[VIDEOS] The Palestinian and Israeli conflict

[Markhor]

I dont understand why Hezbollah just doesn't team with Hamas and open up the northern front to give gaza some respite .

Really pathetic that non of these arab regimes are helping or doing anything and just letting israel desecrate al aqsa , seize Palestinian homes and now launch massive attacks on gaza .

I've also wondered about this, perhaps it's the sectarian rivalries at play.

Hamas didn't take over the Gaza Strip until 2007 so a joint offensive in 2006 wouldn't have been possible. And Hezbollah were preoccupied in Syria from 2011 onwards. However it could've happened in 2009, but perhaps Hezbollah were regrouping after the 2006 war.

 

[Zaz]

I've also wondered about this, perhaps it's the sectarian rivalries at play.

Hamas didn't take over the Gaza Strip until 2007 so a joint offensive in 2006 wouldn't have been possible. And Hezbollah were preoccupied in Syria from 2011 onwards. However it could've happened in 2009, but perhaps Hezbollah were regrouping after the 2006 war.

Not sure what you mean But there is land and sea between the two entities that israel controls so a joint venture of any sort would be very difficult to achieve in big numbers

 

[Varun]

Can the military historians here answer a simple question ?

How was it that Pakistan, an entity that didn't exist before 1947, was able to take one-thirds of Kashmir fighting a country six times its population - meanwhile the Arabs and Palestinians, got wiped out in 1948 and 1967 when the military balance was far more equal than today, who are now scrambling to keep 22% (which is diminishing due to settlement activity) of Historic Palestine ?

India and Pakistan were brand new and largely left to fend for themselves. It's not like the Indian army at the time - in its infancy - was 6 times larger than the Pakistani one either, nor were there any noteworthy navy and air force. In a way, it was a free for all.

Israel had the British and the Americans on their side from minute one. And over the course of the last 70 years, it's also placed other entities into its pocket - Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Oman, Bahrain, UAE and now Saudi Arabia.

In a game of chess, they're black and have killed off or coloured all the white pieces. Only the queen remains: it's all going to come down to a massive showdown between Pakistan and Israel in our lifetimes. Just wait and watch.

 

[Pakpak]

Can the military historians here answer a simple question ?

How was it that Pakistan, an entity that didn't exist before 1947, was able to take one-thirds of Kashmir fighting a country six times its population - meanwhile the Arabs and Palestinians, got wiped out in 1948 and 1967 when the military balance was far more equal than today, who are now scrambling to keep 22% (which is diminishing due to settlement activity) of Historic Palestine ?

A lot of it had to do with how the armies functioned. Both sides were supplied well, the Soviets plunged a lot of money to Egypt for military hardware. The Arab units were never autonomous, every decision had to be 'yessed' by the boss upstairs, the relationships were also very rigid between top commanders and their officers on the ground where every officer was terrified of making a mistake and being punished. Anytime the Arab armies had a chance to take advantage they'd take too long due to the mind numbing bureaucratic lines of command. The Israelis were very flexible, and did not wait too long before any advantage could be exploited. A small example is in Sinai in 56, under Sharon, who was told wait before rushing towards Central Sinai, he took a chance and went for it and caused a lot of damage. Such independent actions were unthinkable in the Arab armies.

Soviets were so frustrated at how inept Arab officers were, I remember reading years ago how they complained that Egyptians were squandering all the hardware they were being given.

The Arab armies also did not have clear communication nor clear set targets. Despite outnumbering the Israelis 5-1 in hardware and almost 10-1 in manpower, they were too slow, too ponderous and did not take risks. Whereas Israelis went all in, in 67 every plane they had at one time was in the air.

When the Egyptians organised themselves properly, with clear set battle aims, they did well. 1973 was an example where they gave Israelis a bloody nose and hammered them till Israel regained some sort of control.

You also have to look at the motivations. For Israel it was Jews coming back to the land that booted them out after being abused for 2000 years in every country they were in, this was their chance to take their holiest place back. Imagine if a Muslim was in the same place, going in a war retaking Makkah. Which is why they were ferocious and committed.

The Arabs? Led by tin pot dictators with commanders who the normal officer either hated or was terrified off, never mind the soldier on the ground who surrendered too meekly many times. I remember reading how some Israeli commanders were stunned when Arab units in their thousands would surrender without putting up a fight. Each Arab leader was also more interested in keeping power, even if it meant losing the war (which is what happened).

You combine it all together and its no surprise they were beaten easily.

I love military history, I have even thought of doing a degree in the same at one point and have spent years studying commanders in my free time.

My post is not condoning anything Israel is doing now, which is war crimes, its just an analysis.

 

[MenInG]

Residents in Israel and Gaza say they are bracing themselves for a drawn-out conflict, as Palestinian militants and Israeli forces continue to exchange fire.

Militants have fired hundreds of rockets towards Israel since Monday night, and Israel has responded by hitting targets in Gaza.

The violence is the worst in years and has caused casualties on both sides.

The BBC has been talking to residents about their fears.

The southern Israeli city of Ashkelon has borne the brunt of the latest heavy barrages of Gaza rockets.

The Hamas militant wing warned it would make life "hell" here and that is how it has seemed for locals.

The constant wail of warning sirens sends them scrambling for cover.

Overhead, there are loud bangs and trails of white smoke across the blue sky as Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system intercepts most of the launches from nearby Gaza.

However, a number of buildings have been directly hit. Two women were killed. Dozens of people have been rushed to hospital for treatment.

Many of the older buildings here do not have the bomb shelters that now come as standard in Israel.

One woman spoke of the terrifying moment before dawn when a missile hit her home as she hid in her wardrobe.

Many here are bracing themselves for the heavy exchange of fire to continue for days .

"It will go far, this round of violence," says one man, Yossi Asulin. "Now that there are people killed, people here want it to solve the problem [with Hamas] once and for all."

In the Israeli city of Lod, which is currently under a state of emergency, an Israeli Arab man, 52, and his 16-year-old daughter died when rocket fire hit their car, also injuring the teenager's mother.

"I was at home, we heard the noise of the rocket. It happened so quickly. Even if we had wanted to run somewhere, we don't have a safe room," Ahmad Ismail, the girl's cousin told public broadcaster Kan.

As air raid sirens sounded throughout the night, thousands of people slept in bomb shelters, including Anna Ahronheim, the defence and security correspondent of the Jerusalem Post, and her five-month-old baby.

"To hear hundreds of interceptions and even to hear rockets fall near us was horrifying," she told the BBC.

An Israeli woman in the coastal city of Ashkelon said on Channel 11 television: "The children have escaped the coronavirus, and now a new trauma."

A man inspects damage to an apartment building in Ashkelon, Israel, after heavy overnight rocket fire from Gaza

'Everything around us caught fire'

In Gaza, smoke is still rising into the air and the streets are full of rubble. Palestinians are assessing the damage after the night of violence.

One family in northern Gaza has lost five members who were killed by an Israeli air strike, including two young brothers who were were filling sacks of straw at the time.

"We were laughing and having fun when suddenly they began to bomb us. Everything around us caught fire," their 14-year-old cousin, Ibrahim, told AFP news agency, breaking down in tears as he described their death.

Another airstrike hit a car carrying three civilians, who were all killed.

"What should I say? This is a crime," Gaza resident Abed Aldayah, 54, told Reuters.

"They were civilians: a woman, her children, a barber and a shop owner. These are the people who were at the scene. They didn't hit a militant nor an official, we are civilians sleeping at our homes."

"This is a crime", Abed Aldayah says as he stands next to a car that was hit by Israeli rocket fire, killing three civilians in Gaza

'It seems like the escalation is continuing'

Gaza has not experienced a situation like this for years. This miserable, overcrowded city knows very well what war means.

The main commercial street in the city centre is almost empty except for a few shoppers. Most shops were closed ahead of Eid al Fitr - the most important religious and social occasion for Muslims.

Bombardments did not abate as the sound of Palestinian rockets and Israeli air strikes echoed across the region on Tuesday morning.

Israeli strikes have destroyed several homes in Gaza

A few metres away from our office in Gaza, a loud explosion rang out and huge black smoke billowed into the sky after an Israeli airstrike hit an apartment building housing hundreds of residents. The raid killed two Islamic Jihad military leaders who were hiding inside.

"This is Israeli terrorism, we are innocent civilians. My children are terrified, they do not want to go home again for fear of renewed air strikes," says one woman - screaming and carrying her young child as she escapes from the building.

Since the round of fighting began, residents have rushed to their homes to flee the bombing. Gaza has no shelters or air-raid sirens, so residents have no other options but to hide in their homes.

"We do not know for how long this round of fighting will continue. It seems that the escalation is continuing," says local resident Sherin Emadadein. "I'm a mother of four children, we live in an apartment in a seven-floor building. There is no basement in our building, I do not know where we will flee if our building is bombed."

Sherin spoke to me on the telephone as she bought food from the only food shop open in her west Gaza neighbourhood.

"I was supposed to buy chocolate and sweets to celebrate the end of the long fasting month of Ramadan, but now we don't know for how long this escalation will last so I only buy the basic needs," she adds.

BBC

 

[Varun]

A lot of it had to do with how the armies functioned. Both sides were supplied well, the Soviets plunged a lot of money to Egypt for military hardware. The Arab units were never autonomous, every decision had to be 'yessed' by the boss upstairs, the relationships were also very rigid between top commanders and their officers on the ground where every officer was terrified of making a mistake and being punished. Anytime the Arab armies had a chance to take advantage they'd take too long due to the mind numbing bureaucratic lines of command. The Israelis were very flexible, and did not wait too long before any advantage could be exploited. A small example is in Sinai in 56, under Sharon, who was told wait before rushing towards Central Sinai, he took a chance and went for it and caused a lot of damage. Such independent actions were unthinkable in the Arab armies.

Soviets were so frustrated at how inept Arab officers were, I remember reading years ago how they complained that Egyptians were squandering all the hardware they were being given.

The Arab armies also did not have clear communication nor clear set targets. Despite outnumbering the Israelis 5-1 in hardware and almost 10-1 in manpower, they were too slow, too ponderous and did not take risks. Whereas Israelis went all in, in 67 every plane they had at one time was in the air.

When the Egyptians organised themselves properly, with clear set battle aims, they did well. 1973 was an example where they gave Israelis a bloody nose and hammered them till Israel regained some sort of control.

You also have to look at the motivations. For Israel it was Jews coming back to the land that booted them out after being abused for 2000 years in every country they were in, this was their chance to take their holiest place back. Imagine if a Muslim was in the same place, going in a war retaking Makkah. Which is why they were ferocious and committed.

The Arabs? Led by tin pot dictators with commanders who the normal officer either hated or was terrified off, never mind the soldier on the ground who surrendered too meekly many times. I remember reading how some Israeli commanders were stunned when Arab units in their thousands would surrender without putting up a fight. Each Arab leader was also more interested in keeping power, even if it meant losing the war (which is what happened).

You combine it all together and its no surprise they were beaten easily.

I love military history, I have even thought of doing a degree in the same at one point and have spent years studying commanders in my free time.

My post is not condoning anything Israel is doing now, which is war crimes, its just an analysis.

Very informational. Thanks for putting it together.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://news.sky.com/story/israel-gaza-violence-six-days-of-escalating-tensions-how-did-it-happen-12304453

The conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has not been seen on a scale like this for years, but the tension is always there.

You can follow it back decades, centuries, even millennia. This devastating flare-up has its roots in years of mistrust and anger. Yet its immediate cause can be traced to just a few days ago.

FRIDAY 7 MAY

It's the final Friday of Ramadan. 70,000 Palestinian worshippers are at the third holiest site for Muslims (it's also the holiest site for Jews), worshipping at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Tensions are high over restrictions imposed by Israeli officials on Palestinians trying to get to the site during Ramadan, and over the threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinians from their homes in east Jerusalem. There are protests.

Large numbers of Israeli police are deployed. Video from the scene shows Palestinians throwing items such as chairs, shoes and rocks, while the police fire rubber bullets and stun grenades.

At least 205 Palestinians are injured, with more than 85 requiring hospital treatment, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent rescue service. Some 17 Israeli officers are injured and six require medical treatment.

SATURDAY 8 MAY

In east Jerusalem, border police patrol in full riot gear. Outside the Old City's Damascus Gate, protesters throw water bottles and stones at the police. They light fires and tear down barricades with confrontations continuing into the holiest night of Ramadan.

Police respond with stun grenades and a water cannon.

The Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, which is where the Palestinians threatened with eviction from their homes live, also sees violence.

Several arrests are made by Israeli police, who say at least one officer is hit in the face. Palestinian medics said at least 100 Palestinians are injured that day.

SUNDAY 9 MAY

Overnight into Sunday, Israel says Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have fired a rocket into Israel. It fell into an empty area, causing little damage.

Shortly after, Israel carries out a strike against a Hamas military post in southern Gaza.

Friction at the boundary continues throughout Sunday and into the early hours of Monday. Palestinians start fires and militant groups aim more rockets towards Israel. These missiles set off air raid sirens in and around the southern city of Ashkelon.

As night falls, confrontations between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police start up again in Jerusalem. Arab students clash with police at Israel's Hebrew University. Stun guns are used there, and at Damascus Gate.

Sky News observes a 'skunk' water cannon being used there which leaves those hit by it covered by a strong smell. Correspondent Mark Stone says it appears to be fired "without justification" and it hits small children.

MONDAY 10 MAY

Monday marks Jerusalem Day, an Israeli celebration of the annexation of east Jerusalem in 1967. Israel claims Jerusalem as its capital. The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem as the capital of the future state they wish to create. This is one of the key factors contributing to the decades of conflict.

Protesters gather early in the morning at Al-Aqsa Mosque. They barricade the gates into the sacred site.

Around 7am, violence breaks out. Police use tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades against protesters. The demonstrators throw stones back.

The clash moves inside the mosque.

Nearby, Israelis worshipping near the Western Wall are pelted with stones by protesters, according to police.

The violence escalates. Israel says at least 150 rockets are fired into the country. Six rockets are aimed at Jerusalem, with one falling on the western outskirts of the city.

Dozens of rockets are intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome.

Israel fires missiles towards Palestinian areas, many landing in northern Gaza.

By the end of the day, reports state at least 20 Palestinians are dead, including nine children. Some 700 are hurt, with 500 taken to hospital.

Several Israeli officers are injured and an Israeli civilian is injured by a Gazan anti-tank missile, according to the Israeli military.

TUESDAY 11 MAY

Strikes on both sides continue into Tuesday.

The fighting claims the lives of at least 28 Palestinians and three Israelis.

Throughout the day, Israel sends 80 jets to bomb Gaza.

A 13-story residential tower in Gaza is hit and collapses, with Israel claiming the building has links to Hamas. A second high-rise is hit during morning prayers. Israeli gives warnings ahead of the strikes.

Israel claim some Gazan rockets are falling short and injuring Palestinians.

The first Israeli deaths occur in the southern city of Ashkelon as two women die in a rocket strike.

Rockets also reach as far as Tel Aviv.

Take-offs at Israel's international Ben Gurion airport are paused, with interceptor missiles spotted above the runways.

A 50-year-old woman dies when a rocket hits her building in the city's suburb of Rishon Lezion. Three people, including a five-year-old girl, are injured when a bus in Tel Aviv is hit.

Hamas says it launches a total of 130 rockets throughout Tuesday.

WEDNESDAY 12 MAY

In the early hours of Wednesday, Israel launches dozens of airstrikes at Gazan police and security buildings. A nine-story residential and commercial tower is also hit, which Israel claims also housed Hamas intelligence offices.

A Palestinian rocket kills an Arab-Israeli man and his teenage daughter when it hits their home in the Israeli city of Lod.

Hamas also launches 100 rockets at Beersheba.

Fighting between Jewish Israelis and Israeli Arabs is seen in a number of locations across Israel, including in Lod, Ramle and Acre.

In Ramle, ultra-nationalist Jewish demonstrators were filmed attacking cars belonging to Arabs, while in Acre, protesters torched a Jewish-owned restaurant and hotel.

Most of Israel's population is Jewish - but around 20% are Israeli Arabs - descendants of the Arab population that remained after the state of Israel was created in 1948.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/35-killed-gaza-3-israel-violence-escalates-2021-05-12/

Israel said it killed 16 members of the Hamas military wing in a air strike on Gaza on Wednesday and Palestinian militants rained rockets into Israel as global concern mounted over their most intense hostilities in years.

