Middle East Conflict

As ever the truth is always lost in war.

Some of the unverified reports being circulated about alleged atrocities on both sides show how social media is mainly used for spreading bullshit.

Yes and no - some people saying things like "seeee only a handful of children were decapitated", as if it somehow means all the other actions were ok?

It's a tit for tat gotcha comment.
 


This is now threatening to boil over into a conflict of a much larger scale imo.

It needs strong minds on all sides to stop it from being one.

I think it's telling that Biden is offering support but also told Netanyahu not to overstep the mark. As in taking advantage of the situation to grab more land from Palestine.
 
3 attacks on Jewish owned businesses, one of which we know was just a robbery.

1 religiously motivated attack is too many, but it feels like people are deliberately fear mongering when they say attacks are up 400%.

They’re just recent reported attacks. Theres lots of instances of Jewish people being abused and we now have security/police stood outside of Jewish schools as well. The Jewish population in the UK isn’t large at all and the reports of attacks/ abuse and similar are pretty large compared to the entire population.

Maybe it is being exaggerated in some cases, but It doesn’t seem like it. Any form of attack or abuse is too much as you say
 
No doubt but I believe the bigger issue here is the fact Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran are an enemy that isn’t really interested in the odd settlement, its sole aim is the destruction of Israel and the deaths of all Jews.

They even go so far as to put that into writing.

How do you begin to try and make peace with that sort of ideology?
That ideology comes from putting people in a hopeless pressure cooker situation

Iran is different that are looking for reginal leadership, however extremism will flourish where people have no hope of a better future, we see it here in the West, we don't have to look far look at Northern Ireland, the vast majority of active Provo's were not wealthy middle class Catholics, they were the poor and marginalised who had nothing to live for, and wanted a way to hit back at a system that had put them there, of course they had a cause (just like the Palestinians do) put the cause was just something to hand their hats on

Again we need to look at the route cause of all this and fix it, otherwise we keep going around in endless circles of horror
 
While this is undoubtedly true, a few words in support of this thread and all the lunatics on it: I get some of my news from MSM, of course, but there is little on there that is discussed in-depth as things are on here. It's remarkable that a football forum can provide a "public service" in reflecting the views of a cross-section of the population, including even people who have experienced both sides of the conflict personally.

There are trolls and cunts, of course, but every now and then, there are posts that contain interesting and new information. Sometimes thought-provoking. It's a good barometer, it can be informative and, for me, at least, it is useful, warts and all. So well done to @Ric and all the mods for doing their best to keep this particular ship on an even keel in difficult circumstances.
For those who do want to learn more, here are two historical papers. The first is by an American Jew in 1919 arguing against a Jewish state (and claiming that's by a vast majority the view of American Jews). The basic premise is that the Diaspora meant that Jews have flourished wherever they are (despite antisemitism) - the present problem (in 1919) was the poverty and oppression of Jews in Russia and Rumania, and no-one else wanted them (keeping out Jewish paupers was the reason for Britain's first Immigration Act). It starts with a section on different sorts of Zionism, but see the prediction of how things would work out if Jews became a majority in Palestine (increasing anti-semitism elsewhere): "Even if it should come by the most perfectly natural process, the feelings of the natives as they see themselves driven to the wall, becoming more and more dependent upon those who are usurping their place, will not be any the less bitter on that account. The reaction of such a situation will be felt by the Jews all over the world. It is assuredly a serious matter to propose a policy which must, even if involuntarily, work injustice and hardships for others as a condition of its being carried out."

Zionism and the future of Palestine; The fallacies and dangers of political Zionism : Jastrow, Morris, 1861-1921 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

The second is post-Holocaust (1946) by the Jewish Agency for Palestine. Its main premise is that the Balfour Declaration promised a "national home" for the Jews, but a Jewish state was implicit, and that attempts to restrict Jewish immigration were a betrayal of the post WW1 promises. It claims that the obligations not to prejudice life for the existing inhabitants were secondary to the promises made to the Jews, quoting Churchill: "Merely to sit still and avoid friction with Arabs and safeguard their civil and religious rights and to abandon the positive exertion for the establishment of the Jewish National Home would not be a faithful interpretation of the Mandate." (But then Churchill wasn't averse to bombing Arab villages.)

Memorandum_submitted_to_the_Anglo_American_committee_of_inquiry_by_the_Jewish_agency_for_Palestine.pdf (flvc.org)
 
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Again we need to look at the route cause of all this and fix it
As laudible as that sounds, what exactly is the root cause ?

