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How is Israel Going to Retaliate Against Hamas?

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Steve said:
One might indeed. The Palestinian people are responsible for their own government. Israel is not.
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Are you suggesting that Palestinians are fair game targets because of the actions of their government? Probably not the best argument if you're going to cry about Israeli civilians being killed considering the monstrous acts of their own government performed in their name.



Steve said:
And how is their current tactic working? And what exactly should the Israelis do instead when Hamas employs their current brutal tactic?
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It's too early to tell, isn't it?
 
Steve said:
Love them non sequiturs.
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I am merely pointing out that the US government is not neutral on this conflict, but rather are giving quite a bit of aid to Israel to take a hard line stance.

One wonders if Israel would have been more amenable to a negotiated peace if the US wasn't giving them carte blanche in the UN to act the way they have without sanction. As said before, nonviolence tactics only work if the oppressor is capable of being made to feel shame, which the US is using its considerable global power to prevent.

Giving Israel total unconditional support is only prolonging the conflict, because it emboldens the state to think they can aggressively conclude this conflict without making any concessions.
 
TurkeysGhost said:
What a fun game we play where the victims of oppression must be perfect victims in order to be worthy of consideration and sympathy.
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Quite ironic, since this is exactly why you're showing no sympathy for Israel.

Do the monstrous excesses of Hamas, such as the targeting of civilians during the recent breakout raids, negate the broader justification of Palestinian liberation?
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Are you operating under the delusion that Hamas is trying to achieve Palestinian liberation?

They are not.

I'm willing to see nuance in this conflict
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No, you are not. You are willing to excuse Hamas and blame Israel. That isn't nuance.
 
Ziggurat said:
Quite ironic, since this is exactly why you're showing no sympathy for Israel.
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I have no sympathy for Israel because they have all the cards in the deck to end this thing and choose not to. Israel has never dealt with the Palestinians in good faith ever. not before Hamas and not after and never will unless something radical changes.

Their dream of a Zionist state doesn't allow them to negotiate with Palestinians.
 
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TurkeysGhost said:
I am merely pointing out that the US government is not neutral on this conflict, but rather are giving quite a bit of aid to Israel to take a hard line stance.
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We should not be neutral in this conflict. It's not in our self interest to be.

But you're wrong, our aid has never been contingent upon them taking a hard line stance. It's almost always been the reverse: we've used it to pressure Israel to take softer positions.
 
TurkeysGhost said:
I have no sympathy for Israel because they have all the cards in the deck to end this thing and chose not to.
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You really have no clue, do you? The only way one side is EVER capable unilaterally preventing the other side from attacking it is if they exterminate the other side. And Israel has never been the side trying to achieve that. For the Palestinians to stop attacking Israel, they have to choose to stop, not matter what concessions Israel makes. And they can choose to stop whether or not Israel makes any concessions.

Israel has never dealt with the Palestinians in good faith ever. not before Hamas and not after and never will unless something radical changes.
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Not surprisingly, you have this backwards too.

How did Hamas respond to the unilateral withdrawal of Israeli settlers from Gaza? This was something that Hamas and the Palestinians more broadly wanted. Israel gave it to them, and demanded nothing in return. And what happened next?

Their dream of a Zionist state doesn't allow them to negotiate with Palestinians.
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And yet, they have negotiated time and time again. How do you handle the cognitive dissonance?
 
TurkeysGhost said:
What a fun game we play where the victims of oppression must be perfect victims in order to be worthy of consideration and sympathy.
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Yes because it's such a difficult choice not to commit indiscriminate mass-murder. Palestinian just can't keep themselves from gunning down 300 people at a concert.

Your problem is that you treat Hamas as representative of the Palestinian people. The fact that the the Palestinian Authority can restrain itself is ignored and the behavior of Hamas is treated as reasonable.

I'm willing to see nuance in this conflict, because as with all conflicts there are no pure sides, but the Zionists do not want to see the issue as nuanced.
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The kind of language and black and white thinking you demonstrate clearly indicate that you yourself are unable to see any "nuance".
 
