Demonstrators burn Israeli flags at Embassy Protest in Bangkok

[Credo]

It's interesting that this demonstration is permitted and yet a group of displaced people from a forest reserve were removed from another site.

[rametindallas]

For those posters taking the cause of a 'Palestinian homeland'. The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is ruled by the 10% of the population that are Hashemites even though the population is majority Palestinian. Jordan is the Palestinian's homeland.

http://www.meforum.org/3121/jordan-is-palestinian

[Morch]

Human shields are a lie.

So when Hamas calls to people to go up on the roofs to thwart attacks, that's not using human shields.

And when Hamas launches rockets from within densely populated urban areas, that's also not using human shields.

And when Hamas tells civilians to disregard Israeli warnings to clear before impeding attacks, that's not using human shields.

The Hamas never offered to recognize Israel.

Israel does recognize the PA as the Palestinian representative. So does most of the world.

More lies. Hamas didn't call for people to go on to their roofs - it defended the residents' decision to do so.

So Hamas should launch rockets from open areas (not too many in Gaza) so Israeli drones could pick them off. Really stupid idea.

Many of the people have nowhere to go. Other houses? just as likely to be blown up. The fact is that collective punishment is wrong except to defenders like yourself who also defend the killing of civilians and twist it into blaming the victims. Just contemptible.

Enough today for me dealing with Zionists.

Third time you use the "liar" card. Very civil.

Hamas media is constantly calling people to come and defend places with their lives and bodies.

The interview you refer to is one of the few translated bits, there's a whole lot out there. Just to be

a little more clear, do you know of any other government which does not stop civilians from actively

putting themselves in harm's way? Somehow thought that fell under the responsibilities associated

with good governance, but hey - obviously the Hamas is no nanny state.

There are actually plenty of open areas in the Gaza Strip fit to place launchers in, they do not take up

all that much space. It certainly does not have to be from residential areas or from the vicinity of such

localities as hospitals, schools and mosques. It might be a stupid idea, but perhaps not quite as stupid

as putting so many civilians in danger by making their neighborhoods host military facilities. And funny

enough, most countries actually follow through with this stupid idea.... guess the Hamas is really on to

something.

I do not defend the killing of civilians. I am simply asking you why you place the responsibility for this

only on one side. So far, can't seem to get a coherent answer except for bad manners.

And for the record, Zionists are not all right wingers. For that matter, not all support Netanyahu, or all

of the IDF actions against the Palestinians. Most Israelis (barring Arab and Orthodox Jews) would

probably define themselves as Zionists, even though the meaning of Zionism may be different for them.

But as long as you're happy with your broad brush definitions of both sides - have a good night.

Notice that I didn't call you a liar. However when you post that the killers of the 3 Israeli youths are Hamas followers, this is a lie because it's not proven. Posting others' lies dosen't make you a liar if you think they further your agenda - you're more of a propagandist.

Blaming Hamas, no matter how awful you think they are, for the killing of their own people is just despicable when the Israelis have dropped the bombs - as they did twice before with even worse level of casualties which only satisfies a blood lust - and despite what you say, you support that mind set.

Given the drones, informers and Israel's sheer military might, it is not surprising that Hamas fighters do their best to conceal themselves when firing rockets. Yes, they endanger others, but that's what urban warfare is like. Again it's Hamas's fault for Israel bombing mosques, hospitals, schools etc - warped thinking and contemptuous.

Why don't you ask yourself why you are only blaming one side. I haven't seen the slightest fairness from your posts, only joining in the rabid anti-Hamas mob's rants.

My take on Zionism is in post no. 86 in response to Jingthing.

I note that you keep claims "lies" when referring to other posters opinions and take on the situation, even when these are

backed by facts. If you feel that is a civil and proper way to conduct a discussion, well - each to his own. Personally find it

lame, and rude.

You keep on saying there was no proof that the killers of the three Israelis were Hamas followers, and that claiming so is a

lie. I'll say again - details about their affiliation were on many a media source, not only local. You are free to ignore this, of

course, or believe it is all propaganda.

I do not think that I ever claimed all the casualties are the Hamas's fault. I do think that when the Hamas sets up its bases,

headquarters, operations etc. firmly within residential areas, it bears a fare share of the responsibility for their casualties.

The same goes for telling the local populace to ignore air raid warnings. My position is not that Israel is totally absolved of

any responsibility when it comes to civilian casualties - just that this is not a simple matter as some seem to think it is. Not

quite following your logic as to why it is alright for the Hamas to operate from these areas but wrong for Israel to attack.

If one wished to look at the whole conflict - Israel surely got a lot to answer for. When the topic is focused on Hamas vs.

Israel hostilities - Israel's justification for action are usually on firmer ground. That does not make Israel right in relation to

the conflict in its entirety, or make everything Israel does the hallmark of morality even within the context of the topic at

hand. On the same level, most of what the Hamas does is not necessarily related to the conflict in general, but more to do

with Hamas. I think that failing to make these distinctions is something many posters exhibit in the relevant discussions.

Again - don't see how using "lies", "propagandist", "blood lust" and "rabid" contribute much to the discussion. I would like

to think you can make a point without resorting to such rhetoric.

[Morch]

For those posters taking the cause of a 'Palestinian homeland'. The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is ruled by the 10% of the population that are Hashemites even though the population is majority Palestinian. Jordan is the Palestinian's homeland.

http://www.meforum.org/3121/jordan-is-palestinian

The article cited is authored by one, Mudar Zahran. A quick search would indicate his interest in taking such a stand.

