Open Letter to A Citizen Of Gaza

There is a well known saying of Golda Me'ir, a former Prime Minister of Israel who said of our Palestinian neighbors " we can forgive you for killing our children but we cannot forgive you for making us kill your children". There is a major untold story in the world media which they either know about and don't want to print or haven't taken the time to really understand the Israeli military philosophy.

Below is a letter which I received from a reserve soldier who served in Gaza. I think it shows something of our soldiers feelings which are so foreign to Hamas.

Hello,

While the world watches the ruins in Gaza, you return to your home which remains standing. However, I am sure that it is clear to you that someone was in your home while you were away.
I am that someone.

I spent long hours imagining how you would react when you walked into your home. How you would feel when you understood that IDF soldiers had slept on your mattresses and used your blankets to keep warm.

I knew that it would make you angry and sad and that you would feel this violation of the most intimate areas of your life by those defined as your enemies, with stinging humiliation. I am convinced that you hate me with unbridled hatred, and you do not have even the tiniest desire to hear what I have to say. At the same time, it is important for me to say the following in the hope that there is even the minutest chance that you will hear me.

I spent many days in your home. You and your family’s presence was felt in every corner. I saw your family portraits on the wall, and I thought of my family. I saw your wife’s perfume bottles on the bureau, and I thought of my wife. I saw your children’s toys and their English language schoolbooks. I saw your personal computer and how you set up the modem and wireless phone next to the screen, just as I do.

I wanted you to know that despite the immense disorder you found in your house that was created during a search for explosives and tunnels (which were indeed found in other homes), we did our best to treat your possessions with respect. When I moved the computer table, I disconnected the cables and lay them down neatly on the floor, as I would do with my own computer. I even covered the computer from dust with a piece of cloth. I tried to put back the clothes that fell when we moved the closet although not the same as you would have done, but at least in such a way that nothing would get lost.

I know that the devastation, the bullet holes in your walls and the destruction of those homes near you place my descriptions in a ridiculous light. Still, I need you to understand me, us, and hope that you will channel your anger and criticism to the right places.

I decided to write you this letter specifically because I stayed in your home.

I can surmise that you are intelligent and educated and there are those in your household that are university students. Your children learn English, and you are connected to the Internet. You are not ignorant; you know what is going on around you.

Therefore, I am sure you know that Qassam rockets were launched from your neighborhood into Israeli towns and cities.

How could you see these weekly launches and not think that one day we would say “enough”?! Did you ever consider that it is perhaps wrong to launch rockets at innocent civilians trying to lead a normal life, much like you? How long did you think we would sit back without reacting?

I can hear you saying “it’s not me, it’s Hamas”. My intuition tells me you are not their most avid supporter. If you look closely at the sad reality in which your people live, and you do not try to deceive yourself or make excuses about “occupation”, you must certainly reach the conclusion that the Hamas is your real enemy.

The reality is so simple, even a seven year old can understand: Israel withdrew from the Gaza strip, removing military bases and its citizens from Gush Katif. Nonetheless, we continued to provide you with electricity, water, and goods (and this I know very well as during my reserve duty I guarded the border crossings more than once, and witnessed hundreds of trucks full of goods entering a blockade-free Gaza every day).

Despite all this, for reasons that cannot be understood and with a lack of any rational logic, Hamas launched missiles on Israeli towns. For three years we clenched our teeth and restrained ourselves. In the end, we could not take it anymore and entered the Gaza strip, into your neighborhood, in order to remove those who want to kill us. A reality that is painful but very easy to explain.
As soon as you agree with me that Hamas is your enemy and because of them, your people are miserable, you will also understand that the change must come from within. I am acutely aware of the fact that what I say is easier to write than to do, but I do not see any other way. You, who are connected to the world and concerned about your children’s education, must lead, together with your friends, a civil uprising against Hamas.

