The US and EU give billions of dollars to the Palestinian authority. They take the money and give it to Hamas instead of to their people. Hamas and the PLO deprive them of infrastructure food and jobs, taking the money that is meant to be for aid, and instead spending it on weapons and corruption. Hamas and PLO members have secret bank accounts in foreign countries stashing away billions of aid dollars and euros. Arafat had a multimillion dollar home in Paris and millions in his bank accounts it was discovered recently. The "Palestinian" cause is very profitable. Ending this gravy train will be the real problem.
4
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) executive committee member Zahir Muhsein said, "The Palestinian people do not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct “Palestinian people” to oppose Zionism"
3
Can someone please tell me how our one sided multi-billion dollar support of Israel makes America safer?
3
Genocide and ethnic cleansing: who knew these were American values. We should all be ashamed!
3
WAKE UP AMERICANS
You are being manipulated into yet another war in the Middle East, courtesy of Israel, Saudi Arabia, your oil companies and your defense companies. Act to protect your blood and treasure.
2
Peace between Israel and Palestinians seems to have no importance to Mr.Pompeo, oh my goodness we just found out this, USA does not care about Palestinians , never did never will, two-state solution is a bone we , once a while put on the table for Arabs and they lick this bone and than every thing as is, USA is concern about Iran's ability to make nuclear weapons, may l ask why we are not asking the same think from Israel , Israel is a nuclear power and does not permit any inspection, Mr.Pompeo is representing Mr.Trump policy and we all know he does not have a policy for any think gos save USA
1
Pompeo's comments qualify him as a War Criminal according to the Nuremberg Statutes.
Well done, Trump.
2
Congratulations to the Trump administration. Withdrawing from not one but two major agreements arbitrarily in the space of a year.
Whatever credibility or trust is left toward the United States after this reality show personality is done with it is a very open question.
When did the Republican Party fully metamorphose to the party of pushing the plate off the dinner table?
3
That Israel should be able to defend itself— against slingshot stones (some are quite big!), Molotov cocktails, and even bullets, is a no brainer. These non-peaceful protesters should be turning their ire against those who rule them and maintain their life conditions. How would the US react if they were attacked as such from across the borders of Canada or Mexico?
It’s a pity that not everyone (including many of your reader— see comments) can’t recognize that the state of things for those living in Gaza or the West Bank is of their own doing, and that of their failed, corrupt, and murderous leadership.
4
Israelis & Palestinians & Homeland
A. Two-state solution
B. No solution.
Pompeo, this is not a tough one. The daily reality is complex, but the endgame is clear: bring BOTH parties to the table to create a solution. Kicking Palestinians when they're down is- sadly- a typical trumpian 'solution'.
1
Neither Israel nor the US has any interest in anything other than the complete subjugation of the Palestinian people.
3
Israel defend itself? Are you kidding ?
Against what? Sticks and stones?
Will somebody pls explain how unending military violence against civilians in a disputed some say occupied piece of geography for
decades helps the peace process?
A pox on BOTH their houses.
1
How many times can you write the same article? Open air prison, right of return, throwing stones and bombs, burning tires, 20, 30, 40 killed, hundreds injured, high unemployment, poverty, etc.
Yes, there are grievances all around, and rehashing history again, again and again isn’t going anywhere.
Israel has offered to recognize a Palestinian State in the West Bank and Gaza at least three times (in 1948, 2001 and 2008).
How about just once Hamas publicly offer to recognize Israel as a sovereign state and promise to give up all attacks in exchange for Israel easing the naval blockade and taking steps to improve the quality of life for Gazans.
Wouldn’t that be preferable?
3
IDF snipers have targeted journalists during these demonstrations. Since when is deliberately shooting journalists with live ammunition considered to be self-defense?
2
It will take years. It may take decades. It may take centuries. But eventually the Palestinians will achieve their human rights and a prosperous State of Pakestibe. It is just a question of time.
So why not avoid all the bloodshed in the interim?
1
The Palestinians are being pushed into a state of utter frustration and hopelessness. A dangerous mix for any population. What must it be like to live without hope, without freedom, without dignity? Gaza is District 12.
2
Well for openers with regard to Pompeo, this is very telling to unconscionable.
For me the question is: are we planning to bring peace to the region with a two state solution or will we help create a place that will offer no hope for the Palestinians and assure there is a pool of terrorists for the region?
1
Don't pay attention to those protesters, who are actually armed, armed so well that not a single IDF soldier has died at their hands!
Instead, look over here... No, HERE!
Iran has got a BOMB!
Yes, it's like Saddam Hussein's bomb, it's massive it's scary, it's the most dangerous bomb EVER and some day, some day VERY, VERY SOON, it will pose a real threat to Jerusa... I mean, Ohio!
We must stop them! Regime change always goes well.
Distracted yet?
2
Netanyahu is leading Israel to self-destruction in his own interests of ego and power.
Trump is leading the US into isolation and loss of world influence in the interests of Russia.
2
Currently, both Israel and Saudi Arabia are using US weaponry to bomb, offensively, outside of their borders.
Meanwhile, Iran is bombing no one, as usual...
1
Pompeo is Trump’s mouthpiece - and the Netanyahu “PowerPoint proof” reminds me of the “proof of weapons of mass destruction”. The plight in Gaza is proof that Walls don’t work. Palestinians are branded as “foreigners” in their own land. The West Bank settlers have American acccents - and Jared? The Mideast savior? Asia is on the rise with an end to the Korean War - consolidating power ibehind China - remember Hong Kong? Trump’s bogeymen will haunt us long after his Presidency.
Thank you President Netanyahu for letting us poor Americans imagine that we have an independent Middle Eastern foreign policy. But rest assured, we know that you are dictating to us, and we'll try our best to serve you in all things. We've now sent Secretary Pompeo who has sworn fealty to you and your interests. We hear and obey.
15
As long as Trump and Pompeo are fueling the fire, the conflict between Israel an Palestinian will continue, and escalate. For the past 4 Fridays, Israel has been killing Palestinian demonstrators, using live bullets, while the Palestinians are using sticks and stones, and no one seems to mind it. Our country, used to be the mediator, trying to bring the both sides together, working on a resolution, but now, Netanyahu, Trump, and Pompeo, are determined to destroy all the past presidents have accomplished.
8
... in the interests of Russia.
1
The moment that America decided to give the Likud Party their deluded messianic fantasy of Jerusalem, we also abdicated any right to condemn the Palestinian people for struggling to keep their lives. Self-preservation is instinctual behavior.
21
ubique
The Palestinian people are not struggling to keep their lives. They believe that the most important life is the life after death.
Son's death was "best day of my life," says Palestinian mother
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Vi9oNs42hs
Why would a Palestinian mother who loves her son say that her
son's death was "best day of my life"? It's because she believes that because he died while trying to murder Jews, he will go straight to paradise and have eternal happiness.
1
Dear Secretary Pompeo,
Of course, Israel has the right to defend itself. But responding to unarmed protesters with bullets is overkill. Whatever happened to tear gas, water cannons and other civilized means of controlling unruly protesters? Your support for excessive and disproportionate force is sickening.
16
Maybe the Palestinians will get better results on their Egyptian and Jordanian boarders?
8
If the Palestinians were trying to get better living conditions, they would protest at the border with Egypt. They would say "Our enemy, the Jews, are delivering more than 800 truckloads of food & supplies every day, & you, our brothers, give us nothing. Please help us." But this isn't about better living conditions. This is all about making Jews look bad so Israel will lose international support & then the Palestinians can push the Jews into the sea.
1
Where is Jared Kushner, trump's leader for Middle Eastern affairs?
12
No Army of Russian Spies could have ever harmed our nation as much as Trump and his cabal have by virtue of their actions, including this one that gravely endangers the citizens of our nation.
22
Shooting unarmed civilians on their own land is nothing less than a war crime. The USA is now officially an accessory to the crime.
36
So if I see a mob beating someone to death, shouldn't I shoot the mob to save the victim even though the mob is unarmed?
8
Even if they are trying to cross into your land through your fence to bomb you and kidnap you? Be REAL!
8
An unarmed person is being beaten to death? Since when is the IDF unarmed?
4
Another swamp creature rising from the deep. A secretary of state chooses Israel over Palestine. Nee job. Netanyahu will be sending his usual obligatory fee.
13
Netanyahu is doing what the Israelis and their collaborators in the former USA have always done, to stir up a nuclear war with Iran and all of Israel's foes, to be fought, bled, and paid for by the former United States. It is plain that Netanyahu, and Adelson, who owns Netanyahu, are telling Trump what to do, and he grovels to do it. What a shameful, foolish specimen he is.
The Israelis and Israel-Firsters have done this, secure in their nearly complete control over all US politicians, including Trump of course, the US mass media, and what passes for academia in the former US. The one institution mainly NOT under their or their controlled politicians' control is the US military.
The rank and file, and military and naval high leadership mostly, do not like being used by an alien power and Fifth Column in the
former US, against true interests of the vast majority of the former US people, and the whole world. They have an instinctive idea of what treason is. They will not bleed and die for traitors.
16
Israel has always fought its own battles.
How many American soldiers did we send to help Israel in the 1948 war? ZERO!
How many American soldiers did we send to help Israel in the 1956 war? ZERO!
How many American soldiers did we send to help Israel in the 1967 war? ZERO!
How many American soldiers did we send to help Israel in the 1973 war? ZERO!
8
Total nonsense...this same claim has been made for several decades. If Jews really owned all these politicians, the Iran Deal would have never happened in the first place. When this deal was originally passed, Israel would have been the one country to pay the biggest price for its passing, as it is the only country to have been threatened with extinction by the Iranians. Despite this, the deal was passed. And Jerusalem being designated as the capital of Israel, why would it take 70 years if Jews had so much control over these politicians? So much for your imagined Jewish control of American politicians. Perhaps, it’s time to start examining the control that other countries, like Saudi Arabia, on American politicians.
9
Pecking order in Congress:
1 Israel
2 Big oil
3 Saudi Arabia
4 Defense industries
5 The American people
Iran deal made by Aministrative Branch, despite opposition in Congress.
1
Shooting unarmed demonstrators is a war crime. Americans and Israelis should take a hard look at ourselves and start living up to our highest ideals.
27
Isaac McDaniel
What if Israelis didn't shoot the Palestinians? Could 100 Israeli soldiers really stop 30,000 Palestinians without shooting them?
If the Israelis couldn't stop them, the 30,000 Palestinians who have been raised to hate Jews & to do what they can to exterminate Jews, would climb over the fence & beat to death any Israeli they find & break into Israeli homes & beat more Israelis to death.
Israel has the right to defend itself.
15
Did you even bother to read the article. Calling them "unarmed demonstrators" is such a misrepresentation of what was going on as to be virtually a falsehood.
10
Same applies to our southern border according to Trump?? Really?? Israel was not given that entire part of the world b God...they should take care of what they have & stop wanting more & more ala Trump.
Pompeo has the same triumphalist fantasies about Israel as other rapture-yearning evangelical Christians - once all the Jews have returned to Israel, their scripture says, their Saviour will return. Sad. Delusional and sad.
18
Maybe they think he arrived in 2016 in a country far far away. He is just afraid to show up in Israel because of violence.
US out of the Middle East. US out of North America. US out of Everywhere.
9
People need to stop conflating anti Israeli policy with anti Semitic prejudice.
20
I'm sure the sight of IDF gunning down civilians makes Pompeo feel good. One might ask, notwithstanding, if IDF is not creating more anti-Semites on a global level by doing this.
12
Not sure what the alternative is. Should Israel let Gazans enter Israel and wreck havoc and/or move into Israeli towns and cities, which could happen in the absence of the use of deadly force.
Obviously, however, the IDF's killing of Palestinians is not the answer. But the IDF response would probably be different if the Gazan protests were truly peaceful, like many of 1960's civil rights marches.
9
That peaceful marching thing doesn't seem very promising to the Palestinians. Nobody's listening. They don't want to invade Israeli towns, they want towns of their own. They are desperate. This isn't going to get easier. Two-states is the only sustainable solution.
When peaceful protests fail, violence is inevitable.
So said Martin Luther King.
Israeli policy has got to change.
1
Why would people confined by force to the bantustans of Gaza not do what they can to fight the apartheid under which they live?
13
They could come to the Israeli government in peace. But this would require Hamas to forego its now unalterable position that Israel has no right to exist.
12
Israel a nation founded by terrorism, and still run by terrorists. Why we support this terrorist state is beyond me. It seems to me that Israeli policy is Palestinian genocide and land confiscation.
This afternoon I see that terrorist leader, Netanyahu, is again repeating his lies regarding Iranian WMD's. This is the same liar who claimed that Saddam had WMD's, and egged on the Iraqi war. He's just trying to get the US to attack Iran because it's beyond the capabilities of his terrorist army.
If any country deserves to be sanctioned, it's Israel.
26
Well there it is. In black and white.
The United States of America, prevoiusly known as the leader of the free world, has now publically condoned murder. US leaders will stand in the docket alongside Israel to face criminal charges at the ICC.
