Personally? What I would do, in that circumstance, is hate Israel, because it would be hard to have the calm and privileged perspective I have, here in New Jersey, far from the actual problem, the hurt, the repression and the killing.
ButI... if I were in Gaza and had the luxury of perspective on the situation--as opposed to just the pain and anger--I would speak to neighboring Arab countries about creating a truce with Israel. Because Israel isn't realistically going to be able to let go of that land until it can feel assured that people aren't going to roll through it with tanks. And right now, if Israel let go of that land, they certainly have more than every reason to believe that the immediate response would be for enemy states to roll through with tanks.
What's happening in Gaza is more than horrible; but when we act as though it's happening through something as simple as an Israeli desire to hurt Palestinians, we harm anyone's ability to assist the situation.
I would be the first to say that I am no expert in that history. And unlike many people who might be placed in the broad "support Israel" category--I'm very much NOT of the opinion that everything Israel does is right, or justified.
Many people could give excellent reasons why the Palestinians should not be in this position, and why Israel is in the wrong. I won't dispute them; sadly, this is probably not a situation where one side is right, one side wrong. Tragically, if anything, both sides are both things, and that makes resolution insanely hard.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-12-31 03:20 pm (UTC)ButI... if I were in Gaza and had the luxury of perspective on the situation--as opposed to just the pain and anger--I would speak to neighboring Arab countries about creating a truce with Israel. Because Israel isn't realistically going to be able to let go of that land until it can feel assured that people aren't going to roll through it with tanks. And right now, if Israel let go of that land, they certainly have more than every reason to believe that the immediate response would be for enemy states to roll through with tanks.
What's happening in Gaza is more than horrible; but when we act as though it's happening through something as simple as an Israeli desire to hurt Palestinians, we harm anyone's ability to assist the situation.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-31 03:40 pm (UTC)I can't even begin to imagine life on either side of that conflict.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-31 03:55 pm (UTC)Many people could give excellent reasons why the Palestinians should not be in this position, and why Israel is in the wrong. I won't dispute them; sadly, this is probably not a situation where one side is right, one side wrong. Tragically, if anything, both sides are both things, and that makes resolution insanely hard.