I swear to you, that if the citizens of Gaza were busy paving roads, building schools, opening factories and cultural institutions instead of dwelling in self pity, arms smuggling and nurturing a hatred to your Israeli neighbors, your homes would not be in ruins right now. If your leaders were not corrupt and motivated by hatred, your home would not have been harmed. If someone would have stood up and shouted that there is no point in launching missiles on innocent civilians, I would not have to stand in your kitchen as a soldier.

You don’t have money, you tell me? You have more than you can imagine.

Even before Hamas took control of Gaza, during the time of Yasser Arafat, millions if not billions of dollars donated by the world community to the Palestinians was used for purchasing arms or taken directly to your leaders bank accounts. Gulf States, the emirates - your brothers, your flesh and blood, are some of the richest nations in the world. If there was even a small feeling of solidarity between Arab nations, if these nations had but the smallest interest in reconstructing the Palestinian people – your situation would be very different.

You must be familiar with Singapore. The land mass there is not much larger than the Gaza strip and it is considered to be the second most populated country in the world. Yet, Singapore is a successful, prospering, and well managed country. Why not the same for you?

My friend, I would like to call you by name, but I will not do so publicly. I want you to know that I am 100% at peace with what my country did, what my army did, and what I did. However, I feel your pain. I am sorry for the destruction you are finding in your neighborhood at this moment. On a personal level, I did what I could to minimize the damage to your home as much as possible.

In my opinion, we have a lot more in common than you might imagine. I am a civilian, not a soldier, and in my private life I have nothing to do with the military. However, I have an obligation to leave my home, put on a uniform, and protect my family every time we are attacked. I have no desire to be in your home wearing a uniform again and I would be more than happy to sit with you as a guest on your beautiful balcony, drinking sweet tea seasoned with the sage growing in your garden.

The only person who could make that dream a reality is you. Take responsibility for yourself, your family, your people, and start to take control of your destiny. How? I do not know. Maybe there is something to be learned from the Jewish people who rose up from the most destructive human tragedy of the 20th century, and instead of sinking into self-pity, built a flourishing and prospering country. It is possible, and it is in your hands. I am ready to be there to provide a shoulder of support and help to you.

But only you can move the wheels of history.”
Regards,
Yishai, (Reserve Soldier)

Is The EU Coming to its Senses?

In Jabaliya,Gaza, yesterday a senior EU official blasted the "abominable" destruction in the enclave and said that "the terrorist Hamas rulers bear overwhelming responsibility for the war."

"It is abominable, indescribable," said Louis Michel, European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, after touring some of the worst-hit places in the territory.

"I intentionally say this here -- Hamas is a terrorist movement and it has to be denounced as such. Blasting the scale of destruction in Gaza, Michel said the European Union, the main donor to the Palestinians, was sick of paying for the same infrastructure that's destroyed over and over again.

Just when will the European taxpayers realize how much of their money is going to waste. Hamas is insisting that all funds are channeled through them - how absurd to accept such a demand. but will the EU really stand by their commisioner? Let's wait and see.

As with Lebanon, the Iranians and Hizbollah rushed to "show" the population that they really cared and started handing over money very soon after the cease fire came into effect. Now Iran and Hamas are trying to do the same thing.

I believe the amount of video evidence of the cynical use of Gazans by Hamas will have some effect on the Gazans but whether they will be able to express themselves remains to be seen.

The Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR) has issued a report expressing its deep concern following verified information documented by its Gaza Program on attacks committed against citizens in the Gaza Strip by Hamas. ICHR demands that the deposed government in the Gaza Strip put an end to extra-judicial killings and assaults against citizens and their personal freedoms. ICHR also urges the deposed government to investigate these attacks and take expedite measures to prosecute perpetrators.

The report demands that
a) immediate measures be taken to put an end to extra-judicial killings and assailment on citizens.
b) an investigation be launched into all incidents of extra-judicial killings and assaults against citizens in the Gaza Strip. Offenders should be duly prosecuted and held accountable in accordance with the law.
c) rights of Palestinian citizens be safeguarded and the rule of law established and promoted.
d) the deposed government bear its assigned responsibility of providing security and safety to citizens.

Just how many Fatah supporters have been killed extra judicially? How many of the civilian death toll is the responsibility of Hamas?

PHONEY WAR CRIMES ACCUSATION

The acusations against Israel are now coming in thick and fast. from "war crimes" to "illegal use of phosphorous bombs, "indiscriminately attacking civilians" ad nauseum.

Allan Dershowitz, the eminent internationally renowned lawyer writes "Every time Israel seeks to defend its civilians against terrorist attacks, it is accused of war crimes by various United Nations agencies, hard left academics and some in the media. It is a totally phony charge concocted as part of Hamas' strategy --supported by many on the hard left -- to delegitimize and demonize the Jewish state."

"Israel is the only democracy in the world ever accused of war crimes when it fights a defensive war to protect its civilians. This is remarkable, especially in light of the fact that Israel has killed far fewer civilians than any other country in the world that has faced comparable threats. In the most recent war in Gaza fewer than a thousand civilians -- even by Hamas' skewed count -- have been killed. This, despite the fact that no one can now deny that Hamas had employed a deliberate policy of using children, schools, mosques, apartment buildings and other civilian areas as shields from behind which to launch its deadly anti-personnel rockets. "

"Just to take one comparison, consider the recent wars waged by Russia against Chechnya . In these wars Russian troops have killed tens of thousands of Chechnyan civilians, some of them willfully, at close range and in cold blood. Yet those radical academics who scream bloody murder against Israel (particularly in England) have never called for war crime tribunals to be convened against Russia. Nor have they called for war crime charges to be filed against any other of the many countries that routinely kill civilians, not in an effort to stop enemy terrorists, but just because it is part of their policy."

The full article can be read at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-dershowitz/the-phony-war-crimes-accu_b_160050.html. The punch is in the last statement that should worry every citizen of the world. Dershowitz writes "If the laws of war in particular, and international human rights in general, are to endure, they must be applied to nations in order of the seriousness of theviolations, not in order of the political unpopularity of the nations. If the law of war were applied in this manner, Israel would be among the last, andcertainly not the first, charged".

My Son Came Home

I received this letter from one of my correspondents this week and she gave me permission to print it. The stories of the war in Gaza are numerous but of course behind every soldier is a Mum who often has difficulty in containing her emotions.

I hope you appreciate the Mother's feelings

My son came home from Gaza just a few minutes ago. He came home as we had sent him off, only more tired, worn and dirty. Thank you Lord forbringing him home. To his wife, his brothers and sisters and his lovingbrood of nieces and nephews. All of us have been waiting patiently these past three weeks to hold him in our arms. Barely able to wait to embrace him, I ran across the highway where his ride had dropped him off. I grabbed him in the middle of the road and cars driving into my yishuv (village) had to veer around this sight of me standing on tiptoes reaching for my tall, handsome son's face. The drivers waved at us. A few rolled down heir windows to say "todah -- thank you" to my son. I whispered Todah again to the Lord.

I helped him toss his heavy bags into the trunk of the car. The heaviest among them being the one weighted down with foodstuffs that Israel's citizens sent to our soldiers. Tens of thousands of kilograms of foodpoured into the bases in the south. Cartons upon cartons of instantsoups, nuts, pretzels, cookies and nosh of every kind. All sent by individuals, families, schools and businesses from throughout the country. We could barely lift his 'booty' and we both shared a laugh as we flung it on to the back seat. The words that had been in my heart for so long melted on my tongue. My eyes drank him in, tall, bearded now and his face and soul, a bit darker than before he left us that Sunday morning. He reached his hand to his head and apologized for the fact that he was bareheaded. In the midst ofeverything his kippa had fallen off. "No matter -- easy enough to replace," I said as his hand slipped into mine.

I reached up to grab his neck and felt his lips touch my cheek, and I knew that his presence,like this, was all that I had prayed for each day since he packed his bags and left before the sun even rose that cold morning. I pulled in front of his apartment, a few kilometers from my home, and as we descended the steps I heard him speak gently and lovingly with his wife at work, telling her how anxious he was to see her.

