marcus

How amazingly charitable of the occupying power who has suppressed the Palestinian economy by controlling its import/export, controlling its natural resources, holding back tax money they collect on their behalf and hundreds of other ways of holding them back by offering work permits so that the Palestinians can work low wage jobs israelis will not do, but some Palestinians will do, just so they could feed their children.

NBC is forced to reverse its decision and reassign ‪Ayman Mohyeldin‬ back to Gaza! Times are changing--big corporate media are in shambles --this is the clear indication of the power of new media-- WE made this possible: we simple, ordinary, selfless, principled, fair, just and altogether magnificent people who harbor no malice toward anyone--by coming out of our cocoon of indifference, getting ourselves educated, learning about the world around us, caring about it--we are not helpless--quite to the contrary: we are the real SUPERPOWER! NBC reverses; Mohyeldin to return to Gaza to cover ‘Palestinian side of story’

Rockets and missiles are not going to win or end anything. International backing and the isolation of the other side will.

Here is an article from The New York Times that gets into the nitty-gritty. JERUSALEM — AS Hamas fires rockets at Israeli cities and Israel follows up its extensive airstrikes with a ground operation in the Gaza Strip, the most immediate cause of this latest war has been ignored: Israel and much of the international community placed a prohibitive set of obstacles in the way of he Palestinian “national consensus” government that was formed in early June. That government was created largely because of Hamas’s desperation and isolation. The group’s alliance with Syria and Iran was in shambles. Its affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt became a liability after a July 2013 coup replaced an ally, President Mohamed Morsi, with a bitter adversary, Gen. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Hamas’s coffers dried up as General Sisi closed the tunnels that had brought to Gaza the goods and tax revenues on which it depended. Seeing a region swept by popular protests against leaders who couldn’t provide for their citizens’ basic needs, Hamas opted to give up official control of Gaza rather than risk being overthrown. Despite having won the last elections, in 2006, Hamas decided to transfer formal authority to the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah. That decision led to a reconciliation agreement between Hamas and the Palestine Liberation Organization, on terms set almost entirely by the P.L.O. chairman and Palestinian Authoritypresident, Mahmoud Abbas. Israel immediately sought to undermine the reconciliation agreement by preventing Hamas leaders and Gaza residents from obtaining the two most essential benefits of the deal: the payment of salaries to 43,000 civil servants who worked for the Hamas government and continue to administer Gaza under the new one, and the easing of the suffocating border closures imposed by Israel and Egypt that bar most Gazans’ passage to the outside world.

3 attacks on a defenseless population on a tiny strip of land in the past 5 years and it's obvious it hasn't worked. Israel is no more secure than before and more attention is now given to the plight of the Palestinians by the international community. Time is ticking for the Zionist regime.

Guess what happened to her? She was removed from Gaza by CNN. Coincidentally, after filing moving first-hand reports on the deaths of 4 Palestinian children, NBC News pulled one of their star reporters from Gaza. Why are they obstructing good journalism now, just as the ground invasion begins? Who says the Zionist lobby has any influence on the U.S. media?

Here is the video of the cheering: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG0R6OZkMPY

The rockets don't just happen. They're a response to Israel's provocations and attacks. It's exactly what Israel looks for to unleash their mighty American financed military arsenal.

This is a fantastic and important read about the narrative created, in which the Palestinians are accused of violence and provoking Israel to attack: "Does Hamas provoke Israel to attack Gaza? "By far the most consistent and the most definitive aspect of Palestinian resistance to the occupation and theft of their homeland over the decades has been non-violent civil disobedience. Resistance for Palestinians is definitive of who and what they are. They might be a poet like Mahmoud Darwish, a novelist like Ghassan Kanafani, a film-maker like Michel Khleifi, an artist like Mona Hatoum, a feminist like Lila Abu Lughod - but in doing what they do, whatever they do, they oppose and defy the armed robbery of their homeland. But there are also those Palestinians who have taken arms and opposed villainy by violence. As part of this resistance, Hamas is integral to the Palestinian national liberation movement, but like any other forms of resistance, Hamas is not definitive to Palestine." Link

There is nothing identical about their actions and the results.

Yes. Harper is heavily influenced by the Zionist lobby in Canada. This is no secret. But he is in the minority when it comes to the rest of the world. Even when it comes to Western countries. Just so I don't repeat, please see the link above about the BDS movement and momentum.

I disagree. The BDS movement is having an effect. The non-governmental movement has started to hit Israel culturally, academically and economically. Much like how the end of Apartheid South Africa was started. I recommend checking this out to learn a little about the effects and the momentum of the BDS movement.

That is mostly true. Except that Israel continues to hurt itself and there is a shift. The world public opinion has already shifted against the Israeli government and now you're seeing governments also do the same. European governments can no longer sweep Israel's actions under the table. They have already taken action against Israel's occupation and the movement will continue to work against Israel. Israel's actions are no longer sustainable.

