Israel has invaded Gaza...

[Rajoo]

Don't forget, it's going to take 20 years or more to rebuild Gaza.

[finnbow]

Originally Posted by BeamOn

Don't forget, it's going to take 20 years or more to rebuild Gaza.

It'll bombed again within 3 years.

[piece-itpete]

Depends, are they planning on buying rockets/digging tunnels or are they planning on helping their constituents with their billions of aid?

Those tunnels were a real threat and from what I understand heads are going to roll in Israel over them once things settle down.

Pete

[finnbow]

Originally Posted by piece-itpete

Depends, are they planning on buying rockets/digging tunnels or are they planning on helping their constituents with their billions of aid?

Those tunnels were a real threat and from what I understand heads are going to roll in Israel over them once things settle down.

Pete

Whose heads?

Bibi's land grab in the West Bank really has little or nothing to do with Gaza, notwithstanding him blaming it on the murders of the three teenagers on the West Bank. His coalition's primary geopolitical objective is taking as much of Judea and Samaria as possible, and they use any excuse to do so (or sometimes no excuse at all).

[piece-itpete]

Realpolitik? Everyone knows Israel won't give up Jerusalem.

I suspect the 'land grab' (land they already won) is to show the Hamas accomplished diddly.

Pete

[finnbow]

Originally Posted by piece-itpete

Realpolitik? Everyone knows Israel won't give up Jerusalem.

I suspect the 'land grab' (land they already won) is to show the Hamas accomplished diddly.

Pete

The land in question is in the West Bank, controlled by the (relatively moderate) Fatah and it isn't in on near East Jerusalem. It's near Bethlehem and has never been under Hamas control.

I guess Bibi's rationalization makes sense to those unfamiliar with a map of the region and the players on that map.

[piece-itpete]

Sorry Finn, you got me, posting off the cuff

Pete

[finnbow]

Originally Posted by piece-itpete

Sorry Finn, you got me, posting off the cuff

Pete

Here's an interesting article about what Fatah is trying to do through the UN with regard to the West Bank. It also notes that the recent Gaza incursion has greatly increased Hamas' popularity at the expense of the more moderate Fatah. I think this was part of Bibi's calculus. His ambitions on the West Bank were threatened when Fatah subsumed Hamas and was receptive to negotiations facilitated by Kerry. Bibi's coalition prefers a nasty status quo to any consideration of a 2-state solution.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/03/wo...ncil-help.html

[piece-itpete]

Does anyone have a clear explanation of Israel's settlement policy? Outside of specific aims sometimes I wonder.

Pete

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by piece-itpete

Does anyone have a clear explanation of Israel's settlement policy?

1. We're God's chosen people.
2. We're entitled to it all.
3. When you notice we're terrorists, we'll accuse you of racism.
4. Generational guilt will make that float to the uninitiated.