He turned on the boiler and laughingly told me "I'm not getting out of this shower for the next hour." The bags fell to the floor and he leaned against the kitchen counter to untie his boots swiftly flinging them aside and letting his bare feet rest on the tile floor. He was exhausted and I hesitated to start with the barrage of questions that had been streaming through my head every day, every hour for these past few weeks. He smiled as he opened the bag of goodies and told me about the elementary school children from Mevasseret Zion who had attached notes with their gifts. He spoke with three of them to thank them personally. One child wrote a three page letter and the soldiers in my son's unit were grateful to learn more of this 8-year old's daily life, his favorites ubjects and his fondness for playstation. When they called to speak with him, he was overwhelmed and kept calling them "gibborim" heroes.

"Ima" he said, "I'm tired now, but I have to tell you how extraordinary this nation is. The children who wrote to us, the people who sent their good wishes with their packages of food, the businesses that sent truckloads of goods. The soldiers I served with, each one caring deeply about the other one. Zahal (the army) who made sure that we were well trained and well equipped for our mission. But mostly. Mostly. This was a war that was guided by the Hand of G'd. Everyday we felt His presence -- whether deciding to enter a building by smashing down the back wall rather than entering through the front door, only to discover that the front door had been booby trapped, or searching rooms in a house and uncovering a tunnel under a bed we had lifted where tens of Hamas terrorists were hiding in the hopes of kidnapping one of us, or dozens more stories."

I looked at this child's face and saw the extraordinary young man he had become. Filled with faith. Feeling a passion for those values that have held this nation together for thousands of years. And, his very presence. His very modesty. His deep felt pride at being part of this nation. All of this wrapped around my heart and left me humbled. Humbled and grateful. "And I will lift up my eyes unto the mountains, from where my strengthwill come."

A View from the Border with Gaza

The Israel army is now in a state of "Holding Fire". Everyone here has their opinions on whether this will become a long term status or not. The statements made by Hamas and their "success" does not auger well for the future. But then why should Hamas change? The world is preparing to pump millions of the taxpayers money into Gaza for "reconstruction", the question is how can they avoid their monies being used for the resconstruction of the supply of arms for a future battle?

And what about the residents on the border of Gaza? One of my correspondents writes

What do I think about this cease fire,i t sounds good and like I said it is quiet,I even slept all night from 11:00 PM till this morning at 9:30, first time I slept during the whole night since the war started.

There is a "but" to this so. I want to add in what I call "the media rape of Israel"

I have watched on the world news and on Internet and have seen so many untrue facts being thrown out that damage Israel's reputation, here are a couple just to get the picture:

http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=2&x_outlet=38&x_article=1588

http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=2&x_outlet=35&x_article=1586

Schools,religious sites, private homes were targeted by Israel because of weapons or Hammas fighters being in these places and shooting at Israeli targets and Israeli soldiers. Booby traps were found by IDF ground troops in these places and weapons stored also.

Then there is a sad story of a Palestinian doctor that works in a Israel hospital, some of his family members and children etc. were killed by Israeli soldiers. (This gives a wonderful heartbreaking story to the international media, it has all the elements required. Why am I cynical? Pallywood films continued unabated during the war and ...)

Today I hear that doctors found that in a son of his that was seriously injured, the bullet in him was a type not used by the IDF. I have no idea who shot them, only one story will make the main media headlines or articles, and you can guess who it will be.

Israel is not an angel,yes sometimes there are bad apples but which nation is not guilty of this! But also many reporters are not honest in their stories, or do not check out their source of information.. Too many times their reports are so biased, they are willing to believe everything they hear from the terrorists, and question Israelis version of the story.

I wrote a letter to you all yesterday but after I reread it, I saw I was very upset and mad and was ashamed at what I wrote,so I deleted it. Today I am still mad but am more settled down.

War Crimes?

As, in my opinion, the operation in Gaza is approaching a cease fire issues of human rights and war crimes are coming more to the fore.

