'Mental trauma that cannot be fathomed': Ayman Mohyeldin on plight of young people in Gaza Strip

[Rhiannon12866]

The Gaza Strip, controlled by Hamas, which borders the areas in southern Israel that Hamas attacked over the weekend, is home to more than two million Palestinians, half of them under 19 years of age. They live within a narrow strip of roughly 140 square miles wedged against the Mediterranean Sea.

“If you are a 15-year-old Palestinian child--born in 2006, 2005--you will have survived four major Israeli operations, and you are now living through your fifth one,” MSNBC’s Ayman Mohyeldin tells Joy Reid. - The ReidOut - MSNBC - Aired on 10/09/2023.

[AZLD4Candidate]

1. So that excuses murdering 700 people in a terrorist attack?

[wnylib]

2. Why did Palestinians reject an independent state of their own

when Israel became a nation in 1948? Because they took the position that Israel had no right to a state there.

If they had established their own self-governing stste instead of attacking the existence of Israel, the decades of fighting and terrorism since then would not have happened.

But now, after those decades of war and terrorism, it is Israel who denies Palestinians their own state and takes over all of Palestine.

How can anyone resolve this impasse with equality and rights for both?

Step one, which seems insurmountable now, is for each side to recognize and respect the existence of the other. No progress can be made without that first step.

[Rhiannon12866]

3. President Carter came closest, worked so hard to achieve peace, followed by President Clinton

But, IIRC, Ehud Barak walked away. There needs to be a two-state solution, but now it's as far away as ever.

[wnylib]

4. Even now, when Palestinians in Gaza are confined by Israel

Last edited Tue Oct 10, 2023, 07:59 AM - Edit history (1)

and Israeli settlers are taking over the West Bank, would Hamas and other regional actors allow the Palestinians to accept a state of their own if Israel agreed to it and the rest of the world supported it?

The Palestinian suffering is being encouraged by people who the Palestinians think are their allies.

[Rhiannon12866]

5. This terrible situation has escalated so horrifically, a solution is farther away than ever

If they can't forgive 1948 and 1973, how can they hope to negotiate now? Both sides need a leader who is dedicated to peace, both Carter and Clinton tried, but they needed both sides on board. And we know what happened to Sadat.

[CincyDem]

6. To be clear...Barak did not simply "walk away".

Israel put a variety of proposals in the table. Virtually all of the land Arafat wanted, conservatorship of the Temple Mount, some extra land not included in Arafat’s request and IIRC, some 20k for every man woman and child living in the West Bank and Gaza.

The single substantive ask from Israel…Palestinians had to recognize Israel.

Arafat refused. So I guess it may be right to say Barak walked away but as long as one side isn’t willing to recognize the others right to exist…that’s how we get where we are.

The Palestinian leadership’s inability to “take the win”, a weakness that exists today with Hamas, got us where we are today and until that changes nothing’s going to change.

[wnylib]

7. True. Terrorists and outside actors are the real problem.

Eliminate them and a 2 state solution is more possible. But eliminating those terrorists from outside would involve several countries, amounting to escalated wars.

Unless, if other pressures could be brought to bear on the countries who support the terrorists, like sanctions. That would require world unity on the goal of dealing with terrorism.

[CincyDem]

8. Bingo.

The real issue is “who benefits”? It’s certainly not the Gazans nor the Israelis.