Israel

[NowThis 931]

Btselem, an Israeli Jewish org highlights the IDF murderous tactics where over 350 protestors have been murdered as a part of standard procedure.  Why shoot at all? There are many cases of shooting media, medics, nurses, children and even guys in wheelchairs / disabled. 

 

 

https://www.btselem.org/press_releases/20190724_military_admits_to_killing_protestors_for_no_reason

After the Supreme Court Praised the Open-Fire Policy, the Military Admits: We killed Protestors for No Reason

Israel’s unlawful open-fire policy during the demonstrations along the Gaza perimeter fence – which were upheld by the Supreme Court – have so far resulted in hundreds of Palestinian deaths and thousands of injuries. Official sources now admit that they were well aware that people were being killed when even the State did not claim that this is justified. Despite this, no-one has taken action to amend the open-fire regulations. Instead, the military continued with its trial-and-error approach, ignoring the fact that human lives were at stake: people whose lives have been taken, and families who have been permanently devastated.

The day before yesterday (22 July 2019), it emerged that the officials were fully aware, at every stage, of the gulf between their declarations and reality. Carmela Menashe, a reporter for Kan News, reported that the military has now decided to change the open-fire regulations for snipers “after it emerged that firing at the lower limbs above the knee led, in most cases, to death, despite the fact that this was not the objective. Going forward, soldiers have been briefed to shoot below the knee and then at the ankle.” A senior officer at the military’s Counter-Terrorism School stated that the snipers’ objective “is not to kill but to injure, and accordingly one of the lessons learned related to the direction toward which they fire… At first, we told them to shoot at the leg. We saw that this can result in fatalities, so we told them to shoot below the knee, then we fine-tuned the regulations to shooting at the ankle.”

------

hundreds of young men have been amputated, shot for no reason other than crowd control. 

 

why destroy the life of this handsome boy?

 

 

 

[bolverk 29360]

In other news, Bibi promises to annex the Jordan Valley if reelected.

“If I am elected I commit to annex the Jordan Valley. It is our eastern border, our defense wall,” the prime minister vowed. “Give me the mandate. No previous Israeli prime minister has proposed doing so.”

*****

Instead of a conversation on whether annexation is smart or stupid, bad for Israel or good for Israel, everyone across the Israeli political spectrum will accept this new baseline and annexation becomes normal,” writes Michael Koplow, policy director at the center-left Israel Policy Forum. “As it is, the gap between Israel and the Palestinians is wide and widening by the day. This makes that gap unbridgeable if it becomes the new Israeli baseline position.”

Shit sounds awfully familiar and a lot of folks have been warning about this with Trump's rhetoric. GOPers told us we were overreacting to him (he's kidding you stoopid libs!) but the narcissistic numbskull is giving license to assholes to shit in other peoples' sandboxes all over the planet.

[hpslugga 4039]

Whether it’s “stupid” is not even relevant. The issue is that it’s a fucking crime that should put its chief perpetrator in a noose

[Js1 85056]

https://www.jpost.com/Israel-Elections/Netanyahu-Gantz-stalemate-No-clear-winner-in-super-tight-Israeli-election-601964

Quote

The final unofficial results were only expected on Wednesday afternoon, but according to an exit poll on Channel 13, whose pollster Camil Fuchs had the most accurate exit poll in the April election, Netanyahu’s Likud party won 31 seats, and his Center-Right bloc a total of 54 seats. The Center-Left bloc of Blue and White leader Benny Gantz won 58 and his party won 33.

The other projections are all between 54-57 seats for Bibi's bloc and 54-58 for the center-left bloc.  Neither appears to have gotten 61. 

[NowThis 931]

regardless of the election, the murderous nature of Israel will continue. All these political results have no practical value. 

[Js1 85056]

So Benny Gantz will get a shot to form a government or they go to new elections

[bad_teammate 13125]

On 9/17/2019 at 2:32 PM, NowThis said:

regardless of the election, the murderous nature of Israel will continue. All these political results have no practical value. 

