More military support is NOT the answer to Israel/Gaza

The response to Israel/Gaza must be nuanced. The Fulbright Flex Award gave me the opportunity to work in Nablus at the university medical school off and on and travel across the West Bank and in Israel between 2019-2022. I saw first hand the complexity of this region. Gaza has been an open prison and West Bank Palestinians suffer under occupation with serious restrictions to travel and their livelihoods because of the rules Israel and the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) set as the occupiers. The unbridled creation of settlements by Netanyahu and his administration have eaten up the possibility of a two state solution. Decimating GAZA by sending US military weapons and support is not the answer. PBS Newshour has done some excellent reporting on the nuances.

The final segments present the sides. https://www.youtube.com/live/gtS40vSyb0k?si=6aG-IFAk5B2Vnen2.

This segment from several months ago shows the reality on the West Bank and what is happening in Nablus, West Bank. https://youtu.be/8uqkNAa8s2Q?si=jWILeU-8tuzpOQ69

While the massacres committed by Hamas against Israeli civilians are horrific war crimes.  The Israeli government has wrought complete and total devastation on Palestinians across Gaza, attacking hospitals, schools, mosques, marketplaces, and apartment buildings, and has caused great suffering and damage to lives on the West Bank for decades.  

The US should not respond by sending military support to further this devastation. The US government should work towards de-escalation. We should help facilitate a solution that allows Palestinians and Jews in Israel to live peacefully side by side.