Visually and physically, Palestinians and Israelis are virtually impossible to distinguish. Some of them obviously can be distinguished by their fashion choices and circumstance, but physically they're basically identical. There are instances of people posting pictures of injured or scared Palestinian children mistaking them for Israeli children, their confusion evident from their outraged remarks accompanying the picture, then deleting the post shortly later when somebody points out their mistake.
Somebody could probably run this trick deliberately to make a point; go around to American evangelical churches using pictures of Palestinians presented as Israelis to tear-jerk the (overwhelmingly zionist) evangelical Christians, then reveal the truth to them. Maybe the message would get through to a few.
Yes, that, plus a dozen Arab states actively financing their proxy military organizations (Hezbollah/Hamas/etc.) and foisting them on the Palestinians as their "government" to further those states goal of exterminating Israel.
> foisting them on the Palestinians as their "government"
Hamas (the political wing) is the duly-elected political representative of all Palestinians. It's not surprising that Mohammed Abbas cancelled elections in 2021.
The military wing of Hamas is in the ascendant, likely as a direct result of the extreme suppression of Hamas as a political organisation.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the last time they had an election was 2006, and Hamas only won a plurality, not majority, of the votes then.
Assuming Palestinians had to be 18 to vote in that election, which was 17 years ago now, any Palestinian about 34 years old or younger didn't vote for Hamas, and most Palestinians older than that didn't vote for them either.
Note: "duly-elected" does NOT equal fairly-elected, without undue influence, financing, eliminating viable opponents, etc.
I happen to think that the POTUS is correct to point out that Hamas' policy of intending to kill all Jews, and intentionally targeting civilians including babies and elderly, is NOT shared by all Palestinians.
If you want to argue that it is, and that Hamas actually represents all Palestinians, then all Palestinians are also legitimate combatants and targets in the conflict.
You cannot have it both ways. Pick your poison. Carefully.
If you look a bit more carefully at the facts, you will likely find that the Arab states influence is the basis of the entire problem. Simply look at their response this week. Not a single one will help the Palestinians, and it took a US Presidential visit to even convince Egypt to allow humanitarian help through their common border. The Arab states DGAF about their Palestinian brothers, other than how they can be used as pawns.
There is no such policy. Hamas's founding charter calls for an Islamic state in the whole Palestinian territory, so in that sense it calls for the elimination of Israel.
> then all Palestinians are also legitimate combatants and targets in the conflict
Hmmm. "All Palestinians" are not reservists in the Al Qassam brigades; but nearly all Israelis are either serving in the IDF, or they are reservists. And it certainly looks as if all Palestinians are treated as combatants by the occupying power.
Also, since Hamas won the 2006 election, they have not adopted their founding charter into their political programme; it's leader has stated that the founding charter is a historical artifact that cannot be changed for "internal reasons".
> The Arab states DGAF about their Palestinian brothers
The states don't; they care only about money. But their people do, and those states are bracing for trouble on the streets. And note that Jordan, in particular, has issued passports to a large part of the West Bank population. Jordan may be an Arab state, but it's not like the oil states on the arab peninsula.
Jews and Arabs both claim they are descended from Abraham's sons Isaac and Ishmael, respectively. In a sense, it can be seen as a very long-standing dispute between distant cousins over who should inherit their great(x160)-grandfather's land.
Islam teaches that relationship between Jews and Arabs due to Mohammed building on preexisting monotheistic traditions in the region, but Judaism does not. The Arab people and their ancestry is not part of Judaism’s own lore.
Isn't the core of the Gaza conflict rather that Isrealis and Muslims aren't related, but both want the same piece of land