The United Nations said on Sunday Israeli tanks had burst through the gates of a base of its peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, the latest accusation of Israeli violations and attacks that have been denounced by Israel’s own allies.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the United Nations to evacuate the troops of the UNIFIL peacekeeping force from combat areas in Lebanon. Hours later, the force reported what it described as additional Israeli violations, including two Israeli Merkava tanks destroying the main gate of a base and forcibly entering before dawn that morning.
Soon after the tanks left, shells exploded 100 metres away, releasing smoke which blew across the base and sickened U.N. personnel, causing 15 to require treatment despite wearing gas masks, it said. It did not say who fired the shells or what sort of toxic substance it suspected.
It also accused Israel’s IDF military of halting a logistics convoy. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to the statement.
Im so shocked, its almost as if international law is made up by the global north in order to justify oppressing the global south while taking no accountability.
EDIT: After further research, and a few high-school level insults, I’m fairly certain, given the mind-boggling complexities of what went down in 1948, (like to what degree the British are to blame for however much of the violence, or how did the population of Arab-Jews factor into anything) that I am seriously under qualified to make the assessment that I made. I’m not sure anyone even can (although numerous books have written about it, one of which my Zionist parents tried to push on me), unless they were a truly neutral, on the ground observer at the time. (Maybe it’s another reason to have a different term, since saying it is loaded doesn’t even seem sufficient.)
I wish people would stop throwing around the term Zionist willy-nilly. It’s not accurate to the situation, and I don’t understand why it was twisted into this weird genocidal war-mongering meaning that has nothing to do with the word itself.
Now, clearly, there is a large portion of the Israeli government/military/and I guess, population, that is intent on genocide and war mongering, and it’s sickening and they need to be stopped. I just don’t like this term being used inaccurately. Maybe I’m being pedantic.
The term “Zionist” itself does not inherently imply war-mongering or a desire for genocide. Zionism originally refers to the movement for the re-establishment of a Jewish homeland in what is now Israel, beginning in the late 19th century. It emerged as a response to centuries of persecution, including pogroms in Europe, and sought to create a safe, sovereign space for Jews.
However, over time, some have associated Zionism, especially in its modern form, with certain political actions taken by the State of Israel. Critics of Israeli policies, particularly regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, may use “Zionist” to refer to those who support aggressive military actions or expansionist policies, which clearly are contributing to extreme violence and the attempted genocide of Palestinians. This is where the connotation of war-mongering or even genocidal intent comes into play, often in highly polarized or emotionally charged discussions.
It’s important to note that many Zionists strongly reject these characterizations. They argue that Zionism is about self-determination for Jewish people. Equating Zionism with war-mongering or genocide often reflects political bias or misunderstanding of the broader spectrum of Zionist thought, which ranges from more moderate to more hardline positions.
The term can thus be polarizing, with very different meanings and implications depending on the speaker’s perspective and the context.
Precision in language is a worthy goal, and another thread and time would be a fine place for a discussion about Theodore Herzl being a gigantic piece of shit who was a wrecker for what may have been a nobler movement among successful high-status Jews in wealthier parts of the Pale of Settlement during one extremely narrow time and context.
Unfortunately, you can’t just start a conversation that’s the equivalent of “swastikas are good luck charms” without seeming like an asshole.
Oh I knew I would seem like an asshole. Fortunately this is the internet, and there aren’t really penalties for that (for better or worse). And yes, I am actually very intrigued by the discussion you propose. I’ve also been reading further after people started replying to my comment. I’m fairly certain, given the mind-boggling complexities of what went down in 1948, (like to what degree the British are to blame for however much of the violence, or how did the population of Arab-Jews factor into anything) that I am seriously under qualified to make the assessment that I made. I’m not sure anyone even can (although numerous books have written about it, one of which my Zionist parents tried to push on me), unless they were a truly neutral, on the ground observer at the time. I think I will append my comment, but leave it up, since I own what I said, despite how views can rapidly evolve.
Thank you for clarifying, and good luck on your quest. Arab Jews and local Palestinian Jews later termed Mizrahi were treated particularly awfully by the Zionists, there was even a false-flag Zionist militia bombing of an Iraqi Jewish synagogue.
