A main courthouse in Gaza has been destroyed by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), according to several Israel media outlets.

Footage, showing the demolition of the Palace of Justice, was published on 4 December by Israel media.

  • Silverseren@kbin.socialOP
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    1 year ago

    And this wasn’t from bombing or shelling or anything like that. The IDF went in and set up physical explosive charges to demolish the building.

    What could even be the excuse for doing something like this?

    • machinin@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      For people committing genocide, it’s important to destroy the cultural fabric of their victims.

    • filister@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Isn’t it already obvious what the end goal of Israel is? Israel wants to make Gaza inhabitable and get rid of all Palestinians there. They also want all of Jerusalem and all of the West Bank. And if you try to raise your voice you are immediately condemned as antisemite.

    • Stamau123@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      It’s been stated since the start that ending hamas as a political force was a goal. Part of that is destroying any government infrastructure, including this.

      Even in the article it says > Israel has reportedly taken down dozens of Hamas government buildings since its ground operations began at the end of October.

      Edit: down voted for saying courthouses are government buildings? Please.

      • Silverseren@kbin.socialOP
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        1 year ago

        But that just means any and all infrastructure, since Hamas is the group in control.

        It’s basically admitting to wanting to completely destroy any form of livelihood that exists for Palestinians as a people.

        • jonne@infosec.pub
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          1 year ago

          They’ll push all Palestinians into the desert eventually, it was never about destroying Hamas.

    • Stovetop@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I mean, I get it. I don’t support it, but I get it. Hamas is the government of Gaza, and Israel is trying to overthrow Hamas. This is a Hamas building that they use to exert power, which is Israel’s justification for destroying it.

      • Silverseren@kbin.socialOP
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        1 year ago

        The issue is then any and every building can be justified as being a “Hamas building” just because they were the group in charge.

          • evranch@lemmy.ca
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            1 year ago

            Hamas is famous for brutal and public executions in the name of justice. I can definitely see the courthouse being a symbol of terror for the local population, and something you would tear down when attempting to remove a tyrannical government.

              • BraveSirZaphod@kbin.social
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                1 year ago

                Er, they absolutely did destroy the Bastille. The revolutionary leader Mirabeau started it himself.

                I mean we can disagree on the morality of things, but let’s at least keep the facts correct. You’ll find that you cannot visit the Bastille today. Because the Revolutionaries demolished it as a symbol of the monarchy.

      • livus@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        @Stovetop it doesn’t make any sense.

        Buildings are inanimate parts of civil infrastructure. They don’t have allegience to whichever administration is currently using them.

          • livus@kbin.social
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            1 year ago

            @BraveSirZaphod unlike the person above I don’t think that’s a very good comparison.

            When citizens affect a regime change of their society themselves, they are in a position to decide which amenities to keep for their future use and which they can do without.

            When a hostile outside force is affecting a regime change, destroying civil infrastructure so that whoever is left can’t use it after the war, is a form of salting the earth.

        • Stovetop@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Buildings are more than just the bricks they’re made of. They’re symbols which are associated with the regimes and social institutions that made them.

          For instance, the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001 was not random choice, it was because the buildings stood for capitalistic greed and the way in which the United States wields capitalism as a weapon to exert dominance against other nations.

          I think it’s a waste, this whole war is an atrocity and Israel should have stopped at day 1, but it’s not like the destruction of this building is just a spite move against the common people. It’s a courthouse used to enforce laws from a regime that the invading force is trying to overthrow. It’s like the British burning down the White House in the War of 1812.

          • livus@kbin.social
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            1 year ago

            @Stovetop which the British should not have done. But this is not an isolated incident; it’s in a wider context of civil architecture destruction:

            Among the buildings destroyed or partially destroyed are the main Palestinian court in Gaza, known as the Justice Palace, the Palestinian Legislative Council complex, 339 education facilities and 167 places of worship, while 26 of the territory’s 35 hospitals are not functioning.

            Hugh Lovatt, of the European Council on Foreign Relations, suggested Israel was “deliberately and methodically destroying the civil institutions and infrastructure that will be needed to govern and stabilise post-conflict Gaza”.

  • Linkerbaan@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Imagine if Hamas did this in israel while claiming they were “freeing hostages”.

    It’s like israel is trying to fully complete a terrorism bingo card.

  • ShroOmeric@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    This is just vandalism, to help the ethnic cleansing. In a while they will be saying that the place was a desert when they arrived…

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldB
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    1 year ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    Footage, showing the demolition of the Palace of Justice, was published on 4 December by Israel media.

    However, Sky News could not verify the video’s date and the demolition could have taken place before this.

    A photo posted on 20 November by a military correspondent for The Times of Israel showed IDF troops outside the courthouse located near the al Zahra municipality after they had captured the site.

    In the video, the explosion appears to have started on the building’s lower levels obliterating it as debris and smoke fly everywhere.

    Israel has reportedly taken down dozens of Hamas government buildings since its ground operations began at the end of October.

    The IDF stormed the southern city of Khan Younis in what they called the “most intense” day of combat in five weeks of ground operations against Hamas militants.


    The original article contains 211 words, the summary contains 138 words. Saved 35%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!