To read the entire Haaretz opinion piece, go here.
“Protesters in Gaza lobbing rocks and Molotov cocktails or cutting through the fence are far from the textbook definition of “peaceful protesters” engaging in civil disobedience.
“But neither do they present a lethal threat to 13 battalions of Israel army forces.
“Indeed, to call every teenage protester a terrorist recruited by Hamas bent on murdering Israelis flies in the face of truth. For Jared Kushner to say, in the day’s sole mention of the day’s accumulating death toll, that Gazan protestors were “part of the problem, and not part of the solution” is to fail to recognize that Gazans themselves – yes, flesh and blood humans living just over hour southwest of Tel Aviv – must be part of the solution.
“The feeling of being forgotten and caged in is part of the reason they are protesting, most of them with full knowledge that reaching the homes of their grandparents, rusty old keys in hand, is a symbolic show rather than a realistic goal.
“Do we really imagine this so-called “March of Return” to be an existential threat to the strongest army in the Middle East? Demonstrators might be wild with rage and even psyched up by Hamas slogans, but they’re not armed and equipped to take on Israel.
“Are we to the point where the IDF is more worried about the optics of setting a precedent – a Gazan reaching Israeli soil – than the loss of life?
“Hamas may as well be sending young demonstrators into a firing squad. But does that mean Israel has no choice but to keep pulling the trigger?”
Ilene Prusher is a journalist, columnist and author. She teaches journalism at Florida Atlantic University. Twitter: @ileneprusher
