In the midst of our winter break, there may be some who have not yet heard about the news of the extreme humanitarian crisis currently happening in Gaza. While there has been much reported, the following information provides a holistic perspective on the crisis and has been widely accepted by the international community.
The cease-fire between Israel and Hamas began in June 2008. The terms were that Israel would drastically reduce its blockade of Gaza and halt all military incursions into Gaza, while Hamas would halt all rocket attacks into Israel.
From the outset of the cease-fire, Israel failed to meaningfully ease its blockade on Gaza though this was a primary condition of the cease-fire negotiations.
The result has been the worst humanitarian crisis Gaza has seen in 60 years. Children are malnourished; hospitals do not have access to steady or sufficient power, and food and clean water are often scarce. Medical supplies have been cut off, as many aid shipments are turned away at Gaza’s borders.
Despite all of this, Hamas reacted to the cease-fire with surprising concurrence, and the Israeli government subsequently documented a dramatic decrease in rocket attacks.
Hamas arrested Palestinian militants who persisted in firing rockets and claimed that the remaining handful of missiles were launched by forces not under its control. The arrests were a show of goodwill that was recognized both by the Israeli government and the settlers in Sderot and other neighboring communities.
While U.S. elections dominated the news cycle on Nov. 4, Israeli forces unilaterally broke the cease-fire and killed six members of Hamas near the border.
Consequently, the situation spiraled out of control, and Hamas resumed firing rockets. On Dec. 27, Israel launched a heavy aerial attack on Gaza, a plan that had already been in the works for at least six months prior.
Since this latest round of violence began, more than 500 Palestinians have been killed and more than 2,400 have been injured, a disproportionate and extreme reaction to unfolding events. Because the bombs have fallen on the most densely populated region in the world, countless innocent women and children have lost their lives.
If this relative level of violence occurred in the United States, roughly 90,000 Americans would be dead by now. Even Israelis on the border live in greater fear than they did before Israel’s most recent campaign. Four have died; five have been injured, and many have evacuated their towns.
There is no justification for Israel’s attacks. They have made Israel demonstrably less secure and poison the prospects for peace in the near future. In addition to the fact that collective punishment is outlawed by the Geneva Convention, the deaths of so many civilians will undoubtedly radicalize many Gazans and will lead to sustained bitterness and violence.
Instead of bowing to Israeli pressure, Hamas has acted defiantly, calling for a new wave of reciprocal violence and further dimming the prospects for peace. It is difficult to pinpoint just what can be done to secure peace in this region, but it should be abundantly clear by now that violence is an option that is doomed to fail.
This has long been the world’s most sensitive political issue, and the result has been a complex meld of apathy and hopelessness.
But this present situation in Gaza cannot be more urgent, and we ask that the students at UCLA join us by taking an empathetic approach in understanding the issue.
We are confident then that our community will together support an end to this immediate crisis through a renewed cease-fire and an end to the blockade of humanitarian assistance in Gaza.
Shaw, Kurwa and Sheets are members of the UC Gaza Solidarity Commission.