No one seems to have noticed that Israel is quietly and brutally annexing the West Bank while the world is distracted by Trump's chaos in Iran.

@helenS No. Israel.

@Waveney Imagine what happened if the "West Bank" became a part of Israel. People would become citizens, with voting rights, women would have access to real universities. Palestinian girls would become PhD students and, later, professors. The corrupt "Palestinian Authority" would probably no longer exist.

@helenS On paper, yes. In the real world, Palestinians living in Israel now do not have those rights. Israel is an apartheid state - deny it as much as you want.

@Waveney All citizens of Israel have the same rights. There are female professors of Palestinian descent in Israel. Name any civil right which is denied to Arab Israeli please.
Gay Palestinians can even be gay, in Israel; they are not thrown off the rooftops.

@helenS Sure. Arab citizens don’t have the same practical right to family life in Israel if their spouse is Palestinian.

Fact.

@Waveney Arab citizens have the same civil rights, but are often socially disadvantaged. It's a sad fact.

@helenS I detect no sadness in your words. It's clear which people you detest. We're done here.

@Waveney That would make the two of you - it's also clear which people YOU detest 😉

@chilloutab2 Deflection noted.

@Waveney Deflection from? Looks like the image in the mirror does not agree with you!! Because it is quite clear that both you and Helen have chosen your sides, but it seems you do not like that pointed out when it comes to you!
That's how it appears, anyway. Correct me if I'm wrong.

@chilloutab2 You are wrong. There's a big difference. I believe Israel has the right to exist. @helenS does not believe the same for Palestine.

@Waveney I do not see sufficient evidence at least in this thread to conclude either that she does not believe Palestine has a right to exist or that you believe Israel has the right to exist (until your last message to me).
If you're basing your view on previous conversations with her, then I'm sorry I would not be informed about those.

It's good to see you're for a 2 state solution - in my view the sanest possible outcome of the Jew-Arab mess.
But we do need to bear in mind that Hamas is not for a 2 state solution, and also that Israel has majorly over reacted.

@chilloutab2 I have interacted with @helenS before, and she wants nothing less than the total eradication of Palestine and the Palestinian people.

I am for a 2 state solution, but Israel is ignoring international law and illegally annexing the West Bank, while Netanyahu's good buddy Trump ensures the world's attention is turned away.

And if you think that there's still a ceasefire in Gaza, then think again.

We also need to bear in mind that Hamas has nothing to do with the West Bank.