With the gloves off, Israel continues to made good progress to the rage of mainstream talking heads ; Palestinians right, Israel wrong...it's simple. While the handwringers whine about the Israelis having fighter planes with tanks mowing through Gaza, they don't tell us that Gaza is controlled by Hamas, an extremist insane mob, their one objective to wipe Israel from the world. Hamsa (and others) has been trying this for a number of years , not only with missiles but also horrendous suicide bombings.
Fortunately, as I've said before, this is a minor skirmish compared to those of the past. This time round, though Hamas has aimed to provoke a bloodfest and draw in other Arab nations to eliminate the terrible Jews, it's really been a whimper (deadcat bounce I believe HC members would describe it).
It's tedious to hear of Hamas wanting a Palestinian State - their want is the elimination of Israel...in 2006 they eliminated Fatah through rampant murder, yet there are delusional people who seek to embrace Hamas.
Well meaning but confused souls attempt to justify Hamas with dull readings of dusty history. Forget it ; this is 2009. Israel is responding, as I hope Australia would, after years of murderous attacks.
Sticking to more recent history (long story short - I can just feel the rage of history nitpickers) Israel was established by the UN in 1947 and the Arabs also were to have their own country, an Arab Palestine (simply, the best of a bad situation). The Arabs would not accept, went to war, and were beaten, and so it has dragged on for 60 years because the Arabs have insisted that Israel has no right to exist. However, Egypt, Jordan (and it seems, Saudi Arabia) now accept that Jewish people can have a patch of dirt (less than 1% of the Mid East ?).
But for Hamas (and Fatah are no innocents, or that deceased horror, Arafat) and her sponsors, Iran and Syria, the work of Hitler must be continued (and yes, Israel has been no beacon of morality over the past 60 years). But this is now 2009 and Israel no longer has the patience to attempt to live in harmony with fanatics (Feb. 2007, Hamas MP quote, 'our greatest spiritual attainment is death').
The death of children is horrifying, beamed into our living rooms, but it is Hamas which has designed and plotted for this outcome ; as always, freedom is the most expensive thing (and as for that dishonest phrase, 'freedom fighters', Hamas 'freedom fighters', like other similar despicables, are fighting for dictatorship...and this time round it is Israel that are having to do the heavy lifting).
Cheers, Furii
P.S. some destruction of Gaza and infrastructure...small beer for those who can bother delving into recent history of Japan and much of Europe.