19
The Gazan terrorists should be removed to the Sinai desert so Israel can live in peace.
6
Israel can live in peace ONLY after it deals with the occupied territories in a fair way.
13
Bill Clinton: “I Killed Myself to Give the Palestinians a State,” but They Rejected It
1
Pompeo is a liar, just like all in the administration. I trust the Iranians over Pompeo and his cronies.
14
I expected no less from Pompeo. Israel is an occupier of Arab land. Of this, there is no dispute in the world outside of the US. I'm getting sick of living in a hypocritical society. I made a pledge that if the dems can't take back the House in 2018, I will be living my retirement abroad. I'm so sick of 45 and his fascist band of degenerates, I think I have PTSD.
14
Well said. I believe that I will retire in Spain or Portugal in a few years. I pay more in income tax each year as a single person than the median household income and I will be dammed if I am going to spend it on 45's delusions and the likes of Pompeo. I will educate my grandsons in Europe before I will see them go to war for this country.
2
Does Pompeo suggest we start shooting the members of the "caravan" who are perched on our wall with Mexico?
What an embarrassment for our Secretary of State to equate what Israel is doing against the Gazans with defending their borders.
Just another limited application of right to life from the right wing.
12
The difference between the Mexican and Gazan border situations is that the Central Americans come in peace to work and prosper here whereas the Gazans come with the express goal of violently overthrowing the Israeli government.
9
The protesters have no guns. A few ineffectual homemade firebombs are hardly sufficient to overthrow a government.
And as past events have shown, the Hamas could never seriously threaten the Israeli government.
There has got to be a solution both sides can live with. Israeli's current policy is not it.
1
The US is squandering its power on these hopeless causes.
Time to get out of the 'peace process' business. Let Israel and the Arabs deal with it- alone.
The US should not be involved in the middle-east.
4
I am trying to figure out when most of the commenters here would prefer that Israel use live fire. Would that be at the moment that the border fence is actually breached? When Gazans have gotten 5 m into Israeli territory? Or when 10000 of them are running around in the desert near the breach point? or maybe they should put out the welcome mat and invite them to beer and boogie on the beach in Tel Aviv? if I had 50 people gather on the sidewalk near my house with the stated intention of entering my house, and they start running toward my house, you can imagine that I'm not going to wait until they are in my living room to respond. If my yard is fenced off, and a no trespassing sign is up, and they start pulling at my fence, they can expect to be greeted with the non-non-violence that they are exhibiting toward me.
15
Just deal with the problem in an equitable way -- EVERYONE wants freedom, food, shelter, etc. Israel is denying the to the Palestinians. It will be fair play when the roles are reversed. And they WILL BE reversed at some point - repeating the cycle of Jewish persecution. Kissinger said: "There must be a reason."
6
Here's how the Palestinians can get 'freedom':
Renounce the destruction of Israel and embrace a two-state solution.
Vote Hamas out because Hamas rejects both of the above.
Elect a government that addresses the critical needs of the Gazan people--infrastructure, education, women's rights and not ballistic missiles.
Have Gaza ruled not by a violent militia but a democratic politcal party committed to peace and justice
Let the Israeli people know this through its actions.
5
And if Gazans were to fire on Israel for the same reason when Israel illegally enters their Arab state, the US would be sending bombers to destroy Gaza. Why is it ok for one country to defend itself with killing unarmed people & not another? Double standard hypocrisy does not produce peace.
Republicans always on the wrong side of history!
7
Mari
Abe Lincoln wasn't.
5
Lincoln today would be a Democrat.
Doesn't every one have the right to defend themselves? Secretary Pompeo says that the Israelis have the right to self defense but should not the Palestinians have that right also? Of course there is a terrible double standard in the way we deal with different people and countries.
The United States has identified Israel as a good guy so we support whatever they do. The Palestinians are always the bad guys.
The Saudis supported the spread of Wahabism and extremist Islam but we view them as the good guys and Iran is a bad guy.
In this country a white guy with a gun is what the NRA calls a "good guy with a gun" and is the answer to shootings and crime. A dark-skinned person with a gun is someone who frightens police officers and can be shot.
12
In case you haven’t noticed Israel and the USA are actively laying the ground work for the next Mideast war. Yesterday it was the war of choice against Iraq, tomorrow it will be another (phony) war of choice against Iran ...... IF Americans don’t stand up against the Trump-Israel-Saudi war machine.
12
Israel warned us against Iraq invasion, US official says
Chief of staff of former secretary of state reveals that large number of senior Israeli officials warned Bush administration that invasion of Iraq would be destabilizing to region.
6
Obviously they weree not senior enough to influence AIPAC.
The world has gone mad. Peace is war, up is down, and right is wrong. Israel was born because its people were historically murdered, abused, and dispossessed. The Palestinians were subsequently dispossessed and their murderous abuse by the Israelis is NOT decried by the international community? On balance, how many Israelis were killed or injured in the recent demonstrations as opposed to Palestinians? Matching firepower; it is a slaughter. Yet Israel is supposed to be the “good guy” in this dispute? And without billions in US aid and arms how is it that a two state solution would not be possible? Better stated that a two state solution is not desired than ignore the obvious. Israel has become the bad actor in the region with the US rationalizing its position as a defense against “terrorists.” Frankly, it takes one to know one. This is not a fair fight when fair negotiations are most humane and appropriate. I thought the Jewish faith and tradition was one of humanity and peace. I guess no one told Netanyahu, Trump, or Pompeo. How many essentially defenseless Palestinians need be slaughtered before the analogies to Nazi Germany become too compelling to ignore? Apparently not enough yet! Next stop Iran.
10
Pompeo is positively phototropic, as long as the light is lime-colored. So he's looking at 2024, maybe 2020. Really the perfect follow-up to Trump, should there be much left to follow up.
2
As I remember, on 9/11 the Palestinians took to the streets to celebrate, while the Israeli's immediately offered to send any help that was needed. You learn the most about people when the chips are down.
9
There was nothing the US had done to 'earn' Palestinian friendship.
4
Sadly, Palestinian leaders refuse to meet with Secretary of State Pompeo.
Why do Palestinian leaders never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity for peace?
6
How utterly trite. Peace? Whose peace?
5
Ha! Sure Robert... such a meeting would be incredibly productive... (sarcasm)
1
Who said Pompeo wanted to meet with the Palestinians and they refused? Pompeo the liar?
1
What really concerns me is this all sounds hauntingly like the drumbeat prior to the US invasion of Iraq. But then again, some groups will be pleased because it brings everything closer to the Armageddon they have wished for. News flash... somehow I doubt it will lead to the Rapture.
5
It really does feel like the beginning of the new Dark Ages, or at least the 1930s. The one solace is that we know what happened in the end to the grinning, bloated leaders of the thirties who also couldn't care less about justice or mercy or even common decency.
4
Pompeo’s approach, for the first time under Trump, has a SecState supporting both the president’s views and his method of obtaining results: brinkmanship. Often it works, as with what appears to be happening in the Koreas, as with a new consideration on the part of Europe to spend more to defend ITSELF; and sometimes it doesn’t, as in what appears for now to be China’s response on different and opposed trade interests (but we really don’t know yet). Pompeyo’s tour is of a piece with Trump’s approach to getting results.
The region has been close to a two-state solution in the past. All such efforts have failed due to Gazan intransigence and violence. By ignoring Palestinians, by supporting Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, Trump (via Pompeyo) is telling the Palestinians that they face the classical problem when two very alien peoples want the same land, and one is overwhelmingly more powerful than the other. The only way of navigating to a maintainable solution is for the weaker side to be realistic in its objectives. What primarily has kept Gazans from that recognition is the support of Arab states, Euros and even-handed treatment by the U.S.
However, Palestinians have used that support to put off making basic choices about their fate, decisions that in the end are inevitable. Trump is telling them that it’s time to make them, and that the U.S. will no longer be complicit in their dilatory approach, hoping for eventual advantages that they will never again get.
5
Oh please! Your view is so one-sided. Land grab after land grab since the founding of Israel.
6
Richard
You are going to be shocked by the power of ordinary people to demand human rights and complete justice for the Palestinians.
7
Your approach to this tragedy is typical Luettgen. The way you put it, there can never be a solution.
A pox on both their houses.
8
I am disappointed with your comment.
2
I'm dissapointed on your eloquence
He may or may not be right in his viewpoint, but at least he has the chutzpah "to lay it out there"!
That is a refreshing change.
3
Bob, maybe you should look up the definition of "Diplomacy"
Chutzpah is kind of 180 degrees from diplomacy
6
Trump and his bullies have accomplished nothing except tarnishing the good name of this country. No country will engage in mutually beneficial treaties because they will fear another jerk will not honor agreements made.
1
Why is everybody running over to Israel and vice versa? Are they trying to get us into a "Let's you and him fight"?
If so, are we going to bomb Iran or Syria, and exactly why?
5
Pompeo is establishing a new baseline to keep power in 2020, if Trump were to lose.
2
Netanyahu is trying to use us, to give himself cover for his own corruption by putting on this dog and pony show about the Iran deal, make him share his intelligence and explicit evidence.
I think Netanyahu is as big a liar as Donald Trump.
Where's Jared Kushner's Middle East plan?
21
Reading between the lines: "Of course, the current US administration would like to crush domestic protests too. Thanks for leading the way, Israel."
12
Pompeo got the predicate right, the subject wrong:
He said: "Israelis have the right to defend themselves”
He meant: "Palestinians have the right to defend themselves”
If he has an honest bone in him, that had to be what he meant.
13
our policy seems to be to endorse putting them in a cage, starving them, and then watch with approval as they are shot.
21
Palestinians can leave Gaza, but since that involves traveling through Israel, the Israelis need time to determine if that Palestinian is a security risk. This results in delays. If Palestinians would be willing to live in peace, there would be no delay.
3
There is nothing I can add about Israel that is printable. The way that we permit a foreign country to determine our Middle East policy is infuriating.
In the allies market, at this point, I would be in favor of trading away Israel and Saudi in exchange for Iran and future draft picks.
But Trump and AIPAC seem to prefer endless war and nuclear proliferation at Israel's request.
22
Former Supreme Commander of NATO and U.S. Secretary of State Gen. Alexander Haig described Israel as "the largest US aircraft carrier, which does not require even one US soldier, cannot be sunk, is the most cost-effective and battle-tested, located in a region which is critical to vital US interests. If there would not be an Israel, the US would have to deploy real aircraft carriers, along with tens of thousands of US soldiers, which would cost tens of billions of dollars annually
4
M1945, that's a baffling argument.
There are plenty of US bases near Israel which are far more important than anything Israel does for the US. For example, Bahrain is the headquarters of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet. Kuwait, Saudi, Jordan, etc., all have a significant US military presence.
In contrast, the first ever US base in Israel was opened in 2017, a small air defense base of less that 100 personnel, which will provide air defense for Israel. Not the US.
In short, the US has zero strategic need of Israel. To replace it, the US would need to do approximately nothing.
Haig was being nice to an ally.
1
For what purpose? To what end?
1
Many of the posts here are but veiled anti-Semitism. The doing the bidding line, the perspective that it's Israel controlling it all, and others, are the clear and tested words we've all heard before.
9
No, LEN Duchess County - these comments are NOT anti-semitic - they are anti-Israel's government. Get the definition of anti-semitic and carefully read the comments you are criticize.
There is nothing anti-semitic in calling out Netanyahu for the liar and troublemaker that he is. There is nothing anti-semitic when I say that the Israeli Settlements must stop. Ditto when I say that Gaza is nothing more than a prison with no resources because of the blockades and Israel's control of the sea and air space related to Gaza.
14
Is it anitsemetic to ask for decent human rights for Palestinians? That old argument just doesn’t hold water anymore,,,,got something else?
8
How can it be anti-semitism when the true Semites are the Palestinians.The majority of Jews are Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe and Asia.
6
Sheldon Adelson and AIPAC must be thrilled with Pompeo's statement. Trump should now feel secure that his reelection campaign coffers will see generous donations as a result of these comments. What will they expect next? American troops to help with the slaughter?
14
Why not; tump Is such a wish wash, any which way,, Like the diplomacy out of either side of his mouth – or Out of either pocket.
2
At least maintain a SEMBLANCE of fairness in your public statements.
The new coalition being established for another war, this time with Iran. Will the new Ho Chi Min trail carve its way thru Iraq?
7
6,000 Israelis, 1% of the population (the equivalent of over 3 million Americans or almost half the population of NYC), died in 1948 because the Palestinians and several Arab nations opposed the return of Jews to the Jewish ancestral home. For this shedding of 1% of the new nation's blood, they rightfully lost their chance of their own country.
Today, The Palestinian governments spend $300 million per year of donor funds on paying for terrorists in prison or who have died and their families instead of using the funds for poor law abiding Palestinians. The Taylor Force Act is moving through Congress to put an end to the US taxpayer funding terror.
Israel pulled out of Gaza and the Palestinians elected to lead the Hamas, a terrorist organization known to blow up family restaurants (as opposed to military supply depots) to lead them.
