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Ever since Hamas launched war against Israel and in the process killing hundreds of innocent citizens of Israel by catching the Israel government by surprise, many pledged supporters of Hamas and Palestinian cause vociferously have supported the action of Hamas.
While Hamas openly declared that their object was to destroy Israel as a country, wipe out Israel from the world map and in the process forcing back the jews to the earlier days when they were stateless during Hitler’s time, for Israel, it was a fight for survival and a struggle with back to the wall. Israel has responded to the attack, as it was left with no alternative but to fight for its survival as a nation.
What is to be noted here is that Hamas and its supporters want to destroy Israel once for all, while Israel has been wanting to reach amicable settlement with its neighbours and with a give and take policy, without sacrificing Israel’s territorial integrity. Recent near successful efforts of Israel in reaching out to nearby countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia , Qatar and UAE , clearly highlight the fact that Israel wanted peace on its border and not war and tension. Obviously , Israel would have accepted the legitimacy of Palestinian state, if such climate of peace that it wanted could have been achieved . It should be seen that the goal of Hamas and its supporters and that of Israel are different and miles apart.
In such situation, it is necessary to recognise that the group of people who launched violent war and adopted violent means to achieve their ends should be considered as terrorists. In the inevitable event of the region or the country trying to protect itself from the terrorist attacks , the public support and sympathy should be in favour of those who defend themselves rather than those who offend by initiating the war or offensive methods.
The stand taken by Government of India is the most principled stand in the present ongoing circumstances. Government of India expressed its support to Israel, as it was a victim of war and violence and not the initiator of war and violence. At the same time, Government of India extended sympathy and support for the people living in Hamas region, who suffer due to counter attack by Israel . Obviously, the people living in Hamas would have voted for peaceful conditions rather than war like conditions and they seem to be forced to suffer, much against their choice.
Those who are supporting the action of Hamas and condemning Israel are not living in Hamas area but elsewhere in the world, who cry for Israel’s destruction and organise demonstration and protests.
Finally, it should be noted that while the supporters of Hamas make lot of noise and sound and fury, there are large number of silent people who understand the plight of Israel which has also lost its valuable citizens and they recognise that Israel has no alternative other than fighting back to survive as a nation.
In such scenario, the resolution adopted by UNO which appear to virtually blame Israel and leaving the action of Hamas without any particular observations, appear to be one sided and unfair.
Finally, it will not be out of the place to mention that the war against terrorism should not be viewed from religion point of view, as terrorism is a double edged sword and it is in everybody’s interest to stop such terrorist acts once for all in the world.
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*Trustee, Nandini Voice For The Deprived, Chennai
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