As far as I am aware most West Bank and Gaza Strip Palestinians do not support the notion, and have little inclination to

move themselves over across the Jordan river. Even if there was a change in Jordan, whereby the Jordanian Palestinians

would take over, it is doubtful how many of their brethren would make haste to emigrate there from the West Bank.

While this stance was quite popular with right wing Israeli parties for a while, this is not the case nowadays. Somehow the

prospect of turning Jordan from a rather efficient buffer zone vs. ISIS, into a hostile Palestinian territory lost much of its allure.

[Scott]

Off-topic post deleted.

[kap]

Why does such an anecdotic conflict make people who are not directly concerned so passionate (from either side), in Europe, America...even Asia now. As far as Thailand is concerned it's not even sure the guerilla in the south doesn't kill more people than these middle-eastern trifles.

Very different security challenges, but around 2,600 non Muslim killings attributed to the militants in the past 10 years in the deep South. In the same period approx 300+ Israelis killed due to Islamic terrorism.

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/casualtiestotal.html

And around 4,000 (mostly) Muslims killed in Palestine & Lebanon due to Israeli state terrorism

Sorry Simple1 I know that you're normally reasonably fair and knowledgeable about the region but the above is blatantly one-sided.

4,000! ...that's a pretty slow week in the Arab Muslim world of terror.

Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, not to mention the smaller and less known religions (ie. Bahia). China, India, SE Asia, Noth Africa, sub Saharan Africa, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America. Houses of worship, hotels, malls, restaurants, coffee shops, cinemas, hospitals. Beheadings, crucifixions, gang rapes, medieval torture...for starters! ...nothing is off limits, no red lines!

Hell, they can't even get along with each other...and I'm not even talking about the 1300? year old Sunni/Shia divide. Even the Al Quida types couldn't get along/wasn't extreme enough so that this ISIS group had to step up and out do them.

Just look at the culrural norms in the Arab/Muslim world. Honor killings, female genital mutilation, forced marriages (including VERY minor children...Mo's bride 9 y.o. Aisha), acid throwing, treating woman as chattel, killing of gays, blatant discrimination of any type of minority (ethnic, religious, etc). A general backwardness and evil, or at least meanness.

The only thing worse than these mental rejects are their supporters, appeasers and apologists...especially those in the developed liberal democratic world, usually amongst the uber-liberals and leftists.

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[CBR250]

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From the picture, it looks like it's a bunch of bearded Osamas protesting. I don't think the non muslim Thais really give a damn about what's happening there. Not enough to protest at least.

Just recently...Hamas was asked to sign a temporary peace treaty...to stop the violence...which Israel had already signed...and their answer was to fire more than 100 rockets into Israel injuring many...these people are not interested peace...their aim is to wipe Israel and the Jews from the face of the earth...with this in mind...if you were an Israeli...what would you do...?

The Egyptian proposal for cease fire that Hamas rejected was not one worth considering. It basically maintained the Israeli hand on the Gaza throat. The blockade was to be kept in place. Gazans still could not catch fish more than 3km from shore. Medicines and building materials and repairs for buildings and infrastructure destroyed by Israeli high-tech weaponry were not allowed. So, the cease fire meant Hamas stops firing rockets and Israel won't fire missiles, artillery and tank shells into the most densely populated area on the planet. And Israel will keep strangling the Gazan population with the connivance of the Egyptians. Not much of a ceasefire offer, really.

I understand the fear and insecurity that Israelis experience, and wish it were not so. However, I also understand the desire for vengeance by other Israelis, and the strategy to maintain conflict by the Israeli government to allow the continuing theft of land in the West Bank. All of these motivations lie behind the murder of innocent women and children in Gaza by the IDF. It is not only about protection for Israelis.

I invite those who rush to defend Israeli actions to focus instead on what realistically can be done to resolve this situation without the continuing loss of life on both sides. BTW, asking Hamas to just surrender to whatever demands Israel makes is not a realistic proposal.

Edited July 23, 2014 by CBR250

[CBR250]

Why does such an anecdotic conflict make people who are not directly concerned so passionate (from either side), in Europe, America...even Asia now. As far as Thailand is concerned it's not even sure the guerilla in the south doesn't kill more people than these middle-eastern trifles.

Very different security challenges, but around 2,600 non Muslim killings attributed to the militants in the past 10 years in the deep South. In the same period approx 300+ Israelis killed due to Islamic terrorism.

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/casualtiestotal.html

And around 4,000 (mostly) Muslims killed in Palestine & Lebanon due to Israeli state terrorism

Sorry Simple1 I know that you're normally reasonably fair and knowledgeable about the region but the above is blatantly one-sided.

4,000! ...that's a pretty slow week in the Arab Muslim world of terror.

Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, not to mention the smaller and less known religions (ie. Bahia). China, India, SE Asia, Noth Africa, sub Saharan Africa, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America. Houses of worship, hotels, malls, restaurants, coffee shops, cinemas, hospitals. Beheadings, crucifixions, gang rapes, medieval torture...for starters! ...nothing is off limits, no red lines!

Hell, they can't even get along with each other...and I'm not even talking about the 1300? year old Sunni/Shia divide. Even the Al Quida types couldn't get along/wasn't extreme enough so that this ISIS group had to step up and out do them.

