Anderson Cooper had on a former Israeli intel chief who said, "The noncombatant population in the Gaza strip is really a nonexistent term because all of the Gazans voted for Hamas, and...most of the population in the Gaza strip are Hamas."

Cooper didn't push back.

Again, #Hamas won an election with 44.5% of the vote 17 years ago, before around half of the population of #Gaza were born, and then seized complete power in a bloody civil war with Fatah.
#israel #media

@JoshuaHolland Joshua, this really is not the platform for a nuanced conversation on this issue. And, of course, the million children in Gaza do not deserve what this.
At some point we have to admit the people of Gaza have tolerated Hamas for 16 yrs. They are not without any agency. I’ve never lived with terrorist firing rockets from the roof of my apt bldg. I also know that I would not live in a building and allow that to happen. Yes, I would probably end up dead pretty fast.

@MiriShuli @JoshuaHolland could I ask for possible alternatives to living in a building with terrorists in Gaza? It's not that they can move out so easily. Even those who managed to do it are now accused of extremism for protesting peacefully in Berlin, London or New York.

@mapto @JoshuaHolland They voted Hamas into power in 2006. At no time have the 1.45 million adults who are not Hamas fighters appealed to the UN or any other nation to help them remove the terrorists org. At no time have those 1.45 million adults tried to stop rockets from being fired into Israel on a near daily basis over the last 16 years. There have been no protests anywhere over *Hamas* controlling Palestinian lives.

@MiriShuli @mapto Hamas won an election with 44.5% of the vote 17 years ago, before around half of the population of Gaza were born, and then seized complete power in a bloody civil war with Fatah. And it was a weird hybrid-model, with half the seats allocated proportionally and half winner-take -all. If it had been a normal proportional election, Fatah would have formed a coalition with smaller parties and Hamas would have ended up an opposition party.

@JoshuaHolland @mapto Right. But that’s 17 years ago. No coalition of adults have tried anything since that point? What am I missing where 1.45 million adults have absolutely no agency at all? I realize the Hamas millionaires and billionaires actually live in Qatar. But billions have been poured into the strip and all they’ve managed to do it build and underground fighting force?

Why didn’t they turn Gaza into a Singapore instead of an underground fighting force?

@MiriShuli @JoshuaHolland @mapto You are uninformed about the situation in Gaza. Instead of attacking a couple million people you’ve never met, try doing at least a basic level of research. Demonizing all Palestinians because of Hamas is no different than people demonizing all Jews because of Netanyahu. https://apnews.com/article/gaza-hamas-demonstration-israel-blockade-palestinians-306b19228f9dd21f1036386ce3709672

@mls14 @JoshuaHolland @mapto Where did I demonize all Palestinians? Remember Jordanians are also Palestinians. As are many Lebanese. As are all that live in Israel, Jew and Arab. Palestine has had fluid borders for centuries. The people living in Gaza are both at the mercy of Hamas and adults with agency. I refuse to treat the adults as victims only. The children are a different matter. Acknowledging the adult situation is not the same as demonizing them.

@MiriShuli @JoshuaHolland @mapto Well, I posted an article showing you that Palestinian adults have been resisting Hamas. They are victims of Hamas and Netanyahu. I’m sorry you can’t grasp that and instead blame them for the terrible situation they are trapped in.

@mls14 It’s not that, Matt. It’s that this is the first time they’ve done it, in all the time they’ve been “trapped” in this situation. @MiriShuli @JoshuaHolland @mapto