@Brian Lyons: Who actually attacked on 1967? Were there not preemptive airstrikes by Isreal, that destroyed most of the Egyptian airforce on the ground? 1973 was a whole different story though, yes they were attacked. Yom Kippur war.

@Brendan Barry: It represents one point of view from one perspective, this isn’t exactly balanced. Ask an Israeli and they’ll likely give a different view from a different perspective.

@Arch Angel: it’s factual and comes from personal experience. If you know of an article that refutes his assessment please share.

@George Vladisavljevic: Actually it was Egypt under Nasser that precipitated the 1967 war when Egypt closed the Straits of Titan and expelled the UNEV. It was a decade old agreement between Israel and Egypt (after the Suez Crisis), that Egypt would respect the free movement of shipping through the Straits. And any closure would be considered an Act of War. Acting on false info from the Soviets, Nasser mobilised the Egyptian Army on the Border with Israel and closed the Straits. So one could say that it was Egyptian actions that caused the War. And it was again by Egyptian actions that cost the Jordanians the West Bank territory. The Jordanian Forces were only supposed to act in a Defensive manner but the Egyptian commander of the Jordanian Forces received orders from Nasser to attack Israeli Forces rather than just act as a blocking force as was the original plan. And as the the Jordanians were not set up for an attacking move, chaos and confusion reigned.

@Mick.: Yes, you are correct to the closure of the Straits of Tiran and the mobilisation of the Egyptian army being the justification for the SixDay War but one can also argue that the constant encroachment on, and seizure of the Palestinian lands as well as controlling their borders and restricticting what they can import can also be considered an act of war. Time has come to force serious negotiations on both sides. If they cannot do it themselves, come up with an internationally agreed upon peace plan and enforce it. Something like Rambouillet. Too many vested interests and veto wielders involved. This has been going on since ’48 and has been very one sided with only one big loser and we know who that is. Yes Hamas is a problem but they have not been in power since the creation of the Israeli state and are there, rightly or wrongly, because the people are not agreeing with the status quo.

@Brian Lyons: Yes as a professor in TCD this should be considered carefully. Many Arabs stayed in Israel as Palestinians left thinking the neighbouring countries that attacked/ invaded would be successful. This is a glaring omission, and representing TCD, shows poor academic insight. Many Jews were invited by the previous Ottoman regime. Following WW2 many were held in concentration camps by the British in Cypress. They fought a guerrilla war with the Brits for self rule. Most immigration happened after the Holocaust ( unsurprisingly ) and expulsion from Arab states.

@George Vladisavljevic: Well yes Egyptian army gathered at border for ground invasion sparked that

@Brendan Barry: The article may be factual, that doesn’t mean it’s not from the perspective of one person’s point of view, making it one sided by default. To be balanced an opposing point of view should have been sought, don’t you agree?

@George Vladisavljevic: all the attackers have admitted they were going to attack…Israel just got in first because they had top class intel

@George Vladisavljevic: And there in lays the problem. Israel as a Jewish State is not going to go away no matter how much many on the Palestinian side would wish it.

And to add to the problem are the “Ultra Religious” Isrealies that view all of the territory that was the historical and biblical “Kingdom of Israel” as rightfully part of the modern Israel, and is the “Promised Land” given to them by “God”. And they are unwilling to live alongside non Jewish “Gentiles”. And this provides an intractable problem for any of the main Israeli political parties wishing to form a Government that would be willing to contemplate a Two State Solution.

And on the Palestinian side there are those, Hamas amongst them that will accept nothing other than the complete removal of the State of Israel and it’s Jewish population.

@Brendan Barry: The article is factual to a point but it glosses over a lot of stuff, some real nasty stuff and if there is to be peace, all that nasty stuff will have to be addressed.

@John McG: Ok enlighten me with facts. “Lots of stuff” is not very helpful .

@David cotter: they are doing well but they wouldnt be there at all if it wasnt for US support. Im not a fan of Israels but the one sided reporting in this country is baffling.

@John McG: Yes your right but this article is about the circumstances which lead to the current crisis.

@David cotter: have you ever read a history book or even checked your assumption? Isreal has been involved in 8 wars with its neighbours…….everytime its neighbours have been the aggressors

@Kev Devereux: This is very true. But Israel is often the aggressor internally against Palestinians.

@Seamus Mac: Hear hear!

@oMaraTpe: me personally, no. I do not support Hamas. But you can’t expect a marginalised people like the Palestinians to overthrow Hamas along side what they are up against from the Isrealis. Your everyday Palestinian has no choice. For me, it’s to raise awareness of the situation. Yes there are other situations across the globe. But nothing compares to this in terms of duration, balance of power and US support.

@Jim Buckley Barrett: The IRA don’t control Ireland, whereas Hamas do control Gaza.

@james spice: Fair point. And what Israel are doing now, the incredible munitions they’re using in one of the most densely populated areas on earth is unforgivable and certain to cause civilian loss of life. Last I heard was over 30 children dead. They claim to give warnings to clear buildings before destroying them and call this humane, leaving multiple families homeless in an instant.

@oMaraTpe: Also, the Irish voice on a national level will probably have more influence over the UK and US than it would Iran ( Hamas allies)

@Arch Angel: it will be hard to call it self defence in 50 years when Palestine is just outright gone.

@oMaraTpe: Unfortunately the Israeli regime are supplied with state of the art weapons courtesy of the U.S. England and France. Ironically the U.S. condems the Iranian nuclear program while conveniently not mentioning Isreal is a nuclear power. Home made rockets against the might of Israel. For a people who suffered under a Nazi regime..they have now become the same regime.

@oMaraTpe: “JuSt asKInG a QewwwesTion…..”

@Jim Buckley Barrett: Good comment…as far as I understand this article describe just one point of view we should listen the other side

@oMaraTpe:
You do know, do you not, that Hamas was elected by the people of Gaza in a democratic election, which was internationally monitored by Jimmy Carter, the former US President.
They are therefore legitimised to defend its citizens by all means possible, according to the UN Charter.

@Joe Griffin: I never said we can’t hold modern israelis accountable for modern crimes man… I was making the point that this is now a multi-generational conflict. Whether you believe Israel was created morally or immorally, its here and it’s modern citizens had no hand in its creation.

The bias I believe is in blaming Israel for all of its suffering, when Palestinians have rejected peace deals such as the Oslo accords.

@Nathan Mawhinney: your knowledge of history is very poor

@Ghulam Mustafa: what a great rebuttal…

@Donal Desmond: Exactly, you’ve got that one deadright I also think that before people start disparaging “Zionists” they should read the history of the Zionist movement.

You are letting your Islamophobia get in the way of facts.
Seville still has many Moorish (Arab) buildings such as the Alcázar, the city walls and the main section of the Giralda, the bell tower of the Seville Cathedral.
Cordoba has the Mosque-Cathedral, built as a mosque but later transformed into a cathedral, with Moorish architecture and Arab inscriptions and motifs. Also the famed Al Hambra Palace, with beautiful tile work, stucco ceilings, fountains, pools and gardens. The Moors engineered a system to bring water from the Darro River upstream from the city of Granada to the Alhambra fortress, so that they could withstand sieges and also use the water in the palaces and gardens.