What Israel must do now

[Lite Beer]

What Israel must do now
Gershon Baskin
Slate
Gaza

A man drives his cart beneath the minaret of a mosque hit by an Israeli air strike in the west of Gaza City. A fresh five-day ceasefire between Israel and Gaza

The Gaza War is a dead end; here's how Israel can make something out of it

In many ways the August war in Gaza was a war of no choice. Had the Israelis and Palestinians moved forward on peacemaking in the past, either through the efforts of US Secretary of State John Kerry or through one of the numerous other missed opportunities, perhaps the outbreak of violence would not have occurred. But that is water under the bridge and arguing now about it, just like arguing about who is responsible for the recent round of violence, would be just another pointless game of chicken and the egg.

But now, no one seems to know how to end the war. The fighting might not be as intense as it was a week ago, but, post-temporary cease-fire, it continues nonetheless. I asked senior Palestinian Authority officials last Saturday evening for their thoughts on how this war should end. Their response: "Israel should end the occupation." Okay - that is obvious, but how do we end the war right now, this evening, when anything that Israel and the Palestinian Authority could do will strengthen Hamas as the party that brought home the rewards of the war? After agreeing a five-day truce on Thursday, the Israeli delegation left Cairo, but talks are continuing in Egypt between the Egyptian General Intelligence and the Palestinian factions. The Egyptian strategy is to wear down the resolve of Hamas and get them to accept some compromise that Israel, too, could accept. But I don't see Hamas making any significant compromises that might, even in the slightest way, lead to its demise in Gaza - and those are the only compromises Israel should be willing to make.

This all means that Israel should not negotiate with Hamas. Israeli efforts, and the efforts of its regional partners, should be wholly focused on how to reduce Hamas' control, not increase it.

Hamas will declare victory, regardless of the outcome of the war. It will list its heroism against the mighty Israeli army and will present itself as the only force in the world that defends Palestinian rights. It has already won the battle of words among Palestinians and Arabs by laying down demands that no Palestinian or those who support them can deny as being legitimate. They want their border to be opened for movement of goods and people; they want an airport, a seaport, building materials to rebuild Gaza, to be reconnected to the economy of the West Bank and the world. These are all reasonable demands that could even be acceptable to Israel, if they were on the table while both sides were negotiating comprehensive peace, end of conflict, and end of claims. But Hamas is demanding these achievements for a mere ceasefire, which would leave them with the ability to re-arm and plan for the next war.

Israeli efforts, and the efforts of its regional partners, should be wholly focused on how to reduce Hamas's control, not increase it.

The obvious longer-term opportunities that have grown out of this conflict are for Israel and its neighbours to embrace the Arab Peace Initiative from 2002, negotiate with the Palestinian Authority of Mahmoud Abbas on the basis of that and turn over responsibility for Gaza in the short term to a multinational Arab-led force. Hamas would definitely oppose this step, but Hamas' ability to oppose an all-Arab army with the backing of the Arab League and perhaps even a Security Council resolution would be very small. That, along with an Israeli promise to end the occupation, to allow Palestinians to achieve their national aspirations of a free Palestinian state that includes the West Bank and Gaza, would both answer the Palestinian demands and make Hamas irrelevant in the eyes of the Palestinian people. This would be a plan that would reward the moderates at the expense of the extremists, breaking the pattern of doing exactly the opposite for far too many years.

None of this is impossible, and its chances would be advanced significantly if the initiative came from Riyadh. If King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia would issue an invitation to Netanyahu, Abbas, President El-Sisi of Egypt, and King Abdullah of Jordan to come immediately to Riyadh with Gaza on the table, it could very easily lead to the acceptance of the Arab Peace Initiative. The current war is a dead end; we need a brave initiative and a courageous Arab leader (and Israeli one) to get beyond the current lose-lose scenario in progress.

