An Open Letter to the People of Gaza (and to their supporters)

What has already not been said about our conflict? We accuse you of terrorism and wanting to throw us into the sea, and you have endless grievances against the Zionist "occupation" and the blockade of Gaza.

In 2005, Israel left the Gaza strip, down to the very last soldier and settler. True, this did not include the West Bank, but this was a perfect experiment for us to see what your intentions were and what direction your society and leadership would take you when you were free of "occupation" . Would it be towards economic prosperity, development, trade and peace? As you know, until 2005, Gaza was never "free", so for the first time you could have shown us, and the whole world, what you were capable of when left to yourselves. No settlers or settlements, no soldiers, no roadblocks, no Israeli military law. Sadly, you chose an extremist, incompetent, and corrupt leadership that holds you ransom to its militant and religious agenda. You turned towards terrorism. Rather than building infrastructure, businesses, agriculture and open trade, under Hamas leadership you spent your resources on tunnels and rockets (which have no military value other than for terrorizing civilians).

Which "occupation" are you blaming now? The only occupation of Gaza now is Hamas.

As for the Israeli blockade, there would obviously be no need for it if you weren't attempting to smuggle weaponry which threatens Israeli citizens. You also have a border with Egypt with whom you can pursue your own agreements. The minute that you would commit to disarming, the boycott would be lifted and Israel would have no reason to attack Gaza.

In Gaza there are about 1.2 million people who are considered "refugees" by the UN. Yet Gaza is under Palestinian rule, so why are they being kept as refugees in territory ruled by their own nation? Can you imagine Jews escaping persecution coming to Israel and being kept permanently in refugee camps in Israel? Why have you not settled and absorbed them? Why do they, and their descendants,  remain refugees?
The answer is glaringly obvious:  they are intentionally being kept that way by your leaders and by other Arab countries, enabled by a misguided UN, to be used as political weapons against Israel, with the false promise that one day they will "go back" to their homes in Israel.  They and their suffering are being used as pawns in a cruel political game.

So, the only conclusion that an Israel citizen could make from your behavior, is that you have an unwavering long-term commitment to the destruction of Israel. You have done nothing to dispel this impression.

As such you cannot expect us to commit suicide, by either agreeing to your absurd demands or allowing you to defeat us militarily.

This means that any complaints about your continued suffering, be it from "occupation", blockades, or and other grievances, should be directed at your own leadership--and your own dysfunctional society, which goes from one disaster to the next.

Ask yourselves the following questions:

1. Since Hamas has taken over Gaza, are your lives better or worse than they were before?
2. Do you honestly believe the twisted logic of your government's propaganda that Hamas rockets are "defending" Palestinians? Do you feel defended? Do you see any contradiction between your cries of Israeli attacks against defenseless civilians, and your claim that Hamas is defending you with their rockets?
3. Does the cost in Palestinian lives and property justify the emotional satisfaction that you get by firing rockets towards Israel?
4. Finally, are you prepared for endless suffering and hardship, holding out for some unseen "victory" over Israel, rather than settling for something less then everything you want?

Peace.