Hi all - I’m opening a thread here for anyone who wants to submit questions about the current crisis in Gaza as well as the broader historical and political contexts. No questions are too basic - often those are the ones that most need our attention. I’ll aim to reply in a post at some point over the next few weeks. Thanks!
The path of violence has been tried many times by/on behalf of Hamas and it always fails. Who was so stupid to think that a greater amount of more savage violence would not elicit a massive Israeli response and result in anything other than tremendous destruction and suffering? Those people deliberately still chose violence over peace. That choice was made long ago as the operational and tactical way to achieve their strategic goals. A massive amount of resources and energy were focused on this attack for some considerable time. How much did Hamas/others on behalf of Hamas spend on this attack? Everything from rockets to tunnels to smuggling rockets into Gaza - how many millions of dollars were spent? It had to be a tremendous amount and we'll probably never know and that's not my real question. My question is: What if and why weren't all of those resources devoted to building an army of lawyers, historians, lobbyists, journalists, film makers, etc. to tell the Palestinian story world-wide and argue their case in all the courts and via other peaceful methods?
I'm wondering why the role of the Iranian regime is typically left out of discussions of these issues. Without their involvement (and also to a lesser extent, of Turkey, Qatar, and Russia), what would the situation look like? Would there be a negotiated two-state solution and relative peace, and a more progressive Israeli government which also limits settler extremism?
There’s so much that’s been said about the origin of the Palestinians as a nation, when were they formed as a nation. Their self determination as a people, could you tell me a bit about that?
The path of violence has been tried many times by/on behalf of Hamas and it always fails. Who was so stupid to think that a greater amount of more savage violence would not elicit a massive Israeli response and result in anything other than tremendous destruction and suffering? Those people deliberately still chose violence over peace. That choice was made long ago as the operational and tactical way to achieve their strategic goals. A massive amount of resources and energy were focused on this attack for some considerable time. How much did Hamas/others on behalf of Hamas spend on this attack? Everything from rockets to tunnels to smuggling rockets into Gaza - how many millions of dollars were spent? It had to be a tremendous amount and we'll probably never know and that's not my real question. My question is: What if and why weren't all of those resources devoted to building an army of lawyers, historians, lobbyists, journalists, film makers, etc. to tell the Palestinian story world-wide and argue their case in all the courts and via other peaceful methods?
Would you kindly clarify distinctions between the Israeli and Palestinian rights to return (prohibitions/permissions, etc.).
I'm wondering why the role of the Iranian regime is typically left out of discussions of these issues. Without their involvement (and also to a lesser extent, of Turkey, Qatar, and Russia), what would the situation look like? Would there be a negotiated two-state solution and relative peace, and a more progressive Israeli government which also limits settler extremism?
There’s so much that’s been said about the origin of the Palestinians as a nation, when were they formed as a nation. Their self determination as a people, could you tell me a bit about that?
You said you’ll accept basic questions….