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Hamas doings of Oct 7 are its undoing!
My prayers and thoughts, like most of the world, has been on Israel/Palestine since Oct 7, and, this is the third comment, where I have tried (repeat tried) to ‘predict’ conversations behind the scenes based upon real time events.?
Objective is finding a way forward where all sides lose/win.
The comment includes:
-Summary of Gaza, from evacuation (image) to tunnels to hospitals to communication block out and so on
-Saudi summit on the Israel/Hamas conflict, photo-op for their respective countries
- Hamas push back, its doing is its undoing in real time
-West Bank, recent headlines to settlers to history (B’TSELEM) …“Right now, the extreme settlers are violating Israeli law, and they are harming the ability of Israel to meet or to face its real enemies, meaning Hamas and Hezbollah,” Gilad Kariv, Labor Party.?
-President Biden Polls, A timely response, not yet forthcoming, from Netanyahu shows the power Biden has/doesn't have, and implications for US projections of power.
-Two State solution by Labor Party Gilad Kariv, ‘in the end the Palestinian Authority is not Hamas and Hamas is not the Palestinian Authority. Hamas is trying to dissolve this differentiation, and the Israeli far extreme right is trying to do the same.”
-Questions for Peace, like, Isn't it time to humanize the suffering of the Palestinian families/civilians by showing their daily life in Gaza, West Bank, east Jerusalem??
-Conclusion, ‘only light can repel darkness,’ Vivian Silver?
Summary of Gaza
Brief summary: Intelligence failure by Netanyahu administration, How Years of Israeli Failures on Hamas Led to a Devastating Attack - The New York Times ,? Palestinians fleeing south on Salah al-Din road, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/08/thousands-flee-gaza-under-watch-israeli-tanks ,
to tunnels in Gaza, The Tunnels of Gaza - The New York Times and use of exploding gels Israeli forces explode Hamas tunnel under Gazan Hospital ,? to hospitals, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/11/13/israel-hamas-gaza-hospitals-un/ and proof of Hamas command centers under hospitals by Israel yet to be verified Is Hamas hiding in Gaza’s main hospital? Israel’s claim is now a focal point in a dayslong stalemate | The Hill ,? to ripe conditions for hunger and disease, In Gaza, fleeing refugees face hunger and disease: 'We are in the Dark Ages’ - BBC News and communications blackout exacerbating situation Aid to Gaza halted with communications down for a second day, as food and water supplies dwindle | AP News ,? and so on, summarized Israel-Hamas war: List of key events, day 38 | Israel-Palestine conflict News | Al Jazeera .
Secretary of State Blinken comments on Gaza from Oct 12 to Nov 10.
‘Blinken tells Israel "we will always be there by your side" (Oct 12)
‘Blinken envisions Palestinians realizing their legitimate right to self-determination’ (Oct 24)
‘Blinken says Palestinian "civilians should not suffer the consequences" for Hamas’ (Nov 3)
‘Blinken says Hamas can’t run Gaza, but Israel can’t occupy it either’ (Nov 8)
‘Blinken condemns Gaza death toll’ (Nov 10)
Saudi Arabia Summit on Palestine
Saudi Arabia, under Crown Prince/de-facto leader, Mohammed bin Salman | Biography, Education, & Facts | Britannica , is flexing its muscles, from financial to political to diplomatic. At last week's Saudi Summit in Riyadh, ‘[B]lame for the war and the destruction of lives and property was heaped unilaterally on Israel and its supporters. No-one criticized Hamas for its 7 October…this summit and its intended message of unity was aimed at Israel's biggest backer - the United States. Leaders want the Biden administration and the West in general to exert sufficient pressure on Israel to stop the war altogether.’?
Thus, the summit was more of a photo-op to show a united front for their country’s respective population.
Hamas Pushback
The (surprise) massacre on October 7, by Hamas, 1200 Israeli civilian deaths and 250 hostages, has actually set in motion a chance for Israel/Palestine peace, Israel security and Palestinian self determination, and (potential) ideological demise of Hamas and (potential) undoing of PM Netanyahu.?
