Former President Barack Obama said a way forward for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is only possible if people acknowledge the “complexity” of the situation.

“If there’s any chance of us being able to act constructively to do something, it will require an admission of complexity and maintaining what on the surface may seem contradictory ideas that what Hamas did was horrific, and there’s no justification for it. And … that the occupation and what’s happening to Palestinians is unbearable,” Obama said in an interview on the podcast “Pod Save America.”

The former president’s comments come as the Israeli military focuses its offensive against Hamas in Gaza City and northern parts of the enclave.

  • tias@discuss.tchncs.de
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    1 year ago

    I’m actually not sure which country you are talking about now. I don’t know of anyone who calls Palestine a democracy. I think the reason people call Israel a democracy is that Israeli citizens have free elections and are not oppressed. I don’t think they factor in oppression of other countries when they call something a democracy. If they did, the US and UK wouldn’t count as democracies either.

    • dustyData@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      If they did, the US and UK wouldn’t count as democracies either

      Most political experts agree that they barely classify. The US has a rather unique electoral college system. The UK is most literally a constitutional monarchy. At best, they’re hybrid systems.

    • stella@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      holding a people in a situation in which they don’t have basic rights

      I’m actually not sure which country you are talking about now.

      If the options are Palestine and Israel, which country do you think it is?

      Come on, use your brain.

      • tias@discuss.tchncs.de
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        1 year ago

        No need to be condescending. With how polarizing this issue is, you are surely aware that there might be people on the Internet who would stand by these claims for either of the two countries. What I use my brain to conclude isn’t relevant, the question is what you used your brain to conclude.

        • ASeriesOfPoorChoices@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Stella has been all over Lemmy with this BS. They aren’t really worth the effort. Speak to people who might be reading the thread, not to that troll.

      • HappycamperNZ@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        holding a people in a situation in which they don’t have basic rights

        Hamas holding their own population as human shields and failing to provide basic infrastructure, or Israel blocking their own borders that stops Palestine civilians from access to necessity of life.

        Im with the other poster, and if you didn’t see both there is already a bias in your head that no reasonable and open discussion of facts would ever overcome.

        • stella@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          Lol, what? You’re buying into Israeli propaganda talking points to justify bombing civilians. I’m not going to entertain your bias.

          Hamas isn’t denying Gazans basic human rights. Israel is. This isn’t up for debate.

          • ASeriesOfPoorChoices@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Hamas wasn’t stealing water pipes to make weapons?

            (I’m not saying Israel hasn’t done bad things, and I’m not saying one is worse than the other. But Hamas HAS been denying “their people” access to basic human rights in the process of “fighting for their people”.)