I so wish I was wrong. I so wish that fat lady and accompanying voices of the chorus had sung loud and clear and confident, but it was not to be so. A leopard can more easily change his spots then can Hamsa and adherents discard the ugly, ragged stripes of their souls. In a mistaken effort, under pressure from everyone and his uncle and aunt all the way back to the generation of Avraham to believe in the promises of Hamas, that they actually intended to abide by an agreement made with Israel.
Lord, what fools we were. And remain.
The picture had already been clear from the very first moment when Hamas broke a ceasefire. Hamas then continued to hold on to its rather nasty bag of tricks, to lie brazenly and then lay the blame on the Israelis, those whom the world was always ready to defame, to be the recipient of blame. I wonder that we were so gullible as to believe they would actually be true to their promises, and all, the living and the dead, would be sent home.
The cost was extravagant, but what could we do? It was the moment to act, to bring our people back. And so, we took up that so unbalanced 'bargain', and even when the ugly bag of tricks was pulled out again, shaken in our faces again, we persisted and 20 souls came home. Vi'shavu banim ligvulam - the children of Rachel, for whom she had been waiting for so long, were returning to their nation. To their war-torn country. Home. Habayta.
And the ugly games began again, only these were not plastic or wood chips to be played with as pleased the holder. These were human, mostly young men at this point, longing for their families, their friends, their communities, their lives from which they had been kidnapped. To spend the next two years immersed in an unbelievable crazed life, never knowing what moment would be their last.
But now a slight chance but it was time. It was so past time to bring all the dead and alive into our embrace, into arms that had been empty for too many years.
With sputters and false starts, the process began. Despite a slowed down process, wringing the last drops of agony from all concerned, and our 20 gaunt living hostages were released, free to return to their people, free to heal and rebuild, free to hug their loved ones as if they would never again have the chance to do so again. We doubters were on the receiving end of jeers, for there it was, working, even as we had predicted many snags in the path of fulfillment, of promises made.
Unfortunately, damn it, we, the doubters, the ones who see the glass as mostly empty, if not all the way back to drought conditions, were right again. Our fears were validated as our slaughtered and abused heroes were returned in small number, nine, and then we were told that there were no more, they were 'lost' under the rubble somewhere. Too bad. Now let us get on with the next stage and never you mind our treachery. We are the snake who bit and poisoned his ride across the pond.
Treacherous, never to be trusted, but that is the reality. Deal with it!
Now we have met the wall again. Return has stopped, meant to never be resumed, never to be continued. If Isreal does not like it, well, let them deal wtth the antagonistic world and do what they can. However, it will not be much, for we all know the futile results even before we begin.
The world, the world you say? The same world that did not speak up for Bipel, the brave Nepalese man, a peaceful student who defended himself and his coworkers. And for that was dragged across Gaza by his eventual murderers, who indeed took his life, even as he suffered the torments of Hell before he was released from the agonies he was undergoing. Yet another of the few courageous among us.
In fact, where is the voice, the so many self-righteous strident voices, of those who screamed and tore their hair at the mere thought and accusation of cruelty to Gazans by Israeli forces? Where are they now when the treaty is invalidated almost from the very beginning and where are they now when Gazan is shooting Gazan, where Hamas is lynching those who oppose them. Where is the concern and the weeping as the remnant of Hamas, determined to remain in power, continues to brutalize and kill all and anything that stands in the way of their bloody ambitions. Living or dead- it matters not. Where are the signatories of the ceasefire agreement, which demanded that Hamas disarm itself? Seems to me there are more than enough arms remaining in Gaza and being used indiscriminately, with one intent - the betterment and the retention of power by Hamas.
Where the Hell are they!
Not where they are supposed to be.
The world remains static in its ugliness.
All the brutal yesterdays are running into the bloody todays and foretell of even worse tomorrows.
And again - WHERE ARE WE, THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD?
What are we waiting for?
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