Fighting Misinformation: There has not been an election in Gaza for 17 years

[TomDaisy]

Link to tweet

I see some folks on this hellsite claiming whatever happens to Gazans in the coming days is on them for electing Hamas.
1) There hasn't been an election in Gaza for 17 years.
2) It's literally the same unhinged argument Bin Laden made to justify killing American civilians.

Link to tweet

"So the American people are the ones who fund the attacks against us, and they are the ones who oversee the expenditure of these monies in the way they wish, through their elected candidates." - Osama Bin Laden murderous screed in 2002

Link to tweet

Gaza’s 2+ million population are mostly children, who live under blockade in what Israel’s own former intelligence chief has called an open air prison.

The overwhelming majority live in poverty.

Many suffer lifelong psychological and physical trauma.





Children don't vote. They do die though, when brutalized and oppressed.

[mzmolly]

1. So sad for all the innocent people at the mercy

of this ongoing conflict.

[iluvtennis]

24. Yes, indeed. My heart breaks for them.😢

[roamer65]

2. ...and then Hamas and Hezbollah prey on them if they survive.

Sad, sad cycle.

[ZonkerHarris]

23. So the ones that don't survive have been preyed on by Israel?

[tritsofme]

3. The reason there has been no vote is that Hamas would win in a landslide.

Abbas the putative “president” is in year 18 of a 4 year term.

[Doc Sportello]

21. Hamas won 44 % of the vote in the last election

A landslide is 55% or more. So do you have any basis in reality for your claim, or are you just making stuff up?

[uponit7771]

25. +1, ... and "they'd win anyway" isn't even a mid level dictator excuse for not holding elections.

[ripcord]

4. So what exactly is Israel suppose to do about the Hamas terrorist attacks?

Just live with them and watch their children and elderly tortured, kidnapped and killed by mad dogs? No nation can be expected not to retaliate after a multi day terrorist attack like this. Hamas has gone well beyond the pale and yet some people are saying that they can't retaliate because of the Palestinian children but they don't seem to care about the Israeli children.

[Orrex]

6. What do you suggest that the innocent Palestinians should do?

They have absolutely no power to effect change or escape the situation in which they're trapped.

This is not to excuse Hamas, but I haven't seen anyone anywhere propose a solution that doesn't involve thousands upon thousands of dead innocent Palestinians.

[ripcord]

7. So your solution is that Israel will just have to live with the terrorists attacks

[Orrex]

12. That's the sound of you making shit up

Because it has absolutely nothing to do with anything I've ever posted in the entire time I've been online.

The fact that you can't even consider the question speaks volumes about your objectivity.

[ripcord]

13. So what are Israels options?

Take out Hamas and a million residents of Gaza or do nothing and wait for the next terrorist attack which could be even worse, do you see another?

[Orrex]

32. Perhaps you could answer my question before asking another.

[ripcord]

35. So you like everyone else has no solution

Israel is going to attack Gaza and root out Hamas regardless of anyone else thinks because they have no other choice than do nothing. No one can stop it at this point, the U.S. is even sending a carrier group to see to Israel's security while they deal with Hamas.

[Orrex]

37. Sounds like you don't give a shit about innocent Palestinians.

[ripcord]

39. I think it is going to be a sickening atrocity

But I don't have a solution either and don't see how it can be stopped at this point. Hamas crossed a line that can't be recrossed with the the size and brutality of this terror attack and Israel isn't going to put their people at risk again by listening to world opinion. World opinion is just wind and other nations offer no help to Israel or the Gaza residents who don't support Hamas, world opinion just makes Hamas' life easier.

[inthewind21]

49. THIS

kind of thinking Is EXACTLY how the US got into a 20+ year war with Iraq and Afghanistan that killed 100's of thousands of citizens in those country's. Brought us the Patriot Act and a whole host of other given away rights because hey, what else were we supposed to do right?

[obamanut2012]

14. Orr3x said nothing of the kind

[ripcord]

15. He doesn't want Israel to attack Hamas or put any pressure on Gaza

So what other options does Israel have other than do nothing? Take your time, I can wait.

[TomDaisy]

26. those who have committed crimes against Palestinians submit themselves to the ICC

no justice, no peace

If Israel condemned Israelis who have (and they have) committed atrocities against Palestinians, it would change everything and it might end the war in the region.

[Orrex]

36. I didn't say anything like that, either.

You still haven't answered my question, but you've repeatedly made shit up and attributed it to me.

[TomDaisy]

27. going out on a limb here, but killing civilians is not going to be the solution

[ripcord]

30. Since Hamas is embedded in the population this means Israel can't do anything

There will be cries of outrage at an attack or sealing off Gaza or anything that could actually affect Hamas so Israel will be expected to grin and bear it. Remember when the democratic nations were talking about the war on terror, too bad it stops when Jews are the victims.

