Hamas oppression of the people of Gaza
 
In response to "UN must translate words into action" by Suraya Dadoo. Instead of focusing on the fact that Ms Dadoo is misleadingly represented as an "independent writer", and the fact that the editor somehow chose this as a second page article, I will focus on a crucial element missing in Dadoo's piece: HAMAS.
What Dadoo seems to ignore is a terror organization that not only oppresses the people of Gaza that it claims to represent, but actively calls for the destruction of the State of Israel. Over 10,000 rockets and mortar bombs have been launched at Israel from Gaza since Israel's total withdrawal in 2005. Not to mention that at the beginning of the so-called "Great Return March", over 1300 rockets were fired at Israel. Hamas has even dug about 40 terror tunnels in order to attack Israel. Thousands of Israelis have been killed or injured by Hamas, while Hamas makes no secret of the murderous intentions inherent in the radical anti-Semitic ideology contained in its charter.
 
I'm surprised that not only is Hamas not mentioned in the article, but that their repeated messages and Facebook posts calling the people of Gaza to "hide knives under their clothes" and break down the fence, went unnoticed. You also clearly missed Hamas' leader, Yahya Sinwar, calling to "rip out the hearts of Israelies". Hamas themselves went on record saying that if "62 were martyred, 50 of them were Hamas". Doesn't sound much like a peaceful protest, does it?
Hamas has also repeatedly attempted to cut off aid supply from Israel for the people of Gaza by setting the border crossing alight. Why would they do that? Because they care more about killing Israelis than they care for human rights in Gaza. And if you fail to admit that Hamas is not acting in the best interest of their own people, and don't hold them accountable for dragging women and children to a clearly violent protest – the readers must wonder, what is your agenda? Although Dadoo may ignore it, many countries have already recognized Hamas as a terror organization and Israel will continue to expose these extremists that hide behind innocent civilians. If you truly cared for human rights, I assume you would, too.
Ayellet Black
Deputy Ambassador, Israel Embassy to South Africa