Horrific pictures of the atrocities in Gaza have filled the news and distressed many people recently. However in the short time the news media have to report, there is little time for discussion as to why Hamas fire rockets into Israel, and why Israel responds or initiates as it does, with such disproportionate force.
On August 19th 2014, after a month of war, the Gaza death toll stands at 2,016, 70% of whom were civilians, in the small densely populated coastal territory. 10,000 people have been reported injured. Sixty-four Israeli soldiers and three civilians in Israel have been killed.
In this interview Tuma Hazou, explains the background to the 2014 Israeli incursion into Gaza within an historical perspective. Tuma was born and educated in Jerusalem. He then joined the BBC Arabic Services in London. He worked as a radio and TV journalist, a filmmaker in Jordan contributing to the BBC, UPI, ABC, and as special advisor to Prince Hassan, then Crown Prince of Jordan. Subsequently he worked in UNICEF’s regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa in Amman, as Chief of Information and External Relations.
Tuma speaks openly and compassionately about his concern for his people and the hopeless situation that they are in. He tells of the rise of Hamas and how it was partly funded by the Israelis.
It is notable that Hamas is not considered a terrorist organization by:
Russia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia
Turkey: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey
China: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China
South Africa: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa
Iran : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran
Arab nations: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab