emerging

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With Hamas and other resistance factions removed or fatally weakened, Israel hoped the way would be clear to sign a "peace" deal with chief Palestinian collaborator Mahmoud Abbas to manage Palestinians on Israel's behalf until they could be forced out once and for all.

The US-backed "moderate" dictatorships and absolute monarchies led by Egypt and Saudi Arabia supported the Israeli plan hoping to demonstrate to their own people that resistance -- whether against Israel or their own bankrupt regimes -- was futile.

To win, Israel had to break Palestinian resistance. It failed. On the contrary, it galvanized and unified Palestinians like never before. All factions united and fought heroically for 23 days. According to well-informed and credible sources Israel did little harm to the modest but determined military capacity of the resistance. So instead Israel did what it does best: it massacred civilians in the hope that the population would turn against those fighting the occupier.

Israel not only unified the resistance factions in Gaza; its brutality rallied all Palestinians and Arabs.

And don't forget all those of us everywhere else who were trying mightily to hold on to some measure of equanimity with regard to the six-decade-long travesty. I'm pretty sure those of us hoping against hope for a peaceful solution are now willing to accept whatever solution reverses the intransigent progression of Israel into ever more of Palestine.

I for one am 100% in favor of no more Israel at all. Just pft. All the outside support on which they rely just evaporates like the humidity here. End of problem. No really. It wouldn't even be violent... or wouldn't have to be. Palestinians just go back to their ancestral homes and any Israelis they encounter on their way will just squeal and run flapping away... or... evidently a lot of them faint when faced with a Palestinian. Whatever.