I am pleased you have now clarified it, as it wasn’t above, since I assumed it was a response to what Israel should do. I don’t think Hamas will operate like that, so a ceasefire will only be short lived if there is one and I still don’t know what demands can be conceded to with Hamas; we surely can’t expect Israel to make concessions to terror. It would be an invitation to do it again to get the same result and we wouldn’t countenance it in that situation.
Anyway, I think I am going to do a JI and do a detox. I am not the victim in this, I know, the Palestinians and Israelis are. However, it’s just so miserable and I wish it could just end. I do understand why you, Iron-Awe etc think along such lines and do not think it’s for any reason besides caring. I am just trying to say it’s messier and more complex than presented. No civilian deaths can be described as good. This is the nature of war, but if Hamas are going to start it they are going to get the blame for it from me, much as with Germany in WWII, Germany and Serbia in WWI, UK with the Opium wars etc. It won’t end until conditions are met and I would like to see more public and international pressure on Hamas after a pogrom. In the long term, Hamas needs to be discredited, otherwise we won’t have peace. People can talk about the history, but ultimately, it’s Islamism which is causing the greatest threat to it in the region as a whole (yes, I agree that settlers need to stop too).