There is more Israel can do to move things in the right direction, without giving an inch to Hamas. Netanyahu's government should reach out to the Palestinian population in Gaza with messages that move from the current language of threats to the language of promise and hope. Israel needs to articulate to Gazans what a peaceful Gaza could look like with an airport, economic development, and jobs. Gazans desperately want to hear concrete plans for how their basic needs for a normal life could be met, and Israeli officials should be the ones to tell them.

What's more, Israel should encourage the process launched with the formation of the Palestinian reconciliation government in May 2014 to convene new Palestinian elections as soon as possible so that the people will have their say to elect a legitimate leadership to represent them. Elections held while Gaza is recovering from the pains of war, with a positive message about Gaza's future coming from Israel, all while serious, genuine negotiations are taking place on ending the Israeli occupation will significantly increase the chances of electing a government in the West Bank and Gaza that would continue to build Palestine and not destroy it.

To reach that end, Israel should now recognise the Palestinian national reconciliation government, which, although supported by Hamas, has no Hamas representatives in it. The main task of that government is to prepare Palestine for new elections - that is its mandate.

In the meantime, Hamas is likely to continue to shoot rockets and mortars at Israel at the rate of 50-100 per day, but its supplies are running down and eventually will come to an end. Israel can continue to respond to the rocket fire with air attacks against military targets, taking extra special care to avoid collateral damage and civilian casualties - yes, more than they have until now. During this time, it is essential for Israel to engage positively the Palestinian Authority leadership, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and others with plans for bringing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to an end.

This is the way to avoid granting Hamas a victory that would once again prove that violence pays. It is essential that Israel reward diplomacy and moderation or else this latest war will just be another round in a never-ending conflict.

Gershon Baskin is the co-chairman of the Israel Palestine Creative Regional Initiatives, a columnist for the Jerusalem Post and the initiator and negotiator of the secret back channel for the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit. He is also the author of "The Negotiator: Freeing Gilad Schalit from Hamas".

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/What-Israel-must-do-now-30241015.html

-- The Nation 2014-08-16

[ABCer]

I would like to mention that there is a deliberate confusion in this article aimed at confusing the readers.

HAMAS is not Palestinians. Palestinians are not HAMAS. There cannot and never will be any agreement between HAMAS and Israel.

Americans, Egyptians and any other 'mediators' in this conflict are incidental.

Israel has to agree to die or to exterminate HAMAS. No other way to end violence in Gaza. Sorry.

Somehow I doubt Israelis will agree to die collectively to please HAMAS or 'politically correct' Western opinion.

Edited August 16, 2014 by ABCer

[rbt]

Israel must stop believing that it can survive on the land of Palestine which it robbed from the Palestinian people. It cannot! Just look at the map. Does anyone think that the traitors who now rule Arab countries will be there for ever? No, sooner or later the Muslims would rise up, throw their leaders to the dogs, tell the Islam-hating West to take a hike and march towards Jerusesalm with ultra modern weapons like what Iran is now buiding and send the Zionists packing to wherever they came from.

Edited August 16, 2014 by metisdead
Unnecessary usage of bold font removed.

[gpdjohn]

let the hate begin...

[franzs]

a very one sided story,

Gaza is controlled by Israel like a big concentration camp,

it controls what goes in and out, they killing people at will,

the world should accept Gaza as a state and stop Israel killing it's people,

it is a shame to think that Israel do now the same to the Palestine people what the

Nazis have done to them, and this without punishment,

something has to be done

[ABCer]

Israel must stop believing that it can survive on the land of Palestine which it robbed from the Palestinian people. It cannot! Just look at the map. Does anyone think that the traitors who now rule Arab countries will be there for ever? No, sooner or later the Muslims would rise up, throw their leaders to the dogs, tell the Islam-hating West to take a hike and march towards Jerusesalm with ultra modern weapons like what Iran is now buiding and send the Zionists packing to wherever they came from.

You are right! This will happen as soon as Israelis will agree with you.

Be careful though. This is not the first time Iran is trying to build 'ultra modern weapons', remember?

