Big Arun Bajpai
Gaza flare up between Israel and the Sunni Jehadi terror organisation Hammas is hardly a reason for some opposition parties including Congress to not allow the Parliament to function for two full days recently and when the ruling NDA Government did not agree to single out Israel for the blame ,then to stage the walk out. If these politicians are really worried of the developments in West Asia they should have been discussing what is happening in Iraq to our 39 Indian workers taken hostage by another dreaded Sunni terror organisation ISIS that has close links with Hamas. ISIS is keeping these hostages incognito.
For the current flare up, the trigger was abduction and killing of three Israeli teens under the shenanigans of Hammas in the West Bank on 12 June. Israel retaliated by detaining more than 200 Palestinians. A Palestinian teen was also killed. This resulted in Hamas resorting to Rocket fire and Israel launching air strikes on 15 July. Israel agreed to an Egypt brokered cease fire on 17 July but Hamas refused and continued escalating its rocket barrages. On 17 July Israel launched its Ground offensive which continues.
Gaza strip a 360 square km area housing 1.82 million Palestinians and controlled by terror organisation Hamas since 2006 is sandwiched between Israel in the North and Egypt in the South. After the Oslo Accord between Palestine liberation organisation (PLO) and Israel of 1993, Israel unilaterally vacated Gaza Strip and West Bank in 2005 and a Palestine National Authority (PNA) was formed to govern these two areas under PLO. This Accord was between PLO a comparatively moderate and matured organisation whose leader late Yasser Arafat was a great friend of India and Israel. It was not between Israel and ultra radical Hamas which muscled in Gaza in 2005 and which has a declared aim of destroying Israel.
So if Israel got worried it cannot be blamed. After arrival on the scene Hamas has created its bunkers in the most densely populated areas of Gaza. It has been smuggling arms from Iran and Syria. To thwart this Israel has placed a land, sea and air blockade on the Gaza strip. Israel is not alone in this. Egypt a Muslim country has also placed the Blockade on the Hamas from South. Hamas has cached its arms in hospitals, Mosques, Schools and in civilian living areas in Gaza. It has placed its rocket batteries adjacent to these living areas from where it constantly fires rocket barrages in civilian areas of Israel. It has dug in tunnels to get to Israel from where it sends its fighters into Israel to spread terror. For itself Hamas has made a fully protected underground city in its nerve centre at shejaia but has made no underground shelters for the civilian population. This it has done purposely because it knows that in the Israeli retaliation large number of civilians will be killed for which world opinion will go against Israel as it is happening now. This gives lot of political mileage to Hamas.
Even PLO and Hamas were at logger heads for last eight years. Only in June this year they have finally made up to form a unity Government with Hamas ruling Gaza and PLO WEST Bank. Hamas has been declared radical terror organisation by US, Israel, Japan, EU and Canada. Till date it has fired 1400 Rockets. It is a separate issue that most of these Hamas rockets Israel has shot down due to its high tech Iron Dome anti missile system. Nevertheless that cannot be an excuse to dilute the perfidy of Hamas.
Like Israel India also is the most effected nation when it comes to Jehadi terror. By passing a resolution against Israel in Parliament we would be seen standing for Hamas. This current problem is a total creation of Hamas and not by India’s friend PLO. Israel which apart from our major arms and technology supplier has also stood by us in 1998 American imposed sanctions and 1999 Kargil War. In the national interest it is imperative for us to keep Israel in good humour and take no sides. Let us not forget that after withdrawal of Americans from Afghanistan we may well be facing the same problem which Israel is facing now.
More than two weeks have passed still Israel has not been able to get an upper hand in Gaza due to urban nature of warfare. Meanwhile Israel has lost a record number of soldiers a commodity very dear to Israel. Now Israel is not going to stop till they destroy the Hamas nerve centre at Shejaia. We should be prepared for a long haul and must keep our cool.
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