He says, “Please stop! I gave you the land you are standing on so you would stop bothering me, now you are troubling me more than ever!”
You know the end of the story. The big guy has enough, pulls back and flattens the little guy! The problem is that the moment the big guy swings at the little guy the world press is there to take pictures! The thousands of pesky rockets harassing Israel never got to press.
It may be noteworthy to tell you how the two rivals behave.
“Israel uses its weapons to protect their people. Hamas uses their people (as human shields) to protect their weapons.” Another lense to the situation is to ask these questions: If Israel alone was armed and Fatah and Hamas had no weapons what would happen? Peace! If Israel had no arms but their enemies did what would happen? The genocide of Israel.
Hamas launches their rockets hoping to kill and maim civilians. Israel is scrupulous about protecting civilians. Picture this: Before Israel bombs a house they make a phone call saying, “In a few moments we are going to bomb this home. You need to get out of the house immediately.” They will also send a small explosive bomb over the top of the home to warn that a big one is following and it is time to get out! How many enemies give warnings like this? They drop leaflets warning to move out of areas where there will be attacks. Israel often has spotters saying to hold off on targets because civilians are around the building. Remember, Hamas sends off missiles praying to Allah that they will find the blood of Jews.
If you had a dozen rockets fly into your neighborhood daily how would you comfort your children??? Watch these amazing videos of how Israelis has lived with enemy rockets!
Children’s song to help with stress https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoB1AjVCueU
Everyday life with missiles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrCkc1140Vk
Steve Johnson
Landingstripenterprises.com
