Off Topic Politics Thread

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I think we all share a sense that the pain, suffering and death faced by those in Israel and Gaza is abhorrent.

This is an excellent article well worth a read which looks at the moral obligation we have to look at the situation as a whole.

How to think morally about the Israel-Hamas war

"More broadly, we need as outside observers to maintain basic human values in ourselves: to see the victims on both sides as humans, to care about suffering, and to attune our statements and activities toward finding ways forward that can improve the situation. If we allow ourselves to slide into moral solipsism, we won’t merely justify atrocities; we will blind ourselves to the steps that can be taken to actually make life better on the ground."
 
I think we all share a sense that the pain, suffering and death faced by those in Israel and Gaza is abhorrent.

This is an excellent article well worth a read which looks at the moral obligation we have to look at the situation as a whole.

How to think morally about the Israel-Hamas war

"More broadly, we need as outside observers to maintain basic human values in ourselves: to see the victims on both sides as humans, to care about suffering, and to attune our statements and activities toward finding ways forward that can improve the situation. If we allow ourselves to slide into moral solipsism, we won’t merely justify atrocities; we will blind ourselves to the steps that can be taken to actually make life better on the ground."
Thanks for the link St.J. Insightful, balanced & knowledgeable.
 
Saying there are no Israeli civilians and they are all guilty is very close to antisemitism in my eyes. A couple of people on here should be ashamed imo.

Unfortunately there is now solid proof that Hamas beheaded & burned babies. I have no idea how anyone can be that evil. I don’t think there can never be peace when the hatred is that strong.
No one so far as I can see has said they are all guilty. If that's so then you must have misunderstood or made it up. Feel free to correct me by quoting the post.

This from Ian T was, so far as I could see, the first mention of Israeli citizens.
"The phrase "Israeli civilians" keeps on being banded around this thread. Is there really such a thing ? All Israeli's are obliged to serve in the military at some point in their lives and I believe that there is in excess of 300,000 reservists. Israel is a martial society and I feel it is incorrect not to stress that any notion of "civilians" cannot be used in the same context as other Western Countries." No mention of "they are all guilty" whatsoever.
 
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Good article from the Times of Israel about the mutually-parasitic relationship between Bibi and Hamas. Bibi helped to prop up Hamas as the de facto leaders of Gaza, in a (successful) bid to undermine the PLO and thus make it easier for Israel to erode the West Bank and make a Palestinian state impossible, and Hamas was happy to go along with it because it increased their power and prestige and made the people in Gaza reliant on Hamas, which was effectively the only organization who could provide services.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/for-years-netanyahu-propped-up-hamas-now-its-blown-up-in-our-faces/

Most of the time, Israeli policy was to treat the Palestinian Authority as a burden and Hamas as an asset. Far-right MK Bezalel Smotrich, now the finance minister in the hardline government and leader of the Religious Zionism party, said so himself in 2015.

According to various reports, Netanyahu made a similar point at a Likud faction meeting in early 2019, when he was quoted as saying that those who oppose a Palestinian state should support the transfer of funds to Gaza, because maintaining the separation between the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza would prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.

While Netanyahu does not make these kind of statements publicly or officially, his words are in line with the policy that he implemented.

They deserve each other, it's just a tragedy that the civilians in Israel, Palestine and the Occupied Territories will suffer for their vile pursuit of power.
 
Agree.. things are bad and about to get worse.

Israel have told civilians in Gaza to evacuate.

The sickness of politicians doesn’t just end with Hamas & Israel.. I am saddened that globally all politicians seem more happy to stoke the fires of war than try and help achieve peace.

Collective punishment is a war crime under the Geneva conventions and that is exactly what is happening. This is why I said that politics and the rules of law are an illusion.
 
And civilians in Gaza cannot evacuate. There is literally nowhere for them to evacuate to. Gaza is blockaded by land, air and sea. Israel is simply using this as a means to suggest that they were trying to avoid civilian casualties, before they level Gaza City, which has one million civilians who are trapped there.
 
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"A teacher has been killed and two people have been seriously injured in a knife attack at a school in France, officials say.
Local media have reported that the attacker was a former pupil at the school.
The school attacker was of Chechen origin and on the national security register, according to the police."
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67101089
 
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"A teacher has been killed and two people have been seriously injured in a knife attack at a school in France, officials say.
Local media have reported that the attacker was a former pupil at the school.
The school attacker was of Chechen origin and on the national security register, according to the police."
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67101089


He shouted alahu Akbhar and Hamas phrases as he did it:

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All of the woke liberals on here are going to find out where uncontrolled mass immigration and open border policies lead. Sad. This is what happens when you let hundreds of thousands of people in that hate Jews, Christian’s & the west.
 
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He shouted alahu Akbhar and Hamas phrases as he did it:

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All of the woke liberals on here are going to find out where mass immigration and open border policies lead. Sad. This is what happens when you let hundreds of thousands of people in that hate Christian’s & the west.
That is a ludicrous statement. That is stereotypical bullshit. You can't just tar all immigrants with the same brush like that.
 
He shouted alahu Akbhar and Hamas phrases as he did it:

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All of the woke liberals on here are going to find out where uncontrolled mass immigration and open border policies lead. Sad. This is what happens when you let hundreds of thousands of people in that hate Jews, Christian’s & the west.
So when do you think we should have put the shutters up and stopped migration into the West? After WW2? Is it all Muslims you'd want excluded, or just specific groups of them? Are there any other ethnic or religious groups you feel should be barred too?

Just want to get a full picture