(Politicizd) -- Over the last few days, the historic conflict between Israelis and Palestinians has a taken a turn for the worse, with increased tensions and further rocket exchanges.
Consequently, much of the American public has been exposed to recurring news reports surrounding rockets, protests and causalities. However, most still don't know what's actually transpired.
What's All This About? Why more conflict?
The exchanges followed the Israeli Supreme Court's consideration of a case regarding the eviction of six Palestinian families in the Sheik Harrah neighborhood. Commentators argued the eviction was justified based upon a law from 1970 regarding property rights of Jews. The law stated that any land belonging to Jews prior to 1948, is to be given back to the Jew upon their request.
Sheik Harrah, conquered by Israel in the1967 Six-Day War, is predominantly filled with Palestinians to which Israel has encouraged and permitted. This is explicitly contrary to the treatment of Jews, who are not peacefully permitted to live in the various Palestinian territories.
Yet, Palestinians responded harshly, by protesting and then rioting, resulting in police responses who tried desperately to tame the scene. Police were then hit with rocks and heavy stones from protestors who gathered stock piles of them to throw. 21 Israeli Police Officers were injured in the stone throwing.
The protestors were also heard chanting, "Strike Tel Aviv" , calling for further violence against the Israeli state. All in all, the increasingly dangerous protests resulted in 80 Palestinian injuries.
The following day, 90,000 protestors took to Al Aqsa, Jerusalem resulting in further confrontations with police. 200 Palestinians were injured with many being hospitalized.
Later that night, Gaza militants fired rockets targeting Israeli citizens. The rockets sounded Israeli alarms sending its citizens, 21 percent Arab into bomb-shelters.
Consequently, the Israeli Supreme Court delayed the expected decision for another 30 days, following commands from Israeli Attorney General, Avichai Mandelblit.
Still though, the next day, an additional 150 rockets were sent into Israel, prompting Israel's Iron Dome (missile defense system) to counteract and take down the rockets. Hamas, an internationally recognized terror group took responsibility for the rockets.
Israel then responded with several airstrikes targeting, two rocket launchers two military posts and 8 Hamas operatives.
The clashes have continued into Tuesday morning, with the Palestinian death count reaching the low 20s.
However, with limited background knowledge, politicians and activists have taken increasingly divisive stances calling Israel and apartheid state and civil rights abuser.
Political Response and Analysis
Minnesota Representative, Ilhan Omar, swiftly attended the situation tweeting out that the Palestinian state, represented by terrorist groups, should not be attacked by Israel. Instead, she argued that Israel was responsible for the further violence.
Critics were quick to point out, how Palestinians violently protested legal proceedings in Israel that had been extensive and complete in hearing both sides. Furthermore, no decision had even been made yet, following the first riots that resulted in stone-throwing toward Israeli police.
Kassy Dillion, a renowned conservative on Twitter, fired back at Omar, tweeting:
"Shooting 150+ rockets at cities with innocent civilians is not defending yourself, it's instigating. Conducting airstrikes at locations that fired the rockets meant to hit your civilians is defending yourself. This isn't complicated."
The response cited the simple fact that Israelis were targeted first by rockets, before responding with airstrikes to hit these launching locations.
However, the outrage against Israel continued heavily, drawing many political figures to give their own perspectives.
Of these, was NYC Mayoral Candidate, Andrew Yang.
Yang put out a tweet indicating that: " [He's ] standing with the people of Israel who are coming under bombardment attacks, and condemn the Hamas terrorists. The people of NYC will always stand with our brothers and sisters in Israel who face down terrorism and persevere."
The statement received great criticism, from many liberals tweeting that they now despise the candidate.
Stefanie Iris Weiss, a Jewish New Yorker tweeted this response.
Later, Bishop Talbert Swam, responded calling out Israel's "violent persecution of Palestinians".
The tweet garnered some confusion, with critics arguing that Israel's response to deadly rockets, by hitting rocket launchers is not a violent persecution of Palestinians.
It was one of many confrontational tweets calling Yang's statement immoral and wrong.
Conservative commentator, Ben Shapiro, called out the anti-Israel sentiment, saying that:
"Israel goes through a decades-long legal process to adjudicate whether families who have been illegally squatting in Jewish-owned homes ought to be evicted. Fatah and Hamas proceed to riot, actively aid terror attacks, and fire rockets. The international community blames Israel."
The words, beg the question of a similar scenario. If per se, the United States Supreme Court weighed a case, and protestors responded violently by throwing stones at police, and then later sending rockets into the nation's capital to kill civilians.
How would the United States respond?
Hit the missile targets with its airstrikes, or let the rockets continue to fire at its own people?
Overall, as Israel's conflict with Palestine and Hamas escalate, there is a growing realization that the American left no longer supports the only democracy in the middle east. Rather, the left pursues the idea that Palestinians are justified in firing rockets, and that the Israeli state should not retaliate.
What's Next: President Biden is yet to release an official statement or tweet on the matter as tensions continue to rise. Israel has promises retaliation if rockets from Gaza continue to be fired.
Follow @RealPoliticizd on Twitter
Subscribe to Politicizd on Home Page
