In the July 5 issue of the Timberjay, Mr. Johnson expresses anger at the U.S. for many things, including the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza.  However, Mr. Johnson is pointing his finger in the wrong direction.  The responsibility for deaths in Gaza lies primarily with Hamas, the rulers of Gaza since 2007, who used billions in foreign aid not to improve the lives of their people, but rather to dig tunnels, buy rockets and other weapons, and prepare for a war that would ensure the deaths of many women and children as part of their strategy to stoke outrage in the international community and calls for Israel to stop defending itself.  It is Hamas, not the U.S. or the Israeli Defense Force, that is committing the war crimes that cause those deaths.
Hamas has no real interest in improving the lives of Palestinians in Gaza, as proven by their behavior since taking control in 2007.  Their goal is not an independent Palestinian state.  Their 1988 founding charter explains Hamas is committed to Holy War aimed at killing Jews, destruction of the state of Israel, and killing or driving from the area any Jews who remain.  As explained in interviews with Hamas fighters, they are prepared to die for Allah and to have their wives and children die because they will have the blessing of going straight to Paradise.
How does one defend itself against such an enemy?  Israel does it by working hard and risking the lives of its own soldiers to minimize casualties among non-combatants.  The allegation of “genocide” is absurd in the extreme.  According to John Spencer, Chair of Urban Warfare Studies at West Point, who has analyzed the verifiable figures on deaths in Gaza, the IDF has used extreme caution and has achieved an unprecedented low number of civilian to combatant casualties.  In warfare, even when the enemy doesn’t intentionally imperil its own civilians, it is common for there to be nine civilian deaths for each combatant killed.  In Gaza, the figure is around 1.0-1.5 according to Spencer’s analysis.
Mr. Johnson also mischaracterizes what happened in 1948 and parrots the Palestinian narrative.  The idea that the “Palestinians” (basically Arabs who lived, or whose ancestors lived, in what was once designated the Palestinian Mandate of Great Britain) had their land stolen to create the state of Israel is factually incorrect.  Arabs living within that mandate never experienced sovereignty or had a state of their own.  They lived mainly in tribal bands alongside Jews in the area.  The area had been the homeland of the Jews for about 3,000 years, and although most of the Jews were expelled by force from time to time, some always remained there.  When Great Britain and the U.N. decided to create a Jewish homeland, they designated a small area for Israel and gave most of the mandate to the Arabs, creating the Kingdom of Jordan.  In 1948, 32 percent of the population of the mandate were Jews, and most of them lived in the area that was designated for Israel.  While the Jews accepted this small bit of land, the Arabs did not, and waged war to drive out the Jews.  They failed.  The creation of the state of Israel was legitimate in that: (1) It was accepted by international agreement, (2) was defended by the citizens, and (3) the citizens improved the land, created a viable economy, and a stable, democratic government.  There is no clearer way to establish a legitimate state.  
What we have here is a land dispute, with both Jews and Arabs claiming rights to the same territory.  But that was settled decisively in 1948, just never accepted by the Palestinians, who to this day continue to insist that all of the territory, including all of Israel is rightfully theirs.
Charles Marsden
Ely