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You're contorting the answer in order not to answer. The blockade was put in place in response to what, when? 2005, unilateral withdrawal from Gaza 2006, Gaza

You're contorting the answer in order not to answer. The blockade was put in place in response to what, when? 2005, unilateral withdrawal from Gaza 2006, Gazans peacefully went about their lives, setting up - and minding their own - businesses, made trade contacts, geared up a booming tourist industry...? No. That's not what happened, is it. I'm sure you can find a way to blame Israel for Palestinian choices, but that helps no one. 2007, blockade, out of the blue with no rhyme or reason. Just to flex, and watch the world burn. If you care about peace, you won't do these weird contortions to explain Israel's actions. As with Hamas, Israel explains the reasons for its actions very clearly but largely boils down to "leave us alone or FAFO".

FireBeyond 2y ago
There's no contortion, there's blinders. The PLO had ordered its military/paramilitary to not antagonize Israel, and they weren't. That was one of the keys to sitting at the negotiation table. And there had been a few false starts. Israel, in response to those false starts, entirely reasonably, left the table. But then there was a period of reasonable calm. Palestinians are not attacking Israel - this isn't a war. Hamas continued to have a militant and extremist position, which included attacking Israel. ^ There, answering your question, acknowledging that Hamas had and continues to attack Israel. Now answer mine: Why did Israel fund and prop up Hamas rather than the PLO who was working towards a peaceable situation? Like you said, Hamas are attacking Israel. But the Likud administration sent them money and supported them. Why?
- rendall 2y ago
  This guy says that Israel supported PLO in an attempted, but failed coup against Hamas: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40273500 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40273500 Seems contradictory. Which is it? And I ask again: there were no reasonable security concerns behind the blockade according to you? Just for evil funsies?
  - FireBeyond 2y ago
    Come on, you're actively avoiding anything that paints Israel as less than saintly. > For years, the Qatari government had been sending millions of dollars a month into the Gaza Strip — money that helped prop up the Hamas government there. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel not only tolerated those payments, he had encouraged them. > Mossad chief, David Barnea, was asked a question that had not been on the agenda: Did Israel want the payments to continue? > Mr. Netanyahu’s government had recently decided to continue the policy, so Mr. Barnea said yes. Source: "‘Buying Quiet’: Inside the Israeli Plan That Propped Up Hamas" - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/10/world/middleeast/israel-qatar-money-prop-up-hamas.html https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/10/world/middleeast/israel-q... > The premier’s policy of treating the terror group as a partner, at the expense of Abbas and Palestinian statehood, has resulted in wounds that will take Israel years to heal from > For years, the various governments led by Benjamin Netanyahu took an approach that divided power between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank — bringing Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to his knees while making moves that propped up the Hamas terror group. > The idea was to prevent Abbas — or anyone else in the Palestinian Authority’s West Bank government — from advancing toward the establishment of a Palestinian state. Source: "For years, Netanyahu propped up Hamas. Now it’s blown up in our faces" - https://www.timesofisrael.com/for-years-netanyahu-propped-up-hamas-now-its-blown-up-in-our-faces/ https://www.timesofisrael.com/for-years-netanyahu-propped-up... I suppose the Times of Israel is anti-semitic, too? > And I ask again: there were no reasonable security concerns behind the blockade according to you? Just for evil funsies? There's no room for conversation here. You doggedly hang on to issues even after they've been answered. I literally said "Hamas was actively attacking Israel". > "Yes, Hamas was financed by the government of Israel in an attempt to weaken the Palestinian Authority led by Fatah," Borrell said in a speech in the University of Valladolid in Spain without elaborating. EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell. > "Blowback: How Israel Went from Creating Hamas to Bombing It" Source: https://theintercept.com/2018/02/19/hamas-israel-palestine-conflict/ https://theintercept.com/2018/02/19/hamas-israel-palestine-c... This isn't anti-semitic conspiracy theory. And what do you have? "Some guy on HN says Israel (and the US) supported the PLO against Hamas". Huh. US involvement: "The US committed $59 million for training and non-lethal equipment for the Presidential Guard". Fun fact, the amount that was sent to Hamas with Netanyahu's -specific and explicit- approval was around that much... every month... for near two decades. But, as mentioned, I cannot see fruitful outcomes from further discussion here.

