Israel - Palestine Conflict: Mads Gilbert & Noam Chomsky

ISRAEL / PALESTINE MADS GILBERT Link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZzIf7Bk8CHM Talk to Al Jazeera - Mads Gilbert:  'People are questioning Israel' Mads Gilbert is a convincing voice for Palestine and it's worthwhile taking the time to view this video, which is from the perspective of a medical professional that has long been active in helping people in Palestine. Gilbert says that, according to international law, an occupied people have the right to take up arms to defend themselves.  That isn't something the mainstream media makes clear.  In fact, I think that's the first time I've ever heard anybody say that. It is also illegal to occupy a people!  Wow, I didn't even know that. During this interview, Gilbert calls into question the Israeli narrative of Israel as a people under attack. Gilbert goes on to say that the solution is a political one rather than a military one. NOAM CHOMSKY Which takes me back to another video that I watched about Palestine and Israel - Noam Chomsky's UN speech: Link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2LNyZ6NNeE Noam Chomsky at UN (Oct 14th, 2014)  "Solutions To The Israel-Palestine Conflict" It's worthwhile taking the time to watch the Noam Chomsky video  because he explains the ways in which a political solution has been dodged. Watched this video some time ago and summarised some of the points Chomsky made during the first half hour or so of the video.   Summary below: Israel-Palestine conflict: general outlines of a diplomatic solution has been clear for at least 40 years. Resolution brought before UN 1976 called for two-state settlement internationally recognised border which guarantees rights of both states 1976 resolution brought to UN by 3 major Arab states -- Egypt, Jordan, Syria ('the Confrontation States') 1976 UN resolution -- Israel refused to attend the session. Resolution vetoed by US. 1976 UN Resolution> US veto typically DOUBLE-VETO  1) Non-implementation Resolution  2) Event vetoed from history .. 1976 UN Resolution> Israel refusal to attend + US veto of implementation of Resolution (& from history) SET PATTERN SINCE 1976 UN Resolution> most recent US VETO 2011 #Obama - vetoed implementation 4 official US policy / for opp. to expansion of settlements Opposition to expansion of settlements >*expansion* not issue / issue is illegal *settlements* + infrastructure projects for long time, overwhelming international consensus in support of a [illegal] settlement along these general lines UN pattern set 1976 continues to the present /Israel rejects settlement of terms with unremitting & decisive support of US UN pattern set 1976 continues with unremitting & decisive support of US -- military, economic, diplomatic & ideological pattern continues with support of US, establishing how conflict viewed & interpreted in US & within US sphere of influence pattern> ceasefire, Israel disregards >continues assault on Gaza, incl. continued siege, intermittent violence, settlement &  development. pattern> Hamas observe ceasefire until Israel escalation elicits Hamas response >Israel exercises 'mowing the lawn'  [ie military offensive against Palestinians] pattern > Israel 'mowing the lawn'  [ie military offensive against Palestinians] > each episode more fierce & destructive than the last -- in a series Agreement on Movement & Access Nov 2005, called for crossing between Gaza & Egypt (Rafah) 2005 Agreement > for export of goods & transit of people , continuous op of crossings between Israel & Gaza 4 import/export + transit of people 2005 Agreement > called for reduction of obstacles to movement w/in the West Bank, bus & truck convoys between West Bank & Gaza ... 2005 Agreement > called for the building of a sea port in Gaza, the reopening of airport in Gaza (that Israel had destroyed) Terms of 2005 Movement & Access Agreement are essentially terms of successive ceasefires, incl. one reached few weeks ago. 2005 Agreement timing significant > it was moment of Israel's disengagement from Gaza & removal several thousand Israeli settlers 2005 Israel disengagement stated goal was the FREEZING of the peace process to prevent establishment of Palestinian state 2005 Israel disengagement stated goal was to ensure that diplomacy has been removed indefinitely from agenda ... Israel-Palestine:'05 Israel disengagement reality:  ruined territory not released for even single day from Israel military grip or occupation '05 Israel disengagement stated reality - Israel left behind scorched earth, devastated services & people with no present or future 2005 Israel disengagement stated reality: settlements were destroyed in an ungenerous move by an unenlightened occupier 2005 Israel disengagement >occupier continues to control territory kill & harass inhabitants >means of formidable military might Oslo Accords established 20 years ago >> Gaza & West Bank are INDIVISIBLE TERRITORIAL UNITY > integrity cannot be broken up For 20 years US & Israel dedicated to separating Gaza & West Bank in VIOLATION of the ACCORDS they had ACCEPTED Separation of Gaza & West bank look at map explains why: Gaza offers only access to outside world to Palestine. if Gaza is separated from the West Bank whatever autonomy it might be granted in West Bank would be imprisoned. September. West Bank = Imprisoned; Israel on one side & hostile Jordan (ally of  Israel)  on other and Israel-US Jordan valley takeover Israel's slow & steady US-backed policy is to take over Jordan Valley, about 1/3 of West Bank & much of arable land Jordan Valley take-over is major geostrategic reason for Israel with US backing INSISTENCE on SEPARATING Gaza & West Bank Jan 2006 = first full free election in the Arab world (monitored & recognised) occurred> HAMAS won control of Parliament Hamas win election result in 2006 was not what US & Israel wanted 2006 Hamas win of Parliament good test of US 'democracy promotion' agenda > Fail: Palestine harsh siege instituted US/IS following 2006 Hamas win of Parliament, US began to immediately organise a military coup - as per standard US record post 2006 election, US organised military coup >> to its shame & discredit, European Union went along with this. sounds like the punishment, violence, US arranged coup (accepted by EU) led to Israeli escalation + end to Nov 2005 Agreement 2007 Hamas committed even greater crime than winning fair election; it pre-empted planned military coup & took over Gaza! 2007 elected Hamas PREVENTING US-arranged coup is described in West as Hamas taking Gaza over by 'force'. Hamas preventing planned & US-arranged military coup against the Hamas elected government led to substantial attacks on Gaza. Jan 2008 another. ceasefire reached. Similar to 2005 terms. Israel publicly rejected ceasefire. Hamas observed the ceasefire. one-sided ceasefire cont. to Nov 4, 2008 - day of US election - Israeli forces invaded Gaza & killed Hamas militants ... Nov 2008 Israel attack on Gaza led 2 rocket fire on Israel, a huge Israeli response, lots killings: Palestinians, as usual mid Dec 2008, Hamas offer to renew the ceasefire, Israeli doveish Cabinet rejected & launched next military op 'Cast Lead' 2008 Israel Op 'Cast Lead' >> horrible Op .. caused substantial international reaction, investigation: UN, Amnesty, Human Rights Watch 2008 Israel Op 'Cast Lead'  >> precisely timed to end before  #Obama inauguration .. so Obama didn't have to respond. no comment / let's forget about the past & look to the future is standard slogan for those engaged in serious crime Jan 8, 2009 >> UN Resolution passed (US abstaining) >> calling for immediate cease-fire with usual terms - NEVER OBSERVED > UN ceasefire Resolution of Jan 8, 2009 > broke down completely w. next episode of 'mowing the lawn' in Nov. 2012 >Nov. 2012 'mow the lawn' [ie military offensive against Palestinians] >> get good sense what going on looking @ casualty figures: 79 killed / 78 of them Palestinians The above points were summarised weeks ago, and this is one of the things I didn't get around to finishing.  Hopefully it makes sense. I thought the Chomsky UN video was amazing.  It explains in simple terms what's really going on, which was a revelation to me, as I'm new to politics and as you don't get this sort of information from mainstream media.  [Excuse any typos.  Another all-nighter, no sleep.  Getting to be a baaaaad habit.]

