# New discussion thread for Israel/Gaza/West Bank (Hijacks tolerated) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** israel-hamas-war, hijacks-tolerated\ **Created:** [July 12, 2026, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-discussion-thread-for-israel-gaza-west-bank-hijacks-tolerated/1031615 "2026-07-12T00:17:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 27
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2026, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-discussion-thread-for-israel-gaza-west-bank-hijacks-tolerated/1031615/535 "2026-09-04T12:43:25Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > Hannukah is a celebration of religious freedom, which is somewhat problematic in that the Maccabees were not actually liberal pluralists but look, latkes! Eh, the Hanukkah story is window dressing to put a Jewish spin on “it’s really cold and dark out there. Let’s gather with family and friends and light a rack of candles and eat rich food.” At least, i was told it wasn’t much of a holiday until American Jews needed something to compete with Christmas. And Christmas is a Christian spin on traditional solstice celebrations. The Puritans outlawed it, both when they were in power in England and in Massachusetts. ([Puritans - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puritans), the section on "behavioral regulations.) ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2026, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-discussion-thread-for-israel-gaza-west-bank-hijacks-tolerated/1031615/536 "2026-09-08T00:21:23Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Even if you went so far as to abandon Judaism, the Christians and Muslims who forced you to convert might still persecute you. Felix Mendelssohn converted to Christianity, composed the Reformation Symphony in honor of Martin fucking Luther, and that still wasn’t good enough for the Nazis, who banned his music. Just goes to show. > [@Babale](#): > > historically non-Jewish societies tend to get tired of their Jewish minorities and prosecute them eventually. Reminds me of _To Kill a Mockingbird_: “Yes ma’am,” he said. “Old Adolf Hitler has been prosecutin’ the-” “Persecuting, Cecil.” ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2026, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-discussion-thread-for-israel-gaza-west-bank-hijacks-tolerated/1031615/537 "2026-09-08T05:25:27Z")
Well, this is huge - Haaretz reports that a week and a half before 10/7, the emir of Abu Dhabi called Netenyahu directly and informed him that Hamas was preparing to launch a major offensive out of Gaza, and Netenyahu dismissed the warning and didn’t inform the heads of the security bureaus. > **[Netanyahu got an explicit warning before Oct. 7. He didn't brief security chiefs](https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-security/2026-09-08/ty-article-magazine/.highlight/netanyahu-got-an-explicit-warning-before-oct-7-he-didnt-brief-security-chiefs/000001a0-7a3b-d7d5-a9fc-7eff3d0f0000)** > > In September '23, UAE President bin Zayed called Netanyahu to deliver a harsh warning. Netanyahu did nothing. An extensive investigation, conducted for a new book, reveals the PM's failures surrounding Oct. 7. Netanyahu: 'This is an absolute lie' ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2026, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-discussion-thread-for-israel-gaza-west-bank-hijacks-tolerated/1031615/538 "2026-09-08T05:32:37Z")
If true, this is the perfect time for such a revelation to drop, with the election coming in late October. May this finally destroy his career… ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2026, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-discussion-thread-for-israel-gaza-west-bank-hijacks-tolerated/1031615/539 "2026-09-08T06:27:51Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > May this finally destroy his career… And may it take Likud down with him. This makes “Bush blew off a vague security briefing about Osama wanting to attack the US” look like a tan suit. Either Bibi was so confidently incorrect about Hamas that he blew off a credible warning from a source who would know, or it implies he wanted an attack to happen so he could have the war he wanted. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-discussion-thread-for-israel-gaza-west-bank-hijacks-tolerated/1031615/540 "2026-09-09T00:15:00Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > If true, this is the perfect time for such a revelation to drop, with the election coming in late October. May this finally destroy his career… Let us hope so. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-discussion-thread-for-israel-gaza-west-bank-hijacks-tolerated/1031615/541 "2026-09-09T04:33:26Z")
From your fingers to God’s eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-discussion-thread-for-israel-gaza-west-bank-hijacks-tolerated/1031615/542 "2026-09-09T05:44:47Z")
