International Pressure Mounts as Israel-Gaza Conflict Intensifies.

January 16, 2009

Kyle Kubler

What started on December 27th as retaliation for a prematurely broken ceasefire has now turned into an all-out offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. A ceasefire negotiated by Egypt, had for the most part, granted Israel and Hamas with six months of peace, but Israel claims Hamas began firing rockets into Israel during the final weeks of the cease-fire. Israel then began a massive bombing campaign in the Gaza Strip, targeting Hamas infrastructure.

After a week of massive destruction, Israel took to the ground, sending some 10,000 troops into the Gaza Strip. Israel’s stated objective is to destroy Hamas infrastructure, and weaken their ability to fire missiles into southern Israel, but there are other possibilities as well.

Israel has major elections coming up in February, and nations at war tend to favor incumbents. We of all people should know the effects of war on elections. Wartime Presidents are almost always re-elected for office. Our most recent example can be seen with the re-election of President Bush in 2004. Is the Gaza conflict a political move created by Israeli politicians, or are they just riding the wave of military circumstances? Amidst the turmoil, Israel has been taking steady rocket fire from Gaza, as well as a few reported rocket attacks from Lebanon.

As of right now, it’s hard to differentiate between fact and fiction. Israel, against a Supreme Court order, has banned journalists of any kind from entering the Gaza Strip. From what can be estimated from UN services and various news stations the death toll stands around 1,000 in the Gaza Strip, a third of whom are said to be woman and children, and approximately 5,000 wounded.

The death toll seems to be the most controversial topic when discussing the Israel-Gaza conflict. The UN Security Council voted on, and called for an immediate ceasefire, which was quickly turned down by both Israel and Hamas. It is important to note that of the 15 different nations voting on the resolution, all voted for the cease-fire, except the abstaining United States. This is a significant political gesture because it shows that the United States is determined to support the actions of Israel. The UN actions came after reports of Israeli missiles hitting a UN school.

International pressure also came from the International Committee of the Red Cross, when they said that Israel was failing to fulfill their duties to help the wounded in Gaza. This statement came after ICRC workers found four starving children lying next to their dead mothers, seemingly neglected by Israeli soldiers. The human rights group Amnesty International has accused both sides of using civilians as human shields.

There are rumors that the increased international pressure has created a division in the Israeli government. When asked about a weeklong ceasefire, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said he would be open to the idea, which would allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. On the contrary, when Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was asked the same question, he replied that he wanted to continue Israel’s military campaign until all objectives were reached.

It is hard to say what will come of this conflict; Egypt and Israel are talking about brokering another ceasefire, although Hamas has said they are not willing to cooperate. The United States has also agreed to a ceasefire that would stop the underground arms smuggling into Gaza. Security ministers are set to vote on the proposal this weekend, and if all goes well, we might finally see an end to the violence.

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