He seems confused on what is a 'terrorist' here.
Al Qassam, Iran's proxies who perpetrated the October 7th attack, are indeed terrorists.
Hamas, like all other bigoted haters, are not terrorists just because they are Arabs. You seem confused on this point. This is what happens when you OBEY Israel.
He also is somehow convinced that Iran attacked from Gaza, not Hamas,
Someday you'll learn what the word "proxy" means.
OR he has also argued that Hamas was merely a puppet of Iran
Nope. I wish you would read for comprehension.
Al Qassam is Iran's puppet, along with Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad. I have no idea why you deny this, but as it stands, you apparently can't tell the difference between militant terrorist groups and political parties.
What do the Libertarian party and Hamas have in common? They are both political parties who don't receive any funding from Iran, who never attack Israel and who had no idea about the October 7th attack until it happened.
Why he insists on arguing this paradox is beyond me.
Is what I wrote above "beyond you"?
Why he ignores how Hamas uses children and civilians to shield themselves is beyond me.
Why you believe that it is even possible to "use human shields" when your team is blowing away innocent civilians regardless of who is behind them, is beyond me. That quip about "hiding behind human shields" was crafted for the consumption of the stupid. Did the Jews in Nazi Germany "hide behind human shields"? Of course not. They were being slaughtered wholesale. Civilian noncombatant Gazans are being slaughtered wholesale. Are you claiming that they are all trying to hide behind each other? Frankly I wouldn't blame them if they were.
But what gets me is why you would label innocent noncombatant civilians as "terrorists" so as to justify their illegal slaughter. This is a particularly shitty thing to do. Also of particular shittiness is the totally dishonest way you are misrepresenting my position every opportunity you get just to maintain the cheering.
Why he doesn't recognize that a lot of Gaza 'civilians' are really just combatants is beyond me.
Your turn. Explain why you are labeling any Gazan noncombatants as terrorists? Why does being Arab merit a death sentence? Why is it OK, in your mind, for Israel to commit genocide? Why do you deny what the IDF is doing?
Al Qassam perpetrated the October 7th attack and most of the attackers escaped immediately thereafter. Only a handful of the attackers remained in Gaza. You are completely aware that the IDF is laying waste to Gaza and to the civilian noncombatant population. You cheer all of this. Unspeakable.
I suppose he's been listening to too much Hamas propaganda,
I only read the Geneva Conventions. You go to church and apparently become a RACIST hater who wants to rid the world of Arabs.
but colors it with hatred of Iran and likes to throw around words like 'holocaust', and 'genocide' (neither of which is happening).
I use the international definition to which Israel is a signatory. You are being guided by your Christian associates who OBEY Israel and who HATE Arabs. You all convince each other that the IDF should just kill them all. No excuse or rationale is too low or too absurd.
That said, Iran itself is certainly aggressive towards Israel as well,
Iran is the only attacker of Israel. With the exception of Saddam Hussein's few SCUD missiles, nobody else has attacked Israel. I realize you are thoroughly confused by the word "proxy" and thus don't understand that Iran launches attacks through its proxies Al Qassam, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad. Without this piece of the puzzle you aren't going to get it.
Hamas has never attacked Israel. The Gazan population has never attacked Israel. You nonetheless call them all "terrorists" and support them being ethnically cleansed. How totally ethical of you.
and Israel and the United States has responded to neuter that threat somewhat.
There's only so much that can be done. That's why Iran uses proxies, i.e. to make it virtually impossible for anyone t counter Iran's ability to carry out attacks as they see fit.
Being one of the very few atheists that I know, he probably doesn't understand the utter hatred Islam can have towards 'infidels',
I am totally aware of this. Hamas is a political party that HATES Jews. I would ask you to look at the HATRED in a different light.
Semites hate the fuck out of each other, i.e the Jewish Semites HATE the Arab Semites and the Arab Semites HATE the Jewish Semites. I'm sure you are aware of the HATRED that Arabs in the region have for Jews. I get the feeling that you aren't aware that Israelis, for the most part, are just as HATEFUL and racist towards Arabs. Check social media. Check any sources. All the Semites of the Middle East virtue-signal their HATRED for the opposing Semites.
Ever since the Nakba, Israel has desperately wanted to enforce the 2nd Nakba and that is what is happening. The IDF is simply slaughtering defenseless Arabs by the thousands, in complete violation of the various Conventions. It would have been a completely different story if:
1. A Gazan military had actually attacked Israel instead of Iran's proxy Al Qassam
2. The IDF had protected Gazan civilians, per their legal and moral obligation
3. The IDF had not indiscriminantly launched hundreds of air strikes into civilian population centers
4. The IDF had not indiscriminantly mowed down defenseless civilians from helicopter gunships
4. The IDF had not deliberately targeted civilian property for needless destruction, and
5. The IDF had afforded special protections to children 14 years of age or younger and to women, as required by the compact they signed
... *OR* ...
5. Israel had instead invaded Iran.
If these conditions had been met then I probably wouldn't care what was happening. Unfortunately, what is occurring in Gaza is simply the senseless and illegal slaughter of civilian noncombatants just because they are Arabs.
I totally get your Christian dislike for Muslims. That isn't the issue here. What we have is a racism-driven genocide, per Israel's definition (Israel signed the Convention against Genocide which defines "genocide"). There are no terrorists; Al Qassam escaped immediately after the attack. Hamas isn't in the picture except to string you along. As long as you label Hamas as "attacking terrorists", Israel can just keep slaughtering Arabs and periodically release news about how the IDF killed a "Hamas leader" (of the political party who didn't even know about the attack until it happened) and you will believe that the IDF actually killed one of the terrorists who perpetrated the attack.
I would ask that you not misrepresent my position, which is one of accountability for war crimes. I demand fair but thorough investigations into the apparent violations of the various conventions, and that violators be brought to justice.
I otherwise have no position on Palestine or said governance in the region. I also believe that all Semites are free to HATE as they wish. I don't like children being slaughtered.
We remain good friends, but I do not understand his reasoning here concerning Israel and her enemies.
Hopefully the above will add some clarity. Israel is doing what Nazi Germany did. I don't afford Israel any "permanent victim" status and they must face the consequences of their actions.