Hamas sworn in; Canada breaks ties

Stardate 5538.2

Now that the new democratically elected Palestinian government has been sworn in, Canada has become the first country besides Israel to break ties with the Hamas government, including aid and other relations.

I wonder at this. I know it is mainly because the Hamas government will not outright rule out violence against Israel, but then when has Israel done likewise to the Palestinians? But cutting aid to the people? Boldly, the new leader, Mahmoud Zahar has stated that the Palestinian people do not need the aid money, and moreover that this is a political mistake on the part of Canadians. I think I agree.

So what is next? The US will likely follow suit (that sounds pretty funny when you think about it), and even though democracy has spoken, will likely treat the Palestinian Hamas government no different than other "terrorist" run states. Maybe they will invade and occupy Palestine to Liberate the people and bring democracy and freedom to them? Oh wait, they already have it. Starving the people would likely only make the Israelis happy... so perhaps they could simply accept the vote of the people and work with the Hamas government to stop the violence.

This conflict is ancient in it's origins, but consider these quotes from some time ago:

“If I were an Arab leader, I would never sign an agreement with Israel. It is normal; we have taken their country. It is true God promised it to us, but how could that interest them? Our God is not theirs. There has been Anti - Semitism, the Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, but was that their fault ? They see but one thing: we have come and we have stolen their country. Why would they accept that?”

And this one...

“We must use terror, assassination, intimidation, land confiscation, and the cutting of all social services to rid the Galilee of its Arab population.”

The first is almost obviously from an Israeli point of view, the second sounds like something the dreaded Hamas would say (apart from the reference to Arabs), but both were made by former Israeli leader, David Ben-Gurion.

So we can see that the conflict has seen similar tactics from both sides, and perhaps nowadays, the battle may only be reported on from one view. These words were said many decades ago, but really, they should be thought about when deciding which people are the aggressors in this situation.

Perhaps I simply cannot understand why they don't live together. I have nothing against either peoples, but the level of violence undertaken by both sides is ridiculous. It is like squabbling children sometimes, so perhaps Canada should give both countries the same treatment. Perhaps the UN should as well. The biggest thing is to stop violence from both sides. US involvement in the situation seems purely one-sided and now Canada has chosen sides as well.

By the way, when he said "God promised it to us", he, like so many others, refuses to understand that us actually means ALL of mankind.

I have been to Israel, and there is no doubt in my mind that they are a military state, just as Palestine is. It was a beautiful country, and Mount Carmel in Haifa is easily one of the most lovely places on earth, but I distinctly remember sleeping on the bus, head on the shoulder of a soldier, as we made our way from Tel Aviv to Haifa. I remember our cab driver stopping without saying anything, to pick up a soldier hitch hiking, simply because that is what they do. I have been to many countries, but none had as large a military presence as Israel, not even Egypt.

The Polunatic has similar thoughts to my own...