Will this increase or decrease the likelihood of terrorist actions in America, Europe and the rest of the world?

If you were a member of a family murdered in this conflict, would you be seeking revenge?

Should Tzipi Livni and Ehud Olmert, be tried for war crimes if or when this conflict comes to an end?

What will the price of oil be in 4 weeks time?

cynic - if i 'wrere' a palestinian I'd be bringing aid in through whatever channels are currently being used to bring in rocketfuel, explosives and arms.

interesting idea, but i think there are probably some good legit and logistical reasons why your idea would not work

cynic if you were Palestinian living in Gaza you could join your compatriots in UAE but then you wouldn't receive any UN handouts.

???? ..... if you mean the imported workers into UAE, then believe me, i am well aware that they get pretty harsh conditions ..... actually, i think most Palestinians are actually of Jordanian or Syrian extraction.

anyway, that is a side issue ..... in my opinion, the Palestinians have every right to expect to have their own homeland and to be treated like human beings if they live in Israel or Gaza.

Israel equally has a right to live peaceably, but that is a two-way transaction ..... on the other hand, Israel has no rights at all to have annexed and built settlements on Left Bank.

Jerusalem should be an "open" city, perhaps under the auspices of UN for lack of a better alternative, where all faiths would have an inalienable right to visit and pray at their particular "holy of holies"

Cynic

you paint this as though its some kind of israeli racist attack against palestinians - and it certainly is not.

Plenty of palestinians do live in Israel - where they are quite properly treated as equals, have all the usual demoocratic rights etc.

The West Bank is thriving economically and receives regular help and assistance from Israel.

Gaza's only export seems to be used rocket cases in their thousands. This incursion is about self defence - make no mistake.

cynic you should be aware there are more Palestinians living outside the conflict areas than within. Most people living in the middle east tend to be "nomadic" and there is nothing wrong with that. The Israel/Palestine conflict will not be resolved unless the rest of the world turns away having tired of this pointless argument and stops supplying weapons and money to both sides.But if that is allowed to happen then a lot of people in high places would lose their share of the money being squandered on this never ending cost to us ordinary taxpayers.

This is a conflict that will run and run. The actual rights and wrongs matter very little now.

My view is that Israel should never been created as a separate state. The wandering Jews of the post war era should maybe have been allowed to move to the area, but just as immigrants to the area. The previous Palastinian inhabitants will not accept Israel's exitence.

Israel are still occupying areas that do not belong to them. I know they claim to be occupying certain areas for security reasons, but settlement of these areas should not have been allowed.

Hamas is behaving in absurd manner. What is the point in punching the biggest boy in the playground in the face and then complaining when he flattens you. I think the whole idea of proportional response is a nonsense. Israel's attitude has always been one of deliberate disproportional response and why not. It is meant as a deterrent.

I think the US's support in the face of rocket attacks is reasonable.

Hamas has miscalculated badly. There is an upcoming election in Israel and the government needed to prove they were strong. Israel only had a small window before the new US president was sworn in. They had to attack strongly while Bush was still there. Hamas have shown themselves to be politically naive once again.

Once again there is a conflict between Jews and Muslems. This is unfortunate. My view has always been that I am generally anti-Israel and pro Jewish. I see them as two distinct things.

haystack wasn't Jesus born a jew 2000 or so years ago in Bethlehem, so whose land is it then? There is no solution to this land dispute, ignore it and it will go away.

the West Bank may well be thriving, but the Israeli settlements (most if not all) should not be there in the first place or should have been demolished or abandoned following the relevant UN resolution.

of course, if the "ordinary people" were allowed their voice to be properly heard, there would probably be no conflict at all, just as would have applied not so many years ago in Ireland.

Israel has ample technology to spy/locate any rocket launcher with satellites and then destroy then with pin point accuracy. By indescriminate destruction of Palestinain infrastrucure, incl Power stations and phone masks what they are doing is a deliberate attempt to fuel more terrorism around the world.

halifax
I think where jesus was born is of no interest. You would have to believe in god or think that where Jesus was born was of any significance today for that to matter.

