this post was submitted on 13 Nov 2023
65 points (77.8% liked)

World News

39082 readers
3421 users here now

A community for discussing events around the World

Rules:

Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.


Lemmy World Partners

News [email protected]

Politics [email protected]

World Politics [email protected]


Recommendations

For Firefox users, there is media bias / propaganda / fact check plugin.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/media-bias-fact-check/

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

"Hamas’s broader plan [was] one that analysts say was intended not just to kill and capture Israelis, but to spark a conflagration that would sweep the region and lead to a wider conflict."

all 33 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] SulaymanF 21 points 1 year ago (4 children)

This is just analyst opinions. The New Yorker actually interviewed a Hamas leader and got them on the record. He claimed that Israel left them no choice; non violent protests had failed and asking the UN for help failed, and moderate voices were ignored by Israel, meaning only violence was left.

[–] nutsack 8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

this explanation for the motive and the intentions described in the article are not mutually exclusive things

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

No choice but to build a future with billions of dollars of yearly aid.

[–] Maalus 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

In a country with one of the highest population per square kilometer, that is under a full embargo, can't govern themselves, can't import concrete, wood and other essential materials, which had a 50% unemployed rate.

Gaza wasn't a paradise sitting on aid money, it wasn't a developing country that needed some help, it was an open air prison.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

750M of aid per year just from the UNWRA. Billions more in aid dedicated to specific tasks (like the EU's water pipeline project). And the government that was planning to execute an offensive war couldn't build even one public bomb shelter?

[–] SulaymanF 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago

You're correct it's 750M not billion. Phone typo on my part.

[–] Fades 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

So the only option left was to slaughter unarmed civilians. Eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind. The better option was to hit military targets but who cares I guess, tit for tat is all we get

Obligatory fuck IDF and Bibi

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Thanks for pointing that out, I linked and quoted it below.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)

“It’s the first time I can remember that Hamas has become so prominent on a global scale,” Katz said. “So many people have already forgotten Oct. 7 because Hamas immediately changed the discussion. It put the focus on Israel, not themselves. And that’s exactly what they wanted.”

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

LOL Hamas didn't change the discussion, Israel did. I came into the news on Oct 07 with "Fucking Hamas" vibes, but that very quickly changed to, "Wow OK, Israel isn't fucking around." then "Woah Israel OK, maybe use a little more care there, I get that you were attacked but -- WOAH ISRAEL WTF ARE YOU DOING?"

https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/what-was-hamas-thinking

As recently as 2020, Hamas committed to participate in Palestinian national elections; this plan fell apart not because of Hamas but because of the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, whose leaders denounced Israel’s refusal to allow elections in East Jerusalem.

Had these apparent gestures of compromise all been part of a ruse to buy time while Hamas prepared a brutal assault? Abu Marzouk insisted that these efforts at negotiation and coexistence had been genuine. He blamed Israel and the Western powers for thwarting Hamas’s overtures. He told us, “We rolled down all of the pathways to get some of our rights—not all of them. We knocked on the door of reconciliation and we weren’t allowed in. We knocked on the door of elections and we were deprived of them. We knocked on the door of a political document for the whole world—we said, ‘We want peace, but give us some of our rights’—but they didn’t let us in.” He added, “We tried every path. We didn’t find one political path to take us out of this morass and free us from occupation.”

There is some evidence to support Abu Marzouk’s narrative. In recent years, Hamas had appeared willing to coexist with the Jewish state. But, as Abu Marzouk acknowledged to us, Hamas also never abandoned core demands such as full Palestinian independence and the right of all Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland. Nor did the group relinquish its weapons. “But we didn’t mislead anyone,” he told us. “We never hid these slogans.”

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Never read such bullshit before - those whiny ass Hamas bitches justifying butchering all those civilians.

[–] TokenBoomer -4 points 1 year ago (3 children)

If you were Hamas, what would you have done differently to obtain rights and privileges for the Palestinian people?

[–] thrawn 8 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Lemmy is the only place where I see people being like “butchering civilians is okay as long as it was done to further their goal”. It’s real weird to see that kind of rhetoric not only accepted but upvoted.

I’m sure if I hung out on the extremist right sites, there would be that kind of stuff about Israel. That’s kind of the thing though, it’s really starting to feel like Lemmy is an extremist place and I could see it petering out because of that.

I feel like part of a shrinking minority that’s not cool with mass killing civilians no matter what. I’m a strong supporter for an independent Palestine but I don’t see how killing civilians is leading to that. To me it seems like that only gave Israel the opportunity to unleash massive violence of their own, and they’re clearly far better at it.

I know a lot of you don’t see violence or violent rhetoric as taboo, and I guess I’m not really trying to get you to stop saying it. It’s just kind of sad to see, and I do think it’ll turn Lemmy into one of those sites regular people avoid because it’s too extreme. I don’t even know why I typed this comment, perhaps I don’t like the way Lemmy is sliding and felt the need to comment on it while it’s still in that early stage Voat feel.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Lemmy is the only place where I see people being like “butchering civilians is okay as long as it was done to further their goal”. It’s real weird to see that kind of rhetoric not only accepted but upvoted.

Understanding why Hamas might feel they are justified isn't the same as thinking it's OK. I don't condone what Hamas did - but I absolutely condemn how far Israel is going in response.

I also object to the idea that wanting Israel to stop is akin to antisemitism.

[–] thrawn 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The comment I responded to was basically “what else could they have done?” To most people that’s condoning.

