Meanwhile on the International front....

The figures that I have seen say that some 60 to 70% of the buildings in Palestine have been destroyed. Where are those people supposed to live or make money to feed themselves and their families? If it's not ethnic cleansing only because the Palestinians are not allowed into any surrounding country, I'm not sure what you call it. I'm open to another term if you can come up with one which is less objectionable while remaining accurate.

Also keep in mind that I have for decades been an uncritical supporter of Israel, and that in no way do I defend Hamas. I simply find that Israel's campaign in Palestine has been deliberately brutal and destructive with little consideration given to injury and loss of life among non-combatants. I believe it to be a deliberate campaign to make life so unbearably bad that the Palestinians flee by any means they can find. Call it whatever you wish. Everyone in Palestine is not necessarily a supporter of Hamas, particularly women and children who have few choices available to them.

 

These seem to be the most contentious:

apartheid

ethnic cleansing

genocide

 

ok

https://www.reuters.com/world/middl...-ending-war-lebanon-axios-reports-2024-10-21/

Oct 20 (Reuters) - Israel gave the United States a document last week with its conditions for a diplomatic solution to end the war in Lebanon, Axios reported on Sunday, citing two U.S. officials and two Israeli officials.

Israel has demanded its IDF forces be allowed to engage in "active enforcement" to make sure Hezbollah doesn't rearm and rebuild its military infrastructure close to the border, Axios reported, citing an Israeli official.

Israel also demanded its air force have freedom of operation in Lebanese air space, the report added.

A U.S. official told Axios it was highly unlikely that Lebanon and the international community would agree to Israel's conditions.

 

Do you think Israel should stop without getting the hostages?

 

One more question. If Israel does not intend to occupy and govern Palestine indefinitely, what is the plan for a withdrawal and Palestine's governance afterward? I don't know that there has been even a shred of a framework proposed.

 

Not necessarily. But "stop what?" is a good question.

It's also worth asking if the last year of Israeli military operations prioritized hostage rescue.

 

I have no problem with how you characterized it. I have problem with using those loaded terms that imply it is about ethnicity rather than self-defense, vengeance, and one man's desperate attempt to hold on to power.

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/after...rallel-hostage-deals-one-small-and-one-broad/

 

I doubt that the Palestinian people on the receiving end see much difference between the terms, but I do understand where you are coming from. However, a man who can't feed his children is unlikely to be willing to parse words.

 

The Atlantic, free link:

The Israeli Artist Who Offends Everyone

 

If it were ethnic cleansing or genocide, Arab Israelis would be getting it.
Israel is fighting a specific group that wants the country to not exist.

 

Why the Gaza Health Ministry's death count is considered reliable