Let’s have a little truth for a second- the kids are not alright. The war in Gaza may be a lot of things- maybe there are some war crimes, it is inhumane, it is awful, it is not good- but it is not a genocide. If it were a genocide, Gaza would be gone. Population before the war began was 2.2 million. A simple Google tells you that it is basically unchanged. What is happening in Gaza is awful, and it should end. It is a war though, not a genocide.

Hamas caused this war when it attacked Israeli civilians on October 7th, 2023. There is no equivocation on that, no room for debate. Netanyahu has lied though throughout this war. He stated his goal was the removal of Hamas, a complete regime change. He has had several chances to do that, and he doesn’t follow through. For that reason, this war should end. He has no interest in actually following through to any objective, so this is just a waste of human life now. The reality is that most Palestinians in Gaza are not Hamas. They are not terrorists. They are being killed in the war though, and through starvation and disease caused by the war. This is inhumane and should end. There is actually no point to this war continuing.

Netanyahu and Hamas have used each other to justify their continuing existence. Hamas uses the human suffering caused by Netanyahu to not only justify their continuing governance over Gaza, but even to justify killing Gazans they deem as traitors. Netanyahu uses the threat of Hamas to justify voting for his right-wing coalition in Israel. Staying in power at this point keeps Netanyahu out of legal trouble, so he is even more obnoxious with his rhetoric. Netanyahu has also made a future “two state solution” more difficult to impossible with his policies allowing settlers into the West Bank. He is not a friend to the United States, unless you think American policy should be the subjugation or displacement of Palestinians.

Hamas is worse than Netanyahu though. They are a terrorist organization. They do not in anyway make difference between targets of war and civilians in their attacks. They openly say they will not recognize Israel as a nation, even in a two state solution, and that Jews should be hunted and killed. They do not support a democratic Palestine, and they have not held elections in Gaza since they won in 2006. They openly oppose the United States of America. They violate the human rights of their own citizens. They kill and torture people for being LGBTQ. They have no belief in a separation of church and state, or free speech, or even the right to eat for their own citizens. They are redeemable and must be wiped from the face of the Earth. They are not good for Israelis or Palestinians.

Here’s the big things though to remember about Israel. It is a democracy, they elect their government like we do. It is not a “colonizer state” of white Europeans, in fact the majority are not white or European. Israelis could vote out Netanyahu in a future election (they have before), unlike the Palestinians in Gaza with Hamas. In short, these two things are not quite the same.

Neither the Israelis or Palestinians have some absolute right over the other to that land, which is why any call for a single state solution is wrong. Even European Jews trace their ancestry to Israel in most cases, and their families left because of violence and unrest against them centuries ago. Both groups have non-white, indigenous ancestry to the area, and a claim to living there. There was no Palestine before 1948, they had never had self rule. There had not been a kingdom of Israel in centuries either. The UN proposal in 1948 was to create two countries there. One side accepted it, the other did not. The nation that accepted the plan was then attacked by it’s neighboring nations, fought a bunch of wars, and won. The neighbors did not accept Palestinians who wanted to flee. Hence, we have arrived where we are today.

What needs to happen is the removal of Hamas. It is the priority, and it must be the first thing that happens. Then Israel needs to remove Netanyahu at the ballot box. A new Israeli government must cease settlements in the West Bank and work with neighboring nations and allies to bring aid to the Palestinian people. Once they have rebuilt, they need elections, once they have elections, they need to be recognized. If we get that far, Oslo I should be restored as much as possible, and Oslo II should begin to be negotiated again. Arafat’s decision to walk away from Oslo II remains the single biggest blunder in that region to date. Will this happen? Not likely. We’re well beyond this point right now. For now the goal should be the removal of Hamas and a return of democracy in Gaza. Those are the only first steps that can move us towards any stability.