The toxicity of fundamentalist thinking
Zealotry poisons everything
Author’s Note: All conflicts result in human losses, and that is a tragedy. I am not on any side, nor do I think anyone has the moral high ground. Israeli politics are as toxic as Palestinian politics. I mourn for all the powerless humans caught up in strife. They have no way of escaping. Hate, like an infectious wound, often leads to fatal outcomes.
Hamas, an Islamist fundamentalist group formed in 1987 as an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, has controlled the Gaza Strip since it won Palestinian legislative elections in 2006—the last time elections were held in Gaza. These elections took place a year after Israel withdrew its soldiers and settlers from Gaza. In 2007, Hamas ousted its rival political party, Fatah, from the strip during a military conflict within Gaza. Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Israel, the European Union, Canada, Egypt, and Japan.
Politics in the Middle East, and especially in the areas surrounding Isreal’s borders,…