From a friend living on the border of Gaza, he writes "I saw on the news last night and I was boiling over with anger and was afraid to check my blood pressure, when I heard "Israeli groups call for IDF 'war crimes' probe" and then later " forum of Israeli human rights organizations on Wednesday called on the country's political and military leadership to launch a domestic probe into "suspected war crimes" committed during Operation Cast Lead.

"http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1231950849606&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

I immediately wrote a response to the Jerusalem Post:-

I as a resident of a community on the Gaza border,Kibbutz Nahal Oz,want to know why do you (the human rights organisations) keep silent when Israel is being attacked and yet raise all hell when Israel defends herself.Why do you have your press conference in Jerusalem and not Sederot,Ashkelon,Ashdod,Beersheva or even my Kibbutz. I consider all of you Israelis and Jews at this conference traitors to your country and to your people.

If common sense is to prevail and we want to talk in legal terms about war crimes, then surely the following incidents clearly come under the category of "War Crimes":-

a) Shooting rockets and grenades purposely on civilian targets in Israel.
b) Shooting these rockets from within Palestinian civilian compounds such as schools or in close proximity of hospitals or residential buildings.
c) Storing weapons and ammunition in schools, mosques, public offices and buildings and the sort.· Regularly using their own civilians as human shield; particularly children, often forced to be in the most dangerous spots.
d) During fighting with the Israeli forces the Hamas fighters, who wore uniforms at the beginning, changed to civilian clothing or IDF uniforms and continued to fight.
e) Hamas fighters have routinely hid among civilians in hospitals.
f) To the kidnapped Israeli soldier, Gilad Schalit, Hamas did not provide the most elementary rights of war prisoners, such as information given to the other side and Red Cross visits, rights Israel grants even to convicted Hamas terrorists.
g) Children and minors were routinely used by Hamas for military tasks, both battle and auxiliary. The Hamas regime has also educated, indoctrinated and trained children and minors to murderous hatred, to will and techniques to kill.
h) The Hamas leadership embezzled aid money received for the peaceful needs of Gaza’s population and used these extensive funds for war efforts; weaponry, military equipment and constructions, and an enormous military build-up.

Will common sense prevail, maybe I am being naive??

Is the End Near?

If it is true that Israel is nearing the fulfillment of its objectives in Gaza as has been suggested,then maybe the residents of the south of the country will have some peace and an opportunity to reshape their lives and those of theri children finally.

It is said that Hamas has sustained an unprecedented blow, however the issue of the weapons smuggling is critically important, and although UN Security Council resolution 1860 is weak and ineffective, it did recognize that there should be a stop to weapons smuggling. Thus, Israel is continuing its talks with Egypt regarding this matter.

After all the hype of Hamas leader Haniya, it appears that in the field, Hamas terrorists are fleeing from contact with Israeli troops, hiding in hospitals, some of them disguised as medical staff. Further, Hamas is concealing the extent of the damage it has sustained and is not burying its dead, so as not to lower the morale of its cadre.

More worrying for the residents of Gaza is the fact that Hamas terrorists are plundering the humanitarian aid provided by the world and placing the good of their followers above the good of the general public. Hamas is also exploiting the situation to murder Fatah supporters for political reasons. Intelligence indicates that about a tenth of those killed in the Gaza Strip are Fatah members killed by Hamas.

In parallel, Iran is doing everything in its power to support Hamas, including attempting to smuggle weapons and ammunition into the Gaza Strip. However threats have been made by Teheran that aid will cease if Hamas accepts an Egyptian brokered cease fire.

It has to be emphasized time and time again that the IDF is operating against Hamas and its personnel, and not the residents of the Gaza Strip.

While the IDF is acting against Hamas, Israel is making every effort to accelerate and improve the transfer of humanitarian aid to the civilian population but difficulties are created by Hamas, who are waging war in the midst of densely populated areas, while exploiting civilians as human shields.

Israel is continuing with its humanitarian efforts, which include a respite in operations each day for several hours, despite the fact that Hamas is exploiting these lulls to continue shooting at Israel cities and troops, as well as to re-arm and re-equip.

Let us hope for everyone’s sake, a speedy end to this chapter of conflict