Editor’s note:This is the second of two articles on the Israel-Hamas War.
The decision has been made. All university-sponsored travel to Israel, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank has been canceled by UTRGV. But why? The Rider reached out to political science Professor Nicholas Kiersey and history Professor Emeritus Anthony Knopp to provide crucial context to an ongoing situation.
The Rider previously reported that on Oct. 7, Hamas, which is the political party and paramilitary organization that has controlled Gaza since 2006, launched an attack on southern Israel, killing 1,403 people and taking hostage over 200 individuals.
So far, four hostages have been released by the group. Qatar and Egypt continue to act as mediators between Hamas and the countries whose citizens are being held.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was warned ahead of time by multiple intelligence agencies that an attack was going to take place. However, it took over eight hours for the Israeli military to respond to the attack, according to the New York Times.
“This was a major significant failure of Israeli intelligence,” Kiersey said. “They did not see this coming. Thousands of Hamas operatives were involved in this very complex operation that involves simultaneous use of airpower, drones [and] infantry. They literally stormed security buildings in the actual state of Israel.”
After the attack, Israel immediately ordered a full blockade of Gaza, and immediately began a campaign of aerial bombardment of the Gaza Strip. They are also preparing for a ground assault on Gaza.
Asked about the immediate response within Israel, Knopp replied that the country rallied right away.
“Israel has prepared in the past to deal with the possibility of some kind of attack or invasion, and they rallied behind the Prime Minister [Netanyahu],” he said. “In order to defend the country, the military has been called up and they’re doing their best to defend Israel.”
The overwhelming consensus in Israel is that for the time being, Netanyahu and his newly formed unity government should be allowed to conduct the war. However, it should face accountability for the intelligence failure the minute it is over.
Netanyahu, who was in the midst of a corruption and bribery scandal before the onset of this crisis, continues to remain unpopular among Israelis, many of whom blame him for the intelligence failure.
According to a poll in the Ma’ariv, an Israeli daily newspaper, 80% of Israelis say Netanyahu should be held accountable, including 69% of voters from Netanyahu’s Likud party.
In a separate poll published last Friday, the newspaper asked “if the military should escalate to a large-scale ground offensive.” Twenty-nine percent of Israelis agreed, 49% said “it would be better to wait” and 22% were undecided.
The death toll in Gaza continues to rise dramatically. As of last Tuesday, 5,087 Palestinians had been killed, including 2,055 children, and over 15,273 had been injured, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The Rider asked Kiersey about the humanitarian impact on civilians in Gaza.
“You couldn’t imagine a greater impact,” Kiersey said. “They’ve lost water, they’ve lost electricity. They’ve had their hospitals attacked and blown up. They had their schools destroyed. They’re literally leveling the entire northern half of Gaza right now.”
The crisis has become a major point of geopolitical tension, with both the United States and China sending their navies into the Mediterranean Sea, casting doubt on the possibility of a solution.
Kiersey and Knopp were asked about potential solutions to the conflict.
“I don’t, unfortunately, see a solution,” Kiersey replied. “I think the United States is making a lot of mistakes here. The United States is making a lot of mistakes. It’s refusing to criticize Israel. And people are noticing.
“If there is a solution, it will require the United States making a very difficult decision to revisit its relationship with Israel, because the Israeli government has become more and more right wing over the decades. They now have an extremely right wing nationalist government, borderline fascist, I would argue, if not outright fascist, for what they’ve done now.
“I have to be honest with you. I’m not optimistic.”
Knopp replied: “If I had a solution, I would be calling the president right now and telling him what to do. I don’t know, at this juncture, about the best you can hope for is that somehow there will be a development that will stop the killing.
“Are we going to see tit-for-tat attacks and then the other side essentially has to get back to get even? Both sides, of course, are trying to assert a position of power in that area of the world in order to discourage their enemies. Are we gonna have to see that going on back and forth? That’s the concern. Israel’s almost certainly going to make an attack on Gaza. Where do we go from there?”
Asked for additional commentary, Kiersey and Knopp replied.
Kiersey said one thing gives him a sliver of hope.
“I think that the world is finally paying attention to this,” he said. “It’s long overdue. Should have been paying attention years ago. It fails to do that.
“We have to remember the humanity of the Palestinian people. We have to remember the humanity of the Israeli people. But let’s be real. Israel has all the power here.”
Knopp said he knows a number of Jewish people in the United States and in the Valley.
“It’s very troubling to have to think about their counterparts being attacked,” he said. “On the other hand, who am I to criticize the Arabs?
“It’s sad that this situation in … that part of the world is leading to so much death and destruction and I don’t have a solution for that. Both sides are going to fight it out and there doesn’t seem to be any way of stopping it.”
Those wishing to help civilians impacted by the conflict may consider donating to one of the following charities:
–United Nations Relief and Works Agency (https://www.unrwa.org/)
–International Committee of the Red Cross (https://www.icrc.org/en)
–Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (https://www.pcrf.net/)
–American Near East Refugee Aid (https://www.anera.org/)
–Medical Aid for Palestinians (https://www.map.org.uk/)
–World Food Programme (https://www.wfp.org/)
