RISING UP: The Metaphoric Kite
Hamas’
riling up the masses and ‘populist warfare’ tactics are a concerted effort to
provoke Israeli retaliation. These
tactics are not novel by any means, nor are their espousal of terrorism and
advocacy for the destruction of Israel by way of bombings, rockets, and lethal
intifadas. However, the recent use of incendiary kites deployed from Gaza by
the thousands into Israel is especially disconcerting for its symbolic and
violent outcomes.
What
are kites but symbols of youth and innocence, emblems of playfulness and wonder
for children? But leave it to Hamas to pervert a toy and joyful experience for
youth. As the kites are transformed from
toys to tools of chaos, so too are the children of Gaza ideologically weaponized
from birth. Gazan youth learn unconditional hate for Jews and Israel and are
raised under the thumb of a militarized and an internationally-recognized
terror group.
Hamas
methodically perpetuates hate from one generation to the next by indoctrinating
children with deplorable idioms and sanctioning violence as honorable. They’ve
bred the next generation of civilian shields and terrorists instead of
preparing a skilled and educated population of future leaders.
Of
course, not all Gazans and certainly not all children follow Hamas’ path. But Hamas is so hell-bent on Israel’s
extinction that it deprives children of innocent play and weaponizes what
should be their toys to serve further destruction.
The
kites are dually symbolic not solely of Hamas’ imparted ideology on their kids,
but of Hamas’ irresponsible handling and appropriation of international aid to
Gaza. Donated by Japan specifically for the impoverished children of Gaza, Hamas and Hamas-followers weaponized the toys
to launch a barrage of flying incendiary devices against Israel.
While
the kites were a relatively mundane gift from Japan, they are indicative of the
much larger and more substantial trend of misappropriation of funds by Hamas.
“Hamas
allocates 55% of its budget to fund its military needs and its share in the
rehabilitation of Gaza is less than 5% of the total investment. In addition to
its disproportionately large military budget, Hamas also diverts aid money to
fund its military ventures,” per the IDF. This is in spite of “80% (of the Gaza
population) are dependent on international aid.”
According
to Major General Yoav Mordechai, "The egotistical Hamas terror
organization has robbed funds that are meant for the needy of Gaza from
international organizations. Hamas prospers at the expense of the residents of
the Strip and uses donations meant for them to finance terror. How long will
the world and the Gazan people ignore this?”
And
his posed question is certainly valid, considering the perpetual allocation of
funds by Hamas towards arms accumulation and expanding their frightening
military capabilities.
So
the metaphoric kite represents Hamas’ operations: Like a kite looms above, Hamas persists as an
ongoing threat to the State of Israel and the state of Western democracy in the
Middle East. The kite will inevitably fall, to be sure, but when that kite is
outfitted with incendiaries, it menaces Israeli civilians and distances further
any promise or hope of peace.