Increasing evidence is showing that the initial plans for the October 7th attack were probably for the killing of few, if any, non-combatants. The intent seems to have been to seize Israeli soldiers. They were to be held as hostages, seeking the release of the thousands (7-10 at least) of Palestinian political prisoners held by Israeli in military detention (often without trials).
The Hamas attackers clearly expected more resistance from the Israeli Military than they got. Some posit that there was a window of several hours where a lot of the attackers had little or no supervision. During this period of time, many of the civilian killings took place such as the attack on the musical festival.
Hamas is in very unfamiliar territory now! 100% surrender seems an unlikely possibility. Releasing more than nominal numbers of hostages seems unrealistic to expect. Demanding that ALL Israeli Prisoners be released before a Ceasefire occurs would clearly be a 100 PERCENT SURRENDER. In that case, as with past situations over the past 75+ years, the death and imprisonment of Palestinians - accused of being Hamas or supporters of Hamas - would be anticipated by Hamas.
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Iran is frequently cited as the most dangerous enemy of both Israel and the U.S. Related to Iran:
Mohammad Reza came to power during World War II after the Anglo-Soviet invasion which forced the abdication of his father, Reza Shah Pahlavi. During Mohammad Reza's reign, the British-owned oil industry was briefly nationalized by the democratically elected Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh with support from Iran's parliament, until an Army coup d'état supported by the UK and the US deposed Mosaddegh, allowing the government to centralize power under the Shah, and brought back foreign oil firms under the Consortium Agreement of 1954.[5]
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammad_Reza_Pahlavi)
Iranians and Persian-Americans - are horrified at the - battles to keep down Women who step outside of the strict limits put on their physical appearances in public.
Iran is Not an Arabic State, however its failure to go along with U.S. "leadership" makes it an outlier and it supports Hezbollah and perhaps Hamas. Syria and Lebanon are tied in with Iran to varying degrees.
Syria and Hezbollah are clearly also feared by Israelis and Jews in general. Commonly it is posited that: "The Arab World" should be the home for the Palestinians. Both Jordan and Egypt - allies commonly of the U.S. - have no desires for an influx of Palestinians.
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As a child in the late 1950's and the early 1960's, I learned of those "murderous Fedayeen" who invaded across the border from Jordan attacking Israeli's. While in a sense this was true, this was a case of people forced away from their (former) villages and cities, trying to "come home".
The persistent narrative of "invading Arabs" and warlike Palestinians persists into current times. Often people say that they would welcome negotiations for Peace, but there is "no one who recognizes Israel to negotiate with".
Neither The Palestinian Authority, nor Hamas, can realistically negotiate for a lasting peace! Hamas was most recently elected to lead the Palestinian People, however this was in 2006 - 17 years ago. I heard Rashid Khalidi, the noted Palestinian-American scholar at Columbia University speak of the impossibility of Hamas or The Palestinian Authority seeking a just peace.
Khalidi said that neither leadership of Palestinians want a peace treaty, because both know that in free and fair elections, neither would win and thus continue in power. Israel also has had a tendency to use its security agencies such as the Mossad to assassinate prospective leaders. A few Palestinians have also been murdered by other Palestinians because of their (perceived) collusion with the Israelis.
Israel sought to force out as many Palestinians as possible in what is aptly entitled The Naqba - or "Catastrophe". Writings of Ben Gurion and other Israeli notable leaders clearly show that the Primary Goal was "majority rule" of the ne Israeli State through actions such as these. Prior to 1948, the Jews were not close to majority of the population in Palestine.
Many scholars have detailed the "police state" and/or "apartheid state" that has existed since 1948 and continues today for Palestinians within Israel and in pre-October 7th Gaza and in the West Bank.
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The fears that exist of a mass killing of many, if not all, Israeli Jewish People is real, if misguided. Not having worked through our trauma - and being stuck in our fears is important (as has been noted earlier on).
The fears of Palestinians are sustained by the lack of regular, meaningful communication between Jewish Israeli Jews and Palestinians. It is quite comparable to how white Americans living in the South knew Black Americans during the pre-modern Civil Rights era. Clearly there are direct parallels between the fears of some white people today and Black People in the U.S.
"Terrorism" - in small part will persist - as long as Palestinians have no viable options for a lasting, just peace! The fears and hatred of the Israeli Jewish People will continue among many of those who are not explicitly (already) working for a just peace.
The United States has never been a valid, committed mediator towards a just peace, just as the British between 1918 - 1948 - were strongly favoring the Jews over the Palestinians. Today - our support of what is going on - is Directly Supporting the Massacre of MANY thousands of Civilians- most notably the Children!
This is not a "War"! A war is not as one-sided as what is going on!
20 years or so from now - Oil - related to Saudi Arabia and some other Middle Eastern countries will be all, or nearly all, gone. Israel then will have little or no strategic value for the U.S. The time for Israel and the U.S. - to build a just peace is in the coming days, months and the next few years. It is still possible! It will require compromise!
It is AMAZING - that Palestinian-Americans and Palestinians in large part are not out for Revenge - wanting the killing of Israeli Jews! It is similarly amazing that Black Americans aren't seeking the Destruction of large parts of "white America".
The "Revenge Motive" - comes from OUR FEARS - OUR UNREALISTIC FEARS!
We have a lot of work to do! In the meantime, let's not ignore our complicity in the continuing Genocide! If miraculously, a Ceasefire is successfully achieved, this will be at best - an Important First Step!
Caring - is shown clearly by many! They are a lot of Palestinians, a lot of Jews, and a lot of others who care - while not necessarily being directly tied to the Palestinian, Israeli and Jewish non-Israelis!
Peace - Lasting Peace - Just Lasting Peace - is possible! It will be Challenging to get there and hopefully we will start seriously moving on this path soon.
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