OPINION: Israel-Hamas War: Hamas Is Not Palestine

Ayden McDougle is a sophomore studying political science and an opinion writer for The New Political.

Please note that the views and opinions do not reflect those of The New Political.

Editor’s Note: This article was updated to include the author’s information.

On Oct. 7, at 6:30 a.m. local time, the terrorist group Hamas launched an unprecedented act of war and terror against Israel with a barrage of rockets launched from the Gaza Strip. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) estimates nearly 2,200 rockets were fired, while Hamas claims that 5,000 rockets were unleashed onto the Israeli people. Simultaneously, nearly 1,500 armed men for Hamas stormed the fences separating Israel and Gaza, then entered Israeli towns.

The roots of the conflict between Israel and Palenstine goes back centuries. In 1517, the region was conquered by the Ottoman Empire, which followed the Islamic faith. The region was ruled by the Ottomans until they lost control to the British during World War I in 1917. Following this loss by the Ottoman Empire, the British government issued the Balfour Declaration of 1917, which endorsed the idea of Palestine becoming a true home for Jewish people. From 1920 to 1946 over 3 million Jewish people migrated to Palestine. This included many Jewish people who were fleeing Europe due to the rise of Nazism during World War II. Palestinians became increasingly aware of these changing demographics and in turn, gave rise to a period of revolts by the Palestinian Arabs.

In 1947, the United Nations adopted the Partition Plan, which divided the British Mandate of Palestine into Arab and Jewish states. Following this resolution, in May 1948, the State of Israel was created. This led to the first Arab-Israeli War where the Palestinian Arabs refused to recognize this arrangement. After 10 months of fighting, with thousands of deaths on both sides and thousands of people displaced, the war ended in March of 1949. Over the next several decades, conflicts between Israel and Arab forces continued in 1956, 1967, 1973, 1982, and 2006. The results of these conflicts resulted in the current status today, with Israel as an independent country and Palestine consisting of the Gaza Strip and West Bank territories. 

The Gaza Strip is a 25 mile stretch of land that sits in the southwest corner of Israel with a population of nearly 2 million people. Hamas was founded in the Gaza Strip by Sheikh Ahmend Yasis and Abdul Aziz al Rantissi and this movement was started to pursue an armed struggle against Israel with the aim of liberating Palestine. Now, Hamas is led by Ismail Haniyeh with 20 to 25 thousand men fighting along his side. According to Hamas, this latest attack was in retaliation to years of oppression by the Israeli government on Palestinians. 

Understanding this extensive history on the conflicts between Israel and Palestine does not justify the action of Hamas nor the actions of the Israeli Government. This war, which was formally declared by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu in which he publicly stated, “Israel is at War,” adding, “This is not a so-called military operation, not another round of fighting, but war.” This war is strictly between the Israeli government and Hamas, while the people of Israel and Palestine continue to suffer. 

However, condemnation of the acts of terror by Hamas and the oppression of the Palestinian people and the military response by the Israeli government during this conflict are entirely justifiable. Innocent Israeli people – including Israeli women and children have been massacred and held hostage by Hamas. in retaliation the Israeli government, or more specifically, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) launched “Operation Swords of Iron” targeting suspected Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza. The IDF’s response has killed hundreds of Palestinians, including a few dozen innocent children. 

So given the foreseeable and continued acts of terror by Hamas and the military response of the IDF, hundreds if not thousands of more innocent Israeli and Palestinian civilian lives will be lost in the middle of this conflict. The ongoing support that the United States has shown for the Israeli government should instead encompass the entirety of the situation and be guided towards all of the innocent people caught within this devastating conflict on either side. 

The support for these innocent lives simply cannot and does not overshadow the “Free Palestine” movement because that movement in itself is a separate issue within the conflicts relating to Israel-Palestine and this war is between the Israeli government and Hamas. 

So let's make things entirely clear: Palestinians have been oppressed, and have witnessed genocide of their own for decades by the Israeli government, a nation-state that has seen billions of dollars in investments by the United States to protect its own political interests throughout the region.

This unprecedented, but not unprovoked response, by Hamas does not speak for the nearly two million innocent people who live in the Gaza Strip. Even with this dense history and divisive political and religious tension, Hamas is not building a better future, but committing acts of terror and genocide against the Israeli people. While the Israeli government is continuing to do the same on the Palestinians who have been forced to live in the Gaza Strip.