No criticism of Hamas aggression

I HAVE read with interest the many opinions and assumptions put forward by The Herald readers regarding the current conflict between Hamas and Israel.

At the same time I have watched many TV channels (excluding CNN and other channels known to have a pro-Israel or a pro-Hamas bias), and read local newspapers to assess and establish for myself the true facts behind this unfortunate conflict.

There seems to be general agreement by most reputable TV stations and newspapers on certain facts which I shall now summarise.

Initially three Israeli teenagers were killed by the Palestinians, a dreadful cowardly act by some individuals in Gaza but nevertheless an act the Israeli government considered not deadly enough to warrant a military attack on its neighbour.

Unfortunately again some individuals (this time Israelis) decided to take matters into their own hands and retaliated by killing a young Palestinian teenager – again a cowardly act that was despicable and cannot be condoned by anyone.

The net result of these acts was that Hamas commenced the firing of missiles into Israeli territory.

Israel was not prepared to stand by idly and watch its citizens being annihilated, so it retaliated with its superior military power. The result is that Israel has a small number of casualties whereas Gaza has lost a large number of its citizens – a fact that saddens me and the majority of the South African population.

Whether Israel is truthful in stating it warned Hamas of the locations to be bombed and whether Hamas used its citizens as human fodder to justify its cause is a debate where no facts are conclusive.

There have been many recent protests and letters to the newspapers from Muslim supporters condemning the continuous bombardment of civilian buildings by the Israeli military forces.

However there has not been a single criticism of Hamas as the initial aggressor of this conflict by any Muslim supporter.

If Hamas had not initiated this conflict, a large number of people would still be living today.

I am neither Jewish nor do I hold any specific pro-Israeli views on the larger Israeli-Palestinian problem.

What I believe, however, is to criticise where criticism is due.

This does not seem to be a moral principle held by any of our local Muslim supporters.

DT Williams, Sunridge Park, Port Elizabeth