Hamas accepted funding and weapons from Shia Iran, seen by Sunni states such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt as a real threat in the region. Israel must defend the border with Gaza to protect its citizens, but it turns out that many Egyptian soldiers have been killed in Sinai by terrorists who came from Gaza. The result is that Egypt has closed off its border to Gaza to their fellow Sunni Muslims.
One has to ask why the Gazan's aren't protesting on the Egyptian border. They should be far more angry at their fellow Sunni Muslims than they are at Israel.
13
Have you considered that the Palestinnians might have been opposed to the "return of the Jews to their ancestral home" because the Palestinian people had been living there, had their homes there, for several hundred years. And that there are many people -not just Palestinians- who do not believe that the Jewsh people have a right to that land, given to them by some ancient God.
3
@wan:
Regardless whether one believes in God or the Hebrew God, the land is Jewish land. If one were to travel to Israel, one can see the ruins of the Second Temple destroyed by the Romans 2,000 years ago.
Like the Moors who occupied Southern Spain the Palestinians occupied lands which belonged to others. The Palestinians did not care that they were occupying Jewish lands.
As it is, the lands that the returning Jews reoccupied were purchased from owners.
Moreover, since the Jews were reoccupying their ancestral lands, they had a far, far greater right to those lands than Western Europeans had to North America. That is, the Jews of Israel have a far greater right to live in Israel than anyone but Native Americans have to live in North America. That includes both you in Birmingham and me in NYC.
2
Who are then the original owners of your country? How far can one go back in history to claim rights? Two thousand years ago in my country lived the Celtic people. Can they claim the ground of their ancestours?
9
Seems like Israel and new friend, Saudi Arabia have our elected officials in a choke hold.
I can truthfully say I will not vote for anyone presently in office unless something changes. Looks like we are headed for an escalation in Syria and Iran is on deck for war.
9
I shudder at the comments I read here. These protesters are marching toward
the May 15th day set for their mass crossing of the Israeli border. Rather than focusing how to avoid that confrontation and the ensuing bloodbath that will result everyone sticks to their prejudiced long held opinions blaming the other side.
70 plus years of blood letting on both sides have now come to this. For the Palestinians it can only come to a new "catastrophe" to celebrate. For the Israelis another public relations nightmare. What else will be accomplished-
more hate, but nothing toward solving the underlying problem.
9
By "ensuing bloodbath" you mean a massacre of thousands by the IDF, and not just a few dozen? Sheesh, Michael, that doesn't sound like "solving the underlying problem." Maybe the problem is actually 50 years of Israeli occupation.
Perhaps the underlying problem is actually your belief that Israel would be justified in slaughtering these people because they seek the same freedoms that Israelis take for granted. It takes a lot of hate to justify what Israel is doing to those 2 million souls who live in that ghetto.
10
Marek Edelman,
Yes, part of the problem is the current Israeli government and its messianic vision of a Greater Israel.
But even greater blame lies with Hamas' refusal to recognize the State of Israel and insisting on its destruction. If Hamas were to moderate its position and accept a two-state solution and unify with Fatah, this would be the start necessary towards a more ever-lasting peace. However, under all circumstances Israel would end up controlling the territory that it had at the time of the 1967 war with the other occupied territories controlled by the Palestinians. And I guess that this, unfortunately, is still unacceptable to a large segment of the Palestinian population.
3
In 2014 Hamas did exectly what you specified. This was such a threat to Netanyahu’s colonial program that he he started the 2014 Gaza massacre.
1
Javenka and Pompeo are on Israel's side. We all know that. We support Israel, annually with monies to fight. No wonder the Palestinians are revolting. Israel and their backers have forced Palestine into a corner, cutting off their survival. Then they all turn around and blather about how Palestinians don't help themselves. Israel is pitiful and I continue to wonder why we fund them.
13
Our unquestioning support for Israel, including their deliberately killing unarmed Gazans protesting intolerable conditions imposed by Israeli occupation, is just another example of the rise of fascism here and abroad. This administration seems determined to incite WWIII in the Middle East by arming and encouraging terrorist nations like Saudi Arabia to attack Iran, with Israel waiting in the wings with its stockpile of nuclear arms to complete the job.
12
Israel does not occupy Gaza.
There are no Israelis or Jews in Gaza.
Jews lived in Gaza for centuries until Palestinians ethnically cleansed Gaza of its Jews in 1929.
4
@m1945: So Gaza is now an independent state? Thanks for letting us all know.
6
In the real world, attempting to breach a militarized border en masse is stupid and dangerous.
The Palestinians in Gaza are making a PR stunt out of an an invasion attempt (obvious but bears repeating). But the Palestinians in Gaza can't then complain when the stunt provokes the Israeli reaction it is intended to generate. A legitimate reaction from Israel, I might add, as just because you call yourself a "peaceful protestor" doesn't mean you can stroll right through an international border.
In any event, the Palestinians in Gaza are certainly free to end their declared war on Israel and live side-by-side in peace. I have a feeling they will instead choose to continue digging invasion tunnels, lobbing missiles and declaring a right to invade the territory of Israel pursuant to some pie-in-the-sky "right of return".
10
Israel is a country without honour.
14
The most important thing Pompeo said is that the two-state solution is dead. Can America support what has taken it's place -- the one-state solution?
Not if it's an apartheid state. By giving Israel the bullets to enforce the subjugation of the Palestinians, we are verifying the central claim our critics make: that we do not prize liberty, freedom and equality, rather it is power and domination we seek.
8
Ok NYT. How long do we have to wait until you report on the Iranian nuclear arms program documents that Israel has obtained which prove that the Iranians can't be trusted when it comes to any nuclear arms deal? (Netanyahu: Can you get your hands on North Korea's nuclear arms' documents while you're at it?)
5
Could the Secretary have said anything more banal? This from an official supposedly possessed of surpassing intelligence. We should hope his understanding of Gaza's relationship with Israel is greater than that of his boss. He sounds like it is not.
25
As far as I am concerned, Israel is on its own. Don't expect me to spend US dollars or lives defending its indefesible actions.
37
Exactly what have the Palestinians, West Bank and Gaza people ever done with all the billions of dollars that the USA and the Arab and Muslim countries have given to them?
10
Yeah they are mad because they all have to much liberty and money. We have to do something about that quick!
In the case of Gaze, tried to survive the economic boycott imposed by Israel, which includes denying Gaza fishermen the right to fish in their part of the Mediterranean and holding up agricultural products at border posts until they rot. Incidentally, Trump recently cancelled the very modest American contribution to aid for Gaza.
6
A majority of the enlightened citizens of the United States seemingly approve of the police killing unarmed black men and then blame the victims and call the entire black community "prone to violence." If it weren't so, why would we allow such atrocities to continue? Why would anyone expect Americans to see protesting Palestinians any differently. They are, after all, a dark skinned people and thus also highly likely to be "prone to violence." This is end stage American imperialism in action. Unlike Rome however, there is no fall back position, no Holy Roman Empire, no Constantinople. In the absence of truth and enough social fabric to hold us together our hate will tear us to shreds, we are looking into the gaping maw of a new dark age.
48
Jeez Jack, could you paint a little darker picture for us, I need something to talk to my kids about tonight...
1
True, unfortunately. Well said.
3
Thrilled! And Proud!
Just like the young black men who are shot by cops, "because, well, what else can the cops do? the risk? the danger? so what if the black men haven't done anything wrong? they might! innocent looking behavior might just be a ploy. can't risk that!"
So too, it is good to hear our amazing Secretary of State proclaiming that "of course Israeli troops can shoot to kill unarmed Palestinians" (what if they have a stone hidden in their pocket? wouldn't be surprised!). Their bare hands might easily topple the billions of dollar containment barrier Israel has constructed to pen in Palestinians. Then where would our aid be? Add on to that paying for the wasted bullets if they don't "shoot to kill," & you're talking about a real drain on our Treasury.
Ah. I smell justice all around. Pompeo, may you take your shining light and illuminate the world with it. The world awaits!
Remember the "America, love it or leave it?" Love it. No intention of leaving it. BUT!!!
What are we supposed to be proud of these days? A president who boasts about grabbing women's private parts & has unprotected sex with porn stars right after his wife gives birth? An administration where looting public perks is the order of the day?Tax cuts that further engorge the rich & corporations? Institutionalized denigration of people of color, Mexicans, Muslims, immigrants, the poor & on & on...
How about we just change America? And our president & his cronies in the administration & in Congress?
47
Shooting and killing unarmed protestors is not an act of defense; it is outright murder. Using them as target practice in Gaza, the world's largest open-air prison, is part of the slow genocide Israel has imposed upon this courageous population of Palestinian patriots who are determined to be free. Once again, the US government is on the wrong side of history and morality.
54
These protesters are not unarmed and they threaten violence against Israel. Suppose they were allowed to breach the border - do you think they would then do something peaceful?
6
Last I checked it's not kidnapping to arrest people who illegally cross into your border and it's not murder to kill people who ignore warnings and breach fences and attempt to overrun a militarized border.
Now if you are saying that really the Palestinians "own" Israel so any Israeli governmental use of force is unauthorized and tantamount to a crime such as kidnapping or murder, then well I guess you'd have a more consistent argument. I guess the Israeli's collecting taxes is stealing too.
But I think that's a stretch of an assumption.
In other words, Israel sovereignty includes the right to defend its border, including by force. What do you think all those tanks and planes are for?
2
Yes, it is murder to kill people, only a fraction of whom are armed only with stones and ineffectual homemade firebombs.
Breaching a fence is not grounds for capital punishment.
The Israelis do not "defend themselves" because it is the Israelis that are the "evil" occupiers of Palestine! Israel is an evil apartheid regime, far worse than South Africa and USA... ever was, as long as Palestinians are denied their rights to either have their own country or be full citizens in a "one state solution" Israel, where Jews and Muslims and Christians and... all have exactly the same human rights and being a part of a then democratic Israel where one man/woman equals one vote regardless of their religious beliefs! Jerusalem is NOT the capital of Israel as long as there is no final solution regarding the status of Palestine and the Palestine people! USA/Trump have made everything worse by illegally recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of the apartheid regime Israel! Everything was done the wrong way when Britain gave someone else`s country, Palestine, to the "Jews" after the second world war! "Israel"/Palestine do not belong to any single religion, but the evil Empire Britain, that illegally occupied large parts of the world, gave Palestine/Israel to the Jews, followers of a single religion! That stupid act made today`s religious war between Muslims and Jews inevitable! Christians and Muslims have exactly the same rights to Palestine/Israel as the Jews do!
33
It wasn't Britain that gave the Jews Israel/ Palestine; it was the world by way of a resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
But I understand there is a difference here between the Jews who were receiving half a loaf (in securing land that it did not previously control, except perhaps in ancient times) and Muslims who were losing, at least in the terms of formal control, half of the territory in Palestine.
Unfortunately, a one state solution will not work because there is no trust or common interest between Jews and Muslims. Thus, it's hard to see how they can effectively govern themselves without the government degenerating into total chaos. Here in the U.S., we have a more than 200 year tradition of democracy and we can't seem to effectively govern ourselves right now. Multiply the U.S.'s governance problems by about 100 times and that is what you would get in a one-state solution.
Indeed, many of the failed states of Africa and the Middle East resulted from Western nations putting disparate ethnic groups, who have no history of working together or community of interest, in one country. Those with a common history and ethnicity (Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia) have fared better than countries like Iraq, Libya, Congo etc. where different ethnic groups were just thrown together.
3
Since the big Arab protest is scheduled for May 15, at best it is timed to try and detract from Israelis celebrating their anniversary. But, mindful of the 1973 war, such gatherings on the border, might also be a Hamas ploy to more powerfully attack
Israelis. And what does the boy you interviewed Intend to do if he gets across the border?
7
You may be surprised to learn that May 15 is the day of deep meaning to Palestinians. It is the day hundreds of thousands of them or dispossessed from there centuries old homes and cast out to live as refugees for the next 70 years. Are you surprised that they should protest this loss and seek justice?
4
According to the Israeli spokesman I saw on CNN, if they get through the fence they will "eat the livers of the Jews"!
Is it possible they are protesting because they want their children to be able to grow up with the same freedoms that the children of Israel enjoy?
5
Centuries old homes? Try 30 or 40 years. For the Jews it is 4,000 years. As for being cast out, a longer chat will be necessary to supply some facts. In the interim check out the real estate transactions on file in Israel. Before the wars, most of the land settled in the 19th and 20th centuries by Jews was bought from Arab land owners.
5
I think that by now the US stands nearly alone in it's one sided support for Israel. All beings have a right to exist, that is fundamental. And bottles, rocks and bottle flares are in no way comparable to the high powered war machines that the US supplies Israel and gives aid to purchase and use. Enough blood shed already, if Israel wants to be at war why can't they pay for it and do it without our governments support?
33
There are just the three cities with Iron Dome (protection from ICBMs). They are Moscow, Tel Aviv and Washington DC
1
A decent man on a fools errand... hey Fool! thanks for keeping this ridiculous issue festering, my grandkids will be picking up the pieces years from now with god knows what messes along the way...
