One of the refrains we see whenever Israel is discussed is that they are in breach of international law. This, despite the concept being a nonsense to start with, and have you noticed that it only seems to get wheeled out when Israel is involved. Indeed, it was being used to condemn the Israelis before their dead were cold.
However, let’s consider the history for a minute. I could go back to around 1,700 BC when what is now Israel was founded as a Jewish homeland in the time of King David. I could go back to Roman times when the area was renamed by the Roman occupiers. But I’ll merely go back to modern times.
Following the fall of the Ottoman empire, the region was under British Rule. When the second war came to an end, Jews went back to what was then being referred to as Palestine to form their homeland. Who could blame them given their experience in Europe?
All of which was perfectly reasonable. The idea that they illegally stole the land is without foundation – bearing in mind much of that area was desert and uninhabitable, so no one was occupying it to have it stolen anyway. The formation of a Jewish state didn’t go down well with the neighbours. However, the UN came up with a two state solution, which the Israelis signed up to. Also, Arabs who remained within the borders of the new state were and still are, entitled to full citizenship. Consider how the opposite would pan out. Hardly in breach of any mythical international law. Now, who broke that agreement? Oh, yeah, it was the Arab states.
Had the war gone the other way, would Palestine exist as an independent sate? Would it buggery. What is now referred to as the West bank would be a part of Jordan and the Gaza strip would be a part of Egypt. There is no such thing as Palestine. It’s certainly not something that the neighbouring states recognise other than as a useful stick with which to beat the Israelis. It’s also worth bearing in mind that since that war, the Israelis have repeatedly offered land for peace yet have been rejected. This along with the money that has poured in from international aid, should have made a Palestinian state a success. That it isn’t is down to the people there and no one else.
The concept of international law gets wheeled out with tiresome regularity when Israel responds to attacks. Hamas has been doing that since it gained power in Gaza. Hamas’ preferred tactic is to target civilians. But of course we are supposed to feel sorry for the Palestinian civilians, who get caught up in the crossfire, yet not the Israeli ones who are deliberately targeted. Double standards much? Every war will have civilian casualties. Not every war involves rape, deliberate infanticide and dismemberment. It is not Israel that is committing war crimes here.
Hamas is a terrorist organisation. They commit blatant atrocities directed at civilians. This is in accordance with their charter, based on the hadiths:
Allah’s Messenger said, “The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say. “O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him.”
Book 56, Hadith 139
Yes, that actively promotes the killing of Jews. They have never made a secret about it.
There have been similar secessionist movements throughout history. Had those movements behaved as Hamas did on October 7th, there would have been outrage – not just from the rest of the world, but from within the community they represent, because they are inhumane. They are the acts of savages that have no place in civilised society. That this hasn’t happened within the Palestinian community (or for that matter, their useful idiots in the west who bleat about international law) tells us much about them. Hamas has around 70% support among the civilian population. A population indoctrinated from birth to hate Jews. They are complicit in what happened. They might not have directly committed the atrocities, but they are as guilty as those who did, because they support those who did. Also, bear in mind that when Israel decided to respond, it warned the civilian population, giving them enough time to get out. But Hamas prevented them from doing so, by blocking escape routes with trucks. Any civilian casualties are the direct responsibility of Hamas who are more than happy to hide behind a civilian shield.
If international law exists, then the people breaking it are Hamas. I am sick of the apologists for this vile regime claiming that Israel is in breach of international law as a thin disguise for their antisemitism. I am sick of this antisemitism that is now filling our streets and is threatening to disrupt what should be a period of quiet reflection on Armistice Day. Hamas is evil. They and their supporters are the new manifestation of Nazism. The religion that drives them is evil. There is no place for either in any civilised society. And, yes, Israel has every right to defend itself against such savage aggression. It’s high time the rest of the world did.
I’ve always supported Israel, but my father, who served his national service in Palestine in 1947/8 as an 18/19 year old, had a lifelong dislike of Jews borne out of his experiences and the things he saw. It certainly had nothing to do with politics, he was decidedly apolitical, I never knew who he voted for.
At that time, there were Jewish secessionists carrying out terrorist acts, so that would have coloured his experience.
Quite, having fellow servicemen killed and maimed, and seeing civilians killed and dismembered would certainly affect your perspective, even for someone who spent WW2 in an orphanage in West London.
International Law also gets used as a reason to flood the country with illiterate goat herders. We must abide by the 1951 Refugee Convention even if its being systematically abused. But the Dublin Regulation can be ignored when it comes to highly skilled people using dinghy crossings from France.
Someone has to deliver the pizzas.
Eugene Kontorovich on “international law” at JNS TV youtube-channel:
https://youtu.be/IeAj0aFV-uQ?si=5nshyjT5zs2wcBEM&t=475
Hamas has around 70% support among the civilian population. A population indoctrinated from birth to hate Jews.
I saw a video of a Palestinian primary school play.
It was all about the brave Palestinians duty to stab Israeli soldiers.
FFS, these children were about 5 years old.
There was also an interview recently with the head of Hamas where the shitlord was asked why they didn’t move civilians into their 500km of tunnels during airstrikes to protect them.
His response was
“We built these tunnels to protect Hamas. The civilians are a problem for the UN.”
Israel, by contrast, mandates safe rooms in all built houses. People enjoy a fair degree of liberty and rights.
So I’m always going to give Israel the benefit of the doubt. I’ll never believe a word Hamas say. Seen too many videos of people who have been ‘injured’ by Israeli airstrikes smiling and joking as they take off or put on the makeup. Or the ‘corpse’ who moved during a news item. Or the corpse who miraculously got up and walked away once the cameras had stopped.
I’ll just park this here -https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/dear-world-i-dont-care/
Excellent post.
It is.
“I could go back to Roman times when the area was renamed by the Roman occupiers.”
It’s an interesting point though, isn’t it? It’s not hard to imagine a parallel univers in which the Left considers “Palestine” a Colonialist Name like “Ayer’s Rock” or “Mount McKinley”, and therefore verboten in polite society.
“Consider how the opposite would pan out.”
Consider how (more or less) the opposite did pan out. Gaza was part of Israel for 38 years. When it was voluntarily surrendered in 2005, the Arabs required all the Jews to leave before they moved in, then torched the synagogues and looted the thriving industry that had been left for them.