Israel's Aggression

The violent attacks being perpetrated by Israel towards its Arab citizens these past few days have been disturbing, to say the least. The last time I checked, the death toll for Israelis was less than 5 while the death toll for Arabs was hovering around 300. It does not take a genius to see the discord there. It reminds me of the war between Israel and Lebanon back in 2006 where the death tolls were equally disparate. The fact of the matter is that Israel's army, military technology, and weapons sophistication dwarfed those of their adversaries in both cases. And they are not afraid nor do they feel guilty about displaying this.



I am not saying that the border countries surrounding Israel (most notably Syria, Lebanon, and Iran) do not represent serious threats to Israel's security. But I am saying that the devastating attacks being perpetrated by Israel right now against Hamas (its own citizens) will slow progress, rather than hasten, towards a long lasting peace process between the parties, and therefore seriously compromise any chance of stability in the region for the foreseeable future.

And possibly the most disheartening aspect is the lack of an outcry from any countries. These attacks are acts of terror and need to be condemned. My guess would be that as the attacks get more intense, more countries may start to question some of Israel's actions, leaving their unquestioned support for the Jewish state up in the air. This is by far the most important area in the world in terms of its effect on global security. The major reason for 9/11 and for the continued battles between the Taliban and the US in Afghanistan is the unquestioned support for Israel by the United States. This represents one of Obama's most complicated, important, and consequential foreign policy files. All eyes will be on the new president (whose election for many Arabs around the world, represented hope for the future) to see exactly how he reacts publicly once he takes office to this ongoing seemingly never-ending conflict.