[It can be said the Oct 7, heinous act done by Hamas to revive itself in the eyes of Palestinians What Palestinians Really Think of Hamas | Foreign Affairs by way of violence https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/08/world/middleeast/hamas-israel-gaza-war.html . What has Hamas delivered to Palestinian people in Gaza since elected (by plurality, not majority) in 2006?..‘...Hamas failure. The group has not managed to inflame the Middle East as was their want, with escalation not looking likely at this stage. And while there may be pro-Palestinian marches occurring in the progressive West, the evidence is that the Arab world is turning against Hamas. As Jake Wallis Simons, the editor of The Jewish Chronicle, has suggested: “Anecdotally, it seems that the merciless, drug-fueled hyper-violence meted out by Hamas savages has provoked queasiness and concern even among natural supporters of the Palestinian cause.” https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/irans-betrayal-leaves-hamas-nowhere-to-go/ar-AA1k55n1 ]
First, Iran, a proxy supporter for Hamas, part of Axis of Resistance/Evil. ?‘Iran's supreme leader delivered a clear message to the head of Hamas when they met in Tehran in early November, according to three senior officials: You gave us no warning of your Oct. 7 attack on Israel and we will not enter the war on your behalf. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Ismail Haniyeh that Iran - a longtime backer of Hamas - would continue to lend the group its political and moral support, but wouldn't intervene directly…The regime's revolutionary ideology is based on opposition to America and Israel, but its leaders are not suicidal, they want to stay in power.’ Insight: Iran's 'Axis of Resistance' against Israel faces trial by fire | Reuters ?
Second, ‘Three sources close to Hezbollah said the Lebanese group was also taken by surprise by Hamas' devastating assault last month that killed 1,200 Israelis. They said its fighters were not even on alert in villages near the border that were frontlines in its 2006 war with Israel, and had to be rapidly called up. "We woke up to a war," said a Hezbollah commander.’
‘One of the sources said Hamas wanted Hezbollah to strike deeper into Israel with its massive arsenal of rockets but that Hezbollah believed this would lead Israel to lay waste to Lebanon without halting its attack on Gaza.’
Third, ‘Hamas, the ruling group of Gaza, is fighting for its survival against an avenging Israel…Hamas' military commander Mohammed Deif ? (quoted as saying] "Our brothers in the Islamic resistance in Lebanon, Iran, Yemen, Iraq and Syria, this is the day when your resistance unites with your people in Palestine…’Hints of frustration surfaced in subsequent public statements by Hamas leaders including Khaled Meshaal, who in an Oct. 16 TV interview thanked Hezbollah for its actions thus far but said "the battle requires more.”
The West Bank?
First, recent sample headlines
BBC, Palestinian fears grow amid rising Israeli settler attacks - BBC News , Aug 28 (pre Oct 7)
Economist, ?‘Israeli settlers are causing mayhem in the West Bank ’https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2023/11/06/settlers-are-causing-mayhem-in-the-west-bank ?
ABC News,?
LA Time, West Bank violence is growing. Will it open another front in the Israel-Hamas war? https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-11-13/la-fg-israeli-settlers-violence ?
CNN West Bank Palestinians face increasing restrictions and settler violence as Gaza war escalates | CNN ?
Slate Israel-Hamas war: I’m a Palestinian in the West Bank, and no one will stop them from killing us. ?
The Settlers
‘The settler movement is a mix of nationalists, religious ideologues and those seeking new lives. Long established settlements, such as Efrat, have the feel of a well-to-do Southern California bedroom community. Their residents are less extreme than ones living in Kiryat Arba and others. But the aim is the same: Israeli domination. The rhetoric and style vary from vigilantes hunkered at illegal outposts to a more systematic and established air of control that includes trained security forces and working relationships with bordering Palestinian towns…The settler movement embodies the radical right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , who for years has relied on the courts, bureaucracy and the army to blunt any progress toward a two-state solution.’ https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-11-13/la-fg-israeli-settlers-violence ?
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‘“This is our only land. We have no other,” said Mor, 47, a former paratrooper… “We have to be able to sacrifice our relatives. It is my oldest son, the first to call me dad. But we cannot be weak…“I don’t want to carry this gun. I don’t want to go into a bomb shelter two times a day,”? But, he added, the Palestinians “have to realize this land belongs to us.” Mor’s is the pervading sentiment of many settlers, who believe this arid landscape west of the Jordan River, where the Muslim call to prayer mingles with the stun grenades of Israeli soldiers, was granted to them by God…The Hamas attack in October has hardened the settler movement.’
‘In just over five weeks since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted on October 7, at least 190 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Authority’s health ministry. The figure is almost as high as the ministry’s toll of 208 dead for the first nine months of the year up to the start of the war…Iyad Haddad, from the anti-occupation Israeli organization B’Tselem, said “the Israeli army and settlers now have a free hand to fire on Palestinians in the West Bank” in an unprecedented way.’
