I've struggled for a few days to think of exactly what I wanted to say about what has been happening in Gaza. I wanted to express it in a way that was clear-headed and concise. This was what I came up with:
Neither side's violence is more legitimate than the other. Both engage in deliberate, or callous, targetting of civilians. Their conflict has gone on too long for one group to claim to be motivated by particular incidents. Palestinian people no more deserve to be punished for Hamas' attacks on Israel, than regular Israelis should be punished for the actions of the IDF.
The question is of peace and of justice. If one is an Israeli, then your nation takes everything, the best land, water and resources. Your people live freely, but must accept that some of their number will be hurt and killed by random attacks from their enemies. The war imposes on your life in terms of intermittent violence.
If you are a Palestinian, you are likely to live in a refugee camp, you are likely to be no more than one generation removed from having your home and property taken from you by force. Your life is in the hands of the occupier, subject to their arbitrary whims. Your daily existence is shaped by the occupation, affecting everything from your personal dignity to your material comfort. If there was a complete ceasefire tomorrow, your life would still be shaped in this way by the occupation. Peace is not the only thing that you lack, it is justice, and also freedom.
And that is why you would be unlikely to stop fighting. Why Olmert's call for collective punishment for the people of Gaza is a call for never-ending war and occupation. Because so long as the people of Palestine experience occupation, what exactly do they have to lose?
