Israel-Hamas War 2023

[Josephus]

Human animals makes sense to me in this context. They are human, yet display the characteristics of animals. If they were JUST animals, you could understand them, but they are not. They are human animals.

[OttoVonBismarck]

Interestingly in the North, some gunmen tried to infiltrate and were killed by IDF. Hezbollah has been taking credit for mortar attacks from Southern Lebanon aimed at Israel, but quickly denied the infiltrators were affiliated with them.

Seems like Hezbollah, at least for now, has a certain line it isn't willing to cross, at least not publicly.

[Hamilcar]

IDF has now confirmed that it's striking Lebanon.

https://twitter.com/TOIAlerts/status/1711386881794228531

[OttoVonBismarck]

From Al Jazeera, sounds like IDF is definitely at least considering a ground invasion:

Our correspondent Charles Stratford reporting from the Israeli town of Netivot – some 3 km (1.86 miles) – away from Gaza, says there is a "massive build up" of troops at the southern border.

"Heavy weaponry is being brought into this area," he added. "You can see Armored Personnel Carriers – designed to bring troop infantry into battle. We have also seen tanks ... and self-propelled mobile artillery pieces and cannons."

"Israeli troops are being brought on trucks, what can only be described as specialised lightweight small vehicles, implying that some form of ground invasion was imminent," he reported.

Moreover, Stratford said there were continuous sorties being made by jet fighters flying towards Gaza "dropping their bombs, returning and going around again".

[OttoVonBismarck]

I have to say this is an incredibly "bad take" opinion, posted from Al Jazeera:

Western leaders accused of hypocrisy over response to Palestine, Ukraine
Social media users, including journalists and observers, are calling out what they call a 'double standard'.

After Saturday's surprise attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Israel, Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy took to the social media platform X to offer "condolences go out to everyone who lost relatives or close ones in the terrorist attack".

He also stated, "Israel's right to self-defence is unquestionable".

Many world leaders, including US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, shared similar sentiments.

The President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stated, "Israel has the right to defend itself – today and in the days to come. The European Union stands with Israel".

Accusations of western 'double standards'
Some social media users have criticised these statements, saying they highlight a double standard.

Ukraine's right to defend itself is praised by most international leaders while Russia's invasion is condemned, but commentators said the same cannot be said about Israel's 56-year occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.

Aaron Bastani, a leftist British journalist, said on X that there's a "clear double standard in endorsing terrorism against civilian targets in Ukraine ... and condemning it by Palestinians".

Many users said Western diplomats and media support the Ukrainians who defend their land, but label the Palestinians fighting against Israel as "terrorists".

An illustration of a woman's face, in which one eye is closed beside a Palestinian flag, and one eye open beside a Ukrainian flag, has been regularly shared as a symbol of the West's alleged double standards in how the two conflicts are viewed.

Clips also emerged on social media from a CNN interview with Mustafa Barghouti, the general secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative, in which he posed the rhetorical question, "why the United States support Ukraine in fighting occupation? While here they support the occupier, who continues to occupy us".

An existing debate re-ignited
It is not the first time Western nations have been accused of double standards in their stance on the Ukraine war.

Earlier in the year, Amnesty published a report highlighting the West's "double standards" on global human rights.

Agnes Callamard, Amnesty's Amnesty secretary-general, told Al Jazeera at the time that the occupation of the Palestinians was a "particularly important one".

"Without making any comparison between Russia's aggression and Israel ... it is clear the Palestinian people are under a regime of oppression. A regime of occupation and a regime of apartheid," Callamard told Al Jazeera.

Over the last three days, X users recirculated earlier statements calling out what they called Western hypocrisy, sharing video by the Irish lawmaker Richard Boyd Barrett from March 2022 in which he berated the Irish government's double standards regarding Ukraine and Palestine.

"You're happy to use the most strong and robust language to describe the crimes against humanity of Vladimir Putin, but you will not use the same strength of language when it comes to describing Israel's treatment of the Palestinians".

Barrett on Sunday again called out what he called "shocking double standards of Western leaders supporting Ukraine resistance but condemning Palestinians."

Meanwhile, others warned against comparing conflicts.

And some cautioned that Hamas and Palestinians should not be seen as one and the same.

Ukrainian footballer Oleksandr Zinchenko, who plays for Arsenal, posted on Instagram stating he "stands with Israel".

Zinchenko has been a vocal supporter of his home country in its ongoing defence against Russia and participated in a Game4Ukraine charity match in London earlier this year to raise money for Ukraine.

After online backlash, with some questioning an alleged double standard in his support of Israel, the footballer removed the post and switched his social media account to private.

Several people claimed his football club, in not responding to Zinchenko's comments, were guilty of hypocrisy after they had distanced themselves from former player Mesut Ozil's comments in 2019 over alleged human rights abuses against Uighur Muslims in China.

FWIW, I am a huge supporter of Ukraine, but if they were conducting raids on Russian cities, kidnapping hundreds of Russian civilians to use as hostages, parading dead Russian women around for PR etc I would absolutely condemn them.

