Hamas attacking Israel

[Sharpshooter]

 

[Sharpshooter]

 

[Optimist Prime]

25 minutes ago, Sharpshooter said:

 

Sweden is considering in its government chambers now removing Hamas sympathizers from Sweden altogether. 

I am not sure of the specifics but I believe it would cover anyone not born in Sweden, regardless of citizenship status. 

I am sure more news will come out on this, or it will have died in the debate stages. 

 

edit: googled the concept and didn't see anything in the main interwebs domain about it yet, but there was this from teh 10th of October:

Quote

COPENHAGEN, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Sweden has temporarily halted development aid to Palestinian territories following a surprise attack by Hamas militants on Israel over the weekend, Development Minister Johan Forssell told a news conference on Tuesday.

European Union foreign ministers are meeting on Tuesday to work out divisions among its 27 members over whether to continue aid payments to Palestinians a day after the European Commission backtracked on an announcement suspending all such aid.

 

[Sharpshooter]

7 minutes ago, Optimist Prime said:

Sweden is considering in its government chambers now removing Hamas sympathizers from Sweden altogether. 

I am not sure of the specifics but I believe it would cover anyone not born in Sweden, regardless of citizenship status. 

I am sure more news will come out on this, or it will have died in the debate stages. 

 

edit: googled the concept and didn't see anything in the main interwebs domain about it yet, but there was this from teh 10th of October:

 

What irks me the most is that Europe, and Canada, to be more local, take in so many refugees. And they do it with the best of intentions, of course. 
 

Then there are always those that fall through the cracks and foment discord in their host countries/communities. 
 

Take the good. Take the bad. And there you have. The Facts of Life. 

 

 

 

[The Arrogant Worms]

China deploys six warships to Middle East over fears Israel crisis could spark WW3

 

https://www.the-express.com/news/world-news/115880/China-six-warships-Middle-East-war-Israel

[Sharpshooter]

 

[The Arrogant Worms]

Scoop: Israel says it found Hamas files with instructions for making cyanide-based weapon

https://www.axios.com/2023/10/21/israel-hamas-cyanide-weapon-instructions

[Sharpshooter]

3 minutes ago, The Arrogant Worms said:

China deploys six warships to Middle East over fears Israel crisis could spark WW3

 

https://www.the-express.com/news/world-news/115880/China-six-warships-Middle-East-war-Israel

China. 
 

*sigh*

 

 

 

[Sharpshooter]

2 minutes ago, The Arrogant Worms said:

Scoop: Israel says it found Hamas files with instructions for making cyanide-based weapon

https://www.axios.com/2023/10/21/israel-hamas-cyanide-weapon-instructions

I’ll wait for a bit more corroboration/confirmation 

[Optimist Prime]

13 minutes ago, Sharpshooter said:

What irks me the most is that Europe, and Canada, to be more local, take in so many refugees. And they do it with the best of intentions, of course. 
 

Then there are always those that fall through the cracks and foment discord in their host countries/communities. 
 

Take the good. Take the bad. And there you have. The Facts of Life. 

 

 

 

Wife and I were talking about this last night yeah. Canada is better equipped to handle refugess than European nations as our entire set up is multi cultural, whereas European nations really are adding oil to vinegar when a large influx of refugees arrive. I am hopeful that nationalism is ebbing globally, but I have not seen evidence yet. 
It is funny depending on who is angry at any given moment I have been called a Laurentien Elitist, a Globalist, a Nationalist, a Conservative Apologist and a left wing loonie. About the only thing I have yet to be called is a Fascist. Whew.  I have a world vision where all of the worst off peoples on earth can prosper, and I am very cool with so called Third World countries raising their standard of living for their people. I don't mind that China is coming up in the world, they need to, they have to feed almmost 2 billion folks and give them a worth while quality of life. Same with India. I could use with less authoritarianism from Xi but I don't begrudge how he is handling Chinese affairs, broadly. I think India overplayed its hand recently with some assassinations on Canadian soil, but i guess to be fair, Canada isn't clean in that regard globally in the past either. Shrug. I am hopeful that China and India can continue to come forward economically, and I do like that China is spending billions on Africa, I wish it was democratic nations leading that effort but I am glad someone is. Semi offtopic but these are things we jawed on about last night.  I suspect Canada and America are better poised to take in more refugees than Egypt, Jordan, and most European nations are at this time, but I would prefer shuttling refugees that want out of Gaza to the west Bank, I think. 

