What is terrorism? And whos’s the terrorist?
The genocide carried out by Israel has been going on for almost three weeks, they have blindly leveled every central building in Palestine and blockaded aid to Gaza, as well as cut off the electricity there. This conflict is a long conflict that I have seen since I was a child.
A little bit about the history of the contested area. In the 19th century, the areas now called Israel and Palestine were part of the Ottoman Empire. However, in the early 20th century, there were significant changes in the Middle East, including the collapse of the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. During World War I, in 1917 to be precise, Britain issued the Balfour Declaration which promised the establishment of a “national homeland for the Jewish people” in Palestine. This triggered the growth of the Jewish population in the region, which at the time had an Arab majority.
After World War I, the League of Nations gave the British a mandate to administer the Palestinian territories. In 1947, the United Nations proposed the division of Palestine into two states, one for Jews and one for Arabs, and in 1948, the state of Israel was proclaimed, which was followed by a series of wars between Israel and neighboring Arab states, such as Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq. These wars led to the establishment of Israel and significant changes in territorial boundaries. In 1967, Israel faced threats from Arab countries and launched an offensive that successfully expanded its territory, including the West Bank, Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, Sinai Peninsula, and Golan Heights. In 1973, Egypt and Syria launched an offensive against Israel in an attempt to reclaim territory lost during the Six-Day War.
After the Yom Kippur War, the United States facilitated a peace agreement between Israel and Egypt, known as the Camp David Accords (1978). In 1993, Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) or Hamas reached an agreement in Oslo that recognized Palestinian authority and created Palestinian autonomy in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Thereafter, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continued with a series of violence, failed negotiations, settlement construction by Israel, and ongoing political tensions.
Efforts continue to be made by the international community to achieve sustainable peace between Israel and Palestine, but political, economic, and security obstacles make achieving peace difficult. However, what is interesting is that the world community is divided into two parts that support Israel and Palestine and voice their concerns or interests.
I’m just questioning the simple logic of the people doing the damage. The two parties that are always at odds are the Zionists (Israel) and Hamas (Palestine). Of course, I am quite annoyed by the writings of world figures such as Barack Obama, the former president of America who called for support for Israel about the attacks carried out by Hamas groups against Israeli citizens. In his writing, the 44th president of America explained that Hamas had attacked Israeli citizens, making terror threats, and attacking “innocent” citizens with children being part of the attack. Then what Israel is doing by attacking Palestinian land is not an act of terror? Statistically, the number of Palestinian casualties is more than Israeli casualties. But they act as if the Israeli actions are part of defending their sovereignty and human rights.
From my perspective and all my shortcomings, my logic cannot accept the arguments that emphasize that Palestine started this problem. The world seems to turn a blind eye to this long conflict and put Israel as the victim of this event. This conflict is a very complicated and sensitive issue and is not find a bright spot even with the existence of the United Nations cannot stop this humanitarian problem. This problem is not only related to social and religious issues but also to political interests.
Another interesting finding is that some football supporters in European leagues who fly the Palestinian flag are sanctioned by the league association, such as the Glasgow Celtic Club in Scotland. It is different when Tottenham Hotspur fans carry Israeli flags at their favorite club matches. It is very rare for those who voice pro-Israel to not be sanctioned.
During the 2022 Russia-Ukraine conflict, the whole world almost condemned what Russia did to the Ukrainian people. But they did not see eye to eye on Israel’s continuous invasion of Palestine. If the only problem lies in political interests, I can say that the logic of those who hold power in this world does not work. The attack is always associated with the issue of terrorism. But what exactly is terrorism? Terrorism is defined as the use of violence to cause fear to achieve goals (especially political goals). In this case, terrorism is a practice of terror. Terror can be understood as an attempt to create threats, violence, and cruelty by a certain person or group. Thus, terrorism is an effort made to spread threats and acts of violence by certain groups to other groups of people. Those who have an interest in this action are part of the terrorist group because terrorism is not only related to the perpetrators but also the players behind the action. So, have you concluded what terrorists are and who are the real one?
*This article is just an opinion, there is no interest of the author to corner one party. The assumptions of this writing are personal and come from the author’s thoughts. The author certainly strongly condemns inhumane actions that cause many innocent victims.