Western 'political correctness' is one thing. Israel's survival is another. Beware of what you are wishing - you may get it!

[ezzra]

Israel must stop believing that it can survive on the land of Palestine which it robbed from the Palestinian people. It cannot! Just look at the map. Does anyone think that the traitors who now rule Arab countries will be there for ever? No, sooner or later the Muslims would rise up, throw their leaders to the dogs, tell the Islam-hating West to take a hike and march towards Jerusesalm with ultra modern weapons like what Iran is now buiding and send the Zionists packing to wherever they came from.

This above post is such an inflammatory and hate mongering BS that it beggars belief, and yet here it is, no use debating such garbage.....

[ezzra]

The ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER

This one is a little different....

Two Different Versions ...

Two Different Morals

OLD VERSION

· The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

· The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

· Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed.

· The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MORAL OF THE OLD STORY: Be responsible for yourself!

MODERN VERSION

· The ant works hard in the withering heat and the rain all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

· The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

· Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while he is cold and starving..

· CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.

· America is stunned by the sharp contrast.

· How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

· Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green ...'

· Occupy the Anthill stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the SEIU group singing, we shall overcome.

· Then Rev Al Sharpton's assistant has the group kneel down to pray for the grasshopper while he damns the ants. The Reverend Al cannot attend as he has contractual commitments to appear on his MSNBC show for which he is paid over two million dollars a year to complain that rich people do not care.

· President Obama condemns the ant and blames President Bush 43, President Bush 41, President Reagan, Christopher Columbus, and the Pope for the grasshopper's plight

· Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid exclaim in an interview on The View that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.

· Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer.

· The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government Green Czar and given to the grasshopper.

· The story ends as we see the grasshopper and his free-loading friends finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which, as you recall, just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around them because the grasshopper doesn't maintain it.

· The ant has disappeared in the snow, never to be seen again.

· The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident, and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the ramshackle, once prosperous and peaceful, neighborhood.

· The entire Nation collapses bringing the rest of the free world with it.

[Ulysses G.]

Gaza is controlled by Israel like a big concentration camp,it controls what goes in and out

A "concentration camp" with modern shopping malls, luxury hotels, water parks and one of the biggest obesity problems in the world.

There was no blockade until Hamas started attacking Israel after they were elected by the citizens of Gaza.They caused their own problems. There will be no peace until the Palestinians choose moderates to represent them.

Hamas could have chosen peace. Instead, it made Gaza suffer.

Unfortunately, we know the path Hamas chose. Even as Israel was completing the process of withdrawing all its settlers and soldiers from Gaza, Hamas carried out a bus-station bombing in Israel. Then, from late 2005 to early 2006, Hamas conducted multiple attacks on the very crossing points that allowed people and goods to move into and out of Gaza.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/hamas-could-have-chosen-peace-instead-it-made-gaza-suffer/2014/08/08/eefd2b48-1d83-11e4-82f9-2cd6fa8da5c4_story.html

Edited August 16, 2014 by Ulysses G.

[ezzra]

a very one sided story,

Gaza is controlled by Israel like a big concentration camp,

it controls what goes in and out, they killing people at will,

the world should accept Gaza as a state and stop Israel killing it's people,

it is a shame to think that Israel do now the same to the Palestine people what the

Nazis have done to them, and this without punishment,

something has to be done

To suggest and equate that Israel exterminating Palestinians en mass killing in gas chambers, starvations

and genocide is to show lack of history knowledge, unintelligent, ignorant and dim witted understanding of the issue, 6 million Jews to 2,000 Palestinians? really?

[ABCer]

It is great to see the consensus between 'The Nation', Gershon Baskin and all lovers of Light Beer on "What Israel Must Do Now".

The topic wouldn't be such 'a dead end' if somebody asked Israel to join the discussion.

[goatfarmer]

"It has already won the battle of words among Palestinians and Arabs by laying down demands that no Palestinian or those who support them can deny as being legitimate."

