I can’t read the Haaretz article myself, since it’s in Hebrew.

I *DO NOT* agree with your idea that Israel is attacking civilians. Your post contains a major example of petitio principii (second sentence) which suggests that the IDF is deliberately targeting civilians.

As it so happens, the Jerusalem Post reports that Hamas attacked IDF positions from within a school and the IDF responded appropriately by targeting the position. “Defense officials” report that secondary explosions killed the civilians. Does the fact that Hamas is complicit in the deaths of Palestinians mean that the blood of the dead are any less red? Perhaps you could devote some of your boundless energy to hounding Hamas vis-a-vis pro-Hamas websites to cease using schools to launch rockets from.

But let’s say for the sake of your argument that this was a war crime i.e. the deliberate targeting of civilians either by military order or voluntary action by an IDF soldier. This by itself does not negate the fundemental justice of Israel’s current action to defend its citizens. To think otherwise is to engage in a sweeping judgment of the entire IDF whose ethics and methodology in the conduct of war are considered among the best in the world.

If it turns out through investigation that an IDF soldier fired upon known civilians with the intent of murder – regardless of the results, I will be among the first to support prosecution of that soldier and his chain of command (it it so warrants). This type of behavior, possibly fueled by emotion, undermines the ethos of the entire unit.

What I think I am gleaning from your post is that the IDF might be using the subterfuge of attacking Hamas to murder civilians. That is an interesting if not horrifying accusation but it lacks the evidence of intent. Israel is not supposed to care about Palestinian lives; it is supposed to care about the safety of its soldiers and its citizens and if unfortunate enough to have to engage in battle, it is supposed to follow the international rules for the conduct of war. Hamas maintains the onus of responsibility to care for the safety of Gazans – not Israel.

But the only side I see being punished here is the Palestinian one. Hamas is considered a terrorist organization, and that’s how it should be as they are explicitly targeting civilians.

BUT, what about Israel? An Israeli bomb just hit a UN school where Palestinians in Gaza were taking refuge; it killed 40 people inside, and injured another 45. Are you going to tell me that all those people were Hamas members? Rockets were being fired nearby? Hamas was hiding in th ebasement? Oups, my finger slipped on the trigger? Give me a break.

Hamas is willing to negotiate another ceasefire, but Israel is stopping that from happening. They have an excuse to murder and maim an entire population, and it’s quite obvious that the Israeli government doesn’t care about Palestinian life.

They also seem to think they have a free pass to commit war crimes (which IS what is going on right now, in case you were a little confused). It’s a massacre, plain and simple.

Now.. *drum roll please* here come the excuses…

If the alternate to the above is even one Hamas-murdered Israeli, we agree except for the torture part.

Every country in the world is expected to defend its citizens; Israel is no different. If you think rocket fire is some sort of angry symbolic protest, I invite you and your family to spend your next vacation in any city within the 15-second zone in southern Israel and afterwards I ask you come back to this website and tell us all about who is attempting to destroy whom.

“No wimps in Gaza.”

Dispossession. Good. House demolitions. Good. Torture. Good. Extrajudicial killing. Good. Destruction of culture. Good. Massive deaths and injuries. Good. Refugees displaced for a second and third and fourth time. Good. Second-class-third-class-nth-class citizenship. Good.

Pissed off Palestinians. Punch them in the face. Bomb them when they get angry. No wimps here in Israel.

“Lop-sided attacks”? You might understand the difference between murder and manslaughter and how intent plays a significant role in determining which is which. War by definition is grossly obscene . . . no one who is civilized disagrees with you.

I am all for proportiate use of force used discriminately against all Hamas military and political targets. The civilian kill ratio is telling: Israel forces 25% and Hamas forces 80%. The difference to my sense of ethics is intent. I can only conclude that Hamas is intentionally murdering civilians (rhetorical question: is this a valid military target when your goal is genocide?) and the IDF is accidentally and regretablly killing civilians. There is a difference and you know it.

By the way, Israel evacuated its Gaza settlements years ago and not every Israelphile is a big fan of West Bank settlements. Gaza is “occupied” by Hamas. The West Bank is dotted with settlements legal and illegal as described by the authors of this blog; but there is no rocket fire from the West Bank now is there?

That you are Jewish misses the point; it’s like an Arab saying, “how can I be anti-semitic? I am a semite!” You may be Jewish but your unbalanced comments help undermine the future of Jewish people. Criticism is fair and encouraged; failing to distinguish between murder and manslaughter (“lopsided numbers”) is unhelpful to either side.

Your and your friend’s “bigger sense of responsibility” at crying foul everytime Israel defends herself only encourages Hamas, again with your collective input, to keep up the rocket attacks. Hamas has decided that destroying Israel is a more important goal than recognizing Israel and living a productive and peaceful existence as Palestine.

Bottom line: Israel has been illegally occupying Palestinian land for 40 years, not to mention building settlements where it shouldn’t. Palestinians are fed up, desperate and are sick and tired of being treated like second-class citizens (once again, not that this excuses attacks on Israeli civilians). And instead of dealing with the real problem – Israel’s violation of international law – they continue to bombard Palestinians, only deepening the seeds of hate and revenge within this occupied population.

Is that still “make everything appear complicated”?

And by the way, I’m Jewish. Not that that’s going to stop you from calling me, or anyone that dares criticize almighty Israel, an anti-Semite, Jew hater.