In response to above, following excerpts from Letters to Editor (LA Times):
‘We are Jews who believe that Palestinians have the right to live on their land and have their own government. Being opposed to the horrendous polices of the Israeli government is not being antisemitic. It is being opposed to the horror that the Israeli government has become.
Leslie Simon and Marc Bender, Woodland Hills’
‘The reprehensible ideas and practices embraced by West Bank settler David Lev and others cited in the article are inconsistent with Judaism.
The Torah is not merely a deed to land. It has numerous conditions and laws…As a Jew and a Zionist, I see the treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank as clearly unacceptable. Anti-peace and racist officials such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir have to go. Norman H. Green, Los Angeles’
‘The Tomb of Abraham should be a symbol of hope for peace in this land…The tomb is unique in that it lies in both the Jewish synagogue and the Muslim mosque, extending across the joint wall of both places of worship. I like to think that such a place, sharing something sacred to Judaism, Islam and Christianity, might be a symbol of how peace might finally come to the holy land. The terror and killings on both sides cannot be sustained. It is only through sharing this land, as with this tomb, that we have hope for peace. Margo Astroth, Encinitas’
President Biden & Settlers
President Biden is watching the polls, with a higher disapproval than approval ratings, and, presidential elections less than a year away, is banking on his influence with Netanyahu to minimize civilian casualties and pause, temporary? humanitarian? fill in the blank, including in the West Bank. A timely response, not yet forthcoming, from Netanyahu shows the power Biden has/doesn't have, and implications for US projections of power.
?Biden “... has urged the Israeli government to rein in radical settlers, saying they were “pouring gasoline” on a conflict that endangers the Middle East: “It has to stop,” he said in late October. “They have to be held accountable. It has to stop now….[But] Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who speaks with biblical zeal of Jewish vigilance and has been convicted of racism charges against Arabs, has called for the arming of West Bank settlements.” West Bank violence is growing. Will it open another front in the Israel-Hamas war?
Brief History of West Bank
From B’TSELEM, Israel Human Rights Center for Occupied Territories, website (2014):
‘Israel began a massive project of declaring state land in the West Bank in 1979, following the High Court of Justice ruling in Elon Moreh, which restricted the government’s power to establish settlements on private Palestinian land that had been seized by military order, as had been the practice until then. The Israeli government announced it would build settlements only on land that had been declared state land. However, the reserve of state land Israel had “inherited” from the Jordanians was limited. Hence, by 2002, Israel had declared almost 100,000 hectares of West Bank land as state land. In Area C, which is under full Israeli control, there are currently 120,000 hectares of state land, comprising about 36.5% of Area C (22% of the West Bank).
Comprehensive research conducted by B’Tselem showed that state land had been declared over the years in breach of the basic norms of due process and natural justice. Palestinian residents often did not know that their land had been registered as government property, and by the time they found out, it was too late to appeal the decision. The burden of proof always rests on the Palestinian claiming ownership of the land, and even if the landowner manages to prove the land is his, in some cases, it would still be registered to the state on the claim that it had been handed over to a settlement “in good faith”.
Even if state land declarations had been done lawfully, according to international law, the land, including land declared prior to 1967, remains public land that is meant to serve the population of the occupied territory, that is, the Palestinian public, rather than Israel or its citizens. In practice, Israel prohibits Palestinian construction and development on state land almost completely, designating it almost entirely for the construction and development of Israeli settlements, whose very establishment is a breach of international law: 94% of state land in Area C is located in the jurisdiction of settlements and their local councils.'
Polls influence Policy?
The rising civilian casualties in Gaza/West Bank impacting global opinion with calls for cease-fire and humanitarian efforts?
‘Some 68% of respondents in the Reuters/Ipsos poll said they [US public] agreed with a statement that "Israel should call a ceasefire and try to negotiate….U.S. public support for Israel's war against Hamas militants in Gaza is eroding and most Americans think Israel should call a ceasefire to a conflict that has ballooned into a humanitarian crisis , according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll." US public support for Israel drops; majority backs a ceasefire, Reuters/Ipsos shows .
Two State Solution
‘Labor Party Member of Knesset Gilad Kariv resurrected the two-state caucus, an idea that had been dormant during the Bibi Netanyahu years…Look, people need to understand the Israeli far right has a very deep interest to destroy any differentiation between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority…They are saying it out loud. They want to create a situation where Israelis say we are fighting with the Palestinian Authority in the Occupied Territories. We need to do whatever we can in order to secure the existing differentiation between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. I have many bad things to say about different aspects of their work and the fact that in so many opportunities they missed the chance to move forward with the political process, but in the end the Palestinian Authority is not Hamas and Hamas is not the Palestinian Authority. Hamas is trying to dissolve this differentiation, and the Israeli far extreme right is trying to do the same.”