Just look at the culrural norms in the Arab/Muslim world. Honor killings, female genital mutilation, forced marriages (including VERY minor children...Mo's bride 9 y.o. Aisha), acid throwing, treating woman as chattel, killing of gays, blatant discrimination of any type of minority (ethnic, religious, etc). A general backwardness and evil, or at least meanness.

The only thing worse than these mental rejects are their supporters, appeasers and apologists...especially those in the developed liberal democratic world, usually amongst the uber-liberals and leftists.

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Feeling a little better now, are we?

[Morch]

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From the picture, it looks like it's a bunch of bearded Osamas protesting. I don't think the non muslim Thais really give a damn about what's happening there. Not enough to protest at least.

Just recently...Hamas was asked to sign a temporary peace treaty...to stop the violence...which Israel had already signed...and their answer was to fire more than 100 rockets into Israel injuring many...these people are not interested peace...their aim is to wipe Israel and the Jews from the face of the earth...with this in mind...if you were an Israeli...what would you do...?

The Egyptian proposal for cease fire that Hamas rejected was not one worth considering. It basically maintained the Israeli hand on the Gaza throat. The blockade was to be kept in place. Gazans still could not catch fish more than 3km from shore. Medicines and building materials and repairs for buildings and infrastructure destroyed by Israeli high-tech weaponry were not allowed. So, the cease fire meant Hamas stops firing rockets and Israel won't fire missiles, artillery and tank shells into the most densely populated area on the planet. And Israel will keep strangling the Gazan population with the connivance of the Egyptians. Not much of a ceasefire offer, really.

I understand the fear and insecurity that Israelis experience, and wish it were not so. However, I also understand the desire for vengeance by other Israelis, and the strategy to maintain conflict by the Israeli government to allow the continuing theft of land in the West Bank. All of these motivations lie behind the murder of innocent women and children in Gaza by the IDF. It is not only about protection for Israelis.

I invite those who rush to defend Israeli actions to focus instead on what realistically can be done to resolve this situation without the continuing loss of life on both sides. BTW, asking Hamas to just surrender to whatever demands Israel makes is not a realistic proposal.

I would have thought keeping the people safe would be one main consideration for any government. How does a ceasefire

which saves lives is not worthy of consideration? A ceasefire, first and foremost, means people do not die. Can always get

back to fighting if it turns sour.

The blockade - What does Hamas do with concrete and other building materials? Seems like they invest a whole lot of funds

and materials in building underground tunnels used for carrying out operations against Israel. Do they invest the same in the

public welfare? Do they make the save effort when it comes to public safety? Most Gazans are not even allowed to seek

refuge from the fighting down there. That's not a new thing, confined to the current round of hostilities.

The blockade - How come Egypt doesn't get much flack over this? There's a border pass, they control it, it could be open by

tomorrow if they wished it. Egypt could easily allow convoys of humanitarian aid through, could set up a safe zone for the non

combatants, and could set up temporary medical facilities there. They do nothing of the sort, and they have their own agenda.

Talking about realistic solutions - how realistic it is to expect that Israel will remove the blockade with an almost certainty

that Hamas will use this to re-arm itself? Why is it realistic for Israel to accept all of Hamas's ceasefire demands? What is

unrealistic about accepting a ceasefire to keep your people from dying?

[chotthee]

Israeli people are good people and supported by USA.

Gaza people are bad people and supported by Islam.

[CBR250]

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From the picture, it looks like it's a bunch of bearded Osamas protesting. I don't think the non muslim Thais really give a damn about what's happening there. Not enough to protest at least.

Just recently...Hamas was asked to sign a temporary peace treaty...to stop the violence...which Israel had already signed...and their answer was to fire more than 100 rockets into Israel injuring many...these people are not interested peace...their aim is to wipe Israel and the Jews from the face of the earth...with this in mind...if you were an Israeli...what would you do...?

The Egyptian proposal for cease fire that Hamas rejected was not one worth considering. It basically maintained the Israeli hand on the Gaza throat. The blockade was to be kept in place. Gazans still could not catch fish more than 3km from shore. Medicines and building materials and repairs for buildings and infrastructure destroyed by Israeli high-tech weaponry were not allowed. So, the cease fire meant Hamas stops firing rockets and Israel won't fire missiles, artillery and tank shells into the most densely populated area on the planet. And Israel will keep strangling the Gazan population with the connivance of the Egyptians. Not much of a ceasefire offer, really.

I understand the fear and insecurity that Israelis experience, and wish it were not so. However, I also understand the desire for vengeance by other Israelis, and the strategy to maintain conflict by the Israeli government to allow the continuing theft of land in the West Bank. All of these motivations lie behind the murder of innocent women and children in Gaza by the IDF. It is not only about protection for Israelis.

I invite those who rush to defend Israeli actions to focus instead on what realistically can be done to resolve this situation without the continuing loss of life on both sides. BTW, asking Hamas to just surrender to whatever demands Israel makes is not a realistic proposal.

I would have thought keeping the people safe would be one main consideration for any government. How does a ceasefire

which saves lives is not worthy of consideration? A ceasefire, first and foremost, means people do not die. Can always get

back to fighting if it turns sour.