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TurkeysGhost said:
What a fun game we play where the victims of oppression must be perfect victims in order to be worthy of consideration and sympathy.

Do the monstrous excesses of Hamas, such as the targeting of civilians during the recent breakout raids, negate the broader justification of Palestinian liberation? Do these excesses excuse the monstrous behavior of the Zionist oppressors?

I'm willing to see nuance in this conflict, because as with all conflicts there are no pure sides, but ]the Zionists do not want to see the issue as nuanced.
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Monstrous behavior occurs on both sides. There is no high road, as much as you would like to believe you are on one.

Your "see(ing) the nuance" appears to consist of hyperbolic criticism of only one faction. Hamas "targets" while Israel engages in "monstrous behavior".
 
Steve said:
Monstrous behavior occurs on both sides. There is no high road, as much as you would like to believe you are on one.

Your "see(ing) the nuance" appears to consist of hyperbolic criticism of only one faction. Hamas "targets" while Israel engages in "monstrous behavior".
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Ok, I agree. There are no high roads.

Who has more control over this situation generally? Who has the most ability to bring about some negotiated peace? Israel or the people in the open air prison of Gaza?

I hold Israel more culpable because they have far more ability to bring about a peace, if only they want it more than they want an ethnically cleansed homeland.
 
TurkeysGhost said:
Ok, I agree. There are no high roads.

Who has more control over this situation generally? Who has the most ability to bring about some negotiated peace? Israel or the people in the open air prison of Gaza?
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You cannot "bring peace" when your enemy has no interest in peace, no matter how powerful you are. Hamas doesn't want peace. You seem to be trying to interpret the situation as if they did, but they don't, and you will continue to get everything wrong until you recognize that.
 
Ziggurat said:
You cannot "bring peace" when your enemy has no interest in peace, no matter how powerful you are. Hamas doesn't want peace. You seem to be trying to interpret the situation as if they did, but they don't, and you will continue to get everything wrong until you recognize that.
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Israel could cut the legs out from under Hamas by making reasonable concessions to Palestinians.
 
TurkeysGhost said:
Are you suggesting that Palestinians are fair game targets because of the actions of their government? Probably not the best argument if you're going to cry about Israeli civilians being killed considering the monstrous acts of their own government performed in their name.
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I have "suggested" no such thing. Are you "suggesting ;)" that Israel is responsible for the Gaza government?

And please point out where I am crying about Israeli (or Palestinian) civilians being killed. Civilian deaths during war are an unfortunate inevitable fact.


TurkeysGhost said:
It's too early to tell, isn't it?
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It is not too early to tell that the residents of Gaza are not going to come out better off in this current action.
 
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TurkeysGhost said:
I'm merely pointing out that all this pearl clutching about Hamas killing civilians is transparently cynical.

It takes two to tango, and Israel is perfectly content to consider Palestinian civilians as legitimate targets. There's no comparison, Israel has far more capacity for destruction, has all the leverage necessary to create a real chance at peace, and continues to prefer to kill civilians.

All these complaints about Israeli civilians being targeted are crocodile tears from one of the most vicious targeters of civilian populations on the planet.
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How you wish it wasn’t so…
 
TurkeysGhost said:
Ok, I agree. There are no high roads.

Who has more control over this situation generally? Who has the most ability to bring about some negotiated peace? Israel or the people in the open air prison of Gaza?

I hold Israel more culpable because they have far more ability to bring about a peace, if only they want it more than they want an ethnically cleansed homeland.
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I concur with Ziggurat's response. Please show us where Hamas has made a concerted effort to bring about peace.
 
Steve said:
It is not too early to tell that the residents of Gaza are not going to come out better off in this current action.
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No, probably not.

That generally how decolonial struggles go, good or bad. The oppressed make their continued oppression so god damn bloody, embarrassing (probably less of a factor in this case considering the reflexive Zionism in the West), and generally exhausting until the oppressor decides it's not worth it anymore.

