Peace deal: dare we hope?

maddyone

I agree with Parsley too.
Glorianny we have gone round and round this with you. Hamas want every Jew dead and as we all know Netanyahu wants revenge. The Israelis want an election and I presume that the majority of the women and children in Gaza want to live in peace. I think that many Gazan men probably support Hamas if truth were known. This is my opinion. We all have opinions. Opinions aren’t facts.

Firstly Hamas are not the Palestinian people.
But suppose Hamas is as violent as you believe. They are fighting to take back land which was stolen from them.
If the Russians did succeed in occupying Ukraine would you expect the Ukrainian people to simply accept them?
If not why should the Palestinians accept an Israeli occupation?

I agree with Parsley too.
Glorianny we have gone round and round this with you. Hamas want every Jew dead and as we all know Netanyahu wants revenge. The Israelis want an election and I presume that the majority of the women and children in Gaza want to live in peace. I think that many Gazan men probably support Hamas if truth were known. This is my opinion. We all have opinions. Opinions aren’t facts.

Hamas have negotiated and accepted a two state solution many times, their proviso being that Israel should leave the territories it occupied in 1967. Israel has always refused to do so.

Israel does not want Palestinians to have an independent state.

Well said Parsley3. With a different leader, and with pressure from the US maybe Israel would negotiate. Hamas ??

There is a difference between justice and revenge and I can't find a way to be partial in this conflict as revenge is the dominant motivation for every terrible action by both sides. It won't end until the desire for revenge is satisfied and that will be never. However, if one side is willing to negotiate then that is a start and deserves some credibility even if it leads to very little in the short term.

I agree Glorianny but working towards a solution will surely also depend upon overcoming the self-interest of the leaders of those countries with power and influence in the region plus other European countries.

Respectfully Glorianny I have to disagree with you.

Urmstongran

If Hamas genuinely wanted a ceasefire they would hand over all the hostages and those who took part in the Oct 7 massacre. But they don't, because they're rather pretend to be "victims", let the Palestinian people suffer, and blame Israel.

I'm not Jewish and I'm not a Muslim, but I know right from wrong - If you hit me, you don't get to decide how hard I hit you back.

Fortunately International Law doesn't agree with you. The standard required of any response is that any innocent civilians should be protected. Israel has manifestly failed to do that.
It's time the UK and the US stopped supporting the Netanyahu regime, refused to supply any more weapons and demanded that he negotiate.

There is whitewave and too much misinformation about that amazing country

Iam64

Egypt has taken millions of refugees from neighbouring war torn countries. Its economy is struggling, the value of its pound dropping on a daily basis. The country depends on tourism, many tourists are cancelling visits because of the war in Gaza/Isreal.
Egypt is holding its politically neutral position and working with others towards the ceasefire needed to protect lives. If they opened the border to Palestinians, Hamas would walk in.

Yes, my soon to be grand - daughter in law is Egyptian and talks of the millions of Somalis that Egypt is now home to. There is so much pressure on Egypt.

Yes, I see that now.

Egypt has taken millions of refugees from neighbouring war torn countries. Its economy is struggling, the value of its pound dropping on a daily basis. The country depends on tourism, many tourists are cancelling visits because of the war in Gaza/Isreal.
Egypt is holding its politically neutral position and working with others towards the ceasefire needed to protect lives. If they opened the border to Palestinians, Hamas would walk in.

A clever ploy by Hamas as now they can begin to claim the moral high ground. 'We offered...'

They have been deliberately negligent of their own people for years.

Negotiations always involve a lot of public bluster while hard tacks talking goes on behind the scenes. Mr Blinken still seems to have a glimmer of hope - I am holding on to that.

Sorry but no hope whatsoever while Madman Netanyahu makes statements about insisting on total victory. Another egomaniac who should never have been allowed to have any power.

You are right nanna8 Egypt has various reasons for not taking more Palestinian refugees. Hamas would come with those refugees and potentially threaten the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt because Hamas would attack from Egypt then Israel would attack Egypt. A war Egypt doesn't want. It's unlikely Palestinian refugees would ever be allowed back to Palestine and Israel would just grab Gaza - playing straight into their hands. More unrest as the middle east support a Palestinian state. Egypt already supports millions of refugees from various countries and can't afford more or risk unrest/war.

I think Sisi doesn’t want to risk popular opinion or offending the Moslems in Egypt who don’t support Hamas. Plus they already take a huge number of other refugees. If he opened up the floodgates the different factions could and would clash and they would lay the blame on him. Doesn’t do anything to assist those poor innocent people left there,possibly to starve and die.

Thank you for update Whitewave.
My Jewish friends in America are calling for an election. They absolutely abhor what Hamas did on 7/10 but they think it’s time for an election. However, although the husband is Israeli, I don’t know if he has a vote (bit like the thread on here and voting) but anyway I don’t think Netanyahu will go for an election. The wife of the couple is American and regularly posts terribly sad things about the hostages. I saw a report on on Al Jazeera ( not sure if that’s the right spelling) because it’s the only proper news channel we’ve got, and there was a very sad story on about a little girl in Hamas, trapped in a car with all her family dead.
Hamas have got a lot to answer for, but Netanyahu has got to negotiate at some point.
I don’t understand why the Egyptians haven’t opened the border and at least just created a refugee camp just inside their border. I can only imagine they don’t want to import any Hamas supporters.

Urmstongran

Hamas created miles of tunnels, but didn't offer shelter from bombing. They had masses of aid, but stole it for their own nefarious purposes and withheld it from those it was meant to help, with, it seems, UNWRA turning a blind eye.

UNWRA is neutral - it is subject to a neutrality audit by the USA on a yearly basis.

Both sides have to compromise because if not, many more innocent people will die, and the war will spread further afield.
I don’t think the US and UK should further support increasing carnage.

Urmstongran

If Hamas genuinely wanted a ceasefire they would hand over all the hostages and those who took part in the Oct 7 massacre. But they don't, because they're rather pretend to be "victims", let the Palestinian people suffer, and blame Israel.

I'm not Jewish and I'm not a Muslim, but I know right from wrong - If you hit me, you don't get to decide how hard I hit you back.

Handing over all the Hostages was part of the deal urms . Israel turned the deal down.

The trouble that deciding how hard they hit back is that they are hitting, killing and maiming and orphaning children.

That isn’t dealing with Hamas that is beginning to look like genocide.

The opportunity is there to stop and negotiate, but it is not in Netanyahu’s interest to do so for obvious reasons. The USA is putting huge pressure on him, as surprisingly Trump will - he hates Netanyahu.

History has taught these men nothing. It’s the “wee skint folk” that are suffering. I know that’s out of context but it applies here too.

Urmstongran

If Hamas genuinely wanted a ceasefire they would hand over all the hostages and those who took part in the Oct 7 massacre. But they don't, because they're rather pretend to be "victims", let the Palestinian people suffer, and blame Israel.

I'm not Jewish and I'm not a Muslim, but I know right from wrong - If you hit me, you don't get to decide how hard I hit you back.

And what of those who hit first ? Palestinians robbed of their homes.

I really hope so. But with Netanyahu in charge I doubt it.

Hamas created miles of tunnels, but didn't offer shelter from bombing. They had masses of aid, but stole it for their own nefarious purposes and withheld it from those it was meant to help, with, it seems, UNWRA turning a blind eye.

He said there is no alternative