The renewed fighting in the Gaza Strip has splintered student groups -- some of which describe the region as a "jail" for Palestinians and others say Israel is acting in self-defense -- but has also unified them in one regard: the hope for peace.
As the death toll increases daily, supporters of both parties are accusing each other's side of breaking the six-month cease-fire truce, created to calm an otherwise turbulent area. In the absence of an official report, Penn State Students for Justice in Palestine and Penn State Hillel are left pointing fingers at each other for the violence in the Gaza Strip, a western region on the border of Israel and Egypt.
Sammy Haddad, a member of Penn State Students for Justice in Palestine, said the Palestinian political group Hamas was forced into military action as it fought an "occupation implemented by Israel through the stopping of humanitarian aid and controlling the borders."
"Although Israel withdrew from the strip in 2005, they still controlled the streets, airspace and borders," Haddad (graduate-engineering) said. "It's like giving the keys to the prisoners but still having prison guards redeployed along the perimeter of the jail. It's still a jail."
However, former president of the campus Jewish organization Penn State Hillel Alex Bolotovsky said this is not the case. He said he couldn't understand how the area could be considered controlled by Israel.
"It is not by my definition, or many others, considered an occupation," Bolotovsky (senior-business marketing and English) said.
The roots of the current conflict lie in the ownership of the Gaza Strip, a land claimed by both Israelis and Palestinians. In June 2008, a mutual cease-fire stopped missiles from being fired into Israel and Israeli incursions into Gaza.
But the violence began anew when the truce expired Dec. 19, as Hamas released missiles into Israeli territory, prompting a military response. Hamas said it issued fire to stop an "Israeli imposed blockade."
While both groups argue opposite points, they agree on the need to stop the violence to end civilian casualities.
"It is unfortunate about all the civilian casualities," Bolotovsky said. "If there were any way to prevent civilian casualities, I am sure that Israel is doing everything to avoid it."
Haddad said, however, the timing of the Israeli attacks is not coincidental. He said the Israeli military chose to break the cease-fire agreement at a time of political change in America and the world.
"They want people to view this attack as self-defense, when it's the other way around," Haddad said.
Even so, both sides hope that eventually the violence will stop -- and they're willing to talk with each other to bring that about.
"We hope to have open and honest discussions with Penn State Hillel about what has been going on," Haddad said.
Bolotovsky also said he hoped to have open discussions.
"Do your own research about the conflict," Bolotovsky said. "Take everything with a grain of salt. Take whatever I say with a grain of salt and whatever everyone else says also."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
