A public health emergency

Shades of Warsaw
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_Ghetto

Thank you for publishing this. We who are far away sit watching this atrocity, knowing that our own U.S. government is deeply complicit in the crime and that our politicians cheer the carnage. But they still let us speak, so we must at least do that.

"neither side has a monopoly on acceptable behavior" -- more to the point, neither side has a monopoly on unacceptable behavior either.

More to the point, one side has U.S.-made F-18 fighter jets, tanks, and bulldozers, and receives $2 billion per year in U.S. foreign aid. The other side has some homemade rockets, some leftover AK-47s, and some young people willing to strap on a pack of explosives and commit suicide and murder.

Collective punishment against a civilian population is a violation of the Geneva Convention, a war crime, and a crime against humanity.

Now just a god-damned minute. where the Hell were are all you civil libertarians when the Palestinians started this crap about killing innocent civilians. Where were you when the Palestinians elected a government of radical, avowed anti-Israelis whose goal is to destroy Israel. Aren't you the same ones who complained when Israel was very carefully targeting only the Leaders of the suicide bombers in order to avoid killing civilians. Since then the attacks have escalated. Is Israel supposed to be gentle and nice forever until they are wiped out. You're a bunch of anti-semitic hypocrits.

Both sides behave outrageously. I can't believe that "adult" societies think it's OK to behave like the most horrid preschool brats, with the sole difference that the damage they're inflicting to each other (and to innocent relatives and bystanders) is deadly!

"He hit me first!" "But he pinched my brother!" "But they kicked over our game!" "But he's an annoying jerk!" Enough already!

But like typical brats, they will continue as long as we encourage it by stupidly taking sides, thus effectively rewarding bad behaviour and punishing the very societies we supposedly support. The whole world needs to stand up in solidarity and effectively put them both in "time out", with the message that *both* are acting like unconscionable brats and that both will be treated like children until they stop behaving as such.

Ah, the old criticizing Israeli government policy=anti-Semitism fallacy. I'm surprised it took until the fifth comment to show up.

It occurred to me lately that maybe the Israel-Palestine issue would be easier to deal with if there were more predominantly Jewish countries, like there are predominantly Muslim countries. That would cut the legs out from under that fallacy. But I guess that was never likely, with Judaism not being an evangelical religion. And since when has logic interfered with ad hominem attacks? So maybe it wouldn't help much.

P.S.  Every time a Palestinian suicide bomber blows up a cafe or bus, it's all over CNN, FOX, ABC, NBC, CBS... it gets lots of attention. The better question is, where were all those news outlets when Israel (likely) shelled a beach a month ago? It wasn't until Revere/Cole mentioned it that I realized I had heard a lot about it  because I read British newspapers and watch BBC World News. I'd seen little to nothing in American news sources.

If [insert lable of choice] bloggers seem to focus on Israel's misdeeds, it could be because they receive so little mainstream American press attention, and so need to be brought to people's notice. The American press seems to want to preserve the narrative that Israel is always justified and measured in what they do, and it just isn't so. And yes, the Reveres could have told us about the kidnapping of the Israeli solider... except we all would have heard it already in a dozen other places. And it had little direct public health component. So why should they?

Makes perfect sense to me. Keep keeping us informed, Reveres.

The wars will stop when the money runs out. We should stop and block all funding to both Governments and then wait them out...it's easier to not blink when bank accounts are full of other peoples money.

I agree with Name, they are both equally to blame although the Israelis had better be careful.

Ah, the old "Ah, the old criticizing Israeli government policy=anti-Semitism fallacy" fallacy.
I notice that you didn't address the essence of the criticism.
Incidentally, I didn't even mention the latest provocation - the reinstigation of random shelling of Israeli towns near Gaza.
By the way, I am not 100% pro-Israel. I think that they have missed a lot of opportunities to turn the other cheek, to provide a vivid example of how it is that the Palestinians, after a lull, are always the ones who re-start the hostilities. But how long do they have to wait? How many Israelis have to be killed/maimed before they are allowed to retaliate? I think that at some point they have to say "enough already" and push Palestine into the sea.