I understand that Israel is intent on getting rid of Hamas, but some of this bombing just looks indiscrimiate, and is only creating more extremists for the future, so it will be a never ending circle of horror, especially when states like iran sponsor it.
 
That ideology comes from putting people in a hopeless pressure cooker situation

Sorry but I don’t agree. This is a small segment of the Muslim faith that believe anyone that isn’t Muslim deserves to die and to make that happen, they are willing to die themselves as martyrdom is some sort of guaranteed path to heaven for them.

You don’t issue decrees that you will not rest until Israel is wiped off the map and all Jews killed because of a land dispute or settlement if you are in any way normal.

ISIS and radicals like Hamas and co are a scourge in the human race. There is nothing anyone can do to please them, nothing. No negotiations are ever going to change their warped view of the world which they are willing to kill for to see.

Israel and its population are under threat, they have seen first hand what Hamas will do and they have every right to now go all out to destroy them.

They will be doing the world a favour in doing so and they will be doing the vast majority of peaceful and more moderate Palestinians a favour as well.
 
If there was no religion would we all be able to live in peace?
Probably not but as someone once said, there will always be good people doing good things and there will always be bad people doing bad things but only religion allows good people to do bad things whilst making them think they’re doing good things.
 


This is now threatening to boil over into a conflict of a much larger scale imo.

It might but Friday prayers are typical times for outpourings of anger and grief, there will be pictures on the news of huge crowds in Muslim Countries all over the world

The risk goes up the more people die in Garza and the images coming out are not good, but if it starts to look like people are starving to death and lacking basic medical care the bets are off, that's why I am confident (as much as I can be) that America will not allow it to get to that

As horrible as it is there has to be some way for the Israelis to get back at the Hamas but if it starts to get out of hand, the whole region could go up in flames
 
Sorry but I don’t agree. This is a small segment of the Muslim faith that believe anyone that isn’t Muslim deserves to die and to make that happen, they are willing to die themselves as martyrdom is some sort of guaranteed path to heaven for them.

You don’t issue decrees that you will not rest until Israel is wiped off the map and all Jews killed because of a land dispute or settlement if you are in any way normal.

ISIS and radicals like Hamas and co are a scourge in the human race. There is nothing anyone can do to please them, nothing. No negotiations are ever going to change their warped view of the world which they are willing to kill for to see.

Israel and its population are under threat, they have seen first hand what Hamas will do and they have every right to now go all out to destroy them.

They will be doing the world a favour in doing so and they will be doing the vast majority of peaceful and more moderate Palestinians a favour as well.
Take away from groups like Hamas etc, what do you think years and years of subgegation will do to a population, it drives them to extremes we have seen it time ad time again, where poverty, hopeless and inequality exists so does Crime and in the Geopolitical areas terrorism

No amount of bombing and killing will change that, in fact it often has the opposite effect, in fact it just drives further radicalisation, in Northern Ireland, Bloody Sunday just made the PIRA more popular and they got more support, every heavy handed search by the Army and Police just further radicalised the Catholic Nationalist population and the Palestinian Population are exactly the same
 
Take away from groups like Hamas etc, what do you think years and years of subgegation will do to a population, it drives them to extremes we have seen it time ad time again, where poverty, hopeless and inequality exists so does Crime and in the Geopolitical areas terrorism

No amount of bombing and killing will change that, in fact it often has the opposite effect, in fact it just drives further radicalisation, in Northern Ireland, Bloody Sunday just made the PIRA more popular and they got more support, every heavy handed search by the Army and Police just further radicalised the Catholic Nationalist population and the Palestinian Population are exactly the same

I’ve stated earlier in the thread, I firmly believe the populations are kept firmly under the thumbs of their terrorist masters who pretend to represent them.

Aid meant to improve the lives of people in Gaza etc, stolen for profit by Hamas and any dissent met with death far quicker than would ever come at the hands of the IDF.

It’s a vicious circle but one ordinary Palestinians also have to try and break. If Hamas is to stay, there will never be any chance of peace.
 
Brave guy.



1,200 killed, awful, compared to 9/11 and taking into account their relative populations, this is much worse for Israel.
 
As ever the truth is always lost in war.