The worm is going to turn, and it's not even close to unthinkable that what we end up with will make BDS look like a pro-Israel movement.

These are state terrorists.

[bolverk 29360]

Israel drawing up map for West Bank annexations: Netanyahu

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel has begun to draw up maps of land in the occupied West Bank that will be annexed in accordance with U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed peace plan, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday.

"We are already at the height of the process of mapping the area that, according to the Trump plan, will become part of the state of Israel. It won't take too long," Netanyahu said at an election campaign rally in the Maale Adumim settlement.

Netanyahu said the area would include all Israeli settlements and the Jordan Valley - territory Israel has kept under military occupation since its capture in the 1967 Middle East war but which Palestinians want in a future state.

"The only map that can be accepted as the map of Palestine is the map of the Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital," said Nabil Abu Rdainah, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Prospects for annexations, which have already been widely condemned, are unclear.

Israel will hold a national election on March 2 and Netanyahu, who is facing criminal corruption charges, is hoping to win a fifth term in office. He presently heads a caretaker government, whose legal authority to annex territory is still undecided by judicial authorities.

Settlers make up part of Netanyahu's right-wing voter base and many members of his coalition cabinet view the West Bank as the biblical heartland of the Jewish people.

Most countries consider Israeli settlements on land captured in war to be a violation of international law. Trump has changed U.S. policy to withdraw such objections.

Palestinians say the settlements make a future state non-viable. Israel cites security needs as well as biblical and historical ties to the land on which they are built.

Trump's plan envisages a two-state solution with Israel and a future Palestinian state living alongside each other, but it includes strict conditions that Palestinians reject.

The blueprint gives Israel much of what it has long sought, including U.S. recognition of settlements and Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley.

A redrawn, demilitarized Palestinian state would be subject to Israeli control over its security, and would receive tracts of desert in return for arable land settled by Israelis.

Right after Trump presented the plan on Jan. 28, Netanyahu said his government would begin extending Israeli sovereignty to the settlements and the Jordan Valley within days.

But Washington then appeared to put the breaks on that and Netanyahu has since faced pressure from settler leaders to annex territory despite any U.S. objections.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians/israel-drawing-up-map-for-west-bank-annexations-netanyahu-idUSKBN2020RA?feedType=mktg&feedName=worldNews&WT.mc_id=Partner-Google

[WhatTheBuck 28700]

It's land-stealin' time! Grab as much as you can while Trump is in office. 

[Nope 3111]

What’s this about?

 

[JBJ 3647]

Fake outrage.  The way it is shown there is how it has always been.  Israel with dashed lines for West Bank and Gaza Strip.

[Starfleet Command 441]

lol these blood thirsty psychopaths execute a journalist and then attack mourners carrying her body.  Rabid pit bulls have more decency than this filth.

 

Edited May 13, 2022 by Starfleet Command

[wildcat09 29187]

Jesus christ. They're like cartoon villains. 

[WhatTheBuck 28700]

50 minutes ago, Starfleet Command said:

lol these blood thirsty psychopaths execute a journalist and then attack mourners carrying her body.  Rabid pit bulls have more decency than this filth.

 

And of course they claimed she was shot by the Palestinians. We all know that’s bullshit.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-61403320

[WhatTheBuck 28700]

6 minutes ago, wildcat09 said:

Jesus christ. They're like cartoon villains. 

ISWYDT

[Anastasis 23375]

Clearly we just need to send them a few more billion in military assistance. 

 

 

[F250 28659]

Very fucked up. We really need to Defund Israel.

 

 

[Anastasis 23375]

Funny what gets flagged as disinformation on twitter and what doesn't.

 

[Anastasis 23375]

 

 

But an investigation by CNN offers new evidence — including two videos of the scene of the shooting — that there was no active combat, nor any Palestinian militants, near Abu Akleh in the moments leading up to her death. Videos obtained by CNN, corroborated by testimony from eight eyewitnesses, an audio forensic analyst and an explosive weapons expert, suggest that Abu Akleh was shot dead in a targeted attack by Israeli forces.

