Morch

Not all Palestinians on the West Bank have to pass that many checkpoints for everyday stuff. That's simply not true. Also, doubt there's food shortage in the West Bank - again, something you add in without support. The Israelis can obviously cross the border to Israel as they do not normally pose a risk of carrying out terrorist attack, and, surprise - they are Israeli citizens. One can certainly criticize and object to the Israeli illegal settlement effort without getting carried away.

Hyperbole. The situation in the West Bank is not nearly the same as in the Gaza Strip. That you claim it's heading in the same direction doesn't make it so. What you've 'heard' (without providing support) is immaterial. You can go on and on about the blockade. If you refuse to acknowledge the reason it is in place, then your comments are meaningless. Prior to the attack there were 20,000-30,000 Gazans working in Israel everyday.

The Israeli Embassy would be closed on a Saturday, probably the reason police allowed that.

I'm not sure I fully follow you. The Hamas goal, as you described is on a tactical level - is that what you meant? Or was it about something of a more strategic level (as in generating support for the 'cause')? I don't see the two as being similar. The usual suspects do that they do, nothing out of the ordinary there. It's not like there wasn't a similar response on each and every past conflagration. Citing it as evidence of slipping support is odd. As for Western Europe, again - it depends what you are referring to on a government level, I'd say the trend generally accommodates (with caveats) Israel's position and is actually better (from Israel's point of view) than past instances. As far as Muslim protests in Europe, that's another thing that usually occurs under similar circumstances. If you could show a reliable shift in general public opinion, on a level exceeding past situations, maybe. So far, you haven't, though. I will add that while, generally speaking, the Arab world tends to express rage against Israel, it is not necessarily imply a whole lot of love for the Palestinians. And more specifically, Hamas. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, for example, are not really fans, to put it mildly. While there's a lot of vitriol talk on Arab media directed at Israel, there's is also some criticism directed at Hamas (granted, more nuanced and more subdued, for obvious reasons) - I think more so than in the past.

Do tell. Are you referring to governments? Mass protests by (mainly) Muslims? General public opinion? What, in your opinion, is Hamas's goal?

You'll have to be pretty disingenuous to pretend not to know who instigates most of the trolling, off topic deflections and so on.

Hamas's election victory had more to do with playing the PA-is-corrupt card. The 'struggle' message was put on a relatively low burner during the campaign as to win more moderate votes. If you think that an organization, a government, or a leadership cannot (or should not) change their policy even in the face of obvious disaster maybe you shouldn't be so surprised and enraged at Israeli government policies. The fact is that there are always choices, and when it suited Hamas's interests they displayed restraint and willingness to engage (especially with regard to economic issues). By making this claim, you essentially absolve the Hamas from any accountability to as to how things are. This is wrong. I most definitely did not ignore the blockade - that was a major part of most posts I made. You, on the other hand, seem bent on denying (or minimizing) any connection between Hamas actions and policies and the restrictions placed on the Gaza Strip. Before advising me to read books I probably have, perhaps concentrate on reading posts made in reply to yours.

Yes.

You are just deflecting now, and avoiding the issue. Hamas could have changed its stance vs. Israel, could have kept it but avoid acting on it, or whatever. Choices carry consequences. Hamas could have given Israel the motivation to ease restrictions, and generally did just the opposite. Somehow you find that this is Israel's fault. You can imagine what you like, but the fact is that crippled as it might be, the West Bank economy is still in a much better shape than the Gaza Strip's. If you wish to claim there's no significant differences, you're either being obstinate, clueless or an all-or-nothing person. Similar concepts apply to the Egypt side of things as well. And again - even with the blockade at place, Gaza's situation could have been better had the Hamas chosen to invest less in 'resistance' and more in developing infrastructure, welfare, education and so on. Civilian stuff. Instead it invested in arms, rockets, tunnels, bunkers and took a hefty cut of everything. The choice was made to prefer 'resistance' over civilians' well being. The 7/10 attack, and expected Israeli response are just another symptom of the same (I'm not getting into the domestic political angle within Hamas now, even). You seem to try and paint things with Israel as the sole responsible for all that's wrong - that's not how reality is.

Bomb shelters would seem an obvious choice. Any other infrastructure requiring cement, still and so on. Funds that go toward purchasing of rocket launchers could have been used to improve education, sanitation or whatever. Really not too complicated. Consider that without Hamas aggression toward Israel, there would be less of a justification to continue the blockade, or to fully apply it. And again, you keep ignoring the fact that Hamas and the existence of the blockade are tied.

The blockade on the Gaza Strip and Hamas' rule are connected. Highlighting just one of them as the cause for Gaza's economic woes is misguided. It is worth noting, again, that blockade in place, Hamas manages to restock rocket supplies, buy arms and dig numerous underground facilities and miles of tunnels. The energy and funds invested in these could have instead gone toward improving life in the Gaza Strip. It is a choice.

