For Israel, ethnic cleansing has ALWAYS been the plan since 1947 (maybe even much before that). Netanyahu found a very pliable Zionist (Biden) and an authoritarian Zionist (Trump) to finally attempt to complete the 'long-ago planned goal' of ethnic cleansing (by any means).
I can understand how Israeli society creates the likes of Netanyahu, but is no one asking how American society creates the likes of Biden, Trump, and all such genociders?
America has had a long history of genocide, from the1600’s onward.Look at the indigenous tribes history. They are still fighting for their rights to exist. Then there is the Black history in America, the plantation era. Each knew immigrant was looked down upon arrival. It’s not an honorable history.
Chang, I have so many questions after reading Caitlin today. But I am dumbstruck by the sheer stupidity if not the violence of the western ethos. Ethnic cleansing and land theft was always the plan. It has rolled on unimpeded by the rulers, the establishment and the media, culminating in todays unrelenting bombardment, genocide, murder, hypocrisy, lies and racism which has found fertile ground with US/West and their vicious proxy Israel.
The world watches and waits while the Palestinians become disposable.
I understand what you mean. Somehow, I personally seem to have increased by faith in the Palestinian people (and Hamas) to stay resilient and persistent despite the impossible odds.
I am in complete AWE of the Palestinian people - and how they have resisted and continue to fight against the unbelievable amount of oppression and destruction and annihilation and genocide. Maybe it's just optimism bias talking, but I feel the WHOLE WORLD has turned (or is slowly turning) AGAINST Israel AND the U.S.
Russia, China, and whomever else needs to get behind Palestine ASAP!
Suggestions from your responders notwithstanding, let us not neglect "onward Christian soldiers marching as to war etc, etc.". The maniacal Spanish Catholic priests in the new world on the one hand, the maniacal English Puritans on the other. Not the sole source of genocidal energy, of course, but a good start for finding a deep root of untermenchen-ism, aka "heathen" lives not being exactly valued as fully human.
When they hit us with "America is a Christian country", isn't this what they actually mean?
And since cca '1880 they have been actively involved in planned process of buying land and founding of the financial institutions that would subdue Arab govt., i.e. forcefully laying the foundation of "their" state in Palestine, all under Rothschild.
The Jewish Colonization Association (ICA) was a philanthropic association to assist Jews in depressed economic circumstances or countries of persecution to emigrate and settle elsewhere in productive employment, founded by Baron Maurice de Hirsch in 1891. It was incorporated in London as a joint-stock company whose other shareholders were Baron Edmond de Rothschild, J. Goldsmid, Sir Ernest Joseph Cassel, F.D. Mocatta, Benjamin S. Cohen, S.H. Goldschmidt, and Salomon Reinach.
Ereẓ Israel
From 1896, ICA provided financial aid for independent colonists in Gederah, Ḥaderah, Nes Ẓiyyonah, and Mishmar ha-Yarden.
In 1899 Baron Edmond de Rothschild transferred to ICA the colonies under HIS CARE, and those he himself had founded, providing 15,000,000 francs to finance their further development.
He presided over an administrative body, the Palestine Commission, formed in Paris.
"Israel’s supporters and defenders are...advocating the end of the existence of Palestinians on Palestinian territory." Precisely, concisely; thanks, Caitlin. This cannot be real, but it is real--in real time for now 1.5 years-cum-7 decades of scheming and atrocities like "mowing the grass" now culminating in outright genocide/cleansing of ALL of historic Palestine. Mind boggling, this danse macabre leading to death (lives, culture, land, history...) for all the rightful inhabitants....
Supporting Israel’s actions in Gaza is the same as supporting the Nazi holocaust of Jews and other people in the 1940's. You would think our leaders had been able to study enough history to understand this. But I guess they were too busy studying economics and how to keep the rich rich.
It is worth recalling that a significant portion of the US financial elite were enthusiastic supporters of the German Nazis starting when they took power in 1933, as a bulwark of resistance to Soviet Communism and in the wake of the Great Depression.
When pushed to face its own contradictions and in times of crisis Capitalism removes the gloves and becomes explicitly fascist.
We are now in such a period. And there is currently no organized Left which has the loyalty of the masses of the working class to oppose it.
i think they studied history and do understand. quite some 'leaders' (and industrialists) of that time kinda covertly supported what the nazi's were doing especially in the east. from this history they know none of the 'leaders' of that time were held to account for their covert support and they managed to focus the world on the fascist attack dogs and the loudest victims (6 vs 22 mil). kinda how they're focusing on bibi and the israelis as the attack dogs now.
Netanyahu was funnelling millions of dollars to Hamas from Qatar. Hamas is a tool to further the destruction of Palestinians and further The Greater Israel Project.
Hamas was formed in 1987 as resistance against Israel. The only reason Israel (not just Netanyahu) helped fund Hamas was to prevent Fatah from coming to power and creating unity. Fatah betrayed the Palestinian people (in many ways) and lost the elections in BOTH the West Bank AND Gaza during 2006-2007. Hamas won in both the places. That's when the fight between Hamas and Fatah intensified.
Netanyahu thought that by funding/supporting Hamas he (and Israel) could keep the Palestinian people divided - but it backfired. Hamas stuck to their principles of RESISTANCE, bided their time, and took whatever opportunities presented themselves to strike back at Israel.
How long do you think that these actions have been planned ?.
OK, an easy one, when did the West (US) get involved in Ukraine for instance... WELL the CIA started funding, training and supplying their military in 1995, not 2014 when they finally did the coup ....so how long before 1995, were plans made and funds / military equipment "made available" ??....Oh wait!.... look at the date = https://lefteast.org/ukraine-agrees-to-monsanto-land-grab-for-17-billion-imf-loan/
Just the same regards here .. when was O%G first found off the coast (and on land) of Palestine ?.....
Israel ALWAYS wanted to ethnic-cleanse the Palestinians from before 1948 - and took advantage of whatever opportunities presented themselves to do so for over 75+ years.
Every attempt at resistance by the Palestinians was framed as "terrorism", etc. - giving Israel a false pretext to "play the victim" and further bomb and terrorize the Palestinians.
Again, you seriously need to read up on Israel and Palestine. Here are some good books (mostly written by Jewish authors and historians) that people can read to learn the history and understand the conflict better ->
(1) "Ten Myths About Israel" by Ilan Pappe
(2) "Gaza: An Inquest Into its Martyrdom" by Norman G. Finkelstein
(3) "The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler-Colonial Conquest and Resistance, 1917-2017" by Rashid Khalidi
(4) "On Palestine" AND "Gaza in Crisis: Reflections on Israel’s War Against the Palestinians" by Noam Chomsky & Ilan Pappe
(5) "The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine" by Ilan Pappe
(6) "The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood" by Rashid Khalidi
(7) "Hamas Contained: The Rise and Pacification of Palestinian Resistance" by Tareq Baconi
(8) "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy" by John Mearsheimer & Stephen M. Walt
(9) "The Invention of the Jewish People" by Shlomo Sand
(10) "The Question of Palestine" by Edward W. Said
(11) "My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel" by Ari Shavit
(12) "The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew and the Heart of the Middle East" by Sandy Tolan
(13) "The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel Exports the Technology of Occupation Around the World" by Antony Loewenstein
(14) "The Punishment of Gaza" by Gideon Levy
(15) "Cracks in The Wall: Beyond Apartheid in Palestine/Israel" by Ben White
(16) "The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering" by Norman G. Finkelstein
(17) "The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World" by Avi Shlaim
(18) "The Invention of the Land of Israel: From Holy Land to Homeland" by Shlomo Sand
(19) "Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine" by Noura Erakat
(20) "The Wretched of the Earth" by Frantz Fanon
(21) "The Colonizer and the Colonized" by Albert Memmi
(22) "The Iron Wall: Zionist Revisionism From Jabotinsky to Shamir" by Lenni Brenner
(23) "God's Country: Christian Zionism in America" by Samuel Goldman
(24) "The General's Son: Journey of an Israeli in Palestine" by Miko Peled
(25) "The Pro-Israel Lobby in Europe: The Politics of Religion and Christian Zionism in the European Union" by Elvira King
Bob, the article is a furphy. Ukraine has for decades lost any claim to being "pristine" and the breadbasket of Europe. It's the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster FFS!
