Hamas: army or terrorist group?

The title of this week’s article seems like an absurd question. The Islamic Resistance Movement, or “Hamas”, is a known terrorist group. Its activities are usually condemned without question by all right-thinking citizens and countries.

However, we are experiencing a particularly special period in history due to the war in Israel that took place last year. Hamas’ attack on Israeli citizens on October 7, 2023, at a concert near the Gaza/Israel border was unlike any other attack by any terrorist organization in history.

Why? About 3,000 men in uniform took part in the attack.

This is not normal. Terrorist attacks have never involved so many perpetrators. The death toll can only be exceeded by that of 9/11, which involved fewer than 20 people in an actual execution.

Israel’s reaction was also not normal. This is especially true if we think of it as a response to a terrorist attack, but not if we think of it as a country invaded by another and then retreating to its own nation. It is therefore normal that you will see the same reaction that Israel sees.

This response is a warning, bomb, occupy the bombed zone. Press forward until you take control of the country. The refugee effect will occur automatically as citizens flee and top leaders and war criminals join them in refugee camps where they will eventually be hunted down.

This is war and it is not pleasant.

Condemnation of Israel’s actions is somewhat influenced by the fact that the October 7 attack is not considered an attack on one nation by another, but rather an attack by a terrorist group.

This is not entirely correct. Hamas is a terrorist group, but it is also the legally elected government of Palestine.

Palestine, which existed before but was spelled “Palestine”, was intended to be a separate country after the partition that created the State of Israel in 1948.

The act of October 7 was essentially an attack by armies, most of them citizens, and behaving like armies that invade countries.

You see, we like to romanticize the Allied forces during World War II, but that’s not an entirely accurate description of everything that took place.

The 1945 “rape” in Berlin by invading Russian soldiers must be the most brutal and widespread attack on women in history.

It was literally rape. This is not a figure of speech. History has documented it, but nothing has been done to apologize for it. Two million women have been raped, many of them repeatedly.

Allied bombing of France during World War II resulted in the death of 57,000 civilians. This may not seem like much, but remember, France was not an enemy of the Allies, but rather a country that the Allied forces were trying to liberate.

During the United States bombing of Hanoi, known as “Operation Linebacker,” in 1972, over 20,000 pounds of explosives were dropped on the city of Hanoi, Vietnam.

In just 11 days, 1,624 civilians died.

Indiscriminate bombing has been a major element of warfare for as long as airplanes have been involved in armed conflicts. Israel’s use of these weapons is condemned mainly because Hamas is not seen as the Palestinian army, although it should be.

So let’s assume that Israel’s response was the result of a terrorist attack that killed 1,207 people. Let us now look at the response of the United States and its allies to the events of 9/11 perpetrated by terrorists.

Afghanistan was invaded; 46,319 civilians died in response.

War is hell. It’s brutal. The costs to civilians are enormous, regardless of nationality and race.

Governments use bombs to limit casualties among their soldiers.

What is happening in Gaza is a disgrace, but it is neither better nor worse than many of the conflicts depicted in movies in which we rooted for the good guys.

The history of the Palestinians in the Middle East is typical of 20th century analysis. Ireland was divided after the invasion and occupation. India was partitioned to achieve independence and avoid civil war (it didn’t work).

The partition of Palestine to create Israel was the end result of colonization, the Nazis’ purge of European Jews, and an attempt to limit the number of Jewish refugees in Western Europe.

History has not been kind to most groups of people, from Africans to Chinese and many other groups in between.

This does not justify the attack by the Hamas army on the state of Israel on October 7, 2023.

The response was brutal and inhumane and is not okay.

This is also not unusual or different from how militaries around the world respond when they come under attack.

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