... To starve the area of Iranian and Russian weapons?

I doubt that they only come from Iran and Russia. There are many "supporters" of Hamas in moderate Sunni countries. The U.S. or Britain should have a serious talk with them. Oh no, it's the UN's resp. UNSC's obligation, right? [sorry, couldn't resist the joke.]

Yes, the UNSC and UN are a joke.

But they are the only politics we have...


Cue theme music for Palpatine's takeover...


All in our deadly political world...
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

The ball is again in Adolf Benji's court, but will he try and screw things up again?

Hamas Welcomes Joe Biden's Ceasefire Deal for Gaza.

Hamas has welcomed U.S. President Joe Biden's newly announced proposal for a ceasefire in Israel's ongoing war with the Palestinian movement in the Gaza Strip.

The proposal, unveiled by Biden in remarks delivered Friday at the White House, was composed of three phases. The first phase would entail a six-week ceasefire, along with an Israeli withdrawal from populated areas of Gaza, the exchange of surviving Hamas-held hostage for hundreds of Palestinians held prisoner, the return of Palestinian civilians to the war-torn territory and the entrance of up to 600 aid trucks.

If realized, the cessation of hostilities would continue through cond phase, during which Israel and Hamas would negotiate a permanent ceasefire. Finally, a plan for Gaza's reconstruction would be established and the bodies of the dead returned......

The ball is again in Adolf Benji's court, but will he try and screw things up again?

The party who screwed things up last time was Egypt which unilaterally changed negotiated details of a ceasefire draft until Hamas agreed to them. This way you lose any credibility as a neutral mediator. The same could be observed in recent days with the closed Rafah crossing. Despite promising the US administration to agree to reopen it, Egypt backed down. Political games by an arrogant regional power that wants to be duly respected (or fears losing face due to the many smuggling tunnels). Ridiculous.

The proposal, unveiled by Biden in remarks delivered Friday at the White House, was composed of three phases. The first phase would entail a six-week ceasefire, along with an Israeli withdrawal from populated areas of Gaza, the exchange of surviving Hamas-held hostage for hundreds of Palestinians held prisoner, the return of Palestinian civilians to the war-torn territory and the entrance of up to 600 aid trucks.

If realized, the cessation of hostilities would continue through cond phase, during which Israel and Hamas would negotiate a permanent ceasefire. Finally, a plan for Gaza's reconstruction would be established and the bodies of the dead returned......

Remarkable. If Palestinian lives are as valuable as Israeli ones, then one should not weight 'hundreds' of prisoners for remaining Israeli hostages. Instead: one for one, equal numbers. Which other government on earth would agree to release hundreds of violent criminals, terrorists, murderers to free innocent hostages as Israel did repeatedly in the past. The results of such deformed appeasement policy could be clearly seen on Oct 7th 2023. Would the US, would the Biden administration, ever agree to such conditions to free more than a hundred US hostages without credible assurances as to how many are still alive? No, never, because otherwise every US citizen would be fair game for hostage takers all around the globe.

There was a ceasefire on Oct 6th 2023. Hamas broke it. So it could be clearly seen what to expect from ANY ceasefire with Hamas: Further horrors and death. In my opinion this U.S. ceasefire approach is only intended to appease the pro-Hamas faction worldwide and to calm down the conflict for crucial months to help Biden win the required support in presidential elections. I miss a balance of interests here, which in the Middle East always means: 'tit for tat'. Last week Israel encircled Hamas and cut the Egyptian lifeline, the rocket supply route, and safe retreat. Why should Netanyahu retreat troops from Gaza, guarantee Hamas' survival and hope for an eventual release of some surviving hostages? That seems stupid.

Biden's attempt will succeed if Gantz will leave Netanyahu's war coalition next week and achieves early elections which supposedly will oust Benji; delaying things in Gaza. But Gantz or any other opposition leader who will become the next PM isn't an appeasing idiot. All of them are experienced former IDF leaders. Their methods may be different but not their confessions concerning Hamas, or trust in palestinian leaders.

