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submitted 1 year ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/world@lemmy.world

Ex-president says decision threatens to worsen humanitarian crisis, undermine peace effort and erode global support for Israel

Some of Israel’s decisions in its war against Hamas – including cutting off food and water for Gaza – could “harden Palestinian attitudes for generations” and weaken international support for Israel, Barack Obama said on Monday.

In rare comments on an active foreign policy crisis, the ex-US president said any Israeli military strategy that ignores the human costs of the war “could ultimately backfire”.

“The Israeli government’s decision to cut off food, water and electricity to a captive civilian population [in Gaza] threatens not only to worsen a growing humanitarian crisis – it could further harden Palestinian attitudes for generations, erode global support for Israel, play into the hands of Israel’s enemies, and undermine long-term efforts to achieve peace and stability in the region,” said Obama.

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[-] wolfylow@lemmy.world 170 points 1 year ago

I mean, I do understand him saying: “don’t cut off water and power to over a million civilians, because it will be counterproductive in the long term”.

But what he should really be saying is “don’t cut off water and power to over a million civilians because that’s fucking evil”.

How did we get to this position where no leaders of the West will stand up and call this out for what it is?

I understand it’s a complex situation, but treating an entire people like they’re subhuman is morally unacceptable. And I can’t fucking believe that the sodding Israelis - of all people - don’t know this.

[-] Kolrami@lemmy.world 52 points 1 year ago

"Evil" is incredibly subjective and doesn't convince people well enough. Next time you're in an argument with someone, call them evil and see how quickly you've convinced them.

I saw an interview a while back where Obama said he makes these exact types of statements because if you want other countries to do things you perceive as "good" it's more effective to convince them that it's beneficial for them.

[-] WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

You're probably right, but take a step back for a moment and think about how psychotic it is that "starving civilians is evil" is considered an unconvincing argument?

As soon as you have to explain why starving civilians is evil, or how not starving civilians will be a more beneficial, profitable, or productive outcome for the non-starved, you're already living in a dystopian hellhole that doesn't deserve to exist.

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this post was submitted on 24 Oct 2023
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