And the logic of “they feel it’s justified” could be extended to Israel as well. It’s clear that a lot of people think that Hamas butchering civilians means Israel can too. Doesn’t make it right either.

And well, why don’t you condemn just as strongly Hamas’s killings, or understand why Israel might feel they’re justified? That’s kind of what I mean— there’s these little slants, as if to say “at least they’re not the other side”.

Call me sensitive or whatever but I don’t like the violent undertones I get here (not your comment, Lemmy in general). Repeating Hamas’s justifications for slaughter is no better than repeating Israel’s, and imo drags down the general quality of any discussion

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Fair enough but I'll keep my reply short for now -

We all know agree that Hamas are terrorists. Of course I condemn the attack, but I don't expect terrorists to behave in a way I'm happy with.

But Israel holds far more power and has more options. They are the vastly superior entity by every metric. They are also a member of the United Nations, and can reasonably be expected to conduct themselves better than acknowledged terrorist groups. Israel had a great justification to respond to the attack. They don't have a justification for going as far as they are.

Quoting myself from earlier -

Hamas didn't change the discussion, Israel did. I came into the news on Oct 07 with "Fucking Hamas" vibes, but that very quickly changed to, "Wow OK, Israel isn't fucking around." then "Woah Israel OK, maybe use a little more care there, I get that you were attacked but -- WOAH ISRAEL WTF ARE YOU DOING?"

[–] Whimsical 3 points 1 year ago

Yeah, that about hits my opinion, too.

"Israel has the right to defend itself", but their actions fly far in excess of defense at this point.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 1 year ago

I think a lot of people don't think it's good or OK, but more like: "what did Israel fucking expect?". It is what it is. It seems hypocritical to act so offended when Hamas kills a thousand Israelis, when my country happily pays Israel to kill multiples of that number of Palestinians.

[–] TokenBoomer -3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I think it’s what you are seeing. Most people on Lemmy.world don’t post or comment with regularity. The ones that are more vocal tend to be more extreme. From my observations, the extreme rhetoric is the minority. To contrast, go to r/worldnews on Reddit. This place is tame in comparison.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I think they were talking about you.

[–] TokenBoomer 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Is Lemmy forcing them to be here? You can close the app at anytime.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I don't know what that has to do with anything. But alright. It was just kinda funny that they called you out, and you just kept on as if you were actually informing them about something.

[–] TokenBoomer 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I tend to stay away from extreme rhetoric. I’ve learned my lesson. ;)

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Gotta keep that mask on, I guess.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

If they only wanted to make the most extreme statements:

https://allthatsinteresting.com/thich-quang-duc-burning-monk

The difference compared to Hamas is, this monk sacrificed only himself.

If they wanted to turn it down a notch, they could have started with daily Demonstrations with thousands of people for starters.

[–] TokenBoomer 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

They already tried to peacefully protest. Your suggestion is self immolation? Is that what you would do, or would you direct your anger outward?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

So are you honestly pretending that Hamas didn’t send hundreds of suicide bombers into Israel before the blockade by Israel was imposed? This blockade was in return protested against by Hamas backed Protesters and those protests turned violent often.

The primary reason for the blockade is Hamas, so that the terror organization doesn’t get even more weapons than it already has.

Would YOU let a terror organization in your backyard gain access to weapons and military equipment that has vowed to wipe you and your people of the face of the earth?

And since you asked: No, I would never turn my anger outward like that. Never.

[–] TokenBoomer 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

The motivations and methods of Hamas does not negate the fact that a peaceful protest March did take place. Meaning, the people of Palestine have tried peace. They were shot and maimed, even children. Let me ask you, if all 2.2 million Palestinians declared themselves Hamas, would you advocate for wiping them out?

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You don’t even try to have a discussion and are not answering questions. Your Strawman arguments are quite lame.

You only want to paint the picture that poor Hamas had no other choice but to maim and kill civilians.

I end this „discussion“ at this point

[–] TokenBoomer -2 points 1 year ago

So much hate, for what?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:


In Beeri, a kibbutz town overrun by Hamas on Oct. 7, one dead fighter had a notebook with hand-scrawled Quranic verses and orders that read, simply, “Kill as many people and take as many hostages as possible.” Others were equipped with gas canisters, handcuffs and thermobaric grenades designed to instantly turn houses into infernos.

The evidence, described by more than a dozen current and former intelligence and security officials from four Western and Middle Eastern countries, reveals an intention by Hamas planners to strike a blow of historic proportions, in the expectation that the group’s actions would compel an overwhelming Israeli response.

Some militants carried enough food, ammunition and equipment to last several days, officials said, and bore instructions to continue deeper into Israel if the first wave of attacks succeeded, potentially striking larger Israeli cities.

Hamas was willing to accept such sacrifices as the price for kick-starting a new wave of violent Palestinian resistance in the region and scuttling efforts at normalizing relations between Israel and Arab states, according to current and former intelligence officials and counterterrorism experts.

To obtain detailed intelligence, Hamas deployed cheap surveillance drones to generate maps of the Israeli towns and military installations within a few miles of the $1 billion barrier system that Israel built to wall off Gaza.

Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden expected a furious American response after the attacks on New York and Washington, Katz said, and he welcomed what he believed would be a violent, global confrontation between the Muslim world and the West, with Islam ultimately prevailing.


The original article contains 3,215 words, the summary contains 258 words. Saved 92%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!