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?

Uruguay and Argentina have followed Brazil.

The deputy foreign minister of Uruguay has said that his country would recognize Palestine as an independent state by next year 2011.

He pointed out that Montevideo would open a diplomatic mission in Ramallah soon.

Argentina recognized Palestine as an independent state on 1967 borders on Monday only three days after a similar Brazilian step.

John Ging, the director of UNRWA operations in the Gaza Strip, has said that the inhabitants of Gaza were still living in bad conditions as a result of the ongoing siege.

He said in a press statement on Sunday that 80% of the inhabitants depend on UNRWA's humanitarian and food assistance. He added that the unemployment rate is at its highest level.

Ging noted that 90% of Gaza water is polluted and not fit for human consumption while 80 million cubic meters of sewage water is daily poured into the sea.

Tens of thousands of houses, which were destroyed or damaged during the last Israeli war, were still waiting reconstruction, the international official said, adding that educational and health sectors were also facing big challenges.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/our-lives-became-something-wed-never-dreamt-the-former-israeli-soldiers-who-have-testified-against-army-abuses-2154663.html?action=Gallery&ino=2

The Independent on Sunday published confessions made by former Israeli soldiers related to the Israeli army and serious war crimes committed against Gaza people.

Their confessions were taken from a book issued by Breaking the Silence organization. The book also includes testimonies against the Israeli army and pictures of Israeli soldiers who made the testimonies and confessions.

A former soldier from Givati brigade said that his brigade and another task force during the military operations in Gaza in 2008 knocked at the door of a Palestinian house and detonated it when they did not find an immediate response, which led to the killing of a lady as she was about to open the door. The woman was blown up into small pieces, he added.

The book cited another similar story about the killing of a UN female teacher in Khan Younis called Wafer Al-Daghma during an Israeli raid on her house in May 2008. Her husband was not present at the time.

Her husband Magdi Daghma said that when his wife heard the voices of soldiers, she ordered her three little children to go to the bedroom, put a head scarf over her head and went to open the door that were exploded by the troops outside.

The soldiers who narrated this story affirmed that one of the soldiers who participated in this attack burst into hysterical laughter when he saw the bloody scene and the horrible death of the Gazan mother.

The foreign ministers of the European Union's member countries are expected to discuss on Monday recognizing a Palestinian state on 1967 occupied land in the event no peace agreement was reached within a year.

European diplomatic sources said that the EU council is set to discuss a draft proposal prepared by Germany on recognition of an independent Palestinian state within one year.

Israeli official sources had expressed concern over the step, saying its endorsement would impede peace efforts, Hebrew media reported.

The ministry of health in Gaza warned Monday that 137 types of medicine and 150 of essential medical supplies are out of stock in Gaza, among those supplies are drugs used to treat cancer and kidney patients.

The ministry's pharmaceutical director is calling on the ministry's counterpart in Ramallah to release to the Gaza Strip the drugs it is withholding. Only 37 per cent of required medical supplies reached the Strip this year so far, he said.

Gaza health ministry public relations director Ahmed Al-Ashi assigned blame to Israel's four year blockade on the coastal enclave for the sharp shortage. Israeli forces have blocked urgent medical and humanitarian aid from being imported into the Strip.

Ashi called on the International Committee of the Red Cross, the World Health Organization, and human rights groups to take immediate intervention to provide Gazan people with necessary drugs.

In a constant battle to avoid surplus of unnecessary drugs, the ministry is appealing to donating countries and bodies to refer to Palestine's directory of medicines to cater to patients' requirements by contacting the ministry's pharmaceutical and international cooperation administrations.

The most needed medical supplies are ECG paper and drugs used for surgery, intensive care, anesthesia, respiration, childbirth, eye surgery, and more.

Israel's legislative commission approved Monday a new draft law that would deny Palestinian prisoners the right to lawyer visits for one year upon arrest in an attempt to tighten restrictions on those prisoners.

The amended law will afford power to Israeli courts to ban Palestinian prisoners from visits by their legal representatives for an entire year, while the present law allows this type of ban for three weeks only.

Israeli Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovich brought a list of arguments to convince the Knesset's legislative committee to favor the law before it was approved. The draft has taken effect from the time it was passed.

