Switzerland thaws out, immediately criticises Israel.

nimh wrote:

Gaza is dirt poor. It is overpopulated, living conditions are horrid, unemployment is near-total, public services are squalid or non-existent, and infrastructure is bombed out. Whatever mix of local corruption and mismanagement, Israeli repression and retaliation, and destabilisation by extremists is at the roots of that, this is the plan fact: Gaza direly lacks medical supplies. Tel Aviv very clearly does not.

I really can't see how supplying medical supplies to civilians in this situation is "thumping Israel".

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nimh gave the others could have found as well.

But obviously some like Brandon are still stuck to pre-medieval law, where innocents are killed to punish those who did the crime.

Interesting that such seems to be okay.

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Additionally, Lash's comment to the effect that Switzerland "enters the ME war" assumes that the Swiss will simply hand a check to Hamas. Were that the case, Hamas still represents the democratically elected government of the Palestinian authority. However, Lash is assuming this without having provided substantiation. The International Committee of the Red Cross operates from Switzerland. Both the Swiss generally and the ICRC in particular have literally decades of experience in providing direct aid to non-combattants in war zones. Unless Lash can show that the Swiss intend to simply hand a check to Hamas, the reasonable assumption based on past behavior is that the Swiss will provide direct aid to the non-combatants of Gaza.

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I just heard on the radio that Israel has launched yet another missile at the offices of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza. Anyone who cannot see that the Israelis are deliberately targeting the civilian population of Gaza is willfully blind.

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Eyeless in Gaza becomes Eyeless About Gaza . . .

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Lash wrote:

PS-- Nobody here is under the impression Hamas will use that mil for healthcare, are they??

It will be used to kill Israelis.

Switzerland enters the ME war.

If you had taken time to read a bit on what circumstances led up to the Hamas electoral results (or if you had widened your reading habits to include, say, Haaretz) you would not have made this rhetorical move above.

Quote:

http://www.cfr.org/publication/8968/

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Which explains, of course, why the Palestinian people voted for Hamas . . .

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Anyone who, during a war or otherwise, comes to the aid of civilians who lack basic medical supplies, is OK with me.
YES nimh and I would add that assisting children lacking food and medicine is totally groovy but then I am an anarchist. I think I may have posted about my experience in 1948 with my mother and the Israel/Palestine issue when we were living in Saudi Arabia. That episode started my road to hell as a liberal.

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Brandon9000 wrote:

Because it's not a few extremists. It's been the official policy of groups like Hamas.

Let's just even things up a bit then. The USA should send the Palestinians, what, a couple billion a year in "aid" to buy military hardware. That then should allow them to compete with the big boys.

Then they can have a fair war. Why should it be like shootin' fish in a barrel for Israel? Where is this much vaunted sense of proportion and fairness?

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Blatham-- I was aware of the overriding reason Hamas was chosen.
~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm sure no one thinks I applaud injuries and deaths of children--or innocent civilians. Unfortunately, I seem to be alone in my concern for the same types of deaths in Israel.

I think the world should react just as strongly against attacks on Israel.

And, no. I don't think Hamas will spend that money on healthcare.

Also, if the majority of Palestinians chose Hamas--which they did--what is the difference in war and "destroying infrastructure" or "collective punishment"?

Israel wants their soldier who has been kidnapped. Hamas should give him back. They could stop their people from being attacked--yet they refuse. Hamas is equally to blame for hat is going on. Why is there never global outcry against what the Palestinians are doing?

Why has no one mentioned that?

(I am hopeful that statements like "Switzerland enters the war" are recognised as rhetorical devices.)

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Quote:

Why is there never global outcry against what the Palestinians are doing?

Because, there is a perception (which is somewhat accurate) that the Palestinians have been squeezed, oppressed, and generally kept down in the dirt by Israel for quite some time now. This naturally breeds resentment and hate amongst certain members of the population.

Cycloptichorn

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old europe wrote:

Bottom line: if you can't get the evil guys at the top, it's okay to punish innocent civilians....

Well, that is kind of the basic idea of war, which has been occurring longer than Israel or President Bush have been around. Naturally, any decent army does as much as possible to keep innocents from being harmed.

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JTT wrote:

Brandon9000 wrote:

Because it's not a few extremists. It's been the official policy of groups like Hamas.

Let's just even things up a bit then. The USA should send the Palestinians, what, a couple billion a year in "aid" to buy military hardware. That then should allow them to compete with the big boys.

Then they can have a fair war. Why should it be like shootin' fish in a barrel for Israel? Where is this much vaunted sense of proportion and fairness?

Many people who claim to represent the Palestinians choose to attack the weak and innocent as their preferred method of advancing their cause. It's inexcusable.

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Notwistanding that two wrongs don't make a right, it seems to me that "Swiss money" and "Swiss opinion" need to be scrutinized relative to historical events surrounding WW2 and its aftermath.

http://history1900s.about.com/library/holocaust/aa072397.htm

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Have the Swiss finished paying back all the money they stole from victims of the holocaust yet?

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McGentrix,

I am ot sure whether a satifactory settlement has been made. This link relates the the official Swiss position.

http://www.swissbankclaims.com/links2.asp

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McGentrix wrote:

Have the Swiss finished paying back all the money they stole from victims of the holocaust yet?

What do you think the Swiss Confederation has stolen?
What has been in dispute was the money on various Swiss banks, at least as far as I remember.

Did this change their position as depository state for the Geneva Conventions? When was that discussed and where?

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Lash wrote:

I'm sure no one thinks I applaud injuries and deaths of children--or innocent civilians. Unfortunately, I seem to be alone in my concern for the same types of deaths in Israel.

That was a scumbag type of remark. I'm outta here . . .

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I'll rephrase.

Based on the fact that all sympathy on the thread was directed toward the Palestinians, I seem to be alone in my concern for the Israelis.

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Out here, too.

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Switzerland thaws out, immediately criticises Israel.

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