Excellent Chang. The West Bank became a "Bantustan" and the unelected Mahmoud Abbas a mere Israeli puppet who suppressed and contained any resistance by his people - for Israel.
Netanyahu and Israel didn't fund Hamas but let Qatar send in the money.
»”Netanyahu and Israel didn't fund Hamas but let Qatar send in the money.”
Netanyahu and Israel funded Hamas through Qatar (and others). It’s quite easy to obfuscate financial transactions (as evidenced by the Panama Papers, world-wide money laundering, shell-corporations, and many other strategies).
Qatar doesn’t have a reason to fund Hamas out of the “goodness of their hearts”. It’s important to understand that Qatar is NOT on the side of the Palestinians (just as most Arab countries are not on Palestine’s side - with the exception of Yemen, Lebanon, and Syria. Iran is Persian, hence in a different category - but Iran’s history is complex - and it has played both sides)
The IDF are fighting THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE. Hamas is the excuse for this "always-planned" ethnic cleansing (or Genocide if it came to that - which it has).
Please read some of Caitlin's articles, since you still seem to be under the influence of FALSE NARRATIVES that "this is a war on Hamas". NO!!! This is an Israeli (and U.S.) Genocide and ethnic cleansing on ALL PALESTINIANS (starting with Gaza, and now slowing expanding to the West Bank - where there is NO Hamas). It's already expanded to Lebanon and Syria.
Maybe we are making similar points, but I don't necessarily agree with your framing of "Hamas is a useful tool" (for many reasons).
I can say, the American people are useful tools as the 1% can use divide and conquer strategies to keep them fighting with each other instead of against the 1%. Or I can say that "immigrants are a useful tool" to create moral panics and make people focus on that INSTEAD of how the 'power elite' are oppressing and exploiting working people. Or I can say that ALL Democrats are "useful tools" for the Republican congress or ALL Republicans are "useful tools" used by the Democrats in congress. You get the idea.
I have an issue with the wording (and connotation) of "Hamas is a useful tool".
Dollyboy, I can't agree with your too-facile words. See and understand Chang, above and below.
(Part of my understanding of Hamas is that it was formed to address social and other human needs of Hamas' brethren and sistren Palestinians, who were not taken care of by the PLO-Fatah in the mid/late 1980s....)
this is a zio-imperialist storyline, imo. it serves to discredit hamas as the genuine resistance. it is a tool to drive a wedge between hamas and the palestinians and promotes the lie that there would be no ethnic cleansing if hamas is gone.
Hamas is not a monolithic entity. I don't believe that a few billionaire families living in Qatar truly represent the culture and motives of Palestinians living in Gaza. Those billionaires could not stop the Al Qassam Brigades even if they wanted to. Not to mention all the other resistance groups in Gaza.
What do you propose the Palestinians should have done instead? Just lay down quietly and take it? If they had, the Abraham Accords would have been signed by now, and Palestine would be even closer to erasure than it is today.
Do you shame our ancestors by suggesting that it is wiser to cower than fight? Every freedom we have here in Australia now was won the hard way - by the lower classes being bold and fearless enough to stand up against the violence of the ruling class. Sociopaths only respond to power - our elders fought tooth and nail to force the power structure to make those concessions. If they hadn't, we'd still be convicts.
In mass societies, democracy only exists for the brief time that the mob is in the street and the rulers are afraid their heads will end up in baskets.
TriTorch, I wonder where you get all your BULLSHIT from.
>>"Hamas IS the Israel government"
Nope, it is NOT!
>>"Israel Created Hamas"
Nope - it did not.
"Hamas was established during the First intifada against the Israeli occupation in 1987, and has its origins in Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood movement, which had been active in the Gaza Strip since the 1950s and gained influence through a network of mosques and various charitable and social organizations."
Please STOP spreading misinformation and disinformation.
YES IT DID, to knock the popular Palestinian National Authority (PLA) and that bloke Arafat ?; who had gained Global support.
Maybe you should educate yourself and by putting a comment like "Please STOP spreading misinformation and disinformation"..... tells my a lot about you.
Dude - please study history and do some reading - otherwise you land up making a fool of yourself for ALL to see.
Please do a search on "history of Hamas" or "origins of Hamas"
What are Hamas's origins?
"It grew out of the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamist movement. The Brotherhood's Palestinian wing, founded in the 1940s, was initially not involved in the armed struggle against Israel – which was led by the secular Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) – and instead devoted itself to charitable and religious work. But during the first Intifada, a violent uprising against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories that began in 1987, it turned to militancy, as the PLO started to negotiate with Israel. It was in that year that Hamas was officially co-founded by the Gaza-based quadriplegic cleric Sheikh Ahmed Yassin."
Hamas: A Historical and Political Background (Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 22, No. 4 (Summer, 1993), pp. 5-19 (15 pages)) [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2538077]
>>"Which Government or organisation are you with ?"
Looked briefly at your fist link... so do YOU believe in the fact that .... to quote = "On 7 October Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, killing 1,400 people and taking more than 200 hostages. ????" all by themselves ???
So hold on,all troops moved off the 3m walls and fencing with mines in front, all censors that can pick out a mouse crossing to the fences .. then shoot, blast them from automatic guns switched off ... but wait, Israeli Intelligence had NOT HEARD OF AN ATTACK ON THEIR BORDERS, but the same or next day, they knew exactly where every "HAMAS terrorist" was in Gaza, their tunnels etc... - right !!!"
People like you, live in a dream World. The World is a stage and we have been the gormless fools, with mouth wide open, played for decades - maybe / centuries to believe all this BS... bet you believe in the official story of 9/11 and "we landed on the moon".... but many of us have "awakened now" and can see through this BS.
Off you go little boy and give your Mama her lap top back, before you get your 5th / 6th booster jab.
PS Regards my question -"Which Government or organisation are you with ?"
Your answer - That question is irrelevant to the FACTS.
My response - Ouch, as it is relevant. A newbie hey ?; ah bless.
>>"Off you go little boy and give your Mama her lap top back, before you get your 5th / 6th booster jab."
You've just exposed yourself as a person that does not (or maybe is incapable of) critical thinking?
What does any vaccine shot have ANYTHING to do with the discussion here? Where's your logic?
Also, you're moving the goal post. Your original argument was "Israel created Hamas". I disproved you and provided you with FACTS to validate what I said.
Instead of addressing your mistakes, you move onto a completely different argument about "the Oct 7 attacks"? That's a strawman arguement to what is being discussed.
Sorry, nice try, but it's not going to work on me.
The jokes on you - maybe learn to do some research? I can validate my FACTS. Can you validate your "assertions"?
And you think saying something like "direct quotes from the Israeli govt." makes some kind of point on your behalf? Please learn argumentation (and some logic) too.
