Bush Legacy in Gaza

Hey Nick, Huffington Post is sucks, few of my comments disappeared in a black hole, they were up for few days and a black hole suck them up, I guess AIPAC have long member , after all every local news channels are cheering for Israelis killing of weaker opponent.
Great concert in Las Vegas do, Andy was eye balling me for a drummer or bummer, it's the California dude!
Look at what government depriving us, tell Parsi to take this cause!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/29/hash-highway-us-allies-se_n_153968.html

Line up! Line up! Oh they all rush to board the Bush Iraq Disaster train, rush rashly to judgement before History has barely spoken.
I wager that in 5, 10 years time this judgement will look as foolish as the failure to forsee the collapse of the USSR.
“Strategic gains handed to Iran”?! What if a successful Iraq helps force progressive change on an Iran being strangled economically and politically by a mad theocracy?
And who will History laud then? Bush or his legions of riled indignant short-sighted critics?

I disagree. It is the responsibility of Israel and Palestine to find peace, not the job of the US or our president, current or future. We are not the police, or to a lesser a extent a mediator, to the world. If they want peace, they'll find it. Right now they just want to fight in the sand box.

OK Scott, after half a dozen blogs we get it. You're an Arabist in a bloggers clothing. Anything that even remotely places responsibility on Arab states or people is verboten in your writing. You're entitled to your one track opinion, but spare us the idea that you are also an objective and serious analyst of the region. It gets in the way of your pom-poms.

Actually Joe, Zionism 105 is that you protect yourself from people shooting at your civilian population as HAMAS has been doing for the past three years since Israel pulled out of Gaza.
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It's not chivalry but survival, which given your comments, doesn't apply to Jews.
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Reality is Israel asked HAMAS to continue the ceasefire, such as it was. HAMAS not only decided to increase the rocket fire weeks before it was due to 'officially' end, but the day before declared outright that they reject the cease-fire and refuse to adhere to it.
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It's not even worth wondering if there was anything chivalrous in that action, the reality is much more serious than your poor attempts at satire.
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harakka1, you mistake the body count for the impact of the Qassams. Daily rocket launches against civilian targets for three years are totally unacceptable for any nation. That the rockets don't kill more is due neither to the intent of HAMAS or the design of the Qassams. They are weapons of war with a purpose to kill.
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Karim,

You weep for the civilians indiscriminately killed by the Israelis. I assume you'll post explaining how you weep for the Israelis indiscriminately killed by Hamas/Hezbollah. Probably not, because I assume you believe deep down they deserve it. (Please prove me wrong.) And I'm sure you'll brush over the fact that Israel targets military/strategic areas whereas Hamas intentionally targets civilians. And I'm sure you'll brush over the fact that Hamas intentionally places it's strategic targets in civilian neighborhoods, hoping to use the "human shield" gambit. Hamas is in a win-win situation. If Israel withholds an attack because it would kill civilians, then Hamas can look powerful. If Israel does attack and kills civilians, then Hamas can claim Israel is a bloodthirsty actor. Hamas doesn't really care if the average Palestinian lives or dies.

Cqtx,
You keep on making a comparison between an army equipped with the latest high tech weaponry in the world with a group of defiant men armed with hand made rockets and few machine guns and grenades! And you are expecting these men, with the mediocre weapons that they have, to target the Israeli army! Where is the Israeli army? behind the walls? in the air? in the tanks? Where are they so that Hamas can target them with their few AK47?!
You keep saying that Israel attacks military/strategic targets. Sir, have you even seen the pictures or videos of the destruction?
Destruction is everywhere, there are no "strategic targets" in the first place except for what? Police stations? Mosques? Universities? Schools? Are these the "strategic targets"?
People like you will keep on denying facts and inventing facts the like that Hamas doesnt care about Palestinian lives.
Bottom line is, Hamas only killed less than 20 Israelis since 2001 while Israel, on the other hand, killed more than 310 Palestinians in one day! More than 60 Palestinian civilians have been killed so far. You choose to ignore these facts. You ignore the fact that Israel killed hundreds of Palestinian civilians in the latest intifada. You ignore the fact that Israel killed more than 1000 Lebanese in the last war while the "terrorist" Hizzbolah killed around 150 israelis most of them soldiers and yet people like you justify the massacres of the Israeli terrorist army and blame its massacres on the victims: the occupied Palestinian people.

Bottom line is if Hamas hadn't launched over 10,000 rockets into Israel from Gaza in the past 8 years then the IDF wouldn't be bombing anything in Gaza associated with Hamas.
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The standing Israeli army is very easy to find. It's located on its bases. And right now there are several thousand soldiers on the Gazan border. Besides, Hamas would never, ever organize as a traditional fighting force and engage Israel. It would be wiped out in a month. That's why it uses rockets and (in the past, possibly the future) suicide bombers.
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The "defiant" men choose to fire rockets at cities hoping to kill anyone, not soldiers. (It's very easy to be "defiant" from a distance.) By excusing this type of attack, you bascially allow that Israeli civilians are fair game. If they are fair game, why aren't Palestinian civilians? Especially when the Palestinians' government ended the cease fire and dramatically increased rocket fire. (By the way, those rockets are pretty sophisitcated. You make it sound like they were purchased at Radioshack and armed with firecrackers.)
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And I don't know why you are comparing casualty numbers. They are irrelevant. Hezbollah provoked Israel. Hamas provoked Israel. What is Israel supposed to do, sit back and take it? Hell no. The number of Palestinian deaths would be a big fat zero if Hamas hadn't ended the cease fire. How is it those of your ilk don't get that? Do you have to have a lack of comprehension of cause and effect to be a supporter of the Palestinians?
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You have a very loose definition of massacre. Most of the Palestinians killed were Hamas militants. That's not a massacre. You acknowledge that the IDF has much more sophisticated weaponry than Hamas. Will you also acknowlege that the IDF has the ability to turn all of Gaza and it's 1.5 million inhabitants into desert sand, yet has not done so despite continued attacks by Hamas? No, because that would require also acknowledging that Israel exercises more restraint than your "defiant" men. And if Israel exercises restraint, then that means it probably isn't an evil, genocidal state, and that runs counter to the perception that Hezbollah and Hamas and Iran need to propagate in order to gain and retain power in the region.
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Look, the Palestinians got a raw deal. Israel doesn't want them, but neither do any of their Arab/Muslim brothers. If the Palestinians were truly defiant, they would be firing rockets on every city in the Middle East, demanding a fair shake. Israel, ironically, is really the only country that's willing to negotiate with them. Every other ME country (except for Lebanon and maybe Egypt) currently finds it more convenient to let the Palestinians languish and exploit them as a "cause" to distract their own citizens from rotten domestic issues.

