Hamas strike on Israel - Threadbans in op - mod warning in OP updated 19/10/23

That maybe so. Whereas you realise there are valid criticisms to be made of both Hamas and the Israeli government. Which you have spent most of the thread doing. You haven't sought to deflect criticism of Israel with one liners.

I haven't seen the post where you condemned the murders of 17,000 Palestinian children as yet. That's not hilarious at all but very sad and made to look like you actually support it. Maybe you'd like to comment on why?

Terribly cruel but not surprising. They are a rabble. A proper army would look after someone with Special Needs.

The Israelis claim that they target Hamas militants with these 'surgical strikes' which many people claim are direct attacks on the civilian population. I'm inclined to agree. If their information is so good then why haven't they freed the hostages as yet?

Things getting worse in the West Bank

"As Israel carries out a devastating war on Gaza, settlers are exploiting
the lack of global attention on the occupied West Bank to expel
Palestinians from their land there.

According to Peace Now, a nonprofit organisation that monitors land
confiscation in the West Bank, Israel has seized 23.7sq km (9.15sq
miles) of Palestinian land this year while Israel’s war on the Gaza
Strip, in which at least 38,848 Palestinians, mostly women and children,
have been killed and 89,459 wounded, goes on."

https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/7/19/how-israeli-settlements-are-taking-over-the-west-bank-as-gaza-war-rages

Some relevant points about the use of IDF " surgical strikes" raise a lot of awkward questions for the Israeli government & I'm sure plenty of people in Israel are thinking the same.

One point that is hard to get your head around is that the IDF is getting information on the location of individuals within Hamas from Palestinians.

I know usually they will use a mixture of bribery & blackmail but someone now is still passing on information with the knowledge that scores of civilians will be killed.

You would have to think that the IDF might have more information on the location of any hostages still alive than they are willing to admit.

Just out of interest, is anyone else getting PMs from thread banned users asking to engage about posts in this thread? I got one this morning and I have no interest in replying to them.

If the times of Israel can be believed, the strikes supposedly targeting Dief wouldn't have gone ahead if he was surrounded by Israeli hostages. So it could be the IDF and Israeli intelligence know more about where other hostages are but can't come up with a plan that would free them without mass casualties amongst the hostages. The others leaders of Hamas that are still alive won't be making the same mistake as Dief made. Although we still don't even know if he was actually killed or not.

Joe boasted in a recent interview that no one has done more for Palestinians than he has. Maybe he was mixing up Israelis and Palestinians. Who ever takes over there will be no great change in American policy towards Israel. It's going to be a more difficult path for European nations after the ICJ ruling on Friday. They will find it harder to ignore the ruling.

Great. A new Palestine with a few Chinese airbases in it would upset a lot of countries. Especially those countries who supplied the murder weapons to Israel.

I take it you mean appalling not appealing..

This from the Washington Post.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered a defiant address before Congress on Wednesday, castigating critics of Israel’s war in Gaza as either motivated by Iran or antisemitism. The Israeli leader boasted about Israeli efforts to limit civilian casualties and allow humanitarian aid into the Palestinian enclave, a view that contradicts with the United Nations and international aid groups. While dozens of liberal Democrats boycotted the remarks, Republicans offered boisterous applause and many Democratic leaders clapped and stood up during various moments of the speech. 

I think he's the fall guy. The genocide will be normalised and he'll take the fall as the one who went too far.

Is this conjecture on your part or a statement of fact. I ask because if we believe some western press outlets no dual citizens or westerners ever arrested for spying in Iran are actually spies, instead they are all political pawns. While I believe that is possible in some cases- perhaps even in the case you mention. Is this really plausible in every case Political Analyst?

I mean are we going to deny that spies operate in allied countries never mind those of foes. With this in mind we know the FBI have been kept very busy over the years with Mossad activity in America. It just might be possible then that some foreigners arrested by Iranian intelligence for spying are actually spies .