8:00— "Well again, the protests are not largely, not about Hamas from what I've seen. The photos of the protests which were organized had nothing to do with Hamas. And of course Israel doesn't just murder those protesting against, they're starving and murdering everyone. And so the idea that Israel or its government would care about anyone in Gaza is ludicrous on its face, or the US or Western politicians who've been helping this. So again, you see in that screenshot, there have been videos circulating where you can hear some slogans about Hamas. And let's take a look at the next slide. And before we play the video Tamara I just want to read what Muhammad Shada said, and then we'll play the video. But what he says, again, to give some context, "there were some videos, or there are some videos circulating," and they've been reported in the New York Times and others, "where you can see some people shouting specifically anti-Hamas slogans. I do not see them as being in the same context of those children we saw earlier on holding the signs against the genocide, these seem to be just groups of men going around," and Muhammad Hadis says, "an apparent Fatah influence is detectable in some of today's protests with the chant Yashia being added," and I'm going to explain what he means by that. Of course Fatah is the political faction aligned with Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority leader in Ramallah, and Fatah is the only faction Israel doesn't list as a terrorist organization because Fatah is the ruling party in the Palestinian Authority, in the West Bank, that is closely allied with Israel, the Palestinian Authority. And the chant Yashia Shiites as Muhammad Shada points out, is being used, it's a sectarian chant being used to accuse Hamas of being sort of an extension or proxies of Iran, which is a view held not by many Palestinians but certainly by the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah and Fatah and Israel. You won't find many Palestinians on the ground in Gaza who think that, but certainly the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah do. And notably this chant of Ya Shia a Ya Shia, which is a very insulting sectarian anti-Shia song, did appear in 2007, and this was in the brief civil war, you could call it, between Fatah - Hamas that followed Hamas's election victory in the 2006 Palestinian Authority elections. And then what happened in those elections is that the Fatah and the Palestinian Authority aligned with the United States and the United Arab Emirates basically to carry out a coup against Hamas that had been elected, and in that context that chant of shia shia as was heard time and again. And it's important for people to know that Palestinians are Palestinian Muslims, who are the majority of Palestinians are all Sunni, of course there might be a tiny handful of exceptions, but there is no Shia, Sunni Shia distinction among Palestinians. So the use of Shia in this context is a purely political denigration of Shia and using it against Hamas in order to paint them as proxies of Iran.”
Thank you for posting that link, you saved me the trouble. I'd already watched the discussion a few days ago, and thought of it as soon as I read Caitlin's piece. It's a classic example of the methods of distortion used by the propaganda machine, whereby a few grains of truth will be mixed in with the torrent of lies, to sow confusion.
In an astounding show of magnanimity, Nettenyahu has dispatched his top team of rescuers to Bangkok.
"(March 29, 2025 / JNS)
An Israeli delegation will leave for Thailand on Saturday night to help in search and rescue efforts after the earthquake that shook the country and neighboring Myanmar the previous day.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed Israeli National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi to dispatch a delegation of experts to help with the rescue of 81 workers trapped under a high-rise building that collapsed in Bangkok.
The 21-member team, led by Col. (res.) Yossi Pinto, the commander of the IDF’s reserve national Search and Rescue Unit, was slated to depart from Ben-Gurion International Airport on an El Al flight at 10:30 p.m.
Israeli officials were quoted by Israel Hayom as saying, “The delegation will assist in constructing an intelligence picture for population-based and engineering-based rescue operations and will continue working until the last trapped individual is rescued.”"
Looks like the criminal is trying to show a different face to the world that he shows to the Palestinians.
I suppose once the team of experts return to Israel, they'll be back at their normal job, burying Palestinians under destroyed buildings.
I got such a feeling of disorientation just now reading what you wrote. I’ve never heard a single word come out of Netanyahu’s mouth that wasn’t genocidal or vicious in some way, or that didn’t play the victim card. I’m serious, the idea that any Israeli in 2025 gives a rat’s ass about anyone, much less would help them out, is beyond preposterous. I’m very certain it’s not a thing.
The Israel is joined up with a team of US military in Bangkok.
Even Nettenyahu cannot be oblivious to the massive amount of detest he's getting from the world. I would guess he's trying to repair the damage done to Israel's reputation.
"It’s yet another Israeli land grab and yet another drive to eliminate Palestinians from their historic homeland."
The Izrealhellis are predictable in their (evil) methods. Create a situation, blame Hamas, drop bombs on innocent Palestinians. Rinse and repeat. Nobody's buying it anymore. They can cut out the lying. Our group intelligence has been insulted enough. And they wonder why support for their genocide is losing percentage points in the polls daily...
How do we know who what where or when this street gathering was held or what it was about? There are no signs, no chanting heard, only a white flag. More Hasbara likely.
The Electronic Intifada did a video on this. I didn’t get to finish watching it but Ali Abunimah said the signs at the demonstrations didn’t mention Hamas. They were a plea for an end to the violence, presumably aimed at Israel. You may find the video helpful.
I watched the whole segment on these protests, and I agree with what you said. Ali Abnimah did go on to mention Mohammed Dahlan, former leader of Fatah in Gaza, as being behind some signs suggesting they get rid of Hamas.
truth is good. the Zionist Hollywood stories do not work anymore. Blinken landed in Tel Aviv and said I come here as a Jew, and then went to Qatar to tell Aljazeera to tone down the coverage, and they did. Control the narrative. Supporting the so called State of Israel is terrorism.
truth is good. the Zionist Hollywood stories do not work anymore. Blinken landed in Tel Aviv and said I come here as a Jew, and then went to Qatar to tell Aljazeera to tone down the coverage, and they did. Control the narrative. Supporting the so called State of Israel is terrorism.
Doesn't that land belong to the Palestinians, not Israel. I can just see what Trump wants to do, build a huge statue of himself and build a resort over the dead bodies. If Trump goes to war with Iran, Israel will be evaporated, but the US will be in the cross hairs too. Russia and China will probably back Iran and even if Israel has nukes, they wont get a change to use them, hopefully. The world stands with Gaza and its people.
There was a late-Sixties Antiwar Band called The Electric Flag. Did a tune called “Killing Floor”.
Intro music had LBJ’s 1965 American Promise Speech in the background “I speak tonight for the dignity of man and the destiny of democracy. I urge every member . . .
At this point energized power chords along with canned laughter cuts in — laughing at LBJ and drowning his words so the last part sounds like “I urge every American to blow farts.”
It’s one of the most useful things I’ve ever heard a US president say.
Most of the rest of what they’ve said since LBJ has been scripted hogwash dictated by the oligarchy and designed to keep the proles as placid as possible while silently sucking the Élan vital from their minds, bodies and spirit. Not just Americans, mind you, but proles the entire world over, Palestinians included.
Gosh, Vin, you are bringing back some long ago memories. I saw Electric Flag at the Filmore. They opened for Cream. I remember Michael Bloomfield very well. I had seen him several time when he was with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band.
The song "KIlling Floor," was writen by Howling Wolf, but I never got to see him.
The spin is dizzying! The things we're encouraged to believe are over the top ridiculous. The way genocide is being danced around by Israel, the USA and other western countries is horrendous.
Exactly. Like the Zionist regime cares one ounce about what the general population of Palestinians think or demand - literally ignore the latest round of bs and don’t play into it - it’s meant to confuse and distract.
The tyrants stated clearly the children are to be eliminated because they will grow up to be ‘terrorists.’
Both Netanyahu and Trump display a callous disregard for human life. “ One of the most cowardly thing ordinary people do is to shut their eyes to facts.” C.S. Lewis. What is happening by humans to humans is beyond my capability, conscience. Evil doesn’t adequately describe the situation.
I doubt Hamas fighters are a bunch of Boy Scouts but nothing changes the fact the Zionists have been murdering defenseless people for decades. The onslaught since October 7th is genocide for all to see and no amount of lies, distortions or BBC headlines pretending this is all Hamas’ fault changes that. BiBi and Trump are hand in glove with the desire to destroy Palestinians and steal their land.
I have a different perspective: the last and only election that put Hamas in charge of Gaza was 19 years ago, when they giained power short of a majority vote. Half the residents of Gaza were not even born when they took power, and 3/4 were not of voting age during their 19 yr tenure. It is likely, in my view, that Hama would have collapsed long ago if not propped up by Israel, for 14 yrs, funneling billions in cash to Hamas to keep it in power, as a stratgy to keep the Palestinians divided in a classic case of divide, conequer....and loot. The loot of course is the Gaza and West Bank land plus the hundreds of billions in oil and gas.
So it is my view that without Israel supporting and funding Gaza ($ from Quatar but authorized and encouraged by Israel), Hamas would have lost power to another party, as it never had majority support but has only been strengthened by Israeli attacks, after the deal between HAMAS AND Netanyahu collapsed as of Oct 7. The insane genocidal rage of Netanyahu, which insists of the "total victory" which his own top military leaders have calledI impossible and a fantasy, "throwing sand in the eyes of the public," is less to make Israel secure than to cover up the fact that if Hamas is a terrorist organization, he is the one who made it so. So this is classical denial/projection, in which the evil one has caused is blamed on the party that revoked the deal with the Devil.
