Aviv Kutz (54), a member of Kibbutz Kfar Aza, is a childhood good friend of a really shut good friend of mine. Aviv and his spouse Livnat (49), and their three youngsters Rotem (19), Yonatan (17) and Yiftach (15), have lived in Kfar Aza for years. Though the Kutz household has endured many Hamas rocket and mortar assaults on their kibbutz, mother and father and kids continued to hope for peace. Yearly the Kutz household organized a kite-flying pageant, meant to create a small peaceable area within the warfare zone. Colourful kitessome displaying peace messageswere flown close to the border fence with Gaza. Livnats sister, Adi Levy Salma, who participated within the pageant in earlier years stated that the concept is to fly the kites close to the fence, to point out Gaza that we solely wish to reside in peace. This years kite pageant was deliberate for Saturday, 7 October. Kite pageant 2023, stated the invitation, we’ll meet on the soccer pitch at 16:00 to embellish the sky. A couple of hours earlier than the pageant started, Hamas terrorists invaded and occupied the kibbutz. The terrorists went from home to accommodate, systematically torturing, murdering, and kidnapping dozens of kibbutz members. All 5 members of the Kutz household have been slaughtered.
The thoughts boggles at such atrocities. Why do human beings do such issues? What did Hamas hope to realize? The goal of the Hamas assault was to not seize and maintain territory. Hamas didnt have the navy functionality to carry the kibbutz for lengthy in face of the Israeli military. To know the goals of Hamas, three issues ought to be famous. First, Hamas largely centered its assault on killing and kidnapping civilians quite than troopers. Second, Hamas terrorists tortured and executed adults, youngsters, and even infants in essentially the most ugly methods the terrorists might consider. Third, as a substitute of making an attempt to cover the atrocities, Hamas made certain they have been publicized, even filming a number of the atrocities itself and importing the stunning movies to social media.
That is the very definition of terrorism, and we’ve seen comparable issues earlier than with ISIS. Not like typical warfare that normally goals to seize territory or degrade navy capabilities, terrorism is a type of psychological warfare that goals to terrify. By killing tons of of individuals in horrendous methods and publicizing it, organizations like ISIS and Hamas search to terrify thousands and thousands. Along with spreading terror, Hamas additionally goals to sow seeds of hatred within the minds of thousands and thousands Israelis, Palestinians, and different folks all through the world.
Hamas is totally different from different Palestinian group just like the PLO, and shouldn’t be equated with the entire Palestinian folks. Since its basis, Hamas adamantly refused to acknowledge Israels proper to exist, and has achieved every little thing in its energy to break each likelihood for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and between Israel and the Arab world. The quick background to the present cycle of violence is the peace treaties signed between Israel and a number of other Gulf States, and the hoped-for peace treaty between Israel and Saudi Arabia. This treaty was anticipated not solely to normalize relations between Israel and many of the Arab world, but additionally to considerably alleviate the struggling of thousands and thousands of Palestinians residing below Israeli occupation, and to restart the Israeli-Palestinian peace course of. Nothing alarms Hamas greater than the potential for peace. Because of this it launched its attackand because of this it murdered the Kutz household and greater than a thousand different Israeli civilians. What Hamas has achieved is a criminal offense towards humanity within the deepest sense of the time period. Against the law towards humanity isnt nearly killing people. It’s about destroying our belief in humanity. Whenever you witness issues like mother and father being tortured and executed in entrance of their youngsters, or toddlers brutally murdered, you lose all belief in human beings. And also you thereby threat dropping your individual humanity, too.
Hamass crimes can’t be justified by blaming them on previous Israeli conduct. Two wrongs dont make a proper. There’s a lot to criticize Israel for holding thousands and thousands of Palestinians for many years below occupation, and for abandoning lately any severe try and make peace with the Palestinian folks. Nevertheless, the homicide of the Kutz household and the various different atrocities dedicated by Hamas weren’t meant to restart the peace course of, nor are they more likely to liberate a single Palestinian from Israeli occupation. As a substitute, the warfare Hamas launched inflicts immense struggling on thousands and thousands of Palestinians. Pushed by its non secular fanaticism, Hamas simply doesnt appear to care about human sufferingeither of Israelis or Palestinians. Not like the secular PLO, lots of Hamass leaders and activists appear to care primarily about their fantasies of heavenly afterlife. They’re prepared to consign this world to the flames and to destroy our souls within the course of, in order that their very own souls will allegedly get pleasure from eternal bliss in one other world.
We should win this warfare of souls. In its warfare towards Hamas, Israel has an obligation to defend its territory and its residents, but it surely should additionally defend its humanity. Our warfare is with Hamas, not with the Palestinian folks. Palestinian civilians should get pleasure from peace and prosperity of their homeland, and even within the midst of battle their fundamental human rights ought to be acknowledged by all sides. This refers not solely to Israel, but additionally to Egypt, which shares a border with the Gaza Strip, and which has partially sealed that border.
As for Hamas, it and its supporters ought to be excommunicated by humanity. Not solely Israel, however your entire human neighborhood ought to place Hamas utterly past its pale, simply because it has beforehand achieved with ISIS. Israeli residents can not reside in locations like Kfar Aza with Hamas throughout the fence, simply as Iraqi and Syrian residents couldn’t reside with ISIS on their doorstep. Tens of 1000’s of Israeli civilians have already fled the border areas, and so they can not return to their houses till the risk to their lives is eliminated. At a deeper degree, the lives of all people are devalued and endangered so long as organizations like Hamas and ISIS are allowed to exist.
The goals of the Gaza Struggle ought to be clear. On the finish of the warfare, Hamas ought to be completely disarmed and the Gaza Strip ought to be demilitarized, in order that Palestinian civilians might reside dignified lives inside the Gaza Strip, and Israeli civilians might reside with out worry alongside the Gaza Strip. Till these goals are achieved, the battle to keep up our humanity will likely be troublesome. Most Israelis are psychologically incapable at this second of empathizing with the Palestinians. The thoughts is crammed to the brim with our personal ache, and no area is left to even acknowledge the ache of others. Most of the individuals who tried to carry such a spacelike the Kutz familyare useless or deeply traumatized. Most Palestinians are in an identical situationtheir minds too are so stuffed with ache, they can’t see our ache.
However outsiders who will not be themselves immersed in ache ought to make an effort to empathize with all struggling people, quite than lazily seeing solely a part of the horrible actuality. It’s the job of outsiders to assist keep an area for peace. We deposit this peaceable area with you, as a result of we can not maintain it proper now. Take excellent care of it for us, in order that in the future, when the ache begins to heal, each Israelis and Palestinians may inhabit that area.