At least 53 people have been killed in Gaza since violence escalated on Monday, according to the Palestinian territory's health ministry. Six people have been killed in Israel, medical officials said.

Israel's Shin Bet security service said the brigade commander for Gaza City was among senior members of the Islamist militant group Hamas who had been killed.

"This is just the beginning. We'll hit them like they've never dreamed possible," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

Soon after the announcement, a new rocket barrage was fired at the Israeli city of Ashdod and Israeli media said the military was preparing for new salvoes on the Tel Aviv area.

Hamas confirmed the commander's death and the loss of "other leaders and warriors" and said in a statement: "Thousands of leaders and soldiers will follow in their footsteps.".

A Palestinian source said truce efforts by Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations had made no progress to end violence that flared this week after tension during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan and clashes in East Jerusalem.

The offensive is the heaviest between Israel and Hamas since a 2014 war in the Hamas-ruled enclave, and concern is growing that the situation could spiral out of control.

In Gaza, a multi-storey residential building collapsed after Israel warned its occupants in advance to evacuate, and another was heavily damaged in the air strikes.

Other air strikes hit what Israel's military said were rocket launch sites, Hamas offices and the homes of Hamas leaders. Israeli officials said at least 41 Palestinian fighters have been killed in the Gaza hostilities so far.

"Israel has gone crazy," said a man on a Gaza street, where people ran out of their homes as explosions rocked buildings.

Sixteen people were killed in Israeli air strikes on Gaza on Wednesday, Gaza's health ministry said. Witnesses and health officials in Gaza said one Israeli air strike killed three people, including a woman, in a car.

Many Israelis also spent a sleepless night as waves of rockets hit Israel's heartland.

"The children have escaped the coronavirus, and now a new trauma," an Israeli woman in the coastal city of Ashkelon told Channel 11 TV.

Israelis ran to shelters or lay flat on pavements in some communities far from Gaza.

"All of Israel is under attack. It's a very scary situation to be in," said Margo Aronovic, a 26-year-old student, in Tel Aviv. Along the Gaza border, an Israeli soldier was killed by an anti-tank missile, the military said. Two people were killed by a rocket in Lod, near Tel Aviv.

Tension also spilled over in mixed Arab-Jewish towns in Israel where there have been demonstrations over the hostilities. A synagogue was torched in Lod. Defence Minister Benny Gantz told reporters the Israeli military action would continue until "complete and long-term quiet" was achieved. U.S. energy corporation Chevron said it had shut down the Tamar natural gas platform off the Israeli coast on the instructions of the Energy Ministry. Israel said its energy needs would continue to be met.

Hamas said it fired 210 rockets towards Beersheba in southern Israel and at Tel Aviv overnight in response to the strikes on the tower buildings in Gaza City.

"If they (Israeli forces) want to escalate, the resistance is ready, if they want to stop, the resistance is ready," Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said.

For Israel, the targeting of Tel Aviv, its commercial capital, posed a new challenge in the confrontation with Hamas, regarded as a terrorist organisation by Israel and the United States.

The violence followed weeks of tension during Ramadan, with clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters near Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem.

These escalated ahead of a court hearing - now postponed - that could lead to the eviction of Palestinian families from East Jerusalem homes claimed by Jewish settlers.

The conflict has led to the freezing of talks by Netanyahu's opponents on forming a governing coalition to unseat him after Israel's inconclusive March 23 election.

Violence has also flared in the occupied West Bank. Medical sources said a 16-year-old Palestinian was killed in clashes with Israeli forces on Wednesday.

Gaza's health ministry said 14 of the people reported killed in the enclave were children. The Israeli military said it was looking into these reports and that preventing civilian casualties was a priority.

Israel has dispatched infantry and armour to reinforce tanks already gathered on the border, evoking memories of its last ground incursion into Gaza to stop rocket attacks in 2014.

Witnesses said Israeli aircraft destroyed Gaza's Hamas-run police headquarters in the city.

Although the latest problems in Jerusalem were the immediate trigger for hostilities, Palestinians have also been frustrated as their aspirations for an independent state have suffered setbacks in recent years.

These include Washington's recognition of disputed Jerusalem as Israel's capital, a U.S. plan to end the conflict that they saw as favourable to Israel, and continued settlement building.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

A lot of it had to do with how the armies functioned. Both sides were supplied well, the Soviets plunged a lot of money to Egypt for military hardware. The Arab units were never autonomous, every decision had to be 'yessed' by the boss upstairs, the relationships were also very rigid between top commanders and their officers on the ground where every officer was terrified of making a mistake and being punished. Anytime the Arab armies had a chance to take advantage they'd take too long due to the mind numbing bureaucratic lines of command. The Israelis were very flexible, and did not wait too long before any advantage could be exploited. A small example is in Sinai in 56, under Sharon, who was told wait before rushing towards Central Sinai, he took a chance and went for it and caused a lot of damage. Such independent actions were unthinkable in the Arab armies.

Soviets were so frustrated at how inept Arab officers were, I remember reading years ago how they complained that Egyptians were squandering all the hardware they were being given.

The Arab armies also did not have clear communication nor clear set targets. Despite outnumbering the Israelis 5-1 in hardware and almost 10-1 in manpower, they were too slow, too ponderous and did not take risks. Whereas Israelis went all in, in 67 every plane they had at one time was in the air.

When the Egyptians organised themselves properly, with clear set battle aims, they did well. 1973 was an example where they gave Israelis a bloody nose and hammered them till Israel regained some sort of control.

You also have to look at the motivations. For Israel it was Jews coming back to the land that booted them out after being abused for 2000 years in every country they were in, this was their chance to take their holiest place back. Imagine if a Muslim was in the same place, going in a war retaking Makkah. Which is why they were ferocious and committed.

The Arabs? Led by tin pot dictators with commanders who the normal officer either hated or was terrified off, never mind the soldier on the ground who surrendered too meekly many times. I remember reading how some Israeli commanders were stunned when Arab units in their thousands would surrender without putting up a fight. Each Arab leader was also more interested in keeping power, even if it meant losing the war (which is what happened).

You combine it all together and its no surprise they were beaten easily.

I love military history, I have even thought of doing a degree in the same at one point and have spent years studying commanders in my free time.

My post is not condoning anything Israel is doing now, which is war crimes, its just an analysis.

I read a book by Robert Fisk a long time ago about how Iran following the revolution showed up all the Arabs with the rise of Hezbollah who inflicted some serious damage on Israeli military in Lebanon. Come to think of it, could explain why Iran is still seen as a major opponent for Israel whereas most of the Arabs have fallen in line.

 

[Mamoon]

It is never black and white. There are different shades of grey.

The bottom-line is that it was the Arabs who sold themselves to the British which led to the creation of Israel.

Israel would not have existed today if the Arabs were not mercenaries.

And after getting pounded in the wars with Israel, they lost even further territory.

If you cannot fight a vastly superior powerful enemy, you should simply back down and keep what you have.

The people of Palestine need to think about their future and their future generations.

This is a war they cannot win. They will keep losing their children if they keep pelting stones.

Accepting the state of Israel and putting their aggression side is the only long-term solution for Palestine’s prosperity.

They need to think with intelligence and logic and not within emotions. It is high time they overcome their delusions and fantasies.

They need to realize that Israel will not fall because of some Islamic prophecy about Mahdi and return of Isa that they believe in.

Otherwise, even the Israelis call themselves God’s chosen people.

 

[Zaz]

I love how the foreign media use the word "clashes" to describe what is going on like its between two similarly armed entities and how the event always seem to start at the point when hamas fires rockets not the many days leading up from when palestinians are evicted, unarmed people are fired upon incited or their place of worship desecrated

Ive had enough of the disgusting double standards

 

[KingKhanWC]

The reality is that Pakistan cannot do anything. It cannot even climb out of FATF grey list and lost whatever international credibility it had when OBL was found half a mile from a military base in Abbottabad.

As far as India is concerned, again, Pakistan cannot do jack. It has started multiple wars on Kashmir and achieved nothing. In fact, it cost them East Pakistan.

Kashmir has been under siege since August 5, 2019. What has Pakistan done over the last 21 months? Absolutely nothing, other than firing missiles on Twitter and imploring the international community to stand up against India only to get snubbed by most countries including Muslim states.

Apart from his legacy as the most incompetent PM in Pakistan history, Imran Khan, from the perspective of the Pakistan-India conflict, will be remembered as the Pakistani PM on whose watch India removed Kashmir’s special status and he could not do anything about it.

That will be his lasting legacy with respect to India, not his bosses shooting a 50 year old plane and taking a pilot hostage for a few hours.



Israel have stated multiple times that they do not wish to change the status-quo. However, if they decide to do so, who will stand in the way? No one.

The UN is a useless organization controlled by the powerful states, all of whom back Israel. More and more Muslim countries are also forging strong ties with Israel because that is where their money is.

The Palestinian cause has no future irrespective of your dreams and fantasies.



Liverpool signed him 14 years ago, and I am sure you were old enough in 2007 to spend money on Liverpool.

If you really had the courage to put your money where your mouth is, you would have stopped giving money to a football club that pays salary to an Israeli footballer and more importantly, you would have left the UK because it has strong ties with Israel and does trade worth billions of £.

This why is Israel’s position in the conflict continues to get stronger. Muslim countries do not care because Israel is where the money is, and people like you can only offer verbal criticism because you are not willing to do anything practical about it.

Supporting Liverpool and living in the UK means more to you than the Palestinian cause, and that is why there is no pressure on Israel to cut down its atrocities.

1. Read again, the point was you cheerlead Indian jets to bomb Pakistan and it's civilian buildings. You suggested they would do it with ease. This means, you support enemies of Muslims(Pakistan in this case) along with having zero understanding of combat or warfare. You've also shown this to be the case with Zionist occupation.

2. Again Israel is a small piece of land, it could be destroyed by rockets alone esp with the new tech available. Hamas have small homemade rockets, yet their Iron Dome cant stop Israelis being hit. Israelis do not have the stomach for a war where they will live their lives in bomb shelters. This is why they dont mess with Hezbollah or Iran but being the cowards they are , attack besieged people in Gaza.

 

[Mamoon]

1. Read again, the point was you cheerlead Indian jets to bomb Pakistan and it's civilian buildings. You suggested they would do it with ease. This means, you support enemies of Muslims(Pakistan in this case) along with having zero understanding of combat or warfare. You've also shown this to be the case with Zionist occupation.

2. Again Israel is a small piece of land, it could be destroyed by rockets alone esp with the new tech available. Hamas have small homemade rockets, yet their Iron Dome cant stop Israelis being hit. Israelis do not have the stomach for a war where they will live their lives in bomb shelters. This is why they dont mess with Hezbollah or Iran but being the cowards they are , attack besieged people in Gaza.

Yes of course. I am sure you have already destroyed and conquered Israel on some video game.

So when will Hamas and Hezbollah fire their rockets on the puny Israel?

Or better, when will Pakistan deploy those Ghauris, Ghaznavis, Baburs and all the other missiles that we have named after foreign invaders and plunderers?

I am sure Pakistan can destroy Israel in one day. So when will we do it and what is stopping us?

 

[Varun]

Again Israel is a small piece of land, it could be destroyed by rockets alone esp with the new tech available. Hamas have small homemade rockets, yet their Iron Dome cant stop Israelis being hit. Israelis do not have the stomach for a war where they will live their lives in bomb shelters. This is why they dont mess with Hezbollah or Iran but being the cowards they are , attack besieged people in Gaza.

The whole of Israel could be 90% smaller but they would still thwart the useless entities that are around them while you weep waiting for prophecies to come true.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Yes of course. I am sure you have already destroyed and conquered Israel on some video game.

So when will Hamas and Hezbollah fire their rockets on the puny Israel?

Or better, when will Pakistan deploy those Ghauris, Ghaznavis, Baburs and all the other missiles that we have named after foreign invaders and plunderers?

I am sure Pakistan can destroy Israel in one day. So when will we do it and what is stopping us?

Im sure you also think India will conquer Pakistan soon too, as per you previous prophecies.

My advice is since you have no care for Pak or Palestine, supporting its enemies, go join them. They could do with guys like you.

 

[Zaz]

The whole of Israel could be 90% smaller but they would still thwart the useless entities that are around them while you weep waiting for prophecies to come true.

True Until daddy is around funding them by the billions and vetoing every UN resolution yes

The day the great satan or its allies are not there to back it it ll be a different matter all together

 

[KingKhanWC]

The whole of Israel could be 90% smaller but they would still thwart the useless entities that are around them while you weep waiting for prophecies to come true.

Hindutva dreams were shattered in the Lebanon war, a loss for Israel. Abusing people like Kashmiris or those in Gaza by military might may seem a great thing for an Indian like yourself but the reality is different. Iran alone could destroy all of Israel within days by firing its rockets.

 

[Varun]

True Until daddy is around funding them by the billions and vetoing every UN resolution yes

The day the great satan or its allies are not there to back it it ll be a different matter all together

If that's how Israel is going to be defeated, then the freed up land shouldn't be given to the Palestinians or other Muslims. They didn't do a thing so there should be no pot at the end of rainbow for them.

 

[Mamoon]

True Until daddy is around funding them by the billions and vetoing every UN resolution yes

The day the great satan or its allies are not there to back it it ll be a different matter all together

The “great satan” might not be around forever but more and more Muslim countries are forgoing diplomatic, economic and strategic ties with Israel because Israel is where the money is.

There is nothing to be gained form a bunch of hapless people with sticks, stones and bricks. That is why all Muslims states, at least the successful ones, are ignoring their conflict and getting cordial with Israel.

 

[Mamoon]

Hindutva dreams were shattered in the Lebanon war, a loss for Israel. Abusing people like Kashmiris or those in Gaza by military might may seem a great thing for an Indian like yourself but the reality is different. Iran alone could destroy all of Israel within days by firing its rockets.

I am sure even you can destroy Israel with a bunch of firecrackers. However, once again - who is going to do the honors of destroying Israel and why haven’t they done it already?

As far as Iran is concerned, considering how incompetent and clumsy they are, they would probably end up shooting yet another commercial plane instead of hitting Israel.

 

[Pakpak]

I read a book by Robert Fisk a long time ago about how Iran following the revolution showed up all the Arabs with the rise of Hezbollah who inflicted some serious damage on Israeli military in Lebanon. Come to think of it, could explain why Iran is still seen as a major opponent for Israel whereas most of the Arabs have fallen in line.

Yes. The 2006 war was a wake up call for the IDF. It inflicted massive damage to civilians in war crimes but vs Hezbollah itself it was unable to make any gains and were heavily bogged down. Militarily wise many see it as a failure of IDF to win against a technologically inferior opponent.

That is one of the reasons IDF has not ventured in Lebanon again. Hezbollah is better armed, better trained than Hamas and willing to dig deep without caring for any short term territorial loss. This doesn't suit the IDF and they have no stomach for such a deep prolonged war where they would really have nothing to show for it in terms of any military gains and they'd lose $$$ and a lot of bodies in the process. In Gaza and West Bank the policy of keeping Palestinians, not quite over the edge, but on the verge of economic and human disaster works well for them and they face no real armed opposition. So for them Lebanon is an unnecessary risk.

As for Arabs, I have lived in Saudi Arabia. The population is well fed, lives a rich life, and there is general apathy among the Arab states to really care.

 

[Mamoon]

Im sure you also think India will conquer Pakistan soon too, as per you previous prophecies.

My advice is since you have no care for Pak or Palestine, supporting its enemies, go join them. They could do with guys like you.

India cannot conquer Pakistan and it has no need for it either.

I do not support Israel or Palestine. I am a mere spectator just like you and a few other online warriors of Palestine, except that I do not thump my chest over the Internet and do not fight for the Palestine cause on social media before forgetting about it when I turn off my device.

It amazes me that people still believe in the prophecies of Israel’s demise and still think that the resistance led by stones and bricks will prevail, especially when more and more Muslim countries are joining hands with Israel because that is where the money is.

 

[street cricketer]

Can the military historians here answer a simple question ?

How was it that Pakistan, an entity that didn't exist before 1947, was able to take one-thirds of Kashmir fighting a country six times its population - meanwhile the Arabs and Palestinians, got wiped out in 1948 and 1967 when the military balance was far more equal than today, who are now scrambling to keep 22% (which is diminishing due to settlement activity) of Historic Palestine ?