"Bottom line is if Hamas hadn't launched over 10,000 rockets into Israel from Gaza in the past 8 years then the IDF wouldn't be bombing anything in Gaza associated with Hamas."
NO. Bottom line is if there was no Israeli occupation for the last 60 years there wouldnot have been 5 million Palestinian refugees today, most of which are living in refugees camps waiting until Israel be kind enough to give them back little pieces of land here and there of what was once called Palestine.
If there was no Israeli occupation there wouldnt have been more than 4 million Palestinians living in the west bank who need to pass by several Israeli check points if they want to go to their work or go a trip only few miles from their house.
If there was no Israeli occupation there wouldnt have been 1.5 million Palestinians living in even worse conditions in Gaza than in the west bank.
If there was no Israeli occupation many things would have changed,however, the Israeli occupation is a reality and whenever there is occupation there is resistance and one day the occupation will be no more...its just a matter of time...
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"The standing Israeli army is very easy to find. It's located on its bases. And right now there are several thousand soldiers on the Gazan border. Besides, Hamas would never, ever organize as a traditional fighting force and engage Israel. It would be wiped out in a month. That's why it uses rockets and (in the past, possibly the future) suicide bombers."
Good. You have replied yourself.
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"The "defiant" men choose to fire rockets at cities hoping to kill anyone, not soldiers. (It's very easy to be "defiant" from a distance.) By excusing this type of attack, you bascially allow that Israeli civilians are fair game. If they are fair game, why aren't Palestinian civilians? Especially when the Palestinians' government ended the cease fire and dramatically increased rocket fire. (By the way, those rockets are pretty sophisitcated. You make it sound like they were purchased at Radioshack and armed with firecrackers.)"
Do you know that the this phenomenon of suicide bombing only started in the 1980s and it got bigger in the 1990s only when Israel used excessive force, and by excessive force I mean shooting live bullets at Palestinians throwing rocks, in the 2nd Intifada? The rockets and suicide bombings are all a direct of Israel's massacres. Do you know that the first terrorist organization in Palestine was in fact a zionist organization? The Irgun and Hagana were the first organized terrorist organizations in Palestine and many of their members became Israeli prime ministers later on, such as Begin. Oh, and lets not forget that these terrorist organizations were then transformed into what is now called the Israeli Defense Army, however, the same terrorist ideology remains.
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"And I don't know why you are comparing casualty numbers. They are irrelevant. "
Oh now they are irrelevant huh?! What if 330 Israelis were killed in one single day by Hamas' rockets, would the number of casualties be irrelevant also?! Heck, I dont know what would Israel do if Hamas killed 330 Israelis in one day! Maybe they would drop The Bomb on Gaza! I dont know! But I am sure you will somehow justify it!
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"Hezbollah provoked Israel."
Did the 1000 Lebanese civilians provoke Israel as well? Why did Israel targets the Lebanese infrastructure causing billions of dollars damages? Hum?
"Hamas provoked Israel."
I throw a rocket at you and you kill me and my family for it. Great logic.
"What is Israel supposed to do, sit back and take it?"
Ofcourse not, Israel should kill hundreds of Palestinians, many of them civilians, in order to win elections in February of course.
"The number of Palestinian deaths would be a big fat zero if Hamas hadn't ended the cease fire."
Ah, so its Hamas' fault for resisting occupation. Right...
"How is it those of your ilk don't get that? Do you have to have a lack of comprehension of cause and effect to be a supporter of the Palestinians?"
I must be brainwashed..sorry
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"You have a very loose definition of massacre. Most of the Palestinians killed were Hamas militants. That's not a massacre. "
More than 60 Palestinian civilians are dead so far, many of them women and children. WHAT IF, what if 60 Israelis were killed in 4 days? If that ever happens then be sure that Israel would respond by killing thousands of Palestinians in a few days as payback. Just as Israel did in Lebanon: Hizbolah kills a few Israeli soldiers and Israel kills 1000+ Lebanese civilians and destroy Lebanon's infrastructure.
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"you acknowledge that the IDF has much more sophisticated weaponry than Hamas. Will you also acknowlege that the IDF has the ability to turn all of Gaza and it's 1.5 million inhabitants into desert sand, yet has not done so despite continued attacks by Hamas?"
Oh? You wanna tell me that Israel is not doing so for a reason other than avoid international backlash and condemnation that may (and I stress on may) cause America limits, for some time, its unconditional support and aid to Israel?
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"Look, the Palestinians got a raw deal. Israel doesn't want them"
Israel doesnt want them all, they want to kick them all out of biblical Israel? Wow, I didnt know we would be agreeing on anything...there is hope...
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"but neither do any of their Arab/Muslim brothers."
There is a difference between the Arab regimes and the Arab /muslim people, the first think that the Palestinians are a real headache while the latter do support them but they really cant offer any real help because of the regimes.
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"they would be firing rockets on every city in the Middle East, demanding a fair shake. Israel, ironically, is really the only country that's willing to negotiate with them."
Tell me about it, there has been some serious negotiations going on in the last few days. Maybe you should read some books on how Israel keep on avoiding implementing the peace accords that it signs with the Palestinians. The Palestinians are negotiating for 20 years now and they got nothing, nothing changes, except for the Israeli settlements that keep on expanding with the blessing of the Israeli government.
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"Every other ME country (except for Lebanon and maybe Egypt) currently finds it more convenient to let the Palestinians languish and exploit them as a "cause" to distract their own citizens from rotten domestic issues."
Wow, we agree again!

[...] Bush Legacy in Gaza: Mid East Blogs [...]

Karim:

Oh, Grasshopper! How ignorant and naive you have shown yourself to be. I suggest you get yourself back to Shaolin monastery and work on your chi.

The Israeli "occupation" of Gaza ended 3 years ago. This was the perfect opportunity for the Arabs to show that they intended peace, and to grow an economy and a nation. Instead, they chose to use their country to attack Israel THE VERY NEXT DAY for . . . well, for nothing. So why would any sane nation, or person, continue to withdraw from territory, when COMPLETE AND UNILATERAL WITHDRAWAL by Israel gave Israel neither the promised peace, nor the promised security, of the "land for peace" formulation?

The fact of the matter is that Hamas is a genocidal organization dedicated to killing Jews simply because they are Jews. Don't take my word for it . . . read what they say and see what they do. Yes, yes, if only we'd tried to UNDERSTAND the Nazis prior to WWII, and if only we'd agreed to their demands for more lebensraum (i.e., land), then we all could have gone home and avoided 65,000,000 deaths. Of course! It's all about just giving up land! Er . . . except that when Israel gives up land, just like when Europe gave up land to the Nazis, the only thing that was given in return was murder, war, and irredentism.

