The shock is profound following the surprise attack on Israel by the Palestinian radical Islamic organization Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip. The situation is still partly confusing. This is a catastrophic situation for people who have friends and relatives in Israel, says the director of the Jewish Museum in Hohenems, Hanno Loewy.
He has many friends there, Israelis and Palestinians, “who are completely desperate, who are now just scared,” Loewy said in an interview with ORF Vorarlberg: “Of course everyone is shocked. Some mourn their relatives or, even worse, await news of their relatives’ whereabouts. Many people are missing. And the authorities and the military do not provide any information”, says Loewy.
“They should have expected this”
The Hamas attack is not a reaction to a current political situation, but was planned well in advance. The date has been known for 50 years. “The fact that the Israeli military and intelligence services were not prepared for this violence is truly unbelievable and incomprehensible to me. Because they should have expected something to happen that day. “This is something that completely surprises people, that this government was busy with many things, not just protecting the people of the country, but dividing this society”, the cultural scientist confirmed his criticisms regarding the controversial judicial restructuring from the country. APA driven by the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. There is a profound rupture in Israeli society, which is now in a complete state of shock.
Peace is becoming a distant prospect
Loewy now saw something like peace in the Middle East becoming even more distant. “Nobody really believes in a two-state solution anymore; both sides are making this impossible,” Loewy said. Part of the problem is that the people who live there and have to develop a way of living together are constantly being confronted with each other from the outside. There is only a small minority of Israelis and Palestinians who think about a common state. However, from their point of view, there is only one way out of the spiral of violence, namely living together on equal terms, which is further away than ever.
Both sides cannot flee – where?
With the images and videos of atrocities circulating, Hamas wants to spread fear and terror and sustain its claim to leadership through its willingness to use violence. “What she doesn’t understand, maybe she doesn’t want to understand, is that this only motivates the desire to commit more violence. Fear is not a good advisor for anyone,” says Loewy. Evolutionarily, people were designed to run away when they are afraid. “But neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians can flee – where? Both sides still dream of the other side disappearing.” After more days of fighting, he expects Israel to invade Gaza.