When is a terrorist a rebel ?

[mouthpipette]

Just that really.

Lots of different connotations for each word, so it makes a difference which is used.

You might think that's witty but it's not. Once again you are wilfully misunderstanding what I meant in terms of government pressure on allied countries but you do you.
I know what I have and i am still currently doing to assist the displaced Syrians in this harsh upcoming winter.

Oh good lord.....

Is there something historically inaccurate in what I wrote?

No there is not. What you wrote made perfect sense.

No I don't think its witty & certainly not funny. I think its deeply depressing & immoral that people care so much about Palestinians when they are a stick to beat Israel with but look the other way when the context changes.

Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.

No, Your message was a not so subtle dig at me. You really don't need to do things like that you can just be upfront as we are all adults here.

That was to @SharonEllis

I will leave you to it.
Mumsnet doesn't allow charity or fundraising links as far as I am aware, but for anyone who wants to help there are many British charities who are assisting the Syrians affected by the current conflict.

It wasn't actually. It was a direct reflection of what several people have told me many times over many threads, that the reason people are so active about the conflict in Gaza is that Israel is our ally whereas various other states are not so therefore people don't get involved in activism on behalf of other groups. In other words it is who the percieved oppressor is that matters, not the perceived victim.

Thanks, I have lots of existing links with organisations supporting Syrian refugees.

What do you mean by this? Are you not aware of all of the work that has been done to try and support Palestinians over the years? There are tons of charities that have working in the Palestinian territories for years. Are you saying that those charities, who lots of us have supported, have only supported Palestinians through the suffering that Israel have caused them and not Hamas?

I think you are confusing matters. A lot of people say that it is pointless to protest against Hamas because our governments don't support Hamas, they can't sanction them, they cant restrict trade with them, they can't stop selling weapons to them because they don't do all of that already. That is separate to supporting Palestinians which if course lots of people have done for years.

That's not the case for many people.

There are different approaches, different ways in which people try to make a difference, dependent upon circumstances.

Quite, in 1946 there were two groups of terrorists operating in the British mandate in Palestine. In 1948 one group became (eventually) the IDF. The other group are still designated terrorists by much if the world.

(Hamas are despicable BTW)

So perhaps you don't use the word terrorist to describe the group that "wins".

Bit confused. Who were the 2 terrorist groups operating in 1946? What's Hamas got to do with it, given they weren't founded till the 80s?

I believe all of that is covered under the word 'Anyone' in my post.

Isn't the people in Syria or Syrians and their reaction a big part of this?

I just heard a report from Trafalgar Sq about celebrations re the fall of the regime.

The same across the country, and likely there too

What do the people want? I hope and see the term cautious optimism that it may be better, closer to a democracy

Yes and no.

The UK and Coalition partners supported the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces), essentially the Kurds, who still have a foothold and control of the Eastern part of Syria.

HTS has not been one of the supported groups because of their links to and support of Daesh.
HTS have fought against the SDF and Coalition partners.

Why are Israel carrying out airstrikes in Damascus? Does anyone know

Yes, there are celebrations but there's also concern. It is a precarious situation but personally I am glad to see the back of Assad.

Daesh meaning Isis? If so then no, Isis and HTS are enemies.

I wouldn't be surprised if the UK reverse their decision over time of labelling HTS as a proscribed group if they become the chosen leaders.

Against Iranian aligned militia groups.

Iran have approx 316,500 aligned fighters in various groups spread between Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Gaza and Yemen with the sole aim of "death to Israel, death to the west"

Approximately 26,500 fighters in Syria alone.
That would be like having 1/3 of the British Army deployed all at once.

https://www.cfr.org/article/irans-regional-armed-network

Via funding from Turkey, which wants to defeat Iran and is using the weakness of Hezbollah to tighten its grip on power via the "rebel" militias it controls. Like the ones you describe as "not Hamas". Indeed, they're not, they're an offshoot of ISIS, those cuddly teddy bears. None of these people are good, but I guess it's possible they might stabilise society in Syria before they start locking women up in their houses.

Daesh meaning IS yes.

Although now they target each other as the smaller groups vie for control and power it wasn't always that way.

The predecessor group of HTS and their current leader who has been with them since their inception did have ties and connections to the original Daesh leader Baghdadi.
Both entities fought against the SDF and Coalition Partners.
It's only been since the fall of the caliphate and death of Baghdadi that HTS has targeted Daesh.

So far the alawites and anyone pro- Assad has more or less been spared if they stand down. Isis are just mental, HTS have tried to re-brand as being a more moderate group in comparison and I think they have shown that in this take over but perhaps it is too soon to tell.