Gaza Crisis
Monday December 29, 2008
It is difficult to see the ongoing crisis in Palestine escalate into yet another bloodbath. One feels powerless to do anything, and anger for those who have the power to stop bloodshed but choose to do nothing.
At such times, we must remember the words of the Prophet Muhammad: "When any of you sees an evil act, let him change it with his hand. If he is not able to do so, then let him change it with his tongue. And if he is not able to do so, then let him condemn it in his heart, although that is the weakest of faith."
May we all try, in our own way, to bring about an end to the fighting and establish peace for the people who are suffering.
More Coverage From About.com:
- Islamic Charitable Organizations - list of groups that provide ongoing humanitarian support to Palestine and other parts of the world
- Jihad in Islam - why Palestinians feel that resisting occupation is a "just" cause
- Profile of Palestine - from the About.com Guide to Middle East Issues
- Basics of the Arab-Israeli Conflict - from the About.com Guide to World News
- Resumption of Barbarism Over Gaza - latest from the About.com Guide to Middle East Issues
- Bloodletting in Gaza - back in March 2008, during another Israeli bombardment of Gaza that killed over 100 people, the About.com Guide to Middle East Issues predicted "another round of bloodletting" in the future
- Conflicts in Gaza: Causes and Solutions - the About.com Guide to Middle East Issues gives an overview of the issues and possible solutions
- Hamas-Israeli Conflict: Background, Primers, and FAQs - from the About.com Guide to Middle East Issues
- What/Who is Hamas? Two profiles from the About.com Guides to Middle East Issues and Terrorism Issues
Comments
This one crisis will lead to another. Both parties will attack back and forth, continuously. It is awful and difficult for all of us to watch innocent people suffering.
I believe all of us should write to our MP’s, get our voices heard, express to them our anger towards their decision of not doing anything.
May Allah help us all.
Thank you for this invaluable resource.
I will try and join protests around my neighborhood and attend the CAIR candle light vigil around the White House in solidarity with the beseiged people of Gaza.
How can our nation be so one-sidedly blind and unjust to the cause of freedom, self-determination, and hope for the suffering of the people of Palestine?
We have to collectively raise our voice against the pro-Israeli lobby which has hijacked US foreign policy and Congress and say enough is enough!
As Salaam Alaykom:
Even trying to get people to talk about it creates a big fitnah and I find that very discouraging.
Hala
It’s a Palestinian HOLOCAUST!!! yes i said it. and I said it because that is how I see it. Israel wants the land the palestinians live on and will stop at nothing to get it. Just like Hitler wanted teh Jews exterminated and would stop at nothing to do it.
Now, dont get me wrong, i feel horrible for what happened to EVERYONE (not just the jews) during WW2.
Does anyone even realize that all of the new maps being printed in the US and canada dont even have Palestine on them anymore? its all Israel now, most websites even say Israel now, but have Palestine in brackets. Soon those brackets will be gone and the whole western world will call it Israel. !!! So our kids will hear us talking of “Palestine” but wont even be able to see where it is on a map!! This is a spit in the face of all Palestinian people everywhere. the world turns a blind eye while Palestinians get slaughtered on the shores of their own homes.
i think the palestinians have every right to fight for their lives, their children ’s lives and their possesions.
If Mexico or Canada wanted to take over the US, do you think anyone would just peacefully pack up their stuff and leave their homes becuase a Canadian or Mexican has a gun and says he owns it now?
its not right and the West needs to step up and help fight for the rights of all human kind, not just the ones that have something we want.
And FYI.. I am Canadian, not American.
This isn’t only Israel’s fault. Hamas (not the Palestinian people as a whole) continues to use civilians as human shields and fire rockets into Israel. So, call the Jew’s bluff – stop attacking civilians and then dare the Zionists to stop their attack. It’ll never happen, of course: Hamas hates Israel more than it loves Palestine
watch this before judging israel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek23cljDLZ4&feature=related
once again a war is being waged by the so called superior forces against someone who is not even a quarter matched. Its like the US calling Iraq a dangerous enemy and invading it with their might.
