I feel sorry for the poor people of Gaza. The real people. The ones just trying to live, to work, to educate their kids. The ones who only want peace. Which is proving difficult currently, due to the governance of Hamas. Who have long been at war with Israel. In fact the only purpose of Hamas is to destroy Israel. An unrealistic and illegal goal for which the entire Gaza Strip suffers regularly and routinely.

But Hamas is, and always has been, a terrorist organisation. It started life as a breakaway from Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood and began the attempted Islamisation and control of the fairly secular Gazans. When Hamas took political power, Egypt built a wall between their nation and Gaza. Interestingly, there was no public outcry. Hamas began building tunnels to Egypt to bring in arms and explosives. Then building more tunnels towards Israel through which they could push their suicide bombers. There are an estimated 300km of tunnels under Gaza. Which are well built and used to house armaments, rockets and troops. Most of the money sent to Gaza by charities and by Qatar, its funder-in-chief, intended to re-build homes and schools has instead found its way into the creation of their underground system, leaving the normal Gazans hungry and homeless.

Hamas is brutally ‘clever’. They fire rockets from schools and hospitals and mosques. Knowing that when those launch sites are destroyed, the PR fallout lands on Israel for destroying such places, which are all morally protected in the court of public opinion.

Hamas has been firing hundreds of rockets each day, until yesterday’s ceasefire, into Israel. You would believe from most of the press that these rockets have special ‘child-protection’ devices in them. Because although they are randomly fired at towns and Cities, hitting bus stops and shopping centres and schools and hospitals, the press almost makes light of these attacks. Whereas Israel’s bombs are all aimed at children and babies, according to those same reports. Though in reality Israeli attacks are targeted on Hamas strongholds and those tunnels. About 60km of which have been destroyed in the recent actions. They also announce where the strikes will be and give notice for civilians to leave. Whether Hamas allow them to leave is less certain. High death tolls suit their narrative.

The reality is that Israel is at war with Hamas and only Hamas. Hamas is at war with all of Israel and every man, woman and child in it. Even, so the indiscriminate rocket firing would indicate, with Israeli Palestinians.

Hamas is, ideologically and functionally, the same as IS. Al Queda. The Taleban. Different names, same approach. Kill, murder, maim, destroy. There’s no such thing as ‘innocents’. Suicide for the cause is noble, as long as you take lots of people with you. Sacrifice your family willingly for the ‘cause’. ‘Martyrdom’.

If Hamas lived in Wales, we would build walls. We would protect our population. If they started firing rockets at Bristol, Exeter, then Reading and eventually London, we would take whatever action was required to ensure the safety of our people.

Unfortunately, the ideology endures, whatever the names and titles may be. If you could destroy ‘Hamas’, the next snake would crawl out from its skin.

There, I’ve said it.

Happy Saturday

A xxxx