Israel - Palestine Discussion | Post Respectfully | Discuss more, tweet less



Celtic face UEFA disciplinary action after Palestinian flags flown at Champions League match
 


HuffPost reviewed nearly 20 State Department “situation reports,” with the earliest dating from Oct. 8, the day after the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a devastating attack inside Israel that killed 1,400 people and sparked the current fighting. Most were prepared by the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem and then circulated to a broad group of department officials working on issues related to Israel-Palestine. Situation reports such as these represent U.S. assessments from the ground that are intended to inform policy discussions and decision-making in Washington.

In at least 12 instances, U.S. embassy officials attributed the number of Palestinian casualties to the Hamas-linked Health Ministry in Gaza — including in the report provided to State Department colleagues on Oct. 25, hours before Biden’s remarks.

In two reports written by State’s Operations Center and circulated within the department on Oct. 24 and 25, administration officials reported casualties in Gaza by citing two outside sources who quoted the Gaza ministry in their reports: Al Jazeera and the nonprofit Save the Children. And in one instance in which a situation report questioned the accuracy of figures from the Gaza ministry, on Oct. 21, the American official drafting the note wrote of the number of Gazans killed or injured the previous day: “The numbers are likely much higher, according to the UN and NGOs reporting on the situation.”
 

We shouldn’t be ascribing any credibility to what Biden says. He’s mentally not there and he’s irresponsible with what he’s saying publicly. I would say it’s intentional but as he’s senile it could genuinely be that too.
 
We shouldn’t be ascribing any credibility to what Biden says. He’s mentally not there and he’s irresponsible with what he’s saying publicly. I would say it’s intentional but as he’s senile it could genuinely be that too.
While its a fair stance to take considering Biden's age and history with geriatric bloopers, its not uncommon for the US to downplay the scale of suffering they and their allies have caused. Someone unhinged like Trump would have just doubled down and tried to gaslight us into thinking the Palestinians deserved it. Not sure which is worse tbh, at least the latter is honest about where they stand on the matter.
 


Celtic face UEFA disciplinary action after Palestinian flags flown at Champions League match


Would only make sense if they also banned Israel flags, which I would guess they did.

Despite that, was incredible and touching to see the support shown, such a stark difference to other western nations that would never do such a thing.
 
Would only make sense if they also banned Israel flags, which I would guess they did.

Despite that, was incredible and touching to see the support shown, such a stark difference to other western nations that would never do such a thing.
The Palestinian flag has always been a common sight at Celtic games. Likewise for the Israeli one with Rangers.
 
Would only make sense if they also banned Israel flags, which I would guess they did.

Despite that, was incredible and touching to see the support shown, such a stark difference to other western nations that would never do such a thing.
Glaswegians tend to do whatever they want. They don't give much of a shit what people, especially authority figures, will think of it.
 
I might be wrong here and its only an quick observation, but it seems to me that ”the people” and the gouverments are as far from eachother as they have been in a long time concerning this matter. In the west that is.

Not including USA, but in Europe almost everyone i talk to cant understand how their gouverments can be so supportive of what Israel are doing as they people they gouver seems to be very understanding and supportive of the Palestinian people(not hamas)
 
The Palestinian flag has always been a common sight at Celtic games. Likewise for the Israeli one with Rangers.
Glaswegians tend to do whatever they want. They don't give much of a shit what people, especially authority figures, will think of it.

It's funny that as a kid I liked Rangers more because their kit color is blue and I like the color blue :lol: But politically Rangers the complete opposite of what my stance has been as an adult, they're also very much pro-Union/Royal Family as well while Celtic are pro-independence.
 
It's funny that as a kid I looked Rangers more because their kit color is blue and I like the color blue :lol: But politically Rangers the complete opposite of what my stance has been as an adult, they're also very much pro-Union/Royal Family as well while Celtic are pro-independence.
I'm 100% certain that if Celtic fans came out and said that they love air then every Rangers fan would start holding their breath.
 
I might be wrong here and its only an quick observation, but it seems to me that ”the people” and the gouverments are as far from eachother as they have been in a long time concerning this matter. In the west that is.

