Since it's been a while since we had an Israel/Palestine thread...

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droid

Guest
Of course. Vigilance is our weapon.

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craner

craner

Beast of Burden
It's interesting that the Iranians should be so disinterested in the death spiral of their closest state ally -- that looks like negligence.
 
D

droid

Guest
It's like the Israeli version of the olympics. Happens every four years and they give out medals at the end.
 
D

droid

Guest
Seems like Hamas have significantly increased their rocket capabilities.
 
D

droid

Guest
Syrians using the opportunity to get in a few airstrikes of their own.
 
D

droid

Guest
"Tears streaming from his eyes, Kandil claimed afterward that the boy was killed in an Israeli airstrike, and called for an end to the operation. "What I saw today in the hospital, the wounded and the martyrs, the boy, the martyr Mohammad Yasser, whose blood is still on my hands and clothes, is something that we cannot keep silent about," he said."

The language of the Egyptian PM should be cause for concern for Israel. By far the most outspoken Egyptian response in years.
 
D

droid

Guest
"I hope (a) decision of the UN security council and the attitude of the dominant powers will end Israel's offensive attitude," Erdogan said. "We don't have any relations with Israel left. The countries which have relations with Israel should talk to them."

Chickens coming home to roost.
 
padraig (u.s.)

padraig (u.s.)

a monkey that will go ape
the grim inevitability of it all is really, really depressing to watch ain't it?

I do really wonder what Israel leadership's actual objectives are here - beyond killing a few Hamas operatives and reaffirming the tactical stalemate I mean - and how it fits into the larger picture; Abbas's UN bid, upcoming domestic elections, Iran (always Iran). also looking to see what effect it will have on the unrest in Jordan.

chickens coming to roost I'll believe when it has some concrete effect. which it could. I'm just saying Morsi and Erdogan would not be the first Muslim leaders to talk a fierce game in public and pursue a different course unofficially.

there's a surprising lack of big media coverage here. tbf Petraeus banging his biographer is probably a more important story to follow:rolleyes: tho I imagine coverage will probably ramp up if there is a ground invasion.
 
D

droid

Guest
Yeah, Im not claiming that anything seismic will happen, but unlike 2008 where Israel operated in a relatively stable diplomatic environment, something could happen.

It also seems that so far things have gone very badly. The strikes on Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, though ineffective have exposed a serious intelligence failure, and if things escalate, (which they are bound to), then who knows what Hezbollah have in the bag. Then there's the unknown quantity of Syria, and the curent demonstrations in Jordan.

Israel might be pulling on a thread that leads to the unravelling of 30+ years of strategic stability.
 
padraig (u.s.)

padraig (u.s.)

a monkey that will go ape
well, I think that thread began unraveling last year in Tahrir Square. or really on 19 March 2003 (or 17 January 1991).

that's part of why I'm wondering what the larger strategic goals are, b/c on its face the risk/reward here looks terrible. but nothing (Iran, domestic political concerns) seems very plausible...I dunno, maybe this is just the cycle Israel has locked itself into at this point? but assassinating Jabari was such a calculated move that there must be something, right? I just don't see the logic. endless questions really.

I wonder what Egypt/Turkey...I mean this is all bad, further diplomatic isolation is bad, but at a certain point it's like but can they do? would Egypt really abrogate the treaty? it seems hard to believe. but, who knows.

the Jordanian thing is particularly strange, just the timing of this cut in fuel subsidies perfectly coinciding w/Israel going after Gaza.

here is Glenn Greenwald talking about, among other things how the drone assassination campaign has handcuffed O into supporting shit like this
 
padraig (u.s.)

padraig (u.s.)

a monkey that will go ape
also on a personal note: I happen to know some people who go to the same synagogue as the family of Alex Okrent, the veteran (tho only 29 years old) Obama staffer who collapsed and died of a heart attack in the Chicago campaign HQ in July. his sister wrote an open letter to Obama about his tepid response to Israel bombing Gaza. since I never believed in him the same way she did (or at all) I don't have the same sense of personal betrayal but, I dunno, I found the letter to be pretty moving. worth reading anyway.

here
 
padraig (u.s.)

padraig (u.s.)

a monkey that will go ape
ariel sharon's son suggests that Israel should "flatten all of Gaza" and makes highly appropriate comparisons to Hiroshima and Nagasaki

a decisive conclusion is necessary

update: Eli Yishai - head of Shas and deputy PM - said pretty much the same thing (the the goal is to "send Gaza back to the Middle Ages") which is obviously much worse since unlike Gilad Sharon, who's just a famous guy's son, Yishai is one of the most powerful men in the Israeli govt. of course, he's also the douche who suggested that the 2006 Lebanon War wasn't successful b/c the Israeli soldiers weren't religious enough (yunno, like they were back in the secular, socialist days of 48, 56, 67 and 73), a sentiment that managed the herculean feat of uniting pretty much every segment of Israeli society (including even my dad, a longtime hardline Shas supporter) in opprobrium.
 
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