Let's face it: Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, etc. are barbarians. They are genocidal maniacs, and they are animals. There is no reason to "hear them out," "give them land," or "recognize their nationhood," since they don't recognize Israel's nationhood and have vowed to obliterate it. Yes, I know you believe Israel should just sit there and allow Hamas to smuggle in ever more sophisticated weaponry until they can finally fire nuclear weapons into Israel, but you'll pardon the Israelis for not wanting to live in their own country under a constant barrage of rockets and to sit by and wait for a catastrophic attack. No other country on earth would have exercised the restraint Israel has, and no other country on earth would have abided even a single rocket attack from a neighboring country without demanding justice or, if the country refused to stop those perpetrating the attacks, without counterattacking to stop the acts of war. Why do you demand that Israel refrain, then? Answer: anti-Semitism. I.e, treating the Jews differently than you would treat others in a similar situation.

Do you think that if India starts launching rockets indiscriminately into Pakistani cities, that Pakistan would not be justified in responding? How about if Mexico did it to the US? Germany into France?

The alleged "occupation" by Israel of allegedly "Arab land" is not why Hamas attacks Israel. Israel has been largely out of most Arab land since 1994, and completely out of Gaza for 3 years. Thus giving the lie to your ridiculous arguments (and those of Arabists around the world) that this fight is all about "occupied land." It isn't, and stop fooling yourself. If it were, the Arabs would have stopped attacking Israel 14 years ago from the West Bank, and 3 years ago from Gaza.

tucolex,
"The Israeli "occupation" of Gaza ended 3 years ago. This was the perfect opportunity for the Arabs to show that they intended peace, and to grow an economy and a nation. Instead, they chose to use their country to attack Israel THE VERY NEXT DAY for . . . well, for nothing."
OMG, what?! "For nothing"?! You got to be kidding me, right? Do you have any idea that the west bank is infact occupied since 1967?! If you didnt know this simple fact then I sincerely suggest that you read a bit about the middle east, Palestine and Israel before sharing with us your opinion.
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"So why would any sane nation, or person, continue to withdraw from territory, when COMPLETE AND UNILATERAL WITHDRAWAL by Israel gave Israel neither the promised peace, nor the promised security, of the "land for peace" formulation?"
So, Israel withdraws from 7% of the occupied territories and does not mention withdrawing from the rest of Palestinian lands and you expect Palestinians to stop resisting the occupation? Under what logic are you talking about? You do know that Israel's withdrawal from Gaza happened when Sharon was in charge right? Do you have any idea about the history of Sharon? Do you know that he is nicknamed the "bulldozer" for the Palestinian houses he destroyed? Do you know that the Israeli settlements grew very fast in the west bank while he was Prime Minister? You do know that settlements are supposedly illegal under Israeli law and yet they, somehow, keep on expanding and expanding? Do you know that Sharon was responsible for the Sabra and Shatila massacres that took place in Lebanon during the Israeli invasion in the 1980s? Do you know that Sharon was responsible for the outbreak of the last Intifada and he did that on purpose in order to win the elections? This is the man who withdrew from Gaza. While Israel withdrew from a few settlements in Gaza, they built dozens, at least, more in the West Bank. Is this the withdrawal that you are talking about? Withdrawing from 7% of Palestine but expanding Israeli settlements in the other 93%? Does that seem like genuine drive for peace to you?
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"The fact of the matter is that Hamas is a genocidal organization dedicated to killing Jews simply because they are Jews."
Oh really? So, its not because Israel is occupying Palestinian lands for the last 60 years and committing ethnic cleansing by forcing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, nearly half of the population of Palestine, to flee from their homes in 1947? Do you know that in the beginning of the 1900s there were no more than 25,000 jews in Palestine while there were more than 750,000 Palestinian christians and muslims? Yet you choose to ignore all these facts and accuse Hamas of being a bunch of radicals and racists who just wanna kill jews for the fun of it in order to simplify the conflict and shift the blame on victims: the occupied Palestinian people instead on the occupiers: the zionists who came all the way from Europe in order to occupy Palestine and fulfill their zionist dream of occupying the "promised land". I hope you sleep well at night.
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"Don't take my word for it . . . read what they say and see what they do."
Why dont you take a look first at what the Israeli terrorist army is doing to 1.5 million Palestinians first and then we can talk about the useless Qasam rockets.
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"Yes, yes, if only we'd tried to UNDERSTAND the Nazis prior to WWII, and if only we'd agreed to their demands for more lebensraum (i.e., land), then we all could have gone home and avoided 65,000,000 deaths. Of course!"
Its really funny that you mention the nazis cause in fact there is no country that has been more similar to nazi germany than Israel. Its Israel who keeps on expanding, building more and more settlements every day to the point that the whole West Bank has become infected like with settlements. I suggest that you take a look at a map showing the settlements in the west bank, if you really are seeking the truth in all this, then i am sure that you will be shocked of how many of the settlements are there and put in mind that all of these settlements are well guarded so there are Israeli checkpoints everywhere around them, they have their own roads, electricity, etc, and they keep on expanding and expanding til one day (very soon) it would be impossible, so the Israelis will say, to remove all of them and therefore it would be impossible to create a Palestinian state in the West Bank. Its funny that you mention the nazis because Israel here is the occupier, not Hezbollah, not Hamas, not Fatah, not Syria BUT Israel. Its Israel that keeps on expanding its lands. Its Israel that never have applied any UN resolution, one of which is ordering her to withdraw from occupied territories. Its Israel that keeps on killing far more civilians than her enemies even though it has one of the best high teched armies in the world. Its Israel who has elected former terrorists as its Prime Ministers. Its Israel that has a population that came from all around the world in order to live in lands that are not their own. And after all this, you wanna compare between the Nazis and Hamas?! Shame on you.
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"except that when Israel gives up land, just like when Europe gave up land to the Nazis, the only thing that was given in return was murder, war, and irredentism."
Right. Therefore, Israel should not withdraw from occupied lands, instead, it should keep on invading and occupying more lands in order to occupy all of the "Promised land"!! Great great logic. Listen, I think I read somewhere that the Israeli army is looking for a spokesperson, I suggest that you apply for the job asap, will do great.
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"Let's face it: Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, etc. are barbarians."
Ofcourse they are. For Instance, Hezbollah killed more than 1000 Israeli civilians in the last war with Israel and it also destroyed Israel's infrastructure. Not to be outplayed by Hezbollah, Hamas, in the last 4 days, killed more than 350 Israeli civilians, at least 60 of which are civilians including women and children and it Has also fired rockets at Israeli universities, Temples and houses. Bunch of barbarians...
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"They are genocidal maniacs, and they are animals."
F*** the Palestinians and their F****** lands. These guys just cant shut up and give in to the Israelis peacefully. I say nuke those bastards, then nobody will say anything about Israel's occupation. Israel will have its promised lands without any AK47s or the mighty Qassam rockets to worry about.
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"There is no reason to "hear them out," "give them land," or "recognize their nationhood," since they don't recognize Israel's nationhood and have vowed to obliterate it. Yes, I know you believe Israel should just sit there and allow Hamas to smuggle in ever more sophisticated weaponry until they can finally fire nuclear weapons into Israel"
If Israel really wanted peace, it could have had it many many years ago. The Palestinians have been negotiating with the Israelis for 20 years now and they got nothing...nothing. If you blame the Palestinians for that then you have to read more about the special relationship between Israel and the U.S and why Israel keep on avoiding implementing its commitments under the agreements it signed with the Palestinians. Why dont you read Jimmy Carter's book: Palestine: Peace not Apartheid. The Former President explains with considerable detail that it is the Israelis not the Palestinians who are to blame for the failure of negotiations in all these years. But I am sure its just easy for you to watch Foxnews and blame the Palestinians for everything.
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"but you'll pardon the Israelis for not wanting to live in their own country under a constant barrage of rockets and to sit by and wait for a catastrophic attack."
They should have thought of that before occupying others' lands right? Its like the Nazis invading France then lament the fact that they are targeted by the French resistance.
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"No other country on earth would have exercised the restraint Israel has, and no other country on earth would have abided even a single rocket attack from a neighboring country without demanding justice or, if the country refused to stop those perpetrating the attacks, without counterattacking to stop the acts of war."
However, no other country is occupying the lands of another people. No other country refuses 5 million refugees to return to their occupied lands that they were kicked out from in 1947 and in 1967...except for Israel ofcourse.
The rest of your post is more of the same...I really suggest that you read a bit about the history of the conflict, and regarding the fact that 93% of Palestinian lands are still occupied (and I am just talking about the 1967 lands).

