Pinprick

Imagine a guy sitting next to you in this situation - he's just pricking you with pin, nothing major, just a pin.  You're not seriously injured nor too bruised.  It just left you with a microscopic scar.  Imagine the guy continues doing it.  Keeps on doing it.  What do you do?  You take a pin and go on pricking the guy so that he understands the agony you were undergoing?  Or do you slap him hard so that he'd never dare to prick you again?  Wouldn't the majority agree that the second is the right thing to do?  But what if you are accused of using force against him that's disproportionate to what he did to you?

This, I think, is precisely what Israel is being accused of.  Well, ok, Hamas fires crude rockets blindly across the border towards Israel, most of the times they land in empty spaces, but every now and then, they strike the homes of unwary settlers and a few of them get killed.  Well only a few, may be 4-5 a month but isn't killing 400 in a week disproportionate to having 4-5 casualities each month?  What should Israel do?

For people calling for a ceasefire and people accusing Israel of atrocities, tell me, who is to blame for what's happening?  Israel or Hamas?

Isn't it prudent to expect collateral damage if a modern army with its advanced choppers tries to attack one of the most densely populated areas in the world?  A town like Gaza?  Should Israel keep quiet fearing collateral damage?  Should Hamas consider this or try desperately to maintain its macho image?  For Hamas, backtracking would mean demeaning itself in the eyes of its supporters.  Where's the end then?  Why are Hamas and its supporters under an impression that they can defeat the mighty Israel by burning a few -little more than-crackers here and there?

Hmm... well, I do not have an answer.  I spent my weekend thinking about this and watching CNN and BBC have a busy weekend covering the story for us.  For a change, I turned to our "news channels".  Yes, they deserve to be put under quotes, I hate all of them.  They were carrying out stories on the Pashupathinath temple row (an important story, really, I'll write about it later), India crying like a baby and accusing Pak for everything, seemingly threatening posture taken by our spineless government, etc, etc, the same old boring stuff.  Indian channels do not show us international news.  The only thing that I liked in what the Indian channels were showing was the repeatedly aired ad of L'oreal hair colour featuring Penelope Cruz.  Well, it made worth my visiting these channels once in a while.  She's so cute.

Back to BBC and CNN, the "carnage" continues, UNSC fails to reach a consensus, Libya criticizes, France criticizes and aah !! guess what, even India criticizes, a point which only our channels told us, BBC or CNN wouldn't bother to even know what India's stand on the issue would be.  India is too immature and self-centered when it comes to world affairs.  We're not heard.

Hope sense prevails and Hamas's voice is subdued by the more moderate and reasonable Arab voices and an end is put to this provoked violence.