This is a common perception among Pakistanis I've seen in many online forums, surprised it's coming from a usually very well read poster like you though. Pakistan didn't take one thirds of Kashmir after fighting with the Indian army, the chronology of events that happened around the time of independence were different.

Pakistan took Poonch, Mirpur, etc., while fighting against the state forces of Raja Hari Singh and not the Indian army which entered into the foray only later after Raja Hari Singh signed the instrument of accession asking for help from the dominion of India while being under attacked by the hordes of invading armed Pashtun tribesmen from the NWFP. In fact, the rebel forces were within touching distance of taking over Srinagar when the Indian forces were airlifted to Kashmir to defend the princely state of J & K as per the wishes of Hari Singh. As for Gilgit, the Gilgit scouts under the control of the British officer Major William Brown overthrew the governor appointed by Raja Hari Singh and invited accession to Pakistan due to the fear of Hari Singh choosing to join the muslim dominated Gilgit with the dominion of India.

While the Indian army could recapture some of the areas like Rajouri, Uri, Baramulla etc. from the rebel forces and Pakistani army, and Leh and Kargil from the Gilgit scouts, they couldn't recapture most of the Poonch division and Skardu (G-B) which led to the stalemate that's prevailing till date. Most of the area of whatever Pakistan controls now was taken over before the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir acceded to India while fighting the Dogra forces and not the Indian army.

 

[Local.Dada]

India cannot conquer Pakistan and it has no need for it either.

I do not support Israel or Palestine. I am a mere spectator just like you and a few other online warriors of Palestine, except that I do not thump my chest over the Internet and do not fight for the Palestine cause on social media before forgetting about it when I turn off my device.

It amazes me that people still believe in the prophecies of Israel’s demise and still think that the resistance led by stones and bricks will prevail, especially when more and more Muslim countries are joining hands with Israel because that is where the money is.

Not just for money. Israel has progressed in areas of science, defense, has produced outstanding intellectuals in economics,arts as well.

Joining hands with a country like that not only brings in money but also knowledge share.

Sometimes when I see Pakistanis even the so called intellectuals on TV speak it amazes me. They are still stuck in the yahoodis are like Shylock from Shakespeare or the Hindu Baniya straight out of Mother India movie. It’s surreal.
It’s almost like we are living in the 18th century.

I am neither a Yahoodi or Baniya but I can say this with utmost confidence, Pakistanis should have encouraged a lot more baniyas to do their thing, it could have helped their economy. We have nothing but gratitude for baniyas like Ambani,Adani, Premji etc etc etc. The world runs because of great baniyas of all color and cultures.

 

[bones]

Joining hands with a country like that not only brings in money but also knowledge share.

The vast majority of Jews are normal citizens who go about their daily lives and are no trouble. But the leaders of the world right now are the Jewish mafia. They control the finances, news, policies and whatever else you can think of.

We have no place, Muslim or not, associating ourselves with them. The entire basis of their wealth and success is Usury (interest).

 

[KingKhanWC]

India cannot conquer Pakistan and it has no need for it either.

I do not support Israel or Palestine. I am a mere spectator just like you and a few other online warriors of Palestine, except that I do not thump my chest over the Internet and do not fight for the Palestine cause on social media before forgetting about it when I turn off my device.

It amazes me that people still believe in the prophecies of Israel’s demise and still think that the resistance led by stones and bricks will prevail, especially when more and more Muslim countries are joining hands with Israel because that is where the money is.

lol.

You keep enlighting us with your personal live.. Most dont care who you support or who you are . Its obvious your loyalty is towards the enemies of Pakistan and Palestine.

Israel cannot last forever, it's idiotic to think it can.

If you want to discuss the topic, answer this.

1. Do you accept Palestinian right of return?

2. Do you accept Jews cannot take property or land which has been lived in for hundreds of years but claimed by Jews because their holy book says so?

 

[MenInG]

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday received a telephone call from the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to discuss several issues of mutual interest between Pakistan and Turkey.

During the telephonic conversation, the two leaders exchanged views on Israel's atrocious attack during the month of Ramazan on the revered Al-Aqsa Mosque and the worshippers inside as well as on Gaza, violating all norms of humanity and international law.

They vowed to work together, especially at the United Nations, in jointly mobilising the international community to help stop these attacks.

Both leaders discussed further strengthening of bilateral relations and agreed that the momentum of high-level exchanges between Pakistan and Turkey would continue.

The two leaders also exchanged greetings on Eid-ul-Fitr.

GEO

 

[Markhor]

This is a common perception among Pakistanis I've seen in many online forums, surprised it's coming from a usually very well read poster like you though. Pakistan didn't take one thirds of Kashmir after fighting with the Indian army, the chronology of events that happened around the time of independence were different.

Pakistan took Poonch, Mirpur, etc., while fighting against the state forces of Raja Hari Singh and not the Indian army which entered into the foray only later after Raja Hari Singh signed the instrument of accession asking for help from the dominion of India while being under attacked by the hordes of invading armed Pashtun tribesmen from the NWFP. In fact, the rebel forces were within touching distance of taking over Srinagar when the Indian forces were airlifted to Kashmir to defend the princely state of J & K as per the wishes of Hari Singh. As for Gilgit, the Gilgit scouts under the control of the British officer Major William Brown overthrew the governor appointed by Raja Hari Singh and invited accession to Pakistan due to the fear of Hari Singh choosing to join the muslim dominated Gilgit with the dominion of India.

While the Indian army could recapture some of the areas like Rajouri, Uri, Baramulla etc. from the rebel forces and Pakistani army, and Leh and Kargil from the Gilgit scouts, they couldn't recapture most of the Poonch division and Skardu (G-B) which led to the stalemate that's prevailing till date. Most of the area of whatever Pakistan controls now was taken over before the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir acceded to India while fighting the Dogra forces and not the Indian army.

Thanks for the writeup. I'm more read up on political history than military history to be honest hence the question.

A lot of it had to do with how the armies functioned. Both sides were supplied well, the Soviets plunged a lot of money to Egypt for military hardware. The Arab units were never autonomous, every decision had to be 'yessed' by the boss upstairs, the relationships were also very rigid between top commanders and their officers on the ground where every officer was terrified of making a mistake and being punished. Anytime the Arab armies had a chance to take advantage they'd take too long due to the mind numbing bureaucratic lines of command. The Israelis were very flexible, and did not wait too long before any advantage could be exploited. A small example is in Sinai in 56, under Sharon, who was told wait before rushing towards Central Sinai, he took a chance and went for it and caused a lot of damage. Such independent actions were unthinkable in the Arab armies.

Soviets were so frustrated at how inept Arab officers were, I remember reading years ago how they complained that Egyptians were squandering all the hardware they were being given.

The Arab armies also did not have clear communication nor clear set targets. Despite outnumbering the Israelis 5-1 in hardware and almost 10-1 in manpower, they were too slow, too ponderous and did not take risks. Whereas Israelis went all in, in 67 every plane they had at one time was in the air.

When the Egyptians organised themselves properly, with clear set battle aims, they did well. 1973 was an example where they gave Israelis a bloody nose and hammered them till Israel regained some sort of control.

You also have to look at the motivations. For Israel it was Jews coming back to the land that booted them out after being abused for 2000 years in every country they were in, this was their chance to take their holiest place back. Imagine if a Muslim was in the same place, going in a war retaking Makkah. Which is why they were ferocious and committed.

The Arabs? Led by tin pot dictators with commanders who the normal officer either hated or was terrified off, never mind the soldier on the ground who surrendered too meekly many times. I remember reading how some Israeli commanders were stunned when Arab units in their thousands would surrender without putting up a fight. Each Arab leader was also more interested in keeping power, even if it meant losing the war (which is what happened).

You combine it all together and its no surprise they were beaten easily.

I love military history, I have even thought of doing a degree in the same at one point and have spent years studying commanders in my free time.

My post is not condoning anything Israel is doing now, which is war crimes, its just an analysis.

Very informative writeup.

The Jordanians with a half-competent effort were able to claim West Bank and East Jerusalem so I wonder how different the facts on the ground would be had the Arabs formed somewhat of a cohesive front in 1948.

Another perspective is given by Shlomo Ben Ami, Israel's former Foreign Minister, arguing the Arabs lost the war earlier in 1936-39 in the Arab Revolt, brutally put down by the British, where their best fighters and commanders were killed.

 

[KingKhanWC]

The vast majority of Jews are normal citizens who go about their daily lives and are no trouble. But the leaders of the world right now are the Jewish mafia. They control the finances, news, policies and whatever else you can think of.

We have no place, Muslim or not, associating ourselves with them. The entire basis of their wealth and success is Usury (interest).

Its their ideology which is the problem, along with the actions of their security forces.

Vast majority believe they have a God given right to take any part of the holy land. This is extremist mentality.

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I’m calling on all the world leaders including on the Prime Minister of the country that has been my home for the past 4 years to do everything in their power to make sure the violence and killing of innocent people stops immediately. Enough is enough. <a href="https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BorisJohnson</a></p>— Mohamed Salah (@MoSalah) <a href="https://twitter.com/MoSalah/status/1392185890844430342?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 11, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[KingKhanWC]

I think the female who plays wonder woman is a former IDF soldier. She wont be happy.

 

[KingKhanWC]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I’m calling on all the world leaders including on the Prime Minister of the country that has been my home for the past 4 years to do everything in their power to make sure the violence and killing of innocent people stops immediately. Enough is enough. <a href="https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BorisJohnson</a></p>— Mohamed Salah (@MoSalah) <a href="https://twitter.com/MoSalah/status/1392185890844430342?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 11, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I hope they go further and use the football pitch to send this message. If you can take a knee for blacks, then perhaps both knees for Palestinians.

 

[Ashmal]

It is never black and white. There are different shades of grey.

The bottom-line is that it was the Arabs who sold themselves to the British which led to the creation of Israel.

Israel would not have existed today if the Arabs were not mercenaries.

And after getting pounded in the wars with Israel, they lost even further territory.

If you cannot fight a vastly superior powerful enemy, you should simply back down and keep what you have.

The people of Palestine need to think about their future and their future generations.

This is a war they cannot win. They will keep losing their children if they keep pelting stones.

Accepting the state of Israel and putting their aggression side is the only long-term solution for Palestine’s prosperity.

They need to think with intelligence and logic and not within emotions. It is high time they overcome their delusions and fantasies.

They need to realize that Israel will not fall because of some Islamic prophecy about Mahdi and return of Isa that they believe in.

Otherwise, even the Israelis call themselves God’s chosen people.

If you can't say anything good then atleast stop mocking the poor Palestinians.


It's been only 70 years since Israel came into existence, and if you have studied history you would know that 70 years are nothing when we look back in time....and yet we have people like you and your Hindutva friends proclaiming that Israel will 'never' fall.

Well you lot are not the first ones to think so....there have been many powerful empires and regimes who thought they were unbeatable and will rule forever.......but are nowhere to be seen now.

You may not believe in Islamic prophecies but there more than a billion who believe in Allah and his word.

As Allah says,

“They plan, and Allah plans. Surely, Allah is the Best of planners.”

This is enough for us.

 

[MenInG]

The deadly exchange of fire between Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip and the Israeli military has escalated significantly, with the UN fearing a "full-scale war".

More than 1,000 rockets have been fired by Palestinian militants, Israel says.

Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes on Gaza, destroying three tower blocks and killing senior Hamas officials.

Since Monday at least 65 Palestinians and six people in Israel have died.

That includes 16 Palestinian children caught up in the conflict.

UN Secretary General António Guterres said he was "gravely concerned" by the ongoing violence.

In a phone call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken condemned Hamas rocket attacks but said Israel had an obligation to avoid civilian casualties.

He said he had sent Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Hady Amr to meet both sides.

The fighting erupted on Monday night after weeks of rising Israeli-Palestinian tension in East Jerusalem which culminated in clashes at a holy site revered by Muslims and Jews.

Violent unrest in towns in Israel with mixed Jewish and Arab populations has led to hundreds of arrests. Lod near Tel Aviv is under a state of emergency.

Mr Netanyahu said the government would use all its strength to protect Israel from enemies on the outside and rioters on the inside.

But the Palestinian Authority condemned Israel's "military aggression" in a tweet, saying it was "traumatizing an already beleaguered population of 2 million people".

BBC

 

[cricketjoshila]

Most countries dont They see it as apartied occupiers illegally grabbing land Provoking palestinians with violence and when they resist call them as aggressors

Its just a few unfortunately in power who turn a blind to evil and paint a different narrative to condone this barbarism

Which countries see Israel as apartheid occupiers?Most countries have diplomatic relations with Israel.

 

[Zaz]

Which countries see Israel as apartheid occupiers?Most countries have diplomatic relations with Israel.

Under international law the west bank and jerusalem is under illegal occupation

Many countries that have diplomatic relations with israel believe the above

The two are mutually exclusive

 

[Pakpak]

Thanks for the writeup. I'm more read up on political history than military history to be honest hence the question.



Very informative writeup.

The Jordanians with a half-competent effort were able to claim West Bank and East Jerusalem so I wonder how different the facts on the ground would be had the Arabs formed somewhat of a cohesive front in 1948.

Another perspective is given by Shlomo Ben Ami, Israel's former Foreign Minister, arguing the Arabs lost the war earlier in 1936-39 in the Arab Revolt, brutally put down by the British, where their best fighters and commanders were killed.

You're right but what people forget is 48 was incredibly chaotic. The war was between 3 phases, separated by 3 truces. The first phase Egypt did well and went as far a dozen miles near Tel-Aviv. Jordan went far into Jerusalem and held on. After the first truce things changed, Israelis received vital supplies and really changed the course of the war. By the end of the war Israelis were close to exhaustion as well but Syrians were pushed out, Lebanese forces were completely routed and Egyptian army was collapsing and being encircled, only the UN cease fire saved them from giving up Gaza. Jordan did the best as its army was the best trained and very professional. When it comes to Jordan it brings up interesting points, hawks like Netanyahu have claimed numerous times that Jordan IS a nation of Palestinians and Palestinians should migrate there. You can see it in practice too, where the average Palestinian's life is being made pure hell so they can leave.

The original plan was for Israel to expand its land, the Israelis have never been happy that their coastal regions and big cities are only a sustained push away from being taken from the South via Egypt. Indeed in 1956 when Israel took Sinai it refused to retreat despite threats of sanctions and only retreated after massive pressure from US. Later on in the next two wars only Soviet threats stopped them from taking Cairo and Damascus. With such wars no longer realistic their only option for more land is to make the Palestinians life so miserable that they leave and all the land left behind is gobbled up. You can see this by the way the settlements are placed, all of them ensuring all Palestinian areas are not contagious.

Israel did realise that conventional wars would still leave a risk of it being attacked and beaten, in 1973 it suffered a great deal for most of the war till they recovered in the end and only because the US replenished the 100s of tanks they lost. The nukes therefore ensures that won't ever happen again. Its why modern wars are fought through proxies between nuclear powers, as there is no other way to win.

 

[Mamoon]

If you can't say anything good then atleast stop mocking the poor Palestinians.


It's been only 70 years since Israel came into existence, and if you have studied history you would know that 70 years are nothing when we look back in time....and yet we have people like you and your Hindutva friends proclaiming that Israel will 'never' fall.

Well you lot are not the first ones to think so....there have been many powerful empires and regimes who thought they were unbeatable and will rule forever.......but are nowhere to be seen now.

You may not believe in Islamic prophecies but there more than a billion who believe in Allah and his word.

As Allah says,

“They plan, and Allah plans. Surely, Allah is the Best of planners.”

This is enough for us.

I do not wish to mock the Palestinians, but surely, after all these years and all this suffering, they should have the intelligence to realize that their tactics are not working.

They should also have the intelligence to realize that other Muslim countries, including Pakistan, can only offer verbal support and none of them have the courage to confront Israel.

Moreover, they should also realize that more and more Muslim countries are forging strong diplomatic, economic and strategic ties with Israel because that is where the money is.

As far as looking at history is concerned, the critical mistake that so-called students of history make is compare the rise and fall of empires of the past to the hegemony of modern states.

Since the formation of the nation-state system as well as the fall of traditional empires after the two World Wars and with the collapse of USSR, the world order is based on a transactional relationship.

