Israel's conflict with its neighbours

[wjfox]

[erowind]

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[firestar464]

Continuing the offensive is theoretically not mutually exclusive with war crimes (you can continue the offensive while abiding by international law), though obviously, that's not what Israel's doing here. Point is, you can support an offensive while not approving of how Israel is going about it.

[erowind]

Before you read my post, please read this quoted line.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internati ... ormat=true

The international community considers the establishment of Israeli settlements in the Israeli-occupied territories illegal on one of two bases: that they are in violation of Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, or that they are in breach of international declarations. The United Nations Security Council, the United Nations General Assembly, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Court of Justice and the High Contracting Parties to the Convention have all affirmed that the Fourth Geneva Convention applies to the Israeli-occupied territories.

Continuing the offensive is theoretically not mutually exclusive with war crimes (you can continue the offensive while abiding by international law), though obviously, that's not what Israel's doing here. Point is, you can support an offensive while not approving of how Israel is going about it.

This is not accurate, Israel's action in the occupation of Palestine is in violation of the 1947 UN partition plan for Israel and Palestine. The 1967 agreement borders are also violated. The occupation is illegal under international law, any offensive military action period is illegal under international law. The occupation of the West Bank and former border regions of Gaza constitute Genocide. There is no way to remove people from their homes based on their ethnicity without committing war crimes. Israel does not have the right to defend itself because it is illegally occupying the land and making an offensive war. Even if the IDF was the most virtuous army and did not deliberately target and brutalize civilians it's actions would still be in violation of international law, moreover, there's no way to siege a giant open air concentration camp that the aggressor (Israel) has created without undue illegal harm to the civilian population.

How does this translate in practice in legal terms? Israel has the right to shoot down rockets fired at it, it does not have the legal right to counterbarrage or invade in any way. Israel had the right to stop the October 7th attack within the territory it already controlled, it does not have the legal right to invade Gaza or occupy the West Bank. Israel does have the right to an orderly evacuation of its own forces and government from the territory it illegally occupies. Israel does not have the right to continue to govern, occupy or expand said territory in any way.

Israel waves any claim to a legal right to defense because it is not defending, it is invading and genociding and has been since at least 1949 when it first violated the 1947 partition plan.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Na ... ormat=true

[firestar464]

Yeah sure, I suppose you're right in that Israel can evacuate its civilians. However, how would they ensure that Hamas never does this crap again, and how would they rescue their hostages? Honestly, all of these questions could've been answered in Gaza's favor had Hamas not used methods of terrorism in its offensive.

Also, about the modern philosophy of "liberal Zionism:" Essentially it calls for "Israel" and a "Jewish State" on paper while being de facto a state for all. However, naming it "Israel" and having a "Jewish State" (Zionism essentially) just feels kind of unfair, if not outright inflammatory. Also I'm not sure how Benny Gantz's party abides by that

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zionism#Liberal_Zionism

Honestly, I feel that the best solution would be just one state that would have the co-official names "Israel" and "Palestine," with constitutional rights for all.

[firestar464]

Israel is flooding Gaza’s tunnel network: scientists assess the risks

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00320-4

[weatheriscool]

Netanyahu rejects ceasefire proposal, insists on total victory over Hama

s

DOHA, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday total victory in Gaza was within reach, rejecting the latest offer from Hamas for a ceasefire to ensure the return of hostages still held in the besieged enclave.

Netanyahu renewed a pledge to destroy the Palestinian Islamist movement, saying there was no alternative for Israel but bringing about the collapse of Hamas.

"The day after is the day after Hamas. All of Hamas," he told a press conference, insisting that total victory against Hamas was the only solution to the Gaza war.

…

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-ea ... 024-02-07/

[Time_Traveller]

Eurovision facing calls for boycott as Israel announces 2024 entrant

1 hour ago

The Eurovision Song Contest is facing growing calls for a boycott after entrant Israel announced its representative this week.

Eden Golan, 20, was picked to perform for the country after a TV talent show in which she covered Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”.

In a politically charged performance, she dedicated the song to the Israeli hostages taken by Hamas following attacks on 7 October.

Golan, who was born in Israel but raised in Russia, would mark the country’s 46th appearance in the competition, Israel being the first non-European entrant in the competition’s history when it joined in 1973.

However, organisers are facing growing calls to have the country kicked out over its military operations in the Gaza strip as Palestinians face an ongoing humanitarian crisis.