Maybe all minus one. But I would be surprised if this guy is alone:

[media]http://youtu.be/5xuYcjubV7I[/media]

Edited August 16, 2014 by goatfarmer

[doctorproc156]

If Israel really cared about the lives of the palestinians they would set up refugee camps and protect the palestinian civilians whilst they do a full ground invasion of gaza and get rid of Hamas. Instead they are intentionally bombing UN refugee camps and schools and intentionally targeting children (as shown by the children who were killed when they were playing football on the beach). No sane person is saying that Israel doesn't have a right to defend itself, but what it doesn't have a right to do is commit war crimes and massacres of innocent civilian populations.

[johna]

Gaza is controlled by Israel like a big concentration camp,it controls what goes in and out

A "concentration camp" with modern shopping malls, luxury hotels, water parks and one of the biggest obesity problems in the world.

There was no blockade until Hamas started attacking Israel after they were elected by the citizens of Gaza.They caused their own problems. There will be no peace until the Palestinians choose moderates to represent them.

Hamas could have chosen peace. Instead, it made Gaza suffer.

Unfortunately, we know the path Hamas chose. Even as Israel was completing the process of withdrawing all its settlers and soldiers from Gaza, Hamas carried out a bus-station bombing in Israel. Then, from late 2005 to early 2006, Hamas conducted multiple attacks on the very crossing points that allowed people and goods to move into and out of Gaza.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/hamas-could-have-chosen-peace-instead-it-made-gaza-suffer/2014/08/08/eefd2b48-1d83-11e4-82f9-2cd6fa8da5c4_story.html

modern shopping malls, luxury hotels, water parks, and one of the biggest obesity problems in the world?

I thing you've got Disney Land in Florida confused with Gaza.

[TheFishman1]

After reading all the posts what does this have to do with Thailand? Hamas will never acknowledge Israel rights so I think Israel needs to once and for all finish Hamas All Hamas wants is to Kill the Jews kinda like Hitler when everybody realizes what Hamas only goal is then maybe there can be piece

[Ulysses G.]

modern shopping malls, luxury hotels, water parks, and one of the biggest obesity problems in the world?

I thing you've got Disney Land in Florida confused with Gaza.

Nope. Gaza.

[mania]

After reading all the posts what does this have to do with Thailand?

Your in the "World News" section of the forum

[rickirs]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

The ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER

This one is a little different....

Two Different Versions ...

Two Different Morals

OLD VERSION

· The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

· The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

· Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed.

· The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MORAL OF THE OLD STORY: Be responsible for yourself!

MODERN VERSION

· The ant works hard in the withering heat and the rain all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

· The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

· Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while he is cold and starving..

· CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.

· America is stunned by the sharp contrast.

· How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

· Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green ...'

· Occupy the Anthill stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the SEIU group singing, we shall overcome.

· Then Rev Al Sharpton's assistant has the group kneel down to pray for the grasshopper while he damns the ants. The Reverend Al cannot attend as he has contractual commitments to appear on his MSNBC show for which he is paid over two million dollars a year to complain that rich people do not care.

· President Obama condemns the ant and blames President Bush 43, President Bush 41, President Reagan, Christopher Columbus, and the Pope for the grasshopper's plight

· Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid exclaim in an interview on The View that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.

· Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer.

· The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government Green Czar and given to the grasshopper.

· The story ends as we see the grasshopper and his free-loading friends finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which, as you recall, just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around them because the grasshopper doesn't maintain it.

· The ant has disappeared in the snow, never to be seen again.

· The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident, and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the ramshackle, once prosperous and peaceful, neighborhood.

· The entire Nation collapses bringing the rest of the free world with it.

You are overly obsessed with America.

[mania]

To suggest and equate that Israel exterminating Palestinians en mass killing in gas chambers, starvations

and genocide is to show lack of history knowledge, unintelligent, ignorant and dim witted understanding of the issue, 6 million Jews to 2,000 Palestinians? really?

If your going to compare maybe better to use more than just the recent bombings for numbers dead.

