Palestine-Israel Conflict

[Ariadne]

Saw a lot of threads in various sections of the forum discussing and arguing over this.

Figured if you guys are going to debate this situation, at least do it here where it doesn't de-rail a lot of different threads.

[tamithomas]

My problem is people trying to pick sides. Especially people who pick sides from the comfort of their safe homes when they have no relatives or they themselves don't live in the region of the attacks. I even lost a friend over trying to express this viewpoint that both sides are gaining casualties because I dared to not paint Israel as innocent angels the North American news is trying to cast them as.

People need to understand that this war did not just start this year but has been going on for a century more or less. It has only become of light as of late because it has developed into bombings and that's why it's ridiculous to try and form an opinion based solely on recent events which many ignorant people have. I feel for both sides and hope that this does not start WW3 since Israel has many countries bought/allied with should this go too far.

[dazzle]

I am sick of the "Free Palestine" posts on several boards as well as Facebook, and people writing it on banknotes. Not because I don't agree, I just think it's absurd that people seem to believe this will genuinely stop a decades old conflict. I'm sorry that Palestine is taking heavy casualties, but the Hamas are not a solution. If Israel was to lay down their arms right now, they would be decimated. There is no point in choosing a side, this has to end mutually or it might as well never end at all. If Is

[JustGlow]

I went to Israel and the West Bank last year, and the situation is really strange.
You see these beautiful modern homes in the Jewish settlements in east Jerusalem (officially part of the West Bank) and then you see people who have lived in refugee camps (yes, we went to one called Deishe) their entire lives - the oldest refugee camps were "started" in 1948!!! It's pretty bizzarre.
There are designated roads for palestinians, people have to spend hours to get to work in Israel - they have to cross the checkpoints in the security wall, and they basically live in apartheid.
I don't want to pick sides, but I really do feel for the Palestinians after seeing everything they have to go through. I'll include some pictures from my trip, incase anyone's interested. The project I went with was very focused on the Palestinian side of the conflict, so I apologize if my opinion is biased or my images not "true". We did also visit the Hebrew Unversity of Jerusalem and spoke to students there. We also met with our country's amassador to Israel, and the leader of an organization named Breaking the Silence. We spent one night in Hebron on the West Bank (the other nights in a hotel in the Old City of Jerusalem) with a palestinian family. We were lucky that we even got to spend a night there, since there had been tension earlier in the week (before our night). Hebron has maybe the most agressive group of settlers (that's no secret - there are organizations that only work in Hebron, to keep the city safe, and report on what they see). One of these organizarions is called TIPH - which I reccomend you read more about



Whoa, that was longwinded: TL;DR: I went to Israel and the West Bank - I'm probably biased, but I feel for the palestinians. Pictures from my trip in the imgur link

[RabbieWingz]

^
Thank you for sharing the photos

My main issue about the whole matter is how ignorant people have become (mostly Muslims) who now support and attempt to justify Hitler- fucking HITLER.
I see posts of people saying that he should have killed all the Jews and that what he did was right. I'm sorry but NO. Hitler's actions towards the Jews will never be justifiable. It was barbaric, inhumane and disgusting. Also, he planned to kill anyone who was not of the aryan race or anyone who didn't benefit him, so he would have or did kill people of other races and religion. So there goes that logic of his work having any meaning. I honestly cannot believe the amount of people who have shown support to him recently SMH.

One of the biggest things some people (majorly those supporting Palestinians) forget is that NOT ALL Jews/Israelis support the Israeli bombings and attacks. So anyone saying "Fuck the Jews", "Kill the Israelis" need a huge freaking reminder, posts and thoughts like this are disrespectful and ignorant.


Just my 2 cents that are more about the "supporters" which have come to my attention recently.

[dazzle]

I've literally been shocked about all the antisemitic comments. Like, no, do you not understand that this is exactly why they wanted their own country in the first place? I get that people are desperate and angry, everyone in their situation would be, but that doesn't justify wanting to exterminate an entire nation.

[Bourdou]

I feel bad for both parties but I'm not exactly on either side. I blame the extremists on both sides. :/ Just wish that children and innocent lives weren't lost in the conflict.

[hi123]

I live in Israel and I spend lots of time on the social medias explaining and showing the world what's really happening here. Our war is against the Hamas, a terror organization which does not want Israel to exist. They send rockets every single day, especially during this hard time, are responsible for the kidnap and murder of 3 Israeli teen boys- everything terror (you can google 'Hamas' for more). That's how it started. Wars like these happen every 1 or 1 year and a half. And this time have to make it stop.
The reality here isn't simple or easy, it's hard. The conflict is complicated but no matter what, Israel has the right to defend itself, especially when a terror organization wants to kill us. If we put our weapon down, there would be no more Israel. But if the Hamas put their weapon down, there will be no war.