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-ente ... 92978.html

[Time_Traveller]

Soldier videos from Gaza could breach international law, experts say

1 hour ago

Videos of Gazan detainees stripped, bound and blindfolded that were filmed and uploaded online by Israeli soldiers could breach international law, legal experts say.

International law says detainees must not be exposed to unnecessary humiliation or public curiosity.

BBC Verify looked at hundreds of videos openly shared by Israeli soldiers in Gaza since November 2023. We verified eight showing detainees.

The IDF says it has terminated the service of one of the reservists we identified, and videos like these do not represent its values. It did not respond to any further request for comment.

Dr Mark Ellis, a leading UN advisor to international criminal tribunals, said the footage we showed him from Israeli soldiers might violate the recognised rules for treating prisoners of war.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68249962

[Time_Traveller]

Gaza residents surviving off animal feed and rice as food dwindles

4 hours ago

People living in the isolated north of Gaza have told the BBC that children are going without food for days, as aid convoys are increasingly denied permits to enter. Some residents have resorted to grinding animal feed into flour to survive, but even stocks of those grains are now dwindling, they say.

People have also described digging down into the soil to access water pipes, for drinking and washing.

The UN has warned that acute malnutrition among young children in the north has risen sharply, and is now above the critical threshold of 15%.

The UN's humanitarian coordination agency, Ocha, says more than half the aid missions to the north of Gaza were denied access last month, and that there is increasing interference from Israeli forces in how and where aid is delivered.

It says 300,000 people estimated to be living in northern areas are largely cut off from assistance, and face a growing risk of famine.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68239320

[weatheriscool]

[weatheriscool]

[Time_Traveller]

There will definitely will be no two state solution whilst he and his government are in power.

[firestar464]

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/th ... r-BB1iyoBZ

NGL veto was overkill. Should've been abstain or even support.

[Time_Traveller]

Israel's PM Netanyahu lays out Gaza plan for after the war

3 hours ago

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has laid out his vision for a post-war Gaza.

Under his plan Israel would control security indefinitely, and Palestinians with no links to groups hostile to Israel would run the territory.

The US, Israel's major ally, wants the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority (PA) to govern Gaza after the war.

But the short document - which Mr Netanyahu presented to ministers last night - makes no mention of the PA.

He has previously ruled out a post-war role for the internationally backed body.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68379646

[Time_Traveller]

An Israeli and a Palestinian talk peace, dignity and safety

[weatheriscool]

[firestar464]

An Israeli and a Palestinian talk peace, dignity and safety

I've now overcome my reluctance to support a ceasefire in light of this. Besides, is stopping Hamas worth the lives of all the civilians in Gaza that have been killed?

[weatheriscool]

[caltrek]

Taking Aaron Bushnell at His Word (and Deed)
by Lyle Jeremy Rubin
February 28, 2024

Introduction:

(The Nation) I will leave it to others to discuss the precedents for Aaron Bushnell’s self-immolation outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, from Thích Quảng Đức to Norman Morrison to Mohamed Bouazizi to Irina Slavina to Wynn Alan Bruce. Yes, this has happened before. The world has been a terrible place for too many for too long, and for that reason, the rare few most inclined to feel that terror, to breathe in its ashes, have found no other option but to set themselves on fire in protest. So that others may be forced to breathe in some of those ashes too.

A debate has erupted about how best to interpret Bushnell’s last act. Was it heroic? Pointless? Another opportunity to opine on the need for more robust mental health services. Or to scold those who have dared to take Bushnell at his word. After all, he was anything but inexplicit: “My name is Aaron Bushnell. I’m an active-duty member of the United States Air Force. And I will no longer be complicit in genocide. I’m about to engage in an extreme act of protest, but compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers, it’s not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal.”

When someone commits an act like this, and leaves us with words like that, I feel obligated to take the person at their word. And the words couldn’t be more instructive.

Bushnell begins with a pertinent self-identification, as an active-duty member of the United States Air Force. Given the sincerity of his last moment in uniform, it seems he was also announcing his vocation. He was someone who had signed up to sacrifice himself for the greater good, only to discover—as so many of us, myself included, have discovered—that he had signed up for the opposite: to become a willing accomplice to evil.

Read more at the link that follows. (The link may not work for those who are not subscribers to The Nation): https://www.thenation.com/article/soci ... rm=weekly