Israel never gets tired of lobbing rockets into Gaza, but this cross border raid has reminded them that they also have something at risk by continuing this occupation, even if they can make Gaza howl for every Israeli killed. It's not like the Vietnamese or the Irish or the Algerians or any of the other successful decolonial struggles resulted in a total military defeat of the more powerful occupying army, they simply got too demoralized to continue the occupation.

Palestinians don't need to win, they just need to not lose and continue to make their existence a defiant nuisance to Israel, and history has shown they are incredibly resilient and are in it for the long haul.

Flip side of that is that Israel might decide that they'll just commit to outright genocide and purge the country of Palestinians entirely, which seems to be increasingly the stance of the government as a necessary evil.
 
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TurkeysGhost said:
No, probably not.

That generally how decolonial struggles go, good or bad. The oppressed make their continued oppression so god damn bloody, embarrassing (probably less of a factor in this case considering the reflexive Zionism in the West), and generally exhausting until the oppressor decide it's not worth it anymore.

Israel never gets tired of lobbing rockets into Gaza, but this cross border raid has reminded them that they also have something at risk by continuing this war, even if they can make Gaza howl for every Israeli killed. It's not like the Vietnamese or the Irish or the Algerians or any of the other successful decolonial struggles resulted in a total military defeat of the more powerful occupying army, they simply got too demoralized to continue the occupation.

Palestinians don't need to win, they just need to not lose, and history has shown they are incredibly resilient and are in it for the long haul.

Flip side of that is that Israel might decide that they'll just commit to outright genocide and purge the country of Palestinians entirely, which seems to be increasingly the stance of the government as a necessary evil.
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And slaughtering whole families, one by one, in their homes in just a small misstep isn't it. Its understandable.
 
TurkeysGhost said:
No, probably not.

That generally how decolonial struggles go, good or bad. The oppressed make their continued oppression so god damn bloody, embarrassing (probably less of a factor in this case considering the reflexive Zionism in the West), and generally exhausting until the oppressor decides it's not worth it anymore.

Israel never gets tired of lobbing rockets into Gaza, but this cross border raid has reminded them that they also have something at risk by continuing this war, even if they can make Gaza howl for every Israeli killed. It's not like the Vietnamese or the Irish or the Algerians or any of the other successful decolonial struggles resulted in a total military defeat of the more powerful occupying army, they simply got too demoralized to continue the occupation.

Palestinians don't need to win, they just need to not lose and continue to make their existence a defiant nuisance to Israel, and history has shown they are incredibly resilient and are in it for the long haul.

Flip side of that is that Israel might decide that they'll just commit to outright genocide and purge the country of Palestinians entirely, which seems to be increasingly the stance of the government as a necessary evil.
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Gaza is not a colony of Israel. Palestine was never an independent state. Your analogies to Algeria, Ireland, and especially Vietnam are nonsensical.
 
Arcade22 said:
And slaughtering whole families, one by one, in their homes in just a small misstep isn't it. Its understandable.
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It would certainly be more ethical for these raids to more narrowly focus on legit military targets, but you must admit that it wouldn't make a difference in how the rest of the world reacts.

Any expression of Palestinian rights is met with the same response, you can understand, if not support, how people in that situation might do away with such asymmetrical moralism entirely.
 
lobosrul5 said:
Gaza is not a colony of Israel. Palestine was never an independent state. Your analogies to Algeria, Ireland, and especially Vietnam are nonsensical.
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Israel is settler colonialism. Algeria and Vietnam are probably bad examples as the French populations remained quite small, but settler colonialism is by no means unique to Israel. The American eradication of the native Americans and the British subjugation and settling of Ireland seem good parallels.
 
TurkeysGhost said:
It would certainly be more ethical for these raids to more narrowly focus on legit military targets, but you must admit that it wouldn't make a difference in how the rest of the world reacts.

Any expression of Palestinian rights is met with the same response, you can understand, if not support, how people in that situation might do away with such asymmetrical moralism entirely.
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Are you insane? You don't think there are people out there swayed by images of nearly naked German female corpses being paraded around by Hamas?!

