LogFAQs > #976582704

If people are going to keep saying that Hamas was formed by Israel's actions, then you need to take it a step further and also explain how Israel's actions were formed from aggression against them.

After the 1948, when a league of Arab nations declared war on Israel the day they were formed, Egypt was placed in control of Gaza. Israel withdrew all their forces and left Egypt to manage the region. Israel then captured Gaza in 1967 during the 6-day war when, again, a league of Arab nations joined together to try and wipe them out. They controlled Gaza directly until the Oslo accords in 1993 when administrative control was handed over to the Palestinian government. They pulled all their troops out in 1994 and then Yassir Arafat was responsible for the region. Arafat, by the way, was the one who rejected the two State solution in the 70s and stated "Our basic aim is to liberate the land from the Mediterranean Seas to the Jordan River.... The Palestinian revolution's basic concern is the uprooting of the Zionist entity from our land and liberating it." Even during the Oslo accord, when some kind of formal piece was established along with joint recognition, the Palestinian government stated that it was only a temporary measure until they could find the means to fully eradicate israel. Arafat was also the one to reject the camp David agreement in 2000 and refused to continue negotiations. The main sticking point was he insisted on a full Palestinian right to return, which would have allowed any Palestinian from anywhere, including the descendants of people who had previously left, instant Israeli citizenship and also the right to any land that they claim was their descendants. It would have turned the Jewish population in Israel into a minority which would have had serious consequences on Israeli government.

Hamas won a surprise election in 2006, overthrew the government, and then established themselves as the entity with absolute control over the region.

So when we're talking about Israeli actions in gaza, we really shouldn't pretend like they just woke up one day and decided to be oppressive. We're talking about decades of attempts to wipe them off the face of the Earth, dating all the way back to literally the day they were founded, and a region that has only partially been under Israeli control and often ruled by people who openly declared their intent to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. These are the people that Israel is being told they have to be nicer to.