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In reply to the discussion: I'm pretty tired of being called antisemitic just because I criticize Israel and their government. [View all]radius777
(3,814 posts)71. And Netanyahu long enabled Hamas
in a cynical strategy of divide and conquer, to prevent the possibility of a two state solution:
https://www.npr.org/2023/11/02/1210076717/everybody-got-it-wrong-how-did-israel-fail-to-detect-hamas-planned-invasion
GROSS: Netanyahu's 2008 campaign slogan was strong against Hamas. And in a campaign video he pledged, we will not stop the Israeli Defense Forces, we will finish the job. We will topple the terror regime of Hamas. But you write that over Netanyahu came to see Hamas as a way to balance power against the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank. And the Palestinian Authority has sought a peace agreement with Israel in return for a Palestinian state. So over time, Netanyahu started to, in his own way, support Hamas - like, help Hamas. Can you explain how he did that - like, what he gave Hamas and why?
MAZZETTI: Sure. This was, in essence, a kind of divide-and-conquer strategy for Netanyahu. But it was a sort of cynical strategy by Netanyahu that was very controversial in the past, and some past ministers of his resigned over it. But it was a sort of way to balance Hamas from - with the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, to sort of allow Netanyahu to say publicly, well, I have no real partners. I've got Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. They're indistinguishable. Hamas wants the eradication of Israel. And so therefore, we can never really have peace with the Palestinians. And so by strengthening Hamas, he sort of put them on the same plane as the Palestinian Authority. And it allowed him, in essence, to sort of slow roll the peace process and sort of make it - kick it down the road so there was never real pressure on him to sit down at the table and talk about a Palestinian state.
GROSS: Netanyahu's 2008 campaign slogan was strong against Hamas. And in a campaign video he pledged, we will not stop the Israeli Defense Forces, we will finish the job. We will topple the terror regime of Hamas. But you write that over Netanyahu came to see Hamas as a way to balance power against the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank. And the Palestinian Authority has sought a peace agreement with Israel in return for a Palestinian state. So over time, Netanyahu started to, in his own way, support Hamas - like, help Hamas. Can you explain how he did that - like, what he gave Hamas and why?
MAZZETTI: Sure. This was, in essence, a kind of divide-and-conquer strategy for Netanyahu. But it was a sort of cynical strategy by Netanyahu that was very controversial in the past, and some past ministers of his resigned over it. But it was a sort of way to balance Hamas from - with the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, to sort of allow Netanyahu to say publicly, well, I have no real partners. I've got Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. They're indistinguishable. Hamas wants the eradication of Israel. And so therefore, we can never really have peace with the Palestinians. And so by strengthening Hamas, he sort of put them on the same plane as the Palestinian Authority. And it allowed him, in essence, to sort of slow roll the peace process and sort of make it - kick it down the road so there was never real pressure on him to sit down at the table and talk about a Palestinian state.
His RW gov't in the leadup to 10-7 terror attack had been antagonizing Palestinians culminating in the IDF's raid of the sacred Al-Aqsa mosque during Ramadan, which Hamas named their terror attack after:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/hamas-releases-report-clarifying-operation-al-aqsa-flood/3115099
Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and aimed at refuting Israel's claims, said Operation Al-Aqsa Flood was a necessary step and a natural reaction against Israel's plans to eliminate the Palestinian cause, seize lands, Judaize the Palestinian lands, and establish complete control over Al-Aqsa Mosque and holy sites.
Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and aimed at refuting Israel's claims, said Operation Al-Aqsa Flood was a necessary step and a natural reaction against Israel's plans to eliminate the Palestinian cause, seize lands, Judaize the Palestinian lands, and establish complete control over Al-Aqsa Mosque and holy sites.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Al-Aqsa_clashes
A series of violent confrontations occurred between Palestinians and Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem in April 2023. After the evening Ramadan prayer, Palestinians barricaded themselves inside the mosque, prompted by reports that Jews planned to sacrifice a goat at the site (which is forbidden by Israeli law). In response, Israeli police raided the mosque in riot gear, injuring 50 people[1] and arresting at least 400.[3]
In the aftermath of the clashes, Palestinian militant groups[4] fired rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip and Lebanon acts broadly construed as a response to the events at Al-Aqsa.
...
