Are you implying that Israel has an interest in a radicalized Gaza? I would think that Israel wants moderate Gazans. Fatah, which is only moderate when compared to Hamas, was swept out of Gaza.
In a statement to the Israeli Parliament's (the Knesset) Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday February 12, 2007, Israeli Prime minister Ehud Olmert said "Netanyahu established Hamas, gave it life, freed Sheikh Yassin and gave him the opportunity to blossom".[4]
Since Israel claims that Hamas is a radical organization, that suggests that Israel has acted to radicalize Gaza. Whether that's in Israel's best interest is not for me to say though....
Olmert is a political opponent of Netanyahu. He's also about to get convicted of supposedly the most serious corruption charges in Israeli history. I wouldn't call him a paragon of credibility.
I know, but since there are a number of other sources that corroborate that account (see the Wikipedia link above), I think it is credible. Surely you don't claim that absolutely everything Olmert ever said is a lie, do you?
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Are you implying that Israel has an interest in a radicalized Gaza? I would think that Israel wants moderate Gazans. Fatah, which is only moderate when compared to Hamas, was swept out of Gaza.
I think Israel has historically done a great deal to support Hamas. At least that's what the Israeli Prime Minister says ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Hamas#Before_1987_.E... ):
In a statement to the Israeli Parliament's (the Knesset) Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday February 12, 2007, Israeli Prime minister Ehud Olmert said "Netanyahu established Hamas, gave it life, freed Sheikh Yassin and gave him the opportunity to blossom".[4]
Since Israel claims that Hamas is a radical organization, that suggests that Israel has acted to radicalize Gaza. Whether that's in Israel's best interest is not for me to say though....
Olmert is a political opponent of Netanyahu. He's also about to get convicted of supposedly the most serious corruption charges in Israeli history. I wouldn't call him a paragon of credibility.
I know, but since there are a number of other sources that corroborate that account (see the Wikipedia link above), I think it is credible. Surely you don't claim that absolutely everything Olmert ever said is a lie, do you?
Absolutely not. I think as a rule of thumb, people should present the most credible sources they can find.
No, I'm not implying that, and I said I'm not really into apportioning blame, that's a long conversation and there's more than enough to go around.
The net sum of Israel's policies have probably contributed to radicalization in Gaza, but that's more about incompetence than malice.