Demonstration against Israeli bombing of Gaza in London on Saturday.

[SmilleysPeople]

If anyone is intersted.

It's at 12.30pm along Embankment, nearest tubes Embankment and Charing Cross.

It's being organised by Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, Stop the War Coaltion and numerous other groups.

I will bump this sporadically, but if anyone else would like to help promote this, plaese bump too.

I will be there.

A party is that not recognised by the EU. Why? Because it is solely anti Semitic.

I have started several Mugabe threads in the past but the X Factor was obv more interesting.

Selective humanitarianism.

Sputnik, that's the point though, Hamas don't want a peaceful end to this conflict, their own charter of 1988 basically states that they want the destruction of Israel as a state. How can Israel sit down and discuss this as a viable option??!! It goes way deeper than Palestine and the Gaza strip I'm afraid.

The surrounding Arab states culd absorb the refugees in Gaza in an instant bringing relief to their suffering but its not in their interest is it? They are having Hamas fight a dirty war for them at whatever human cost.

I am terrified that Hamas will get hold of nuclear warheads. They show no respect for the lives of their own people and will use them against Israel.

Fatah holds power in the West Bank.

The two sides have to sit down and talk, a few years ago people would've said "So, who's going to start negotiating? the IRA? Yeah right." They would also have said "no talking to terrorists". But they did. It took patience and there were many setbacks, but it happened.

It won't happen. Hamas and Fatah are so divided. Hamas only want the death of all Jews.

Sputnik. The IRA did not want the destruction of the UK.

But the IRA didn't bombard Liverpool with rockets every day though, things may have been quite different if they had.

Sputnik. I don't doubt that there are many Palestinians who are being held to ransom by Hamas. But equally, there are many who support and voted for the destruction of Israel. Should Israel value the lives of those who wish to destroy them over the lives of their own people?

Anyway, I am here spouting my two pennies worth on why I am against demos against Israeli bombings but I can't begin to offer any idea on a solution, is there the possibilty of Israel weakening Hamas enough for a less radical leadership to evolve, one that would actually want peace?

If Hamas would stop the rocket attacks and could be guaranteed (sadly just not possible, IMO) to stop sending in suicide bombers - maybe the hated wall could come down.

Maybe the hatred wall would not have become so high had the Israelis not taken inhabitants of Gaza hostages.

Come on! Hamas did not turn gaza children into suicide bombers in the last couple of years!
Decades of occupation and humiliation and blockades did.

Hold your guns. I am in no way condoning what hamas is doing by targeting civilian Israelis.

Desperate situations breed desperate measures. The solution is in the hands of Israel alone. It should start with treating Palestinians with dignity rather than creating yet another generation of vengeful orphans.

'You march, you march for Hamas'

'anti semitism is on the rise and being legitemised by people like Annie lennox and Bianca Jagger'

THAT is why I am speechless; the zionistic anti Arab filth being spouted on this thread. Shame on you.

"THAT is why I am speechless; the zionistic anti Arab filth being spouted on this thread. Shame on you."

What utter utter hysterical unfounded bollocks.

Nobody has said anything about Arabs. All posters who are not into these marches have expressed concern about Hamas and their motives.

Spot on winkywola.

Why anti arab Donnie to state the truth?

Who are they marching for if not Hamas? Oh - hang on - they are marching for the palstininans ? So where does Hamas fit in? Oh yes - of course - minor side detail - Hamas were voted in - voted in -by the palestininans. So there we have it - march and you march for the elected governement of the poor downtrodden palesstininans - those nice reasonable people Hamas.

When Yasser Arafat was alive and in power, what funding or did the Palestinians receive from the West?

I don't know myself and I'm just curious to know. Obviously I think the Palestinian people should receive support, aid and funding but not those terrorists, Hamas.

What Israel should do now is flood Gaza with supplies - food, medicine, clean water etc.

'hysterical unfounded bollocks' - oh...a bit like describing Annie Lennox and Bianca Jagger as antisemitic then? such hypocrisy and racism on this thread.

Hamas did not break the ceasefire: they retaliated after months and months of deliberate economic blockade by Israel. The Israelis are starving the Palestinians into cowed submission. What would you do ? sit there and take it?