From the perspective of theory of international relations, we live a world of realism where every state is acting based on servings its own interests, and that is why most states, including most Muslim states, are developing ties with Israel and are ignoring the Palestine conflict because developing ties with Israel is beneficial for them.

Nothing is to be gained by siding with a failed state like Palestine. It had nothing to offer to anyone, especially relative to Israel. This is why the Palestinian narrative gets weaker and weaker.

As far as the planning of the Almighty is concerned, remember - He is just and fair, and He helps those who helps themselves. Also remember that he is Rabb-ul-Alimeen and not Rabb-ul-Muslimeen.

Allah (saw) saw how the Arabs sold themselves to the British which led to the creation of Israel. He saw how Hussein, the Sharif of Mecca, led the revolt against the Ottomans which sowed the seeds of the creation of Israel.

Why do you think the Almighty would help Muslims here?

The Jews are arguably the most intelligent, hardworking and successful nation. In spite of not having a country until the formation of Israel and getting persecuted everywhere, they continued to excel in various fields.

Nearly 2 billion Muslims in the world do not hold a candle to 15 million Jews in terms of achievements. The will always be successful because of their R&D and hardworking nature, and they have every right to believe that they are God’s chosen people.

If Muslims are waiting for divine intervention to see the fall of Israel, they will remain disappointed because they do not deserve any divine help.

The Palestinians fighting for their freedom are not responsible for the actions of the Arabs of the past, but they must realize that their methodology of attaining freedom is completely useless and pointless.

They need to regroup and devise an alternative strategy, even if it hurts their pride and does not fulfill the fantasies that they have created for themselves.

Repeating the same process over and over again with no positive outcome is called madness.

 

[Mamoon]

lol.

You keep enlighting us with your personal live.. Most dont care who you support or who you are . Its obvious your loyalty is towards the enemies of Pakistan and Palestine.

Israel cannot last forever, it's idiotic to think it can.

If you want to discuss the topic, answer this.

1. Do you accept Palestinian right of return?

2. Do you accept Jews cannot take property or land which has been lived in for hundreds of years but claimed by Jews because their holy book says so?

Pakistan’s biggest enemy is Pakistan itself, and I have nothing to do with the people of Palestine and Israel. I don’t support or oppose anyone when it comes to people that I have no feelings for and have no connection.

Israel cannot last forever, of course not. Nothing lasts forever and this world will not last forever either, but Israel will surely last longer than Palestine as long as the Palestinians keep repeating the same tactics that have resulted in nothing but bloodshed and loss of innocent Palestinian lives.

Your simplistic take on Israel’s claim on these lands shows your ignorance and the lack of depth of your argument. Israelis believe they are God’s chosen people and the territory belongs to them.

However, religious beliefs and prophecies do not win you land. War and Politics do.

Israel was not established because of the tyranny of the Jews. It was established because the Arab leaders sold themselves to the British.

Israel would not have been created if the Sharif of Mecca did not revolt against the Ottomans on the orders of the British crown for his personal greed.

Moreover, Israel further consolidated its hold after thrashing Arab countries and the UAR in wars.

Hence, there is nothing illegal about Israel’s occupation and Palestinians have no real claim here. Today, they are suffering not because of Israel but because of the greed and cowardice of Arab leaders who helped create the state of Israel.

 

[shaykh]

One of the more ironic tweets I saw recently in reference to what is happening between Israeli’s and Palestinians currently is “read then talk”...cos if there is one thing that is evident there is very little of that going on...

I mean even the actual cause of conflict which as with most things is far from simple is reduced to simple buzzwords such as ‘ethnic cleansing’ etc...

There is no question that Israel has been heavy handed in how it’s dealt with matters and frankly wrong...but I just find it odd how hundreds of missiles not stones from Hamas being launched at civilian areas gets a pass...is it that hard to accept that both sides the Israeli government and Hamas are acting deplorably and civilians from both sides are the victims?...

And as for Sheikh Jarrah how many of those who so confidently take a position even explain what the roots of this issue are?...

As with most things context and nuance are missing...

So two Jewish trusts bought the properties in question in 1875 from Palestinians and Jews lived there till 1948...during the war Jordan evicted the Jewish families and leased the properties to Palestinians...leased them so didn’t transfer ownership...

Following the War of ‘67 Israel passed a law allowing lost property in 1948 to be reclaimed providing they could provide proof of ownership...which is what happened...in 1973 the trusts provided proof of ownership...and those trusts sold them on in some cases to some quite nasty right wing settlers who have tried to get the Palestinians evicted...

Palestinians continued to live in the properties and paid rent...and in 1982 the courts ruled in favour of the Palestinians when the owners wanted them removed...provided they paid rent the landlords couldn’t remove them...

The current issue which is far from current is some residents have stopped paying rent...and this has been an issue since 1993...and in February this year the courts ruled that the tenants would need to pay rent or be evicted...the tenants have since appealed to the Supreme Court...and have not been evicted...they refuse to recognise Jewish ownership of the homes they live in...

So yes you have some nasty settlers who bought properties and have for a while tried to have the Palestinian residents removed...the courts who said the Palestinians can’t be evicted providing they continue to pay rent...and then a situation where those living in the properties stopped paying rent...with both sides fighting over this in the courts...based on this it is perfectly reasonable imo to critique the law on this...and the ownership of these properties as with most issues in this conflict are debated...the residents who never purchased the properties and refusing to pay rent...and those who purchased the properties demanding rent be paid...

As a side note evicting families especially during COVID is a horrible move irregardless of ethnicity...but it’s most certainly not ‘ethnic cleansing’...a private property dispute going through the courts...as it has for decades...

What has followed is an absolute shambles...rubber bullets, tear gas during Ramadan, in Al Aqsa mosque...and the other side throwing rocks...it’s fair to say the Israeli police got this very wrong even if protests weren’t peaceful...but there are also extremists on both sides who have clashed with the police...and in particular each other...Palestinians attacking far right Jews and far right Jews attacking Palestinians and both attacking the police...

If one was to view the eviction issue and the Israeli response to the protests then one could quite reasonably argue that the law and/or the police got it wrong...

What intrigues me though are those who are furious about Jerusalem and then also support the actions of Hamas...as in its perfectly fine apparently to target civilian areas with missiles...it’s not unusual though for individuals to hold everyone who is the ‘other’ responsible evidently...they are all fair game...

Its with those missiles in mind that I’m not quite sure what world people live in when they refer to Gaza...what state wouldn’t respond harshly to missiles being fired at it?...

The losers as always whenever stuff like this occurs are civilians on both sides...

 

[shaykh]

Thanks for the writeup. I'm more read up on political history than military history to be honest hence the question.



Very informative writeup.

The Jordanians with a half-competent effort were able to claim West Bank and East Jerusalem so I wonder how different the facts on the ground would be had the Arabs formed somewhat of a cohesive front in 1948.

Another perspective is given by Shlomo Ben Ami, Israel's former Foreign Minister, arguing the Arabs lost the war earlier in 1936-39 in the Arab Revolt, brutally put down by the British, where their best fighters and commanders were killed.

In regards to your question about how Arabs lost the war...it’s a common Arab story of them being too busy battling each other...they all wanted their piece of Palestine...I wrote a piece on it a while back...

One of the traditional Israeli narratives is one of overcoming a unified 5 nation Arab army attacking them from all sides... Israel likes to present its David and Goliath story for the most part…and while it was a resounding victory for Israel there is a lot to be said about the disunified Arab leaders who all had conflicting plans for the Middle East...

How is it that 5 conventional armies were defeated?... I'll examine each countries aims separately...

JORDAN

Abdullah and the Zionist Movement

From the beginning of his rule in Transjordan he had relations with the Zionists mainly because Jordan was a land of few resources and had little cash...he wanted to attract Jewish capital for development...which he did in areas such as mining and electricity...

Abdullah also crucially was the only Arab head of state who had supported the 1937 Peel Commission partition plan... The Jewish Agency met Abdullah twice in 1946...the idea was a partition plan which would lead to the creation of a Jewish state with the annexation of Arab lands to Transjordan... Abdullah followed the Arab league in opposition to partition which is why a second meeting occurred...17th November 1947 in a meeting with Golda Meir...both sides had similar visions and were both opposed to Palestinian nationalism and a Palestinian state...and both were opposed to the mufti of Jerusalem Husayni...

This idea got British backing in the form of Foreign secretary Ernest Bevin...when the British mandate would end then Jordan can occupy the part of Palestine awarded to the Arabs... British withdrawal was due on the 15th May 1948...and conflict had kicked off big time in Palestine...and Abdullah found that he needed to match the belligerence of the Arab League especially as Jordan had the best Arab army...it couldn’t be seen to be abandoning the Palestinians... Meir met Abdullah again on the 11th May...Abdullah said he had to engage but would not engage his forces beyond the lines stipulated by the UN partition resolution...

Relations with the Arab League

The other heads of state weren't stupid...they believed Abdullah supported the partition plan and were aware of his desires for territorial expansion... They therefore didn't want Abdullah’s Arab legion in Palestine...Husayni also didn’t want the Arab legion...nor did the Syrian government...

The Arab league however especially after the massacre at Dayr Yasin felt it had to commit regular troops and with Jordan having the best army that they should also... In short these concerns about Abdullah were fair...he had no interest in preserving Palestine for Palestinians but wanted it for himself... And the Arab league actually then did quite the shafting job on Jordan...Abdullah was commander in chief of the Arab forces but all the national forces operated under their own commanders...the Arab league was supposed to give Jordan $3m in financial assistance and instead gave them $250k...and the Egyptian government was confiscating their arms shipments...

So in short the best Arab army had allies that weren’t allies, little ammunition or supplies, and no budget...

Post British Withdrawal

The Arab legion entered the West Bank...and the Jewish armies had no problem with that..however problems did arise when the Jewish army tried to take Jerusalem...part of the failed UN resolution was that Jerusalem would remain an international zone and not be part of either state... Abdullah then ordered his troops into Jerusalem...now they were at war with Israel...they managed to secure the Old City...however an arms embargo was introduced and Britain adhered to it...so after 1 month of fighting the Arab Legion found itself 20% down in terms of soldiers, low ammunition and no chances of resupply...

Abdullah didn’t want this battle...the Israelis had managed to get around the arms embargo...Jordan had taken Lydda and Ramla prior but then withdrew its forces pragmatically...Arab public opinion after this became opposed to Transjordan and the Arab legion weren't viewed as saviours of Palestine...the Egyptian government even accused them of withdrawing to put pressure on the Egyptian fighters... Relations were strained between Egypt and Jordan so when the Egyptians requested help from the Legion and didn’t really receive it...

Armistice at Rhodes...

Israelis with their growing success were becoming more demanding and Abdullah tried negotiation again...he wanted to 'unite' the remainder of Arab Palestine with Transjordan...and also sought Lydda and Ramla...the Arab part of Jerusalem would go to them and the Jewish part to the Jews...other areas were up for negotiation...what was interesting was his wording "any unacceptable results from these negotiations will bring trouble from OUR political enemies on the Arab side worse than you can imagine"...

Abdullah was starting to realise how weak his position was... This was happening as the Egyptians were getting battered...and this what eventually lead to the armistice agreement brokered by the British...the Jordanians wanted the Egyptians to lose and sign the agreement...it would mean the elimination of two rivals, King Faruq of Egypt and Husayni...also it would be good on the PR side because the Egyptians would have to be the first to openly come to terms with Israel...

Abdullah had two aims as the war was reaching its end...he wanted to retain the territory under Legion control...and wanted to extend control of the Northern part of the West Bank which at that point was being held by the Iraqi army... It was quite successful...they made sure the Iraqis didn’t provoke the Israelis and then negotiated a handover by the Iraqis to them...the Iraqis having seen what happened to Egypt preferred to return home without being defeated, without recognising Israel and without having to negotiate an armistice... Transjordan argued with Israel over the Negev desert...this was assigned to Israel in the Partition resolution but was under Transjordan control...

Abdullah though realised he wasn’t in a position to call the shots with the Israelis being stronger and the Legion withdrew...it didn’t have much of a population so it didn’t raise a furore... Abdullah also gave up the area North of Tel-Aviv...this unlike Negev had 35,000 people...and this did lead to fury in the Arab world and Palestine because it was another occasion that Transjordan gave up without a fight...and allowed for people to be turned into refugees...

Conclusion

In return Abdullah was allowed to keep the West Bank...or occupy it...the Palestinians had no choice but to seek refuge in Jordan and unlike the other Arab countries they were given refuge...

Transjordan became a bi-national state with Abdullah claiming the West Bank and the refugees who settled...there was therefore a concerted effort to build unity between the two factions... The Arab nationalist narrative has naturally attacked Abdullah for his secret dealings with Israel...some others view him as a pragmatist and realist...territorial expansion wasn't just Abdullah’s aim...the other Arab nations had their own national interests too... the story of Arab nations colluding against each other is as old as these nations themselves and continues to this day... 1948 and the creation of Israel was made possible due to this fact...

IRAQ

They were among the first to advocate intervention in the war by Arab states yet their own army did very little in the war... They called for the boycott of oil but didn’t actually implement anything...and as i mentioned in my piece on Jordan they seemed to be happy at the end to just retreat...to not engage is to not be defeated and they stayed away from the armistice talks... So what was their deal?...

Prelude to War...

In 1946 Iraqis were discussing the possibility of war with the partition of Palestine seeming ever more likely... They sought a balance of power...they knew about Abdullah's ambitions and they knew about Husayni’s...an independent Palestine wasn't on their agenda... They also had internal issues...issues of inequality and unemployment and a growth of Kurdish nationalism and the Iraqi Communist Party.. Nuri Said stepped in and largely repressed opposition...they were focused on domestic disorder and their concern with Palestine was focused on observing the behaviour of the other Arab states... Publicly the narratives were very pro-Palestinian...criticism of the White Paper, the calls for boycotts of oil to the US and Britain...they were also the first to suggest sending a joint Arab force to Palestine...and if the British didn't improve then the Arabs should arm the Palestinians... In 1947 they also recommended the Arab armies go to the borders of Palestine and that Arab air forces be prepared to attack Zionist supply lines...

British Withdrawal...

Nuri Said had done a lot of talking but little action...when the British withdrew their protest in Iraq so Abdullah was approached and was asked if Transjordan would allow some Iraqi troops to be sent to the Palestinian frontier...this was a symbolic move...to look like they were doing something...Abdullah refused...

Nuri Said at a December 1947 Arab League meeting berated the other Arab nations for doing little to help the Palestinians...they again suggested they all boycott...but again it seemed that Iraq would only boycott if other nations would... Salih Jabr at that time was also negotiating the Anglo-Iraqi treaty so whilst there was all this bluster publicly...Iraq was doing nothing on the economic nor military front... They did however link Zionism to communism and this allowed them to clamp down on communists internally...they were using the issue of Palestine to assist them internally...

Abdullahs Offer …

Abdullah tried to encourage Iraq to unify with Transjordan as part of a Hashemite kingdom...and the idea a joint Iraqi-Transjordanian occupation of Palestine... So whilst Jabr was publicly opposing the partition plan...he was telling British officials he was happy to cooperate with Abdullah and take over Palestine... One can argue that Jabr did indeed have a lot on his plate...he was trying to negotiate the British withdrawal from Iraq...and naturally this meant not doing anything that would anger Britain...luckily for them the British were happy with Abdullah’s plan...

The Coup...

January 1948 the terms of the Anglo-Iraqi deal were revealed...while Britain would withdraw all its forces the British would oversee Iraq’s military planning and the British could return to their air bases in time of war...the treaty was also given a 15 year extension from its original planned end... This led to riots in the streets...and the end of Jabr’s government with Muhammad al Sadr taking over...he was mainly focused on domestic issues...the British therefore communicated with the Regent Abd al'Ilah on Palestine...

1948

Calls for intervention by Arab countries was getting louder internally...thing is the Iraqi government weren’t too enthused...they knew they would be involving themselves on Abdallah’s terms and felt they would be fighting Abdallah’s war... That said they did get Abdullah to agree via the regent to allows Iraqi troops enter Transjordanian territory...they then dispatched 3,000 of their men...

