Law, Power, and Justice

Saturday 7 October 2023

Morning News Notes

Israel declares war after Hamas attack

• Leadership of Hamas is saying that after all the efforts over the past few years, nothing has made things better for the Palestinians.
• There is discussion about what this war means for the efforts within Israel to stop an erosion of judicial power which provides some check on the right-wing government.
• “This is not about Hamas,” says a spokesperson for Palestinian rights, Odeh (MSNBC)
•  Ayman Mohyeldin: This situation has been boiling for fifty years.  It is a low level conflict that has been going on for fifty years. 
• There will be massive casualties from this exchange.
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• Mollly Hunter (MSNBC):
• This would have taken a lot of planning, and we don’t know what’s in store.  Hamas is getting all the players in Gaza together.  The occupation has not stopped.  Is this a new formula.
• Armed raids are an experience that Palestinians know well.
• The goal is to upset the Israeli peace of mind.  We didn’t hear from the government for a good while after the attack.  They took so long to respond.  “shocking”
• Shattered the illusion that the occupation could continue to exist with only a low level of violence.
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• Mohyeldin:
• Israel’s technology was the deterrent.  Gaza has already been decimated and so a response by Israel is not as threatening.  They can’t get anything that could become weaponry (how did they attack).
• This is a more sophisticated attack than ones launched in the past against Israel.  This was a surprise for the Israelis.  They are getting in military hardware.
• You cannot ignore the Palestinians by making agreements with other countries, that is the message of Hamas. 
• Twitter Chatter:
• This Hamas attack was generated by Russia operating in its own interest.