UK Politics
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why are those held by hamas “hostages” but those held by zionists “captives”?
Well, Hamas explicitly kidnapped those people with the aim of using them for negotiations, whereas the people held by Israel are either prisoners or POWs.
Obviously, I don't trust the Israeli government an inch in terms of the guilt of those prisoners, fairness of the process or the conditions they're being held in, but there is a difference just as a matter of definition.
Also good for Israeli PR...
I mean, as I said elsewhere, there's plenty to get annoyed about without also imagining new things. If an organisation kidnaps a bunch of civilians with a view to using them for extortion, those captives are hostages, and it is different to when even that very same organisation captures soldiers in a war, because those captives are POWs. Words do actually have a meaning! Not every usage of words is a matter of some overarching nefariousness!
There is no difference between what Hamas did and what Israeli regime does both are extra judicial detention aka kidnapping.
Okay, but, not to be excessively pedantic here, the question was not 'Are they both kidnappers?' (which, if a state can be said to kidnap people, then yes, I agree, they are), but 'Are all the captives hostages?' which, as I keep saying, is not at all clear.
But this isn't even a comparison which makes the Israelis look good! With hostages there's an implied intent to eventually release them (in exchange for whatever you want to extort). One of the reasons the Palestinians held by the Israelis aren't hostages is that Israel clearly has no intention of releasing them.
Abducting people without any demands from the captors is worse
Yes, that's what I said in the comment you're replying to.