It was inevitable... Is the Israeli crackdown on Hamas justified?

[Winner]

1) Vote in the poll.

2) (optional) Post the results of polls from the main news servers in your country if they're related to this latest Israeli action. It could be interesting to see what's the public mood in different countries. You can also add what do you think the majority of people in your country think about it.


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Czech Rep.
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idnes.cz

"Do you agree with Israeli strike against Hamas in Gaza Strip?"

YES - 77% (2908 votes)
NO - 33% (891 votes)

ceskenoviny.cz

"Will Israel weaken the Hamas' position in Gaza Strip?"

Yes - 63%
No, Hamas will get even stronger - 12%
They'll achieve nothing by this - 25%

 

[BSmith1068]

To be honest, I am having a hard time deciding on who is more in the “wrong” on this issue, and if Israel is indeed justified for its actions. On the face of it, yes they are, as they are responding to direct rocket attacks coming from the Gaza Strip, but what I am having a harder time finding out is what precipitated this escalation of violence and who is responsible for the escalation.

We all know that the violence between the Palestinians and Israel is a horrible cycle of tit for tat retaliation for actions done in retaliation for other actions and so on. But what caused this recent increase in violence? Was it just Hamas being cocky and increasing rocket attacks, or were the rocket attacks a specific response to Israeli actions? If so, what were those actions?

It is hard to say definitively that one side is justified over the other without looking at these details.

You should add an option for undecided.

 

[Winner]

You should add an option for undecided.

I want people to make a decision If you don't know, then don't vote.

 

[BSmith1068]

Alright - so help me make a decision...

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

Two wrongs don't make a right. I'm not saying Hamas' actions are right, but Israel isn't going to solve anything by attacking Gaza like this, all they will do is fuel the Palestinian hatred for them, and give them new reasons to commit acts of terror against them. Israel cannot decapitate Hamas as many of you think it can, because Hamas is not a traditional organization; it lives in the people, and so long as there are people who believe in what Hamas stands for, which is defending Palestinians against Israel, Hamas will exist. Either you draw the people away from Hamas, or you kill everyone in the Gaza Strip. Israel's present actions will solve nothing, and if anything, only exacerbate the situation further.

 

[Winner]

No poll results? Come on, people.

 

[Verbose]

Sure Israel has a legitimate right to respond to attacks on its people and territory. So does every nation. Question is just 1) is this effective, and 2) is it a reasonable response in relation to the threat? No clear arithmetic exists to gauge either.

 

[emzie]

Compare how Israel is treating the West Bank to Gaza. I just hope Hamas is destroyed once and for all -- a bit unrealistic probably.

 

[Dachs]

Justified, yes. Effective, probably not. TIME Magazine says 58% are for it with 42% against in the US of A right now.

 

[BSmith1068]

No poll results? Come on, people.

I'd vote, but you didn't include an option for me!

 

[ComradeDavo]

Long term it is causing yet more problems, and Isreal and effectively creating for themselves yet more enemies. A whole new generation of millitants will grow up from this, kids who are in the middle of the bombings now.

 

[emzie]

Long term it is causing yet more problems, and Isreal and effectively creating for themselves yet more enemies. A whole new generation of millitants will grow up from this, kids who are in the middle of the bombings now.

Oh come on. It's Gaza. They aren't creating any new resentment in the population.

 

[ComradeDavo]

Oh come on. It's Gaza. They aren't creating any new resentment in the population.

Just reaffirming it. Kids are impressionable. I mean growing up being taught to hate the Isreali's by parents is one thing but kids question things like that when they get older, actually having Isreali's blowing up your neighbourhood isn't gonan leave much room for those questions though.....

 

[Godwynn]

No, this is not the right way to deal with Hamas.

 

[MobBoss]

Just reaffirming it. Kids are impressionable.

How quickly we forget Farfur the terror-mouse.

 

[sourboy]

I'm not going to argue whether it's right that the Jews were placed there, in what is modern day Israel -- because I think this really boils down to that...

...but as a sovereign nation, Israel has the right to act against forces that attack their mainland. It's a declaration of war to any other country, why are "they" preventing Israel from fighting back? I say let them finish the job. Considering how long this has been dragged out, I'm sure far less lives would have been lost if it had been done in the first place.