On second thought, I wish to retract my ad-hominem statement. You are right, that is improper in a civilized discussion. And, consequently, I retract my smart ass first sentence of my second note.
But that leaves my questions still on the table. Is it not true that Israel has been under constant attack during its entire existence? Isn't it also true that every time, after a lull, the Palestinians have been the ones to resume unprovoked attacks on the civilian population? Isn't it true that for a while Israel adopted the tactic of targeted attacks on the leaders the Palestinian terror organizations just because they didn't want to involve civilians. And, finally, isn't it recently true that the Palestinians, given an open election, voted for the group that refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist rather than the more moderate faction that was trying to establish civil relations with Israel?
So, how long does Israel have to wait, how many unprovoked attacks do they have to endure, how many Israelis have to be killed, before they are allowed to respond?

Unfortunately, I don't think it's as simple as "they'll stop when the money runs out." Israel's already bleeding itself dry financing its war machine -- there are times when Israeli civil servants go unpaid for months because of government diversion of funds. I was just listening to a song about it -- it's called "Imperiot Noflot Le'at (Empires Fall Slowly)," by Hemi Rodner and Dan Thorn, actually.

There is malfeasance on all sides, starting back in the British Mandate days (including the whole "a land without people for a people without a land" canard), through the Transfer Agreements, through the Jordanians and Syrians refusing to cede territory as agreed, through the endless endless border wars, to the murders of the Israeli Olympic athletes, to the thuggish posturing of Netanyahu and Sharon both -- and their Palestinian counterparts, to the bus bombings in Be'er Sheva a couple of years ago (a friend of mine was living there when it happened, and boy was I glad to hear from him), and on and on and on.

The sad fact of the matter is, someone is going to have to eat the last death. Your guess is as good as mine as to which side will realise that first and buck it up. Goodness knows the average Israeli-on-the-street (and not a few of their Palestinian counterparts) is damn good and ready to just do it, but the policies of their respective governments are not conducive to change.

As to why the Palestinians voted for Hamas, I'd wager it was probably something similar to why many Quebecois vote for the Quebec separatist party -- they're not really actually interested in dismantling the country, but they like the rest of the platform. I was following the election pretty closely, and I'd say that was part of it.

Karl, your question is moot, because they have both responded to past injustices -- repeatedly, and in most cases just upping the ante with new injustices.

When two enraged brats are going at it full force, scratching and biting with all the uninhibited vim, vigour & venom of the Terrible Twos, it's not helpful to sit on the sidelines debating, blow-by-blow, which blow was justified, which one started it, and which one deserves some more ammo to even the fight. Clearly, this appraoch hasn't worked. Clearly, neither side is capable of rational thought or civilized behaviour under the circumstances and we need to treat them as such--i.e do what we can to disarm/immobilized them and keep them in time out, until they're both calm enough to put the past aside and deal with all that really matters now--the present, the future and how to achieve peace.

"But I guess that was never likely, with Judaism not being an evangelical religion."

As opposed to, say, a group evolutionary strategy?

So, if Hamas has any regard for its people they would give up their hostage. Seems pretty reasonable to me. How can we expect any less? The suffering of the Palestinian people is on Hamas not Israel. They have a sovereign nation now with a freely elected government. That government has attacked Israel. This is the way the Palestinians wanted it. The gloves are off and my belief is that you will see Israel supernaturally protected by God.

In Genesis 12:3, the Lord says in the covenant He makes with Abraham: "I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

Up to this point our nation has blessed Israel. My prayer is that we keep blessing Israel. God will judge nations and deal with them for their decisions, just as He does individuals.

This does not excuse bigotry towards Arabs or Arab states. God's word does not say that I will bless those that curse the descendents of Ishmael. The word says to bless Israel, end of the story. If others desire to be blessed they best toe the mark as any other nation has to do. Should any government act like Hamas, then they need to be dealt with and that is what Israel is doing, kudos to them.

standingfirm: You are Exhibit A for what is wrong.

Right on, Revere! Standing Firm and the suicide bombers with their dreams of a constant supply of virgins in paradise -- two sides of the same bloodied hatchet that has so cruelly taken the lives of so many innocents and caused enough tears to drown the world a thousand times throughout history. Time for all sane and rational people to walk away and leave them behind, alone with their madness if they can't bear to give it up.