GAZA - Israel - International Criminal Court - War Crimes

Published on Thursday, August 07, 2014 by Common Dreams Netanyahu Urges US Lawmakers to Defend Israel Against ICC "War Crimes" Prosecution As calls grow for additional investigation and possible prosecution, nation's prime minister looks to allies in US Congress for support by Jon Queally, staff writer According to U.S. Congressman Steve Israel (D-NY), the Israeli government hopes that he and his colleagues in Washington, DC will do everything in their power to prevent the International Criminal Court from pushing forward with possible war crimes charges against his nation over its recent attack on the Gaza Strip which resulted in the killing over nearly 1,900 Palestinians, including a large proportion of civilians and hundreds of children. Speaking to the New York Post from Israel, where he was travelling at the invitation of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (or AIPAC), Rep. Israel described the meeting between U.S. lawmakers in the delegation, AIPAC officials, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “The prime minister asked us to work together to ensure that this strategy of going to the ICC does not succeed,” the congressman told the Post. “[Netanyahu] wants the US to use all the tools that we have at our disposal to, number one, make sure the world knows that war crimes were not committed by Israel, they were committed by Hamas. And that Israel should not be held to a double standard.” During a meeting at The Hague on Tuesday of this week, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki told prosecutors at the International Criminal Court that "clear evidence" of war crimes by Israel against the people of Gaza exists. "Everything that has happened in the last 28 days is clear evidence of war crimes committed by Israel, amounting to crimes against humanity," Malki said. "There is no difficulty for us to show or build the case. Evidence is there for people to see and collect. Israel is in clear violation of international law." Prior to his trip, Rep. Israel released a statement announcing, "I have always been one of Israel’s strongest supporters in the U.S. Congress, and I will always stand up for its needs.” Recently, during the height of the conflict the congressman was among lawmakers who signed a letter to the United Nations calling on it to "condemn Hamas’ use of civilians as human shields, which is a direct violation of international law." That the Hamas government "uses human shields" in Gaza is a familiar Israeli government talking point, but no independent evidence exists to support the accusation and the claim is widely dismissed as straight propaganda by agencies and experts on the ground in Gaza. Despite Congressman Israel's characterization of the conflict in Gaza—and the consistent defense by Netanyahu and other Israeli officials that its military's behavior in the Strip was and is justified—global indignation and condemnation has resulted from the fact that while three civilians and just over 60 soldiers were killed on the Israeli side during the fighting, official estimates on the Palestinian side put the death toll at 1,865 people killed, including 429 children under the age of 18; 79 people over the age of 60; and 243 women. The Israeli government continues to repeat that it killed "900+ terrorists" during what it called Operation Protective Edge, but it offers no convincing argument on how it distinguishes an adult Palestinian male sleeping in his bed, seeking shelter, or fleeing hostilities from someone acting in a military or offensive capacity. Meanwhile, Amnesty International on Thursday announced that is has seen mounting and "alarming" evidence that the IDF launched what it called "apparently deliberate attacks" against hospitals and health professionals in Gaza during Israel's incursion. “Such attacks are absolutely prohibited by international law and would amount to war crimes," aid Philip Luther, Middle East and North Africa Director at Amnesty International. "They only add to the already compelling argument that the situation should be referred to the International Criminal Court.” Earlier this week, Human Rights Watch said it has now documented cases in which Israel fired on civilians who were fleeing the violence and stated that "deliberate attacks on civilians who are not participating in the fighting are war crimes." “The horrors of war are bad enough for civilians even when all sides abide by the law,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW's regional director for the Middle East and North Africa. “But it’s abhorrent that Israeli forces are making matters even worse by so blatantly violating the laws of war designed to spare civilians.” [...] continued @ source http://www.commondreams.org/news/2014/08/07/netanyahu-urges-us-lawmakers-defend-israel-against-icc-war-crimes-prosecution

