The Middle East Thread

Away End - General Chat
4767

The IDF has hammered south Lebanon today, claims it has taken out 400 launchers and hit very many ammunition depots. That they have hit depots is obvious from videos:
https://x.com/AuroraIntel/status/1837451153304342604

A very major detonation and shockwave from secondary detonation here:
https://x.com/AuroraIntel/status/1837550535798407476

Meanwhile Hezbollah has raised the Red Flag it is reported, all across Lebanon. That probably means war.

They have now also attempted to strike the Ramat David airbase in israel, but pro Hezbollah accounts which claims it is burning are wrong, there is a fire, but in vegitation outside the base (notably taking out powerline, causing a blackout in the area though):
https://x.com/AuroraIntel/status/1837627689160921474
https://x.com/AuroraIntel/status/1837628560393245097
https://x.com/AuroraIntel/status/1837618850248249599

Also rocket attacks on Nazareth, but Hezb won’t hit anything interesting there really.
https://x.com/IhabHassane/status/1837619612663316748

2 Likes
4768

Meanwhile, unrelated to Hezbollah-Israel clashes, in Ramallah on the West Bank, IDF has just surrounded and then entered the Al Jazeera office, and then handed them a 45 day closure order.

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Mildly stated controversial since it is in Ramallah since it is located in area A formally under Palestinian Authority administration.
https://x.com/alihashem_tv/status/1837652808541110527

4769

https://x.com/BarakRavid/status/1837628977692791035

1 Like
4770

https://x.com/alihashem_tv/status/1837670981550186553

Interesting
https://x.com/MazMHussain/status/1837675101761761697

Also interesting:
https://x.com/AmiDar/status/1837646098069885438

1 Like
4771

After the genocide there won’t be a Palestine to speak of anyway so…

4772

‘De-escalation through escalation’… please don’t tell me that these US officials are gullible enough to buy this freaking shite… :see_no_evil:

2 Likes
4773

They’re totally on board with the strategy apparently.

1 Like
4774

No one has a viable solution for the Palestinian state or people, except lipservice.

What Israel is doing is probably tacitly endorsed by quite a lot of countries even if they aren’t openly admitting to that.

4775

I think a whole lot of it is simply because it’s such an intractable problem that they’re probably all just thinking/wishing it isn’t their problem.

4776

Countries don’t really want to deal with the Palestinian refugee crisis.

I still think the end game for this would be forcing the residents of Gaza to refugee camps in Egypt (after the necessary blood money is paid to Sisi)

4777

A couple of slightly lay questions:

  1. Is there a distinction between Israel and IDF
  2. Has there been a shift in the beeb reporting of late, i.e. IDF have done this or that vs Israel having done this or that?
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4778

Israel the govt or Israel the people , if it’s the former. Nope.

4779

IDF is the Israeli army. When they speak of Israel they are talking about the State. There should be a distinction but they really are interchangeable.

4780

I guess it feels like a distinction is being made of push a specific line. Maybe managing the reporting within the context of the broader antisemitic theatre or the IDF and the state are two separate entities. Ideally a state “owns” its defence force - I know that is not always the case and if it isn’t, then this is closer to something like the situation in Pakistan for example.

4781

I’ve made the correlation between Israel and Pakistan before. The similarities between the two countries are too stark. Yeah , Pakistan is much worse off on terms of economy etc etc. But a nation formed on basis of religion as a form of identity is always asking for disaster.

All the more ironic how Indians tend to gravitate towards Israel support especially when India and Israel can’t be poles apart.

4782

I’m not sure it is the case here. I would say it is more to manage reporting and how this could lead to increased antisemitism or a way to defect the blame burden from Israel.

p.s. India has many bedfellows - Israel, Russia and the US… Israel isn’t that special

4783

It’s more in general.

Country formed on basis of religions. Check

Discrimination against minorities. Check

Genocide committed. Check

Religious hardliners and nutcases getting to power. Check

The army dictating the country as opposed to the other way round. Also check.

And the similarities go on and on.

4784

Would be difficult to name a country that has not done (all of) that at some point.

4785

Name them. I think you’ll find that most of them are fundamentalist countries.

4786

Is there a European country that hasn’t, as part of its make up, been propped up by religion or hasn’t used religion to achieve various ends? You just have to go back far enough. Spain, Italy, UK, the Balkan countries and likely many more had their birth roots in religion being a core issue/driver. Ironically, maybe only China, Russia and North Korea may not have the stain of religion so entrenched but then that is another story…