Hmmmmm, Arab's and Jew's killing each other again. I seem to remember this going on like since FOREVER? And the events of the past few days are deemed as something new? New what? The first victims of all wars are the civilian population, i think i read that in 3rd grade? Doesn't anyone besides a few others accept this and all of the hatred that has been pandemic to the region to what a it's real root cause? This is now and will always be tribal warfare (don't forget the tribes difference of who or what god is) . So, let's review:
1) Jews and Arabs are tribal by nature,
2) They have been killing each other since there were stones.
3) Civilian populations are the first to suffer death and deprivation in ALL WARS.
4) This current "flare up" is considered "news"
Lets recap:
5) See #1
6) Return to #3
7) Return to #2
Conclusion: There will never be peace in the middle east.
I truly wish the two parties intent with destroying each other the best of luck in reaching that goal. Why you decide to procreate and leave loved ones to become
casualties of your madness is beyound me...kinda sounds like you've both freakin out of your minds.

Karl, I didn't address the substance of that statement because I felt its flaws were obvious: it should be possible to criticize the actions of a nation-state rightly or wrongly without being characterized as prejudiced against them based on their religio-ethnic background. As evidenced by Israelis in favor of withdrawal from the occupied territories.

Isn't it also true that every time, after a lull, the Palestinians have been the ones to resume unprovoked attacks on the civilian population?

No, it is not true, for several reasons. First, we could go back decades  nay, millenia listing all the provocations on both sides. I don't think there's any dearth of them. But more importantly, there are ongoing and everyday provocations that Palestinians face, such as the bulldozing of their homes to make way for illegal settlements, or the "collateral damage" of innocents dying in Israel's attacks - which bear the U.S.'s imprimateur and the veneer of a civilized and reasonable response because they are conducted by a military with uniforms and planes. Do I excuse Palestinian attacks on civilians for these reasons? Absolutely not, I condemn them. I condemn Israeli attacks on civilians as well, even if they try to dodge responsibility by saying "it wasn't us" or "we didn't mean to."

Then there's the report, hours before this latest Israeli strike, that Fatah and Hamas had agreed to recognize the state of Israel. Not at its current borders, but still. That's something. And the Palestinian authority was, to the complaint of the militants, actively helping the Isrealis search for their kidnapped soldier.

I can agree that Israel has the right to respond while criticizing how they respond.

Finally, I am most disturbed by this:

I think that at some point they have to say "enough already" and push Palestine into the sea.

You seem to be consciously echoing things extremists have said about Israel can't you see how poisonous such rhetoric is, no matter towards whom it is directed? Push them into the sea? As in, commit genocide? (Side note: are you aware that Israeli Jews and Palestinians are genetically the same?) Or do you just mean forcibly remove every Palestinian?

I understand your anger and frustration with the entire situation. It would be easier if half either half of the people involved in this conflict didn't exist, but you can't base policy on that, and you can't make that the goal. Doing so would be cruel and criminal, and calling for it is hate speech  no matter who does it.

"But I guess that was never likely, with Judaism not being an evangelical religion."

As opposed to, say, a group evolutionary strategy?

SR, I'm not sure what you mean. All I meant was that while it allows for conversion to the faith, Judaism does not seek to make converts, as Christianity, Islam, and even Buddhism do. Therefore unless Jews were already in the majority in a given (future) country, or emmigrated there in sufficient numbers to create a majority, it was always unlikely that Judaism would be the majority religion in multiple countries. (Which is not to say it's not well represented around the world.)

standing firm,

Your abuse of the Bible is truly breathtaking.

The stories about one side retaliating against the other's atrocity who was retaliating against the other's atrocity.... well, I just can't read through all of the "it's his fault... no, it his fault!" It doesn't stop until all stops... 'Name' hit it on the head; if you have ever raised children - I mean on a daily basis none of the week end stuff or the after work stuff or having babysitters stuff and not just one or even two... oh yeah, if you do make a living, work at schools where there are hungry kids - you learn a lot about human nature. Humans get into hateful 'do-loops' and need to have their plugs pulled now and then. They just need to sit it out - alone! There is no amount of reason that will stop stuff. There is no amount of guilt that will stop stuff. There is no amount hurting that will stop stuff.... and this last point needs to be internalized... let me repeat.... there is no amount of hurt that will stop the hurt, the killings.

