A hundred years is a long time for this area. The Jews have been getting kicked out and taking back this piece of dirt for all of recorded history. Trust me... every single person in this area of our planet knows full well that the weak have no rights and they haven't for centuries and probably never will.
I agree with all of that but the reality is that the only place on the planet that we have had the same refugees in the same place for 70 years is here and it is because these people are funded... if they were not funded they would not stay there and die they would go somewhere else. The hate has been around for a lot longer than 70 years.
Gaza isn't their most of their home, they were forced there by Israelis both as refugees and forced marches. The hope was that they would leave or die.
They were always used for bringing in arms, that was their entire purpose. The reason for the punishment (by both Israel and Egypt BTW, funny how you glossed over that fact) was that they elected a terrorist government. You can't elect a terrorist government and not have blowback. It was just yet another stupid move by the Palestinian people. They do things to hurt themselves, then they blame everyone else for it. If those in Gaza were smart (which clearly isn't the case) they'd vote out the terrorist government and replace it with something legitimate which would allow countries to normalize relations with them. Once they've earned a bit of trust back, borders likely open up and the people of Gaza will have a chance to leave....and they should take it.
Hamas was more than a terrorist gov't as you call it. They were supported by Israel in the 90's as a counter to the PLO despite their extremist views. They gained popularity in Gaza not for their attacks on Israel but for their charity work in helping people. Hamas is a terrible governing entity. Regardless, to punish an entire people for the results of election by a massive blockade and intentionally destroying their small budding economy. Israel's goal is not to have Gaza thrive, it is to have Gaza miserable so that as you say, people will leave to Jordan. But let's make sure the facts are known. Israel did not blockade Gaza for electing Hamas, it blockaded Gaza because Hamas refused to recognize Israel, which it wanted a palestinian state of the 1967 borders for.
Not according to Israel and Egypt.....and only their opinions matter if the Palestinians want the borders open. You may think that's wrong, but I disagree. Actions have consequences, elect a terrorist government, be shut off from the outside world. That's just how it works. The blockade is in place to prevent shipments of weapons from coming into the country, pretty much the only thing the terrorist government of Gaza cares about. The situation in Gaza is miserable because the people of Gaza created a miserable situation. They are constantly acting against their own interests, hopefully one day they become smarter.
But what you are stating is factually untrue. Egypt classified Hamas's military wing as a terrorist organization. And Israel does not deny supporting Hamas in the 90's - in fact admits it as a mistake. I am not sure why you are challenging that. Again, the blockade was put in place because Hamas refused to recognize Israel, they initially were stopping goods from being smuggled, it later became weapons. You can not rewrite history. Collective punishment which you are describing is not allowed by the Geneva Conventions by the way.
LOL so you are saying Egypt has Hamas classified as a terrorist organization....which is why they don't view them as a legitimate government, which is why they sealed the border with Gaza. I mean, it's like you almost get it, then you just go the opposite direction at the last second. As to claiming that the blockades are against the Geneva Convention, the blockades have been deemed legal because even if you don't want to acknowledge it, they are preventing weapons from being smuggled in, that was ALWAYS the intent. You really are the one trying to re-write history here.
No I am saying Egypt classified Hamas's military wing as a terrorist organization, not it's political party. When Israel first imposed the blockade it was done because Hamas refused to recognize Israel. That was the reason. This was the offer Israel had given. So no, that is historical fact and I am not sure why you are making up your own version.
I've expressed "outrage" over the policies of the current Israeli government numerous times here over the years. I would consider the settlement policies allowed by that government in the West Bank a form of ethnic cleansing. They have been condemned for it by numerous governments around the world, if memory serves. Whenever a UN resolution addressing it comes up, however, countries like the United States (and not the US alone) veto it. Why? Politics and "national security." I'll add that a military alliance with Israel doesn't change simply because the Israeli government has changed, although the current government, for all practical purposes, has been in place for many years now. Politics in this country impacts the US response to Israeli policies it openly disagrees with. We complain and they (the Israeli government) ignore our complaints, because we continue to give them billions. Heck, the irony is that most American Jews disagree with many of the extremist positions of the current Israeli government, in my humble opinion. It doesn't seem to matter.
Deckard - you are one of the very few who express that. And when folks like yourself do express it, the reaction is an eye-roll from the very people decrying this woman. That's what bothers me.
If they are practicing ethnic cleansing, they suck at it. The Palestinian refugee population has grown from some 720,000(only about 30-50k of the original refugees are still alive) to 4.5 million registered palestinian refugees.
People love to use loaded buzz words. Ethnic Cleansing is one phrase that fits the buzz word description. Is it ethnic cleansing when you force people from their lands against UN resolutions and wall the area off? Demolish their homes? Build your own there and, essentially, tell them to **** off, using force if necessary to achieve those aims? I'm not talking about the results of the major wars in the past. The '48-'49 war that brought about Israeli independence. Suez. The '67 War (I visited Jordan, Egypt, and Lebanon 2 years before), and the 1973 war - those conflicts changed boundaries, but were major conflicts with results the rest of the world, more or less, put up with, even if many didn't like it and said so. The creeping annexation of the West Bank, however, is something else entirely and, in my humble opinion, assuredly ethnic cleansing. A bite here, a bite there, and the nibbling never seems to stop. The Palestinians are forced out, pushed back from the eastern areas of the West Bank. It is creeping ethnic cleansing dressed up with some mumbo-jumbo from the far-right Israeli government meant to mollify appalled Israelis (not all Israelis support the West Bank policies of Likud and their even more extreme allies - far from it) as much as Israel's allies in Europe and America. In my humble opinion. The population growth of the Palestinian people has nothing to do with it.
not sure you intended to have a good question, but quite frankly , it is. Spoiler basically , DNA confirm eye test . same population cleansing
I see, now it is "population" cleansing... Can you please explain what "population" cleansing means cause I don't get it?
You seem confident that something called "population cleansing" is happening. I would like to know what population cleansing is and how it is happening.
Here's my guess, when Israel had different laws for decades stating that Palestinians weren't allowed to use the same amount of water as Israelis that would be a clue. Those tactics have nothing to do with terrorism or fighting terrorism. It only has to do with keeping one population group down or getting rid of them. When Israel has ordinances that prevent Palestinians from having businesses that can compete with Israeli businesses it prevents Palestinians from ever being able to have a self sustaining system in place. That could be a clue. When Israel offers to give back some lands to the Palestinians after building illegal settlements, and the only land they give back is land that isn't sustainable that might indicate that they want to get rid of a certain population. Plenty of these types of things happen, and they aren't really related to stopping of terrorism at all. They are only there to to oppress one population and the other population doesn't have the same set of rules. Any group of people is going to strike back at that kind of oppression. That being said, using terrorism as a means to strike back is 100% wrong. There are plenty of Palestinians who would also like to eliminate the Jewish Population. But there is a goal amongst many in the Israeli government to get rid of Palestinians.
