Dear Steele,

I made an attempt to try to maintain a balance in this
complex conflict for a change - and I was hoping that
this would be understood. To try to see the situation
from both sides. How else will this conflict be resolved
if each side only see things from their side only? And does
not recognise the suffering of the other side. I now
realise that I was being naive. So I'll just shut up.

Dear Foxy,

You wrote;

“I made an attempt to try to maintain a balance in this
complex conflict for a change - and I was hoping that
this would be understood.”

But don't you see that so many of us end up taking the stance, as you are, of trying to be even to both sides despite what is happening on the ground.. I did it myself for so many years and I understand that it comes from a good place, but I was hoping to illustrate, unfortunately in perhaps an abrupt manner for which I apologise, that finding any equivalence between the two sides is doing a grave injustice to a group of brave but embattled people.

I now find those equivalences as downright unseemly.

Look at this quote from you;

“Israel does need to calibrate its use of force and Hamas
needs to prevent incidents at the fence. Escalation will
only cost more lives.”

To “calibrate its use of force” is a euphemism for ease up on the shooting of unarmed protestors.

The Gazan people have faced years and years of imprisonment and crippling blockades. They have had water treatment plants and power plants deliberately targeted to inflict want and misery on a million and a half people. They have ceased suicide bombings, have stopped virtually all of the rocket fire, have agreed to the PA taking a strong role in Gaza yet there is no sign of relief from their trauma. So they protest as they have every right to do given their mistreatment, largely peacefully in the beginning at the fence, yet they are met with lethal force with many killed and many hundreds wounded, some maimed for life.

Cont..

cont..

I hope you might take the time to read this piece in Mondoweiss and tell me what you think of the points being made.

“Those empathetic to Palestinians toil in unhappy corners of the internet, fending off trolls eager to dazzle with age-old vitriol.  But decorated professionals recite the same discourses throughout corporate media, the veneer of respectability making them even more grotesque. Anti-Arab racism underlies defense of Israel. The racism isn’t marginal, either; it’s the lingua franca of American punditry. Many of the people who defend Israel are consciously racist (clearly), but others dehumanize Arabs and Muslims by reproducing unexamined assumptions about Israel’s moral or civilizational superiority.”
http://mondoweiss.net/2018/06/defending-israel-actually/

It is really hard to resist those “decorated professionals”. A while ago I pulled myself up from constantly using quotes from predominate Jewish people about the injustices perpetrated on the Palestinians. What I was really doing was bowing to the notion that Palestinian voices have far less value than a dissenting Jewish one. They don't.

If I am unable to challenge you to examine the preconceptions even a good hearted person like yourself brings to this issue then it will be a great pity but will respect your decision.

Kind regards.

the shooting of unarmed protestors.

I have heard of people getting killed by stones being thrown & people surviving being shot.
So, if these 'unarmed' ceased throwing stones then wouldn't the other side cease firing also ?
Surely, they can't be that disturbed & provoke just for the sake of provoking , or are they ?

So let me ask, how many people here think it's ok to shoot your neighbours if they approach the fence the separates the two properties?

Hello, does nobody here not comprehend that your neighbours can do whatever the hell they want on THEIR side of the fence?

That it's only WHEN they come ONTO your property in hostility that you have any right to act against them.

Furthermore, Israel should build a buffer on its side of the fence and UN troops or observers at least should be stationed on Israel / Palestinian borders.
No chance of this thanks to Nikki Haley's vetos.

Here's some interesting statistics:
http://ifamericaknew.org

Armchair Critic,
Terribly sad figures indeed. Do you have any graphs that show which side instigates more conflicts on a daily basis that bring about the reprisals that result in this terrible toll ?