The blockade - What does Hamas do with concrete and other building materials? Seems like they invest a whole lot of funds

and materials in building underground tunnels used for carrying out operations against Israel. Do they invest the same in the

public welfare? Do they make the save effort when it comes to public safety? Most Gazans are not even allowed to seek

refuge from the fighting down there. That's not a new thing, confined to the current round of hostilities.

The blockade - How come Egypt doesn't get much flack over this? There's a border pass, they control it, it could be open by

tomorrow if they wished it. Egypt could easily allow convoys of humanitarian aid through, could set up a safe zone for the non

combatants, and could set up temporary medical facilities there. They do nothing of the sort, and they have their own agenda.

Talking about realistic solutions - how realistic it is to expect that Israel will remove the blockade with an almost certainty

that Hamas will use this to re-arm itself? Why is it realistic for Israel to accept all of Hamas's ceasefire demands? What is

unrealistic about accepting a ceasefire to keep your people from dying?

Your response makes it - painfully - apparent that you clearly do not know and probably don't even even want to know what or how the situation can be resolved other than as a complete and abject surrender from Hamas. Perspectives such as that you evince are common amongst a certain category of Israeli supporters - and llustrate perfectly why Hamas is reluctant to participate in a dialogue.

[OMGImInPattaya]

They've got the right idea. The United Nations has declared that Zionism is racism. Since Israel is a Zionist state, then logic tells us that Israel is a racist state, on a par with the former Apartheid South Africa.

Please understand that Jewish nationalism or the wish for a Jewish homeland/state is not in and of itself racism, just the theories and tenets of Theodore Herzl and Zionism are racist.

Edited July 23, 2014 by OMGImInPattaya

[Morch]

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Just recently...Hamas was asked to sign a temporary peace treaty...to stop the violence...which Israel had already signed...and their answer was to fire more than 100 rockets into Israel injuring many...these people are not interested peace...their aim is to wipe Israel and the Jews from the face of the earth...with this in mind...if you were an Israeli...what would you do...?

The Egyptian proposal for cease fire that Hamas rejected was not one worth considering. It basically maintained the Israeli hand on the Gaza throat. The blockade was to be kept in place. Gazans still could not catch fish more than 3km from shore. Medicines and building materials and repairs for buildings and infrastructure destroyed by Israeli high-tech weaponry were not allowed. So, the cease fire meant Hamas stops firing rockets and Israel won't fire missiles, artillery and tank shells into the most densely populated area on the planet. And Israel will keep strangling the Gazan population with the connivance of the Egyptians. Not much of a ceasefire offer, really.

I understand the fear and insecurity that Israelis experience, and wish it were not so. However, I also understand the desire for vengeance by other Israelis, and the strategy to maintain conflict by the Israeli government to allow the continuing theft of land in the West Bank. All of these motivations lie behind the murder of innocent women and children in Gaza by the IDF. It is not only about protection for Israelis.

I invite those who rush to defend Israeli actions to focus instead on what realistically can be done to resolve this situation without the continuing loss of life on both sides. BTW, asking Hamas to just surrender to whatever demands Israel makes is not a realistic proposal.

I would have thought keeping the people safe would be one main consideration for any government. How does a ceasefire

which saves lives is not worthy of consideration? A ceasefire, first and foremost, means people do not die. Can always get

back to fighting if it turns sour.

The blockade - What does Hamas do with concrete and other building materials? Seems like they invest a whole lot of funds

and materials in building underground tunnels used for carrying out operations against Israel. Do they invest the same in the

public welfare? Do they make the save effort when it comes to public safety? Most Gazans are not even allowed to seek

refuge from the fighting down there. That's not a new thing, confined to the current round of hostilities.

The blockade - How come Egypt doesn't get much flack over this? There's a border pass, they control it, it could be open by

tomorrow if they wished it. Egypt could easily allow convoys of humanitarian aid through, could set up a safe zone for the non

combatants, and could set up temporary medical facilities there. They do nothing of the sort, and they have their own agenda.

Talking about realistic solutions - how realistic it is to expect that Israel will remove the blockade with an almost certainty

that Hamas will use this to re-arm itself? Why is it realistic for Israel to accept all of Hamas's ceasefire demands? What is

unrealistic about accepting a ceasefire to keep your people from dying?

Your response makes it - painfully - apparent that you clearly do not know and probably don't even even want to know what or how the situation can be resolved other than as a complete and abject surrender from Hamas. Perspectives such as that you evince are common amongst a certain category of Israeli supporters - and llustrate perfectly why Hamas is reluctant to participate in a dialogue.

Yes, I know - them facts are troublesome. Much easier to deal with them by making an ad hominem argument.

Where did my post say anything about Hamas "complete and abject surrender"?

When did Hamas offer a dialogue with Israel? (and no truce, or hudna, is not dialogue).

[Morch]

They've got the right idea. The United Nations has declared that Zionism is racism. Since Israel is a Zionist state, then logic tells us that Israel is a racist state, on a par with the former Apartheid South Africa.

Please understand that Jewish nationalism or the wish for a Jewish homeland/state is not in and of itself racism, just the theories and tenets of Theodore Herzl and Zionism are racist.

If the UN said so, it must be true.

Surely, there are no political interests effecting the way members vote.

[Thorgal]

The reason that so many Palestinians are willing to martyr themselves, is because their life under Israeli occupation is unbearable.

There is just nothing to really live for, as it is like one giant concentration camp. It is un-substaiable in it's current form. At some point, when you

torture people & confiscate everything they have, they are going to push back.