[George Clooney 378]

10 hours ago, Anastasis said:

 

 

But an investigation by CNN offers new evidence — including two videos of the scene of the shooting — that there was no active combat, nor any Palestinian militants, near Abu Akleh in the moments leading up to her death. Videos obtained by CNN, corroborated by testimony from eight eyewitnesses, an audio forensic analyst and an explosive weapons expert, suggest that Abu Akleh was shot dead in a targeted attack by Israeli forces.

Most, if not all, of the journalists and photographers killed there are purposefully sniped. Sometimes commanding officers order them, and other times, individual snipers do it just because they know they won't be punished for doing so. Israel should not be an American ally, but we'll never have leadership with the courage and intellect to act justly so it's wishful thinking.

[wildcat09 29187]

It’s pretty clear they murdered an American citizen. Biden not doing a damned thing about it will be one of the most shameful aspects of his presidency.

[sidis 9713]

man, the timing of this most recent raid into the Jenin camp and its similarity of the new season of fauda that just dropped on netflix is presumably fortuitous i guess?

[Neonmoon 38127]

Israel can also get fucked from their positions on Ukraine 

[RomaVicta 29756]

On 5/13/2022 at 10:01 AM, Anastasis said:

Clearly we just need to send them a few more billion in military assistance. 

 

 

I've wondered for years, decades even, if Israel has us over a barrel or has made themselves indispensible-seeming by doing America's particularly dirty work.

The idea first occured to me when I learned that Israel was sending military foreign aid to S. Africa during Apartheid. It was clear that we were sending stuff through Israel to avoid sanctions and maintain influence with the Apartheid government (always for the freedom, we Americans!)

Then I learned about Mossad which allows itself just about any action in the name of the state. I feel like they're our proxy in dealings that we don't want our name anywhere near. Thus, our government thinks of Israel as a weapon, but also Israel has a log of our dirty deeds.

I also watch the actions of Israel against the Palestinians and now the rise of fascism here in the US. No nation or people remain static over time. Israel is the pre-eminate power in the region and over the Palestinians. What happens to nations in such a position.

[WhatTheBuck 28700]

3 hours ago, Neonmoon said:

Israel can also get fucked from their positions on Ukraine 

You figure there must be a lot of Israelis who can trace their heritage back to Ukraine. But the current leadership in Israel must have some sympathy for Putin’s desire to seize someone else’s territory because he thinks it’s rightfully his.

[C-Man 26992]

Some shit going down in Israel today: https://apnews.com/article/netanyahu-israel-hospital-judicial-overhaul-protests-closures-fb595629e7033ee34d246ee9a367c4d4

Quote

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli lawmakers on Monday approved a key portion of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s divisive plan to reshape the country’s justice system despite massive protests that have exposed unprecedented fissures in Israeli society.

The vote came after a stormy session in which opposition lawmakers chanted “shame” and then stormed out of the chamber.

It reflected the determination of Netanyahu and his far-right allies to move ahead with the plan, which has tested the delicate social ties that bind the country, rattled the cohesion of its powerful military and repeatedly drawn concern from its closest ally, the United States.

Israel’s Netanyahu taken to hospital for heart procedure, placed under sedation

Fierce protests have been rocking Israel for months. What’s fueling them?

Cracks are emerging in Israel’s military. Reservists threaten not to serve if government plan passes

The overhaul calls for sweeping changes aimed at curbing the powers of the judiciary, from limiting the Supreme Court’s ability to challenge parliamentary decisions to changing the way judges are selected. Netanyahu and his allies say the changes are needed to curb the powers of unelected judges.

Protesters, who come from a wide swath of Israeli society, see the overhaul in general as a power grab fueled by personal and political grievances of Netanyahu — who is on trial for corruption charges — and his partners.

In Monday’s vote, lawmakers approved a measure that prevents judges from striking down government decisions on the basis that they are “unreasonable.”

With the opposition out of the hall, the measure passed by a 64-0 margin.

After, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, the architect of the plan, said parliament had taken “first step in an important historic process” of overhauling the judiciary.

