7th Rangers: The usual one sided drivel as if Hamas is innocent of war crimes and Israel must always be guilty written by Nurul Izzah Anwar & Yolanda Augustine
Fighting Seventh
The Fighting Rangers On War, Politics and Burning Issues
Rudyard Kipling"
“When you're left wounded on Afganistan's plains and
the women come out to cut up what remains, Just roll to your rifle
and blow out your brains,
And go to your God like a soldier”
General Douglas MacArthur"
“We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.”
“It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.” “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.
“The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
“May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .” “The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
“Nobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
The Soldier stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as bright as his brass
"Step forward you Soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint."
I've had to work on Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep.
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,
The Soldier squared his shoulders and said
And I never passed a cry for help
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here,
Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the Soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, you Soldier,
You've borne your burden well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."
Gerard Lourdesamy : The usual one sided drivel as if Hamas is innocent of war crimes and Israel must always be guilty. What Palestinian lands are these writers talking about? There was no such thing in 1947. The Palestinians never had a state. They were never defined as a distinct ethnic group by any power that occupied and administered the Levant.
They are Arabs. Most of the lands they settled in prior to 1947 belonged to Syria, Transjordan and Egypt. The West Bank and Gaza Strip was never part of Palestinian land. From 1949 to 1967 they were part of Transjordan and Egypt respectively. If at all, Israel post 1967 may be obliged to return those lands to Jordan and Egypt.
There were no borders in 1967 between Israel and Palestine. What you had is the line of control that existed since 1949. East Jerusalem was never part of Palestine but rather between 1949 and 1967 it was part of Transjordan. Israel withdew from Gaza in 2005 and removed its settlements. But Hamas took control in 2006 and used Gaza as a staging ground to launch bombings and rocket attacks against Israel.
The blockade was imposed because of that. The security barrier is in the West Bank and not Gaza. Despite the Gaza blockade, goods were allowed to enter into Gaza through designated crossings. 500,000 people in Gaza crossed the border daily to work in Israel. Electricity and water to Gaza was supplied by Israel. Fuel was restricted because of Hamas.
This present conflict would not have started if Hamas had not attacked Israel on 7 October and killed 1,200 Israeli civilians including babies, children, women and the elderly, injured 2,000 others and took close to 240 persons hostage. Was that justified as revenge by the Palestinians? Was that proportionate self-defence by the Palestinians for 75 years of injustice? Self-defence is permitted under international law.
Humanitarian law merely limits what Israel can do in Gaza in terms of the civilian population in the exercise of the right to self-defence. Hamas actions of using civilians as human shields, operating from and hiding weapons in residential areas, schools, hospitals, refugee camps, mosques and churches are also violations of the Hague and Geneva Conventions. Terms such as genocide, colonialism, occupation and apartheid must have a legal and historical basis.
If the lands never belonged to anybody post 1918 until 1948, how does colonialism and occupation arise? Where is the genocide? If Israel had wiped out the Gaza using a tactical nuclear weapon, that would be genocide. If Israel gassed millions of Palestinians in concentration camps that would be genocide. Where is the apartheid when the inhabitants of the West Bank and Gaza are not Israeli citizens with a right to live in Israel?
The 2 million Arabs in Israel are Israeli citizens with equal rights as the Jewish majority. This unfortunate conflict could be solved in a day if Hamas releases the hostages and returns them to Israel. Then the Israelis will agree to a ceasefire and the Palestinian civilians in Gaza can be saved and have unlimited access to humanitarian aid and assistance. The problem is Hamas. They want to destroy Israel and kill all Jews.
Do you expect Israel to just surrender? Any premature ceasefire only benefits Hamas and the regime in Iran. Peace through the two state solution is only workable if Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran accept the right of Israel to exist within safe and secure borders. So long as the Palestinians cannot move away from these militants groups and the ruthless regime in Tehran, their plight will never change.
No country would want to live next to a hostile and violent neighbour. The 1947 and 1967 solutions to the problem have long expired and have become impossible to implement. What is needed now is a practical and workable solution that meets the realistic needs, reasonable demands and future prospects of both parties to live in peace and security. Malaysia has no role to play in this other than offering humanitarian support.
We are not an impartial or unbiased party. Our public position on the conflict so far borders on rampant anti-semitism and support for the violent acts of militant organisations like Hamas who exemplify barbarism, brutality and hate. The solution must come from the Arabs states excluding Iran, the Israelis and the major Western powers led by the US, the UK, France and the EU.
