Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed on Saturday […]
"...there came a point, a few weeks ago, when I realized, the government isn’t going to end the war, isn’t bringing the hostages back, and isn’t helping the evacuees.”
" Increasingly, Netanyahu’s many opponents are questioning his handling of the war. Others are questioning the prime minister’s motives, suggesting his political interest lies in the continuation of the fighting, which inevitably delays his political demise. Netanyahu is currently under trial on various charges of corruption."
Well what could be going on in Israel, if people are unhappy with Netanyahu's handling of the war (killing Israeli hostages, for example) and unhappy with Israel's extremist right wing government in general? Do you suppose this criticism is coming from hippie leftist antisemitic hamas supporters? My conservative friends tell me any criticism of Israel's a government is certainly hippie leftist nazi antisemitic hamas-loving woke transgender propaganda.
If I understand the timeline correctly, in September, Netanyahu was unpopular, in trouble for corruption, and people were demonstrating in the streets. Suddenly, there was an attack and all dissatisfaction with Likud and Netanyahu vanished.
How could Israel's security forces have blundered so badly to allow such an attack, resulting in a long war agsinst a shadowy guerrilla enemy that you can never be completely sure you've defeated? A war that seems to keep Netanyahu in power. I'm just asking questions.
"Suddenly, there was an attack and all dissatisfaction with Likud and Netanyahu vanished."
Very much this is not the case. The removal of Netanyahu is a slow process but his lasting support primarily was based on his promise of domestic security for Israelis and that has obviously disappeared. Democracy is a slow process.
But what about this: I have read here and there that Netanyahu has for years supported hamas. There were accusations of leaked secret military plans and suitcases of cash being delivered to hamas. Of efforts to curb the activities of the palestine authority but no such effort to disrupt hamas. Of course I don't know if any of these accusations are true or not. This is the kind of stuff one reads in Haaretz, which admittedly, as all media, has a bias.
Still, could these allegations be true? And, if so, how striking that when Netanyahu was in both political and legal trouble, the pogrom of Oct 7 preserved his position. The suspicious and conspiratorial minded among us might try to make something there, however I don't want to make any suggestions like that.
Half the problem from a western civilian perspective is we just dont know the truth. We know Hamas massacres civilians, sets up torture rooms in hospitals, pretend to be noncombatants, and has a quality propaganda network. We know the IDF has at a very minimum killed civilians, and invaded homes, and maybe a lot more, but how much is propaganda and how much is truth?
We just dont know, and frankly Im frustrated that we dont know.
For months, any criticism of Israel's government was met with accusations of antisemitism, accusations of being "pro-hamas". Now that I am pointing out there is criticism of Israel's government coming from Israeli citizens inside Israel, the discussion I see generated avoids the actual topic and goes like: Well Hamas is very bad and has committed terrible atrocities and the IDF may have made a few regrettable mistakes but ackchyually white phosphorus is not illegal...
Why is it so hard for anyone to admit there could be valid reasons to be unhappy with Israel's government - reasons that are not antisemitic or pro-hamas, neither marxist nor nazi, but practical reasons relating to good governance not only for Palestine but Israel itself?
@Blamemeta@Bongo_Stryker I'm pro #Israel, and support their side of the conflict, but there are some small (but significant) cases in which the #IDF very likely violated international law/the #GenevaConventions; using #WhitePhosphorus, and the siege on #Gaza, as well as potentially the targeting of the #WCK truck. Targeting #Rafah probably looks like a genocidal tactic, but to be fair #Hamas militants are likely there.
White Phosphorus is legal to use. Not sure why people keep repeating it isn't.
White Phosphorus is used to create a smoke screen to allow your troops to move around. It is only illegal when used as a weapon and you don't try to minimize civilian casualties.
Israel goes beyond their responsibility to minimize civilians casualties.
@Blamemeta@Bongo_Stryker Thing is, violating international law and the rules of war are not the same as committing a genocide. Genocide is a very specific claim that #Israel does not meet the standard for. It's interesting to note as well that despite the (albeit minority) amount of American more mad at #Israel than #Hamas, #Hamas has done far, far worse in the #Israel#Hamas war than the #IDF has.