Israel’s government approved on Sunday a proposal by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi that mandates any government-funded body refrain from communicating with Haaretz or placing advertisements in the paper. The proposal was approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The decision, according to the government’s explanation, is a reaction to “many articles that have hurt the legitimacy of the state of Israel and its right to self defense, and particularly the remarks made in London by Haaretz publisher, Amos Schocken, that support terrorism and call for imposing sanctions on the government.”
The proposal did not appear on the government’s agenda published ahead of the weekly cabinet meeting. The Attorney General’s office, unaware of the intention to bring the proposal to a vote, did not review it at all and did not present its opinion, as customary. The resolution was presented to ministers during the discussion without any legal opinion.
In a speech at the Haaretz conference in London last month, Schocken said “the Netanyahu government doesn’t care about imposing a cruel apartheid regime on the Palestinian population. It dismisses the costs of both sides for defending the settlements while fighting the Palestinian freedom fighters, that Israel calls terrorists.”
I mean… they’re both wrong.
Schocken said “the Netanyahu government doesn’t care about imposing a cruel apartheid regime on the Palestinian population. It dismisses the costs of both sides for defending the settlements
No lies detected.
while fighting the Palestinian freedom fighters, that Israel calls terrorists.”
If Schocken is referring to Hamas, then he’s out of his mind. Freedom is the last thing Hamas wants for Gaza or Palestine.
If you had grown up in the open air prison camp called Gaza, and wanted to fight for your country, you too would have joined Hamas or one of the smaller militant organizations (PFLP and the like). Think of the average US election discourse: you don’t vote whomever, you vote for who’s on the ballot, least evil and so on. Same logic applies: when your family is repeatedly traumatized and your country is occupied, you don’t join whatever organization western liberals imagine, you pick one of the existing ones and join the fight. Simple as.
Broadly I agree with you that, inasmuch as Hamas enjoys popular support, it is for exactly that reason.
But, that does not mean Hamas is fighting for the freedom and independence of Gaza. They are fighting to push Israel into the sea, and any means to that end is acceptable to them, including putting Gazans in terrible risk.
Any popular movement will never be monolithic. By it’s very nature as a popular movement it will contain all sorts. From fanatics and hardliners to opportunists, to idealists, to moderates, to people who had no other choice. So saying “Hamas is fighting for this or that” as if “this or that” is an immutable non-negotiable goal set in stone is ignoring the realities of armed struggle. If anyone is interested in peace, they would need to either completely annihilate Hamas, like Isis was, which the last year has shown is impossible, or more realistically to try to play on the internal dynamics of the factions, hoping to strengthen those that can make peace. For example, Marwan Bargouthi is ex-Fatah, but has worked with Hamas and the PFLP, and is more of a moderate than Sinwar ever was. If Israel was to release him, he could use his fighter credibility to push for peace.
Say it as many time as you want, history will call them freedom fighter.
When you live in area with no freedom of movement, no freedom of food options, no freedom of trades, and you fight, that it is a freedom fighter.
Your people called movement in South Africa terrorist, called Irish terrorists, called Indian terrorists, called natives terrorists. Called everyone challenge you or support them terrorists.
But at the end history called them freedom fighter.
Respectfully, I disagree. Hamas hasn’t allowed elections in the region since 2007. They are authoritarian, autocratic, Islamist statists with the sole goal of the elimination of Israel. They are not focused on improving the economy of Gaza, or granting freedom to the Gazan people.
That’s exactly why it’s been explicitly stated Likud policy to support them — conservative leadership in Israel wants to see the people of Gaza violently oppressed and stirred against Israel. An enemy on the border serves the conservative agenda.
A peaceful government dedicated to increasing Gazan freedom & independence would not serve Israeli interests, which is why Netanyahu has worked so hard to keep Hamas in charge in Gaza.
A peaceful government dedicated to increasing Gazan freedom & independence would not serve Israeli interests,
Not defending Hamas tyranny in Gaza, but this is a contradiction right there. A government dedicated to increasing Gazan freedom and independence would not be peaceful, because the only time an Israeli leader attempted to bring peace to the region they fucking killed him.
I 100% support Palestinian statehood but to deny that Hamas are terrorists is absurd. A true “freedom fighter” would attack only government and military targets and would never condone killing 500+ civilians at a music festival. Do you believe that’s acceptable?
Nah, “freedom fighters” do that shit all the time and “no true freedom fighter” is a fallacy. For example, there are huge political rifts between Poland and Ukraine because of “freedom fighters” on both sides committing massacres, assassinations etc. What one side calls heroes, the other calls terrorists. Same thing for freedom fighters in occupied France, Poland.
Edit: also fuck Hamas those terrorist pieces of dung.
Hamas targets were military targets. More than 33% killed were active IDF soldiers.
The music festival next to a military base was not even supposed to be there. And there were many armed IDF soldiers at the festival (human shields anyone?)
If Hamas wanted civilian casualties they would have pushed into Israeli cities instead of raiding the heavily guarded military bases around the Gaza envelope.
For a more detailed explanation, an Israeli person made this great video https://youtu.be/Pt_1k7nSv1M
The Anc in south Africa was responsible of killing civilians, same with many resistance groups like the mau mau in kanya, the fln in algeria and Nana Sahib soldiers in India. Nate Turner also killed women and children’s of slave owners. Commiting some act of terror doesn’t strip those groups and people from being freedom fighters. You support a state for Palestinians while opposing the people who are currently fighting the IDF because the West is doing nothing to stop it