 

LOL, I just considered the likilihood that Hamas would eventually accept a deal where their leaders and fighters are allowed to flee to exile in Iran...but I don't think that will help anything globally for the future. I don't see an end game for this current flare up that involves Hamas remaining in any strength, let alone being allowed to move to Iran and join forces with the IRGC directly. 

[Sharpshooter]

6 minutes ago, Optimist Prime said:

Wife and I were talking about this last night yeah. Canada is better equipped to handle refugess than European nations as our entire set up is multi cultural, whereas European nations really are adding oil to vinegar when a large influx of refugees arrive. I am hopeful that nationalism is ebbing globally, but I have not seen evidence yet. 
It is funny depending on who is angry at any given moment I have been called a Laurentien Elitist, a Globalist, a Nationalist, a Conservative Apologist and a left wing loonie. About the only thing I have yet to be called is a Fascist. Whew.  I have a world vision where all of the worst off peoples on earth can prosper, and I am very cool with so called Third World countries raising their standard of living for their people. I don't mind that China is coming up in the world, they need to, they have to feed almmost 2 billion folks and give them a worth while quality of life. Same with India. I could use with less authoritarianism from Xi but I don't begrudge how he is handling Chinese affairs, broadly. I think India overplayed its hand recently with some assassinations on Canadian soil, but i guess to be fair, Canada isn't clean in that regard globally in the past either. Shrug. I am hopeful that China and India can continue to come forward economically, and I do like that China is spending billions on Africa, I wish it was democratic nations leading that effort but I am glad someone is. Semi offtopic but these are things we jawed on about last night.  I suspect Canada and America are better poised to take in more refugees than Egypt, Jordan, and most European nations are at this time, but I would prefer shuttling refugees that want out of Gaza to the west Bank, I think. 

I don’t know how to agree and disagree with all these comments. 
 

I’ll prefer to respect them and you. 
 

I think that’s the way forward here, in this thread, on this Site and just generally in life. 
 

Lead by example. 

[Optimist Prime]

3 minutes ago, Sharpshooter said:

I don’t know how to agree and disagree with all these comments. 
 

I’ll prefer to respect them and you. 
 

I think that’s the way forward here, in this thread, on this Site and just generally in life. 
 

Lead by example. 

are you calling me a fascist? KIDDING, i am kidding entirely. ; ) (was trying to think of what you may disagree with, hehehehe. Truth is I specifically delivered a mixed bag; good eye.)

[Bob Long]

20 minutes ago, Sharpshooter said:

China. 
 

*sigh*

 

 

 

Xi wants his belt and road much more than he wants ww3.

[Sharpshooter]

1 minute ago, Optimist Prime said:

are you calling me a fascist? KIDDING, i am kidding entirely. ; ) (was trying to think of what you may disagree with, hehehehe. Truth is I specifically delivered a mixed bag; good eye.)

 

Two points deducted for Gryffindor for being off topic.  

[Sharpshooter]

3 minutes ago, Bob Long said:

Xi wants his belt and road much more than he wants ww3.

They could be 2 sides of the same coin. 
 

He unlike Putin, is an actual master strategist. 
 

 

[Optimist Prime]

2 minutes ago - 31°31′N 34°28′E

Jets target the Tawbah Mosque in Jabalia Camp, northern Gaza Strip

 

 

21 min ago

Israeli military will increase Gaza airstrikes, spokesperson says

From Tamar Michaelis and Radina Gigova 

 

 

The Israel Defense Forces will increase airstrikes on Gaza "from today," IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Saturday. 

“We will increase our strikes, minimize the risk to our troops in the next stages of the war, and we will intensify the strikes, starting from today," Hagari told reporters during a briefing in Tel Aviv.

