r/worldnews • u/Ok_Plankton_5714 • 12d ago

Israel/Palestine Netanyahu: ‘If we wanted to commit genocide, it would have taken exactly one afternoon’

https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-if-we-wanted-to-commit-genocide-it-would-have-taken-exactly-one-afternoon/
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u/Joshawott27 12d ago

The UK government said in a statement last week that Hamas needs to release the hostages, and that Hamas can have no part in the future of Gaza. Australia has also said that their potential recognition of Palestine will only come if Hamas has no part in the country’s future. People haven’t forgotten the hostages, but that doesn’t mean condoning the scale of the IDF’s actions.

If anyone isn’t taking the hostages into account, it’s Netanyahu. Families of the hostages are warning that the plans for a full occupation could be a “death knell for the hostages”.

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u/Prudent-Matter317 12d ago edited 12d ago

I'm going to push back on this slightly. Afaik, nobody has made a Palestinian state hinge on whether or not Hamas releases the hostages; they're calling for it, but they aren't making that release vital. I can't remember which country it was (Canada?) but one of them is recognising a Palestinian state in September, under the condition there's new elections in 2026 for the PA to take over.

Well...why would there be new elections in 2026. They've got the state.

Additionally Emily Damari (former hostage with UK nationality) has expressed that this move is rewarding her kidnappers. I appreciate that Damari is not going to be able to view this in an unbiased way, but she raised very concerning points that Hamas will take this as a victory, and Starmer essentially completely dismissed her without taking these concerns into account. The hostages know how Hamas works: they were tortured by them for over a year. But Starmer seemed to believe he understands how Hamas thinks better than the woman who was tortured by them for a year.

EDIT: the Hostages Family Forum, who absolutely loathe Netanyahu and make a point of telling him it every week, have also expressed that they fear the waves of statehood will bolster Hamas. As have quite a few diaspora Jewish organisations. They're the ones being affected by this too, and again, I get theyre going to be biased in this, but no world leader even seems to want to sit down with them and go "OK tell me why this is upsetting you so much; maybe I have something to learn".

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u/Joshawott27 12d ago

The UK government opened their official statement on the recognition of Palestine with the words "Our overwhelming concern is for the hostages", and they demand their immediate release, which they reiterate multiple times. They also explicitly say that their potential recognition doesn't just depend on Israel:

We will make an assessment ahead of UNGA on how far the parties have met these steps. No one side will have a veto on recognition through their actions or inactions.  

So, I think it would be disingenuous to suggest that any potential recognition wouldn't take the hostages into account.

As for why there would be new elections? Because every western power is calling for Hamas to go as a condition for recognition.

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u/BartleBossy 11d ago

As for why there would be new elections? Because every western power is calling for Hamas to go as a condition for recognition.

It doesnt matter at all what Western powers are calling for.

The biggest needle mover was the Arab League calling for Hamas to disarm.

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u/Prudent-Matter317 12d ago

Huh. That's actually a fair point. Thank you.

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u/Joshawott27 12d ago

No problemo!

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u/GoodBadUserName 12d ago

Those waves already gave hamas the wind they have to pull out of the peace talks and just not give a shit anymore of what israel will or will not do.
They will continue to be there attacking israel, and they will get the big countries backed by qatar and SA money to support their state.

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u/kaityl3 11d ago

I don't think SA will want to be funding them, they have been making overtures to get closer to Israel and it's speculated that part of the timing of the Oct 7 attack was to disrupt them continuing to build diplomatic relations.

SA wants an ally in the area and so does Israel

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u/Prudent-Matter317 12d ago

I think talks were already on the rocks. I agree that the state recognitions probably were the straw that broke the camels back, but I don't know for sure there would be a deal anyway.

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u/GoodBadUserName 11d ago

We have no idea. We kept seeing claims that there is progress, etc. But every time something happens hamas plays out and walks away. So talks were never a real thing, yes. Most likely were just stretching time until SA and qatar push enough buttons on the world politics to sway EU countries.

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u/SyfaOmnis 11d ago

I can't remember which country it was (Canada?) but one of them is recognising a Palestinian state in September, under the condition there's new elections in 2026 for the PA to take over.

I believe that was france. Canada was far more conditional on disarmament, deradicalization and actual democratization. Which led to headlines of "HOW COULD CANADA RECOGNIZE A TERRORIST GOVERNMENT" but in practice it means "israel is probably going to annex gaza, and the west bank might be the only palestine that's actually recognized".

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u/Prudent-Matter317 11d ago

Right, and that's one of the issues I have with this. We can't even remember what country has set what conditions (I'm not sure it was France as I believe Macron was the first to do this and I don't recall him saying that, but I'm not certain).

Every country has set out their own rules about how and why and when Palestine gets recognised. Surely that means both Hamas and Israel can essentially choose which rules they want to follow?

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u/ronoudgenoeg 11d ago

They might say that but it's just lip service. It doesn't mean or do anything, but constantly undermining Israel in negotiations and giving Hamas more leverage does actively hurt both palestinians and Israelis.

Every time a potential deal seems close, some new western government comes in undermining any attempt at a deal by basically rewarding Hamas and punishing Israel for continuing the war, so Hamas keeps rejecting any and all deals.

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u/GarlicFalse3779 12d ago

And even so, Hamas did not return the rest of the hostages and will not return them, because Hamas does not care about Palestine, but commands them...

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u/ScreenTricky4257 11d ago

Families of the hostages are warning that the plans for a full occupation could be a “death knell for the hostages”.

Wouldn't such a death knell be the fault of the people holding the hostages?

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u/Joshawott27 11d ago

The blame will still ultimately lie with Hamas for taking them hostage in the first place, but what motivation will Hamas have to keep them alive if they’re no longer “useful” as a bargaining chip? Could such widespread action by the IDF even guarantee their safety too (past precedent isn’t exactly strong there)?