Major attack on Israel by Hamas

[Valerie]

I find it perplexing how so many believe Hamas and their claims. As if they can be trusted for telling the truth.

[Ken]

There is definitely a Hamas-Russia connection. Or rather a Russia-Iran-Hamas Axis of Evil to use a George W. Bush phrase.

Here is the same protest earlier in the day. Complete with protesters carrying Soviet flags and wearing current Russian flags

[Josh]

I find it perplexing how so many believe Hamas and their claims. As if they can be trusted for telling the truth.

I think very few people believe Hamas. They are universally despised including in the Arab world.

It is possible to be pro Palestinian including advocating for a Palestinian state and independence without out being pro Hamas.

[Valerie]

I find it perplexing how so many believe Hamas and their claims. As if they can be trusted for telling the truth.

I think very few people believe Hamas. They are universally despised including in the Arab world.

It is possible to be pro Palestinian including advocating for a Palestinian state and independence without out being pro Hamas.

Yet they chose Hamas as their governing puwer. If most of Palestine supports Hamas its hard to separate the two.

[Josh]

Yet they chose Hamas as their governing puwer. If most of Palestine supports Hamas its hard to separate the two.

The last election was in 2006.

The majority of Palestinians didn’t vote in the last election - or weren’t even alive then. The average Gazan is 18 years old.

It is very wrong, Valerie, to claim all 2 million Gazans are part of Hamas. Do you know that Gaza still has an active Eastern Orthodox community? Do you think those people are part of Hamas? Do you think their church should have been bombed?

[Valerie]

Yet they chose Hamas as their governing puwer. If most of Palestine supports Hamas its hard to separate the two.

The last election was in 2006.

The majority of Palestinians didn’t vote in the last election - or weren’t even alive then. The average Gazan is 18 years old.

It is very wrong, Valerie, to claim all 2 million Gazans are part of Hamas. Do you know that Gaza still has an active Eastern Orthodox community? Do you think those people are part of Hamas? Do you think their church should have been bombed?

Let's just say I value the testimony of a former Hamas terrorist and son of one of the founders who speaks into this whole situation, over us who try to make sense of it on a Mennonite forum. Plus many testimonies of former Muslims who warn. They will never not have eliminating Jews from their objectives and if America is Big Satan and Israel Little Satan in their eyes they are not ever going to seek peace. You have to listen to those who know what they're talking about. It is a terrible shame that Israel gave warnings for people to evacuate and Hamas and bordering countries made this almost impossible.

We go back to- what is Israel supposed to do when they know the goal of Islam is to destroy every Jew. It is a horrible reality.

[Ken]

Yet they chose Hamas as their governing puwer. If most of Palestine supports Hamas its hard to separate the two.

The last election was in 2006.

The majority of Palestinians didn’t vote in the last election - or weren’t even alive then. The average Gazan is 18 years old.

It is very wrong, Valerie, to claim all 2 million Gazans are part of Hamas. Do you know that Gaza still has an active Eastern Orthodox community? Do you think those people are part of Hamas? Do you think their church should have been bombed?

It is actually more complicated than that. The 2006 elections were for the Palestinian parliament and Hamas did win a majority of seats across the Palestinian territories including the West Bank. Israel intervened and arrested/jailed a bunch of Hamas representatives from both Gaza and the West Bank and prevented them from traveling back and forth. And essentially imposed a pan-Palestinian national unity government

In 2007 Hamas launched a military coup against the Palestinian Authority in Gaza and claimed ruling authority over Gaza, ending unity government and effectively diving the Palestinian territories into two separate entities.

The dirty little secret is that Israel under Netanyahu covertly supported Hamas while publicly criticizing it Netanyahu saw Hamas as a tool to destroy a unitary Palestinian government and preventing a 2-state solution.

Exit polls conducted during the 2006 elections found: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Pale ... e_election

Support for a Peace Agreement with Israel: 79.5% in support; 15.5% in opposition
Should Hamas change its policies regarding Israel: Yes – 75.2%; No – 24.8%
Under Hamas corruption will decrease: Yes – 78.1%; No – 21.9%
Under Hamas internal security will improve: Yes – 67.8%; No – 32.2%
Hamas government priorities: 1) Combatting corruption; 2) Ending security chaos; 3) Solving poverty/unemployment
Support for Hamas' impact on the national interest: Positive – 66.7&; Negative - 28.5%
Support for a national unity government?: Yes – 81.4%; no – 18.6%
Rejection of Fatah's decision not to join a national unity government: Yes – 72.5%; No – 27.5%
Satisfaction with election results: 64.2% satisfied; 35.8% dissatisfied

So basically large numbers of Palestinians voted for Hamas because they were weary of the corruption and mismanagement of the Palestinian Authority under Fatah and expected that Hamas would be less corrupt. But not because they supported war against Israel. In fact, Palestinians supported a peace agreement with Israel by a 5-1 margin.

[Ken]

It is a terrible shame that Israel gave warnings for people to evacuate and Hamas and bordering countries made this almost impossible.

The only two bordering countries are Egypt and Israel. Israel has a vastly larger border with Gaza than Egypt does. Yet Israel didn't allow Gaza civilians (women and children) to evacuate either.

Who has the greater responsibility for the refugees created by this conflict? Israel or Egypt?

[Valerie]

It is a terrible shame that Israel gave warnings for people to evacuate and Hamas and bordering countries made this almost impossible.

The only two bordering countries are Egypt and Israel. Israel has a vastly larger border with Gaza than Egypt does. Yet Israel didn't allow Gaza civilians (women and children) to evacuate either.

Who has the greater responsibility for the refugees created by this conflict? Israel or Egypt?

Why would Israel want to let in people who agree with the desire to kill Jews? Wouldn't that be a tad bit risky? Why would Egypt deny them?

[MaxPC]

Why would Israel want to let in people who agree with the desire to kill Jews? Wouldn't that be a tad bit risky? Why would Egypt deny them?

There have been Hamas terrorists trying to slip through the borders hiding among refugees. Some have been caught. Experience informs that there are those managed to slip the search nets.