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?

Hard to know where to begin unpicking your lengthy post above Fred (why write 5 lines when you can write 50.) It goes off at a tangent from my original point and is full of supposition and inaccurracies. I think I will just give it a miss as most on here understand you well enough by now.

Fahel,

Apologies, but one of you postings (P2531, cut and paste) was I thought, inflammatory, and would do little to reduce tension. (If it can be investigated and substantiated in a legitimate "court of law", at some time in the future, it should be.)

Don't fall into the trap of responding in the manner chosen by some on the thread. Their methods don't succeed in the end..

Have a good day.

Isaacs,

When you make sweeping statements about me, and I consider them to be false, you can expect a response from me.

I consider my response more temperate than you merit.

Have a nice day.

Response yes, off at a tangent, essay length, fairly tale no.

Hils,
No need to. He just knocks it off the hinges on the way out.

tomorow i must remember to catch up with this in that wonderfully unbiased paper Khaleej Times, the very mouthpiece of temperance and cool appraisal .... whoops! there's the mullah calling me to prayers to look after the souls of those poor innocent israelis who were injured or killed

Here is an independent view from The Red Cross in December last year.

http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/palestine-gaza-update-211209?opendocument

Another fron The Red Cross last June

http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/palestine-news-290609?opendocument

in my opinion the leaders of hamas and hezbollah are neck and neck for the next nobel peace prize, along with redneck netenyahu .... they all personalise the images, aspirations and open honesty to which the whole of world youth should aspire ..... so hard to pick which would be the most deserving

Haystack - those links tell the worrying and undisputed tale of the economic hardship that is the lot of Gaza whilst the rockets continue and the blockade is in force. But they also clearly demonstrate that food is not in short supply in Gaza.

Extracts from your link above:

"Most families in Gaza are afflicted by unemployment and poverty. Food is available in shops and markets, but many families cannot afford a nutritious diet. Bakeries frequently have to shut down for lack of fuel." - ie plenty of food available, distribution and welfare by Gaza government (ie Hamas) needs to be improved.

Safety is also a matter of great concern for farmers who own land near the fence separating Gaza from Israel. Some farmers can work freely within 350 metres of the fence, while others risk being shot at if they come within 1,200 metres. In some areas, such as east of the town of Jabalia, they cannot reach their farms at all. As farmers are still not allowed to export their produce through Israel, their harvest is sold locally, which provides little income. As long as the crossing points into Israel remain closed, agriculture is likely to decline further. - ie Gaza has a net exportable surplus of food, but blockade prevents exports and so the food must be consumed locally (!!).

The families are in poverty and unemployed due to Israel destroying much of the infrastructure and the fact that many Gaza residents used to work across the border which is now closed. That in turn means that they cannot afford to buy food as is stated.

"but many families cannot afford a nutritious diet."

The unemployment, poor diet, lack of medical care and poverty have all increased since the blockade.

that is all down to hamas who benefit by keeping people in poverty

Fred1new,
You do not have to appologies, and would like to thank you for your advise, point taken. :)

Haystack - many families cannot afford a nutritious diet.

This is purely an economic issue. There are many people in every country all over the world who cannot afford a nutritious diet. It is for the local administration to manage food distribution/redistribution and economic welfare payments. Or to choose differently between conflict development and economic development.

I agree that the blockade contributes to contribute to Gaza's economic failure - the West Bank is successfully developing its economy with Israel's help, but then the West Bank doesn't fire missiles into Israel and is run by politicians who discharge their civic duties, rather than what we see in Gaza: an organisation that hates its neighbours more than it loves its citizens.

Cynic,

If "the leaders of hamas and hezbollah are neck and neck for the next nobel peace prize", what prize so think suitable for the Israeli's present administrators, or even yourself.

Hamas is never going to stop hating Israel. They don't recognised the legitimacy of Israel and never will. On that basis the blockade will exist forever, but of course it won't. therefore Israel might as well stop the blockade sooner then later.

There is one point that is worth raising concerning the stopping of the flotilla that I have not seen mentioned. The purpose of stopping ships attempting to run a blockade or that are suspected of carrying guns or prohibited items is to stop and search these vessels. Having found that they do not contain anything untoward they could then be allowed to dock in Gaza. Israel might insist that one of the ships in particular was resistant to that idea and want to escort that ship to an Israeli port.

The remaining ships did not resist and could easily have been search and allowed to go on their way, especially as some of them were fairly small.

Why were they detained and taken to an Israeli port?

Cos it's a blockade, block'ead!

fred u arsehole .... try reading the whole and not just selective bits! .... and you wonder why this thread is so blinkered and partisan????????????????

The blockade is illegal by most measures. Stopping ships with suspicions of ... may not be illegal. Stopping the ship and then taking them to a place they don't want to go to is almost certainly illegal. But then again Israel don't usually expect laws to apply to them otherwise they would not commit war crimes.

blockade + moving ships to an "unwanted" location = war crimes??????????
now there's a curious bit of logic; most 12 year-olds are capable of better thought process than that

most of you lot are too risible for words and you aren't even directly involved ..... what chance of the lunatics sorting their pathetic differences!???? ..... and i say pathetic intentionally, for people who allowed common sense to rule instead of greed, dogma and blind prejudice and hatred could sort things relatively easily

cynic
No the war crimes refer to the Israeli soldiers behaviour during incursions into Gaza. You seem to be jumping to unwarranted conclusions.