[hayroob]

A discussion of the conflict in Gaza has been going on in the 4" stud show thread and I wanted to bring it out into the general discussion in hopes of opening up the conversation. I am going to duplicate the relevant posts to seed this thread and hopefully you guys will take it from there.

EllaMacFarlane:

Originally Posted by EllaMacFarlane

first off, i want the person who called in to show me the youtube video which our army put up, bragging about how we bombed the gaza strip.

secondly, us reacting to the rockets now as opposed to earlier or later is simply because the israeli public has had enough and demanded the government to take action. the gov't has been stalling because 1) we only have america behind us and 2) we are aware that gaza is filled with civilians who shouldnt be punished for hamas' actions. it has nothing to do with obama entering office.

even tho hamas has been bombing israel for years, and we have been bombing them for days, the world public opinion is very hostile, as usual, towards israel. theyre mad that we killed more.

it all comes down to the fact that israel's security system is far superior to the palestinians', whenever a bomb is shot from the palestinian territories the alarm rings in the city it will land on. unfortunately, all the humanitarian aid from the un, red cross and other arab nations given to the palestinian gov't, which is hamas, was spent on more missiles.

of course we can wipe out gaza, but that would be inhumane and unfair.

Gonzo:

Originally Posted by EllaMacFarlane

secondly, us reacting to the rockets now as opposed to earlier or later is simply because the israeli public has had enough and demanded the government to take action. the gov't has been stalling because 1) we only have america behind us and 2) we are aware that gaza is filled with civilians who shouldnt be punished for hamas' actions. it has nothing to do with obama entering office.

Originally Posted by Gonzo?

I have not heard the show yet so I can't comment on the alleged videos of Israeli.

However Israels offensive into gaza is not purly as a result of the 'fed up' Israeli public grumblings, it coincides with the lapse of a truce between the Israeli gov and hamas (which is the reason for the 'stalling') and falls at a time of relative political vacuum in the US before the pro-truce President Elect takes office.

DarkKnightJared:

Originally Posted by DarkKnightJared

As for the whole Israel/Gaza thing...it's just a mess. From what I've read, really, neither side is fully innocent. I'll go with Ella calling bullshit on the videos, because I would think it would have been made more of a big deal by now. As for the second part...on one hand I can see where this, after a long series of shit, could be the straw that broke the camels back. But, I can also understand why some people would find it suspect that the Israeli govt. has decided now to start attacking back as heavily as they are.

DaveNJ:

Originally Posted by Gonzo?

I have not heard the show yet so I can't comment on the alleged videos of Israeli.

However Israels offensive into gaza is not purly as a result of the 'fed up' Israeli public grumblings, it coincides with the lapse of a truce between the Israeli gov and hamas (which is the reason for the 'stalling') and falls at a time of relative political vacuum in the US before the pro-truce President Elect takes office.

Originally Posted by DaveNJ

The lapse in the truce is the issue, but the timing for that has nothing to do with the US presidency and everything to do with Hamas.

The truce was started about 6.5 months ago, and it was a 6 month truce.

Israel tried to renew the truce. Hamas said no and ramped up rocket fire (which had never actually stopped during the truce).

Hamas Intern-Miked Israel. Israel, after all the shit they put up with during the truce, still tried to extend it, even knowing the rocket fire wouldn't stop.

Hamas said, "No thanks, we'd rather look tough, and we don't think you've got the balls to invade Gaza."

They fucked up, and now Gaza's paying the price for electing a shitty government that wants to be terrorists and politicians at the same time.

The end of Bush's term is coincidental. The truce was due for renewal near the end of his term, but it came down to Hamas not renewing it, not Israel trying to get a last punch in.