By ANDREW SCHWARZ

For The Beachcomber

Kate Hunter is right: The media does not always present the Israeli-Palestinian conflict accurately.  Unfortunately, the media is willing to do exactly what she does — present a small part of the real story in sound bites and headlines that distort the truth.

 Since the end of hostilities in Gaza, a number of interesting developments have come to light. First, the numbers she quotes are ridiculously inaccurate. Hamas exaggerated by at least 300 percent the number of civilian casualties. Why? Because it makes great headlines. Hamas has gotten very good at producing “news footage” that only serves to further its own political agenda. 

Take a look at the Pali-wood videos on YouTube. They demonstrate how Hamas manufactures atrocities, and the media outlets publicize the videos because they are so dramatic. In a number of articles in The New York Times, BBC and other news sources, it has also come to light that the wonderfully democratic Hamas government has been dragging its political opponents from their homes, beating them to death or torturing them and shooting off their kneecaps. 

 Ms. Hunter paints such a simple picture.  The glorious struggle of the oppressed peoples using homemade weapons as a (gentle and loving?) act of “defiance” against the fascist oppressor. The rockets at issue are Katyushas and Grads. They were designed in Russia to be easily manufactured, mobile and destructive. They carry a warhead containing almost 70 pounds of high explosive and have a range of approximately 20 miles. In 2006, Hezbollah launched approximately 4,500

of these at civilian centers in northern Israel — at small towns like Vashon. 

Hamas prefers the slightly smaller Grad-type Katyusha, which can be smuggled more easily.  They are manufactured in Syria and Iran. They are not homemade. The thousands of rockets used by Hezbollah and Hamas cost millions of dollars.  Money that was not used to build roads, homes or hospitals.  Hamas also uses its “humanitarian” funds to manufacture Qassam rockets. These have a range of five to 10 miles and carry a warhead weighing up to 22 pounds. In 2006, more than a thousand of these rockets were launched at Israeli towns. In 2008, before Israel entered Gaza, that number had doubled.

 It is ironic that Ms. Hunter criticizes Israel for using precision weapons that were highly accurate. They targeted Hamas soldiers in their bunkers and bases killing about two-thirds of their armed fighters. Unfortunately, Hamas builds its bunkers under hospitals, its weapons stores in mosques and stations its soldiers in multi-story apartment complexes, where they have broad fields of fire. 

The main hospital in Gaza City was built by the Israelis. Underneath the hospital, Hamas built a warren of interconnected bunkers and command centers and weapons stores. They knew it would not look good if the Israelis bombed the hospital. Much of the electric power in Gaza comes from an Israeli power plant. It was attacked by Hamas and much of it was destroyed.  Another glorious act of liberation for the benefit of the Palestinian people.

 Before attacking the weapons smuggling tunnels, the Israeli military warned the people living in the vicinity by calling them on their cell phones, telling them that an attack was imminent and urging them to get away from the fighting. I don’t know of a government at war ever making such an extraordinary effort to preserve life.

 The situation on Israel’s borders is difficult, confounding, and raises many moral and humanitarian challenges. It is a situation that will benefit from greater worldwide attention and evenhanded intervention. If the Palestinian governments were as committed to building a viable middle class as they are to glorifying their “martyrs,” it would be very helpful. If they were willing to tell the truth about the poverty and death and destruction that religious and political extremism has brought on its people, it would be helpful. If they were only willing to acknowledge that there will be no peace until they stop dedicating themselves to killing every Israeli man, woman and child, it would be most helpful.

 Until then, a healthy dose of truth and perspective is called for. Imagine if Gig Harbor publicly dedicated itself to the utter annihilation of the citizens of Vashon Island.  Yes, you and your neighbor and the kids down the street. Imagine them lobbing thousands of rockets across Colvos Passage, randomly exploding on hillsides, roads and homes.  Imagine suicide bombers attempting to get on the ferries, detonating themselves in Thriftway on a crowded Saturday afternoon or in the movie theater, or spraying The Hardware Store Restaurant with machine gun fire on a Friday night. Would Vashon have a right to try to protect itself? Would we want to try our best to do so? Would we mourn the loss of life on both sides even as we insist that as human beings we have a right to live and to protect our families from anyone dedicated to our mass destruction?

 I know I would.

— Andrew Schwarz is a longtime Islander who writes often about Middle East politics.