Israel's conflict with its neighbours

[erowind]

I'm having the horrible realization that if Israel is existentially threatened given it's controlled by a fascist government it will likely launch nuclear weapons. I hate to be rooting for any outcome in a war besides peace, but at bear minimum if Israel invades Lebanon I hope that Hezbollah knows about and strikes Israeli nuclear facilities before they have the opportunity to fire their payloads. Hezbollah unlike Hamas might actually be capable of this but it will still be a crapshoot even if they have symmetrical capabilities.

Hezbollah's missile capabilities are not well understood at least by public intelligence outside of the fact they have a lot of them and likely have modern missiles. It is known that they have advanced Iranian missiles,and an arsenal of at minimum 30-40K missiles but possibly over 100k. Hezbollah also likely has some soviet SCUD missiles that are capable of advanced long range targeting.

For context Hamas and other Gazan resistance organizations collectively only had around 10K missiles and they were almost all dummy rockets with no advanced targeting abilities.

[caltrek]

Saving Israel by Ending Its War in Gaza
by Jeffry D. Sachs
January 1, 2024

Introduction:

(Common Dreams) When Congress returns in January, President Joe Biden will push the case to deepen American complicity in Israel’s war in Gaza through another US armaments package for Israel. Americans should raise their voice in a resounding no.

An arms package for Israel is not only against America’s interests but also against Israel’s interests. The only path to real security for Israel is peace with Palestine. The US can help bring this about by ending the supply of munitions for Israel’s brutal war and by promoting the two-state solution as called for by international law.

I spelled out the diplomatic path to the two-state solution in a previous column for Common Dreams. That path remains open. It is actively promoted by the Arab and Islamic countries and supported by nearly the entire world.

Israel’s brutality in Gaza is becoming a true threat to Israel’s survival. Because of Israel’s extraordinary violence, the world is uniting against Israel, while Israel is suffering massive military losses. Incredibly, some Israeli leaders are now openly advocating an even wider war in the Middle East, one that could well spell utter disaster for Israel.

The surging global opposition to Israel’s policies is not antisemitic. It is anti-genocide. It is also pro-peace, pro-Israel, and pro-Palestine. If Israel ends the genocide, it will end the global opposition it now faces.

Read more here: https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/s ... gaza-war

[weatheriscool]

21,978 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza since Oct. 7 - Gaza health ministry
Reuters
January 1, 20248:05 AM EST Updated 2 days ago

https://www.reuters.com/resizer/lAe4RCJ ... I25ZDA.jpg

Palestinians stand in a house destroyed by an Israeli strike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, January 1. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa Acquire Licensing Rights


CAIRO, Jan 1 (Reuters) - A total of 21,978 Palestinians have been killed and 56,697 have been wounded in Israeli strikes in Gaza since Oct. 7, the health ministry in Gaza said on Monday.

The figures include 156 Palestinians killed and 246 injured in the past 24 hours, the ministry added.

The ministry added that 70% of the casualties were women and children.

Reporting by Muhammad Al Gebaly and Nadine Awadalla; Editing by Jan Harvey

[weatheriscool]

Biden "running out" of patience with Bibi as Gaza war hits 100 days

President Biden and other senior U.S. officials are becoming increasingly frustrated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rejection of most of the administration's recent requests related to the war in Gaza, four U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the issue told Axios.

Since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack 100 days ago, Biden has given Israel his full backing, with unprecedented military and diplomatic support, even while taking a political hit from part of his base in an election year. That support has largely continued publicly, but behind the scenes, there are growing signs that Biden is losing his patience, the U.S. officials said.

"The situation sucks and we are stuck. The president's patience is running out," one U.S. official told Axios.

"At every juncture, Netanyahu has given Biden the finger," Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who has been in close contact with U.S. officials about the war, told Axios. "They are pleading with the Netanyahu coalition, but getting slapped in the face over and over again."

Biden hasn't spoken to Netanyahu in the 20 days since a tense Dec. 23 call, which a frustrated Biden ended with the words: "This conversation is over." They had spoken almost every other day in the first two months of the war. Before Biden hung up, Netanyahu had rejected his request that Israel release the Palestinian tax revenues it's withholding.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby tried to downplay the decrease in communication, telling reporters on Wednesday that "it doesn't say anything" about the state of the relationship. But more and more signs of irritation are emerging. "There is immense frustration," a U.S. official said.

https://www.axios.com/2024/01/14/biden- ... r-tensions

[weatheriscool]

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

[weatheriscool]

White House Dismisses Netanyahu's Opposition to Palestinian Statehood

Source: Voice Of America

The Biden administration appears unswayed from its emerging vision for a postwar Gaza Strip despite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rejection Thursday of a key element of that plan — the establishment of a Palestinian state..

But Netanyahu turned his back on the scheme at a nationally broadcast news conference Thursday, insisting on Israeli security control over all of what now comprises the Palestinian territories

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby brushed off the remark.

"This is not a new comment by Prime Minister Netanyahu. We obviously see it differently," he said to reporters Thursday onboard Air Force One. "We believe that the Palestinians have every right to live in an independent state with peace and security."

Read more: https://www.voanews.com/a/white-house-d ... 46466.html

[Powers]

This may be idiotic but why not let Israel take Gaza in exchange of granting Palestine freedom? That way they don't face two fronts.

[weatheriscool]

Netanyahu rejects two-state solution, says Israel will control 'from the river to the sea'

Jerusalem, Jan 18 (EFE) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that he had told the United States that he opposed the creation of a Palestinian state as part of a post-war scenario in Gaza.

“In the future, the state of Israel has to control the entire area from the river to the sea,” the Israeli premier declared at a news conference, turning the Palestinian freedom slogan on its head.

“This truth I tell to our American friends, and I put the brakes on the attempt to coerce us to a reality that would endanger the state of Israel,” Netanyahu said, adding that the majority of the Israeli population opposes an eventual Palestinian state, which the Joe Biden administration supports as part of the so-called two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The conservative prime minister, who heads a far-right government, argued that in any possible agreement with the Palestinians, Israel “must have security control over the entire territory west of the Jordan River,” referring to the West Bank, which Israel has occupied under international law since 1967.

…

https://efe.com/en/latest-news/2024-01- ... o-the-sea/