A history of violence: Examining the conflict in Gaza 

The idea of ​​cycles of violence helps us understand long-lasting conflicts.

This type of cycle occurs in family and peer conflicts, which are studied by psychologists like myself, and in international relations, where arms races are a classic example. Regardless of scale, the cycle can be diagrammed as follows: A → B → A → B → A (repeated nausea). Cause and effect become blurred because each party believes the other initiated it and their actions are merely reactions.

of Recent history of Gaza There’s a lot of violence, but it’s not periodic. Let’s consider the evidence.

In 2005, the Israelis withdrew. They maintained control of Gaza’s airspace, coast, and borders, but the occupation did not end completely as insurgents opened fire on Israel.

It is difficult to remember now, but during this period there was a large-scale effort to begin development of Gaza. The G8 and the World Bank have provided billions of dollars in aid and are working with Israel toHong Kong faces the Mediterranean Sea.Unfortunately, those in charge of Gaza were not interested. Immediately after Israel withdrew, rocket launch Attacks against Israeli civilians began and continued.

This was not a reaction to previous events. It was part of the ongoing war against the Jewish state.

Hamas declared this war in a statement founding charter. Their call for the destruction of Israel was clear. This is not stated as a response to West Bank settlements, military atrocities, or anything other than the Israeli presence. Immediately after October 7, Hamas declared that he would attack as he please. repeated many times until Israel was destroyed. This kind of violence is not cyclical.

Some critics of Israel say theyblockade” (import and export restrictions), Gaza is “open air prison” (strict border controls) and a cycle of violence, and said these restrictions were the cause of the October 7 attack. These critics reversed cause and effect. Israel imposed the restrictions after and in response to militant attacks from Gaza, not the other way around.

To understand the need, remember what happened last time. Large numbers of Gazans entered Israel in an unregulated manner.

They relatively successfully broke a two-year ceasefire last October when Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis. During this time, Gaza experienced increased stability and economic development. More and more Gazans came to work in Israel. Negotiations to extend the armistice continued.

Unfortunately, Israel responded by letting its guard down.Hamas spent 2 years This is the opposite of the cycle of violence.

The opinion that Israelis stole Palestinian land and must live somewhere else is not my opinion, but it is a logically consistent opinion. But if Israel does not disband, it is fundamentally unreasonable to expect it to respond to the massacre of civilians in a completely different way than it currently does.

While much of the world has condemned Hamas’ massacre of Israeli civilians, the outpouring of blame for the deaths of Gaza civilians has been directed almost entirely at Israel. This is wrong. Let’s think about what it means to “cause” something. Hamas knew with 100 percent certainty that if they massacred Israeli civilians, Israel would be killed. will respond Like now. They did it anyway. Civilians in Gaza are suffering the completely predictable consequences of Hamas’ actions.

Another way Hamas is responsible for the deaths of Gaza civilians is the way they fight.

This account of the war contains surprising omissions. There are no Hamas military bases, troop formations, fortifications, or even buildings isolated from civilians (except for tunnels beneath civilian areas). Hamas never does Separate fighters from women and children and do not wear uniforms. Although they used vast amounts of concrete for underground fortifications, they did not build air raid shelters to protect civilians from the consequences of frequent attacks on Israel.

As a result, there is no way to fight Hamas without killing civilians. they are sure of it. But while there have been no demonstrations to protest the way Hamas hides behind its own children, demonstrators are demanding that Israel stop firing on Hamas because children are a nuisance. These protesters hope that Israel cares more about the lives of Gaza residents than Hamas.

Hamas could immediately and completely prevent civilian deaths in Gaza by separating its forces from civilians or by not attacking Israel in the first place. But since there is no march blaming them for the deaths of Gazans and demanding that they come out from behind a human shield, they will continue this strategy indefinitely unless world opinion finally sees through it. Will continue.

There is a cycle that could bring hope to this war-torn region. It would consist of a cycle of freedom and prosperity for Gazans and safety and security for Israelis. One cannot exist without the other. If Hamas refuses to participate in the healing cycle, it must withdraw in order to bring peace to Palestine.

Psychologist Dr. Jeremy Shapiro is an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Case Western Reserve University. He is most recently the author of Finding Goldilocks: A Guide for Creating Balance in Personal Change, Relationships, and Politics.