What's the bet that nothing ever comes of the International Criminal Court proposed charges.

There is a WikiLeaks cable disclosing IDF soldiers' claims that Israel used human shields - blogger post and link here.

Anyway, regarding Operation Protective Edge, it's inconceivable that Israel will be prosecuted because everything is stacked against it.


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Link to Palestine News Network - here.

In addition to the death toll, there are thousands injured (burns; rehab; lifelong support etc)
30% displaced in Gaza
$5b estimated damage
10,000 lost homes
134 factories damaged

LONDON - MASSIVE GAZA PROTEST

LONDON GAZA PROTEST Caption: 'View from roof of BBC'   Source - Twitter

That's massive!

HAMAS - COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS OVERVIEW

Council on Foreign Relations HAMAS Hamas is a Palestinian militant movement ... one of the territories' two major political parties. A nationalist-Islamist spinoff of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas was founded in 1987, during the first intifada [uprising], and later emerged at the forefront of armed resistance to Israel. The United States and the European Union consider Hamas a terrorist organization. Its rival party, Fatah, which dominates the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), has renounced violence. The support Hamas garners among Palestinians largely owes to the foil it plays to Fatah, which many see as having grown corrupted by power while delivering little through its peaceful cooperation and negotiation with Israel. Hamas candidates won Palestinian elections in 2006, but their government was dismissed in 2007, resulting in the political bifurcation [splitting in two] of the West Bank and Gaza. While Fatah reasserted its authority in the West Bank, Hamas has exercised de facto rule over the Gaza Strip in the years since. Funding As a designated terrorist entity, Hamas is cut off from official assistance that the United States and European Union provide to the PLO in the West Bank. Historically, much of its funding came from Palestinian expatriates and private donors in the Gulf. In addition, some Islamic charities in the West have channeled money to Hamas-backed social service groups, prompting asset freezes by the U.S. Treasury. Egypt and Israel largely closed their borders with Gaza in 2006–2007, restricting the movement of goods and people into and out of the territory. Israel also maintains a maritime blockade. Until recently, a sophisticated network of more than a thousand tunnels circumvented the Egyptian crossing, allowing staples such as food, medicine, and cheap gas for electricity production into the territory, as well as construction materials, cash, and arms. The illicit trade provided some material relief for Gazans, while Hamas levied a tax on the traffic, a major source of its revenue. Changing regional circumstances have not only isolated Hamas politically but also put severe strains on its coffers. With the ascension of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's military-backed government in 2013–14, Cairo is hostile to Hamas, which it sees as an extension of its chief domestic rival, the Muslim Brotherhood. The Egyptian army has shut down most of the tunnels entering into its territory in the course of waging a counterinsurgency campaign on its side of the border, in the Sinai Peninsula. Hamas distanced itself from Iran, its primary benefactor, due to Tehran's support for Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and his regime's repression of antigovernment activists beginning in 2011. Iran reportedly cut funding to Hamas in the fallout, and sought to bolster its ties to other resistance groups in the region, such as Islamic Jihad. Qatar's financial support largely dried up as well, collateral damage of the Gulf country's efforts to mend ties with its neighbors, with whom it had fallen out in part for backing the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. The cumulative effect of these financial pressures helped push Hamas toward a reconciliation deal with Fatah in April 2014. Yet despite the deal, the Palestinian Authority has not provided salaries for the more than forty thousand Gazan public servants hired by Hamas, which many analysts believe was a contributing factor to the latest outbreak of violence. As Governing Party Hamas' primary base of operation is in the Gaza Strip, the coastal enclave of 1.7 million Palestinians, where it has remained the de facto authority since shortly after Israel's unilateral withdrawal in 2005. The following year, Hamas surprised Western observers by winning a majority of seats by a narrow margin and forming a government. It may have earned votes as a protest movement and for the social services it provided, but the win was likely more a rejection of the incumbent Fatah, which was widely perceived as having grown corrupt at the helm of the PLO and delivering little to Palestinians with its program of negotiation. The outcome was unacceptable to the PLO, which ousted Hamas from power in the West Bank. In Gaza, Hamas routed Fatah's militias in a week of internecine fighting, resulting in a political schism between the two Palestinian territories. As it took over the remnants of PA institutions in the strip, it established such governmental structures as a judiciary and put in place authoritarian institutions. Hamas restricts the Gazan media, the political opposition, and nongovernmental organizations, leaving few mechanisms of accountability. Meanwhile, most Gazans receive social services from UN agencies and humanitarian organizations. "Hamas remains more hard-line than the public it seeks to lead," says Nathan Brown, a scholar of political Islam. The group suffers from relatively low support among Palestinians, particularly in the West Bank. Palestinian pollsters found in early 2014 that in hypothetical legislative elections, Hamas would fall far short of the majority it won in 2006, including among its Gazan base. Fatah garners only marginally greater support. Both parties suffer from the absence of political legitimacy, says CFR's Robert Danin. Rather than a common political agenda, they entered into the reconciliation deal to facilitate new Palestinian elections and break the stagnation in Palestinian politics, he says. Palestinians have not voted for a president since 2008, nor a legislature since 2006, and the political bifurcation [splitting in two] between the West Bank and Gaza is widely unpopular. As Armed Resistance The second intifada [uprising] ended in early 2005 as Israeli security forces grew more successful at thwarting suicide attacks and moved against militant groups in the West Bank. Though Hamas gave up