I read “Israel is bad” or “Hamas is bad” arguments, one-sided with little nuance or consideration of issues faced by the opposition or by civilians.
I read “Ceasefire Now” arguments with no explanation of what can happen next.
I read “Two State Solution” arguments that seem to ignore the history of this diplomatic idea.
For the “Israel is bad” faction:
- What resolutions to this war, do they recommend?
- How should Hamas be held accountable for 10/7?
- If Israel embraced a ceasefire now, what do they believe Hamas will do?
- How do they suggest Israel get the remaining hostages returned?
- How would they fight an enemy ensconced in tunnels under an urban civilian landscape?
- Where in this approach is any responsibility, blame, accountability assigned to Hamas?
For the “Hamas is bad” faction:
- Do they believe all Palestinians are evil, culpable for 10/7, and thus should be destroyed, or at least are of no concern should they become collateral damage?
- Do they believe Hamas’s self-articulated mission, rejecting Israel’s right to exist, or the evil facts of 10/7, justify any Israeli response?
- Do they believe Israel is free to seek justice, revenge, retribution, genocide, or none of these goals?
- Do they believe that if Hamas is annihilated there will be no more terror attacks upon Israel?
For those calling for “Ceasefire now,” including several hostage families:
- Do they believe Hamas will return the remaining hostages simply due to a ceasefire?
- Do they believe a ceasefire would end the war?
- Do they equate ceasefire with peace?
- Is a ceasefire the same as justice?
For those calling for a “Two State Solution”:
- Why are people continuing to propose this political “solution,” which has been discussed since 1937, when people in the MENA do not own it and many do not want it?
- How can a two-state arrangement be set up when one, if not both, people groups believe the other holds no right to even exist – as a people group, much less as a nation state?
© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2024
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