The following are the words of a young Israeli reserves soldier who calls himself Captain Dande:
I don't have to explain what is going on in Israel; everyone sees the news and knows what's happening. We are undergoing the most difficult period of the Jewish Nation in the State of Israel, without a shadow of a doubt.
During this entire period, there are two points that don't leave me, things I have been discussing nonstop with my friends. Let me begin with this, which I will state very starkly and dramatically: There are no "innocents" in Gaza.
And to understand this, we have to know the second point: The group of Arabs living in Judea, Samaria and Gaza – it is a fiction to call them the "Palestinian people." Until 1964 when the PLO was founded [even before we liberated Judea and Samaria…], no one ever thought there was a Palestinian nation. Over the course of many centuries, Muslim Arabs and Jews lived here in the area of the Land of Israel, known then as Palestine [a name that has absolutely no connection at all to the "Palestinians" of today; it was given by the Romans in honor of the ancient Philistines.] The Muslim Arabs who lived here were part of the Muslim Arab world, not an independent nation or people, not even a "wannabe" people. The term "Palestinian people" was invented in the 60's, simply in order to try to brand and market the Jews as "colonialists" – the bad guys coming to take away their nation – a nation that never existed.
They themselves, the Arabs living here, had no nationalist aims! How do I know? Because of this simple fact: They never tried to be a nation or build a state! No matter how many programs and plans we [Israel] offered them, or even how much land we [Prime Ministers Barak, Olmert and Sharon] were willing to cede to them – it made no difference, because they don't want! Why is that?
Because the absolute only ethos that unites them is this: There must be no Jews in this area. No Jewish State, no Zionist entity. They have no common culture, and no customs that unite them – nothing other than hatred of Jews. That's it. That is the "Palestinian nation" on one foot.
This brings us back to the fact that there are no "innocent civilians," as the media likes to talk about, in Gaza. If there were, how is it that for the past 20 years, in which so many Arab youths have grown up to become suicide killers and bombers, and after so many deaths among them, and with such poverty – there was never an uprising to overthrow the people of the Hamas regime behind this culture? After all, we know from history – and even in just the past two decades, such as in Sudan, Ethiopia, even Iran and China to some extent, and the countries of the Arab Spring in general – that when a sufficiently large group of citizens does not like what the regime is doing, they rise up in opposition! The people say, "We've had it, no more, we are not willing to suffer any longer." When does this not happen? Obviously, when the people like what the regime is doing, or at least do not object. And that is the case in Gaza!
No matter how many billions of US and EU dollars stream in to Gaza for the purpose of feeding families and building hospitals and schools, yet get stolen by Hamas leaders simply to sustain themselves and attack Israel – still and all, the residents do not rise up! They live, and often die, in abject poverty and suffering, and yet continue to support their Hamas leaders – by not rising up against them, and also by cooperating with, actively encouraging, and raising and teaching their children to take part in the Hamas goal of killing Jews. Except for the relatively small amount of Arabs who have gotten up and left, there are no "innocents" in Gaza!
We must change our entire conception as to how to deal with Gaza. Even if we kill all the terrorists – 50, 60, 70,000 of them – we still have to ask: Who will be in charge afterwards? In whose hands will we be leaving the keys? In the hands of those who have been taught to shoot rifles and put on plays about slitting the throats of Jews and scream Itbah al Yahud since they were four years old?!
The only way we can ever live here in peace and security is for this area of Gaza to undergo a complete depopulation – because there is no one in any future Gaza leadership who can change the mindset. The future leadership is the children of the many thousands of terrorists who are right now being justly killed. Does anyone think that they will suddenly come to love or admire Israel or stop hating us? Of course not. More hatred and poverty and crime will sprout up to take the place of Hamas, so what will we have accomplished?
We must recognize once and for all that they do not share the values of Western culture. We can offer them a higher standard of living, and education, and technology – but all this simply doesn't interest them! They have a different narrative – and that is to murder and rid the entire region of Jews, period.
I believe that once we, collectively, understand with whom we are dealing, and that they do not think like us, everything will change here for the better – in politics and in other areas. But we absolutely must change the way we think about them, and understand that a populace that celebrates the cruel murder of babies and entire families with candies and sweets and cries of joy is simply not "innocent."
I am of course not calling to wipe them out, because we are Jews who simply do not act the way that Hamas acts, and I am proud of this. But – they simply cannot be allowed to remain there. We must understand this, vote for politicians who understand this, and act accordingly. And I have absolutely no doubt that, just as we see now our beautiful nation, helping and supporting each other with no restraints and no politics and in total unity, we will emerge victorious and know great days once again.