suicide bombing, it remained committed to armed resistance, and as it entrenched in the Gaza Strip, it took to launching rockets and mortars into Israeli territory. The crude weapons are by nature indiscriminate, but also ineffective; ten Israeli civilians were killed between January 2009 and May 2014, according to the Israeli rights group B'Tselem. It has also attempted incursions into Israeli territory, most famously kidnapping Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2006. Five years later, Israel released 1,027 Palestinian prisoners to secure Shalit's release. Yet as Hamas consolidated its authority in Gaza, Israel came to rely on it to contain more radical resistance groups, such as Islamic Jihad. Since Operation Cast Lead, Israel's twenty-two day invasion in the winter of 2008–2009, long periods of détente [relaxation]  between Hamas and Israel have been the norm, a state of mutual deterrence the Israeli government has described as "quiet for quiet." But that state of deterrence is a fragile one, punctuated by intermittent volleys of rockets fired by Gazan militants into Israel and retaliatory Israeli air strikes to degrade their arsenals, a cycle Israelis have come to know as "mowing the lawn." Periods of quiet allowed Hamas and other militant groups to expand and modernize their arsenals of rockets. Egypt brokered a ceasefire that ended a round of fighting in March 2012. Israel effectively delegated to Hamas responsibility for enforcing it by withholding rocket fire and restraining more radical groups in Gaza. In 2013, sixty-three rockets were launched at Israel from Gaza, compared to 2,327 the year prior, according to the Shin Bet, Israel's security agency. In the West Bank, meanwhile, Hamas has been driven underground. Its social and military infrastructure has been dismantled, and many of its members arrested by PA and Israeli security forces. Many Palestinians saw Fatah's security cooperation as a cynical maneuver to crush its rivals. Negotiations between Israel and the PA have generally assumed Hamas would act as a spoiler. Not only would a final-status agreement likely violate its founding principles, but it would also marginalize the movement while vindicating its chief rival, Fatah. A Way Forward? The United States and European Union provisionally recognized the Palestinian reconciliation government [what is that?], which the U.S. State Department characterized as "technocratic," and said did "not include ministers affiliated with Hamas." A government including ministers from Hamas would have triggered a foreign aid cut-off, as Hamas has not recognized the three principles insisted on by the Quartet (the United States, EU, UN, and Russia): renunciation of violence, recognition of Israel, and acceptance of prior international agreements. Hamas entered into the arrangement politically and economically weak. But in the weeks since, public support for Abbas and the PA has withered due to the collapse of nine months of intensive negotiations aiming to achieve a final-status agreement—the long-sought two-state solution—and the PA's security cooperation during the events that precipitated the current round of violence. In June 2014, Netanyahu accused Hamas of kidnapping and murdering three Israeli teens in the West Bank. Israeli security forces rearrested some of the Palestinian ex-convicts released in the Shalit deal, accusing them of recidivism. Indications that a rogue cell carried out the abductions highlighted that the movement's leadership is unable to control all those affiliated with it, analysts said. Israel responded militarily to the volley of rockets from Gaza that followed. Netanyahu has said he seeks to degrade Hamas' military capacities and restory calm, while politicians on his right flank have called for a broader ground operation that might decisively defeat Hamas, but could result in Israel once again occupying Gaza. Meanwhile, negotiations that would vindicate Abbas' approach over that of Hamas are not in the offing. The most plausible off-ramp, some analysts say, is a deal in which Hamas would disarm in exchange for economic relief for Gaza. But Israeli security concerns have been heightened by revelations of a tunnel infrastructure under the Gaza-Israel border. Israel, then, is even less likely to permit transfers of the construction materials that are necessary to rebuild Gaza. It is unclear whether the reconciliation government can survive this round of violence, particularly if Hamas emerges from it politically empowered. If it survives, some argue, elections can integrate Gaza into Palestinian politics and provide the underpinnings of a more robust cease-fire. A terrorist designation precludes the United States and European Union from speaking directly with Hamas, but Washington has turned to Turkey and Qatar as interlocutors. Additional Resources The Economist's Nicolas Pelham discusses the economics of Gaza's illicit tunnel trade and the emergence of a Hamas-led bureaucracy regulating it. Isolating Gaza has counterproductively entrenched Hamas, writes CFR's Robert Danin, who calls for Gaza's integration in the Palestinian economy and political institutions to facilitate Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. [...] Leadership Hamas has a host of leadership bodies that perform various political, military, and social functions. According to the U.S. State Department, general policy is set by an overarching consultative body, often referred to as its politburo, which operates in exile.  Local committees manage grassroots issues in Gaza and the West Bank. Crisis Guide: The Israeli-Palestinian Khaled Meshaal has served as political chief since 1996. The former teacher has been based in Doha [Qatar] since Hamas fell out with Meshaal's previous host, Syria, as Palestinian refugees joined predominantly Sunni protestors in calling for reforms beginning in 2011, prompting a violent government backlash, and eventually, civil war. He is Hamas' most frequent interlocutor with the PA and regional governments. Gaza's de facto prime minister is Ismail Haniyeh, who served as PA prime minister during the brief period between the 2006 legislative elections and his dismissal by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas the following year. Marwan Issa and Mohammed Deif command Hamas' military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Israeli forces assassinated the militia's founder, Salah Shehadeh, in a 2002 airstrike. Fifteen civilians were killed in the attack, focusing Israeli and international scrutiny on such tactics. Yassin, Hamas' founder, was assassinated in 2004. Salah al-Arouri is believed to direct Hamas' armed activities in the West Bank from overseas. http://www.cfr.org/israel/hamas/p8968