The War

Abdullah was commander of the army but as mentioned previously most of the nations were doing their own thing...the Iraqis followed Abdullah’s lead though...for instance when Abdullah wanted his forces to fight in Jerusalem the Iraqis were asked to relieve the Legion in the northern part of the West Bank...the Iraqi army was given a purely defensive role... There weren't to be any offensive attacks on Galilee for instance because this had been designated to Israel by the UN...and even though there was fighting in Jerusalem Abdullah still wanted relations with the Israelis... The Israelis didn’t really touch the West Bank...so the Iraqis by this time had 18,000 soldiers doing nothing at all...Egypt was busy losing and Jordan and Iraq weren’t intervening...when Lydda and Ramle were being lost the Iraqis weren’t intervening...the soldiers some of whom did want to save Palestine were furious... The government continued with their double rhetoric...they recognised Husayni’s government symbolically whilst supporting Abdullah...and they helped him consolidate his control of the West Bank...when the war was being lost Egypt blamed Iraq in addition to Jordan...

Syrian Relations…

Quite a minor player...played second fiddle Hashemites to Abdullah...the end result for them was ok...Abdullah got control of the West Bank which none of the Iraqi establishment had any real objection to...they were more concerned about the other Arab countries gaining power who weren’t fans of the Hashemites... The Iraqi establishment were also happy for Abdullah to get preoccupied with Palestine because they had some territorial ambitions of their own...namely Syria...

Iraqi Withdrawal...

With Nuri Said at the helm again repression increased...with leftists being accused of supporting Zionism...and being arrested and executed...if they couldn’t fight Zionists in Israel they would do so at home...this was also the beginning of the Iraqi Jew exodus... Said also proposed plans during negotiations between Israel and the Arab states that would never have been accepted by Israel...it was a return to symbolism again...more an attempt to convince Iraqis that they had tried the best they could for Palestine...

Conclusion…

The Iraqi role can generally be described as a lot of talk and symbolic action devoid of any real substance...even when they sent their military it was largely theatre...they did nothing to prevent the establishment of Israel, nor did they want a Palestinian state which might potentially be hostile to the Hashemites as Husayni was...the Hashemite alliance it is argued is one of the key factors behind the failure of the Palestinian state emerging...they were also working within constraints relating to Britain and seeking their own national interests...Palestine was at the bottom of their list...

SYRIA

As mentioned the primary concern for the Arab states was disputes with each other...for Syria their concern was the Hashemites becoming a dominant power... For the Arabs Palestine was mainly about balance of power...in Syria Quwwatli the President was interested in protecting his countries independence... They were worried about Abdullah not the Israelis...

Abdullah wanted to unite the Arab lands of Palestine, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan...with the capital being Damascus... Abdullah had encouraged dissent in Syria and Quwwatli was understandably worried about what a victory for Jordan would bring...Syria also had no great power to protect it as the French left them in 1946...independence made Syria vulnerable... They therefore joined Egypt and Saudi Arabia and formed the anti-Hashemite bloc...all of Syria’s actions during the war were related to protecting its independence...the Palestinians and Jews didn’t matter...

Internal Problems …

Abdullah had fomented dissension in the Syrian military so Quwwatli doubted their loyalty...the army built by the French was formed from Syria’s minorities as they were more likely to fight the nationalists that the French opposed...Quwwatli a Sunni didn’t trust this army... He slashed the army from 30,000 to 6,000 and slashed any goodwill along with it...and actually decided against arming his army...he couldn’t get rid of his army but also feared strengthening it lest they remove him through a coup... Consequently there were those in the army who did start looking towards Abdullah...and in 1947 British sources suggest that 50-75% of the Syrian military supported Abdullah’s Greater Syria plan...

Druze…

One of those groups that approached Abdullah were the Druze...they had it good under the French but less so post independence...where Quwwatli quite carelessly tried to repress them...consequently the Druze chieftains asked Abdullah to annex the Druze region and to go further into Damascus...

Encirclement

So the army was weak...and if anything Quwwatli declaring his support for Husayni was nothing more than expressing support for the enemies opponent... Abdullah had also encircled Syria with alliances...Turkey and Iraq had expressed support for the Greater Syria plan...

Alliance

Syria requested assistance from the Saudis...they said they weren’t willing to ruin their friendship with Britain for the sake of Syria...the same with Faruq in Egypt...however they did eventually form a military alliance...the Saudis massed troops on the Jordanian border as a response...

Public Opinion

Like all the Arab countries the public were quite vociferous in their opposition to what was happening in Palestine...many Syrian volunteers were fighting in the war…The Syrian army was weak and unprepared...but much like Faruk the main goal for intervention by Quwwatli was to protect Syria from Abdullah...

Aims of War

Prior to the British leaving Palestine Quwwatli had set up and build the Army of Liberation which was an irregular army fighting in the war... The army itself wasn't even there to fight the Jews...it was there to prevent Abdullahs advance...Fawzi al-Qawuqji the commander in chief of the ALA acknowledges this fact...

The War

The ALA soldiers were stationed in the North and in Arab districts which Abdullah planned to annex...they were in the West Bank...they weren’t going to Jerusalem, Haifa etc...basically where the Palestinians were engaged in the most intense fighting... With Haifa falling the ALA were given orders to not help the falling areas...the Palestinian irregulars asked Quwwatli for help and Quwwatli refused because like the rest they could all agree on their opposition to Husayni... Quwwatli tried to ensure his fighters didn’t engage with Israeli forces... The Syrian army did eventually enter the fray and were routed initially but they took Tiberias...they took 66.5km of land in all and thats about all their activity... Amusingly with the ALA not being given the assistance they wanted they approached Abdullah...Qawugji who was in Palestine to work against Abdullah was now discussing greater Syria... Syria was the first in and the last out because they felt peace benefited Jordan...

Conclusion

While they didn’t directly attack each other the Arabs were busy undermining each other...nowhere is that more evident than in Syria and its fear of Jordan expansion...Palestinians and Jews didn’t matter to Quwwatli...

LEBANON

National Pact

French rule had meant that a corrupt client system existed here after the first World War...in 1943 the Maronites and the Sunnis formed the National Pact which was an unwritten alliance which set the scene for independence...the deal was that the President would be Maronite, PM a Sunni and the president of the chamber of deputies a Shia... The idea was Christians would eschew French rule and the Muslims would renounce their goals of becoming part of a Greater Syria... There was a lot of opposition to this...some of the Christians saw this as a threat to their dominance and thus saw the Jews as allies...some church leaders were openly pro-Zionist... The Phalange a far right Christian group signed a pact with the Zionists in 1920...and there was a lot of evidence of Christian collusion in general... The idea of a Christian uprising in Beirut was mentioned dependent on the Israelis invading South Lebanon. in 1948... Ben-Gurion wasn’t sure...because there were plenty of Christians who preferred the National pact... Other than the Maronites the Druze also associated with Zionists...and worked with the IDF...

Army

The commander was a Maronite and the army was a new one...they had four battalions and only one was used in the war...the army was 66% Christian...Shias weren’t educated enough...Sunnis educated and thus boycotted.. They weren't ready for any sort of conflict in 1948 and were still essentially reorganising...the arms embargo and a lack of funding also meant they weren't capable of much... They were mainly used internally for anti-bandit operations...and were getting battered for the most part...they couldn’t handle bandits so how were they gonna handle war?... They were also somewhat concerned about Syrian expansion into their territory... And the fact that the army was so Christian the thought process in the UN for instance was that they wouldn’t get involved... Maronite clergy were opposed to war...unlike the other Arab countries there wasn’t so much fervour for war here...

The War

They prevented irregulars from going through Lebanon...they also ruled that they would only attack if forced to reply to Jewish attacks... Israel did occupy villages on the Lebanese side of the border and the army were instructed to do nothing...

Malikiyya

Galilee which had been allotted to the Arabs in the UN settlement was taken over by the Israelis...the Lebanese were asked to fight by the Arab league and Chehab said they weren’t strong enough to fight...and in short wouldn’t do anything in Palestine... However with the presence of the ALA, Israel targeting South Lebanon and angry Muslims the ruling elite decided on a token attack...they had to be seen to be doing something so they did one thing...they took Malikiyya and the Israelis took it back not long after...it was a place that offered no strategic threat to Israel...they handed it over to the ALA and went back to Lebanon... It was a face saving exercise and like many things during this war...symbolic...their media claimed 100 Israelis dead when in reality it was 8...

Israel Expansion

After Gallilee the Israelis advanced to Lebanon and stopped at the Litani river...they weren't opposed...fourteen to twenty Lebanese villages and the army sat back...

Conclusion

Lebanon didn’t confront Israel...nor did it help with the Arab effort...their soldiers had little desire to attack nor to defend...they had one sole symbolic moment in the conflict...

SAUDI ARABIA

Saudi textbooks speak about the wonderful things Ibn Saud did for Palestine...how much of that is true?...

Prewar

For starters the British told Ibn Saud to not side with Husayni...and Ibn Saud responded in the affirmative whilst also stating his concern about the Hashemites... Also there was the issue of the 'general Arab feeling' about Palestine... That said Ibn Saud assured Britain he was their friend and said he would advise the Palestinians to remain peaceful...

Partition

Ibn Saud was opposed to the partition of Palestine...he wanted Britain to establish a constitutional government which only included the then current residents of Palestine with protection of the Holy sites... He was concerned that Abdullah would try and incorporate Jerusalem...if anything he wanted the British mandate to remain... Saud was seeking legitimacy among the Arabs after the occupation of the Hijaz and threatened other territorial claims namely Aqaba and Maan and enter Abdullahs realm...

Public Opinion

As odd as this sounds very little for the simple reason that they had little access to external news...Saudi had one newspaper and illiteracy was very high...its bizarre to think most in Saudi had no clue what was happening in Israel...those that did get information probably got it from bedouins or pilgrims...

British Letters

Most of Sauds letters to Britain revealed as mentioned Sauds concern about Abdullah...Palestine was a Saudi-Hashemite rivalry for them... It also had an internal affect as Saud preferred developing Najd instead of the Hijaz...

1945

Saud starts sending letters complaining about the possible Jewish state...he also mentioned how the Ulama were putting him in a tough position...

The War

They opposed the partition... Saudi sources say that as many as 200,000 Saudis were ready to fight...they sent 1,200...with little equipment or ammo...untrained too... Most sources for other Arab nations have interpreted or left things out deliberately...Saudi sources have outright created things... The forces themselves were sent with the Syrians...they didn’t want to send them to the Egyptians who were suffering losses by fighting... There is little on what they actually did...

Conclusion

Its odd because Saudi has almost suggested they did the most...they opposed partition for the same reason as the rest of the nations...the prospect of Hashemite domination... Lack of involvement in Palestine also relates to the strong relations between the British and Ibn Saud...

 

[PakLFC]

Palestine is holding it's own here firing zillions of rockets in to Israel. They are showing more guts then all Arab countries combined making the Zionists run for their lives. Naturally, they are also taking a beating too yet refusing to compromise on what rightfully belongs to them. It is gonna get worse now with other countries getting involved. The two state solution is not gonna work at all, it is a winner takes all scenario much like Kashmir. Currently the Jews/Zionists are just to smart for the Palestinians in every way. They all Arab leaders and even their people in it's pocket. Even our own pacifist PM only has standard comments to offer.

 

[MenInG]

Hamas militants have launched dozens of rockets at Israel after Israeli air strikes killed senior commanders and felled a multi-storey building in Gaza.

The escalation of the fighting, which began on Monday, has prompted the UN to warn of a "full-scale war".

The conflict has also triggered a wave of street violence in Israel between Jews and Israeli Arabs. Political leaders have appealed for calm.

At least 67 people in Gaza and seven people in Israel have been killed.

The fighting erupted on Monday after weeks of rising Israeli-Palestinian tension in East Jerusalem which culminated in clashes at a holy site revered by Muslims and Jews.

For a second day, there was violence in areas of Israel with mixed Jewish and Arab populations. More than 374 people were arrested and 36 officers were injured, Israeli police said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking late on Wednesday night, said he planned to send in military forces to help police maintain order in cities ruptured by violence.

Mr Netanyahu said the attacks in recent days amounted to "anarchy".

"Nothing can justify an Arab mob assaulting Jews, and nothing can justify a Jewish mob assaulting Arabs," he said in a video statement, as reported by the Times of Israel.

An Israeli firefighter stands near a burning Israeli police car during clashes between Israeli police and members of the country's Arab minority in the Arab-Jewish town of Lod, Israel May 12, 2021.

Palestinian militants have been firing rockets into Israel since Monday night, and Israel has responded by hitting targets in the territory.

On Thursday morning, the IDF said about 1,500 rockets had been fired from Gaza into Israeli cities since hostilities escalated at the start of this week.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says that more than 400 people have been injured there since the conflict began, in addition to the 67 who have died.

Mr Netanyahu said the government would use all its strength to protect Israel from enemies on the outside and rioters on the inside.

But the Palestinian Authority condemned Israel's "military aggression" in a tweet, saying it was "traumatising an already beleaguered population of two million people".

BBC

 

[OMB]

Israel bombs high-rise buildings as Gaza marks sombre Eid: Live

Gaza authorities say 69 Palestinians killed, including 17 children; seven people died in Israel; violence also spreading within Israel.

Israeli fighter jets have attacked high-rise buildings and other targets in the Gaza Strip as Palestinians in the besieged enclave woke up on Thursday to mark the Eid al-Fitr religious holiday under relentless aerial bombardment.

Since the Israeli offensive began late on Monday, Gaza’s health ministry says at least 69 people, including 17 children, have been killed. More than 390 others have been wounded.

At least six Israelis have also been killed. The Israeli army said hundreds of rockets have been fired from Gaza towards various locations in Israel and they have added reinforcements near the enclave’s eastern lands.

There have also been more violent confrontations between Jewish Israelis and Palestinian citizens of Israel in several cities inside Israel.

Here are the latest updates:

(08:31 GMT)
1,600 rockets fired from Gaza: Israel’s military
More than 1,600 rockets have been launched from Gaza at Israel since the latest flare-up of fighting
began earlier this week, according to Israel’s military.


Around 400 went down over Gaza, spokesman Jonathan Conricus said. The success rate of Israel’s Iron Dome aerial defence system continues to average around 90 per cent at intercepting rockets, he added.

Israel’s military has attacked around 600 targets in the Gaza Strip, including rocket production and storage facilities.

A tunnel was also targeted that Conricus said was used partially to hide fighters and was built under a school in a populated area.

10 mins ago (08:27 GMT)
Fresh Israeli air raid on Rafah city
The city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip has been hit by a fresh Israeli air raid, while a barrage of rockets were launched from Gaza towards Israeli cities close to the enclave, Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim, reporting from Ramallah, said.


“Gaza is a relatively small piece of land with two million Palestinians – one of the most condensed areas in the world so you can imagine the impact of these targets,” said Ibrahim.

“It is also such a closed zone the chances of hitting civilians gets very high as Palestinians can tell you from previous wars,” she added.

52 mins ago (07:45 GMT)
Israel destroys third Gaza tower

1 hour ago (07:26 GMT)
In Sheikh Jarrah, Palestinians confront the city’s future
What started out as protests against forced expulsions in a Palestinian neighbourhood has turned into an Israeli crackdown that’s engulfed much of occupied East Jerusalem, including holy sites like Al Aqsa Mosque.

But Sheikh Jarrah is just one neighbourhood, and displacements are unfolding across the occupied territories.

As the reverberations in Sheikh Jarrah spread beyond, how will it impact the future of Palestinians in Jerusalem?

1 hour ago (07:23 GMT)
‘Take a step back’: UK minister
Britain’s minister for the Middle East has urged “both sides to take a step back” from the brink of what he described as a terrible escalation.

“We have seen however an unprecedented level of rocket attack into Israel,” James Cleverly, a junior foreign minister who deals with the Middle East and North Africa, told Sky News. “We want to see the rocket attacks stop.”

1 hour ago (07:23 GMT)
Preparing for ‘multiple scenarios’: Israel military
Israel’s military spokesman Jonathan Conricus said attacks on Gaza will continue as Israel prepares for “multiple scenarios”.

“We have ground units that are prepared and are in various stages of preparing ground operations,” he told reporters Thursday.

2 hours ago (06:16 GMT)
Eid prayers
Hundreds of worshippers have attended Eid prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City, Islam’s third holiest site.

