Let us start by taking a closer look at the first explanation. ![]() The second is the Netanyahu government’s interest in maintaining or expanding its control over the Palestinian territories’ vast oil and gas resources. ![]() The first is the long-held Israeli ultranationalists’ desire (rooted in the biblical view of historical Palestine as the Promised Land) of taking possession or further control of the remaining Palestinian territories, for the realization of which far-right elements in the current Israeli coalition government led by Benjamin Netanyahu have been especially hard at work. With the focus here being on the extremely disproportional nature of the Israeli response to the Hamas attack, two explanations seem plausible, one of which is politico-ideological in nature and the other geo-strategic. Though both Hamas and the Israeli military have been accused of war crimes in this latest round of fighting, the horrific nature of Israel’s military response in Gaza prompts us to ask: Why did Israel decide to respond so disproportionately to the Hamas attack, knowing that its military intervention might involve acts that would likely be viewed by the international community and judicial authorities as gross violations of the rules of war, formally known as international humanitarian law, and the human rights of Palestinian civilians? Possible explanations This war, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry and Palestine Red Crescent Society, has so far led to massive civilian casualties in Gaza, including the deaths of thousands of children and the internal displacement of around 1.9 million Gazans across the Strip due to Israel’s relentless bombardment of the besieged enclave. Soon after Hamas’ deadly attack, which was unprecedented in terms of speed, coordination and scope, as well as the number of Israelis killed and injured (as reported by Israeli officials some accounts suggest, however, that this number also includes Israeli civilians who might have been killed by Israeli crossfire), the Israeli government declared war on Hamas. On October 7, the Palestinian militant organization Hamas, which is headquartered in Gaza City and governs the Gaza Strip in the Palestinian territories, carried out a surprise attack by land, air and sea on southern Israel.Īccording to Hamas officials, the operation, called Al-Aqsa Flood, was in retaliation for Israel’s hitherto violent raids and clashes with worshippers on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem, as well as to draw the world’s attention to the dire conditions of Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where Israelis in illegal settlements have been increasingly engaged in deadly attacks on Palestinians.
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