hamas' tunnels of death..

i have always sought peace.. i engaged in peace activism for years attending demonstrations and camps and listening circles and blogging and conventions and donating and you name it.. and i actually made friends across the divide.. some made me more aware of our wrongdoings against the palestinians and some made me more of how the palestinians have systematically destroyed their own nationhood story..

nothing has been as mind blowing to me as the hamas tunnels.. a vast network of infrastructure that required hamas to sink millions of dollars of man power and donations and cement and lives into developing a system that could kill thousands of israelis in icey cold blood.. tunnels leading not to freedom.. not to israeli army bases but to israeli towns and dining rooms and playgrounds..

we mourned the loss of the three teenagers a short while ago.. a loss that inspired revenge.. and revenge that triggered palestinian riots.. and riots that pushed hamas to bomb us and for a war to break out.. the war in turn drew an escalation and when offered a ceasefire hamas vehemently declined leading to israel launching a ground force invasion and consequently uncovering the unimaginable extent of hamas' tunnels of death..

the horrific potential of these tunnels was fully demonstrated by hamas when they launch several incursions into civilian population centres adjacent to gaza and luckily were largely intercepted.. but you cant help feeling that all of this occurred just in time.. that had one of the links of that chain not been connected that we would have faced a mega terrorist attack the scale of which we have yet to see in israel..

i dont normally go for the panic trade.. and i shy aware from agents of fear and hatred.. but it boggles the mind to think of all those suffering gazans - sitting there in the dark as they have no electricity - watching their excrement float down the gutters as they have no sewage systems - merely praying to heal the sick and wounded because of a vast shortage of hospitals and deprived of proper schooling because so much of their resources has been diverted to the aim of killing israelis instead of promoting the lives of gazans.. it simply boggles my mind..

i must admit that during our past 3 wars i wasnt in favour of our actions.. i openly criticised the extent of our military campaigns and believed that i was firmly connected to the better moral compass.. over the years i have wondered.. i mean look at lebanon now.. since our massive war with hizbulla in 2006 the border has calmed down.. what are we to learn from this..

anyway dear murdered teenagers - if it is any consolation you didnt die in vain.. your death may well have saved thousands of us.. and in light of the tunnels it is hard to oppose the war despite its atrocities..