Religious leaders called for calm on the day that marks the end of Ramadan for Muslims around the world.

https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2021/5/13/israel-bombs-high-rise-buildings-as-gaza-marks-deadly-eid-live?__twitter_impression=true

 

[MenInG]

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Thursday appealed to the 65 million Muslims residing in Europe to play an active role and raise their voice against the heinous attacks by Israeli forces on the Palestinians.

At least 67 people have been killed in Gaza since violence escalated on May 10, according to the enclave's health ministry. Seven people have been killed in Israel, medical officials said.

Hamas launched retaliatory rockets strikes at Tel Aviv and toward Jerusalem early on Thursday and Israel vowed to keep pummelling the faction in Gaza despite a prediction by US President Joe Biden that their fiercest hostilities in years might end soon.

While talking to the media in Multan today, FM Qureshi said Muslim Parliamentarians in Europe and Britain are effective voices and they should raise the Palestine issue and influence in solving the ongoing crisis in Palestine.

"Pakistan is making efforts to mobilize the international community to intervene for the safety of Palestinians from the brutalities of Israeli forces," he added.

The foreign minister further added that the entire Pakistani nation was standing firm and united with Kashmiri and Palestinian brethren to resolve their issues.

He added that the Afghan peace process had also been discussed in the last trilateral meeting held in Turkey and the foreign office was making efforts for another conference in Turkey after Eid to find a way forward in settling the issue.

"Border fencing is being completed and our jawans laid their lives for the protection of borders of Pakistan," FM Qureshi added.

Qureshi further maintained that Pakistani prisoners, who are in lock-ups in Saudi prisons for minor crimes, would benefit from the MoU recently signed in Jeddah by him.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed also strongly condemned the Israeli oppression against the unarmed Palestinians.

"The people of Palestine and Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir will see the dawn of independence," he said.

Express Tribune

 

[MenInG]

Violence in Gaza and Israel shows no sign of abating amid continued rocket fire and air strikes, and civil unrest among Jewish and Israeli Arab mobs.

Deaths continue to mount, with at least 83 people now killed in Gaza and seven in Israel.

A BBC reporter in Gaza said it had been the "longest and most difficult night since the 2014 war". Israel said it had been targeted with 1,600 rockets.

Israel is now mulling a possible ground operation in Gaza.

 

[MenInG]

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday called the President of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the ongoing situation in Palestine.

During the phone call, PM Khan reaffirmed Pakistan’s steadfast support for the rights of Palestinian people and their legitimate struggle.

The prime minister reassured president Abbas of Pakistan’s efforts in mobilising the international community against flagrant violations of human rights and international law.

He re-affirmed Pakistani leadership’s complete support during this time of crisis, the PM Office said in a press release.

President Abbas welcomed Pakistan’s support and appreciated the Pakistani leadership’s response and its statements condemning Israel’s attacks in Gaza and Al-Aqsa Mosque.

 

[Tommo]

Israel needs to be put under heavy sanctions and must be called out for it's state sponsored terro*ism at every opportunity.

 

[Rana]

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday called the President of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the ongoing situation in Palestine.

During the phone call, PM Khan reaffirmed Pakistan’s steadfast support for the rights of Palestinian people and their legitimate struggle.

The prime minister reassured president Abbas of Pakistan’s efforts in mobilising the international community against flagrant violations of human rights and international law.

He re-affirmed Pakistani leadership’s complete support during this time of crisis, the PM Office said in a press release.

President Abbas welcomed Pakistan’s support and appreciated the Pakistani leadership’s response and its statements condemning Israel’s attacks in Gaza and Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Send your soldiers on the frontline if you really care Khan sab!

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/biden-expects-spiralling-israel-gaza-conflict-end-soon-2021-05-12/

Palestinian militants fired more rockets into Israel’s commercial heartland on Thursday as Israel kept up a punishing bombing campaign in Gaza and massed tanks and troops on the enclave’s border.

The four days of cross-border violence showed no sign of abating and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the campaign “will take more time”.

The violence has also spread to mixed communities of Jews and Arabs in Israel, a new front in the long conflict.

Synagogues were attacked and fighting broke out on the streets of some communities, prompting Israel’s president to warn of the danger of civil war.

Worried that the region’s worst hostilities in years could spiral out of control, the United States is sending an envoy, Hady Amr. Truce efforts by Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations have so far offered no sign of progress.

In renewed air strikes on Gaza, Israeli warplanes struck a six-storey residential building that it said belonged to Hamas, the Islamist group that controls the Palestinian enclave. Netanyahu said Israel has struck close to a thousand militant targets in Gaza in total.

At least 83 people have been killed in Gaza since violence escalated on Monday, medics said, further straining hospitals already under heavy pressure during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are facing Israel and Covid-19. We are in between two enemies,” said Asad Karam, 20, a construction worker, standing beside a road damaged during the air strikes. An electricity pole had collapsed by the road, its wires severed.

A Palestinian rocket had earlier crashed into a building near Israel’s commercial capital of Tel Aviv, injuring five Israelis, police said. Seven people have been killed in Israel since hostilities began, the Israeli military said.

Israel has prepared combat troops along the Gaza border and was in “various stages of preparing ground operations”, a military spokesman said, a move that would recall similar incursions during Israel-Gaza wars in 2014 and 2008-2009.

Hamas armed wing spokesman Abu Ubaida responded to the troop buildup with defiance, urging Palestinians to rise up.

“Mass up as you wish, from the sea, land and sky. We have prepared for your kinds of deaths that would make you curse yourselves,” he said.

BIDEN’S HOPES

Health authorities in Gaza said they were investigating the deaths of several people overnight who they said may have inhaled poisonous gas.

U.S. President Joe Biden said he hoped fighting “will be closing down” sooner rather than later. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called for an “urgent de-escalation” of violence

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel will continue strikes against the military capabilities of Hamas and other Gaza groups. Hamas is regarded as a terrorist group by the United States and Israel.

On Wednesday, Israeli forces killed a senior Hamas commander and bombed several buildings which Israel said were linked to the faction’s activities.

Israel launched its offensive after Hamas fired rockets at Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in retaliation for Israeli police clashes with Palestinians near al-Aqsa mosque in East Jerusalem during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

The hostilities have opened a new front by fuelling tension between Israeli Jews and the country’s 21% Arab minority who live alongside them in some communities.

Jewish and Arab groups attacked people and damaged shops, hotels and cars overnight. In Bat Yam, south of Tel Aviv, dozens of Jews beat and kicked a man thought to be an Arab as he lay on the ground.

One person was shot and badly wounded by Arabs in the town of Lod, where authorities imposed a curfew, and over 150 arrests were made in Lod and Arab towns in northern Israel, police said.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin called for an end to “this madness”.

“We are endangered by rockets that are being launched at our citizens and streets, and we are busying ourselves with a senseless civil war among ourselves,” he said.

FLIGHTS CANCELLED

A number of foreign carriers have cancelled flights to Israel because of the unrest.

The fatalities in Israel include a soldier killed while patrolling the Gaza border and six civilians, including two children and an Indian worker, medical authorities said.

Gaza’s health ministry said 17 of the people killed in the enclave were children and seven were women. The Israeli military said some 400 of 1,600 rockets fired by Gaza factions had fallen short, potentially causing some Palestinian civilian casualties.

The conflict has led to the freezing of talks by Netanyahu’s opponents on forming a governing coalition to unseat him after Israel’s inconclusive March 23 election.

Although the latest problems in Jerusalem were the immediate trigger for hostilities, Palestinians are frustrated by setbacks to their aspirations for an independent state in recent years, including Washington’s recognition of disputed Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

 

[Saj]

Tweets, hashtags and words will not make any difference at all.

Proper action is needed by the international community.

 

[Zaz]

Tweets, hashtags and words will not make any difference at all.

Proper action is needed by the international community.

The west arent going to do anything Neither will the UN or their condemnations The muslims must mobilise themselves

Either the muslim countries stand up and force action or forget about palestine and Al Aqsa

 

[MenInG]

Israel has deployed tanks and troops to its border with Gaza, as it mulls whether to launch a ground operation in the territory after days of violence.

Conflict raged throughout Thursday as Palestinian militants fired rockets into Israel and the Israeli army maintained a barrage of air strikes.

More than 100 people have been killed in Gaza and seven have died in Israel.

Jewish and Israeli Arab mobs have also been fighting within Israel, prompting the president to warn of civil war.

Defence Minister Benny Gantz ordered a "massive reinforcement" of security forces to suppress the internal unrest, and more than 400 people were arrested.

Two infantry units and one armoured unit were positioned near the border with Gaza on Thursday. At least 7,000 army reservists have also been called up.

No decision has yet been made on whether to launch a ground operation. The Israeli army is expected to put forward plans for a possible offensive imminently, but it would need to be approved by army chiefs and various levels of government.

The four-days of violence in Gaza and Israel is the worst since 2014. It was initially fuelled by weeks of Israeli-Palestinian tension in East Jerusalem which led to clashes at a holy site revered by both Muslims and Jews. This spiralled into an incessant exchange of Palestinian rocket fire and Israeli airstrikes.

In other developments on Thursday:

Three rockets were fired from Lebanon into the sea off the coast of northern Israel, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. No group said they were responsible, but several militant groups operate in Lebanon, including Hezbollah which fought a month-long war with Israel in 2006
Israel's military said it had hit targets in Gaza that included intelligence buildings and homes and businesses used by militants
The Palestinian militant group Hamas, meanwhile, fired further barrages of rockets towards Israel from Gaza, and a spokesman for the group said it had shown "only a small part" of its capabilities
Further violence broke out between Jewish and Israeli Arab groups in mixed towns and cities within Israel
International airlines, including KLM, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, have suspended services to Israel. Incoming flights were also diverted south from Tel Aviv's main airport
According to the health ministry in Gaza, at least 103 people have been killed in the four-days of conflict. Officials in the territory, which is controlled by the Islamist militant group Hamas, many civilians have died including 27 children.

Israel says dozens of those killed in Gaza were militants, and that some of the deaths are from misfired rockets from Gaza.

In the Israeli city of Sderot, a young boy was killed when rocket fire from Gaza hit his home, and shrapnel penetrated the shelter he was hiding in.

Israel has also called up 10 reserve border patrol companies to help tackle the worst unrest between Arab and Jewish communities for many years. Political leaders have appealed for calm, and President Reuven Rivlin described the outbreaks of rioting in several towns and cities as "senseless civil war".

There have been widespread calls for de-escalation, including from Israel's ally the US, but little sign of the conflict easing.

A senior Hamas official said the group was ready for a "reciprocal" ceasefire if the international community pressures Israel to "suppress military actions" at the disputed Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

However, Israeli military spokesman Hilda Zilberman said Israel was not seeking a ceasefire at the current time, the Times of Israel reported.

BBC

 

[finalfantasy7]

must watch video

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oVZJZSzFkbc" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[90MPH]

IDF has just tweeted they have started a ground invasion.

 

[MenInG]

President Joe Biden on Thursday said he had not seen a "significant overreaction" in Israel's offensive in Gaza, which has included devastating airstrikes that have leveled buildings and killed dozens of people.

"One of the things that I have seen thus far is that there has not been a significant overreaction," Biden said during a press briefing, adding that the goal was to see a reduction in rockets flying into Israel from Gaza.

The region is witnessing the worst violence since the 50-day war in 2014. The Israeli military has been pummeling Gaza with airstrikes — in some cases leveling apartment buildings — as Hamas and other militant groups fire hundreds of rockets toward Israel.

Israel has rebuffed any discussions of a cease-fire and vowed to continue the offensive.

At least 83 people in Gaza have been killed, including 17 children, BBC News reported, while at least seven Israelis have been killed. The International Criminal Court's top prosecutor has said she's monitoring the fighting for war crimes.

Israel on Thursday prepared ground troops along the border with Gaza, raising the possibility of an invasion. Riots and violence between Jews and Arabs have filled the streets of several Israeli cities, moving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to warn against "lynching."

After a phone call with Netanyahu, Biden on Wednesday defended Israel's right to self-defense and condemned Hamas over the rocket attacks. The president did not express concerns about Israeli military tactics or the rising death toll on the Palestinian side.

"Israel has a right to defend itself when you have thousands of rockets flying into your territory," Biden told reporters, adding, "My hope is that we'll see this coming to a conclusion sooner than later."

Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York said Biden's remarks dehumanized Palestinians and lacked important context on what catalyzed the bloodshed.

Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and treatment of Palestinians, which rights groups have increasingly decried as a form of apartheid, are at the heart of the tensions fueling the violence. The historically contentious dynamic has been exacerbated recently by planned evictions of Palestinians out of a neighborhood in East Jerusalem and by an Israeli police raid on Monday at an important Muslim holy site during Ramadan.

With no permanent US ambassador in Israel, Biden was in many ways unprepared for the recent violence in the region. The State Department on Wednesday announced it was "immediately" sending an envoy to the region as part of an effort to deescalate tensions.

https://www.businessinsider.com/bid...-overreaction-in-israel-gaza-offensive-2021-5

 

[MenInG]

According to the Israeli Defence Forces:

Throughout the night, approximately 160 IDF aircraft from 12 squadrons struck over 150 underground targets in the northern Gaza Strip.

Parallel to the Air Force strikes, ground forces, artillery and armored troops deployed along the border and fired hundreds of artillery shells and dozens of tank shells against targets in the Gaza Strip.

During the strike, the purpose of which was to severely damage the strategically important underground tunnels belonging to Hamas, many kilometres of the tunnel network were destroyed.

 

[saeedhk]

Pakistan is celebrating Youm-e-Falesteen (Day of Palestine) today. It does not get better than this. Will we ever celebrate Youm-e-Yemen, or Youm-e-Uyghur?

 

[MenInG]

Thread is about the atrocities in Gaza/Al Aqsa.

Suggest people stick to the topic.

 

[OMB]

Israel-Gaza violence: Israel carries out attacks on Gaza Strip — live updates



After amassing troops at the Gaza border, the Israel Defense Forces say they've carried out airstrikes against a vast network of Palestinian militant tunnels in Gaza City. Follow DW for the latest.

Parts of northern Gaza have been hit by heavy airstrikes and artillery
The Israeli army says it targeted a huge network of Palestinian militant tunnels
Hamas has fired dozens of rockets towards Israel in retaliation
Israelis living near the Gaza border have rushed to bomb shelters
The IDF has said no troops are currently on the ground within the Gaza Strip
At least 119 Palestinians have died, according to Gaza's Health Ministry
Nine people have been killed in Israel

Fresh clashes in the West Bank
Clashes broke out early Friday between Palestinians and Israeli forces in several parts of the West Bank where a protest had been taking place, the Maan news agency reported.

Earlier, the agency said on Facebook that similar clashes were underway at a refugee camp in Hebron and in the northern city of Jenin. The WAFA news agency said 10 Palestinians were injured by live fire from Israeli soldiers near the separation barrier in northeast Jenin.

Watch video02:06
Mob violence as Arabs and Jews face off
Palestinian death toll hits 119
The Palestinian Health Ministry said, as of Friday morning, 119 Palestinians have died and 830 have been injured since the conflict erupted last week.

Health officials in northern Gaza said a woman and her three children were killed during the Israeli airstrikes overnight, that targeted a network of Palestinian militant tunnels. Their bodies were recovered from the rubble of their home.

Nine Israelis have been killed, according to Israeli media. The most recent were the deaths of two women — one elderly — while running to air-raid shelters.

Israel strikes tunnel network under Gaza City
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Friday some 160 of its aircraft struck a network of tunnels under Gaza City, which had been dug by the Islamic militant group, Hamas. The midnight airstrikes, lasting nearly 40 minutes, dropped 450 missiles on 150 targets.

The military said it was the largest strike since the fighting broke out earlier this week.

Video footage shared on social media, and taken on Friday morning, purportedly shows the destruction of several buildings.

The IDF also said Friday it shot down a Hamas drone that had crossed into the Jewish-majority state.

Rockets fired from Gaza continued to pound southern Israel on Friday morning, The Times of Israel reported.

Two men wounded in Ashkelon from Gaza rocket barrage
Two men have been wounded and taken to a local hospital in the Israeli city of Ashkelon, following a barrage of rockets from Gaza. The Israeli emergency medical service Magen David Adom said a man in his 50s was in serious condition and taken in for treatment due to shrapnel in his stomach.

Another man in his 90s was in stable condition and taken in for treatment due to a head injury.

