Yeah but they're the West boogeyman. They are brought up as some scary rival to be feared. if you fear them is up to you, but it's their role in our media. I don't fear them I own a chinese phone and moped.
yeah I’m hearing that around here too hasn’t quite been as abundant as it should be we keep on trying bro
I've got a Chinese phone as well, better than any expensive phone I've had in the past, stil going strong after 3 years on the same battery! We are a tiny little island, I can't imagine the Chinese interested in us, they might spy on us, but I expect the Americans spy on us as well, everyone spies on everyone. that must be really boring actually.
I don't have Israeli citizenship as it happens, nor am I allowed to apply for one under the terms of my employment. It would be considered a fundamental breach of impartiality. Makes a lot of sense tbh although it made bureaucracy and healthcare an absolute nightmare to navigate in the 9 years I lived out there. Of course, I understand some of the many reasons for animosity. And in my personal opinion, recent Israeli governments (most non-coincidentally led by the same man) have added to those reasons, often undoing the incredible acts of sacrifice and effort of previous governments. The Hamas-Fatah agreement to which you refer was made in 2017 and is riddled with contradictions and vagaries. The part you refer to is Clause 20 which in summary says: We reject the existence of Israel in its entirety, but needs must and so practically speaking we will accept a state along the 1967 borders. This clause is directly and openly undermined or contradicted by Clauses 2, 12, 19 and 27. It isn't a serious partner in the peace process. Saudi Arabia and Egypt know this as much as Israel does, which is why they left Gaza to Qatar and Iran filled the vacuum. I'll also note that Clause 30 of that Charter calls for the Palestinian people to have the right to open, democratic internal elections. I'll leave you to count how many times this has happened in the past 18 years - in both Gaza and the West Bank. You'll need one finger for the job. It might help if Abbas and Haniyeh actually gave a voice to the millions they claim to represent.
Sorry, to clarify: Hamas isn't a serious partner in the peace process. They have no interest in peace, only the total destruction of the State of Israel. Fatah on the other hand would in theory be a serious partner, if they weren't led by the political embodiment of erectile dysfunction.
Would you say it's fair to explain that Hamas has only come to exist because of the ongoing occupation ?
I've posted this before but will do again. If Hamas want the total destruction of Israel, whilst the PA at least appear to want to negotiate, then why have the Israeli government used the divide and rule approach of deliberately doing deals with Hamas meanwhile ignoring all calls from Abbas for any negotiations. What kind of message does that send out? If you commit violence we'll take you seriously, if you're seeking peaceful resolution we'll ignore you. If the PA are the political embodiment of erectile dysfunction (and I agree they are) then they and Israel and the U.S. all bear responsibility for it. Fwiw I forgot to say this earlier, I hope you're keeping well and doing ok following the past week.
Good question. On the one hand, no. It has its roots in the Muslim Brotherhood, particularly its Salafist branches (Egypt and Saudi), which calls for the establishment of an Islamic Caliphate throughout the world and particularly across the Middle East and historic Muslim lands (although officially not through violent means, which is why Hamas' political 'wing' is on paper separate from its military 'wing'). So its roots are in a movement that would not and and could not accept the creation of a State of Israel of any size in that particular geographic location from day one. Hamas and Fatah haven't seen eye to eye since the 90's. The former presumed that the latter shared their end goal (liberation of the entire country, by force if necessary). The First Intifada appeared to confirm this. But then Arafat sat around a table with Clinton and Rabin at Oslo, and Hamas realised that Fatah was pursuing a totally different ideology. It began radicalising as many young Palestinians as it could, often using terror tactics on its own people to spread fear and gain control. As many as 200 Palestinians have been summarily executed by Hamas without trial or formal charges. The aftermath of the 1967 war did contribute to the group's rise, but it isn't at all clear how. Many scholars argue that the rise of more fundamentalist strands of Sunni Islam such as Salafism and Wahhabism was a result of the great shame the Six Day war brought upon the Arab nations (plus Iraq), most of whom were at the time ruled by relatively secular leaders. The resounding defeat was seen as damning 'proof' that secular Islam was weak and doomed to fail, and so more radical and hard-line elements began to coalesce. i.e. that coalition of Arab allies and Iraq could have lost in that manner to any non-Islamic country, and it would've produced the same results of a rise in radicalism. It didn't have to be Israel specifically. However, at a more micro level, yes - to an extent. Many of Hamas' more radical and extremist leaders are sons of refugee camps and it could be argued that their experiences there led to a heightened bitterness and hatred toward Israel. And as a result of the issues created in 1967 which still haven't been resolved, Hamas and other similar groups have a constant and guaranteed supply of angry young people to rally to their extremist cause. But this doesn't make their existence inevitable. I know one amazing person who was born a few buildings away from Ismail Haniyeh in Al-Shati camp, and he hasn't once resorted to violence to achieve his goals.
