Israel and Hamas...here we go again

I will not pretend to be an expert on the history or conflict in the Mideast, where it concerns Israel and the surrounding (and, some would say, displaced) Arab peoples. In fact, I won't do a lick of research for this post; I'll go on instinct. Instinct has, of course, more often than I'd like to admit, gotten me into trouble before. But I'm not stubborn enough to fight when I know I don't hold a club or argue when I don't know all the facts. I'd rather learn and shape my opinions further, so that I might come back another day, more informed.

Here is my instinctive reaction to the most recent round of hot conflict between Israel and one of the many Palestinian-rooted organizations hell-bent on destroying it, Hamas. Supporters of Hamas, indeed political heads of the group, and even non-participatory nations and political parties, have spoken out against the Israeli response to Hamas' firing of rockets into the Jewish state. They say that Israel's response has been disproportionately harsh. They point to the hundreds of "Palestinians" (quotes used because there is no formal state of "Palestine") that have been killed or wounded and compare it to the dozens of Israelis. They compare the tempo and fierceness of Israeli airstrikes against targets within the Gaza Strip to the onesy-twosy single rocket lobs of Hamas fighters into Israeli civilian areas. They try to compare apples to apples and argue that Israel is being a big bully and only making the situation worse.

Excuse me, but how did this all get off the ground anyway? Who fired the first shot? Wasn't it Hamas? Who is intentionally targeting civialians? Who is firing from positions within civilian centers? After this latest breach of cease-fire by Hamas, Israel has declared all-out war against the terrorist group. In all-out war, there is no apples-to-apples; there is no tit-for-tat; there is no concept of disproportionality. Each side does their absolute best (or worst, in the case of war) to destroy the other.

I agree that Hamas is to blame for any civilian casualities that the people of the Gaza Strip endure. Those deaths would not have occurred if Hamas did not instigate with their first rocket attack. Arab anger should be levelled at Hamas. The blood is on their hands.

I also believe that this is the first test for incoming American president, Barack Obama. Hamas wants to see where his sympathies lie. Is it with the Jews, whose vote he pandered for during his historic campaign? Or is it with the Arabs, as many speculate, based solely on his middle name (which shall not be uttered here!)?

We will find out in a few months. The Mideast conflict will not be settled soon (if ever, if you believe the Biblical take on it). Hamas is pretty much sticking to their modus operandi of aggression, taking "disproportionate" casualties, drawing sympathy from the international community, bringing Israel back to the treaty table, and buying some time to rebuild and regroup. Hamas and their like will never accept a Jewish state in their midst, no matter what platitudes they speak. And so Israel should never accept a functional Hamaz organization, and should continue to do whatever it takes to destroy them.