For your earlier questions, I recommend chapters 1 through 6 of Ten Myths About Israel by Ilan Pappé if you haven’t encountered it already.
https://www.versobooks.com/books/2430-ten-myths-about-israel
Zionism is a settler colonial ideology that aims at creating a Jewish ethno-state in Palestine. It cannot exist without violence. You can’t colonize someone else’s land without violence, and you can’t commit this violence without rationalizing it through dehumanizing the colonized. The genocide against the indigenous Palestinians is the logical consequence of their dehumanization that spans now over more than a century.
I would love some citations, because my research did not indicate any kind of requirement for a Jewish ethno-state inside Gaza. Palestine and Israel are the same thing, so that’s what the settlement was about. Not Gaza.
Are you intentially being obtuse or just incredibly stupid? In order to create the Jewish ethno-state called “israel” the people who lived there were murdered, raped, and forcibly displaced. Furthermore, in the time since its creation, they have been excluded from having citizenship and representation in the government. This is known as apartheid. Within this ethno-state, these non-jews have continued to be evicted from their homes. And no, you subject changing genocide supporter, I am not talking about gaza or the west bank, though the crimes in those places are also numerous. So, again, I ask, when you make the claim that zionism is not a settler colonial belief, are you being intentionally obtuse or are you incredibly stupid?
Because you genuinely seem to care I think 10 myths about Israel by Ilan Pappe would be a relevant resource. I think it’s a nice compromise between working scientifically (I.e. citing sources where necessary) and being accessible. It’s not a scientific book but it’s written by a credible Israeli researcher.
I will be honest, it’s very biased in a sense that it’s anti-Zionist. But I think once you read about the history of Zionism it’s difficult to remain unbiased about it.
That being said, a lot of damage has been done by the British before the establishment of Israel and a lot of damage has been done since it’s establishment, but the book also offers a perspective for moving on.
This perspective would be the establishment of an actual democratic state with equal rights for everyone and an acknowledgment of the rights of Palestinians to their land, their culture, and their history. Such a democratic state is possible, and it would not favor any ethnicity or religion. And here’s the catch: it would go against the Zionist ideology because it wouldn’t be a „Jewish“ state anymore (more like ethno-supremacist).
I hope that makes sense and I think other commenters may have snapped at you too fast .
You people are like leftist zombies, you just mindlessly repeat the same phrases over and over and over again. Of course you can’t engage with the issues beyond your catchphrases and clam up as soon as someone starts challenging you.
Why are are even calling them UN peacekeepers if they prevent violence from one side, but allow it on the other?
If they’re indeed peacekeepers, then they failed their job miserably. As it stands, their only usefulness is being human shields for Hezbollah.
Their job isn’t to stop war crimes. Their job is go record war crimes and report back to the UN, where the world’s job is to use this information to stop future war crimes by diplomatic or violent methods
Then maybe they should identify themselves as war inspectors or historians? “Peacekeepers” is kinda misleading…
So what’re they gonna do about it?
They are literally attacking the UN and still we are expected to provide unquestioning support?
You don’t tell the fucking UN to evacuate because you want to attack someone.
The UN holds zero authority when I’m putting my country’s best interests forward.
I’m telling you to evacuate your house, if you don’t I’ll just fucking kill you. If you don’t evacuate your own house I’ll also call the police and tell them you had it coming because I told you to evacuate and you refused. I see no flaw in your logic at all.
Don’t evacuate, you might be killed. It’s really not that hard of a concept.
You know, even though it’s still rewarding Israel’s actions in a way, out of all the support the US is giving, this one I probably mind the least. It will prevent further innocent deaths (regardless of what side they are on, this is always a net positive), and it can’t be used by Israel against the Palestinian and Lebanese people. Let the US take over all of the defense of Israel if it means they stop delivering bombs and missiles that Israel will use to further their genocide.
That’s not how it will play out. By unconditionally defending Israel from counter-attack they’re emboldening them to keep fighting and provoking whoever they want. The Israelis know they’re immune to any repercussions from their aggression. They have nothing to fear, and will only further their attacks because of it. This will create more innocent deaths, not less.
This isn’t new. They’ve been assassinating UN mediators since before they were even granted Statehood.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folke_Bernadotte
The assassination was organized by Yitzhak Shamir, who was later elected prime minister of Israel.