I voted for support, but with Israeli restraint.

 

[emzie]

Just reaffirming it. Kids are impressionable. I mean growing up being taught to hate the Isreali's by parents is one thing but kids question things like that when they get older, actually having Isreali's blowing up your neighbourhood isn't gonan leave much room for those questions though.....

If this were nearly any other place, I'd agree with you. If there had been a ten-year lull of relative peace in Gaza, I'd agree with you. As it is, right now, the bombing isn't reaffirming opinions in Gaza. It's just the way life is there. If Israel can strike so hard as to cripple Hamas, and then leave, and let the strip gradually pull itself together with humanitarian aid, I have to support that. As I see it, that's the only (realistic) way forward Gaza has. If that means civilians have to die now to prevent further bloodshed -- on both sides -- in the coming years, the trade, no matter how horrible, is worth it.

 

[Elponitnatsnoc]

Unfortunately, it is an election year in Israel and a hardline stance against Palestine is what gets you elected. Safety of oneself and one's family will always be the most important issue and if the best defence is a best offence, Israeli aggression (whether it be justified or not) will always win out.

How I think it should be done: Now, I think Israel (who I am an usually an ardent supporter of) is going about this in the completely wrong way. The anti-Semitic nature of much of the world makes it so that Israel will be criticized for any type of offensive action, no matter how justified. It is Jews, with the help of sophisticated killing machines and the United States, killing freedom fighters who are merely reacting to their oppressed situation. Therefore, I think it is in the best interest of Israel to not respond at all to these rocket attacks. They must work to try to shoot them out of the sky rather than bombing the place of assembly. By not responding with violence to Hamas's violence, the situations can be reversed. Hamas will be shown for the terrorists they truly are and Israel, through some sob stories, will gain sympathy from the moderates, rather than garnering their dissaproval.

Hamas cannot exist in peacetime. They survive based on the fuel provided from the struggle against oppression. If Israel eases up the blockade, leaves Gaza alone, and does not respond to any provacative action by Hamas, things should work out. Hamas will try to goad Israel into taking the offensive, but when Israel does not do this, the pressure is on Hamas, not Israel. In this situation, Hamas can either make a larger attack which will be frowned upon because Israel had done nothing to warrant this attack. Or Hamas can try to develop Gaza which goes against their ideology; they were voted in to fight against oppression. If there is no inkling of oppression, Hamas cannot succeed. Hamas is like fascism; it cannot succeed outside of wartime.


And I voted "no this is not the correct way to deal with Hamas"

 

[Mountain-God]

- 450,000 people in the Warsaw Getto and we couldn't save them?
-1,400,000 people the the Gaza, and we're not going to save them?
- We will reap what we sow.

 

[Ecofarm]

To be honest, I am having a hard time deciding on who is more in the “wrong” on this issue...

We will why see below.

We all know that the violence between the Palestinians and Israel is a horrible cycle of tit for tat retaliation for actions done in retaliation for other actions and so on.

It is NOT "tit-for-tat". They do not do the same thing. Israel does not target civilians. How dare you pretend their actions are the same.

But what caused this recent increase in violence? Was it just Hamas being cocky and increasing rocket attacks, or were the rocket attacks a specific response to Israeli actions? If so, what were those actions?

Hamas is certainly not responding to the targetting of civilians, which is what Israel is responding to.

It is hard to say definitively that one side is justified over the other without looking at these details.

Maybe, if the person is an idiot. Otherwise, it is VERY clear who the terrorists are.

You should add an option for undecided.

Undecided? Haha. Yea right.

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@Winner:

I can't vote. I do not approve of "any means necessary", and I do not have reservations about the actions taken thusfar. The options go from "NUKE EM!" to "I have some reservations". There is no rational but full approval option. One can only fully approve of Israel's actions thusfar, according to the poll, if they are a "NUKE EM!" person.

I thought you supported the actions of Israel. Why would you gear the poll such that anyone who fully endorses the actions thusfar looks like a maniac "ANY MEANS NECCESARY!!11!!".