More mass protests are now expected, and the Movement for Quality Government, a civil society group, immediately announced it would challenge the new law in the Supreme Court.

The grassroots protest movement condemned the vote, saying Netanyahu’s “government of extremists is showing their determination to jam their fringe ideology down the throats of millions of citizens.”

“No one can predict the extent of damage and social upheaval that will follow the passage of the legislation,” it said.

Earlier, demonstrators, many of whom feel the very foundations of their country are being eroded by the government’s plan, blocked a road leading up to the parliament, and big mall chains and some gas stations shuttered their doors in protest.

Further ratcheting up the pressure on Netanyahu, thousands of military reservists have declared their refusal to serve under a government taking steps that they see as setting the country on a path to dictatorship. Those moves have prompted fears that the military’s preparedness could be compromised.

Ahead of Monday’s vote, opposition leader Yair Lapid had declared: “We are headed for disaster.”

The vote came only hours after Netanyahu was released from the hospital, where he had a pacemaker implanted.

His sudden hospitalization added another dizzying twist to an already dramatic series of events, which were watched closely in Washington. The Biden administration has frequently spoken out against Netanyahu’s government and its overhaul plan. In a statement to the news site Axios late Sunday, President Joe Biden warned against pushing ahead with the legal changes that were sparking so much division.

“Given the range of threats and challenges confronting Israel right now, it doesn’t make sense for Israeli leaders to rush this — the focus should be on pulling people together and finding consensus,” he told the site.

Biden has also been critical of the government’s steps to deepen Israel’s occupation of the West Bank.

The massive, sustained democracy protests have shunned mention of Israel’s 56-year occupation of lands the Palestinians seek for their hoped-for independent state, fearing the issue might alienate supporters. But critics portray this rule over another people as a major stain on Israel’s claim to be a liberal democracy and accuse the protesters of harboring a significant blind spot in their struggle.

As lawmakers debated, tens of thousands of people gathered for mass rallies for and against the plan.

Protesters banging on drums and blowing horns blocked a road leading to Israel’s parliament, or Knesset, and police used water cannons to push them back. The protest movement said one of its leaders was arrested.

“The state of Israel stands before destruction and ruin that is being brought upon it by a gang of extremists and kooks. We must go up to Jerusalem today!” one branch of the protest movement called out to demonstrators on social media.

Netanyahu’s supporters, meanwhile, thronged central Tel Aviv — normally the setting for anti-government protests.

Despite the attempts to project business as usual, Netanyahu’s schedule was disrupted by his hospitalization, with a Cabinet meeting and trips postponed. His doctors said Sunday the procedure had gone smoothly and the prime minister said in a short video statement from the hospital late Sunday that he felt fine.

Netanyahu paused the overhaul in March after intense pressure by protesters and labor strikes that halted outgoing flights and shut down parts of the economy. After talks to find a compromise failed last month, he said his government was pressing on with the overhaul.

 

[hpslugga 4039]

I’m so surprised…said no one who’s been actually paying attention to them since 1971.

[horn4life 3753]

I think fairly it's time to question the amount of money the US sends to Israel.  I have always viewed Israel, as "The most oppressed, oppressor in existence."  Because I believe that both statements can be true at the same time, when taking history into account.

I also understand the strategic aspect of having Israel strong as a counterbalance in the region, but at what cost?  When they are basically dependent on the US, I think they should at least try to NOT move away from democratic norms.  But you have a huge injection of right wing religious zealots who want to basically drive the Palestinians into the sea with development of real estate.  I've always felt you cannot blame Netanyahu for leaning authoritarian and wanting to weaken the court system. Folks that don't like obeying the law, are always all in for that.  

I think right now we really need to start deciding what level of investment we put into authoritarian leans in our allies?  Do we ignore it? Cheer it? (as Trump would do!) Or do we flex the only leverage we have, the pocket book?

