[SMG]

Originally Posted by ntluser

I don't condone what Israel is doing but then again I don't condone the actions of Hamas either. Though the Palestinian firepower is less, it nevertheless has the potential to kill.

I think that we're probably agreed that the scale of the deaths is horrendous, and that many innocent people have lost their lives unnecessarily.

The same was true in Ireland, but unfortunately that's part of the nature of war. When the war stops, for the most part, the deaths stop.

The Israeli action does not make Israelis safer as individually they can be hurt or killed anywhere in the world as they can now. The same is true for Palestinians.

This Israeli campaign is about preserving the sanctity of Israel the state. In other words, it's about providing safety within the bounds of Israel. It won't be total safety but it will be as close as they can get, because they will keep all their enemies at a distance. They blockade Gaza and for the most part shut the suicide bombers out of Israel.

The Israelis want to put the Palestinians in a ghetto without arms so that they can forget about them. As long as the Palestinians are unarmed and harmless, the Israelis will ignore them but if they get weapons that is a different story.

It is a far from happy situation and each night I pray that the fighting will come promptly to an end.

Unfortunately, only the Israelis & Palestinians can do anything about that.

That, is a logical, well thought out post m8. Your reasoning is spot on.