If it takes pulling out the money - do it. I would say that both sides need a time out. You see, they both need each other.

Caia:
Thank you for taking the time to respond.
My statement "push Palestine into the sea" was meant to be ironic(?), sarcastic(?) - reminder that that is what the Palestinians are still saying about Israel.
As for " Side note: are you aware that Israeli Jews and Palestinians are genetically the same?" I googled that and found a reference to it. I can understand that. They are both Semites. But according to everything that I can look up, there is no such thing historically as a Palestinian. Palestinians are really Arabs, exactly the same as Jordanians, Saudis, etc. with whom they share language, culture and history. So what is the significance of Palestinians and Jews being genetically the same? Aren't all Christians descended from Jews? Jesus was a Jew. Weren't all of his followers Jews? So what?

Jew joke:
- What did israelis learn from the second world war?
- How to do the ethnic killing.

Ah, I missed the irony. Never mind.

There's no real "so what" there, except that I like to deconstruct fictions of race. And I was referring to an paper, since removed because the author dared to propose his findings should undermine racism, which showed that Israeli Jews and Palestinians were genetically of the same group... and both were distinct from surrounding Arab populations.

Needless to say, no one much wanted to hear that.

Just a quibble - no, it's not a quibble. I have the reference. It says "Jews and Palestinians in the Middle East share a very similar gene pool and must be considered closely related and not genetically separate". It does not say that Palestinians are different from Arabs, as they are in fact Arabs.
I have made that point for years among friends. How can they be so antagonistic to each other? They are all Semites.
But, of course, the differences are not genetic, they are cultural/religious.
I'm afraid that we have gotten off the original point here - sorry.

caia: Yes, that was a disgraceful episode. The editor actually asked librarians to physically cut the paper from their journals.

Karl: The difference between Israelis and Palestinians is two-fold: religion and nationalism. The whole thing shows the idiocy of both notions. If we could get rid of flags and religions we'd be much better off as a species. But I say that a lot.

Revere:
100% agreement. I think that the only hope we have is long term. As the States of North America took about 100 years to become United, so now have the States of Europe begun to do so, after several hundreds of years. Maybe in a few hundred years the States of Africa will become United. And, perhaps, sometime in the future it will happen in the Middle East and/or in the Far East. One can only hope.
Now maybe on to the next topic.
I thank you all for the edification.

Revere: That sounds like John Lennon, Imagine.

Taking the children's toys and putting them in the corner does not make the children like each other any better, and does not stop them from feeling they were in the right and the other child was in the wrong. Even children in the same family.
Someone(?) drew these lines in the sand long before the U.S. was a nation, and the battles would continue even without any support from ANY nation. However, I do not feel that adherence to the belief that one is in the right is any reason that I (we) should supply the means to destroy the other.

Standingfirm: I too stand firm on the Bible; but I do not believe that He meant to bless them with means to kill others with; and that not doing so is a curse on them.

Revere: I believe in God and His son Jesus Christ; that is a very personal decision; and I believe that He gave us free will in order that each of us may make our own decisions. That being said, I abhor religionism and fanaticism for any reason. I agree with what you said about religion and nationalism. Imagine.

Judy: You aren't far off. In fact you are right on. I did a five parter on the old site about why I insisted on discussing both war and religion on a public health site. The link to Part V and John Lennon is here.

This is bs. This is sidetrack. Please be less stupid.

twocrow: Hmmm. Interesting point. Exactly what part is bs? You don't think this is true? Or you don't think collective punishment is bad? Or you don't think cutting off water and power to 1.4 million people of all ages is bad? What's the bs part? Criticizing Israel? Just curious.

3 quick comments

1) Live by the sword, die by the sword. I personally think Israel's response albeit extreme is response du jour considering the history and context of the two.

2) As one of those libertarian types [sic], I do think it is despicable that the press - not just American, international - hasn't posted the facts so that others may voice their opinion / take action about this public health disaster.

3) Makes me think of a Mad magazine Spy vs. Spy cartoon turned into reality

Darin

Revere: I followed your link. Yes. Thank you.

What is happening to these people is inhumane, and will only escalate to more inhumanity. This is obvious to anyone with common sense.

Darin: We voice our opinion here at least, thanks to Revere. Sincere questions though...What action can be taken? And who will take that action, if not the Palestinians?

