Imagine how much resources hamas spent on keeping these hostages and how many lives could be saved if they just released them all before the ground operation was started.
Netanyahu said since November that even if all hostages were released he was going to invade anyway and not stop the war.
Even more reason to release them all then, and I'm appalled by how hamas was that stupid to not realize that.
Ahh yes, give away all your leverage when your enemy already stated he will murder you all.
You should become a negotiator.
They don't have any leverage, because the people calling the shots in Israel (and to be clear, that is the likes of Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, who want effectively no Arabs river to sea, and hence Netanyahu, who I think would do just about any atrocity no matter how abhorrent just to stay in power and out of jail) value the pretext to invade far more than they value the lives of the hostages.
So the hostages do not actually give Hamas any leverage over Israel - hence why Israel is not willing to agree to anything. Hamas should not have taken civilians hostage or targeted civilians in the first place, and they should release them. That is still an ongoing war crime, even if it is overshadowed by bigger ones being perpetrated by the Israeli side.
Hamas never had a chance of winning on military might.
The best chance for a good outcome for the Palestinian people is through raising awareness of the plight of the Palestinians, resulting in international pressure. The pressure against Israel arising now is because of the severity of Israel's war crimes, while Hamas' war crimes are one of the key talking points used to justify not taking action. Hamas could help Palestine win the information space war by taking the high road; winning a military war is futile for them.
While it is not fair to punish Palestinian civilians for the war crimes of Hamas just because the interests of Palestinian civilians are aligned to Hamas' goals, there are many people who don't see it that way. Palestinian statehood (or a non-apartheid one-state solution) would now get far more international support if the Palestinian militants shifted to peaceful resistance.
What leverage? You're saying hostages are needed to save hamas members? Well that seems to be working pretty well huh? Remind me again why they were taken in the first place?
You should become a negotiator.
What negotiations? It was a perfect opportunity to show that your cause is a good one, and not to Israel. Instead they kept the hostages... For what purpose? To have "leverage"? Well let's see how that will help them with anything. Maybe there will be more news about released hostages that you could again associate with Israel trying to release its civilians, not with hamas doing right things.
This guy will start calling all of us hamas soon
Just think about how many lives could have been saved if Israel worked towards a two state solution
Just think about how many lives could have been saved if Israel worked towards a two state solution cared about human lives
Yeah. October 7 surely didn't make them start working on that, did it?
Yes because Oct 7 happened apropos of nothing
You understand. It happened apropos, not in order to solve problems.
Use your words
Trying my best as a non-native. Feel free to hate my way of speaking.
Not trying to hate, just not understanding what point you were trying to make.
Everything hamas did was useless for Palestinians. Israel isn't stopping because they have the ability. Hamas doesn't, they won't win in a military fight and hostages are useless for them. They could start doing something proper like releasing hostages (woyild decrease support for Israel hugely) but they won't because they think it would help them survive (not even Palestinians).
Hamas had a chance to increase its abilities over time, but instead they chose to spend resources on useless attacks.
I see. I disagree. Hamas's actions are utterly deplorable but also entirely expected. This is what oppressed people do.
I also think you're wrong that Hamas have done nothing for Palestinians. They've never had as much international support as they do now.
entirely expected
I could say the same about the ground operation.
They've never had as much international support as they do now.
Not sure if that really helps, also the price was too high. In fact, I really doubt they had that scenario in mind.
Given that Hamas wants a Palestinian state, I think that international support for that cause is crucial to them.
Keeping hostages is going to help them with that, surely. (Not)
Imagine how much resources hamas spent on keeping these hostages and how many lives could be saved if they just released them all before the ground operation was started.
Netanyahu said since November that even if all hostages were released he was going to invade anyway and not stop the war.
Even more reason to release them all then, and I'm appalled by how hamas was that stupid to not realize that.
Ahh yes, give away all your leverage when your enemy already stated he will murder you all.
You should become a negotiator.
They don't have any leverage, because the people calling the shots in Israel (and to be clear, that is the likes of Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, who want effectively no Arabs river to sea, and hence Netanyahu, who I think would do just about any atrocity no matter how abhorrent just to stay in power and out of jail) value the pretext to invade far more than they value the lives of the hostages.
So the hostages do not actually give Hamas any leverage over Israel - hence why Israel is not willing to agree to anything. Hamas should not have taken civilians hostage or targeted civilians in the first place, and they should release them. That is still an ongoing war crime, even if it is overshadowed by bigger ones being perpetrated by the Israeli side.
Hamas never had a chance of winning on military might.
The best chance for a good outcome for the Palestinian people is through raising awareness of the plight of the Palestinians, resulting in international pressure. The pressure against Israel arising now is because of the severity of Israel's war crimes, while Hamas' war crimes are one of the key talking points used to justify not taking action. Hamas could help Palestine win the information space war by taking the high road; winning a military war is futile for them.
While it is not fair to punish Palestinian civilians for the war crimes of Hamas just because the interests of Palestinian civilians are aligned to Hamas' goals, there are many people who don't see it that way. Palestinian statehood (or a non-apartheid one-state solution) would now get far more international support if the Palestinian militants shifted to peaceful resistance.
What leverage? You're saying hostages are needed to save hamas members? Well that seems to be working pretty well huh? Remind me again why they were taken in the first place?
What negotiations? It was a perfect opportunity to show that your cause is a good one, and not to Israel. Instead they kept the hostages... For what purpose? To have "leverage"? Well let's see how that will help them with anything. Maybe there will be more news about released hostages that you could again associate with Israel trying to release its civilians, not with hamas doing right things.
This guy will start calling all of us hamas soon
Just think about how many lives could have been saved if Israel worked towards a two state solution
Yeah. October 7 surely didn't make them start working on that, did it?
Yes because Oct 7 happened apropos of nothing
You understand. It happened apropos, not in order to solve problems.
Use your words
Trying my best as a non-native. Feel free to hate my way of speaking.
Not trying to hate, just not understanding what point you were trying to make.
Everything hamas did was useless for Palestinians. Israel isn't stopping because they have the ability. Hamas doesn't, they won't win in a military fight and hostages are useless for them. They could start doing something proper like releasing hostages (woyild decrease support for Israel hugely) but they won't because they think it would help them survive (not even Palestinians).
Hamas had a chance to increase its abilities over time, but instead they chose to spend resources on useless attacks.
I see. I disagree. Hamas's actions are utterly deplorable but also entirely expected. This is what oppressed people do. I also think you're wrong that Hamas have done nothing for Palestinians. They've never had as much international support as they do now.
I could say the same about the ground operation.
Not sure if that really helps, also the price was too high. In fact, I really doubt they had that scenario in mind.
Given that Hamas wants a Palestinian state, I think that international support for that cause is crucial to them.
Keeping hostages is going to help them with that, surely. (Not)