The Middle East has been a brutal place for a very long time. Over the millennia, the sand has soaked up more blood than likely any other place in the world. It was the origin of the first civilizations, and as they various rose and fell, they did battle with one another for control and supremacy. I'm sure most of you have seen this video before:





The current source of conflict is once again whose land belongs to whom. No one is innocent here, except for those just trying to live their lives. They are caught in the crossfire of the Israeli government and the Muslim terrorist organization du jour. Both sides have committed and continue to commit war crimes, and horrible crimes against humanity.

Israel keeps pushing into territories promised to Palestinians, creating an apartheid-like situation, and jailing resistors. Hamas responds with murdering and kidnapping civilians. Each escalation is met with even more escalation. Currently, Israel is using a blunt hammer, rather than a sharp razor, in response to Hamas's shocking and brutal invasion into Israeli territories from the Gaza strip.

Here in the U.S., we are far away from the mayhem, but still deep in the thick of it. We are one of Israel's closest allies, and supply them with a ton of military aid. Americans are among the dead and missing (and presumed kidnapped). We are sending aircraft carriers into the region, but we have our own problems.

We have no Speaker of the House, so any appropriations bills are not going anywhere. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) is still blocking DoD appointments. It's unclear how much this is a hindrance for us to help.

There are also pro-Palestine demonstrations going on, including certain members of Congress. While I appreciate how poorly the Palestinian people have been treated over the decades, the timing is particularly bad. This will only further balkanize people's opinions, when there is a LOT of nuance and grey area that needs to be discussed - not posing this as a simple Black/White with-us/against-us duopoly.

I found this link to be an interesting read, as it provides some historical context about how we got where we are today in the Palestine/Israel region.

HUGE disclaimer: This is on Al-Jazeera, and is very one-sided. Still, it's a perspective we rarely see here in the U.S., and still worth a read, albeit while taking the source into consideration.

A ceasefire, a hostage swap, and a sit-down with a mediator to work out the issues in that region are the only things that are going to help prevent further bloodshed, but - based on the region's history - seems unlikely to happen. Things are going to get worse before they get better (if it's even possible to get better).

The average citizens of Israel and the Palestinian territories deserve peace, and to live their lives. The governments of those areas need to take them ALL into consideration.