Sanctions / No Sanctions

[Gromit]

300 civilians murdered in Ukraine = Sanctions, rebuke for Putin, UN resolution.

600 civilians murdered in Gaza = No sanctions, no UN resolution, no rebukes.

Hypocrisy? Double standards? Or is a Palastinian life just worth less?

[Buenchico]

I'd definitely class myself as both pro-Palestine and anti-Israel but I can still see that that Israel has got a (very vague) sort of justification for firing on Gaza: i.e. rockets are being fired at Israel from Gaza. That's clearly very different to the situation in Ukraine. (I'm definitely not trying to condone or justify the actions of Israel. I'm simply stating that they believe that they have a justification for their actions, which means that they'll be able to rely on American support).

>>>Hypocrisy? Double standards?

. . . or just sheer pragmatism? Everyone knows that any UN proposal to impose sanctions upon Israel would automatically be blocked by the USA, so perhaps nobody thinks that it's worth wasting time putting forward any such proposal in the first place.

[ichkeria]

One utterly pointless UN resolution (proof of how useless is that even the Russians voted for it!)
And more petty sanctions against a few individuals. Not exactly hard hitting.
Generally speaking the outrage against Israel is tempered by the fact that they do face a terrorist onslaught from a neighbouring country. Whereas Russia has effectively invaded a neighbouring country for it would seem no better reason than to bully and weaken it to keep it in its sphere of influence
In other words;
Terrorist or other threat to Russia or Russians in Ukraine a big fat zero.
A lot less complicated than the tragedy of Palestine and Israel

[keyplus90]

Double standards. They are purposly killing young people and children as they want to wipeout their future generation. And again I would say what I always say. Until a palestinian child would be as important as an Israeli or American child, there would be no peace in this world.

[Peter Pedant]

O God you should hear my Asian newsagent on this very point

[Hopkirk]

If someone kept lobbing rockets into the UK, what would we do?

[Buenchico]

>>>If someone kept lobbing rockets into the UK, what would we do?

Well I hope that we'd all be challenging our government and asking them why they were denying another nation food, building materials, medical supplies, employment and hope, thus resulting in them 'lobbing rockets' at our country.

[kvalidir]

What's really hypocritical is that the US is jumping up and down threatening Putin with god knows what when they shot down a passenger aircraft over it's own airspace killing 290 civilians. Hypocrisy is rife and the Gaza situation is heartbreaking.
Anyone interested in the passenger plane the Americans shot down can read about it here if they don't already know about it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_Air_Flight_655

[agchristie]

Fair point kval.

[keyplus90]

[ChillDoubt]

Double standards. They are purposly killing young people and children as they want to wipeout their future generation. And again I would say what I always say. Until a palestinian child would be as important as an Israeli or American child, there would be no peace in this world.
-----------------------------
Better have a word with Hamas then and ask them to stop training and using children as suicide bombers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_suicide_bombers_in_the_Israeli%E2%80%93Palestinian_conflict

[ToraToraTora]

as I've said countless times it's all in the power of hamas to stop. Do you not see that??? This is not a comparable situation gromit, I know you are bright enough to see that so I can only assume you are bashing israel for responding to rocket attacks, what should they do? Issue the population with sturdy umbrellas and wait for Hamas to run out of things to throw? As for Palastinian life being worth less I'd say that is the view of Hamas alone.

[ToraToraTora]

looks like you have Lib dem support Gromit!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-28424396

[ChillDoubt]

To be fair to the IDF, they take 'giving the opposition a chance' to the extreme. I don't know of any other armed forces who do their utmost to reduce collateral damage/civilian casualties by telling known militatants that their house is shortly to be destroyed.

Hamas lob their missiles indiscriminately, the IDF give forewarned precision Hellfire strikes.

[ToraToraTora]

steady chill, the Israel bashers won't like that!

[ludwig]

// If someone kept lobbing rockets into the UK, what would we do? //

Give them a house and reimburse them for the money they'd spent on rockets.

[Svejk]

lol@ludwig,,,,,,,,,,,again.

[Gromit]

// If someone kept lobbing rockets into the UK, what would we do? //

We'd build a highly effecient missile shield that was the best in the world that would stop the missiles reaching their targets. Then we'd sit back and let our enemy waste their time and money launching their damp sqibs.

[royfromaus]

Then you would think the enemy wouldn't waste their time and money launching their damp sqibs.

[Gromit]

Roy,
Throwing stones is a mostly futile activity. It is more an act of defiance than an effective weapon. If you are totally surrounded, out numbered, out armed and your weapons unsophisticated, then a futile gesture like throwing a stone or lobbing a rocket is your only way to protest and get your enemy's attention. It won't do you any good, but it is a outlet for your frustration.

[royfromaus]

It won't do you any good,

and it will get some of your fellow citizens killed.