About time

From the AP:

Israel declared a unilateral cease-fire Saturday in its 22-day offensive that turned Gaza neighborhoods into battlegrounds and dealt a stinging blow to the Islamic militants of Hamas. But Israeli troops will stay in the Palestinian territory for now and Hamas threatened to keep fighting until they leave.

The Good War

From The Associated Press:

With national elections approaching on Feb. 10, the Israeli assault on Gaza has boosted support for Barak's Labor Party, the standard-bearer for Israel's peace camp, by making it look tough.

The poll showed overall support for moderate and centrist parties going up, while support for hard-line and religious parties went down — leaving each side with half the seats in parliament if elections were held today.

The survey, carried out by the Dialog company, showed jumps in the approval ratings for Israel's top three leaders — Barak, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert...

"We are spoiled and impatient — we like our wars short," said Israeli historian Tom Segev. If fighting goes on too long, or if it ends with an inconclusive cease-fire, Segev said, Israelis will turn on the government as they did after the Lebanon war.

"The mood will change fast," he said.

The Israeli government is using the deaths of over 400 Palestinians to vindicate their failed war in Lebanon. Meanwhile, though centrist parties are gaining support, Netanyahu, of the conservative Likud Party, is still the front-runner for Prime Minister. This is the same guy that threatens that there will be a world war with Iran.

Neoconservatism is still alive and well in the Middle East.

Two-day cease-fire rejected by Israel

From Democracy Now!:

Gaza Bombing Continues as Israel Rejects Truce Proposal

Israel has rejected a French proposal for an emergency forty-eight-hour ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. There were brief hopes for a lull in the bombing after Israeli officials said they were seriously considering the move. But earlier today Israeli warplanes continued to pound areas across Gaza.

30 Palestinians Killed in Latest Attacks

A Palestinian medic was killed and two others wounded when an Israeli missile struck next to their ambulance in Gaza City. Several underground tunnels along the Gaza border with Egypt were also attacked. Israel maintains the tunnels are used to smuggle in weapons, but they’re also used to bring in basic supplies denied by the Israeli blockade. Overall, at least thirty Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks on Tuesday, including two sisters aged five and twelve. Nearly 400 Palestinians have been killed and at least 1,600 injured since Saturday. In Rafah, thousands of residents took shelter at a local UN school after their neighborhoods were attacked by Israeli missiles.

Rafah resident: “Missiles were fired at the municipality and around the municipality near the houses and made all the houses collapse. Most of the area is destroyed. There is complete destruction."

Palestinian rocket fire has meanwhile intensified on nearby Israeli towns. Four Israeli citizens, including two Arab Israelis, have been killed by rockets from the Gaza Strip since the Israeli assault began. The Bush administration continues to support Israel’s attack. On Tuesday, White House spokesperson Gordon Johndroe downplayed reports of growing Palestinian casualties.

If you are interested in a peace organization that is both pro-Israel and pro-peace, check out J Street at www.jstreet.org.

Israel and the morality of ending it all

What happens if a rocket falls on your town?
You certainly don't let the perpetrators get away with it, right?

But what happens when the rocket comes from a terrorist organization that was legitimately elected to power in the Gaza strip, but you won't recognize those elections?

Let's face it. The increased bombing of Gaza isn't going to stop Hamas from firing rockets into Israel, especially when it was Israel that broke the cease-fire months ago. And it is especially risky to start a ground invasion of Gaza. Haaretz said this:

But Hamas officials and analysts said Monday that the organization would actually like Israel to launch a ground operation; it hopes this would let it inflict such heavy losses on Israeli tanks and infantry that Israel would flee with its tail between its legs.

Hamas just wants a repeat of the failed war Israel waged against Lebanon a few years ago. Israel can either give the Hamas what it wants (since it is obvious that Hamas has no regard for the value of Palestinian life), or Israel can take the high road and stop bombing Gaza.

Most people want to pick sides in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. But, as a blogger on DailyKos said, this isn't an issue with one right side and one wrong side. It's an issue with two wrong sides with the added ingredient of lots of bloodshed.

Here's to an end to the violence in 2009.