The most ironic part of this strange psychodrama, which has erupted into a genocidal operation, is that in order for Netanyahu to stay in power and out of prison (facing 3 corruption trials with one having over 300 adverse witnesses), he must have war as his shield, and to have war he must have an enemy, and the only enemy (he can take side shots at Lebenon, Iran, and Syria, but the public will not allow him to rule based on that)he can use to stay at perpetual war is the very enemy he has vowed to totally eradicate. That is why, his 500 day extermination program, has failed, not because Hamas is strong but because Hamas is needed as an enemy and defeating it would end Netanyahu's career, not in a blaze of glory but more likely a prison sentence.
This is my view, partly fact, party hunch, partly speculation, but it makes sense. I can recall a similar event, which is when Nato blew off Russia's request to join Nato (3 times)....which would have secured peace in Europe for the foreseeable future but would deprive NATO of its raison d'etre, for without an enemy, NATO would have no reason to exist and swallow up hundreds of billions in cash and assemble a military force of 30 nations...and so Russia was needed, not as a member to secure the peace, but as an enemy to justify the existence of NATO as a supreme military force. And so it does..........................................
There was a coup in 2007 in the West Bank where Israel helped Fatah overthrow Hamas there.
Israel has been funding Fatah also for a very long time, including the Palestine Authority (PA). The PA seems to be working with the Israeli govt. quite closely, and may in many ways be aligned with them. The PA is NOT very popular with Palestinians, and there are enough FACTS showing (especially after Oct 7th) that popularity and support for Hamas as grown in all Palestinian regions.
Hamas won the majority of the seats but not a majority of the actual votes by the voters: of the popular vote, which reflects the will of the people, they won 44.45% of evote and Fatah won 41.43% according to the official Central Elections Commission. The headline they won the majority refers to the way the seats in Parliament are tallied, not the actual public vote.
Not one of the links you provide offers the actual vote of the people, merely the way the seats in Parliament were doled out. My comment they took power without a majority vote is accurate; the allotment of seats is not a vote but a calculation. The actual public gave them 44. 45% of the vote.
Wikipedia reports, with the CEC as the primary source: "The result was a victory for Hamas, contesting under the list name of Change and Reform, which received 44.45% of the vote and won 74 of the 132 seats, whilst the ruling Fatah received 41.43% . So it is a fact that the maority of voters in 2006 did not vote for Hamas and it is also a fact that roughly half of the population of Gaza today, had no chance to vote, being newborns or youth. This is the basis for stating that it was Israel, funneling billions in cash into Hamas, which used the money to gain support from the population, which otherwise would have abandoned them long ago, that kept Hamas in power.
On 25 January 2006, 77.7% of the eligible electorate of Palestine turned out to vote. The results were a shock to the international community. Of the 132-seat Parliament, Fatah won 45 seats, Hamas won 74 seats and the remaining 13 seats were divided among smaller parties.
In total, Fatah received 35 percent of the total votes cast in all districts, while Hamas received around 40 percent. However, of the 66 district seats that were contested, Fatah received 17 seats, around 26 percent of the legislature. Hamas, however, received 45 seats, 68 percent. Despite receiving 35 percent of the district votes, Fatah was only represented in the district-based half of the legislature with 26 percent of the seats. Hamas, despite receiving 40 percent of the vote, saw their representation in the district based half of the PLC rise to 68 percent. This is extraordinarily disproportionate. Despite being separated by 5 percentage points, which amounts to 250,000 votes– remember, these are votes, not voters; each individual has multiple votes– Hamas won a full 42 percent more of the district seats than Fatah. Although this is somewhat mediated by the party list votes– which is one of the benefits of a mixed system– this still results in a disproportionate legislature and gives Hamas a comfortable majority with 74 seats, 56 percent of the legislature, despite receiving around 44 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, Fatah, which received around 40 percent of the vote, is left with 45 seats, 34 percent of the legislature.
It can be argued that despite the fact that Hamas received more seats than its vote counts imply, a full 44 percent of the Palestinian voters– the turnout rate for this particular election was around 74 percent — still voted for Hamas (or, the Change and Reform Party as they were listed on the ballot.
Hence, do the math. If only 74% voted, and of those 74%, 44% voted for Hamas - Hamas clearly won on the basis of BOTH votes AND seats.
As to your speculation about Hamas not able to exist without Israeli funding, who really knows? I can't argue against what you hypothesize, but it is important to realize that Israel funded BOTH Hamas AND Fatah. Israel could not risk NOT FUNDING Hamas, as that would have led to greater unity amongst the Palestinian people (even though Fatah did not represent its people to the same level as Hamas did).
Why do you say shit like this? The Palestinians aren’t divided, fuckstick!As long as Israel murders and steals Palestinian land, Hamas will have their deserved and needed spot in Palestine.
The greater israel project is still going ahead with invasions of Lebanon, Syria, Gaza, and the West Bank by israel. It goes back to Wesley Clark talking about how the us government would overthrow 7 Muslim countries in the aftermath 11-9. The us government decided they wanted no domestic opposition hence the patriot act, continuity of government, and other forms of political repression unleased on unsuspecting americans since 11-9. One shouldn't really blame regular americans because princeton university did a study about 10 years ago that said public opinion of americans has 0 effect on the actions of the congress and president. The protests against the 2nd Iraq war in 2003 were one of the largest protests in american history and they had 0 effect. Gaza has captured the imagination of the world with their opposition to the genocide and a is putting a humongous wrench into the greater israel project. So there are some small reasons for optimism.
i saw in some telegrams channels that those that started said anti hamas protests are from people helping the zionists kill palestinians. basically, they were working with israel and hamas has dealt with them.
For Israel, ethnic cleansing has ALWAYS been the plan since 1947 (maybe even much before that). Netanyahu found a very pliable Zionist (Biden) and an authoritarian Zionist (Trump) to finally attempt to complete the 'long-ago planned goal' of ethnic cleansing (by any means).
I can understand how Israeli society creates the likes of Netanyahu, but is no one asking how American society creates the likes of Biden, Trump, and all such genociders?
America has had a long history of genocide, from the1600’s onward.Look at the indigenous tribes history. They are still fighting for their rights to exist. Then there is the Black history in America, the plantation era. Each knew immigrant was looked down upon arrival. It’s not an honorable history.
sadly they had good teachers in britain and the other colonizing countries in europe - and our leaders still support this genocide.
Chang, I have so many questions after reading Caitlin today. But I am dumbstruck by the sheer stupidity if not the violence of the western ethos. Ethnic cleansing and land theft was always the plan. It has rolled on unimpeded by the rulers, the establishment and the media, culminating in todays unrelenting bombardment, genocide, murder, hypocrisy, lies and racism which has found fertile ground with US/West and their vicious proxy Israel.
The world watches and waits while the Palestinians become disposable.
>>"Chang, I have so many questions after reading Caitlin today."
Not sure I get you. I found Caitlin's article straightforward. What questions did arise in your mind from this article? Some confusion perhaps?
Chang, Maybe I should have used a different word instead of "questions". Maybe I am becoming as stupid as the environment we are living in!
I wasn't questioning Caitlin's article, far from it. It is the sheer hopelessness we feel that got to me.
I understand what you mean. Somehow, I personally seem to have increased by faith in the Palestinian people (and Hamas) to stay resilient and persistent despite the impossible odds.
I am in complete AWE of the Palestinian people - and how they have resisted and continue to fight against the unbelievable amount of oppression and destruction and annihilation and genocide. Maybe it's just optimism bias talking, but I feel the WHOLE WORLD has turned (or is slowly turning) AGAINST Israel AND the U.S.
Russia, China, and whomever else needs to get behind Palestine ASAP!
