Gaza blockaded

[vetran]

There is your problem, right there!
For Hamas was elected, by the people of Gaza, to represent the people.

So your line would be "You can elect whoever you want just so long as Israel approves the candidates"?

No the line from the moral majority would be you can't elect a terrorist group.

If they elected Hamas_political just as Ireland elected Sinn Fein then why would anyone have an issue with it? The destination is peace and Hamas the baby killers aren't part of the directions.

To the UN,US and many other countries/orgs Hamas is a terrorist group.

[woody1]

There is your problem, right there!
For Hamas was elected, by the people of Gaza, to represent the people.

Israel may claim to be only targeting Hamas but do they really care how many Palestinians die in the process? Or, is it secretly the more the better?

If they weren't having to watch world opinion, would they just wipe Gaza off the map and be done with the Palestinian problem once and for all?

[woody1]

I should add that my view is probably a bit skewed because several years ago I worked in an office with a group of Israelis. They made no secret of the fact that they regarded Palestinians as vermin, and revelled in it every time there was loss of life on the Palestinian side.

The hatred (on both sides) clearly runs very deep.

[Fraidycat]

The hatred (on both sides) clearly runs very deep.

Humans still really aren't that different from chimps:

"Chimps expand their territory by attacking and killing neighbours. Gangs of chimpanzees carry out violent attacks on individuals from rival groups in order to secure more resources, a 10-year study in Uganda has found"

The chimp warfare described by this study, and previously by famed primatologist Jane Goodall, includes all the behaviors that we as humans consider to be the very worst: killing, torture, cannibalism, rape, and perhaps even genocide. The adult males of a social group, which usually number about 30 to 50 in size, daily patrol the edge of their group's territory. They will often kill any male or young chimpanzees they find, sometimes eating or physically brutalizing their victims in a manner that some researchers liken to torture. In some instances, one group will "invade" and annex the territory of another, killing all but the adult females, who are forced to incorporate into the dominant group. The idea of chimp genocide may sound strange, but they are one of only three animals that has been observed wiping out entire social groups. The other two are wolves and humans. Given that humans and chimps are so closely related, and our genocidal records so pronounced, it stands to reason that this common behavior may be more than just coincidental.

[vetran]

I should add that my view is probably a bit skewed because several years ago I worked in an office with a group of Israelis. They made no secret of the fact that they regarded Palestinians as vermin, and revelled in it every time there was loss of life on the Palestinian side.

The hatred (on both sides) clearly runs very deep.

If you see how many Israeli civilians have been killed by Palestinians without provocation you would understand.

Their actions are the best indicator of their actual core feelings.

They are probably heartily fed up with rocket attacks on non-military targets. Remember Hamas and their Palestinian electorates hide rocket installations among civilian areas then condemn the Israelis for firing back. The Israeli reaction was to build the Iron Dome and then send IDF soldiers to exterminate the rocket-firing terrorists hand to hand.

Daily stone, Molotov cocktail and gunfire attacks on border guards have been met with a policy change to shoot at the attacker's legs which whilst more dangerous for Israelis has saved terrorist's lives.

The terrorist attacks on a music festival have not been met by bombing the small area of Gaza back to the Stone Age (the Yanks preferred response). They have asked civilians (who voted for Hamas - a terrorist organisation) to leave and they are now at great personal risk going to indulge in hand-to-hand combat.

The occupation of Gaza ended a decade ago, and the first thing the Palestinians did was elect a terrorist party whose main aim is to exterminate Israel and every Jew in the Middle East.

I grew up in an area where ex-NI soldiers tended to live, being called Paddy around our way was not healthy.

I worked in a number of places during the Falklands war, the workers there were not big fans of the Argentinians.

[Zigenare]

If you see how many Israeli civilians have been killed by Palestinians without provocation you would understand.

Their actions are the best indicator of their actual core feelings.

They are probably heartily fed up with rocket attacks on non-military targets. Remember Hamas and their Palestinian electorates hide rocket installations among civilian areas then condemn the Israelis for firing back. The Israeli reaction was to build the Iron Dome and then send IDF soldiers to exterminate the rocket-firing terrorists hand to hand.

Daily stone, Molotov cocktail and gunfire attacks on border guards have been met with a policy change to shoot at the attacker's legs which whilst more dangerous for Israelis has saved terrorist's lives.

The terrorist attacks on a music festival have not been met by bombing the small area of Gaza back to the Stone Age (the Yanks preferred response). They have asked civilians (who voted for Hamas - a terrorist organisation) to leave and they are now at great personal risk going to indulge in hand-to-hand combat.

The occupation of Gaza ended a decade ago, and the first thing the Palestinians did was elect a terrorist party whose main aim is to exterminate Israel and every Jew in the Middle East.

I grew up in an area where ex-NI soldiers tended to live, being called Paddy around our way was not healthy.

I worked in a number of places during the Falklands war, the workers there were not big fans of the Argentinians.

Cool story bro, completely bloody irrelevant but cool anyway.

FYI my rather unimaginative nickname awarded to me at Lympstone was "Paddy" and it never caused me any problems.

[vetran]

Cool story bro, completely bloody irrelevant but cool anyway.

FYI my rather unimaginative nickname awarded to me at Lympstone was "Paddy" and it never caused me any problems.

it just exposes you as a bit of a muppet.

Lots of Xenophobia to go around.

[NotAllThere]

From the point of view of the dead child and their family, the intent/motivation is kinda irrelevant isn't it?

Yes, but law does recognise intent. It is not a war crime to bomb a hospital or a school that is being used a military position, so long as you give warning. It is a war crime to attach unarmed festival goes and commit rape and murder. In domestic law, manslaughter (3rd degree murder) carries a lesser penalty than premeditated murder.

[dsc]

Israel may claim to be only targeting Hamas but do they really care how many Palestinians die in the process? Or, is it secretly the more the better?

If they weren't having to watch world opinion, would they just wipe Gaza off the map and be done with the Palestinian problem once and for all?

Considering today's attack which Israel confirmed they don't really give two tulips.

[JustKeepSwimming]

Considering today's attack which Israel confirmed they don't really give two tulips.

Israel have stated clearly the aim of the war is the complete destruction of Hamas. A senior Hamas leader was hiding in a refugee camp, Israel eliminated him in accordance with their stated aims.

For what seems the 20th time in this thread. If legitimate targets hide amongst civilians, and engaging that legitimate target results in civilian deaths, then it is not a war crime, any civilian death is the result of the coward using civilians as human shields.

Also, Israel has admitted to bombing a refugee camp, the optics of that is pretty obvious to all. Yet whenever they claim they didn't bomb something, you know, like that hospital, certain people claim they are lying.