When asked whether Israel has halted a ground operation in Gaza due to US pressure, Hagari said the Israeli military would launch such an operation when the conditions for the military are optimal. 

The IDF has continued to conduct airstrikes over the last day, Hagari said.

"Our main effort in Gaza is to eliminate the terrorists, and especially those involved in the massacre on Saturday two weeks ago," he said, referring to the surprise attack carried out by Hamas, which Israeli officials say killed more than 1,400 people.

"We continue to destroy terror targets ahead of the next stage of the war, and are focusing on our readiness to the next stage," he added.

[Bob Long]

2 minutes ago, Sharpshooter said:

They could be 2 sides of the same coin. 
 

He unlike Putin, is an actual master strategist. 
 

 

I suspect the Chinese ships are more for domestic headlines for Xi than actual involvement. Who would he be protecting? China doesn't care one iota about Gaza.

 

Pooty is great at picking things that benefit him personally.

[Sharpshooter]

4 minutes ago, Bob Long said:

I suspect the Chinese ships are more for domestic headlines for Xi than actual involvement. Who would he be protecting? China doesn't care one iota about Gaza.

 

Pooty is great at picking things that benefit him personally.

Xi could be doing that. 
 

He could also be trying to extend a perceived naval Superpower to counter the US in any and all regions, and using that perceived power to make inroads into the Middle East, again, to counter the US and Europe. 
 

 

[Bob Long]

Just now, Sharpshooter said:

Xi could be doing that. 
 

He could also trying to extend a perceived naval Superpower to counter the US in any and all regions, and using that perceived power to make inroads into the Middle East, again, to counter the US and Europe. 

 

 

Yep. Actual engagement tho? Seems unlikely to me. 

[Sharpshooter]

Just now, Bob Long said:

 

 

Yep. Actual engagement tho? Seems unlikely to me. 

Totally unlikely, I agree. 
 

But, showing the ‘power’ to a potential new ‘market’, and allies that are against the US, is certainly part of Xi’s playbook. 
 

Xi wants China to be the alternative to the US economically, politically and militarily. 
 

We should move this discussion to a China Thread though, before we get too much into the weeds. 

[Satchmo]

9 minutes ago, Sharpshooter said:

But, showing the ‘power’ to a potential new ‘market’, and allies that are against the US, is certainly part of Xi’s playbook. 

Xi wants China to be the alternative to the US economically, politically and militarily. 

 

I agree things have strayed a bit off topic, but I'm still somehow compelled to chime in to say the lines above are the one I most agree with in the last few posts.

Edited October 21, 2023 by Satchmo

[Canuck Surfer]

I continue to call for restraint.

 

1 hour ago, Sharpshooter said:

 

 

I thought these guys were all Nazi's?

[moosehead]

Palestinians under attack as Israeli settler violence surges in the West Bank

The two weeks since Hamas's attack have seen a sharp increase in settler violence in the West Bank

 

Abed Wadi was getting dressed for the funeral when the message arrived.

It was an image, forwarded to him by a friend, of a group of masked men posing with axes, a petrol canister, and a chainsaw, with text printed on the image in Hebrew and Arabic.

"To all the rats in the sewers of Qusra village, we are waiting for you and we will not mourn you," the text said.

"The day of revenge is coming."

 

Qusra was Wadi's village, in the northern part of the West Bank near Nablus. The funeral that day was for four Palestinians from the village. Three had been killed the previous day - Wednesday 11 October - after Israeli settlers entered Qusra and attacked a Palestinian family home.

The fourth was shot dead in clashes with Israeli soldiers that followed.

 

The following day, the Qusra villagers were preparing to set out for a hospital half an hour away and return with the bodies of the dead. To do so, they would need to travel across land that is dotted with Israeli settlements, where the risk of violence, high even in ordinary times, has risen dramatically in the two weeks since the Hamas attack that launched a war with Israel.

Wadi put his phone down and continued getting dressed. There were four men in refrigerators in the hospital who needed to be brought home. He was not going to be deterred by a threat, he said. He had heard too many.