How many marches in anger or not, have you seen only 1 flag or billboard in full view ?; oh aye and the flag in what colour, meaning what ?.
Suggestions from your responders notwithstanding, let us not neglect "onward Christian soldiers marching as to war etc, etc.". The maniacal Spanish Catholic priests in the new world on the one hand, the maniacal English Puritans on the other. Not the sole source of genocidal energy, of course, but a good start for finding a deep root of untermenchen-ism, aka "heathen" lives not being exactly valued as fully human.
When they hit us with "America is a Christian country", isn't this what they actually mean?
Provocative unlawful assault and degradation...intentional and sickening !
Of course ethnic cleansing, amd if that failed, outright genocide, ever always only was the plan.
What does anyone propose to do about it?
What do you suggest that we propose?
If I had easy answers, I would have suggested them a long time ago.
What about hard answers?
I would not put down such things in writing.
Probably wise . . .
Thoughts are powerful ; I wouldn't give our agency so far.
Yes, the plan existed long long before that, it's just that it hasn't been framed that way.
Here's info that Rothschild bought Jerusalem in 1829, i.e. more than 100 years before Israhell was officially recognized. https://www.kaplancollection.org/item/niles-weekly-register-november-28-1829-4e83e412/
And since cca '1880 they have been actively involved in planned process of buying land and founding of the financial institutions that would subdue Arab govt., i.e. forcefully laying the foundation of "their" state in Palestine, all under Rothschild.
The Jewish Colonization Association (ICA) was a philanthropic association to assist Jews in depressed economic circumstances or countries of persecution to emigrate and settle elsewhere in productive employment, founded by Baron Maurice de Hirsch in 1891. It was incorporated in London as a joint-stock company whose other shareholders were Baron Edmond de Rothschild, J. Goldsmid, Sir Ernest Joseph Cassel, F.D. Mocatta, Benjamin S. Cohen, S.H. Goldschmidt, and Salomon Reinach.
Ereẓ Israel
From 1896, ICA provided financial aid for independent colonists in Gederah, Ḥaderah, Nes Ẓiyyonah, and Mishmar ha-Yarden.
In 1899 Baron Edmond de Rothschild transferred to ICA the colonies under HIS CARE, and those he himself had founded, providing 15,000,000 francs to finance their further development.
He presided over an administrative body, the Palestine Commission, formed in Paris.
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jewish-colonization-association-ica
Fun fact: Hebrew dictionary - meaning of the word Jerusalem.
the CHIEF CITY OF PALESTINE and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split
https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3389/kjv/wlc/0-1/
"Israel’s supporters and defenders are...advocating the end of the existence of Palestinians on Palestinian territory." Precisely, concisely; thanks, Caitlin. This cannot be real, but it is real--in real time for now 1.5 years-cum-7 decades of scheming and atrocities like "mowing the grass" now culminating in outright genocide/cleansing of ALL of historic Palestine. Mind boggling, this danse macabre leading to death (lives, culture, land, history...) for all the rightful inhabitants....
perfectly said
Supporting Israel’s actions in Gaza is the same as supporting the Nazi holocaust of Jews and other people in the 1940's. You would think our leaders had been able to study enough history to understand this. But I guess they were too busy studying economics and how to keep the rich rich.
It is worth recalling that a significant portion of the US financial elite were enthusiastic supporters of the German Nazis starting when they took power in 1933, as a bulwark of resistance to Soviet Communism and in the wake of the Great Depression.
When pushed to face its own contradictions and in times of crisis Capitalism removes the gloves and becomes explicitly fascist.
We are now in such a period. And there is currently no organized Left which has the loyalty of the masses of the working class to oppose it.
i think they studied history and do understand. quite some 'leaders' (and industrialists) of that time kinda covertly supported what the nazi's were doing especially in the east. from this history they know none of the 'leaders' of that time were held to account for their covert support and they managed to focus the world on the fascist attack dogs and the loudest victims (6 vs 22 mil). kinda how they're focusing on bibi and the israelis as the attack dogs now.
They know full well, and they learned that what matters is being on the winning side.
Netanyahu was funnelling millions of dollars to Hamas from Qatar. Hamas is a tool to further the destruction of Palestinians and further The Greater Israel Project.
>>"Hamas is a tool to further the destruction of Palestinians"
NO! Apparently, you may not have enough of an understanding of Hamas and its history.
Please read "Hamas Contained: The Rise and Pacification of Palestinian Resistance" by Tareq Baconi (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35793669-hamas-contained) to understand the dynamics better.
Hamas was formed in 1987 as resistance against Israel. The only reason Israel (not just Netanyahu) helped fund Hamas was to prevent Fatah from coming to power and creating unity. Fatah betrayed the Palestinian people (in many ways) and lost the elections in BOTH the West Bank AND Gaza during 2006-2007. Hamas won in both the places. That's when the fight between Hamas and Fatah intensified.
Netanyahu thought that by funding/supporting Hamas he (and Israel) could keep the Palestinian people divided - but it backfired. Hamas stuck to their principles of RESISTANCE, bided their time, and took whatever opportunities presented themselves to strike back at Israel.
Hamas is not the tool - Netanyahu is the TOOL!
How long do you think that these actions have been planned ?.
OK, an easy one, when did the West (US) get involved in Ukraine for instance... WELL the CIA started funding, training and supplying their military in 1995, not 2014 when they finally did the coup ....so how long before 1995, were plans made and funds / military equipment "made available" ??....Oh wait!.... look at the date = https://lefteast.org/ukraine-agrees-to-monsanto-land-grab-for-17-billion-imf-loan/
Just the same regards here .. when was O%G first found off the coast (and on land) of Palestine ?.....
Israel ALWAYS wanted to ethnic-cleanse the Palestinians from before 1948 - and took advantage of whatever opportunities presented themselves to do so for over 75+ years.
Every attempt at resistance by the Palestinians was framed as "terrorism", etc. - giving Israel a false pretext to "play the victim" and further bomb and terrorize the Palestinians.
Again, you seriously need to read up on Israel and Palestine. Here are some good books (mostly written by Jewish authors and historians) that people can read to learn the history and understand the conflict better ->
(1) "Ten Myths About Israel" by Ilan Pappe
(2) "Gaza: An Inquest Into its Martyrdom" by Norman G. Finkelstein
(3) "The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler-Colonial Conquest and Resistance, 1917-2017" by Rashid Khalidi
(4) "On Palestine" AND "Gaza in Crisis: Reflections on Israel’s War Against the Palestinians" by Noam Chomsky & Ilan Pappe
(5) "The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine" by Ilan Pappe
(6) "The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood" by Rashid Khalidi
(7) "Hamas Contained: The Rise and Pacification of Palestinian Resistance" by Tareq Baconi
(8) "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy" by John Mearsheimer & Stephen M. Walt
(9) "The Invention of the Jewish People" by Shlomo Sand
(10) "The Question of Palestine" by Edward W. Said
(11) "My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel" by Ari Shavit
(12) "The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew and the Heart of the Middle East" by Sandy Tolan
(13) "The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel Exports the Technology of Occupation Around the World" by Antony Loewenstein
(14) "The Punishment of Gaza" by Gideon Levy
(15) "Cracks in The Wall: Beyond Apartheid in Palestine/Israel" by Ben White
(16) "The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering" by Norman G. Finkelstein
(17) "The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World" by Avi Shlaim
(18) "The Invention of the Land of Israel: From Holy Land to Homeland" by Shlomo Sand
(19) "Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine" by Noura Erakat
(20) "The Wretched of the Earth" by Frantz Fanon
(21) "The Colonizer and the Colonized" by Albert Memmi
(22) "The Iron Wall: Zionist Revisionism From Jabotinsky to Shamir" by Lenni Brenner
(23) "God's Country: Christian Zionism in America" by Samuel Goldman
(24) "The General's Son: Journey of an Israeli in Palestine" by Miko Peled
(25) "The Pro-Israel Lobby in Europe: The Politics of Religion and Christian Zionism in the European Union" by Elvira King
(26) "Orientalism" by Edward Said
Bob, the article is a furphy. Ukraine has for decades lost any claim to being "pristine" and the breadbasket of Europe. It's the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster FFS!
