In 1948 when the state and boundaries of Israel were declared every person found with the borders were given Israeli citizenship. The fact that some Arabs did not wish to be identified as Israeli they formed the state of Gaza. But instead of making it a tourist destination they made it a hell hole and continued to war with Israel, and a hide out for terrorists.

Dear Critic,

«- I think it goes without saying that every person and every nation has a right to self-defence.»

I would sharpen it a bit, because a "right" is something that others in authority confer on you, which is not the case here.
So to eliminate the need for a third party, I would word it: "self-defence is [always?] morally acceptable".

«That interesting discussion may be:

- Whether ANY Palestinian resistance group (whilst under Israaeli occupation) enjoys a 'right to attack' in the same way Israel claims a 'right to self defence'.»

This generalised question could indeed be quite interesting and challenging too, but in this particular case the difficult aspects can be avoided altogether since attacking Israel with their meagre forces is only a senseless expression of anger and cannot result in them achieving anything positive, certainly not the end of the Israeli occupation: instead it only helps to bring hard-liners to power in Israel and cause those moderate Israelis who can so afford, to leave the country in despair and leave it in the hands of these hard-liners. Being peaceful could serve their purpose (if indeed they have any) much better.

In other words, the question is moot because in this particular case, attacking does not constitute a defence, it constitutes suicide!

«- Secondly whether 'self defence' does or does not include attacking (not defending) targets in Gaza protected by international law in regards to human rights and collective punishment on a civilian population.»

As for the first part, I think that would depend on the alternatives.
Self-defence should not use more power than necessary.
So can you think of some other way, something else which Israel could do instead and still effectively defend itself?

As for the second part, collective punishment is unacceptable, so if the intent is to punish the population, then that is wrong, period.
But is this Israel's intent? I think not.

Hi Fester,
"How would you compare the Hamas terrorists who went into Israel on October 7 with the likes of Brevic and Tarrant?"

On face value probably about equally, and that includes what Israel is doing as well.
- They all display an 'Ends justify the means' terrorism mentality.

If I dug a little deeper, I'd probably argue that Brevic and Tarrant were probably delusional lost causes who couldn't keep their feet on the ground and their mental health in check, where as Hamas probably did have some genuine underlying reasons (as a Palestinian resistance group) that brought it to this point.

I think Hamas were foolish for targeting innocent non-combatants
It would have been better if they only targeted IDF, but maybe the intention was to instill fear into the general population, just as Israel routinely does to the Palestinians.

I'm not a Palestinian or an Israeli, I don't know what it's like to walk in their shoes, or feel whatever they feel.

"So can you think of some other way, something else which Israel could do instead and still effectively defend itself?"

No, honestly I can't really.
They can't do anything accept respond when Hamas is firing missiles at them.
And they can't abandon their people who were taken hostage by Hamas.
- But I think they are so enraged they're more out for revenge than protecting their own people, and that could come back to bite them later.
(Netanyahu is probably glad they took hostages, it gives him a reason to kill thousands of innocent people in collective reprisal attacks.)

- But they don't have to act in such a way that shows contempt for innocent lives of non combatants.
By taking the lives of innocents so callously, they show themselves to be truly no better than the 'animals' they accuse the Palestinians of being.

Blowback: How Israel Went From Helping Create Hamas to Bombing It
http://theintercept.com/2018/02/19/hamas-israel-palestine-conflict/
'Hamas wants to destroy Israel, right? But as Mehdi Hasan shows in a new video on blowback, Israeli officials admit they helped start the group.'

>>That it’s sworn to destroy Israel? That it’s a terrorist group, proscribed both by the United States and the European Union? That it rules Gaza with an iron fist? That it’s killed hundreds of innocent Israelis with rocket, mortar, and suicide attacks?

But did you also know that Hamas — which is an Arabic acronym for “Islamic Resistance Movement” — would probably not exist today were it not for the Jewish state? That the Israelis helped turn a bunch of fringe Palestinian Islamists in the late 1970s into one of the world’s most notorious militant groups? That Hamas is blowback?

This isn’t a conspiracy theory. Listen to former Israeli officials such as Brig. Gen. Yitzhak Segev, who was the Israeli military governor in Gaza in the early 1980s. Segev later told a New York Times reporter that he had helped finance the Palestinian Islamist movement as a “counterweight” to the secularists and leftists of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Fatah party, led by Yasser Arafat (who himself referred to Hamas as “a creature of Israel.”)<<

Dear Critic,

«It would have been better if they only targeted IDF, but maybe the intention was to instill fear into the general population»

Isn't this the definition of "terror"?

«- But I think they are so enraged they're more out for revenge than protecting their own people, and that could come back to bite them later.»

Not everyone, but there are those as well. I don't support revenge, but it is a natural human trait.

«Netanyahu is probably glad they took hostages, it gives him a reason to kill thousands of innocent people in collective reprisal attacks.»

Netanyahu in person cares only about avoiding jail and personal bankruptcy. In fact, he presently tries, as much he can, to restrain his Nazi coalition partners who even want to throw nuclear bombs on Gaza. He is not glad at all about the hostages - their families are giving him a big headache and further undermine his political future.

As for killing thousands of innocent people, Israel estimates that so far over 1000 rockets from Gaza failed and fell within Gaza, killing its civilian population. Hamas exaggerates the number of civilians killed, which includes the ones hit by its own rockets and the ones shot by it for attempting to flee from the north to southern Gaza, but at the same time it under-declares the total number of Gazans killed (claiming to be only 9,000+) because that includes more than 20,000 Hamas fighters, most of whom perished inside their collapsing tunnels.

«By taking the lives of innocents so callously, they show themselves to be truly no better than the 'animals' they accuse the Palestinians of being.»

The Israeli army is under strict orders to follow international law and avoid civil casualties where possible. Unfortunately it's not always possible, but only a despicable small minority is happy for it.

«That the Israelis helped turn a bunch of fringe Palestinian Islamists in the late 1970s into one of the world’s most notorious militant groups?»

That ISRAELIS, not "the Israelis" - most Israelis were not even aware when that covert idiocy happened.