Ukraine is not doing that. Hamas is.

[Hamilcar]

Russia has been funneling NATO weapons captured from Ukraine to Hamas so that they could blame Ukraine for arming Hamas. I can't even...

[The Brain]

I am shocked, shocked, that people who hate Israel also hate Ukraine.

[Razgovory]

The useful idiots are those who uncontroversially back supporting Israel no matter what.
Huge cross over between those with this view and those who want to drop support for Ukraine and have a few bottles of vodka in their cuboard.

Is it?  Corbyn is now supporting Israel?

[Josquius]

The useful idiots are those who uncontroversially back supporting Israel no matter what.
Huge cross over between those with this view and those who want to drop support for Ukraine and have a few bottles of vodka in their cuboard.

Is it?  Corbyn is now supporting Israel?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZIUClH2UxE

[Sheilbh]

Although worth flagging that is according to Ukrainian military intelligence.

[Razgovory]

The useful idiots are those who uncontroversially back supporting Israel no matter what.
Huge cross over between those with this view and those who want to drop support for Ukraine and have a few bottles of vodka in their cuboard.

Is it?  Corbyn is now supporting Israel?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZIUClH2UxE

So is that yes?  Corbyn is now supporting Israel?

[Josquius]

The useful idiots are those who uncontroversially back supporting Israel no matter what.
Huge cross over between those with this view and those who want to drop support for Ukraine and have a few bottles of vodka in their cuboard.

Is it?  Corbyn is now supporting Israel?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZIUClH2UxE

So is that yes?  Corbyn is now supporting Israel?

Fascinating that you're so obsessed with one nutty old independent MP in the UK rather than one of the two main parties in the world's super power, the place where you live.

[Razgovory]

I don't support the Republicans.  Corbyn on the other hand ran the Labour party during it's anti-Semitic phase and has "friends" in Hamas.

[Sheilbh]

Also Ynet is reporting that the head of Egyptian intelligence warned Netanyahu ten days before the attack that "something unusual, a terrible operation" was about to take place around Gaza and this was dismissed by Netanyahu who, reportedly, said that the IDF was focused on fighting terror in the West Bank where attacks were actively being carried out.

Netanyahu's office has called the report "a lie".

Again I think the mood of national unity is going to be short-lived. It will be political very quickly (in a way I think this is possibly, like the protests, a sign of the health of Israeli democracy despite all the concerning stuff). We've already seen Haaretz explicitly blame Netanyahu. I don't think this will be the end of reports about how and why the focus was on the West Bank. At the same time Netanyahu and his coalition were attacking the security apparatus as being infected by the left because of Shin Bet, Mossad etc leaders saying the divisions over judicial reforms were weakening Israeli society and security - they were not just causing the protests but also reservists refusing call ups. I think the coalition will return to that line of attack.

I suspect this means we might not see a national unity government - in practical terms I think this war will be prosecuted by what, reportedly, Netanyahu considers to be a dysfunctional security cabinet which includes extremists on the far right. I think that is concerning. I also think Israeli politics will be very combustible as these types of stories come forward. From the outside I can't see how Netanyahu can survive, but I think we've all thought that before - but I think this may entrench further and deeper which is not good either.

[Josquius]

Also Ynet is reporting that the head of Egyptian intelligence warned Netanyahu ten days before the attack that "something unusual, a terrible operation" was about to take place around Gaza and this was dismissed by Netanyahu who, reportedly, said that the IDF was focused on fighting terror in the West Bank where attacks were actively being carried out.

Netanyahu's office has called the report "a lie".

Again I think the mood of national unity is going to be short-lived. It will be political very quickly (in a way I think this is possibly, like the protests, a sign of the health of Israeli democracy despite all the concerning stuff). We've already seen Haaretz explicitly blame Netanyahu. I don't think this will be the end of reports about how and why the focus was on the West Bank. At the same time Netanyahu and his coalition were attacking the security apparatus as being infected by the left because of Shin Bet, Mossad etc leaders saying the divisions over judicial reforms were weakening Israeli society and security - they were not just causing the protests but also reservists refusing call ups. I think the coalition will return to that line of attack.

I suspect this means we might not see a national unity government - in practical terms I think this war will be prosecuted by what, reportedly, Netanyahu considers to be a dysfunctional security cabinet which includes extremists on the far right. I think that is concerning. I also think Israeli politics will be very combustible as these types of stories come forward. From the outside I can't see how Netanyahu can survive, but I think we've all thought that before - but I think this may entrench further and deeper which is not good either.

I wonder how deep the "They let this happen for political gain" theories will bite.
Traditional conspiracy fodder...but this time with evidence as crazy as it may be,

I don't support the Republicans. 

Huh. Thats a surprise.

Corbyn on the other hand ran the Labour party during it's anti-Semitic phase and has "friends" in Hamas.

And is an irrelevancy today. Yet seems to be living in your head for some reason unlike the very real threat that is the pro-Israel, pro-Russia folks who might be ruling over you come 2025.
But sure. Keep obsessing about powerless tankies in foreign lands.