Palestinians stage rallies in West Bank against Gaza operation
Palestinians in the West Bank cities of Nablus, Hebron and Jenin staged massive rallies in solidarity with Gaza, according to Palestinian local media. The Palestinian Safa Press Agency tweeted a video of a march in Nablus against the Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip.

Police in Nablus are using gas canisters to disperse the crowds, the Al-Jazeera Mubasher channel has reported.

UN calls for ceasefire out of respect for Muslim holiday
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on all sides to commit to a ceasefire out of respect for the ongoing Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

"Out of respect for the spirit of Eid, I appeal for an immediate deescalation and cessation of hostilities in Gaza and Israel," Guterres tweeted. "Too many innocent civilians have already died. This conflict can only increase radicalization and extremism in the whole region."

Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan in the Islamic faith. Muslims typically celebrate the holiday by congregating for prayer and eating a special meal, among other practices.

The UN Security Council said it will publicly discuss the escalating situation on Sunday.

IDF clarifies Gaza operations after misleading tweet
An earlier tweet from the IDF about its military operations towards Gaza appeared to cause confusion over whether its troops had actually entered the Palestinian enclave.

Two hours after issuing the tweet, the IDF published a clarification that there was an "internal communication" problem, and said there were "no soldiers" in Hamas-controlled areas of Gaza.

"There are currently no IDF ground troops inside the Gaza Strip. IDF air and ground forces are carrying out strikes on targets in the Gaza Strip," the clarification said.

Israel says troops deployed to Gaza Strip
Israel said it has deployed troops to the Gaza Strip late Thursday, but the extent of their operations is unclear.

"IDF air and ground troops are currently attacking in the Gaza Strip," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a tweet.

IDF spokesperson John Conricus confirmed an operation involving ground troops in comments to AFP news agency.

When asked by Germany's DPA news agency about the operation, an IDF spokeswoman would not say whether troops had actually entered the Gaza Strip, of if they are carrying out operations from the Israeli side of the border.

Early Friday morning saw some of the heaviest artillery fire and airstrikes on Gaza since hostilities began.

A new barrage of rockets from Gaza followed the IDF announcement. Rocket alarms went off across southern Israel in the cities of Ashdod and Beersheba early Friday, with Hamas saying it shot off 50 rockets toward the area, the Times of Israel newspaper reported.

Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video message that military operations against Hamas would "go on as long as possible" and that Hamas would "pay a very high price."

Hamas warns against ground invasion
A Hamas spokesperson late Thursday warned that the Israeli military would suffer heavy casualties if its troops entered Gaza.

Earlier Thursday, chief Israeli military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Hidai Zilberman, said troops were massing along the Gaza border for a possible ground operation. He said tanks, armored vehicles and artillery were being prepared "for mobilization at any given moment.''

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Thursday he had approved the mobilization of an additional 9,000 reservists, two days after the army mobilized 5,000 reservists.

Israeli troops last entered the Gaza Strip in 2014 during Operation Protective Edge against Hamas.

https://www.dw.com/en/israel-gaza-violence-israel-carries-out-attacks-on-gaza-strip-live-updates/a-57523455

 

[OMB]

UN Security Council to meet on Sunday about Israel, Gaza
The UN Security Council will publicly discuss the worsening violence between Israel and Palestinian militants on Sunday, diplomats said, reaching a compromise over US objections to a meeting on Friday. Diplomats said the United States, a close ally of Israel, had initially suggested a virtual public meeting could be held on Tuesday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday he hoped waiting a few days would allow for “diplomacy to have some effect and to see if indeed we get a real de-escalation,” adding that Washington was “open to and supportive of a discussion, an open discussion, at the United Nations.”

Hostilities entered their fifth day on Friday, with no sign of abating. Israel fired artillery and mounted more air strikes against Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip amid constant rocket fire deep into Israel’s commercial centre. The 15-member council has met privately twice this week about the worst hostilities in the region in years, but has so far been unable to agree on a public statement, diplomats said.

Such statements are agreed to by consensus, and the United States did not believe it would be helpful, they said.All council members also have to agree to a meeting under rules guiding the body’s virtual operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Israel unleashed its offensive on militants in Gaza after Hamas fired rockets at Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in retaliation for Israeli police clashes with Palestinians near al-Aqsa mosque in East Jerusalem during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.Worried that hostilities could spiral out of control, the United States is sending an envoy to the region.“The US will continue to actively engage in diplomacy at the highest levels to try to de-escalate tensions,” US.

Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield posted on Twitter after the Sunday meeting was agreed.Truce efforts by Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations have so far offered no sign of progress.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he hoped waiting a few days would allow for “diplomacy to have some effect and to see if indeed we get a real de-escalation,” adding that Washington was “open to and supportive of a discussion, an open discussion, at the United Nations."

https://indianexpress.com/article/world/un-security-council-to-meet-on-sunday-about-israel-gaza-7314629/

 

[Waqar's inswinging yorker]

Pakistan is celebrating Youm-e-Falesteen (Day of Palestine) today. It does not get better than this. Will we ever celebrate Youm-e-Yemen, or Youm-e-Uyghur?

Why the we?

I do not understand how supposed 'Pakistani's' levy such never ending criticisms- way beyond constructive or balanced criticism.

Sure,Sure- but 'we'....... saeedhk,mamoon et al. Pull the other one

 

[Mamoon]

Pakistan is celebrating Youm-e-Falesteen (Day of Palestine) today. It does not get better than this. Will we ever celebrate Youm-e-Yemen, or Youm-e-Uyghur?

It will be as successful as the Kashmir Day.

I am sure come September, we will ride Ertugrul’s horse to the UN and give a bombastic speech in front of the whole world in the general assembly session.

I am sure Israel will be quaking in its boots after witnessing our valor.

 

[Mamoon]

Muslims and muslim states cannot touch Israel.

The intelligence of the Israelis, their work ethic, their dedication - they operate at a completely different.

The Jews are the most brilliant people on earth. No wonder they believe that they are the chosen one.

We the Muslims can only marvel at their achievements and contribution to science, finance, banking etc. they are a small group of people who didn’t even have a home until 70 years ago and were persecuted everywhere, but that did not stop them from influencing the world.

No wonder the major Muslim countries like KSA and UAE in recent times have changed their foreign policy and developed diplomatic and strategic ties with Israel because they know that forging relations with a competent and intelligent country like Israel serves their interests.

The Muslim countries are up to no good. They are empty vessels that make a lot of noise. They can show eyes to Israel but cannot get anywhere near them and match their achievements.

 

[SpiritOf1903]

Pakistan is celebrating Youm-e-Falesteen (Day of Palestine) today. It does not get better than this. Will we ever celebrate Youm-e-Yemen, or Youm-e-Uyghur?

I think you know the importance of Al Aqsa but poor trolling

 

[bones]

The intelligence of the Israelis, their work ethic, their dedication - they operate at a completely different.

The Jews are the most brilliant people on earth. No wonder they believe that they are the chosen one.

Have you ever questioned why? Why is it that such a small nation is able to flourish whereas many others haven’t? Some countries are quite developed and have large populations with high rates of literacy yet they cannot flourish in the same way. Why?

We the Muslims can only marvel at their achievements and contribution to science, finance, banking etc. they are a small group of people who didn’t even have a home until 70 years ago and were persecuted everywhere, but that did not stop them from influencing the world.

No Muslim, Christian or any moral person can marvel at their contribution to the financing or banking sectors. If you think that you should be banned for your ignorance. Their financing system is the root of all evil (remember what they say about Money?). The reason they have flourished is because through Usury and being money lenders, they managed to accumulate enough wealth to buy/bribe many countries. The average person, including you clearly doesn’t have a clue just how evil their (the world’s financial) system is. I personally think you haven’t got a clue about the real world and believe everything you’re fed through mainstream media, which sadly they control as well.
Your next point about them being persecuted everywhere, perhaps you need to ask why? A Muslim or Christian or Buddhist will never say that non-believers of their religion should be slaves for them. Yet many Jews believe that NON-Jews should be their slaves. Watch some youtube videos on this topic if you doubt me, I can dig up some examples if you like.
As for your point on influencing the world, I’ll get to that in the next section.

No wonder the major Muslim countries like KSA and UAE in recent times have changed their foreign policy and developed diplomatic and strategic ties with Israel because they know that forging relations with a competent and intelligent country like Israel serves their interests.

The Muslim countries are up to no good. They are empty vessels that make a lot of noise. They can show eyes to Israel but cannot get anywhere near them and match their achievements.

Throughout history Jews have acted as the money lenders and through wars and political games amassed unimaginable wealth. It is totally disproportionate to the size of the population and whilst you might class that as intelligence others may class it as taking advantage of an evil practise. Jews are not allowed to charge interest from other Jews but because they non-Jews as lower beings, they are allowed to charge interest from them. As I mentioned earlier, a Christian or Muslim doesn’t believe that and their religions categorically forbid Usury in any form. It is one of the gravest sins.

The Jews also control most of the mainstream media outlets and simple check to see who the owns the various companies will back this up. There is a disproportionate number of Jewish representatives in the Federal Reserve who work not for the American people but rather themselves, it’s actually not a public institution.

If you deny the holocaust you can be sent to prosecuted and sent to prison in many countries, yet you wouldn’t for any other historical genocide and let’s not pretend there hasn’t been throughout our history. Why is questioning the holocaust deemed wrong? What does the truth have to hide from?

I will agree you with one point, they are highly intelligent and successful in many fields, but let’s not pretend they didn’t get there through one of the most evil sins you can commit.

 

[bones]

Coming back to the topic - I simply do not see a way out of this for anyone. The Israelis are systematically extending their lands by persecuting Palestinians forcing many to evacuate. There is a denial of this from everyone but estliashed journalists have been to the region and confirmed this is happening.

As a result the Palestinians are happy to use force and through Hamas they have a somewhat a channel to do this. However Hamas' arms compared to Israel's is incomparable. Israeli has a nuclear arsenal with defence as mighty as many other larger nations. Israel is retaliating and not being held to account.

Even if Hamas is displaced, even if the Israelis stop their persecution this thing will never end. It's sad, so sad.

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

Germany has labeled Hamas rocket attacks as terror attacks.
USA, Australia, France, UK have said that Israel has full rights to defend itself.

These statements from major western powers will keep the Arabs quiet.

Only Turkey and Pakistan can do something. Time for Pakistan to send support and send some shaheens towards Israel to support the Palestine cause.
They are a major Islamic Nuclear power after all.

Looking at ground situation, it seems Israel is emboldened and this time they plan to capture Gaza as well on ground. Don't see them backing down without any international pressure.

China, as usual, has not taken any side and just a generic statement to hold the UN meetings. So sidelining the issue.

 

[Mamoon]

Germany has labeled Hamas rocket attacks as terror attacks.
USA, Australia, France, UK have said that Israel has full rights to defend itself.

These statements from major western powers will keep the Arabs quiet.

Only Turkey and Pakistan can do something. Time for Pakistan to send support and send some shaheens towards Israel to support the Palestine cause.
They are a major Islamic Nuclear power after all.

Looking at ground situation, it seems Israel is emboldened and this time they plan to capture Gaza as well on ground. Don't see them backing down without any international pressure.

China, as usual, has not taken any side and just a generic statement to hold the UN meetings. So sidelining the issue.

If Pakistan truly loves and supports Palestine, they would lend their dormant and unused missiles like Ghauri and Ghazni and put it to use in Gaza to counter the Israelis. Why else do they call it the islamic bomb .. it's for times like these.

China has billion dollar trade with Israel. If Pakistan goes beyond verbal criticism and statements and tries to do something tangible to hurt Israel, one phone call from Beijing would be enough to knock Pakistan back into its senses.

 

[MenInG]

I think you know the importance of Al Aqsa but poor trolling

Shameless people - should read about the importance of Bait Al Muqaddas

Some background for people who wish to discuss:

What makes Masjid Al-Aqsa important?

Masjid Al-Aqsa is important in Islam because Muslims believe that the Prophet Muhammad was transported from the Scared Mosque in Mecca to Al-Aqsa during the Night Journey, and then on to heaven. It is also believed that the Prophet Muhammad led prayers towards this site until Allah directed him to turn towards the Kaaba.

It was the second place of worship build in Islam, 40 years after the Kaaba, and is mentioned in the Qur’an as being ‘holy’ and ‘blessed’ in numerous extracts.

“Glorified be He [Allah] Who did take His servant for a journey by night from Al Masjid Al Haram to Al Masjid Al Aqsa, whose precincts We did bless, in order that We might show him some of our Signs. Verily He is the All Hearing, All Seeing.” Surah Isra (17:1)

According to Islamic scriptures, the Prophet Muhammed taught followers that they should undertake a special journey to one of three important mosques: Masjid Al-Haram in Mecca, Al Masjid An-Nabawi in Madinah, and Masjid Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem. Prayers in these special mosques will generate amazing blessings and worshippers will receive at least 500 times the reward of Salaah performed in another location.

==

So learn about your own religion, then come here to make fun of the plight of your fellow Muslims.

I can understand that from others as they have their own axes to grind but never from Muslims.

 

[MenInG]

Israel has intensified its assault on Gaza, as Palestinian militants continue to fire rockets into Israel on the fifth day of hostilities.

Israel's military said air and ground forces were involved in attacks on Friday but had not entered Gaza.

Video from Gaza City showed the night sky lit up by explosions from Israeli artillery, gunboats and air strikes.

Some 119 people have been killed in Gaza and eight have died in Israel since fighting began on Monday.

Meanwhile, Jewish and Israeli-Arab mobs have been fighting within Israel, prompting its president to warn of civil war.

Defence Minister Benny Gantz ordered a "massive reinforcement" of security forces to suppress the internal unrest that has seen more than 400 people arrested.

Police say Israeli Arabs have been responsible for most of the trouble and reject the accusation that they are standing by while gangs of Jewish youths target Arab homes.

This week's violence in Gaza and Israel is the worst since 2014. It came after weeks of rising Israeli-Palestinian tension in East Jerusalem which culminated in clashes at a holy site revered by both Muslims and Jews. Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, began firing rockets after warning Israel to withdraw from the site, triggering retaliatory air strikes.

In Gaza, Palestinians fearing an incursion by Israeli troops have been fleeing areas close to the border with Israel. Residents who had left Shejaiya in Gaza City said shells had been falling on homes.

"We felt like we were in a horror movie," said local resident Salwa Al-Attar, who escaped the bombardment with her family. "The planes were above us, and the tanks and navy were bombing - and we could not move. The children, women and men were screaming."

The Israeli military said it had conducted an operation overnight to destroy a network of Hamas tunnels that it dubbed "the metro", but no troops had entered Gaza. It added that - over the course of Thursday evening and Friday morning - 220 more projectiles were fired from the Gaza Strip.

In southern Israel, an 87-year-old woman died after falling on her way to a bomb shelter near Ashdod. Other areas including Ashkelon, Beersheba and Yavne were also targeted.

Gaza's health ministry said 27 children were among those who've been killed since fighting began, and many other civilians have died. Another 600 Gazans have also been wounded. Israel says dozens of those killed in Gaza were militants, and some of the deaths were caused by misfired rockets from Gaza.

In a statement released early on Friday morning, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said the country's military operation against Palestinian militants would continue for "as long as necessary". He added that Hamas would pay a heavy price, as would other "terrorist groups".

A Hamas military spokesman said the group was ready to teach Israel's military "harsh lessons" should it decide to go ahead with a ground incursion.

On Thursday, Israel's military called up 7,000 army reservists and deployed troops and tanks near its border with Gaza. It said a ground offensive into Gaza was one option being considered but a decision had yet to be made.

BBC

 

[niazi]

Muslims and muslim states cannot touch Israel.

The intelligence of the Israelis, their work ethic, their dedication - they operate at a completely different.

The Jews are the most brilliant people on earth. No wonder they believe that they are the chosen one.

We the Muslims can only marvel at their achievements and contribution to science, finance, banking etc. they are a small group of people who didn’t even have a home until 70 years ago and were persecuted everywhere, but that did not stop them from influencing the world.

No wonder the major Muslim countries like KSA and UAE in recent times have changed their foreign policy and developed diplomatic and strategic ties with Israel because they know that forging relations with a competent and intelligent country like Israel serves their interests.

The Muslim countries are up to no good. They are empty vessels that make a lot of noise. They can show eyes to Israel but cannot get anywhere near them and match their achievements.

