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Mideast truce efforts intensify over Gaza fighting
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The UN says "the fighting must stop immediately", yet they are silent while rockets are being launched, randomly at civilians, for years.
Gaza offered to extend the ceasefire if Israel would stop the blockade. The Israeli cabinet declined. What Gaza was asking was reasonable.
One condition that Israel is setting is that they don't want Gaza to rearm. Seeing that Gaza lives next door to a 500 pound gorilla who thinks nothing of bombing them for political points, I think that Gaza's desire to arm is legitimate.
If Israel agrees to be demilitarized, then maybe they can expect Gaza to be demilitarized.
Tekakaromatagi
No one thinks that, not even the most naive liberals. Just go to Hamas' website and see what their stated goal is. they want to "free palestine from all zionist or jewish inhabitants" and they don't mean Gaza and the west bank, they mean all of Israel. Its clear they do not envision a two state or two nation outcome, they want to get rid of all the israelis, and kill them if they can. How can israel deal with this type of a neighbor?
What if this were the US's neighbors that had this stated goal?
I feel very sad for the palestinian civilians, but they voted for Hamas knowing that these were their goals. Many germans died in the second world war, but they supported Hitler....
Over the last few decades with advances in technology, information travels at lightning speed to people who should not know certain details about war. This is because (as War is UGLY! mentioned) they do not see or understand the entire picture. There are some idealists out there who support Hamas because they see them as a victim of a savage war. They reason that everyone must be good by nature. The reality is there is evil out there, like Hamas or Alqaida, and we have to deal with it with no mercy, wherever they are, on the battlefield or in urban warfare settings.
Sure, if one reads the headlines of 900 (out of a densely populated area of 1.5 million) dead, and if you see the images of maimed children you may be inclined to want this all to end.) But WAR IS UGLY.
Where would we be if we did not go to war against Germany and Japan?
We should not take for granted the freedoms we all have, people have died over the years fighting for them, some of them innocent civilians.
You are truly delusional.
If Israel and Gaza arranged a ceasefire and Israel ended the blockade, Hamas would probably observe the ceasefire -- like before. Islamic Jihad probably wouldn't. Live with the rockets because heavy handed responses only make things worse. Israel has painted themselves into a corner. They can't beat the Paletinians into loving them.
Hamas doesn't recognize Israel. But Israel doesn't recognize Hamas either. When Hamas was elected Israel should have congratulated, but they isolated them. They stopped banks from doing business with Hamas. They withheld the custom's duties that they were obligated to give to the Palestinian Authority.
Then they put a blockade around Gaza.
If the Palestinians elected a moderate would Israel withdraw their settlements, stop building the wall, stop checkpoints? That is what happened and Israel didn't.
Israel is beating their brothers with US aid. This will create big problems for both Israel and the US.
Tekakaromatagi
Long range artillery shelled the City Centre and for hours before the UN compound was hit it was reporting that the Israeli shelling was endangering the compund.
Time to end this "Bomb Bomb, Talk Talk" policy Israel and time for humanity to return. Personally I find the indiscrimnate approach unacceptable irrespective of sympathy for the rights and wrongs of the opposing factions in Gaza or Israel.
Is it possible that there may be justice for those found to have violated international humanitarian law from whatever quarter? Time for an independent impartial investigation of outrageous violation of UN neutrality and those sheltering in the UN compound.