The West Bank may be on the verge of exploding

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

http://972mag.com/the-west-bank-may-be-on-the-verge-of-exploding/95673/

Armed men roam the streets, enlisting people to the Al-Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade, Fatah officials call for the end to security coordination with Israel and Mahmoud Abbas is seen as the enemy of the people. Is the explosion closer than we think?


I have just returned from a work visit to Ramallah. I am very concerned and disturbed by what I heard from friends and colleagues there. The calm appearance of the city hides the sizzling bubbling under the surface. The West Bank is on the verge of explosion.

As an illustration of what I’ve heard from people I spoke with, on the way home I listened to some Palestinian popular radio stations. All of the songs were full of praise for Hamas and al-Qassam Brigades – “let’s hit Tel Aviv with our rockets” and much worse . It was horrible to hear the drums of war and battle calls on the radio.

I was told that scenes that haven’t appeared for years since the intifada are now all over Ramallah, Bethlehem and throughout the West Bank – street gangs of masked men with weapons calling for young people to join the Al Aqsa Brigades and other battalions – “revenge for the death of our brothers and sisters in Gaza, we are all Gaza, we are all-Qassam Brigades.”

[Scootaloo]

1. The status quo of occupation can only last so long n/t

[Jabril Mazar]

2. My butt.

A lot of Palestinians claim occupation can only last so long. It has lasted for 50 years, and it can last another 50 years. This might explain why in the 80s, the Palestinians turned to violence. I am not sure we have gained much from it. We lost many lives, and got Hamas rule is Gaza with no imports allowed.

[Scootaloo]

3. I was referring to the status quo.

The occupation itself will only end when Israel ends it, or when someone manages to kick the shit out of Israel - and neither seem that likely, you're right. But nobody can expect the people so occupied to just keep sitting on their hands with no progress towards liberation.

[regnaD kciN]

6. Sorry, but you get an "F" in History...

This might explain why in the 80s, the Palestinians turned to violence.

The height of Palestinian violence against Israel and countries that supported it was in the late 1960s and 1970s. In the '80s, the Palestinian leadership opted to abandon terrorism and seek a negotiated settlement that would lead to a two-state solution.

[sabbat hunter]

7. The terrorists turned to violence

well before the 80's.

[shaayecanaan]

25. If you're a Palestinian then I'm a Martian (nt)

[Israeli]

27. aha ...

so you noticed to ....yesterday morning after reading 6 of his posts I came to the same conclusion and sent a PM off with my doubts of his legitimacy .
Good for MIRT .

[4now]

4. A very ominous warning

That the people in charge might want to pay attention to.
People can only take so much oppression before they snap.

[Jabril Mazar]

5. moral justification

scootaloo and 4now make good points when they say Palestinians have the moral right to commit terrorism and to target civilians. Their only flaw is that they are entirely impractical, almost silly, in predicting an explosion. What is the worst we can do?

At this point we have 2950 rockets left. 50 were just launched yesterday. 3000 were launched before, and 3000 were destroyed on the ground before.

At the absolute best we can continue rocket fire for another month.

The tunnels are all spent and destroyed.

Only three Israelis were killed with rockets, so only 3 more Israelis can be expected to be killed from another month of fire.

Meanwhile with the tunnels destroyed there will be no need for Israeli soldiers to re-enter Gaza, which is the only way we can raise the death count in any meaningful way.

[Jefferson23]

9. Disingenuous, that is the impression I have of your posts here. eom.

[Mosby]

12. I don't recall you complaining about the poster Israeli

I think it would be great to have more Palestinian and Israeli posters.

[Jefferson23]

14. I find it interesting you're concerned enough to express a defense of this poster.

Perhaps this poster will respond to me, on their own.

[Mosby]

20. he's gone now, I guess he was some sort of troll

I wasn't defending him, but I sincerely think this group would benefit from more Palestinian and Israeli posters. I would hope that mirt and the admins would give ME locals a little more leeway with the ToS, if you know what I mean.

[Jefferson23]

21. I don't think where anyone claims to be from is a reason to give them leeway with the ToS. n/t

[Mosby]

22. I see your point

But Palestine isn't exactly teeming with Liberals and Progressives, those are western ideas.

So I guess for the most part Palestinians are not going to be welcome at DU.

[Jefferson23]

24. For one, who would be assigned to measure the leeway and what grounds do they use.

Where do you draw the line with who achieves the status of leeway, and again, by what
measure..their ISP rank? Should DU allow leeway for other political issues? It would go on and on
and the end result would be a negative, imo.

I am not going to debate you regarding your opinion of who is and who is not a liberal
within Palestine...I'll just leave it that we don't agree.

[Israeli]

28. Yup ...

and you were right Jefferson.

[King_David]

29. Agreed , anyone could claim to be from anywhere. nt

[Israeli]

30. and nobody would know that ....

better than yourself King_David

[King_David]

32. That's the Internet .

[DemocratSinceBirth]

8. There are a finite amount of rockets, like any weapons

Why are so many sure they know how many are left?

[sabbat hunter]

11. I disagree

Hamas is evil, but stupid, very very stupid. And led by a bunch of cowards.

[sabbat hunter]

17. If you notice

I said those that lead Hamas are cowards. They would NEVER put a suicide vest on themselves, they would only send others to go out and kill as many civilians as possible, in a civilian target like a pizza parlor, public transit, etc.

and why do you refer to Bill Maher as "that half jew" instead of as just Bill Maher?

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

18. I'm sorry, but I realy don't like your comment.

[Mosby]

13. Do you think the IDF have been targeting civilians in Gaza?

Or has Hamas been firing rockets from civilian areas putting civilians at risk?

[Mosby]

19. im not any kind of expert on international law

But I don't think there is such a thing as a "principle of proportionality" in warfare.

If the casualty numbers turn out similar to Cast Lead which I think they will, that would work out to a 1 to 1 ratio which is vastly better than the coalition forces civilian casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan. I think they were 4 to 1 and 5 to 1 respectively.

[sabbat hunter]

23. I think he has been

either suspended or tombstoned. all of his posts are gone.

[shaayecanaan]

26. There is definitely "a principle of proportionality" in warfare...

The two main requirements of fighting a just war are:- 1) Proportionality and 2) Distinction - that war must discriminate between combatants and civilians.

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

[oberliner]

31. "Every day, Mohammed Dahlan transmits calls against Abbas and the Palestinian Authority..."

That is an interesting tidbit from this article. What are people's views on Dahlan these days?

Also this:

"The peace demonstration in Tel Aviv this week was not aired on any Arab station"

One would think that could be easily rectified.