THE VIEW FROM RIZAL

Last weekend, we woke up to the shocking news that Israel’s southern cities were attacked by elements of Hamas – a Palestinian armed group. 

What made the news “shocking” was the number of Israelis allegedly killed and kidnapped by the attackers, including some 260 Israeli civilians apparently massacred while attending a music festival. Also “shocking” were images of Israeli civilians being hauled into vehicles by the attackers – clearly an act of kidnapping and hostage-taking.

What was even more “shocking” was the swiftness and surprise with which the attack on Israel was carried out, plus the power of the weapons of war that were used against them. News agencies pointed out that the attack happened on “Yom Kippur,” the holiest of the holy days observed by the Jewish Nation. 

A similar surprise attack was carried out some 50 years ago against Israel by a number of its Arab neighbors. Israel was able to repel the attack, turned the tide, and eventually gained additional territory in the aftermath.

Three questions immediately came to mind when the world came to know about the latest eruption of conflict in that region.
First, how will this affect economies?

Second, how did Hamas manage to “surprise” Israel?

Third, when will the war in the region end?

The fear is that the declaration of war against Hamas by Israel and the latter’s counterstrike on Palestine could drag other countries into the conflict. We fear that the Middle East might be engulfed by war once again and that it would happen at a time when war is raging in Ukraine and tensions are accelerating elsewhere in the world.

It appears the stock market in major exchanges was able to bounce back from the initial dip after the world learned about the Hamas invasion. There are other worries, however.
Already, there are prognoses that the conflict will not be a short one. Israeli military spokespersons have described their country’s response to the invasion as one that will be “long and hard.” They also vowed that all the hostages would be rescued, a statement that promises that the war may really take a long time, unlike the first “Yom Kippur War” of 1973 which only lasted 19 days.

Our local worries include the plight of our countrymen who are working, studying, and living in Israel; the stability of our supply of fuel; and the fate of our trade with that country and other Middle Eastern nations. The Russia-Ukraine war made us realize that “diesel” is the primary fuel of war machines. When that war broke out, the cost of diesel in our country rose to levels exceeding the price of regular fuel. More, our supply of coal which powers the generators of electricity in our country was imperiled and the cost of generating electricity skyrocketed.

The second question that the world wants answered is, how did Israeli intelligence fail?

The Mossad, Israel’s intelligence arm, is looked up to as one of the best in the world, and also one of the most feared. Israel has reportedly invested hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure and technology to make its territory impenetrable by its enemies. How then can this happen?

The attack on Israel is now being called ‘Israel’s 9/11’ and ‘Israel’s Pearl Harbor’. Regardless of the label, it is believed that had Israel’s intelligence not failed, the region and the world would not be facing the risk of another full-blown war at this point.

The last question is, will the fighting in that region ever end?

Perhaps, at this point, no one would have an answer. The enmity between Israelis and Arabs existed since Biblical times. There were periods of relative peace and there were periods of major armed conflict. Palestinians are Arabs and have drawn sympathy over their plight from other Arab countries. It appears that more recent conflicts between Israelis and Arabs have been about geographical territory, particularly that space that Palestinians lost when the country that is now called Israel was created after World War II. Much of that land used to be just “Palestine” until the Israelis claimed the space and gained international recognition of its existence.

Unfortunately, the attack on Israel happened just as it is moving closer to normalizing its relationship with Saudi Arabia. A peace treaty between these two countries could be a major boost to peace in that region and a historic shift in geopolitics.

There is one more aspect to the endless conflict: religion. Both the Jews and the Arabs have claims to be ‘God’s chosen people’. Both trace their origins to Abraham of the Old Testament. The Jews trace their lineage to Abraham’s son, Jacob. Muslims trace theirs from Abraham’s son Ishmael. Both lay claim to the “Promised Land” and the “Chosen City” of Jerusalem.

So, this is a war that traces its origin to the time of Abraham. 

We can only pray to the God of Abraham for the conflict to decelerate. We pray that the rest of the world will be spared from the hardship and cruelty of war.

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