6
After 50 years of subjugation of the Palestinians, is there any point at which a reasonable American could conclude that Israel's arguments for why the subjugation should continue are in fact pretexts?
Another 50 years? How about 100.
31
Pompeo is quickly revealing himself to be just another "Trumper" -- full of arrogance and while he's better educated than the President, there still seems to be no there, there. I support Israel and its right to exist, but if there is no two-state solution to be had than they will have to adjust and not be a Jewish State, but a Democratic State where one day majority (not the Jewish people) will rule. Mr. Trump and his cronies should have been forced to travel the world before they took these jobs -- right now they are simply right wing arm chair, Fox loving group of people that think they are the only ones who have a right to exist. With Trump there is no more high horse and the emperor has no clothes -- time and history will not look kindly on this group.
13
Israel bothers me. I wish it weren't so well armed. I wish it was more like Latvia.
6
Pompeo no doubt approved his replacement at CIA, to head the agency with an infamous head torturer from the worst days.
Therefore it is no surprise that he supports war crimes. It is just more of the same.
38
Not only is our one sided multi-billion dollar support of Israel not in our national security interests, it actually WEAKENS our national security.
Does anyone seriously believe that we would be targeted by Islamic terrorists time and time and time again if we did not have such completely biased pro-Israel position?
66
Islamic terrorists says it all. They would find some way to blame the USA, regardless whether or not the USA sided with Israel!
5
Many posts revolve around the idea that a foreign country must do what pleases the commenters who live half way around the world and really have no idea of the situation on the ground. And by the way, those Molotov cocktails would be considered to be WMD by the previous administration and not relegated to unarmed protester status. Examine the arrest and conviction of Glendon Scott Crawford, accused and convicted of building an imaginary device.
2
We need to completely withdraw from the Middle East. No more troops. More more aid. No more military weapons sales. No more anything.
All we get in return is Americans dying, Islamic terrorism and the enmity of the rest of the world.
Bye bye!
32
Stop being so stupidly dependent of oil! USAs greed for cheap oil is the fundamental reason for all problems in the Middle East! USA is the biggest bully in the world, even illegally replacing democratically elected governments all over the world if they do not obediently feed the greedy US capitalists with cheap oil...! Capitalists do not like democracies, they are too unstable and too unpredictable, that is why USA so many times have replaced democratically elected governments in countries all over the world with more stable obedient dictators! USAs war against "communism" have actually really been a war against democracy all over the world!
1
Remind me again. What and where is Sweden?
Doing the work of Israel, as usual. Will this include war against Iran at the behest of Israel?
56
Since World War II, our nation has grown accustomed to creating enemies and promoting conflicts to assure the continuation of the Military Empire and the Arms industry. You should know that the C.I.A. is the continuation of the Military Intelligence organization that existed during that war. The C.I.A. continues to be that arm of the Military Empire and the appointment of the former C.I.A. Director Pompeo as the new Secretary of State, responsible for overseeing our nations diplomacy, once a bastion of Peace Makers, assures us that the State Department is sidelined to the benefit of the Military Empire that depends on wars and conflict to justify it's very existence. Pompeo's remarks in support of Israel's killing of unarmed enslaved Gazan's in their isolated stalag territory appears as a tacit approval to commit outright genocide. My opinion holds little consequence in the face of such a formidable Militarized Government such as we have, but the weight of world opinion will weigh heavily on our nation to our economic, diplomatic and social disadvantage as well as move world opinion against us and for the Palestinians. The change from honest broker to conflict support was ill advised. Trump's deeds do not match his words. He cannot be trusted to lead our nation in peace and defense. Pompeo's words will inflame radical terrorists thus endangering us.
13
Surviving one's own sufferings does not provide license to cause others to suffer. Surviving one's own suffering ought to prompt one to refuse to make others suffer. Never Again should point both inward and outward.
28
Pompeo is all about the new U.S. alliance with Israel and Saudi Arabia against Iran. As an America of Jewish background and a member of a Holocaust family, I find his willing to dismiss the two-sate solution and Israel's callous killing of what seems to be unarmed Palestinian protestors who are literally imprisoned in Gaza due to Israel's blockade atrocious. As many expected, Pompeo is working to build up for the U.S. to pullout of the JCPOA (aka the Iran Nuclear Accord) and an intensification of hostilities with Iran. We have enough problems in the Middle East in Syria and Yemen; the last thing we need is an even wider regional Islamic civil war between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran. And, this from the man who promised to pursue diplomacy first. Like the Bush Iraq War this will be another disaster or our own making.
37
Oh boy. Pompeo throws more gasoline on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Where is Jared? He was supposed to bring peace to this region?
But really, does anyone have the slightest idea what the Trump lackeys are doing in this region? It appears they do not themselves.
29
Oh they know for sure... getting themselves out of debt is their only goal.
2
The Palestinians are attacking. They are using deadly force. This article makes it sound like Israel is the aggressor even while Palestinians are provoking their own injury and deaths.
Has no one here (or there) ever heard of peaceful protest? What a statement it would make if thousands camped peacefully by the fence for the weeks of this protest. It would say so much more about the possibility of success for a two state solution, wouldn't it?
Israel is not blameless but how commentators and journalists can place the blame on Israel for Gazans provoking their own deaths is absurd.
13
Exactly. It reminds one of those unarmed black guys who provoke police men into shooting them, often in the back. (Seldom seems to be police women, does it?)
4
Of course Israel is an aggressor. It has been from the beginning, since it engaged in the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians it order to establish itself in Palestine. It has been well-documented.
Who would in their right mind want their country occupied? The Zionists are occupying the homeland of the Palestinians. The Palestinians just want the occupation to end. Plain and simple. That isn't diffficult to understand. It's just too bad that the protests result in such a high cost to the Palestinians.
4
J. Davidsmeyer,
The question is whether or not Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish state within secure and recognized borders. If Palestinians and others believe that it does not have such a right - despite the 1947 UN resolution declaring the State of Israel - then this fight will go on for ever and ever as no nation, particularly one that is 70 years old, will commit voluntary suicide.
Further, the raison d' etre for the existence of the State of Israel is the Holocaust and the well-placed fear/ concern that Jews throughout the world have that if and when governments persecute or threaten them, they have a safe place to go: Israel.
4
The crown prince of Saudi Arabia said this week, "In the last several decades the Palestinian leadership has missed one opportunity after the other and rejected all the peace proposals it was given, it is about time the Palestinians take the proposals and agree to come to the negotiations table or shut up and stop complaining." Maybe there is a benefit for the mass pursuit of victimhood?
10
Let's face facts. Israel is a tiny nation surrounded by hostile neighbors. If not for its military strength and allies it would be obliterated and overrun by its enemies. Peace talks should be based on the premise that Israel be recognized as a sovereign nation that has the right to exist.
In the past when Israel made concessions, promises on the other side were broken. Mutual trust can't be established under these conditions.
Sane people know "WW3" is not an option; it's a no-win situation for all concerned.
19
Israel always has the opportunity to treat others decently then maybe its neighbors wouldn’t be so angry. Killing people and marching them out of their ancestral homes was not a good start. A one state solution with equal rights for all is always waiting as an option with reparations. It is cheaper than all these wars too.
6
What is the chance that one state that would soon become majority Arab would give Jews any rights when Hamas & the Palestinian Authority don't even give their fellow Palestinians any rights?
2
Who would have suspected that out new Secretary of HATE would be pro-Israeli? Thanks to botched diplomacy (if one could call it that) afer WWII, the Israelis got SOMEONE ELSE"S territory, and now they murder civilians to maintain it and destroy houses that once housed peaceful people. I'm SO TIRED of Israel dictating our foreign policy, and that is because MONEY for political donations fills our politicians heads instead of clear thought.
21
I thought Jared Kushner was solving the Middle East peace problem? Maybe he is too busy meeting with attorneys these days to focus.
12
what a shock - fascists embrace.
18
Pompeo's pronouncement that Israel is entitled to "Self defense" is like a Mafia Don nodding his head to a name condemning that person. Pompeo simply nodded to Israel.
9
An unobserved corollary to Pompeo's comments : The Palestinians have the right to fight colonialism and apartheid.
21
This American citizen does NOT support the Israeli response to weekly Palestinian protests.
93
You’re lucky you live between two oceans.
6
Sure, the Israelis have the right to shoot unarmed protesters with live ammunition.... no problem there, right? And Pompeo's and Trump's brokering of a peace between Israelis the Palestinians... as dead at the 46 or so unarmed Palestinians the Israelis have already shot dead in the past few weeks.
33
They're not unarmed.
9
As long as you think a Molotov cocktail is not deadly force, standstill and let me throw a few at you. And then gather enough of your friends so that I have mass shooter can hide behind you.
7
"Unarmed protesters"? Sure. They were just busy signing petitions and marching with placards, while registering to vote.
9
So if there is only one state (Israel), will all the people in occupied lands become Israeli citizens?
22
There are already two states. The other one is Jordan. I suspect they are no Keener to have a West Bank third state as the PLO try to assassinate there for my king. It is a complex and sad Issue that snide comments do not help.
8
The people of Gaza have the right to support Hamas. But such support has consequences. I used to believe peace was possible with the Palestinians, and though it may be true for the PLO, Hamas has forced me to reexamine my view. I remember when Israel left Gaza to determine its own future. The Israelis had greenhouses in Gaza that they were going to tear down before they left but one individual decided to buy them and present them as a gift to the people of Gaza. So what happened. As soon as the Palestinians received this peace offering with no strings attached they destroyed it. Then they built tunnels into Israel with the goal of terrorizing people across the fence. Then they sent rockets into Israel without being attacked themselves. Not just once but numerous times. I was watching PBS and a reporter on the scene in a hotel in Gaza City was telling us the Israelis were claiming Hamas was firing rockets from hospitals and schools. Outside his window and on the roof of a hospital were two men he did not notice but were filmed. As he was denying the Israeli report, Hamas launched a rocket from the roof and he was clearly stunned. A friend said the people in Gaza were living in refugee camps. Google Earth had Gaza as a beautiful city with schools, hospitals and a modern university. Egypt and Saudi Arabia have blamed Hamas for the rocket launches and the destruction and embargo. Elections have consequences.
30
And Netanyahu's government did not make you reconsider if Israel's government is really interested in peace?
9
The greenhouse story is a myth, repeated over and over and over again until it becomes accepted as a fact. Anybody who thinks that either Hamas or Israel are innocent is selling something. Yet one constantly sees people claiming that Israel is completely innocent on the basis of stories that are often either half-truths or falsehoods. I suppose that in some part of the world somewhere Hamas is portrayed as the completely innocent victim, but that isn't something Americans need to worry about reading.
https://forward.com/opinion/399738/american-jews-have-abandoned-gaza-and...
5
You are correct -- Israel apparently gets no credit for giving Gazans those greenhouses and a wonderful agricultural program there. As I recall the coverage at the time proclaiming Israel's generosity as in those years it was a $50 million gift.
Let us hope some fair-minded reporter at the Times decides to do a little research. Glamorizing violent protests is NOT in the best interests of Palestinians who would thrive -- as do the many Arab Israeli citizens -- should their leaders decide to be peaceful neighbors of Israel.
5
Human blood will be shed as a consequence of Trump's and Pompeo's words.
19
The Palestinians are simply playing a different version of "suicide by cop" . They are victims of Hamas and have no one else to blame but themselves. Of course, the Hamas leadership is hiding in their mansions. The world is simply no longer interested or buying it.
21
Pompeo's response here is correct. These protests have devolved into Molotov cocktail affairs with firebomb accents; the article states as much. Is there any country in the world that would accept that? Of course not. But this is Israel, and, in the eyes of many, Israel has no right to defense. They have to absorb the blows, week after week, without military response. That standard belongs to Israel and Israel alone. It's baffling, and Pompeo is right to press against it.
26
In the 1978 Camp David accords Israel negotiated peace with Egypt and gave up the Sinai. At the 2000 Camp David Summit, Israel offered the Palestinians a separate state, which was rejected by Arafat. That's where we stand. If the Palestinians want to establish a peaceful state, it's theirs.
18
The size and boundaries of the so-called "Palestinian state" offered by Israel were found quite objectionable by the Palestinians not, as you imply, the idea of their own state.
7
Arafat conceded that Israel offered him more than 96% of what he sought in terms of land. Alas he walked away from the Peace table and called for another violent intifada. Sorry but America and the Israelis have been trying for decades to make peace. The ball is now squarely in the court of the Palestinian people -- let us all pray that they choose a non-violent approach and insist their leaders get back to the negotiating table asap.
4
America needs to take care of its own people and stop trying to police the whole world. We have serious infrastructure problems, poverty, a health crisis, that need our attention and money. I'm not saying we should become isolatiionists, but we need attention badly wihin our own shores. Let's get to work here at home.
6
Open your eyes. "We" got to work here at home. The first opportunity we had, "we" devised and passed the tax overhaul - a massive giveaway to corporate America and the super wealthy...and a few bucks here and there for the working class.
