With All Israelis IDF Veterans, Public Apathy Over Israeli War Machine is Near Universal

• With All Israelis IDF Veterans, Public Apathy Over Israeli War Machine is Near Universal
  by Nick Rehwaldt, https://www.mintpressnews.com/
  Most Israelis don’t have much sympathy for Palestinians. A recent poll showed that 53 percent of Israelis thought Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent bombardment of Gaza following the rocket attack was “too weak” while only 3 percent believed it to be excessive.
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  Opinion — On March 25, Israel fired 72 rockets and hit 23 targets in Gaza, injuring at least two and destroying several houses in Gaza City. This was in response to two rockets that hit Tel Aviv, wounding seven, the first time since 2014 that a rocket attack hit Tel Aviv — clearly not the status quo.
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  The Israeli government accused Hamas of carrying out these rocket attacks, an assumption, and accusation that Hamas firmly denies.
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  In many Western outlets, the media portrays this as a battle of equals in which blame lies on both sides. In reality, this is a lopsided, David-vs.-Goliath battle, with Israel ironically the Goliath. The Second Intifada in the early 2000s had heavy death tolls on both sides. In 2005 Israel enhanced its security measures and built more walls, thereby walling in Gaza and certain parts of the West Bank.
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  Since 2005, 23 out of every 24 deaths have been Palestinian. This becomes more alarming when one takes into account that there are twice as many Israelis as Palestinians. The Israeli strategy is often referred to as “cutting the grass.” The idea is to have a never-ending conflict where every few years they kill as many Hamas fighters and Palestinians as they see fit. An excuse Israel often uses to justify killing hundreds and injuring thousands of unarmed Palestinians is that Hamas is simply using these innocent Palestinians as human shields.
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  It would make sense that Hamas fighters would be found amongst civilians because Hamas has only 200 to 400 active fighters and about 1,000 reservists and trainees, while the population of Gaza is 1.9 million.
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  With a tight grip around the throat of the Palestinian people in Gaza, Israel gives Gazans just enough room to squirm and attempt a fight for their basic humanity. The moment the people of Gaza rose up for the Great March of Return in 2018, in the span of several weeks Israel killed hundreds and wounded thousands of Gazan men, women and children.
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