Karim, check out this link, I think you'll be very intreseted in what it has to say, and how says it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciOGS6r97oE
Let me know what you think.

Karim, you're a broken record, who's entire argument rests on the idea that the Jews have no place in Israel.
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It's not a shocking revelation. After all, The Arabs have spent 60 years trying to wish Israel away. But the fact of the matter is, Jews have a legitimate right to a state of their own. Israel has a right to exist as an independent state.
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Your wishes and claims of a 60 year occupation just remind us all just what the rejectionist stance of HAMAS really means. It's not about Gaza, it's not about the West Bank, it's about Israel as a whole.

OK, I know this is an exercise in futility, since the Arabs and their apologists have so thoroughly rewritten history and brainwashed the feeble-minded (and those who don't bother to do their own fact-checking) that the whole world now thinks Israel is the aggressor and is occupying "Arab/Palestinian land", but I can't let it slide. It's because I'm a masochist. But here goes anyway. I wish I could put my responses in a different color, but this blog doesn't seem to offer that option. Anyway, my responses are set off by asterisks below those of the factually, logically, and historically challenged Karim. BTW: nice job with the YouTube video, davibones. I had seen it before but it's always enlightening to see it again:

tucolex,
"The Israeli "occupation" of Gaza ended 3 years ago. This was the perfect opportunity for the Arabs to show that they intended peace, and to grow an economy and a nation. Instead, they chose to use their country to attack Israel THE VERY NEXT DAY for . . . well, for nothing."
OMG, what?! "For nothing"?! You got to be kidding me, right? Do you have any idea that the west bank is infact occupied since 1967?! If you didnt know this simple fact then I sincerely suggest that you read a bit about the middle east, Palestine and Israel before sharing with us your opinion.

************ How do you arrive at the conclusion that the WB is "occupied?" One cannot "occupy" an area that belongs to one's own country. Let's review: the Brits gained sovereignty over all of Palestine (both East Bank and West Bank) after WWI. They promised the whole of it to the Jews as a homeland pursuant to the Balfour Declaration. Then they violated the contract and split off the eastern 2/3 into a Palestinian Arab state, which they called "Jordan." So at this point (1929), we have a Palestinian state on the East Bank of the Jordan, in Palestine, and we have a British-run entity on the entire Western Bank (from the river to the sea). The Brits then continued to exercise sovereignty over this Western portion of Palestine until they vacated in 1947, turning the decision of what to do with it over to the UN. The UN proposed several partitions, each of which was accepted by Israel and rejected by the Arabs. Israel eventually declared itself independent, and the Arabs went to war against it. What we now call the "West Bank", a small portion of the Western portion of Palestine, was captured by Jordan and ILLEGALLY OCCUPIED BY JORDAN for 20 years. Where was the outcry from the "Palstinians" over Jordan's illegal occupation of the WB? Why do you blame Israel now for "occupying" an area that properly belongs to Israel anyway, yet you give Jordan a pass for violating international law and occupying this area illegally from 1948 - 1967? What a hypocrite. If you would only study your history, you would know that the areas that the so-called "Palestinians" claim as "their land" is not in any legal or ethical sense theirs at all. It was PROPOSED to be theirs by the UN, but they rejected it. So they legally own NOTHING -- not the WB, not Gaza, not anything. Legally, morally, ethically, and historically, this land has been Jewish. Now, I don't give a rat's ass about "Muslim land" or "Jewish Land" as such, but what I can't stand is a lie -- especially one that is so easy to fact-check. This land has never belonged or been a part of any Arab state ever in history. And since the Arabs rejected the UN partition, they don't own it either. Giving them no rights to any land at all. If I offer to sell you my house, and you reject it, you don't then own it, ya bozo. This seems fundamental to me, but you'd be surprised how many idiots out there can't seem to grasp it. At worst, the so-called "occupied territories" are of questionable status. But they are in no sense "Palestinian." Do your homework, Karim.**********

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"So why would any sane nation, or person, continue to withdraw from territory, when COMPLETE AND UNILATERAL WITHDRAWAL by Israel gave Israel neither the promised peace, nor the promised security, of the "land for peace" formulation?"
So, Israel withdraws from 7% of the occupied territories and does not mention withdrawing from the rest of Palestinian lands and you expect Palestinians to stop resisting the occupation? Under what logic are you talking about? You do know that Israel's withdrawal from Gaza happened when Sharon was in charge right? Do you have any idea about the history of Sharon? Do you know that he is nicknamed the "bulldozer" for the Palestinian houses he destroyed? Do you know that the Israeli settlements grew very fast in the west bank while he was Prime Minister? You do know that settlements are supposedly illegal under Israeli law and yet they, somehow, keep on expanding and expanding? Do you know that Sharon was responsible for the Sabra and Shatila massacres that took place in Lebanon during the Israeli invasion in the 1980s? Do you know that Sharon was responsible for the outbreak of the last Intifada and he did that on purpose in order to win the elections? This is the man who withdrew from Gaza. While Israel withdrew from a few settlements in Gaza, they built dozens, at least, more in the West Bank. Is this the withdrawal that you are talking about? Withdrawing from 7% of Palestine but expanding Israeli settlements in the other 93%? Does that seem like genuine drive for peace to you?

