Israel's Aggression

[the easter bunnie]

the bad men with the funny willies are being naughty because the bad men with the towels on their heads are in a bit of a muddle.

[The Wengerbabies]

Religion

[SayNoMore]

This is way too simplistic and naive.

I do not exonerate Israel for pursuing the aggressive and implacable policy that it is pursuing in the Gaza strip and the West Bank, but there is a long history of it being surrounded by enemies who want it wiped off the face of the earth, and who have tried many times in the past to do so; the country is choked by policitcal partisanship and Hamas; Hezbollah and the rest are in their own ways as culpable for the mess that shows no signs of abating.

Neither do I accept that Israel gets an easy ride in terms of the world's media. There is more anti Israel sentiment generally now than ever before. While Israel is rightly condemned for its actions, do not underestimate the expertise with which Hamas manipulates the press. One thing that happens consistently if you pay attention is that human suffering is portrayed vividly in the Gaza strip - with pictures of dead children etc - whereas the death of Israili troops - often teenage conscripts themselves is reported as a statistic. These terrorist groups deliberately site missile launchers and military HQ's in civilian areas, in the full knowledge that this will result in the death of the people they claim to represent - but using this as an effective form of warfare.

Iran; Syria (until the civil war at least) actively sponsor and equip terrorist groups that actively aim to strike at Israel - Israeli's would say that they have as much right to strike at their enemies as, say the USA had to act against Al Qaeda. If we had rockets being fired into London or Manchester, I have little doubt that there would be a tendency here to want retribution rather than peaceful compromise. It should be remembered that Gaza was occupied, and the West bank fenced off, as a measure against terrorist atrocities that were taking place within Israel on regular occasions.

If you visit Israel, you will be surprised at the number of Arabs living quite peacefully there - over a fifth of its population in fact. They will be surprised also to hear that the most militant builders in the West Bank are ultra orthodox Jews from the US. The orthodox minority hold the balance of power in the government - which is why successive Israeli leaders are under pressure to be hawks. Yitzhak Rabin was murdered by a Jewish extremist, he was held in affection by many Palastinians.

The majority of Israeli's, and I am sure many ordinary Palastinians would desperately wish for peace. They are both being let down by a cycle of hatred, and by uncompromising leadership that refuses to contemplate this. It is fashionable these days to consider automatically that Israel is the aggressor, and guilty because of its ecomonic strength. But as usual the story is far more complex than this.

Israel have the right for security but it will never achieve it through agression and violence. Palestine also have a right on the state.

[fakeyank]

Bangladesh should just bitch slap both of them and take over them. Rename the crap hole "Banglas bitch"

[IBK]

Israel have the right for security but it will never achieve it through agression and violence. Palestine also have a right on the state.

Couldn't agree more. But it applies to both sides. Different methods, same failings in leadership.

[Xhaka Can’t]

There were jubilant scenes across the Middle East last night, as the bitter dispute between Israel and its Arab neighbours finally ended, thanks to a series of Tweets from two individuals on opposite sides of the argument.

The unexpected solution to the ongoing conflict was thrashed out in a late night session between @Rafiq_intifada and @Yoni_6DayWar on the popular microblogging website.

Initial discussions were unpromising, with Rafiq posting a Tweet accusing Israel of being ‘a genocidal Zionist terrorist state, using all the worst tactics of the Nazis.’ In response, Yoni tweeted his opinion that ‘all Arabs are murderous Jew-hating cockroaches who should be wiped from the face of the Earth.’

To Yoni’s surprise however, the expected hate-filled reply failed to materialise. Instead, Rafiq suggested that since they clearly had a difference of opinion, maybe they should try to understand each other’s point of view. ‘I was quite taken aback,’ admitted Yoni. ‘Normally this sort of Twitter debate descends into a pointless cycle of increasingly vicious name-calling, with people merely repeating their entrenched positions and neither side taking a blind bit of notice of what the other’s saying. So, although I’d already prepared a draft reply saying that I would happily drop a nuclear bomb on Gaza myself, when I saw his tweet I thought ‘Why not give it a go?’

Within a matter of hours Rafiq and Yoni had arrived at an amicable deal based on a two-state solution. Asked how they overcame centuries of bitterness and hatred, Rafiq explained ‘To be honest, it was too much effort to go into all that historical stuff 140 characters at a time, so we didn’t really bother. Instead we just decided to start afresh and before we knew it we’d come up with a solution that the two of us could agree to.’

With leaders on both sides embracing the deal, a delighted UN Secretary General, Ban Ki- Moon, confirmed that the so-called ‘Twitter Agreement’ will be implemented with immediate effect.

The peace deal will be signed at a ceremony in Jerusalem, attended by World Leaders from all corners of the globe – although sadly Rafiq and Yoni will not be there, as they have since fallen out in a bitter dispute over whether Justin Bieber is better than One Direction.



http://www.newsbiscuit.com/2012/12/0...ed-on-twitter/

[Gervinho's Forehead]

[LDG]

There were jubilant scenes across the Middle East last night, as the bitter dispute between Israel and its Arab neighbours finally ended, thanks to a series of Tweets from two individuals on opposite sides of the argument.

The unexpected solution to the ongoing conflict was thrashed out in a late night session between @Rafiq_intifada and @Yoni_6DayWar on the popular microblogging website.

Initial discussions were unpromising, with Rafiq posting a Tweet accusing Israel of being ‘a genocidal Zionist terrorist state, using all the worst tactics of the Nazis.’ In response, Yoni tweeted his opinion that ‘all Arabs are murderous Jew-hating cockroaches who should be wiped from the face of the Earth.’

To Yoni’s surprise however, the expected hate-filled reply failed to materialise. Instead, Rafiq suggested that since they clearly had a difference of opinion, maybe they should try to understand each other’s point of view. ‘I was quite taken aback,’ admitted Yoni. ‘Normally this sort of Twitter debate descends into a pointless cycle of increasingly vicious name-calling, with people merely repeating their entrenched positions and neither side taking a blind bit of notice of what the other’s saying. So, although I’d already prepared a draft reply saying that I would happily drop a nuclear bomb on Gaza myself, when I saw his tweet I thought ‘Why not give it a go?’

Within a matter of hours Rafiq and Yoni had arrived at an amicable deal based on a two-state solution. Asked how they overcame centuries of bitterness and hatred, Rafiq explained ‘To be honest, it was too much effort to go into all that historical stuff 140 characters at a time, so we didn’t really bother. Instead we just decided to start afresh and before we knew it we’d come up with a solution that the two of us could agree to.’

With leaders on both sides embracing the deal, a delighted UN Secretary General, Ban Ki- Moon, confirmed that the so-called ‘Twitter Agreement’ will be implemented with immediate effect.

The peace deal will be signed at a ceremony in Jerusalem, attended by World Leaders from all corners of the globe – although sadly Rafiq and Yoni will not be there, as they have since fallen out in a bitter dispute over whether Justin Bieber is better than One Direction.



http://www.newsbiscuit.com/2012/12/0...ed-on-twitter/

Brilliant.