Not including USA, but in Europe almost everyone i talk to cant understand how their gouverments can be so supportive of what Israel are doing as they people they gouver seems to be very understanding and supportive of the Palestinian people(not hamas)
Its the same in the Middle East. Arab countries in particular where there exists a massive gulf between their governing regimes and the general population - the former of which wants closer ties with Israel, the latter of which want nothing to do with them until there's justice for the Palestinians. I feel like people in Europe are slightly more apathetic to the issue, less so than say the war in Ukraine.
 
They tell people go to the south and they bomb them their. Where are the Gazans supposed to go?
 
Its the same in the Middle East. Arab countries in particular where there exists a massive gulf between their governing regimes and the general population - the former of which wants closer ties with Israel, the latter of which want nothing to do with them until there's justice for the Palestinians. I feel like people in Europe are slightly more apathetic to the issue, less so than say the war in Ukraine.

The obvious difference being that the Middle East is comprised of autocratic states ranging from absolute monarchies to theocracies to authoritarian dictatorships, where the people don't have the luxury of driving their respective national policies through voting. People in North America and Europe clearly can vote for whoever they want to represent them, and yet support for Israel continues to remain strong among democracies.
 
Its the same in the Middle East. Arab countries in particular where there exists a massive gulf between their governing regimes and the general population - the former of which wants closer ties with Israel, the latter of which want nothing to do with them until there's justice for the Palestinians. I feel like people in Europe are slightly more apathetic to the issue, less so than say the war in Ukraine.
Yes we probably are, but i have noticed that many people who normaly dont care, or i would have thought been on Israels side based on opinions they have on other things, now are pretty vocal about their support for Palenstine.
I am gladly suprised by this, but i do worry about the, in my opinion, growing distance between the people and the gouverment.
 
It's funny that as a kid I liked Rangers more because their kit color is blue and I like the color blue :lol: But politically Rangers the complete opposite of what my stance has been as an adult, they're also very much pro-Union/Royal Family as well while Celtic are pro-independence.
I hated Rangers after watching the Sir Alex documentary.
 
Where were the marches in solidarity with Iranian people butched by their Islamic nut job government for not wearing the hijab?

Where are the marches against China for rounding up 1m Uygher Muslims and slamming them in Concentration camps?

Why is Israel treated to a different standard to China and Iran? We know why, but you can't say it here.
There have been protests re: iran; just because you’re not aware of them doesn’t mean they don’t happen

What china is doing is despicable - the speed and brutality of indiscriminate bombing provokes a more abrupt reaction. There has been an effective apartheid imposed by israel for decades - actions right now are beyond the pale so hence have brought protestors out
 
To be completely frank here, I literally couldn't care less what you doubt. If you can't do a quick google and find search out about Hamas, their charter and their mission... then I've no interest to spoon feed it to you.

Not supporting Hamas is a very easy bar to clear. If you can't do that, there's not much to talk about.
He said Palestinian you retort with Hamas. Can we stop making that equivocation which is permitting people to turn a blind eye to the brutality and inhumanity of the response.

The UN secretary general was very apt in how he was able to condemn both Hamas and the Israel government while calling for the sanctity of life
 

I’m in the U.S., and I feel that there is a change in how Israel is perceived, certainly since Netanyahu gave his infamous speech in 2015. His alliance with Trump and Putin as well as his attempt to weaken Israeli institutions didn’t help either. And then add to that what’s happening in Gaza.
 
Where were the marches in solidarity with Iranian people butched by their Islamic nut job government for not wearing the hijab?

Where are the marches against China for rounding up 1m Uygher Muslims and slamming them in Concentration camps?

Why is Israel treated to a different standard to China and Iran? We know why, but you can't say it here.
The defence of "everyone else is doing it" is no defence. Go and commit a crime and try it on the judge to see how far you get.
 
I might be wrong here and its only an quick observation, but it seems to me that ”the people” and the gouverments are as far from eachother as they have been in a long time concerning this matter. In the west that is.

Not including USA, but in Europe almost everyone i talk to cant understand how their gouverments can be so supportive of what Israel are doing as they people they gouver seems to be very understanding and supportive of the Palestinian people(not hamas)

I'm not sure that impression is supported by polls.
For example here are some numbers for the UK, whose population polled particularly supportive of Palestine, compared to some other Western countries - even before recent events:

https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/survey-results/daily/2023/10/13/be487/1

Should be more critical of Israel only got 22%
 
There are several aspects to it.