***************** Not at all sure how Sharon is relevant to this, so I'll skip that part. Except to note that it was Lebanese Christian Phalangists who committed the killings at Sabra and Shatila, not Sharon and not the Israelis. Yet you never hear an Arab or its apologists blame them. No, it's all the Jews' fault. As former PM Menachem Begin once said, "Goyim kill goyim, and they blame the Jews." Anyway . . . with respect to Israel's alleged "occupation" of "93%" of "Palestinian Land," I direct you to my first response, above. Besides, your math is faulty. If Britain gave 2/3 of Palestine to the Arabs as a Palestinian Arab state in 1929 (i.e., Jordan), and dedicated the remaining portion (1/3, or approx. 33%) to the Jews, then how can the Jews possibly occupy "93%" of Palestine? On a good day, the most they would occupy would be 33%. But since they've withdrawn from Gaza and most of the WB, they probably only occupy something like 17% of Palestine. You need to review your 5th grade math, Karim. ****************
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"The fact of the matter is that Hamas is a genocidal organization dedicated to killing Jews simply because they are Jews."
Oh really? So, its not because Israel is occupying Palestinian lands for the last 60 years and committing ethnic cleansing by forcing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, nearly half of the population of Palestine, to flee from their homes in 1947? Do you know that in the beginning of the 1900s there were no more than 25,000 jews in Palestine while there were more than 750,000 Palestinian christians and muslims? Yet you choose to ignore all these facts and accuse Hamas of being a bunch of radicals and racists who just wanna kill jews for the fun of it in order to simplify the conflict and shift the blame on victims: the occupied Palestinian people instead on the occupiers: the zionists who came all the way from Europe in order to occupy Palestine and fulfill their zionist dream of occupying the "promised land". I hope you sleep well at night.

**************** (1) I don't accuse Hamas of anything that they themselves haven't explicitly stated they intend to do. (2) Plenty of blame to go around for the expulsion of the Arabs; the actual expulsions were partly Israel's fault and partly the Arabs' fault, as the Israelis could not leave armed Arabs in their villages at the rear of the Israeli troops and their supply lines. However, one must realize that had the Arabs not invaded Israel and tried to destroy it in 1948, the war (and hence the expulsions and fleeings) would not have occurred. It never ceases to amaze me how the Arabs disavow all responsibility for this, and completely ignore the fact that their belligerence is what caused the 1948 war in the first place. (3) Hey, while we're at it, let's review some history: Jews have been living in Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Iran, and Morocco since before Muslim times. Clearly, then, these countries are "Jewish land" and therefore the Jews who live there are perfectly privileged in launching terrorist attacks against Arab and Persian civilians in an effort to "obliterate" those countries and establish terrorist Jewish states in their stead. Oh, wait . . . I forgot. The Jews of those countries were expelled from these lands they had called home for thousands of years after the establishment of Israel in 1948. So, Karim, I think I am willing to offer this compromise to you and your fellow Arabists: I will allow the "Palestinians" to reoccupy their alleged lands in Israel and establish their state, if only the Muslim countries that expelled and mistreated Jews will allow those Jews to return and establish several Jewish states in those lands. Do we have a deal?

Oh, and while we're at it: how do you feel about the establishment of Pakistan in 1947, and the expulsion by the Muslim Pakistanis of over 6,000,000 (YES! SIX MILLION!) Hindus from their ancestral homes? Do you believe these Hindus deserve their own country in Pakistan? If not, then why do you believe the "Palestinians" do? Why do you single out Israel, yet give Arab and Muslim countries who expel non-Muslim populations and who treat non-Muslims as 2nd class citizens, a pass? Answer: hypocrisy, and anti-Semitism.********************
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"Don't take my word for it . . . read what they say and see what they do."
Why dont you take a look first at what the Israeli terrorist army is doing to 1.5 million Palestinians first and then we can talk about the useless Qasam rockets.

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"Yes, yes, if only we'd tried to UNDERSTAND the Nazis prior to WWII, and if only we'd agreed to their demands for more lebensraum (i.e., land), then we all could have gone home and avoided 65,000,000 deaths. Of course!"
Its really funny that you mention the nazis cause in fact there is no country that has been more similar to nazi germany than Israel. Its Israel who keeps on expanding, building more and more settlements every day to the point that the whole West Bank has become infected like with settlements. I suggest that you take a look at a map showing the settlements in the west bank, if you really are seeking the truth in all this, then i am sure that you will be shocked of how many of the settlements are there and put in mind that all of these settlements are well guarded so there are Israeli checkpoints everywhere around them, they have their own roads, electricity, etc, and they keep on expanding and expanding til one day (very soon) it would be impossible, so the Israelis will say, to remove all of them and therefore it would be impossible to create a Palestinian state in the West Bank. Its funny that you mention the nazis because Israel here is the occupier, not Hezbollah, not Hamas, not Fatah, not Syria BUT Israel. Its Israel that keeps on expanding its lands. Its Israel that never have applied any UN resolution, one of which is ordering her to withdraw from occupied territories. Its Israel that keeps on killing far more civilians than her enemies even though it has one of the best high teched armies in the world. Its Israel who has elected former terrorists as its Prime Ministers. Its Israel that has a population that came from all around the world in order to live in lands that are not their own. And after all this, you wanna compare between the Nazis and Hamas?! Shame on you.