Recapping my undertanding:

• Hamas has de facto government status in Gaza because it is up against US and EU non-recognition.  What's EU got to do with it?  
• Presumably because US has decided Israel falls within their 'Eucom' miltary controls, even though it is in the Middle East.
• Hamas designated a terrorist organisation because Hamas stands by armed resistance.
• Previously suicide bombings; but have stopped.
• Hamas cut off from direct communications with US and with EU, because of the US and EU terrorist designation.
• Hamas also cut off from 'official assistance' from US and EU (but it's rival Fatah in West Bank get assistance because they're playing by Israel, US and EU rules? -- or because US and EU don't deal directly with Hamas, so it is down to Fatah to distribute the money?]
• In 2011, Israel had 1,027 Palestinian prisoners.
• The Palestinians are blocked off on a sliver of land.
• Israel also maintains a sea blockade.
• Israel appears to have had some kind of accord and periods of truce with Hamas, as long as Hamas contained extreme groups?

The Gaza Palestinians are virtual prisoners and they dig tunnels:

network of more than a thousand tunnels circumvented the Egyptian crossing, allowing staples such as food, medicine, and cheap gas for electricity production into the territory, as well as construction materials, cash, and arms.

The main issue (I think) is that Hamas/Gaza will not:

1. Disarm / renounce violent resistance.
2. Recognise Israel.
3. Accept prior Agreements (see Oslo I Accords - here).  

I've not read the accords info in its entirety.

But gist is:  Fatah signed the Oslo accords - Hamas objected.
So why would Hamas now decide it wants the accord?

Then there is this interesting aside:

In a 2001 video, Netanyahu, reportedly unaware he was being recorded, said: "They asked me before the election if I'd honor [the Oslo accords]... I said I would, but [that] I'm going to interpret the accords in such a way that would allow me to put an end to this galloping forward to the '67 borders. How did we do it? Nobody said what defined military zones were. Defined military zones are security zones; as far as I'm concerned, the entire Jordan Valley is a defined military zone. Go argue."  Netanyahu then explained how he conditioned his signing of the 1997 Hebron agreement on American consent that there be no withdrawals from "specified military locations", and insisted he be allowed to specify which areas constituted a "military location"—such as the whole of the Jordan Valley. "Why is that important? Because from that moment on I stopped the Oslo Accords", Netanyahu affirmed. [wikipedia]

I'm not 100% clear on what Netanyahu's getting at, but I gather the Oslo accords agreement is worthless if you're a Palestinian wanting to reclaim land pursuant to 1967 borders?

Under the circumstances, it's not surprising there's resistance.

When there is resistance, it's ineffectual (crude weapons; 2009-2014 - ten (10) dead Israeli civilians versus something like 3,000 Palestinians dead). 

Compare also Operation Protective Edge - 3 weeks and 1,800+ Palestinians killed and many thousands wounded + the levelling of homes, infrastructure etc - while the world stood by and kept maintaining in parrot fashion 'Israel has the right to defend itself'.  

Below is a chart of Palestinian and Israeli deaths caused by violence (does not include 8 July 2014 - Operation Protective Edge figures):

Source - IFAMERICANSKNEW - here.  

[Their cited source:  B'Tselem Israel Centre for Human Rights in Occupied Territories]

What was also interesting on the site is the Israeli soldier deaths for 2005:

Causes of Deaths of Israeli Soldiers - 2005

Committed Suicide	30
Illness	14
Accidents	26
Terror Incidents	6

What recently happened to the Israeli boys is deplorable and the retaliatory attack on the Palestinian boy is equally deplorable.

But when I look at the overall statistics (which don't even take into account the 1,800+ recent civilian Palestinian deaths etc, I don't see Israel under any significant threat.