Anyhow curious about your thoughts on the subject.  Basically it is never, ever, ever good, when religion begins to rule Democratic politics, because it quickly moves with zealotry to use their power absolutely.  Because when God is on your side, you have no need to compromise or even listen to those who do not follow your God. Sort of like Mark Meadows and the Wife of Clarence Thomas communicated about the attempted coup...

Edited July 24, 2023 by horn4life

[Longhorn_Fan68 33825]

fuck Israel. it's way past time we stop propping them up. I have never heard a good argument as to why we send them so much money. Key protector if the region? Orly? which recent conflicts have they prevented or stopped? as best as I can tell they only use their military against people who have as much right to be there as they do. they could share, but they don't want to. their bigotry is no more tolerable than the versions we have here at home.

[washparkhorn 9931]

The pro-democracy Israelis, which include a large swath of those in the military, deserve support. The worst of Israel (the far right) support the de-democratization of Israel. If it leads to civil war, I am not sure the military will side with Netanyahu. 
 

The global surge towards right wing authoritarianism continues as the domino effect takes hold. 

[SydneyCarton 47809]

It’s be great if the Israeli military told Bibi and his band of thugs to fuck right off and maybe set an example for divisors here to be convened with…

[tokamak 6350]

My fear is that democracy in Israel is a lost cause. The intensity of the protests is encouraging, but the reality is that voters have returned Netanyahu to power again and again and again.

Even the opposition is more centrist than left-wing, tiptoeing carefully around the question of settlements, etc. Labor has fallen from being one of two main political parties to a complete nonentity. Anything but full-throated Zionism is a nonstarter in Israeli politics at this point.

[C-Man 26992]

Ex-Mossad chief blasts Bibi and his cronies saying they've let in "KKK mentality"

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-752713

Quote

Former Mossad director Tamir Pardo on Thursday framed the government's ongoing judicial overhaul along with actions by some of the more extreme ministers as a process with parallels to the Ku Klux Klan, in an interview with KAN radio.

He said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had “taken the Ku Klux Klan and brought them into the government,” equating ministers Itamar Ben Gvir, Betzalel Smotrich and others with the KKK.

Pardo noted that Smotrich had called for “burning down [the Palestinian village of] Huwara. How would this come about?” he asked rhetorically.

“Likud was established as a liberal party. Look at Mahal and look at Smotrich and Ben Gvir,” he warned.

Pardo said that Netanyahu has, "aligned himself with racist and horrible parties and that his political positions are not far from them."

The former Mossad chief stated that if another country was passing some of the laws which the government is passing or working on, Israel would be attacking such countries as antisemitic.

"The leader has lost the northern direction [his moral compass]. None of what has happened would have happened if the prime minister had not led these processes forward," he said.

He dismissed theories that Netanyahu was dragged into the judicial overhaul by other coalition members like Justice Minister Yariv Levin, saying that such persons were merely carrying out Netanyahu's will.

Next, he stated, "the country is being torn into two pieces and the prime minister is not blinking" and that coalition members are expressing happiness," over the defeat of the side that is losing.

Breaking apart the IDF and the Mossad

In addition, he added that Netanyahu was in the process of breaking apart both the IDF and the Mossad.

The former Mossad chief said that through all of his years working for the Mossad and the IDF, he was able to sleep in the midst of dangerous operations situations, but that now he is having trouble sleeping at night out of dread at what will be in store for the country's future.

Moreover, the former Mossad chief said that Netanyahu has promoted a myth that he represents a downtrodden portion of the population which is getting to take back the country from some other ruling party, whereas Netanyahu has been prime minister since 2009 with only an 18-month break.

Pardo had some conflicts with Netanyahu over Iran and Palestinian policy when he was director of the Mossad, but mostly kept his disagreements under wraps and carried out the prime minister's orders.

However, since the prime minister's criminal probe got serious and Netanyahu refused to resign, Pardo has been a persistent critic accusing Netanyahu of corruption and of pushing forward the judicial overhaul to allegedly free himself from the criminal trial.

 

[Anastasis 23375]

On 11/3/2019 at 2:50 PM, bad_teammate said:

The worm is going to turn...

Yep. Any day now.