************** Fully 1/3 of the UN's members believe Israel, of all the countries of the world, should not exist. You'll forgive me for not taking the UN seriously. And Israel has withdrawn from a large percentage of the lands occupied after the '67 war -- which was also started by the Arabs. However, Israel won't unilaterally withdraw from territories captured in a war it didn't start unless it has a peace treaty with those countries -- as it does with Egypt (Israel withdrew from all of the Sinai pursuant to the peace with Egypt). Also, have you ever asked yourself the fundamental question why settlements an obstacle to peace? Your anti-Semitism is showing again, Karim. Why do all Arab lands have to be Judenrein (i.e., Jew-free)? Isn't this apartheid? Isn't this anti-Semitism and racism? There are 1,200,000 Arabs living in Israel; why can't there be a few thousand Israelis living in an Arab state? Why are Arabs and Muslims so xenophobic and racist? The settlements are not an obstacle to peace; rather, if peace is ever achieved, the Arabs should welcome the Jews to continue living there. Why should there be anyplace on earth where Jews are not allowed to live? This gives the lie to Arab intentions completely: the obliteration of the Jews. If it weren't the case, this whole settlements issue would be moot. Instead, the "Palestinians" are trying to create an apartheid South Africa in the WB and Gaza.

Let me ask you a question: do you think the US should try to get black people out of California? Do you think the world would approve if France claimed it would never have peace unless it expelled its Muslim population? Would you approve if Israel tried to expel the 1.2M Arabs who are Israeli citizens, because Israel decided that it wanted to live in a 100% Jewish state and that these Arabs were "obstacles to peace?" Then why should the world accept this sort of Arab racism, while simultaneously rejecting it by Israelis? Again, it's treating Jews differently than everyone else -- which is the very definition of anti-Semitism.**************
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"except that when Israel gives up land, just like when Europe gave up land to the Nazis, the only thing that was given in return was murder, war, and irredentism."
Right. Therefore, Israel should not withdraw from occupied lands, instead, it should keep on invading and occupying more lands in order to occupy all of the "Promised land"!! Great great logic. Listen, I think I read somewhere that the Israeli army is looking for a spokesperson, I suggest that you apply for the job asap, will do great.

*************** Thank you. I will get my application in ASAP. *****

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"Let's face it: Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, etc. are barbarians."
Ofcourse they are. For Instance, Hezbollah killed more than 1000 Israeli civilians in the last war with Israel and it also destroyed Israel's infrastructure. Not to be outplayed by Hezbollah, Hamas, in the last 4 days, killed more than 350 Israeli civilians, at least 60 of which are civilians including women and children and it Has also fired rockets at Israeli universities, Temples and houses. Bunch of barbarians...

************* Yes, by all means, let's fight wars this way. During WWII, rather than going to war with Japan to defeat it, the US military should instead have flown to Japan, killed exactly 2,402 Japanese soldiers and wounded (perhaps by shooting them all in the leg or something) EXACTLY 1,282 Japanese soldiers, and then flown home and been done with it. And whenever a Qassam rocket hits Israel and does property damage and terrifies civilians but doesn't actually kill anyone, the Israelis should lob a bomb back into Gaza at a vacant house, terrorizing the population but taking care to kill nobody. On the other hand, whenever a Qassam kills an Israeli or two, or 20, the Israelis should breach Gaza, shoot exactly the same number of Arabs dead, blow off a few bombs to inflict similar property and psychological terror (but not kill any more persons than the exact number killed by the Qassam), and then withdraw. Yes, of course. This makes perfect sense to me. Thanks for pointing out the error of my logic.

And by the way: only 375 people, most of them terrorists, have been killed so far. I find this to be a very low number, since wiping out Hamas would involve the deaths of thousands of their military and political members, I should think. Israel still has a ways to go. However, every civilian casualty in Gaza is the fault of Hamas, since they hide their weaponry and launch their attacks from civilian areas. They alone bear full responsibility for Arab deaths in Gaza. Why don't you try focusing your attention against Hamas, which cares nothing for Arab life, rather than Israel, which is trying to avoid civilian casualties but cannot in light of the craven Hamas tactics. And trying to convince me that Arabs value life is useless anyway, since they so readily sacrifice themselves and others in order to kill Jews and go to "paradise." I love it when Muslims murder thousands of Muslims without a peep out of other Muslims (Sunni vs. Shiite, Kurd vs. Iraqi, Hafez Assad vs. the citizens of the Syrian city of Hama, Hamas vs. Fatah), yet when an Israeli kills one Muslim terrorist, the "Arab street" explodes and Israel must be stopped of committing its "crimes against humanity." Bahahahah! Reminds me of that line from Animal House: "Hey, they can't do that to our pledges . . . only WE can do that to our pledges!" Let's face it -- these folks are racists and anti-Semites. That's why they go nuts when a Jew kills a Muslim terrorist. ****************
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"They are genocidal maniacs, and they are animals."
F*** the Palestinians and their F****** lands. These guys just cant shut up and give in to the Israelis peacefully. I say nuke those bastards, then nobody will say anything about Israel's occupation. Israel will have its promised lands without any AK47s or the mighty Qassam rockets to worry about.

************ See my first response. Your argument rests on a fallacious premise. It's not their land. They rejected it 60 years ago, and every chance since then. It COULD be their land . . . TOMORROW . . . if they accepted Israel's existence, avowed peace, and disarmed. But they haven't, they won't, and so it won't be anytime soon. **********************

"There is no reason to "hear them out," "give them land," or "recognize their nationhood," since they don't recognize Israel's nationhood and have vowed to obliterate it. Yes, I know you believe Israel should just sit there and allow Hamas to smuggle in ever more sophisticated weaponry until they can finally fire nuclear weapons into Israel"
If Israel really wanted peace, it could have had it many many years ago. The Palestinians have been negotiating with the Israelis for 20 years now and they got nothing...nothing. If you blame the Palestinians for that then you have to read more about the special relationship between Israel and the U.S and why Israel keep on avoiding implementing its commitments under the agreements it signed with the Palestinians. Why dont you read Jimmy Carter's book: Palestine: Peace not Apartheid. The Former President explains with considerable detail that it is the Israelis not the Palestinians who are to blame for the failure of negotiations in all these years. But I am sure its just easy for you to watch Foxnews and blame the Palestinians for everything.

************ Uh huh. Sure. Jimmy Carter. The man who trusted the Soviets not to invade Afghanistan, who did nothing when the Iranians seized the US Embassy in an act of war, and who was one of only 2 presidents since 1928 to serve only 1 term due to colossal incompetence. Yes, by all means, let's take as gospel and hold in great reverence the words of this brilliant man of great foresight and ideals -- not to mention racism (anti-Semite, anti-Black). ***********************

"but you'll pardon the Israelis for not wanting to live in their own country under a constant barrage of rockets and to sit by and wait for a catastrophic attack."
They should have thought of that before occupying others' lands right? Its like the Nazis invading France then lament the fact that they are targeted by the French resistance.