I hope that day will come sooner than later.

Gaza is not under Israeli occupation.

Gaza is under Hamas occupation.

Did you went to Gaza yourself or is this pro-Israel google intelligence ?

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[Morch]

The reason that so many Palestinians are willing to martyr themselves, is because their life under Israeli occupation is unbearable.

There is just nothing to really live for, as it is like one giant concentration camp. It is un-substaiable in it's current form. At some point, when you

torture people & confiscate everything they have, they are going to push back.

I hope that day will come sooner than later.

Gaza is not under Israeli occupation.

Gaza is under Hamas occupation.

Did you went to Gaza yourself or is this pro-Israel google intelligence ?

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

Are you trying to claim that there were Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip since 2005?

Or, for that matter occupying Israeli troops since the same year?

What we see in Gaza Strip now is warfare, not occupation. If Israel stays there and takes control of the area, yes.

[claffey]

Its sad to see innocent people die.

But i see no hate towards their people the HAMAS who are responsible for escalating this!

Hamas, a terrorist organization, purposefully fires missiles from civilian homes, schools and mosques and orders it's people to form human shields around these launch sites so when Israel responds

Hamas was set up to fight for the stolen land of the Palestinians. The Israeli govt are also terrorists and their response is unproportional and a war crime..look at the numbers being killed daily.its a massacre..

Sent from my SM-T2105 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Johpa]

The article cited is authored by one, Mudar Zahran. A quick search would indicate his interest in taking such a stand.

As far as I am aware most West Bank and Gaza Strip Palestinians do not support the notion, and have little inclination to

move themselves over across the Jordan river. Even if there was a change in Jordan, whereby the Jordanian Palestinians

would take over, it is doubtful how many of their brethren would make haste to emigrate there from the West Bank.

While this stance was quite popular with right wing Israeli parties for a while, this is not the case nowadays. Somehow the

prospect of turning Jordan from a rather efficient buffer zone vs. ISIS, into a hostile Palestinian territory lost much of its allure.

After 1947 there were two populations in West Bank; those native to the West Bank and those who fled from israeli territory into the West Bank as refugees. The refugees were forced to live in refugee camps or emmigrate, they were not allowed to be absorbed into the Jordanian population. That created quite the rift between the refugees and King Hussein. As these two populations merged that animus has been absorbed by many of those on the West Bank against the HaShem clan of King Hussein and has persisted to this day. Despite this animus, and despite my personal infatuation with Queens Noor and Rania, I still belive that the only viable Palestinian state is that of Jordan linked with the West Bank and Gaza. It is delusional to think that the West Bank linked with Gaza could become a financially viable independent nation-state. It makes no sense not to unite adjacent populations sharing indentical cultural markers. And that is the weakness in the Levant that ISIS is exploiting.

[dr_lucas]

They've got the right idea. The United Nations has declared that Zionism is racism. Since Israel is a Zionist state, then logic tells us that Israel is a racist state, on a par with the former Apartheid South Africa.

Please understand that Jewish nationalism or the wish for a Jewish homeland/state is not in and of itself racism, just the theories and tenets of Theodore Herzl and Zionism are racist.

If the UN said so, it must be true.

Surely, there are no political interests effecting the way members vote.

You forgot to mention that there is an automatic biased majority against Israel in the UN since its establishment in 1948, the Arab lobby, and every resolution against and/or related to Israel has always been and probably always will be automatically approved in the general assembly.

If anyone wants to condemn Israel for the 2004 Indian Ocean's tsunami, just bring it for voting in the UN general assembly and it will issue a resolution against Israel on this. This is no joking matter, I am darn serious.

It also has quite an impartial majority in the security council, with Russia and China usually automatically voting against Israel, to satisfy and preserve their close relationships with their allies, the Arab league and other Muslim countries.

Luckily for Israel, they at least have its ally, the USA, with its veto right to balance this a bit and block most security council unbalanced resolutions.

P.S. The UN declaration of "Zionism = racism" (resolution 3379, which was part of the Soviet-Arab Cold War anti-Israel campaign) was made on 1975 and revoked by the UN on 1991 (Resolution 46/86) when Israel had made the revocation a condition of its participation in the Madrid Peace Conference of 1991.

Edited July 23, 2014 by dr_lucas

[dr_lucas]

Its sad to see innocent people die.

But i see no hate towards their people the HAMAS who are responsible for escalating this!

Hamas, a terrorist organization, purposefully fires missiles from civilian homes, schools and mosques and orders it's people to form human shields around these launch sites so when Israel responds

Hamas was set up to fight for the stolen land of the Palestinians. The Israeli govt are also terrorists and their response is unproportional and a war crime..look at the numbers being killed daily.its a massacre..

Sent from my SM-T2105 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

What stolen land you refer to? The one Israel withdrew from and no longer occupy since 2005?

What proportional response do you expect? Sending them flowers and pizzas?

If I was living in Israel and a group of terrorists was continuously firing missiles to my city and digging terror tunnels from their land, under my border into my land, endangering my house, property, life and the lives of my people, I'd first do everything I can to protect myself (like using "iron dome" anti-rocket defense system, with the 90% accuracy/success rate. Which, by the way, explains the minimal damages in Israel during this round of violence) and hunt that terror group down and annihilate it, doesn't matter if it's Muslim, Christian, Jewish or any other religion.

