The violence in Israel and Gaza gets a lot less confusing if we stop viewing this as a conflict between Israel and Palestine, and start viewing it as a conflict between people who want peace and people and want supremacy.
Framed that way, there’s been a remarkable shift over the past half-century:
There have long been Arab factions who wanted to see Israel wiped off the map. There have long been Israeli factions who want a state of apartheid and eventual total displacement for Palestinians.
The former faction, once dominant in Arab politics, is now muted.
The latter is ascendant, and now dominant in Israeli politics.
Two factions both genocidal in nature, yes, but not presently on equal political footing.
This from @servelan brings the point upthread into focus:
https://newsie.social/@servelan/111206592975997524
Of •course• the Netanyahu gov downplayed warnings of the Hamas attack. Of •course• Cheney admin officials downplayed warnings of 9/11. Why shouldn’t they have? An attack is their interest. It gives them the war they want.
I am not suggesting any sort of conspiracy, or even conscious desire to let specific attacks happen — just that passivity is in their interest. Stochastic war-stoking via administrative neglect.
Thus to my point: the larger conflict here is peace versus supremacism. In that larger conflict, Hamas and Netanyahu are on the same side. •The same side•. They are working toward the shared goal of war.
Given that, we should not be surprised when such parties take action that leads to war.
Why would Hamas undertake an attack that seems all but guaranteed to provoke catastrophic destruction of Palestinian territory and Palestinian lives?
Why would Israel willfully downplay warnings of such an attack?
If we accept the premise that these parties want war, then their actions are rational. Savvy, even.
As someone who despises war and despises supremacist thinking of all stripes, it’s hard for me to imagine that mindset. But it’s the explanation that makes sense.
Compare the above to this remarkable statement (read the whole thread from @jmb!) from Israeli military veterans:
https://okpeace.org/@jmb/111202443246698083
The larger conflict here is between peacemakers and supremacists. Those two sides cut across national and religious lines. Keep your eye on the ball. When asking which side some political figure is on, •those• are the two sides to consider.
Maybe you thought what I said upthread was hyperbole. I meant it. I think the Netanyahu government wanted this. They wanted these Israeli deaths. Hamas wants these Palestinian deaths. They want war, and they’re happy to sacrifice the people they govern in order to get it.
(from @GottaLaff):
https://mastodon.social/@GottaLaff/111212578033237317
Putting the framing above into practice:
Which side bombed the hospital?
The side that wants war.
Not the side that wants peace and coexistence. No. The side that commits — and wants — war crimes, terrorism, and genocide. The side that is desperately pushing toward a conflict that leaves an entire people annihilated. The supremacists. •That• side. They did it.
As with all binary “two sides” framings, this is pat, reductive, too easy — but it’s the framing that leads us to useful conclusions.
The other side is fighting, too:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/19/do-not-use-our-death-to-bring-death-plea-to-israel-from-peace-activists-grieving-families
Remember, this isn’t “the Israeli side.” I’m arguing that’s a wrongheaded framing. No, this is the side that wants justice and peace, that will not accept war crimes, that will not accept genocide. •That• side. The side that the Netanyahu-Hamas side must continually defeat in order to have the war they want.
Thoughts along the lines of the thread above, stated with heart-rending clarity (ht @tylerzonia for the link):
https://www.972mag.com/picking-up-pieces-grief-israelis-palestinians/
“Who bombed the hospital? But the children are already dead, watching us go on stupid Twitter to find out how they died. Miserable. Your war machines killed them, you useless militants, whoever you are.”