thedarkknight Posted August 19, 2014 Report Posted August 19, 2014 This is the first of the Gaza Explainers. What is Palestine? Palestine, almost entirely populated by Muslims, comprises two major chunks of territory: West Bank and Gaza Strip. West Bank At 3,620 sq. km., West Bank is the larger of the two Palestinian territories. The territory has a population of 2.44 million, with an additional 2.6 lakh Israeli settlers. West Bank, located between Israel and Jordan, was occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. Currently, West Bank is under the control of Palestinian Authority (PA), which is a direct political rival of Hamas.Gaza Strip Gaza Strip is a narrow stretch of land (of about 360 sq. km.) located between Israel and Mediterranean Sea, with Egypt on the south. It has an estimated population of 16 lakh. Occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War, Gaza is controlled by Hamas. Is Palestine an independent country? No. Let’s put it this way. Palestine is more of a territory fighting for independence from Israeli occupation of some parts of its territory. Palestine is not sovereign in the true sense of the term; large swathes of its territory are controlled by Israel, including within the West Bank, where there are Jewish settlements.What about Hamas? In 1987, radical Islamist Sheikh Ahmed Yassin founded Hamas, an acronym of the Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamaiyya (Islamic Resistance Movement). The birth of Hamas can be attributed to the aspirations of extremist Palestinians to build a movement like Hezbollah, an extremist Shia Muslim outfit which operates out of Lebanon. These extremist elements felt that there should be a similar home-grown Sunni movement, i.e., one that would operate from Palestinian soil. What does Hamas think about Israel? Hamas does not recognise the existence of Israel. In fact, Hamas denies the latter’s right to exist. One unique feature of Hamas is that it lays great emphasis on religion, which is in serious contrast to the secular Fatah party, which rules the West Bank. Hamas’ charter explicitly mentions that the fundamental aim of its existence is the destruction of the State of Israel and the establishment of a sovereign Palestine. In short, Hamas is a radical Sunni extremist group, which is anti-Israel and one which is fighting for an independent, sovereign Palestine. Who supports Hamas? From its inception and till recently, Hamas was funded by Iran and Syria and a range of Islamic charities, many of which are listed as fronts for Islamic terror groups, and are hence banned in many countries of the world. The irony is that both Iran and Syria are controlled by Shia Muslims while Hamas is a radical Sunni Islamist organisation. Iran and Syria also do not recognise the State of Israel; Iran has repeatedly called for ‘wiping Israel off the map of the world’. However, since the beginning of the civil war in Syria a lot has changed in the political equations involving Hamas. For several years, Hamas ran a major office in the Syrian capital, Damascus. However, the deeply sectarian conflict in Syria has impacted the Hamas-Iran-Syria equation as well. Short backgrounder on Syrian conflict Syria is predominantly populated by Sunni Muslims while the president, Bashar al-Assad, is a Shia Muslim, backed by Iran (the world’s biggest Shia Muslim country).Read The Explainer: Syrian Crisis Part I and Syrian Crisis Part II. As the Sunni rebel movement against the Shia ruling dispensation gathered pace, Hamas, a Sunni radical group, found itself in a difficult situation. In this sectarian conflict, Hamas’ natural sympathies lay with the Sunni rebels in Syria. Unable to digest the fact that its principal backers, Syria and Iran, are waging a relentless campaign against Sunni rebels, Hamas moved out of Damascus. It is also believed that Hamas was forced to move out of Damascus by the Syrian regime itself. Hamas shifted base to Doha, capital of Qatar, a Sunni kingdom. Qatar is stridently anti-Iran and anti-Syria (read anti-Bashar). Today, Qatar has emerged as the principal political and financial backer of Hamas.
thedarkknight Posted August 19, 2014 Author Report Posted August 19, 2014 What triggered the current crisis in Gaza? Tensions between Israel and Hamas have been simmering for several years now. The latest conflict appears like just another episode in the long-running conflict between the two entities.In the second fortnight of June, three Israeli Jewish teenagers, who were on their way from school, were abducted and killed. Their dead bodies were found a week later. Israel accused Hamas of abduction and killing of the Israeli teenagers, though the Israeli Government could not furnish any proof to substantiate their charges. While Hamas has consistently denied any role in this episode, many security experts believe it to be the handiwork of the Islamic Jihad, an extremist terror outfit. Islamic Jihad has major differences with Hamas, which it accuses of being too soft on Israel. Soon after the dead bodies of the Israeli teenagers surfaced, a Palestinian Muslim teenager was killed by extremist Jews. (The perpetrators of this heinous crime were later arrested by Israeli security forces.) Source: Mirror How did Israel respond? Israel launched a full-scale military assault against Hamas and other radical outfits in the Gaza Strip. For several days, Israel unleashed sophisticated weaponry against the radical terror groups. Hamas traded fire for fire; it launched hundreds of rockets into Israel from Gaza. However, Hamas' firepower is no match for the highly advanced weaponry used by the Israeli defence forces. Also, Israel uses the highly effective Iron Dome interceptor to ward off the threat of Hamas' rockets. While ground assaults backed by air sorties helped destroy terror infrastructure, there has been massive civilian deaths. Unfortunately, over 2000 civilians, mostly innocent women and children, have been killed in the conflict. Hamas accused Israel of deliberately targeting schools, hospitals and mosques. But Israel blames Hamas of storing rockets in civilian venues, like schools and religious places. After fighting bitterly for several weeks, currently there is a ceasefire between the two adversaries. The ceasefire was brokered by Egypt, a key member of the Muslim World and a neighbour of both Gaza and Israel.
macha Posted August 19, 2014 Report Posted August 19, 2014 gp man.. understood atleast some part ....
ipaddress0 Posted August 19, 2014 Report Posted August 19, 2014 :3D_Smiles_38: endi gatla dammu dammu aitunnav... ALS challenge sesinava
micxas Posted August 19, 2014 Report Posted August 19, 2014 endi gatla dammu dammu aitunnav... ALS challenge sesinava night AC anukoni heater ON chesi padukunna, podduna lese sariki $s@d
ipaddress0 Posted August 19, 2014 Report Posted August 19, 2014 night AC anukoni heater ON chesi padukunna, podduna lese sariki $s@d vedi ki okkasari bhi levaledaa night?
micxas Posted August 19, 2014 Report Posted August 19, 2014 vedi ki okkasari bhi levaledaa night? On chesinia half an hour ke theda kottindi baa, em legustam le ani vadilesa I didnt know AC was OFF.. :3D_Smiles_38:
ipaddress0 Posted August 19, 2014 Report Posted August 19, 2014 On chesinia half an hour ke theda kottindi baa, em legustam le ani vadilesa I didnt know AC was OFF.. :3D_Smiles_38: :3D_Smiles_38:
.thumb.jpg.ce42bb16ec102475a78c2087ce269c7d.jpg)
Recommended Posts