Tuesday, October 7, 2014

HAMAS: THE DEBATE


There is a debate as to whether Hamas is considered a terrorist organization (http://www.npr.org/2006/12/06/6583080/hamas-government-or-terrorist-organization). It's considered terrorist by a minority of nations (Hamas or its military wing is designated as a terrorist organization by Australia, Canada, Egypt, the European Union, Israel, Japan, the United States..,) . Like most militant organizations and most armies in the world, Hamas inflicts civilian casualties.  There is plenty of blame to go around.
There are other Israeli views different from the government:. "As long as we label Hamas as a terrorist organization, we cannot achieve a satisfactory cease fire in the south and won't be able to negotiate with the Gaza government on three main issues:
  1. International supervision of the removal of missiles, and the prohibition on importing them by land, sea, or air
  2. Opening the borders to Israel so that Gazans may come to Israel for work
  3. Secure passage between Gaza and the West Bank
Source: http://www.newrepublic.com/article/119064/b-yehoshua-israel-should-call-hamas-enemy-not-terrorists

In a highly debated topic, it's more credible to review both sides and then come up with evidence that supports your side.

To ignore the other side, undermines credibility that you are fully aware of all the points of view in a contested area.