PS
I don't feel like going into fights like I sadly do on other social medias, but I would really love to explain or answer any questions if any of you happen to have

[glamazon21]

I hear about this issue a lot on social media (about 45% of my high school was muslim) but what I find about this topic is that it's pretty complicated. I feel that up until very recently my peers haven't been discussing this issue and reading up on Wikipedia just makes me more confused because it's very extensive and filled with jargon that I'm not exactly familiar with. I also feel that it's either a topic that's very sensitive to people and a lot of the people I am personally close to are not interested in the topic, while I am eager to learn more since I would like to be aware of what's going on in the world. I worry about reading it up online and finding a biased source so I don't have my facts straight.

[mtbjp]

what i see the problem is no israel nor palestine, its hamas
i was reading in a newspaper called el universal from here mexico that one of the hamas group said is calling to the people to go to the places where is going to be a misile to die... i was like wtf thats why there is a lot of civilians dying? now i dont know what to think about this

[RabbieWingz]

You don't need to kill hundreds of innocent people to defend yourself. Also, 3:100+ death ratio seems unfair really.

There's clearly more than one reason Israel is trying to- pretty much- wipe out the people in Gaza.

[JustGlow]

Don't forget - Occupating another country is fun : )

[go_further]

I feel like with this conflict, and same with the Ukraine and Russia- neither of those sides should be held completely responsible for whats going on. There are rebels/terrorits/ or Hamas (as I found above), that are the extremist and want something to go their way. A country can not be responsible for those rebels, but they are trying their best to contain both situations. I am not related or have anyone close to me in Israel or Palestine, but my friend is from the heart of Lugansk, the city bombarded and destroyed by military and rebel forces. I know that most of the government should contain those kinds of rebels, that come from simple demonstrations and become huge and powerful, until its too late.

[Hilly]

I live in Israel and I spend lots of time on the social medias explaining and showing the world what's really happening here. Our war is against the Hamas, a terror organization which does not want Israel to exist. They send rockets every single day, especially during this hard time, are responsible for the kidnap and murder of 3 Israeli teen boys- everything terror (you can google 'Hamas' for more). That's how it started. Wars like these happen every 1 or 1 year and a half. And this time have to make it stop.
The reality here isn't simple or easy, it's hard. The conflict is complicated but no matter what, Israel has the right to defend itself, especially when a terror organization wants to kill us. If we put our weapon down, there would be no more Israel. But if the Hamas put their weapon down, there will be no war.

PS
I don't feel like going into fights like I sadly do on other social medias, but I would really love to explain or answer any questions if any of you happen to have

with all due to respect you are incorrect "if hamas put their weapon down there will be no war" it is not a one sided war
it is a two sided war ,,, so don't put blame on hamas and ignore what IDf is doing !! believe me I'm not on hamas side at all
but I'm objective
Isreal army AND hamas are both terrorist wether you like it or not, feel free to search images of what is happening these days
4 boys playing football on the beach shot by them, if it was the other way around (jew boys playing shot but hamas ) then hell will break loose don't deny it (like what happened with the 3 teen boys) I hate when BASIED people justify killing
there are at least 500 people dead %70 of which are CHILDREN (they did not vote for hamas so don't use the "they chose hamas card" )

there is NO EXCUSE for killing innocent people WHAT SO EVER
there was a hospital for handicapped people that was destroyed in this horrible war, at least 2000 house completely destroyed

every area in gaza got effected and all the borders are closed escape to WHERE ???? just now in twitter it is reported a UN school shelter got bombed !!!
imagine you are a gaza citizen where will you go ??? forget politics forget hamas and isreal
we are all human and it is soooo hard seeing people dying and suffering (from any side)

[bunnybutt420]

Unlike the US, and all their military aid.. I do not think people need to taking sides. I don't think one can even actually take a "side" because in order for there to be a side other than Israel, the Palestinians would have to assume some sort of agency/power first (which they do not have). Gaza and the West Bank, under strict control by Israel, possess unstable access to food, health care, and other resources (such as land) necessary for a functioning economy.

Look at this picture of the West Bank. Look at the morbid reality of war.

