In a brutal terror attack, Hamas killed 1400, kidnapped 203, and injured 3800 innocent Israeli people. Israel has responded by declaring war on Hamas.
There have been varied opinions from global leaders to the determined stand taken by the Israeli government and the unleashing of its brute force to put an end to the terrorism of Hamas on its people. Pope Francis told the gathering at St Peter’s Square on Wednesday, “The victims are increasing and the situation in Gaza is desperate. May, please everything, everything be done to avoid a humanitarian disaster, and it’s possible that this war might grow. War does not solve any problems. It only sows death and destruction. It increases hatred and multiplies revenge. War destroys the future.”
Pope Francis has called for an end to Israel-Palestinian violence and has made public his views on war not being able to solve any problems only sowing seeds of death, hatred, revenge, and destruction. But, interestingly, the Catholic Church has been a strong advocate of a ‘Just War’.
In the words of St Augustine of Hippo – a bishop, philosopher, and theologian of the Catholic Church: The only just reason to go to war was the desire for peace. We do not seek peace in order to be at war, but we go to war so that we may have peace. Be peaceful, therefore, in warring, so that you may vanquish those whom you war against, and bring them to the prosperity of peace.
Furthermore in his book – City of God, St Augustine expressed, “A state has higher authority in their view, and if the response to evil and aggression met specific criteria, it would be deemed just, and the individual could participate. True religion looks upon as peaceful those wars that are waged not for motives of aggrandizement, or cruelty, but with the object of securing peace, punishing those who do evil, and of supporting the good.”
The ‘Just War’ theory of the Catholic Church attempts to reconcile three things: One, taking human life is seriously wrong. Two, states have a duty to defend their citizens and defend justice. And three, protecting innocent human life and defending important moral values sometimes requires the willingness to use force and violence. The principles of the justice of war are commonly held to be: having just cause, being a last resort, being declared by a proper authority, possessing the right intention, having a reasonable chance of success, and the end being proportional to the means used.
The Catholic Church recognizes that a nation has not just the right, but the obligation to ensure the security of its citizens and to respond to aggression, even – if only under very strict conditions – by means of military force.
In July 2022, Pope Francis during a 90-minute interview with Telam, the news agency of the Argentine state, answered a question about lack of dialogue being an aggravating factor for a world that he believes is currently living a piecemeal Third World War stated: I believe it is time to rethink the concept of a ‘just war’. A war may be just; there is the right to defend oneself. But we need to rethink the way that concept is used nowadays. I have said that the use and possession of nuclear weapons are immoral. Resolving conflicts through war is saying no to verbal reasoning, to being constructive. But interestingly in March 2022, Pope Francis opined that there is no such thing as a just war; when he spoke about the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
Israel is not attacking Palestine. Israel is at war with Hamas. Hamas is a terror organization. A war against a terror organization, however, is not the same as a war about territory. It is a new kind of war. It is a war against an enemy who does not represent a nation or a people in the traditional sense but represents an ideology of terror.
A war against terrorism is a war to re-establish, in a world torn by fear and strife, respect for the dignity of persons and their rights; it is a war that wants not simply to block an enemy, but to foster an equitable coexistence and order in the relationships between persons, peoples, and cultures. That is exactly what Israel wants for its people. In a war against terror, winning the war means winning the peace. And peace can only be restored when terrorism is put to an end. Therefore, the only end game for Israel is to end the terror, and to end the terror is to end Hamas. For Palestinians too, the end of Hamas will sound the bugle of a new dawn of peace between Israel and Palestine in the months ahead.
Political leaders questioning the principles of Israel’s actions against Hamas must first understand that Israel is not fighting Palestine and it is not in a war against a nation, neither does it seek to occupy Gaza. Israel is fighting a war against terror and Hamas is the terrorist. Israel is protecting the basic human rights of its citizens, rights that Hamas violated on October 7th, 2023. Nations, including the Arab Nations must willingly or grudgingly accept the simple truth that Israel has waged a ‘Just War’ against Hamas.
