This is what we might have expected from a demonstrably immoral and increasingly insane autocrat and Putin sock puppet who apparently intends to seize any 'available' piece of real estate for his portfolio, and damn the inhabitants to writhe under his heartless regime. Canada, Greenland, Gaza, Panama, what's next? If this ain't kleptocracy crossed with megalomania, I don't know what is.
Of course most of what you write is understandable and accurate.
I fail to understand why you suggest that the wealthy Arab nations ( in reality you mean Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States ) should cover the reconstruction costs. Maybe Qatar should be tithed for its covert support of Hamas and other groups.
In my opinion only Iran must pay. After all, It encouraged and supported 7/10 and its proxy Hamas. Arguably, Obama and his decision to release all that money to Iran should answer for this mess but his willfully blind cheerleaders disagree.
If you really think that there can be peace between Israel, Hamas, Hezbollah , Islamic Jihad as well as the PLO then I applaud your optimism and hope you are right. Having spent years studying the Torah and Old Testament I am pessimistic about its prospects.
This is not a complicated issue; it boils down to one word: occupation. This is not an intractable problem; Israel just needs to return the land they have stolen from Palestinians.
So let me understand what land did they steal ? Arabs stole the land of the Jews in the Kingdom of Israel and deported them to Assyria. Romans and their allies ( arabs, germans and balkan ) occupied and stole the land of the Jews in the Kingdom of Judah, they destroyed Jerusalem and deported the Jews as slaves and after another revolt , expelled them altogether from the kingdom and rebranded it as Palestina and Jerusalem became Aelia Capitolina.
Dear Nick, please take a look at the real history of who OWNS the lands defined as Gaza and the West Bank. You will find the San Remo conference of 1922, in dividing up the Ottoman Empire, officially provided these lands to the “Jewish People” and the United Nations confirmed all this in 1948 with the recognition of the Sovereign state of Israel.The Arab countries together immediately launched a war to eliminate Israel. They failed but when the ceasefire lines were adopted Gaza was in Egypts hands and the West Bank and a part of Jerusalem were in Jordan’s.
In the 1967 war Israel liberated these territories and they once again were returned to their intended “destination”. For complex and largely ignorant reasons they are still referred to as “occupied” in some “circles” but in fact and in real International law they are Israel.
Nick, please review the facts so that you can revise your comment and not be deemed as IGNORANT!!
Its a sad regional situation and doubt there will be any "fair" solutions forth coming. There is simply too much "history", too many "sides", combined with outside influences from Iran to Russia to Europe -- not just the USA. All rushing aid to residents in the region, themselves who are not in place to forget the past and move forward constructively. All are complicit in the destruction and mayhem. Changes from within are needed first -- outside opinions seem only to make the region worse off.
What is that solution Jim? Rather than taking the simplistic path of slamming President Trump, what is your plan to improve this untenable situation? Status quo just isn't going to suffice.
If Trump is so keen to relocate the Palestinians currently residing in Gaza, then rather than expecting other countries to cough up, he could bring them all to the USA. All it would take is an executive order, he wouldn’t have to ask anyone else, as seems the case these days.
As much as this may seem a viable (?) alternative to what is currently proposed, the Palestinians would still probably prefer to stay in Gaza, despite the actions of Israel & Hamas.
I do not know what the answers are to resolving the issues in Israel & Palestine and it would appear no one else has the answer either.
The US is not a impartial party or observer and lifting sanctions against violent Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank or turning Gaza into Mar-A-Gaza is definitely not the answer. However there are countries in the Middle East who have more than enough resources to rebuild Gaza. They need to step up to the mark and do what is necessary to rebuild Gaza and until they do, the US & Israel are going to dictate the terms of any developments that proceed in Gaza.
The US needs to support the Arab nations that wish to partake in the renewal of Gaza, if it is to retain any credibility in the Middle East and not just Israel. (It has lost much of it elsewhere)
Given that Trump is insane, I don’t hold out much hope.
Ps Closing down Voice of America (VOA), along with Radio Free Europe (RFL) and Liberty Radio is one of the most blatant examples of a self inflicted stupidity and own goals I have ever seen. It must be mind boggling for the Russians & Chinese. What next?
This is what we might have expected from a demonstrably immoral and increasingly insane autocrat and Putin sock puppet who apparently intends to seize any 'available' piece of real estate for his portfolio, and damn the inhabitants to writhe under his heartless regime. Canada, Greenland, Gaza, Panama, what's next? If this ain't kleptocracy crossed with megalomania, I don't know what is.
