sorry I fell asleep after the 3rd word.

And any Israeli who refuses to fight for the IDF is court martialed.

Firstly, I respond to people in the manner in which they do to me. If I make a serious point and you respond with a pathetic jibe I'll return the favour. If you want to actually have a discussion then I'll reciprocate.

On to your point anyway. Of course I don't support Hamas, I don't support any organisation who's aim is not a peaceful one. Any defence of Palestine I give does not detract from this.

Similarly I don't think all of Israel is bad. I know there are plenty of Israelis who think what their government is doing is barbaric, and those I support.

As for your question, no, I understand that living in Israel, your life is constantly under a threat, which is admittedly mitigated by having one of the best defensive forces in the world as well as the fact that the weapons fired at you are laughable. I've seen more dangerous stuff go off in the Palace away end than has hit parts of Israel. But it is a threat that shouldn't be there nonetheless.

Why I consider myself pro-Palestinian is because, for me, the life they lead is no life at all. What kind of life is it where your kids are snatched from their homes at night? Where you are policed by a force actively oppressing you? Where you can't access certain places, purely because of your nationality, and are tried in courts with a conviction rate of well over 99%? People focus on the death figures, which are shocking, but actually life can be taken away in more ways than one. Having said that, when the firing on Gaza started the other day, I went to bed with 2 reported dead and woke up to hear the figure was over 100. I'm not an emotional person, but to think what they went through compared to my peaceful night's sleep made me well up I'm not ashamed to admit.

Thankfully, Israelis don't have to suffer from the above persecutions, but the fact that a nation state can enforce oppression on such a wide scale, in an area where the average age is 17, is a f*cking scandal. That we in the west support them is nothing short of abominable.

And as for your last paragraph, no I haven't been to Israel, because I don't have the time and money to trot off to the latest war zone I wish to form an opinion about. On the basis of impartiality, I assume you also went to Gaza and the West Bank to see what conditions are like there as well?

Edited by serial thriller (27 Jul 2014 9.10pm)

If punk ever happened I'd be preaching the law, instead of listenin to Lydon lecture BBC4

Absolute bollocks matt.

Troll, I suggest evidence may be required.

"Everything is air-droppable at least once."

"When the going gets tough, the tough call for close air support."

Not at all. As I said there are good and bad elements in each nation, but I think in all of these situations you're looking at where the power is balanced. Obviously militarily it favours Israel, but also, Palestine's economy's f*cked, they can't pay public sector workers, the justice system in Gaza is run by Israel, their freedom of movement is dictated by Israel, the police are Israeli and Israel have the most powerful nation on earth backing them. Hamas and the Israeli government are as bad as each other, but the Israeli government has far more power to exercise oppression than Hamas.

I was listening to an interview with the leader of Hamas on HardTalk, and he actually made a good point in that where Arafat took the moderate, peaceful route and failed, it was inevitable that the Palestinians would look to a more militant, extreme resolution to the conflict. I hope that a peaceful Palestine doesn't involve Hamas and that its people can live a life as comfortable as those in Israel. But I think that the initiative for change must always lie with the powerful; if Israel aren't willing to compromise as they don't seem to and end the blockade, you can't expect Hamas to lead the way either.

If punk ever happened I'd be preaching the law, instead of listenin to Lydon lecture BBC4