And they fought like Hamas
No they didn't.
No suicide/homicide bombers, or leaving bomb in concentrations of civilians. No indiscriminate bombardment of cities. No forcing children to stand in the way while they fire over the child's head or between the child's legs, hopping to either make the enemy not shoot back, or shoot and kill the child.
I am sure you've heard of the Boston Massacre. It was civilians who took on the Brits and a few of them died for their efforts.
Civilians insulting soldiers, intimating soldiers, throwing things at soldiers etc. is on the civilians. That's not a case of an armed force using civilians as shields.
Jordan annexed the West Bank and Egypt Gaza in the 1950s. Neither had any more right to those places than Israel does today.
They didn't take them from a Palestinian government. There would have been Israel and a Palestinian controlled area, but the Arab governments intervened from day 1. The Palestinians never politically controlled the areas, until Israel pulled out an made them autonomous regions, and of course that control was far from full (since Israel controlled the borders, had checkpoints, and intervened/invaded in response to attacks, but it was more control than they ever had before.
At best they are a militia.....hardly what we would call a modern army.
I didn't say they where a modern army. Modern is also imprecise, and I don't want to muddy the debate by adding that term. But they where a standing military force, and thus an army. Definitely a weak army, arguably a pathetic army, but still an army.
During the Lebanese Civil War, Syria likewise made extensive use of the PLA as a proxy force
Sure they where a proxy force. But they where a standing army with guns, artillery, rockets, trucks, tanks, etc. Proxy force just means they are serving someone else's interests (in addition to their own). Syria gave this proxy force some of their older lower quality equipment. With low quality equipment and poor training, they where never a very powerful force, but "army" isn't the same as "strong army". |
