I don't disagree and believe Israel's response is a mistake that is going to backfire, but would like to point out this numbers game people play is not actually that strong argument at all. When the allies invaded Germany a LOT of innocent civilians were killed. It was flattened to destroy the Nazi regime.
You don't see moral outcry over the numbers of German civilians killed. Let's not forget: about 30k Palestinian civilians have been killed in the past 2 decades. During WW2 - a much shorter time period - about half a million (350-500 fucking thousand) civilian Germans were killed, mostly by bombs.
Why is that? Because how murders occur and what kind of evil you're dealing with matters. Not just numbers. I'm nonetheless sympathetic to the view that without the deaths in WW2 we would have seen more deaths because the Nazis were just that evil. Same goes for Hamas. So even if we are just talking numbers consider how many Palestinians (who mostly hate Hamas I might add) we would save long-term if Hamas were eradicated.
That's one thing. Other thing:
I'd pick being an oppressed Palestinian fearing for my life from bombs any day of the week than a hippy that is going about my ordinary day all of a sudden to have jihadists murder my whole family in front of me in my home with their own hands.
Both terrible, one is clearly worse and would continue to be worse even if it were Zionists doing it to Palestinians. This is why Netanyahu admiring a Zionist terrorist is so terrifying. It isn't how many Palestinians he killed, it is how he did it and what motivated him that makes Netanyahu appear so obviously morally monstrous because of his admiration.
You don't see moral outcry over the numbers of German civilians killed. Let's not forget: about 30k Palestinian civilians have been killed in the past 2 decades. During WW2 - a much shorter time period - about half a million (350-500 fucking thousand) civilian Germans were killed, mostly by bombs.
Why is that? Because how murders occur and what kind of evil you're dealing with matters. Not just numbers. I'm nonetheless sympathetic to the view that without the deaths in WW2 we would have seen more deaths because the Nazis were just that evil. Same goes for Hamas. So even if we are just talking numbers consider how many Palestinians (who mostly hate Hamas I might add) we would save long-term if Hamas were eradicated.
That's one thing. Other thing:
I'd pick being an oppressed Palestinian fearing for my life from bombs any day of the week than a hippy that is going about my ordinary day all of a sudden to have jihadists murder my whole family in front of me in my home with their own hands.
Both terrible, one is clearly worse and would continue to be worse even if it were Zionists doing it to Palestinians. This is why Netanyahu admiring a Zionist terrorist is so terrifying. It isn't how many Palestinians he killed, it is how he did it and what motivated him that makes Netanyahu appear so obviously morally monstrous because of his admiration.