I would say a war must be equally matched in might. Like the USSr against the US, or say India against Israel, China V/s UK etc. But here Israel as usual beating the Muslims who have rockets and nothing else. What cowards. The UN (run by Israel) is nothing but a sitting duck with the members hoot and come back home to do no follow up. Bush raises his voice against Hamas (boots applaud) like usual and doesn’t even know what Gaza looks like. Rice a girl with no heart rallies for Bush even if the shoes were aimed at him.
No one will do anything until enough harm is done, like it happened in Bosnia and many Muslin countries.
The agenda is big here and it is to kill the Muslim spirit of unity. Crush the roots and make sure no Shariah is practiced.
These things will happen again and again until all the muslim countries stand for muslims like Saladdin did.
Superior forces were waged by the combined states of Eygpt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon,Iraq,Saudia Arabia,Yemen, along with the Holy War Army, and the Arab Liberation Army against a much smaller and weaker Israeli force during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War (Not surprisingly to no avail).
Isreal continues to this day to be completely surrounded by Arab states bent on it’s total destruction.
Peace will only be realized in the region when terrorist factions like Hamas are disavowed by the very people they claim to represent.
Firing rockets into Israel is terror, violent and stupid.
Israel was not bothering anyone. Hamas is a terror organization.
Apparently you Muslims don’t have any morals at all. You approve of the constant and ongoing attacks on Israel.
Your q’rans are worthless if you don’t abide by them.
And you don’t by and large. Islam is NOT peaceful.
What is the purpose of shooting HUNDREDS of rockets at Israel??
Can any on you HOLY HOLY MUSLIMS explain that to me?
Nah, you probably can’t because you’re still stuck in the 12th century.
You picked a fight and you’re getting your azzes kicked. Great work, congratulations.
Oh and say hi to Allah for me!
The people of Gaza are clearly in need of immediate humanitarian aid. Safe havens and shelters are under siege and food, medicine and fuel is running out. Mercy Corps, a non-profit humanitarian aid organization is actively trying to help Gazans affected by the recent violence.
Mercy Corps is calling for immediate humanitarian access to Gaza to deliver food and other essential supplies. You can sign their petition by clicking here. This petition urges the U.S. government to push for aid to be allowed in now.
And, you can help Mercy Corps get the humanitarian items they need once the border is open by donating to Mercy Corps’ Gaza Crisis Fund. Mercy Corps has a four-ton shipment of food that’s supposed to enter Gaza tomorrow, and they’re deploying additional aid workers to Jerusalem and Egypt to prepare to do more.
“Israel was not bothering anyone”?? What do you call military occupation, control of all borders, sea and air space, and cutting off of all exports and imports?
What is happening is pure apartheid. The Israelis are treating any non-Jew in their country as an animal and not a human being. Not to mention the genocide being committed against the Palestinian people while the Arabs sit around and do nothing.
all of you people that blame isreal for this are stupid. isreal has tried to make peace with hamas by singing a cease fire, but hamas kept launching rockets into isreal. isreal tried not to retaliate, but when your people are dieng,ihope to god you’d want to end it. i dont blame you completely tho. the media of course only sides with the side thats losing the most. trying to make a dollar without showing every side and just polluting the minds of the world. you all need to learn the whole story before siding with violent parties like hamas and its supporters like iran,etc.and the idiot below that called it a palestinian holocaust, go jump offa cliff, its people like you who are slowing down the progress of the world. if mexico was launching rockets into the US, id sure hope that we’d frickin stop it
notice who the people siding with hamas are. iran, pakistan, and every other islamic extremest that doesnt care about humanity. they live blind lives killing for a so called god that calls them to kill and then promises them 72 virgins when they die. i am heart-broken that these people do this, the world is crumbling and all they can do is keep killing. im glad isreal is standing up. for the thousands of years of hell they have faced, they are finally taking a stand. i want hamas and every other group of their kind to be wiped of the face of the planet, then maybe we can all try and live together as frickin humans
Peace will come when all the Israelists leave Palestinian’s land. No doubt about it.
FOR A LASTING PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST, ISRAEL MUST BE DELETED FROM THE WORLD MAP.
HOWEVER, THE MONARCHS IN THE MIDDLE EAST WILL NOT ALLOW THAT FOR NOW, AS THEY ARE MAKING DOLLARS OUT OF THE BLOOD. BUT THIS IS ONLY TEMPORARY, ONE DAY THE ISRAELIS AND THEIR FRIENDS IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND THE WEST WILL PAY FOR THE BLOOD THEY SPILT.