I would ask you all to stop a moment with this bickering, and put yourself in the shoes of a Palestinian civilian. And forget what's gone down the past 60 years since this current cycle of violence began, as most Palestinians living today weren't even born when some other countries thousands of miles away appropriated half of their country and gave it to another group of people, all to make amends for wrongs they had done to these people, not wrongs your people had done. Forget that. Just start a few months back. You're a Palestinian citizen living in a war zone not of your own making, which has in recent months gone into critical mode all because the majority of your citizens voted into office by democratic process a political group that was not liked by some other countries. So in order to force you to overturn your own election results, (not very democratic) one of these countries, Israel, started withholding your own tax money which they collected on your behalf. This act cut your ability to run your vital infrastructures and pay your government employees. Maybe you are one of those, a school teacher perhaps, who has now gone months without pay and cannot feed her children. And the other country, the US, has withheld subsidies upon which you had come to depend, things like vital food and medicines. So already, with these cuts, you were seeing your children and your neighbors children and that old lady down the block begin to slowly languish and starve. Then a couple of weeks ago a local family went to the beach and were blown up, and you saw the news, the video of the little girl screaming in anguish over the bloody body of her father in the sand, and she reminded you of your own daughter. And then some young men did something stupid to retaliate, and now these Israelites that blew up the family of the little girl have blown up your power plant and you have no lights, it's dark at night, there's no tv, no radio, no air conditioning, the little food you had in your refrigerator is rotten, the water is foul and undrinkable, it is 115 degrees in the shade, the reeking sewage has backed in your toilets and out into the streets, and you see your children and everyone around you with the look in their eyes of holocaust victims and you know you are all going to die in this ghetto. And you don't know why.

People: how can you debate issues such as nationalism and religion and all the other bs to justify this humanitarian horror? How can you relate it to squabbling brats or anti-semitism or virgins in heaven. Unbelievable!!! There is no justification for the murder of 1.4 million people, none whatsoever.And this IS murder! There is no biblical phrase that will make it okay, nor can you try to tell me that these Palestinians had a choice. This ordinary person I asked you to be in the shoes of didn't. So, one last question: are the people of Israel unaware that they are doing unto others what was done unto them in WWII Nazi Germany? Or are they consciously taking an eye for an eye?
If this is the result of religion, I prefer atheism.

I wonder whether the majority of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip think that those who kidnapped the Israeli soldier are heroes?

I guess we won't need a Sunday Sermonette today.

As I said last Sunday, there is nothing new under the sun.

Human beings make the same mistakes over and over and over and over again-----because they refuse to love God or each other. They refuse to trust God and stand up in faith to stop the suffering of others. We would rather hate and cover our own instead.

The worst mistake right now and in the past is the complacency and apathy ( and even trust!!!!) of the average citizen toward their egregious and corrupt governments and news media.

I do not think Israel can keep the border closed if 1.4 million people start leaving Gaza en masse. Since the Israeli government has made Gaza uninhabitable, they should now have to host and provide for the average Palestinian citizen leaving Gaza.

Stupidity reigns. The public has never even demanded the truth about the cause of death of Arafat.

We are finally going to pay the price for sitting on our asses absorbing thousands of hours of TV and accomplishing nothing for ourselves, neighbors, conmmunity, or country.

We never learn.

There are almost 1.5 million (1.428 - CIA factbook) people in the Gaza Strip. Half the population is under 15. Life expectancy is around 70 for both sexes. The birthrate is very high - between 4 and 6 babies born to each woman, the CIA fact book gives 5.78 (est) for 2006, and 40 births / per 1000 pop.

This places the Gaza strip on birth rate right after some 20 + poor African countries, Afghanistan, Yemen and Djibouti. I have read some articles saying that this birth rate is slipping.

It has one of the highest population densities in the world: 4,000 pp per sq km, my calc.

Two places - one SAR (special administrative regions of China), Macau, and Monaco have about quadruple that density and three other places have higher density (6 or quite a bit more than 4 thousand): another SAR, Hong Kong; Singapore, and Gibraltar.

