Official newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin

The Daily Texan

Official newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin

The Daily Texan

Official newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin

The Daily Texan

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October 4, 2022
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Texas Stands with Gaza column leaves out inconvenient truths

Dania Hussein has it all wrong in blaming Israel for civilian deaths and the recent conflict in Gaza.

Firstly, it should be noted that Israel does everything it can to avoid civilian deaths. For every dead Palestinian child, Israelis are pained and Zionists around the world feel sadness. This is why, when defending Israeli civilians, the IDF sends leaflets and text messages in addition to performing roof knocks to prevent civilian deaths. But of course, it is impossible to 100 percent prevent civilian deaths. Those that are killed are killed due to Hamas, and your column gives a free pass for Hamas to kill more with impunity.

You mentioned the deaths at the Jabaliya camp. In fact, Hamas has been accused of shooting rockets from the Jabaliya location. I wonder if that is irrelevant to Hussein.


Hamas regularly shoots rockets from civilian locations and uses Palestinians as human shields, often against their will. In fact, there are videos of Hamas beating Palestinian men, women and children (warning: graphic) as they attempt to flee a war zone.

Then there are the claims that Israel does not want peace. But it was Israel that left Gaza in 2005. Gaza could have become the Singapore of the Middle East. Instead, Hamas, which calls for the annihilation of all Jews around the world in its charter, was elected.

Why is there a "siege" on Gaza (actually a blockade)? The easy answer is this is necessary to keep weapons out. And this is a serious concern, as we can see from the terror tunnels and rocket fire from Gaza (3,000+ from just the latest war alone). Humanitarian aid is allowed in Gaza, and hundreds of trucks a day are let into Gaza. Apparently, Hamas wants a blockade, however, as Hamas actually shoots at the Kerem Shalom crossing where trucks with aid go through.

And finally, civilian casualty numbers. In fact the numbers passed around the mainstream media are a lie that Hamas has made up. Numbers presented by non-liars, including the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center in Israel, show that in fact a majority of those killed have either been classified as militants, terrorists or unknown.

Of course, it is never possible to be able to have 100 percent accuracy in these matters, but if we take the immorality of the author of this article to an extreme, it would mean that democracies could not defend themselves anywhere against terrorists who use human shields. And that would cause mayhem worldwide.

The only solution is for Hamas to cease its terrorism. The day they do so, peace is possible.

— Raquel Reinstein, New York City, in response to Dania Hussein's Monday column on the 'Texas Stands with Gaza' protest
 

 

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Texas Stands with Gaza column leaves out inconvenient truths