Or use just a week of WWII stats if you want to go that way

Edited August 16, 2014 by mania

[ezzra]

If Israel really cared about the lives of the palestinians they would set up refugee camps and protect the palestinian civilians whilst they do a full ground invasion of gaza and get rid of Hamas. Instead they are intentionally bombing UN refugee camps and schools and intentionally targeting children (as shown by the children who were killed when they were playing football on the beach). No sane person is saying that Israel doesn't have a right to defend itself, but what it doesn't have a right to do is commit war crimes and massacres of innocent civilian populations.

Again, if Israel would have intentionally target children, there would be 10 of thousands of them

dead by now, Israel is not Boko haram, or ISIS, there will not be humanitarian cease fires,

there will be not electricity, water, fuel and hundreds of supply trucks entering Gaza from Israel,,

[ezzra]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

You are overly obsessed with America.

For better or worse, America is part of the problem as well as part of the solution....

[Vermor]

It seemes that many people dont look at the history.

The Hamas was created by the mossad in the eighties to have something against OLP from Arafath. And so supported by Israel.
Now that Hamas is ally with Fatah, Israel has to do something...

http://globalresearch.ca/articles/ZER403A.html

Edited August 16, 2014 by Vermor

[CBR250]

a very one sided story,

Gaza is controlled by Israel like a big concentration camp,

it controls what goes in and out, they killing people at will,

the world should accept Gaza as a state and stop Israel killing it's people,

it is a shame to think that Israel do now the same to the Palestine people what the

Nazis have done to them, and this without punishment,

something has to be done

To suggest and equate that Israel exterminating Palestinians en mass killing in gas chambers, starvations

and genocide is to show lack of history knowledge, unintelligent, ignorant and dim witted understanding of the issue, 6 million Jews to 2,000 Palestinians? really?

Of course it isn't the same. But be a little bit more honest with your criticism - 2,000 Palestinians are only the ones who died in this most recent round of conflict.

But where the OP is correct is that Israel has not learned from the history of abuse of its own people. When one group carefully crafts a public perception of some other group of people as "alien", "less than" etc, this allows for the development of abuse, oppression and hatred. And ultimately the loss of the oppressor's humanity as they start to accept the killing of innocent women and children without compunction.

[CBR250]

The original article notes:

"What's more, Israel should encourage the process launched with the formation of the Palestinian reconciliation government in May 2014 to convene new Palestinian elections as soon as possible so that the people will have their say to elect a legitimate leadership to represent them."

Well, let's hope that happens, because the formation of a Palestinian national unity government in May 2014 was vehemently rejected by the Israeli government.

This Unity government agreed to by Fatah and Hamas - and without members from Hamas or those with existing political affiliations - was happy to recognise Israel's right to exist. Everything that Israel claims it wanted politically was offered to them back in May. So what did Israel do? Well, Netanyahu is on record as spitting chips that Hamas and Fatah were speaking from the same songsheet. He demanded the US and the EU refuse to recognise the Unity government. When they told him to bugger off he engineered a nice little war in Gaza. No doubt there were a few other of Netanyahu's nefarious political agendas that this also suited.

Mr Bashkin, the writer of the article, seems to think that this step is so easy. It is logical, yes. Will it help peace along? Maybe - remember that elections will then be held in Palestine, and after the devastation wrought in Gaza there may be many Palestinians supporting hardliners. And then the US and EU must also pressure Israel to accept th Unity government they so angrily rejected a few months ago.

The best chance for this to work was back in May. That chance was squandered. If it arises again, let's hope that people with peace in mind have the upper hand, not the warmongers.

[Johpa]

Israel must stop believing that it can survive on the land of Palestine which it robbed from the Palestinian people. It cannot! Just look at the map. Does anyone think that the traitors who now rule Arab countries will be there for ever? No, sooner or later the Muslims would rise up, throw their leaders to the dogs, tell the Islam-hating West to take a hike and march towards Jerusesalm with ultra modern weapons like what Iran is now buiding and send the Zionists packing to wherever they came from.

