The international community must realize that the Gaza violence is the direct product of Palestinian choices, led by Hamas, which is recognized by the EU as terror organization. Hamas seeks Israel's destruction and deliberately targets Israel's civilian population to advance that objective.
The people of Gaza are victims of the Hamas regime that puts its extremist ideology above and beyond the interests of the people. Palestinians in Gaza suffer from an economic and social disaster, following Hamas's governance. International aid abounds, yet Hamas leaves its people unemployed, cities and facilities undeveloped, and moreover uses its people in a cruel, coldblooded way, as human shields in attacks against Israel.
In the last weeks, tens of thousands of Palestinians took part in violent riots at the Gaza border, constituting a major threat to Israeli civilians and land. These were not Gazan civilians seeking to peacefully protest for a better life. We know this because, even within Gaza, Gaza’s residents aren’t allowed to assemble and protest without Hamas’s permission. These people were extremists, violently storming the border to infiltrate Israel and kill as many Israeli civilians, living in village communities adjacent to the border fence. Israel cannot let this happen. Israel is protecting its population from terrorists, not protesters.
To actually understand the events, one has to go beyond the numbers of Palestinian casualties, that the media focus. It isn’t Israel which is seeking or initiating the confrontations at the Gaza fence. It's Hamas. The Palestinians and Hamas are the entities people should blame when they lament the fate of Gaza.
In order to avoid such horrible events taking place in the future, the international community should exert pressure on the Palestinians and Hamas to stop ignition of the violence against Israel and decrease the tension.
We feel sorrow for the loss of human lives, in this totally avoidable tragedy. Actions carried out by the security forces are in accordance with international law and efforts are taken to reduce casualties.
Shmuel (Sammy) Revel
Ambassador of Israel to Nicosia
END - 16/05/2018