Israel itself refers to quelling Palestinian crude, ineffectual missile lobbing, in periodic resistance, as 'mowing the lawn'.  So it's not exactly a scenario that's proportionate to threat, I would think.

Oddly, Turkey and Qatar are the intermediaries.  But both have close ties to the US.

Fatah has a vested interest, yet it is in a position where it appears to have power over the elected government of Gaza (if I understand correctly).

Forty thousand public servants in Gaza haven't been paid by the Palestinian National Authority, who (pursuant to the Oslo accord) claims 'authority over all the Palestinian areas' -- but, in fact, Hamas has control of Gaza -- minus control of the money:

The PA has received financial assistance from the European Union and the United States (approximately USD 1 bln. combined in 2005). All direct aid was suspended on 7 April 2006 as a result of the Hamas victory in parliamentary elections.  Shortly thereafter, aid payments resumed, but were channeled directly to the offices of Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank.  Conflict between Hamas and Fatah later in 2006 resulted in Hamas taking exclusive control over the administration of all PA institutions in the Gaza Strip. Since 9 January 2009, when Mahmoud Abbas' term as President was supposed to have ended and elections were to have been called, Hamas supporters and many in the Gaza Strip have withdrawn recognition for his Presidency and instead consider Aziz Dweik, who served as the speaker of the house in the Palestinian Legislative Council, to be the acting President until new elections can be held.  No Western financial assistance is given to the PA authorities in Gaza and Western governments do not recognize anyone but Abbas to be the President. [wikipedia]

I'm not clear on whether Mahmoud Abbas (Fatah) in the West Bank is supposed to channel some of that money to Gaza or not.  Wikipedia on Abbas is - here - see corruption/embezzlement allegations.

Anyway, this has satisfied my curiosity to a degree regarding Hamas.

It would seem that if Hamas would give in, accept the Oslo accords, disarm and recognise Israel, they would suddenly be legitimised by the US and EU?  But, failing that, they are denied recognition, denied funding, denied diplomatic relations (I gather) and blocked from trade (I gather).

Noticed Russia was among 'the quartet' who insist on the 3 points.

Uncertain what Russia has to do with it, apart from being in the UN, I guess.

I think Russia's friendly with Syria and the Palestinians appear to be opposed to Syria, but I'm not sure why.

Could be that Hamas are Sunni Muslim.  But Syria is about 60% Sunni Muslim.  Although the President (Assad) is not - he is Shia (13% of the Syrian population).  Yes, Shia (Alawite), but described 'secular government'.  Not sure.  This is stuff is out of my league. 

Anyway, it looks like Israel is bent on four things:

1. incapacitate Hamas ability to resist (deplete weapons etc), 
2. maintain blockade,
3. get rid of tunnels (incoming weapons, money etc),
4. maintain territory claimed in wars with Palestinians (I think).

But if you pull away and look at the whole picture (how things are split off, how the cards are stacked against the Palestinians in the form of these various organisations (including the European designation for the region), how they've been kept down economically etc), I think there is so much in this that really disempowers (and is maybe designed to disempower?) the Palestinian people in a big way.

So that's Hamas, I think.

No abuse, please, because I'm on my political L-Plates.  LOL.

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Bit of additional info (got curious re EU):

ISRAEL and ECONOMIC UNION

Israel is an associated state of the European Union. The relations between the two are framed in the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, and the Union for the Mediterranean.

The main legal ties between Israel and the EU are set by the 1995 Association Agreement. Several other agreement cover sectoral issues.

Relations between Israel and the European Union are generally positive on the economic level, though affected by the Israeli–Palestinian conflict on the political level.

EU membership for Israel

Although Israel is not in Europe, it considers itself culturally part thereof.  Israel thus is a member in many European transnational federations and frameworks and takes part in many European sporting events. Various Israeli ministers have expressed that they would like to see Israel in the EU. ... The European Union's former High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, stated in 2009 that Israel had a very significant relationship with the EU, amounting almost to full cooperation through participation in the EU's programmes. In 2014, former Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar said Israel is needed by the European Union, in an address in a room hired by the Henry Jackson Society in the British House of Commons. Aznar said his report recommends that due to its Western culture and the benefits it brings the European Union, Israel should become a full member of the EU without pre-conditions.  Moreover, like most western European countries, Israel is a member of the OECD and from an economic perspective matches the European Union extremely well, with essentially every significant economic indicator (GDP per capita, government deficit, public debt level, current account surplus, inflation level, etc.) closely matching the overall EU average. Israel is however not included among the nine countries that are part of the EU agenda for future enlargement of the European Union. [wikipedia]

Looks like Israel knows how to network. 

Don't get how countries can elect what they 'consider' themselves as, despite their geographic location.  Hey, I might consider myself a Martian, but that doesn't make me an eligible alien from Mars.  LOL

That Spanish dude founded 'Friends of Israel Initiative' - purpose:  to counter attempts to 'de-legitimatise the State of Israel.'  

Check out the Friends of Israel Initiative.  First point:

The Friends of Israel are based on the following principles:

Israel is a modern, flourishing Western country

Oh, get fucked!  It's in the Middle East.  It's not a 'Western country' by any stretch.

This is hilarious.

