Israeli Troops Pulled Out of Gaza

CBC
January 21, 2009

Early Wednesday morning, the last Israeli soldier was withdrawn from the Gaza Strip. Earlier this month, an offensive attack was launched and thousands of ground troops entered the Palestinian territory. Israel has disclosed that this offensive was aimed at "halting rocket attacks" from the militant group Hamas, and stopping weapon-smuggling into this territory. Even though the troops have officially been removed from the situation, they will remain amassed on their side of the border, in case there is a renewal of fire. The timing of the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza was well timed, and was intended to occur before US President Barack Obama came into power. In their minds, this would defuse any crisis before Obama became President of their great ally, the United States of America. Over the weekend, a ceasefire was declared, but since then there have been reports of weapons being fired. Two Gaza soldiers were killed yesterday along the border. This conflict has resulted in huge casualties, as 1300 Palestinians have died, more than half of them civilians. Thirteen Israelis, four of them soldiers, were killed by stray bullets. The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, left the disputed territory on Wednesday after touring Gaza and Southern Israel for several weeks. Ki-Moon called the recent fighting "outrageous", and launched an investigation into the Israeli shelling of the UN Compound.

In my opinion, the conflict between Israel and the Hamas has reached unaccceptable proportions. A dispute over land has grown into a full-scale human tragedy with no regard for civilian casualties. With over 600 civilian deaths, Israel has lost the support and respect of nations around the world. The conditions in refugee camps and lack of timely triage and treatment of the wounded in Gaza is unacceptable from the UN human rights standpoint. The UN compound itself was destroyed in shelling and with it, critical refugee aid supplies and medical supplies were lost. In the face of such human tragedy, most Palestinians and Gazans have responded with anger and disbelief. With this, their support of Hamas has in fact risen. Without significant international intervention and pressure, this conflict will surely result in unacceptable human costs for generations to come.