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Mar 26Liked by Sarah Ditum

The Kate speculation reminded me of the frenzy in the period between Nicola Bulley going missing, and her body being found. Who’d be in the public eye? And, as for what’s in or out, viz body parts…I’m still waiting on the return of the well turned ankle!

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Yes, it was a lot like the Nicola Bulley thing (and based on the account that contacted me, probably involved a lot of the same content creators).

Btw, I've got a review coming up of a history of beauty with some great well-turned ankle info!

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There is certainly much to criticise about how many on the left are framing Israel/Palestine as a simple matter of oppressor/oppressed, but referring to Palestine as "the state governed by the organisation that committed the terrorist incursion" is false. Palestine is not a state and Hamas does not govern Palestinians living in the West Bank.

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Happy to take suggestions for alternative phrasing, given this is a heinously complex situation. But Hamas does govern the area the attack came from, and I do not think that the people who've been out waving Palestine flags since 7 October have pinned an "n.b. just the PLO" tag to their colours.

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Well, "a people agitating for statehood, a majority of whom support the organisation that committed the terrorist incursion" would at least be factually accurate. I don't think most people in Britain who express support for the Palestinian cause condone Hamas's actions, but I agree that they have not been at pains to make the distinction.

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Like I say in the piece, there were a mix of motivations, from outright celebration of the violence (paraglider motifs), to immediate concern about Israel's response (and I'm sure the people who were protesting under that aegis feel vindicated now). I do think state is probably the appropriate term, though.

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The US, the UK and 18 EU-members do not recognise Palestine as a state. Two-thirds of Israelis do not support the creation of an independent Palestinian state. At the very least it's "an occupied state".

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I don't think occupied state is remotely accurate - it may be when Netanyahu is done, but Palestine was not an occupied state. And while you're correct that it's not recognized as a state on the international stage, "state" is the word for a geographical entity with a government, and I can use that word without making a UN declaration.

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Well, I am looking forward to that! One can’t have enough well-turned ankle info!😁

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