Thanks Ms Francis for another superbly written description of a complicated issue.
In a word, he's nuts as are his supporters.
Of course most of what you write is understandable and accurate.
I fail to understand why you suggest that the wealthy Arab nations ( in reality you mean Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States ) should cover the reconstruction costs. Maybe Qatar should be tithed for its covert support of Hamas and other groups.
In my opinion only Iran must pay. After all, It encouraged and supported 7/10 and its proxy Hamas. Arguably, Obama and his decision to release all that money to Iran should answer for this mess but his willfully blind cheerleaders disagree.
If you really think that there can be peace between Israel, Hamas, Hezbollah , Islamic Jihad as well as the PLO then I applaud your optimism and hope you are right. Having spent years studying the Torah and Old Testament I am pessimistic about its prospects.
you are right trump is nuts
This is not a complicated issue; it boils down to one word: occupation. This is not an intractable problem; Israel just needs to return the land they have stolen from Palestinians.
So let me understand what land did they steal ? Arabs stole the land of the Jews in the Kingdom of Israel and deported them to Assyria. Romans and their allies ( arabs, germans and balkan ) occupied and stole the land of the Jews in the Kingdom of Judah, they destroyed Jerusalem and deported the Jews as slaves and after another revolt , expelled them altogether from the kingdom and rebranded it as Palestina and Jerusalem became Aelia Capitolina.
Dear Nick, please take a look at the real history of who OWNS the lands defined as Gaza and the West Bank. You will find the San Remo conference of 1922, in dividing up the Ottoman Empire, officially provided these lands to the “Jewish People” and the United Nations confirmed all this in 1948 with the recognition of the Sovereign state of Israel.The Arab countries together immediately launched a war to eliminate Israel. They failed but when the ceasefire lines were adopted Gaza was in Egypts hands and the West Bank and a part of Jerusalem were in Jordan’s.
In the 1967 war Israel liberated these territories and they once again were returned to their intended “destination”. For complex and largely ignorant reasons they are still referred to as “occupied” in some “circles” but in fact and in real International law they are Israel.
Nick, please review the facts so that you can revise your comment and not be deemed as IGNORANT!!
Its a sad regional situation and doubt there will be any "fair" solutions forth coming. There is simply too much "history", too many "sides", combined with outside influences from Iran to Russia to Europe -- not just the USA. All rushing aid to residents in the region, themselves who are not in place to forget the past and move forward constructively. All are complicit in the destruction and mayhem. Changes from within are needed first -- outside opinions seem only to make the region worse off.
An audacious, crazy solution , indeed. But are there better ones for this intractable problem?
Let’s support a solution that doesn’t allow this criminally convicted president to continue raping, in this case an entire ethnic population.
What is that solution Jim? Rather than taking the simplistic path of slamming President Trump, what is your plan to improve this untenable situation? Status quo just isn't going to suffice.
Excellent as always thank you
I guess it pays more to build in Gaza then Russia where the profits are greater and no problem on land.
If Trump is so keen to relocate the Palestinians currently residing in Gaza, then rather than expecting other countries to cough up, he could bring them all to the USA. All it would take is an executive order, he wouldn’t have to ask anyone else, as seems the case these days.
As much as this may seem a viable (?) alternative to what is currently proposed, the Palestinians would still probably prefer to stay in Gaza, despite the actions of Israel & Hamas.
I do not know what the answers are to resolving the issues in Israel & Palestine and it would appear no one else has the answer either.
The US is not a impartial party or observer and lifting sanctions against violent Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank or turning Gaza into Mar-A-Gaza is definitely not the answer. However there are countries in the Middle East who have more than enough resources to rebuild Gaza. They need to step up to the mark and do what is necessary to rebuild Gaza and until they do, the US & Israel are going to dictate the terms of any developments that proceed in Gaza.
The US needs to support the Arab nations that wish to partake in the renewal of Gaza, if it is to retain any credibility in the Middle East and not just Israel. (It has lost much of it elsewhere)
Given that Trump is insane, I don’t hold out much hope.
Ps Closing down Voice of America (VOA), along with Radio Free Europe (RFL) and Liberty Radio is one of the most blatant examples of a self inflicted stupidity and own goals I have ever seen. It must be mind boggling for the Russians & Chinese. What next?
Your last statement was on targic - It's nuts! How to make a mess messier - have D Trump involved.