I suspect that Iran has noted the US carrier fleet anchored within useful bombing range of their coast.
But even I could have predicted thatâŚ
You may find it cynical, but, did Netanyahu let the attack happen?
US and Egypt warned about an imminent attack days before it happened. Why didnât Israel bolster the defense along Gaza or even carry out some pre-emptive strikes?
Netanyahu was under serious pressure before October 7. None is questioning him anymore and likely wouldnât as long as the fighting continues.
and when it stops - does he engineer another conflict?
Thereâs always Jenin . Itâs already been marked as Hamsa/IJ.

You may find it cynical, but, did Netanyahu let the attack happen?
I think so. He wanted an attack to happen, he was gasping for political survival.
What he didnât count on was the scale of the attack. I think even Hamas didnât expect that their troops and other allied forces(including a not small amount of Palestinian locals) would target , kill and capture civilians and be this successful.
It would have been a manageable thing if this was just Hamas doing a planned strike at an Israeli army base. However , the ease at which the Hamas combatants broke through the Israeli defenders emboldened them as well as other people to go in the civilian attacks and thatâs the main sticking point. The barbarity on display(with the captives and the victimâs) that was exhibited by Hamas and their allies was simply abhorrent and vile.
That forces Bibi to more drastic decisions because the Israelis are crying for blood.
At this point , Bibi is just looking to ride through this with military actions , be seen as someone willing to âend Hamasâ in the hope that people forget how culpable he actually was in this series of events and continue to vote for him so that he doesnât go to Jail.

the Israelis are crying for blood.
Would agree with this part. May a pox strike them down.

Would agree with this part. May a pox strike them down.
I think once the scale of this attack happened, there wasnât any other choice.
I donât blame the ordinary citizens of Israel for asking/demanding action against Hamas. They expect the govt to take actions to ensure their safety. Thatâs first concern for them. I donât agree with what they want but I wonât blame them for demanding what they are. I might well be in the same boat had I been an Israeli.
So you wouldnât blame the Palestinians for wanting Israeli blood in return?
Yes. I would blame the violent acts and condemn terrorism etc.
Wouldnât blame the general people (Israeli & Palestinian)as such for having the mindset. They are reacting how human beings generally react in conflicts (the vast majority of them anyway)
Just am depressed at the world for having conflicts like this persist into this age.
Iâm confused. So the actions of Hamas justify what Israel has done? Do the actions of Israeli then justify further retaliation by Palestinians or others? That mindset would certainly explain why Jews are claiming they feel less safe since the Israeli attack.
Itâs not about justification. Itâs about understanding why both groups of people have the mindset that they do have without necessarily agreeing with all either sides have to say.
Certainly doesnât mean I agree entirely with both the Israeli or the Palestinian perspective but thatâs me thinking when Iâm miles away from the conflict.
People who live closer to the conflict are bound to have different views.
For example
Would you agree to a Palestinian when he wishes for Israel as a country to not exist ?
No. But you would understand why someone has those views.
Same goes for Israeli perspectives on Palestine.
Ofcourse not all Palestinians think Israel shouldnât exist , sizable number do. Same with Israeli perspectives on Palestine. Not my intent to generalize
Iâm sure that the vast majority of ordinary Israelis and Palestinians could quite happily live side by side. Unfortunately, itâs the belligerent minority who lead both communities.
Not happily. But atleast peacefully even if begrudging. Too much water has passed for their to be happiness
And I would question the wisdom of Israel hanging on to the Gaza strip when they could have easily given it back to Egypt after winning the war.
Hindsight I know but still.

Iâm sure that the vast majority of ordinary Israelis and Palestinians could quite happily live side by side. Unfortunately, itâs the belligerent minority who lead both communities.
Unfortunately, I donât think it is a vast majority on either side. Maybe a majority, but we need only look at Israeli elections to see a proxy. Current policy in the West Bank precludes any possibility of living alongside one another truly peacefully. Perhaps many Israelis vote that way because they have no hope otherwise.
We donât get quite the same insight into Palestinian thinking, but there isnât much to suggest the absence of widespread hatred toward Israel. The brutality shown by the Hamas footsoldiers was genuinely exceptional, that sort of inhumanity doesnât spring up from nothing.

The brutality shown by the Hamas footsoldiers was genuinely exceptional, that sort of inhumanity doesnât spring up from nothing.
This. The hatred propagated by a large section of Islamic scholars against the Jews doesnât disappear into irrelevance. This is ofcourse compounded by the Israeli actions into a violent cycle.
Also , the closer people are to the conflict, the less capable they are of even otherwise sane, sensible and clever people to not let emotions rule them.
I think both the countries/people should be looking at powers which are either indisposed to both or are equally interested in the welfare of both Israelis and Palestinians to help them to find a workable solution since itâs clear they cant resolve matters themselves
None of the major powers or any other country with influence can claim to be unbiased.
And it has to be said that the hatred propagated by the islamic teachers against Jews predates the founding of Israel.
Itâs not just something thatâs come up with the founding of Israel. Might have taken more popularity after that but the hatred was always preached.

Unfortunately, I donât think it is a vast majority on either side. Maybe a majority, but we need only look at Israeli elections to see a proxy.
I would like to disagree. But maybe thatâs because Iâm deluded.
Yes, the Israelis have voted for the extremists and the terrorists in the last few elections. But I donât think that means the majority of them have become racists/fascists. Yes, thereâs core of racists/fascists and they are pretty numerous, but they are still marginal compared to the total. Many Israelis have flocked to the fascists, they made a mistake but that doesnât mean they are bad. They made that wrong choice because the liberal/progressive forces have failed to
- Create an unified platform
- Formulate a clear roadmap for the future
- Present a robust leadership
Itâs always the same; when the progressives wither, the fascists flourish.