Thanks my friend, I appreciate it. It's been hell but just grateful for each day and for the fact that there are still amazing people both here and across the world who just want peace. That's what keeps us going. Bit of a feel of the quiet before the storm right now. Almost inevitable Israel is going in and in massive numbers, to attempt to dismantle Hamas once and for all. Abbas has zero real power. He is reviled by all but the elite of his own people. Nothing to do with divide and conquer. His presence suits Israel in the short term as he couldn't organise a birthday party, let alone an intifada. But in the long-run, Israel can only come to the negotiating table with someone who genuinely has a mandate from his people and can be trusted to act on any agreements made. Abbas doesn't represent his people and lacks the power and nous to carry out his side of any bargain. Israel would be better off negotiating with a palm tree. The Palestinians need and deserve an open and democratic general election. The issue is, and it has happened once before, if the West Bank goes to the polls, they will vote Hamas into power there too. Very, very quiet whispers out here among the 'ITK's' is that the desired end game is: 1) Israel cripples or destroys Hamas permanently. 2) Temporary Fatah administration placed in charge of Gaza; Egypt and Gulf to play key administrative roles. 3) Saudis and Egyptians remove Abbas from power quietly but forcibly. 4) Interim Palestinian government 5) General election in Israel 6) General election in Palestinian territories 7a) New round of peace talks 7b) Peace treaty between Saudi and Israel 8) Renewed US and EU investment in the project 9) Implementation of two state solution 10) CK retires on a beach somewhere with no internet connection
Sorry, I should add to the above 10 step 'plan': Saudi Arabia wants this to happen, very quietly but very firmly, as its endgame is their full and unconditional acceptance into the western 'fold'. You can see therefore why Iran would want to avoid it happening.
I can't begin to imagine the horror you've seen first hand. I didn't realise in one of your earlier posts where you were. I think you posted before news broke here of Kfar Azza iirc. How you get over or even reconcile something like that I don't know, the silence now must seem deafening. Don't know if you're religious but God bless mate.
Ok let me put it another way to what I asked earlier and link it in to your response to pinkie about Hamas. There is a widely held belief backed by policy, that Likud and very hardline right wing coalition parties, that to divide Hamas and Fatah serves a purpose of avoiding the need for a palestinian state. It's why successive goverments (with and without netanyahu) have over the past 6/7 yrs been increasing permits for Gaza workers in there 1000's, and allowing huge amounts of cash to flow into Hamas, as well as doing prisoner exchanges and even held indirect talks through Egypt. There is a perverse way in which Hamas has been strenghened by Israel in addition to what's already been mentioned. I'll say this about Abbas. He was finished the moment he was duped into that international press conference with Bush and Shiron where he promised the world and Shiron basically gave nothing. To me he showed he was a lame duck even back then.
Is it not possible that the Strip is removed the occasion and Palestinians there are simply, you know, given passports and allowed to carry on with their lives? Or am I living in the 1950s with that idealistic scenario? For me, it seems idiotic to have a Palestinian state which is split into two sections, one of which is reliant on Israel/Egypt for water and power. For a country to survive, it seems common practice over our thousands of years of experience that being one contingent block helps a lot.
Israeli passports? What's the population of Israel, like 10 million? Not sure Israel would like 2.2 million Muslims to make such a significant proportion of the population as it would undermine the Jewish state. It's also a reason why they won't accept a right of return for millions of palestinian refugees into Israeli territory.
Yeah, it would never happen but I'd love it to be that ****ing simple Unfortunately I can't see anyway that the Gaza Strip remains any form of independent from Israel. It will surely be under complete occupation soon, or atleast Northern Gaza will.
A number of ex-military experts including Lord Dannatt are saying they cannot see the IDF wiping out Hamas or getting to their commanders. Dannatt in particular, says this is an insurgency and those experienced in it know when to engage and when to blend into the population and wait it out. He reckons Israel will destroy the tunnels and munitions. He's the third ex-military person I've seen saying similar this week, another was a British commander on Sky the other day. One gung ho Yank commander reckons Israel will just go into Gaza and take out Hamas, and "unfortunately the civilians will suffer". Meanwhile some of the 22 hospitals in the north have refused to move, saying it's impossible. It would be a death sentence for many of the patients. 2329 dead in Gaza, 9700 injured. 13 hostages killed in Gaza. 100 children a day are being killed, in what world do we consider that remotely acceptable
