(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Latest Israel/Palestine News - It Ain’t Good [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-12-03 Here is the latest on the Israel/Palestine situation from NBC News: - Israel intensified its bombardment of the Gaza Strip and withdrew its team of negotiators from Qatar after talks to renew the truce with Hamas collapsed. - Israel faced mounting public pressure from the United States to do more to protect civilians, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue the war "until we achieve all its goals." - The Israeli military's push into packed southern Gaza has raised global concern. Israel says Hamas leaders are hiding alongside the masses it urged to flee south during weeks of aerial bombardment and ground battles in the north. Israel has warned civilians to evacuate specific neighborhoods, but those in Gaza say there is no guaranteed safe place to go. - About 1.8 million people have been displaced in Gaza, where health officials say the death toll had surpassed 15,000 after weeks of Israeli attacks, and hundreds have been killed since fighting resumed. The Israel Defense Forces estimates 1,200 people were killed in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, with around 140 people still held captive in Gaza. I really hate to say this because I’m a BIG Biden fan. But Netanyahu is making him look like a fool. Biden (and his crack staff) tried to extend the ceasefire/pause to get more hostages out. Netanyahu pulled his people out of talks and renewed the bombing, apparently satisfied with just getting most of the women and children out. Biden told Netanyahu not to bomb/go into southern Gaza until Israel had a specific logistical plan to keep the millions of Palestinian civilians there (including the ones from northern Gaza who he forced to relocate) safe. Netanyahu apparently gave civilians only a few hours to leave certain cities in the south before he started bombing them. That’s not a logistically feasible plan. Biden told Netanyahu that Israel needed to do everything humanely possible to keep the Palestinian civilians safe. In response (as noted in the above NBC report) Netanyahu vowed to continue the war until the goal of eliminating HAMAS was achieved. Regardless of the fact that millions of Palestinian civilians squeezed into such an ever shrinking piece of land will mean that the bombing will kill thousands of innocent civilians to kill a few hundred (more or less) intermingled HAMAS fighters. Biden has told Netanyahu that Israel must NOT re-occupy Gaza after the war. Netanyahu has said Israeli forces would remain in Gaza however long it takes to insure the safety of Israelis (ie., indefinitely). Then lastly is the fact that Biden has repeatedly told Netanyahu that the only way this conflict can end is through a negotiated Two State solution with Palestinians and Israelis living peacefully side by side. Netanyahu is a long time advocate of a One State solution presumably with Palestinians driven out or under Israeli control. It’s time for Biden to come out publicly and break ties with the Netanyahu government. He has appeal directly to the Israeli people and come out strong in defense of the safety and well being of Israelis, while also telling them that the path Netanyahu is taking won’t provide that safety and security, only more war and death. It is the perfect time for Joe to do it since after getting a lot of Israeli hostages out, he is polling far better among the Israeli people now than Netanyahu. Look, I know it’s a no no to seemingly advocate regime change in another country. Look we didn’t much like it when Russia did it to us. But this is a “let the ends justify the means” situation and anyway the vast majority of Israelis want Netanyahu gone. Voting in an Israeli government who will at least consider peace and a two state solution as well as finding a negotiating partner in Palestine that isn’t HAMAS, is the fastest way to end the bloodshed. Lastly, around 1200 Israelis have been killed in this conflict and over 15,000 Palestinians and counting. That’s almost a 15 to 1 ratio. I understand the religious concept of an eye for an eye, but this is not even close. I know Israel is going after HAMAS and that they have every right to wipe them off the planet after what they did on October 7, but how many more innocent Palestinians must die to achieve that goal? Is there any upper bound? [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailykos.com/stories/2023/12/3/2209433/-Latest-Israel-Palestine-News-It-Ain-t-Good?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/