Note: My second travel email (posted today) was written in June as tensions increased in the West Bank and provides some additional context for the current situation. Below is a short review of some of the basics of what is going on in Gaza, followed by some points worth keeping in mind as we follow the developments.
The current violence between Hamas and the Israeli military is the product of Israel's preference for Hamas to be in charge of Gaza. The story unfolded thus:
The Palestinian Authority announced on June 2 a transitional government based on a preexisting unity agreement with Hamas. The new government would be "technocratic" and not incorporate members of Hamas. The international community welcomed the announcement, including the albeit cool acceptance from the White House. Israel, on the other hand, was furious.
On June 12, three Israeli teenagers from a West Bank settlement were kidnapped. Israel, in its search for the teens, locked down Hebron, conducted early-morning raids throughout the West Bank, and arrested hundreds of Palestinians. Particular focus was placed on members of Hamas, which Israel blamed for the kidnapping. Because of the evidence at the site of the kidnapping, as well as a government-issued gag order on the media, it is understood that Israeli intelligence knew full well that the teens were dead shortly after being abducted.
On June 30, the bodies of the three Israeli teens were located. Later that week (July 2), Palestinian teenager Mohammad Abu Khdair was kidnapped and burned alive in what was presumed to be an act of revenge for the three murdered Israelis. The day after Mohammad's kidnapping and murder, his cousin Tariq Abu Khdair was detained and brutally beaten by Israeli police officers for allegedly being in a group accused of attacking security officials.
Due to Israel's crackdown on Hamas in the West Bank and repeated Israeli airstrikes on tunnels leading out of Gaza, militants began firing barrages of rockets from the coastal strip into southern Israel and as far as Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Israel responded on July 8 with Operation Protective Edge, an ongoing airstrike assault that has claimed around 160 lives and injured over a thousand. Most are civilians.
CONTEXT AND CONCLUSIONS
1. The teenagers were placed in harm's way by their settler parents and should not have been living in the West Bank (as Israeli citizens) in the first place. All settlements are illegal under international law. This does not in any way excuse the kidnapping and murder of the three teens; violence against civilians is unacceptable. Yet, the circumstances are crucial to the narrative.
2. Even if Israeli intelligence had not known about the fate of the teens, the search operations in June amounted to Israel's collective punishment of the Palestinian West Bank.
3. Though the rocket fire by Gazan militants is immoral, illegal, and politically senseless, it is also unsurprising given the territory's situation. Israel's effective imprisonment of Gaza's 1.5 million inhabitants—who are subjected to occupation, isolation, blockade, and airstrikes—has predictably inspired some to respond violently. Norwegians don't launch homemade rockets into Sweden.
4. Four reasons Israel periodically subjects Gaza to profound destruction: (1) to deplete Hamas's stockpile of rockets, referred to as "maintenance," (2) to field-test weapon technology such as the Iron Dome anti-missile system, (3) to keep the Palestinians politically split by encouraging Hamas's militancy [see my May 2 article "It's Not about Hamas"], (4) to reestablish credibility and demonstrate a willingness to pull the trigger.
5. Because Israel occupies Palestine, it cannot logically invoke the concept of self-defense, in the same way a rapist has little cause for complaint if his victim scratches up his face.
6. The United States is directly involved in the Palestine-Israel conflict. It illegally supplies weapons to Israel, as they are used against an occupied population. The White House also provides Israel diplomatic cover at the UN Security Council. When Israel bombs Gaza and kills women and children, it is carried out with US hardware, US money, and US authorization.