This makes Gaza special, as those other dense places are dense by immigrant individual choice (Monaco), thru deliberate and successful planning to attract (Singapore), or because of particular economic conditions, history, etc. (Hong Kong, Gibraltar, Macau.) In none of these places are people starving - in all of them people can leave but generally don/t choose to.

The lovely flowered sprinkled gardens guarded by invisible cameras (Monaco), the buzzing high rises of Hong Kong, with its people ordering hamburgers, spicy shrimp, and other goodies, and the tidy buildings, corridors and sports fields in Singapore cannot be compared with Gaza. (The country with the highest birth rate - Nigeria - has a population density of 140 people per sq. km. Well, they have other problems, I know. Still.)

Now, how did that come about? This a-historical view that sees Pals and Israelis as scrapping kindergardeners on a larger scale, or that assigns guilt to both sides, or slightly more to one side, with American Zionists and weak-kneed American librulls hurling invectives (or recycling stale arguments touted by corrupt media - I/m not accusing anyone here of any particular /attitude/, I understand how propaganda works, just speaking in general) is utterly useless.

Peace in Israel is achievable.

One country in the world can do it in one month. The USA.

Won/t happen.

The /walk away strategy/ - a sort of fanciful extension of Republican isolationist rethoric has never been seriously contemplated by any US president in the last 20 -at least- years. Oddly enough, Bush junior was perhaps the one who who was the most (on the surface, anyway, and before 9/11) steadfast in that line.

history: google NAKBA

Sorry for length. I try to move things along... Public health is politics, and many have understood long ago that

dirty water kills more people than bombs.

Lastly, this conflict is a geo-political. Genes and religion are side-issues, flags that are waved to distract and inflame and even justify (as in /explain/) atrocities - for people outside outside the region. (Echoing mary/s post just above.)

Short of negotiating its own existence away, there is nothing Israel can do to appease the Palestinians. Did anyone here care to read the charter of Hamas ? The problem is not Jerusalem or the West Bank, or Gaza. The problem is that all the refugees from 1948, and their descendants, want the right of return. And there is the hatred. Not only from the Palestinians, but from all the Arabs, the Iranians, all the other 1.3 billion Muslims. They hate jews. Read some newpsapers, even mainstram ones, from any Muslim country. The bias is just unbelievable. So here we are, everyone got polarised. A sensible debate is not possible in my opinion.

Asco: Most polls of the Palestinian street (all Arabs aren't the same nor does Islam hate Jews, whom they consider People of the Book, like Christians) show they want a peaceful two state solution. The same is true of Israelis. Polls show most Americans want us out of Iraq, but our government stays and our newspapers seem to support the government.

Israel not only made peace with Germany but has cordial relations. Yes, there is great antipathy to Israel and the US because of the Palestinian situation. But a jsut and peaceful one or two state solution is possible and suddenly that would change overnight. Neither Hamas nor the rightist government of Israel is commited to that. Those governments are not permanent, however.

Of course I am sure you don't believe a solution is possible, as a matter of faith. So there is nothing we can say to convince you. From your point of view, both sides are condemned to an eternity of hell on earth until one or the other succeeds in a Final Solution.

I prefer my more optimistic world view.

If the Irish Catholics and Protestants and countless other sworn enemies could eventually do it after centuries of violence, so can the Israelis/Palestinians. Even the most passionate hatreds will eventually cool down -- it's human nature -- but only if we give them a chance by disarming, separating and protecting them from each other, instead of fanning the flames by standing around taking sides and just encouraging more violence and fresh reasons for hatred on both sides.

melanie: "Your abuse of the Bible is truly breathtaking."

Were it so, we'd all be regularly and enduringly breathless here at Ground Zero in Colo Spgs. It's a bad book and it leads to this sort of thing.

One might ask who has the most to gain by keeping the fans of war flamed rather than negotiating a simple and lasting peace. And I do mean financial gain.

Some commenters claimed that Jews and Arabs have always hated each other. This is wrong. Jews were treated a lot better in Arab countries than in Europe, and the start of the current conflict was when zionists started moving to Palestine with the expressed purpose of making it into a Jewish state, obvioucly against the will of its current population.

