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It's not technically culture war, but Hamas has just attacked Israel en-masse, overwhelming the Iron Dome with 5000 rockets and even sending raiding parties into Israel. It looks like Haman and/or Shabak haven't done their job at all, and Israel has been caught with its pants down.
For the culture war angle, I think the biggest question is of retribution. On one hand, Israeli public will now demand a reaction that makes the ongoing Hamas attack pale in comparison. On the other hand, what can Israel do to a very densely populated Gaza strip that won't be branded as a war crime or ethnic cleansing?
The bigger questions I have come down to
What is Hamas plan here? They had to know they can’t militarily match Israel and Israel is going to hit very hard back. The only thing that could do is pull in another backer but I think most of the world is going to let Israel do as they please
This operation seemed too complex for Hamas alone. Which basically points towards Iran and then Russia through Iran. I can’t figure out if more conflicts is good or bad for Russia. I think potentially bad.
In the western world I would think this greatly helps the right. Trumps got easy bulletin board material with Bidens recent Iran deal. I have to think it helps anti-immigration views in Europe, I can’t understand why they would want to import these people into there society.
So what? Israel is already hitting hard constantly. What is the average life expectancy of Hamas militants or even anyone high up in the hierarchy? These people very much already know that they and their whole family will be obliterated with a precision guided bomb at some point with a very high probability. They do what they do because they believe the moral dignity and the eventual triumph of their people are more important than their personal well-being. How many of the gunmen who participated in the raid yesterday really expected to survive the day?
Palestinians have good reason to believe they will be destroyed as a people if they give up but there is also no immediate action that can bring them victory in the foreseeable future. They have developed institutions and traditions to deal with this grim reality. It is more akin to a death cult than a normal society as we would understand it, but it is what it is.
I saw 5k Palestinian deaths in the last decade. Of a population of 5 million. It’s hyperbole to say that’s significantly reducing their life span. And I would assume a great deal of them are military casualties.
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This argument amounts to "if you're too good at defense, you are not permitted to attack". The fact that Hamas is often bad at killing Israelis, and therefore doesn't decrease their lifespan as much, and the fact that Israel is often good at killing Hamas, and therefore does decrease their lifespan, shouldn't affect whether it's okay to fight them.
There's a common double standard which amounts to "you have to give your enemy a fighting chance". War is not like that; if Hamas dies fast, tough. It's not a reason to stop..
I don't think you understood my point. I am not making the argument you are supposing me to be making. The discussion wasn't about Israeli actions but Hamas motivations.
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