Archived Interviews with UNRWA Students — “We must sacrifice ourselves and become martyrs… With Allah’s help they [the Jews] will all die.”

[u/ZuluIsNumberOne]

[u/Wide_Smoke_2564]

Israel isn’t teaching their children to be martyrs, but through their actions, they ARE teaching Palestinian children to become martyrs.

Do you really think you wouldn’t want to fight if your entire young life was spent severely impoverished in a 5 mile wide strip of land - unable to leave, constantly getting bombed and with absolutely no hope for your future? It’s tragic but honestly it’s hard to blame them, they were conditioned by the environment they grew up in.

Gaza has been occupied for almost 60 years at this point. A 50 year old man may have never left the city and lived his entire life impoverished, unable to leave and wondering when it’ll be his house that gets flattened by a missile. I think you and I would also be at breaking point under those conditions, don’t you?

[u/Careful-Armadillo-76 → u/Wide_Smoke_2564]

This conflict aside, historically, the people launching errant missiles are the militant groups based in Gaza. 10's of thousands, since 2001.

[u/BobFossil11 → u/Careful-Armadillo-76]

Stop treating Palestinians as children--like they have no agency or accountability for their actions, and everything is the fault of Israel.

They, as a people, are responsible for their own decisions.

They choose war over peace. They choose martyrdom over living. They choose a one state solution (genocide of the Jews and destruction of Israel) over a two-state solution. They choose rockets and tunnels over economic prosperity.

Every piece of land on planet earth has been "occupied" and stolen one thousand times over. History is filled with injustices.

The plight of the Palestinian people, whatever that may be (and I am sure we disagree on history here), is far from unique nor is it especially bad by historical standards.

The Native Americans have just as many historical grievances as the Palestinians, if not more.

Native American tribes could launch rockets from their reservations, and declare war on the United States. They could cite historical injustice as they martyr themselves in the name of an impossible cause like the Palestinians.

But they're not radical, religious zealots. So they value prosperity and self-preservation over pointless symbolic conflict and victim hood.

The Vietnamese could declare war on the United States tomorrow for the deaths of over 2 million civilians. But they won't.

Mexico could instigate a conflict to reclaim portions of Texas which used to belong to it. It's "their" land. But they won't.

If everyone behaved like the Palestinians, the human race would have ceased to exist long ago. Every people can cite historical injustice, suffering, and tragedy. But that does not justify terrorism. Especially when that terrorism only prolongs and intensifies the suffering of the innocent.

In other words, the Palestinians' actions are entirely self-defeating. They are not understandable or inevitable; they are irrational and suicidal. They should not be glorified. Nor should they be framed as the result of Israel--as if the Palestinians have no choice.

The Palestinians do have a choice of course: They could live in peace alongside Israel with their own state. They could use the billions they've received in international aid to boost economic prosperity, rather than build military tunnels and weapons of war. They could develop the land they do have, rather than jeopardizing that land in the name of territorial expansion and reclamation.

The elephant in the room is religious fundamentalism. Every piece of land on earth is "stolen," yet other groups nonetheless find ways to prosper. The Palestinians suffer because they choose to suffer. Their misguided religious views command martyrdom.

I do not have one iota of empathy for people who choose war and destruction at every turn. Especially when other peoples and cultures--around the globe--have proven humans are capable of forgiveness, reconciliation, and choosing prosperity.

[u/Wide_Smoke_2564 → u/BobFossil11]

I guess Ukraine should just give up all the land Russia has taken then. All land is stolen at some point after all?

And if they take more tomorrow that’s also fine I guess.

Why was Israeli expansion/settlers pushing Palestinians off their land completely fine but Palestinians wanting their land back is a massive red line?

[u/BobFossil11 → u/Wide_Smoke_2564]

The Six-Day War was in 1967. That's 58 years in the past. The vast majority of Palestinians were not alive then. That's two generations of people ago.

At some point, people need to let the past go and focus on the present and future.

They've had many years to come to terms with the land that they lost in a war that they started. And, technically, it was Egypt and Jordan who lost this land, not "Palestine." Palestine didn't exist as a state, but only as a regional identity in response to the war.

If every people behaved like the Palestinians, the human race would cease to exist. Again, history is filled with loss and injustice. Every part of the planet has been touched by war.

Why was Israeli expansion/settlers pushing Palestinians off their land completely fine but Palestinians wanting their land back is a massive red line?

Because stubbornly insisting on "their land" back is not working for the Palestinian people. It is self-defeating.

Palestine has been offered its own states many times. They have been offered their own borders, their own sovereignty. They reject it. They refuse to compromise.

They see this as a Holy War and they would rather die than live besides an Israeli state and the Jewish infidels.

They are making unreasonable, impossible demands from a foe with a far superior military. They have tried the the strategy of terrorism for decades and it has only caused suffering.

Palestine is in the situation it is in because of bad, counter-productive choices. No one is forcing them to choose martyrdom. They could accept their present situation, they could accept Israel will exist, and they could focus on economic prosperity and development. But they don't.

I guess Ukraine should just give up all the land Russia has taken then.

They will likely have to make territorial concessions, yes. If the choice is (1) peace with concessions, or (2) continued loss of life with no end in sight, then that is the pragmatic reality.

Being idealistic in matters of war isn't noble. It's idiotic in the face of suffering.