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Actually, that they didn't get a briefing makes the case worse. Had they received the briefing they would have been told that there might be hostages in the area. In other words, had they known that, would have been less likely to shoot someone waving a white flag.

Yes well in this case they really had no choice. That wasn't the kind of incident the news of which could be counted on to be suppressed or could be greeted with indifference by the Israeli public.

What you are not addressing here is the question raised about whether this incident was an anomaly or, in fact, reflected, at best, an indifference to war crimes committed against Palestinians by the troops. Previously, the IDF has not exactly covered itself in glory when it comes to investigating the conduct of its troops. For example, the assassination of an American reporter by an Israeli soldier in the West Bank. Despite the fact that there were multiple independent observers who claimed that the shots came from Israeli, the IDF persisted in attempting to cast doubt on the claim. Finally the evidence proved to be so overwhelming that the IDF conceded that in fact one of their soldiers had killed the reporter. But even then claimed it was unintentional despite the fact that the reporter was wearing a distinctive media vest and there was no ongoing violence when they were shot. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-63871856

That still doesn't explain why the willingness of countries to provide aid would be inversely proportional to how many civilians were killed. If anything, the more civilians that are killed, the more pressure there will be to allow aid.

There are views? I'm sure there are. Are they sensible? Clearly not. Israelis Abandon Political Left Over Security Concerns After Oct. 7 Disenchanted by the prospect for peace after a devastating terrorist attack, Israelis are becoming more conservative in their politics. In the wellspring of sadness, anger and fear that has gripped Israel since that day, a consensus has emerged that Israel needs to take a harder line with the Palestinians and embrace an even more militarized state. And while public opinion of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is faltering, support for the policies upheld by his right-wing government is growing. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/19/world/middleeast/israel-oct-7-left-wing-peace.html

Really? You think 20,000 as opposed to 40,000 or 40,000 as opposed to 80,000 is going to make a difference in the desire of the international community to cooperate? Why?

Britain's former defense secretary warns Israel's 'killing rage' risks 50 more years of conflict Israel is losing its legal basis for the war in Gaza with its “killing rage,” senior British politician Ben Wallace has warned amid growing Western criticism of Tel Aviv. The former defense secretary told the Daily Telegraph that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “losing sight of the long term,” advising Israel to end its "crude and indiscriminate method of attack" in Gaza. “But if he thinks a killing rage will rectify matters, then he is very wrong,” he said. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/britains-former-defense-secretary-warns-israels-killing-rage-risks-50-more-years-of-conflict/3086399

Here are nine investigations on voter fraud that found virtually nothing https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/01/25/here-are-nine-major-investigations-on-voter-fraud-that-found-virtually-nothing/ Investigation finds only 475 cases of potential voter fraud in battleground states won by Biden https://fortune.com/2021/12/14/trump-voter-fraud-investigation-biden-battleground-states-only-475-potential-voter-fraud-cases/ And as I pointed out earlier, one of the main reasons ERIC exists is to make sure voters only vote in 1 state. Of course, Republicans are now pulling out of it because, well, the truth hurts.

Israel Quietly Pushed for Egypt to Admit Large Numbers of Gazans The Israeli government has not publicly called for large numbers of Gazans to move to Egypt. But in private, diplomats say, it has pushed for just that — augmenting Palestinian fears of a permanent expulsion. https://archive.ph/SE8z6 https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/05/world/middleeast/israel-egypt-gaza.html Intelligence Ministry ‘concept paper’ proposes transferring Gazans to Egypt’s Sinai Prime Minister’s Office plays down document as hypothetical, non-binding, though Netanyahu reported to be lobbying EU governments to pressure Egypt to take in refugees https://www.timesofisrael.com/intelligence-ministry-concept-paper-proposes-transferring-gazans-to-egypts-sinai/ As time goes by the pressure to do something will grow even stronger. You really believe that members of the Israeli government aren't aware of how the massive destruction of infrastructure can play out? Those people may be many things, but stupid isn't one of them.

Ya got some evidence to show that's a realistic expectation?

No, I don't have "nothing but a feeling." It's the general consensus outside of Israel that the bombing campaign has been excessive. And there have been plenty of extreme statements from various members of the cabinet You may think that those don't count but you're forgetting that members of the war cabinet are also politicians. Remember how American politics changed on 9/11? Well, the shock delivered to Israel was even more severe. Whatever the stance of the more moderate members of the current cabinet, it's overwhelmingly likely that their thinking has changed. And politically speaking, would the Israeli public even accept a more considered, less hasty approach. It's true that while the Israeli political right wants the moderates support in the current situation, the moderates need to be part of the current government if they are to have any hope of political success later. I've read lots of Israeli commentators about their future hopes, and they don't seem to be great unless they take the same sharp rightward turn that the Israeli electorate has taken. You mean why haven't all the Gazans fled the north? According to the Israel Times, as of Nov 8, more than 70% of Gazans had fled. Who knows what the percentage is now? As for why is there less in the center, maybe it's because Israel's capacity for bombing isn't unlimited? And I don't understand your question about Rafah. If Israel wanted the Gazans to exit the territory, why would they bomb Rafah? Anyway, they are bombing it a bit but not much so far. As for sending in ground troops...you seem to assume that the Israelis would have to choose one course over the other. The better question would be why not both given the Israeli public's (well roughly 80%) hunger for vengeance. Finally, why wouldn't Israel want to make Gaza less habitable for the current residents? What strategic objective wouldn't be served if a significant number were to leave? Israel is going to have to occupy Gaza for quite a while if not forever. That should put something of a strain on the economy. It would be a lot easier to manage if there were a lot less Gazans.