1
Another day, another new Secretary of State dancing to Trump's kazoo. Nothing has changed in the State of Israel except mission creep into the territories by Orthodox Zionists who are building new homes for their families in disputed territories. What will change in the near future for the Gazans who are lobbing hopes for peace and incipient intifada at the Israelis who are celebrating their 70 years of Independence on the 5th day of Iyar (14 May 2018? Lord spare Israel from nuclear wrath of Middle-Eastern countries. Maybe S.O.S. Mike Pompeo will surprise us all and be an effective diplomat for our country (which our President surely isn't and never will be).
5
What is more shameful than the wasting the lives of these young men by Hamas is the Resistance and the Never Trumper’s gleefully accepting these protests as some sort of spontaneous demonstration of the people to score points on Trump.
4
Regardless of where you stand on the two-state solution, one thing is certainly true- Pompeo is a religious fanatic who has publicly stated that he thinks Jesus worship is the only thing that will save mankind. Pompeo approves of Israel, and Judaism, in so far as support for Israel will usher in Armageddon, the rise of the "Anti-Christ", and the return of Jesus.
How far we have fallen in America, when this superstitious cult is openly welcomed in the highest halls of government. Congress (at least those members who aren't members of the cult themselves) woefully neglected it's duty to America. America may indeed usher in a new world war with it's aggressive, warlike, tone deaf treatment of the poorest citizens of the world, but one thing is absolutely certain- there is no Jesus who will come to save us from ourselves.
29
Everyone says that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is "the key to stability in the Middle East."
Can someone please explain to me how the brutal civil war in Syria will be resolved if Israel and Palestine work it out? How about the war between Yemen and Saudi Arabia? How about ISIS- will they just disband and go home if the Israeli's and Palestinians make a deal?
How about the Taliban, will they embrace democracy in Afghanistan if the Israel's leave Jerusalem?
Someone explain it to me-please?
54
Iran has threatened Israel many times with annihilation. Those threats originated when Iran was 1500 miles away. Today they are building military bases right next to the Israeli border. Israel only bombs Syria when it can destroy some of these Iranian military structures. Only one who supports the Iranian dream of the destruction of Israel would make the comments you did.
3
Open a history book. Or better yet, read some Plato.
'Iran' is what's left of the Persian Empire. Our "war on terror" is a half-measured reaction to a fatwa issued regarding two of the three holiest sites in Islam.
We seem to be having our own proverbial "Road to Damascus" moment as a nation. It is truly a shame that the only knowledge to have ever been considered sacred was used to hold the rest of the world hostage since 1946.
2
When will those who sympathize with the Palestinian plight, which is real and awful, start demanding Hamas renounce terrorism and agree to a negotiated future for both peoples? Why is there never any mention of Hamas' role in this travesty? You can't negotiate with someone who refuses to accept your existence.
69
I know many highly intelligent Israelis. Considering how smart and tough Israelis say they are, they refuse to admit that this is the other side's way of pushing their buttons.
But every convo about Arab-Israeli peace starts and ends with this.
2
"...they refuse to admit that this is the other side's way of pushing their buttons."
Is Hamas's goal to effectively govern Gaza and improve the lives of its residents, or to push Israel's buttons? I'd think a lot of folks in Gaza might want to know?
2
ANY agreement arrived at under duress has no legal standing.
It may delay the inevitable but will not eliminate.
Israel, by its actions over the last many years, is setting itself up for another cycle of persecution. We dont know when or by whom - but it WILL HAPPEN.
Israel can reach a FAIR peace deal from a position of strength - but not the kinds of deals that ended the US Indians wars, or WW1.
We totally support a two-state solution.
By the way, Israel gets Jerusalem. And the Strip. And Israel can defend itself but Palestine has no rights to expel other countries or to protest. And... actually, you know what, strike that first solution. We'll be back in a minute with a different plan.
6
Israel withdrew from the strip and has no interest in "getting" it. The Temple Mount in Jerusalem, holy to Moslems and Jews, remains under Moslem administration and Jews are forbidden from praying there. And since a substantial portion of the Palestinian leadership wishes to eliminate the "Zionist entity," Israel is obligated not to allow a future Palestinian state to arm itself to the teeth.
5
Clinton Parameters 2001. The ones Arafat walked away from.
2
Israel could set off a mini-nike in Gaza and the United States of Israel would support it.
12
As an American Jew, I'm appalled, but not surprised, that our newly installed right-wing-extremist Secretary of State believes the heroic Israelis have the right to murder unarmed Gazans peacefully protesting the suffocating chokehold in which Israel has kept them for decades. It's another example of the U.S.'s willingness to insist on human rights when it suits our convenience and to spit on them when it doesn't.
113
Self-defense is not murder.
People throwing rocks & Molotov cocktails & rolling burning tires are armed & are not peaceful.
Palestinians are trying to exterminate the Jews. The purpose of the border control is to stop Palestinians from obtaining more & better weapons to accomplish their goal. If Palestinians would decide to live in peace, the border control wouldn't be necessary.
I give kudos to the Israelis who deliver over 800 truckloads of food & supplies every day to people who want them dead.
Egypt has a blockade against Gaza & doesn't deliver anything, but Palestinians aren't protesting Egypt. Why? Because it's not about Gaza's living conditions. It's about making Jews look bad so that no one will help Israel defend itself against Palestinians.
4
Bravo bluewombat, I couldn't have said it better even if I were Jewish. Thank God for any human being who believes in human rights for all and any people. You are a credit to your religion.
2
Thank you for your decency and your honesty. It is well beyond time that all of us put universal human rights for all above tribalism. Please use your position to advocate for human rights for the Palestinian people. I feel that if more American Jews were to express support for the people of Gaza then things could possibly change for the better. Best wishes.
2
The Trump regime's policy towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is dictated by Sheldon Adelson, the Vegas casino owner who is also a owner of Trump, Pompeo and others deciding our positions in the Mid-East.
20
So, our Secretary of State things shooting unarmed protestors is legitimate self defense?
Two questions:
How long before Trump orders the U.S. army to open fire on American protestors?
Do you still think that those “Americans” who give such attitudes full throated support will be content to have a civil political discourse based on reason reason with and are willing share a pluralistic and democratic nation with you?
17
NEWS FLASH: America is now an official partner in Israeli style democracy where one dominate side of the ethno-political equation dominates the other which will mathematically result in a continual state of conflict and war. I hereby nominate Mike Pompeo and Johnny Bolton as dual recipients of the prestigious AIPAC Man Of The Year Award for 2018, previously won by Ariel Sharon, Bibi Netanyahu, and Dick Cheney
17
"Initially advertised by Hamas, the militant group that runs Gaza, as peaceful protests, they have been marked by the use of Molotov cocktails and firebombs by Palestinians and deadly force on the part of Israel."
Is this the Times' an attempt to make the struggle look like a contest of equals? With zero Israeli casualties and 45 Palestinian dead and a thousand injured?
13
How many Israeli casualties would make you happy?
7
So Israel should what — switch to Molotov cocktails too? Just let them surge through the border, as they keep trying to do? (Over 500 have gotten through before being stopped on the Israeli side). Calling these weekly violent incursion attempts "protests" is absurd. The entire point has been storm the border and either provoke Israel into firing upon them, or if they can get through, to carry out attacks. What do you *think* their plan is, once they get through to the Israeli side?
7
David,
I think you know that the O.P. is not calling for Israeli casualties, but decrying the disproportionate response of the IDF.
Someone or something removed my coment. I said:
"Little Mikey is doing The Con Don, Netanyahu, Putin and other Robber Barons' work. They want WW3.
WE THE PEOPLE are the only ones who can/will stop them and NOW is the time."
Who would that offend?
13
They don't put every post up, nor do they publish them in a timely fashion. It can take hours for them to moderate and post.
Anyone with common sense?
1
History shows how Israel has been taking more land that was given to them little by little and obviously with the approval of the US... Now the are assuming that Jerusalem will be part of Israel too...
The money for political campaigns and special favor are too good to pass....
Israel has been a big liability to the US...
33
US foreign policy in the Middle East is dictated by Israel and the Jewish money in the US. Until the people of the US rein in their politicians and demand the freedom of the Palestinians, they must accept that they are complicit in the genocide of the Palestinian people. What do the US citizens feel when they see children shot and killed by the Israelis and young girls imprisoned for throwing stones in protest?
11
Actually, Israel took these lands from Egypt, Jordan and Syria in one big bite after those Arab countries attacked Israel in 1967. Their goal was to destroy Israel but they failed. Israel kept these lands as a defensive buffer.
The destruction of Israel is the goal of Hamas. They have never been involved in a "peaceful protest". Israel should and never will allow this.
15
Liability?
Exactly what have any Arabic or Muslim country ever given to the United States compared with Israel. Israel is a major player in desalination, medicine, agriculture, oil exploration, and so on , and so forth.
Name me one thing that any Arabic or Muslim country has contributed for the good of mankind!
3
None of this is surprising. Bibi has Trump in his back pocket and the neocons, which Pompeo is aligned with, have long endorsed Israeli ethnic cleansing.
The real question is do Americans know that this is US policy and do they care?
The "peace talks" are simply a game where Netanyahu makes the rules. The Palestinians are adrift because the PA leadership has accomplished nothing in the last 25 years.
But Israel has accomplished quite a bit. They have annexed all of Jerusalem and effectively annexed large sections of the West Bank. They maintain Gaza as an open-air prison compound with guards along the perimeter rather than patrolling inside.
Most significantly, they have shifted most of the costs of running this prison compound to European and international funds and have concrete plans to wall in the West Bank Palestinians into ethnic townships.
In effect, Israeli annexation and apartheid is well underway and Pompeo's visit sent a signal that the US will not object and continue the massive aid that Israel annually receives.
The policy of the US should be to actively promote a two state solution, not stand by and do nothing as its prospects disappear.
And it certainly shouldn't be our policy to pay for ethnic cleansing. Yet we do both while media portray a Palestinian kid throwing a rock from 150 meters away as a threat to Israeli security. They are a threat to Israeli plans, but not her security.
This plan for Apartheid is a crime. But the question is who cares?
41
No one cares, because it is not apartheid and it is not a crime.
3
Instead of directing their anger towards Israel the Palestinians should be blaming their own leaders and other Arab states for the quandary they are in. There have been numerous opportunities since 1948 for the Palestinians to have their own state, living in peace with Israel, but their leaders have never accepted it. Also, 25% of Israeli citizens are actually Arabs whose families chose to remain in Israel in 1948 instead of leaving under orders of Arab leadership. It's time for the Gazans to turn against Hamas and approach Israel with an olive branch instead of a rock, fire bomb, or rocket.
19
" It's time for the Gazans to turn against Hamas and approach Israel with an olive branch instead of a rock, fire bomb, or rocket."
If they do, will they get their land back?
8
No they won't get their land back. Neither will the Native Americans.
Nor will more than 600,000 Jews forced to flee countries during 1950's nationalist uprisings in Iraq, Egypt, Algeria and other Arab nations get their homes back.
Nor will the millions murdered by Hitler -- including priests and gays and millions of Jews -- get their lives back. The Palestinians should get on with the tough work of living in peace as other displaced people around the globe have had to do over past centuries.
Peace gives the Palestinians a future not attacks on Israel.
5
Egypt maintains a blockade at the Gaza border as well. They’re well aware it’s a hotbed of terrorism.
The Saudi Crown Prince has recently made statements to wash his hands of the Palestinian issue.
Egypt and Saudi Arabia are much more concerned about Iran than the Palestinians.
It seems like the leftists around the world are the only ones remaining to cry about the Pals.
How many missiles and tunnels do you need to see before you’re willing to admit that Hamas has used all charitable funds to terrorize Israel, as well as Egypt in Sinai.
15
When Egypt opened its border with Gaza, the US and Israel leaned on Egypt hard to force it closed again, with threats and fury.
Don't pretend this is Egyptian action proving the Israelis right. This is Israeli action insisted upon, with threats.
4
Holding up Egypt as a shining light of defending democratic rights is ludicrous. Of course their borders are tight: it's a dictatorship.
What he means is the Israelis have the right to keep killing and wounding their powerless, fenced-in victims with impunity and US approval.
That contradicts international law, which states that those oppressed by an illegal occupation have the right to defend themselves by any means necessary.
29
I guess you missed the footage of the "kill the Jews" cries, and the swastika flying.
They're digging tunnels under the border fence and lobbing firebombs. They are also flying kites with firebombs attached, hoping to burn an Israeli house. They're burning Israeli fields. They're using slingshots to shoot rocks at Israeli soldiers. This is not a peaceful protest. It's a riot. And any other country on earth would simply fire with impunity.
11
Why shouldn't they? Maybe if the Israelis hadn't stolen their land and bulldozed their houses and killed their children, things would be different. But they did, so they're not. Israel is the bad guy here. Israel is at fault. This isn't an anti-Semitic statement; it's an anti-Zionist statement. Get used to it.
3
Give them back their land and I'm sure they will stop.