With God on your side you don't need courts of law.

Humanity and decency should only be applied to my group!

What this debate needs is a wiki cable leak ,
Wonder if theres any to come out regarding the real uk diplomatic thoughts on the Israeli /Hamas situation , and if there is where do the uk authorities/government really stand away from the pr spin ,And even worse for Freddie boy and Haystack, what if the uk were even secretly involved in some major decisions behind the scenes ;

Are the uk saying one thing in their PR spin, but the reality is behind the scenes they think something totally diffferent?

Wiki leakes, illegal/immoral.? I dont know but interesting never the less ,

What this debate needs is a really big wiki leak, then Freddie boy and Haystack and the hamas supporters here might just see it from a different angle, but then again, maybe not, cant teach an old dog new tricks hey,

I think that any Wiki leaks might support Hamas's case. It would certainly weaken Israel's case as the US is funding Fatah and the PA with the result that they are collaborating with Israel against Hamas in the West Bank and against the Palestinian people. When this the current pointless peace talks stop soon, you can expect a major shift in the politics in the area.

Ah, Ruth - a breath of fresh air.
Don't know about an old dog, but it's impossible to turn a fanatic filled with hatred. It would be like trying to change the mind of Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot etc.
Evil incarnate.
You can see by Uberfuhrer hayparrot's last post how he thinks Hamas and the Palestinian people are synonymous and Fatah, Israel, the US, the Liberal Democrats, Top Shop, and all evil reactionary capitalist running dogs are conspiring against the peace-loving everything is justified Hamas and all true believers everywhere blah blah blah - a real lover of terrorists, our sad, sad parrot.

I wouldn't include the capitalists, Liberal democrats etc. Hamas are not terrorists, they are the expression of the Palestinian people's struggle and resistance against a regime that has taken their land and continues to do so. I think you will find that Hamas takes a more prominent role in the region next year.

ah yes .... Mugabe's "war veterans" are similarly labelled

But not actually similar.

matter of opinion and interpretation .... parallels look surprisingly similar to me

Israel is an occupying force in Palestine and building settlements illegally. They oppress Palestinians on a daily basis. Surely you expect some rebellion in this situation.

Haysteck

git a spoll chucker.

Than git an opinyun chucker. Bowf yure stile annd youre comtent woll inproove overknite.

I told you previously that I hardly ever check my spelling on posts. If it is pointed out to me then I usually go back and change it.

similar to the argument Mugabe uses

The analogy should be Mugabe with Israel. It is Israel that is throwing Palestinians out of their homes on a daily basis, arresting large numbers every day, keep prisoners locked up after their sentences have been served. Attacking peaceful marches, allowing settlers to steal homes and burn Palestinian crops, illegally settle on Palestinian land, arrest children. The list goes on and on. Zimbabwe and Israel are quite similar with Israel coming out worse.

A problem with any group leadership is whether they are leading for good of themselves, the good of the group, or the populace as a whole.

Bad leadership is demagogical and is seen in both sides of in the Middle East conflict.

It is seen in dictatorships or so called democracy. (Cameron is a demagogue, preaching an ideology which got him into power. All though I doubt it, he may even believe what he preaches.)

The difference between the demagogues in a democracy such as Britain, is that it is assumed that if the governing elite strays to far from the accepted pre-election promises, they can be bloodlessly replaced by the end of a parliamentary period or by losing their majority in a parliament. (For me, changes to fix length period parliament would seem to have more dangers than any potential gains.)

Unfortunately, Hamas, Fatah (with financial entrepreneurs support from a western elite), Mugabes Zanu PF (with support from an elite entrepreneurs from outside Zimbabwe) are less than likely to accept a blood less loss of power. However, Hamas does seem to have popular ground level support at present, i.e. optimists believing that the ideology and policies presented, may have long term benefits for them. (In the conditions of occupancy they are suffering, who is to blame them.)

I leave it to you, to consider the present ruling class in Israel, but there does seem a growing internal ground swell against their present rule by Zealots, obviously supported by finances from abroad and political lobbying in the US.

The important factor of difference between Hamas and Mugabe, is that Mugabe is acting for his own obvious interest against those of his people, while Hamas, although probably acting for their own benefit, are taking into consideration their people and acting for their benefit.