I went to the Rasmussen web site. 2 of the questions asked are did you fill out the ballot for someone else or did someone else fill out the ballot for you. It doesn't mean that the person filling out the ballot put in a name contrary to the voter's wishes. Rasmussen didn't ask about that. And the unreliability of the poll is obvious. 17% filled out a ballot for a state they no longer lived in? There's something called ERIC, the voter roll program that checks for precisely this kind of activity. Oddly enough, right-wingers want to cancel it. And they're succeeding in Red States to do just that. https://www.votebeat.org/23045551/eric-electronic-registration-information-center-voter-roll-matching-program/

Even if this if this poll is valid,( and keep in mind it's from Rasmussen) guess what, it's bad news for Trump, not Democrats. From the article you clearly didn't read: Among those who cast mail-in ballots in 2020, nearly equal percentages of Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters admitted to fraudulent activities. For example, 19% of Republicans, 16% of Democrats and 17% of unaffiliated voters who cast 2020 mail-in ballots say they signed a ballot or ballot envelope on behalf of a friend or family member. On the question of voting in a state where they were no longer a permanent resident. more Republican mail-in voters (24%) than Democrats (17%) or unaffiliated voters (11%) admitted doing so.

Here is the second line from the article: Unless every foreigner emigrating to the UK is the spouse of some British citizen, your comment makes no sense. "James Cleverly, the home secretary, announced last week that a British citizen who wants to sponsor their foreign spouse to live with them in the UK will need to earn at least £38,700 a year to qualify for a family visa application." Unless every foreigner emigrating to the UK is the spouse of some British citizen, your comment makes no sense.

Actuially, it's been revealed that Israel not only gave Qatar the go ahead to distributie 30 million dollars per month in Gaza in order to allay popular discontent against Hamas, but physically assisted in said distribution. Not only that, it now turns out that Israel knew the source of Hamas funds and purposefully did nothing about it. Who knows if Hamas would still be in power if the Gazans hadn't been sheltered from Hamas misrule by the Israelis?

How isn't attempting to steal an election from those whose vote prevailed not a violation of their civil rights?

Yes. you are correct. I got it wrong. It turns out you can turn it down

Thank you for providing such a convincing qualifier as "plenty". Were there "plenty" of business that couldn't? What was the ratio of the "plenty" that could to the "plenty" that couldn't? What is the actual number that "plenty" signifies?

What does this have to do with the big jump in the number of people who have purchased health insurance under the aegis of Obamacare?

Thank you for the I specifically cited figures that show that the policies procured on the exchanges - not Medicare - have increased by 50% since the Biden administration took office.

Hostage Deaths Fuel Israelis’ Doubts About Netanyahu "Yagil Levy, an Israeli military expert at the Open University of Israel, spoke of “a real gap between the formal rules of engagement and the practice on the battlefield.” Given fear and fatigue, he said, “I’m almost sure these rules of engagement are not honored or implemented by the forces on the ground.” Mr. Levy said he also saw parallels between the deaths of the three hostages and Israel’s operations in Gaza in general. He believes that the disregard for the formal rules of engagement revealed by the army’s investigation into the deaths will become still more evident after the war, when further investigations are done." https://archive.ph/C3zAw https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/17/world/middleeast/netanyahu-israel-gaza-hostages-politics.html

Except that such people tend to come from wealthy backgrounds. So their families have the means to investigate. People who would respond to the advertisements for such work are far less likely to be well connected.

Haaretz Today | I Want to Believe the IDF Won't Shoot Unarmed Civilians Holding a White Flag "I don't know how many people believe General Halevi when he says the IDF doesn't shoot those who have surrendered. Israeli soldiers have shot unarmed civilians in a few different incidents that have been caught on camera lately. In Israel, as well as in the West Bank and Gaza. " https://archive.ph/JsIx1#selection-1015.0-1015.2 https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/haaretz-today/2023-12-17/ty-article/.highlight/i-want-to-believe-the-idf-wont-shoot-unarmed-civilians-holding-a-white-flag/0000018c-7896-d301-a3ac-fed78b050000

Thanks for the rant.

I'm not sure what a laissez faire passport is. The U.N. issues laissez passer travel document that can function like passports but only to officials. As for Egypt issue passports to Palestinians, do you mean Palestinians living in the West Bank or in Gaza? Or Palestinian refugees in Egypt? The PA does have the authority to issue passports (although Israel does get some say in this) so I don't see why Palestinians living there would go to Egypt to get one. Not sure how the Israelis would regard a Palestinian who did that. I suspect that they would construe it to mean that said Palestinian is no longer a resident of the West Bank or Gaza and is therefore not entitled to return.