Devra Lerner’s “As I See It” column (2/11, Opinion, “Hamas’ actions show lack of care for Palestinian people”) is peppered with naïve questions asking why the Gaza Palestinians act as they do. I would like to address some of them with questions of my own:
Why did Israel vacate the Gaza strip yet maintain a military blockade around it? Can this really be called autonomy for its inhabitants?
Why does Israel insist that Hamas act as a responsible governing body yet refuse to officially recognize it, branding it a terrorist organization with no diplomatic recourse?
Why would Israel launch a full-scale military assault on one of the most densely populated pockets of humanity on Earth, yet accuse its defenders of using its citizens as “human shields?” Where else would you have them fight?
Joe Fopeano
Parkville
Another question worth asking might be, why does the United States of America continue to be so unwavering in its support for everything Israel does? Does Israel have dirty pictures of us or something?
It's long past time for us to take a more balanced stance on what's going on over there, if we truly believe the situation affects us so much.
Posted by: TinaMcG | February 15, 2009 at 04:03 PM