********* Fallacious premise already addressed previously.**********

"No other country on earth would have exercised the restraint Israel has, and no other country on earth would have abided even a single rocket attack from a neighboring country without demanding justice or, if the country refused to stop those perpetrating the attacks, without counterattacking to stop the acts of war."
However, no other country is occupying the lands of another people. No other country refuses 5 million refugees to return to their occupied lands that they were kicked out from in 1947 and in 1967...except for Israel ofcourse.
The rest of your post is more of the same...I really suggest that you read a bit about the history of the conflict, and regarding the fact that 93% of Palestinian lands are still occupied (and I am just talking about the 1967 lands).

********* Already addressed the factually inaccurate "their land" and "93%" issues. As for refugees returning to their lands . . . sure, so long as the Jews get to return to all the Arab countries they've lived in for centuries and establish their own terrorist countries there. Dealt with above. And by the way, why are the "Palestinians" the only group of people still claiming refugee status since WWII, and still being forcibly held by the UN and by other Arab countries in despicable "refugee camps?" Israel's got nothing to do with this, babe. ********************

jacobblues,
"Karim, you're a broken record, who's entire argument rests on the idea that the Jews have no place in Israel."
What are Russians, Germans, Ethiopians, Americans, etc doing in Palestine? Why did they create their state through terror and bloodshed? Why did they ethnic cleanse Palestine in 1948 and then again in 1967? Why are they refusing the return of 5 million Palestinian refugees to their homes that they kicked them out from in 1948 and 1967? Why are they expanding settlements in the West Bank? Why are they refusing peace for the last 20 years? Why do they keep on unleashing their terrorist army on civilians in EVERY conflict? Why are they imprisoning more than 10,000 Palestinians, hundreds of them children?
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"Jews have a legitimate right to a state of their own. Israel has a right to exist as an independent state."
Oh yeah? So Zionists have a right to a state of their own because God promised them to deliver them the "promised land"? Jacob, as you are a zionist, I believe that you do know that this zionist movement only began about 120 years ago. You do know that dont you? Also, do you know that the early Zionists were considering creating Israel in....Africa?!! Yes! Palestine was not the first option! The first option was Africa, but then they thought that it would be easier to create Israel on Palestinian lands and therefore that idea was scrambled and...voila...we have Israel..yay.
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"Your wishes and claims of a 60 year occupation just remind us all just what the rejectionist stance of HAMAS really means. It's not about Gaza, it's not about the West Bank, it's about Israel as a whole."
My dear Zionist friend, have you heard of Plan D (Dalet in Hebrew)?

davibones,
Thanks for the link, I think it is interesting too. Now, with regards to the article at hand, please check out this link and tell me what you think. I am sure you will find it quite interesting.
Rabbi Against Israel:

JB, so you want us to believe Israelis survival is being threatened by ragtag Hamas? So far all we can hear are one ton bombs taking out a blocks of city in Gaza and a firecrackers driving Israelis girls toward free Valium doses in ambulances, apparently emotional distress is equal to losing lives to you, and I'm sorry for you for not subscribe to concept of chivalry and honesty!

Hey, maybe the Arabists have a point. Maybe Israel's response really IS "disproportionate." How about this: for each missile Hamas indiscriminately shoots at Israeli civilian targets, Israel gets to shoot one back at Gaza civilian targets. Does that work for you, Karim?

Since Hamas launched rockets against Israel, the air attacks are justified. However, they will serve no purpose and may in fact drive more Arabs into the arms of Hamas. Abbas will further lose credibility. It's time for the Israelis to do some smart thinking and come up with a sensible solution, else the cycle of violence will go on and on. http://desicritics.org/2008/12/30/082953.php

I've decided that it's time to systematically refute the “disproportionate reaction” argument once and for all and build the case for Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. I hope that you would find my arguments convincing enough.

1. Let's first understand the context - Israel left the Gaza Strip in August 2005 and does not constitute an occupying force in that area. There is currently only one Israeli soldier in Gaza – his name is Gilad Shalit. He was kidnapped by Hamas from Israel's territory in 2006 and since then no one has heard from him.

2. Gaza Strip since the summer of 2005 is a non-state region taken hostage by a militant radical Islamist group. Since Hamas ultimately fights for the destruction of Israel (take a look at its Charta to verify), Israel should not negotiate with Hamas, and it is in fact obligated to refrain from any contact with the organization. That includes closing the crossings between the Gaza Strip and Israel. While this would be justified, Israel continues to provide services and resources to the Palestinians in Gaza despite the fact that it is being ruled by a hostile entity.

2. Hamas has fired more than 6,000 rockets on Israeli civilians in the last 3 years, while having no official excuse like “fighting the Israeli occupation”, which has ended in 2005. Israel, unlike what many Israeli spokesmen like to say, does not have the right to defend its citizens from those rockets – it must defend its citizens from any external threat on their lives and their daily routine. Again, it is not a right- it's a duty.

3. After establishing that Israel must act against Hamas – let's review the conditions of the latter's actions: Hamas is not an official state's army, but an internationally recognized terror organization. Its people are civilians in Gaza, operating within a civilian population. The rockets are held in storage within civilian private and public places, and are often launched from these areas directly at Israeli communities.

4. If Israel is to attack Hamas, as an act of self defense, it becomes clear that there will be civilian casualties on the Palestinian side. They are clearly, however, not the target. Not only that the Israeli army does not aim at attacking civilians, it also invests milliards of dollars in developing and purchasing technologies that will minimize civilian collateral damage and will allow an accurate hit on military-terrorist targets. In fact, the Israeli army makes more efforts to refrain from civilian casualties than any other army in the world, and that is why Palestinian civilian casualties in Israeli military actions have constituted so far less than 5% of the total number of casualties.

5. A common accusation that comes even from those who do understand all the above is that Israel attacks the Palestinian terrorists “disproportionately”. For instance, in the current war against Hamas it is given that Israel has killed more than 300 Palestinians, while only 4 Israelis died from Hamas' rocket attacks on Israel. Here I would like to make three points:

5. 1. Proportionality is not measured by the outcome but rather by the intention. Every single rocket Hamas fires on Israel is meant to cause civilian casualties. However, Israeli air and ground attacks against Hamas are meant to cause as less damage as possible to civilians, and as much damage as possible to the terrorists. The optimal result for Israel would be 100% Palestinian militant casualties, while Hamas' optimal result is 100% Israeli civilian casualties.

5. 2. 6,000 rockets Hamas fired on Israelis can result in dozens of thousands of Israeli civilian casualties. This is not the case not because Hamas doesn't want to target so many Israelis – but simply because Israel protects the potential victims. People in the city of Sderot, near the border with Gaza, which is being attacked by Hamas for almost 8 years now, are sitting in shelters and protected areas when Hamas fires rockets on the city. They go to school with protection from rockets, play in secured playgrounds, and receive a 15 seconds alarm before a rocket is about to explode. This point should be as clear as possible – there were “only” 4 dead Israelis from Hamas' rockets in recent days because all the people who live in the range of the rockets (around half million people now) sit in shelters and are protected when Rockets are being launched.

