It appears that any deal between Israel and Hamas will
unfortunately be difficult. Both keep circling the
same issues. Israel saying the war will only end with the
destruction of Hamas as a military and political force.

While Hamas wants a permanent ceasefire and Israel's
military and political presence out of Gaza - especially
along the border with Egypt. They want the free passage of
Palestinians inside the territory.

Hamas accuses Washington of favouring Israel. The list
goes on of the demands that each side wants.

It's a situation that at present appears to be a very complex
one with no immediate resolution. Neither side appears ready to
make any concessions.

For us living outside the region it is difficult to clarify
and understand some of the misunderstandings
at the heart of the Israel-Palestine problem.
Both in the past and the present.

For many, inherited assumptions are not questioned. They provide
an immunity shield for inhuman behaviour. Setting the historical
record straight might have an impact on peace negotiations.
One can only hope. Australia however could look at helping
Palestinians. Our vetting system is on record as being thorough.
As are our security agencies. We could do more to fulfill our
signatory obligations. What we've done to date has been relatively
small compared to Canada and other countries.

Oh Dear, I have gone through many of the posts on this thread and it
seems to me that all those keystrokes are wasted.
No real cease fire is possible, except for a brief one to give temporary
relief for a coincidence of need.
Looks like Israel must decide that without proof of life that all the
hostages are dead.
No agreement is possible, so just let them get on with it.
The demand that Israel stand down is meaningless unless Hamas agrees
to the same but they have vowed to do it again & again.
All the non combatents could be allowed over the border and just leave
both armies in place to slug it out.
Depressing isn't it ?

“Asio has been transformed from a silent and neutral body divorced from politics into an organisation all too ready to take part in the political debate and allowed itself to be used to provide ammunition for the benefit of either side of politics”, according to former minister in charge of ASIO, Neil Brown

Asio and Burgess have now become active participants in the debate over admitting refugees from Gaza into Australia.

Burgess “pops up like a media star”, giving us the benefit of his opinion.

Albanese tried to defend his indefensible position on refugees from Gaza brazenly saying hat Burgess agreed with him, then deceitfully misquoting him.

Burgess’s claim that security checks on Cazans are adequate is “nonsense”. There have been no manual checks (all done online). And Burgess claims that support for Hamas shouldn’t block Gazans from getting visas, if that hadn't taken part in terrorist acts!

“ … respect (for ASIO) is now being eroded; it should be stopped before more damage is done".

How futile all this is. Go there & do your thing for the party you support & be done with it. Stop dragging all this mindless crap to our shores. You achieve only an escalation of stupidity !
The more Palestinians run away, the easier it'll be for the Israelis to gain control. If the Palestinians don't have the will to fight for their own country then so be it, just stop coming here & creating the same idiotic mess.
Either you believe in your cause or you don't, you either stay & fight or leave & stop causing problems elsewhere !

Paul,

"Not so Fester, the government announced that there would be a limited number of visa's granted to both Israelis and Palestinians some time ago. What the Noalition is banging on about is trying to link all Palestinians to Hamas implying they must be "terrorists". Disgusting behaviour for political advantage."

So why all the lying and obfuscation in parliament by Albo? Why is he not open and proud about what he stands for? Albo is a grub and his leadership has been disastrous for Australians if you don't count those on the take with generous public subsidies for doing nation building things like clubbing koalas.

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Some helpful facts :

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According to a Palestinian public opinion poll, 71% of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza supported the Hamas attack on Oct. 7. Many see it as a triumph of resistance to Israeli oppression. But only 1 in 5 Palestinians surveyed in the poll said they saw videos showing what Israelis endured the day of the Hamas assault.

Hamas and Israel each see themselves as the victim and the other as the aggressor.

After 2,000 years without a home, Israel was created for the Jewish people in Palestine in 1948.

In 1947, the UN General Assembly voted on a plan to create two states. The Arab state with a territory of 11,100 km or 42%, the Jewish state with a territory of 14,100 km or 56%, while the remaining 2%—comprising the cities of Jerusalem, Bethlehem and the adjoining area—would become an international zone.

The Jews accepted the plan, but the Arabs rejected it. It was obviously unfair. The Arab population was twice the size of the Jewish population, and they owned most of the land. The Jews only owned 6-7% of it.

War broke out and more than 700,000 Palestinian Arabs – about half the Palestinian Arab population at the time – fled from their homes or were expelled, at first by Zionist paramilitaries, and later by the Israeli army following the establishment of the state of Israel.

The expulsion and flight of the Palestinian Arabs is known as the Nakba. Many Arabs were massacred, their villages were destroyed, their village wells poisoned, and their properties looted to prevent them from returning.

Palestinians still lack a homeland 76 years later, in 2024. There are now 6 million Palestinian refugees, representing successive generations of families who fled or were forced from their homes and not allowed to return.

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(Continued …)

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