FireBeyond 2y ago

There's no contortion, there's blinders. The PLO had ordered its military/paramilitary to not antagonize Israel, and they weren't. That was one of the keys to sitting at the negotiation table. And there had been a few false starts. Israel, in response to those false starts, entirely reasonably, left the table. But then there was a period of reasonable calm. Palestinians are not attacking Israel - this isn't a war. Hamas continued to have a militant and extremist position, which included attacking Israel. ^ There, answering your question, acknowledging that Hamas had and continues to attack Israel. Now answer mine: Why did Israel fund and prop up Hamas rather than the PLO who was working towards a peaceable situation? Like you said, Hamas are attacking Israel. But the Likud administration sent them money and supported them. Why?

rendall 2y ago
This guy says that Israel supported PLO in an attempted, but failed coup against Hamas: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40273500 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40273500 Seems contradictory. Which is it? And I ask again: there were no reasonable security concerns behind the blockade according to you? Just for evil funsies?
- FireBeyond 2y ago
  Come on, you're actively avoiding anything that paints Israel as less than saintly. > For years, the Qatari government had been sending millions of dollars a month into the Gaza Strip — money that helped prop up the Hamas government there. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel not only tolerated those payments, he had encouraged them. > Mossad chief, David Barnea, was asked a question that had not been on the agenda: Did Israel want the payments to continue? > Mr. Netanyahu’s government had recently decided to continue the policy, so Mr. Barnea said yes. Source: "‘Buying Quiet’: Inside the Israeli Plan That Propped Up Hamas" - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/10/world/middleeast/israel-qatar-money-prop-up-hamas.html https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/10/world/middleeast/israel-q... > The premier’s policy of treating the terror group as a partner, at the expense of Abbas and Palestinian statehood, has resulted in wounds that will take Israel years to heal from > For years, the various governments led by Benjamin Netanyahu took an approach that divided power between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank — bringing Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to his knees while making moves that propped up the Hamas terror group. > The idea was to prevent Abbas — or anyone else in the Palestinian Authority’s West Bank government — from advancing toward the establishment of a Palestinian state. Source: "For years, Netanyahu propped up Hamas. Now it’s blown up in our faces" - https://www.timesofisrael.com/for-years-netanyahu-propped-up-hamas-now-its-blown-up-in-our-faces/ https://www.timesofisrael.com/for-years-netanyahu-propped-up... I suppose the Times of Israel is anti-semitic, too? > And I ask again: there were no reasonable security concerns behind the blockade according to you? Just for evil funsies? There's no room for conversation here. You doggedly hang on to issues even after they've been answered. I literally said "Hamas was actively attacking Israel". > "Yes, Hamas was financed by the government of Israel in an attempt to weaken the Palestinian Authority led by Fatah," Borrell said in a speech in the University of Valladolid in Spain without elaborating. EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell. > "Blowback: How Israel Went from Creating Hamas to Bombing It" Source: https://theintercept.com/2018/02/19/hamas-israel-palestine-conflict/ https://theintercept.com/2018/02/19/hamas-israel-palestine-c... This isn't anti-semitic conspiracy theory. And what do you have? "Some guy on HN says Israel (and the US) supported the PLO against Hamas". Huh. US involvement: "The US committed $59 million for training and non-lethal equipment for the Presidential Guard". Fun fact, the amount that was sent to Hamas with Netanyahu's -specific and explicit- approval was around that much... every month... for near two decades. But, as mentioned, I cannot see fruitful outcomes from further discussion here.