Princess_Zubi
The rocket launches are not in fixed positions, so it is not worth much to identify ther location. I do think that they probably can locate them and my guess is that they were using that intellligence for their attacks by helicopter gunships prior to the later incursions. But it doesn't stop the firing from another position.

halifax .... i am afraid just ignoring this situation will not make it conveniently disappear, for the M/E in general has far too much strategic importance for all parties .... and therein i fear lies much of the problem

zubi .... if there is such pinpoint accuracy, how do you explain away the massive collateral damage???

Israel's population was formed by an influx of mainly Jews from Europe and America, who colonised part of Palestinian land.

Will the nomadic Palestinian tribes be allowed to return to the land now named as Israel?
If so will they have equal rights?

I somehow doubt it.

I don't believe that it is possible to demolish the State of Israel. It is "fait accompli" .

But I do wish both sides could develop a little mutual respect and possibly trust, which may lead to the benefit of the region and themselves.

I think Bush and Blair's decisions over the last 10 years were disastrous to possible peace in the ME.
t

cynic - zubi explains in its post. Israel is deliberately causing massive collateral damage to encourage more terrorism around the world. Deliberately.

Keep up mate. This is clearly the thread where the world's intellectuals gather for an in-depth and well reasoned discussion on the real issues. It is here where this problem is going to get solved once and for all. Proper like.

And Zubi and Fred will deservedly get nobel peace prizes. Two each.

;-)

Where are the resports of massive collateral damage coming from? The numbers killed inlcude the Hamas terrorists. Certainly at the start the majority were Hamas. Now it is anyone's guess.

Gausie, Glad you are contributing at your usual intellectual level.

I think "collateral" damage amounts to couldn't care a damn. I believe and International Agency worker was killed to-day. Israel won't allow reporters in to report on the action taking place. I suppose the other international agency workers were Hamas in disguise.

The unusual step by the Red Cross of condemning Israel's latest action is also misplaced.

Look, if there was no 'Global Terrorism', what would the US army do..?

cynic you state "but there is no doubt that Israel has made Gaza little better than a ghetto of the type initially imposed on the Jews in Warsaw. "

You should be ashamed of the comparison-450,000 people herded in to an area large enough to house maybe 70,000-starved to death-zero medical equipment,left to die in the open,before being rounded up by those Nazi bastards every day of every week to be transported in cattle trucks to a fate worse than anyone could have imagined in those concentration camps set up for one purpose only.

How you can compare the two is beyond me and smacks of a total and utter lack of knowledge. Your comments are based on tv reporting i am afraid.
Everyone seems to have forgotten who the perpertrators of 9/11 7/7 Glasgow airport ,Lockerbie-the list is endless were.

I cannot recall a pre emptive terror attack in recent times carried out by israel which is meant to kill and maim any civilian which is what Hamas, Hizbollah and the other Paelstinian terror groups plan and execute at will-including suicide bombings in Iraq,Bali ,Pakistanetc etc etc.


This is why the US and no Arab state has condemned Israel outright-apart from Syria.

These Arab states are more afraid of Islamic fundamentalism entering their society.
They are happy to let Israel do the dirty work and take the public beating.

SIVAD .... now you know why i inserted the word initially .... the polish ghettos were progressively shrunk and more and more restrictions placed on the inmates

"Israel's population was formed by an influx of mainly Jews from Europe and America, who colonised part of Palestinian land.

Will the nomadic Palestinian tribes be allowed to return to the land now named as Israel?
If so will they have equal rights?"

Perhaps Syria and Jordan should also return Palestinian Lands, which actually comprise a much larger part of such than the State Of Israel.

I can assume Fred that you will be lobbying the Embassies of both countries for restitution or does your argument only extend as far as Israel?