AF wrote: ↑Sun Jan 28, 2024 6:10 pmHow does this make sense? They voted them in.
Yes, they voted them in what? 18 years ago. There have been no elections since then so ask yourself...did Gazans
really vote for THIS Hamas? The answer is pretty clear.
Israel has jailed or killed most "moderate" Palestinians and continues to marginalize (or worse) other potentially viable "partners" in two-state negotiations.
Marwan Barghouti is one such potential actor. There are others.
I mean look, the Israelis are not stupid, clearly. The isolation of Gaza...the world's largest open-air prison...not allowing an economy there, nothing to allow the Palestinians to thrive as an independent entity, makes it pretty darn hard for ANY governing body to provide much of ANYTHING to a constituency beyond basic survival. The group governing (administering) in the West Bank has ZERO power over any of the numerous and still-growing settlements there, again, killing HOPE in the womb.
AF wrote:Pizza...if you think that's true, then the obvious corollary is: Netanyahu is not Israel..have you checked out his approval numbers. 15% last I checked. And yet we hold Israel responsible, do we not?
In other words, you can't hold Israel responsible for what Netanyahu does.
I know you're trying to make a point, but this corollary fails because, yes, the ISRAELI elections DO happen in a very legitimate way and yes, the citizens of Israel know what is happening with settlements and an aggressive and militant posture towards what they are told constantly are a nothing but a collection of terrorist groups across the region.
Is that C&S i hear burping "BUT, THEY ARE!" ??
The right, Yahoo and the rest, have been setting this narrative for decades (yes, aided by the desperate explosions of violence we have seen along the way). Intifadas are in your face. October 7th explodes in our consciousness. Desperate, goaded, hopeless people act out in the only way they can. See, like Burston says in his piece, violence, rockets, explosions happen, Israel acts mercilessly against the "terrorists". When things quiet down, more settlements are bulit. Fewer water facilities are rebuilt, fewer hospitals operate, less economic opportunity then EVER exists, and the misery resumes.
It has been said that the international community could assist in standing up a "partner" to enter negotiations on the two-state solution. How do you think Yahoo would react to such a thing?
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