Except perhaps for dandruff, UCLA Professor Saree Makdisi blames just about all of Gaza’s problems on Israel. He writes in the LA Times:
Israel says that its policies in Gaza are designed to put pressure on the Palestinian population to in turn put pressure on those who fire crude home-made rockets from Gaza into the Israeli town of Sderot. Those rocket attacks are wrong. But it is also wrong to punish an entire population for the actions of a few — actions that the schoolchildren of Gaza and their beleaguered parents are in any case powerless to stop.
It is a violation of international law to collectively punish more than a million people for something they did not do. According to the Geneva Convention, to which it is a signatory, Israel actually has the obligation to ensure the well-being of the people on whom it has chosen to impose a military occupation for more than four decades.
Benny Morris wrote an opposing commentary. Here are some additional points to consider:
• Israel disengaged from the Gaza Strip. The well-being of Gaza’s population is the responsibility of the Palestinian leadership. Despite Makdisi’s assertions about Israeli responsibility, international law isn’t clear cut.
• We appreciate Makdisi’s condemnation of the Qassams. In the absence of Hamas (or any other Palestinians) curbing the problem, does the professor offer an alternative solution?
• Do the beleaguered Gaza parents who elected Hamas into power have any responsibility for the sorry state of affairs?
