Shouldn't Israel have a right to self defense?

Question

Whenever Israel is attacked and fights back, there is so much criticism about Israel. I think Israel has a right to attack back in self defense.

Answer 1

Defend itself within its pre 1967 recognized borders... Yes.
Defend its occupation of Arab territories against the lawful owners... definitely NO.

Edit: By the way, would you call killing Palestinians fighting for their recognized legitimate rights (allowed under international law) self defence?

Edit: Resisting occupation is an internationally recognized right. Israel chose to be a colonialist and occupying power, and therefore should learn to accept the consequences of its choice.

Answer 2

Ultranational needs to get a grip on reality. Calling those who disagree with his warped views "terrorists" just ain't gonna fly...he's doing nothing more than admitting that he's a racist, and that's sure not gonna win anyone of any character over to his side.
Summer, I think that you can agree that, despite all those old John Wayne movies, that the Native Americans were well within their rights to fight the setters stealing their lands in ever-expanding numbers. Israel is kind of like those old movies. They claim to want peace (and many Israeli citizens do indeed) but for their elected government, peace is the furthest thing from their minds. If there were to exist peace, then Israel wouldn't have a reason to continue it's land-grab by expanding the illegal settlements in the West Bank.
Tell me Summer, what about the many Palestinian civilians killed in Israeli "retaliation" strikes, like the family picnicking on the beach that was blown away from a strike by an Israeli 'copter? Ohhh, let me guess, you didn't know about that one, did you. Unfortunately the Zionist-run media in the United States doesn't highly publicize the deaths of Pali civilians. Take a trip to Europe, and you'll here the other side of the story.
The bottom line is that eight times as many Palestinians have been killed as Israelis. And like my ancestors, the Native Americans, the West Bank Palestinians are being occupied by a nation bent on keeping land that is NOT theirs. Now, you tell me that if you weren't in their place, and you had a shred of courage and dignity, that YOU wouldn't fight back.

Edit: Dytrade, ya wanker, Palestine was never a "barren wasteland"...where the hell do you get your info? If it's any greener now than it ever was, it's because Israel steals all the water from the River Jordan; the Israelis allot themselves FOUR times more water than is allowed the Palis!

Answer 3

The issue of the right to self-defense like the issue of Israel right to exist. If Israel has the right to exist so dose Palestine both states were created by te same UN resolution. If Israel has the right to self-defense so dose Palestine. Israel is occupying Palestine by military means and they are using a war machines to maintain their occupation. It goes both ways my dear summer laws were not invented for Israel only.

Answer 4

Fact: On May 14, 1948 Israel declared its Independence based on land given to them by the United Nations (voted upon by the nations of the world). By late may they were attacked by 6,000 Syrian, 4,500 Iraqi, between 6,000 and 9,000 Transjordanian, 1,000 Lebanese and 5,500 Egyptian troops (wikipedia).

Fact: Palestinian citizens had well paying jobs and were successful during the 1990s before the Intifada when the borders were opened.

Now listen, Israel is no saint. I'm Israeli, I know that we mess up. It's impossible for almost any army to keep track of the exact action of EVERY one of its soldiers (this includes Hammas and their military wing). I will not accept the claim that Israeli soldiers rape Palestinian women and destroy families. Families are destroyed on both sides, like any army in the world, we have psychopaths too. We do try to minimize these events, the Israeli army's goal is to defend its citizens. We protect our Arab-Israeli citizenry like our Jewish Israeli citizenry.

Fact: Israeli soldiers and police officers were harmed when they forcefully removed settlers from Gaza. This was a good idea, removing Jews from Palestinian territories who are there for the specific purpose of starting fights is a good idea.

Jews and Palestinians need to stop with the propaganda wars. We are both at fault. Israel is oftentimes over-reacting with their self defense, however, Palestinian militants are oftentimes ACTIVELY seeking civilians in their militant actions.

Let's not take an extreme position in either way, it's just not constructive.

Answer 5

Defending Israel-- up to the original 1967 borders, yes.

