Israel/Hamas War - Ceasefire

[Toggenburgsaregreat]

Each Saturday we are seeing demonstrations in London where people are marching with placards and calling for a ceasefire in the Hamas/Israel war.

However, it is difficult to know how the supporters of Palestine think this can be achieved? (Interestingly, no calls for Hamas to cease hostilities and return the hostages were heard - so is this really a call for unilateral disarmament?)

And who should Israel negotiate a ceasefire with? Hamas, ISIS, ISSP, The Muslim Brotherhood - all of these groups/any of these groups?

What is it the supporters of Palestine actually want?

@Toggenburgsaregreat it was reported in the times of Israel too. Citing reasons as mentioned by @Efacsen

Times of Israel and Al Jazeera both reporting this story so it obviously did happen :(

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.timesofisrael.com/protesters-hold-up-aid-to-gaza-as-government-faces-rising-domestic-pressure/amp/

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.aljazeera.com/amp/program/newsfeed/2024/1/24/humanitarian-aid-for-gaza-blocked-by-protests

Al Jazeera has a video.

It is shocking - but these are truly desperate people caught between an uncaring government and psychopathic terrorists

Qatar has hit back at Netanyahu after his leaked comments about them

Qatar 'appalled' by 'leaked' Netanyahu commentsThe Gulf state has hit out at Benjamin Netanyahu after he allegedly called Qatar's mediation efforts "problematic" in leaked comments.
"We are appalled by the alleged remarks attributed to the Israeli prime minister in various media reports about Qatar's mediation role," said Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari.
"If the reported remarks are found to be true, the Israeli PM would only be obstructing and undermining the mediation process, for reasons that appear to serve his political career instead of prioritising saving innocent lives, including Israeli hostages."
The leaked recording, which aired on Israel's Channel 12 news, reportedly came from a meeting with hostages' families.
Mr Netanyahu allegedly said: "You haven't seen me thank Qatar, have you noticed? I haven't thanked Qatar. Why? Because Qatar, to me, is no different in essence from the UN, from the Red Cross and in a way it's even more problematic.
"However, I'm willing to use any mediator now who can help me bring them [the hostages] home."

A previous occasion was also reported in the Guardian earlier in the week

It's definitely real and has happened more than once

Oh, thanks. I wish twitter would remove these accounts, not blue tick them

Official accounts now have a grey symbol. The blue tick is just what you get if you pay a monthly subscription so lots of randoms have one now.

You are mistaken, aid did get through -

https://www.timesofisrael.com/protesters-hold-up-aid-to-gaza-as-government-faces-rising-domestic-pressure/

Regarding Qatar, its quite obvious that Netanyahu probably doesn't like them. However the man is an idiot for criticising them whilst they are key mediators in the negotiation process for the release of hostages. He should atleast use basic common sense to just stay quiet until they are released

@EasterIssland "Believe whatever you want that follows your narrative."

That works both ways.

As does the Israel/Hamas conflict.🙄

Yes I do think we should take in refugees from Gaza – just as we have done from Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia and Ukraine.

Plus Smotrich wading in with more inflammatory 'rhetoric' - really fear for the hostages more than ever

''In response to the statement by Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari, Israel’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, has accused Doha of “supporting and funding terrorism.”

In a post on X, Smotrich accused Qatar of being “largely responsible” for the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel and called on western countries to apply more pressure on it to bring an immediate release of the hostages.

@Efacsen 🤦‍♀️
I don't understand why somebody can't explain to him in really simple terms how such rhetoric in the midst of negotiations/talks can be potentially harmful. Or maybe he knows but just doesn't care

He knows.

He has personal incentives to escalate as much as humanly possible. An ongoing war is, literally, his lifeline - and he needs it to keep on going, expanding would be even better, until he comes up with a better idea.

Sorry what you mean is that the other poster and I were right.
Front your link seems like what the other poster was saying and myself and you kept dismissing saying it didn’t happen … it actually happened. Seems like you’re happy with these people behaviour so I have nothing else to say to you about this topic

I'm sorry you aren't prepared to continue to engage in an reasonable discussion, but that's your choice.

(I never said 'it didn't happen', I said I don't believe anything that the Hamas mouthpiece AKA Al Jezeera chooses to promulgate.)

I was going to ask you if you believed in a citizen's right to peacefully protest?

Al Jazeera is a reputable news source, hardly a "mouthpiece of Hamas".
Of course people have a right to peacefully protest (whatever Braverman says about "hate marches"). What I don't understand is the logic behind using blocking aid to a population trapped in a war. Who are the protesters hoping will be influenced by the protest?

@Efacsen "Plus Smotrich wading in with more inflammatory 'rhetoric' - really fear for the hostages more than ever"

Do we know that the hostages are actually still alive?

At the last prisoner/hostage exchange Hamas did not release the required number of hostages. That suggests to me that either ;-

a) They don't know where they are
b) They are no longer alive
c) They are being held by other terrorist groups who won't co-operate
d) They are holding them as a bargaining chip.

No-one knows if they are alive or not. No-one knows what sort of physical/ psychological condition they're in if they are still alive. Suspect that many are deceased/lost

But until it's known for definite, IMO there still needs to be hope and avoidance of sabotaging the negotiations

It is one thing to peacefully protest and another to try to block humanitarian aid to people on the brink of famine.
The former is a democratic right, the latter is, in my view, morally repugnant and indefensible. Anyone who cloaks this as a democratic right really needs to examine their moral compass.

"Al Jazeera is a reputable news source, hardly a "mouthpiece of Hamas" and I have a bridge I can sell you.
It's funded by Qatar and spews out anti-Israeli rhetoric most nights.

The protesters are not blocking Aid to Gazans per se. They are blocking aid to Hamas, who, as we know, purloins Aid for it's own purposes. The Gazans are 'collateral damage' in this exercise.

The solution is to send Aid via the Rafah crossing, but that requires negotiations with Egypt. We all know how keen Eqypt is to open the gates there (sarcasm).

"Who are the protesters hoping will be influenced by the protest?" And that brings us back to the title of this thread.

The Gazans are 'collateral damage' in this exercise.
Is this how you see the Gazans? Just collateral damage? Not human beings? I am speechless.

Ugh - what a horribly ignorant mis-informed post

Hiding this highly unpleasant thread

This post is outrageous. Justifying the blocking of aid to a starving and beseiged population.

This place has gone to the dogs.

@Toggenburgsaregreat I think you should read up about aid and the Rafah crossing and where the vast majority of the aid has been passing through since the start of the war.

"Justifying the blocking of aid to a starving and beseiged population."

I did not say that. I responded to another post who haske me for motivation.

The Rafah crossing is still operational, so please lose all this emotive and inaccurate rhetoric about being 'beseiged'.