Pffff... This'll be among the hardest five bucks I've ever spent. Not because of the games (there are some good ones there), but because of that hornets nest that is the Israel /Palestine situation.
And kind of ironic, because I was /am leaning toward Palestine regardless.
As with any war or even dispute, there are two opposing stories here. And both have been going on so long it's now unfair to point to the root of it, even though that was really what started it.
Historically, Muslims and jews have always lived on that area of the world. But jews never had a country to call their own until after the second world War. Or rather : Israel was more the idea of a promised land than an actual country. So in my view the problems started with the actual realization of the country. And this is where history takes two separate perspectives.
The Jewish perspective argues that they've earned their right as a country and at least initially understood they couldn't just steal the land from the others. They offered hospitality, friendship, a two state solution...and it got rejected time and time again. Relationships and their stance toward Palestine soured over the years, but Isreal spokesmen (or at least Nethanyahu) always underlined that they're just defending their own people. Even if the results of skirmishes are like 104 Palestines (with an estimate of 60 children) dead or severely wounded against 2 Israeli soldiers with slight injuries.
Meanwhile, Muslims in the regio originally were like home-owners whose residents suddenly declared themselves owner of part of the building. Reasoning? Arguing? A two state solution? Why would they even bother to listen, as Palestine was simply their country to begin with. The Jews had strong allies, but that didn't gave them the right to just carve out a piece for themselves. And okay: the fact that Jeruzalem was (and still is) a piece of that only makes matters worse. Again: very reasonable. Jeruzalem's tragedy is that it's a holy city for at least three major religions, so any amount of smoothtalking the Jews were going to do was dooomed from the start.
Hamas is a terrorist organisation, absolutely, but they're born from the conflict itself. Probably also by the lack of international support for their stance (because let's face it: everyone from the UN, the US, EU or whomever basically said "just stfu and give in"). And sorry, but perhaps initially the Israeli side had noble intentions, but the escalating tensions and evergrowing incidents have turned Israelian actions into straightup oppressors.
There's also one factor I don't like mentioning but really should: the Muslims in the regio are...kind of dumb, especially when contrasted with Israel. It's of course an impression I have after reading up on stories of both sides, but it really stands out like Israel is providing all sorts of education, encourages democracy, making science, research and development a strong part of the nation, and so on...and Palestine is so bent on merely survival they can barely see a future aside the immediate tomorrow. I'm sure many is propaganda from both sides, but I can't help feel like Israel is trying to portray itself as the older and wiser party with the Palestine (or even just Gaza) as a sort of local redneck area that has to be educated, whereas the other side claims to be the helpless underdog against the genocidal oppressors.
With this anthics, it would have surprised me if the UNRWA
wasn't to be discredited in some way. And the reason I don't go into that is that it is, in more than one way, irrelevant. Let's presume for a second that my 5 bucks is honestly used to buy food that is honestly given to starving Palestine children. It'll make me (and other contributers) feel good, but what does it ultimately do? Those children still see their neighborhood in ruins, parts of their families and/or friends slaughtered because of "a conflict" and have no real hope to build a bright future. Chances are still higher they'll end up supporting the terrorist hamas group than long for a two state solution. So...it's not as if this is contributing toward a real solution.
Still...I donated. Reason: I don't want to let people starve to dead. And oh noes...I'm getting a larger video game backlog in return. Fucking sue me if you consider me a monster for either of those.