Slogan:   "Stand for Israel, Stand for the West"

The 'right to self defence' is in there -- and the bogeyman of Iran nuclear weapons and Islam/Jihadists and Israel the saviour of the WESTERN WORLD (of which Israel is a part) ...   LOL.

It's like something out of one of those NGO's that push an agenda, which is probably what it is.  Doh.

Well, I just checked the wiki on Israel and Israel is still located in the Middle East.

Another way of looking at the EU involvement etc, would be as a strategy to further 'legitimise' Israel, by entrenching it in various organisations, institutions etc. 

In my view, the EU is just another way for Israel to pull the strings.

This is what the Palestinians are up against and they haven't a hope.

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POSTSCRIPT

CHECK THIS OUT:

http://consortiumnews.com/2014/08/07/if-a-genocide-falls-in-the-forest/

GAZA - PALESTINE - ISRAEL

HAARETZ Article In the July war Hamas fired 3,356 rockets at Israel, some of them short range, some long range, some medium range. But the most dangerous rocket Hamas launched in Operation Protective Edge was the 3,357th one. This invisible rocket was intercontinental. It struck hard at Israel’s most important support bases in five continents. It reached every home in America, caused huge damage in every European state and brought its deadly cargo even to South America, East Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Iron Dome failed to intercept the secret rocket. The air force did not succeed in diverting the destructive arrow head from its course. Neither the government nor the army knew how to block the blow that this rocket delivered to Israel’s strategic home front. They allowed the terrible sights of dead children, bombarded schools and shattered mosques to hand Hamas the biggest achievement – creeping delegitimization of Israel. We should not be confused. Israel was and remains in the right in this awful war. Hamas is a fascist organization, which attacked the neighboring democracy without justification, in a criminal attempt to kill Israeli citizens and cause the deaths of Palestinian residents. Israel did its best not to be embroiled in the violent struggle and to reduce to a minimum the harm to innocents during its course. So there’s no room for moral comparison between the two entities – one of them is moral and enlightened, the other tyrannical and murderous. But, regrettably, Hamas planned the campaign and prepared for it better than Israel in certain ways. It developed a malicious strategy intended to make Israel implement its terrifying power against itself. Since Israel had no decisive intelligence, it acted as Hamas expected it to act – it implemented its fire power in a way that harmed its international image. EXTRACT ONLY - FULL @ SOURCE http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.609259

Looks like the Israeli's don't seem to get it.  Their focus appears very narrow and self-centred.

Israeli newspaper opinion seems to be that Hamas somehow waged a really good PR campaign, discrediting Israel internationally ... and even 'made' Israel 'implement' it's state of the art arsenal against itself, in some grand scheme to turn the tide against Israel (or something like that).

But it wasn't merely the evidence of the killings, injuries and damage done; it's the knowledge that the Palestinians are on the losing end, in every respect, in relation to Israel (with the blessings and support of the US and US allies) -- as they have been for decades -- and that the Palestinians really are open air prisoners of an occupation.

Anyway, that's how I see it.

IRAQ - ISLAMIC STATE - ISIS - KURDS - SINJAR

TWITTER New Yorker link - here.

Noticed this appears to be Carnegie Endowment retweeted.

Imagine Carnegie Endowment aren't friends of Palestine.

Carnegie Endowment is a foreign policy 'think tank'.  Would you believe they've got a Moscow centre?

Don't know about these NGOs (or is it a GO ... haven't checked funding).  Who would want foreign influence in their countries?

Sinjar is a town on the Iraq-Syria border.

Like what's happening anywhere else in the world changes what's happened in Gaza!

Gaza's like shooting fish in a bucket.

Sinjar's either Iraq or Kurd.

ISIS has a fair bit of weaponry by the sound of it.  Hey, they've also changed their name, I think.  Now they're the Isamic State, as far as I know.

The New Yorker writes:

Yesterday, a senior U.S. official told me that the Obama Administration is contemplating an airlift, coördinated with the United Nations, of humanitarian supplies by C-130 transport planes to the Yazidis hiding in the Sinjar mountains. There are at least twenty thousand and perhaps as many as a hundred thousand of them, including some peshmerga militiamen providing a thin cover of protection.  The U.N. has reported that dozens of children have died of thirst in the heat. ISIS controls the entrance to the mountains. Iraqi helicopters have dropped some supplies, including food and water, but the refugees are hard to find and hard to reach.

ISIS rolls over local forces and consolidates power. ISIS is not Al Qaeda. It operates like an army, taking territory, creating a state. The aim of the Sinjar operation seems to be control of the Mosul Dam, the largest dam in Iraq, which provides electricity to Mosul, Baghdad, and much of the country. According to one expert, if ISIS takes the dam, which is located on the Tigris River, it would have the means to put Mosul under thirty metres of water, and Baghdad under five.

One way to protect the innocent and hurt those who are terrorizing them would be for the U.S. to launch air strikes on ISIS positions. That option has been discussed within the administration since the fall of Mosul, in June, but it runs against President Obama’s foreign-policy tendencies. “The President’s first instinct is, ‘Let’s help them to do it,’ ” the official told me. “The minute we do something, it changes the game.” This time, unlike in Syria, it isn’t hard to figure out how to “help them to do it”: send arms to the Kurds, America’s only secular-minded, pluralistic Muslim allies in the region, and the only force in the area with the means and the will to protect thousands of lives.  

