10 things you need to know about Gaza

In the last few weeks, we are inundated with images and commentaries about Gaza. As some of the images are difficult and the information is not clear, some supporters of Hamas use the confusion to distort history and reshape the truth to fit their ideology.

So here are 10 facts you need to know in order to understand what is going on in Gaza:

1. On the 29th of November 1947, the UN approved a partition plan that would have created two independent states: one Jewish and one Arab. The Jewish side embraced the plan and went immediately into creating its own independent national homeland. The Arab countries decided not to accept it and waged war against the newly born state, refusing to accept the legitimacy of a Jewish homeland.

2. In the war that followed, thousands from both sides have been killed. Eight 800,000 Palestinians became refugees in the neighboring Arab countries and about 600,000 Jews that lived in Arab countries for centuries, had become refugees themselves and found safe haven in Israel. While the Jewish refugees were embraced by the State of Israel as full citizens, the Palestinian refugees never received permanent status from the Arab countries and were never allowed to totally rebuild their lives.

3. In the years between 1948 and 1967, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank were under Arab control. Jordan controlled the West Bank and Egypt controlled the Gaza Strip. Neither of those countries ever contemplated giving the Palestinians an independent state in these territories which are now in the heart of the conflict in the Middle East. Israel took control of these territories after the Arab defeat of 1967 (the Six Day War) and immediately the claim for independent Palestinian state was born.

4. In 1979, Israel signed a peace accord with Egypt. In 1994, we signed a similar accord with Jordan. In both cases, we proved our commitment to negotiate with anyone who will recognize us and would not use terror or violence against us.

5. In the early 90s, Israel opened negotiations with Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), after it recognized the State of Israel and made a commitment to leave the path of terror. The following peace accord has been signed on the 13th of September 1993. The final status, though, is in negotiation until this today. At any case, Israel proved its willingness and courage to negotiate with its former enemies.

6. Hamas Organization, which was created in 1987, always declared its wish to eliminate the State of Israel. One of its leaders, Dr. Al-Zahar states it simply, “I dream of hanging a huge map on the wall at my Gaza home which does not show Israel on it…There is no place for the State of Israel on this land.” It is therefore no secret that Hamas has no problem with Israel’s control over Gaza or West Bank but with its actual existence. Would you speak with someone who dreams of total destruction of the Philippines?

7. The Hamas used suicide bombers which are people who pack themselves with explosives, go to a center of a mall, bus station or marketplace and explode themselves in the midst of it, killing and injuring as many civilians as possible. 1000 Israelis have been killed by suicide bombers between 2000 and 2004. The Hamas has also been firing thousands of missiles into the heart of civilian population in Israel for 8 years. This is why Hamas appears on the list of terror organizations in the United States, Canada, European Union, Australia and Britain.

8. In 2005, Israel left Gaza. It moved 8,000 Israeli settlers from their homes, dismantled military bases and left its control to the Palestinians. This was the Palestinian’s opportunity to start something new and build better life for themselves. For awhile people of Gaza exported goods through Israeli ports and electricity flowed from Israeli power station. But then Hamas took over Gaza and turned it into a launching base for their ongoing missiles attacks against civilians in Israel.

9. On the 19th of December 2008, the Hamas unilaterally stopped a period of calm which lasted few months, with the help of Egyptian mediation. It immediately started a massive missiles attack on the civilian population of Israel. Like always, Hamas hide their launchers in a densely populated area, amongst women and children. They position their bases, headquarters as well as their ammunition storage intentionally in places that are heavily populated by defenseless civilians. Like always, it uses its own civilians as human shields in order to have as many of them killed or injured and by doing so, bringing about international uproar and public opinion pressure on Israel.

10. Israel warned numerous times that it would have to defend the lives of its citizens and would not allow close to 1 million Israelis to live under constant terror. Hamas refused to stop, Arab countries refused to put pressure on it and the international community stayed indifferent. At the end of the day, we didn’t have any option but to take the necessary steps in order to stop this vicious terror onslaught.

Hamas is not unique. What you see now is the simple and shameless face of extreme Islam terror. In the case of the Hamas, they prefer to keep fighting for the destruction of Israel at the expense of little children, defenseless women and other civilians which they position in front of their launchers. The blood of the killed civilians, you see on TV now, is clearly and simply on the hands of the leaders of Hamas. If this kind of organization would be allowed to keep its vile fight, it would be a great defeat for sanity and human decency, one that we will all live to regret. — ZVI A. VAPNI, Ambassador of Israel, Manila