Excellent Chang. The West Bank became a "Bantustan" and the unelected Mahmoud Abbas a mere Israeli puppet who suppressed and contained any resistance by his people - for Israel.
Netanyahu and Israel didn't fund Hamas but let Qatar send in the money.
»”Netanyahu and Israel didn't fund Hamas but let Qatar send in the money.”
Netanyahu and Israel funded Hamas through Qatar (and others). It’s quite easy to obfuscate financial transactions (as evidenced by the Panama Papers, world-wide money laundering, shell-corporations, and many other strategies).
Qatar doesn’t have a reason to fund Hamas out of the “goodness of their hearts”. It’s important to understand that Qatar is NOT on the side of the Palestinians (just as most Arab countries are not on Palestine’s side - with the exception of Yemen, Lebanon, and Syria. Iran is Persian, hence in a different category - but Iran’s history is complex - and it has played both sides)
Who are the IDF fighting? Ans: Hamas. Conveniently levelling Gaza in the process.
>>"Who are the IDF fighting? Ans: Hamas."
Nope.
The IDF are fighting THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE. Hamas is the excuse for this "always-planned" ethnic cleansing (or Genocide if it came to that - which it has).
Please read some of Caitlin's articles, since you still seem to be under the influence of FALSE NARRATIVES that "this is a war on Hamas". NO!!! This is an Israeli (and U.S.) Genocide and ethnic cleansing on ALL PALESTINIANS (starting with Gaza, and now slowing expanding to the West Bank - where there is NO Hamas). It's already expanded to Lebanon and Syria.
That's exactly my point. They say they're fighting Hamas but wiping out the Palestinians hence my comment - Hamas is a useful tool.
Maybe we are making similar points, but I don't necessarily agree with your framing of "Hamas is a useful tool" (for many reasons).
I can say, the American people are useful tools as the 1% can use divide and conquer strategies to keep them fighting with each other instead of against the 1%. Or I can say that "immigrants are a useful tool" to create moral panics and make people focus on that INSTEAD of how the 'power elite' are oppressing and exploiting working people. Or I can say that ALL Democrats are "useful tools" for the Republican congress or ALL Republicans are "useful tools" used by the Democrats in congress. You get the idea.
I have an issue with the wording (and connotation) of "Hamas is a useful tool".
I don't really care what you think.
Dollyboy, I can't agree with your too-facile words. See and understand Chang, above and below.
(Part of my understanding of Hamas is that it was formed to address social and other human needs of Hamas' brethren and sistren Palestinians, who were not taken care of by the PLO-Fatah in the mid/late 1980s....)
this is a zio-imperialist storyline, imo. it serves to discredit hamas as the genuine resistance. it is a tool to drive a wedge between hamas and the palestinians and promotes the lie that there would be no ethnic cleansing if hamas is gone.
Bull Shit narratives most probably made up by zionist… 🤯🤯
Hamas is not a monolithic entity. I don't believe that a few billionaire families living in Qatar truly represent the culture and motives of Palestinians living in Gaza. Those billionaires could not stop the Al Qassam Brigades even if they wanted to. Not to mention all the other resistance groups in Gaza.
What do you propose the Palestinians should have done instead? Just lay down quietly and take it? If they had, the Abraham Accords would have been signed by now, and Palestine would be even closer to erasure than it is today.
Do you shame our ancestors by suggesting that it is wiser to cower than fight? Every freedom we have here in Australia now was won the hard way - by the lower classes being bold and fearless enough to stand up against the violence of the ruling class. Sociopaths only respond to power - our elders fought tooth and nail to force the power structure to make those concessions. If they hadn't, we'd still be convicts.
In mass societies, democracy only exists for the brief time that the mob is in the street and the rulers are afraid their heads will end up in baskets.
TriTorch, I wonder where you get all your BULLSHIT from.
>>"Hamas IS the Israel government"
Nope, it is NOT!
>>"Israel Created Hamas"
Nope - it did not.
"Hamas was established during the First intifada against the Israeli occupation in 1987, and has its origins in Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood movement, which had been active in the Gaza Strip since the 1950s and gained influence through a network of mosques and various charitable and social organizations."
Please STOP spreading misinformation and disinformation.
Also, please read the book "Hamas Contained: The Rise and Pacification of Palestinian Resistance" by Tareq Baconi (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35793669-hamas-contained) and work on your history of Israel and Palestine.
Israel funded Hamas until they didn't. Hamas tries to protect the Palestinians in Gaza, all while Israel tries to murder them.
Duh! I don't think you understood my comment.
And BTW, it is MORE than just Israel that funded Hamas (though Israel has been the primary funder).
The money came from Quatar, not Israel, but it was with Israeli encouragment and approval and authorization, to divide Palestine to prevent statehood.
Duh! Who was behind the money? Who's money was it? (hint: the US was also involved in funding Hamas - it wasn't just Israel).
HAMAS are the elected government FFS...
>>"Israel Created Hamas"
Nope - it did not.
....................
YES IT DID, to knock the popular Palestinian National Authority (PLA) and that bloke Arafat ?; who had gained Global support.
Maybe you should educate yourself and by putting a comment like "Please STOP spreading misinformation and disinformation"..... tells my a lot about you.
Which Government or organisation are you with ?
Dude - please study history and do some reading - otherwise you land up making a fool of yourself for ALL to see.
Please do a search on "history of Hamas" or "origins of Hamas"
What are Hamas's origins?
"It grew out of the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamist movement. The Brotherhood's Palestinian wing, founded in the 1940s, was initially not involved in the armed struggle against Israel – which was led by the secular Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) – and instead devoted itself to charitable and religious work. But during the first Intifada, a violent uprising against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories that began in 1987, it turned to militancy, as the PLO started to negotiate with Israel. It was in that year that Hamas was officially co-founded by the Gaza-based quadriplegic cleric Sheikh Ahmed Yassin."
(https://theweek.com/politics/the-origins-of-hamas)
Another reference:
Hamas: A Historical and Political Background (Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 22, No. 4 (Summer, 1993), pp. 5-19 (15 pages)) [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2538077]
>>"Which Government or organisation are you with ?"
That question is irrelevant to the FACTS.
Well thank you for your reply.
Looked briefly at your fist link... so do YOU believe in the fact that .... to quote = "On 7 October Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, killing 1,400 people and taking more than 200 hostages. ????" all by themselves ???
So hold on,all troops moved off the 3m walls and fencing with mines in front, all censors that can pick out a mouse crossing to the fences .. then shoot, blast them from automatic guns switched off ... but wait, Israeli Intelligence had NOT HEARD OF AN ATTACK ON THEIR BORDERS, but the same or next day, they knew exactly where every "HAMAS terrorist" was in Gaza, their tunnels etc... - right !!!"
People like you, live in a dream World. The World is a stage and we have been the gormless fools, with mouth wide open, played for decades - maybe / centuries to believe all this BS... bet you believe in the official story of 9/11 and "we landed on the moon".... but many of us have "awakened now" and can see through this BS.
Off you go little boy and give your Mama her lap top back, before you get your 5th / 6th booster jab.
PS Regards my question -"Which Government or organisation are you with ?"
Your answer - That question is irrelevant to the FACTS.
My response - Ouch, as it is relevant. A newbie hey ?; ah bless.
>>"Off you go little boy and give your Mama her lap top back, before you get your 5th / 6th booster jab."
You've just exposed yourself as a person that does not (or maybe is incapable of) critical thinking?
What does any vaccine shot have ANYTHING to do with the discussion here? Where's your logic?
Also, you're moving the goal post. Your original argument was "Israel created Hamas". I disproved you and provided you with FACTS to validate what I said.
Instead of addressing your mistakes, you move onto a completely different argument about "the Oct 7 attacks"? That's a strawman arguement to what is being discussed.
