So what do you suggest Israel do? Not be defensive? Just allow the terrorists to remain on their boarder and occasionally launch missiles and random suicide bombings killing innocent civilians (no military target at all in mind)?

Propose another/better solution they haven't already tried. They've tried negotiating peace with their neighbor to no avail, they've tried cease fires (which the neighbor continually ignores), they've tried everything except suicide. Is that the only solution the Palestinians and the Arab terrorist organizations will accept?

Where is the UN on this??? Why didn't they say or do anything when HAMAS started launching missiles into Israel? Why did they only get involved when Israel retaliated and tried to implement it's OWN plan to stop the missile attacks? The UN should be on the ground in Gaza monitoring the situation and figuring out where the missile attacks are comming from and doing everything they can to convince Hamas to cease the attacks or risk sanctions supported by the world-wide community and not just their evil neighor Israel. Since the UN did NOTHING of course Israel eventually had to do something.

This was a very even-keeled analysis, and full of truth. But 2bits question (9:31) is critical, and wasn't really addressed by the writer. The only thing even vaguely alluded to was the idea of removing travel and other civil restrictions on Palestinians. I can only assume that would not be sufficient, and no other action was even hinted at by the writer.

What exactly should Israel do?

Even-keeled? Seriously Joe Moe? Thats like saying O'Reilly is independent & impartial. A bunch of hooey.

His best point was that Israel really can't achieve their stated goals by this attack. They cannot occupy, and anything short of that cannot guarantee a cessation of rocket attacks. A diplomatic solution, however difficult to come by, is their only chance.

I also agree that Israel has very few options. I for one support their right to exist, and that issue is the watershed point for everyone. Most Arabs do not belief Israel has a right to exist. Peace will only come when Arabs in general and Palestinians in specific accept the fact that Israel is here to stay, like it or not. Until then they keep fighting, and Israel has few options. So Israel's central policy MUST be one of persuasion, of winning Arab hearts and minds. They cannot do that with tanks, fighter jets, and soldiers.

In the mean time, I know they must at times act militarily to survive the day. But tomorrow must be won by subtler and more powerful means.

P.S. Are you saying O'Reilly ISN'T independent and impartial? ;)

Yet another dolt who thinks you can just talk to radical terrorists and win their hearts and minds.

You may be able to win the hearts and minds of normal Arabs but they aren't the problem. You will NEVER win the heart and mind and convince Ahmadinejad, Hamas, Alqaeda, etc, to love and accept Israel. You are too nieve if you think that is Israel's responsibility or even an achievable goal for anyone, much less Israel's leaders.

No, in this case (as in many other cases that proved imposible to resolve by sensable negotiation) you have to put up a defense (even if only temporarily to preserve your people while you work on a better solution).

For now the only solution for Israel is to remind Hamas and the Palestinian people that they have the ability to defend themselvs and they have the ability to make life as misrable for them as Hamas has the ability to terrorise the citizens of Israel.

In the Palestinian mind the only possible resolution to this situation is for them to get powerfull enough weapons in their hands that Isreal can no longer defend itself. This will-never-end(for-palestinians-and-Hamas)-until-they-can-impose-their-will-upon-Israel-and-wipe-them-from-the-face-of-the-earth. This-isn't-a-school-yard-disagreement-that-can-be-solved-by-counceling-or-making-them-shake-hands-and-make-up. It's-a-life-long-culturaly-purpetuated-hatred-that-can't-be-permanently-resolved-without-the-entire-extermination-of-Israel(in-the-Palestinian-mind).

Israel-just-wants-to-live-in-peace. Hamas-just-wants-Israel-to-cease-to-exist. Which-is-the-more-rational-goal? Yet-you-get-on-Israel's-case?

There is no diplomatic solution. Every time Israel withdraws or concedes lands to the Palestinians in exchange for peace, it gets rockets for a reward. They need to stamp out Hamas, as they are currently doing, regardless of whether they hide behind the skirts of women, old people, sick people in hospitals, and children in schools.

The international community will cry 'foul' because it needs Arab oil.

Has anybody else noticed the pictures the DesNews puts with articles about the Israel/Palestinian conflict?

The picture that goes with today's article is, "Jordanian protesters warm themselves near a fire that spells out the word "Gaza."... Like it's really cold in Jordan this time of year and they need to warm themselvs by this fire??? It's just a photo-op for the American media.

The earlier article had a piture of a poor pouty Palestinian child at a protest holding up a sign asking for help in English... when neither group that can stop the bloodshead speaks English, so it obviously wasn't to them (Hint... it was to us).

I just think the pictures that usually acompany these articles tell a lot about which way the paper (or the media in general) leans.

Because of the fact that Americans hear only what they are spoon-fed, they are unaware of the actual facts. One would have to refer to international news sources to discover the gaps in reporting in the US. As a result, we have a very twisted view of the Middle East situation, and so support Israeli atrocities.

Hamas has always been willing to negotiate. It is Israel who refuses. The Palestinians are the only ones who make concessions while Israel has never lived up to any of her agreements for peace. If Israel really wanted peace, she would stop aggrivating the situation and the homemade rockets would stop.

Israel never misses an opportunity to further its grand dream of driving all non-Jews out of the Holy Land and expanding their "Greater Israel" from the Nile to the Eurphrates. They have no constitution and no borders, and virtually no rights for non-Jews. It is Israel who has broken over 200 UN resolutions, not Palestinians.

