YohWhatAYear: Scrolla.Africa is counting down the heroes and horrors of 2023. Sharing the top spot of the horror list are the leaders of Israel and Hamas.
In the war between Israel and Hamas there are no good sides.
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahou and the militant Islamists Hamas are both to blame for the conflict which has seen tens of thousands killed, and two million displaced from their homes.
The Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, with militants going from town to town during a Jewish holiday and slaughtering over 1,200 defenceless citizens, sent shockwaves the world over.
Hamas are not, as some claim, political freedom fighters. Palestinians may be victims of apartheid rule, but Hamas is nothing like the erstwhile ANC military arm uMkhonto weSizwe.
Its aim is not to liberate Palestinians, but to fight a holy war to wipe out Israel.
Hamas fighters do not mind if the people of Gaza are killed in their crusade against the Jews. Their own officials, the same people tasked with governing the city of Gaza, say they are “proud to sacrifice martyrs” for their cause.
This is why Hamas leaders will spend international aid intended for the provision of basic services for Gazans on building tunnels underneath the city instead, turning ordinary people in the street into human shields.
Are its leaders ready to martyr themselves for this cause? Unlike South Africa’s freedom fighters, they are not. Haniyeh, one of the reported masterminds of the 7 October attacks, lives in luxury in Qatar.
But for all the horrors of that day, the death and destruction currently being waged by Netanyahu and the IDF is not justified.
In his drive to take revenge for those terrorist attacks, Netanyahu has never once appeared to prioritise the lives of Gazan citizens or even the survival of the 250 or so hostages that were abducted by Hamas.
Not only have the Israeli attacks on Gaza killed over 20,000 of its citizens, but they have also risked the lives of the hostages from day one.
Earlier in December, three Israeli hostages were shot by their own forces while waving a white flag with SOS written on it.
Also, not allowing aid – including food, water and fuel – into Gaza has been called a war crime by Human Rights Watch.
Israel could never have tolerated Hamas’s attacks and had to fight back, but its destruction of Gaza and the scale of killing of civilians smacks of cold-blooded revenge in violation of international law.
While many countries have tried to stay balanced in their condemnation of both sides, South Africa has led the charge against Israel, and on Friday December 29 filed a case for genocide against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