It seems delusional to imagine that there is such a thing as an Iraqi central government that should be given priority over stopping ISIS and preventing a massacre. That dream of the American project in Iraq is gone. But perhaps the Obama Administration is being more realistic. Yesterday, I also learned that the U.S. is, in fact, sending arms to the Kurds—just not openly. This was even more welcome news, though it’s too bad that the weapons didn’t reach the peshmerga in time to defend Sinjar. The U.S. Joint Operation Center in Erbil is helping peshmerga ground troops and the Iraqi air force to coordinate attacks on ISIS, providing intelligence from the sky. It’s a breakthrough that the Kurds and the Iraqis are cooperating at all. “For the moment,” the senior official said. “And it could all fall apart, because it’s lightning in a bottle.”

*Yazidi is Kurdish people linked to Zoroastrianism.  I think Zoroastrianism was the original faith in Iran (Persia).  How cool's that!  Didn't think there were any beyond India, where they fled to centuries ago, I think it was.  Find them interesting.

That sounds pretty full on.

If ISIS/IS operate as an army, what do al-Qaeda do?

It would seem odd to overtake territory and then to just leave it, which I'm guessing is what happens.

Gaza - What has Israel achieved

Patrick Cockburn Sunday 3 August 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict: What has Israel achieved in 26 bloody days? Hamas is stronger, the Jewish state looks shifty and heartless – and the world's eyes are on Gaza ... ...  massive firepower is used to inflict heavy losses on the other side, the great majority of the casualties being civilians. But, as the war goes on, Israeli leaders find that Israel's military superiority is failing to produce comparable political gains. ... A reason for Israel launching these mini-conflicts, for there has not been an all-out war since the invasion of Lebanon, is to demonstrate its raw military power. But, each time round, it simultaneously shows the limitations of that power to get anywhere in ending Israel's long confrontation with the Palestinians. For all the devastating firepower of Israel's air force, tanks and artillery deployed against a few thousand Hamas gunmen, it is unlikely to permanently eliminate them and thus win a military victory. And, even if it did, the victory would not be conclusive since the Palestinian sense of oppression is so great that some other armed group, possibly in the shape of Isis (the self-tagged Islamic State), would soon take its place. ... FULL ARTICLE @ SOURCE SOURCE - The Independent (UK) - here.

I'm astounded how strong and determined the Hamas are.

Death March - West's Plan to Suppress Domestic Dissent

Death on the march: The West’s plan to suppress domestic dissent is well under way Published time: August 01, 2014 13:37  In what must surely rate as one of the Western leaders’ most perverse weeks since the end of World War II, further economic sanctions have been imposed on Russia while the death toll in Israel’s Gaza genocide topped 1,000 innocent civilians. With all eyes on the United States, hoping to see a little political pressure to stop the slaughter of Palestinians, the White House moved only to replenish Israeli stockpiles of ammunition. Questions must be answered, particularly by the German leadership, about their failure to confront this latest genocide in the Holy Land. Also, about Chancellor Merkel continuing to bankroll Ukraine's Nazi Pravy Sektor and neo-Nazi Svoboda parties who continue to hold key security and defense portfolios in her Brussels-backed Kiev government. The two conflicts are intimately connected since the West's actions in Ukraine are widely seen to be a reaction to the Crimea-based Russian Black Sea fleet's support last summer for Syria, downing US or Israeli missiles bound for Damascus.  ... FULL @ SOURCE SOURCE - RT NEWS - HERE.

Missiles launched in Mediterranean towards Syrian coast, claims Russian defence ministry Russia has claimed that its missile early warning system has detected the launch of two missiles from the central part of the Mediterranean Sea fired towards the Sea's eastern coastline. 10:29AM BST 03 Sep 2013 The launches took place at 10:16 am Moscow time (0616 GMT) and were detected by the ballistic missile early warning system in Armavir in southern Russia, the defence ministry said in a statement quoted by Russian news agencies. Shortly after 11am, Israel announced that it had carried out a joint missile test with the US in the Mediterranean, using a missile designed to shoot down incoming missiles. Russia's state-owned RIA Novosti news agency said both missiles then crashed into the sea, citing a source in Damascus. The Russian embassy in Syria said there was no sign of a missile attack or of explosions in Damascus. The Ministry of Defence in London confirmed that the missiles were not British. ... Russia had earlier criticised the United States on Tuesday for sending warships close to Syria, saying the deployments would exacerbate tension as Washington prepares for a possible military strike. "The pressure being applied by the United States causes particular concern," Russian Defence Ministry official Oleg Dogayev was quoted as saying by the state-run Itar-Tass news agency. He said "the dispatch of ships armed with cruise missiles toward Syria's shores has a negative effect on the situation in the region." Five US destroyers and an amphibious ship are in the Mediterranean, poised for possible cruise missile strikes against Syria, and American officials said the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and four other ships in its strike group moved into the Red Sea on Monday. Russia, one of the Syrian government's main arms suppliers, opposes military intervention over an alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria. Moscow is also sending new warships to the Mediterranean but says it is just rotating ships in the area. FULL @ SOURCE SOURCE - THE TELEGRAPH - HERE.

Wow, who knew this stuff?

Don't know what to make of it.

Got to dash. Think later. LOL