If that group of terrorists was firing those missiles from hospitals, houses, schools and any other civilian building, while using innocent civilians as human-shields to protect themselves and their rocket launchers from my weapons, I'd do everything I can to warn the innocent civilians to leave/evacuate the area first (as Israel does with 100,000 leaflets it throws from planes to areas before the army gets there, calls hundreds of thousands of homes and mobiles and send SMSs, and of course the using the final "knock on the roof" warning routine), and surgically eliminate the terrorist and their weapons.

If there are still civilians who refuse to leave, or stay on purpose because they want to sacrifice their lives for the terrorists they are supporting, then by all means - they will die with them, no question asked. Hamas tells Gaza residents to ignore IDF warnings: http://www.ynetnews....4541484,00.html

I will also do everything humanitarian I can possibly do to help innocent people who get caught in the cross fire, as Israel does (among many other things, Israel has established a large field clinic with hundreds of Israeli doctors to help Gaza citizens in need of any medical assistance. This, my friends, you won't see in the super-biased BBC (with the rest of the biased British media), Al-Jazira and other similar media channels): https://scontent-b-s...565861878_n.jpg

Israel is around 2 weeks into this war on terrorism, but only a few hundreds Palestinian casualties. If there was a massacre, as some anti-Israel and pro-Palestinians keep saying, the Israeli army with all its mighty power could and would have killed hundreds of people per second, not per 2 weeks.

Obviously Israel is doing it's very best to surgically eliminate the weapons, , terrorist & terror tunnels (a city of many tunnels which the Palestinians dug from their territory into Israel to execute terror attacks and into Egypt to smuggle weapons they receive from Iran & Syria among other friends).

Of course there are always going to be innocent people who get caught in the cross-fire in wars, but I know for a fact that nobody in Israel or the Israeli-army is deliberately targeting civilians and Israel does do everything it can to warn & protect innocent lives.

Fact is Israel is using rockets (iron dome) to protect Israeli human life. Hamas is using (innocent) human life to protect its' rockets.

Edited July 23, 2014 by dr_lucas

[dr_lucas]

[dr_lucas]

sorry, double post. Moderators, please delete this one.

Edited July 23, 2014 by dr_lucas

[Beetlejuice]

The reason Israel is supported by the USA and many other nations is because Israel serves the western nations as an allied base in the middle east, for military reasons and as a means to help the west protect it`s supply of oil from the dictatorships of the middle eastern oil producing countries. The Israelis are no more than cannon fodder in some circumstances and the west is paying financially towards the existence of Israel to ensure a foothold in the Middle East.

Certain nations support Israel not because they love the Jews as the majority of Jews worldwide are not or never want to be associated with Israel in real terms, except perhaps in their prayer books.

In reality no one gives a damn about the Arab countries or their welfare, this is purely about military domination of the region and the insurance that the western nations will continue to have their supply of OIL and that the prices set and complete terms and conditions of the imports of oil will not be determined by the Arab states. And this is why the west will continue to support Israel. It is that simple.

Tragically the innocents of certain middle eastern countries are now suffering the bombardments of the American, British and western backed Israeli forces against them and are being caught in the firing line for what is considered as being in the west`s interests or western interests vs the fanantics. A terrible state of affairs.

[dr_lucas]

The reason Israel is supported by the USA and many other nations is because Israel serves the western nations as an allied base in the middle east, for military reasons and as a means to help the west protect it`s supply of oil from the dictatorships of the middle eastern oil producing countries. The Israelis are no more than cannon fodder in some circumstances and the west is paying financially towards the existence of Israel to ensure a foothold in the Middle East.

Certain nations support Israel not because they love the Jews as the majority of Jews worldwide are not or never want to be associated with Israel in real terms, except perhaps in their prayer books.

In reality no one gives a damn about the Arab countries or their welfare, this is purely about military domination of the region and the insurance that the western nations will continue to have their supply of OIL and that the prices set and complete terms and conditions of the imports of oil will not be determined by the Arab states. And this is why the west will continue to support Israel. It is that simple.

Tragically the innocents of certain middle eastern countries are now suffering the bombardments of the American, British and western backed Israeli forces against them and are being caught in the firing line for what is considered as being in the west`s interests or western interests vs the fanantics. A terrible state of affairs.

The reason, or at least one of the main reasons, that Israel is supported by the USA and is its' biggest ally (other than the obvious fact that luckily for Israel it has a huge Jewish lobby both in the senate and congress) is because it's the only democracy in the middle-east and it's a world leading innovation center, hi-tech center, agriculture, medicine, culture, technology, research and development, with the largest number of science noble prizes per capita in the region and the list goes on and on.

The USA is a close ally of Saudi-Arabia and Jordan, and even Egypt (admittedly not so close as they used to be after the fall of Mubarak).

Israel does not have and does not supply oil, it never did. These are also not the dark ages when you need to control main land transportation routes between Asia and Africa, in which Israel was quite a strategically important point of transport. Nowadays we have boats, planes and many other ways.

Tragically the innocents of certain middle eastern country are continuously suffering the bombardments of Iranian, Syrian and other Arab forces backed Hamas terrorists for what is considered to be those countries interests in nurturing groups of fanatics.

Yes, agreed, a terrible state of affairs indeed.

Edited July 23, 2014 by dr_lucas

[Jay Sata]

Its sad to see innocent people die.

But i see no hate towards their people the HAMAS who are responsible for escalating this!

Hamas, a terrorist organization, purposefully fires missiles from civilian homes, schools and mosques and orders it's people to form human shields around these launch sites so when Israel responds

Hamas was set up to fight for the stolen land of the Palestinians. The Israeli govt are also terrorists and their response is unproportional and a war crime..look at the numbers being killed daily.its a massacre..

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Netenyahu is a right winger hell bent on stirring up trouble but the pictures the world has seen of children killed by high tech weapons has done the Israeli cause no good.

The UN has said that Israel may have committed war crimes in its offensive against Hamas in Gaza, in which hundreds of Palestinian civilians have been killed in two weeks, and voted to launch an international inquiry. The US opposed the move, and 17 countries abstained.

"There seems to be a strong possibility that international law has been violated, in a manner that could amount to war crimes," Navi Pillay, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said in the debate in Geneva.http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/23/israel-may-have-committed-war-crimes-in-gaza-un

Aid agencies said a child had been killed every hour on average in the past two days!

[claffey]

Its sad to see innocent people die.

But i see no hate towards their people the HAMAS who are responsible for escalating this!

Hamas, a terrorist organization, purposefully fires missiles from civilian homes, schools and mosques and orders it's people to form human shields around these launch sites so when Israel responds

Hamas was set up to fight for the stolen land of the Palestinians. The Israeli govt are also terrorists and their response is unproportional and a war crime..look at the numbers being killed daily.its a massacre..

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What stolen land you refer to? The one Israel withdrew from and no longer occupy since 2005?

What proportional response do you expect? Sending them flowers and pizzas?

If I was living in Israel and a group of terrorists was continuously firing missiles to my city and digging terror tunnels from their land, under my border into my land, endangering my house, property, life and the lives of my people, I'd first do everything I can to protect myself (like using "iron dome" anti-rocket defense system, with the 90% accuracy/success rate. Which, by the way, explains the minimal damages in Israel during this round of violence) and hunt that terror group down and annihilate it, doesn't matter if it's Muslim, Christian, Jewish or any other religion.

If that group of terrorists was firing those missiles from hospitals, houses, schools and any other civilian building, while using innocent civilians as human-shields to protect themselves and their rocket launchers from my weapons, I'd do everything I can to warn the innocent civilians to leave/evacuate the area first (as Israel does with 100,000 leaflets it throws from planes to areas before the army gets there, calls hundreds of thousands of homes and mobiles and send SMSs, and of course the using the final "knock on the roof" warning routine), and surgically eliminate the terrorist and their weapons.

If there are still civilians who refuse to leave, or stay on purpose because they want to sacrifice their lives for the terrorists they are supporting, then by all means - they will die with them, no question asked. Hamas tells Gaza residents to ignore IDF warnings: http://www.ynetnews....4541484,00.html

I will also do everything humanitarian I can possibly do to help innocent people who get caught in the cross fire, as Israel does (among many other things, Israel has established a large field clinic with hundreds of Israeli doctors to help Gaza citizens in need of any medical assistance. This, my friends, you won't see in the super-biased BBC (with the rest of the biased British media), Al-Jazira and other similar media channels): https://scontent-b-s...565861878_n.jpg

Israel is around 2 weeks into this war on terrorism, but only a few hundreds Palestinian casualties. If there was a massacre, as some anti-Israel and pro-Palestinians keep saying, the Israeli army with all its mighty power could and would have killed hundreds of people per second, not per 2 weeks.

Obviously Israel is doing it's very best to surgically eliminate the weapons, , terrorist & terror tunnels (a city of many tunnels which the Palestinians dug from their territory into Israel to execute terror attacks and into Egypt to smuggle weapons they receive from Iran & Syria among other friends).

Of course there are always going to be innocent people who get caught in the cross-fire in wars, but I know for a fact that nobody in Israel or the Israeli-army is deliberately targeting civilians and Israel does do everything it can to warn & protect innocent lives.

Israel was constructed as a state after the holocaust. Palestine was a british mandate at the time.therefore palestine originally belonged to the palestines. Its not rocket science is it? The israelis have been grqdually squeezing the palestinians out of existence. A bit like what hitler tried to do to them.american support and supply of israel is disgusting..Im Irish so I can understand, in an historical sense, how the PAlestinians feel..slaughtering children in response to a rocket attach that kills one is pure evil..excuse my spellling.im on a tabl3t!

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[OMGImInPattaya]

They've got the right idea. The United Nations has declared that Zionism is racism. Since Israel is a Zionist state, then logic tells us that Israel is a racist state, on a par with the former Apartheid South Africa.

Please understand that Jewish nationalism or the wish for a Jewish homeland/state is not in and of itself racism, just the theories and tenets of Theodore Herzl and Zionism are racist.

If the UN said so, it must be true.

Surely, there are no political interests effecting the way members vote.

You forgot to mention that there is an automatic biased majority against Israel in the UN since its establishment in 1948, the Arab lobby, and every resolution against and/or related to Israel has always been and probably always will be automatically approved in the general assembly.

If anyone wants to condemn Israel for the 2004 Indian Ocean's tsunami, just bring it for voting in the UN general assembly and it will issue a resolution against Israel on this. This is no joking matter, I am darn serious.

It also has quite an impartial majority in the security council, with Russia and China usually automatically voting against Israel, to satisfy and preserve their close relationships with their allies, the Arab league and other Muslim countries.