On 7 October 2023, Hamas launched a major surprise attack on Israel with rocket barrage and an incursion. The commander of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Mohammed Deif, claimed the attack was conducted in response to "desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque".
A series of violent confrontations occurred between Palestinians and Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem in April 2023. After the evening Ramadan prayer, Palestinians barricaded themselves inside the mosque, prompted by reports that Jews planned to sacrifice a goat at the site (which is forbidden by Israeli law). In response, Israeli police raided the mosque in riot gear, injuring 50 people[1] and arresting at least 400.[3]
In the aftermath of the clashes, Palestinian militant groups[4] fired rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip and Lebanon acts broadly construed as a response to the events at Al-Aqsa.
...
On 7 October 2023, Hamas launched a major surprise attack on Israel with rocket barrage and an incursion. The commander of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Mohammed Deif, claimed the attack was conducted in response to "desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque".
So while Netanyahu may not have LIHOP, it's surely an event he contributed to and used as a pretext for his aims, in the same way that Bush admin used 9-11 to justify their wars.
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I'm pretty tired of being called antisemitic just because I criticize Israel and their government. [View all]
Lunabell
Feb 2024
OP
I put many on ignore during the 2012 election, trying to make staying here feel less awful.
sybylla
Feb 2024
#114
Has there been an explanation yet of the hours-long delay of the IDF's response...
brush
Feb 2024
#45
One poster, and it's probably true, said that won't come out until Netanyahu is out...
brush
Feb 2024
#96
That's not a CT. He wanted Palestinians divided, so he wasn't aggressive enough against Hamas.
LeftInTX
Feb 2024
#91
"the Dem base ... tends to view this war as genocide." No, the actual base knows the correct definition of the word
betsuni
Feb 2024
#98
Can you name another conflict on DU with even a fraction of the same criticism and condemnation?
Arazi
Feb 2024
#19
""How about the Kurds?"" You should know very well that THAT was a Trump admin decision. It didn't go over well most
TeamProg
Feb 2024
#49
I guess you weren't around during the US invasion of Iraq. The prevailing opinion was highly critical of bombing
Martin68
Feb 2024
#26
Your blithe "move along" is very revealing. You are clearly not someone who is ready to engage in civil discourse
Martin68
Feb 2024
#44
I can come up with SIX various examples. 1. Russia -we had conversations about genocide of the Chechens.
TeamProg
Feb 2024
#60
I don't suppose you've heard of or read anything by Timothy Snyder, have you?
Crunchy Frog
Feb 2024
#66
Arazi, your vague "the rest who are suddenly dwelling solely on the I/P war" is a strawman and nothing more.
Martin68
Feb 2024
#102
And that's your explanation? You're good with that? You don't think it's over-retaliation?
brush
Feb 2024
#68
Hold on, no SINGLE poster here is attacking anyone's chosen religion, alright? I have seen NOTHING to suspect anyone
TeamProg
Feb 2024
#47
I've been accused of being an antisemite on here for being critical of Israel.
Crunchy Frog
Feb 2024
#32
I can think of no war that comes close to this destruction of Gaza and numbers of dead women and children along with
TeamProg
Feb 2024
#65
Okay, I'm sorry. I think I got you mixed up with another DUer who has a similar "A" name.
Sky Jewels
Feb 2024
#83
You must have mystic powers to know who has criticized who over their lives.
Chainfire
Feb 2024
#109
Huh, what? Where is that here? To be clear, that is what we're talking about. Being accused of antisemitism here on D U
TeamProg
Feb 2024
#72
I'll crawl out on a limb and jump around on it and say I've never had a good word for Netanyahu or Likud
TheKentuckian
Feb 2024
#90
As far are the Youth/POC are concerned, this will be their world going forward
SouthernDem4ever
Feb 2024
#125
When you criticize Israel and their government, do you make a distinction between the two?
Beastly Boy
Feb 2024
#81
Not exactly what I addressed in my post, but your question illustrates how to not voice your concern or
Beastly Boy
Feb 2024
#105
Often missing from discussions are how Palestinian refugees are treated by Lebanon
LeftInTX
Feb 2024
#103
Remember, people, Netanyahu is a friend of Jared Kushner's father. Just saying. Also, he's not Israel.
Joinfortmill
Feb 2024
#104