There was no way for Wadi to know that, in a few hours' time, hardline Israeli settlers would confront the funeral procession and his own brother and young nephew would be shot dead.

"If we had delayed one or even two days, what good would it have done?" Wadi said, sitting in the shaded courtyard of his family home in Qusra.

"Do you think that the settlers would have left this place on the second day?"

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67173344

[Provost]

5 minutes ago, moosehead said:

Palestinians under attack as Israeli settler violence surges in the West Bank

The two weeks since Hamas's attack have seen a sharp increase in settler violence in the West Bank

 

Abed Wadi was getting dressed for the funeral when the message arrived.

It was an image, forwarded to him by a friend, of a group of masked men posing with axes, a petrol canister, and a chainsaw, with text printed on the image in Hebrew and Arabic.

"To all the rats in the sewers of Qusra village, we are waiting for you and we will not mourn you," the text said.

"The day of revenge is coming."

 

Qusra was Wadi's village, in the northern part of the West Bank near Nablus. The funeral that day was for four Palestinians from the village. Three had been killed the previous day - Wednesday 11 October - after Israeli settlers entered Qusra and attacked a Palestinian family home.

The fourth was shot dead in clashes with Israeli soldiers that followed.

 

The following day, the Qusra villagers were preparing to set out for a hospital half an hour away and return with the bodies of the dead. To do so, they would need to travel across land that is dotted with Israeli settlements, where the risk of violence, high even in ordinary times, has risen dramatically in the two weeks since the Hamas attack that launched a war with Israel.

Wadi put his phone down and continued getting dressed. There were four men in refrigerators in the hospital who needed to be brought home. He was not going to be deterred by a threat, he said. He had heard too many.

There was no way for Wadi to know that, in a few hours' time, hardline Israeli settlers would confront the funeral procession and his own brother and young nephew would be shot dead.

"If we had delayed one or even two days, what good would it have done?" Wadi said, sitting in the shaded courtyard of his family home in Qusra.

"Do you think that the settlers would have left this place on the second day?"

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67173344

I am not sure if this is the one where Israeli police led them into an ambush or not.

 

A recent funeral procession was told

to take a specific route to avoid being attacked by Israeli settlers.  As it turns out, that coincidentally happened to be the exact route that settlers had set up an ambush.

[Optimist Prime]

16 minutes ago, moosehead said:

Palestinians under attack as Israeli settler violence surges in the West Bank

The two weeks since Hamas's attack have seen a sharp increase in settler violence in the West Bank

 

Abed Wadi was getting dressed for the funeral when the message arrived.

It was an image, forwarded to him by a friend, of a group of masked men posing with axes, a petrol canister, and a chainsaw, with text printed on the image in Hebrew and Arabic.

"To all the rats in the sewers of Qusra village, we are waiting for you and we will not mourn you," the text said.

"The day of revenge is coming."

 

Qusra was Wadi's village, in the northern part of the West Bank near Nablus. The funeral that day was for four Palestinians from the village. Three had been killed the previous day - Wednesday 11 October - after Israeli settlers entered Qusra and attacked a Palestinian family home.

The fourth was shot dead in clashes with Israeli soldiers that followed.

 

The following day, the Qusra villagers were preparing to set out for a hospital half an hour away and return with the bodies of the dead. To do so, they would need to travel across land that is dotted with Israeli settlements, where the risk of violence, high even in ordinary times, has risen dramatically in the two weeks since the Hamas attack that launched a war with Israel.

Wadi put his phone down and continued getting dressed. There were four men in refrigerators in the hospital who needed to be brought home. He was not going to be deterred by a threat, he said. He had heard too many.

There was no way for Wadi to know that, in a few hours' time, hardline Israeli settlers would confront the funeral procession and his own brother and young nephew would be shot dead.

"If we had delayed one or even two days, what good would it have done?" Wadi said, sitting in the shaded courtyard of his family home in Qusra.

"Do you think that the settlers would have left this place on the second day?"

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67173344

These terrible things are happening, I am thankful that it is not so bad in the West Bank though as it is in Gaza. Small condolence, i know, but I am very hopeful that peaceful minds will prevail in the West Bank.