Stoking fires in the Middle East yet again

KUALA LUMPUR — In the past week, the Middle East, one of the foremost turbulent stretches of the world, once again became a hotbed of happenings. Hamas, the Palestinian militant organization that instigated the latest round of armed conflict with Israel last October, is similar to many other such nationalist organizations in the region and beyond in that it consists of both political and military wings. Hamas could perhaps be categorized as a two-in-one militant entity, with a consistent goal of driving Jews in general and Zionists (those advocating the formation of modern Israel as a state in Palestine) in particular out of Palestine so that the Palestinians (or Palestinian Arabs) can establish a state there encompassing the whole of current Israel. Israel thus sees Hamas as a terrorist organization. However, Hamas employs various methods in its nationalist struggle, such as guerrilla warfare on the military front, which has kept Israel hastening to respond for many years. For example, in October last year, Hamas suddenly launched a large-scale infiltration into Israel from the Gaza Strip, which was then ruled by Hamas, causing many casualties on the Israeli side.

Israel's retaliation against the Hamas attack has been on a very large scale and criticized by many as grossly disproportionate, almost flattening the entire Gaza Strip. The Israeli counterstrike against Hamas continues despite the heavy casualties among the local residents in Gaza. Two months ago, the International Criminal Court (ICC), under the auspices of the United Nations, finally indicted the leaders responsible for the war on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides, charging them with war crimes and crimes against humanity. Perhaps partially as a result of this, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was among those indicted, felt a particular need to once again make a special trip to Washington, D.C., to drum up American support for Israel in general and himself in particular.