The other side of Hamas-Israel crisis: Which side are you letting your emotions flow free?

Dusty Business: Who is more devil - Israel or Hamas?

A tweet of writer and author, Chetan Bhagat has garnered sharp response on social media or should one say uncanny abuses for which the medium is quite infamous now a days. “11,000 rockets have been fired on Israel in last decade ~ 3/day. Israeli (yes civilians) have to hide in 60 seconds,” “It is Hamas strategy to keep provoking Israel, get retaliation, play victim, win local politics and world support. Guess it works every time,” wrote Bhagat in a series of tweets. Bhagat belongs to that small group of people who find their baggage of emotions turned towards Israel. Those are the miniscule numbers given the proportion of Israel haters. But then, is that all? Is it all about just another trivial case where people have different opinions about the same story? Is it that simple? Looks like not.

Like two sides of a coin, every story too has its own other side which most of the times remains wrapped under the covers. Fowl crisis of Israel-Hamas clash is no different, from reportage to views that I have come across, all speak for one side. Everybody who follows news is familiar with the crisis that has hit Palestinian territory across Gaza Strip and part of Israel. All they know is number of deaths that have occurred in the area or, should I say, which side has fared better in getting their rockets see its' target. It's sad but most of us have switched our sides or have formed opinions based on the number of deaths the side has caused. More the number of lives you claim more are your chances to fare high in devil meter. Sounds funny, right? But that's how the world has been looking at middle-east crisis.

One can't deny the fact that war is the worst thing that has ever occurred to humanity for it devoid the human race from the necessities it requires for its own survival. As Dwight Eisenhower puts it,

“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.”

There are people who think it's inevitable and there are those who suffer by their consequences. Between all this hullabaloos around war the world as such is happy switching between the sides. “They are wrong by my opinion” and “other side are wrong by his opinion”, have become day-today chipmunks. When Taliban fires rockets, they too have their side of story which no one of us is ready to listen. It may be meaningless given the extent of brutality they cause in the name of religion whose preaching’s are way different from what these militants perceive us to be. Let’s not come to conclusions so soon. Let us have a look at stuff that we already knew but are ignorant to notice while forming opinions.

Israel has carried out nearly 2,000 air strikes on Gaza over 10 days and Hamas fired more than 1,300 rockets into Israel. The cross border firing has killed more than 230 Palestinians and an Israeli, according to officials. Egypt has resumed efforts to broker a truce after its initial plan was rejected by Hamas, which seized Gaza seven years ago, wants international guarantees that the territory’s blockade by Israel and Egypt will be eased significantly and that Israel will release Palestinian prisoners. Got something? Yes. What? The numbers. So Israel is the devil! Is it, really? It does look so if you too are the one who goes by numbers to say, more Palestinians are killed compared to Israeli. But is that all? Isn't it necessary for one to understand why they are at war with each other and who this Hamas is? Most of us know just about the deaths and not regarding the parties involved in this brutal battle. Where they come from, why they are at war with each other are all little known things nobody is finding his time to dig upon.

Hamas is designated as terrorist organisation by Israel and several western and non-western countries alike – Israel, United States, Canada, the European Union, Jordan, Egypt and Japan. On the other hand Iran, Russia, China, Turkey and several Arab nations don't. Gaza strip which is centre of all air strikes from Israel is governed by Hamas since 2007 after it won majority of seats in Palestinian Parliament in 2006 elections by defeating Fatah political organisation in a serious of violent clashes. Initially founded to establish Islamic state in the area that is now Israel, the West Bank and Gaza strip. Intensity and vigour may be new this time but in past also Hamas' military wing Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigadees have launched attacks on Israel, against both civilian and military targets. Attacks include rocket attacks and from 1996 to 2006 suicide bombs.

If Wikipedia is to be believed, then from 1987 to 1991 Hamas vigorously campaigned for wearing hijab alongside other measures, including insisting women stay at home and be segregated from men, and the promotion of polygamy. It doesn't end there. They go on to verbally and physically harass women who chose not to wear the hijab. The fear in the area was such that women eventually started to abide to Hamas' words just to avoid attacks on streets. Inflammatory statements are passé.  Hamas Covenant provides the following quotation, attributed to Mohammed:

"The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Moslems, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him. Only the Gharkad tree, (evidently a certain kind of tree) would not do that because it is one of the trees of the Jews."

