Hamas attacks Israel

On October 7th, 2023, the terrorist organization and official governing body of the Gaza Strip known as Hamas launched a surprise attack on the nation of Israel. The attacks sparked an exchange of rockets that has claimed the lives of more than 10,000 Palestinians and more than 1,400 Israelis. 240 Israelis were taken hostage by Hamas in the ensuing violence and are currently being held in Gaza. Hamas military leaders have justified the attacks as retaliation for the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands and the blockade of Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu soon after the attacks proclaimed that Israel is at war with Hamas. Israel has retaliated against Hamas’s aggression by launching rockets and a ground assault on the Gaza Strip. The Israeli perspective argues Hamas is an anti-Semitic terrorist organization that sees its great ambition as the eradication of the state of Israel. The Palestinian perspective argues the actions of the Israeli government have been genocidal, cutting off residents of Gaza from everyday essentials and occupying Palestinian lands in the West Bank. 

The American Response

President Biden and several American politicians have thrown their support behind Israel. Biden remarked that “Hamas committed atrocities that recall the worst ravages of ISIS, unleashing pure unadulterated evil upon the world”. The President stated in his address that American military assets were being moved to the region and that Israel’s missile defense system known as the Iron Dome would be kept supplied with American assistance. Biden also proposed a $14.3 billion spending package to assist Israel which is currently pending congressional approval. Many Republican politicians like South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham, Presidential candidate Nikki Haley, and Florida Senator Marco Rubio have also supported Israel’s actions and American involvement in the conflict. 

Looking Back

This modern geopolitical conflict has its origins at the end of World War II. In 1947, the area we now know as Palestine and Israel was a British colonial possession. On November 29th of that same year the United Nations approved a resolution to divide the region to form a Jewish state and an Arab state. On May 14th, 1948, Israel declared its independence from Britain, almost immediately, sparking a conflict between the new nation and surrounding Arab countries, being the first of many conflicts to come. One of the major conflicts in Israeli history was the Six-Day War, a decisive victory for Israel against all of its Arab neighbors. The conflict saw Israel occupy East Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights, and the Sinai Peninsula. 1978 saw Israel agree to hand the Sinai Peninsula back to Egypt in the Camp David Accords. 2005 saw Israel withdraw its forces from the Gaza Strip, Hamas quickly filled in the power vacuum left in Gaza shortly after the Israeli withdrawal. 

What Should Our Next Move Be? (Opinion)

It is my opinion that the United States should not seek further involvement in this conflict. I don’t believe that American intervention would be beneficial to the interests of the American people or the civilians caught in the middle of this conflict. American politicians have long been equating domestic issues that directly affect the American people with foreign policy issues that have little or no effect on the American people. The priorities of the American government should not be the financing of foreign people in a foreign war but instead focus on the many domestic hardships facing Americans today. Whether it be Syria, Ukraine, Iraq, or Israel, sending American taxpayer money to finance a foreign conflict will not benefit the American people in any way, shape, or form. The Israeli Defense Force has a yearly budget of around $24.3 billion, for a nation the size of New Jersey dealing with a terrorist insurgency, their budget seems more than capable of dealing with Hamas. I also do not believe that this 14.3 billion dollar aid package would help the civilian population caught in this conflict. This aid package is essentially adding more fuel to a raging fire, allowing Israel to launch greater magnitude attacks on Palestine and inspire greater support for Palestinian terrorism. Overall, this conflict is a tragic geopolitical mess, history tells us that our intervention in these types of conflicts seldom ends well.