It is easy to say that everything in life must be balanced, balanced and fair, but it is complicated to fit the concept into every dilemma, especially in war operations, the ultimate extreme of human action. War is always an undesirable and fundamentally bad circumstance. By definition, whoever initiates it will never be right, because calling for the use of force is a denial of reason. Therefore, all acts committed by the Russian occupiers of Ukraine are illegitimate. The conflict in Gaza begins with Hamas’ terrorist aggression against peaceful citizens and communities in Israel. In the two cases mentioned, the attacked states have an undeniable right to defend themselves. The Jewish state is asked to consider its response. What is the weighting in this case? Limit the use of force in self-defense. When an individual uses violence in self-defense, it is understood that this must be done until the aggressor is subdued, the damage is repaired, and another attack is prevented. Which means returning to the state of things before the event, in a stable way.

Israel will increase its bombing of the Gaza Strip

Identical between countries. Therefore, Israel’s motives should be, above all, to save the living hostages. Because this is the most obvious and desirable, it is also the most difficult. The death of just one of the abducted people will have enormous political weight. Second, to punish the authors. Also complicated, who exactly were they? Many are dead, others will disappear around the world. This includes breaking down the criminal organization that committed the crime to its deepest roots. And, thirdly, to take measures to prevent the recurrence of attacks, through political, military and territorial management actions. This is the least Israel can demand in response to a brutal coup. It is not in Jerusalem’s best interest that this operation not be considered; bombing the hospital would be political suicide, even if it was just a collateral consequence of his reaction, then he wouldn’t have done it. Nor was it an unintended result of an act of war, it is easier to believe that the handmade rockets of the Palestinian groups were a failure than the precise war technology of the Hebrews. And Hamas failed to convince the world that this unfortunate event was a “massacre”.

Israel reveals plans for a ‘three-phase war’ in Gaza to ‘destroy’ Hamas

Since Israel is a state of law, recognized by the international community, in order to give the acts of bestial terrorism a vague color of legitimacy, their historical origins are sought. They were not violent, it was a peaceful migration, which sought to “make a pact with the inhabitants of the country”, as Martín Buber said. But religious radicalism made it impossible to establish a multi-ethnic, inclusive and democratic state. The result was war, followed by the partition of Palestine and the emergence of a powerful republican Jewish state. Meanwhile, the Arab Palestinians, although they have had the opportunity to do so, have never been able to organize a state of any kind due to the intransigence of fanatical groups, the latest expression of which is Hamas. If moderate, thoughtful and modern Arabs do not neutralize these murderous factions, peace in the region will remain a long way off. (OR)