As for the "reconstruction of Gaza": There is no point in rebuilding Gaza without removing those from power first who risked and wanted its destruction in the first place, who abused all Gazan civilians as human shields in a war they couldn't win. Biden knows this. So, who will pay for 'reconstruction'? Israel? The UN? Doesn't have that much money. Well-meaning western donor countries? All democracies btw... I will never again vote for any political party that intends to repeat past mistakes in Gaza. So the Arab supporters of Palestinians will pay? Is their support spiritual or reliable? Let's challenge them: Qatar, Saudis, Kuwait, Bahrain, UAE governments have the money. Go ahead, send the bulldozers, cranes, trucks, engineers. They surely don't want to miss investment opportunities in a "Singapore [*] in the Mediterranean". Go ahead, we will support you.

No, Hamas has to step down first, before reconstruction can start. Either Israel enforces this or it has to be the first item of any "permanent" agreement. Btw.: How long is "permanent"? Two years... or five? This time, Gaza's financing must be examined carefully, each penny. The same with every UNRWA teacher and each school book used in Gaza. We shouldn't make grave mistakes twice. We pay? We decide! Unfortunately, there is no other way in Gaza. Btw... Did Biden also proposed an amnesty for all Hamas crimes? He did not? Then I'd ask which jurisdiction will judge Hamas terrorists? Seems some points are missing in this 'roadmap' to a permanent ceasefire.

[*] There was once the "Paris of the Middle East", Beirut, Lebanon. What happened to its prosperous future?

I suspect this can not end until tel aviv looks like rafa.

Tel Aviv? That could be achieved quickly with the help of Iran. But it wouldn't change anything. It's what's in people's heads. Decades of terror have deformed minds.

I suspect this will not end as long as younger generations are indoctrinated from early childhood with blind hatred of Jews resp. of Arabs.

Tel Aviv? That could be achieved quickly with the help of Iran. But it wouldn't change anything. It's what's in people's heads. Decades of terror have deformed minds.

I suspect this will not end as long as younger generations are indoctrinated from early childhood with blind hatred of Jews resp. of Arabs.

I see you read only one way; that being the way of destruction. Try construction.

You are right. Benji's destruction will never work.

And what of the destruction wrought in Syria and Lebanon?

Should Israel 'submit' to the same destruction wrought by those 'squabbling' powers in that region?

In very painfully stark contrast, Israel is a prosperous island of civilisation and development...

Just because the squabbling neighbours are nothing like as successful, must Israel be vandalised down into the dirt to appease the jealousy of those neighbours?...

And especially note that, regardless, appeasement never works. (Those seeking appeasement always DEMAND MORE.)


All in our deadly political world...
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

I see you read only one way; that being the way of destruction. Try construction.

In the case of Gaza, the contrast between construction and destruction is striking. Every five to ten years, infrastructure and houses in this city have to be rebuilt on a large scale with billions of international aid money. Just why? Two perspectives to the cause:

1. because evil Israel regularly destroys Gaza and kills its inhabitants
   
2. because Palestinians regularly wage war to destroy Israel or at least kill and torture as many Israelis as possible
   

The UN, UNRWA and international supporters are convinced, it's (1). But after so many decades, it may be time to consider whether there could be something to view (2). Otherwise the region [Gaza] remains trapped in the time loop, accompanied by death and misery.

Both perspectives can be true - they are not mutually exclusive.

It's a case of tit, for tat, for tit, for tat, for tit, for tat, for ...- ad infinitum.

That's why we desperately need an alternative paradigm. That's what all those UN and charitable agencies need to be concentrating on, while at the same time trying to preserve as much life and infrastructure as possible for a new start.

Both perspectives can be true - they are not mutually exclusive.

Those who profit from conflict have carefully trained most to believe that it must be one or the other. That is an incorrect answer.

Adolf Benji and his genocidal land thieving mob continue on.

New fighting flares in central Gaza as diplomatic push for a ceasefire deal continues.

How Israel reclassifies Palestinian land in the West Bank.

Meanwhile you really have to wonder about how many of those Israeli hostages have been killed by their own side and if any will survive the outright slaughter being carried out by the IDF.

IDF declares 4 Gaza hostages dead.

Just another display of what is totally wrong in Israel.

Reporters have been attacked after chaos broke out on the streets of Jerusalem, with thousands of nationalists gathering in dramatic scenes.

And absolutely disgusting.