Not all Jews and Israelis support Israel and its plans to subjugate the entire Middle East, and over 100,000 Jews within Israel are demonstrating in protest of its governments' criminal actions. Unfortunately, they are in the vast minority.

Poor child. You obviously know nothing about the Middle East or the conflict.

For your information, it is winter in the Holy Land and Jordan right now, and, on rare occassions, it even snows. Yes, it is cold. It is not just a photo-op.

You don't like seeing pictures of pouty Palestinian children but would rather see "poor" Israeli children, as if Israeli children didn't have entitled lives and have suffered anything like the Palestinians. As for speaking English, yes, many Palestinians and Israelis speak English, as does most of the world. Why shouldn't they appeal to us? Aren't we the ones financing their torture and murder?

It would be about time that the American media stopped portraying the Arabs as savages and the comfortable Israelis as the eternal victims.

Israel should look beyond defensive posture? If this means they continue to allow Hamas to rocket their cities, I have this to say.

To those calling for this, move there yourself and give your place here to them.

Of course Israel is under no obligation morally to accept this or stop short until they achieve stability for their people, since when are people obligated to subject themselves, or their families or countrymen to this?

We weren't willing to after 9-11 were we?

I saw on the news today that Hamas refuses any long term peace agreement where they would be obligated to stop rockets, is that propaganda too?

After Israel gave up the Gaza in exchange for peace, all border crossings were open for free passage, but then Hamas violated their agreement and started sending suicide bombers and rockets, is that propaganda too?

There are hundreds of news organizations in the United States, all with freedom of the press, how is it that they all conspire to lie to us like that?

I doubt what you say, could it be that your controlled media is feeding you a line of bull?

More than 40% of the people killed in Gaza are women and children, many innocent people are dying in Gaza, our tax money is helping kill people, their is another side of the story, the truth is for many years Israel killed and bombed Palestinians ,and made their lives not worth living ,trust me Palestinians are people too and they love their children and don't want to see them suffer, but they lost hope ,nobody is helping them, because the whole world was brain washed by media that is controlled by zionists, but all it takes for you is to think...does really Hamas have no common sense, trust me they know their home made rockets are no match to Israeli military, it is really more like making a statement to Israel that they are not going to surrender. The fact is for the past three years Israel had Gaza under siege, and never stopped killing and bombing in Gaza, they were supposed to end the siege they never did

You State that There are hundreds of news organizations in the United States, all with freedom of the press, how is it that they all conspire to lie to us like that?

I Think the guess is WHY is Israel denying news reports in to Gaza?

To the posting to me, wake up. It is common knowledge that US media is principally controlled by Zionist sympathizers who never allow anything negative into the mainstream news. You dream if you think you are getting the whole story. Try tuning into Pacifia Radio, BBC, AlJazeera (oh, I forgot--automatically disqualified because it is a surprisingly balanced Arab media) or European news sources.

Anything you hear on mainstream media is suspect because it is tainted, such as the bull that Hamas refuses to negotiate. Yes, it is progaganda first that Israel "left" the Gaza---they only removed their settlers so that they could have a free hand in brutalizing the Gazans without hurting the Jews, then they sealed off the borders (a total lie that they were ever open), contol the air, solicite Egypt's complicity in closing off their borders, and attack ships trying to deliver humanitarian aid by sea, not to mention weekly bombings within Gaza. These are war crimes in themselves.

Have you noticed that this is not the first time Israel has banned all reporting from the seiged area. That's how criminals work--they don't want any witnesses. Unfortunately, the US has been applying evil Israeli tactics in Iraq.

It's obvious to anybody that your comments are not concerned with 'fairness' or being impartial. You may be leaning the other way to offset what you percieve as 'unfair' representation on the other side, but that doesn't mean your opinion is any more 'fair' than they other side. YOU are just as biased and out there on the extreme-fringe (but on one side) as anyone I've read representing Israel's side of the story.

So if you think you are somehow more 'fair' than anyone else contributing comments you are totally bogus. You are just as one-sided as any commenter I've read. If you think your efforts to lean way out on the extreme-fringe and ignore anything negative the Palestinians have done and focus entirely on anything negative the Israelis have done in your comments... And you somehow consider that to be 'fair' then I understand where you're comming from.

In other words... if you are just trying to be the counter-weight to balance the pro-Israel comments I get you. If you really think Palestine is 100% in the right here and everything Israel is 100% evil and you really believe that... You're just another bigot or a political hatchet-man.

Never in the history of the world was there ever a Palestinian state. Or people for that matter. Isn't it strange that for people who claim to centuries of residence in what is now known as Israel, there was never a claim for independence up until Israel conquered real estate from Jordan and Egypt in 1967? Why didn't they want independence from Jordan? Egypt?
Could it be that they just can't stand the idea of Israel? Maybe if they put forth the effort and budget in improving their economy they wouldn't end up living in such poverty. Maybe if they get rid of the radical leadership (which is only an Iranian branch) and try peace for a change, they would find a good willed neighbor.
If the murder of Rabin caused a change, why did they not settle prior to 1995?
As for the article, it is true that the military operation will not bring peace. It is not intended to do so. The idea is to bring a long term cease fire, which would enable moderate leaders to negotiate without the daily blood bath in the background. Perhaps then, common sense will prevail.