Sorry, nice try, but it's not going to work on me.
The jokes on you - maybe learn to do some research? I can validate my FACTS. Can you validate your "assertions"?
And you think saying something like "direct quotes from the Israeli govt." makes some kind of point on your behalf? Please learn argumentation (and some logic) too.
Electronic Intifada 3/27/25-- What's the truth behind the "anti-Hamas" protest in Gaza?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXFHi4LWDbY
8:00— "Well again, the protests are not largely, not about Hamas from what I've seen. The photos of the protests which were organized had nothing to do with Hamas. And of course Israel doesn't just murder those protesting against, they're starving and murdering everyone. And so the idea that Israel or its government would care about anyone in Gaza is ludicrous on its face, or the US or Western politicians who've been helping this. So again, you see in that screenshot, there have been videos circulating where you can hear some slogans about Hamas. And let's take a look at the next slide. And before we play the video Tamara I just want to read what Muhammad Shada said, and then we'll play the video. But what he says, again, to give some context, "there were some videos, or there are some videos circulating," and they've been reported in the New York Times and others, "where you can see some people shouting specifically anti-Hamas slogans. I do not see them as being in the same context of those children we saw earlier on holding the signs against the genocide, these seem to be just groups of men going around," and Muhammad Hadis says, "an apparent Fatah influence is detectable in some of today's protests with the chant Yashia being added," and I'm going to explain what he means by that. Of course Fatah is the political faction aligned with Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority leader in Ramallah, and Fatah is the only faction Israel doesn't list as a terrorist organization because Fatah is the ruling party in the Palestinian Authority, in the West Bank, that is closely allied with Israel, the Palestinian Authority. And the chant Yashia Shiites as Muhammad Shada points out, is being used, it's a sectarian chant being used to accuse Hamas of being sort of an extension or proxies of Iran, which is a view held not by many Palestinians but certainly by the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah and Fatah and Israel. You won't find many Palestinians on the ground in Gaza who think that, but certainly the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah do. And notably this chant of Ya Shia a Ya Shia, which is a very insulting sectarian anti-Shia song, did appear in 2007, and this was in the brief civil war, you could call it, between Fatah - Hamas that followed Hamas's election victory in the 2006 Palestinian Authority elections. And then what happened in those elections is that the Fatah and the Palestinian Authority aligned with the United States and the United Arab Emirates basically to carry out a coup against Hamas that had been elected, and in that context that chant of shia shia as was heard time and again. And it's important for people to know that Palestinians are Palestinian Muslims, who are the majority of Palestinians are all Sunni, of course there might be a tiny handful of exceptions, but there is no Shia, Sunni Shia distinction among Palestinians. So the use of Shia in this context is a purely political denigration of Shia and using it against Hamas in order to paint them as proxies of Iran.”
Thank you for posting that link, you saved me the trouble. I'd already watched the discussion a few days ago, and thought of it as soon as I read Caitlin's piece. It's a classic example of the methods of distortion used by the propaganda machine, whereby a few grains of truth will be mixed in with the torrent of lies, to sow confusion.
In an astounding show of magnanimity, Nettenyahu has dispatched his top team of rescuers to Bangkok.
"(March 29, 2025 / JNS)
An Israeli delegation will leave for Thailand on Saturday night to help in search and rescue efforts after the earthquake that shook the country and neighboring Myanmar the previous day.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed Israeli National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi to dispatch a delegation of experts to help with the rescue of 81 workers trapped under a high-rise building that collapsed in Bangkok.
The 21-member team, led by Col. (res.) Yossi Pinto, the commander of the IDF’s reserve national Search and Rescue Unit, was slated to depart from Ben-Gurion International Airport on an El Al flight at 10:30 p.m.
Israeli officials were quoted by Israel Hayom as saying, “The delegation will assist in constructing an intelligence picture for population-based and engineering-based rescue operations and will continue working until the last trapped individual is rescued.”"
Looks like the criminal is trying to show a different face to the world that he shows to the Palestinians.
I suppose once the team of experts return to Israel, they'll be back at their normal job, burying Palestinians under destroyed buildings.
I got such a feeling of disorientation just now reading what you wrote. I’ve never heard a single word come out of Netanyahu’s mouth that wasn’t genocidal or vicious in some way, or that didn’t play the victim card. I’m serious, the idea that any Israeli in 2025 gives a rat’s ass about anyone, much less would help them out, is beyond preposterous. I’m very certain it’s not a thing.
It’s obviously a publicity stunt!
I didn’t mean to imply that I believe they give a damn about earthquake victims. I understand it’s a stunt, as I’d guess most of CJ’s readers do.
The Israel is joined up with a team of US military in Bangkok.
Even Nettenyahu cannot be oblivious to the massive amount of detest he's getting from the world. I would guess he's trying to repair the damage done to Israel's reputation.
"It’s yet another Israeli land grab and yet another drive to eliminate Palestinians from their historic homeland."
The Izrealhellis are predictable in their (evil) methods. Create a situation, blame Hamas, drop bombs on innocent Palestinians. Rinse and repeat. Nobody's buying it anymore. They can cut out the lying. Our group intelligence has been insulted enough. And they wonder why support for their genocide is losing percentage points in the polls daily...
How do we know who what where or when this street gathering was held or what it was about? There are no signs, no chanting heard, only a white flag. More Hasbara likely.
The Electronic Intifada did a video on this. I didn’t get to finish watching it but Ali Abunimah said the signs at the demonstrations didn’t mention Hamas. They were a plea for an end to the violence, presumably aimed at Israel. You may find the video helpful.
I watched the whole segment on these protests, and I agree with what you said. Ali Abnimah did go on to mention Mohammed Dahlan, former leader of Fatah in Gaza, as being behind some signs suggesting they get rid of Hamas.
truth is good. the Zionist Hollywood stories do not work anymore. Blinken landed in Tel Aviv and said I come here as a Jew, and then went to Qatar to tell Aljazeera to tone down the coverage, and they did. Control the narrative. Supporting the so called State of Israel is terrorism.
truth is good. the Zionist Hollywood stories do not work anymore. Blinken landed in Tel Aviv and said I come here as a Jew, and then went to Qatar to tell Aljazeera to tone down the coverage, and they did. Control the narrative. Supporting the so called State of Israel is terrorism.
Doesn't that land belong to the Palestinians, not Israel. I can just see what Trump wants to do, build a huge statue of himself and build a resort over the dead bodies. If Trump goes to war with Iran, Israel will be evaporated, but the US will be in the cross hairs too. Russia and China will probably back Iran and even if Israel has nukes, they wont get a change to use them, hopefully. The world stands with Gaza and its people.
There was a late-Sixties Antiwar Band called The Electric Flag. Did a tune called “Killing Floor”.
Intro music had LBJ’s 1965 American Promise Speech in the background “I speak tonight for the dignity of man and the destiny of democracy. I urge every member . . .
At this point energized power chords along with canned laughter cuts in — laughing at LBJ and drowning his words so the last part sounds like “I urge every American to blow farts.”
It’s one of the most useful things I’ve ever heard a US president say.
Most of the rest of what they’ve said since LBJ has been scripted hogwash dictated by the oligarchy and designed to keep the proles as placid as possible while silently sucking the Élan vital from their minds, bodies and spirit. Not just Americans, mind you, but proles the entire world over, Palestinians included.
Gosh, Vin, you are bringing back some long ago memories. I saw Electric Flag at the Filmore. They opened for Cream. I remember Michael Bloomfield very well. I had seen him several time when he was with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band.
The song "KIlling Floor," was writen by Howling Wolf, but I never got to see him.
Which one, Joy, east or west? I saw them at Fillmore east in NYC but not with Cream; can't recall who else was on the bill.
The spin is dizzying! The things we're encouraged to believe are over the top ridiculous. The way genocide is being danced around by Israel, the USA and other western countries is horrendous.
Exactly. Like the Zionist regime cares one ounce about what the general population of Palestinians think or demand - literally ignore the latest round of bs and don’t play into it - it’s meant to confuse and distract.
