By launching rockets, Palestinians fall into Israel’s trap

Proving how arrogant a state it is with the recent attacks, Israel considers Gaza, where 1.5 million people live, as nothing but a hotbed of terrorism. Israel doesn’t refrain from bombarding Palestinians whenever it deems necessary, even with a lack of threat or conflict.

The countries that stand with Israel on the Palestine issue as well as some Muslim countries that pretend to defend the Palestinians’ case but actually are of no earthly use are as responsible as Israel for this slaughter.

But what about the Palestinians? Nobody discusses the policy that Palestinian groups pursue against Israel. Nobody warns these groups that by launching rockets at Israel, they actually cause their own innocent people to be killed.

In launching these rockets, which barely affect Israel, Palestinian groups claim they show the entire world and Israel that their resistance forces are still resilient.

And they allege that they prevent Jews from sleeping peacefully in their homes by means of these rockets. These arguments may be accepted to some extent. The spirit of resistance should be kept alive in lands under occupation.

Is this the proper method, however? Should a Palestinian die in return for every rocket that falls on the Israeli desert? Should Palestinian mothers always cry? Should the houses of Palestinians always be destroyed?

Since the year 2005 especially, when Israel withdrew from Gaza, some Palestinian groups have insisted on using this method. Sometimes these groups compete to see who can launch more rockets at Israel.

Hamas, which used to be the organization that was firing the largest number of rockets at Israel, is now trying to prevent these rockets from being launched, but it hasn’t succeeded.

When Palestinian groups are asked, “Why do you employ a method that produces no results?” they answer, “What shall we do? Shall we sit around?”

The groups themselves are also aware they can’t use war to bring Israel to heel, as it is the strongest country in the Middle East in terms of military might and is backed by the world’s biggest power, the US.

Moreover, considering that the ones fighting against these two countries make up a small community that receives very little in the way of weapons from outside, isn’t united as a single political entity and even sees clashes within itself, it is more difficult for this community to beat these two countries.

For now, diplomacy is the only solution and actually, Israel’s biggest nightmare is that Palestinians will always insist on a diplomatic solution. This is because we have witnessed in previous years that the side that avoids diplomacy is actually Israel.

We have witnessed in the past that Israel has been defeated with diplomacy, too. Egypt regained the Sinai Peninsula, which it lost in the 1967 War. Similarly, the Gaza invasion ended by means of diplomacy. The Palestinians weren’t able to take control of Gaza through war.

Pressuring Israel via diplomacy, which is favored by other countries around the world, is the only way for Palestinians for now.

Using military methods means more tears, more destruction and more oppression of Palestinians.

By making an overall evaluation of the sides in this fight, we can also see that the path the Palestinians are pursuing is wrong. For instance, who around the world supports the Palestinians’ launching of rockets? Iran, Syria and Lebanon’s Hezbollah. No other Muslim or Arab country thinks this is the proper method.

For one year, we have witnessed how inhumane the Syrian reign -- which hosts some Palestinian groups -- is.

Similarly, why didn’t Hezbollah, which repeatedly alleges that it supports Palestine, join the Palestinian side during Israel’s one-month attack on Gaza that started in 2008 and in which more than 1,400 Palestinians died? Or what about Iran, which claims to give tens of millions of dollars to Hamas every year?

In a period in which swift change is taking place in the Arab world, each rocket that Palestinians launch will hinder the process of finding a solution. In a period in which the Syria regime faces fierce international pressure, a crisis on the Palestinian front that could break out as a result of Israel’s agitation would be a kiss of life for the Bashar al-Assad regime.

Additionally, Gaza may become a scapegoat in a possible conflict as Israel seems to be leading US public opinion about the Palestinian question during the presidential election period. Each rocket that is launched from Gaza will play into the hands of Israel.

In conclusion, Palestinians need to settle disputes between each other so as to step up pressure on Israel through diplomacy in the international arena. That is the only way of bringing Israel to heel.

No one around the world wants to see a Palestinian mother cry anymore…