Israel are occupiers. That is why there is little sympathy for them.
4
This is what happens when a country losses its way. This is what happens when two countries - Israel and America - dance to the tunes of injustice and arrogant self-interest.
In another era, the claim on land that isn't yours but you believe should be yours by virtue of the superiority of your race, and the resulting dehumanizing and elimination of the men, women and children who live on that land and stand in your way was called Lebensraum.
That Lebensraum, like the one underway today will author yet another black page in the ongoing history books of cruelty. We have learned nothing.
25
This will lead directly to the ascendancy of some combination of Russia and Iran in the mid east. That will work out really well.
2
Many in the U.S. and around the world believe U.S. politicians have been bought off or threatened by the well-funded and powerful State of Israel lobby for dollars, votes or both. The U.S has lost thousands of American lives, other countries hundreds of thousands, and the U.S. has spent trillions of dollars in the Middle East. Trump says $7 trillion! Why? Oil and Israel.
The U.S. is moving away from foreign oil. Israel is 70 years-old, highly educated, and prosperous. Israel must work to get along with its neighbors and not on the backs of U.S. taxpayers or with American lives.
Elected Politicians have been taking money from your Social Security Trust Fund, and borrowing from the likes of China, Russia and tax havens to fund these Middle East wars. All Americans must remember this when their Social Security is automatically cut 20 to 25% or more!
We must find a way to hold self-interested and self-enriching Politicians and their staffers, from both parties, personally liable, responsible and accountable for the lies they have told US, their gross mismanagement of our county, our $21T and growing national debt (108% of GDP), and approximately 80T in future, unfunded liabilities jeopardizing our economic and national security, while benefiting themselves, their party, and special interest donors.
http://www.usdebtforum.com
20
Pompeo only wishes American protesters could be treated with such violence, but fortunately we still have a vague "rule of law" here in the States. Although the protesters at Standing Rock might disagree.
11
This is pathetic. In speaking for his boss, Mr. Pompeo is also speaking for the whole American people, millions of whom simply don't support Trump's cruel indifference to the suffering of the Palestinian people. It's impossible to touch any part of the explosive issues between Israel and the Palestinians without touching the core of those issues. To endorse Israel's violent responses to the Gaza protests without dealing with Israel's cruel domination and persecution is a kind of willful idiocy which is not remotely a rational point of departure for any serious policy. The American people are not going to emerge unscathed from our endorsement of Israel's extremists, who dominate the scene there these days.
23
Those that don't support the cruel treatment of the Palestinians and the US government/Trump support for the genocide of Palestinians at the hands of the Israelis need to unit and march on the White House. Remember when the American population had the guts to march and protest against the Vietnam war? What happen to these Americans?
2
Rather than protesting against Israel for the killing of Hamas operatives who are attempting to breach the border with Israel, why is the world so disgracefully silent when thousands of Palestinians are being starved, raped and slaughtered at the hands of their own leaders in Syria ? The destruction of the Yarmouk Refugee Camp has created tens of thousands of new refugees. There is little, if any, media coverage of these atrocities. And, yet, these are the same Palestinians, except that they are being slaughtered by Arab governments.... and the world simply yawns. But 38 Palestinians killed in 3 weeks while trying to breach a border with Israel and so many comments here are just foaming at the mouth to place all the blame on Israel. Do Palestinians living outside of the Israel/Palestinian conflict not deserve any support, especially from those who are constantly dehumanizing Israel for their treatment of these same people ? How hypocritical. Or, is it simply the fact that Israel cannot be blamed for what happens in the Syrian civil war ?
5
The argument that Israel is "defending itself" when it slaughters weak, helpless Palestinians (often by the thousands) is a farcical argument. It speaks directly to the core of Eurocentrism and bigotry that underpins Israel's relations with the Western world. particularly the US. It is a truly bizarre situation when the immensely, untouchably powerful state of Israel can be depicted -somehow - as the "victim" of people it has dispossessed, brutalized and locked down for decades. I am pretty sure a similar argument was made by European settlers when they massacred native Americans or British troops when they gunned down Zulu warriors with Gatling guns.
19
What's "farcical" is your claim that Israel is slaughtering "helpless Palestinians by the thousands". They are far from helpless. They are rioting and attempting to break through the border fence. There are Israeli civilians 400 meters from that fence. They are lobbing firebombs and rocks. This is anything but a peaceful protest and Israel, in pinpoint fashion, is defending it's citizens.
13
they have every right to firebomb those who are complicit in theft and murder.
1
There is on line video available since yesterday showing the "peaceful" Palestinian demonstrators breaking through the security fence into Israel. It shows these "peaceful" souls hurling explosives at Israeli troops. Israeli civilians live 400 yards from that fence. Their lives are endangered by the masses of Hamas led Palestinians trying to break through the fence into sovereign Israel I territory. Apparently, Israel's critics expect Israelis to allow themselves to be murdered "peacefully". Looking for someone to blame for the suffering in Gaza? Blame Hamas.
22
Just give the stolen land back.
5
yes that is what you do when your land is stolen and then occupied. You get upset and you try to take it back. I don't blame Hamas at all for avenging their loss of land and freedom. No thinking human being can support the state of Israel and neither should the US.
4
"Israel surrendered land that was taken from them by Egypt in 1948 then won back in 1967, in a controversial "land for peace" action that resulted in a loss of land and no peace. It is up to the Gazans to take the peace initiative since it is they who are on the attack."
This is what another letter writer wrote ... I couldn't put it any better.
It's always useful to read some history before making comments.
3
Blah blah blah, meet the new Secretary, same as all the old secretary's. "Israel has the right to defend themselves" somehow includes unfettered land theft to build settlements - is that defense or thievery, guns vs. rocks? Israel has the right to control the water and electricity for millions of people - is that defense or simple oppression, with guns vs. rocks? Israel has the right to cut off everything: trade, food, movement, everything except the air that they ultimately poison with tear gas, in their "defense" of "their land". What do the Palestinians have "the right" to do? Live free and peacefully? I guess not. Guns vs. rocks.
15
When offered the opportunity to ‘live free and peaceably’, the offer was refused....because it only gave the Palestinians 95% of want they demanded. Stop making excuses for bad decisions, continuously being made by Palestinian leadership.
1
No real solution will prevail until honesty and truth are clear. Moving the US embassy to Jerusalem is a good first step. The peaceful protest on the border seems less peaceful day by day.
5
What more do you need to know than Pompeo endorsing what is a Shanda on Israel.
2
Why is Pompeo shooting his mouth off?I thought good ole Jared had this once already handled? Not to worry, a few more hundred Palestinians get killed, a few more Israelis, no bother. But let's make sure we start a non issue with Iran!!!
7
Dear Mr. Netanyahu,
As an American who prepares for bed each night by saying a prayer for the well-being of the U.S. and Israel, please allow me to to bluntly express some concerns about your relationship with President Trump.
According to what I read in the newspapers, the two of you have formed a close relationship and may have come to some preliminary agreements regarding the next steps to be taken in attempting to secure a peace between Israel and the Palestinians. That is all to the good, but it is also has me worried.
Prime Ministers of Israel-- an endangered country if there ever was one -- have little choice but to seek the support and approval of American Presidents regarding Israel’s peacemaking with the Palestinians; while remaining at all times completely supportive of the highest interests of the American people from whom so much crucial help is being received.
Which is why your relationship with President Trump is of the utmost importance.
A reality TV star with a well earned reputation for lying up his sleeves; a snake in the grass who achieved the Presidency without securing the votes of a majority of the American people; he is a man who is known to turn against his supporters and disregard his promises without a moment’s notice.
Please act accordingly and cunningly.
With great admiration and best thanks for your devoted efforts on behalf of Israel and the American people.
Stanton-in-Dallas
4
An out of the box question: Is there one ``root'' cause behind Gazans charging to the Israeli border, Central Americans trying to get asylum in the US (not Mexico), and Africans trying to immigrate to Europe? Of course the details vary, and the nature of the violence and corruption in the home countries are different, but can it be that the violence, corruption and deprivation themseleves have an overriding ``root'' cause?
Uncontrolled population growth may be?
It is a question, not an informed opinion.
But with the exception of the Balkan and Afghan wars, in the past 30 years or so conflicts seem to have occurred largely in countries/populations with very large population growths.
2
Pompeo is true to Trump's pick, like Bolton and Trump's complete government; inept to the core. With so much dissension in the middle east, and Pompeo doesn't even acknowledge or speak to a single Palestianian representative. Good luck for peace in the future for this region.
4
Gazans would more effectively improve their lot by directing their rage and fire bombs at Hamas than Israel. It was Hamas' provocative acts that resulted in Israel's protective and probably punitive measures. Israel surrendered land that was taken from them by Egypt in 1948 then won back in 1967, in a controversial "land for peace" action that resulted in a loss of land and no peace. It is up to the Gazans to take the peace initiative since it is they who are on the attack.
13
Gazans should direct their rage at Israel. On account of, you know, their land being stolen to make Israel.
1
Here, here. Israel goes out of its way to avoid civilian casualties, whereas Hamas and their cohorts put children near the front line so as to increase civilian casualties and generate public sympathy with their cause.
It’s about time the American public begin to see who the good guys and bad guys really are.
9
Israel - unofficially the 51st state, but by all means the most important state in the union.
12
This use of deadly force no matter what to protect Israel from perceived threats by unarmed protesters at a fence is exactly what Trump is planning for the US border. Fire at Will on Trump perceived threats -- Why else send armed military troops to the southern border. How can we back this type of program in one country but condemn another country for doing the same thing to protect itself? If Gaza was to fire on illegal Israeli settlements because Gaza perceives a threat, we condemn them & bomb them. It is the same thing if you just open your eyes & look! God gave Israel a small piece of land not the world!
5
Pompeo's prejudice assures conflict will continue.
8
Pompeo reflects the American bias for the Jewish community. t may have due to the guilty behavior of the white Germans and British - French bias against the Muslims in the Middle East starting with their defeat of the Ottoman empire and dominance over the Arab lands (sanctioned by League of (White Christian) Nations. And there was no concern about the plght of the Arabas who lived when their United Nations (again dominated by White European nations) created Israel with no protection for the right of the Arabs who lived there. Israel used the excuse of the Arab countries unsuccessful attack to destroy Israel to occupy all lands west of the Jordan river. And they continue to treat Arabs as non-class people. omeo and Trump are both White with sympathies for Jews. Their friendship with the Saudis is for their oil an hatred of Iran hat is not Arab.
1
I hope these senators are happy with their vote. The person in charge of diplomacy is saying that it is ok to shoot and kill innocent people who are protesting.. Did he forgot is not in the CIA anymore?? That his job is to look after diplomatic solutions?? I wonder what his opinion will be for all the people siting at the border asking for assilym. That they should be shot too, because they are a "threat" to this country?? What a piece of human this Pompeo is.
Nobody can find a solution for this issue because more people side with Israel, so how can you find a solution that could help both states?? I guess many people commenting here forgot that the Palestinians are human beings too, that they have as many rights as Israelis. They deserve happiness and freedom.. They have been suffering for decades, don't you think it is enough? The rest of the world think different than US in this matter, should that concern people, that maybe, just maybe you should look to the other side of the coin?
7
Pompeo is the voice of Trump. Let them both live in a land of deprivation as third class citizens.
3
The Israelis have put the Palestinians in a modern ghetto. They seem to have short memories about what happened to the Jewish people during WWII. The Israelis will always be defended here in the U.S. because of the huge $$$ that Jewish donors give to whatever party is in power!
6
TRUMP created this situation by pandering to Natanyahu's politics. It is probably not good for Israel and will most certainly derail peace talks in the Middle East.
TRUMP brags that he is saving a billion on the embassy - wait for another Bengazi. This structure is not what is necessary to protect our diplomats, staff and security; it is a cheap political statement and a moronic gesture. We would be supporting Israel anyway, as we always have, but Trump is playing both ends against the middle, and we know where that goes!
5
Every person excusing the assault on Israel's borders is legitimizing Iranian military action against Israel.
From the moment you suggest that Israel stand down from its border, follow the path of action to its conclusion. If Palestinians in Gaza have the right to arm themselves and cross the border into Israel, then why can't any other regime acting on their behalf?
If you believe the Gazans are impoverished solely at the hands of Israel, ok. This is obviously not a comprehensive stance, but even if it were solely true, the answer is political pressure on Israel to increase aid. How are the billions of dollars in foreign aid to Gaza being used? What do they have to show for it?
Fundamentally, supporting these protesters is supporting the destruction of the Israeli state.
All that said, Pompeo's behavior does nothing to alleviate the situation and encourages further violence on both sides of the fence.
Just the guy to negotiate a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. NOT. Of course what can one expect from our chief diplomat when his boss has already taken sides by moving our embassy to Jerusalem. If the two-state solution is dead, and Israel won't accept a one-state solution that gives Palestinians equal citizenship rights, what's left? Genocide?
4
Hopefully this is the beginning of an open and unambiguous shift in US policy away from the pretense of being "even-handed" and toward direct and unswerving support for our democratic ally in the Middle East.