Some of the unverified reports being circulated about alleged atrocities on both sides show how social media is mainly used for spreading bullshit.
The worse One was Biden saying he'd actually seen the photos of Beheaded Babies. His words. Now the White House has walked it all back and said he hasn't and no one else has.
 
…Israel and its population are under threat, they have seen first hand what Hamas will do and they have every right to now go all out to destroy them.

They will be doing the world a favour in doing so and they will be doing the vast majority of peaceful and more moderate Palestinians a favour as well.

Well, those that are still alive, I guess. Although, I think you are being overly optimistic at the amount of goodwill that will be left in Gaza.

It is possible, even probable that Israel will dismantle Hamas in Gaza and the price will likely be huge in terms of civilian casualties and the refugee impact on Egypt. But if there is is no sustainable plan for Gaza post Hamas then Israel is just storing up more trouble for the future.

Like it or not, Israel is the dominant power in the region so if it wants a brighter future for itself, it needs to take the lead and facilitate a brighter future for everyone.
 
Whilst a good read it is not completely accurate in its implications. I tend not to get involved but sometimes things need to be said.

The Jewish population in Israel was rising well before the end of World War II, some 30%, it's a significant number, far exceeding the total number of Jews currently living in the UK, in a fraction of the land mass. So this idea that Jews were not there in significant numbers until the decision was made to create a Jewish state post holocaust is nonsense.

The irony here is many people talk about opression and apartheid when it comes to Israel when the facts are that the 100,000s of Jews that were there before 1949 were persecuted in surrrounding countries: Lebanon, Morocco, Iraq, Iran and Yemen to name a few. That was true apartheid and oppression where those Jews were forced to convert, especially the women, forced and raped into muslim marriages. Nobody brings this up. So like many of their ancestors they returned to the land we now call Israel, fed up of constantly being persecuted in places they tried to call home. This is completely orthogonal to the holocaust which simply acted as a catalyst causing the population of Jews to jump from 30% to 80% more rapidly and a formation of a state.

What those Jews came to is virtually a waste land, there was hardly anything there outside of the major cities where many were simply slaves to an Ottoman elite. Most of the rest of the population were extremely poor, incredibly dispersed and lived in what at best could be called shanty towns, there was no infrastructure or attempt to build any significant infrastructure. Of course a home is a home, but let's be clear, most of the land was waste land.

The Arab countries around did not care about the Palestinians who lived there, in fact it was the opposite, they considered them the lowest of the low and have only shown an interest since it became a Jewish state.

Now we get the argument that it is Israel's fault for continuing to build on areas they probably shouldn't. I'm against the settlements near the borders but would it make a difference, no, and the Israelis have had enough constantly trying to create a two state solution against a population that has at their helm a terrorist organisation that has made it clear they won't accept 2 states, they want the total destruction of Israel and are backed by Iran. There is no solution there, a two state is not possible so Israel gets on with their lives.

It is also remarkable that the finger is constantly pointed at Israel. Where is the uproar when Eygpt closes the crossing to Gaza, it is never mentioned but they do it. Besides Saudi Arabia where is all the funding from Arab States? Israel itself probably gives more, gives workers permits and yet has the finger pointed at it.

It is disappointing that at Arsenal there was not a 1 min silence. Anywhere else in the world where we hear of babies having their throats cut in their cots, or 9 year old kids watching their siblings be killed before they are killed, where women are dragged out of their homes and raped, etc etc, anywhere else and there would be no question about a 1 min silence . I've no doubt that such a silence would be marred by protests but sadly those that protest have not bothered (or chose to ignore) to really learn about the history of that land and the people in it.

Israelis cannot be blamed for a decision made by the British in 1949 and even then in my view the British just acted as a catalyst for the inevitable given the population trends. Israelis took a wasteland and worked out how to live there, including in areas such as the Negev dessert where they managed to grow crops, genetically modifying avocados to suite their climate and much more. Yes there is huge disparity between the conditions Israelis live in versus current Palestinians but that does not imply Israel is an oppressor.

That’s certainly one view of history coupled with an arbitrary date when this “history” started. Unsurprisingly not one that Arabs or Palestinians or their supporters would recognise whom are also inclined to pick arbitrary dates their “history” started from to support their case.

And therein lays one of the problems, if neither side can acknowledge their shared history, then neither side can acknowledge how the other side feels wronged and will not inch closer to a sustainable peace.

Although such conversations feel further away since last weekends terrorist attacks.
 

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