Barghouti was not simply 'locked up' but imprisoned for involvement in terrorism, and was arrested during the second Intifada (I've no idea what you exactly refer to by failed Oslo Accords, or which time this implies). He was quite popular before his arrest, and this popularity remains (increased even) to this day. He often outperforms current leaders in polls and public opinion surveys. In this regard, his imprisonment was, politically, the best thing that happened to him. Helps him keep a clean image, not involved in corruption, petty politics and the like. Then again, if he would have stayed out, hard to see how he'd be markedly different. So bottom line, he's popular, but current leaderships and their cohorts only pay lip service to this, and see him as a rival. Whether he will or will not be a good leader is an unknown. The whole 'succession' issue is quite murky. As for your 'ultra Zionists' bit - what you describe is a step beyond the current far right, even. I don't think that there's one of these in a position of power. Not if including everything you listed. Most of the right wing's efforts are centered on the West Bank and Eastern Jerusalem. From a religious and ideological point of view, these are the focal points. The Gaza Strip is such an obvious can of worms, that they are split on this as well, tough talk aside. The Sinai Peninsula? That's fringe. Not many who push this.

Posted earlier that the slim chance for peace is one of the casualties of the Hamas attack. Even disregarding the vengeance angle (which I don't), the prevailing sense in Israel is that the Palestinian side (I'm aware it was the Hamas, talking about public perceptions and feelings) cannot be trusted. Right wing elements do their best to fan these flames vs. Israeli Arabs as well, so far luckily no major traction. In many ways, similar collective state of mind as post-9/11 USA. Complete with quick advancement of legal initiatives curtailing freedom of speech, human rights on the domestic front. Major relaxation of gun ownership rules as well. But for all that, at least for now, polls are overwhelmingly negative as far as Netanyahu and his coalition partners go: Poll: 80% of Israelis say Netanyahu must publicly take responsibility for Oct. 7 failures https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/poll-80-of-israelis-say-netanyahu-must-publicly-take-responsibility-for-oct-7-failures/ It's a good question whether these trends will hold and until when. While they do not imply a prospect for a pro-peace government or change in public attitudes, they may result with stopping the current loons. Long term, the trends for the political landscape are grimmer. Needs to be remembered that this is an ongoing situation with extraordinary circumstances. Things may change rapidly.

One problem is English. Unless planning to focus on local market, that's a must. As for creativity - it depends. For example, this game was praised for it. Thai commercials are often mentioned in that regard as well (I have no idea why, but I don't watch much local tv). There's also no need to be super-creative, it's good enough to take an existing or old game and make it better, slicker, prettier or whatever.

I think you still see the ignored person posted, but you have to click on the post to read it.

I don't think I stated that...? Maybe we're having some communication problem (in comes that bit from Cool Hand Luke...).

There's a game mentioned in the OP (actually a series by now). Never played it, not my thing. But think it got decent reviews. Of course there's no hub, and there's not likely to be one. Bigger fish out there.

In what way did I 'underline' that?

About 5 years ago we had something like that, with the 'manao' ones. Like the cans weren't properly sealed or something. Same as what you described. This was from two different supermarket brands (and outside of Bangkok). Stopped buying it and never looked back. Aftertaste a bit too sweet and strong. Nowadays we just mix freshly squeezed lemon/lime juice with soda and ice. Mrs. reminds me that we did complain. Not with much hope of getting compensated or anything. Just to let them know. Got a shrug and some excuse.

I think they are capable of being stupid on their own. I know I was at that age.

Walk in the park would be your words, of course, nothing I implied. I was trying to demonstrate the impact, as some don't seem to get it. This is not a competition. 1400 dead would be a lot in any country. How many people in the USA actually knew someone who was injured or killed on 9/11? Unlike the USA or the UK, Israeli society is more closely knit. For one thing, it's a much smaller country, and more importantly there are certain social structures that further enhance this - people serve in the army together, go to the same universities, colleges, same rock concerts, whatever. Add that Israelis are not a formal bunch and what you get is that a whole lot of people know someone who got hurt, killed or abducted. If not that, they know someone who does, and so on. By the third 'circle' it's not just a face on the news, but someone they can relate to. In this regard, very different from the UK and the USA - it's more personal, less detached. If you need the mirror image, it works exactly the same way for Palestinians.

Eh? Hamas has a significant presence in the West Bank. But because the West Bank is under Israeli and PA security control, it cannot carry out similar attacks from there, or develop the necessary infrastructure. Israel is currently, in parallel to events in the South, carrying out operations to arrest Hamas members (not all, obviously) and to foil attacks. This not something new, just more intense than usual.

This was already discussed earlier and extensively so.

No Hamas in the West Bank? And that's after claiming to know a lot about these things. Hmmm....could you be possibly be trolling again? Nah, you wouldn't....

Honestly, I couldn't care less if it was intentional. They are teens(?). It's the age to do stupid things, believe you know everything, and go for big 'causes'. Whether they knew or didn't, they're just a bunch of daft kids. Tried a couple of times, not my taste. Plus what if they come up from the bottom of the ocean and take over the world? Better to be on their good side.