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comment by galen
galen  ·  3802 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Israel-Palestine: Correcting Some Faulty Ideas on Both Sides

Fair enough. I can't say I'm very familiar with international law, but that seems relatively reasonable.

As far as genocide, I think the intended implication of my question was unclear - I didn't mean to suggest that Israel is committing genocide, but rather that they aren't engaging in ethnic cleansing. If Israel isn't targeting Palestinians with the aim of wiping them out ("in whole or in part"), then what makes it ethnic cleansing?





plitnickm  ·  3802 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Ah, sorry, I misunderstood you. In Gaza, it is not so much of either, you're correct. On the West Bank and in East Jerusalem where israel is squeezing Palestinians into smaller and smaller enclaves, confiscating land and diverting resources and settling the land with their own citizens, there is a strong case to be made that what they are trying to do is drive Palestinians out with an eye toward annexation in the future (or, as some in the Israeli government would have it, the not so distant future). Since, on the basis of ethnicity, it certainly can be argued that Israel is trying to drive out one group of people for the benefit of another, that is an argument for ethnic cleansing. In Gaza right now, it's simply murder, massive destruction, and collective punishment. Which, again, is more than bad enough, I daresay.