[AccioDawn]

I am a Palestinian, born and raised here.
For the past month, ever since the real crisis began, I've been seeing endless posts and comments from both sites on social media. There is a lot of hate, and I understand that, because it comes from hurting so much, I understand that people are acting out of emotion solely, without really thinking. I do not condone the racist comments on both sides, because I've seen both sides take it to an extreme, where they wish that the other side's population would be completely "wiped off", "burned", "murdered", "tortured", etc.
What I want to say is, we Palestinian feel a great deal of injustice. I personally don't want Jews to disappear, because I know that once, not too long ago, Palestinian and Jews used to live side by side as neighbours. Our objection as Palestinians isn't about the Jews, it's about the Occupation that's been oppressing us for 66 years, it's the confiscation of lands, the apartheid, the checkpoints and the humiliation you face when crossing them, the inability to move freely in one's own country, and other issues, which I've experienced firsthand.
An oppressed nation cannot stay silent.The playing field in this country is not equal, this is not a war between two armies, Israel has the IDF, Palestine doesn't have an army or a Defence Force, Israel is the occupier, we are the occupied. In this conflict, Israel has been able to protect itself from the Hamas missiles, the citizens have sirens, they run to the shelters when they hear them. Gazans receive a message from the IDF notifying them that their house will be bombed in 10 minutes, and that they need to evacuate, but evacuate to where, exactly? Gaza is surrounded, they can't leave it They have no shelters, and right now no electricity, they don't have any sirens to warn them.

I don't pretend to comprehend what Gazans are going through 100%, but the horrifying pictures of innocent lives being wasted has created a lump in my throat and a sinking feeling in my stomach. Over 1000 Palestinian lives have been sacrificed. This bloodshed needs to end.

[bunnybutt420]

^ I think that is a majority of the reason why more Israelis haven't died because they have sirens and shelters/iron dome etc while Palestine offers its citizens no protection I wonder if people would be singing a different tune if Israel didn't have shelters and safe areas etc because tons more Israelis would be dead as well. All I know is that this war needs to end, both sides need to stop firing at each other because the sad reality is if a someone fires at you, whether or not they do serious damage you have a right to "defend" yourself and fire back even if you wipe out half their citizens

Israel has received military aid, finance and support from many countries, including the US.
Palestinians? The Palestinians have endured being treated like second class citizens, living on occupied land under horrible conditions with limited access to safety, food, water and education. Safe living conditions, food, education are HUMAN RIGHTS, not privileges to be used by Israeli forces to give when they simply feel like it. I'm sorry but Palestine has NO resources at all, how in gods name can they just provide sirens?

And as for Palestinian shelters? Funny you should mention, there are many shelters set up in Gaza/West bank filled with children and vulnerable people. Safe zone right? Think again:



My empathy for suffering in Gaza does not make me an anti-Semite, anti-Israel or pro terrorism. It makes me HUMAN.

For shame.

[tamithomas]

What I find not fair is the excuse for Israel's attacks on Palestine being "they're defending themselves". Israel have been holding Palestinians hostage in their own country for decades. Israel is constantly made out to be the victim in anything and everything no matter what wrong doing they do.

The Palestinian rockets are homemade pieces of junk while Israel is being funded by anyone and everyone using American military bombs. It's like sending a lion after a domestic kitten. Palestinians are the ones defending themselves saying enough is enough after the abuse they've faced from the Jews from Isreal.

[bunnybutt420]

What I find not fair is the excuse for Israel's attacks on Palestine being "they're defending themselves". Israel have been holding Palestinians hostage in their own country for decades. Israel is constantly made out to be the victim in anything and everything no matter what wrong doing they do.

The Palestinian rockets are homemade pieces of junk while Israel is being funded by anyone and everyone using American military bombs. It's like sending a lion after a domestic kitten. Palestinians are the ones defending themselves saying enough is enough after the abuse they've faced from the Jews from Isreal.

I completely agree with you.
I wonder were the Israelis defending themselves when they chose to attack a UN safezone (a school!), full of innocent children?

I'm in Ireland, and our country has often tried to speak out and help the Palestinians. We have attempted to send ships full of humanitarian aid/people to help, but every time we try, the Israelis stop us. We also did not allow American forces to stop off in Ireland on their way to help/give weapons to Israel.

In turn Israel insults us and make themselves look like the victims, they call Ireland's government 'anti Semites', 'extremists' and 'the most hostile country in the EU'. I hate that. I hate when they pull out the anti-semite card every time they realize that they can't defend their actions.