A thought experiment: The violation of a ceasefire agreement by Israel would lead to a complete loss of (diplomatic) face and worldwide uproar.
The same by Hamas would be met with a shrug, with worldwide indifference. There is nothing we can do about it. That's just how they are.

And that is why it is a mistake to accept Hamas as a party in negotiations for a permanent ceasefire. Their word is worth nothing. Nobody on earth believes there will be such thing as a permanent agreement. No, it would last until the day enough rockets, rifles, and RPGs have been smuggled again from Egypt to arm the next bunch of brainwashed killers... not a single day longer.

And that is also why it is a grave mistake to internationally recognize a Palestinian state as long as it is led by a brutal terrorist regime whose sole aim is to destroy Israel. Palestinians have no way of removing Hamas from power. They don't have the opportunity to choose a different, a peaceful future. Anyone who tries will be murdered.

The pressure from the Biden administration is clearly based on domestic politics. There is fear of November.

The same applies to the recognition of Palestine by Ireland, Norway and Slovenia. They are also only based on those states' historic experiences, without considering the reality in the Middle East. And by the way, these small states are thereby demonstrating that there is no such thing as a common EU foreign policy. The so-called "High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy" is a completely superfluous and powerless figure. We must thank Hamas for having made this clear.

Well the IDF may have got 4 hostages back finally without killing them 1st (though plenty of slaughter still did occur), but Adolf Benji's problems are just getting worse.

Within hours of four hostages being freed, Israelis were protesting again and it's a problem for Netanyahu.

Israeli minister Benny Gantz resigns from Benjamin Netanyahu's emergency government

Well the IDF may have got 4 hostages back finally without killing them 1st (though plenty of slaughter still did occur), but Adolf Benji's problems are just getting worse.

It's called 'collateral damage' however horrible it may be, independent if two, a dozen or hundreds of killed palestinians. Hamas alone is responsible. That's what you get when Hamas tasks "civilians" to hold their Israeli hostages captive in private homes in densely populated urban areas. The hostage 'keepers' were a journalist, also writing for Al Jazeera and his father, a doctor.

I cannot express how disgusting I find each new detail that comes to light about Hamas and the hostages.

It's called 'collateral damage' however horrible it may be, independent if two, a dozen or hundreds of killed palestinians.

There we go again, an XYZ human is worth hundreds of ABC human. That is the disgusting fact. That is what most religions teach. We are superior! This is the reason that a religion may never be allowed to be a government anywhere in the universe.

Or is there a deadly game of extortion to demand many lives for the threat against one?...

All in a very deadly extremist's game?


All in our very deadly politics,
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

The Palestinian people desperately need and want it.

Biden's Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Proposal, Explained.

1 side is onboard.

Hamas Accepts UN Ceasefire Resolution.

But the other side is it seems a totally different story as their butchers continue to slaughter innocents and steel land that doesn't belong to them.

Israel Official Says Biden Ceasefire Plan Allows IDF to Destroy Hamas.

Adolf Benji is still yet to respond.

Biden said it was an Israeli proposal which means Israel is on board, right? Oops, not? So it's not an Israeli proposal after all. This proposal is not aimed at achieving permanent ceasefire in Gaza, but just quickly ensuring a few calm weeks. Why? To support an argument the Biden administration had done everything humanly possible for a permanent ceasefire. But in the end... unfortunately... that's how things are in the Middle East... it turned out differently. The conflicting parties were unable to agree on the critical details of 'Phase II' which are: the release of the male hostages and permanent ceasefire... Sorry, but this is a play, not credible diplomacy. It's solely aimed at US domestic politics.

Biden's proposal is illogical. It insults common sense and contradicts the reality in the Middle East. This proposal contains more gaps than provisions:

• Hamas will remain in power in Gaza...
  
• ...and is going to regain control of the Egypt-Gaza border?
  
• Mahmoud Abbas' 'Palestinian Authority' will not be part of post-war plans? [*]
  
• Gaza will be rebuilt quickly with international donor's money?
  

Not in this universe. In a parallel universe, maybe... if hell freezes over.

[*] Fun fact: Which "Palestine" did governments of Spain, Ireland, Norway and Slovenia recognize? West Bank, Gaza or both? Separately or as a unitary state? Uuh, they don't yet know exactly? Has to be clarified later... Ridiculous.