Bibi definitely seems to be in deep shit. Hebrew source but Google translate should work decently: > **[הגורם שמאשר: ישראל קיבלה התרעה מהאמירויות; כך נוהל קו הסתרים החשאי](https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/yokra14894331)** > > גורם מודיעין מזרח תיכוני בכיר אישר ל-ynet כי לפני הטבח העבירה האמירויות לישראל התרעה ממקור "אמין מאוד", שלפיה חמאס נערך לפעולה משמעותית וקרובה. לדבריו, באבו דאבי התייחסו למידע "ברצינות רבה", אך הוא סירב להתייחס לאופן שבו הועברה ההודעה לישראל או לפרט... One thing it won’t translate well is the banner, which it translates as “Default Oct 7” (like, in the financial sense) but what the word means in this context is something like ‘scandalous inaction’. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-discussion-thread-for-israel-gaza-west-bank-hijacks-tolerated/1031615/543 "2026-09-09T05:59:30Z")
In things continuing to not look good for Bibi, the head of Shin Bet _also_ warned him on 10/1/2023 that Hamas was on the brink of a major offensive and recommended taking out Sinwar, and Netenyahu declined. [https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-907926](https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-907926) ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-discussion-thread-for-israel-gaza-west-bank-hijacks-tolerated/1031615/544 "2026-09-09T06:18:58Z")
It is important to know what the UAE may or may not have told Israel, but it was reported that Israel’s own intelligence agencies had already warned the government of specific and general threats related to the attack. Has anything really changed concerning Netanyahu? Has his government lost any bit of support? He is denying everything, as usual. ---
**Author:** ![dcbwhaley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcbwhaley/32/21437_2.png) [@dcbwhaley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dcbwhaley)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-discussion-thread-for-israel-gaza-west-bank-hijacks-tolerated/1031615/545 "2026-09-09T15:26:48Z")
“The proper response is for Hamas to not use hospitals and medical centers as staging areas,” Are Hamas doing this on the West Bank? ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-discussion-thread-for-israel-gaza-west-bank-hijacks-tolerated/1031615/546 "2026-09-09T17:31:48Z")
In the past 24-48 hours, reports by CNN and BBC (among many others) are that the E1 settlement expansion by Israel will effectively divide the contiguous West Bank territory in half, thereby eliminating the possibility of a future Palestinian state in the West Bank. > **[Joint statement on the situation in the West Bank](https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/joint-statement-situation-west-bank_en)** > > Over the past few months, the situation in the West Bank has deteriorated significantly. Settler violence is at unprecedented levels. The policies and practices of the Israeli government, including a further entrenchment of Israeli control, are... > **[How Israel is expanding settlements in drive to reshape West Bank](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2lq5g4dedpo)** > > There has been a significant expansion of building and road construction on Palestinian land occupied by Israel in recent years. BBC: The development would in effect divide the West Bank in two and isolate East Jerusalem from the rest of the territory. Opponents of the project have warned that it would effectively block the establishment of a Palestinian state because it would cut off the north of the West Bank from the south, and prevent the development in the centre of a contiguous Palestinian urban area connecting Ramallah, East Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Here is an interactive map that shows E1 and surrounding areas: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E1\_(West\_Bank)#/map/0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E1_(West_Bank)#/map/0) Here’s a slightly older (2021) fact sheet on E1: [Fact Sheet: Israel’s E1 Settlement | Key Issues | Resources | The Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU)](https://imeu.org/resources/key-issues/fact-sheet-israels-e1-settlement/129) Now, before heads explode, I’m not arguing that E1 is remotely justified. It’s a fucking travesty of justice and anyone arguing for its legitimacy can and should fuck right back under the rock from which they crawled. HOWEVER, this is my issue with various media and organizational claims which undermine their own legitimacy when anyone so much as reads a map. Getting from Ramallah to Bethlehem is already a googlemaps navigation nightmare. E1 will not make it any easier. But if one zooms in, it doesn’t seem to make it markedly worse as the area is largely inside existing roads. And it doesn’t geographically split the West Bank into two halves, as is being misleadingly reported. And again, doesn’t remotely justify anything being done by Netanyahu and his ethno-fascist minion. I just need for media to be fucking honest, or at least to look at a fucking map before filing a story. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-discussion-thread-for-israel-gaza-west-bank-hijacks-tolerated/1031615/547 "2026-09-09T18:24:04Z")
UK announces sanctions on settlements: > **[UK announces sanctions on West Bank settlements prompting furious Israeli...](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g7zen0vveo)** > > Britain's foreign secretary accuses settlers of carrying out the "ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians, as Israel responds by shutting the UK consulate in East Jerusalem. This is very good but also just barely a first step. This Israeli is very much responsible for expanding and supporting the settlements as well as much of the brutal violence and violations of rights of Palestinians in the WB. Why not sanction the country of Israel until these policies change? ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-discussion-thread-for-israel-gaza-west-bank-hijacks-tolerated/1031615/548 "2026-09-10T09:11:42Z")
I thought that West-Bank Settlements were already sanctioned by the EU and have been for a while. As in, let us say they get a shipment of oranges. They will check on the map where it comes from and if it is an illegal settlement, customs will not let it in. Was I mistaken? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-discussion-thread-for-israel-gaza-west-bank-hijacks-tolerated/1031615/549 "2026-09-10T09:26:17Z")
I don’t know, but UK is no longer EU. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-discussion-thread-for-israel-gaza-west-bank-hijacks-tolerated/1031615/550 "2026-09-10T11:25:12Z")
As far as I’m aware, there’s no EU-wide trade ban. There’s bans on[certain orgs and individuals](https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2026/05/28/extremist-israeli-settlers-eu-lists-four-entities-and-three-individuals/), and there’s[rules on clear labelling (settlement goods can’t just be labelled “Israel”) and they don’t qualify for preferential tarrifs](https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/06/18/fact-check-can-eu-countries-restrict-or-ban-israeli-settlement-imports), but there’s no trade ban. Note that this new sanctions _still_ won’t be EU-wide (Thanks, German guilt 🙄 ). France is having to impose its trade ban [as a national thing](https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/france-ban-products-israeli-settlements-west-bank-foreign-minister-2026-09-08). ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-discussion-thread-for-israel-gaza-west-bank-hijacks-tolerated/1031615/551 "2026-09-10T12:39:10Z")
Canada, ‘_oh fuck, Bibi_’: [Canadian Sanctions Related to Extremist Settler Violence in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem (occupied Palestinian territories/oPt)](https://www.international.gc.ca/world-monde/international_relations-relations_internationales/sanctions/esv-vec.aspx?lang=eng) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2026, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-discussion-thread-for-israel-gaza-west-bank-hijacks-tolerated/1031615/552 "2026-09-11T06:11:40Z")
NAZA has been screened at the Venice Film Festival. I’m not sure if its release will move the needle of public opinion at all. > **[Secret systems used by Israel in mass killings of Gaza civilians revealed in...](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/10/secret-systems-used-by-israel-in-mass-killings-of-gaza-civilians-revealed-in-new-film)** > > Testimony from Israeli military insiders involved in surveillance and remote killings features in documentary produced by the Guardian ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2026, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-discussion-thread-for-israel-gaza-west-bank-hijacks-tolerated/1031615/553 "2026-09-14T00:46:01Z")
[https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/israeli-culture-minister-vows-to-revoke-citizenship-of-gaza-documentary-filmmakers/4056223](https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/israeli-culture-minister-vows-to-revoke-citizenship-of-gaza-documentary-filmmakers/4056223) The Israeli culture minister vowed to revoke the Israeli citizenship of the filmmakers. Fascists really hate good journalism and documentary makers. Bravo to the Israelis, like these filmmakers, who oppose and resist their fascistic and genocidal government. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2026, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-discussion-thread-for-israel-gaza-west-bank-hijacks-tolerated/1031615/554 "2026-09-15T12:11:14Z")
There are moments, not many, in which my faith in humanity is momentarily lifted. None of it will come to pass because the parties of god won’t have it. But if you are inclined and have 45min to spare, this is a conversation worth hearing: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHd8lpi7Hs0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHd8lpi7Hs0) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-discussion-thread-for-israel-gaza-west-bank-hijacks-tolerated/1031615.md?page=26) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-discussion-thread-for-israel-gaza-west-bank-hijacks-tolerated/1031615.md?page=28)