The tyrants stated clearly the children are to be eliminated because they will grow up to be ‘terrorists.’
Don’t believe it’s about Hamas, ever.
Both Netanyahu and Trump display a callous disregard for human life. “ One of the most cowardly thing ordinary people do is to shut their eyes to facts.” C.S. Lewis. What is happening by humans to humans is beyond my capability, conscience. Evil doesn’t adequately describe the situation.
I doubt Hamas fighters are a bunch of Boy Scouts but nothing changes the fact the Zionists have been murdering defenseless people for decades. The onslaught since October 7th is genocide for all to see and no amount of lies, distortions or BBC headlines pretending this is all Hamas’ fault changes that. BiBi and Trump are hand in glove with the desire to destroy Palestinians and steal their land.
I have a different perspective: the last and only election that put Hamas in charge of Gaza was 19 years ago, when they giained power short of a majority vote. Half the residents of Gaza were not even born when they took power, and 3/4 were not of voting age during their 19 yr tenure. It is likely, in my view, that Hama would have collapsed long ago if not propped up by Israel, for 14 yrs, funneling billions in cash to Hamas to keep it in power, as a stratgy to keep the Palestinians divided in a classic case of divide, conequer....and loot. The loot of course is the Gaza and West Bank land plus the hundreds of billions in oil and gas.
So it is my view that without Israel supporting and funding Gaza ($ from Quatar but authorized and encouraged by Israel), Hamas would have lost power to another party, as it never had majority support but has only been strengthened by Israeli attacks, after the deal between HAMAS AND Netanyahu collapsed as of Oct 7. The insane genocidal rage of Netanyahu, which insists of the "total victory" which his own top military leaders have calledI impossible and a fantasy, "throwing sand in the eyes of the public," is less to make Israel secure than to cover up the fact that if Hamas is a terrorist organization, he is the one who made it so. So this is classical denial/projection, in which the evil one has caused is blamed on the party that revoked the deal with the Devil.
The most ironic part of this strange psychodrama, which has erupted into a genocidal operation, is that in order for Netanyahu to stay in power and out of prison (facing 3 corruption trials with one having over 300 adverse witnesses), he must have war as his shield, and to have war he must have an enemy, and the only enemy (he can take side shots at Lebenon, Iran, and Syria, but the public will not allow him to rule based on that)he can use to stay at perpetual war is the very enemy he has vowed to totally eradicate. That is why, his 500 day extermination program, has failed, not because Hamas is strong but because Hamas is needed as an enemy and defeating it would end Netanyahu's career, not in a blaze of glory but more likely a prison sentence.
This is my view, partly fact, party hunch, partly speculation, but it makes sense. I can recall a similar event, which is when Nato blew off Russia's request to join Nato (3 times)....which would have secured peace in Europe for the foreseeable future but would deprive NATO of its raison d'etre, for without an enemy, NATO would have no reason to exist and swallow up hundreds of billions in cash and assemble a military force of 30 nations...and so Russia was needed, not as a member to secure the peace, but as an enemy to justify the existence of NATO as a supreme military force. And so it does..........................................
>>"...when they giained power short of a majority vote."
Wrong, Dale Ruff - Hamas won the majority vote (both in Gaza AND in West Bank) in 2006
References ->
(1) Hamas wins huge majority (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2006/1/26/hamas-wins-huge-majority)
(2) https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/hamas-wins-palestinian-authority-elections
(3) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4654306.stm
There was a coup in 2007 in the West Bank where Israel helped Fatah overthrow Hamas there.
Israel has been funding Fatah also for a very long time, including the Palestine Authority (PA). The PA seems to be working with the Israeli govt. quite closely, and may in many ways be aligned with them. The PA is NOT very popular with Palestinians, and there are enough FACTS showing (especially after Oct 7th) that popularity and support for Hamas as grown in all Palestinian regions.
Hamas won the majority of the seats but not a majority of the actual votes by the voters: of the popular vote, which reflects the will of the people, they won 44.45% of evote and Fatah won 41.43% according to the official Central Elections Commission. The headline they won the majority refers to the way the seats in Parliament are tallied, not the actual public vote.
Not one of the links you provide offers the actual vote of the people, merely the way the seats in Parliament were doled out. My comment they took power without a majority vote is accurate; the allotment of seats is not a vote but a calculation. The actual public gave them 44. 45% of the vote.
Wikipedia reports, with the CEC as the primary source: "The result was a victory for Hamas, contesting under the list name of Change and Reform, which received 44.45% of the vote and won 74 of the 132 seats, whilst the ruling Fatah received 41.43% . So it is a fact that the maority of voters in 2006 did not vote for Hamas and it is also a fact that roughly half of the population of Gaza today, had no chance to vote, being newborns or youth. This is the basis for stating that it was Israel, funneling billions in cash into Hamas, which used the money to gain support from the population, which otherwise would have abandoned them long ago, that kept Hamas in power.
I disagree with your logic/interpretation.
On 25 January 2006, 77.7% of the eligible electorate of Palestine turned out to vote. The results were a shock to the international community. Of the 132-seat Parliament, Fatah won 45 seats, Hamas won 74 seats and the remaining 13 seats were divided among smaller parties.
In total, Fatah received 35 percent of the total votes cast in all districts, while Hamas received around 40 percent. However, of the 66 district seats that were contested, Fatah received 17 seats, around 26 percent of the legislature. Hamas, however, received 45 seats, 68 percent. Despite receiving 35 percent of the district votes, Fatah was only represented in the district-based half of the legislature with 26 percent of the seats. Hamas, despite receiving 40 percent of the vote, saw their representation in the district based half of the PLC rise to 68 percent. This is extraordinarily disproportionate. Despite being separated by 5 percentage points, which amounts to 250,000 votes– remember, these are votes, not voters; each individual has multiple votes– Hamas won a full 42 percent more of the district seats than Fatah. Although this is somewhat mediated by the party list votes– which is one of the benefits of a mixed system– this still results in a disproportionate legislature and gives Hamas a comfortable majority with 74 seats, 56 percent of the legislature, despite receiving around 44 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, Fatah, which received around 40 percent of the vote, is left with 45 seats, 34 percent of the legislature.
It can be argued that despite the fact that Hamas received more seats than its vote counts imply, a full 44 percent of the Palestinian voters– the turnout rate for this particular election was around 74 percent — still voted for Hamas (or, the Change and Reform Party as they were listed on the ballot.
Hence, do the math. If only 74% voted, and of those 74%, 44% voted for Hamas - Hamas clearly won on the basis of BOTH votes AND seats.
As to your speculation about Hamas not able to exist without Israeli funding, who really knows? I can't argue against what you hypothesize, but it is important to realize that Israel funded BOTH Hamas AND Fatah. Israel could not risk NOT FUNDING Hamas, as that would have led to greater unity amongst the Palestinian people (even though Fatah did not represent its people to the same level as Hamas did).
Why do you say shit like this? The Palestinians aren’t divided, fuckstick!As long as Israel murders and steals Palestinian land, Hamas will have their deserved and needed spot in Palestine.
The greater israel project is still going ahead with invasions of Lebanon, Syria, Gaza, and the West Bank by israel. It goes back to Wesley Clark talking about how the us government would overthrow 7 Muslim countries in the aftermath 11-9. The us government decided they wanted no domestic opposition hence the patriot act, continuity of government, and other forms of political repression unleased on unsuspecting americans since 11-9. One shouldn't really blame regular americans because princeton university did a study about 10 years ago that said public opinion of americans has 0 effect on the actions of the congress and president. The protests against the 2nd Iraq war in 2003 were one of the largest protests in american history and they had 0 effect. Gaza has captured the imagination of the world with their opposition to the genocide and a is putting a humongous wrench into the greater israel project. So there are some small reasons for optimism.
i saw in some telegrams channels that those that started said anti hamas protests are from people helping the zionists kill palestinians. basically, they were working with israel and hamas has dealt with them.
i could be wrong, but that's what i read.