Meanwhile on the International front....

Step No. 1 should be to turn on Hamas, a terrorist organization that uses them as human shields. Israel hasn't done right by those people, either, but they don't use them for cannon fodder.

 

I alone . . .

 

Another hypothesis -- “There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don't care who gets the credit” -- that nobody EVER seems to want to put to the test.

 

True true.

I think Sen. Collins in this case was willing to remain in the background during the first wave of coverage. You don't really see any mention of him until days later. And then he's in paragraph 11.

Part of my annoyance here is with the liberal media for having foregrounded DeSantis! DeSantis! DeSantis! as the single hand on the throttle when it was pretty obviously an operation with lots of moving parts.

 

Why would they do that when Israel has shown them time and again that moderation gets them nowhere?

GENEVA (6 April 2023) – A UN expert today condemned the violent incursions by Israeli forces into the Haram Al-Sharif compound and the attacks on Palestinian worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque on Wednesday.

 

So you’re saying Gazans DO support Hamas?

 

Either that or he is saying they should, which is reprehensible.

 

I would say that Israel's heavy hand has kept Hamas viable as a ruling power in Gaza.

 

Israel's 16-year blockade of Gaza
Israel, with the support of Egypt, imposed a land, sea and air blockade of Gaza in 2007 after Hamas took control of the enclave. Because of the blockade, Gaza is still considered occupied by Israel, according to the UN.

• Israel says the blockade is necessary for security reasons, keeping Hamas and other militant groups like the Palestinian Islamic Jihad from importing weapons that can be used against Israel. Israeli officials point to Hamas' original charter that calls for the destruction of Israel.
  Palestinians call the blockade "collective punishment" and say it's turned Gaza into an "open-air prison."
  • Palestinians must get permission from Israel or Egypt to leave the enclave, which is often difficult to get.
  • The movement of water, fuel and other supplies is also restricted.
  The blockade has had devastating consequences for Gaza's economy and has created difficult conditions for Palestinians living there.
  • More than 80% of Palestinians in Gaza live in poverty, according to the UN.
  • The unemployment rate prior to the latest fighting stood at 46%, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics said earlier this year.
  • The unemployment rate for young people — those between the ages of 15 and 29 — was more than 62% at the end of last year, according to the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA).
  • About 95% of Palestinians in Gaza did not have access to clean drinking water prior to the latest fighting.

 

You aren't telling us things most of us don't know. These people are in a horrible situation, one forced on them by Hamas, Israel, and Egypt. This situation is a response to Hamas, which has a stated goal of wiping Israel off the map, so saying the Palestinians should turn against the terrorists makes sense.

None of the struggles of the Palestinians justify terrorist attacks that target and slaughter civilians. If you don't get that, kindly go fuck yourself.

 

Nobody's hands are clean in this. Israel has killed lots of civilians. It's a religious war, and they can be particularly nasty.

 

Years ago I spent a semester in Israel for a graduate journalism project. It gave me the opportunity to travel all over the country as well as the West Bank, Gaza and southern Lebanon. One event that I can recall is when the mayor of Nablus on the West Bank had his legs blown off in a car bomb attack by Israeli extremists.

Yitzhak Rabin, himself a celebrated general who led Israel to victory in the Six-Day War, tried to bring peace to his nation as prime minister. An Israeli cut that effort short by shooting him down.

Unfortunately, IMO Israel has taken an extremist route under Netanyahu. I've come to doubt that peaceful coexistence with the Palestinians is high on Israel's agenda.

MOREOVER, as a 70-year observer of human nature, I've noticed that bullied people may become bullies themselves when given the opportunity. Those who have been oppressed should take care that they don't become oppressors themselves. I'm afraid many Israelis (not all, certainly) have fallen into that trap.