Peter Dörrie

Journalist. Resource politics and security in #Africa. Producer at @ResistBureau and of the @wpreview podcast, editor of @africaarguments Insiders' Newsletter

[The Resistance Bureau @ResistBureau]

Join us on Thursday at 7PM #Zimbabwe time! The author of this insightful article, @EdsonZiso, will now be joining us, along with: @DrStephenChan, @glanyline, @drDendere, and @daddyhope.

Set your reminder here: https://t.co/XDnAuL6Mmb

[Peter Dörrie @peterdoerrie]

@EdwardBarton @jrhopkin @holgerhbaer That is of course fine. I truly don't feel hate for anyone involved in this, just sadness that violence is, again, the way out that people choose. I have seen this circle of violence my entire life and I would very much like to see the end of it, though I'm not hopeful.

[Peter Dörrie @peterdoerrie]

@EdwardBarton @jrhopkin @holgerhbaer You literally did excuse it ("inevitable consequence"). There have been plenty of legal and unchallenged demonstrations in favor of Palestine in Germany. What is illegal is publicly supporting or advocating for a crime (i.e. the attacks by Hamas).

[Peter Dörrie @peterdoerrie]

@EdwardBarton @jrhopkin @holgerhbaer sure, though I'd argue that it is not as far fetched as you seem to believe it to be. And the same could be said of Arab's countries perspectives on the conflict, as well as Israel's and Palestinians'. It is Trauma all the way down.

[Peter Dörrie @peterdoerrie]

@EdwardBarton @jrhopkin @holgerhbaer Again, you are debating "who is worse" which I'm not interested in. Hamas will not be able to bring peace and justice through violence. It is an approach doomed to failure and predicated on the deaths of thousands of innocents, the vast majority of the Palestinians.

[Peter Dörrie @peterdoerrie]

@EdwardBarton @jrhopkin @holgerhbaer Nothing is inevitable about training for, commanding to and actually going through with killing children. It requires conscious decisions and the complete negation of the humanity of the victim. If you can excuse that, you can excuse anything, including Israeli war crimes.

[Peter Dörrie @peterdoerrie]

@EdwardBarton @jrhopkin @holgerhbaer If you believe that you truly do not understand the sincerely held German perspective on these things.

[Peter Dörrie @peterdoerrie]

@EdwardBarton @jrhopkin @holgerhbaer I wouldn't discount the possibility that in the background, Habeck et. al. are (similar to the U.S. government) are putting pressure on Israel to rein it in. But the severity of Hamas' attack has left little public space for German politicians.

[Peter Dörrie @peterdoerrie]

@EdwardBarton @jrhopkin @holgerhbaer No argument here. Starting two world wars and attempting, partly successfully, to erase an entire culture from the planet will of course lead to some societal trauma. Although support towards Israel has never been unqualified but as I said, Hamas has fucked Palestinians over.

[Peter Dörrie @peterdoerrie]

@EdwardBarton @jrhopkin @holgerhbaer The point here is that this conflict won't be resolved by agreeing on who is "right". The only, slim chance of gaining any semblance of peace for everyone will be for everyone to agree that past grievances can't be the sole guide towards future coexistence.

[Peter Dörrie @peterdoerrie]

@EdwardBarton @jrhopkin @holgerhbaer I personally believe that if you kill babies and entire families, no matter who started it, you are now part of the problem. And at least from a German perspective, the existence of Israel is itself a necessary consequence of the Holocaust so you can just as well blame Germany.

[Peter Dörrie @peterdoerrie]

@EdwardBarton @jrhopkin @holgerhbaer Kindly see my further comments in the above thread.

[Peter Dörrie @peterdoerrie]

@EdwardBarton @jrhopkin @holgerhbaer Palestinian agitation for their own state and justice is righteous and just. But that doesn't excuse these kind of crimes (just the same how they don't excuse Israel's crimes) and it certainly does not provide immunity from the laws of public sympathy and support.

[Peter Dörrie @peterdoerrie]

@EdwardBarton @jrhopkin @holgerhbaer But the way that Hamas has conducted these attacks and many of their supporters in Germany and beyond have celebrated them has probably erased any sympathy for the plight of Palestinians in the German public and political establishment for years to come.

[Peter Dörrie @peterdoerrie]

@ArminRosen Civilians are protected under international law, no matter how shitty or murderous their government is. You know, the same international law that Israel's government is (rightly) quick to invoke in case someone targets Israeli civilians.