The ethical, essential and imperative yet mythical blockade of Gaza

Just days after more than 1,300 people in Israel were slaughtered in the most vulgar way – men, women, elderly, entire families, children and babies; raped, burned alive, brutally tortured, beheaded and impaled – the world has started to complain about Israel’s “siege” and “blockade” of Gaza, the territory ruled by the evil Iranian-backed Islamist terror organization, Hamas, that perpetrated these attacks. 

Let’s get some things straight. Israel has not just the right, but the need and obligation to defend itself and its citizens. Israel has unleashed its Air Force to begin the destruction of Hamas. By the time you read this, a ground invasion may have begun, as well. Considering that Israel was attacked by land, sea and air on Oct. 7, militarily it is necessary to prevent anything from getting into Gaza that will enable Hamas to continue to threaten Israel. And it’s critical that nothing will get out that could do so either, as Hamas continues to fire thousands of rockets at Israeli communities.  

During war, Israel’s first, second, and third priority must be the wellbeing of its citizens, especially in the wake of the massacre that took place on Oct. 7. Proportionally in the United States, this is equivalent to more than 25,000 people killed on 9/11. 

Militarily, this is not just a solid and legitimate tactic, but it is also ethical and essential. This week I hosted a webinar called “Fighting an Ethical War Against an Unethical Enemy.” Both of our experts on military tactics and on military ethics concurred. You can see the entire conversation here. 

Above the essential and imperative military response, there are many other facts that need to be understood to debunk the myth of an illegal Israeli blockade, as if Israel has a moral, ethical, or legal responsibility to Palestinian Arabs in Gaza. 

While Israel has closed its border crossings, Gaza shares a border with Egypt. Transport of medical needs, fuel, food and civilians can take place via Egypt, as well as through the terror tunnels that Hamas controls under that same border. 

Israel has no obligation to provide water, electricity, fuel or anything else to a neighboring state, much less an enemy entity that has its sworn goal of the destruction of Israel. It’s a policy that should have been re-evaluated long ago but for now, Israel has shut it down. 

Had Hamas truly cared about its own people in Gaza, it would have used its pristine coastal real estate to create a Middle Eastern Singapore. Had Hamas truly cared about its own people, they’d have invested in sewage treatment plants, and recycled and desalinated water. They would have set up solar energy fields to power it all. Rather, they’ve stockpiled weapons, mastered smuggling, and built a vast terror infrastructure. They’ve absconded with billions of international funds intended to help the people whose lives they trample upon. 

Hamas built the equivalent of a city under the homes of millions of Palestinian Arabs living in Gaza, a network of terror tunnels and bunkers to smuggle weapons, terrorists, and even human trafficking for the well-being of the terrorists, to command this, and as a launching pad for terrorist attacks like what they did on Oct. 7.

Hamas could have stockpiled thousands of tons of food, medical equipment, and water, just as they had been planning this attack for months. But they didn’t. If there are any such stockpiles, they are only for the Hamas terrorist leaders, not the average Palestinian living in Gaza. 

One can feel bad for Gaza's Palestinian Arabs. Indeed, they were hijacked in a bloody coup against the PLO, a competing terror organization, and have lived under the heel of this evil Islamic group since 2007. Indeed, we all pray that they will be freed from the occupation of millions in Gaza – the occupation by Hamas. 

If the Islamist terrorists of Hamas really cared about building a nation rather than destroying ours, they would not use their own people as human shields. That’s why Israel warned of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs in Gaza to evacuate. Israel needs to take care of business and destroy Hamas’ infrastructure and leaders. Israel does so morally, not targeting civilians or wanting them injured by accident. While contrary to any possibility of a surprise attack, and giving terrorists the opportunity to flee along with civilians, Israel has dropped flyers and broadcast in Arabic telling Gazans to evacuate, and what the safe evacuation routes are. Yet, today, Hamas is physically blocking Gazan Palestinian Arabs from fleeing areas that Israel has warned them to leave, doubling down on the war crime they have been committing for years. Why is nobody protesting this blockade?

But as bad as one may feel for the average Palestinian Arab in Gaza, they are also complacent, if not complicit. At any time since 2007, Gaza's Palestinian Arabs could have ousted Hamas and taken control of their society. They could have risen up and expelled Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and created a society and culture to be proud of, not one of extremist Islamic hate, evil personified. It would have been bloody, but they haven’t, and they are culpable. Their blood is on their own hands. 

However, it’s not clear that most Gazan Palestinian Arabs want change, or think that Hamas is bad for them much less for Israel. It must be emphasized that recent surveys by respected Arab pollsters show that 57% of Gazans support Hamas. As much as that is a strong majority, it should be noted that those who receive even higher levels of popular support are even more extremists. 

Blaming Israel for all the woes of Gaza's Palestinian Arabs might feel good to Israel haters looking for any opportunity to criticize and blame Israel for any problem, real or fabricated. Yet it’s false and dishonest. It does not place sole responsibility for the well-being of Gazans where it belongs: Hamas. 

It brings to mind an adaptation of a phrase that ‘people who live in terrorist houses should not throw grenades,’ or fire rockets, or slaughter, rape, burn alive, behead, or kidnap and hold hostage innocent civilians from babies to elderly women. 

As the world will begin to condemn Israel for an unjust blockade, even if it’s fictitious, who in their right mind would expect a country under attack to give up anything for a terrorist entity that is doing the attacking, or to divert any effort that takes away from Israel’s responsibility to protect its citizens, destroy Hamas and restore deterrence so nobody will ever think of doing anything like this again.

With most international airlines not flying to Israel, and shipping companies skittish about unloading their ships in Israeli ports – meaning cargo and supplies from overseas are limited – and with hundreds of thousands engaged solely in the war effort and not at work in critical infrastructure positions, how and why is it even reasonable to expect Israel to do anything differently?

The brazen and disgusting notion that Israel should allow any shipments of anything to enable a terrorist entity when Israel is fighting a war against an enemy that is so inhuman is an absurdity of biblical proportions.