The war appears to be in a bit of a stall, as Hamas seems to have gone to ground while the
The October 7 Hamas Incursion into Israel and the Israeli reaction has lasted longer than the legendary Six Day War. Israelis bombard from the air and huff and puff about what they are going to do.
The Western Press is continuing their facile coverage of events that they have imperfected in Ukraine.
You do remember Ukraine, don't you?
It too began on a date certain with no prior history according to the media.
Of course, that is ridiculous in both cases.
It is true that Russian Federation forces crossed the border on February 24, 2022, and if one believes everything they see on TV or read in WAPO and NYT that was the day the world began, so to speak.
But much happened before that. The uprising, laughingly referred to as the revolution of dignity was a US fostered coup that has led to Russia stepping in to come to the aid of the Russian speaking east.
The ludicrous Victoria Nuland was caught out in the linked recording planning the takeover of the Uke government.
The situation in the Levant is more complicated except that it isn't but time has made it seem a labyrinth.
Let us give you a short, imperfect history leaving out a few millennia.
Around the turn of the 20th Century the Zionist movement to found a homeland for the Jewish People began buying land to settle in Palestine.
People were already there and had long been there.
The Jewish settlements grew and by the late 1940s, the Brit occupiers had had enough and on 29th November, 1947 the UN passed a resolution calling for the establishment of Jewish State.
Arab nations invaded with little success and the Israelis ended up with 80% of the land, with many destroyed Arab villages.
A number of wars occurred after that with Israel conventional forces usually having the upper hand against Arab armies despite some notable successes such as the crossing of the canal in the Yom Kippur war.
More recent Israeli efforts in Lebanon have not been as successful with Hezbollah having built a fighting force that can oppose the Israelis and remain standing.
Through all of this, the Palestinian have maintained a right of return and have not forgot what was lost, or as they would have it, stolen.
As stated, this history is not perfect. The main point is that the Palestinians believe their homeland was stolen and the Israelis believe the land is theirs.
Thus, there is little hope for a lasting peace until one side is utterly vanquished, and no hope for a just peace.
One might wish that after a time there can be agreement to disagree. Such will not be soon on the horizon.
Welcome to the real world.
To believe either of the wars began on a date certain with no antecedents is absurd.
To believe a just peace is possible seems delusional. Then again, in history, sometimes situations resolve themselves…brutally.
There are two points to describe the Palestine outlook and maybe even the Israeli and they are Irish, a people not without cause for resentment.
The first is Yeats'
Too long a sacrifice
Can make a stone of the heart.
From Easter, 1916.
For the Palestinians, it is since the beginning of the Nakba. For the Israelis, it is centuries.
The other is certainly valid for the Palestinians as it was for the insurgents of the Warsaw Ghetto: "If you are going to be hanged as a horse thief, you might as well steal horses."
If the choices are die, leave or fight, what do you expect?
And here we are, the US sending carrier groups and all kinds of other stuff believing we can solve what?
So, we end with our usual rant that we need to leave the Middle East, quit NATO and quit Europe, forget Taiwan and say goodbye to Asia and come home.
It is not absolutely impossible that we could bring peace and justice to Israel and Palestine, but we have a track record of screwing up everywhere and will most probably make a mess again.
Wish 'em all well and say au revoir.