falxori

That simply shows your lack of understanding of what happen during WWII and what's happening now. all I can say is that it makes me sad... from the decleration of independence of Israel: now, even if you think that Israel don't practice its own rules, I suggest you google the Nurnberg race law and then tell me if you see a difference or not. as opposed to the border crossing between the US and Mexico or any other country? again, you mix Palestinians who are NOT israeli citizens and Israeli Arabs which are citizens with the same rights as I have (but dont serve in the army) "Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero."

that's my point, YOU feel. I'm sure THEY feel the same. what you consider "seeing both sides" looks pretty one sided from where I'm standing. you might be as guilty as the people you accuse... Again, I see the foreign press as biased to the other side, looking for the story that sells rather than looking at the reasons behind it. no point in debating this, its a matter of opinion. I have never said "let's kill them all" not have I supported people saying that here. but, just like you want people to make the difference and not use "all", you have to accept the fact that there is a huge difference between the Palestinians as a people and Hamas which is nothing more than a terror organization, causing more damage to the Palestinians than to Israel. you turn into a "saint" anyone that fights Israel, no matter why, how or what for. "Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero."

you really can't see the difference? I mean, really, are your claims so weak that this is what you need to rely on? I honestly hope that neither you, nor the palestinians (nor anybody else) would face a situation were they are hunted down and killed for their race not for land, not for difference of culture, not for resource and not for politics. there are examples where the killing took the scale of a genocide (The Armenians,Bosnia, Rwanda, etc.) and even there the dispute is over land or culture. can you really not see the difference between that and a systematic destruction of a religion, going across nations, countries and cultures? "Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero."

yes, but not as an Israeli, Israeli Arab or a Palestinian. in may of your posts you miss the important differences between them. My point is that you may have the same "problem" when commenting about these issues as the people you say have never been to the middle east. living only in the US, living in Iran and living here in Israel have advantages and disadvantages that affect your (and my) ability to both see the different cultures and have a certain bias. I agree, but at the end, we all have a choice. our choices define us. "Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero."

oh, I can, and very easily... look at the comparison of military might in past major wars: (this is from wikipedia, they sometimes compare apples to oranges, but I think its pretty close...) 1948-49 Israel: 29,677 initially rising to 115,000 by March 1949. This includes the entire military personnel count- both combat units and logistical units. Arabs (Only forces sent to the former British mandate, not all of the military) Egypt: 10,000 initially rising to 20,000 Iraq: 5,000 initially rising to 15–18,000 Syria: 2,500–5,000 Jordan: 6,000–12,000 Lebanon: 1,000 initially rising to 2,000[2] Saudi Arabia: 800–1,200 Arab Liberation Army: 3,500-6,000 1967 Israel: 264,000 (incl. 214,000 reserve troops) 300 combat aircraft 800 tanks Egypt: 240,000 Syria, Jordan, and Iraq: 307,000 957 combat aircraft 2,504 tanks 1973 Israel: 415,000 troops, 2,300 tanks, 3,000 armored carriers, 945 artillery units,[2] 561 airplanes, 84 helicopters, 38 Navy vessels[3] Egypt: 800,000 troops (300,000 deployed, 80,000 crossed), 1,700 tanks (1,020 crossed),2,400 armored carriers, 1,120 artillery units,[2] 400 combat aircraft, 140 helicopters, 104 Navy vessels, Syria: 150,000 troops (60,000 deployed), 1,400 tanks, 800–900 armored carriers, 600 artillery units, 350 airplanes, 36 helicopters, 21 Navy vessels, Iraq: 60,000 troops, 700 tanks, 500 armored carriers, 200 artillery units, 73 airplanes, first of all, the US has NEVER actively faught in any of these wars. it did supply Israel with crucial supplies (especially in 1973). on the other side, the USSR did the same for the arab counries and they received equipment, training and consulting from the Russians. So, in pure numbers and equipment, Israel is outnumbered, the US aid to Israel is pretty much the same as the Arabs got from the Russians (and today Egypts gets pretty much the same from the US as Israel) so, there you go... facts... "Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero."

I wasn't talking to you... "Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero."

oh really,,, and how many times have you been to Gaza, Israel or the rest of the places you speak of so much with so much confidence? "Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero."

I can tell you as an Israeli (and I think I represent most) that "wish" is not the right word here. the general feeling here is that we were dragged into Gaza by Hamas' rockets. we have no wish to be there. and regarding a "stronger arab power", if you look back, Egypt, together with Syria and Iraq (and a few others that joined in some of the past wars) were matched, if not stronger than Israel. O "Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero."

you know, I can quote the same Geneva convention and prove the exact opposite... first of all, i'm not sure this even applies: first of all, I don't remember Hamas signing (or following) these rules. second, if you really want to go "legal", the 1967 war was with Egypt and Jordan. neither of them want Gaza or the west bank back (they can have it as far as i'm concerned). So, since it was "occupied" from the Egyptians/Jordanians, and they don't want it anymore... there was no "Palestine", remember? what you call "occupied" some will call "liberated", it changes the whole picture. but still, here are few more quotes from the same document... "Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero."

when rockets are fired from within the "cities, towns or villages" , they become a justified military target. you mean building like the schools rigged with expolosives? or the ones used as bunkers? again, I'm sure you mean the mosques who are used as storage area for rockets or the rocket assembly line in the university? I'm pretty sure some innocent targets have been hit, such is war. but you cannot claim these are non-military targets when Hamas clearly made them so O "Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero."

your analogy suggests that I (as a citizen who got hurt by terror) pick up a gun and go kill the robber's family. a better analogy would be the local police chasing the robber, getting into a gun fight with him and killing a few people while the robber uses them as shields. big difference... "Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero."

