Dumb Questions about the Gaza Strip (Know nothing)

[brettdale]

Is the Gaza strip is ruled by Hamas?

Is Palestine a country or a people?

[hrmjustin]

1. Hamas were elected by the people in Gaza so yes the run Gaza. Palestine is not officially...

... recognized as a country, but they are a people. There are 1.4 million people there in a very small strip of land. Every time a bomb falls on a building there it is likely to take out several other buildings next to it.

[brettdale]

2. Thanks

Thanks, explains it well.

[patrice]

3. Hamas doesn't rule anything as in government, but they are a very popular people's

"benevolent" organization that, I believe is grounded mostly in Lebanon, but reaches extensively across borders in the region and provides grassroots' leadership while also helping people with their needs and with government problems. I believe Hamas are elected to office, but their organization is broader and more multi-functional than a political party.

[cali]

6. um. no. faulty info.

There is local gov't in Gaza and the West Bank. Hamas was elected in the 2006 elections.

As for their being a benevolent organization, that is hardly the whole story. And of one thing there can be no doubt: Hamas isn't simply anti-occupation, they are unarguably anti-semitic. It is also firmly Islamist in its goals.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas#History

[patrice]

8. Thanks for the catch. Doesn't Hamas also operate across borders in the region, so it isn't

strictly speaking a political party involved in the politics of one country?

[cali]

10. Not as far as I know.

It is certainly primarily a Palestinian organization and political entity.

[patrice]

12. Seems like Sy Hersh said something like that the last time Israel shelled the shit out of Lebanon...

2006-07?

[liberal_at_heart]

15. yes Hamas is anti-Semitic

I know we don't recognize them. In fact, don't we still consider them a terrorist organization? But the government of Isreal does not help this situation either. They launch ground invasions. Bulldoze entire communities with their tanks and then end up building Isreal settlements in Palestinian territory. If they want the people of Palestine to oust Hama they need to stop building settlements, stop bulldozing entire communities. I've always wondered why Isreal doesn't do what we did with Bin Laden. We sent in a team of a few sepecialized troops and they took out Bin Laden. Isreal is suppose to have the best hand to hand combat training in the entire world. Instead of bombing or bulldozing with tanks, send in small specialized troops to target those who are launching the rockets.

[cali]

17. Actually, Hamas has been designated by the U.S. as a terrorist organization

I believe that occurred last year. Anyway, sometime recently.

I agree with you that the Israeli gov't policies are heinous. There is little doubt that Gaza is an open air prison.

[patrice]

4. Palestine is not a country according to Israel who controls the land & people of Palestine. nt

Last edited Fri Nov 16, 2012, 07:26 PM - Edit history (1)

[1StrongBlackMan]

5. I once ...

many years ago, met a Middle Eastern woman. As we talked, I asked her where she was from. Without missing a beat she said, "Palestine." When I questioned her further, there was no doubt, in her mind Palestine was/is a distinct country, whether the West recognizes it or not.

[patrice]

7. Yes! I was just having second thoughts about the way that I said that. nt

[OriginalGeek]

9. I used to work with a Palestinian man

He was here going to school, we worked at a hotel together. That dude hated Jewish people.

This was almost 30 years ago so I don't know what he's up to now. In every other way he was a really nice guy. We went to the same Vo-Tech school too but I didn't find that out until after we started working together. He was funny as hell and would help with anything that needed doing even though he was supposed to be a reservations clerk - I was a part time bellman and he never once hesitated to lend a hand carrying junk, moving TV's, he'd go with me to deliver large room service orders so I could get it all there at the same time. Just an all around good guy.

Except he hated the Jewish people. He only mentioned one time vaguely about horrors inflicted on his family and didn't go into any detail and I didn't pry.

I once told him "Mike, I don't know what went on where you are from but you just can't hate everyone who is Jewish just for being Jewish" and he actually agreed with me that he had met a few "nice ones"...Of course, I had heard that line of reasoning from the racists I grew up with in Texas so I figured he was just humoring me and I let it drop but sometimes I think about him and wonder if he ever thought more about that.

I don't know what all that means. I still don't fully comprehend the middle east situation and I'm not trying to start shit up here about it.

It just really sucks when people you like gotta fight. And it's horrifying that it's to the death.

[liberal_at_heart]

13. think about how bad republicans hate democrats and vice versa

I've seen some pretty hateful posts on here about republicans. And look at how many Christians hate secularists here in this country and vice versa. Secularists hate Christians also. We are not that unfamiliar with hate. Hate is what masks pain and fear. You have to meet a whole lot of people who are willing to help you rather than hurt you before you are willing to give up your hatred. We each have to take responsibility for showing kindness to people even the ones whom we hate and fear. We have to show the other side we are not what they think we are. That is the only way to break the cycle. Heck I'm guilty of it myself. In fact I'm going to take this opportunity to look at myself the next time I get angry at someone who insults me. I tend to react badly when what I should do is not react at all or react with kindness instead of defensiveness and anger.

[patrice]

14. I'm pretty good at putting myself hypothetically in other people's shoes, but I can't understand ths

either, but then I haven't had a loved one killed or harmed by ______________ and I imagine that would drive me crazy. I imagine all Palestinian families have been marked that way, maybe all Jewish families too, but then more of something unacceptable and hideous doesn't make it more unacceptable and hideous, so the harms on one side compared to the other should be regarded as equal.

As far as responsibility goes, I was brought up under the principle that the person with the most power in a situation is most responsible for what happens.

Who is more responsible here: the one who denies the other's right to live or the one who denies the other's very existence.

[former9thward]

11. What countries in the "East" recognize it?

Do any Arab countries have ambassadors or embassies there?

[Douglas Carpenter]

16. Currently 131 countries formally recognized Palestine as a state

stretching from Africa to Asia, Europe to Latin America.

In Latin America, Uruguay and Peru joined the growing ranks of countries which recognized Palestine this year, with 12 out of the region’s 13 countries formally recognizing it as a state.

Only Colombia, a key ally of the United States in the region, has not followed that path.

In Central America, the Palestinian state has been recognized by Cuba, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador

Here is an interactive map which list them:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2011/sep/20/palestinain-state-israel-un-interactive


Here is a list on Wikipedia of the 131 countries that recognized the Palestinian State:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_recognition_of_the_State_of_Palestine

[former9thward]

18. Yes and not one of those countries can name the capital of this "state" they recognize...

And they don 't have embassies in this "state" or ambassadors.

[Douglas Carpenter]

19. East Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine.

But it is quite true that Israel will not allow any embassies