Is that an ideology we as sane human beings believe in or for that instance dream to realise? I have not read many religious texts but from what I have read, no religion preaches violence or killings of innocent civilians. Islam is no different. Read this - On August 10, 2012, Ahmad Bahr, Deputy Speaker of the Hamas Parliament, stated in a sermon that aired on Al-Aqsa TV:

“If the enemy sets foot on a single square inch of Islamic land, Jihad becomes an individual duty, incumbent on every Muslim, male or female. A woman may set out [on Jihad] without her husband's permission, and a servant without his master's permission. Why? In order to annihilate those Jews.... O Allah, destroy the Jews and their supporters. O Allah, destroy the Americans and their supporters. O Allah, count them one by one, and kill them all, without leaving a single one.”

In which world are we living to support such a group of militants whose sole strength is to fight behind the veil making civilians their target and using them to show how innocent they are.

No, am not saying, Israel is any saint. It isn't. Never will it ever be one. But Hamas too aren't!

One must understand few things before making his mind. For instance, according to Washington Post, Gaza City is the largest population centre in the Strip, and is the 40th most densely populated urban area in the world, putting it on par with some Asian mega-cities. This matter in current scenario for it makes Israel hard to bomb from the air without hitting civilians. Hamas also places rocket emplacements inside civilian population centres, so Israeli aerial offensives inside Gaza are basically guaranteed to kill lots of non-combatants no matter how much Israel attempts to avoid it. Most of our anger against Israel is for those large numbers of civilians who are killed in air strikes by Israel from Gaza strip but given this fact, your anger must learn to trace its other path too.

Gaza was earlier governed by Egypt and then from Israel in the same way West Bank, the other major settlement of Palestinians is governed now. Gaza is not just physically separate from West Bank but is separately governed too. And just to mention, Hamas govern it. Since its founding in 1987 it has waged war on Israel most notably through suicide bombings and rocket attacks. It aims to replace Israel with a Palestinian state and repeatedly refuses to recognize Israel. Allegedly it has agreed to mend in case Israel withdraws from West Bank. But they can hardly be believed for it is assumed that Israel was ready to sit down and sign a deal which in itself is again suspicious too. Israel too is to blame for the pathetic conditions in which civilians live in the territory. Israel has maintained a blockade of Gaza since 2007 causing all supplies including food materials to stop. Most people in the area live-by the aid received through international community. According to Oxfam -

“More than 40% of people in Gaza - nearly 50% of youth - are now unemployed and 80% of people receive international aid. Many key industries, such as the construction industry, have been decimated as essential materials are not allowed into Gaza. Exports are currently at less than 3% of their pre-blockade levels, with the transfer of agricultural produce and other goods to the West Bank and exports to Israel entirely banned.”

Two sides of the same coin? They may seem so but they aren't in all possibilities, for instance Hamas has fired three rockets when ceasefire was in place after ten days of truce which no doubt has provoked Israel to continue its strike leaving no way for this battle to see its day. Now someone may ask why so low count of deaths from Israel when there's this huge number from Gaza. The answer to this lies in the Israel's 'Iron Dome Missile Defence System' which intercepts them in their path making it impossible to enter Israeli soil. Some escape the radar and end up striking Israeli domain causing casualties. Israel has been asking civilians to evacuate the places it plans to strike which it believes are areas where Hamas are hiding their ammunition. Evacuation by thousands of dwellers has left Hamas dumbfounded. Hamas consider it as unwelcome move for they want people not to comply with Israeli commands. Israeli army says that it was part of strategy of Hamas as the militants were using civilians in Gaza as human shields.

“Hamas strategy is simple: Use civilians as human shields. Fire rockets from residential areas. Store weapon in mosques. Hide in hospitals,” the Israeli Defence Forces, IDF, posted on twitter.

The recent truce was downfall of alleged four killings of Israelis by Hamas and one Palestinian civilian who was charred to death by Israelis thereafter. In the truce that followed more than 220 Palestinians have been killed, most of them are civilians. Through July 16, 1,653 targets have been stuck by Israel in Gaza causing 214 deaths; In Israel, Hamas has launched 1,241 rockets causing 1 death as most rockets are intercepted by its fierce Iron Dome Defence System according to New York Times.

So, what do one make of it? Is it Hamas who need your words of support or Israel? Who should you held at fault – Israel or Hamas? Which numbers will you consider – rockets or deaths? Whichever and whatever criterion you device, one simply can't forget and escape from the fact that innocent civilians, be it Palestinians or Israeli are killed in the name of religion and power to control the remaining. You can't deny the fact that both are causing harm. It neither is a solution for Israel to stop and look at Hamas to strike its rockets chanting laurels of its defence system. One must remember between all this that it takes two to tango and not one. Both are part of the truce – one may be less and the other more at it, but that doesn't stop you being the devil for your own people in whose name are you waging the war.

People, remember how a study is incomplete without knowing the other side of a story and don't forget what Mahatma Gandhi said,

 “An Eye for an Eye Will Make the Whole World go Blind.”