How dare Israel for shooting back! The outrage! Hamas only wants to kill all the Israelis. Can’t they come to some compromise, such as only killing half of them? Next year, they can kill half of those remaining. Lather-rinse and repeat.
Here in Europe we have a rather different view on the subject. While we don’t support terrorist attacks Hamas and the other Palestinian groups are fighting for self-rule and independence on their own home. Since they do not have enough resources for a conventional army they resort to guerrilla tactics. The Israelis haven’t shunned from doing the same things in the past. One example was the King David Hotel bombing.
Yup. Especially if your generations-long war to annihilate your rich and powerful neighbor has condemned your people to poverty and squalor, and even more especially if your religion teaches that your poverty and squalor are all your rich and powerful neighbor’s fault.
Which doesn’t really change that the early Zionists were using terrorist tactics to get what they wanted. So maybe there’s some sort of karma that the state that resulted from these actions is in turn subject to terrorist attacks.
But, as you say, one of these things is not like the other. The early Zionist attacks were primarily directed against government targets. The rocket attacks are aimed at civilian targets and timed to result in maximum newsworthy casualties. The rocket attacks are in some ways a proxy war, funded and supplied by various states.
It also needs to be remembered that the King David Hotel was the British military headquarters at the time it was attacked, and thus a valid and legitimate military target for guerrillas.
Also, unlike the Palestinians, the Jews at the time phoned in multiple warnings that bombs had been placed in the hotel and warned people to leave.
The bomb killed people outside of the hotel–people on the road outside and nearby buildings. Not all the people killed inside the hotel were British military.
Did the Irgun warn people passing outside the building and in adjacent buildings about the bomb? Maybe the Brits weren’t giving in when they carved out Israel, maybe they were extracting revenge.
Last I checked, the Palistinians had self rule and territory they control. They would have more control if they weren’t so dedicated to killing all the jews.
They keep telling me that elections have consequences. It used to be that wars had consequences as well. That is, losing a war actually meant the possibility not just of loss of life but losing the very existence of your country or substantial parts of it.
We have judges to settle matters so they don’t fester forever. Wars are for the same purpose. When they are not, it is just misery. Civilized people seem not to know or remember this.
How dare Israel for shooting back! The outrage! Hamas only wants to kill all the Israelis. Can’t they come to some compromise, such as only killing half of them? Next year, they can kill half of those remaining. Lather-rinse and repeat.
/sarc
Here in Europe we have a rather different view on the subject. While we don’t support terrorist attacks Hamas and the other Palestinian groups are fighting for self-rule and independence on their own home. Since they do not have enough resources for a conventional army they resort to guerrilla tactics. The Israelis haven’t shunned from doing the same things in the past. One example was the King David Hotel bombing.
So it’s ok to kill civilians if you’re broke?
Yup. Especially if your generations-long war to annihilate your rich and powerful neighbor has condemned your people to poverty and squalor, and even more especially if your religion teaches that your poverty and squalor are all your rich and powerful neighbor’s fault.
But that can’t be right since it’s all Allah’s will. I’m just too dhimmi to understand I guess.
One of these things is not like the other. The Israelis in the late forties were trying to create a nation. Hamas is trying to destroy one.
Which doesn’t really change that the early Zionists were using terrorist tactics to get what they wanted. So maybe there’s some sort of karma that the state that resulted from these actions is in turn subject to terrorist attacks.
But, as you say, one of these things is not like the other. The early Zionist attacks were primarily directed against government targets. The rocket attacks are aimed at civilian targets and timed to result in maximum newsworthy casualties. The rocket attacks are in some ways a proxy war, funded and supplied by various states.
Ya, this looks like Iran trying to keep Israel occupied at home instead of playing any away games.
It also needs to be remembered that the King David Hotel was the British military headquarters at the time it was attacked, and thus a valid and legitimate military target for guerrillas.
Also, unlike the Palestinians, the Jews at the time phoned in multiple warnings that bombs had been placed in the hotel and warned people to leave.
The bomb killed people outside of the hotel–people on the road outside and nearby buildings. Not all the people killed inside the hotel were British military.
Did the Irgun warn people passing outside the building and in adjacent buildings about the bomb? Maybe the Brits weren’t giving in when they carved out Israel, maybe they were extracting revenge.
Last I checked, the Palistinians had self rule and territory they control. They would have more control if they weren’t so dedicated to killing all the jews.
They keep telling me that elections have consequences. It used to be that wars had consequences as well. That is, losing a war actually meant the possibility not just of loss of life but losing the very existence of your country or substantial parts of it.
We have judges to settle matters so they don’t fester forever. Wars are for the same purpose. When they are not, it is just misery. Civilized people seem not to know or remember this.