Israel Thread

GasBandit

Staff member
Biden needs to understand that if he "supports protesting" but doesn't support protests that disrupt normal activity, he doesn't actually support protests.

It's supposed to be the REPUBLICANS that think murder is an acceptable response to property destruction but property destruction isn't an acceptable response to murder.
 

Dave

Staff member
Nov 26, 2008
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When it comes to politics, all the democrats have to do is keep calm and not fuck up and they will win. Why can't they do that?
 
Nov 27, 2008
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It's not even "this will make me commit warcrimes" it's "this won't stop me from committing war crimes and they'll be bigger out of spite." Just awful.
 

GasBandit

Staff member
Biden – acknowledging that U.S. weapons have been used to kill civilians in Gaza – threatened to cut off shipments of American weapons to Israel if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a full-scale invasion of Rafah. More than a million displaced Palestinians are currently sheltering in the southern Gaza city. Until now, which follows months of growing tension and frustration with Israel’s management of the war, Biden has resisted calls to limit U.S. support of Israel’s efforts to go after Hamas amid a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The Biden administration has also said for months that it would not support an operation in Rafah unless Israel presented a credible plan to evacuate and protect civilians living in the area. “I made it clear that if they go into Rafah – they haven’t gone in Rafah yet – if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities – that deal with that problem,” Biden said. “Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers,” Biden added, referring to 2,000-pound bombs that he paused shipments of last week. On Tuesday, Israeli troops seized control of and closed the Rafah border crossing in what the White House characterized as a limited operation – short of the full invasion of the city. Since then, negotiations for a hostage and ceasefire deal have paused, in part because of the fighting in Rafah, and no aid has entered through Gaza’s southern crossings. The WHO and other humanitarian aid agencies warned that hospitals in southern Gaza have less than three days of fuel supplies left and without fuel “all humanitarian operations will stop.” Meanwhile, Netanyahu, who has vowed to achieve a “total victory” over Hamas and said the country’s military would enter Rafah “with or without” a ceasefire deal, reacted with defiance to Biden’s warning, saying: “If we need to stand alone, we will stand alone.” The IDF’s spokesman added that Israel already had the “necessary weapons” for its planned operations, “including in Rafah.” (CNN / New York Times / Washington Post / Associated Press / CNN / NBC News / ABC News / Politico / Wall Street Journal)
 

GasBandit

Staff member
A State Department report said it was “reasonable to assess” that Israel had used American-provided weapons in Gaza that are “inconsistent” with international law. The report, however, stopped short of officially saying Israel violated the law, saying there was insufficient information to draw firm conclusions in any specific instances. The report concluded that Israel’s assurances that it’s not violating U.S. or international law were “credible and reliable.” The finding allows the continued supply of U.S. weapons to Israel. (Washington Post / NPR / Associated Press / CNN / NBC News / Politico)
 

GasBandit

Staff member
The Biden administration plans to move forward with the sale of more than $1 billion in arms and ammunition to Israel. It’s expected to take several years before any weapons in the package are delivered. The notification of the potential sale, however, comes less than a week after the White House withheld a shipment of 3,500 bombs over concerns Israel would use them in a potential invasion of Rafah, where more than 1 million refugees have been sheltering. The new, proposed package includes about $700 million for tank ammunition, $500 million in tactical vehicles, and $60 million in mortar rounds. (Wall Street Journal / Associated Press / Politico / Washington Post / New York Times / USA Today)
 
Yeah, the Biden administration really seems to actively be doing anything they can to get Trump re-elected. I mean, I understand the Jewish lobby is strong in America and so on, I know the US won't suddenly be pro-Palestine, but coming off as this waffley just means you'll alienate both the "progressive" left wing who's pro-Palestine and the moderate and right wing pro-Israel voters. This was a lose-lose move and I don't get it. Plus it makes the whole "line in the sand" once again toothless thus making Biden look weak, which was already one of his big flaws.
Really, just pause all weapon delivery plans/agreements/whatever until after the vote war has ended and you could have at least scored some points on one side and come off as being willing to stand your ground which would've scored some points in the center. But nooooo.

And even internationally it's a terrible look. Selling weapons to a regime which you acknowledge is using them "not in line with international law and conventions" just gives Russia, Iran and China even more munition to make you seem all talk and no act.
 

GasBandit

Staff member
The International Court of Justice on Friday ordered Israel to immediately halt its military assault on Rafah, citing an “immediate risk” to Palestinians. Then on Sunday, two Israeli airstrikes on a tent camp where displaced civilians were sheltering ignited a deadly fire that killed at least 45 people and wounded 249 other people in Rafah, the Gaza city where more than 1 million people are seeking refuge in dire conditions. Israeli tanks also advanced into central Rafah for the first time. Despite international condemnation and world leaders calling for an investigation into the attack and for Israel to halt its military offensive in Rafah, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the strike was “a tragic accident,” but gave no indication of curtailing his offensive in Rafah. The Israeli military said the strike used “precise munitions” to kill two senior Hamas leaders, and claimed “our munitions alone could not have ignited a fire of this size” – suggesting that a secondary explosion — possibly of a weapons cache — was likely the cause of the fire. Biden, meanwhile, is not altering his policy toward Israel and the White House said the Israeli strike on a tent camp hadn’t violated his “red line” because it wasn’t “a major ground operation.” The White House, however, suggested that the attack on “innocent Palestinians [is] heartbreaking” and that “Israel must take every precaution possible to protect civilians.” (New York Times / CNN / NBC News / Wall Street Journal / Axios)