YOu're missing a key point here. Let's suppose you fight with your neighbor. and we make a big assumption here, that it is your fault. Now your neighbor is stronger than you and during the fight, he takes over your land and part of your house. After the cease-fire, you would want to land or house back? What does the law say?? If you say, 'no' then next time if someone has road-rage, and it's their fault, then I can take over their vehicle, and the police will say, 'yes, it's your right to take the vehicle because other person was at fault? I would say NO!
Now going back to the 1967, 6 days war, Israel captured the whole of Jerusalem in 1967 and extended the city's municipal boundaries, putting both East and West Jerusalem under its sovereignty and civil law. In 1980 Israel passed a law making its annexation of East Jerusalem explicit. The city's status remains disputed, with Israel's occupation of East Jerusalem considered illegal under international law. Israel is determined that Jerusalem be its undivided capital, while Palestinians are seeking to establish their capital in East Jerusalem. This is against international law, they have to hand over the illegal captured land back to pre-1967 boundaries to even think of acceptance of Israel. Even then there would be big comprises that the native Arabs would have to make. That's what they want.
Learn to definition of terrorism from the Oxford dictionary, 'the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.'. YOu can wear the suit and be civilized and still be terrorists. It is the social, political, and economic, and systematic operation that you don't see and feel which they inflict and have inflicted over decades. You only hear and see the news on the mainstream when there is so-called 'uncivilized attacks'. An attack from sophisticated jets or guided missiles is called 'collateral dmamge'.
Even if we agree Hamas are terrorists then by default(by using the official definition of terrorism) it would make Israel a bigger terrorists. The clock of SKy News, BBC, and other main stream starts when Hamas or Arabs does something. It doesn't take you back to the decades-old conflict and daily oppression that Palestinians have to endure, that's the illegal occupation of their lands from 1967, including East Jerusalem and systemic expulsion from their lands, and illegal building of houses for Jewish people!
Now you must have an agenda or low IQ not to see this! There is no third option. I am not even talking about the land sold by Arabs in 1947/1948. I have no issues with tise lands purchased legally!

 

[MenInG]

Israel continued on Friday to bombard the Gaza Strip with air raids and artillery shells as it stepped up the deployment of troops and tanks near the besieged Palestinian enclave.

At least 122 Palestinians, including 31 children, have been killed and more than 900 wounded since hostilities flared up on Monday. Hundreds of Palestinian families have taken shelter in United Nations-run schools in northern Gaza to escape Israeli artillery fire, with residents reporting that that the Strip had experienced its “most violent” night.

Despite international calls for an immediate halt of all hostilities, including from United Nations chief Antonio Guterres, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged the offensive will continue “as needed to restore calm in the state of Israel”.

Hamas fired another barrage of rockets towards Israel, hitting the city of Ashkelon in the early hours on Friday.

At least six Israelis and one Indian national have also been killed. The Israeli army said hundreds of rockets have been fired from Gaza towards various locations in Israel and they have added reinforcements near the enclave’s eastern lands.

Meanwhile, violence is brewing between Israeli settlers and Palestinian citizens in the occupied West Bank as well as in Israel. In another potential escalation, at least three rockets were fired from southern Lebanon towards Israel.

Al Jazeera

 

[King_Kohli]

JUST IN - Israel's PM Netanyahu: "Hamas pays and will pay a heavy price, as it is not over yet, and they will not escape our strikes."

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/5/13/social-media-companies-are-trying-to-silence-palestinian-voices

In 1984, Palestinian American intellectual and Columbia University Professor Edward Said famously argued that Palestinians are denied “permission to narrate”.

More than 30 years later, in 2020, Maha Nassar, a Palestinian American Associate Professor at the University of Arizona, analysed opinion articles published in two daily newspapers – The New York Times and The Washington Post – and two weekly news magazines – The New Republic and The Nation – over a 50-year period, from 1970 to 2019. Perhaps unsurprisingly, she found that “Editorial boards and columnists seem to have been quite consumed with talking about the Palestinians, often in condescending and even racist ways – yet they somehow did not feel the need to hear much from Palestinians themselves.”

Nassar’s research, like many others before it, clearly demonstrates that more than three decades after the publication of Said’s landmark essay, the exclusion of Palestinian voices from mainstream media narratives in the West – and the attempts to erase the humanity of the Palestinians or whitewash Israel’s crimes against them – continue unabated.

Sadly, however, this unjust status quo has not only remained unchanged since Said brought it under the spotlight – it has deteriorated.

In recent years, social media became a lifeline for many who want to raise awareness about causes and struggles ignored or undermined by mainstream media outlets.

Yet tech companies are now actively working to exclude Palestinian voices from their platforms, thereby expanding the calculated erasure and silencing of the Palestinians to social media.

In April, for example, Zoom, Facebook and Youtube blocked the online academic event “Whose Narratives? What Free Speech for Palestine?” co-sponsored by the Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas (AMED) Studies program at San Francisco State University, the Council of UC Faculty Associations (CUFCA), and the University of California Humanities Research Institute (UCHRI).

The event was to feature anti-apartheid activists from around the globe, including Palestinian resistance icon Leila Khaled and South Africa’s former ANC military leader Ronnie Kasrils.

This event was in fact a repeat of an open classroom co-organised by Dr Rabab Ibrahim Abudulhadi (AMED Studies) and Dr Tomomi Kinukawa (Women and Gender Studies) of San Francisco State University that Zoom initially censored in September 2020. Then, as now, Zoom and other social media companies said they decided to block the event from their platforms due to the planned participation of Leila Khaled. They claimed, as Khaled is affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a “US-designated terrorist organisation”, allowing the event to proceed would be in violation of US laws prohibiting material support for terrorism.

As repeatedly asserted by numerous legal experts, the argument put forth by the social media companies is without merit. It not only ignores all relevant legal precedents and falsely alleges violations of US law, but also amounts to an attack on academic freedoms.

Indeed, in an open letter to Zoom executives published in October last year, experts from Palestine Legal and other legal organisations stressed that Zoom’s censoring of the AMED event constitutes “a dangerous attack on free speech and academic freedom, and an abuse of your contract with our public university systems”. They added that “[Zoom’s] status as an essential public service does not give you veto power over the content of the nation’s classrooms and public events.”

These warnings, however, went unheeded, with Zoom and other social media companies completely ignoring the growing criticism of their biased policies and escalating their efforts to silence Palestinian speech on their platforms.

In April, after Zoom refused to host the “Whose Narratives?” event for the second time – following pressure from an Israeli government app and several right-wing Zionist organisations – Facebook not only took down publicity posts about the event, but also deleted the page of the AMED Studies program from its platform in its entirety, effectively erasing a vast archive of talks, discussions and documents on the Palestinian liberation struggle and its relationship to freedom movements from around the world. These materials were being intentionally shared and stored on Facebook for academics, activists, organisers and the community at large to be able to engage with them free of charge and without restriction.

Coming on the heels of Zoom’s repeated attempts to arbitrate what is and is not acceptable speech in academia, Facebook’s deletion of the AMED page made clear Big Tech’s modus operandi when it comes to Israel-Palestine: censor material related to the Palestinian struggle on Israel’s demand, and ignore any criticism of these unlawful and unjust actions.

Israel and its allies are not only pressuring Big Tech to silence the Palestinians from outside. Facebook’s oversight board, an independent body tasked with deliberating on the platform’s content decisions, includes former director-general of the Israeli ministry of justice, Emi Palmor. Palmor personally managed Israel’s Cyber Unit in the past, which successfully lobbied for the removal of thousands of pieces of Palestinian content from Facebook.

While it is only logical to assume Palmor’s presence on the oversight board is contributing to Facebook’s anti-Palestinian actions, Big Tech’s routine silencing of Palestinian voices cannot be blamed on such overtly pro-Israeli actors in its higher echelons alone.

Since the very beginning, social media companies have gravitated towards and aligned with centres of power in the US capitalist and imperialist structures. They even partnered with the US Department of Defence, coordinating surveillance and big data analysis. So it is not that a few powerful pro-Israeli voices are coopting social media companies into silencing dissent; the industry itself is rotten to its core. Let us not forget how Big Tech executives and employees have orchestrated a huge land grab and gentrification in the San Francisco Bay Area, displacing thousands of working-class and poor communities of colour.

The AMED Studies Facebook page has not been restored. But as the event organisers have also rightfully noted, the problem is not only Big Tech censorship: after the censoring of the AMED event, university officials refused to offer alternative platforms for the event to take place and engaged in messaging and programming that effectively delegitimised it.

Universities are far from being neutral arbiters in this story: by conceding to the monopoly of tech companies over pedagogical programming and by normalising anti-Palestinian rhetoric, they are complicit in these companies’ overreaching erasure of Palestine and Palestinians from the curriculum.

And the repression of Palestinian voices on social media extends far beyond academia. In recent days, many individuals documenting Israeli settler and state violence against Palestinian families in the occupied East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah reported that Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (owned by Facebook) has been “systematically censoring” their content.

In the latest chapter of Israel’s ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestine, the Palestinian families of Sheikh Jarrah face imminent forced removal from their homes and are contending with violent repression that is sanctioned and enabled by all levels of the Israeli state.

Last Friday, more than 200 people were wounded when Israeli police shot rubber bullets and threw stun grenades at Palestinians in Al-Aqsa mosque. Israeli forces tried to prevent medics from treating the injured and at least three Palestinians lost an eye as a result of the attack. On Monday, Israeli occupation forces again fired at Palestinians, who had gathered at Al-Aqsa to pray and protect the site from settler violence, with rubber-coated bullets, stun grenades, and tear gas; reporters, journalists and medics were among the wounded. In the latest act of collective punishment, Israel began a ruthless bombing campaign in the Gaza Strip on Monday night, flattening civilian infrastructure and media offices. The current death toll is estimated to be at least 65, 16 of whom are children, with 365 wounded, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. On Wednesday night, settler and police violence against Palestinians in the city of Lydd (also known as Lod) peaked as hundreds of Israelis stormed the city, attacking Palestinian protesters following the murder of 33-year-old Palestinian man, Musa Hassouna. Israeli Border Forces were eventually transferred to Lydd from the West Bank. Furthermore, fascist Israelis participated in an attempted lynching of a Palestinian man in Bat Yam, forcibly removing him from his car and beating him unconscious.

The Israeli Supreme Court has since delayed the Sheikh Jarrah forced removals for 30 days, but activists have identified this as a stalling tactic meant to diffuse momentum and support for the Sheikh Jarrah residents.

In a recent CNN interview, Mohamed El-Kurd, a Palestinian poet and activist from Sheikh Jarrah, powerfully turned the age-old media trope of Palestinians being inherently “violent” on its head by responding to the reporter’s leading question with one of his own: “Do you support the violent dispossession of me and my family?” As usual, US mainstream media organisations attempt to hide the asymmetrical nature of Israel’s aggression by defining its latest and ongoing attacks on the Palestinian people as “clashes” or a “conflict”.

Mainstream media’s ongoing efforts to whitewash Israel’s deadly occupation, coupled with the dire and rapidly escalating situation of Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah as well as all Palestinians resisting in support of them, make unrestricted access to social media especially crucial for Palestinians and their allies.

But rather than amplifying the righteous struggle of Palestinians resisting violence and displacement, social media companies are furthering the interests and agenda of the very government attacking them.

This latest round of social media censorship of Palestinian posts about Sheikh Jarrah is part of a larger pattern of repression, given the long and well-documented complicity between Israel and social media companies in regulating and censoring Palestinian content and accounts. Instagram officially attributed these latest deletions to a “global technical issue”. Twitter likewise claimed the restriction of the account of Palestinian writer Mariam Barghouti, which was subsequently reinstated following a huge social media outcry, was an “accident”. Activists and watchdog organisations have expressed doubts about such explanations, given the targeted nature of the removals and censures.

Decades after Edward Said’s criticism of the US media’s insistent refusal to allow Palestinians to narrate their own stories, the voices in support of the Palestinian liberation struggle are being silenced not only by mainstream media organisations but also social media companies.

But we must not give in. Despite efforts by social media companies and media organisations to silence Palestinians, those who truly believe in equality, justice and freedom should continue to endorse and amplify the calls to save Sheikh Jarrah, stop the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements, end all military funding for Israel, and bring an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands and state-sanctioned discrimination against Palestinians. We should also support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, until Israel agrees to cease its colonial and apartheid practices for good. Media organisations and social media companies can try to control and distort narratives about Palestine, but they cannot hide the truth and silence Palestinians’ righteous calls for justice forever.

This does not mean we should not try and expose the unethical and unlawful practices by these companies and organisations. We must fight the targeted, cross-platform censorship that echoes and reinforces the Israeli state’s ongoing structural oppression of Palestinians and systematic erasure of Palestinian voices. By engaging in such behaviour, social media companies are practicing digital apartheid. We can not sit idly by. Now more than ever, we need to continue to expose and resist this discriminatory silencing as part of the larger fight for Palestinian freedom and liberation.

 

[gani999]

Can the military historians here answer a simple question ?

How was it that Pakistan, an entity that didn't exist before 1947, was able to take one-thirds of Kashmir fighting a country six times its population - meanwhile the Arabs and Palestinians, got wiped out in 1948 and 1967 when the military balance was far more equal than today, who are now scrambling to keep 22% (which is diminishing due to settlement activity) of Historic Palestine ?

Because Pakistan did not fight a country that was six times its population. The Indian Army was nowhere in Kashmir when the Pakistanis invaded in 1949. The only resistance they faced was the pathetic Dogra Army of the King of Kashmir.
Once the King signed the instrument of accession to India, the Indian army went in and Pakistan has not been able to capture 1 sq.cm of Kashmir since.
The Indian Army would have recaptured the whole of Kashmir if our 'great leader' PM Nehru did not rush off to the UN to internationalise the issue.

The Arabs and Palestinians got wiped out in 1948 and 1967 because they could'nt hold a gun straight.

 

[gani999]

The Muslim countries are up to no good. They are empty vessels that make a lot of noise. They can show eyes to Israel but cannot get anywhere near them and match their achievements.

Actually, I pity the poor Palestinians. They have not been able to stop terrorist and anarchist outfits like the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas from sticking their dirty fingers into the Palestinian movement solely to satisfy their own agenda. These thugs forced the Palestinian outfits to resort to violence only to get shafted by Israel in return.

It's a certain Yasser Arafat's legacy.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Pakistan’s biggest enemy is Pakistan itself, and I have nothing to do with the people of Palestine and Israel. I don’t support or oppose anyone when it comes to people that I have no feelings for and have no connection.

Israel cannot last forever, of course not. Nothing lasts forever and this world will not last forever either, but Israel will surely last longer than Palestine as long as the Palestinians keep repeating the same tactics that have resulted in nothing but bloodshed and loss of innocent Palestinian lives.

Your simplistic take on Israel’s claim on these lands shows your ignorance and the lack of depth of your argument. Israelis believe they are God’s chosen people and the territory belongs to them.

However, religious beliefs and prophecies do not win you land. War and Politics do.

Israel was not established because of the tyranny of the Jews. It was established because the Arab leaders sold themselves to the British.

Israel would not have been created if the Sharif of Mecca did not revolt against the Ottomans on the orders of the British crown for his personal greed.

Moreover, Israel further consolidated its hold after thrashing Arab countries and the UAR in wars.

Hence, there is nothing illegal about Israel’s occupation and Palestinians have no real claim here. Today, they are suffering not because of Israel but because of the greed and cowardice of Arab leaders who helped create the state of Israel.

I didnt ask for your version of a history lesson.

I suggest you read Int law, its very clear East Jerusalem and the West Bank are occupied territories.

If you are ignorant of this basic piece of information a child knows, its best you dont comment.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Actually, I pity the poor Palestinians. They have not been able to stop terrorist and anarchist outfits like the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas from sticking their dirty fingers into the Palestinian movement solely to satisfy their own agenda. These thugs forced the Palestinian outfits to resort to violence only to get shafted by Israel in return.

It's a certain Yasser Arafat's legacy.

Terrorists according to you.

I assume if Jews came to your house with superiour might, threw you & your family out because their God says its their house, you pack up & leave giving them a hug on the way out?

 

[KingKhanWC]

UK ppers can sign this petition, wont much any real difference but the government will realise Palestine has a lot of support in the UK.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/585314/signatures/new