[TomDaisy]

41. there will continue to be a cycle of violence until those Israelis who committed

crimes against the Palestinian people are held to account by law at the ICC

this includes the killing of Palestinian journalists, and the bulldozing of Palestinian homes and orchards to make way for settlements that violate international law.

if brutality hasn't worked for 50 years, I fail to see how more of it is a solution

[lostnfound]

44. Gaza needs a new mayor and Israel is an amazing country with a very large blindspot

Israel keeps acting like they believe one of two things 1) the problem can never be solved or 2) the problem will solve itself.

Except the problem is people. 1.3 million adults and 1 million kids — about the population of Pittsburgh metropolitan area — with a certain amount of residual hatred, no money, no internet? Do they have internet? Can we TALK to them, make them penpals? What a messed up situation, forever and ever, amen.

[RunnoDeMille]

17. Whatever Palestinians do when they see something that is forbidden in the eyes of God.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

20. You are exactly correct

[malaise]

5. Jimmy Carter nailed it - he spoke for me

That is all

[ShazzieB]

16. What did Jimmy say?

[Mister Ed]

8. "We are fighting human animals." That right there is the root of all evil.

Dehumanization paves the way for any and all atrocities. Oh, they're not fully human. They're only Injuns. Only ni***rs. Only Jews. Only [fill in the blank].

[MarineCombatEngineer]

9. They're not human animals,

they're bloodthirsty animals pretending to be humans.

[Mister Ed]

10. The Hamas terrorists, yes. The general population, no.

Be suspicious always of those who dehumanize.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

11. Yes, that's exactly what I meant.

Guess I should've clarified that.

[pnwmom]

28. Half of Gazan residents are children. Only a fourth are adult men.

And only a fraction of them are in Hamas.

But the threat was made to ALL Gazans.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

29. My comment was aimed at the Hamas terrorists who perpretrated this atrocity,

not the innocent Palestinians whom Hamas cares not one whit about except to use them as pawns for their own sick reasons.

[pnwmom]

31. Yes, I understand that now. The part that kills me

is this:

Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant:

"I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and we will act accordingly."

[MarineCombatEngineer]

38. Yeah,

that blanket statement is uncalled for, there are hundreds of thousands of innocent Palestinians in the Gaza strip who don't deserve the label and the closing of all services is not in Israel's best interest.

What I think should happen is that Egypt should open their border crossing into Gaza and let the goods flow to the people and let those that want to leave the coming onslaught cross the border after careful screening to flesh out Hamas fighters that try to evade capture or death.

[pnwmom]

40. Makes sense.

I hope they can find some way to stop the nightmare there, but I'm scared.

[Cha]

18. NO ItS ON Fcuking HAMAS.. HAMAS Did

the to Israelis & Palestinians.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

45. Yep

If Hamas cared about the children in Gaza, they wouldn’t have done what they did on Saturday.

For decades, Palestinian leaders have failed to serve the needs of Palestinians - they could have had peace decades ago, but they couldn’t (and can’t) let go of their “Israel has no right to exist” mantra.

[onecaliberal]

19. Don't have to go to the hellsite for that, you can find it right here.

[uponit7771]

22. +1

[herding cats]

33. Nifty!

Now that Hamas blew all the shit up, and all it's because they've not had a chance to vote the bad guys out since baby bush. Cool. They can't be held accountable, because they never did anything to fix this? They've just been coasting and are total victims here.

What did I miss?

[Sessuch]

34. The pox on both sides

This whole conflict is tiring, Both sides have flip the bird to the UN, the US, and the world community at large. The POX on them.

[JI7]

42. Have the people protested against Hamas ?

Have they called for change in leadership ?

[TomDaisy]

43. will Hamas kill people who protest?

[Initech]

46. And people wonder why I'm ultra paranoid about far right consolidation of power here.

[moonshinegnomie]

47. im sure there were innocents in germany in 1945

it didnt stop us. when your fighting evil innocents are going to get killed. thats just a fact of life. nothing is going to change that.

Israel is going to eliminate hamas from the planet. as they should. unfortunatly there are innocents who are going to die and their blood is on the hands of hamas.

I havent heard anyone come up with a practical solution that eliminates hamas without innocents being killed. until that happens israel is going to use everything at its disposal to destroy hamas

[redqueen]

48. It's tragic how few seem to understand the situation in Palestine.

The one sided media coverage has really paid off

[leftstreet]

50. It's astonishing

And it's gone on for decades

[inthewind21]

51. Indeed

[LiberaBlueDem]

52. Making Gaza suffer is not cool

Just 1,000 crazy mad men are to blame and maybe 100 leaders of Hamas. Get them and Israel will be safer.

[maxsolomon]

53. Literally no way to "get them" without harming/killing innocent Palestinians.

Hamas knows this. It's part of the strategy - invite Israeli reaction/overreaction.