Luckily for Israel, they at least have its ally, the USA, with its veto right to balance this a bit and block most security council unbalanced resolutions.

P.S. The UN declaration of "Zionism = racism" (resolution 3379, which was part of the Soviet-Arab Cold War anti-Israel campaign) was made on 1975 and revoked by the UN on 1991 (Resolution 46/86) when Israel had made the revocation a condition of its participation in the Madrid Peace Conference of 1991.

When a country is in violation of hundreds of UN resolutions and occupies foreign territory for 60 years in violation of UN resolutions and wantonly goes about sowing death and destruction throughout its surrounding region, it tends to earn an "automatic" bias.

[CBR250]

All I know is if I got sick I will like a Jewish Doctor over a Arab Doctor

What is your Choice?

I would choose a Jewish doctor nearly every time. For a start Israel has a good education system (if we ignore the brainwashing aspect of it). Jews not living in Israel also tend to live in developed countries where they are able to access good quality education. I doubt I could find an Arab doctor from Gaza, mainly because schools in Gaza are overcrowded & under-resourced. Kids there attend schools in shifts - sometimes 3 shifts a day. Teachers are often unable to be paid. Schools are often closed because of danger to the children, as is occurring now. Not many schools are able to function well in Gaza, so don't expect to many medical degrees from there. However, if I went to a medical clinic and found the doctor was an Arab, and had qualifications I see as credible, I would happily see him - or her.

So what is your point? Because I oppose the excessive militarism and land grab of Israel that I must hate Jews so wouldn't use a doctor who is Jewish? Sorry, I don't subscribe to ethnic discrimination and hatred. Happy to se a Jewish doctor. Or perhaps you are gloating because Arabs from Gaza will almost never be doctors? Next time, don't be so obtuse. Say what you mean.

[OMGImInPattaya]

All I know is if I got sick I will like a Jewish Doctor over a Arab Doctor

What is your Choice?

I would choose a Jewish doctor nearly every time. For a start Israel has a good education system (if we ignore the brainwashing aspect of it). Jews not living in Israel also tend to live in developed countries where they are able to access good quality education. I doubt I could find an Arab doctor from Gaza, mainly because schools in Gaza are overcrowded & under-resourced. Kids there attend schools in shifts - sometimes 3 shifts a day. Teachers are often unable to be paid. Schools are often closed because of danger to the children, as is occurring now. Not many schools are able to function well in Gaza, so don't expect to many medical degrees from there. However, if I went to a medical clinic and found the doctor was an Arab, and had qualifications I see as credible, I would happily see him - or her.

So what is your point? Because I oppose the excessive militarism and land grab of Israel that I must hate Jews so wouldn't use a doctor who is Jewish? Sorry, I don't subscribe to ethnic discrimination and hatred. Happy to se a Jewish doctor. Or perhaps you are gloating because Arabs from Gaza will almost never be doctors? Next time, don't be so obtuse. Say what you mean.

It's the old anti-Zionism = anti-Semitism canard; neglecting to mention that many Jews then and now are not in favor of Zionist ideology.

[Morch]

The article cited is authored by one, Mudar Zahran. A quick search would indicate his interest in taking such a stand.

As far as I am aware most West Bank and Gaza Strip Palestinians do not support the notion, and have little inclination to

move themselves over across the Jordan river. Even if there was a change in Jordan, whereby the Jordanian Palestinians

would take over, it is doubtful how many of their brethren would make haste to emigrate there from the West Bank.

While this stance was quite popular with right wing Israeli parties for a while, this is not the case nowadays. Somehow the

prospect of turning Jordan from a rather efficient buffer zone vs. ISIS, into a hostile Palestinian territory lost much of its allure.

After 1947 there were two populations in West Bank; those native to the West Bank and those who fled from israeli territory into the West Bank as refugees. The refugees were forced to live in refugee camps or emmigrate, they were not allowed to be absorbed into the Jordanian population. That created quite the rift between the refugees and King Hussein. As these two populations merged that animus has been absorbed by many of those on the West Bank against the HaShem clan of King Hussein and has persisted to this day. Despite this animus, and despite my personal infatuation with Queens Noor and Rania, I still belive that the only viable Palestinian state is that of Jordan linked with the West Bank and Gaza. It is delusional to think that the West Bank linked with Gaza could become a financially viable independent nation-state. It makes no sense not to unite adjacent populations sharing indentical cultural markers. And that is the weakness in the Levant that ISIS is exploiting.

I think what you are talking about is radically different from opinions expressed by some of the posters here.

The old-school right wing idea was having a Palestinian state in Jordan, which would somehow leave the West Bank

for Israel, sans Palestinians (or mostly so). Joining Jordan and the West Bank as a Palestinian state is not quite what

they have in mind.

Regardless, I still hold that there is relatively less politicians around floating either version, and that while Palestinians

would probably go for the one presented in your post, they would not drop the West Bank in any realistic scenario.

Of course, re-drawing borders by foreign powers is part and parcel of the mess the Middle East is in, not so sure that

having another go at it would necessarily make things better. Also, there are some non-Palestinian Jordanians who

might have a different take on this scheme. With the present upheavals the region is going through, it might not be the

best of times to introduce such changes.

There is no shortage of economically (or otherwise) not viable countries, but granted that with the additional difficulties

plaguing the Palestinians it may be a harder situation for them in this regard.