Germans are the only people who understood the Jews. Israel is bent on creating another Hitler. And sooner or later they will get ONE
British Red Cross is involved in delivering vital help to civilians affected by the conflict in Gaza
http://www.redcross.org.uk/news.asp?id=89823
I am really concerned about what is happening in Palestine. Why is every human life not valued equally? When one American or Israeli dies it is a national event but when over 800 Palestinians dies and over 3000 are wounded it is nothing almost as if they are insects. All mankind is living under the same earth and should be equally valued.
War is something decided by politicians. I wonder what they would do if their families were fighting against each other. Would they be so eager for war then? NO, I think not. They don’t care because it is not their families which are dying. It is not their children who are suffering. It is not their families who will be having post traumatic stress disorder for life. The families of politicians are still going to be enjoying the luxury they always have.
What is happening in the Middle East is just so evil? How are these murders being allowed to go to Church and pray. They should be in jail for killing innocent children. They are worse than common criminals. At least common criminal are jailed. Why is President Bush, Israel military being allowed to walk free when they have inhumanely killed innocent people? They are making decisions based on suspicion only. They bomb schools based on suspicion. For example, if someone called us and said there are criminals in New York City. Would that be a lie? No, there are criminals and bad people in every corner of the world. Does that mean we should bomb the whole city in the off chance of catching the criminals? This is so completely illogical.
If someone murders your family and they are Chinese, do you go and hate all Chinese people and go to China and murder all Chinese people? NO you do not!. That is what is happening in the Middle East. There is just hatred and more hatred being perpetuated. War does not stop aggression, it perpetuates hatred. No one wins in war. Everyone loses everything. Both countries will lose their infrastructure. Only pride is lost.
It is perpetuating more terrorism. The Israeli military wants to catch Hamas but does Hamas care about innocent lives? NO. So why is Israel using innocent children as bargaining chips to control Hamas. It is so silly. This will just breed and provoke terrorism. Terrorists are not born they are made after suffering trauma of losing their entire family. THis crisis will bring more terrorism
In order to escalate peace talks between Israel and Palestine, there needs to be psychologists present in order to objectively point out how ridiculous their hatred is for each other. The psychologists needs to point out common grounds in how similar they are to each other. No religious condones murder but here they are murdering each other in the name of war. Religion should be used to unite rather than divide. They should view each other as brothers and sisters rather than enemy. This would require a sociologist to change their mindset. This may take many sessions but innocent people should not be used as a weapon when politicians disagree. Meanwhile, UN can take over the land or they can unite as one country where both sides will rule equally. Please I beg you to act quickly because I know you care.
Sincerely,
Tabasum Amir
This is my point of view.
Don’t expect UN to stop what Israel just doing, since UN is the mother and protector of Israel.
They’ll not go in if Israel don’t say they can.
After Israel have accomplish all their bussinesses there, and say UN can go in and clean up,
then they’ll just go in to clean up the messes that Israel made.
It is the duty of the United Nations to bring about a satisfactory resolution to this terrible mess they created in the first place in giving away Palestinian land to foreigners of Jewish decent.
How anyone saw logic in this utterly illogical proposal (of partitioning Palestine) in the first place astounds me. If Israel will not come to its senses (as the victor and show mercy as it should, and never has) then the UN should enforce it’s mandate through whatever means (as it did with Iraq), including blockades and military intervention.
It doesn’t matter if the West doesn’t like Hamas, Arabs or Muslims it’s about equity and fairness and impartiality. The Israelis have portrayed the Palestinians as something other than human but they are human after all !
60 years of Israeli occupation and no progress whatsoever for the Palestinians, isn’t that message screaming at the United Nations, telling them something.
To whome should fight with America or Israil?
1. Terrorist
2. All common muslims
3. or leave them alone to fight themselves.
Luxery things were the caused due to which muslim countries are not coming ahead.
i heart shattered when i saw what happened to people in Gaza. Why does Israel did this to those innocent people? Why does they use violence and war to gain whatever they want?
There so many option they can choose to voice out their quest and demand and the result is disastrous..