It was supposed to be a pleasant New Year’s Eve. It was supposed to be fun. It was supposed to be a time when we all forget the hardships of the past year, sweep them under the rug and obliterate the memory of them through copious amounts of alcohol.

I can’t remember what I was doing when the chord struck midnight to signal in the New Year, but I remember with a vivid illusion the time, the place, the exact moment when I heard the news that Israel had began bombing Gaza. It was 10pm, it was the kitchen, it was making a sandwich, it was digital radio. Not again. Just not again.

Yes. It seems as if this time of the year has come around and reminded us of the painfully poignancy of our fragile situation as human beings. The intense emotion I felt made me feel uncontrollable, practically unmovable from my hatred. I couldn’t sleep… just thinking… ruminating… concerned… truly worried about the amount of Anti-Israel ‘protests’ and ‘campaigns’ that will face me once I venture back to university next week. It was a great shame that the copious amounts of alcohol couldn’t consume from this inevitable fear.

I’ve never once understood people’s reactions and hostile emotions when it comes to the Palestine-Israeli conflict – especially over a conflict such as this, one that seems the most logical yet is fostering such illogical public hate and anger towards the Israeli government. There seems to be a lighting quick reaction that seems to presuppose Israel’s wrongdoings and supports Palestine unequivocally - regardless of the forces that surround it.

People have seemingly caught onto the conflict, without ever realising what started it, who is behind it and the necessary lead-up to the event which has helped shape the public consciousness. Israel have immediately assumed the bad-guy role in the film, purely because they are misunderstood or portrayed in such a shallow light of hate because we don’t know enough about them. This dark, brooding mysticism of hatred is partially because we never hear of Israeli actions in any positive light and partially because we are bombarded with the positive image of the lesser downtrodden man overcoming adversity. Its hard to construct a plausible Hollywood film, when the perceived bad guys are perceived to be good. I don’t blame them to be fair. Israel hasn’t always done the right thing, yet in the past decade or so, they have taken progressive steps to formulate a peace process – which have only be undermined by the extremist groups they must seemingly negotiate peace with.

Israel’s reaction once you strip away the flesh underneath the media masquerade is perfectly rational. Its citizens face fear in the form of rocket attacks from militants and Israel has the right to protect its citizens. It was the same right the British government exercised in Northern Ireland to protect its people and the same basic right should be provided to all Israelis. No-one should live in constant fear.

In the 21st century, Israel always strike me as clean, crisp and controlled. Okay, if get rid of that fancy desk and office building and remove the rational females like Livni from the situation, you’d still get the heavy handed approach of any mad-capped Middle-Eastern state waging war. But, Israel generally seems to care for its people. One life lost is one life too much seems to be the rallying call. And if you study the rhetoric of Israel over the past decade or so, it has seemingly always been this throughout the peace negotiations. Israeli would rather sacrifice its principles and politics than that of its people. Politics change – but you should always represent the people of your nation.

The elected government of Hamas on the other hand, are more than happy to sacrifice their own people, before, during and after death in a bid to propagandise its bloody conflict. You don’t defend your people by blindingly leading them into a conflict that is unwinnable on all fronts. You may win the Hollywood love story – but from all avenues of conflict – it’s a nil gain for Palestine. I don’t buy the argument of a disproportionate response, when you are waging war between matchstick men and fighter jets. Causalities such as those are not shocking, they should be expected. Israel cannot start engaging in actions that will kill one Palestinian terrorist when one Israeli citizen is killed. Warfare doesn’t work in such measures and never has done. Its certainly not a book that has been written, read and understood by such groups as Hamas anyway.

But I can understand the reason why people derive such hatred for the state of Israel. As with everything, it is a microcosm of society. It is the richer, bigger state supposedly bullying the little one into submission through persecution and occupation. However, like all societies there are harsh lessons to be learnt. You don’t bully your bigger larger more powerful brother into response and expect the outcome to be a bunch of slaps and hot air. Occupation or no occupation.

So as the people mount upon Israel, perhaps one should ask, what you would do when faced with such a crisis? You withdraw from Gaza, see the people elect a terrorist group to represent the people there, and then see them fire rockets at your citizens as a political parlay. In fact, if you get happen to see any of these celebrity campaigners on the streets of London or even Sheffield – ask them sternly in their two-car, large house and swimming pool in the country houses what they would do under this situation? Then ask them to live a day in Sderot or Ashkelon under the daily fear of some terrorist militant deciding to fire a rocket at you.

We should not rally behind Palestinians in the Gaza Strip under these conditions. They are the masters of their downfall unless they are willing to oust Hamas and take a more sensible stance for peace. I would love nothing more for the Israelis and Palestinians to find peace. But at present, when groups like Hamas are in the political fold, then there can be no time for peace.

Israel has proved its restraint both politically and militarily on many occasions. Perhaps the international community and the band of self-appointed overlords (that would be Galloway and Livingstone apparently) should show as much restraint towards the Israelis, as the Israelis themselves did in the lead-up to this conflict.

We should of course be against the loss of life. Perhaps that’s what people are against…But now If you’ll excuse me I’ll be finishing my sandwich now, downing the last of this New Year’s Eve booze and be off to the first train to London in the morning to throw shoes at the Ugandan embassy.

Laters.