Episode IV
All Australian
- Jun 16, 2022
- 759
- 537
- AFL Club
- Fremantle
I wouldn't pay too much attention to things like that, personally. That the Palestinians either support or condemn Hamas is pretty much a moot issue. Simple fact is that without being there and living there, we wouldn't really know.70% of Muslims in Gaza support Hamas and would vote them in tomorrow if there was an election, it was nice that only 7% thought Oct 7 was wrong Ive seen Muslims in the media call Hamas resistance fighters lol sure not all Muslims support Hamas but plenty do.
I suspect it'd be a similar situation to Germany prior to and during World War two. There are claims the Germans did support the Nazis, claims they didn't, and Historians are left to debate the reasons why. People are prone to be led down all sorts of destructive pathways if they believe, or are led to believe, they have reason enough to do so.
As can be seen in the recent EU elections, the protest vote (in the sense of voting for fringe or extreme parties) is of paramount importance in those electorates who see themselves as being oppressed or disadvantaged in some way. That protest vote will grow when certain issues assume precedence among a range of issues in play, and the more moderate groups are not seen as being a solution... and in that example, it is something which is occurring in an area which is notably more democratic than in regions where democracy itself is often viewed as an imposition.
The only thing that is certain is that there has to be enough people supporting these sorts of organisations to make them viable - this line between "innocent civilians" and Hamas devotees is a construct.
That sort of thing does, however, call to attention the possibilities and difficulties surrounding a two-state solution. The international communities call for a line on a map to be drawn, and for both parties to adhere to a diplomatic solution... then presumably step back and wash their hands of the situation.
As I mentioned a couple of months back, it seems like a reasonable solution to outsiders, but the internal practicalities are bound to cause issues... one of which is who rules Palestine when Israel is gone. Hamas were elected to power in 2006, but it was a close run thing.
Sheriff mentioned something about "what happened to" the PA a few posts back, but if the intimation there was that the PA were the white hats in that situation, I'd counter that that is far from reality. Multiple attempts were made for Hamas and the PA to share power, but it ended up in a violent conflict from which Hamas emerged the victors. It's not as if a democratically elected government was deposed.
There are other things to consider, naturally. Any two-state solution would by necessity involve Palestinian access to religious sites in Israel, and cross-border traffic is bound to be an important consideration. That sort of thing has been an issue since Israel's foundation, and will continue to be. The flashpoint for the Second Intifada, for example, was violent Palestinian protest against Ariel Sharon's visit to the Al-Aqsa compound, a site in East Jerusalem of religious importance to both Jews and Muslims.
Palestine will also be left as an independent state with no real industry or source of income. It'll depend on international aid to survive.
There are many such considerations which will need to be addressed in any two-state solution, and there is certain to be cause for grievance on behalf of one side or the other as a result of any such resolution.
A two-state solution was recently employed in Sudan, a conflict which dwarfs the Israel/Palestine one in terms of casualties, dispossession, and general misery. South Sudan, created as a "homeland" for those at risk of sectarian and tribal violence and genocide, is now embroiled in further violence (the reasons for which are complex but one of which is the "question" of who is now in charge) and a created state on the verge of total failure.
I often observe with a wry smile how assiduously the humanitarians avoid any mention of it, or at least half a dozen other nations in Africa where conflict and dispossession are commonplace.
A closer look at that situation, however, should give at least some pause to any who champion a two-state solution with regard to Israel and Palestine. It's not necessarily the solution Palestinian advocates think it might be.
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