Israel has proven itself historically to be a major strategic asset to the US in the Levant, essentially winning the Cold War for the West in that part of the Middle East by defeating the Soviet-backed pan-Arab regimes and ultimately flipping the most important Arab state, Egypt, into the Western camp. They did this without getting US troops involved on the ground in the region, in contrast to, for example, East Asia (a couple of brief episodes in Lebanon excepted).

Culturally, the story of a beleaguered religious minority settling heathen lands and bringing the light of Western civilization to supposedly barbarous peoples is one that has, for very obvious reasons, resonated with Americans.

Throw in the oft-mentioned religious/evangelical angle, and the fact that the Jews have, by-and-large, been a success story in modern America with a visible and familiar presence in mainstream American society. Contrast with the Arabs and Islam, which in mainstream circles have tended to be mysticized and denigrated.

These factors provide extremely fertile grounds for the pro-Israel lobby for work on. However, the source of the lobby’s power should not be mystified and obscured, and the lobby itself should be conceived of as a collection of diverse groups with sometimes contradicting agendas (e.g. evangelical Christians and liberal Jews) and not as a monolithic entity with a distinct HQ directing action.

I feel presently, there's some geopolitical factors too. There's the simple factor that, if Israel didn't exist, the territory would likely just become an enclave of Iranian [and Russian/Chinese backed] proxies. It wouldn't end or reduce hostilities or reduce mortality, just shift them with the US having less control of the situation. That, and the US struggling to assert to its allies that it can actually stand by them (Japan, Phillipines etc last few months are nervous), it's a show of strength to say we can still project power and stability for you.

Retrenchment in the middle east has never worked for the USA, and whilst a maximalist approach obviously doesn't work, there has to be some counterbalance.

That and the western view of Arabs/Muslims perceived disloyalty to the West, and their willingness to run to Iran/Russia/China makes them far from honest brokers in many peoples opinions.
 
He said Palestinian you retort with Hamas. Can we stop making that equivocation which is permitting people to turn a blind eye to the brutality and inhumanity of the response.

The UN secretary general was very apt in how he was able to condemn both Hamas and the Israel government while calling for the sanctity of life

Oh did he now? Because this was the first post of his I quoted.

Why should it even be an execise accepted as normal in the first place? Hamas and all other Palestinian resistane groups have an international and moral right to resist occupation, invasion and ethnic cleansing. Not insisting on Israel to end the occupation and respect international law is dystopian and extremely depraved.
 
Article 8: War Crimes

- Intentionally directing attacks against personnel, installations, material, units or vehicles involved in a humanitarian assistance or peacekeeping mission in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, as long as they are entitled to the protection given to civilians or civilian objects under the international law of armed conflict. Check

- Intentionally launching an attack in the knowledge that such attack will cause incidental loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects or widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment which would be clearly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct overall military advantage anticipated. check

- Intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes, historic monuments, hospitals and places where the sick and wounded are collected, provided they are not military objectives. Check

- Intentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare by depriving them of objects indispensable to their survival, including wilfully impeding relief supplies as provided for under the Geneva Conventions. Check
 


Are all those building Hamas headquarters and military operation units? they can not be clustered in one neighborhood. This is just collective punishment of first degrees.
 


Are all those building Hamas headquarters and military operation units? they can not be clustered in one neighborhood. This is just collective punishment of first degrees.

It's a convenient narrative they can stick by considering Gaza is densely populated. As for the vast civilian casualties they'll resort to their usual 'human shield' defence, knowing full well that Hamas aren't going to be located anywhere but Gaza, ergo all of Gaza is a legitimate target.

They might not be executing Palestinian civilians in cold blood (they have Settlers for that), but the effect is nonetheless the same, if not much more catastrophic.
 
The Palestinian flag has always been a common sight at Celtic games. Likewise for the Israeli one with Rangers.

And there's no more thought behind that beyond just taking the opposite stance to Celtic fans for the sake of it.