[tw]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Do you think more Gazans are gonna not die if Tel Aviv loses 10 city blocks?

That is hyperemotional reasoning. Hamas tiny rockets are lucky to even find the Tel Aviv border let alone take out 10 blocks. Only reason Israelis are not massacring Palestinians is world reaction. Israel fears delegitimisation. Israel (Likud - not Israel in general) is killing as many Palestinians as they can get away with.

They took out all Gaza electrical supplies. They destroyed water desalination plants. How to kill as many Palestinians as possible without completely destroying Israel's international credibility? Create a slow death that can be blamed on failed plants.

Throughout the world, condemnation of Israel has increased. As expected of a country run by extremists. In the 1960s, American news services did not even have any news bureaus in Arab countries. Peter Jennings was one of the first to correct that glaring mistake. Slowly Americans are learning the other side of this story. It was never about Jews verse Palestinians. Story includes wacko extremist Likud, Hamas, and many more moderate and disempowered groups.

It was no accident that Likud called for the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin because he participated in the Oslo Accords. Zionism could not accept peace that would undermine their theft of the West Bank. Zionism labels all Palestinians as evil since that creates hate to empower extremists.

70% of America's 7 million Jews now support an Israeli-Palestinian two state solution. While Likud has moved even more right wing extremists to belligerently oppose it. American Jews are increasingly critical of Israel's rising religious extremist nationalism. Due to extremists such as Likud, politics is now driven by a lie that says God gave this land to the Jews.

Most in Gaza are not Hamas. Most are Fatah. However wacko extremist Hamas holds the power. Likud, another wacko extremist organization, assumes anyone in Gaza must be evil and murdered. The UN notes examples of Hamas violating UN safe zones. But most criticism has been strongest, more often, and directed at Israel for intentionally shelling and bombing what Israel knew to be UN safe zones. Israelis did a similar murder of UN observers from Austria, China, Finland and Canada on the Lebanon border - knowing full well where these UN observers were located. The observation post had ten foot letters UN. Israeli army still shelled that observation post *accidentally* 14 separate times in one day. Same country also accidentally attacked the USS Liberty with bombers and then with torpedo boats.

Slowly even liberal Jews in America are withdrawing support for Israel. Because Likud’s open contempt of Arabs is increasing. A recent BBC global poll (before Gaza) reported that negative views of Israel are now twice as large as positive views.

And still, some in the US refuse to admit the problem. A recent NBC News report detailed the air attack and murder of four Palestinians kids playing on a beach. Little different from what Americans did from helicopters by firing on Vietnamese farmers just for fun. NBC management disliked the report and reassigned their reporter. However a major social media campaign against NBC got this NBC reporter reinstated. We still have problems getting the full story due to some in network management.

Hamas is not any better. A Saudi foreign minister defined it best. Just ignore Hamas. Hamas is empowered when someone foolishly attacks all other Palestinians. Had Israel used trade and interchange with the majority of moderate Palestinians, then Hamas would be powerless. But Likud assumes all Gazans are Hamas. Even the murder of four kids while playing football on a beach is considered acceptable. Extremists (ie Hamas) increase power when enemy extremists (Likud) empower them.

Hamas has almost no friends in the Arab world. Egypt has no love of Hamas extremists who even attacked Egyptian troops in the Sinai. Saudis also have no love for Hamas. But Likud empowers Hamas by exercising contempt for and harming a majority (Fatah) in Gaza.

An extremist Knesset even banned its only Arab representative for representing the minority view and advocating civil rights.

An increasing anti-extremist movement among Israeli Jews is demanding civil rights for all non-Jews. Likud considers this a strategic threat to Israel. Their contempt for civil rights creates Likud's greatest fear - delegitimisation. A problem becoming obvious when the World Conference on Racism in 2001 defined Zionism as racism. We know what Zionism wants - the West bank. Send Palestinians back where they came from - an extremist Israeli view similar to 1960s American racism.

Europe is well ahead of America in acknowledging this Likud problem. Especially when Israel (Likud) summoned all European ambassadors to protect Jews in their countries. Then an extremist and former head of Shin Bet (Israel's intelligent agency) warned that Israeli force would be used to protect expatriate Jews. Only N Korea would consider that acceptable behavior.

This is not a nation of moderates. As Israel moves more extremist right, the world is learning how contemptuous Israel is even for civil rights.

Had Israel been lead by moderates, then Hamas would have been powerless. Most Arab nations also want that. Hamas has support only because Israel has been so right wing Likud extremist.