...then do very little meaningful to help Palestinians with an on the ground effort. Sending food and medicine that never gets delivered and prayers and well wishes is just BS to a starving child. African nations can even manage this. Trump was just in the Middle East and did zippo...par usual...well, line his own and family's pockets doesn't count.

It's the only way I can interpret this:

Yes, I would say that Iran and Yemeni rebels firing missiles etc. at Israel are a de facto declaration of war. The prior Syrian regime was hostile, although the current one seems willing to sit this one out despite IDF incursions and bombings. Egypt, Jordan and others have peace treaties with Israel. Certainly a major Arab military operation would be viewed as hostile and certainly any policing and alternative government effort would need to be with prior agreement that remaining Hamas elements are to be disarmed and arms caches and such still sought out. And maybe the Israelis would have none of of it. But, I still think it is interesting Arab neighbors have proposed NOTHING on behalf of the Palestinians while telling their own populace that they care about Palestinian lives and their domestic political support somewhat reliant on that.

He's a British conservative commentator and the head of the UK Friends of the Association for the Wellbeing of Israel’s Soldiers (UK-AWIS), the UK branch of AWIS, an Israeli organization managed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), so he isn't exactly unbiased. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Kemp

Last edited Mon May 19, 2025, 01:32 PM - Edit history (1)

I'm aware of Kemp's. In this case, he's not wrong.

Let's believe the IDF.

Rather, they have said that there is very little, IF ANY, theft by Hamas. They state they have rigorous mechanisms for tracking "leakage" and have not found any issues of concern.

Where is that "overwhelming evidence" IDF claims to have? Do you know? (Please no one post those few laughable videos from a year or so ago). Hard evidence from aid agencies, showing the amount of "leakage", where and when it occurred and how. That would be non-existent.

Who are you gonna believe? The IDF and Netanyahu or the aid agencies tasked with saving lives who have no axe to grind and nothing to gain from lying?

Unfortunately some people continue to push the IDF narrative, including this Richard Kemp, an opponent of DEI in the military, and of investigating soldiers accused of crimes, a Brexiter, and overall right-wing supporter of Netanyahu and his wars on Gaza.

So the Pope being an observant Jew is not a problem to them, right?

In both cases the looting occurred after weeks - 2 months! - of Israel's siege on aid. When no food had been allowed in.

So just think about please. If you were in that situation, with YOUR family starving... It's only human...

Further, according to these articles, these looters were not Hamas fighters. They were either unarmed civilians, but mostly armed criminal gang members. In fact, as mentioned, Hamas, through its police forces, fought the criminal gang looters and killed many of them.

But you want to know something very strange? I have read that sometimes the IDF looks the other way when these armed criminal gangs loot the lorries or warehouses. That is not good at all.

The solution to the looting, of course, is for Israel to allow aid through, as it is obligated under international law. There are 14,000 BABIES in Gaza at risk of starvation in the next 48 hours, according to the UN. Please let that sink in.

last week.

This 14,000 number comes from what OBJECTIVE source please. Saying the UN doesn't work anymore. The UN uses Hamas' word as etched in truthful stone. https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143463434

That have been on the 48 hour verge of starvation for over a month now.

Whether it was a lie or a misinterpretation of the IPC numbers, it doesn't matter. It doesn't take away from the reality of what the people of Gaza are enduring.

The god-awful reality is that people are starving. I can link to any number of articles and reports but you can find them too - if you wanted to.

It is horrendous.

enough supplies to keep their fighters in good health.

Maybe people saying supplies going into Gaza are being siphoned off by Hamas to feed their fighters isn't FAR from the truth.

But I know. . .it's always Israel.

Those who love Israel should be saying enough! before it's too late. Even those who don't particularly care about Palestinians.

Not one aid agency has said Hamas is stealing aid. Cindy McCain of the WFP has come out and outright denied it.

The "Hamas is stealing aid" lie is just a convenient excuse to sideline humanitarian aid agencies that can actually prevent the starvation and replace them with the shady, ineffective, inexperienced and dubious private mercenary contractors - ensuring Palestinians remain on the verge of starvation while being corralled into smaller enclaves and displaced from their homes. Those enclaves are located close to the Sinai, through which they will eventually be ethnically cleansed.

A few days ago desperate, hungry people overran the warehouse of the new privatized "aid" agency, and the trucks, looted everything. One Palestinian was killed by the IDF and others injured. Exactly what the UN warned would happen.

The whole thing is a diabolical invention and unmitigated cruelty.

Your mmv.

and Hamas has amazing PR for their terrorism.

Lost in all of this. . .THEY STARTED THIS WAR!!! If Hamas really cared about the people that elected them, Oct 7 would never have happened.

But it would be of interest to some DUers who would make you believe that Israel's obligations are unconditional. So here it is, in its entirety (bolding mine):

If not, then Israel's obligations under the Geneva Conventions are further limited.

to abide by any rules at all, let alone their ridiculous expectations of Israel. And they keep pretending that the lawless terrorists who mock the Geneva Conventions are entitled to the same protections as their signatories.