What would world reaction be if Tel Aviv were under aerial bombardment by the Hamas Air Force for the seventh straight day? Would the United Nations dither over the wording of a statement while scenes of destruction and carnage flash around the globe? Would the United States stand mute while casualties overwhelm Tel Aviv hospitals?
If Hamas military officials were making blithe statements about the pinpoint accuracy of their munitions, and how the Hamas Air Force took great pains to avoid murdering non-combatants, would the world accept the statements at face value or be properly outraged by their absurdity?
We know the answer. The United States and Britain would never allow an Israeli city, town or hamlet to be pulverized into total submission the way the Israelis are pulverizing Gaza. Every political, diplomatic and public relations effort would be made to stop the bombing if Israelis were on the receiving end of Hellfire missiles and bunker busting ordnance. Cries of “Humanitarian Crisis!” would dominate the American and British media until a fever pitch was reached and world leaders were forced to demand an immediate cease-fire -- and pledge sanctions against Hamas if it refused to comply.
But some human lives are obviously worth more than others. We don’t spend much time, expend much effort or cry many tears over dead or maimed Africans, Arabs, Iraqis, Afghans, or Palestinians, while every killed or wounded American, Brit or Israeli is a tragic loss that deserves to be accounted for and cataloged.
Has the world always been so callous about death and so blind to suffering? Ask the Armenians. Ask the Jews of Eastern Europe. Ask Rwandans. Ask the Muslims of Bosnia. Israel claims to be at war with Hamas, but the hurt Israel is putting on Gaza will make the already difficult, constricted and fragile lives of innocent Palestinians worse for months, if not years, to come. Hamas rocket attacks against Israeli homes and citizens are indefensible, but the overwhelming nature of Israel’s response to those attacks, including the cruel blockade of essential supplies that preceded this latest offensive, only reinforces and perpetuates the cycle of violence in which Israelis and Palestinians are locked.
Gaza is one of the most densely populated places in the world and also one of the poorest. Hamas boasts no air force, artillery, tanks, helicopters or navy with which to counter-attack or defend civilians.
The population of Gaza is trapped, like fish in a barrel.
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