Kariv was elected to the Knesset in 2021 as the first Reform rabbi to serve in a body that is overrepresented by ultra-Orthodox rabbis whose agenda is to promote a theocracy…Since the war started, he has turned his focus to the once-discarded idea that has gained new currency in recent weeks. “The only way to secure the ability of the two national communities that are sharing the same piece of land to live in peace and prosperity is the two-state solution…The events on October 7 didn’t change our basic belief…we know that usually after moments of crisis, after wars, after violence, there is also an opportunity to renew the political process.’
“We should insist on three principles,” he told me. “One is that Hamas cannot control the Gaza Strip. Two, that Israel will not recontrol the lives of two million Palestinians. And third, with the involvement of the international community, the moderate Arab countries, we need to create a new civilian reality in the Gaza Strip that will promote a new political process between Israel and the Palestinians.”??
In occupied West Bank, “Right now, the extreme settlers are violating Israeli law, and they are harming the ability of Israel to meet or to face its real enemies, meaning Hamas and Hezbollah,” Kariv said. “My demand is to my government to make sure that Israeli citizens in the occupied territories—the extreme settlers, and it’s important to say that we are talking about a small group among the settlers—but they are violent enough in order to create real danger to Palestinian civilians. We need to be very clear, this is the duty of the Israeli government, the IDF, and the Israeli police: to prevent those extreme settlers from violating Israeli law. As opposition members, we are placing this issue on the Israeli public discourse, together with Israeli civil society. We are tracking the events in those Palestinian communities.”
Questions for Peace
-Isn't it time to humanize the suffering of the Palestinian families/civilians by showing their daily life in Gaza, West Bank, east Jerusalem??
-Who is afraid of a two state solution? Palestinian civilians? Iran and its proxies? Netanyahu/war cabinet? Defense industry?
-What are the nay-sayers of the two state solution afraid of? Peace that builds a future.. Build on legacy of Vivian Silver, ‘only light can repel darkness,’ co-founder of Women Wage Pace,? Jews and Arabs pay tribute to peace activist killed in Hamas attack - Digital Journal ??
-How do you eliminate an ideology based on violence, as more violence feeds into it, and civilians are the direct/immediate collateral damage and the cycle continues with a larger number of casualties??
-Absence of war is not peace, hence, what does post war Palestine look like for Palestinians and Israelis??
-What does a multinational security (under guidance of the UN), as an interim measure,? look like, including funding for reconstruction in Gaza? During the interim period, what does an ‘updated’ Palestinian Authority party look like to represent Palestinian people?
-Does the Biden/US, which provides nearly $3B in military aid per year to Israel, have influence on Netanyahu and his right wing cabinet for a cease fire two and then a state solution? Will Biden formulate a new approach based upon what the poll numbers/his numbers are saying for a cease fire, as elections are coming?
-If Israel, today via Netanyahu, said at the end of the war to eliminate Hamas, let's start negotiations for a two state solution modeled after Oslo, and start with addressing the West Bank issue under international law, it's more likely to happen than if Iran (its proxies), US (its proxies), EU, and even Palestinian Authority raised the idea. Plus redemption for Netanyahu or beyond hope??
-Does Netanyahu want to resolve the occupied West Bank or beholden to settler votes/ideology??
-Instead of BDS towards Israel, why not a global campaign of ‘Buy Palestine,’ like olive oil, with many olive farms in the West Bank being destroyed by settlers? This is positive screening over exclusion/negative screening.
Conclusion
‘[O]one horror does not justify another" as Israeli forces wage war in Gaza.’ EU's Borrell tells Israel: 'One horror doesn’t justify another' | Reuters .
‘...international community had failed "politically and morally" to create a durable settlement to the long-running conflict between Israelis and Palestinians and it was now time to redouble efforts to find a two-state solution.’ EU foreign policy chief Borrell makes proposals for post-war Gaza | Reuters ?
If the above questions can be addressed openly and honestly, then ‘light has repelled darkness,’ and peace is possible!
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12 个月If the photo doesnt sends the message, i do not know how else would. Its an ugly, egotistical adult war which I feel comes to no happy ending either way. It goes without saying, leaders are either blind, deaf or both. There just so many LIES being told abt 7th Oct and until today I do not see any HAMAS being killed. Is there even a HAMAS? All i see are civilians….or maybe I missed the news???