Israel's Current Actions in Gaza are Justified

Dear Con, I don't mean to be rude, but your argument strongly seems to imply that you didn't read mine whatsoever. In fact, my previous argument rebukes most points you have made, as I strongly expected what you would have to say. However, I will still attempt to create a strong rebuttal for each of your arguments in this round. You state that in 1967, Israel invaded Palestine and occupied the territory until 2005. Though this may be true, I do not think you have understood the true reason behind Israel's invasion. The Six-Day War (Source 1), a brief military conflict taking place between June 5 and 10, 1967, was the third Arab-Israeli War with a decisive Israeli victory. The war was sparked by a range of unprovoked attacks by Palestinian guerrilla militias based in Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon against Israel, leading to Israeli counterattacks. Notice that much like the conflict today, Palestine was the first to strike offensively, followed by an Israeli defense operation. Israel, expecting more attacks from the Palestinian and Arabic enemies, decided to invade before they could be invaded themselves, and began a strike in the Jordanian West Bank, followed by an air battle with Syria. Egypt (another one of Israel's enemies) eventually allied itself with Syria, Jordan, and Iraq, planning to invade Israel. However, Israel foresaw the invasion, and wanting to attack before attacked itself, Israel staged a surprise air attack on Egypt, destroying its air force. Israel soon incapacitated most of Syria and Jordan's military as well, leading to a decisive Israeli victory. Israel gained Gaza, the Golan Heights, the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank, and full control of Jerusalem. Obviously, though Israel was the clear victor, the war was provoked by Palestine and its allies, all of whom were planning an invasion of Israel and provoked the defensively-driven nation with guerrilla attacks. Israel eventually closed settlements in Gaza in 2005. My opponent claims that this war provoked Gaza's airstrikes on Israel in 2014, however, Israel is not to blame. Obviously, Israel only engaged in the Six Day War to prevent itself from being attacked, and in no way would want to attack Palestine otherwise. My opponent next claims, correctly, that Israel has a blockade on Gaza that has resulted in the lack of air transportation, food, electricity, and sufficient employment. How is this Israel's fault? Israel has no responsibility whatsoever to trade with Gaza, and should not be blamed for anything relating to the matter. Israel is simply blockading itself from Gaza for protection. Obviously, many people of Gaza want to destroy Israel and its citizens, so Israel has every right for a blockade. If Israel was to allow access to Gaza, terrorists would immediately spill in and start attacking the people of Israel. This can be proven by the tunnels uncovered on the Gaza-Israel border that were used, before their rightful destruction, to transport terrorists, bombs, and weapons into Israeli territory (Source 2). As mentioned in my above argument, Hamas's charter includes a preamble stating "Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it" (Source 3). A Hamas statement also claims "The day of judgment will not come until Muslims fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jews will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say "O Muslims, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him." This quotation was also mentioned in my previous argument, obviously you did not understand it was there, as you repeatedly state that Gaza is innocent in its warfare against Israel. As shown, if Israel were to lessen the blockade (Source 4) against Gaza, militants would swarm into Israel, intentionally trying to destroy the nation's citizens. Israel is at no fault for the lack of materials in Gaza. You say that 'Gaza is in bad shape due to actions taken by the Israelis', the correct statement would be 'Gaza is in bad shape due to the actions of itself against the Israelis'. If Gaza was not constantly trying to destroy Israel, then Israel would lift the blockade on Gaza. You next state that the cause of the recent attacks on Israel is due to the occupation of Palestinian territory. As stated earlier, the occupation of this territory is due to the fact that if Palestine was not closely watched over, it would continue its bloodthirsty assaults on Israel. For its own protection, Israel needed to occupy Palestine in order to reassure the safety of its own citizens. Your next accusation against Israel is its 2008 attack on Gaza (Source 5). Once more, you do not provide the cause of any of Israel's military actions. This one, like the current conflict, was merely a response to rocket and mortar firings from Gaza. As I cannot stress enough, all of the situations you have mentioned are conflicts started by Gaza with an Israeli response. Obviously, Gaza is intent on destroying Israel, while Israel only wants to protect itself. You next stress that more people from Gaza are killed during these historical conflicts than those of Israel. This in no way means that Gaza is good and Israel is bad. It simply means, as stressed in my previous argument, that Israel has a better defense system than Gaza. Israel also wants to protect its citizens, while Gaza wants its people to die in order to gain international sympathy. Gaza is intentionally hiding its rockets and weapons in schoolhouses and U.N. facilities so Israeli militias are forced to attack these locations. Gaza wants its people to die so it can have sympathy from other nations. Just because Israel has less casualties does not mean it is worse. You also stress that Gaza makes recurrent calls for peace. This could not be further from the truth. As mentioned above, Gaza intends to destroy Israel. Israel is the one initiating the cease-fires, while Hamas is the one refusing them (Source 6). Hamas has also broken nearly every U.N. or Israeli cease-fire offered to them. Finally, you state that Gaza is 'reacting to the injustice that was enacted on them by the Israelis'. This is a lie. Gaza wants to destroy Israel; any military actions taken by the Israeli militias have only been in the names of defense and protection. Just because casualties in Gaza are higher, Gaza is not innocent - Israel merely has a better defense. If Israel's defense was of the same caliber than that of Gaza, then Israeli casualties would be in the thousands. You state that Israel would search for a diplomatic resolution if it wanted peace - every day, Israel tries to do just this. War is a last case scenario for Israel, which would much rather prefer peace. You constantly make assumptions and lies about Israel's intentions that are meant to belittle the constantly-attacked nations, rather Gaza is the one who is responsible for the fault of the war. Once more, I do not believe that you read my last argument, as it rebuked every statement that you made. This argument is simply to reinforce my beliefs. Before you again make accusations against Israel, please thoroughly read my last argument - it is the basis of my opinion, which you obviously do not wish to understand. I again wish to say that I do not wish to be rude or offensive whatsoever, I am merely defending my beliefs. Have a nice day, and I wish to read your next argument soon! 1. http://www.britannica.com... 2. http://www.washingtonpost.com... 3. http://avalon.law.yale.edu... 4. http://en.wikipedia.org... 5. http://en.wikipedia.org...(2008%E2%80%9309) 6. http://www.bbc.com... Note: Hamas is labeled a terrorist organization by nations such as the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, Egypt, the European Union, and Israel.