It's interesting to note, however, that there are laws of war. Within those, the use of such incredible asymmetry, as Israel is now using (and has used), is considered 4th generation warfare. When practiced outside the laws of war, it is considered terrorism.

Hairs may be split over whether Israel is acting outside the laws of war, not the least of which would be by Israel. I see such asymmetry, especially when civilians are targeted, as terrorism.

"All Nature's difference keeps all Nature's peace." Alexander Pope

Good come back brilliant bluto. Israel has more than enough warlike people, do they really need your help? Nitwit leftists, as opposed to deep thinking, realistic right wingers, like yourself, perhaps? Think you might be in over your head? Probably not behind the safety of your computer. Tough guy.

We will insha'allah :) and soon

blutodog

There is absolutely no need of that kind of language here. Make your point decently.
Its not that hard. And listen to what others say before you reply, sometimes you mqay just misunderstand what they are saying. Thanks.

The soul of Israel is dead. Muselmanner rule.

Israel could have been a real country if those who govern[ed] remembered their humanity and the humanity of others. And if they stopped worshipping The Golden Calf and maybe paid a little more attention to that prophet who went up the mountain and came down with some commandments. The reckoning cannot help but come. One cannot mock God for too long.

Elie Wiesel:

What is indifference? Etymologically, the word means "no difference." A strange and unnatural state in which the lines blur between light and darkness, dusk and dawn, crime and punishment, cruelty and compassion, good and evil. What are its courses and inescapable consequences? Is it a philosophy? Is there a philosophy of indifference conceivable? Can one possibly view indifference as a virtue? Is it necessary at times to practice it simply to keep one's sanity, live normally, enjoy a fine meal and a glass of wine, as the world around us experiences harrowing upheavals?

Of course, indifference can be tempting -- more than that, seductive. It is so much easier to look away from victims. It is so much easier to avoid such rude interruptions to our work, our dreams, our hopes. It is, after all, awkward, troublesome, to be involved in another person's pain and despair. Yet, for the person who is indifferent, his or her neighbor are of no consequence. And, therefore, their lives are meaningless. Their hidden or even visible anguish is of no interest. Indifference reduces the Other to an abstraction.

Over there, behind the black gates of Auschwitz, the most tragic of all prisoners were the "Muselmanner," as they were called. Wrapped in their torn blankets, they would sit or lie on the ground, staring vacantly into space, unaware of who or where they were -- strangers to their surroundings. They no longer felt pain, hunger, thirst. They feared nothing. They felt nothing. They were dead and did not know it.

Rooted in our tradition, some of us felt that to be abandoned by humanity then was not the ultimate. We felt that to be abandoned by God was worse than to be punished by Him. Better an unjust God than an indifferent one. For us to be ignored by God was a harsher punishment than to be a victim of His anger. Man can live far from God -- not outside God. God is wherever we are. Even in suffering? Even in suffering.

In a way, to be indifferent to that suffering is what makes the human being inhuman. Indifference, after all, is more dangerous than anger and hatred. Anger can at times be creative. One writes a great poem, a great symphony. One does something special for the sake of humanity because one is angry at the injustice that one witnesses. But indifference is never creative. Even hatred at times may elicit a response. You fight it. You denounce it. You disarm it.

Indifference elicits no response. Indifference is not a response. Indifference is not a beginning; it is an end. And, therefore, indifference is always the friend of the enemy, for it benefits the aggressor -- never his victim, whose pain is magnified when he or she feels forgotten. The political prisoner in his cell, the hungry children, the homeless refugees -- not to respond to their plight, not to relieve their solitude by offering them a spark of hope is to exile them from human memory. And in denying their humanity, we betray our own.

Indifference, then, is not only a sin, it is a punishment.

And this is one of the most important lessons of this outgoing century's wide-ranging experiments in good and evil.

In the place that I come from, society was composed of three simple categories: the killers, the victims, and the bystanders.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Zionist government, Palestinians, and The World.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

/cm

Yes, Chinese and Iranian made Katyusha rockets...which were used by the Soviet Union in WW2. Somehow I don't think they're all that sophisticated.

They are stopping Ghazawis from getting in and out, medical supplies getting in and so on. They are also stopping other foreigners (like the UN rapporteur last week, journalists, people bringing relief supplies) getting in to see just what it's like in Ghaza. It's a process of determined humiliation and dehumanization. Think of the Warsaw Ghetto; that's the nearest equivalent I can think of.

Rainborowe

Didn't Hamas cooperate with Egypt in sealing the border against the Palestinians?

Terrance Mitchell
Redfield, South Dakota

There are checkpoints within the West Bank and checkpoints between Gaza's borders so they cannot get people or goods in or out.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1000197.html

Another word is "siege". That is when you prevent food and medicine from going in over a long period of time. You destroy water supplies, electricity, sanitation and transportation. You gradually starve the city or territory and reward any resistance with severe collective punishment.

This siege seems to be modeled after the siege of Leningrad in many respects. Like that siege, it will not work in the long run. The only question is how many innocents will die along the way.

Joe

blutodog

Of course they have the right to man the checkpoints at their border or to close their border if they so choose. Thats the right of every country.

They have no right at checkpoints between Gaza and Egypt do they? They certainly don't have a right to blockade Gaza's seaports or airspace if Hamas is not attacking Israel do they?

No. Murderous thugs are not men, no matter where they're from.
What do you not understand about the obligations of an occupying army? Israelis and Americans simply believe the bullshit the zionists spew out.

Checkpoints between countries but not within them. There are checkpoints all inside the Palestinian territories blocking farmers from their fields and workers from towns. Checkpoints within countries only exist in Israel/Palestine and for one minority group only, the Arabs.