But beyond that they are defending theft, not Israel,

here is more on that from some IDF soldiers who refuse to fight in the Occupied Territories:
http://seruv.org/english/default.asp

Answer 6

Yes. To think Israel would sit back and take it flies in the face of reason. No other country would be expected to allow itself to be attacked as Israel is.

Answer 7

the justification is only and only "MIGHT IS RIGHT" no doubt today Israel+USA+UK got the might , and this is the only reason that some people think they are right.

* Israel+USA+UK , this partnership seems not worth lasting.

Answer 8

Israel most certainly has a right to self defense. You never heard criticisms of Yaser Arafat after a PLO attack left Israeli citizens dead like you hear after an Israeli tank rolls through a nest of terrorists and hurts some civilian. At least the Israelis a lot of times tried to warn people. Besides, other countries act on a much greater scale with less provocation.

Answer 9

No other country in the world suffers rocket attacks on two of its borders on a regular basis. Israel has the right to defend itself and if theose terrorists hide in the civilain population what's ISrael supposed to do? Lie back and take it? I'd agree the war in leabnon last year was ill thought out and a complete disaster - but that's what a large proportion of Israelis thought as well.

Every country has the right to defend itslef and since most of the rockets from Gaza are from teh elected Government, israel has been remarkably restrained with not considering the rocket attacks an act of war.

BTW the people who say that Palestinian women have been raped by Israeli soldiers can you prove this from a relatively unbiased source?

Answer 10

We'll ofcourse israel has a right to defend itself but sometimes it's reaction's are alittle overboard.

They blew alot of Beirut up killing less then a handful of Hezbollah people and if it was indeed a hezbollah they killed it was a hezbollah doctor. Thus the majority of some 1000 people they killed was children and civilan's. There reaction should of been more measured and thought out.

Plus they have lots of unexploded cluster bomb's strewn all over the lebanese country side waiting for soemeon to get to close.

Shouldn't they do soemthing about that?

Israel is in a tough place right now but need's to be accountable for there action's and give aide and money to lebanon for what they did and the families they destroyed and displaced.

You know there bombing raid's that yielded less then 30 hezbollah death's and in the order of 1000 civlian deaths. Displaced 1/3 of the population of lebanon

Not to mention much of the infrastructure was meaninglessly destroyed like the international airport!

But ofcourse besides Israel mending the families they destroyed and displaced the Lebanon government should get rid of the militias.

You know a country is not very stable when there are active militas to compete with the countries military.

Thats a recipee for disaster like we saw with the fatah-al-islam group in that palestinian refugee camp.

Answer 11

Israel ,the ONLY free elected Democracy in the Middle East ,is surrounded by enemies dedicated to its annihilation so YES it is entitled to defend itself.Israel despite what the Arab media wants us to believe is NOT the aggressor but a defensor in pretty much every incident in and around its environs.
The media harps on about resettlement camps ,innocent casualties etc. BUT these "innocents" are in many cases actively sheltering the aggressor from the Israeli Defense Forces (accent on DEFENSE forces !!!!) ,we`ve seen this before with America and the Vietnam conflict.They conveniently "forget" what actually happened in 1948 in the fledgling Israeli State ...
Palestine at the head of FIVE Arab armies (one from each of the surrounding Arab nations) invaded what they thought was a poorly defended Jewish State ,they met serious opposition from the much smaller and heavily outnumbered Israeli Defense Forces (there`s that word again LOL) and were driven out into the Palestinian Zone and certain areas of which captured by Israel (I won`t bore you with which since they`ve been hotly contested ever since LOL).The "Palestinians" were in many cases evicted and in some cases re-located to internment zones.
Now let`s theorise what "might" have happened if Israel lost this encounter ....
EVERY Arab nation surrounding and near to Israel wants the destruction of this democracy and the complete and utter annihilation of every Jew - Man ,Woman AND Child - therein.
ALL Israel wants is to be left in peace ,to go on surviving and not to be condemned for defending itself from millions of enemies.