 

You guys are nuts if you think anything actually changes. We have a sick symbiotic connection to to the modern state of Israel. Take your pick of the motives, geopolitical, theological, etc. Don't matter, shit won't change. The politics just aren't there. And as a happy side note lots of American military industry benefits. By the looks of it we are going to further expand that model. It is what it is. 

[tokamak 6350]

1 hour ago, Anastasis said:

Yep. Any day now.

 

You guys are nuts if you think anything actually changes. We have a sick symbiotic connection to to the modern state of Israel. Take your pick of the motives, geopolitical, theological, etc. Don't matter, shit won't change. The politics just aren't there. And as a happy side note lots of American military industry benefits. By the looks of it we are going to further expand that model. It is what it is. 

It’s an interesting thought experiment to try to determine how much media coverage it would get if any other country passed a similar law. I’m guessing not a ton. 

[Judge Roybeanbag 11796]

Quote

myth that he represents a downtrodden portion of the population which is getting to take back the country from some other ruling party, whereas Netanyahu has been prime minister since 2009 with only an 18-month break.

I’ve heard that song before, just can’t remember where.  

[Orale 1087]

It’s an interesting thought experiment to try to determine how much media coverage it would get if any other country passed a similar law. I’m guessing not a ton. 

Few other countries have comparable ties with the U.S.

[HenryJames 65868]

[Ben Tobin 374]

Example eleventy billion that we become what we hate

[WhatTheBuck 28700]

On 7/28/2023 at 9:08 AM, Judge Roybeanbag said:

I’ve heard that song before, just can’t remember where.  

Netanyahu is a Jewzi.

[Anastasis 23375]

“We didn’t brand a Star of David on that Palestinian’s face, that was just a mark from where we had a boot on his neck” - Israel Police

https://www.timesofisrael.com/police-deny-officers-branded-star-of-david-on-palestinian-detainees-face/
 

Police on Saturday further pushed back against allegations of brutality against a Palestinian arrested in East Jerusalem, denying officers branded a Star of David on his face. They indicated the marks were caused by a boot pressed against the suspect’s face.
…

During a remand hearing the next day, the suspect’s attorney alleged cops blindfolded his client before raining blows across his entire body, leaving him covered with bruises and cut marks on his face that resembled a Star of David.

None of the sixteen officers who took part in the arrest had their body cameras on at the time, according to the Ynet news site.

 

Edited August 19, 2023 by Anastasis

[berlinerbaer 670]

On 7/24/2023 at 11:58 AM, Longhorn_Fan68 said:

fuck Israel. it's way past time we stop propping them up. I have never heard a good argument as to why we send them so much money. Key protector if the region? Orly? which recent conflicts have they prevented or stopped? as best as I can tell they only use their military against people who have as much right to be there as they do. they could share, but they don't want to. their bigotry is no more tolerable than the versions we have here at home.

The Israelis know where the bodies are buried. Careful letting the dog off the leash.

[Anastasis 23375]

Welp, time for a bump. This one gonna get bad. 

[Dnaguy 11740]

55 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

Welp, time for a bump. This one gonna get bad. 

Yeah.

Ultra right wing Israel vs what seems to be a battle of the bulge type action by Hamas.

 

[TexArcher 37455]

Early reports on BBC are that the Israeli counter airstrikes have killed 160 and wounded over 1,000 already.  They're going to flatten Gaza for this.

 

Edited October 7, 2023 by TexArcher

[Mo Horn 8795]

We just flew home from the Tel Aviv airport. Flew out at yesterday morning. Just in time.

[BamaATL 16592]

So how did Hamas manage to get so many rockets into Gaza?  That seems like a lot.  (glaring at Iran)

[Neonmoon 38127]

43 minutes ago, TexArcher said:

They're going to flatten Gaza for this.

[horn_of_the_morning 978]

Jihadi turds have it coming this time.

[Aqua Buddha 14489]

Will the people obsessed with Ukraine funding now call for cutting off Isreal and for them to surrender to Hamas?  If not, why not?