Israel's military tells UN in Gaza: ask Hamas for fuel

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Israel's military tells UN in Gaza: ask Hamas for fuel
reuters.com

Israel's military suggested on Tuesday that the United Nations ask Hamas for fuel supplies after the U.N. agency providing aid to Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip warned it would have to halt operations on Wednesday night if no fuel was delivered.

The agency, known as UNRWA, posted its warning on social media on Tuesday. The Israel Defense Forces reposted it and said that Hamas militants have more than 500,000 litres of fuel in tanks inside besieged Gaza.

"Ask Hamas if you can have some," the IDF wrote.

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Why should civilians be punished?

Good questions you are asking.

Your argument essentially boils down to this: Israeli civilians are worth less than Palestinian civilians. You didn’t write it like this, but is the logical consequence of what you are asking.

You essentially want to allow Hamas to steal even more fuel that is then used for Rocket attacks. And no, those rockets are not harmless, they are made to kill and maim civilians.

Let us entertain the thought, that Israel would allow fuel delivery for humanitarian purposes only. Who is going to defend that fuel against Hamas within the Gaza Strip? You?

The irony is that all this fluff is you justifying why Israeli citizens are worth more. Just because terrorists kill civilians doesn’t give one the right to callously allow the death of yet more innocent civilians.

They both matter, which is what we’re saying when we speak out against Israel’s policy of collective punishment.

Your argument essentially boils down to this: Israeli civilians are worth less than Palestinian civilians. You didn’t write it like this, but is the logical consequence of what you are asking.

That's not what the argument boils down to. They didn't write it like that because that wasn't a position they were taking. You wrote it like that because you want that to be the case. That says more about you and your character.

Civilians should not be used as fodder by either side.

Do you disagree?

Well the logical step forward would be a negotiated peace that includes lifting the blockade so Gazans don't have a reason to launch rocket attacks. That was the idea in 2008 and 2012, only a country whose name starts with Israel didn't follow through with it. As seen from this attack, the current Israeli policy on Palestine is a colossal failure on multiple levels, so something needs to change,

And if say, the blockade is lifted and even more rockets start to be delivered and fired at Israel. What would happen in the negotiated peace?

The blockade would be reinstated, with Gazans being told that it'll only be lifted if Hamas is replaced, would be the logical step towards peace. But we've already had two of these before; we don't need to do what-ifs. Hamas followed the 2012 ceasefire for more than a year even though Israel showed no signs of lifting the blockade or otherwise following the ceasefire.

Force Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, and Turkey to pay $1M to Israel for every rocket launched by Gaza and the blockade would be lifted tomorrow.

The issue is that Hamas continues to stockpile weapons, and the weakness of the Iron Dome system is in the number of projectiles that it can respond to. The system can be overwhelmed by constant fire (that's what happened in 2012 and 2014 that sparked the conflicts). The blockade slows how quickly Hamas can collect that many weapons and decreases the amount of conflict that those rockets will cause.

The blockade slows how quickly Hamas can collect that many weapons and decreases the amount of conflict that those rockets will cause.

The blockade is the source of the modern Gaza-Israel conflict. It's the reason there are rocket attacks in the first place.

The current blockade started in 2007 2 years after Israel pulled out of Gaza and Hamas took control. The after they pulled out in 2006 there were over 900 rocket attacks an increase from the 176 the year before.

The blockade started in response to rocket attacks.

-- edit added wiki link

The current blockade started in 2007 2 years after Israel pulled out of Gaza and Hamas took control.

No? It was turned into its current form in 2007. Gaza has been partially blockaded by Israel (harsh reduction, but not completely termination, of exports) since 2005, and got even worse in 2006.

Following the disengagement, human rights groups alleged that Israel frequently blockaded Gaza in order to apply pressure on the population "in response to political developments or attacks by armed groups in Gaza on Israeli civilians or soldiers".[26] The special envoy of the Quartet James Wolfensohn noted that "Gaza had been effectively sealed off from the outside world since the Israeli disengagement [August–September 2005], and the humanitarian and economic consequences for the Palestinian population were profound. There were already food shortages. Palestinian workers and traders to Israel were unable to cross the border".

They also withheld the PNA's tax income for more than a year, and as for the effects I'll let Wikipedia speak on my behalf.

By releasing or withholding these revenues, Israel was able, in the words of the International Crisis Group, to "virtually turn the Palestinian economy on and off".

Your argument essentially boils down to this: Israeli civilians are worth less than Palestinian civilians. You didn’t write it like this, but is the logical consequence of what you are asking.

*Honk*

Straw man. Five minute timeout.

The headline is about Israel telling the UN to ask Hamas for fuel. You're presupposing that Hamas is going to steal Hamas's own fuel from the UN.

You must be working for Hamas because you're certainly not doing Israel any favors with the quality of that rhetoric.