Then there are claims that this is somehow a symmetric conflict with both sides as much to blame. This is just nonsense. It is Israel occupying Palestine and gradually grabbing more and more land, not the other way round. Every time the Palestinians have stopped their attacks Israel has responded by speeding up construction of new settlements on occupied land. Israel only left Gaza because it was too expensive to provide the settlers there, and at the same time more settlers moved into the West Bank than left Gaza. The Palestinians fight dirty, sure, but think carefully how you would act had your country been occupied for four decades by a military superior enemy that wanted your land but at the same time didn't want you to stay on it.

As for Hamas not having recognized Israel. No they haven't formally, although Hamas officials have for a while informally said they would accept the 1967 borders. In 2000 Sharon won the election with the promise "The Government of Israel flatly rejects the establishment of a Palestinian Arab state west of the Jordan river" Where were the protests then? Today Kadima starts off its "action plan" with the words "the Jewish people have a national and historic right to the Land of Israel in its entirety", i.e. they claim the West Bank is really theirs. Then they "generously" offer to hand some of it over to the Palestinians for purely demographic reasons, they can't keep Israel sufficiently Jewish if too many Palestinians end up on the Israeli side of the border. Should this make the Palestinians feel grateful?

Just so you all know, the US taxpayers will be footing the bill for the electrical plant, since a federal agency ensured it...

"...The power station in Gaza was built over a period of five years, at a cost of $150 million. In 1999, the Enron Corporation, along with Palestinian businessman Said Khoury, began working on the project. In 2000, Khoury's Morganti Group purchased Enron's share of the project.

The power station began operating in 2002, reaching full commercial capacity in 2004. The owners of the power station insured it, through the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, for a sum of $48 million due to "political risks." OPIC is a U.S. government authority that insures U.S. investments in developing markets.

A spokesman for the agency said the insurance purchased by the Morganti Group covers instances of political violence, which include wars and acts of terror.

The plant supplies electricity to some 860,000 people."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/733394.html

The exchange of comments here is reminiscent of the last several milleniums in the Middle East. As well as each of our brief lifetimes. If history is any indication of the future,it is bleak indeed. I'm told of a PhD candidate in Israel whose noble goal was to find negotiation methods to resolve the age-old conflicts. After years of work he concluded there could not be an end to the hostilities until a Messiah accepted by both sides finally came to earth.

Young children have a basic sense of fair/unfair and right/wrong. Only after sufficient "education" do children become adults who kill in the name of fairness and right. Religion BAH! Killing God's children as part of doing God's work. Makes no sense, but all sides keep right on doing it. I'd wish for better, but am sadly pessimistic. I honestly don't care who "wins" or "loses." The whole concept of win/lose has been lost. Everyone there has brought themself into a morass of suffering and death. Over 100 generations of this -- doesn't give one reason to hope. Normally I try to provide some optimistic input. Just can't find it for this one.

Revere, thanks for trying to improve the unfortunate situation. Better to light one candle than curse the darkness...

Easy: Don't despair. The Troubles went on in Northern Ireland for 90 years plus. They are not over but seem well on their way. We'll get there in the mideast, too, but not under Olmert and Hamas, mirror images of insanity.

It all has to just stop. Yeah, I know, idealism, blah blah blah. But come on now. All sides can feel it. I feel the same way about other areas. Looking at the picture of a LRA victim from Uganda, who had his ears, lips, nose and hands chopped off my first thought was "Someone has to stop this, now." I have no idea who the someone is, but this petty bickering when everyone knows the whole thing is wrong, is just silly. John Lennon was right to imagine. If the rest of us (all 6billion+) could just manage it a little bit too...

These are the types of things that make me wish I was wealthy. I don't really have any personal desires that wealth would fulfill except the ability to help others around the world, when all I can do now is read and watch the news.

Tendrel: you don't have to be rich to help. As a matter of fact it is the very rich that are behind all these horrors we descry - the banking empires and megacorporations that buy our politicians and steer our ship of state into conflict after bloody conflict so that they can get ever richer. The only way to stop their stranglehold of power is to bankrupt them so they have none anymore. How? I think a good start would be if everyone stopped buying on credit. I bet the big banks and corporations would belly up inside of a year. Most of their business is based on what they can sell us on credit that we can't really afford, and the exhorbitant interest we pay on those things.Without that source of income, they wouldn't have the money to invest in all these armed conflicts all over the world that are so very profitable for them and so very devastating for everyone else.