Tuesday October 17, 2023 | VICTORIA, BC [Updated 4:18 pm]
Analysis by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
The Middle East situation is complex. Simplistic posts in social media are as much a danger as the might help people understand the current conflict.
Someone on Twitter posted today: “Disaster: our hospital, Ahli Arab hospital has taken a direct hit from an Israeli missile. Early reports say hundreds of women and children killed. This is deliberate killing of vulnerable civilians. The bombs must stop now. There can be no possible justification for this.”
First of all, there is no absolute verification that the damage was inflicted by an Israeli missile.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s response today seems well-intentioned and touches the sentiment of many: “Bombing a hospital is a violation of International Law. There must be a ceasefire. Now.”
Of course everyone hopes for a ceasefire and peace.
Two-part big picture:
But Island Social Trends will continue to repeat the two-part big-picture message: 1) Hamas has embedded and entwined itself within Palestinian civilian structures as a way to prevent attacks; and 2) Israel setting out to eliminate Hamas serves well for protecting democracy (much like Ukraine sticking up for democracy as the frontline against Russian invasion).
Preventing the spread of sheer violence — an evil debauchery of terror — is necessary. If not the Israelis to execute that at this time, then who?
The United States with all its might is showing their support and working hard diplomatically to try and maintain some relative stability in the Middle East region. With President Joe Biden himself expected to be in Israel tomorrow (October 18), what more significant message does the world need that peace must happen.
No simple solutions:
There are no simple solutions. The Middle East region is at war — and that could easily spread to being the entire free world at war against autocracies and terror.
Social media is a wonderful tool of worldwide communication. But simplistic messages can be like land mines. People worldwide need to understand the complexities of the Middle East situation, in real-time, day by day. Jumping to simple solutions won’t eradicate the root of the problem — radicalized death-bent behaviour due to a mistreatment of a society or group over many years.
After Hamas is eliminated (the primary goal of Israel at this time), a two-state solution — i.e. sovereignty for both Israel and Palestinian — can be sorted out. But to leave in place any aspect of the sheer rot that is Hamas would be a serious strategic error at this time. If not eradicated now, they will simply go underground again — both literally and figuratively — and a world war could emerge in the meantime.
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