I wonder how many sandwiches they could buy instead of one rocket... I'm sure its much easier to smuggle sandwiches through the hundreds of tunnels they've been digging than it is to smuggle rockets. for some reason you keep thinking that it is a given fact that Israel has to supply Gaza with anything. considering the fact that there is a hostile government that attacks Israel, any aid that is given (and it is given) should be praised... "Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero."

you're right. Next time the fire rockets at our towns we should send them flowers... "Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero."

where did you get this from? I googled this quote and found it but these were not the terms of the cease fire... the terms were: 1. Israel will stop any strikes on Gaza (i,e seeking Hamas leaders, tunnels, etc. 2. Hamas will stop firing rockets (or anything else). the part about the crossings didnt say anything about "open all border crossings to allow anything". it stated that if the cease fire will be kept, Israel will ease the blockade and allow more stuff into Gaza. "Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero."

I honestly don't think its about retribution or revenge on both sides. Israel has absorbed thousads of rockets over the years. hundreds since the cease fire ended (a week or so before the current operation) and did not react. what would you have Israel do? how long should have Israel "waited" before it was too much? I'm sure Hamas will want revenge now, but that's not its main motivation. what did it need revenge for when Israel pulled out of Gaza? "Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero."

my problem is not with the Iranian people, its with the fanatic leaders. my aunt was born in Iran. I am well aware of its culture and people. They, unlike the people in Gaza, did NOT elect their government. "Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero."

you said it yourself: They won the elections to parliment, they took over the government by force and they were VERY brutal to their fattah brothers who seeked shelter in Israel... but them being elected only makes my point stronger. if the people in Gaza elected a group who will deny any peaceful resolution, then they have only themselves to blame... "Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero."

the short version: because they want the same land as Israel. more detailed: Hamas - because they want all of this land to be their own. They do not accept Israel right to exist and they would not give any of it up for a peaceful resolution. The PA (Fattah, PLO) - less so as they accepted the idea of two states, still a bitter dispute over key issues such as borders and right of return but solvable with good faith and compromises (if they dont resort to violence everytime they dont get all they want) Hezbollah - because they have nothing better to do since Israel has pulled out of Lebanon. and both Hamas and Hezbollah are Iran's proxy. and we all know how they feel about Israel... "Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero."

I can understand why they are fighting as well, it doesn't take a genius... it's the part where they swore to kill me and destroy the country I live in, that I have a problem with... I believe you believe it, but its not as clear cut as you think. I actually think that the media always looks for the "story" and telling the story of the "weak palestinians overwhelmed by Israel" sells more. also, most of the foreign media is using local palestinians, and I'm sure they are very objective too. and trust me, I get CNN, BBC, SKY, and others, maybe beside FOX, they have a completely opposite bias, in my view. "Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero."

or you can move on and stop following rules that are 1500-3000 years old... "Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero."

and when your "self defined" justice cannot coexist with someone else's justice? its very easy to claim you want to be "just" when you are the one defining what just means... "Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero."

you take one picture, take it out of context and build a whole theory based on it. this picture was taken during the 2006 war when local kids who were under heavy fire from Hezbollah were visiting a local outpost. I agree, it was wrong to let them anywhere near these shells but that's not the point. you are comparing this to a system where young kids are sent to "military" camps and trained (and sometimes used) for combat. if you compare school text books you will be amazed by the stuff you find in official palestinian books. I grew up in Israel, the point you are trying to promote is simply not true. not even close. "Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero."

actually that's not what Zionism is about. and to the rest of you comparing religions, this is really NOT about religion. it has never been about religion. some TRY to make it about religion and for the sake of us all, i hope they will not succeed. this is a dispute over land and over way of life. the fact that Hamas is ultra religions fantatic and sponsored by an insane regime like Iran doesn't help. but still it is not about religion. Israel has peace with several arab/muslim countries, and there are actually quite a few muslims and many druze who serve in the Israeli army. don't make it about religion, its not. "Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero."

It mostly says that some Israeli kids need to learn how to spell... "Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero."

I meant your link to the other thread. you are assuming many things that were hardly negotiated at all and look at the first step out of many that would have ended with 91% of the west bank, all of Gaza and the rest in land swaps as the palestinian state. the main reason for the failure of camp david was the right of return and Arafat's refusal to stop terrorism. looking at Gaza and the amount of explosive smuggled into it, do you really think it would have been a good idea to let a terror infested PA full control of the borders right away? O "Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero."