Summary
Trump’s nomination of Pete Hegseth, a Fox News presenter with minimal managerial experience, as defense secretary has stunned the Pentagon.
Hegseth has been a vocal critic of the military, calling for a purge of generals and questioning the appointment of Gen. Charles Brown as chair of the joint chiefs of staff.
Hegseth’s nomination is seen as a boost for the far right in Israel, as he has shown support for territorial expansion and suggested the construction of a new temple on the Temple Mount.
The same strategy is Hamas’s primary MO. If Israelis die, it’s good for Hamas. If Gazans die, it’s good for Hamas. On one hand, Israel should get a hell of a lot more blame than the Democrats. On the other, you can see how this powers Hamas strategy.
Exactly, and same for Israel in respect of settlers.
There’s a good reason Netanyahu chose to install hamas and usurp and kill Arafat.
States/ Nations are usually willing to sacrifice a fair number of their people for the benefit of those in power - I’m sure the benefits trickle down though.
No. This isn’t a thing you need to “both sides”. There is nuance.
It’s bad for Netanyahu if settlers die. It’s good for him if Israeli people are threatened. His appeal is that he’ll protect them (including through killing others). If he fails to do that too often, he loses.
Hamas is fine with people on their side dying. Israel is not. Israel is accomplishing their goals through genocide. Palestinians would love to genocide Israel, but they can’t. That doesn’t excuse Israel actually currently committing genocide.
And there’s no excuse for settling land in areas that will keep Israelis in danger. The first settlers are Zionists, later people living there won’t (necessarily) be Zionists.
I remember just after all this kicked off last October there was an interview with an ex hamas guy (who is now an anti-extremism researcher) about what their plan was with all of this.
He mentioned how their plan had always been to force a reaction from Israel and then use social media to build support among specifically both the Muslim diaspora and progressive non-muslims in Europe/NA.
The worse it gets in Gaza, the better it is for Hamas. Their support in Gaza goes up, and they gain additional support abroad, while Israel loses support. Win/win/win