In this October 13, 2023 article for his website, Scott Ritter, a former intelligence officer for the US Marine Corps and a weapons inspector for the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) reflects on the Israel-Hamas conflict. He explains how (and why) he reevaluated his support for Israel, saying that he can no longer support Israel’s actions against the Palestinians.

He tells the story of the founding of Israel and highlights an important point embodied by the words of Israel’s first President, David Ben Gurion. Gurion said, “If I were an Arab leader, I would never sign an agreement with Israel. It is normal; we have taken their country. It is true God promised it to us, but how could that interest them? Our God is not theirs. There has been anti-Semitism, the Nazis, Hitler, and Auschwitz, but was that their fault?… Let us not ignore the truth among ourselves … politically we are the aggressors, and they defend themselves…The country is theirs because they inhabit it, whereas we want to come here and settle down, and in their view, we want to take away from them their country.”

Editor’s Note: People reading this article may accuse us of anti-semitism, for reminding people of Gurion’s words, but as we have said many times before, CCH only stands for truth. Hamas’ attack on Israel is unacceptable, given the number of casualties among innocent people. But the response of Israel is also unacceptable and continued war will only punish regular citizens.

Pushing countries to take sides will only create widespread suffering as citizens, both in the Middle East and globally, are wrought with fear of the possibility of World War 3. If the US and EU are serious about resolving this conflict, they must urge for peace.

To echo Ritter’s friend, Israel, and Palestine need peace, “The kind of peace that gives the Palestinians their land back and allows [Israeli] famil[ies] to live without fear”. And though we don’t know yet how the Israel-Hamas conflict will unfold, we know one thing: violence will not bring about peace.

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