As for the Gazans, they're aim is to provoke Israel into doing what the Israelis would rather not do: shoot to kill.
All the Palestinians need to do is say "yes" to unconditional negotiations. That is the ONLY way they will ever influence the Israeli electorate, which is the address for their concerns.
Meantime, history marches on, and the world grows increasingly weary of Palestinian victimization claims.
2
No surprise that a nation that uses the military to execute Arab civilians in the Middle East would approve of an ally doing the same. Drone attack or sniper firing across a border wall, hey, it’s all good, right?
4
I assume the Israeli government will support trump's massacre of the invading caravan of civilians at the southern border.
By not endorsing a two state solution trump and pompous Pompeo endorsed the continued illegal and inhuman actions of the Israeli government against imprisoned civilians including women and children for life. And my taxes support this!
7
Two years ago, I would have asked the question what would the US do if tens of thousands of Mexicans rushed the border throwing stones at border guards, creating fires with burning tires and attempted to pull down the fence, at the behest of the Mexican government.
With the illegal immigration lunacy going on in the US, anti-Trump hysteria, and anti-American hysteria I am no longer certain of the answer.
At any rate, the answer to both Palestine and Mexico is the same, fix your country first. Israel has always been ready to work with individual Palestinians, same for Mexico and the US. But it is insane to suggest that Israel work with a terrorist organization such as Hamas, who use the lives of their own people as fodder. What next? Recognition for ISIS? Negotiation with serial killers?
3
I find it disturbing that so many of the comments here place all the blame on Hamas and say that the people should protest against Hamas if they want change. First of all the last election there was in 2006. Another was scheduled for 2014 but it's been delayed indefinitely. So there is no proof that all the protesters and Gazans support Hamas now or if they ever did. Secondly, what exactly can the people do to protest Hamas? Millions of people in this country can't stand Trump, but what can we do right now about it besides perhaps marching. Hopefully we will vote out his Republican enablers in Congress in the next election and get rid of him in 2020. But if there aren't even elections in Gaza, they don't have that option.
But none of those comments get to the crux of what is actually happening in Gaza and why the people are protesting. Noam Chomsky described Gaza as the largest open air prison. Conditions have deteriorated to the point where people have electricity only a couple hours a day and yet they can't leave. Desperate people take desperate measures. If they tried climbing the fence, certainly they could be stopped by measures other than killing them. The Israelis always say the same thing, that they have a right to defend themselves, even when they kill innocent children and journalists. No matter what Netanyahu does, the US keeps sending them billions of dollars and more weapons, no questions asked. That's not just absurd. It's dangerous.
157
Miriam, thank your for your courage in writing many of our thoughts but are afraid to express at the risk of being pummeled by retaliatory rhetoric. Do I support Israel? Of course. But I also support and am concerned for the innocent of Gaza. For too long, this group has been suppressed not by its own leaders but instead by a powerful neighbor and its allies elsewhere. They live in poverty with a future that is at best uncertain, at worst bleak. Sometimes that adage that desperate times call for desperate actions makes more sense than the Christian tenet to "turn the other cheek" especially when you have mouths to feed, to clothe, to shelter, and, yes, to educate.
11
Calling you out on this comment - Gazans elected HAMAS, and together, they have NO ONE BUT THEMSELVES to blame for their self-inflicted hardships.
Instead of trying to breach the border of an independent, sovereign nation (how come they never storm Egypt's borders? Gaza borders two (2) countries, not just Israel) let them devote their time to secular education, anger-management, and the concepts of personal accountability; not hatred of Jewish folks.
4
What has Noam Chomsky done for anyone else besides Noam Chomsky?
For decades Israel has condemned Palestinian violence and refused to stop building settlements or to consider Palestinian statehood until the violence ended. Well, these demonstrations in Gaza have been almost entirely peaceful and have been met by the Israelis with the same response. Perhaps terror is the answer, after all. Had it not been for terror, Israel would probably never have gained its freedom from the British. And had it not been for terror, another former British colony would certainly never have gained its freedom from the British way back in 1776.
15
We’ve all heard your gig before. It’s not based on historical accuracy
As one tiny example, Ben Gurion and the pre-Labor government attacked the Altalena, carrying the Jewish terrorists of that period. The Jewish pre-State government was aghast at Begin’s actions, and took steps to eliminate the threat.
You paint Israel’s founders with a very broad brush. But we’re used to it.
3
@David G: Did they eliminate the Irgun? Did the American colonials eliminate the Minute-Men? Say hi to King George for me. I mean Queen Liz. Anyway, the point is that the Gazans are, for the most part, now behaving more like Gandhi's Indians than Begin's Israelis. What more do they need to do before Bibi and his Likudniks start to treat them like human beings?
2
This administrations Mid-East Peace Plan has at last been issued. The plan is to support any action that Israel chooses to take, no matter how counter-productive or unjust.
Many young people confined to Gaza are without hope for a better life and American policy as expressed by Trump and Pompeo is reinforcing an Israeli policy which is focused on use of force and border walls.
There have been few if any examples of successful peace-making efforts. Those few...Ireland and South Africa...to the extent they have succeeded, have been based on the twin pillars of justice and peace.
There will be no progress towards lasting peace without justice. That can begin in the Middle East with actions to provide a future for these people sequestered for so long due to no fault of their own.
54
And how would you then explain Egypt’s current blockade of Gaza? Or Jordan’s Black September attack on the Palestinians?
The anti-Israel narrative falls apart when you do a bit of research.
4
Gaza would not exist were it not for the invalid manner in which the Colonial (read UK and France) and Neo-Colonial (Read US) powers created Israel post WWII.
Yes the Gaza situation has created a large number of hopeless and disengaged people. They represent a threat to Arab and Israeli alike.
The question is: what should be our response to the current state of affairs?
We can all find flaws in the narrative of how we got to where we are. It is more difficult to suggest and commit to a way forward. The example of Ireland while flawed is still germane. Both sides were able to put aside the many crimes against humanity that had been committed in order to make a better world for those young people who had no part in the creation of the problems.
In other words it's okay to be aggressive, or a bully and not work on a diplomatic solution. No chance of peace in the near or distant future with leaders such as Pompeo.
76
How many tries have the USA and Israel tried or negotiated only to have failed due to the Arab side breaking the agreements?
Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice, shame on you.
When are Gaza and the West Bank peoples going to negotiate in good faith with realistic terms?
1
The amazing this about Trump is his steadfastness and courage. While Obama et al were sitting on the fence called "on the other hand" Mr. Trump is in his inimitable way a straightshooter, a linear thinker.
1. Hamas is a designated TERRORIST organization.
2. American did not make peace with Osama Bin Laden.
3. Hamas is trying to destroy Israel. Hey... they say so in their Charter.
4. Let the Israeli destroy Hamas.
5. End of Story. Next case , please.
20
A "linear thinker"? More like a non-thinker without a grain of compassion for the persecuted of Gaza or any other such place.
36
Shooting unarrned reporters is self defense?
5
"4. Let the Israeli destroy Hamas."
Makes sense. After all Israel created and funded HAMAS as a counter weight to the PLO.
2
I do not trust Pompeo on his own, much less coupled with Trump-bad for America.
38
Thank goodness for an administration that recognizes and supports our only real ally in the Middle East. Israel is a lone voice of democracy and sanity, surrounded by Islamic nations who are jealous of their success and modern society. Move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem., the historic and incontrovertible capitol of Israel. It's the right thing to do, and it sends a message of our support for a lifelong friend and ally.
30
With friends like Israel, who needs enemies?
6
I am sympathetic to the Gazans, living a hopeless existence and cynically used by Hamas to die and create stories for the evening news. Israel has a right to police its border with Gaza and prevent illegal entry, a border that is not in dispute per the pre 1967 boundaries. It is becoming clear that a broader commonality of thinking is emerging between the Sunni states (Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia), the US, Israel and the Palestinian Authority to oppose Shiite dominance represented by Hezbollah, Hamas, Iran, Syria/Lebanon. Viewed in this way, the Hamas driven protests are an attempt to remain relevant, sending notice to the PA that they will not accept a Sunni driven peace process.
8
"Initially advertised by Hamas, the militant group that runs Gaza, as peaceful protests, they have been marked by the use of Molotov cocktails and firebombs by Palestinians and deadly force on the part of Israel."
Last week the Times had reported that members of the mob had pistols and were firing them.
A rock from a sling can do the same damage as a bullet from a 45 cal . pistol.
These weapons too were used.
Let this fine peace loving group of people march upon the Hamas office asking for free and open elections and watch the bodies stack.
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Yes,our thoughts and prayers go out the the Israeli soldiers injured in this.......errr....action.
Shooting humans in a barrel is not self-defense; the devolution of Israel and the United States continues, unabated.
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Fine. Then these Palestinians should leave the militarized area where they're threatening the border and return to their homes. The Israeli army will not follow them into Gaza, which Israel turned over to them years ago. If they stop trying to breach the border (for what purpose exactly?) they will no longer be shot.
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It's about time America had a Secretary of State who refuses to back the two state solution that neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians support. It's time to regulate the two state solution to the dustbin of history once and for all.
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And a right of return for the Palestinian people.
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And what would you suggest in its place?
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I'm going to share the ugliest truth of all with the resident Israel bashers out there--the Palestinians don't want a state. This "right to return" involves slaughtering as many Jews as possible.
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It’s strange that none of the Arab countries in the region have stepped up to help these folks. Oh yeah, some are giving them weapons, that’s really a big help.
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Any Arab state that steps up to help the Palestinians will be crushed by the US and Israel.
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There's an enormous amount that Arab states could do, with humanitarian aid and the offer to resettle Palestinians in their own lands, that both the US and Israel would welcome. They would rather see the situation fester.
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Maybe it's because other Arab States have moved beyond blindly supporting the Palestinian cause without question. The Saudi Crown prince even scolded the Palestinians for letting forty years of opportunities come and go without a
solving this problem
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How were the Troubles in Ireland and Apartheid in South Africa solved? Not by two-state solutions. Amnesty for both sides, confession and reconciliation. The two-state solution is not going to happen if past is a prologue.
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Returning to the negotiation table sounds like sound advice for the Palestinians...I mean sitting on their hands and pouting isn't going to get them anywhere (at least with this Administration).
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Nothing will get them anywhere with this Administration. They are just not pretending otherwise. If they played along, it could only hurt them.
"I know that it is an incredible priority for the United States to provide whatever assistance we can to allow the two parties to come to a resolution to this incredibly longstanding and important conflict.”
We've done an incredible job so far, haven't we? Why doesn't trump just order our military to bomb the Palestinians to extinction? Then he'd have an incredible display of our nuclear power--clearly something he lusts after--and peace in the Middle East at one blow.
That should burnish his credentials for the Nobel peace prize (lol).
What have we in this country come to?
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"Why doesn't trump just order our military to bomb the Palestinians to extinction?"
He probably will, after blasting Iran and Syria.
The Gazans brought this on themselves. The Israelis left Gaza in 2005 only to see the Gazans destroy the greenhouses for vegetables paid in millions by U.S. investors. In 2006 Hamas literally tossed Fatah followers off rooftops and took over in 2007, and Hamas started wars in 2006 and 2008. Again in 2014, Hamas had missiles hidden in UNWRA schools and invaded Israel through underground tunnels, now being continually destroyed by Israel. Hamas uses American dollars to pay those tossing Molotov cocktails and fire-burning kites into Israel. The Palestinian leader was elected for a 4 year term about 11 years ago. Israelis must defend themselves. The Gazans hate Hamas but cannot get rid of them. Israel could help get rid of Hamas.
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I'm sure there's another side to your history
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Apparently Fox News is the only media outlet available in your part of Canada.
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DK...research that other side of history in contemporary Gaza, and let us know what you find.
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Let's not get into the mentality that anything any Trumpie supports must be automatically be wrong. It's not clear to me what people think Israel *should* do. Let them run over the border? These are not "unarmed protestors." If they were, there would be no reason to repel them. This is the practice exercise for a long-discussed attack to swarm the border in the hope or belief that the Israeli Army won't shoot. These are the same people who spend all their very extensive foreign aid digging tunnels into Israel. They wouldn't be blockaded if they didn't do that, and the rockets, and the rest of it.
By the way, the people of Gaza are an instructive case in what happens when you elect violent fascists - you can't rid of them. I hope we can get rid of ours - which includes Pompeo.
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No problemo. IRAN is the designated target, got to gin up support for the Midterms. September surprise, here we come. Just saying.
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You couldn't be more correct. I was talking to a friend recently and commented that with Bolton back in the WH we were destined for another war in the Middle East by the summer with Iran as the target. And that was before Pompeo became Secretary of State. I've seen this movie too many times. My friend said I was wrong and not to worry. Somehow I'm not comforted.
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Yes, and Netanyahu is the elephant in the room re the Iran agreement -- the elephant noone is talking about.
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If not a two-state solution then what? Then another day, another week, another month, another year, another decade just like today.