ETA: BTW the concert Hamas attacked had a theme of peace, love, and understand... but hey it was only 3 miles from Gaza so they're fair game for murder?
 
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lobosrul5 said:
Are you insane? You don't think there are people out there swayed by images of nearly naked German female corpses being paraded around by Hamas?!
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Certainly not swaying TurkeysGhost's support of Hamas. Apparently just another "nuance" to be weighed.
 
lobosrul5 said:
Are you insane? You don't think there are people out there swayed by images of nearly naked German female corpses being paraded around by Hamas?!
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Maybe, but I don't think the lack of those images would make much difference practically.

What's the difference between supporting Israel unconditionally and super duper supporting Israel unconditionally?
 
lobosrul5 said:
ETA: BTW the concert Hamas attacked had a theme of peace, love, and understand... but hey it was only 3 miles from Gaza so they're fair game for murder?
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Makes sense, only hippies would be so foolish as to think good vibes makes up for real harm. The aesthetics of peace, love, and understanding is not, in fact, a substitute for real peace, love, and understanding.
 
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BTW TG, Hamas executes suspected members of the LGBT community. No one is foolish enough to be out in the open in Gaza. Think about the next time you post on the trans rights threads here.
 
TurkeysGhost said:
Maybe, but I don't think the lack of those images would make much difference practically.

What's the difference between supporting Israel unconditionally and super duper supporting Israel unconditionally?
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Ooh, more hyperbole. I'll play too:

"What's the difference between killing Israelis (and others) unconditionally and super duper killing Israelis unconditionally?"
 
lobosrul5 said:
Are you insane? You don't think there are people out there swayed by images of nearly naked German female corpses being paraded around by Hamas?!

ETA: BTW the concert Hamas attacked had a theme of peace, love, and understand... but hey it was only 3 miles from Gaza so they're fair game for murder?
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TurkeysGhost said:
Makes sense, only hippies would be so foolish as to think good vibes makes up for real harm. The aesthetics of peace, love, and understanding is not, in fact, a substitute for real peace, love, and understanding.
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Steve said:
So legitimate targets in your view?
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TurkeysGhost said:
No, why would you read that into what I said?

Just very naive.
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See the hilites.
 
Steve said:
See the hilites.
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Ok, glad I can clear that up for you.

Throwing a big party right outside the open air prison where your nation treats 2 million people like vermin is a really, really bad idea.

It doesn't make the murder of noncombatants any more justified, but you have to wonder about how smart these people and if they really appreciate what exactly it is their government is doing to the Palestinians in their name.

I would simply not stick my head in a noose and hand the other end to a member of a population my government is trying to ethnically cleanse, but maybe I'm just too jaded :rolleyes:

Do you think it's a good idea for Israelis to throw festivals three miles from the Gaza ghetto's walls? Would you feel safe?
 
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TurkeysGhost said:
Ok, glad I can clear that up for you.

Throwing a big party right outside the open air prison where your nation treats 2 million people like vermin is a really, really bad idea.

It doesn't make the murder of noncombatants any more justified, but you have to wonder about how smart these people and if they really appreciate what exactly it is their government is doing to the Palestinians in their name.

I would simply not stick my head in a noose and hand the other end to a member of a population my government is trying to ethnically cleanse, but maybe I'm just too jaded :rolleyes:

Do you think it's a good idea for Israelis to throw festivals three miles from the Gaza ghetto's walls? Would you feel safe?
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Ok then, thanks for confirming. Just serves them right for not realizing that Hamas just could not help themselves - basic out of control animal instinct, kinda like vermin. Therefore justified.

ETA: loving your well-considered nuance.
 
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Steve said:
Ok then, thanks for confirming. Just serves them right for not realizing that Hamas just could not help themselves - basic out of control animal instinct, kinda like vermin. Therefore justified.
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Whatever makes you feel better about supporting the abhorrent violence by the Israeli state that is clearly coming.

It will be interesting to see which politicians and celebrities remain firm in their "I stand with Israel" posts as the next few weeks go by, as they are likely to be incredibly brutal and one-sided.
 
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