Another thread I was posting in on this topic is gone.

Israel will never win with these tactics. Not in the 21st century with instant media coverage. "LOOK WHAT YOU MADE US DO!" -- Israel

Israel and Israel-Firsters’ PR methods: 1. We haven't heard reports of deaths, will check into it 2. The people were killed, but by a faulty Palestinian rocket/bomb 3. OK, we killed them, but they were terrorists 4. OK, they were civilians, but they were being used as human shields 5. OK, there were no fighters in the area, so it was our mistake. But we kill civilians by accident, they do it on purpose 6. OK, we kill far more civilians than they do, but look at how terrible other countries are! 7. Why are you still talking about Israel ? Are you some kind of anti-semite?

Israel has killed more children. This time on a beach. While Israel kills more innocent civilians, it continues to dig its own hole. Thanks to technology, information is readily available for the international community. These arrogant, wicked Zionists are no better than groups like ISIS. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2Xl5EoUfcE More on this: Washington Post

I am not sure which group my government is annexing land from, kidnapping their children, torturing them and killing over 4000 civilians in the past decade, controlling their market, taking over their water and disproportionately sharing the water with them and illegal settlers. I have now seen your attempts at equating Canada's treatment of people to Israel at least five times in the past month and I find it to be weird.

This reminds me of this post:

In this day and age, my government would not be subjecting another group of people to what the Palestinians are experiencing. My government would not be able to get away with killing over 4000 civilians in the past decade, demolishing their homes, limiting their movement through full control of borders, major roads, airports and the sea. My government would not be smashing doors down in the middle of the night to kidnap children away and subject them to torture. My government would not be controlling another people's water, then only give them 1/4 of it back to them, while giving the rest to illegal settlers living on stolen land. These are the acts of a racist apartheid regime which any person who champions human rights would condemn.

Many keep pointing to the three kidnapped and killed settler children as the start of this conflict. This is wrong. 5 Palestinian children were killed by Israeli soldiers in the previous 4 weeks.

Perhaps if Hamas gives out flyers that they will fire homemade rockets into Israel, it will make what they're doing okay. Over 170 Palestinians have been killed. Majority civilians. Israel is targeting homes of family of Hamas members as a collective punishment. Israel is attacking everything Hamas (and more). Since Hamas is the authority in Gaza, then hospitals, administration offices, and everything run by Hamas is a target. This is ridiculous.

This is reality jbg: A recent Israeli Finance Ministry study showed that the phenomenon of boycotts is the largest threat to Israel's economy with a possibility of a 20 percent drop in exports; inflation and thousands of job layoffs should Europe seriously commit to boycott Israeli companies. Link

No. Not all plans.

The display by some Israeli politicians and many Israelis has been quite disturbing in the recent month. 5 days into Israel's disproportionate attack on Gazans has resulted in over 120 people dead with more than 3/4 of them civilians. From the burning of a boy by six Israelis to today, where Israeli airstrikes hit a home for disabled Gazans, killing two and wounding several others. These attacks are being cheered, instead of condemned. Where is the moral standard and moral superiority we are used to hearing about? Here are some videos of a lynch mob, yelling "Death to Arabs". Report after report have come out where Palestinians have been attacked. There was an outrage in social media where a photo went viral showing Israelis, sitting at a hilltop, near the Gaza border, cheering on every bomb and missile that exploded in Gaza. An Israeli lawmaker’s call for genocide of Palestinians gets thousands of Facebook likes. Why are we seeing this more than ever? Many are pointing to a decaying culture. A decaying culture where some Israelis and many Jews outside of Israel are examining and questioning. They are willing to look within and acknowledge what has become of their culture. Here are excerpts from an article in Haaretz. There are no words to describe the horror allegedly done by six Jews to Mohammed Abu Khdeir of Shoafat. Although a gag order bars publication of details of the terrible murder and the identities of its alleged perpetrators, the account of Abu Khdeir’s family — according to which the boy was burned alive — would horrify any mortal. Anyone who is not satisfied with this description, can view the horror movie in which members of Israel’s Border Police are seen brutally beating Tariq Abu Khdeir, the murder victim’s 15-year-old cousin. The Israel Police was quick to label the murderers “Jewish extremists,” meaning they aren’t part of the herd, they are outliers, “wild weeds.” This is the police’s way of trying to justify a sin, to “make the vermin kosher.” But the vermin is huge, and many-legged. It has embraced the soldiers and other young Israelis who overran the social media networks with calls for revenge and with hatred for Arabs. Abu Khdeir’s murderers are not “Jewish extremists.” They are the descendants and builders of a culture of hate and vengeance that is nurtured and fertilized by the guides of “the Jewish state": Those for whom every Arab is a bitter enemy, simply because they are Arab; those who were silent at the Beitar Jerusalem games when the team’s fans shouted “death to Arabs” at Arab players; those who call for cleansing the state of its Arab minority, or at least to drive them out of the homes and cities of the Jews.