cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/15904702

“This was intentional,” said U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib. “You don’t accidentally kill massive amounts of children and their families over and over again and get to say, ‘It was a mistake.’”

  • 【J】【u】【s】【t】【Z】@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    I suppose if your media diet consists of Qatari state media and fundraising solicitations, as yours does, you would think that. In reality, commanders and tunnels are fair and morally just military targets under uncontroversial rules of war. And, if there’s a reasonable effort to notify civilians to leave the area, that’s all international law requires. Period everything you suggest above and beyond that is just your wish, and also ignores the fact that the tunnel warfare in Gaza is unprecedented in world history. If people don’t leave after the warnings, that’s on them. 99.3% of all Palestinians managing to get along without being killed standing near tunnel shafts, standing next to Hamas members. That’s the asymmetry I care about. That’s why I find these reactions over the top and hysterical. Especially when your counterproposal is to let generations, millions more Palestinians, live and die without ever knowing hope, under the physical and mental shackles of Hamas/panislamist leadership. I’m not concerned about the 0.7% who can’t seem to stay away from Hamas. The only thing they are victims of is radical pan-Islamist plot to use their deaths to weaken western military and political power in the region.

    They think they’re going to restore Islam to its “rightful place in the world,” which is code for a theocratic Islamic dictatorship ruling over hundreds of millions of people as well as killing every Jew in israel. The only rightful place in the world for Islamic government is in the trash bin, and aside from that it’s never going to happen as long as western governments remain generally committed to democratic ideals.

    I understand the news is very sad. Maybe your efforts would be better spent convincing the Palestinian people to tell Hamas to wear uniforms.and stop hiding under hospitals and houses, if they’re going to complain that 0.7% of them were indistinguishable, if they’re going to cry victim and wield international custom of war as a shield. Nah, they won’t do that, because they literally want their kids to be in harm’s way; their greatest ambition, under Hamas, is to die in a way that makes you sad.

    • FourPacketsOfPeanuts@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      While I agree with what you say, you must realise it’s not in Hamas’ interest to advertise to people around them exactly who they are? They rely on people not fleeing. Some are family members, yes. But others? They probably have no idea a senior commander is two tents over from them.

      • 【J】【u】【s】【t】【Z】@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        That’s true. I do understand that. In my view, it is willful blindness. You cannot stick your head in the sand and claim ignorance.

        The truth of the matter is that the only reason a particular family might not know is because so many other Palestinians are providing cover and support for Hamas.

        Every family in Gaza may not know a particular commander, they still know the Hamas people from their neighborhood, know where there’s a tunnel shaft or two. With even slight cooperation, combined with Israeli intelligence, Hamas would already be gone and we’d be talking about a pretty tame reconstruction, instead we’re talking about a fire in a refugee camp, and a reconstruction that will could take a decade. That’s the moral hazard of starting a war, it has to end somehow.