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Former Likud Member and Deputy Speaker of the Knesset and current leader of the Zehut Party Moshe Feiglin provided an answer in July 2014, when he urged the Israeli government to re-conquer Gaza, kill all Palestinians fighters and their supporters and forcibly relocate the survivors (concentrate them, if you will) in remote camps in the Sinai Desert pending their permanent resettlement....elsewhere. More recently he has called for the annexation of Gaza and the Occupied Territories and the expulsion of any Palestinians who do not swear allegiance to the state of Israel. Can anyone say that this is not the direction events are moving toward?
Turns out Mr. Pompeo is happy with big walls and guards there shooting at people protesting on the other side, those people being the ones who you don't like nor care about. As Secretary of State he's not even very concerned with a peaceful solution to a problem we're neck deep in.
Another breaking news story to be filled under "duh"!
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Gazans are not holding rallies and getting petition signatures on their side. They're actively trying to destroy the fence. (And they are fences, not "walls".) Any deaths that have occurred are the equivalent of suicide by cop.
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As far as American Christians are concerned, the mythology of the Bible is all the reason they need to back Israel in their take over of what was Palestine for about the last 1500 years after the Israelites were driven out in the second diaspora by Rome.
It was not the Palestinians fault. They just moved into a vacuum. But that does not matter to Evangelicals etc. who except the bible as history instead of Mythology and propaganda. I am unabashedly pro Palestinians because I believe they are in the right.
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Actually, I view Palestinians as equals to the Jews. They both originate from Palestine, but simply diversified into several different followings.
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There was no Palestine, or Palestinians, throughout the thousand plus years when mostly Middle Eastern Jews trekked to the Holy Land to live there, yes, amongst some Arabs and descendants of people from much farther away. Under Turkish rule, occasionally Egyptian rule. There was no Palestine, or Palestinians, when the first group of pious Jews from Russia came in the early 1800's, motivated by their deceased rabbi (the genius of Vilna) who promoted going up there. Ditto for the Chasidic Jews who followed their rebbes' advise, slightly later, to do the same. When the more secular Russian and Polish Jews came in the second half of the 1800's, empty, untilled land was the norm. Jews, Arabs, and a polyglot of folks later loosely called Arabs lived together in the Old City, Jaffa, Hebron, Safed, with limited farming by anyone. Yes there were some Arab landowners who employed poor laborers, but these workers later worked for Jewish farmers, for better salaries. When more opportunities arose, many more Arabs from Syria, what is now Jordan, and Egypt came pouring in, the 1900's, to work for these Jewish bosses.
Jews didn't need the "excuse" of the Holocaust. Arabs didn't need the "excuse" of Palestinian nationalism to flood into mandated Palestine, shut off to Jews, but tacitly permitting these same Arabs. Only now they are proud Palestinians whose land, which few ever owned, was "stolen" from them. Bogus, Mr. 1954.
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History has turned further against the Palestinians. They should blame their leaders in 1948 and more recently when they rejected a two state solution because it did not offer them all the concessions from Israel they demanded. Now they are divided into two groups;one that advocates Israel's disappearance and one that still favors a two state solution. Now they see a United States Secretary of State, while in Jordan, defend Israel's right of self defense. Now, instead of having allies in confrontation states which border Israel they have enemies in Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia who fear Iran, not Israel. Jews cannot return to Syria, Egypt, Yemen, Germany,Poland or Russia from which they were expelled, exterminated or forced to flee.History has not been fair to native Americans either but history is just that:history.
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Unemployment of upwards of 60% of Palestinian youth. A cage surrounding them in which there is no hope. No rights. Zero oppourtunity.
Is it better to die on the battlefield with resolve or on your knees, slowly wasting away as the parade of life goes by ?
Tough choices with little chances of success.
Place yourself in the slums of the West Bank, imagine your despair, think of your options, there are none. The individuality of every Palestinian is lost, they are a faceless entity that is far away, removed from the hustle and bustle of our lives.
Yet I have to wonder, is this my struggle or theirs ?
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Actually, there are enormous economic opportunities for Gazans if they renounce their proclaimed interest in destroying Israel, militarily and/or demographically.
2
All the Senators who voted yes for him must now live with their decision. Why didn't they give him a lie detector test? Even Tillerson would have been a bit more sympathetic to the Palestinians. But he wasn't a politician.
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Around the world, including in Israel, the United States defends the right to commit genocide.
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A gross distortion. Shooting hostile persons, as a last resort, who attempt forcibly to breach your national boundaries, is genocide? Maybe you're saying that the US and Israel formally endorse genocide, in which case I missed the announcement.
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Dear Mike Pompeo,
I just wish you could meet the beautiful kids and grandmas and human beings of Gaza and see what their lives are really like and have been like for a long time, before you make any other ignorant pronouncements.
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Yes, the lives of the Gaza people may not be ideal, but who is the real group to blame - Hamas?
1
Recently, Emmanuel Macron, president of France said, “We will never surrender to the messages of hate; we will not surrender to anti-Zionism because it is a reinvention of anti-Semitism.” He went on to say that anti-Israel rhetoric is nothing more than veiled anti-semitism. I agree with him. Israel has a right to defend itself from those that wish to destroy it. To say otherwise, is veiled anti-semitism.
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This is ridiculous. It means there can be no criticism of Israel without it being regarded as anti-Semitism. Is this true for any other nation?
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Only if you believe that Israel belongs there. Who are we to say that it does? Why is it our problem?
Equating disapproval of anything Israel does with "anti-Zionism" is a tired and intellectually dishonest technique to paint any disagreement with anything Israel does as anti-Semitic. I approve of Israel (behind the legal, internationally-recognized borders). I do not approve of Israel's on-going land grabs in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, nor do many Israelis, and nor do many Jews around the world. Stop trying to paint us as anti-Semitic!
1
I like him already
5
What we see is nothing else in the end than killing people. The American honest broker is hailing it. Americans now go alone and will be alone. Good luck.
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I value this comment considering the learned source. All should take heed of the German's opinion.
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What do you mean?
1
Israel is a puppet dictatorship of US imperialism. Who cares about Palestinian people when we have a nice place for our military to wage war from? For that matter, who cares about people dying on either side of a proxy war nation? Anyone who loves Israel must realize the US will gladly allow the region to go up in flames to protect US corporate hegemony.
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Why aren't the Gaza Palestinians demonstrably protesting at their borders to Egypt?
ANSWER: The international left wing, anti-Israel media wouldn't cover it.
Why aren't the Gaza Palestinians tossing Molotov cocktails across the Egyptian border to express their frustration at Egypt's blockade?
ANSWER: Because the resulting bloodshed wouldn't generate press worthy Palestinian martyrs.
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Egypt didn't steal and colonize their land. Egypt is a puppet regime of Israel and the USA. and closes the borders or opens them as these governments demand.Egypt does not control everything that happens to the Gazan Palestinians.
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It doesn't happen at the Egyptian border because the dictator and his general buddies there would kill EVERYONE involved including their families.
I guess that's the model you're hoping for everywhere?
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trudds...I'm not "hoping" for any model. History tells us that breached borders, and border disputes, are often dealt with by a big stick rather than a soft voice.
1
Israel is always right, everyone else is always wrong. Never never treat a Jew badly, but treat the Palestinians like dirt. And, by the way, where is Kushner? He was supposed to save the day. This is all such a joke.
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It's worse than a joke. It's a disgrace, but it's worse than that. Ashamed to be an American whose government supports wholesale slaughter of innocents.
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Nice derogatory add in about Jews. There are many American and Israeli Jews who disapprove of Israel's tactics and hard line stance. Denigrate the Israeli leadership all you want. Leave people's religious affiliation out of it.
9
Have you forgotten that this is the free will choice of Gazans? They want to storm the fence, break in, go on a killing spree. Have you forgotten Israel left, even with their deceased, back in 2005? Who destroyed the greenhouses that yielded millions of dollars in sales throughout Europe? Who endorses the Hamas charter calling for the slaughter of Jews everywhere, starting with those in Israel?
Is it that the Gazans are trapped by the Hamas despots? Partially. Or, is it they largely believe the same ugly racist message promoted by these Palestinian terror organizations? And yet, liberals actually like this openly genocidal message, not just people in Gaza?
3
And so the reign of hard-liner Pompeo begins. He's already right there with the Israeli hard liners who want the Palestinians out of their lives. We're going to see a lot more of this until he and Bolton can get a war started somewhere in the mideast--most likely Iran. I hope all these Trump supporters are ready to sacrifice their family members and friends to these military actions that will cost lives and limbs.
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Any American Secretary of State who dismisses the current Israeli tactics in Gaza by simply saying that “Israelis have the right to defend themselves” has no interest in alleviating Palestinian suffering.
Any Secretary of State who refuses to endorse the two-state solution which has been a bedrock of American policy for many decades is out of touch with reality or so cowed by Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu that he is unfit to head the State Department.
Peace between Israel and the Palestinians seems to have no importance to Mr. Pompeo.
Mike Pompeo should never have been approved by the Senate. He is probably as thirsty for war against Iran as the new National Security Adviser, John Bolton.
Mr. Pompeo, like all right-wing extremists, has no credible answer to the question: And then what?
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" During his confirmation hearings, Mr. Pompeo said that he wanted to preserve the Iranian nuclear accord, which was signed in 2015 and restricts Tehran’s ability to engage in the activities necessary to make nuclear weapons."
Pompeo lied. The Trump, Bolton, and Pompeo are on the same page with regards to Israel and Iran. Their anti-Muslim views are well known. A military conflict between the US and Iran ,initiated by the US, is almost a certainty. Pompeo entire trip has been about lining up support for such an action. Congress needs to be prepare to exercise its constitutional duty with regard to any military action. (Good luck with that).
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Secretary Pompeo, How about addressing the reasons as to why young Palestinians feel they must resort to protesting in this way. How would you act if you and your people were caged up in indignity and poverty with no hope for change?
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I would fight my "governing" body, Hamas, that's the problem. Not some other country.
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> Darren
"How would you act if you and your people were caged up in indignity and poverty with no hope for change?"
I'd start by beating on my leaders to do something about it. And if that meant reconciling with Mahmoud Abbas and recognizing Israel's right to exist, so be it.
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Gaza is 140 square miles in size...not exactly a cage.
The poverty of the Gaza Palestinians is the direct fault of Hamas, which has reallocated international donated funds meant for economic and humanitarian usage toward weapons purchases and the digging expensive tunnels into Israel (for terrorist purposes) and Egypt (to smuggle armaments and illegal contraband).
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Of course he did.
The right-wing of Israeli politics and the right-wing of US politics absolutely agree on this basic principle: "The only good Palestinian is a dead Palestinian." They don't even really pretend otherwise. So of course Mr Pompeo supported the IDF shooting a bunch of unarmed people.
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If the Israelis didn't put up barriers, the Palestinians would invade Israel, and even more of them would be harmed, as they tried to harm Israeli people.
Why is it that the Arab people in Israel, albeit somewhat controlled, live a better life there than in Gaza or in the West Bank?
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And what does Hamas propose? The reverse, the only good Israeli is a dead is a dead Israeli.
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This article states nothing more than the obvious: while the killing of civilians at the Gaza border is unfortunate, it is Hamas that keeps sending them and encouraging them to charge, many of them armed, toward the fence as an act of "jiihad". So Israel is rightfully defending itself there.
What is less obvious is what is taking place on another front: While Pompeo was in Jerusalem, his Israeli counterpart, Liberman, was in DC, and there was a mysterious "earthquake" at a base in Syria where many Iranian soldiers
were stationed, killing several dozen. That's the big news, but nothing in the NYT about that.
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very "unfortunate" as you put it. kind of like "guns don't kill people", however, here it's the opposite.
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Why is the US involved at this point? This American believes not one more American life should be lost in this futile endeavor.
The NYTimes did cover the Iranian soldiers deaths. But as you said, the killings are a mystery. Was it Syria themselves, Syrian Allies perhaps?
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He certainly has a right to say it. People can disagree with him but don't put the charade on that America is an honest broker here whether it is himself or the joke mediator Jared Kushner.
Admit America is biased in favor of Israeli and get out of the picture and let some truly impartial country step in and become a mediator between the two sides.
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You fight it strange that the US is "biased in favor of Israel" vs Hamas, a terrorist organization?
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Israel was founded by a terrorist organization as well, Irgun. Which had as a member and terrorist plotter (the deadly bombing of the King David Hotel in 1946) Menachin Begin, PM of Israel.
So, nobody in that part of the world is innocent.
And to say Hamas is a terrorist operation is to say the same thing of Israel. Israel is run by the same type of narrow-minded, right wing religious extremists that run Iran and Saudi Arabia. Whether it's Yahweh or Allah, neither one gives the other the slightest bit of respect or even allows the other to exist
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Thank you for your reply Full Name. I am not taking sides here, you are using the old bait and switch tactic.
I am just saying it is obvious we are biased in favor of Israel and let somebody else step in to mediate.
Nothing is wrong with our view, just like there is nothing wrong with the Arabs and some other countries being on the side of Palestine.
2