Really makes you think about why Hamas is so radicalized, doesn't it? It's not like you can pull a Muslim out of a hat and radicalize them. People in a stable, healthy, and fair socioeconomic position do not see violence as an answer. People who live under constant oppression, inequality, and fear do.
And the irony is that Israel allowed Hamas to be funded by Arabic countries 25 years ago when it was a way to weaken Arafat and the PLO. Everything in this area is fucked beyond parody. No authority on either side has any idea about morality.
I'm sorry if this is a stupid question, but if half of them want peace and are secular, why don't they just leave and go live somewhere else?
They're living in a theocratic state that invaded the population living there. It seems a little incongruous with being secular and peaceful as a person, right?
As a secular person myself, I can't understand living under a theocracy like that. Also the fact that it's an ethnostate... It feels like anyone living there is implicitly supporting them.
What makes the problem hard is that there are a lot of dickheads on both sides, not just the governments. You can be an oppressed victim AND a dick. These things are not mutually exclusive, unfortunately.
Plus Israel's dickery gets blind support from America. I'd guess if the Americans demanded actual concessions from Israel this would no longer be a problem, they'd have two states already. As it is, they have every economic and political incentive to just squeeze the Palestinians harder.
This part always makes me feel ambivalent about the Israelites in the conflict. Israeli citizens are complicit victims, and that's a contradiction but it's also true. Civilians are getting hurt and dying and that's not okay. However those same Israeli citizens are also supporting a basically genocidal government. Thousands of guidanceless rockets were fired at Isreal, are they expected not to respond? Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been victimized for their entire lives, are they expected not to respond?
It's been 17 years since the last election. Assuming only 18 and up could vote, that means only people current around 34 and up could vote. So the bulk of Palestinians didn't even have a chance to vote in that election. Not to mention that they were given the choice between a corrupt faction (Fatah) and a possible less corrupt faction (Hamas).
I am so afraid this message is getting lost. There has been a deliberate push to paint this latest incident to be the reason that neighborhoods had to be flattened and civilians slaughtered.
Conveniently, the Palestinian government is denying all citizens the right to vote because those who live in Jerusalem would not be included. It helps Hamas keep power while pinning blame elsewhere.
They scheduled one for last year to get on Biden's good side, but that never happened.
also that age population pyramid indicates a substantially higher death rate in young adults than is usual which I am going to assume has to do with the IDF
Hamas sucks, I wish they were never allowed to assume any power. But if Hamas doesn't control the water, electricity, food, currency, internet, or borders in Gaza; who should the Palestinians revolt against?
Sure but you try being killed and kicked out of your homes. I'm sure you would not like the people who are doing it either. Israel has created this mess.
People forget Israel is the one with the power and creating this issue. If Israel actually backs off and treats Palestine as at least human, then I think (and hope) most people will see that Hamas needs to be destroyed as they are a terrorist group.
I mean if you live in a country controlled by a terrorist group that kills anyone who is not their side, and someone goes to your door and asks if you support them... What would you say?
It's easy to dismiss this issue by thinking they have the same freedom of speech as we do in the west, and they can have political opinions without any repercussion.
Hamas is the only group in this world standing up for the Palestinian people, so I would support them too, we're I locked up in that open air prison, my family and friends being constantly murdered for profit.
Yes, we must understand that not only do Gazan Palestinians as a majority support Hamas, but Hamas is a force for good and they are correct for doing so. Sure, after decolonization, start fighting for a better representative, but for now Hamas is the best shot they have at not being genocided.
This same framework is used every time there is a broad movement which chooses, with good reason, for a strong group which can accomplish their goals. "Socialism is fine but Stalin did it bad" but then the purity fetish prevents the original goal from ever being achieved. Don't bother convincing people socialism is good but Stalin bad. No Stalin is good and so I socialism.
We must remember that Israel made a big fucking point of destroying the prominent secular and communist Palestinian factions. I don't like Hamas, they're just the only big org left for people in Gaza.
If by "done more" you mean "gotten civilians killed" and by "aid" you mean "militant religious zealotry", then you're absolutely correct. Otherwise, eat a dick you terrorist bootlicker goon.
Hamas has supporters because they are the only one who fight. If tomorrow, Hamas disappears, there will be another group that Palestinians would support and another and another until there are no reasons for the Palestinians to resist
you don't need to like them or anything (this is not liberalism and freedom of association is not real), our morals or opinions can't stop the mechanism that is taking place in the place
We must demise EU. Go back to our sovereignty. This institution is not serving us.
UA war has exacerbated racism, now this wildcard given to the zionist entity is even more disgusting.
Actually the big forces carving out lands for them completely irresponsibly like they're all the same has doomed them to be in a state of war for as long as they exist.
Religion exacarbates the problem and creates extremism but violence would very well exist without it.
The last bit of sympathy the west had for Muslims vanished after 9/11. The US helped them out as much as it benefited them in Afghanistan against the Russians, and we had a last hurrah for Kosovo when they were being massacred by the Serbs.
But that's gone now. You've gone from slightly insular neighbours, to terrifying beardy men with hooks for hands who hate our way of life. That's Bin Laden's legacy.
Western support for Israel is far from unanimous, but our indifference to Palestine is. Israel could bomb Gaza to dust and bulldoze it into the sea, and at this point the most you'll hear from us is a stern "steady on lads".
I don’t know who exactly the “we” and “you” are referring to in your comment. But the Irish have been long been supporters of the Palestinian people no doubt due to their experience during the Troubles. I’d say the British people (not necessarily the government) support Palestine too. My brother has been to a number of pro-Palestine marches in the UK before this latest escalation of violence.