September 11 repeated

I asked an Oxford educated English friend the other night what his reaction to September 11 had been. He said that he thought that this was the understandable consequence of America ignoring world opinion on the Arab-Israeli question.

'But this was blasphemy in Britain!' 

My reaction was the same as his. I didn't know it was blasphemy, though. We both deplored the deaths then and the Hamas attacks in Israel now but they are episodes of a long, tragic story.

The 3,000 murders on September 11 were nothing compared to the deaths and the damage done to 'Western interests' and humanity in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

As for 7 October, I am sure that Hamas was as amazed as the whole world that their men got into Israel so easily and stayed so long. 

They therefore killed and took hostage far more people than they expected, humiliated Israel more than they had hoped and invited greater retribution on their heads.

I imagine that Iran and Hezbollah will be careful to stay out. 

The death toll in the Hamas attack has probably already been dwarfed by the civilian deaths in Gaza, although figures provided by Hamas are not to be taken in the least seriously.

What I care about are two things. 

I want the killings to end and I do not want the huge problems the UK and Europe has with integrating Muslim newcomers to be linked to the Arab Israel dispute. 

That quarrel is not our business. 

Anyone who backs either side without reservation or caveat must have made terms with murder. Many murders.

Many (most?) of the survivors from the Hamas attack say they want a peace deal with the Arabs.

I agree (for once) with UN secretary-general who told the Security Council that “it is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum,” and that “the Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation”. 

The AP published a news piece and then took out four paragraphs including these.

"If Hamas hadn’t converted their water pipes into rocket launchers, no Gazans would be be thirsty today. What that does to our moral responsibilities is hard to say – but it’s not nothing." Guido Fawkes


The story that Israel hit a hospital in Gaza City on 17 October is almost certainly not true (it seems only the car park was hit and probably by Hamas) but the hospital was hit by Israel on 14 October (they admitted it) and many more will be, barring a miracle.

Patrick Cockburn was one of the couple of journalists I trusted on Syria. Left-wing journalists are much better on foreign affairs than the centre right. 

He says there is no such thing as a precision missile. Every missile attack kills civilians. 

He goes on:

I agree with Emmanuel Macron who says a large-scale Israeli ground invasion of Gaza will be a "mistake".

Better to seal the border with Gaza to save innocent lives although, I admit, that would be interpreted by Arabs as weakness.