5.3. Israel response, it can therefore be said, is indeed disproportionate. A proportionate response, if that's Israel's aim, would be to fire 6,000 rockets directly at civilians in Gaza. If these civilians sit in Shelters like their Israeli counterparts, there would be much less Palestinian casualties. This is of course not the case – Israel does not target civilians, since its aim is not to “get even” with the Palestinians – but to remove the threat of Hamas on Israeli civilians, a threat that has made the life of half million Israelis unbearable for such a long time.

6. In conclusion, I would like you to ask yourself, how is it that in Israeli attacks on Hamas' headquarters in Gaza there are civilian casualties? What are civilians doing in a place from which rockets are being fired? And why aren't they protected by Hamas the same way that Israeli citizens are protected by Israel when rockets explode? When you understand the answer to these questions, you will understand the reason for civilian casualties in the current war.

Maor

Comments? Questions?
maor.shani@gmail.com

Let me state Hamas and Israel relation from news's I picked up linearly from the past to present for those who forget the relative past events.
Israel created Hamas in order to divide and take resources from PLO, during Oslo peace process Hamas was tremendous help to Israel by rejecting PLO participation in peace process which Israel was participating only because of US pressure, after death of Arafat, corrupt leaders of PLO didn't have stature of Arafat and they were being challenged by much more popular Hamas for Palestinian leadership, they decided to side with US and her allies to destroy Hamas and that was fine with Israel since there was no more use for Hamas and current PLO leadership were no Arafat and therefore can be manipulated, unfortunately for most of western players in Middle-East, Hamas was embedded in Palestinian masses by now and very popular for delivering uncorrupt social services and therefore they fairly won a election, since then western players have been trying to topple and destroy Hamas by any means possible, unsuccessful kodeta by PLO first then sealing borders of Gaza and cutting of all aids in order to cut down Hamas social networks and therefore toppling Hamas from within, meanwhile Israelis regularly raided Gaza under various excuses of killing militant or destroying tunnels in order to keep Gazan desperate and hoping they would reject Hamas, naturally Hamas being protector of Gazan have to respond to regular Israel incursion by firing a few firecrackers which cause less casualty than road accident death in Israel each day, now here we are, cutting off supplies to Gaza didn't destroy the will of Gazan therefore full scale military adventure is on the way from Israel to destroy her bastard creation which is called Hamas, unfortunately there will be no happy ending for Israel military action since Hamas is a popular based power and every militant they kill another one will takes his place, also Israel running against time and world opinion, the more they destroy Gaza the more sympathetic the world becomes toward Palestinians, therefore no matter if Israel continue her military action or quite today, Hamas will survive and win in one form or another, why do you think Hitler start killing civilian in masses? because he found out popular resistance to occupation can not be won if there are people left to take the places of those who have been killed already, so good luck Israel in your short sighted decision of trying to fight your way toward peace instead of negotiating but after all this wasn't the aim was it? it's election time in Israel and people are dying because of politics, again!

ISRAEL'S POLICY IS PERFECTLY PROPORTIONATE
Hamas Are The Real War Criminals In This Conflict

By ALAN M. DERSHOWITZ

Israel's actions in Gaza are justified under international law, and Israel should be commended for its self-defense against terrorism. Article 51 of the United Nations Charter reserves to every nation the right to engage in self-defense against armed attacks. The only limitation international law places on a democracy is that its actions must satisfy the principle of proportionality.

Since Israel ended its occupation of Gaza, Hamas has fired thousands of rockets designed to kill civilians into southern Israel. The residents of Sderot -- which have borne the brunt of the attacks -- have approximately 15 seconds from launch time to run into a shelter. Although deliberately targeting civilians is a war crime, terrorists firing at Sderot are so proud of their actions that they sign their weapons.

When Barack Obama visited Sderot this summer and saw the remnants of these rockets, he reacted by saying that if his two daughters were exposed to rocket attacks in their home, he would do everything in his power to stop such attacks. He understands how the terrorists exploit the morality of democracies.

In a recent incident related to me by the former head of the Israeli air force, Israeli intelligence learned that a family's house in Gaza was being used to manufacture rockets. The Israeli military gave the residents 30 minutes to leave. Instead, the owner called Hamas, which sent mothers carrying babies to the house.

Hamas knew that Israel would never fire at a home with civilians in it. They also knew that if Israeli authorities did not learn there were civilians in the house and fired on it, Hamas would win a public relations victory by displaying the dead. Israel held its fire. The Hamas rockets that were protected by the human shields were then used against Israeli civilians.

These despicable tactics -- targeting Israeli civilians while hiding behind Palestinian civilians -- can only work against moral democracies that care deeply about minimizing civilian casualties. They never work against amoral nations such as Russia, whose military has few inhibitions against killing civilians among whom enemy combatants are hiding.

The claim that Israel has violated the principle of proportionality -- by killing more Hamas terrorists than the number of Israeli civilians killed by Hamas rockets -- is absurd. First, there is no legal equivalence between the deliberate killing of innocent civilians and the deliberate killings of Hamas combatants. Under the laws of war, any number of combatants can be killed to prevent the killing of even one innocent civilian.

Second, proportionality is not measured by the number of civilians actually killed, but rather by the risk posed. This is illustrated by what happened on Tuesday, when a Hamas rocket hit a kindergarten in Beer Sheva, though no students were there at the time. Under international law, Israel is not required to allow Hamas to play Russian roulette with its children's lives.

While Israel installs warning systems and builds shelters, Hamas refuses to do so, precisely because it wants to maximize the number of Palestinian civilians inadvertently killed by Israel's military actions. Hamas knows from experience that even a small number of innocent Palestinian civilians killed inadvertently will result in bitter condemnation of Israel by many in the international community.

Israel understands this as well. It goes to enormous lengths to reduce the number of civilian casualties -- even to the point of foregoing legitimate targets that are too close to civilians.

Until the world recognizes that Hamas is committing three war crimes -- targeting Israeli civilians, using Palestinian civilians as human shields, and seeking the destruction of a member state of the United Nations -- and that Israel is acting in self-defense and out of military necessity, the conflict will continue.

Mr. Dershowitz is a law professor at Harvard. His latest book is "The Case Against Israel's Enemies" (Wiley, 2008).

Ljoe,

You need to become familiar with an item of punctuation known as a "period."