Lisalisa your comment that 'those poor downtrodden palestinians voted Hamas in' implies that all Palestinians deserve what they get. Well they are really getting it now aren't they? being killed in their dozens and dozens. Children, whole families.

Israel never EVER left Gaza alone. Even after the so called Israeli withdrawal they maintained total control of all its borders and air space and they are still building illegal settlements around the West Bank areas. But that's OK isn't it? expansionism equals subjugation of the people.

Donnie I think you may be a bit OTT withe the "zionistic anti arab filth" but I think I understand what you mean.

Yes winky, what Israel should do is flood Gaza with supplies. Your comment just shows what they have not done so far. They have done exactly the opposite since 1948. Suffocate and subjugate so no viable state may exist. No viable state=no one to talk to and negotiate with. No one to legally and legitimately argue at the UN or The Hague what happened in 1948.
Just terrorists vs Israel. Of course this does give them the moral high ground!

Western media coverage rarely goes back to the heart of the problem:The fury and despair of the 1.5 million residents of gaza stems from the fact that they were driven out of what is now Israel. The settlers occupy THEIR land for God's sake.

As international law stands this does not give Palestinians the right to launch rockets but allows new jewish settlers from all over the world to come and taunt them from what used to be their backyard.
It gives the right to successive Israeli government to suffocate 1.5 m people for generation after generation and the right to Tsahal to mercilessly pound the crowded Gaza strip before each election.

And the fact that Israel is killing about 100 palestinians for every dead Israeli soldier is OK.

I am completely gobsmaked that after so many years, crisis after crisis people can not agree to the simple fact that nothing short of a restitution of land and full imperium on that land will begin to demonstrate that the International community takes the existence of a palestinian state as seriously as the existence of Israel.
Because from where I stand what I see is not an a problem with the legitimacy of Israel. It's the constitution of a palestinian state that has yet to happen!

Donnie - I am answering your comment above

" you march, you march for Hamas"

"What anti arab zionistic filth".

I am responding to illustrate the emptiness of your accusation by showing that a march is a march for Hamas.

Well done on being a terrorist supporter. It must be nice to be so selective - i.e. you support "the palestinians" but conveniently ignore/erase/I don't know which/ their elected - yes elected terrorist governement.

Any any attmept to remind you of this is called "anti arab zionist filth". Very convincing .

Am i permitted to call your ranting and those of your ilk here ( returnisabasichumanright springs to mind _ as being then

"anti jewish , anti semitic filth"?

The end of the IRA had as much to do with 9/11 and the Celtic Tiger as any secret negotiations.

I think some posters on this thread do not understand the power of anti semitism or that you can never make peace with an enemy whose open wish is to obliterate you (and who will obtain the weapons to do so).

Fortunately, Barack Obama has chosen people on his team who are well aware of this so I hope to see some realistic progress when he becomes President. The last thing Hamas wants is a peace deal (no matter how lovely the concessions) because they simply will never accept Israel on any terms.

"I think some posters on this thread do not understand the power of anti semitism or that you can never make peace with an enemy whose open wish is to obliterate you (and who will obtain the weapons to do so)"

Mary Marriott, Ironically I think you may very well be one of those. I could have said exactly the same thing but reversing the roles.

Don't you see that that a COUNTRY (Israel) is waging a full scale WAR against a REFUGEE CAMP that they created and perpetuated?
OPEN YOUR EYES.
Why on earth are the palestinians not justified in retaliating with the only -disproportionate by the way- means they have?

No, slim I don't agree. I think Israel could live side by side in peace with Palestine but this has never been an option because of the underlying aim, and behaviour that goes with it, of destroying Israel altogether.

Camp David summit in 2000, Ehud Barak's offer included:

• Israeli redeployment from 95% of the West Bank and 100% of the Gaza Strip
• The creation of a Palestinian state in the areas of Israeli withdrawal
• The removal of isolated settlements and transfer of the land to Palestinian control
• Other Israeli land exchanged for West Bank settlements remaining under Israeli control
• Palestinian control over East Jerusalem, including most of the Old City
• "Religious Sovereignty" over the Temple Mount, replacing Israeli sovereignty in effect since 1967

In return Arafat had to declare the "end of conflict" and agree that no further claims on Israel could be made in the future.

He chose not to accept.

The Palestinian people are screwed because they are controlled by mad men who refuse to concede anything.