It sounds as if you are actually looking forward to some sort of nuclear armegeddon. Need I remind you that the word armegeddon is literally derived from the Semitic languages and refers to Har Megiddo, a mountain southeast of Haifa and west of Afula. You are advocating what use to be known as MADness, mutually assured destruction. It is also known to the Evangelical crowd as the second coming of Christ as described in the Book of Revelations, which pretty much negates any possible gain for Dar Al-Islam. Yet I for one place no credence, zero, in any book purporting to represent the words of Zeus or any other conceived invisible man in the sky. And I doubt the planet could survive such a holocaust. So unless you are a complete misanthrope, I do hope you will rethink your untenable position.

[arjunadawn]

Israel must stop believing that it can survive on the land of Palestine which it robbed from the Palestinian people. It cannot! Just look at the map. Does anyone think that the traitors who now rule Arab countries will be there for ever? No, sooner or later the Muslims would rise up, throw their leaders to the dogs, tell the Islam-hating West to take a hike and march towards Jerusesalm with ultra modern weapons like what Iran is now buiding and send the Zionists packing to wherever they came from.

There was never a State of Palestine. The rest of your post is also nonsense.

[arjunadawn]

I would like to mention that there is a deliberate confusion in this article aimed at confusing the readers.

HAMAS is not Palestinians. Palestinians are not HAMAS. There cannot and never will be any agreement between HAMAS and Israel.

Americans, Egyptians and any other 'mediators' in this conflict are incidental.

Israel has to agree to die or to exterminate HAMAS. No other way to end violence in Gaza. Sorry.

Somehow I doubt Israelis will agree to die collectively to please HAMAS or 'politically correct' Western opinion.

Bravo! I also read through this piece, 1/2 disgusted and 1/2 amused. It's total nonsense, on more than one point.

[doctorproc156]

If Israel really cared about the lives of the palestinians they would set up refugee camps and protect the palestinian civilians whilst they do a full ground invasion of gaza and get rid of Hamas. Instead they are intentionally bombing UN refugee camps and schools and intentionally targeting children (as shown by the children who were killed when they were playing football on the beach). No sane person is saying that Israel doesn't have a right to defend itself, but what it doesn't have a right to do is commit war crimes and massacres of innocent civilian populations.

Again, if Israel would have intentionally target children, there would be 10 of thousands of them

dead by now, Israel is not Boko haram, or ISIS, there will not be humanitarian cease fires,

there will be not electricity, water, fuel and hundreds of supply trucks entering Gaza from Israel,,

They obviously don't want to kill all of them, just kill enough of them to terrorize the Palestinian population into submission. Israel is not like boko haram nor is it a rational country which follows the Geneva convention and the UN rules of war. The Hamas attacks are in no way existential to the existence of Israel, they should be better than this and not bombing UN schools and refugee camps which is unacceptable by any stretch of the imagination. And electricity and water has been cut by the way, the desalination plants and the power plants which power most of Gaza have been destroyed and it will take months to repair and use again. Israel is an irrational acting country.

[bangkokheat]

The ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER

This one is a little different....

Two Different Versions ...

Two Different Morals

OLD VERSION

· The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

· The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

· Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed.

· The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MORAL OF THE OLD STORY: Be responsible for yourself!

MODERN VERSION

· The ant works hard in the withering heat and the rain all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

· The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

· Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while he is cold and starving..

· CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.

· America is stunned by the sharp contrast.

· How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

· Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green ...'

· Occupy the Anthill stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the SEIU group singing, we shall overcome.

· Then Rev Al Sharpton's assistant has the group kneel down to pray for the grasshopper while he damns the ants. The Reverend Al cannot attend as he has contractual commitments to appear on his MSNBC show for which he is paid over two million dollars a year to complain that rich people do not care.

· President Obama condemns the ant and blames President Bush 43, President Bush 41, President Reagan, Christopher Columbus, and the Pope for the grasshopper's plight

· Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid exclaim in an interview on The View that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.

· Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer.

· The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government Green Czar and given to the grasshopper.

· The story ends as we see the grasshopper and his free-loading friends finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which, as you recall, just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around them because the grasshopper doesn't maintain it.

· The ant has disappeared in the snow, never to be seen again.

· The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident, and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the ramshackle, once prosperous and peaceful, neighborhood.

· The entire Nation collapses bringing the rest of the free world with it.

great story, love it, your either a script writer or you write books

[DeepInTheForest]

I do not have a rooting interest in this seemingly intractable mess, which I, like many around the world, wish would simply evaporate before more innocents are killed. (Little chance of that...) However, the notion put forward by the OP, that Israel is somehow carefully avoiding all possible collateral damage, seems rather a cruel joke, as the destruction of hospitals, homes, and factories illustrates. I offer this post to point out different views of several aspects of the situation.

UN officials have said that the actions of the Israeli military are effectively war crimes (http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/30/world-disgrace-gaza-un-shelter-school-israel ). Even a UN school was shelled, among at least half a dozen strikes on UN facilities (http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-strike-near-un-school-20140803-story.html ) and 9 UN relief workers have been killed.(http://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/press-releases/unrwa-mourns-loss-ninth-staff-gaza). Amnesty cites mounting evidence that health workers have been targeted (http://commondreams.org/newswire/2014/08/07/mounting-evidence-deliberate-attacks-gaza-health-workers-israeli-army ).

International scholars, many of whom are Jewish, have denounced the enforced isolation of Gaza (http://truth-out.org/speakout/item/25030-international-scholars-statement-on-gaza ), saying “The siege of Gaza alone is a stark violation of international law. Operation Protective Edge, whose impact has fallen almost entirely on the civilian population, is an even more egregious violation.”

It is not just scholars. People around the world are wondering why the brutal collective punishment of Gazans is allowed to continue, and even the Israeli regime’s main enabler, the US, is now seemingly on the verge of stopping missile shipments.

People with an open mind who are truly interested in peace will have their doubts about the official narrative promoted by the Israeli government and prominent actors in the Western press. The history of the conflict has vile transgressions by both sides. But if one examines the facts, it seems pretty darn doubtful that the Palestinian side was responsible for this latest round of horror. On the contrary.

“In the recent series of events, Hamas launched its very first rockets on July 7, in retaliation to overnight airstrikes that killed several Hamas militants, calling it a "grave escalation." Those were the first rockets Hamas claimed responsibility for since the 2012 cease-fire. The events prior to July 7 suggest that Israel acted to provoke a response from Hamas that could serve as a pretext for launching a military operation in Gaza….

“If that does not convince you, consider this: In the first three months following the November 2012 cease-fire, not a single rocket came out of the Palestinian territories. Israel, however, carried out numerous unprovoked attacks and incursions, killing innocent civilians and violating the cease-fire.”

(http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/25156-five-misconceptions-about-the-israel-palestine-conflict ).

It is also clear that the Israel leadership has a clear interest in destroying the Gazan economy, forcing the region to become dependent on Israeli products. Chicken farms, cookie factories, sewage treatments, an ice cream factory—all were targets. To prevent the development of an entire territory, and instead enforcing a desperate existence on its populace, is no way to seek peace. (http://truth-out.org/progressivepicks/item/23004-the-economic-destruction-of-gaza )

I am not sure what the way forward would be. But I am pretty sure that the increasingly barbaric attacks on civilian populations will lead to increasing trouble for the state. Would it be too much to expect that wiser heads will eventually gain enough influence to save the people of Israel from the out-of-control actions of its leadership? One would hope not, but at this point, one has to wonder. For a challenging look at “myths” surrounding the conflict, check out this link: http://www.vox.com/cards/israel-palestine-misconceptions/the-conflict-is-too-complex-to-possibly-understand

Edited August 16, 2014 by DeepInTheForest